Kyo practically leapt out of the car before it had even stopped moving, racing into the hospital and right up to the registration desk. "Hi, yes, I'm looking for my wife. Tohru Sohma. She was being admitted for monitoring in Maternity."

The woman behind the desk seemed to move with almost glacial slowness. "Tohru Sohma, Tohru Sohma...could you spell Sohma for me, please?"

Through gritted teeth, Kyo rapidly spelled out "S-O-H-M-A." How hard was that to figure out, really?

"Ah, here we go...oh." The woman frowned, and Kyo's heart plummeted into his knees. "I'm sorry, Sir, but you can't see her right now. She's in surgery."

"SURGERY?" Kyo practically yelled the word, but fought to gain back his control. He needed to figure out what was going on and get to Tohru, he couldn't afford to antagonize this woman. "Why is she in surgery? She was supposed to be monitored. She was here for monitoring." The woman gave him a pitying look, and he felt himself bristling. Get it together, Kyo! "It's my wife, ma'am. She's pregnant, and I need to be with her. Can you please tell me where I can find her?"

The woman looked at him for a long moment, taking in his frantic face and worried eyes, then sighed. "I don't know, young man, I really don't. She's listed as going into surgery, and while you might be able to make it in with her, if the doors are already closed you won't be able to go in and will have to wait outside."

"I don't care. Just tell me where to go and I'll go there. If they can't let me in, then I'll wait at the door. Or on the floor. Anywhere."

"Fourth floor. You can check at the surgery desk; they'll be able to tell you if you're able to go in with her or not."

Kyo didn't even finish listening, he was already off and running for the elevator. He hit the button, but after a moment he swore again and turned to the stairs. He needed to keep moving, needing to make an actual effort. He couldn't leave her to face this alone, especially not if she was having surgery. What kind of surgery? Why? He could only guess that they were delivering the baby, but this fast? What had happened to make them need to do a c-section little more than an hour after she'd first called him?

Was Tohru ok?

He was taking the stairs three at a time, scanning the numbers at each landing he passed. When he finally got to the fourth floor, he burst quickly out into the hallway and looked around, then darted to the surgery desk.

"Hi, I'm looking for my wife, Tohru Sohma?"

The nurse at the desk looked at him, then looked at her computer, then shook her head. "I'm sorry, Sir, but you can't go in there. They've already sealed the room."

"Wha- sealed the room? What does that even mean?" He didn't know what to do, what to think. He'd failed; he couldn't be there with her. He couldn't be there for her. "Please, I just need to find her."

She studied him briefly, then stepped away from the desk and gestured for him to follow her. He did, mentally cursing her short legs and slow steps.

"Like I said, you can't be in the room, but you could still see her, if you want. But it can be quite distressing to see a c-section if you're not prepared."

So it was a c-section, then. "I don't care, I was to see her. I want to be with her, or as close to her as I can be. I don't even know what happened..." His voice broke, and the nurse looked at him sympathetically.

"Someone will come to talk to you, Sir. But if you're sure..." They'd arrived at a door, and she pulled it open. It opened into a room filled with benches, with large windows on the other side. Kyo walked forward like he was in a dream, staring through the windows at the gowned figures standing around the operating table and the still figure lying there. Her hair was under a cap, her body was covered by a sheet, and she had some kind of mask over her nose and mouth. But he could see enough of her face to know it was Tohru.

Kyo heard the door close behind him, and he was alone in the room, watching. He reached out a hand to the window, touching the space where he saw Tohru's face. Her still, quiet face. Then he crumbled, collapsing onto a bench with his face in his hands, unable to stop his sobs.

He hadn't been there. She'd needed him, and he hadn't been there. He'd missed it, missed her. Missed the chance to even tell her he was coming, that everything would be ok. What had she felt, facing this alone? Had she been worried about him, on top of everything else? Had she been scared? He still didn't know what was happening, or how, or why; had Tohru had a chance to know? Did she at least understand why she unconscious on an operating table?

Would she ever be able to forgive him for abandoning her?

Would she...ever even wake up?

Kyo was crying so hard that it hurt. If something happened to her, he didn't know if he'd be able to live with himself. She'd gone through so much for this, and he'd done practically nothing. He had one job; to be there for her, to support her. To take care of her.

And he'd abandoned her.

