"Welcome home, Kyo!"
No matter how many times he heard that greeting, it never failed to bring a smile to Kyo's face. "Hey, Tohru! How're you feeling?"
"Fine," she replied with a smile, turning slightly on the couch so that she could better look at him as he took off his shoes. "Did you have a good day?"
It was Saturday, which meant that Kyo had taught his three regular classes. Then, based on Tohru's urging the previous day, he'd stayed on to attend an afternoon class of his own. He didn't normally stay late on Saturdays, but Tohru had pointed out that with the baby due on less than two weeks he was about to be losing some class time, so he really ought to take advantage of the classes he could right now.
And in the end, he'd agreed. It wasn't like she couldn't contact him if she needed; not only was Kyo permitted to keep his cellphone on him at all times these days, Tohru also had the dojo office number, all of Kyo's coworkers' numbers, Sensei's number, Sensei and Ayako's house number...and pretty much any other number Kyo could think of to give her. Before the two of them had decided to start trying for this baby, he'd come to terms with what had happened during Hajime's birth, and how little there was he could have done differently. But there were a few things, and being out of contact was definitely one of them.
As far as Kyo was concerned, if Tohru couldn't see him, then she needed to be able to reach him some other way, and he would bend over backwards to make sure she had that way.
Grabbing his dojo bag, Kyo stepped up into the house and started up the stairs to drop it off in their room, looking over at Tohru as he climbed. "Hajime playing in his room?" Normally, their son would be down with Tohru; it was a little surprising, not seeing him running around. "Or taking a nap?" That would certainly be nice, even if it was on the later side.
He'd reached the loft and was turning the corner to head to their room when Tohru's voice caught him by surprise. "Actually, he's at the Tanakas'," she said, sounding unexpectedly cheery, and Kyo stopped in mid-stride.
His brow immediately furrowing, Kyo looked down into the living room at Tohru. "At the Tanakas?"
"That's right," she confirmed in that same aggressively cheerful voice, and Kyo's brow furrowed deeper.
"Why?"
"Because I thought it might be a good idea."
He was full-on frowning at her now, dropping his bag and starting back towards the stairs. "Tohru-"
"Kyo, go finish with your gear. We can talk when you're done, it's not like it'll take you very long."
But he was already down the stairs, rapidly closing the distance between the two of them and dropping down onto the couch beside her. "Tohru, what is it? Are you ok? Why didn't you call me?"
He sounded so concerned that Tohru couldn't help but feel a smidge guilty, even if she knew there was no actual reason for it. But she couldn't blame him, either, and she did her best to try to assuage his concerns.
"Before I say anything, I want you to take a breath and understand that I am ok, alright, Kyo?"
He didn't like that, she could tell, but he did take the breath. And Tohru was about to explain when she suddenly sucked in a deep breath through her nose, her hands clenching around the edge of her skirt.
"Tohru?!" Kyo was trying very hard not to panic. She had told him that she was ok, he wanted to believe her because it was her and not him. But Hajime was at the Tanakas' on a Saturday afternoon and Tohru had just-
"Are you in labor?"
Tohru exhaled, the ripple of pressure passing, then gave Kyo an apologetic look. "I'm pretty sure I am, yes."
Kyo immediately shot to his feet. "And you've just been sitting here? Did you walk Hajime into town like this?!"
"No!" She was admittedly defensive about even the suggestion, frowning up at him. "I called Riko, and Yamato came and picked him up. I'm not an idiot, Kyo!"
He had to bite back his immediate response to that and promptly sat down again, not knowing just what he should be doing yet but knowing he needed to do something. "So you called Riko, but you never thought to call me?"
"There wasn't any reason to!"
"Not any reason?" He knew his voice was loud, and he hated it, but he couldn't seem to make himself quieter just now. "You're in labor, Tohru! That seems like a damn good reason to me!"
"Yes, I am, but labor can last a long time, Kyo! I've already called Dr. Watanabe, and she told me I'm fine to stay home until my contractions intensify more or my water breaks. There's barely been any progress over the last six hours-"
"Six hours?" Now Kyo was practically yelling. "Tohru, when did this start?"
She looked at him quietly for a long minute, and Kyo could feel himself becoming increasingly agitated. Why was this so stressful for him when she was the one having the damn baby?
But finally, Tohru answered, looking away as she did so. "Around six?"
Kyo groaned and ran his hands over his face. "Tohru, are you telling me you were in labor before I even left for work and you didn't think I'd wanna know?"
"Well, I wasn't sure then! I never went into labor last time, it's all pretty new," she said defensively.
"Ok, sure." He could agree with that. "When did you figure out it was labor?"
