Things got both easier and more challenging after that day. Easier, because now they both knew what was going on with Tohru, and harder, because...now they knew what was going on with Tohru. But armed with that knowledge and a determination to make it through with as little a disruption to their normal lives as possible, Tohru and Kyo dove right into figuring out solutions.

In the first place, Tohru being productive that first weekend was thrown completely out the window. Kyo had to go into work as usual on Saturday and cover some classes on Sunday, but she was supposed to stay in bed and rest until and unless she actually physically felt like getting up. He even stockpiled her bedside table with things she might need, like water, all the papers from the doctor, and some snacks so she wouldn't have any reason to go downstairs.

Much to Tohru's irritation, for the time being she was going to be cutting back on chores. It pained her to abandon any of her responsibilities, but as long as she was fighting the uphill battle with fatigue it just didn't make any sense for her to wear herself out any more than she had to. So Kyo would be taking over anything with too much heavy lifting, specifically the laundry, and things with chemicals, like cleaning the bathrooms. They were also going to make a change to their grocery shopping routine; instead of Tohru shopping after work for the current day's meal, she'd shop for the following day. That way Kyo could handle most of the prep work the following morning before work, and all Tohru would have to do to make dinner was actually cook it. She also accepted the wisdom of stocking up on some more instant meals, and snacks.

Knowing that the chores weren't sitting around waiting for her made Tohru feel a bit better, even if she hated that Kyo was adding to his already significant workload. But he had just hugged her.

"I'm already up early in the mornings, I have time. Don't worry about it."

Another new thing, which they started the following week, was that instead of just walking Tohru to the bus stop in Hibe, Kyo now took her all the way to the clinic door in Nigeyashi. It cost him an hour of his personal training time at the dojo, and Tohru at first tried to talk him out of it. But he'd been adamant; as long as she was dealing with this fatigue or any other serious side effects, he felt more comfortable seeing her safely to the door. And it was nice, riding the bus together every morning!

Kyo escorting Tohru to the office every morning also made it easy for him on the morning of Tohru's first OB/GYN visit with Dr. Watanabe; all he had to do was just walk inside.

He felt a bit like he was trespassing as he followed Tohru back to the exam room. Tohru had worked here since a month after they'd moved to the area; even though the clinic hadn't even been on her radar at first, a visit in their first week to sort of birth control had led to a very nice conversation with the receptionist while she waited. One thing had led to another, and she'd ended up applying for the second available receptionist position.

And it seemed to have worked out well, he had to admit, though he'd initially been surprised by the choice. It was hard to picture Tohru in a medical setting, even if she was just answering the phones! But listening to her excited comments about the patients over the years had made Kyo understand that it really was a perfect job for her; she could listen and share in other women's joys, or their sorrows, and perpetually be on the periphery of something that made her incredibly happy.

But she wasn't on the periphery now.

Tohru was aware, as always, that Kyo was being checked out by her coworkers as they made their way back to the exam room. Some of the nurses were giving him the same sort of looks Ami had, some were just curious; everyone liked Sohma, and no one had met her husband before. It made Tohru feel proud, as well as excited, to be able to show everyone the man she'd married.

She'd been both excited and incredibly nervous about this appointment. Today was the day they'd have their first ultrasound; see how big the baby was, and make sure that everything was...ok. If it was, they'd see the heartbeat, and the first small hints of the baby shape to come. But if it wasn't...then there was no way to know until now. She'd tried to temper her excitement with caution; logically, she knew it was possible that things might not be what they'd hope. But it was hard not to worry, not now.

Kyo had held her hand the whole time. He had been true to his word; from the very day his books had arrived, he had spent every free moment at home reading. Often he'd lie on the bed beside Tohru while she slept, book in hand, glancing over at her with sympathetic winces when he read something particularly nasty. It had been good, to learn more about what was going on with Tohru.

Even if some of it was mildly terrifying.

He knew how anxious she was about the ultrasound, and he was, too. From his initial feelings of confusion and anxiety, happiness and excitement had gradually emerged to become dominant in Kyo's mind. Adjusting to the idea of a child had been tough at first, but the more time he had to think about it, and to learn about it, the more confident he felt in his ability to handle it. No, in their ability to handle it, together.

