> "are you comfortable?" harper asked as he topped off the sunscreen lotion he just rubbed into her skin.

"very," shaundra said lying back against the beach chair.

"it's a beautiful day and i'm alive."

harper smiled and walked over to the beach chair and sat down. "it's good to get out every now and then and just enjoy nature." he settled back in the lounger.

"how did you manage to get off from work?" shaundra asked.

"perks of being the boss," he answered.

shaundra reached over and grabbed a glass of iced tea, sipped, and returned it to the small table between them.

harper had been wonderful, making sure she ate and took her medicine. he also covered her with a blanket to make sure she didn't get a chill. it was just early summer but there was still a little chill in the air even though the sun was out. she closed her eyes, feeling safe and content.

"company's coming," harper said.

shaundra lifted her glasses and peered down the road at a black expedition. she pushed the glasses back over her eyes.

"someone you know?"

"possibly," harper said. "but i can't think offhand who it could be."

the expedition came to a halt along the water's edge and three six feet, well-dressed korean males exited.

"shit," harper said.

they were upon him before he could do anything.

shaundra's eyes widened as takumijo pulled harper off the lounge chair. his fist connected with harper's jaw.

"wait fellows, let me explain," harper said as yori got behind him and held him while takumijo worked him over.

satoshi walked over to her. "princess?"

shaundra lifted her glasses. "satoshi."

satoshi removed his shades and dropped to his knees in the sand beside her. "we have been so worried." he voice sounded strangled. "we thought you were dead."

"stop them," shaundra begged him. "they're going to kill him."

"he deserves to die," satoshi replied.

harper sank down to his knees in the sand and yori released him. takumijo stopped hitting.

"it isn't his fault," shaundra protested loudly.

they walked toward her.

"the bastard knew where you were and deliberately lied to us," yori screamed at her.

"he just found out three days ago where i was and i asked him not to tell anyone until i got back on my feet."

"we are your family," takumijo said. "what could be so bad that you couldn't tell us you were alive?"

"don't shaundra," harper warned getting up and walking slowly back to the lounge chair. "don't tell them."

"they're going to find out sooner or later," shaundra said sweeping the blanket aside and rising.

"oh shit," takumijo said looking at her.

satoshi whimpered and sank back down on his knees like a wounded puppy.

"you're pregnant," yori said sweeping her up into his arms.

"put me down," shaundra demanded, beating her fists against his shoulders.

"no, i'm taking you home to your husband," yori said adamantly.

"no, you can't do that," shaundra begged.

"why can't i?" yori asked.

satoshi got up. "is this the reason why you left him?"

shaundra nodded, trying to hold back the tears and onto yori as the same time.

"let's go inside and discuss this," harper said, rubbing the blood away from his bottom lip. "she's too fragile to be jostled by you bunch of thugs."

"you've put on a lot of weight," yori said, ignoring harper's comment.

"bite me," shaundra told him.

yori pulled her to him protectively and kissed her on the forehead. "i would if it would make this all better," he whispered to her. he carried her toward the condo.

"this better be good," satoshi said to harper. "or ichiro is going to erase you from the face of the earth."

"she's worth dying for," harper said limping toward the condo. he opened the door with his key and stepped aside as yori carried shaundra inside and placed her on the sofa.

yori stood in front of her looking down on her like he wanted to strangle her.

harper limped off to the bathroom.

"you guys ought to be ashamed of yourselves. you could have killed him."

all three of them look at her nonapologetically.

"is he the father?" yori asked.

shaundra glared at him. "no."

yori's shoulders relaxed. "your breasts are huge."

shaundra rolled her eyes at him.

"real subtle," satoshi said to him, pushing yori aide and sitting down next to her on the sofa. he took her hands into his. "did you leave because of the baby, shaundra?"

"not exactly," she answered. "i left because ich and i were having problems and i got sick. he's twenty-five years old. it was wrong to saddle him with a sick wife."

"we heard you had surgery," yori said. "why?"

"you remember that tests they ran while i was in the hospital in osaka?"

all three nodded.