He could feel himself spiraling, losing control of himself amidst the constant stream of self-recriminations. He needed to talk to someone. He needed to talk to Tohru, but he couldn't. He couldn't, and he might not ever be able to again.

Kyo looked out at the operating theater again, and saw the same still, terrifying view. He took a breath, trying to steady himself, then pulled out his phone and dialed.

"Kyo?" Kazuma's voice was reassuring, and Kyo latched onto it like a security blanket.

"Kyo, what's wrong? Is everything alright with Tohru?"

Kyo knew Kazuma could hear his choked sobs, and he was wished he could have avoided alarming him. But he needed to hear Kazuma's voice right now, needed to know that everything would be ok.

"Kyo! Talk to me, please!"

It was rare for Kazuma to raise his voice, even more rare for him to sound that frantic. That was enough for Kyo to gather himself.

"She's in surgery, Dad. They're getting the baby right now. Something happened and they have to deliver the baby right now and I wasn't there! She's lying in there and I'm out here and I can see her and I wasn't there! I didn't even get to talk to her, I didn't get to tell her it was going to be ok! And now she's just lying there and not moving and I just don't know..." Kyo couldn't finish and just folded over again, holding the phone in his hand, rocking back and forth and sobbing.

There was a long silence from the phone as Kazuma processed everything Kyo was saying, then his voice came back like soft steel. "Listen to me, Kyo. If she's in surgery, then they're doing everything they need to be doing. Tohru is strong. She's a fighter. And she knows how much you love her, even if you couldn't be there to tell her at the time. She knows that. And she knows you're waiting for her. Try to have faith."

"Mr. Sohma?"

Kyo looked up to see a nurse standing beside him, clipboard in her hand. "I have to go, Dad."

"Please, let me know as soon as you know anything."

Kyo wordlessly ended the call, and five hundred miles away Kazuma dropped his own hand, his phone gripped so tightly his knuckles were white. And with tears in his eyes, he prayed aloud, "Please protect her. Protect them. All of them."

The nurse sat down on the bench beside Kyo, looking at him sympathetically. And Kyo tried to collect himself; this was his chance to learn what happened, and he needed to hear it. He needed to know just how badly he screwed up.

"What...what happened? She called and told me she was coming to the hospital for monitoring, but by the time I got here they were already in surgery, and she's...she's..." He broke off, unable to continue, and the nurse patted his arm comfortingly.

"I understand, Mr. Sohma, sometimes things can move so quickly it can be a shock. Mrs. Sohma was sent here because at her prenatal visit, her blood pressure was at a dangerous level and she had some symptoms that correlated to a severe condition called pre-eclampsia. Dr. Watanabe wanted to test her for pre-eclampsia and monitor her here to see if her blood pressure went down to safe levels, but upon arrival at the hospital Mrs. Sohma passed out-"

Kyo's hands clenched into fists, so hard his fingertips were digging into his palms. She'd passed out? Alone? After she'd tried to reach him, and failed?

"-And the baby was in distress. So Dr. Watanabe made the decision to do an emergency c-section, in the best interest of both your wife and child."

So Tohru and Hajime were both in trouble, and she was having surgery alone. He could lose both of them, without ever having had a chance to say another word.

He needed to do something. Say something. Anything. He needed to-

All at once, Kyo noticed that the nurse was smiling at him. It seemed so freakishly inappropriate that at first, he could only stare at her in confused horror. But then he realized she was responding to something. A sound. That sounded a lot like the cry of a baby...

Kyo stood up and turned back to the window. One of the gowned figures had stepped away from the table, and in their arms was a messy, red faced, flailing baby.

Their baby.

Their son.

His son.

Kyo didn't know how to feel. Tohru was still lying there, so terribly still. The other gowned figures were still crowded around her, no doubt doing whatever they needed to do to stitch her back together. He was still so incredibly afraid...

But in that cry, there was a tiny glimmer of hope.

Resting his hand on the window, Kyo reached out to Tohru. "You did it, Tohru. Now, please come back to me!"

It was a strange sensation, actually feeling well-rested. But as Tohru slowly came to, that was the first thing that registered; for the first time in a very long time, she didn't feel tired. She did feel a lot of other things, though; like sore, especially in her midsection. Her throat felt incredibly scratchy. And she felt delightfully warm and weighed down. She was so wildly comfortable that it was hard to accept waking up; all she wanted to do was to keep sleeping, and to keep enjoying the feeling.

