Hey people! No one reviewed last chapter, sadly. This chapter has Koushiro and Hikari talking to their respective mothers and Yamato being upset with Sora, who meets her newborn daughter for the first time. Hope you enjoy it. Please review.
Chapter 25: Talking About Love
Yamato slow and carefully opened the door of Sora's room and let himself and Aiko in. Kouji was sleeping on his shoulder, as well as Sora on her bed. He couldn't help but smile; all these years with her made him know exactly when she was pretending to do something.
"Should we wake her, daddy?" Aiko asked as she stopped by the bed.
"Oh no, she's not sleeping." Yamato had a smirk on his face.
"How do you know?" The girl seemed to be puzzled.
"Watch me." He bent down and whispered something inaudible in her ear ahd then kissed her cheek. Sora began to blush and smile. "See?"
"Well, you played dirty. It's not fair." She complained.
"Mommy!" Aiko jumped on her and embraced her tight, causing Sora to gasp for air.
"Aiko!" Yamato tried to take her away from Sora. "Your mother just got out the surgery."
"I'm sorry."
"It's okay, honey." She said kindly. "I know you didn't mean to hurt me."
"How are you feeling?" The astronaut caressed her cheek with the back of his hand.
"A little sore." She sat up straight. "But I should be fine. Where are the twins?"
"Your parents left a couple of hours ago and they offered to take care of them."
"I see." She bit her lower lip.
"You're not mad, are you? I know you don't like it when you have to ask for their help with the kids, but I couldn't handle them all at once."
"It's okay." She said at last. "I just missed them, that's all."
"Right. I should have thought you wanted to see them when you woke up. I'm sorry."
"It's not your fault, Yama." The stylist gave a warm smile. "What about our new baby? Have you seen it yet?"
"Yeah…" Yamato paused, smiling as he remembered his first encounter with his baby daughter moments ago. "She's… she's just like you."
"It's a girl?!"
Sora couldn't help but feel happiness all over her face, the same way Yamato felt when he saw her for the first time. She looked down when Aiko started telling her how tiny and pretty her sister is. The stylist then realized her husband became too quiet.
"Yama, are you alright?" She placed her hand over his and he woke up from his thoughts.
"What?" He shook his head. "Yeah, I'm fine."
"What were you thinking about? I can tell when you have something serious on your mind."
"Oh I'm just a little upset I couldn't see her arriving. You know that was the moment I made sure not to miss. And I did it with three of our children."
"Yamato." Sora said tenderly. "So you missed the moment they arrived. I understand your pain and guilt, but you witnessed so many moments from Aiko and Kouji. First words, first steps, first shower… these moments mean much more. I still remember how happy you were when you were holding Aiko and she spoke her first word, it was Papa. You were so thrilled you called everyone and even bragged on Taichi."
"That's right." He said with a smile. "You were so jealous and tried to get her to say Mama, but she just kept on repeating Papa."
"Of course! I had to carry her for nine months only to hear her say 'Papa' first?" Sora couldn't hide her laughter.
"Those were great moments."
"Yeah, but we did struggle a lot in the beginning. Especially with Aiko. I'm glad both of our mothers offered to help." She looked down and sighed. "I want to see our baby daughter."
"I don't think you can stand up and walk around, as you just got off the surgery. But I'm finding a doctor and asking him if it's okay to bring her here."
Yamato gave Sora a quick kiss on her lips and left.
Koushiro drove to his parents after walking Mimi home and picking Tentomon up at his own place. He knew it was late, but he was hoping they wouldn't mind him dropping by. He really needed someone to talk to.
He walked out of the elevator and entered the hall his parents' apartment was. He took a deep breath and pressed the ringbell button. Kae hurriedly went to answer the door in her sleeping gown.
"Koushiro? What are you doing here?"
"Hi, mom." He said with a smile. "I know it's late, but something happened and I need to talk to someone."
"What happened?" She looked at him while closing the door. "How's Mimi doing?"
