I'm the Mother and the Father - Chapter 3

I'm the Father and the Mother?
A Ranma Fanfic by Michael A. Ivins

Ranma and friends are owned by Rumiko Takahashi along with her publishers and Viz Video. I make no money off this so please don't sue me.

Recap of chapter 2
After learning she was pregnant as well as the father of the baby, Ranma broke down crying on Nabiki's shoulder. Nabiki felt responsible for the problem so she went with Ranma to a clinic where a probe was used to take a sample from Ranma's womb to use for a DNA test to determine who the father was. The doctor supervising the procedure saw the fear in Ranma's eyes and suspected Ranma had been raped by a family member.

Chapter 3
It's a Girl!

Dr. Tofu sat at his desk eyeing the telephone as if it was an adversary in a martial arts match. He took a deep breath to calm himself. Part of the reason he had left on his sabbatical was to find help for his Kasumi mania. He had found counseling and help. This would be his first test.

He picked up the phone and dialed the number of the Tendo dojo. It was answered by a pleasant female voice with a musical lilt to it. “Tendo Residence.”

Hmm, feeling nervous but still capable of rational thought. So far so good. “Hello, Kasumi. This is Tofu Ono. Could you ask Ranma to come to the phone?”

It had been a while since she had spoken to the good doctor. It was actually nice that he wasn’t acting so silly. “Oh, Dr. Tofu, how nice of you to call. I believe Ranma it out in the dojo, exercising. I'll get her for you.”

A few minutes later a pleasant soprano voice spoke, sounding a little out of breath, “Hello, doc. What news do you have?”

Worried that his patient might not be following instructions the doctor asked, “You haven't been sparring, have you?”

Ranma replied, “No, doc. I've just been working out and doing katas. You told me that sparring could be bad for the you-know-what.”

“You haven't told them yet?”

Ranma responded, “Not yet. I want to be sure I have all the facts.”

“Then I think you'd better come to my office as soon as you can.”

Ranma was surprised. “You've got the result of yesterday's test? I thought you said that would take days.”

Not wanting to say too much over the phone, Tofu told her, “That's part of what I need to talk to you about.”

This sounded important. Ranma said, “I'll be there.”

Ranma hung up the phone and turned to find Nabiki standing behind her. The brown haired girl said, “I heard Kasumi saying it was Dr. Tofu on the phone. Do you mind if I come with you?”

In the past Ranma would have preferred not to spend time in the company of the mercenary girl. Lately she had found the other girl's presence to be a great comfort. “Sure, I'd be glad for the company.”

As they headed toward the door, Akane watched with a frown. Those two had been spending a lot of time together over the last few days. What was going on between them? Akane was the fiancé, shouldn't she be the one Ranma took places? Was Ranma doing something perverted with Nabiki?

As they got out of sight of the Tendo dojo Ranma reached out and took hold of Nabiki's hand. Nabiki wasn't sure if it was as good idea to do this in public but gripped the other's hand anyway. Something about it just felt… right.

They spent the walk in a companionable silence. As a dedicated information gatherer Nabiki hated to be in the dark about anything going on around her. She felt sure she would get the answers to her questions once they got to the clinic.

Dr. Tofu greeted them when they got into the clinic. “Ranma, thank you for coming on such short notice. Nabiki, you're…”

The brown haired girl finished, “I'm the one who threw the water that got Ranma into her present condition. I feel bad about that.”

The Doctor turned to Ranma, “Do you mind if she hears?”

Ranma shook her head. “No, I don't mind. The way I see it, she kind of has an interest in this.”

They went to Dr. Tofu's office so they could sit. When everyone was comfortably settled he told Ranma, “I know I told you that the test would take a few days to get the result. That's not because of how long it takes to conduct the test but because of waiting for your sample's turn. The lab at the hospital often gets quite busy. Dr. Hinagami, the doctor who supervised the procedure that took the sample, requested the lab to put a rush on the analysis. That could lead to a problem.”

Feeling a bit alarmed, Ranma asked, “What kind of problem? Why the rush?”

Remembering his phone conversation, Tofu explained, “She said you were putting up a `brave front' but she was able to see fear in your eyes. It made her concerned that your pregnancy might be the result of rape.”