But almost in spite of herself, Tohru felt her eyes opening, and she was staring up at the ceiling. She didn't recognize it, and she frowned in confusion. Then she turned her head, trying to figure out where she was. She still felt so very muddled, even if she was also well-rested.

"Hey..."

She knew that voice. And she'd always know that voice, no matter how muddled, lost, or confused she was. And no matter how soft and awkward that voice sounded.

"Kyo!" Her voice was scratchy, and it didn't sound quite like her. But her delight was clear, and it was enough to make Kyo start crying all over again.

Tohru turned her head, and saw Kyo sitting beside her bed, his eyes sunken and red-rimmed. But he was smiling at her, smiling with a trembling chin and new tears flowing down his cheeks. She was surprised, seeing him so clearly upset, and her clouded mind struggled to make sense of why. But she also knew she didn't care about the whys right now; she was just happy to see him.

She tried to lift her hand to touch his face, but her arms were too heavy, too weighed down by the warmth of the blankets. So she had to content herself by smiling at him, and hoping he'd take the comfort in it she always took from him.

His arms were free, though, and he leaned forward to stroke her cheek as he gave her that same wondering, disbelieving look. "Tohru...you're ok. You're really ok!"

Now she was confused, why wouldn't she be ok?

She frowned, glancing around the room again and trying to make sense of where she was. The ugly ceiling tiles, the plain walls, the bars on her bed...the IV running under her blankets and into her arm...

Awareness snapped through the anesthesia fog as Tohru realized where she was. She'd been in Mrs. Ito's car going to the hospital, and Mrs. Ito had gone to get a wheelchair, and then she'd suddenly been on a gurney moving quickly through the hospital, being told she needed to have an emergency c-section. And now she was here, and Kyo was sitting beside her looking like he'd been through hell, and...and...

Kyo could see the moment Tohru's anesthesia finally wore off, and the recognition dawned on her. In that moment, he felt the full weight of his guilt, and his voice was emotional and cracking. "Tohru, I'm so, so sorry I wasn't there. I got there as fast as I could, but it wasn't fast enough, and I wasn't there to tell you it was going to be ok. And I'm so sorry, even though I know it's never going to be enough just to say it." He sniffled and hung his head, not even daring to meet Tohru's eyes just yet.

She'd tried to call him, and he hadn't answered. She hadn't known if he would make it in time. But she'd called Riko...

In her hoarse voice, she asked, "Did you get my messages, or did Riko find you?"

"Yamato did. I found your messages later, after her told me what was happening. You tried to tell me, and I...I missed you." He sniffled again. "I could have lost you, Tohru. I was so terrified that I had. You looked so still and cold, lying there, and I couldn't be beside you, couldn't touch you. Couldn't tell you it would be ok, and couldn't trust it would be ok. I've never been so afraid of anything in my life as I was today, thinking I might lose you. That I might lose you both."

Both.

Tohru couldn't believe it was only now just occurring to her, the other missing piece of the puzzle. Her eyes widened in fear, and she looked at Kyo with a terrified expression he immediately understood. But then he choked out a teary laugh and stood up. With Tohru's eyes glued to him, Kyo walked to the end of the bed and reached down, then stood up holding a blue-wrapped bundle.

Tohru's breath caught in her throat. She wanted to reach out, to take him. To hold him close and never let him go. But she couldn't; her arms were still too heavy. So instead, she drank up the sight as Kyo turned their son towards her, holding him close and smiling his big, somewhat disbelieving grin through his tears.

"Say hi to your mommy, Hajime."

Tohru felt the tears welling up in her own eyes as she looked at her son, cradled in her husband's arms. And right now, there was nothing else in the world that mattered.

"It's alright, Kyo; everything is alright now."

Kazuma was sitting at the table, his hands folded together and pressed against his forehead. He'd barely moved since Kyo had called, too overwhelmed by fear and concern for what was happening in that faraway hospital. Much as he'd tried to be strong and give comfort to Kyo, Kazuma was terrified; more terrified than he'd been of anything in all of his life. He might not be well-versed in childbirth process, but he knew enough to understand the danger.

And if he never had to hear Kyo's voice sound like that ever again...