Koushiro froze for some seconds and realized he never told her about Mimi cheating on him. "We… we broke up."
"What?! When was that?"
"Eh… a few weeks ago. I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner."
"Ah Koushiro, I'm so sorry."
"That's okay, mom." He tried to put on his best face. "That's actually why I'm here."
"Oh. I don't get it."
"It's quite a long story." He sighed deeply. "I will tell you everything as it will take a while to cover it all. I was wondering if Tentomon and I could stay the night."
"You know you are always welcome to stay here, Koushiro. But…" Kae's voice trailed off, unsure of what she was going to say next. "I'm worried about you. Last time we talked you said you and Mimi were great and expecting a baby. What happened?"
"She cheated on me, mom." He said with his head down, unable to face her. "With Taichi."
"What?!" Kae covered her mouth with her hands, too shocked to say anything else. "Oh my God, Koushiro! I'm so sorry."
"That's okay. It wasn't meant to be I guess."
"What about the baby?"
"She lost it. A spontaneous miscarriage." Koushiro paused when he felt tears forming in his eyes for the first time since it happened. "I tried everything I could to help her heal from it and she did that. My whole world fell apart."
"Wow, this is terrible. You didn't deserve it. Why didn't you tell me sooner?"
"I didn't want to bother you. You and dad already have your own problems to deal with."
"Koushiro, your problems are my problems. You must have gone through a hard time."
"I did." He swallowed hard to avoid the tears from falling. "But I'm okay now."
"It sure doesn't seem like it." Kae pulled him into her and hugged him tight. "I think you need to cry. You can do it now if you want to."
"No, mom. It's okay." He said against her shoulder. "I don't want you to think I'm weak or something."
"Breaking down for once hardly makes you weak, Koushiro." She pulled away from him and stared at his eyes. "You've been ignoring your own feelings for Mimi and I'm sure it's eating you all up inside. I can tell you still love her."
"Is that so obvious?"
"Yes. It's as clear as a crystal. The question is why are you suffering about it?"
"What?"
"I mean, if she realized the wonderful man you are, she probably regrets what she did."
"She does, she's always following me. That makes it harder to move on."
"Well, it seems to me you still have feelings for her. If she regrets it, why don't you give her a second chance and end this suffering?"
"I don't know, mom." He brought his hands to his face. "As much as I still love Mimi, I'm not sure if I'm ready to forgive her."
"Maybe she changed, son. It's right there, the way your face brightens when you mention her name. If you love her as much as it shows, take her back."
"It's too late for that now, mom. It won't be fair to Naru."
"Wait, who's Naru? The woman who replaced Mimi on her own show?"
"Look, it's getting late and I need to sleep." Koushiro stood up, visibly nervous and trying to end the subject.
"Alright." Kae stood up as well. "But we are definitely talking about this tomorrow."
Gabumon was sleeping on Yamato's bed when he rolled over and saw Piyomon standing by the window, looking outside. He heard her saying 'Sora' in a sad tone.
"Piyomon, is everything alright?"
"I'm worried about Sora. I want to see her."
"Yamato said we can't go to the hospital, so we'll have to wait a few more days. She's fine, though. He would have told us otherwise."
"I miss her."
"I know you do. I miss her too. Just be more patient, Piyomon. We will get to see their new baby when she comes home. Aren't you excited for that?"
"I guess."
"Come on." Gabumon stood up and patted her on the head gently. "Where is your enthusiasm? It's not like she died."
"You're right." She nodded and smiled. "The last thing she wants is being upset. She'll need my help with the new baby. Do you think it's going to be a boy or a girl?"
"I don't know. I'm cool with whichever. There is two of each already. Yamato must be powerful, for being able to conceive so many kids."
"Or Sora. I'm surprised she doesn't freak out sometimes. Even I have the hardest times with them."
"I know. They are great kids, though. They raised them really well."
"I agree. The others did a wonderful job too."
"Piyomon, look at that." Gabumon ran to a digitama that just appeared in the room. "Looks like the baby arrived."
