Iku's eyes felt dry and heavy as the babies shrieked. She bobbed and rocked and sang but the unhappy creatures could not be comforted. Everything in her body ached and she felt ready to cry herself from lack of sleep. Atsushi stumbled into the nursery, his hair disheveled and he looked as exhausted as she was.

"The coffee is on. Should be ready in a few minutes." He took Kiku and, like a zombie, went to change her diaper.

"I never thought we'd be drinking coffee at three in the morning." Iku yawned and slid into her chair. "I'm so exhausted."

"Remember when we used to do those surprise sessions when we went on training exercises? You had coffee earlier than this back then." Atsushi replied.

"That was a million years ago. Back when I was thin and athletic and had enough energy to take on the whole MBC." Iku replied with a tired melancholy. Since she had the babies, there were moments when she sank into a horrible heaviness. She was completely in love with her children, but she had always needed plenty of sleep. Now, she was cranky and easily annoyed. She felt like her life had become a never ending cycle of feedings, and burping, and diapers, and rocking. Not to mention all the laundry and dishes that had already accumulated. She was also in desperate need of a shower.

Atsushi grunted. Usually he would tell her how amazing she still looked and would kiss her. He often would offer to take the kids while she went to nap, but they were both feeling the effects of fatigue at this point. Iku finished feeding Shiro and they traded babies. Eventually, they placed the children into their cribs and were just about to make their escape when Kiku started howling again, waking her brother. Iku slumped to the ground and put her hands to her face.

"Do I need to call your mom?" Atsushi asked, placing his hand on her head.

"No, she's already done too much. We can do this ourselves. I just really want to sleep." Iku replied, wiping her eyes.

Atsushi walked over and lifted Shiro, soon followed by Kiku. He cradled the two infants and whispered to them as he lightly bounced. Iku could see the muscles under his white sleeves holding the babes with such strength and gentleness. "You are such a great dad," Iku encouraged with a trembling voice. Why was she so emotional?

The babies slowly began to calm and he laid them together in one of the beds.

"They will wake each other!" Iku protested.

"They shared your womb for nine months; this is what they are used to." Atsushi replied. Surprisingly, the babies seemed to agree and they slept soundly. Iku lay on the ground, too tired to get up. The carpet was soft and new. It already felt like their home, even though it had only been a few weeks. Atsushi walked over and stood before Iku. She thought he was going to pull her up and take her downstairs, but he sat on the floor and lay beside her. He gently pulled her into his chest and she breathed deeply.

"What am I going to do when you go back to work?" She asked with a sigh.

"Your mother will be here to help you and my mom is going to visit as well. You'll have lots of help." He said as he kissed her head. He sounded like he was already nearly asleep.

"It won't be the same." Iku replied. "The babies adore you. They'll miss you."

Atsushi sighed, "They'll see me every day. I have to go back though. There's lots to do and I've been away too long already. The library will hardly be able to operate once Shibasaki and Tezuka are on their honeymoon."

Iku groaned. The wedding was approaching quickly. Shibasaki had insisted on planning her own bachelorette party and Iku was not looking forward to seeing the other bridesmaids. She was tired and she hadn't been away from the babies for any length of time yet. They still needed her so much. And, if that wasn't enough, her post-baby body was not something she was proud of. She had a large scar from her surgery and, although it was healing well, she could not exercise very intensely yet. Her belly had not yet reduced to how it had been before and some still thought she was pregnant. Her skin sagged unattractively and she wondered how she would look in the dress she was supposed to wear. Her mother-in-law told her to be proud of her scars and her new body. They marked her journey and were the natural signs of motherhood. Iku couldn't help but mourn her old physique and she hoped that, with training, she could gain back some of what she had lost.

"Have you talked to Shibasaki lately?" Atsushi asked, nearly incoherently.

"Yeah, she's called a few times. She's getting really stressed out about the wedding. I've never seen her so anxious before. You'd think there was a nuclear missile aimed at the thing." Iku replied, but she imagined that her friend would be less nervous about bombs. There were going to be a lot of important people at the wedding, but Iku suspected it was Asako's parents whom her friend was most worried about. They had always been hard on their daughter and she really wanted to impress them with her wedding. Iku hoped the day would go smoothly. Atsushi's breathing became even and deep. He didn't reply. She felt her own head sag as her exhaustion overtook her. There they slept, on the floor near their children. The cold coffee would be waiting for them when they woke up.