From the author's desk: I'M SO SORRY! I know, I'm several months late in putting this up, but due to a large bout of writer's block, final exams of the semester, and leaving the United States for a month and a half, not to mention moving temporarily to a different state, I was unable to really get into this one. (This particular version is my second attempt at writing this one, and I'm really pleased with how it turned out. )

Anyway, my dears, it is time for me to say thank you. I thank each and every one of you for helping me make this collection a success. Thanks to all of you, I have received 11,000+ hits for this piece, and over 100 reviews. Thank you so much.

Alas, this is the final installment of An Album of Memories, though I will not disappear entirely after this piece. If anyone here reads fiction in the Law & Order: SVU section, be on the look out for a new story by me.

Now go on, and enjoy this final one-shot! See you all in the future!

Disclaimer: If I owned Rurouni Kenshin, Kenshin and Kaoru would have kissed in the last volume of the manga. Alas, I am not so fortunate.

Warning: I've never had a child before (I'm only eighteen), so some factors of the following situation may be inaccurate. Please pardon my lack of experience!

An Album of Memories
captured by IceAngelKaoru

Snapshot: Ten
Label: Celebration of Life
Note: Kaoru gives birth to her first child on the day of a festival.

She could feel nothing but pain. Burning, searing pain; pain like a million and one knives tearing her apart from the center of her body.

That's really where it hurt the most—the center.

She could hear her screams mingling with the pounding of the festival drums as she clutched the sheets beneath her. She was aware of the perspiration dripping from her body in rivulets, only adding to the discomfort of her position.

Oguni-sensei and Megumi were running to and fro, shouting orders to all the helpers present, seemingly ignoring her completely.

Tears dripped from her eyes—the pain was growing in intensity—and she screamed once more.

Did no one care that she was lying alone in the room, in such excruciating pain that she felt she was going to pass out? Where was her husband? Why wasn't he there to calm her and hold her hand the one time she needed him most?

She squeezed her eyes shut as she cried harder, and clutched the sheets beneath her for dear life.

In the background, the rhythm of the festival drums changed in speed and intensity, the pounding loud and clear and strong, and in the distance, the temple bell sounded sweet and pure into the evening sky.

She kept her eyes shut to the world, and gripped the sheets like a life line. She was uncertain, and scared beyond belief; this was her first time, and she didn't want anything to go wrong and bring a second tragedy to her tiny family.

She heard Megumi tell her gently that it was almost time, that everything was going to be fine, but she was not assured, and the tears fell from her eyes like rain.

Outside, she could hear someone beginning to play a shakuhachi, the sweet melody blending faintly into the noise surrounding her as she lay there on the futon.

Megumi was near her again, telling her to be ready, and she shook her head no. No, she could not do this alone; she wanted her husband there. She needed him there with her.

"He…promised..."

Megumi was telling her not to be stubborn.

"No…Not…without him…"

Suddenly, she heard the melody on the shakuhachi outside climax, blending with the drums and the temple bell and the sounds of the people surrounding her, and like magic, she heard his voice, calling out frantically in the hallway.

And then she felt him kneeling next to her amidst the commotion, the noise around them drowning out anything he might want to say.

She opened her eyes as he took a hold of her left hand—his grip firm and steady, yet gentle and reassuring—as he reached with his other to smooth back her sweaty bangs from her face and wipe the tears from her cheeks. Subconsciously she laced their fingers together, and he covered their joined hands with his other hand.

She looked up at him through her slightly blurry vision, and saw an encouraging smile on his lips and a warm glow in his eyes as he tightened his grip around her hand.

He didn't have to say a word to her as she felt the fear of the nearing future fade away with some of the pain, leaving her shuddering heart beating in simple, unbridled anticipation.

Oguni-sensei was next to her now, telling her it was time as Megumi took her place at the foot of the futon.

She nodded, and when she felt the next pang of excruciating pain slam shockingly to her nervous system, she grit her teeth and bit back a scream as she tightened her own grip on her husband's hand, using the muscles in her pelvic region to push as hard as she possibly could.

Another wave came almost immediately after the first, and in the back of her mind, she hoped her spouse would forgive her for what she was doing to his hand. A third shock of pain crashed into her, and with a final push, she felt her body automatically relax as the high-pitched shriek of a new life filled the room as some of the assistants moved to get her cleaned up.

For a moment, she felt dazed and relieved at the same time as everyone milling around her left her alone, and she continued to tightly clutch his hand with her own as she looked up at him.

She felt her eyes beginning to water again when she saw the look he was giving her as he smoothed her damp locks back away from her face and helped her to sit up and nestle into his chest while his arm wrapped around her still-slightly-round waist.

Gorgeous, glowing amethyst jewels shone with pride for what she had just done, and she felt her heart soar as a couple tears fell from her eyes; she was thrilled to make him so happy.

The moment was lightly interrupted when Megumi came over to them, a bundle of blankets held tightly in her arms.

"Congratulations," she said. "It's a boy."

And then she handed the bundle to her, and she looked at what lay inside the blankets. A tiny child was tucked warmly into the blue blanket, its face small and round and cute, its skin smooth to the touch, and soft downy reddish-brown hair matting its head.

She smiled widely, trying to hold the child even closer to her. She looked at her husband, and giggled lightly at the dazed and awed look on his face as he blinked several times, as if trying to convince himself that he was, in fact, a father now.

His grip around her waist tightened, and he leaned over and kissed her softly on the crown of her head.

"He's perfect, Kaoru. Just like you."

She felt like her face was going to split in two, she was smiling so much. But she didn't care, and settled her head into the crook of his shoulder.

"So are you, Kenshin. Thank you for keeping your promise and being here with me."

He smiled into her hair broadly, and gently whispered into her ear, "We should name him."

She grinned, and looked at her firstborn. "You do it."

She felt him chuckle deeply from his chest, and he lay a hand on his son's head. "Himura…Kenji."

Kaoru nodded with an approving smile, fondly remembering the night they'd spent sitting on the veranda of the dojo just a few months ago as they discussed their fears of parenting and picked out baby names. "Himura Kenji," she repeated fondly.

And as his lips met hers in a sweet and loving kiss, the sky outside the slightly open window lit up in the fireworks that marked the end of the festival's carnival that day as the drums pounded in rhythm as a symbol of the day's celebration.

In the midst of it all, the temple bell tolled once, long and loud and clear, reaching the new parents' ears as they smiled fondly at each other and their new son.

Owari

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