Daphne held her Easter in her arms. She was the most exquisite thing the new mother had ever seen. Little round face. Little round nose. Little round fingers and a tail just like Rin's. Her hair was so dark and the blue flame so bright. It was a welcome warmth against Daphne's skin. Her sweat had cooled and chilled her now that the birth was over, but Easter kept her cozy.

She hardly noticed the afterbirth—exhausted, half-asleep, and absorbed entirely in her daughter. Eventually, Daphne did fall asleep with Easter asleep on her chest, and when she woke up, the baby was gone and Rin was back. She started, but her husband offered a smile.

"Just a check-up," he said. "They'll bring her back."

"And Shiro?" Daphne asked. Her voice sounded like sandpaper.

"He didn't sustain the flame," Rin said, "and he doesn't have a tail, but he's amazing, Daph. He's just tiny, but he's got this crazy aura. Wait until you feel it."

Tears filled Daphne's eyes and she smiled so hard that they spilled over. Rin bent over her hospital bed, took her face in his hands, and kissed her. She held onto him, kissed him back.

"You were incredible, Daph," he said, pulling away for a moment to look in her eyes, brush his thumbs across her cheeks, before kissing her again. "Jesus, I don't know how you did it. I couldn't have done it. I love you so much."

She laughed. "I don't know how I did it either." Reaching a hand up, she carded her fingers in Rin's hair and pressed his forehead to hers. "And I love you."

"We're parents," Rin said with a disbelieving laugh.

Daphne opened her eyes to grin at him. "We must be crazy."

Nodding, Rin pulled back, but laced their fingers together and took a seat on the edge of the hospital bed.

"Thank you," he said.

"For what?"

He shrugged. "For agreeing to marry me and being such an amazing wife and giving birth and just, like, everything." He looked at her and smiled. The expression was so warm and genuine. It made Daphne's heart hurt a little. She lifted his hand to her lips and pressed a kiss to the back of it.

"You are the best thing that ever happened to me," she said. "And I have a feeling our children will be the best thing that ever happened to us."

Rin leaned down and kissed her again. Daphne disappeared into the affection for a moment—into the warmth and steadiness and security Rin provided. When he pulled back, exhaustion crept in again, and she found her eyes drifting shut.

"I think you're right," Rin said.

She fell back asleep after that and slept more soundly than she had in months.

Rin slept a little himself until a nurse returned with Easter. It was weird—he just kind of snapped awake, his demon sense going off like an alarm. His heartrate did not slow after he realized there wasn't a threat, though. It increased, happy with anticipation.

The nurse brought Easter in a little hospital bassinet, and Rin hardly noticed the woman leave. The baby was big compared to her brother, but still undersize, having been born early. She was wrapped in a blanket and had a tiny white hat pulled snug over her head. The tuft of her tail peeked out by her neck, gentle blue flame glowing at the tip. The rest of the flames had focused into two points on her head—where her horns would have been had she had them.

Fighting that urge that makes people want to squish cute things really hard, Rin picked Easter up and cradled her so, so close. The baby stirred, squeaking and freeing one of her arms.

"Hello, beautiful," he said, lifting his free hand and touching his finger to her palm.

Easter wrapped her fingers around his, and her grip was surprisingly strong.

Tears filled Rin's eyes all over again.

A soft knock at the door, and Shiemi poked her head into the room. Rin looked over, then smiled and nodded when Shiemi raised her eyebrows.

"Daph's out like a light," he whispered.

Shiemi slipped inside and was followed by Yukio, then Shura. The latter marched up to Rin and Easter, but hesitated, her face contorting in a bizarre expression—something like she didn't want to cry, or think the baby was cute, but definitely, definitely did. Shiemi did not hesitate, but came and stood at Rin's side and peered over his shoulder at his new little girl.

"She's wonderful, Rin," Shiemi said, voice soft, sniffing and wiping her eyes.

Yukio was not far behind, clapping Rin on the shoulder and smiling at Easter. "Welcome to the sire line, little girl."

The three of them turned to Shura, who by now had snot and tears streaming down her face.

"C-can I h-hold her?" she sobbed.

Laughing, Rin nodded. "But clean yourself up first."

Shura sniffed her way over to the sink station in the corner of the room and blew her nose before washing her hands. When she came back, Rin transferred Easter into her arms. Shura took one look down at her and started sobbing all over again.

"Goddamn it, Rin, I l-love her so much."

Rin laughed. "Tell me about it."

"Where is Shiro?" Shiemi asked, touching a gentle hand to Rin's elbow.

"He's in a special care unit," Rin replied. "He had some fluid in his lungs, but he'll be fine. When Daphne wakes up, we can go and see him, I bet."

"We should perform the sealing ceremony as soon as possible," Yukio said. He'd gone to wash his hands and now was slipping his finger into Easter's tiny grip. A smile crossed his mouth. "We'll need Daphne for that as well."

"She'll be stronger after some sleep," Shiemi replied.

"Is Father Michael coming?" Shura asked.

Rin nodded. "He's on his way. Somebody will probably have to go meet him at the airport."

"I'll go," Shiemi said.

The four of them went quiet, just admiring Easter. Rin should have realized long before then that when things inevitably went to hell with either Spirit or Satan or both, it wouldn't be him and Daphne alone against the adversary. Shiro and Easter had plenty of powerful people already on their team. And something told him they would make pretty formidable fighters themselves someday.

Everyone in that room would make sure they grew up safe.