7 hours.
Misaki had been in labor for 7 hours and at this point Misaki wanted to pull her baby out of herself if it meant that this pain and uncomfortableness would end.
"Do you want the epidural?" Sakura asked as she fanned Misaki and wiped a wet cloth on her neck.
"No.. I don't know," she whined. "Where is Takumi?"
"He should be here soon, his plane got here a few minutes ago. Kuuga picked him up, they should be here any minute," Sakura bit her lip worriedly. Keeping up and taking care of a hormonal, highly in pain 8 month pregnant woman going into labor was not fun at all.
Thankfully, after about 12 minutes and at the end of another contraction, the two boys entered the room in a hurry.
"Misaki!" Takumi raced to his wife's side and immediately hugged her, planting a kiss on her head.
Sakura, in the meantime, tackled Kuuga in a hug. "I never want to get pregnant."
Kuuga just laughed and hugged her back. "Hopefully we won't have anything to worry about then for the next few years."
"How are you feeling? You're so pale. Sakura, why can't she talk?" Takumi exclaimed once Misaki didn't reply fast enough.
"I can talk, you idiot," Misaki said. "Another contraction just passed."
Takumi let out a sigh of relief before grabbing her left hand and sitting right next to her.
"How was your flight?" Misaki asked, feeling a bit better for the time being now that the contraction passed and Takumi was sitting next to her.
Sakura and Kuuga quietly slipped out of the room and into the waiting room to give the couple some privacy.
"Horrendous. The whole time I was itching to get you. I kept getting images of you giving birth to our child without me and I just kept praying to God that the little peanut could wait for me just a little longer."
Misaki let out an airy sigh and leaned back onto her hospital bed. "I've been praying to god that peanut would come out already. Seems God favors you more, obviously." She cast sarcastically.
Takumi laughed and propped his elbows on the bed, staring at her.
"What are you looking at?" Misaki asked, trying to shove his head away.
"You. I want to take note of the way you look right now so I can have a clear vision of it in the future. My last glimpse of you before you turn into mom-zilla."
"Hey! I will not be mom-zilla. I think you're going to be dad-zilla instead. You're going to be so overprotective." Misaki stated while jokingly flicking Takumi's forehead.
"I guess we'll see." He kissed her hand before laying back.
Another 3 hours passed before Misaki's contractions sped up and soon she was wheeled to the labor room and preparing to push out a baby.
"Okay, I know I said that I wanted the baby to come like 5 hours ago but now I'm scared and don't mind keeping the baby in my belly for a while longer," Misaki stated nervously.
She had decided to get the epidural a few hours earlier after she felt as if she was going to faint. The doctor recommended she get it, seeing the complication in her pregnancy.
"You'll be fine, I promise. It'll be over before you know it." The doctor nodded. The room was filled with so many people rushing around and preparing that Misaki let out a sigh and leaned her back. She tilted her head and gave Takumi a pout.
"I don't want to do this. I'm tired. Can't I do this another day?" She pouted.
Takumi pushed her hair out of her eyes and gave her a quick kiss on the lips.
"I wish it worked that way. But sadly the peanut is in control, and you're going to have to push but the baby will be out soon. Imagine having our child in our arms. It'll be worth it, you can do it."
The delivery happened in a blur. Misaki pushed and pushed and it seemed to last so long. She nearly blacked out when the shoulders had to be pushed out. Despite the epidural, she definitely felt that pain and pressure.
"Just one more push!" The doctor rooted. Misaki shut her eyes and gripped Takumi's hand in a death grip, digging her nails into his skin as she pushed.
When she couldn't do it anymore, she laid back and closed her eyes. She just needed a quick break.
But she heard loud crying and her heavy eyes popped open. For a second, she had forgotten that she gave birth. The tiredness overwhelmed her.
The doctor held up the crying baby and Misaki was in awe. Her eyes were burning and wide and she couldn't take her eyes off the tiny life in his hands.
