Haku snorted as he woke. He realised the sound of his cell door opening had disturbed him. He did not remember falling asleep; he lost consciousness quite easily in his weakened state. He did not remember how long he had been in his cell; all he knew was that the moon had gone through a complete cycle. It was one of the few things he could still sense while severed from his river. He could still feel that irresistible pull that the moon had on liquid. His river may not be as affected as an ocean was, but the moon still governed it. He always felt more energetic on a night of the full moon and slightly more lethargic on a night of the new moon. Even though his river was now underground he could still feel the wax and wane of the moon. The moon was waning towards the new moon and it was making him feel worse than he usually did. He was almost pleased to be woken by his overbearing and irritating jailor.

"Good morning lizard!" cried Yubaba cheerfully. Her throaty voice was already setting Haku's teeth on edge. She smelt of cigarette smoke too. He hated the smell of all those poisonous chemicals in the air, they made his sensitive nose run and his eyes water slightly. Why spirits enjoyed inhaling the nauseating smoke was beyond him and why humans did it was even more of a puzzlement. Chihiro had told him that the habit killed them. His heart throbbed painfully at the thought of his mate and he sighed heavily. The separation was starting to take a toll on him. For once his mate actually had an advantage. She was human and was not as sensitive to the bond between them as he was. She would not be suffering yet, not at the level he was. He ached for her every waking minute, another reason perhaps that he slept so much. He longed to smell her scent in the dry air, just a breath of her and his pain would ease slightly. He was so lonely without her and his need to be with her was growing daily. If he had his power he would not be feeling the separation so acutely, he could arm himself against the symptoms. But without his power and his river he had been made extremely vulnerable.

"So how are you today?" chirruped Yubaba. "I hope I am not going to have to force feed you again?" the ancient witch gestured to a stool she had placed in the room a few days ago. Haku growled under his breath, he hated that stool.

"Get over here Haku," snapped the witch. "Or I'll get a shadow spirit in here to make you do as I ask and they will not be gentle about it." Haku rolled his eyes but struggled to his feet, angrily yanking at the chain that shackled him to the wall. It was getting heavier. He staggered to the stool and sat on it, slumping as much as possible. Yubaba looked into his eyes down his throat. Then lifted his shirt to check if he was still losing weight. Haku growled through the whole process, the sound rising and falling like some angry insect. He could not help himself, there was only one person who he had ever allowed to get this close, and she was far away from him at that moment. Yubaba prodded at his stomach and he snarled at her. He longed to sink his fangs into that haggard old flesh. Yubaba, however, was well used to his antics by now and knew when he had had enough of her. She took the snarl as a warning and backed away.

"You've lost weight again," she mumbled to herself. "Didn't the potion I gave you ease the stomach cramps?" Haku said nothing, he merely glared at her. He was feeling tired again already. It was good news that he was still losing weight, he had a plan.

Yubaba sighed and turned to the bowl of food she had brought with her. She uncovered the bowl and the most delicious scent filled the air making Haku sway on his stool for a moment. Saliva rushed to his mouth and he almost whimpered. Yubaba grinned and pushed the bowl towards him. It contained what looked like prime fillet steak. Buffalo, his nose told him, and so raw it was still warm from when the animal was alive. The meat swam with fresh blood. Haku refused to give in to his inner carnivore however, he lifted a piece of flesh with his finger and thumb and placed it on his tongue. It was divine. He forced himself to eat the meat slowly and Yubaba watched him eat every bite. She was still mystified as to why he was getting thinner when she was feeding him the best food Kenshin's palace could provide. It had been lobster the day before and venison the day before that. Haku guessed the old witch was worried Kenshin would be angry if Haku's health deteriorated too far. He was after all a vital source of power for the insane air spirit.

He picked up his bowl and drank the blood in it. The blood was lukewarm but still delicious. He sighed and put the bowl down. He waited expectantly. This was the routine if he sat through his weekly health inspections, ate the food he was given and took all the medicine Yubaba ordered him too without protest then he would get a reward. It galled him that he had fallen so easily into what his captors wanted but it was the only way he could get what he craved... news of his mate.

"She is still headed this way," sighed Yubaba heavily. "She is moving faster than we ever thought she would but it appears her companions have been very resourceful about helping the humans in the party to travel quickly." Yubaba shook her head. "Kenshin's made contact with her."

Haku's eyes widened, he clenched his hands into fists, if Kenshin had hurt her then he would tear out his throat at the earliest opportunity.

"He gave her a little scare, nothing to worry about," said Yubaba quickly. "He really does not want to hurt her. He is trying to get her to turn back." Haku's eyes narrowed. He knew better than to ask what had happened, Yubaba never gave him specifics.

