AN: So...um...There isn't going to be much to explain. I know it's been FOREVER...but things have happened in real life. Some that I'm not so gonna talk about because it was pretty bad. And then there was a couple times where I thought I lost my net, but it was miraculously saved. hahahaha But...I have this chapter done. I had originally planned it so that Axel and Larxene go on their little hang out spree, but I suddenly had this idea to spare an extra chapter for the story. And thanks to the Old Settler's Fair that comes to my town, it helped with my idea. Anywho...sorry again for the delay. And as for any questions, I think the chapter might answer it. I know I was vague on her pregnancy term, but it was meant to be that way. lol Enjoy!!

I hadn't seen Roxas that much in forever. There was no doubt in my mind that I was going through withdrawals. In fact, there was proof for whoever was paying attention to my behavior. I was cleaning excessively on the third day of living in that apartment. I was always found walking around the house; I couldn't sit and watch television or play a game on my cellphone. I constantly held my cellphone, deciding whether or not to call him to make sure things were okay around there. I was probably panicking.

On the fifth day, I was pretty much a wreck. Not so bad as some, but I just didn't know what to do. There was nothing in town to do when school was gone and over. Since the school had mysteriously flooded (no thanks to Reno and whoever else he conned into helping him), our temporary vacation should be more fun than sitting around, but Reno insisted on me staying at home to help decorate the house a little, and Roxas was forced into working around the house with his brother so their house could be finished by winter. It was like a conspiracy to keep us apart for a while. Maybe it was a test to see how long we could go without physical contact. I could do this!

However, another week had gone by after that. The school was fixed, and it was ever so boring. Nothing changed. And we were still separated.

In the time we'd been apart, though, Larxene had made a daily stop by the apartment to catch up on things. I'd kind of missed her, as a close person to trust. Not because I'd dated her before, but because she had always been there to listen. I knew she was the jealous type, and that she didn't approve of me showing a fond connection with anyone else, but she had to let go as I had to. Of course...my experience was easier...

We were also able to make plans on when to go out and talk even more, away from the nagging brother and phone calls and chores. It felt good to be able to put things in order in my life.

In all honesty, things were looking up since I'd met Roxas. I didn't know if he had any idea, but it was the truth. They took me in and cared for me before my brother showed up. Even then, they took care of him, too. I'd found so many things that I can't explain due to complicated thoughts, but it feels so good.

It wasn't until the thirteenth of November that something new had come up. Not that it was a good thing, mind you. My cell went off early that morning, before school was even close to causing me misery. My hand inched under my pillow to get my phone and flipped it open, turning onto my back as I did so.

First thought of this call: What the FUCK...

"What?" I answered unceremoniously.

"Axel? Axel, wake up. It's an emergency. You have to get over here."

"Roxas, hey, calm down. What's wrong?"

"There's no time to explain! Just hurry your ass over here, now." With that, he'd hung up on me and I was left staring at the screen of my phone. Three thirteen in the damn morning and he's telling me there was an emergency. Well, he'd called me and he sounded genuinely scared, so there was no other choice than to go and find out the problem.

Within minutes, I was dressed in the first pair of clothes I'd grabbed and I was heading out of the door with the car keys. Reno wouldn't mind if I borrowed his car for a few minutes, hopefully. I was still tired, so it didn't surprise me that it took about ten minutes just to pull up at his house and another two before I was knocking on his door. I could hear the frantic footsteps coming down the stairs seconds later and the door frantically opened to reveal and highly stressed Roxas in its wake.

I looked at him confusedly before he dragged me inside and started muttering words in some sort of speed that made it sound like a foreign language. Was this kid fluent in gibberish or pig latin? I sighed and shushed him while I grabbed at his arms to stop him.

"Tell me, slowly, what's wrong, Roxas. I can't understand what you're saying."

"My mom...she's having contractions or something. I don't know what to do!" he exclaimed, pulling at his hair. Sorry to say, shortcake, your beautiful hair isn't a stress ball.

"Have you tried calling the hospital?" He was silent, but he was on the verge of crying. Of course he wouldn't think of calling them. He was a bit freaked, this being the first time it happened around him, and probably never had to deal with the emergency numbers. I felt bad and hoped his mother was going to be all right. "Well, how long has it been? She'll be fine."

