Probaly gonna be a while until the next one. But I don't know yet. I need to catch up on my sleep and work on my new RPG journal. So until I've at least managed to get myself on a semi-decent sleep schedule again and have filled out my new journal's BIO and posted at least once, I'm going to be taking a short breather from this. Very short, so don't worry. Just giving a little heads up since I've been posting once a week up until now.

In any case, enjoy the chapter!

They arrived at the hospital at two-thirty in the afternoon. Watanuki was bursting with energy and excitement.

They met Kohane and Akira in the waiting room, along with a tall young man with short dark hair and friendly blue eyes. He smiled upon seeing them

"Doumeki-san! Wonderful to see you again!" He exclaimed. Doumeki nodded his head in greeting. Then the young man turned his attention to Watanuki. "You must be Watanuki-san. I'm Taka Mizuumi."

"Oh, it's nice to meet you, Mizuumi-san!" Watanuki returned, smiling back at the man. He seemed like a good, kind man. Watanuki was happy to see that such a person was the one Himawari had chosen to spend the rest of her life with.

"I was just about to take Akira-kun and Kohane-chan to see the baby. You're just in time."

They followed the proud father to a corridor aside a large glass panel before the hospital nursery. Taka gestured to a nurse inside the room and she walked along the aisle between the cribs, until he signalled to her to let her know she had reached the right one. The nurse carefully lifted the baby into her cradling arms, and brought the tiny bundle up to the wide glass window.

"She's beautiful, Mizuumi-san," Kohane whispered adoringly, leaning closer to the window for a better view. "She looks a lot like you."

"I think she looks more like Himawari, myself." He replied, his full attention on the child on the other side of the glass panel. His eyes were glowing with happiness and pride. "We named her Ayame. Named after a flower, just like her mother."

Even Akira, who had thus far seemed a rather cold and distant young man, was gazing at the baby with wide eyes.

"Isn't she pretty, Akira-kun?" Kohane asked, jolting the young man out of his daze. He scowled and crossed his arms over his chest. "She's kinda cute I guess..."

Watanuki was gazing at the child in awe. She really was adorable, and he couldn't help but think that, had things gone differently, she could have possibly been his own child. He brushed the thought away. Now was not the time for such things. This was how things were and wishful thinking wouldn't change anything. He glanced at Doumeki over his shoulder, and a tiny smile stole across his lips. The usually stoic young man was gazing quite fondly upon the little baby, the corners of his lips tweaked into a subdued smile.

Somehow, it made Watanuki feel that, perhaps, he was luckier that things had worked out this way.

"Watanuki-san? Doumeki-san?" Taka called, drawing Watanuki out of his thoughts.

"Mmm?"

"Himawari wanted to see you two. If you'll follow me?"

They nodded and followed him to Himawari's room. He tactfully left them at the door, allowing them to speak to his wife in private while he returned to Kohane and Akira, and baby Ayame.

Watanuki knocked and waited to be invited in before the two of them entered the room. Himawari looked her usual cheerful self, albeit still a bit tired from the miraculous ordeal.

"Have you seen her already?" She asked.

"She's beautiful, Himawari-chan." Watanuki replied, moving to sit by her bed. Doumeki stood just behind him, nodding in agreement.

"Thank you." She said. "I wanted to see you both because I wanted you both to know how happy I am to have you as my friends. I want you to know that Taka and I both want you to be a part of Ayame's life. Neither Taka nor I have any siblings, so Ayame does not have any aunts or uncles. It would mean so much to us if the both of you would be willing to be her uncles."

"Of course Himawari-chan," Watanuki earnestly agreed, "I would like that very much."

"The same goes for me." Doumeki echoed.

Himawari smiled back at them brightly. "I'm so glad."