Ranma was surprised. Something like that seemed very unlikely. “Rape? I’d like to see some guy try it. He’d likely be in a hospital by now.”

Tofu shook his head. “I know you are a strong martial artists, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get raped. Suppose you were knocked out in one of your fights or from Akane’s mallet. What about the drugs Shampoo tries to give you from time to time. If some bad man (or men) came upon you when you were female and unconscious or drugged, you could be raped.”

Those words were chilling to contemplate. The fact that it was true made it all the more disturbing. “Uh. That doesn’t make me feel any better about this. I know I've been feeling scared, but I've been trying to hide it.”

Tofu nodded. “And Dr. Hinagami said you were very good at it. It's just that she's been a doctor for a long time and she's used to seeing through such pretenses.”

The doctor paused, “Before I go into that further, let me tell you the results of the test. Without going into all the complicated medical terminology, the father of your child is listed as a `close family member.' By that they usually mean either a brother or your father.”

That was a concept that the girl found totally disgusting. Ranma couldn’t repress a shudder. “My dad, eww! I have trouble understanding what my mom saw in him all those years ago. I can't imagine being attracted to him myself. Even if he was skinnier and fitter, his attitude should be a turn-off for any woman.”

Ranma was straying off the topic. In effort to get back to the main topic Dr. Tofu said, “That's not the point. Based on what test results say, there can be no remaining doubt that your male side is the father. Because they don't know about and wouldn’t believe in the curse they would naturally conclude that it was a relative.”

Trying to see a bright side, Ranma said, “I guess that could be looked at as good news. It means nobody had sex with me when I was unconscious or anything. I wasn't raped and unaware of it. But why did you say this other doctor could be a problem?”

The doctor leaned back in his chair and sighed before going on. “To explain that I need to give you a little history. Five years ago Dr. Hinagami had a patient who disturbed her greatly. It was a 13 year old girl who had been made pregnant by her 18 year old brother. It turned out that the brother had been sexually abusing the girl for two years.”

Nabiki gasped, “He started on her when she was just 11? It was bad enough for him to be doing that to her at 13.”

Ranma put in, “That's sick!”

With a grim expression, Tofu said, “No argument from me. The problem is that since then she has been very vigilant for any sign of sexual abuse of minor girls and especially cases of incest. She suspected you had been raped or otherwise sexually abused and was threatening to call the police.”

In spite of her fear and confusion, Ranma was able to see the absurdity of that. With a snort she said, “The last I heard it wasn't against the law for people to sexually molest themselves.”

Tofu allowed himself a little laugh. “True, but try explaining that.”

Ranma considered it. “We can't tell this Hinagami woman about the curse, she wouldn't believe it. Nobody ever believes in the curse without seeing it demonstrated. Since I'm locked now there’s no way to show her. What did you tell her?”

Tofu replied, “I told her your case wasn't like that girl 5 years ago without going into specifics. I told her your situation is complex and needs to be handled delicately.”

The redhead nodded. That sounded like a good approach to take. “How’d she take that?”

The doctor said, “It took some talking but I persuaded her to let you and me handle it. She asked to be kept informed about the situation.”

Ranma heaved a great sigh. “I just hope that before she does anything either the baby is born or the curse is unlocked or both. If I could demonstrate the curse, it should get her to back off.”

Thinking about it, Tofu wanted to make sure that his patient understood the motives of the women’s specialist doctor. “Ranma?”

“Yes.”

The doctor pleaded, “Please don't think badly of Dr. Hinagami. I have often heard you say that it is the duty of a martial artist to protect the weak. She is trying to protect a girl she believes is unable to fight back.”

The redhead protested, “But I can fight!”

Tofu explained, “Dr. Hinagami doesn't know that. What she thinks she sees in you is a scared young girl who has been sexually abused or raped. To her thinking you wouldn't have been pregnant and scared if you had been able to fight back.”

Ranma thought about it. “When you put it that way I guess it makes sense that she would think that. She actually sounds kind of nice.”

Tofu confirmed, “When you're the girl in such a situation she can be very nice. She can be very frightening to the boy.”

“Where does that leave me? I'm both.”

The doctor held out his hands in a gesture of helplessness. “As you said, let's hope that you'll be able to demonstrate the curse by the time we have to talk to her again.”