"Kenshin will not attack her directly; she is on a holy quest after all." The witch continued. "Strong and ancient magic protects questers. Until they reach his lands he will not be able to act against them directly. But there are other ways to hinder her and he will use every trick he can to break her will."

"That won't happen," said Haku forcefully. Yubaba frowned.

"How do you know?" The witch asked. "I thought you would want your mate safe, not running across the spirit world facing innumerable dangers and convinced she can both rescue you and complete the mission the gods have given her." The witch almost seemed angry at him. He raised an eyebrow, now this was interesting, the witch wanted Chihiro to be safe.

"I would have preferred she had stayed at the bathhouse, yes," he replied calmly. "But I know her, she is loyal and she is human." Yubaba blinked, not understanding.

"If you knew humans at all you would know how tenacious and stubborn they are." He said with a slight chuckle. "My human is no different."

"You're a fool," scoffed Yubaba. "Your human is going to get herself killed."

"If that happens then the blood will be on your hands witch," Haku growled in reply. "Yours and your benefactors, and I will have my revenge if you harm her." He bared his teeth in a macabre grin. Yubaba snorted at him.

"Keep telling yourself that dragon, but you can do nothing as you are," she scoffed.

"Oh I'll get free," he said cheerfully. He held his head on one side and imagined himself disembowelling his jailor, knowing she would be able to see from his eyes that he was picturing her end. "It's just a question of time witch," he whispered threateningly. "I cannot be held here forever. Kenshin gets weaker every day; once I am free of his spell I will be stronger than he is."

He watched Yubaba take in what he had said, judging by the worried look on her face she had not thought of the possibility of him besting Kenshin in his current state. She had forgotten that Kenshin was weakening at the same rate he was, perhaps even faster. The spirit would be pouring unknowable amounts of energy into his misguided spell. He would quite possibly kill himself before it was even complete. Yubaba gave another derisory snort but was not at all convincing. She swept out of the room without another word.

Haku grunted with satisfaction, threatening Yubaba was one of the few things that gave him pleasure. It kept him sane. He knew what she would be thinking. He had been severed from his river once before and she had taken him on as an apprentice. She had helpfully taught him nearly everything she knew. He may not have the power of his river; he would need to be in physical contact with it before he could rebuild that bond. But he was one of the few bonded spirits that had lived as a non bonded spirit. He knew their magic and he could use it to fight. He was by no means helpless, all he had to do was get the shackle around his waist off and he would be free to wreak havoc on Kenshin and his plans. But he had to get the shackle off first.

He sighed and slipped off the stool. He crawled to the corner of the cell and dug at the sand on the floor. When his fingers felt stone he found the edges of it and lifted. His arms shook with the effort to lift the buried paving stone, he really was getting weak, but it was necessary. Once he had lifted the floor slab his sensitive nose was assaulted with the smell of rancid food mixed with the acrid scent of stomach juices, just to make it completely disgusting. It made him gag, that was what he wanted. But his stomach needed a little more encouragement. He sighed and stuck a finger down his throat. He gagged and coughed and saliva dribbled into the hole he had dug into the sand under the stone. His stomach heaved, rolled and he finally vomited the meat he had swallowed only minutes before. It did not take his stomach long to empty itself and soon he was dribbling bile into the hole. He shuddered and swallowed, the bile stinging his throat and mouth, making his eyes stream. He pushed the stone over the hole and covered it up with sand. He grabbed a water bottle and rinsed his mouth out.

He hated doing this but it was the only way he was going to get the shackle around his waist off. He had decided to starve himself. He had already lost quite a bit of his body weight and he had only been vomiting his meals for a week. The band around his middle was already loose. He did not want to make himself too feeble, however, so he kept down every third meal. It would be a slow process, but he estimated that in about two weeks he would be able to slip the shackle over his hips.

It was a shame he could not transform, he would have slipped out of the shackle easily. He also wished he was not quite so vain. If he had not liked his human form to look appealing he would have not had so much muscle to get rid of now. Then again this was the form his little one had fallen in love with and he did his best to maintain it.

His thoughts turned sombre. He knew he was going to have to age himself to keep up with Chihiro as she aged, but that was not something he liked to think about. Even the vague thought of the death of his mate caused him pain that was close to physical. Presently he was getting a taste of what it would be like when she left him and he knew he would not be able to endure it. He knew she was alive, but not being near her for over a month was hurting him. How much worse would it be when her body wore out and she left for good? He shook his head; this was not the time to think about his mate's fragile mortality. He had to get out and then he would make the handful of years he had with her as blissful as he could. He sank into the corner he normally slept in and relaxed, waiting for sleep to come. If he was lucky he would dream of her again.