Kazuma's phone suddenly buzzed, and he practically leapt to check it. When he saw that the message was from Kyo, his hand clenched; was it a good thing, or a bad one, to receive a text rather than a call?

He took a deep breath, then opened the message. And the relief was practically overwhelming, washing over him like a cleansing shower as he looked at the picture Kyo had sent: Tohru, her eyes tired but her face shining; Kyo, lying beside her on top of a hospital bed with puffy red eyes and an amazed smile. And in Tohru's arms, a sleeping baby with hair of dusky orange. Beneath the picture was a caption from Kyo: "Hajime Sohma, the best Valentine's Day gift ever. Everyone is ok. We'll call when we can."

Kazuma let out his deep breath, then wiped his eyes and laughed. And laughed again. It was alright, everything was alright. They were ok, both of them.

All of them.

He smiled at the picture, taking in all three of them. Tohru and Kyo both looked haggard, but it might just be the most beautiful picture he'd ever seen.

'I'm so very, very happy. He's beautiful. Well done, Tohru, and congratulations to you both.'

Later, in her own proper maternity room, Tohru smiled down at the baby nestled in her arms. One tiny hand was curled at his mouth, and the fingers of the other were resting lightly on her chest. He was so small, and so perfect, she practically couldn't believe he was real.

Kyo sat on the edge of the bed beside her, watching the two of them. Hajime had proved to be a good little sleeper so far in the six hours he'd been out; other than a few cries when he'd been getting checked out by the medical staff, he'd been fast asleep. He hadn't even wanted to wake up to eat, keeping his eyes firmly closed while he'd dreamily enjoyed his first meals. And he had barely seemed to notice whenever someone else picked him up.

"It kinda funny, how quiet he is now compared to how wild he was on the inside, isn't it?" Kyo asked Tohru softly, and she looked up at him with a smile.

"I guess being born took a lot out of him. It certainly took a lot out of me," she said with a giggle. She still couldn't quite believe all of this; this morning, Hajime had seemed an eternity away, and now...here he was.

Kyo was glad she could make jokes about it; seeing her incision when the nurses had come to check on her had been almost too much for him to bear. She'd said they were ok, that it was ok he hadn't been there right away. She didn't even want to let him apologize.

"Tohru, I wish you'd let me try to-"

"No, Kyo." Tohru's voice was quiet, but firm. Just like it had been every other time he'd tried to bring up his tardiness in getting to the hospital. It wasn't that she was angry with him, or held it against him in any way; in time, she would be ready to talk about it. But right now, she was still feeling too many feelings about how the day had gone. Most of them were positive; how couldn't they be, with Hajime here and so perfect? But she still needed to process what had happened for herself.

He sighed and looked away, his face settling into a look of sober dejection. And it was almost enough to break her heart.

"I wish you'd just believe me when I say I'm not angry with you, Kyo. Not at all. I know you got here as fast as you could, and that's what's important. And I'm not brushing you off, I promise." She reached out to touch his arm, and he turned and looked at her with a weak smile. "I'm just...not ready to think about all of that yet. I just want to be able to be here, the three of us together, and just enjoy this time," she finished, as she looked down at their sleeping son.

Kyo had never been very good at waiting, and he hated that she still didn't want to let him talk. But he could understand her point, and as she was the one who'd been sliced open, he would respect her wishes. When she was ready, then he would be there, trying desperately to make it all up to her.

He leaned sideways on the bed, moving to carefully lie down beside Tohru and look at the two of them. He'd done a lot of that so far today, marveling at this tiny, fragile human that he and Tohru had made. Hajime's hands were so small that they couldn't even wrap fully around Kyo's pinky; his feet were just tiny little stubs. They'd barely even seen his eyes, he'd spent so much time sleeping...and then there was the hair.

Back at New Year's, Kyo had told Tohru he'd never really thought about how he would feel if he had a baby with orange hair. He'd had almost two months to consider the possibility since then, and he'd still never been able to sort out his feelings.

Kyo had felt like a sleepwalker when the door to the operating room had opened and Dr. Watanabe had stepped out with his son in her arms. Tohru had still been unconscious, and Kyo had been terrified for her. But Dr. Watanabe had been quick to reassure him that contrary to how it might look, everything had gone well. The surgery had been textbook, the baby had come out easily, and Tohru was all stitched up and looking great. Right now she was resting under the anesthesia, about to be transferred to a recovery ward, and in an hour or so she should be waking up.