"Only a couple of minutes. I woke up to Sora screaming in my face about mom freaking out in her room, on the floor. He managed to get something of what she was screaming about..so..after that I called you," he explained. I nodded and began the ascent upstairs.

"Let's hurry and get your mom in the car, since I'm here. I'll get her there in no time."

So there we were, sitting in the halls of the hospital nearly three hours after arriving there. Roxas and Sora would have been in the room with their mother, except for the fact that she seemed like a detonating time bomb at the time. They also didn't trust the nurses. I didn't blame them. I wouldn't want to take a chance of being rejected my request to see my mother if we got along. I sighed and glanced at the boys sitting beside me.

It tugged at some sympathetic feeling in me to see Roxas torn like this. He should have been happy that he was getting a younger sibling, but it seemed almost quite the opposite minus the hostile feelings. His appearance was definitely something worse for wares; his hair was a mess and it looked as if he hadn't had four days worth of sleeping in him at all. I couldn't guess it but I'd hoped it wasn't because of me.

"Hey, everything is gonna be all right, you hear me, Rox?" I said. I reached over and grabbed his hand, squeezing it lightly just to reassure him. I didn't want him torn up any more than he already seemed like. My effort didn't go to waste when he looked up at me with the faintest of smiles. It was all it really took to let me know he was just fine with the whole ordeal. "Tell me what's on your mind?"

At first, he started to shake his head. He didn't want to tell me anything, and I should have known that. He bottled things up pretty easily. I scoped him out, even with his face hidden, and knew it wasn't distrust that was holding it back. I couldn't help but smirk at his stubbornness. After all the time we'd been forcefully separated by being busy, he refused to catch me up on his problems.

"I'm just scared..." I hadn't expected an answer when I was about to give up, but I took into consideration his dilemma and place he was subjected to while his mother was in pain of labor. With a breath of a sigh, I let my arm slide around his shoulders and hug him a bit closer. I couldn't say it was gonna be okay, or that everything will be fine in the end, but I could be there for him. "What if Mom...isn't strong enough?"

"And I can't be any help. I'm just as freaked out as him," Sora chipped in. Of course. Identical twins. I could cope with that. "But really, Axel, what if she doesn't get through this? We'll be parentless! Dad isn't going to come back..."

"Heh...If she can survive having you two, then one baby will be just fine!" I exclaimed with a smirk. "Come on, you really think she'd leave you guys hanging with a new baby sister? It's a miracle she'd kept it from you during most of her pregnancy. I wouldn't have guessed the first time I'd seen her." Actually, I couldn't have noticed even if I had wanted to. She looked as skinny as ever the first time I met her, and guessing from the time Roxas had told me, she was well on her way. Must have been lucky for her to be a skinny mama through a little than half of the pregnancy.

"You're right...Mom wouldn't leave us." Sora had grabbed a hold of his brother's hand, seeming a little bit chipper than he had been. But Roxas still seemed depressed. I opened my mouth to say something, but he stood and looked down the hall a couple of times before turning to look down at me.

"You should go back home and get some sleep. I...I'll leave you a message when or if something happens," he said. I saw a ghost of a smile appear on his face, enough to make me know nothing was seriously wrong with him. The fact that he could manage it when he didn't feel like it let me know that my Roxas was tougher than he appeared. "I have Sora, so I'll be okay."

"All right, if you insist. But don't hesitate to wake me up if you have to," I told him after getting to my feet.

I pulled him into a quick hug, but took my time holding him. It was like a dream to actually be spending time with him, even though it was in a hospital. The poor kid seemed a bit lost without me, but I could probably be described the same way. Reluctantly, I stepped away. However, Roxas had taken a hold of my hand before I could walk away from him. I looked at him curiously at an angle.

"There's going to be a fair in town in a couple of days. We should go sometime, since it's only here for three days." I grinned devilishly at him. I. Loved. Fairs. There was nothing fun about it if I wasn't there to throw some spice into it.

"Oh, you can count on me being there."

We then departed, and I found myself outside staring at my cellphone. It was almost time for school, so what was the use of going back to sleep? And Reno...he'd definitely be up and waiting for an explanation as to why his car was missing along with me. I sighed and threaded a hand through my hair as I made my way back to the car. I couldn't help but rest my forehead against the steering wheel, feeling comfort in the position even though it was probably gonna leave a big ass imprint on my head. But damn...could I fall asleep.