Chihiro knew as soon as she opened her eyes that she was dreaming. She was sitting on a ledge of black rock, high above a glassy lake of water that filled a massive cavern. The soft glow of the bioluminescent mosses and funguses bounced off the water and reflected the cavern roof, making the lake look black and menacing. Chihiro felt a strong stirring of homesickness. How long had it been since she walked on the black sand shores she could see far below her? A month? Possibly even two. She had been so happy before she learned of her mother's illness. Why had it ended? Did the spirit world hate her that much? No, of course, it didn't, it was just unfortunate that she had been the one to fall in love with a dragon. That was something she would not and could not ever regret; it was who she was.

She sighed and her hand fell to her stomach. Was it just her or was her belly rounding up a little? It was probably her imagination; she should not be showing yet. Her pregnancy was probably going to be depressingly long. Her hand clenched at the flesh of her stomach again and her lip wobbled. Would the father of her child be free for the birth of his daughter? She swallowed, her throat aching from unshed tears. She waited for the emotion to pass, but the deep sense of loss she felt was becoming ever more prevalent. She found herself consciously avoiding thinking about her mate while she was awake. It would not do for her to be sucked into the blackness that threatened to claim her. She could not let that happen, her mate and her child depended on her. She had to stand firm, but it was hard. Even with her sister's, the Nygel and Scott's company she still felt bitterly lonely.

She heard the wet slap of flesh on stone. Startled, she turned around. Her mate was walking towards her. He was soaking wet, as if just returning from his daily swim, which could sometimes last hours. She never complained about his sometimes prolonged absences. She had no idea what he did while under the water for so long but he was a river god if he lived as he was meant to he would rarely be out of the water. Her eyes drank him in. He was not looking at her, he did not appear to even be aware she was there. He was looking at the cavern roof, grumpily muttering to himself. She almost wanted to laugh, he looked so adorably disgruntled, but she was still in awe at being allowed to see him. She knew she dreamed of him frequently, but hardly ever remembered what had happened. She was never conscious she was dreaming either, but now, now she knew she was dreaming, and she treasured every second of it. She knew she would remember this dream when she woke. Her mates beautiful jade green eyes swept the cave again and he growled under his breath. The sound shuddered through Chihiro and her already thudding heart tried to jump out of her chest.

He was breathtaking.

Convinced she could wake at any second, Chihiro tried to burn every detail of her mate into her mind. He was wearing charcoal grey, a colour that always looked good against his striking hair and eyes. The cut of his clothes was simple; merely a tunic and shapeless trousers of no particular style or design. The hems of the trousers were slightly frayed where they brushed his alabaster feet. Her eyes rose from his feet, up his leanly muscled legs, over his taut stomach and up to his broad shoulders.

His wet clothes stuck to him enticingly. She wanted to get up and hug him, to feel his hard body pressed against her. But she was terrified he was merely a vision. If her hand passed through him she knew she would be crushed with disappointment, possibly disturbed enough to wake. She bit her lip and forced herself to remain still. Her eyes found his face pale, flawless, translucent skin that she knew would be warm and silky smooth under her fingers. His hair stuck to his face in green, kelp like ribbons. It was then she noticed that the piercing green eyes were watching her. She blinked rapidly in surprise. This had only ever happened once, when they had both been aware of each other as they dreamt. Linca had said the bond could let them communicate with each other. There had just been that one all too brief moment in their home where she had been able to speak to him, not even touch him! She silently begged the universe to give her a few moments with him again. But looking at him she hardly knew what to say. She feared to make a sound in case he vanished.

"Are you really there?" he asked in a hushed whisper, ending all her doubts. Elation rushed through her. He must have seen it on her face as he smiled in return.

"Guess that means yes," he said with a warm chuckle.

Slowly, as if fearing he would also wake, he raised his arms in a silent invitation. Chihiro did not even think of the possibility of him not really being there. With a little cry, she scrambled to her feet and ran into his waiting arms. She ran into a warm, hard, unyielding body. She gasped with surprise, she clutched at her mate, curling her hands into fists around the material of his tunic and pulling, forcing him to bend down to her. Once his face was level with hers, she kissed him, moving from forehead to cheek and then to his grinning mouth in quick succession. He grunted in surprise, as he normally did when she became amorous. How could he not know how beautiful he was? He would be enough to drive any woman mad, whether she was spirit or human would have made no difference.