A thought occurred to the pigtailed girl. “Did you get the results of those other tests? The blood and urine tests?”

“Yes, I got those results earlier this morning. The man who runs the lab owed me a favor so they rushed the analysis of your samples. They confirm the pregnancy, there is no chance of a mistake. The tests show that you are in excellent health for a pregnant woman. In fact your results show completely normal for a woman in your condition.”

Ranma took a moment to absorb that information. Even though she was less than happy about being “normal for a pregnant woman” it was still a relief there was nothing glaringly wrong that showed up on the tests.

The redhead wasn’t sure what to think about this. For right now she still felt like she needed more information to help her deal with this. “Ah, doc? I was kind of thinking of going to talk to Cologne when we're done here.”

Tofu approved. “That might be an excellent idea. I don't know anyone who is more knowledgeable about Jusenkyo curses than she is. She may be able to provide some insights that will help you to better deal with this.”

The girl shrugged. In an aggrieved tone she said, “Actually I really don't have much of a choice. Shampoo thinks I'm sick and threatened knock me out and carry me if I didn't go on my own.”

The Doctor laughed. “That sounds like Shampoo's approach to life.”

Even Ranma had to chuckle at that. “Yeah, you're right about that.”

From a drawer in his desk Dr. Tofu pulled out a business card. He handed the card Ranma. Tofu told her, “This is name of an OB/GYN. That means she's a women's specialist who also cares for pregnant women. I think you should go to see her. She can prescribe the right kinds of vitamins to take the best care of your baby along with giving other information you will need to know.”

Nabiki was looking at the card and said, “That's the same OB/GYN that Kasumi, Akane and I go to. At least we'd be keeping it in the family.”

It had been bad enough going to the specialist who did the test. She felt like seeing a gynecologist would compromise her masculinity. “A women’s doctor? Do I have to?”

Somewhat sternly Dr Tofu said, “Right now you are a woman and a pregnant one at that. Women in your condition need exams at specific stages in their pregnancies, they need special vitamins and other things to assure the birth of a health baby and to protect their own health. It's outside my specialty. You would be better off in her care for this.”

With an expression of resignation on her face Ranma responded, “OK, I'll call and make an appointment when we get back to the dojo.”

Nabiki looked at her watch. “We left without getting lunch first. Since we're going to the Nekohanten anyway, let's get some ramen when we get there.”

Ranma agreed, “That sounds like a great idea.”

Dr. Tofu gave Ranma some pamphlets on pregnancy and childbirth. He cautioned that the information he had was pretty general and Ranma should get more specific information from the OB/GYN.

Ranma and Nabiki walked at a very leisurely pace. They were hoping that the worst of the lunch rush would be over by the time they arrived at the Chinese restaurant. They even stopped in a park on the way and sat on a bench. It still seemed odd to them they were simply enjoying each other's company but they were getting used to it. When the got up and continued walking, Ranma again held Nabiki's hand and it was beginning to feel natural.

When they got to the Nekohanten they released their grip on each other's hands. It seemed they had timed their arrival well. There were still people eating, but there didn't appear to be anyone waiting to be served.

Shampoo saw them from across the room and came to meet them. Her usual bubbly personality seemed subdued. “Airen come see great grandmother?”

Ranma confirmed, “Yes. But we didn't get lunch so could I get a beef ramen first?”

Nabiki said, “Shrimp for me.”

“OK.” Shampoo started to turn away, but stopped and turned back. “Is Airen feeling OK?”

“I'm feeling OK for now.” She didn't say it, but was thinking, “I'm not looking forward to morning sickness.”

Shampoo nodded and moved off to place the order. Mousse had been looking on from the kitchen. He was confused by Shampoo's behavior because she wasn't glomping Saotome. Shampoo wasn't her usual self. Mousse started getting angry. Did Saotome say something that made his darling Shampoo sad?

When Shampoo put in the order Mousse asked, “Why are you sad?”

The purple haired girl glanced toward the table where Ranma and Nabiki were seated. “Airen's curse locked. He sick too.”

The nearly blind martial artist wasn't sure how to react to that. Maybe it was a fatal illness that would leave him a clear field to pursue Shampoo. Even as he thought it, he felt vaguely ashamed with himself for wishing such a thing on anyone, even a rival.