Learning about some of the pregnancy statistics had been eye-opening and worrisome, and he would be very happy to have this appointment behind them, knowing everything was alright.

Both of them were holding their breaths when the image first popped up on the screen on the wall in front of them, and Tohru was the first to let hers out in a happy gasp of relief. She didn't even need the tech to point out the tiny flutter; she could see it for herself, rapidly wiggling in the middle of the black and white shapes. The heartbeat.

Kyo had no idea what he was looking at, absolutely none, but he could hear the relief from Tohru and that was enough for him to let out his own breath. Then the tech was smiling at the two of them, and she pointed up on the image.

"Do you see this little fluttering right here? This is your baby's heartbeat!"

After that, the rest of the appointment went quickly. Measurements were taken, vitals were checked. It turned out that Tohru had actually been six weeks when she was first checked, so now she was nine weeks pregnant, and the baby was really, actually due on February 27th.

"But remember, due dates are obviously only best guesses based on the average length of pregnancy," Dr. Watanabe had told them. "Delivery can happen earlier for several reasons, or later, which is pretty common with first babies. A couple weeks on either side of the due date would all be considered perfectly normal."

At the end of the appointment, they'd been given a couple pictures from the ultrasound, and when she got home from work that evening Tohru had happily stuck one up on the fridge. As he cleaned up the dishes after supper, Kyo stood looking at the little black and white blob; Tohru's name and vitals were printed on the top of the image, and in the middle the tech had typed 'Baby Sohma."

Tohru smiled at him from the kitchen table. "It really makes it feel even more real now, doesn't it?"

"Yeah." That was a good word for it, now: real.

"I was worried before today...and I still am, as paranoid as it sounds. But I feel so much better, knowing that everything looks good now. And that there's only one," she added with a laugh.

The idea that there might be more than one hadn't even occurred to Kyo until literally this second, and he briefly shot Tohru a horrified look. "Thank you so much for never telling me there could be more. I had a hard enough time adjusting to the idea of one at first, let alone more!"

"I know, Kyo." Her soft voice hit him like a sledgehammer, and he turned to look guiltily at Tohru. He shouldn't be surprised; she had always been able to read him. When he was happy, when he was sad, when there was rain on the way...one glance, and she knew just what he needed. So of course she'd seen when he was struggling.

His own voice was hesitant. "But you know that's not how it is now, right Tohru? I just needed some time, and I've had it. I'm happy, I really am!"

Tohru smiled. "I know that, too. You had the biggest, goofiest, happiest look on your face today when the tech showed us the heartbeat, so I knew you had to be very happy. And that makes me so very glad." Her eyes filled with tears, and Kyo crossed the kitchen to crouch down and give her a hug.

"I'm so happy, Tohru. Happy, and excited. Still freaked out," he added with a little laugh, "but in a good way. And still pretty confused about a lot of this. Like, I have no idea any of what the doctor was talking about in that ultrasound, all I saw was a wiggly blob. But I know wiggly is a good thing, and as long as the doctor said the blob looked good, then that's good enough for me."

Tohru was shaking her head at him and giggling. "I can't believe you're calling our baby a blob, Kyo!"

"Well, what do you call it?"

"A baby!"

"Now? I know it'll grow into one, but right now that," as he pointed at the fridge, "doesn't look much like a baby. Maybe a baby gummy bear, if I'm being nice."

"Please be nice. I don't want to think about having a blob inside of me."

"Fine." He gave her a kiss and smiled. "Gummy bear it is."

She could live with that one, and she smiled. But it was a playful, suggestive sort of smile, and Kyo was instantly suspicious. "Ok, Tohru, what's with the look?"

"Oh, just thinking about other things that I do like inside of me." Her voice was so sweet and innocent, but Kyo couldn't help but laugh at the juxtaposition with her obvious intent. He lifted her into his arms as he stood up, still laughing, and kissed her.

"I like the way you think, Mrs. Sohma."

"It'll be nice to see Riko, Yamato, and Keiko tonight, won't it? Even if it's just dinner, I feel like it's been way too long since we've had them over."

