Hey there everyone! 'Tis Vbee again. I know… well, okay, I hope you're all waiting for the first chapter of "Legend". As for that, it's coming veeery slowly, and I've decided not to make the June 30th deadline, but try for the September deadline. That way I have the summer to write. So anyway, this tiny piece came from an attempt to write something else to try and jumpstart my creativity for "Legend". It didn't work, but I like the piece anyway. It's just in time for father's day.

And to explain Vienna – well, she's a character I made up, obviously. She actually started as an eighth grade writing project, but she grew and developed, and… you get the picture. I'm not going to go into her whole back story, or her story with the Ronins, etc. I'll probably get those stories up someday in the future (it might be a hundred years or so, but they'll be up…). So, please enjoy. I always welcome reviews, be they praise or constructive criticism. No flames please. Thanks again!

Vbee

Disclaimer: Ryo and the Ronin Warriors do not in anyway belong to me. They belong to Sunrise and whatever other company owns them (I can't remember the names… ). Pleeeease don't sue me. I'm just a poor college student who can't even afford to pay gas money. Vienna, Michael, and this story, however, do indeed belong to me.

"A Father's Love"

by Vbee

Vienna struggled to find the incessantly wailing alarm clock. She was aware somewhere in her sleep-fogged mind that it was the middle of the night and that alarm should not have been going off. It was not, however, the alarm clock, but the bawling two-month old infant on the other side of the monitor. Why, why did he have to start crying now? Had she not fed him four hours ago? Could he not allow her one night's peaceful sleep? She knew the answer to all of these questions, certainly, but it was quite difficult to remember why she had wanted this child in the first place when he was screaming for her at two in the morning. She had gotten barely any sleep at all the past week! She would have blamed it on Ryo, had he not had such a valid reason for not helping. It wasn't really his fault that he had been assigned the night shift at the hospital for the entire week. Vienna sighed, throwing the blankets off of her in frustration, trying to gather enough energy to somehow get out of bed, but a voice stopped her.

"I'll get 'im, baby. Go back to sleep."

Just thankful that she didn't actually have to get up, Vienna murmured a "thank you" that came out sounding more like "thmphu" and promptly fell back asleep.

It was several minutes – or several hours – later when Vienna very suddenly jerked out of sleep, sitting bolt up-right. Michael! Michael had been crying and she hadn't gone to him! She struggled out of bed, shivering at the first touch of cold air on her blanket-warmed skin, and reached for the robe that was resting at the end of the bed. Then she suddenly noticed something – not a sound came from the bed-side baby monitor - not even breathing! In a panic now, Vienna threw the robe over her shoulders and dashed out into the hallway… and skidded to a halt when she noticed that a downstairs light was on. Strange… she didn't remember leaving it on. In fact, she knew for a fact that she hadn't left it on. She had barely moved out of the shadows of the hall when Ryo mounted the second-floor landing. He didn't even see her, so intent was he on the tiny baby in his arms. Vienna bit her lower lip in confusion. Ryo had gotten Michael? She didn't even remember him coming home, much less getting the baby. Then again, she did vaguely remember someone tell her to go back to sleep. So it hadn't been a dream… well, the point was that Michael was taken care of and she could get back to the rest she so desperately needed, and the warmth of the blanket.

Something, however, stopped her, compelled her to slip into the doorway of Michael's room – unseen – and watch. Ryo was changing his son's diaper, dish towel thrown over his shoulder, as the baby boy gurgled happily on his back, kicking his feet wildly about.

"Look at you go!" Ryo grinned, wiping the little boy's bottom with a baby wipe. "You know, some day you're going to be a great soccer player. I can see that…" and grabbing one of the tiny feet, he planted a kiss on the sole. Michael giggled and squirmed about, wrenching his foot from his father's hand. "You see?" he asked the child. "You'll be the starting forward of the team with all that strength!" And Ryo slipped the diaper on, securing the side-tabs and lifting the baby from the changing table.

As wildly as the baby giggled when his father swung him about, he instantly cuddled against his chest as the game ended. "That's my boy," Ryo murmured, shuffling around a bit to calm the infant down. Vienna could imagine that Michael enjoyed feeling Ryo's voice rumble in his chest as much as she did. It was something that always made her feel comfortable, as it no doubt did him. Leaning on the doorjamb, she wrapped her arms about herself for warmth and continued to watch.

The baby was comfortably sleepy, having been fed, burped, changed, and finally cuddled in his father's arms. It never ceased to amaze Vienna how such a man as driven and intense as her husband could be so tender, so incredibly gentle when it came to his family. And Michael, so safe and warm and loved, was quickly falling asleep. He yawned his tiny baby yawn and laid his head down onto Ryo's shoulder, cuddling even closer.

"You're my boy," Ryo murmured, his right hand gently cradling the infant's head as he continued to gently move around. "Michael Sanada, my tiny miracle…"

There was such wonder in his tone, such joy in his eyes as he held his son, Vienna felt tears come to her eyes. She would always remember this – this moment in time, so precious she almost wished she could stop time itself. Ryo, she knew, had always wanted a family. Growing up without one had been difficult, and so he had looked to her and their new life together to give him what he so desired, and even needed. Yet, as her pregnancy had progressed, he had grown less and less sure of his desire for such a thing; or, rather, his ability to sustain such a precious thing. Always having been one to give everything he had to a cause, he wasn't sure he was the right man for the job – he had to know that he would succeed, for he had come to realize that this was not some game, something he could back out of or give up if it became too difficult. No, this was a matter of life. He had created life, and had to care for that life, nurture it, protect it, treasure it, and teach it. It seemed as if this was nearly as important as beating the dynasty had been, and perhaps even more important. And yet, here he was, doing what he had been so sure he could not do, and loving every minute of it. He finally had the family he had wanted for so long.

Vienna brushed a stray tear away, smiling as Ryo kissed the infant's forehead and moved over to the crib. Ever so gently, he placed the baby boy onto his stomach and pulled the character-decorated baby blanket over him. Michael murmured in his sleep as Ryo reached down and caressed his peach-fuzz covered head. And then, to her surprise, he began to sing. She hadn't even known he could sing, save for the occasional song on the radio, much less carry a tune. But he was singing, on-key, and he wasn't half bad. His voice was, in fact, a warm, gentle baritone. He sang a lullaby she had never heard before.

"Miageru hoshizora kiniro no tsuki…"

A tender smile gracing her lips, Vienna straightened and returned to the bed, discarding her robe once more at its foot. She crawled beneath the quilt and curled up, her eyelids already too heavy to keep open. And so she obeyed, closed her eyes, and began drifting into a warm, gentle drowsiness. She woke up slightly as Ryo slid back into bed beside her, and she instantly cuddled up against him. He put his arm around her, gently kissing the back of her neck.

"I love you, Ryo," she murmured, feeling at that moment her heart would burst with the love of him.

"I love you to, V," he replied, his head beside hers on the pillows, and both fell softly asleep.

Fin

Author's note: the song that Ryo sings is called "Hoshi no Rarabai" (Lullaby of the Stars). It comes from the YST CD Hana.