Ranma and Nabiki were just finishing up their ramen when they heard the `thump, thump' of Cologne's walking stick as she pogoed toward them. “Hello, Son-in-Law, Tendo-san. Shampoo tells me you want to talk to me.”

Ranma glanced around. There were still a few other customers in the restaurant. She said, “Could we go someplace a little more private. Some of the stuff I need to say… I don't want the whole world listening in.”

The wizened old woman raised an eyebrow. This was unusual. What had happened to son-in-law that was serious enough that he would request a private conference with the Amazon elder. She nodded and said, “Let's go to my office.”

The office was a small room made more cramped by a file cabinet and a desk. There was one chair behind the desk and two in front. Ranma and Nabiki took the two chairs in front while Cologne hopped into the chair behind the desk.

While Nabiki was channeling her Ice Queen persona, Ranma was fidgeting. “I guess Shampoo already told you my curse was locked.”

The aged Amazon confirmed, “Yes, she told me. Do you know of anything you did that might have caused that?”

While reluctant to speak of it, Ranma told herself that she should treat this just the same as she would about talking to Dr. Tofu. “I have a pretty good idea. Uh, would me getting pregnant lock the curse?”

“You're pregnant!” There was a look of shock on her face. “You have managed to surprise me and that’s not easy to do. That is not something I would have expected to hear from a person who is always so adamant about his masculinity.”

The elder paused in thought. “So who was it? I'll bet it was that Hibiki boy. I sometimes wondered if that hostility was a mask for deeper affection.”

Ranma was sputtering. The very idea that she would do something like that with Ryoga was ridiculous. “What… you… you think that me… and… Ryoga? If that wasn't so disgusting it would be funny!”

Insistent, Cologne demanded, “So who is the father?”

Ranma took a deep breath in an effort to calm herself. “Well, you're going to find this a little hard to believe. I'm the father.”

The aged crone reeled back to lean against the backrest of her chair. “You shouldn't say things like that to a woman my age. I thought you just said you are the father to a child for which you are the mother.”

Ranma heaved a mighty sigh. “Yeah, that's what I said.”

Still not sure if this was something that could be believed, the old woman asked, “How sure of this are you?”

“Pretty sure,” Ranma affirmed. “They did tests on me to be sure and I'm definitely pregnant. They did a DNA test on the kid to try and find out who the father is. The test results say it's a ‘close family member.’ That makes it either my male side or my brother and you know I don't have a brother.”

Cologne’s expression turned thoughtful. “In all of the history of Jusenkyo I have only heard of one other time when a woman gave birth to a child to which she was both mother and father.”

Ranma wasn’t sure how to take that. She wasn’t alone? She had to learn more about this. “You mean something like this has happened before?”

The Amazon matriarch nodded. “Yes. The case is not exactly parallel but close enough. Before I give you the story about that, there a few things that I should tell you about Jusenkyo curses.”

After a moment to organize her thoughts, she explained, “There is little known about the person (or people) who cursed the valley or why they did it. Some think it was done simply because they could or as some kind of magical exercise. Most believe that the purpose of the curses was so that the people who became cursed would learn some important life lesson. In your case you turn into a girl because you were raised to be dismissive of women, of their strengths and other qualities. You no longer think that way, do you?”

The red haired girl shook her head. It was true, she no longer thought of women as weak. As to whether they were silly or stupid, that depended on the woman. Some were silly, some serious and some were stupid and some smart. Most were in between.

That still left one thing that was puzzling to her. “What about Ryoga? What does he learn from being a pig?”

The Elder had been expecting the question. “It is a life lesson for someone so strong to spend time as an animal that is small and helpless. As to what your father learns from being a panda, I can’t guess. I do think a fat lazy man changing into a fat lazy animal does suit his personality.”

The next part she knew Ranma wouldn’t be happy about. “There is a saying in our tribe that the Nyaniichuan curse wants its victims to get pregnant. On the face of it that's a silly thing to say because the curse is not a person. It has no wants or desires.”

“What do you mean by that?”

The Amazon amplified, “What it means is that any man with the Nyaniichuan curse is twice as likely to get pregnant when having sex with a man as any normal woman with no curse. I never mentioned it to you before because you were always so insistent on your manhood, even when in your cursed form. I never believed you would willingly have sex with a man and believed you to be too strong a martial artist to get raped.”

