Her Rising Saviour:

Chapter Twenty – Baby Kazumasa

Sakura sat back in the hospital bed, already changed into the hospital gown. A think cotton blanket laid on her legs, keeping the chill away. Syaoran stood beside her, one hand holding hers while his caressed her hair back lovingly. She was leaning in toward him, hr head resting on his upper abdomen.

Out in the waiting room were their friends and family; Eriol and Tomoyo – who were going to be the godparents to the child, Rika, Chiharu and Takashi, Touya and Fujitaka. Yoshiyuki was gone to punch into the hospital, worried that there was only one doctor on duty while three women – now four, with Sakura – were in labour. Dr. Yue, had obviously been grateful for the extra help. Dr. Yue had poked his head in on Sakura just to make sure she was all set up while Yoshiyuki was getting prepared.

Unfortunately, Sakura had began to have contractions not long after her water broke, beginning when they got to the car to rush her to the hospital. Every time, they became a little more painful.

"It'll be okay," Syaoran said soothingly as he felt her tense in pain. He kissed the top of her head and waited until she eased again. "How're you holding?"

Sakura moaned in protest, "The pain is horrible. This may be the only child I give you, Syaoran Li. If it's this painful now, I can only imagine when I'm fully dilated and giving birth to him...oh!" She tensed again and gave a small whimper, clutching her stomach.

Syaoran was slightly angry that he could do nothing to help her pain. All he could do was hold her lovingly and comfort her the best way he could. He chuckled lightly at her previous comment. "That's alright sweetie. One child is plenty."

Sakura gave a noise that crossed a laugh and a scoff.

"Don't worry. Terada should be here soon," Syaoran told her. "And when he does, we can request for you to have some epidermal – "

"NO!" Sakura said a bit loudly. "No meds, please. I want to do this as naturally as possible."

Syaoran groaned, knowing that she hated taking anything stronger than an advil. And even then, it was a pain – no pun intended – for her to take that small pill. It had been like pulling teeth to get Sakura to let the nurse hook the machines up to her and insert the IV line. Didn't help that Sakura was terrified of needles, either. Still... "Come on, please? I can't stand seeing you in so much pain."

"Then leave!" Sakura suddenly snapped, pulling away from Syaoran's embrace and whipped her head toward him, glaring. Immediately, however, her eyes softened and began to glisten with tears. "Oh god, Syaoran, I'm sorry! I didn't mean it – please don't leave."

He smiled at her and opened his arms for her, as if it were an offer. She moved back toward him and settled back into his warm arms. He kissed the top of her head again, "It's alright. I know you didn't mean it, don't worry. And you can scream all you want, but I won't leave."

Sakura let out a shaky laugh, swallowing her tears. One escaped and rolled down her cheek, making her scoff a laugh again. "Stupid hormones."

A moment later, the door swung open and Yoshiyuki appeared, dressed in blue scrubs. He seemed frazzled, as if in a rush. Sakura had only been there for fifteen minutes though, so she didn't understand this. He hurried over to one of the machines that had been hooked up, the one that read her contractions, and read the readings over quickly.

"Your contractions are pretty strong, Sakura," he told her, "And seem to be coming in quite frequently. Do you want anything for it?"

She quickly shook her head, "No. No, thanks."

"Alright then," he smiled to her and grabbed two pairs of gloves from the box nearby. He pulled them on and went to the end of the bed. "Shall we take a look? I'm going to need you to prop your legs up, placing your feet on these rests."

Sakura laid down and did as she was told, making a tent with the blankets on her knees. Yoshiyuki pushed the blanket up toward her knees, then disappeared from Sakura's gaze. She looked over to Syaoran, not wanting to look down. He was caressing her face, love shining in his amber eyes.

"Sakura?" Yoshiyuki suddenly spoke. He stood back up, moving her blankets back down to cover her up. Sakura stiffened, hearing his hesitance. Her heartbeat picked up as she squeezed Syaoran's hand. "We're going to have to do an emergency caesarean. I'll tell the operating team on board."

"Wait, what?" Sakura demanded, shaking. C-section? No! No, no, no! "Why?!"

"You're nine centimetres dilated, and the baby is in a breach position."

Syaoran's eyes widened, remembering their last appointment. Two months before, they had been told the baby was in an awkward position. But Sakura's appointment a few days ago stated that the baby seemed to have been finally flipping around, and would be fully turned by birth. "But, we were told that he was turning around..."

"The baby doesn't seem to have flipped fully," Yoshiyuki informed them. "Sakura's also about a week early – the baby would have flipped itself around, given the time."