Another two weeks had passed, and the Sohmas were expecting their friends and their daughter over for a Saturday dinner. They'd hit it off with the young couple who owned and ran the town bakery back when they first moved to Hibe, and the arrival of the Tanakas' young daughter had been one of the highlights of Tohru's time in town. Because of their busy work schedules, the two households weren't able to get together as often as they'd prefer, but that had made it a lot easier for Tohru and Kyo to keep Tohru's pregnancy hidden in the early weeks.

By now at eleven weeks, Tohru's fatigue had faded to a more manageable level. She was still tired all the time, but she no longer felt like a zombie half the time. She'd even reclaimed some of her chores! And so far, no other severe symptoms had risen up in its place, unless you counted crying at the drop of a literal hat. She'd always been easy to cry, so it wasn't too hard to deal with. Unless you were Kyo, trying to figure out what to do when Tohru was crying because her chopsticks snapped unevenly.

Kyo was doing a rapid pick up of the living room and he looked over at Tohru in the kitchen. "It probably feels that way because it has been a while. We've been to their place, but they haven't been here since before Yuki's wedding. We were gone, then you were sick,"

"Not sick, pregnant."

"Fine, knocked-on-your-ass-tired pregnant. And then we were figuring out how to manage the pregnant thing, and they were gone, so yeah. This is the first time in over two months." Kyo straightened up, holding one of the pregnancy books, a couple pillows, a shawl Tohru liked to wrap up in, and a tea cup. "Do you still want to keep it quiet?"

Tohru had debated that one quite a bit. Riko and Yamato were their closest friends in Hibe; they were only a few years older than Tohru and Kyo, and they'd gone through this whole 'growing their family for the first time' less than two years ago. It would be nice to have their support, and she was practically aching to tell someone else their good news.

But at the same time, it felt wrong to tell them before they told their families, or their friends. Tohru could only imagine the reaction from Master Kazuma, or her Grandpa! So she wanted to wait, to be able to tell everyone at once.

She nodded at Kyo. "Yes, I think so. I already took the tag off of my purse, so they won't see it. And I think I seem pretty normal right now, all things considered, so hopefully I won't tip them off."

As long as Keiko doesn't do anything cute, Kyo thought to himself as he gave Tohru the cup and tucked the rest of the things into the living room closet. The amount of crying Tohru did these days was off the charts, and for the weirdest reasons sometimes! But he wasn't going to say anything to Tohru, because these days that might well make her cry.

The bell rang shortly thereafter, and Kyo went to let them in.

"Hey, thanks for coming!"

Riko Tanaka stepped into the house, hanging her purse up beside Tohru's and taking off her shoes. "No problem, Kyo, thanks for having us!" Once she was set, she took one-and-a-half year-old Keiko from her husband and took off her shoes, while Yamato did the same. "I feel like it's been forever since we've seen you guys."

"Well, we've all been pretty busy, Riko, it IS summer," Yamato said with a laugh. "Good to see you, Kyo," as he shook the other man's hand. Yamato was much shorter and stockier than Kyo, with dark hair and well-muscled forearms that belied the hard work of the baker. "How's life at the dojo?"

Kyo returned the handshake with a smile. "Good; busy. Summer vacation means kids coming out of our ears, so we've all been working pretty hard, especially with the exhibition coming up in just a couple weeks."

"That's right, it's almost time for the summer festival!" Riko sighed and shook her head. "I feel like this time of year always flies by so fast, it's always autumn before we've really had a chance to enjoy summer." She glanced past Kyo into the not-hall, looking around for Tohru. "Is Tohru in the kitchen?"

"Yes, I'm in here, Riko!" Tohru's voice floated through the kitchen doorway. "The bathroom is free, if you need to give Keiko a change."

Riko blinked, then lifted Keiko and gave her a quick sniff. "Dang, sorry you guys! I didn't realize she was that rank. But after I'm done, can I give you a hand, Tohru?"

"Yes, that'd be great."

As Riko headed off to the bathroom with Keiko and the diaper bag, Kyo tried his best to act calm and nonchalant. That had been another thing to develop lately; all of a sudden, Tohru had a sense of smell that seemed superhuman. Kyo had even taken to showering and changing clothes before supper on his late class nights, something he'd never bothered with before, because the smell of so much sweat was too much for her. Of course a dirty diaper would register for her, but all the way from the kitchen? While she was cooking?