Oh, that was just wonderful! Regardless of the old ghoul’s opinion, Ranma felt this was information she had needed to know. “Twice as likely?”

The Elder confirmed, “That's right. It could be that the person who created the curses wanted it this way. You would certainly learn more about what is like to be a woman by becoming pregnant.”

Fuming but at least smart enough to realize it was too late to do anything about it now she said, “Great! But so far you have been talking about the curses in general. What about my case?”

“Let me tell you about a warrior named Gel. This happened about 150 years ago. I was an elder at the time, but not yet a Matriarch. I was not personally involved in these events, I was away from the village on tribal business at the time.”

Settling more comfortably into her chair the Elder went on. “Gel was deeply in love with another of our warriors. She wanted to spend the rest of her life with this other woman. If that had been all there was to it there wouldn't have been a problem. Love between two woman is not common but not looked on with disapproval. Gel took it farther.”

Ranma and Nabiki both resisted the temptation to ask, “How much farther?” The expressions on their faces asked it quite well for them.

“Gel wanted to give her lover something that no woman can give, she wanted to give her lover a child. In the past when a situation like this came up the two women would adopt a child or one of them would get a man to be the father and the two women would raise the child as their own. Gel was not satisfied with that.”

“So Gel went to Jusenkyo and got the Naniichuan curse so she could turn into a man and father a child on his lover. There was a further complication to this situation. There was a boy who loved Gel even though she didn’t love him in return. It was an obsession with him. In fact this boy's fixation on Gel was in some ways like Mousse and the fixation he has on Shampoo.”

“As it was related to me later the two warriors were consummating their union when the boy burst in on them with a kettle of hot water. He threw the water and it struck Gel just as he was at the point of orgasm. It was later discovered that Gel was pregnant.

“At that time we did not have all the tests you have available today. We can learn much from ki readings, though. Still, since Gel had never been with a man, it wasn't that hard to figure out. Difficult to believe, but not hard to figure out.”

“What happened to her?” Asked Nabiki.

“After the baby was born, Gel was banished and never saw either the baby or her lover again. What she had done was a violation of our laws. The baby was kept and raised by the rest of the village. She was not told the details of her origin. It was done that way so she would not suffer any social stigma.”

“Is the child still around today?” asked Ranma, thinking of the longevity of the woman in front of her.

With a shake of her head, Cologne told her, “No, she died in battle against the Musk. She never had children of her own.”

Ranma placed a hand on her abdomen and looked at it for a moment. She was thinking about the warnings Tofu had given about genetics and the possibility of birth defects when both parents were as close genetically as she was to her male side. She asked, “Was the child healthy? Was there anything wrong with her that you ever heard?”

Recognizing the concern on Ranma’s face for what it was, the Elder asked, “You worry for the health of your own child, don't you?”

Ranma nodded. “Dr. Tofu say this is like a girl having a baby with her brother. I've heard bad things can happen to a baby like that. Yes, I'm worried.”

In firm tones Cologne said, “Gel's child was beautiful and strong. She was a courageous and skilled warrior. She showed no ill effects as a result of her strange origin. I pray it will be the same for your child as well. There were even some who theorized that because of the double of dose of curse magic that for the child it is an actual blessing.”

Somewhat satisfied with that, Ranma move on to her next concern. “Am I going to be stuck as a girl forever?”

The elder now smiled. “On that question there is a bit more information than the situation with the parentage of your child. You will remain locked until about seven weeks after you give birth. Please be aware that you must give birth for it to unlock. If the pregnancy is artificially terminated or if you miscarry you will stay female either until you die or you give birth to another baby.”

Plaintively Ranma asked, “Who thinks up these rules?”

Cologne couldn’t resist a brief chuckle. “I have asked that question that on many occasions. As far as I know there are no formal, written `rules.' These were observed as the way the curse works over the 1500 years since the girl drowned in the spring.”

The Elder paused, “May I ask how you came to be in this situation?”

Ranma looked down at the desktop. She admitted, “It's kind of embarrassing.”

The Amazon soothed, “If it's any comfort to you, I promise never to tell Shampoo or Mousse.”

