This is for the Jessica/Yoshi fans!

Several days later, June 10

Esposito house, Yoshi's Point of View

Our baby is scheduled to be born today because in a few hours, Jessica Rose and I will be going to Emily Ryan's operating room at the hospital, whereupon Jessica will be prepped to undergo a c-section, the end result being the birth of our son, whom we are beyond excited to meet.

Yesterday, though, Jessica became really wanted to by her mom and dad, so we spent the day with them and ended up spending the night, too. We slept soundly in her old room, but now I've woken up early and decided to watch her sleep for a few minutes.

When I pushed back the blankets, I was privy to what she'd worn to bed—a lavender maternity camisole and a pair of boxer shorts that she had 'borrowed' from me. My girlfriend's outfit left very little to the imagination and when she shifted slightly in her sleep, her shirt rode up, revealing her beautiful baby bump in the flesh.

Almost immediately, Jessica started moving a little more, and I could actually see why—the baby's knees were pressed together in one spot, making them easily visible as he moved from side to side. In an effort to calm both mother and son, I leaned over and spoke directly to the baby, resting a palm over the area where he was located.

"Hey, little guy—mama and I can both feel you moving around in there, and I promise we haven't forgotten about you. I mean, I don't think we ever could because you're our boy and you're going to be so loved by your mother and me, of course, but you're also going to be loved by our parents, our grandparents, our friends and our brothers and sisters."

The baby continued to move, but his movements were subdued because he has always been soothed by the sound of my voice.

"Just wait until you meet your big sister. Her name is Gabriella, and she's going to have a field day, educating you in the English, Spanish and Japanese languages."

The baby seemed very content now because he was moving almost lazily in his cramped space. In a bout of spontaneity, he pushed one of his little hands directly against mine and it made my heart melt. I leaned forward and kissed that part of Jessica's belly.

The moment was ruined when I felt a tiny elbow connect with my nose. The jab took me by surprise, but as a reflex reaction, I sat up and swore filthily in Japanese as I rubbed my nose.

"You know, my love," came a sleepy voice. "Waking up to the sound of cursing is not pleasant."

"I'm sorry, Jessie," I apologized as I helped her sit up. "But the baby just delivered a powerful right hook to my nose!"

She put her glasses on and raised an eyebrow at me. "Like I couldn't feel it! He hasn't stopped kicking up a storm now, by the way!"

"I'm sorry, Jessie." I quickly repeated.

"You better be." She pulled her shirt down over her belly and gave it a poke. "Budge up, niño! It's not like you're sharing the space with anybody!"

Jessica just winced and rubbed her belly when the baby kicked her again, so I wasn't really all that surprised when she let slip a few Spanish curse words as she got out of bed and headed towards the bathroom.

I hope her mood will improve soon.

Jessica's Point of View

My mood improved tremendously when I arrived in the kitchen a little later because I saw that we had three surprise visitors: Amaya and baby Keiko, as well as my precious Abuela Ophelia.

"Hola, niña!" my father's mother greeted me, rising from her chair. "You can have my seat!"

I thanked her as I eased myself into the chair but then I noticed that she, Amaya, Keiko and I were the only ones in the room.

"Did my parents go to work already? They said they had to, but I forgot for how long…"

"It's only for three hours." Amaya gently explained. "They only have paperwork today."

"Your parents called us to hold down the fort and to make sure you and Kiyoshi get to the hospital safely if they're not back in time." Abuela happily added.

"I think the baby is glad to have two of his abuelas nearby because he's kicking me more than he was a few minutes ago when he clocked Yoshi in the nose!"

"Shinju and Nozomi were like that." Amaya recalled as Keiko slept in her arms. "Tokutaro and Mitsunobu were almost as aggressive right near the end."

I felt a little stab of panic rise at the thought of another tiny body growing inside me and immediately turned to Abuela Ophelia."

"Make her stop! Twist her ear, or something!"

"Alas, mija, I can do no such thing."

"Why?"

"Amaya's pregnant and holding a sleeping baby, so it would be really bad karma to even give her a swat."

"We could all use loads of good karma today." Amaya quickly added.

I sighed, shaking my head. "Where's Bella?"

"She hasn't come down yet, so she's probably still asleep. Where is Kiyoshi?"

"He saw that Grace, Leon and Liberty were stirring and decided to take care of them." I told her.

"Yoshi's very good with kids. Despite his learning disabilities, he's always wanted a family and a wife."

Abuela choked on her tea, sputtering. "Excuse me? Is there something I'm missing, like an engagement?"

I opened my mouth to respond but was cut off when Bella and Grace came bounding into the room. They barely remembered to say hello to me before giving my belly a rub every time the baby kicked in response to their voices.