Sakura began to hyperventilate slightly, squeezing Syaoran's hand so tightly it was like a death grip. He squeezed her back, sitting on the bed beside her to hold her close and began rocking her. "Hush sweetheart, everything is going to be fine." He paused and turned to Yoshiyuki, "Right?"

"She's dilating fast," the doctor told them. "She only has one centimetre to go. We need to get her into the O.R, now."

b.K.d

Sakura laid on the bed, a green sheet up to shield her eyes from the chest down. She could hear the clatter of metal and the steady beating of the heart-monitor and could feel Syaoran caressing her gingerly. He sat on a chair beside her, decked out in borrowed scrubs, a mouth-nose mask and a hair-cap. He was staring at her intently, one hand holding hers while the other soothed her cheek. Once in a while, he'd lean down and nuzzle the top of her covered head, telling her how everything would be okay.

Sakura almost had a heart attack when the were prepping her for the operation. Yoshiyuki brought a needle to her to be inserted into her back, between two spinal disks. Not only a needle, but in her spine?! She was genuinely shocked that she didn't pass out. But now she was numb and could feel nothing. She was, of course, thankful, but at the same time a bit disappointed. Though it would have hurt, she wanted to go natural and experience the joys and pain alike of giving birth. Now, it was nothing like that. Now, those feelings were replaced with anxiousness and worry. All she wanted to do was hold their little boy.

"What are you thinking," Syaoran asked softly, catching Sakura out of her daze.

"About holding him, in my arms, safe," Sakura whispered back, sighing. "Syaoran, are you sure everything – "

"Will be fine," he cut her off. "Nothing is going to happen to our baby, understand?"

"Almost...there!" Sakura's hears perked up at Yoshiyuki's voice, her eyes darting toward the blue sheet separating her. Then, as if time stood still, a wail broke through the room. A loud, angry, frightened cry – screaming. The doctor held up the baby for Sakura to see, her eyes clouding with tears as she heard her baby cry. My baby! Our baby!

"Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Li...it's a healthy boy."

"I want to hold him," Sakura told them.

"Certainly," the doctor said. "Give us two seconds to wrap him up for you."

Sakura watched with wide eyes as they walked away with her screaming baby toward a table nearby. She wanted to jump up, go to him and comfort him. Make him stop crying. But she knew they weren't done with her on the table just yet. Soon after, a nurse walked toward them, smiling, holding a swaddled blue package. Syaoran stood and held out his arms, silently asking for the baby. The nurse carefully handed the delicate bundle over, and Syaoran's eyes widened on the face before him. He walked back to Sakura in a daze, sitting back down.

Sakura held out her arms, "Syaoran, please?"

Syaoran carefully handed the baby over to her, then wrapped an arm around her shoulders to prop her up slightly. His other hand covered hers as she held the baby. Her eyes danced with emotions, tears swelling her eyes and running silently down her cheeks.

The baby was perfect. Beneath the soft blue hat he wore, were thick locks of chocolate brown hair – Syaoran's hair. He had the tiniest fists poking out of the blanket, his face still slightly blue as a newborn's face always looks. She choked back a sob as Syaoran pressed kisses into her hair and began cooing to the baby.

"Hush, little Kazumasa," she whispered soothingly. She continued to coo, and a few seconds later, his crying ceased. He was sniffling, but was looking up at her now. His eyes red from tears, strained from crying. She smiled at him; though his eyes were blue-grey now, as were all baby's, she could already see how much they resembled her own. She was sure they'd turn green someday. "Hello, Kaz. I'm your mommy, and this is your daddy. We've been waiting a long time for you."

"Is that the baby's name?" The nurse asked.

Syaoran nodded, not taking his eyes off his family. "Yes – Kazumasa Xiaotaka Li, after our fathers."

"It's a beautiful name," the nurse smiled.

Sakura grinned, unable to tear her watery eyes away from the baby's gaze. "For a beautiful boy. Our beautiful boy."

Syaoran pressed his lips to hers, smiling widely.

b.K.d

Yoshiyuki wanted Sakura to remain in the hospital for a few days to make sure her stitches were healing nicely. Sakura whined, stating that he was being ridiculous, and continued to whine until the doctor also pointed out that Kazumasa was born two weeks early. Not a huge deal, but still something that should be mildly monitored. The three of them came to an agreement that everything seemed to go okay, Sakura could go home in three or four days time.