Again reminding herself she was trying to treat this like talking to a doctor, she said, “Ok, if you insist. It was Sunday morning. I'd been working out and had gone to wash up. I got to thinking about Akane and remembered a few of the times I'd seen her naked. I got aroused and I masturbated. I got so involved in doing that that I didn't notice when Nabiki walked in.”

Nabiki took up the story. “I saw what he was doing and was going to let him finish it in peace when I noticed the buckets of water he had filled to wash up with. At the time I just felt it would be funny to splash him while he was `involved.' I didn't know how close he was to orgasm.”

“I see,” said Cologne. “Well, that explains the self impregnation. What I don't understand is why you didn't just change back to a boy.”

“Huh? What would that do?”

“This is another one of those `rules' that was learned by observation. If a Nyaniichuan cursed man has sex as a woman, she can avoid getting pregnant by changing back to a man immediately after the sexual intercourse. Even if a pregnancy does occur, changing back to a man within one hour will cause a miscarriage without the curse locking. Beyond that you are `stuck' as you termed it.”

Nabiki kept control of her facial expression with a supreme effort. What Cologne just said was confirming that it was Nabiki and her act of getting intimate with Ranma that had kept the sex changing boy in female form, It really was Nabiki’s fault that Ranma was pregnant now. She thought to herself, “Oh thanks, Granny. Lay even more guilt on me.”

Ranma, responding to Cologne's question, just said, “I… was doing… stuff … that I needed to be a girl for. I didn't know there would be any problem from not changing back right away.”

Cologne raised an eyebrow at the mention of stuff that Ranma needed to be a girl for. Still, all she said was, “You can be forgiven for your ignorance. It is not a situation that comes up very often. I suppose I should have warned you about your increased fertility, but I honestly didn't see the need.”

A thought occurred to the old woman. “Would you like to know if the child you carry is male or female?”

“You can do that?” asked both Ranma and Nabiki.

She nodded. “With a deep chi reading it is possible even at this early stage. The fact that both `parents' carry magic from the curse makes it much easier.” She hopped onto the desk then went to sit on the front edge. The red haired girl leaned closer and Cologne placed her tiny hand onto Ranma's abdomen.

There was no visible sign of anything happening, but Ranma could feel a sensation of gentle warmth. After a moment the warmth stopped and the Amazon elder leaned back. “You carry a girl child. It is a little early to tell but her aura feels strong. I think she will be healthy. It might be a good idea to come back here in two month for another reading.”

Ranma placed her hands lightly on her abdomen and a look of awe came to her face. “A girl…” she said, wonder in her voice as well. “A healthy girl.” As she gazed at her stomach she seemed lost in thought. Finally she said, “I'll call you Ranko,” addressing the fetus within her womb.

Nabiki asked, “Isn't the alias you used when you were hiding from your mom? You were pretending to be my cousin.”

Ranma looked up with a defiant expression. “She's my daughter and I think Ranko's a good name! Since I'm both mom and dad it's my right to choose.”

The brown haired girl held her hands out in a placating gesture. “Hey, calm down. I wasn't saying it was a bad name. I was just commenting. You might not want to get into the habit of saying you are mom and dad. People might have trouble understanding it.”

Cologne seemed intrigued. “From your attitude just now, may I assume that being pregnant no longer frightens you?”

Surprised at the question, Ranma responded, “Of course I'm still scared. I'd be a fool not to be. I think what I’m afraid of may be changing. How am I going to raise this child? I don't have a job and who's going to hire an unwed mother my age?”

Cologne offered, “You could come back the village with us. Once the lock on your curse comes off you could marry Shampoo and the two of you could raise your daughter together. In fact you wouldn’t even have to wait for the curse to unlock. You and your daughter would be honored.”

Ranma looked like she was getting angry, then it seemed as if her anger just… evaporated. “Ok old g… I mean Cologne. I'm going to mark that one down as a `nice try.' I'm not going to let you use my child as a lever to get me to do something I don't want. Still, I want to do what's best for little Ranko.”

The redhead seemed to consider for a while. “I'll tell you what. Leaving my homeland forever would be a pretty big decision. I don't want to do something like that until I have exhausted all other options. I've got nine months until Ranko is born and another seven weeks until the curse unlocks after that. If I haven't found something that allows me to stay in Japan and support myself and my child then I'll agree to go to China with you.”