The doctor asked Takumi if he wanted to cut the cord and Takumi speechlessly did. He too couldn't take his eyes off the baby in front of him.
"Congratulations, it's a boy."
After cleaning him up, the nurse passed the now sleeping little boy to his mother.
"Oh," Misaki gasped, holding back tears as she held her baby boy for the first time.
"Hi handsome," she stroked his chubby cheek softly and immediately, as if recognizing her voice, his eyes slowly parted revealing his emerald green eyes to his parents.
Misaki let out a laugh and turned to Takumi, who was smiling so wide with tears glistening in his eyes that completely matched his sons.
"Here," Misaki whispered and passed their son to him.
Takumi cradled his son to his chest and Misaki mentally took a picture. It was the most beautiful sight she's ever seen.
"What's the name?" The doctor asked and Misaki turned to look at him, even though Takumi didn't and kept his eyes on his son.
"Ryuu. Ryuu Walker."
/
Misaki paced her room and fidgeted her fingers as her brain wracked with thoughts.
"Misa, stop pacing. You're supposed to be resting, you just had a complicated delivery," Takumi reminded as he typed away on his laptop. He had left an important business meeting when he found out Misaki had went into labor so he had a lot of work to do.
"I can't help it! My maternal instincts are on high alert or something. Is Ryuu okay? Isn't it time for me to feed him or something? I think I'm going to call the nurse," Misaki rambled and went for the button on her hospital bed that called for the nurse but Takumi grabbed it before she could.
"Sweetheart, its only been an hour or two. The doctor is checking him out to make sure everything is okay with him and he even said that things look good. We can see him soon," Takumi promised, trying to calm his anxious wife.
Deep down, although he wouldn't show it, he was highly amused by Misaki. Ryuu was only a few hours old and she already had strong separation anxiety. It was adorable.
"I know, it just isn't fair that I can't be holding my baby right now. I didn't go through 8 months of pregnancy and 10 hours of childbirth just to have my son get taken away from me! I don't even remember what he looks like anymore!" Misaki exclaimed as Takumi led her back to lay on the bed.
Takumi just nodded along and had a small smile on his face.
"What are you smiling at?" She snapped.
"Oh nothing, it's just that I knew you'd be momzilla."
She made a 'tsk' noise and rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Forgive me for being worried about my fragile baby boy. I mean, did you see how small he was? I thought he would be bigger seeing how gigantic my stomach was!"
"I mean, he was born early," Takumi offered but Misaki kept ranting away about Ryuu which made Takumi smile and slightly shake his head. She was already an obsessive mother.
After another whole Disney movie finished and more of Misaki's endless ranting, a nurse finally came in with Ryuu.
"My baby!" Misaki clapped her hands excitedly and sat up.
"Yup, and he's ready to eat," the nurse smiled, handing Ryuu over to Misaki and helping her prepare to breast feed him.
Takumi hovered over the bed and placed a hand over Misaki's shoulder. He gave a loving glance towards his son who was staring widely up at his mother as he drank his milk. "So I'm guessing everything is fine with Ryuu? Anything we should worry about?"
"Ryuu is perfectly healthy. The one we should be worrying about is mommy over here. The birthing complications may still be in full effect if she exerts herself too much. That means resting; no exercising for a month, no stressing, no standing for too long, the basics. But all in all, everything looks pretty good. We want both mommy and baby to stay overnight, only because it's already so late and both need the rest," The nurse informed and the couple thanked her and she headed out of their way. "I'll return in a little bit with the bed for Ryuu so he can sleep next to you."
"I can't believe he has your eyes," Misaki said randomly, staring at her son.
"What do you mean?" Takumi tilted his head slightly in wonderment.
"I mean, I just expected him to have my eyes for some reason. The boys apparently always look more like the moms, but I guess not in our case."
