A/N: Chapter 2! Now we start moving back and forth through time, so that you can learn the whole story :) Please review!
"Look what we brought for you, Mommy!" Kimi said, placing the flowers carefully in front of the tombstone that read, 'In memory of a dear Daughter, Sister, Wife, and Mother; Akane Saotome you'll be forever in our hearts.'
Kimi sat down on the grass in front of her mother's tombstone. "Guess what Mommy, this week I made a new friend! There was a new boy in my class on Monday and he looked lonely and I went and talked to him. Now we have lunch together almost every day! Daddy says I'm a lot like you, he said you always made friends easily because you were so nice and friendly! I'm glad I'm like you Mommy. We also went to visit Grandpa at the hospital and he can come home tomorrow! I'm so excited! Now I can see him when I go visit Aunties Nabiki and Kasumi! He loves to tell me stories about you when you were my age. You were pretty funny Mommy!"
Ranma steps in and sits down next to his daughter, listening with a bittersweet smile on his face as she talks to the mother she barely got to know.
Kimi glanced at her father then continued in an almost whisper to her Mom, "Grandpa said you grew up without your mommy too. Was it hard? You must have been very sad, because I'm sad whenever I think about you too much. I can remember you singing to me though and that makes me happy. I miss you Mommy. I wish you could come back and live with Daddy and me, he misses you too! But I know you have an important job up there in heaven, watching over us! Please keep Daddy safe for me Mommy, I love you!" She looked up at her father with a soft smile, "I'm done, Daddy, it's your turn. Can I play in the flowers?"
Ranma glanced at the flower garden about 20 meters from where they were sitting and nodded, "Just make sure you can see me at all times, okay Kimi?" She nodded and skipped off. Ranma watched her go.
"She reminds me so much of you, Akane. Her spirit, her personality, her smile and even her laugh! She is going to grow up to be just like you! She's quite the tomboy but maybe a little girlier than you were because she likes her dolls in addition to her martial arts lessons. Though she does make them learn as well," he said with a laugh. He sighed, picking up a blade of grass and twisting it through his fingers, "This is hard without you Akane. Every second I worry about her, fear that she's going to run into some sort of trouble like you or I did, but then I try to remember that she's only 6 and how much trouble can she get into? But then when I pick her up from school with paint all over her clothes and her teacher telling me she had decided to do alternative art for art class, I can't help but wonder!
"I wish you were here, Akane, you deserve to watch her grow up, after all you did most of the work, right?" he laughed, remembering the day Kimiko was born.
6 years earlier
"Ranmaaaaa," a scream could be heard piercing the house.
"Should –should I go up there?" Ranma asked, anxiously wringing his hand together.
"Trust me son, it is best to let the doctor and the women who know what is going on to help, you don't want to get in the way!" His father told him.
But another scream sent Ranma flying up the stairs. "I'm here Akane," he said, appearing next to her bed, "take my hand."
Squeezing his hand with all her strength as she pushed, Akane let out another scream as Ranma soothingly brushed her damp hair out of her face.
"You can do it, Akane," he whispered lovingly. She met his eyes and nodded, before closing them and squeezing his fingers in a vice grip as she pushed as hard as she possibly could.
A soft cry could be heard, which got louder and louder and after a minute of quick examination, Dr. Tofu turned and smiled at them, "Congratulations, it's a girl!"
Akane opened her arms and Dr. Tofu placed the tiny baby into them, wrapped in a soft cloth.
"She's beautiful," Ranma whispered, kneeling next to his wife and new daughter.
The baby, having calmed after being placed onto her mother's warm chest, blinked twice before closing her eyes.
"She has your eyes, Akane," Ranma said smiling and gently stroking his new daughter. "Just look at what we made!"
"We?" Akane said with a small humph, "I do think I did most of the work!"
Ranma smiled, "Yeah I suppose you did."
"Well, you helped, a little!" she said wrinkling her nose and winking at him. She brushed the baby's fuzz at the top of her head, "I hope she has your hair," she said smiling.
Ranma shook his head, "I hope she has your beautiful hair," he said, standing up and pulling on a strand.
Akane laughed and looked down at their daughter before back up at her husband, "What should we name her?"
Ranma sat down next to her in the bed and thought briefly before shyly suggesting, "What about Kimiko?"
Akane thought about it, "Kimiko Saotome," she smiled, "Kimi… I like the sound of that." She leaned her head onto Ranma's shoulder and whispered down to their new daughter, "Welcome to the family, Kimi."
