(A/N – Here we are! The last chapter of "Hope, Light and Key Lime Pie"! It felt really good to write a whole story instead of editing my old ones, and it felt even better to do a happy, sappy Takari fic! I hope you enjoy and always remember the first rule when reading my fics: Expect the unexpected.)
Hope, Light and Key Lime Pie – Chapter 11
"Oh, that's great, Kari! A really peaceful birth? You and TK caught him? Wow. Yeah, I read the articles on unassisted births. I once wrote a paper on it. Uh-huh? Yeah. Well, when the umbilical cord stops pulsing and turns white, then you can tie it off and wait until the placenta is delivered. Sure, just one push should do it. When you feel more contractions, just push with them and it should come out. Okay. All right, I'll see you two later. Bye!"
Joe slapped his phone shut and laughed as he picked up his walkie-talkie. "Kido to McKnight!"
"McKnight here, go ahead."
"Kari gave birth to a baby girl twenty minutes ago!"
"Whoa! That's great! Amazing!"
"Everything went well, according to Kari it was the most peaceful, loving experience she ever had. Baby is happy and healthy. No complications."
"That's wonderful, man. As soon as the weather clears and everything is back online here, we're going to check up on them."
"Aye, sir. Kido out." Joe said, pocketing the device. He picked up his flashlight and cell phone and began dialing. Funny, he thought as the phone rang on the other end. Usually the placenta comes out within fifteen minutes of birth…oh well.
"Hey, Tai! Guess what?"
"She's finally asleep." Kari whispered.
"I was wondering when she was going to stop." TK cooed, "She just kept going on and on."
"Who are you telling?" Kari said, grinning slightly, sitting up slightly from the mass of blankets on the floor. "Oh, I hope the placenta comes fast. I could use a nice bath."
"Did the umbilical cord stop pulsing? I could tie it off and cut it so you can get a break." TK offered.
Kari felt around under the blanket for the thick cord leading from the baby's stomach. It still pulsed slightly as blood flowed from her body to the child she carried for nine months.
"Nope. Tomko is still getting every last bit she can outta me." Kari said, groaning and shifting. "Ooh. Feels like it's about to come out now. The pulsing is slowing down. TK, get the scissors and some dental floss from the bathroom."
"Spearmint or cinnamon flavored?" TK asked, grinning.
"Plain would be just fine. I doubt Tomko can taste it. And don't forget to sterilize the scissors."
"Sure will…I'll do it on the stove. Stay right there."
Kari shifted under the blankets again, attempting to pull herself up to a sitting position "Whoa." She groaned, as she fell back to her lying position on the floor. The pressure between her legs was growing. She's felt this before…
"Kari!" Dr. McKnight called out. "Are you still feeling contractions?" he asked as he made his way towards the foot of the bed and looked up the sheet.
"Yeah, but that's normal, right?" Kari asked, shifting uncomfortably in the bed as Dr. McKnight examined her. "The extra contractions help expel the birth fluids and evacuate the womb right?"
"Oh, you're doing more than expelling birth fluids. You're HAVING another baby!
It was a moment of realization. The prophecy, the beam of light at her stomach…it all added up. It made perfect sense.
Kari started laughing, her belly jiggling with each chuckle. She screamed laughing, being careful not to wake the sleeping baby on her chest as the feeling of pressure intensified. "TK! TK!" She called, shifting around on the blankets.
TK quickly padded into the living room, his head cocked to one side in confusion as he saw Kari laughing on the floor looking under the blanket that covered her.
"Is afterbirth that funny?" He asked, walking around in front of her.
"TK, we're two big dummies, you know that?" Kari asked, chuckling. "I mean, it was sitting right here in front of us the whole time and we both missed it."
"What did we miss?"
"The signs, angel. The signs." Kari said in an anxious whisper as she slowly pulled herself up into a squatting position, bracing herself against the couch, still holding her sleeping child in her arms. "I need you to help me, TK…"
TK looked up at Kari who was still giggling. "Oh no…not again. Not here… not now…"
"What else from the children of hope and light?" Kari said, breathing heavily. "Now, come on. Come catch our blessing, it's coming faster than I can control. I'm not pushing at all."
Quickly, TK sank to the floor and looked under the blanket, a small gasp hissing from his lips. He looked up at Kari who had a small enigmatic smile.
"Go ahead, TK. Catch." Kari said, groaning slightly.
TK reached down and supported the emerging child's head, carefully guiding it out of Kari's body. "Here it comes. Here it comes." He whispered a stream of tears streaming down his face.
"Oh!" Kari groaned, feeling the all too familiar release in her bottom.
"The head is out, sweet. You're almost done."
Kari arched her back and groaned loudly as the shoulders emerged from the birth canal. As though aware of what was going on, the infant in her arms opened her eyes and looked down at her father slowly guiding her sibling out their mother.
"And there." TK whispered as he placed the newborn on its mother's waiting chest. "It's a girl."
"Another girl?" Kari whispered, looking longingly at the new child on her chest, now softly crying and whimpering as TK covered them with a towel. "Hello my two beautiful girls…I'm your mommy, yes…I'm your mommy…Ooh!"
"There's the placenta." TK said, looking at the mass of veins and tissue that was just expelled. "Hey…the cords…they shared a placenta."