Nabiki was appalled. “You’re not seriously considering her offer!”

Ranma countered, “For the health and safety of my baby, yes. They've got 10 and half months. Hmm, Cologne would you mind if we made that a full year?”

The amazon matriarch shrugged and said, “I think I can agree to that.”

Ranma nodded, “You have that much time to convince me that what you have to offer is better than what I can find here in Japan. I also think I'd better place some conditions on that.”

Cologne's tone was dangerous, “What kind of conditions?”

“No mind control drugs, no kidnapping me or anyone else to get me to go. No hurting anyone I know to get me to go. And one other thing. Let me give you a hypo… watchamcallit situation.”

“Hypothetical?” ventured Nabiki.

Ranma pointed a finger at Nabiki and said, “Yeah, that! Let's say I find a job working for someone willing to hire me even with all of my weird problems. Then say the place burned down. If I found out that you were responsible, the deal would be off.”

While offended that the child would think she would stoop to such measures, she could understand why he… she might think she would. Cologne nodded, “Agreed.”

Ranma’s expression turned grim. “Oh, that wasn't the last thing. If you try to take Ranko away from me after she is born, I would like to remind you that I killed Saffron. I'm not proud of it, but I did do it. If you take my daughter away from me and leave me alive, there will be nothing left of your village but a sooty stain on the ground or maybe a crater. Do I make myself clear?”

Both Cologne and Nabiki looked at Ranma's eyes. They saw the promise of death there. Nibiki just shivered. Cologne replied, “You are perfectly clear! I agree to your conditions.”

A further afterthought occurred to the redhead. “By the way, if you think that `leave me alive' can be treated as an escape clause, consider this. I'm pretty tough and heal up pretty fast and pretty well from wounds. If you try to kill me, you'd better make sure I'm dead.”

“Understood.”

Ranma took a deep breath and rubbed a hand up and down on her abdomen, her mood changing again like quicksilver. “Wow, or as Kasumi would say, `Oh my.' I'm sorry to get so deadly serious on you. There is a question I wanted to ask you, Cologne, that is off that subject.”

Wary now because of the earlier display of a cold death threat, Cologne asked, “What question?”

The redhead looked down at her abdomen for a moment before looking up again and asking, “You've had kids right?”

Well, at least son-in-law was off onto another subject. She cautiously answered, “I've borne many children.”

“The first time you found out you were pregnant, did you feel this sense of awe and wonder at the thought of the life growing inside you?”

Cologne's expression softened and smile came to her face. “Yes, child. I did have that feeling. I'm sad to say it didn't last past the first morning sickness.”

Ranma sat looking at her stomach. “I guess it didn't really seem real to me until you told me she's a girl. I think it must be even more intense for me.”

She continued. “Think about it. A normal mother can say that her baby is a part of her, but even then that baby is also a part of its father. I can truly say that the baby inside me now is a part of me and nobody else. That feeling is so amazing that I can't even think of words to describe it.”

Cologne said in a thoughtful tone, “I think the feeling may also be more intense for you because the idea of nurturing a new life inside your body is a relatively new concept for you. I mean I was raised with the idea that I would one day carry and give birth to a child. You could say I had a chance to get used to the idea. Up until recently you had no reason to think that giving birth had anything to do with you directly. It was something that women did, not you.”

Ranma considered that. “You could be right. Well, I think that's enough chatting here. I think I know enough about the big issues for now. I'll need to see Nabiki's woman doctor to find out how to take care of myself and what to eat for the baby's health. I need to look for a job. I'll also need to do other stuff that I will figure out on the way.”

Ranma stood up from her chair. “Thank you Cologne, you have been a big help. Don't forget what I said. Oh, please tell Shampoo that I don't have a fatal disease; she seems really worried. About me being pregnant, please don't tell her or Mousse any more than you have to.”

The Amazon elder nodded her head.

Ranma grabbed Nabiki's hand. “Let's go home, Nabiki. I have an announcement to make. I just hate to think how Akane will take it.”


Author's Note: This just keeps growing. Coming up - Ranma tells the family. Akane does not take it well.

Since Media Miner doesn't seem to like my word files I'm adding extra blank lines between the paragraphs to make it more readable.