Holly makes a wish on a magical night.

Just a small notice, this chapter does contain discussions of conception and difficulty conceiving. Nothing NSFW, but I know it can be a sensitive subject for some.

Funny thing is, this was originally going to just be some cute harvest moon cuddles, and then I spent a weekend babysitting for my friend and also talking with my SIL, who is ready to start trying for her own kids, and then it just kind of turned into this.

Anyway, this is the end of the HMDays celebration! I had so much fun with this and I think I'm going to have to do more of these in the future!

Thank you so much for reading!

-Becks

Day Three – Gazing Up At The Harvest Moon

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"Ku'uipo, what are you doing out here?"

Holly turned her head to look at her husband. "I couldn't sleep. I didn't want to wake you with all my tossing and turning."

"You're going to freeze out here."

Holly hid a smirk. She wasn't the one wandering around in only her boxers. She had remembered to put on a light jacket before going out to sit on the porch. Besides, the autumn night wasn'tthat chill – they still had all the windows in the house cracked opened.

"Well, come warm me up." She held her arms open for her man-sized slice of tropical sun to cozy up next to her.

He obliged and settled next to her on the top step of the porch. He wrapped his arms around her and lifted her onto his lap, leaning her back against his chest. Holly happily nestled into her favorite spot with her head resting close enough to Ludus' heart that if they were both quiet enough she could hear it beating.

"Wow," Ludus breathed once they settled in, "Look at that moon."

The late hour had the moon hanging low in the sky; fat, full, and golden. The first full moon of the season was almost ready to retire for the night.

"Yeah, it's beautiful."

Years ago, Wayne had told Holly all about the moon and its phases and how sometimes it looked closer because it actually was closer. Holly could never keep apogee and perigee straight, but she was pretty sure Wayne had mentioned this full moon would be extra special because it was going to be closer to Earth.

Holly sat still and silent in Ludus' arms, just staring at the moon. The night was quiet, only broken by the rustle of the wind in the trees and the melodic tones of the wind chime on the porch. Unthinkingly, she synchronized her breathing to match her husband's. He was so still, Holly wouldn't have been surprised if he had fallen asleep again with his chin propped on top of her head.

Bathed in the moonlight, having it seem almost close enough to touch, Holly could understand how one rock had inspired so many ancient goddesses. She too was beginning to believe the magic of the moonlight. It couldn't hurt if she sent out a silent wish, whether it was to a benevolent goddess or a distant and alien rock.

"What do you think of Luna?"

"Luna's pretty," Ludus said thoughtfully. "But I'm pretty sure Wayne has been sitting on Luna for his first daughter's name for ages."

"Ahh, well, I wouldn't want to take that away from him then," Holly conceded.

The question hadn't been entirely out of the blue. She and Ludus had been occasionally throwing around baby names ever since they had decided they were ready to start growing their family. Three long years of nothing had left the both a little downtrodden. It hadn't been for lack of trying, things just… weren't lining up.

Holly hated to even think of anything as being "unfair," but she and Ludus had been married longer than any of their friends – with the exception of Brad and Carrie. After brief and passionate, whirlwind romance they knew they weren't anywhere close to being ready for kids for the first couple years of their marriage. They still had so much growing to do both as a family and as individuals, but now…

Holly knew that as a farmer, patience was always rewarded, but she had been waiting three years to have a baby of her own.

The wait had only gotten harder once her friends began marrying and having their own kids. They all began to get married right around the time Holly knew she was ready for kids. It was perfect timing, if they all had babies relatively close to each other their kids would have plenty of friends to play with as they grew up.

Their younger generation had certainly been keeping Ford busy over the last few years. Though the doctor had no desire to have children of his own, he thoroughly enjoyed tending to his friends and their children. Checking up on the young and healthy was far preferable to taking care of the old and sick, he said often.

Brad and Carrie had been the first to kick off the trend with their twins – identical boys who, despite their young age and small size, were wreaking havoc all around town. Noel was encouraging their mischievous nature with wanton abandon while Colin was making a valiant effort to introduce those boys to the joys of the quiet things in life.

Komari and Hinata's little girl had just turned one last month. She was a sweet, cherubic child with her father's hair and her mother's beautiful eyes. Sumomo had become absolutely taken with the girl, and gladly volunteered her free time to babysit. Even stern, old Moriya had been rumored to have a soft spot for the child, and it wasn't hard to see why. Her dimpled smile and dazzling eyes could beguile anyone.

Wayne and Iluka's first was due in just a few months. They had scandalized all three towns when they had decided to not get married, but live together anyway. A very un-gentlemanly action for the postman, but Holly understood why they did so. Deep tradition and outdated laws meant that Siluka and Kasumi couldn't get married; so until her sister could marry, Iluka wouldn't either.

And then there were Yuzuki and Lisette. They'd barely been married more than three years and Lisette was already expecting their third child. Yuzuki just had to look at Lisette to get her pregnant!

Now that just wasn't fair.

Holy shook herself mentally. Conceiving a child wasn't a matter of fairness; it was just a matter of timing and luck; or sometimes was a medical matter. Ford had offered to look into fertility clinics in the city if Holly and Ludus wanted to do some medical investigations. They had put that option on the back burner – fertility tests and treatments weren't cheap. Maybe if… Holly pressed her hand over her stomach. Maybe if recent efforts didn't pan out they'd look into having tests done this winter.