He imprisoned her face between his long-fingered hands and slowed her frantic kisses, capturing her mouth with his own and not letting her move until he had finished. When she began to sob he moved back, his own eyes reflecting what was in her own. A mixture of relief at seeing her and pain at knowing that none of what they now shared was real.

"How is this possible?" She asked her lip wobbling; she dashed the tears from her eyes angrily. This was no time for her to be crying, she should be grateful at seeing him. But her heart whispered to her constantly that she was asleep next to Linca, not at her home with her loving mate.

"I don't know little one," his voice rumbled. "Maybe the bond knows our need to see each other... but I really have no idea..." he trailed off as a fresh torrent of tears poured down Chihiro's face. Haku slipped his arms around her and held her to his chest. She cried all the harder at his tender treatment of her, her shoulders shook and she buried her face in his tunic.

He shushed her and told her not to cry, he began to stroke her hair, hoping to soothe her. It helped her calm herself and soon she was sniffing forlornly into the space between his neck and shoulder.

"I know its hard Chihiro," he whispered, holding her tighter. "I miss you so much it hurts, but I am working on a way to get free... it will take time but I think I will succeed."

"What if it doesn't?" she asked, her voice bubbling still. "What if they discover what you are trying to do and stop you?" She nuzzled closer into his neck, breathing in the scent of his warm skin. It was all so vivid! How could it possibly not be real?

"Then I will find another way to escape," he reassured her. "You must trust me Chihiro."

"I do," she murmured.

"I don't think you do," he replied harshly. Chihiro stiffened in his embrace. He was angry about something. She took a step back from him and looked at his face, his eyes were flashing with annoyance. "If you trusted me then you would not be putting yourself in danger now." He half growled.

"Ah," thought Chihiro, "He knows I've not stayed at home." She glared back at him defiantly.

"I am your mate Haku," she said firmly. "I could not sit at home and do nothing. You would never have listened to me had our situations been reversed."

"I am not human," said Haku quietly. Chihiro felt her temper prickle a little. There it was again, the assumption that she was a danger to herself because of what she was.

"I may be human but I am not helpless, I have my family and friends with me."

He understood immediately that he had insulted her.

"I know you are not helpless," he whispered, trailing his fingers over her cheek. "But I am worried about what you will face. The spirit world can be very cruel and there are dangers that even I am unaware of."

She caught his hand between her own and squeezed it.

"I love you and I am coming for you, nothing will stop me, I swear to you, to you and..." She stopped herself just in time. He could not know about the baby yet. She bit her lip. He raised an eyebrow, knowing she was hiding something.

"That is what I mean," he sighed sadly.

"I want to protect you, that is all," she whispered, turning her head, not wanting to look at the worried and slightly hurt jade eyes.

"That is my job Chihiro," he whispered in return.

"I'm not turning back," she said stubbornly. "I can't."

"You have no obligation to the old ones Chihiro," he spat. "You do not have to be their tool."

"I know that too," said Chihiro weakly. She looked back up at his exquisite eyes. "But their purposes suit my own. I need you back with me and if that means taking on Kenshin then..."

"You will not pit yourself against him," hissed Haku, gripping her shoulders tightly. "He is old, powerful and quite insane. If he can hold me against my will, then imagine what he can do to you!"

"Warnings are not going to work on me Haku, you should know that well enough by now," she said softly, a small smile pulling at her lips. Haku rolled his eyes but smiled too.

"You can't blame me for trying," he murmured. Chihiro stood on her toes and kissed the top of his head. "I will come for you," she promised again. "I have too. This is not only about us anymore, our worlds are in danger." Haku nodded solemnly, he knew she took her quest seriously. "But you come first," she whispered, planting a feather-light kiss on his lips. "The fate of the worlds I will deal with when I have freed you."

"I may free myself first," he said, his voice rumbling in his chest.

"Good," she replied with a chuckle. "Less for me to do when I get to the desert."

She moved forward to kiss him again but a hand landed on her chest, stopping her.

"Chihiro, I know you are keeping something from me," he said, his face serious.

"I want you to tell me what it is."

Chihiro shuddered. She could lie, she was good at it, but he would find out the truth, just as he had found out she was not at home. Kenshin must have a way of watching her. Why he had told Haku what she was doing was a mystery to her, perhaps to make him worry? How much worse would it be if Haku found out about his impending fatherhood through his captor?

"I...I am... frightened what you will do if you find out." She stammered. "Things are hard enough for you; I don't want to burden you with..."

"Tell me," he demanded softly, interrupting her. "I am quite capable of remaining calm; I know how dire our situation is Chihiro." He held her to him again. "Don't take all this on alone little one," he whispered. "Whatever it is you do not need to shelter me from it. We are mates; we should share everything, even the bad things."

