Lessons learned

4

He was sitting at his desk in the office when his phone rang. He reached for it and saw it was Noelle. He picked it up to hear her crying.
"Noelle what is it?" He asked before he she could speak.
"The the the apartment buuuuildinng." She drew out.
"Noelle where are you?" Mitsuhide asked as panic flew through him.
"Outside." She responded and he was now standing grabbing his jacket and checking to make sure he had his wallet and keys.
"Noelle are you at your place?" He asked.
"Yeah." She replied.
"I'll be right there." Mitsuhide said as he got in his car and flew out of the parking lot and was racing towards her. They had gone out to dinner at least once a week since the first time he took her to dinner and then to his house to go over studying. That had been five weeks ago. He had been happy for the first time and he was scared nearly out of his mind when she called.
He got to the perimeter and the local police all recognized him as they waved him through. "What are you doing here. A simple drug fire." One of the cops said as they looked at him.
"Not here for the case. A friend called me who lived in the building. I need to find her." Mitsuhide said as he was looking through the crowd.
"A friend of yours lives here?" The cop said.
"My assistant." Mitsuhide said as he walked away. He was looking everywhere for Noelle when he spotted a woman sitting on the sidewalk. "Noelle?"
"Mitsuhide!" She said as she struggled to stand. She went to him and he wrapped his arms around her and held her tight.
"Are you okay?" He asked into her hair.
"I heard the explosion and then the heat and then The fire alarms went off. I managed to get out quickly." Noelle said. "Everything is gone."
"It can be replaced." He said. "You are what is important here. You and the baby."
"Mitsuhide I have nothing now." She said as she sobbed into him.
"You're alive. Everything else doesn't matter." He whispered into her hair. "You and the baby are fine Noelle that is what matters."
"I don't know what to do. I grabbed my purse and my backpack but everything else is gone. I don't have anything Mitsuhide. Anything." She cried.
"Come love. Come with me. I will take care of you for now." Mitsuhide said as he started to lead her away from the building. She was distracted and distraught. He knew that she was probably in shock as well. He wanted to get her out of the cold. He wrapped his jacket around her. As he led her away he passed his information to one of the investigations as the contact for her and her apartment. He knew that meant they would watch whatever was left of hers closer because of him.
He sat her down in the car and he went to the driver-side and got in.
"Noelle talk to me." Mitsuhide said as he started the car and started driving away.
"I don't know what I'm going to do. Now there is no way. I can't do this." Noelle said in a quiet voice.
"You can, sweetheart." He said softly he took her hand in his and she looked at it like it was an alien concept.
"Mitsuhide I need to think about this in reality. I should talk to an adoption agency. I can't do this. I can't do anything right." She cried. When he pulled into his driveway she looked around blankly. He got out and helped her out as he got to her side. He braced his hand around her when she had a deep intake of breath. He felt the reason she did that and he was surprised.
"Was that?" He asked.
"It was him." She said softly.
"Him?" Mitsuhide asked, "you didn't tell me you knew what it was."
"I found out earlier." She said. She reached in her purse and pulled out the ultrasound pictures and handed them to Mitsuhide.
"So this is what the little alien looks like." He chuckled.
"I don't want to see it." She said.
"Noelle stop." He said as he showed her the pictures, " this is your baby boy. He is fine."
"Mitsuhide I can't do this. I tried and I failed." She said defeated.
"Oh really and how did you do that, my dear?" He asked as he led her to the couch.
"Everything I had was there. It's all gone." Noelle said softly, "I can't rebuild it. I can't afford another place."
"What were you paying?" He asked.
"450." She said.
"Okay sweetheart how about you rent two rooms from me?" He asked.
"What?" She asked.
"Rent the two upstairs rooms from me. You can have one and the baby can have the other. Hell just pay for one room. The baby can stay for free. Actually let me help with the baby Noelle." Mitsuhide said as he sat down.
"You want to help?" She asked confused, "why?"
"Call it a need to help you. Look he will be here in a few months let me help you." Mitsuhide said. He saw her hands on her abdomen and he wanted nothing more than to feel the baby as well. "Can I?"
He reached out his hand and she looked at it, "Of course." She guided his hand to the side of her growing stomach and put it there. The baby kicked almost immediately.
"Is it always like that?" He asked as he chuckled moving slightly closer.
"He is active at night more. I think the quiet gets to him." Noelle said as she looked up at the man who just offered to house her and her baby. "Did you mean it? Letting us stay here?"
