Summery; Warning; Disclaimer: See First Chapter.
I am NO GOOD at writing labor scenes. I'm just not, so you'll have to deal with it. I considered having her call out for Aoshi, and then have this huge angst scene involving the three of them, but I decided against it. Sano/Aiko all the way in this fic, people! This is the...BA-BUM-BUUUM! Last Chapter! Wow...I feel both sad and happy, ya know? My Pretear fic will be ended soon as well, just so ya all know. I hope this is a good last chapter, people!
Please review if you read.
"Oh, my," Dr. Genzai said calmly, as the group arrived in the dojo. Kaoru and Yahiko had followed his orders to the letter, and Sano laid Aiko down on the mat they had prepared, next to hot water and towels. "Sanosuke, help me remove these robes," he ordered. Souzou, Kenshin, and Yahiko quietly exited the room to wait outside the door while Kaoru remained behind to assist the doctor and patient.
"Aiko…hold on," Sano prayed, as she gripped his hand as a painful spasm rocked her body.
"The labor was going to be hard enough naturally, but in an induced state like this…" Dr. Genzai trailed, shaking his head, and Sano shot him a sharp glance.
"Like what?"
"The baby has a high risk of being still-born at this rate, and Aiko could easily die," Dr. Genzai told them reluctantly, and turned to Kaoru. "Kaoru, tell one of them to get Megumi."
"Yes!" Kaoru nodded, and rushed outside. Sano sat with his legs straight out in front of him, with Aiko resting against his chest. He gripped her arms tightly as she spasmed again, and hearing her cry of pain caused anguish to the young man as well. "Souzou is going," she panted, returning in a few seconds. "What can I do?"
"Fetch clean sheets and bandages," the doctor told them. "Megumi will know what to bring with her. Until she arrives, there's not much I can for her."
"Damn fox better hurry up then," Sano threatened mentally, his hand numbed from Aiko's tight grip on it.
"Is there any hope at all that she'll live?" Sano demanded, as the two doctors exchanged dark glances almost two hours later. "Well?"
"…Yes," Megumi finally said.
"Then do whatever it takes!" he snapped, never taking his eyes off his wife. Kaoru had loosened her hair, and it clung damply to her sickly-white face and sweat-stained robes.
"We are!" Megumi replied sharply, but her tone lacked conviction. Bending in-between Aiko's legs, the woman looked up at the laboring young woman, her voice crisp. "Push, Aiko! You must push and end this soon!"
Aiko only shrieked in pain, causing Sano to wince. He held her in his arms as her back arched, and closed his eyes in dismay. Kaoru suddenly stood up and left the room, but no one paid any attention.
"How is she?" Kenshin asked in concern.
"From the sounds in there, not well at all, am I correct?" Souzou guessed, his tone cool and collected. "She's going to die, isn't she, Miss Kaoru? There's nothing either doctor can to do save her – it's the baby that's the concern now."
"How can you be so calm about it?" Kaoru shouted tearfully, and Kenshin held her gently as she burst into tears. "This is killing Sano…he knows she's dying," she sobbed, and Yahiko stared intently at the ground, swinging his legs forcefully. "Dr. Genzai said only a miracle could make either of them come out alive," she ended brokenly, and the two men blinked in surprise.
"Them?" Kenshin repeated in confusion. "Dr. Genzai does mean Aiko and the baby, does he not?"
"No…there are twins."
Souzou's jaw actually dropped, and Yahiko fell over in surprise.
"Damn it," Megumi whispered, as the minutes ticked away. "This can't go on any longer. We'll have to cut them out, Sanosuke."
"Fine," he nodded, Aiko now limp and panting in his arms. Suddenly, she seemed to grow more coherent and sat up straighter, bracing herself with Sano's arms.
"No…" she managed, shifting around. "I can…do this!" Closing her eyes tightly, she drew on Sano's strength, almost breaking his fingers with her grip. She gathered her emotions within her once more, sensing her child's as well around her. "I…have to do this…" she told herself. "I can't…give up. I'm strong…I can't leave yet! I won't!"
"This is it!" Dr. Genzai announced, he and Megumi becoming more alert in an instant. "I think she may actually manage it!"
"That's my girl…" Sano murmured, supporting her as she pushed again with all the strength she could muster.
"Sano…I can…Sano…" Aiko's trailed off in a scream of pain, and Megumi actually smiled in delight as Dr. Genzai grabbed a towel. Everything seemed to happen instantaneously to Sanosuke, who suddenly saw the old man holding a bloody towel, with a beaming grin on his face as Megumi remained between Aiko's legs. Another jolt of pain streaked through her body, accompanied by a second agonized cry. In slow motion, Sano saw Megumi also holding a bloodied towel, which she suddenly handed to Dr. Genzai and returned to Aiko with a concerned look.