He'd never felt so relieved by anything as he did in that moment. Not when the Curse broke, not when Tohru told him she loved him after the hospital, not even when he knew she was alive after falling off the cliff. Nothing had ever felt as terrible as seeing her there on the operating table, feeling he might lose her without having had a chance to say something, so nothing could feel better than knowing she'd be alright.

And it wasn't until he heard those words and knew Tohru was going to be ok that he could finally process what else was going on.

"Mr. Sohma, would you like to meet your son?"

Kyo had been hesitant at first. The baby looked so impossibly small, so very fragile. But Dr. Watanabe had been smiling encouragingly, and she was deft as she transferred the bundle into Kyo's arms. For one brief moment, Hajime had opened his eyes and looked up at Kyo, then made a few little baby noises and snuggled right up. And Kyo's heart had melted.

"Do you two have a name yet?"

Kyo had smiled, looking down at the cherubic little face. "Hajime. Hajime Sohma."

"Hajime...well, congratulations to you both, Mr. Sohma. I need to step back in with your wife for just a little longer, so I'm going to leave you two to get acquainted." Dr. Watanabe turned and started reach for the operating room door, then paused and smiled. "You know, I've never delivered a baby with that hair color before, Mr. Sohma. You and Hajime are clearly cut from the same mold."

The door swung shut behind her, and Kyo was left alone with his son. Tentatively, almost afraid that even a touch would hurt him, Kyo lifted one hand and gently ran his fingertips through Hajime's thick shock of dusky orange hair. It wasn't quite the same as Kyo's; Kyo's was brighter and more vibrant, while Hajime's was a little more muted. But it was very, definitely, orange.

And he knew the answer, finally. In his son's orange hair, Kyo saw clear, undisputable proof that this child was his. His son, born in spite of everything that had ever conspired to keep Kyo alone and despairing, proudly flaunting the hair that would forever mark Hajime not as the Cat, but as Kyo Sohma's son.

And Kyo couldn't be happier.

"Are you sure you're ok sending a text, Tohru? I know you'd initially wanted to call everyone."

"I know I did, but it's just...not feasible right now, Kyo. Though I do want to call and talk to Master Kazuma soon, of course." Tohru smiled, looking over Kyo's shoulder as he composed the birth announcement message. She still felt bad; she had fully intended to call each and every friend and relative they had to break the good news directly.

And then she actually had a baby, and figured out just how draining that was, especially when it involved a major surgery!

"Besides, considering what day it is I'm pretty sure a lot of people are busy, so we don't need to call and interrupt them."

Kyo knew Tohru was trying to convince herself more than him; he was more than happy to go the text message route. It had only been because of Tohru he was willing to do the calling thing to start with, so there was no arm twisting involved as far as he was concerned.

But he knew it was hard for her, adjusting 'the tell.' Somehow, they'd managed to keep their secret throughout the whole pregnancy, and he knew Tohru had been very excited to tell everyone when Hajime arrived. He'd have to figure out a way to make it up to here later; maybe a late spring or early summer trip to Tokyo could be arranged. But for now, this would do just fine.

He held up his phone to show Tohru. "What do you think?"

She quickly read through what he'd written, then laughed. "That sounds perfect! I love it."

"Good to send, then?"

"Of course."

Tohru's own phone pinged as she got the message, which Kyo had sent to a massive group of friends and family. And within minutes, both of their phones were going nuts as response after response after response after response started rolling in.

Kyo chuckled, taking her hand. "Think they're excited?"

"Maybe just a little bit."

Another picture of Tohru, lying in her hospital bed, but this time looking bright eyed, refreshed, and still smiling. Kyo beside her with an arm around her, no longer red eyed, his grin bright enough to light up the night. And cradled together in their arms, little Hajime, his face in profile and his dark orange hair prominent.

'After years of trying, Tohru finally gave up on attempting to beat her own chocolate game and decided to do something different for Valentine's Day this year. Introducing Hajime Sohma, born at 2:47pm on February 14th, 21 inches long, 8 pounds 1 ounce. Yes, that's his natural hair color. He and Tohru are both doing great, but Tohru is very tired. We'll send more details later.'

Author's Note: Just a tiny epilogue left, and then we're done. I've really enjoyed working on this story, and I hope you've liked reading it!