Tiger and bunny: Lucky to be a lady tonight

Chapter 18

Barnaby had made sure both he and Kotetsu had the day off, as well as the rest of the week. It was a special day after all, February 17th. The blond made sure to get out of bed quietly that morning so Kotetsu could sleep in a little. Barnaby had to make a phone call anyways to the Kaburagi home back in Oriental Town.

He sat up first, removing Kotetsu's arms from around him and careful not to move her too much. Then he crawled out of the bed and covered the brunette back up with the blanket he had somewhat dragged off the bed with him. He smiled and brushed away some hair from Kotetsu's face, then went to take a shower. Once he was all dried up, he went to the main room and sat down with his phone dialing the number of the Kaburagi home. He knew it was somewhat early, a little after seven, but he knew at least Anju and Kaede would be awake. They no doubt were already getting ready to head into the city for Kotetsu's birthday.

"Hello?" Kaede picked up the phone.

"Good morning, Kaede." Barnaby's voice still had its deep, sweet tone to it from sleep. He smiled as he relaxed back into the chair. "How are you?"

"A little tired, but I plan to nap on the train. We are almost ready to go. How's dad and the baby?" the girl asked.

"They're both doing great. The baby is healthy, and Kotetsu seems to be in a good mood a lot more often now. She'll be extra excited to see you, your grandma, and Muramasa."

"Hmmm, Uncle is the only reason why we haven't left yet. Lazy...he only just now got up."

"I'd be asleep too still if it were any other day." He chuckled quietly. "Hey, is your grandma anywhere close? I'd like to talk to her about today."

"She's outside, should I get her?"

"Yes please. Thanks, Kaede." He smiled a little, glancing back at the bedroom.

The girl set the phone down and ran to get her grandmother.

"Hello? Barnaby? Kaede said you wanted to talk to me?"

"Ah, good morning. Yeah, I just wanted to make sure we had a plan for today. I know you guys are coming soon to the city. I figured we'd have a simple lunch, sandwiches or something here, then dinner downtown at a nice restaurant. Any activities for the day that you might want to do?"

"It's Kotetsu's birthday, we should let her choose activities." The woman chuckled. "Well, within reason. She's showing now and shouldn't get too crazy unless she wants to put on that protective suit she wears for hero work that protects the baby."

"I don't think she should be doing field work now, honestly. She's going to make one wrong move and hurt herself and the baby." He sighed and shook his head. "But, Kotetsu is still stubborn. I bet she'd work up until the moment she goes into labor if she was allowed to do so."

"You know she would. She has the true heart of a hero who puts herself second. You need to convince her that she needs to be a hero to that little baby inside her so she should put his or her safety before the city's. Sometimes I think she forgets that she really is carrying a baby. But in another two months the baby should start reminding her."

"I can't imagine what it must be like for her... Yeah, she's showing now, but she doesn't seem to acknowledge that she is. She goes about her business like it was any other day." Barnaby leaned forward in his chair and rubbed his eyes. "I still can't believe it's been five months already."

"It goes by fast. Especially when you are a first time parent trying to get everything ready for the baby. How's the nursery coming along? I'll want to see it when we get to your new apartment." Anju informed him.

Kotetsu and Barnaby both had ended their leases on their individual places and had found a larger three bedroom apartment suite not far from where Barnaby used to live, and between work, planning the wedding, and avoiding the press, they worked on unpacking and started readying one bedroom for the baby, and the other for Kaede.