My reprieve was short lived when my phone went off in my hand. I forced myself to sit calmly against the seat. Glancing at the cover of my phone, I noticed it was Reno. Thoughts fumbled around for an excuse, but the truth was just the best answer in this case. He could understand, couldn't he?

"H-hello?" I answered, tapping my fingers on the steering wheel.

"You. You are going to be murdered. I don't care how, but you will be suffering a deadly, stabbity death. Where the hell are you?" he growled. On the side of not being a morning person without caffeine, having his car missing was worse than that.

"Roxas had an emergency! His mom is preggo, Reno. That means she was bound to be due any time," I answered. It didn't click in my mind that I hadn't told him, but it should have been obvious by the time we moved out, right?

"I don't care! The least you could have done was leave me a message, Axel. What if you get caught? You don't have a damned permit to be driving around town and taking pregnant people to the hospital and stuff like that!"

"Fine! But you don't have to yell in my ear," I retaliated.

"I'm gonna be in your ear as long as you keep yakking on the phone and not moving your ass home!"

Glaring at the phone after taking it from my ear, I closed it and tossed it into the seat next to me. So much for the possibility of staying home with sympathy from him. Turning the ignition on, I started for home as fast as I could without endangering his precious car or the fact that I didn't have proof of being able to drive.

As soon as I had stepped one foot out of the car, a hand had grabbed at the collar of my shirt and started hauling me to the door of the apartments. I stumbled along, wanting to speak my mind against it, but I couldn't exactly keep my breath up to par with the movement. My free hand gripped the wrist of the hand guiding me, but when I found the door of our apartment being opened, I let go. Because I knew as soon as that was open, I was gonna be tossed in.

So I sat on the floor where I'd fallen, without an objection and not even a look at my brother. Sure, I knew he would be rough, but this was a bit far. His car was fine. Not a damned scratch on it and I wasn't in trouble with the law in the least bit. I didn't find this treatment appealing at all.

"How long was you gone?"

"Three hours..." I answered dully.

"Give me the keys," he directed. I lifted the ring up for him to take. "And what made you think it was okay to take my car?"

"I didn't think, okay? I just went because Roxas needed me. He was scared and I wasn't going to walk from here to there at three in the fucking morning!" I responded, directing my anger at him as I looked up. To my surprise, he didn't even look as pissed as he sounded. Reno looked...void of any emotion at all. Was this his work face or something?

"So you didn't think of leaving me a note? I could have woken up and never known you were gone if I hadn't noticed my car was missing," he spat. "And even then, I was thinking you probably ran away. You could have been dead and I wouldn't have known until somebody found your lifeless body lying on the side of the road. Why don't you consider other people in your life, Axel? I'm taking the liberty of giving you a home so you don't have to live on the street."

"I wasn't living on the street! I was living with Roxas because his mom insisted. I couldn't say no to someone like her."

"I don't care who you were living with. You're here with me, now. I have strict rules. I don't care what you do, who you hang out with, what things you prefer over others, but I have to know who these people are, where you plan to go, and what you plan to do. End of discussion, Axel. Go to bed."

I stood without a word and shut myself in my room. Well, I guess it was okay since he was having me stay home. But I could have done without the lecture. I did consider other people, even though he didn't know it. I thought Roxas had been hurt, and Reno probably would have backed me up if I had woken him up about it. But I hadn't had time to get his approval then or to write out a note. But he wouldn't know anything about that.

"This is your sister?"

I looked at the baby through the window. It was sound asleep, but I had a feeling that if she was awake, she'd be looking at us with huge baby blue eyes, just like the rest of the family. She even looked as if she was going to have blond hair, but I couldn't be sure. It could get darker as a few days passed.

"Mom named her Noel. Isn't that some sort of Christmas thing?" asked Sora as he stared at the baby girl.

"Sora...that is Christmas. It's a different term we use," informed Roxas. I smiled at the two, but didn't let my eyes wander from the girl. She would love the family she was with, there was no doubt about it. Even though she wouldn't have a father, I had a feeling it wouldn't affect her very much.