"well, i got the results back a couple of days before you were scheduled to leave for china. the doctor told me that i was pregnant and i didn't believe him. but i had complications because of my age and my high blood pressure.

he sent me to a doctor in miyagi who specialized in women who got pregnant late in life. they had to see if the baby was going to be okay...that it wouldn't be deformed because of my age."

"you could have told ich," yori said.

shaundra shook her head. "tell him what? that a baby we created together might not survive? no, i couldn't tell him that. you saw how he reacted just because i danced with yori."

yori nodded. "but he is still your husband. you should not have gone through this alone."

"and apparently an earthquake occurred while i was on the operating table and i don't remember much after that. i woke up in a tokyo hospital three days ago. that's when i called harper. he was the only one i knew in tokyo."

"you were rescued by an anesthesiologist," satoshi told her.

"yes, one of the nurses told me. she said he took care of me."

"he's a real nice guy," satoshi said. "i met him yesterday.

that's how i found out you were in tokyo."

"you didn't tell ich did you?"

satoshi shook his head. "we didn't want to build up his hopes in case we were wrong," satoshi replied.

"where is he?"

"at the restaurant," yori answered. "the poor fool is a mess. he hasn't been the same since you left, and he's drinking sake and not speaking."

shaundra's shoulders slumped. "i'm divorcing him."

satoshi's hand squeezed hers tightly. "why?"

"because he needs to find someone who will be there for him, who he doesn't have to worry about."

satoshi relaxed his grip.

"but what about the baby?" yori asked.

"babies," shaundra corrected.

yori dropped down to the floor at her feet. "excuse me?"

"twins," shaundra announced. "they run in my family."

"ichiro is going to be so happy," takumijo said.

"didn't you just hear her say she's divorcing him?" satoshi asked.

"you can't," yori said with his eyes pinned on her stomach.

"you will crush him. he is so fragile."

"yori, be realistic. he doesn't have time for me."

"and what about you?" harper asked entering the room carrying a glass of milk for her. "you'll have to raise those babies by yourself."

"i've raised four others," shaundra argued.

"but your health."

"will be fine as long as i follow my diet and take it easy. it is the best thing to do."

"no it isn't," takumijo said. "ichiro loves you more than anything else in the world, and he will love little takumijo and little satoshi just as much."

shaundra smiled sheepishly. "what if they are girls?"

"we don't make girls," takumijo bragged. "we are aomori."

the fact that she knew that none of them had any children made his answer sound crazy but endearing. coming from him it meant a lot. "i can't go back the way i left fellows. he will hate me."

satoshi shook his head. "no, he won't. he's on the verge of committing hara-kiri. you have to go back to him."

"the guys are right," harper said. "you can't fly back to the united states in your condition anyway. you need a special diet and who better to make sure you eat right than your husband."

"i don't know," shaundra said lowering her head. her stomach moved and yori gasped.

"may i?" he asked.

shaundra nodded. she might as well get used to it. the babies moved again and yori actually smiled and chuckled. he removed his hands quickly and turned to harper. "i'm sorry for misjudging you."

"and hitting him," shaundra added.

"no," both takumijo and yori answered simultaneously.

"i love you guys too," harper said. "but the next time you get a penchant to punch someone punch masaaki."

"masaaki?" yori said. "i forgot about him. we need to get shaundra back." he rose.

"today?" shaundra asked.

satoshi nodded. "it's time, princess."

"i'll get your things," harper said.

shaundra sighed. ichiro is going to hate me so much.

it was late when they arrived at the mansion in osaka.

yori got out the car and carried shaundra up the stairs while satoshi and takumijo got out of the expedition. they had treated her like an invalid all the way home, insisting that she wear her coat, which swallowed her and made her look fat and stupid in july.

shaundra looked at the farmhouse and fought back the tears. she'd never expected to see this place again. "i don't know if i can do it," she told satoshi as yori put her down on her feet.

"i'll hold your hand and won't leave your side." he opened the door and led her inside while takumijo carried her things.

yori entered last. "i wonder if he's home."