Abuela took Leon from Yoshi and started to take Liberty from him, but I got to my feet and reached for her.

"I'd like to hold her for a few minutes."

"Sure, Jessie." He passed her to me. "Liberty's your sister."

"And she's very tiny and sweet and lovely."

Barely a month old, Liberty gave a contented sigh and rested her head on my shoulder when I pressed a kiss to her forehead. She even started to suck her thumb, a habit she uses to lull herself to sleep, and sure enough, her eyelids began drooping.

"No, no, no, chica." I cooed, gently running a palm over her silky blond hair. "You can't sleep already because you just woke up!"

My baby sister yawned hugely, but it was as if she understood me because she started making soft cooing noises to keep herself awake. When I looked back at the others, I immediately saw that Abuela and Amaya were smiling fondly at me.

"What?"

"Motherhood looks really good on you." Abuela informed me. "You remind me a lot of Delaney right now."

"Yeah, well, the difference between mama and me is that I'm covered in tattoos and scars. I never had a choice in any of the tattoos and the life of trouble I used to lead has gotten me battle scar after battle scar, so all of it makes me super ugly!"

"Don't go all Jessie Raincloud on us!" Amaya protested, knowing all about my former bad girl ways. "Jessica Rose Arcadia Esposito, you are one hundred percent gorgeous, no matter what!"

"You listen to her," Abuela spoke sharply before quickly softening up. "However, I have a question for you."

"Oh?"

"Are you ready to do it all over again?"

I nodded. "Absolutely, but I'm wondering if Yoshi's ready. It's going be interesting to see how he is with an infant…"

The sound of two small babies laughing in delight reached our ears and we saw that Yoshi now had Leon and Keiko now, playing with them. I've always known that Yoshi is good with kids because he practically raised his brothers and sisters for a few years, but seeing him so happy, unburdened and carefree with my baby brother and his baby sister was just further proof of something else—Yoshi is going to be absolutely fantastic with our son, just like he is with Leon, Keiko, Bella and even Grace and baby Liberty.

He became so caught up in the moment that he didn't even realize we were watching.

Much to my delight, my parents were able to make it back from their workplaces a lot earlier than we all anticipated, and I was especially glad because my nerves were beginning to get to me. My parents were nothing but soothing and supportive when they found me having a mini panic attack of sorts on the couch in the living room.

"Why are you crying, niña?" papa asked, giving me a soothing backrub. "Are you nervous about your surgery?"

"No." I winced as the baby delivered a sudden strong punch just above my navel. "I'm not nervous because I trust the surgical team, and because Yoshi will be with me the whole time."

"Then what's getting to you?"

"I keep remembering to this point in my pregnancy with Bella. It's in the past, but the fear is coming back now, and it's almost paralyzing."

"This was the point when you were deep in labor but resting in that alley because Leila hadn't found you yet, right?" Mama asked.

"Bingo." I confirmed. "The only other time in my life that I've ever been that scared was when I was abandoned at Johanna Beckett's funeral!"

Mama pulled me close and pressed a kiss to my temple. "There is nothing more terrifying than the feeling of being utterly alone, but like you said—that's all in the past, and you don't have to worry about it because now you have the best support system anyone could ever ask for. It's all gonna be okay, baby girl."

Her words were comforting, but I didn't have a chance to respond because the baby hard given me his hardest kick yet.

"Jeez!" I massaged the area as the baby started making use of his elbows. "Mama, were all of us this aggressive?"

She shook her head. "We obviously don't know about Liberty, but you and Leon kicked me the most. Gracie was a pleasant little angel."

I arched my back after her answer because the baby had suddenly pressed himself up against my ribcage without warning. It felt very disconcerting to feel a tiny pair of baby feet kicking me there, and it left me feeling winded. I didn't stop papa when he put a hand in the small of my back, trying to help me feel some relief.

"Could you be in labor right now?" he asked in a gentle tone.

"No!" I shook my head angrily. "I can't even consider that right now because giving birth the natural way would probably kill the baby or me! You know that!"

Mama gave papa a swat on the side of his head, scolding him. "Good going, Javi! Now she's gone from crying to feeling better to totally pissed off in about five minutes, and she's bringing a baby into the world today!"

They started squabbling with each other, an effect of their lifelong relationship. I ignored them both, speaking to the room at large.

"Where is Yoshi?"

As if by magic, he appeared in the doorway and hurried over, pulling me to my feet. "There you are; it's time to go! Are you feeling better?"

"More or less." I shrugged. "Let's go!"

"What about your parents?"

"They'll catch up eventually," I tried my hardest to not sound super cranky. "But let's go! I'm ready to get this baby out of me!"