"It's nothing bad," chuckled Chihiro. "Well, I don't think it is, the timing could have been better but I'm sure you'll see that..."

"You're babbling Chihiro," he murmured gently, cutting her off. He held her tighter.

"Just tell me what it is."

Chihiro swallowed, she held him tight, took a deep breath, hesitated, then spat the words out in a rush.

"I'm carrying our child." She squeezed her eyes shut and waited.

Haku remained silent, seconds ticked by. Chihiro refused to speak, she wanted to know how he would react. Slowly Haku moved away from her, he took two steps back and a deep breath. His face was closed; she could not tell what he was thinking at all. She felt her heart grow cold. This was why she had not wanted to tell him. The news that he was going to be a father should be something that filled him with joy, not something that burdened him with more worry.

"How... How long have you know?" he asked stammering slightly.

"A month," she breathed, looking at her feet.

"A month, a month and you didn't tell me?" he asked, his voice growing in volume.

"How could I?" she replied, flaring up at his tone. "You've been kidnapped. I've spoken to you once in that time and I was getting used to the idea myself. Forgive me if I did not pass on the news!" she spat sarcastically.

He blinked at her, not understanding her anger.

"I'm sorry little one," he whispered. Chihiro was startled by the sadness in his tone. "I should be there for you," he murmured. "You should not be doing this alone."

Chihiro just about felt her heartbreak, she had been so worried he would be enraged, or do something idiotic to get free. Instead, he was concerned for her. Sometimes she felt that she loved him so much she would burst because of it.

He smiled at her softly.

"I'm sorry I did not tell you," she whispered, her voice breaking. "I thought you would..."

Again she was cut off, this time by her mate wrapping his arms around her, lifting her up and spinning her round. When he put her down he bestowed countless kisses on her face and neck accompanied by countless questions.

"How far along are you? ... Do you know how this happened? ... Did someone remove the infertility spell? ... Do you know what it's going to be? I mean I know a baby! But what type? ... Male? ... Female? ... How long are human pregnancies again?

Chihiro laughed delightedly. He was happy... he was happy they were going to be a family.

"I am reliably informed that we are having a little girl," she chuckled. Her mate almost squeezed the life out of her. Suddenly he realised how tightly he was holding her. He backed off immediately.

"I'm sorry!" he exclaimed. "Did I hurt you, are you alright?" Chihiro sniggered at him.

"I'm not going to break just because I'm pregnant Haku." She laughed. Then her face darkened. "Besides, none of this is real."

Haku's mood was not dampened at all.

"It's real enough," he exclaimed. "I'll be out of my cell before you know it!" his eyes widened. "Don't you dare have it without me being there!" he cried. "The worlds can rip themselves apart for all I care; you keep yourself safe and don't do anything stupid! Wait for me to get free!" he insisted.

Chihiro shook her head.

"I can't do that," she replied. "I need to keep moving, Rin is missing at the moment so I couldn't go back even if I wanted too." Haku's jaw clenched, he was far from pleased at her refusal, but she knew he would not ask again, it was pointless.

"What happened," he demanded.

Chihiro sat on the ledge again and Haku sat beside her, she told him of her little fall which he really was furious to hear about, but did not interrupt her. He was very interested to hear of the rift and got her to describe it twice. She went on to say that they had all agreed to meet at the end of the shadow spirit travel way. The Nygel was waiting for them but Rin was not. They had waited all day for her. She had not returned.

"Rin is resilient," said Haku reassuringly putting an arm around his mate. "She will be unharmed, but she may have been waylaid. Get the Nygel to harass some of the lower spirits in the area. A spirit like Rin cannot move through an area without being noticed. She will not be far away. When you find her you can go home."

"Haku..." sighed Chihiro, resting her head against him.

"I'm sorry little one, but you've already fallen down a cliff, wrecking my sword in the process," he pouted slightly. "And now Rin is missing. Being at home would be the best thing for you and our little dragon." He smiled at her dreamily. "I hope she has your eyes," he sighed. Chihiro grinned at him.

"I can't turn back," she murmured. "I don't want to bring my daughter up in a world of chaos and carnage."

"I knew you'd say that," grumbled Haku. Chihiro laughed at him.

Suddenly the cave faded and her eyes were open. She was looking at a perfectly velvet black sky, studded with a million scintillating stars.

"I did not get a chance to say goodbye!" she whimpered to herself. She closed her eyes and hoped she would get back to him. But all she succeeded in doing was falling back to sleep.