"Yes. Actually I insist. Noelle I meant to bring this up before this happened. I didn't like you living there and to be honest a fire was the best thing that could have happened to you. A young woman in general in that area is not safe. I had a hard time sleeping at night knowing you were there. Noelle I have a proposal for you but I don't think Now is the time to ask." Mitsuhide said.
"Just ask Mitsuhide." She said. "I'm not completely in shock."
"I know you want to keep him regardless of what you said. Noelle you will be a great mother I already know that but you shouldn't have to do it alone. What you say if I claimed him as mine as well?" Mitsuhide said.
"What?" Noelle asked.
"Look we get along well enough. You need help and I am willing to step up and help you and the baby. Let me claim him as my son, Noelle and he will be safe forever if you let me do that." Mitsuhide said softly. "Noelle please allow me to do that. He will never want for anything, neither of you will."
"Mitsuhide why?" She asked.
"Do you really want to know?" He asked as he moved closer to her. His hand was still on her abdomen rubbing in small circles. She was acutely aware of it as he was so gentle as he touched her.
She nodded as she swallowed. He leaned forward as he brushed his lips on hers as his other hand wrapped around her nape and brought her closer to him. She was not in shock as she kissed him back.
"Noelle." He whispered softly against her lips.
"Yes Mitsuhide. I will allow you to help me and him." She said equally as soft against his lips.
"Thank god." He said as he smiled. He kissed her again gently as he moved his hand on her abdomen.
"Are you sure you want that?" Noelle asked.
"A son? You? Of course I wanted that since the day I found you outside my office." Mitsuhide said. "Look Noelle I would like to try at something I never had before, regardless of this between us working or not I will be this guys father forever, okay?"
"You mean that?" Noelle asked.
"I wouldn't say something that permanent if I didn't mean it, sweetheart. I have reached the point in my life I want more than just working. I'm tired of coming home to an empty house. I will admit I was attracted to you that first day. I didn't want an assistant. Somehow you broke through that with your honesty that day. You wanted walls and barriers all around you I can understand why. I watched you struggle and stumble and the whole time I wanted nothing more to step in an help you. I don't make interpersonal relationships Noelle. I tend to want to sit on the sidelines and watch things but with you somehow it was impossible to do that. I worried about you even before you told me about him. We might not be a conventional thing but I will help you as much as I can with him. Having a child around might be the last puzzle piece I need. I want to have you here." Mitsuhide said softly.
"What about my job?" She asked.
"Thats what you ask?" He laughed.
"Well I do need money." She said.
"Your job was never in question, my dear." He said chuckling. "As long as the directors don't catch wind of it I don't see any issues. I think the problem will arise when I take paternity leave. However I will take the consequences when they arise."
"Mitsuhide I don't want you to get in trouble because of me." Noelle said as she sat back into the couch.
"There will be no trouble, almost all the Professors have relationships with some of their students some more than one or two. As long as it is consensual and no laws are broken everyone is adults so no one cares. Of course you are not my student so there is no question of authority or misuse. I am fine." Mitsuhide countered. "And regardless this is worth a paper in my file. No one has to know the true parentage of the child, just us. And we can take our time with each other. I am not saying we jump into something we aren't ready for. Everything will happen as it should. Tomorrow we will go and get you a bed for tonight you will sleep on mine, I will be out here. We will also start getting things for him. We have some time so we can get enough for him to have to be ready."
"Mitsuhide I don't know what to say." Noelle said as she looked at the man in front of her. This man was laying everything down in front of her that she wanted without and qualms or conditions. She had to think this was a dream. She never expected help, or anything from him. He was offering everything she wanted to her including a family and a father for her son. "Mitsuhide there is only one problem with your plan."
"What is that?" He asked as he narrowed his eyes slightly he had thought this through for over a month and could see nothing wrong with it.
"I don't know who the father is, he could be a completely different race." She said softly.
"And you think skin tone would matter to me?" He asked.
"If you claim him and he is a mixed race baby people will talk." She said.
"So let them. Noelle from this moment baby Hanson is now Baby Akechi do you understand?" He said with a soft grin, "I personally like the sound of that."
"I think I do too." She said as she moved her head to his shoulder and rested a moment. His hand still rubbing soft circles on her abdomen. When the baby land a sharp kick right under his hand.
"I think he does too." Mitsuhide said softly as he moved his arm around her and held her tight to him with his other on top of where his now son resided. He went from scared out of his mind to more content with life then he had ever been. He made a silent promise to both of them to keep them close and happy as ling as he was able too.