"you wonder if who's home?" masaaki asked suddenly appearing on the stairwell. he took one look at her and his eyes widened. "oh my!"

satoshi put his finger to his lips.

masaaki hurried the rest of the way down and hugged her.

"you're alive and you're..."

"i'm afraid so," shaundra said.

"where's ich?" yori asked masaaki.

"he's in the den drinking sake," masaaki replied. "he can't sleep and i was just coming down to check on him."

satoshi took her hand and walked her down the hall slowly until they arrived at the den. the others stayed back to talk with masaaki. "wait here," he told her.

shaundra nodded.

satoshi opened the door and stepped inside, closing the door behind him. shaundra heard some arguing and a glass hit the wall. she jumped. what were those two imbeciles up to? yori and takumijo ran down the hall toward her and entered the den. there was more noise and what sounded like fighting. the door opened a few minutes later and satoshi grabbed her hand. he looked like someone had beaten the shit out of him. "ich, there's someone here that wants to see you."

"go to hell," ichiro shouted.

"that's my cue," shaundra said letting go of satoshi's hand. she entered the den and satoshi followed her in. the den looked completely destroyed and takumijo and yori looked like death warmed over.

ichiro's back was to her as he leaned against the desk.

"ichiro," satoshi said.

"didn't i tell you to go away, satoshi?"

"ichiro," shaundra said.

ichiro spun around at the sound of her voice and looked at her through bleary eyes. "get out," he shouted at yori, takumijo, and satoshi. "leave us."

the three men scurried out of the room. what happened to satoshi's statement of being there for her? apparently a drunken ichiro was more of a lethal weapon than a sober one by the look of the fellows and the room.

"is it you, shaundra?" he asked approaching cautiously and menacingly. "or are you a dream come home to torture me?"

"it's me, ich."

he walked around her. the stench of sake reeked from his pores. "what are you doing here?"

shaundra shrugged. she was asking herself the same question. "the fellows brought me home."

"how? you died in the tsunami?"

yup, he was so drunk that he thought he was talking to a spirit. "no, i didn't die, ich. they found me in a hospital in tokyo." she walked slowly away from him and turned on the overhead lights so he could see her better.

"you've put on some weight. what did they feed you in heaven?"

oh, my precious ichiro. she heard the sorrow and pain in his voice. she walked back over to him and reached up and touched his cheek like she used to do.

ichiro grabbed her hand and pushed it away. "stay away from me, jezebel. i will not be tempted."

he still didn't believe it was her. "it's me, baby."

ichiro rubbed at his eyes and blinked as he tried to come to grasp at the situation before him. "shaundra? is it really you?"

shaundra nodded. "yes, baby it's me."

he walked back over to her, touched her face and sniffed her. he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to him.

"i thought you were dead."

tears filled shaundra's eyes. "it's a long story."

he pulled away from her. his eyes glimmered with tears.

shaundra removed her coat and let it drop to the floor.

ichiro's eyes widened and registered shock. he sank to his knees, hugging her around her swollen abdomen. the babies picked this time to be active, moving around beneath his arms. "oh, my precious shaundra, you've come back to me and you've brought me the most delightful present."

"we're expecting," she told him as the tears streamed down from her eyes. more out of sympathy for him than for herself. what the fuck could she do to make this right?

"twins."

she knocked him speechless, but not tearless. her big baby broke down. he swept her up into his arms and placed her on the sofa gently. "why, baby?" he asked kneeling before her.

big crocodile tears streamed from those big blue eyes.

"why did you leave me?"

"because i loved you too much to stay and tie you down, ich. you are a very important singer and business man and i'm just a little pebble of sand who took advantage of your youth for my own selfish desires."

ichiro placed his hands on her stomach and the babies moved beneath his touch. "my babies. you have made me the happiest man on earth. it is a miracle."

"what?"

"a miracle. you could not have babies and i prayed every night since i married you for the lord to make you fertile again. i know how much you wanted to do this for me and couldn't."

"but you're still a baby, ich."

ichiro gently rubbed her abdomen. "not really, i've grown a lot emotionally since i've met you."