"Which one do you think we're getting this time?" She approached him.
"Isn't it your digitama?"
"Yes. It's a Nyokimon then. I guess it's another girl."
Yamato made his way back to Sora's room feeling very happy. He couldn't help but smile as he looked down at the little infant in his arms. She was sleeping peacefully, but never stopped moving her tiny little hands and smiling sometimes. He wondered if she was having a good dream; it sure seemed like it. Holding his daughter felt so good and brought a lot of memories into his mind. Almost nine years ago he was carrying Aiko for the first time. Yamato blinked hard when he felt tears forming in his eyes. Being a father surely was hard sometimes, but so worth it. He absentmindedly held one of her little hands and for a moment he thought she knew exactly who he was. Suddenly he caught himself hoping she was a little bigger so he could see her eyes. Were they blue like his or cinnamon like Sora's? Well, she was a mini Sora, so he wished they were the first option. Aiko was also identical to his wife, except she had blond hair.
Yamato opened the door and felt everyone's eyes falling on him. He automatically looked at Sora, whose face brightened when she saw her tiny child in his arms.
"So the doctor agreed to let you bring her here?"
"Just for a few minutes." He nodded. "Enough for you to see her. Since she's premature, she can't stay that much outside the incubator. The doctor didn't exactly want to do it. It took me a lot of convincing and agreeing it'd be my own fault if something happened to her."
"Alright. Can I hold her now?"
"Yeah, sure." Yamato walked to her and carefully laid the baby into her arms.
Sora almost burst into tears when she automatically snuggled closer to her chest.
"She's so beautiful. You weren't joking when you said she was just like me."
"Of course not." He said in a matter-of-fact way. "She's so fragile."
"Yeah." She looked down. "Isn't it weird to think it's the last time we're gonna be here as parents?"
"It is." He placed his hand on her shoulder. "But I guess our work is done. Next time we come here it will probably be to welcome our grandchild."
"We have way too much time for that." Sora had a scared look in her face. "Maybe Takeru and Hikari will want another child. Or Mimi and Koushiro, if they work things out."
"Who knows?" Yamato shrugged. "All I know is that I love my little family."
"Little?"
"You know what I mean." He smiled and glanced at Aiko and Kouji, who were sleeping next to each other.
"I love it too." Sora followed his gaze and couldn't help but be proud of herself and them. "We've come a long way to get where we are now. It wasn't always easy, but I wouldn't have it any other way."
"And to imagine our story started before we even knew it."
"Do you think we would meet or even get together if one of us didn't go to summer camp?"
"Probably, yes." Yamato turned his attention back to his wife. "I don't like 'ifs', but destiny always has a way to bring people together. I think we'd meet somehow and I'm glad it was because of the Digital World. If not, you can bet I would find you, even if I had to travel all around the world."
"Yamato." She said softly.
"What about you? What do you think?"
"I don't know if I would travel all around the world." She admitted, looking down. "You probably would find me first or I'd make it harder for you."
"Well, we don't have to make assumptions now, do we?" He tried to hide his hurtness.
"I'm sorry. I upset you."
"No. I asked for your opinion and you gave me."
"But it wasn't the one you expected."
"Alright. I need to…" Yamato tried to think of something to drop the subject and get out of the room. "I need to take our baby back."
"Okay." Sora looked down and placed a kiss on her daughter's forehead. "Mommy loves you."
The blonde picked up the baby and took her back to NICU.
Hikari went to her parents early that Saturday morning. She had a few things to take care of since the wedding was only two months away. Plus, she wanted to talk to her mother about something that has been bothering her. She made herself in and almost scared her.
"Oh God, Hikari!" She screamed. "Don't ever do that again."
"I'm sorry, mom. I didn't mean to scare you."
"It's okay. Is something wrong?"
"No, it's just… something might happen and I'm still a little uncertain about it, though I was the one to suggest it."
"I'm not following."
"Mom…" Hikari sighed. "Takeru and I are thinking about giving Yamazaki a sibling. Well, we are sort of trying now. But I just think it's too early."