"Maybe 9:30?"
"Tohru!"
She didn't let his shocked exclamation deter her. "That's when I called Dr. Watanabe, and she gave me some advice and things to watch for. And when I called Riko, and they got Hajime."
Kyo was trying desperately to calm himself down. "So you've been sitting here by yourself having contractions for over seven hours? Eleven, if we count the time since they started?"
"Technically, yes, and I am fine, Kyo! They're still happening over ten minutes apart, there's no reason for us to head in yet. Best case scenario, I'm admitted and have to hang out bored in a hospital bed, worst case they send me home."
"No, worst case is we're too late to get you to the hospital in time," Kyo said, standing up once again. "Your hospital bag is all set, right? You just need your cell charger? Anything else I should throw in?" He was already heading for the stairs again, and Tohru sighed after him.
"Kyo, it could still easily be hours, if not longer!"
"Well, let's let them tell us that at the hospital. That's their job, right?"
He was moving so fast that he was already in their room before she had a chance to respond, and Tohru sighed again as she leaned back against the couch. She'd genuinely considered telling him what she suspected that morning, but she'd known even that suspicion would set him off into a tailspin of worry and she wanted to spare him that for as long as possible. Everything she'd read and been told by Dr. Watanabe had suggested labor would take some time, and while she was admittedly nervous, she also felt she'd been handling everything correctly. Hajime was safely out of the way, Tohru herself was still nowhere near the contractions she'd been told to watch for, everything was fine.
Except, clearly, for Kyo's nerves.
He soon emerged from their room, both of their bags draped over his shoulders, and hurried down the stairs to her. "Is there anything else you need really quick before we go, Tohru?"
She sighed, looking up at him. "You're really not changing your mind, are you?"
"Nope."
Tohru sighed again, then reached up and took his hand. "Fine, I will humor you. But if we get turned away at the hospital, then that's all-"
She was just straightening up when she felt a sudden sharp pulling feeling inside her, and she gasped at the sensation. Then she felt an unexpected dampness, and her eyes widened as she looked at Kyo.
"What is it, what's wrong? What happened?" Kyo was trying not to panic, but considering what he'd just seen, that was a tall order. "Are you ok? What happened?"
Tohru took a breath, trying to keep herself calm all of a sudden. "I need to go the bathroom, Kyo. I think my water might just have broken."
Kyo's eyes flared. "What does that mean? Are you ok?"'
"It means we definitely have to go to the hospital, after I've had a chance to go to the bathroom. And if you could please get me a change of clothes-"
"On it!" Kyo didn't waste a second, bolting off once again, and Tohru took another breath to steady herself.
This was all ok, she was fine, they were going to be fine...
"Ok, Mrs. Sohma, we've got another contraction. How are you feeling?"
"Fine," Tohru managed to say, though considering the death grip she had on Kyo's hand he found himself strongly distrustful of the word 'fine.' But after a little while, Tohru let out her breath and loosened her grip, looking up at Kyo with an apologetic smile.
"I'm so sorry, Kyo, is your hand ok?"
"Yeah, it's fine, Tohru. I already told you, you don't have to apologize! Squeeze my hand as hard as you like, for god's sake, at least it makes me feel like I can do something."
Even though Tohru felt it was inappropriate, she couldn't help but giggle at the aggrieved and guilty tone in her husband's voice. "I'm having a baby, Kyo-"
"-I know that, it's kinda obvious!"
Ignoring his interruption, Tohru continued, "-and that means that I'm the one who has to deal with all of this. I'm so happy you're here," she said, patting his hand affectionately, "but there's not really a lot you can do, besides that."
Kyo sighed, then leaned down and tucked a loose lock of Tohru's hair back behind her ear. He knew she was right, even if it absolutely sucked. He had been a basket case their entire drive to the hospital, but at least then he'd felt like he was actually doing something. He'd been the one to get their bags ready, to help Tohru change, to get her in the car, to drive her, to help get her checked in, and now...
Now, pretty much all he could do was be a human stress ball, and he kind of hated it.
On the one hand, he was relieved and ecstatic to be here. Hajime had been born vie an emergency c-section, and Kyo hadn't made it to the hospital until Tohru was already unconscious and in surgery. Seeing her that way, without actually knowing why, had been terrifying, and learning why hadn't helped much until she actually woke up and he knew she was going to be ok. But he'd never wanted to repeat any part of that experience again; the next time Tohru was going to have his baby, he was going to be there.
And he was, so that part was good. But it was an entirely new kind of suck to have to sit here and watch Tohru deal with everything, from the needles to the invasive exams to the obvious pain. He'd actually been relieved by how hard Tohru was squeezing his hand during her more recent contractions, hoping that she was somehow able to transfer some of her own pain and discomfort into him.
