"So, what is her name?" asked Haibara as she looked at the baby girl who was resting on her lap. She was chewing on her own small hands, no longer crying.

Shinichi stared at her, still amazed by the way she did her magic to stop the baby cry. It turned out a shoulder, small patting on the back, and a calm hushing voice could prevent this little cute monster from killing his eardrums.

What was more, he never knew Haibara was exceptionally this good at handling a baby. Yes, she used to handle those three kids, but they were not babies.

"Kudo-kun?" She was waiting for an answer to her previous question.

But he didn't reply.

It seemed he was staring at the strawberry blonde in a daze. Perhaps sitting side by side with her like this made him feel nostalgic.

Oh, how he missed moments like this with her so much.

And with that, Haibara snapped. She turned her head to see what took the detective so long to answer her simple question as she called him again in annoyance. She raised her voice a bit in case his eardrums had really exploded because of the baby crying awhile ago.

"Ah, sorry." He startled. A bit of a blush could be seen on his cheeks as he realized he had been starring at her face for too long.

They were now sitting at the park that was just about two corners from their houses.

After the awkward moment they shared, and the ridiculous question from the detective, they agreed with each other that they really needed to talk, seriously. Even so, their talk was going at a very slow pace as if they were enjoying their reunion.

Well, maybe they really were.

"It's Chiharu, with the kanji written for spring." He finally answered, after taking a sip of his canned black coffee.

A thousand springs, huh? She thought. It was so like him to name his child with something cheesy.

Because it was spring when they met for the first time. The detective and the angel, that were.

As the sky turned vermillion, she could feel the wind brushed her hair gently. Then she noticed how disheveled the baby's hair had became, so she tried to fix it.

That was then she saw how much the baby resembled her. The more she stared at the baby's two bluish-purple eyes, the more she reminded Haibara of the girl at the detective agency. Her hair color too, was the same dark brown as hers.

There was nothing on the baby that took after him. Not even his cowlick.

She found it weird, but she just set that thought aside for now.

"Where is she then?"

Shinichi's shoulders tensed up as she asked the question.

She noticed how his mood changed from the corner of her eyes. But why?

From the moment the detective asked that stupid question, she knew there must be something wrong going on.

And also look at his appearance.

Just a glance and everyone knew he was so disorganized.

Unshaved. Crumpled shirt. Dark circle under his eyes.

Just a glance and she knew he wasn't his usual self.

It took awhile before he replied, but unlike before, this time Haibara stayed quiet until he was ready to speak up. And when he did, she could feel her heart fell to the pit of her stomach.

Ran had passed away five days ago. It was a car accident.

"Right before she went for the trip, she asked me to take care of Chiharu." Shinichi continued, "Maybe she had sensed that it would come to this."

Haibara looked at him with concern. It was clear to her that he tried to hold his tears by looking down to the ground. She too, felt great sadness by the news, even though she knew she didn't feel it as much as him.

Ran was just like a sister to her after all. And it was one of the reasons why she stayed as Haibara Ai.

So she could let the angel had her beloved detective back in her life.

But she wasn't expecting this to happen. Reality was really cruel. Or was it the God?

"After her funeral, a lawyer came to us." He spoke up again, "It seems she had left a will few months before the accident."

He paused for a second to gather his breath before continuing.

"And in that will, it says that Chiharu shall be adopted to the Kudo family under me as her father." He finished.

Haibara could say nothing. But when she was going to give her condolences, she realized a word that seemed out of place in his sentences.

Did he say adopted?

At that, her sadness was replaced with confusion. Were they talking on the same page until now? Or weren't they?

"Hold it!" Her mind was still trying to catch up with his story, "Isn't Chiharu your and Mouri-san's child? Why should she be adopted into your family then?"

And then the detective choked on his own coffee. It surprised him how she could conclude such incredible interpretation only by seeing him cuddling a baby who looked like his former childhood sweetheart.

Right, he forgot they had those contactless eight years, and a half an hour was too short to catch them up.

"It has been years, Haibara." Shinichi remarked, his mood had livened up a bit, "Anything can happen, can't they?"

"Says the person who had been constant with his feeling for ten years." Haibara sneered.

The detective gave her a sheepish pout.

"It is true we were dating once, but we broke up for some reasons." He told her, "Even though we still remained best friends."

That explained why Chiharu didn't have anything that resembled him at all.