"How long have you and your mom been here?" I asked. It couldn't be too much longer before they receive a warning about their stay.

"About thirteen hours. We'll be leaving in about two more hours. Mom is still sleeping," said Roxas. He had the faintest of smiles on his face as he looked at his baby sister. I was glad everything turned out fine, to prove that all they had to do was wait and be strong. Experiencing something for the first time was challenging – they should know that much. "The nurse had already told us about the stay, and she even insisted we stayed for more than a couple of hours. But Mom wants to go home. She wants to show Noel the house and everything."

"Yeah, you haven't seen anything yet. But we have Noel's room done. And we have a lot of things for her already. Mom had a decorator come by about a week ago and get the room done just perfectly." Sora grinned widely at me, but my attention suddenly turned to the phone in my pocket.

Stepping away from the glass, I answered my phone. "Yeah?"

"Axel! Where are you? I've been waiting for twenty minutes already..."

Oh yeah...Larxene. I bit my bottom lip and glanced at the boys before casting my eyes to the ceiling. I didn't want to leave them. This was as exciting to me as it was for them. Plus, it was probably the easiest time I could spend some time with Roxas.

"I'm sorry. Things just popped up. Roxas' mom had a baby this morning and I didn't get enough sleep..." I answered. It wasn't a lie, but I wasn't going to tell her that I was at the hospital instead of getting rest at home.

"Oh! Well you could have messaged me earlier before you went back to sleep, silly. I understand completely. We'll do a rain check, is that okay?"

"Yeah, that's fine. Just think of a good day, okay? I'm gonna let you go," I said lightly before hanging up. I didn't want to linger too much on the phone. "Well, Rox, how about we go get something to eat while we let your mom rest up, huh? You come, too, Sora."

"I say we get ice cream," chimed the twins at the same time.

I shook my head at them, but nonetheless, we ended up at the local ice cream shop with me paying the total. Sitting outside felt much better than being in the shop, so that's where we sat while they chowed down on their treat. To our fancy, a familiar someone happened to stroll by only ten minutes later. Sora had leaped from his seat, oblivious to the melting splatters of Sea Salt ice cream flying over the sidewalk and onto Roxas' feet, to greet Riku and drag him to the side to stay with us.

I averted my attention quickly to the blond sitting next to me. He'd only spared a glimpse of a smile toward his brother and his boyfriend, but he resumed being the depressed boy I'd seen earlier this morning. Curious, I leaned my elbows on my knees and kept looking at him. Something was definitely wrong and he was having a surefire way not telling me about it.

"There's something you ain't tellin' me, Roxas. You have to trust me with stuff like this," I insisted.

"Can you believe I have a younger sister?! I honestly thought it was going to be a boy again!"

"Didn't your mom tell you it was going to be a girl a couple of months ago...?"

"Nothing is wrong, Axel. I'm just...happy," he answered. I sighed and sat back up, looking down the sidewalk as I ate the last of my own ice cream. Without aiming, I tossed the stick to the trash beside me. It didn't make it.

"I'm not taking that for an answer. You have something on your mind that you aren't telling me. I can't just sit here and watch you be depressed when you should be bragging to everyone that you have a baby sister!" I pushed, picking the trash up from the ground and making sure it made it into the trash this time. "I would be more than thrilled if I had some other sibling to hang out with. But I'm stuck with Reno. He threatens my life more than a rapist probably could."

"I just thought...that Dad would be here, you know? I mean, she is his kid. Mom hasn't been with anybody else. I just wish that she would have a Dad, where ours is nothing to be considerate of," he finally admitted, on the verge of breaking down. I took his ice cream from him – already melted to the core – and threw it away as I casually put an arm around him. "I want her to have a better life than we've had so far. We had our dad for a time being, but he was hardly around even then. She needs more than that..."

"Well, maybe she won't need that. She'll know that, too. All she'll need is what she was given. A loving mother and two older brothers that will be there for her through thick and thin! It's all a person needs," I reassured him. Nobody needed everything. If we all had what we wanted, there would be no point in cherishing a single thing. "Let's get back to the hospital,okay? I think it's about time your mom would want to get home."

Noel is just a name I usually use for any sort of character for an off-site. Like as a roleplay character or something. Thought I'd change the story up and not use a kingdom hearts name. :)

Moonie