The afternoon of the day after Kazumasa's birth, the Li couple were shocked by an unexpected visitor. Sakura was feeding him with a glowing grin while Syaoran had an arm wrapped around her shoulders, his head resting against hers as he watched with a matching grin. He found it amazing, like a miracle, the extent of what she had done. Sure, she was a woman and most woman did do all this, but still, in his eyes, it was wondrous. Not twenty-four hours before, his son had been born. And now, she was feeding him with the nutrients created from her own body. It was amazing, he thought.

Kazumasa had just fallen asleep and Sakura was pulling down her gown when the clicking of heals echoed in the hallway and a tall woman suddenly appeared in the doorway. Both Li heads looked up to see an elegant woman with long ebony hair standing with wide eyes. Sakura unconsciously held Kazumasa closer while Syaoran's eyes narrowed into slits, a small growl erupting through him.

"Mother," he said, obviously not trying to be a gentleman with the tone he was using. "What are you doing here?"

"I..." her eyes were shooting from her son to the baby, her eyes wide with shock. "I got a call from Mr. Kinomoto. He told me...that my grandson was born..."

"Yes, my son was born," Syaoran gritted his teeth. "The words 'your grandson', on the other hand, can be debated."

Yelan Li looked like she had been slapped. She looked down, ashamed. "Xiao Lang, my son, I never meant to hurt you – "

"Save it," Syaoran snapped. "You made your point clear to me. You don't want my family, so I don't want you. I'm done, Mother. Now please leave before I call a nurse to escort you out."

Yelan's head snapped up, her eyes watered with tears. Remorse filled her complexion, tearing Sakura in half. The woman had never been truly warm to her. Hell, she was the one who took Syaoran away in the first place, and then tried to convince him to leave her on her wedding day by bringing another girl to the wedding. And still...Sakura felt sorry for the mother. To lose her only son, it had to hurt. Even if she hurt him first.

Sakura placed a hand on Syaoran's and looked up to him with pleading eyes, "Please, Syaoran...Just speak to her for a few minutes."

His eyes snapped down to her, wide with shock. "What?! Sakura, you can't be serious."

"She's hurting, Syaoran," Sakura said softly. "Perhaps as much as you do."

He clenched his jaw, "She doesn't want you in my life, Sakura. I won't put up with that."

Sakura sighed heavily, "Just hear her out, please? Just give her a minute to speak."

Syaoran seemed torn as he stared at her for a few moments. After a uncomfortably silence, he gave a heavy sigh and nodded with a frustrated grunt. Sakura gave a small smile of comfort as he turned to his mother, not bothering to move away from the bed.

"What?" He barked. "I'll give you two minutes to speak, Mother, and then I'm done."

Her lip quivered, but she held her head high and gave a jerk of a nod, silently telling him she understood. "Xiao Lang, what I did was inexcusable. Miss Sakura is a lovely woman, I just...Oh, my son, I know it do sounds horrible, but I didn't thinks she was good enough. I saw how much you loved her and I became agitated. You see, Mei Ling's mother and I have been friends since we were children, and when you two were born, we always imagined you two getting married. It was the perfect dream of ours. And it was silly of me – ridiculous of me, really – to become upset that you had found your own love, but all I could think was that this girl was trying to take you away from my dream and..." She stopped herself and looked down to the floor. "Xiao Lang, I really do love Miss Sakura. She's a lovely woman, always has been. I just couldn't see that through my haze of what I wanted."

"And what do you want now?" Syaoran seethed.

"My family," she whispered painfully. Her eyes cautiously looked up to the man before her. "I truly do miss you, my son. And I want to know my grandchild. You are both so very precious to me."

"And my wife?"

"Of course Miss Sakura is precious to me as well," she said quickly, then looked to Sakura with a small, apologetic smile. "After all, she is the mother of my son's first grandchild. She brought him into this world. Along with my son's love. She is...quite precious, Xiao Lang. Anyone you can love is precious to me."

Sakura offered her a little smile. Then, before Syaoran could say anything else, she gently titled Kazumasa just a bit so his face was shown to Yelan. She watched as the older woman's eyes widened in delight. "Would you like to see your grandson, Ms. Li?"

Yelan gave a quick nod and hurried over to the bedside, on the opposite side of Syaoran. Hesitantly, she leaned over to see the sleeping baby's face. Immediately, her face broke out into a grin, her eyes glistening happily. "Oh my, what a beautiful baby you two have. He's...He's gorgeous."

"His name is Kazumasa," Sakura told her gently.