"Why do you think that?"
"Well, we are getting married and Yamazaki is less than a year."
"So? He will be almost two when you give birth again."
"So you think it's a good idea?"
"Yeah, I would love to have a granddaughter." Yuuko said with a smile. "But ultimately it's your and Takeru's decision. You don't have to do this if you think you aren't ready. You are the one who will carry the baby for nine months."
"I know." She took a deep breath. "It probably sounds weird, but I always had this dream of walking down the aisle halfway pregnant. Akiko was six months pregnant when she married Taichi and I remember thinking she was glowing. I think women have a different beauty when they're expecting, does that make sense?"
"Of course it does. And I agree with you. Akiko was stunning in her wedding dress. And I'm sure you will be too."
"Thanks, mom." Hikari smiled. "This whole wedding planning is driving me nuts. I know I should have hired someone to help me."
"I can help you."
"Are you sure?"
"Why not? It won't hurt me."
"But mom, you already have your own problems to take care of. I can't ask you to help me."
"You're not asking, Hikari. I'm offering."
"Mom, seriously. You don't need to, I can do it."
Yuuko sighed. "Sometimes I wish you weren't as stubborn as Taichi. Let me help you."
"Alright, fine. You can help me. I kind of need some advice on some things."
"Great." Mrs. Kamiya clapped her hands together. "Where do we start?"
Koushiro walked into the kitchen and found out his mother had prepared a large breakfast for him. He raised an eyebrow as he pulled a chair and sat down.
"Good morning, mom."
"Oh, good morning, Koushiro." She turned around and sat across him. "Did you sleep well?"
"I did." He smiled. "Thank you for letting me stay here."
"You know you are always welcome, son. So…" She stopped talking, unsure whether to talk about it or not. "Did you think about our conversation last night?"
"Yes, I did. And you may be right. Maybe I'm being too hard on Mimi. Maybe I'm dating Naru for the wrong reasons, just to try to get back at her. But I don't know how to let it go, mom. I don't think I'm ready for that."
"But Koushiro, you admitted you still love Mimi. It's obvious this thing with Naru won't work, because your heart isn't on it."
"Perhaps."
"I know forgiving isn't easy, but I'm sure you'll be much happier if you do."
"What if she hurts me again?"
"What if she doesn't?" Kae asked. "It's a risk you are going to have to take."
"I know…" Koushiro looked down, as if he was trying to think.
"You said just now you might be dating Naru just to get back at Mimi. Koushiro, this is something you would never do. You don't realize you're not just hurting Mimi, you're hurting yourself in the process." She tapped her fingers on the table nervously. "And I need to say dating this Naru is a pretty low move. She replaced Mimi on her own show. I never expected you to do such thing."
"God. I'm such a failure, aren't I?" He covered his face with his hands; he couldn't face his own mother. "I'm sorry I disappointed you."
"You could never disappoint me, son." She said kindly. "I know you'll do the right thing. I believe you."
"I think you should give Mimi another chance too. I don't like that Naru woman."
"Tentomon." Koushiro took his hands away from his face and looked at his partner. "How long have you been in there?"
"Enough to hear most of the conversation. And I agree with your mother. You still love Mimi, Koushiro. You usually don't take this long to realize someone's effort into something,"
"Koushiro…" Kae grabbed his hands. "I think you are failing to do something important here. You should always follow your heart."
His eyes widened for a moment as he understood what his mother was saying. Was he really not listening to his heart? He stood up and Kae released his hands.
"Where are you going?"
"I need to see Mimi." He said with a smile.
I think Koumi is coming back, now that Koushiro opened his eyes. Expect a heart-to-heart conversation between Taichi and Hikari in the next chapter. Sora and Yamato will have to adjust at their temporary situation with their newborn daughter as she will stay in the hospital for a little while. By the way, I haven't decided her name yet, so I'm accepting suggestion. Leave them in the review or send me a PM. See you next month.