That said, he'd always been impressed with her grip strength, and her regular grip strength had nothing on this.
Tohru lay back against her pillow, still holding onto Kyo's hand. For a little while she closed her eyes, and Kyo wondered if she was trying to go to sleep. But then that familiar pained expression crossed her face again, and Kyo steeled himself as her grip once again tightened around his hand, feeling like she was trying to crush his very bones.
"You're doing great, Tohru," he encouraged, covering her hand with his other one. "Just keep breathing."
And she did, before finally loosening her grip once more. "I don't think I like this all that much, Kyo," she admitted, collapsing back against her pillow once again. "Last time I was sad I didn't get to do this part, but it's...not really that great," she said, looking almost embarrassed by her confession.
Kyo looked at her as though she was crazy. "Why're you apologizing, Tohru? You think I'm gonna judge you for not liking...this?" He chuckled, reaching out to stroke her cheek, then sobered up before saying seriously, "You're doing so great, Tohru. And I wish there was something I could do to take some of the pain away, seriously. It sucks, that you have to do this all by yourself."
Tohru smiled, leaning into his hand. "I'm not doing it by myself, though. You're here with me."
"Well, I'm not gonna go anywhere."
"Ok, Sohma, I need you to get ready for another push. Push with everything you've got this time, ok?"
Tohru was in so much pain that she practically couldn't see straight, every cell in her body crying out for some kind of relief from a pain she couldn't recall ever feeling the equal of. Had it hurt this much when she got stabbed? When she fell off the cliff? She couldn't say for sure, but she was pretty sure that right now was the worst physical pain of her life. All she wanted to do was to cry, and to stop; to stop every part of this, to collect herself and have some time to rest and not be in pain for at least a little while before she needed to continue.
She had a death grip on Kyo's hand, and his tight return grip was like an anchor. Even when she couldn't find anything else because of the pain, she could feel him there, with his hand in hers and his other hand on her back. Hear him, murmuring encouragement.
She only wished she could accept it.
"Kyo, I can't do this. I can't do this, it hurts too much. It hurts so badly and I can't do it because I'm not strong enough and I just want to stop, I just want to stop, Kyo!" The words tumbled out in a rapid jumble, mingled with tears and hiccups, and she could feel Kyo's hand tighten. She couldn't lift her head to look at him now, but she could guess how he was looking; the tiny part of her brain not overtaken by pain felt bad for burdening him. But she couldn't do this, she just didn't see how!
"You can, Tohru," Kyo's voice came, low and encouraging. "You can, and you are! I know it hurts, and I wish I could stop it, but I can't. You're so close though, Tohru, so close and so strong and you can do this, I know you can! And then you can rest, and I'll be right here with you. Me, and our baby."
Tohru wanted to respond, but the pain was once again ripping through her. She wanted to cry, but she couldn't; she had to breathe, and she had to push.
She could hear Dr. Watanabe counting as she pushed, and Tohru tried to focus on the numbers. On Kyo's hand. On the cold metal railing in her other hand. Kyo's voice. Anything to take her mind off of the pain. It was overwhelming her, overpowering her; she couldn't do this, she couldn't do this, she couldn't do this-
Suddenly, Tohru felt a great release, as though she were a bottle that had just lost its cork. And the pain was gone, replaced by something that maybe in another time would count as pain, but compared to what she'd just felt was nothing. And for a moment, all she could do was breathe, and to appreciate the sensation of finally being pain-free.
Then all at once, the room was filled with the sound of wailing, and Tohru's head immediately jerked to look at Kyo. He was looking at her, an expression of sheer undisguised relief on his face, and his eyes were filled with tears. But the look in those eyes...
Tohru's own eyes were teary, from the relief as well as that pain. But she could see well enough as she and Kyo both turned to look at the foot of the bed, and the red-faced baby being quickly checked over by the nurses. Then Dr. Watanabe smiled, taking the baby and bringing it over to put on Tohru's chest.
"Congratulations, you two. You have another healthy little son!"
Then Tohru was gasping again, but no longer with pain. And as the sobs started to overwhelm her, she could feel Kyo leaning down to press his forehead against hers, one hand coming up to cradle hers as she held the baby against her.
"You did it, Tohru, you did it!"
"He's so perfect, isn't he, Kyo? It's amazing, just how perfect they can be when they're so very tiny!"
The three of them had settled into Tohru's recovery room, and Kyo was lying on the bed beside her as she cradled their son. It was late, but neither of them was ready for sleep yet; they were both far too wound up.