"She's bleeding to death," she said sharply.
"What?" Sano blinked uncomprehendingly, but Megumi ignored him. Aiko lay still in his arms, her chest barely moving as Dr. Genzai busied himself with the bundles. Several more moments passed when Megumi straightened with a relieved sigh, leaning back on her heels.
"I suppose there's a reason she's a swordswoman," the woman informed Sano calmly. "Aiko's not going to die after all."
"And you have two beautiful babies!" Dr. Genzai added cheerfully, and Sano almost fainted – everything was too much and happening far too fast for the poor guy.
"B-bah-babies?" Sano stammered, his eyes wide with shock. "You mean there's – there's more than one?"
"Twins!" Kaoru exclaimed, rushing in anxiously. Peering over Dr. Genzai's shoulder, since he still held them, she looked up with a bright smile. "A boy and girl, Sano!"
"Wow, Sanosuke, you must've really been packing it!" Yahiko commented, and Kenshin dragged him outside the next instant. Everything merely washed over Sano as he sat there blinking in shock, and suddenly looked down at his sleeping wife.
"Holy crap…" he managed, and jumped when Dr. Genzai held them out to him.
"Hold them! They're your children as well, Sanosuke," he informed him calmly. "Hold them!"
"Shall I call for a wet nurse?" Megumi asked calmly, but Sano stopped her with a shake of his head.
"No – Aiko wanted to do it herself," he explained, and Megumi nodded.
"I'll have to wake her up, then."
"All right – hey!" he protested, as Dr. Genzai suddenly thrust the children into his arms. Sano blinked down at them in confusion, and the girl waved her hand at him as the boy laughed happily.
"Say hello to your daddy, you two!" Kaoru supplied with a laugh. "He may be a good-for-nothing slacker, but he's all yours!"
"Hey!"
"What kind of impression is that to give them of their father?" Kenshin asked quietly, interrupting the overwhelmed Sano. Kaoru nodded in agreement, and returned her attentions to the babies.
"And he beats people up for a living, too!"
"I do not!"
"But he loves your mother very much, and I'm sure he'll love you two just as much," Souzou put in quietly, shutting their teasing up. Aiko groaned as Megumi helped her to sit up, and her gaze fell on Sano holding their children.
"T-twins?"
"That was his reaction exactly," Megumi said dryly, taking them from Sano and handing them to Aiko. Turning to the others, she glared at them sharply. "Get out, you guys! Now! Leave!" Once everyone else had left, Dr. Genzai followed Megumi out as well, sliding the door behind them to give the new parents some privacy.
"Sano…twins…"
"You made it," he interrupted her by pulling her to him roughly, feeling the two babies against his chest as well. "And you kept them alive as well. Aiko…you were dying."
"I know I was," she nodded, rocking the twins as they suckled at her breasts. "I could…feel it somehow. And when I felt our babies dying as well – I couldn't give up, Sano, I just couldn't."
"I'm glad," he murmured into her hair. The new family sat there quietly, Sano holding his wife and children in his arms tightly as Aiko sighed deeply and rested against his chest in relief.
"Sonya?" Kaoru repeated several days later, blinking.
"It was my mother's name," Aiko told them calmly, holding Sonya and keeping a sharp eye on her husband, who was awkwardly holding the boy.
"Hey, I'd be at lot better at this if you didn't keep shooting me those looks!" he complained, noticing Kaoru and Aiko glancing at him.
"And what will you call the boy?" Kenshin asked curiously. Sano and Aiko exchanged glances, and Sano decided to speak up.
"Souzou – well, Souzou formally, but Taro after her father to avoid confusion," he added. The elder Souzou remained kneeling calmly, and the others blinked. "We already talked that over with the Captain – he means a lot to both of us. Hell, he's like my father in a lot of ways. So, meet Souzou and Sonya Sagara."
"She has your eyes, Sano," Yahiko noticed, peering at the attentive babies. "So does Souzou. They kinda look like you, too."
"I was hoping they'd take after their mother," Sano said calmly, and Kaoru shot him an evil grin.
"So were we," she informed him. "We didn't want them to go through life looking like you, after all."
"Hey!"
"But Taro looks like he's going to have your hair, Aiko," Kaoru continued, ignoring Sano's stammers. Souzou coolly saved his namesake from his father as Sano scooted over to the two women, looking sulky.
"It's all right, Sano," Aiko said absently, suppressing laughter of her own. "I think you're the best-looking man here. Next to Souzou, of course."
"Now, hold on just a sec!" he began, but suddenly stopped as Kenshin looked up.
"Aoshi?" Aiko started, but the ninja turned to Sano with the same expressionless gaze as always.
"I want to talk to you, Sagara," he said calmly. Sano got to his feet and strode after the ninja, leaving the others slightly worried.