Yamato, at least, didn't seem suspicious, and Kyo would try to keep it that way. "I'm betting you guys are keeping pretty busy at the bakery, what with all the summer tourists?"

"Pretty much. It's crazy how many bus tours always want to stop in Hibe, though I'm not complaining. I'm sure if it's the tourism that keeps at least half of the businesses in town afloat," Yamato commented as they walked up to the living room.

"What, you mean three of them?" Kyo chuckled, gesturing for Yamato to take a cushion at the table.

"You laugh, but not all of us can bank on the reputation of the Matsuda Dojo to bring in steady business. They might be annoying sometimes, but tourists are our bread and butter this time of year."

Riko walked into the living room and passed Keiko back to Yamato. "I'm going to help Tohru, if you guys could keep an eye on her."

"No problem, Riko, I'm sure we can manage between the two of us." Yamato smiled and kissed his daughter's nose. "Right, Keiko? You're not going to be any trouble at all, are you?"

Kyo watched his friend and his daughter, a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach. Keiko wasn't a baby any more, of course; she could walk, and talk a bit. She had long...ish...hair. But she was still little, still wobbly, still uncertain. She still had a baby's giggles.

Was this what it would be like, for them? Would that be him, smiling confidently, trusting that he could manage a kid?

"Do you want to go to Uncle Kyo, Keiko? Should we show him how fast you're getting?"

Kyo took a breath and then smiled, holding his out his hands as Keiko looked at him with her big, baby-toothy grin. "Yeah, come here, kiddo, let's see what you've got."

Riko walked back into the kitchen where Tohru was hard at work. "What can I help you with, Tohru?"

"Well, if you want to get out the dishes, that would be great! I'm just about done with the curry, so we're almost ready to dish up. The tea should be done, does Yamato want water?"

"Yep, he'll take water. And I've got milk for Keiko, but can we dish her up a little bit of the curry, too?"

"Of course! She can use a dipping sauce bowl, those are on the shelf above the regular bowls."

"Perfect!"

Riko breezed around collecting dishes with the ease of one who knew what she was doing. In the years they'd been friends, the Sohmas and Tanakas had spent enough time in each other's houses and kitchens that both women felt equally at home in theirs or their friend's; any asking was purely a matter of form. Even when it had been a while, like today, the habits were deeply entrenched.

"So are you excited about the summer festival, Tohru? I know I can't wait for this year! It sounds like it's going to be an extra-good one. Is Kyo going to be performing?"

Tohru laughed at her friend's excitement; Riko was a nut for festivals. But that had been a wonderful introduction to the region for Tohru and Kyo; with the Tanakas as guides, they'd been all over the prefecture, experiencing some of the many things that made Aomori special. "Of course I am, and of course he is! The dojo will be doing the usual class exhibitions, and there'll be demonstrations from all of the instructors. He's looking forward to it, naturally."

"Yeah, that husband of yours sure loves to show off, doesn't he?" Riko was grinning, and Tohru had to giggle at that, as well. It wasn't that Kyo liked to show off, per se, but he had always gotten a high from sparring and winning, and it turned out that having an audience made his natural competitive streak even more pronounced. So...yes, he liked to show off. Just a bit.

"If he does, he's earned it," Tohru said with a smile. "He is the youngest godan in the dojo."

"Not like you're proud of him or anything, right?" Riko was teasing, but it was so easy to tease on that subject. The very first day she'd met Tohru and Kyo, in their very first week in Hibe, she'd been struck by how adorably in love they were. Riko had been charmed by them, but worried at the same time; they were only days past their high school graduation and had moved halfway across Honshu to this remote little village for Kyo's job. It had seemed like a giant gamble, what they were doing, especially on Tohru's part, and she had worried they wouldn't last.

It had been a sweet relief to see that they not only lasted, but kept going strong. They still gave each other those sweet smiles, and still held hands whenever they were walking. Marriage didn't seem to have done anything to change how they felt about each other; from Riko's perspective, romance was very much still alive in the Sohma house.

It was slightly less fun to tease them now, because neither of them blushed about it anymore, not even Kyo. But only slightly.

Tohru smiled as she turned off the burner under the curry. "Of course I'm proud of him! And I'm looking forward to watching him at the exhibition. Maybe we can go together, if you don't have to work."