Ford had also mentioned that Holly's lifestyle could also be a contributing factor – research showed that women who worked physical labor tended to have a more difficult time conceiving. It wasn't that is was impossible, it would just take more time. Statistically, an off season like winter would be the most likely time for success.

Holly was going to be optimistic though. She had a feeling that this time might be different. She had missed enough single periods over the last three years that it hardly stirred up anything stronger than a small spark of wonder anymore. It had always been the same; a late or skipped period, several weeks of anxious waiting only for business as usual to resume with much disappointment.

Ford had told her to not be discouraged, as such things were normal and expected. But when it went on for three years, Holly found it had to not be discouraged.

This time, though, things seemed to be going differently. She had noted her late period without much enthusiasm, resigned to knowing it was probably just a week or two late, but when another two weeks passed without anything she took notice.

Still, Holly had kept this little nugget of information to herself over the last few days. She didn't want to get Ludus' hopes up only to have them come crashing down in another week or two. This wait for a child had been just as hard on him as it had been for her. Instead, she had quietly made an appointment with Ford for the end of the week. She needed that medical confirmation to be certain.

"What about Caitlin? Or Monica? Or Rose?"

"Stuck on girl's names, I see," Ludus quipped. "I always liked Moana or, hmm… or Laki."

"Those are nice," Holly agreed.

Ludus pressed a kiss to her cheek and then nuzzled against her neck sleepily, his stubble scratching against her. "What's got baby names on your brain tonight, huh?"

"Oh, I was just thinking." Holly bit her lip. Damnit, she couldn't wait a couple more days! She continued quietly, almost afraid to say anything aloud and jinx it. "We might need to pick one soon."

Ludus went tense, his arms tightened around Holly in surprise. A very long beat of silence passed. "Really?" His voice was tense and hoarse with barely contained emotion. Holly could feel his heart pounding beneath her shoulder blade.

Still chewing on her lip, she nodded. "I think so. I have an appointment with Ford on Friday."

"Ha." She could feel Ludus trembling with his arms still tight around her. Something warm and wet dripped onto her shoulder.

"Lu?"

Was he crying out of joy or…?

Suddenly, Ludus exploded up from the steps, crowing for all the world to hear. Holly was distantly aware of an alarmed squawk from the chicken coop from a disturbed chicken. He held Holly close in a bridal carry, spinning the both of them around while he hooted and hollered his unbridled joy into the night air. He only stopped and set Holly down long enough to sweep her into a passionate kiss.

"It's happening!" He gasped, "It's really happening!" He laughed like a madman, dancing with his wife under the harvest moon. Holly, unable to contain her own excitement, joined in enthusiastically.

And she wished, with all her heart and soul, she wished to the harvest moon or whatever ancient goddess that may be listening that this time it really was happening.

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~*~ One Year Later ~*~

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Holly stood on her porch gazing up at the harvest moon. Her hand rested on her very heavy belly, petting it absently. How fitting that tonight was going to be the night they finally had their child. A year ago, under the same harvest moon, they had had their first real taste of hope in a long time. Holly's timing had still been a little off, or perhaps it just took a little while for her wish to get to the moon and back, because a few months later they had discovered that they actually, finally were pregnant.

There was a crash, a thud, and a muttered curse in the open doorway behind her as Ludus fell over himself trying to pull his boots on and tug on a jacket and sling the rucksack full of supplies over his shoulder.

"Ku'uipo, you're certain it's time?" he asked, slightly wide-eyed with panic.

"Absolutely," she said, helping him with his jacket. She'd been having contractions all day, steadily increasing in frequency and intensity – exactly as she had been told it would be, and now was the time Ford had said to come to his office. She pecked Ludus on the cheek to calm him. "In a few hours, our daughter will be here."

Ludus grinned as he did a final check. Boots on the right feet. Jacket not inside-out. Baby bag on his back. They were ready to go. "You're so certain our baby's going to be a girl," he teased, helping Holly off the porch.

"I am, and we're going to name her Luna."

Wayne and Iluka had ended up naming their daughter Margaret – Maggie for short – after a pioneering astrophysicists. Luna was bestowed upon Holly and Ludus with Wayne's blessing. According to Iluka, Wayne's last name was far too similar to the word 'moon' in another language and she absolutely refused to have a child named Moon Moon.

"But if he's a boy, we're naming him Tito, after my father."

"Of course, love," Holly said, holding her husband close as they navigated the dark, but familiar path up to Westown. They had agreed upon baby names so easily after years of testing them out. Luna had been the natural choice for the girl once Ford had informed them that their due date was just around the time of the harvest moon.

The full moon shone plenty of light for them to travel by. The path couldn't have been clearer than if the midday sun was shining. Holly took that as a good sign. It was as if the moon itself was shining an extra blessing on them that night, just for their child. Despite her heaviness, pain, and discomfort, Holly's steps felt lighter than they had in months, maybe even years. In a few short hours, before the moon even set tonight, their child would be born. Their long awaited baby would finally join their family, and they would live a life full of love and happiness.