"And her biological father?"

"It was Araide-sensei, and he also died in the car accident. Didn't I tell you just now?"

It was so unlike her to not listen carefully when someone talked to her. Perhaps her mind blocked everything the moment she heard the part about Ran.

"So, that was how you are left in this mess." She concluded.

He nodded.

"Moreover, I have to finish those legal documents for the adoption before the given time." He sighed, "And you know what the requirements for it."

A single man or woman weren't allowed to adopt any children. And by the look of it, Shinichi was still single.

Thus in other words,

he had to get married before the given time in order to adopt Chiharu.

"How am I suppose to find a candidate in this short amount of time?" His tone showed how frustrated he was.

Haibara could only look at him with pity, then she turned to the baby who had fallen asleep in her arms, possibly too tired from crying. She smiled at how peaceful her face was, with no worries of how her future would be.

Shinichi saw the scene from aside, and somehow his heart fluttered.

He felt warmth.

As the sun almost set completely, they realized it was time for them to go back to their houses. To their own lives.

They walked in silence, with each heavy step. How they wished to had chosen a place further than the park.

When they reached the gate of the Kudo Residence, Haibara handed over the sleeping Chiharu to the detective carefully, trying not to wake her. The baby shifted a bit when she felt his arms, but still sleeping.

He said thanks and offered her to come inside for a snack, but she declined, saying she had piles of homework to do tonight.

Then they fell into silence again.

He felt a bit disappointed knowing she would leave soon, while she felt too heavy to move her feet because she actually didn't want to leave just yet.

They didn't know until now how hard it was just to say good bye to each other.

"How about you?" Shinichi broke their silence.

"What about me?" Haibara asked back.

"Would you say yes if I asked you to marry me?"

He was being serious. Not even a single red shade appeared on his face, as his sharp eyes pierced hers with his gaze.

Haibara looked at him in disbelief. Two times had he asked her dumb questions. Two times in a day. Had he really gone mad?

He was officially a part of the Japanese police force.

She was just a normal high school girl.

How could he ask such a thing with his serious face? Or was he just trying to play with her life now?

"Did you realize what you asked just now, Kudo-kun?" Haibara was trying to keep her anger under control.

"I am fully aware, Haibara." He tried not to provoke her.

"Then, why…"

"You are the only one I could think of." He cut her before she could continue her argument, "The only one who I know for sure, who can help me sort my life out."

His eyes were softened as he said the last part in almost a whisper. Even so, she could still hear him very clear. It surprised her that after all these years, he still regarded her as his partner. Where was he all this time then? Why did he never show himself in front of her?

Finally Haibara realized,

it was her who avoided him.

After he returned to his original body, she had been trying so hard not to get into his life again because she didn't want to ruin it for the second time. But here he was, saying the things she never knew.

The things about how he truly felt when she was gone from his side.

She explored his eyes deeply and she saw sincerity, also pleading. Damn, those eyes were her weakness since years ago. And looked like they still were today.

Her focus then shifted to the baby girl in his arms. She was too small, too innocent to be left alone in this world. And Haibara knew very well how it felt like.

Most of all, it wasn't that she disliked him anyway.

"Fine." She finally gave in, "But on one condition."

It was so like her to always agree on him, followed by some terms. But whatever they were, he would comply as long as she would stop running away from him.

"We should keep this marriage a secret from everyone, except from some people with the importance."

"Agreed." He grinned.

With that, he finally bound her to never leave his side again.

With that, she finally intruded his life again.

With that, their life was tangled up again but now it was by a word called family.

Author's note: Here we are, the second chapter. And as I promised, I would apologize to you all for killing Ran in this story. Because I needed a plot where Shinichi and Haibara would get married due to the detective's incapability in taking care of a baby but I didn't want to hurt Ran either. I had thought of some options like when Shinichi and Ran were divorced or Ran having some problems then left Shinichi and her baby, but I didn't want her to look bad and irresponsible. So this plot was the only one I could think of without leaving bad impression on her character. But worry not! I was planning to let her appear once in awhile in the future chapters because she deserved to be remembered.

Thank you for those who had given me comments and encouragement! I'd try my best to update as soon as possible.

Again, do not forget to leave your comments and reviews.

Happy reading!

Disclaimer: All characters of Detective Conan are belong to Aoyama Gosho. I don't own any single of them.