"Me, work during the exhibition? You know the bakery is going to be closed along with everything else, none of us would miss the chance to see the town's star attraction performing!"

The Matsuda Dojo, where Kyo worked, had an excellent reputation in the region. In spite of being located in the small town of Hibe, students travelled from miles around for the chance to work with Sensei Kenichi Matsuda and his team of instructors. Adult students boarded there, along with some committed teenagers who wanted to dedicate their lives to the art. It was because of the dojo that the town had its bustling bus stop, and visiting the dojo was a highlight for many of the local bus tours.

It gave Tohru a thrill, knowing how important the dojo was to the town. Kyo had been nervous when he'd started, since he'd been hired on without any test, or any sort of actual interview. Sensei Kenichi was an acquaintance of Master Kazuma, and the two of them had spent sabbaticals training together in the past. When Master Kazuma had asked Sensei Kenichi about Kyo, the other master had been more than willing to take him on based on Kazuma's word alone. Kyo had been frustrated about that; he'd wanted to actually travel to Hibe and show off his skills and earn his place that way. But between the distance and the cost of travelling, he'd been talked down. Both masters were confident it would work out, and he needed to trust them.

So Kyo had, but as soon as he could he threw himself into both his work and his training. Sensei Kenichi had trusted that the son of Kazuma Sohma would be an asset to the Matsuda Dojo, and he'd been right; after a year, Kyo had earned the title of 4th dan, and just this past spring he'd been promoted again to 5th dan, godan. If he wanted, Kyo could even pursue opening his own school now, after he got his full teaching licensure.

But he didn't want to, and both Tohru and Kyo were happy with that. He loved the dojo environment, Sensei Matsuda, and his colleagues. He liked being part of the team, and had no interest in taking on all the responsibility of establishing and managing anything on his own. And it turned out that he was a natural teacher, once his angry rough edges had smoothed out a little bit. His youth could be slightly problematic with older students, and he'd had a few issues in his earliest days at the dojo, but the kids in particular had always loved him and listened to him.

He was really so good with kids...

"Hey, earth to Tohru, come in Tohru!"

Blushing, Tohru looked back at Riko, who was holding the rice bowls and laughing at her. "Sorry, Riko, I was just thinking about the exhibition and I guess my mind wandered for a moment."

Riko gave her a conspiratorial smile. "Thinking about how hot your guy is going to look when he kicks ass in public? Can't say I blame you for that."

"Riko!" But Tohru was laughing, too, because maybe, maaaaybe there was a kernel of truth in that. But it was more because of how happy Kyo always looked when he was fighting, and she loved seeing him that happy. With just a little appreciation for how nice he looked in his gi.

"But anyway, I've got the rice dished up, so you can take these and dish the curry. I'm just going to grab some for Keiko and stick it in the fridge to cool, is that alright?"

"Yes, that's fine." Tohru stepped back so Riko could get Keiko's food, then picked up the rice bowls and started dishing up the curry. "Ok, so that's curry, we have water, so we'll just need to pour the tea and get the pickles-"

"Oh my God, Tohru, what is this?"

Tohru nearly jumped at Riko's excited exclamation, turning to look at her with round, surprised eyes. Riko was grinning from ear to ear, and in her hand was the ultrasound photo...that Tohru had forgotten to take off the fridge.

Tohru didn't know what to say at first, but she could feel the smile that rapidly grew to cover her entire face. And that was all Riko needed, leaning in to grab her friend and give her a hug.

"I should have known! No way you should have been able to tell Keiko needed a diaper, not from all the way in here! Tohru, I'm so happy for you, that's so exciting!

"What's so exciting?"

Yamato's voice behind them broke apart the hug, and they turned to see Yamato and Kyo standing in the kitchen doorway, Keiko in Kyo's arms. Somehow, that sight made Tohru's heart swell even more than Riko's excitement, and she felt her eyes promptly tear up. She met Kyo's eyes, and she could tell that he knew; no doubt the men had heard Riko's exclamation, since it wasn't exactly quiet and the connecting door between kitchen and living room was open. But he was smiling in his resigned way, and she knew he wasn't upset.

"Kyo and I are having a baby!"