"I feel like he's a pretty good mix of both of us. It looks like he has your hair but it's too early to tell," Takumi noted. He reached toward Ryuu and stroked his chubby cheek.
"He's so cute," Misaki cooed, kissing the top of his head carefully. "He's going to break hearts in the future."
Once he finished eating, he just stared up at his parents and babbled random baby noises while they made faces and talked to him.
"Hi Ryuu! What are you doing, silly? Are you trying to talk to mama and dada?" Misaki cooed in a baby voice. It was crazy how her maternal side had come out so fast but she embraced it whole heartedly. She was already so in love with her son.
Takumi held Ryuu up and rocked him on his lap while he babbled some more and jerked his arms and feet around.
"He's so vocal already. Oh man, we have some rough nights ahead," Misaki sighed.
The nurse reeled in the baby bed and helped them put the already tired Ryuu to sleep.
"It won't always be this easy, but you'll get the hang of it." The nurse whispered and smiled softly at them before doing what she had to do then left.
Misaki took out her phone and took a few pictures of Ryuu to send to Sakura, Suzuna, and her parents. She softly placed her hand on top of his sleeping body and smiled.
Takumi gazed at Ryuu next to her and Misaki leaned her head against his shoulder as they both watched their son breathe in and out.
"I can't believe he's here," Takumi whispered, grasping Misaki's free hand. "It feels like a dream. We made a living, breathing human being together. It's incredible."
"And he's all ours."
/
"Home sweet home!" Misaki yelled as she walked through the door, letting out a content sigh.
Takumi came in behind her, holding the carrier which had an asleep Ryuu in it. "Your new home, little buddy," Takumi said to Ryuu.
Misaki went over and unbuckled Ryuu carefully and cuddled him close to her chest. Ryuu didn't mind the disturbance, he just fell back asleep on his mom's shoulder.
"Let's show him the nursery," Misaki stated excitedly. They both knew that Ryuu was asleep, and even if he wasn't he still wouldn't have any idea what the hell his parents were saying or showing him. Bringing their son into his nursery for the first time brought them new parent excitement.
"This is where you'll be staying, baby boy," Misaki said as they walked in the nursery. "Your daddy worked very hard to make this beautiful, pastel green room perfect. You'll love it."
After they spoke some more and took pictures, Misaki gently laid Ryuu down in his crib. He fussed slightly at the loss of warmth and contact, but fell back asleep when Misaki shushed him and pressed her hand against his belly.
She could already tell that Ryuu was a clingy baby; he liked skin to skin contact and being cuddled.
Misaki hesitantly walked out of the nursery, being sure to turn on the baby monitor, and headed downstairs with Takumi to get drinks and relax.
"You are such a good mother already. No surprise there," Takumi smiled as he passed her a glass of water.
"Not really. I'm just intuitive. And a little obsessive," she shrugged. "Oh man, am I coddling him too much? Am I keeping him away from bonding with his father?"
Misaki began to ramble but Takumi cut her off with a loud laugh. "Breathe, Misaki. You're doing fine. We both are."
She coyly flipped her hair. "I guess we are doing a pretty good job at being parents."
Takumi nodded. "We rock."
Misaki raised her hand towards him. "Up top!" They both gave each other a high five.
After a few minutes of them cuddling on the couch and watching TV, they heard Ryuu crying from the baby monitor.
Takumi got up quickly before Misaki could and gave her a kiss on the top of her head.
"Duty calls!"
/
This was so fun to write, I'm happy that the baby is finally here. I've been longing to write about their life with Ryuu!
Are any of you surprised about the gender? I honestly didn't know what I was going to choose until I began writing this and for some reason I made the doctor say "It's a boy." And Whoop! There it is.
If anyone is upset that it wasn't a daddy's princess, no worries... The time will come... Maybe. ;)
Again, thank you for reading! Please comment something, anything, in all honesty id even be happy with a comment that just said 'Hello.' I hope you all have a wonderful day!