"Don't worry – Sano won't do anything," Yahiko supplied, still preoccupied with the babies. Kenshin abruptly found himself holding Taro as Souzou stood as well and followed the two men outside the dojo walls.
"Kenshin! Don't drop him!' Kaoru yelled, as the Wanderer's eyes bugged out at the surprise of holding the baby, causing Kaoru to rescue Taro once more.
"What do you want, Shinomori?" Sano asked darkly, facing off against Aoshi in the trees.
"I came to warn you," the other man replied calmly.
"About what?"
"If you ever do anything to hurt Aiko, or the children – you won't live long enough to regret it," Aoshi informed Sano, whose eyes widened in both shock and indignation.
"Who do you think you are, to show up and threaten me?" he demanded, but froze when Aoshi unexpectedly appeared close behind him, his hand on Sano's shoulder.
"Someone who also loves Aiko, and won't see her hurt by the likes of you," he whispered dangerously. "She's made her choice, and loves you instead, but don't think her love will protect you if that time comes."
"I don't expect it to," Sano said stiffly, surprising the other man. "If I ever do anything to hurt her, or my children, I'll be grateful for you coming after me. I wouldn't want to live with myself."
"As long as we have an understanding," Aoshi nodded, and disappeared as suddenly as he had come. Sano stalked back to the dojo, his back stiff, Souzou's presence having gone unnoticed by both men as he hid in the shadows to watch the entire exchange.
"They've grown so big!" Kaoru exclaimed, rushing to meet the Sagaras almost a year afterward. Sano and Aiko had moved out shortly after she had recovered, and were now living several blocks away from the Akabeko, where Sano was working to pay off his debts and Aiko sometimes helped out Tae.
"I know, haven't they?" Aiko smiled, blooming in her motherhood. Sano was full of pride for his family, and it showed in the new way he carried himself. At Aiko's request he had refrained from shedding the "evil" symbol from his back, having said that it was part of who he was and she couldn't picture him without it. Even with it, however, the change in his attitude was obvious to anyone who had once known Sanosuke Sagara, known as Zanza in the underworld.
"The Captain sent a letter – we got it yesterday," Sano told them, as they strode toward the dojo. Aiko had continued practicing the Kamiya-Kasshin style with Kaoru and Yahiko, insisting it was easier for her to handle even after she had regained her former figure and stamina. "He's in Germany now."
"How are his travels going?" Kenshin asked, appearing with the laundry on his head.
"He's enjoying it," Sano grinned, cheerfully taking his children from their mother. "I'm glad he decided to travel the continent – he needed something to do, and he used to talk about seeing the rest of the world one day. Thanks to the government pardon issued and all that dough they gave him as well, he can finally do it."
"And Sano's finally coming close to paying off his debts," Aiko added teasingly, and Yahiko laughed, also having continued working at the Akabeko.
"Tae said I didn't need to pay up," he grumbled in embarrassment, but she only shook her finger at him.
"After all that you had on that tab, there was no way I was letting you skip out on it just because Tae was in a good mood after meeting the babies," Aiko informed him sternly, and he hung his head in most dismay. "Aw, cheer up, Sanosuke! Look, Taro's smiling at you!"
"Aw, he is, isn't he?" Sano smirked in satisfaction, beaming back at his son. Glancing up he caught Kenshin's eye, and grinned at him. "And you and missy here had the nerve to go and tie the knot without even a word to us!"
"Well…we didn't want to cause a fuss…" Kenshin stammered, backing away as he tried to figure out how Sano had learned about it before noticing Yahiko's snickering. "Yahiko…"
"Bye!" the kid shouted, waving as he tore across the yard.
"Funny how things turned out," Aiko commented, preparing to begin her practice. "Isn't it?"
"Not really," Sano shrugged, stretching out on his back as Taro and Sonya sat on his stomach. "I told you when we met, didn't I? You were gonna come back to me."
"I came back to you?" she repeated in mock anger, before laughing at his expression. "I know, Sanosuke. You were right, too. And I'll never live it down – especially when I wasn't going to come back after all."
"Eh…the Captain would've made you," Sano waved his hand absently, earning a smack on the head with the wooden weapon. "Hey! Cut that out, missy!"
"Show some me some respect in my own dojo, you free-loader," she sniffed, and he groaned.
"I can't win."
"Stop being so touchy, Sano," Aiko said, kissing him briefly before turning back to her practice.
What'd I tell ya? Sucky labor scene, but I think I did decent for the most part. I tried to sort of wrap things up a little, while still leaving a sense of mystery, ya know?I couldn't just leave Aoshi's role in this hanging, so I decided on the scene with Sanosuke instead. Ah...Aoshi loving from afar. Perhaps that will come into play in a sequel? It's up to you guys, so review and let me know what you thought of this story!