"He's beautiful," Yelan repeated in a whisper. "He looks just like you, Xiao Lang, when you were born." She paused and looked up to her own son, smiling sheepishly. "You two...have made a wonderful child. He shall be loved greatly, and become a great man."

"I would hope so," Syaoran huffed gruffly. "Now if you're done – "

"Syaoran!" Sakura chided. "Is there nothing you want to say?"

His eyes widened in shock, blinking twice. He had never expected his wife to stand up against him, or even more so, stand up for his mother who had loathed her. "But...And she...You..."

"She's obviously sorry," Sakura told him quickly and quietly. "What more do you want from her?"

Syaoran ground his jaw once, then let out a long sigh. He leaned forward and pressed a gentle kiss to the top of her head. "You have too big of a heart for your own good," he whispered against her skin. He let out one last sigh and then turned back to his mother. "I...accept your apology."

Yelan's eyes watered, a trickle falling down her cheek. Then, without warning, she rushed off to his side of the bed and flung herself into his arms. Taken back, Syaoran simply remained still, shocked. His mother had not given so much as a motherly touch in all his life growing up, and now, she was embracing him. Finally, after a moment of shock, he moved his hand and cautiously patted her back.

After a moment, Yelan pulled back with a small, timid smile of her face. She pulled a silk handkerchief from her purse and dabbed her eyes clean before giving a small nervous laugh and digging through her purse once more. She pulled out a small envelope, sealed with wax and the Li seal. Shaking, she held the envelope out to her son.

"I...I had planned on giving this to you after you graduated, but you left to Japan so soon," she said lightly. "I was waiting until you returned home, China, to give you this...but you never did. So, I suppose now is better than ever."

Syaoran gave her a confused glance before taking the gift and opening it. He pulled out a slip of paper, his eyes bugging out of his head. His hand flew up to his hair, his jaw dropping. "Mo...Mother, this is...this is too much."

"No, it's just enough," Yelan gave a small smile. She turned to Sakura and winked. "I always knew it was your dream to open your own law firm, and now you can. I'm sure Mr. Hirragizawa would help you. And perhaps that friend of yours in charge of the music at your wedding."

"Mother...I...I don't know if I can accept this..."

"Nonsense!" She waved her hand, smiling brightly. "It's a mother's dream to see her child's dream come true. I want you to see this through, Xiao Lang."

Syaoran's mouth opened, and then closed, and then opened once more before a small cough at the door turned their attention. Standing in the door was Eriol, Touya and Yukito, holding balloons, flowers and a small gift bag. Eriol smiled, looking back and forth between the three adults. "Looking at the expression on Syaoran's face, I'd say we missed the family fun."

Sakura beamed, "Ms. Li just gave Syaoran a generous sum of money, to open up his own law firm."

Eriol's eyes bugged out like Syaoran's had moments earlier. His head snapped up to Syaoran's, jaw slack. "Are you serious? So...you can leave Nakamura's office?"

Syaoran slowly grinned, "Well, only if I can get some good lawyers to join me. Want to think about it?"

Eriol blinked twice, then chuckled and grinned. "No need to think about that, Li. I'm there. And I'm sure Yamazaki is, too."

Yukito stepped forward then, bringing in the balloons and gift bag. He smiled happily to the Li couple. "Congratulations, Syaoran. And Sakura..." he paused at the bed and smiled down to the baby, who – even though the noise – was still asleep. He smiled, "Wow, lovely baby. Congrats, both of you. Here," he handed Sakura the bag. "Just something we found at the gift shop."

Sakura wiggled one hand free and ruffled through the tissue paper filled bag. Finally, her hands brushed up against something soft and plushy. Smiling, she pulled out what appeared to be a teddy bear, but different. It had larger ears and a tail with a white tuff of fur at the end. It was yellow in colour with beady black eyes and a small stitched mouth.

Sakura giggled, "Aww, it's adorable Yuki! Thank you!"

"Eriol already named it," Touya stepped in, chuckling. Eriol gave a small chuckle as well. "It's called Kero."

Sakura frowned in confusion, "Kero? How did you come up with that name?"

Eriol shrugged, "Dunno, seemed fitting."

Not long after, Yelan took her leave to catch her plane and the rest of their friends and family arrived back at the room. They stayed for a few hours; Tomoyo video tapping the whole time, Fujitaka taking countless photos, Takashi Yamazaki making jokes about the baby being too small and telling lies of his future, and while Chiharu hit him over the head, and Rika's own baby Hayate having fun with the plush toy 'Kero'.