"They're identical twins." Kari cooed as the newborn started to nurse, the oldest looking on curiously. "Two baby girls…TK…we have two new baby girls."
"Tamago and Karashi are going to go over the moon." TK said, whispering. "Do you want me to wake them up and tell them now?" he asked, gesturing to the closed bedroom door.
"No, they need their sleep. Besides, this is just one more secret that we can keep from them." Kari whispered, smiling.
TK looked back up at the bedroom door and grinned ruefully. "Wanna bet?"
From their now open bedroom door, Tamago and Karashi tiptoed over to their mother who was now nursing both her newborn daughters.
"Come see your two new baby sisters." Kari whispered, smiling warmly.
"I knew mommy's tummy was big! It was bigger than Aunt Sora's tummy is now, and she only has one baby!" Karashi said.
"Mommy? Are you sure you don't have any more in there?" Tamago asked curiously, looking at her now flat stomach. "Maybe one hiding in there like I was?"
"Oh no. I can safely say that mommy's stomach is empty." Kari said, wearily yet happily.
"Hey!" Koumiko said, running to the sliding window that lead out to the porch. "Look! It stopped raining!"
Outside, bright beams of sunlight shown through the window as the dark rain clouds moved off revealing a soul blue sky.
"Ma'am! Ma'am! You have got to quit smacking your husband and concentrate on your breathing if you want to get this baby out of here!"
"It's all his fault anyway! He was the one who fed me the ol' "bear my child" line and I was fool enough to fall for it!" the young woman growled as she whapped her mate on the cheek again.
"Ow!" he cried, rubbing his now purple cheek. "Look, San—"
"Kido to McKnight! Kido to McKnight!"
"Thank God for distractions." The black doctor mumbled as he excused himself and walked out into the dark hallway. He pulled out his walkie-talkie. "McKnight here, go ahead."
"Josh. It's Kari. You're not going to believe this but she just had a baby girl!"
"I know this, man!" Dr. McKnight yelled in the device. "You told me about an hour ago, remember?"
"No, I mean…she had ANOTHER baby girl!"
"Joe, please don't play like that. Are you serious!"
"Mother and babies are doing just fine. Identical twins."
"Joe, that's…that's…."
"Medically impossible, I know…but with these two, the impossible becomes possible."
Dr. McKnight rubbed a hand across his nearly shaven scalp. "We're going down there even if we have to rent a boat!"
"Yes sir. Everything is clearing up outside, and engineering says we'll have full power any—"
CA-CHUNK!
Dr. McKnight shut his eyes as the bright fluorescent light filled the hallway and stung his eyes.
"Now that's what I'm talking about!" the African-American doctor said into the walkie-talkie. "Get TK and Kari on the line, and tell them that we're gonna be making a house call on them later."
"Aye sir. Kido out."
SMACK!
"OW!"
"You lecherous monk! Keep your hands off me!"
"How can I be lecherous! I married you for God's sake!"
Dr. McKnight allowed his head to slump down and thump against the door as he pushed it open.
"All right, lets get our systems back up and running." Dr. McKnight said cheerfully crossing behind the main reception desk, powering up the terminals. "Let's bring all computer systems online, and update the patient boards. Joe, we have a house call to make."
"Yes sir, just waiting for…Oh, Steve, there you are." Joe said, as Steve walked in, his hair slightly messy, his face now bearing a very goofy smile. "Do me a favor and call back all the cancelled appointments to reschedule." Joe said, typing in commands at a computer console.
"Yes, sir!" Steve said, flipping through the pages in the appointment book. Dr. McKnight passed behind him, scanning the monitors.
"Nice job, Kimosabe." The elder doctor said, patting Steve on the back. "You made it through your first major hospital emergency."
"Thanks Dr. McKnight. Really, there was nothing to it."
"By the way, what got you grinning like the cat who swallowed the canary?" Dr. McKnight asked, while Steve flipped through the charts, humming a tune.
"Huh? Oh! Well, I um that is to say we um…"
"Never mind…never mind…" the black doctor said, waiving him off. "Dr. Kido, lets go make a housecall."
The African-American doctor gave him a smile and walked off as Steve picked up the receiver. As he dialed the number, Julia walked up behind him and kissed his cheek.
"We're still on for dinner later?" Julia cooed in his ear.
"Oh yeah, you know it." Steve said, covering the mouthpiece with his hand as he kissed her back. "I'll talk to you later."
"Bye-bye boo!" Julia said, flashing him a grin as she walked down the hallway.
"Hello? Kamaya residence? Hello? Hello!"
Steve snapped back to reality as he remembered he was holding a phone. "Hello? Is this the Kamaya residence? Yes, well we're just calling to reschedule your thirty-week appointment." Steve continued. "What time would be good for you? Yes, we do have an opening at three o'clock. Okay. All right. We'll see you then. Bye-bye!"
The END?
(A/N – I know you don't think that's all from the Blue Socked wonder, do you? Oh-ho! I'm just getting started! I'm currently in collaboration with my good friend Steve-Racer, and we're gonna come back with a Taiora story that nobody has ever done! You can expect great things from this dream team! But in the meantime, please review the story and keep on the lookout! I want to thank all the readers and reviewers who read my stories and give me so much encouragement! You guys are the best!)