Kyo smiled, gently tracing a finger over the baby's nose. "He really is. Almost as perfect as his mom," he said, looking at her.
Tohru blushed self-consciously. "I'm hardly perfect, Kyo, especially not right now!" Though she'd been cleaned off after giving birth, she knew she looked like a bit of a fright and she still felt...weird. And she knew she'd feel weird, for some time to come; the postpartum period was definitely not known for its glamor.
Kyo was shaking his head, though. "Nope. I just watched you go through all of that to get our son out, and you were just...amazing, Tohru. So amazing I can barely believe it."
It was nice to hear, even if she thought he was being overly dramatic. "It wasn't that great, Kyo, I was pretty embarrassing!"
"Nope, just pretty perfect. Perfect and amazing, just like him," Kyo said, smiling once again at the baby.
Tohru turned her attention back to the baby as well with a fond look. "He really is, isn't he?" Gently, she ran her finger over the downy fuzz on his head; there wasn't a whole lot of it, definitely not as much as Hajime had had, but it was extremely obvious due to its bright orange color, the exact same shade as Kyo's. The hair had amused both of them, once the baby had been cleaned off enough to see it, though Kyo had also been a little amazed.
Who knew that orange was such a genetically dominant color?
Kyo wrapped his arm around Tohru, resting his head against hers as they both looked at their new son. "You did great, Tohru."
And she smiled, rubbing her cheek against his. "We did great, Kyo."
Many hours later, Kyo stuck his head around the hospital room door. "Hey...are you ready, Tohru?"
Tohru sat up a little straighter against her pillows, cradling the baby in her arms. "We are! You can come in!"
Kyo nodded, then walked into the room holding onto Hajime's hand. "Alright, Hajime! Remember, we have to be gentle, ok? Mommy is really tired right now, and we have to be very, very careful with Mommy."
Hajime was practically skipping, he was so excited to see Tohru, but he nodded seriously up at Kyo. "Ok, Daddy! I be very careful wif Mommy, I help take care of her!" Then he saw Tohru, and the calm, serious manner was gone, replaced at once with eager excitement. "MOMMY!" He lunged towards the bed, stopped only by Kyo's grip on his hand, and Hajime pulled against it with a whine.
"Hello my sweet Hajime," Tohru beamed, as happy to see him as he was to see her but also relieved that Kyo was keeping him from simply charging at the bed. "Are you ready to meet your new brother?"
"Yes! Yes I am, I am! I tol' you we were gonna have a baby bruvver, an' we do!"
Kyo lifted Hajime onto the bed and set him beside Tohru, who immediately wrapped an arm around her eldest. And Hajime snuggled against Tohru's side as he peeked over at the sleeping baby.
"Izzat our baby, Mommy?"
"Yes, he's our baby, Hajime!"
"Do we getta keep him?"
"Yes, we do."
"Always?"
"Always and forever," Tohru said, glancing up at Kyo with a shining smile.
Hajime considered that for a minute as he looked at the baby. "What's his name?"
Kyo sat down on the edge of the bed beside them. "Katsuro. What do you think?"
Hajime looked from the baby to his parents, then frowned. "But I wanted to call him Baby!"
Tohru and Kyo both laughed, and Kyo ruffled Hajime's hair. "We might call him that sometimes, too, but Mommy and I decided he looked like a Katsuro."
"He does?" Now Hajime was curious, leaning over and peering at his brother again.
"Yes, he does," Tohru said, smiling. "Just like you look like a Hajime, he looks like a Katsuro."
"Wow!"
Tohru and Kyo laughed again, and Tohru cuddled Hajime and Katsuro before looking back up at Kyo, who was beaming at the three of them.
'Wow,' indeed.
Later that day, it was just Tohru and Kyo in Tohru's room, Kyo once again lying on the bed beside Tohru. She was drowsy, but watching interestedly as Kyo finished typing up a text message.
"What do you think, look good?"
She smiled, resting her head on his shoulder. "It looks perfect, Kyo."
"Good. But I'm gonna put your phone on silent before I send it, 'cause you really need to take a nap, ok Tohru?"
She felt like she should argue, but he had a point. It had been a very long day, and it was barely late afternoon. "Fine, but you'd better be here when I wake up."
And Kyo chuckled, rubbing his cheek against her. "As if you could get rid of me if you tried."
A picture of Kyo and Tohru on Tohru's bed, Katsuro cradled in Tohru's arms and Hajime grinning from in between his parents.
'Katsuro Sohma joined us at 1:53am on Sunday, June 7th, 20.5 inches, 7 pounds 13 ounces. Everything went well, Tohru and Katsuro are both doing great, and Kyo and Hajime are looking forward to taking care of them both!'