By the time night settled in, the group was gone, leaving Syaoran and his family alone once more. Sakura had gently placed Kazumasa in the plastic cradle beside the bed, rolling it over so it was right beside her. She laid down, rolling over so she was facing him. Part of her didn't want to sleep, wanting to take him back in her arms and not let him go again. But she was exhausted, both mentally and physically. She knew she needed sleep.

Behind her, Syaoran had stripped into flannel pajama bottoms and a cotton white tee. He lifted the thin blanket covering Sakura and slid in behind her, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her into his chest. He pressed kisses to her shoulder, earning a small sigh from her.

"I love you, Sakura," he whispered against her, resting his head on her shoulder. His eyes rested on the sleeping baby beside them, a large grin on his face. He reached forward to brush his fingertips against the clear plastic, separating the baby from the parents. "And I love you, Kaz." He brought his hand back and wrapped it back around Sakura, caressing her stomach in small circles. "Now, sleep, my Sakura. And sleep well."

Sakura nodded and closed her eyes, drifting to sleep with a large smile across her face.

b.K.d

A few hours later, Sakura woke to a cooing. She opened her eyes unwillingly and forced her tired sight to adjust to the dark. She bit her lip to stop a gasp from leaving her lips, her eyes watering at the sight.

In the corner, in the rocking chair, sat her husband. He was gently rocking back and forth, his head bent down to look at the small bundle in his arms. Nestles in his grasp was their baby, swaddled in a warm blanket.

"...And I'm going to teach you how to fish and read," Syaoran was whispering softly, cooing, obviously continuing a conversation that he had started while Sakura slept. "You'll love reading. It was always one of my favourite things to do. And every Sunday, you, me and your mother will all go out. Picnics, playing sports, amusement parks...Anything. We'll simply spend the day together."

Sakura grinned, her hand reaching up to stifle the awww wanting to be let lose.

Syaoran continued still, "And don't worry, I'll keep you safe from your evil Auntie Tomoyo. She won't get her fashion-obsessed claws on you. I'll hide you if I have to. And Uncle Eriol won't ever corrupt you. Note now, kid, don't you ever listen to a word Eriol says. As for your Uncle Touya...Well, let's just say that he can be cruel. Don't get in his bad books, trust me. Though I'm sure your mother will keep him in line.

"As for dating," his voice suddenly became very stern. "You won't date until you're out of the house, understood? I'm treating you like I would any daughter – and that means no dating until you're, like, twenty. Maybe older. And on that note, you'll treat women with respect. You know, I'm sure chivalry can come back into style. All girls love that garbage, right? Opening doors...flowers...offering an arm...the works. If I ever hear you bad-talk any girl or hit a girl...you'll be grounded faster than you can see 'I love my mommy'..."

Sakura was lulled back into her drowsiness after that, silent tears staining her face.

Her beautiful boys. Her beautiful boys.

And it would forever stay that way. Forever and always.

Author's Note: Well my awesome readers, this is it T^T Kind'a makes me sad, really. But we still have an epilogue to go ^.^ It'll be up within a few days time. It's almost done. But first, I want to finish the second chapter to Ichidou (if you haven't read it yet....please do ^.^)

Dedicated to all my readers and reviewers. You guys are amazing, really. As of now, here are the stats: 239 reviews for 19 chapters, 10 492 hits, 1 C2, 34 favs and 54 alerts!! I was astounded to see how many of you guys have this on alert!! Thanks SO much. This last chapter goes out to you all...and a special thanks to those who have reviewed ^.^

And shout-out to Meiling-chan, Tomoyo-chan and Jackie-chan. Jackie, I'd be lost without you beta-ing this. I'd be lost without you. Meiling-chan and Tomoyo-chan...God, where do I start?! LOL...I have waaay too much to thank you two. You two are just...wow XD Hope you two never get sick of me!! LOL. And to all three of you, thanks for letting me rant on you. HUGE help, all of you. Love you three to bits!!!

Go check out Meiling's (swallowingtears) story, "Blossom in the Gilded Cage", and Tomoyo's (YamiNoTomoyo) story, "A Most Succulent Apple". They're AWESOME READS!!!

I hope this chapter has finished this nicely. I hope I haven't disappointed any of you. This is how I saw it ending, minus the epilogue coming your way shortly.

Lastly, if you want a sneak preview of the epilogue...sneak over to my LiveJournal page (link provided on my profile). Thanks!! Please leave a few words for a review!!!!! Thanks!

xox, Riva

Next Time... EPILOGUE!