Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: I don't own these characters. Yep, that's about it. :p
"Are you kidding? You screamed louder than I did!"
"Just because you were squeezing my arm so hard at the end." Kojiro gives me a patient smile and pats my leg gently. "I'm just lucky it doesn't need a cast."
"Don't be silly, it's nothing compared to what I went through. Ohh.. when are they going to bring her back?"
"As soon as they clean her up a little. Just relax." I glare at him as he merely smiles a touch nervously, my impatience gaining the upper hand. Fortunately, the nurse appears with a tiny object wrapped in a blanket; my precious daughter, at last. All I can seem to do is stare as she is placed in my arms, a wave of nearly giddy joy washing over me. Shortly I am aware that we are alone again, and that Kojiro is leaning in close, his face next to mine. Overwhelmed by the emotion I see swimming in his eyes, I move to kiss his lips gently.
"It's our baby... And she's perfect, isn't she?" I can't help asking.
"Of course," he whispers. "She couldn't be anything else. And she looks just like me," he adds a moment later, sounding totally serious.
"Kojiro... She's bald. And I can't even tell what color her eyes will be yet," I say reprovingly, trying to keep the amusement out of my voice, but failing. My statements of fact don't even faze him.
"Well, you'll see," he smiles, and I find myself hoping that he's right. "She's the most beautiful girl in the world," he sighs happily next, leaning in to kiss her forehead. I clear my throat loudly. "Oh! After her mother, of course," he grins sheepishly.
"Of course," I repeat with a laugh. "So, what are we going to name her?"
"Almost forgot about that... How about... Rose is nice."
"Come on, Kojiro, everyone expects us to call her that. How about Rumika?"
"No way!" he explodes, sitting up straight so fast that he nearly falls off the chair he is sitting on beside the hospital bed.
"I was just kidding! I guess it's your turn to suggest again," I smile teasingly.
"That wasn't very funny, Musashi," he mumbles in reply. Then he sits as though thinking very hard, almost looking sad and even twiddling his thumbs nervously. I begin to feel bad and am about to apologize when he speaks again. "How about... Kae," he says so quietly that I must strain my ears to hear him.
"It's a very pretty name," I say gently. "Where did you come up with it?"
"Nowhere, really..." he sighs. I know that he is not telling the truth, but I also know that he had thought very hard about choosing this name, wherever he had gotten it from.
"Alright... it's Kae." He smiles again, and I am immediately glad I let him choose.
"I want to hold her," he says eagerly, leaning forward yet again.
"Well, I guess... If you promise not to drop her."
"Musashi, that's mean! Why would I do something like that?"
The completely shocked and indignant look on his face is making not laughing difficult. "I know, it was mean. Now, here." As I hand Kae to him, he almost seems about to change his mind, as if what I had said made him wary of holding her. But he soon relaxes, holding her close just as good as I could have.
"She's just too cute," he sighs contentedly. "I don't think I could give her back to you now, and--" What he had been about to say is suddenly cut off when Kae opens her mouth wide and begins to cry. Kojiro's eyes immediately become huge as he blinks down at her in shock, nearly setting me off laughing again. "Is something wrong with her? Did I... did I do something wrong?" he asks me fearfully.
"It's alright, Kojiro-chan," I tell him soothingly. "Babies cry a lot... Haven't you ever been around many before?"
"Not really... I don't know much about babies, I guess," he admits.
"Well then, this experience will teach you a lot. You also just don't have that mother's instinct."
"I should hope not," he mutters in a tone obviously not meant for my ears; I ignore him anyway and reach for the baby. Kojiro watches in interest as I unbutton the front of my hospital gown and settle Kae against my chest to nurse.
"You know, little one," I whisper to her, "you remind me of your father already. Always crying when he wants to eat."
"That really isn't funny," he states flatly. Then he leans forward to get a better view of my chest. "You know... I'm jealous."
"Jealous?"
"Yeah. She gets to have those in her mouth now and I don't."
"Kojiro!"
"I was joking! How come it's funny when you do it but you get so mad when I do it? And you didn't have to slap me," he mumbles in conclusion, rubbing his face gingerly. I rub my own stinging fingertips along my leg and glare at him. Then I relax, sighing.
"I'm sorry. I guess I'm just tired..."
"Probably..." he answers quietly. As if we are reading each other's minds, I silently hand him the now full and asleep Kae so that he can lay her in the crib in the corner of the room, then he switches off the lights and comes to sit beside me again, resting his head lightly on my chest to gaze up at me, as I am still leaning propped up against pillows. There is little light remaining in the room, but I can still see him smiling at me.
"I was very proud of you tonight, Musashi," he tells me, his gentle fingers reaching up to smooth back strands of loose hair from my forehead. I feel my heart swell with love for this man who had given me such a beautiful child...
I sit up slightly so that I can hug him, and he moves closer so that I can lean back in his arms. And before long, we both sleep.
The next two weeks do not prove to be easy. I am still home from work so that we can better adjust to the new addition to our family; luckily, she sleeps most of the night and is awake more often in the day. Of course, this also results in Kojiro staying up into the late hours of the night, feverishly working on one or another of his projects. This in turn makes me feel badly, but there is nothing I can do, as he would not listen to me even if I tried to interfere. But we do need the money, even though it makes me feel even worse to think of it in that way.
And to add another difficult element to the mix, my husband develops a cold near the end of the first week, most likely due to his insisting on running out and doing all the errands himself, exposing him too often to the combined elements of rain and cold that we have been experiencing lately. So now I must care for both my baby and my husband, and quite literally, when one of them doesn't require my attention, the other one does. I end up feeling very run down within a few days, but by then Kojiro is feeling better and is able to help more. Finally, one night he is back to his normal self to the point where he can make those obnoxious comments he's gotten so good at again.
"You know, Musashi," he grins to me as he hugs me tightly to him. "It's nice to be able to feel the rest of your body when I hug you, after only being able to feel your stomach for so long." Of course, this little comment earns him a sore face, which earns me a night of watching him mope over it. But even with the arguments we may have, our shared love for our daughter has seemed to draw us closer than before.
Yamato and Kosaburo even came to pay their respects to Kae by the end of the second week - holding hands, no less. I really am quite pleased by the progress they've been making with each other; Yamato doesn't even toss out any of her usual rude comments, instead fussing over the baby so much you would think it was her own, with Kosaburo watching, wearing an approving smile.
As for Ootachi, I try my best to keep it away from Kae until she grows a little, as I have no idea what it would do to her, even though Kojiro insists it would be fine. Yet one day, as I check in on her, I see that the little rodent is curled up next to her sleeping form in the baby crib, not seeming to mind the way her small fingers clutch at it's fur. And now I don't even worry about it being around her anymore.
So all in all, everyone is content with our new baby, and we are at last a family of three. Still, I will never forget my son, and whenever I look up into the heavens, I remember that we are really a family of four, even if three is all one can physically see.
