Their daughter had been restless all night. She kicked and moved while Shuuhei and Kana sat and watched TV. Neither of them had minded. With Kana's due date creeping closer, they were looking forward to finally meeting their daughter in a couple of weeks.

Kana woke in the middle of the night with a gasp. "Shuuhei, my water broke." She reached out for his hand and griped it hard when a contraction went through her.

"Breathe, Kana. Just like we learned." He coached her through the breathing, through her contraction. Shuuhei got out of bed and got dressed. "Do you want to change?"

She looked down at herself. All she had on was a t-shirt. "I just need some pants. They'll make me change into a hospital gown when I get there." Shuuhei got her a pair of lounge pants. "My bag isn't packed. I don't have anything ready."

"I know. I'll come back later and get some things for you both." He led her out to the car. Another contraction went through her.

"Hurry, Shuuhei," Kana said as they drove to the hospital. It was late at night, and there weren't many cars on the road. He made it to the hospital in record time.

...

The doctors and nurses called out orders, but Shuuhei didn't pay any attention to them. He was focused on Kana.

"They're going to do a C-section," he told her.

"Is there something wrong with the baby?"

"No. She's fine. Your contractions are coming too fast, and they said something about you not being dilated enough." His focus was on Kana. He couldn't do anything about their daughter until she was born.

She came out screaming. Kana smiled as a nurse laid the baby on her chest. "It helps regulate her temperature better," the nurse explained. After a minute, the nurse took the baby away to clean her off.

"She's beautiful, Shuuhei."

"She already takes after her mother." He grinned at Kana and leaned down to kiss her lightly.

"Mr. Hisagi, please come with me," one of the nurses said as she guided him out of the room.

"My daughter?"

"She's fine. We'll bring her to you shortly."

He knew by her tone that something was wrong. "What's wrong with Kana?"

"Mr. Hisagi, please. Someone will bring your daughter out shortly."

"What's wrong with my wife?" He grabbed the nurse's arm.

"She'll be fine but we need to operate on her."

"Operate? Why? What happened?"

The nurse looked up at him. "She'll be fine," she repeated before she turned and walked back into the operating room where Kana was.

...

He sat on the edge of her bed, holding her hand. Next to her bed, their daughter slept in a bassinette. Despite the joy he had felt earlier in the day, his heart felt heavy. He couldn't bring himself to call anyone to tell them that Kana had the baby. After they had ushered him out of the room, it had been hours before a doctor had come out to talk to him. He'd passed the time with his daughter once they had brought her out to him. He sang every one of Rolling Star's songs to her.

Kana opened her eyes and looked up at him. He looked sad. "Shuuhei."

He smiled and looked down at her. The smile didn't reach his eyes. "Kana."

"They wouldn't let me hold her. Is everything ok with her?"

"She's perfect Kana. They said it was good that you had a C-section since she was so long. It explains why she was kicking so much last night. She didn't have much room." He glanced over at the bassinette. "Do you want to hold her now?"

"Yes." He stood up and handed Kana the baby. "She is beautiful. She'll be tall like you. She has your hair." Kana looked up at Shuuhei. "What happened after she was born?"

Shuuhei sighed and sat on the edge of the bed. "I don't know all the details. I was too concerned about whether or not you'd be ok. There were some complications, and they operated." He sighed. "Kana, she'll be the only child we'll be able to have. You can't have any more children."

Kana looked down at their daughter. "She's enough, Shuuhei."

He leaned over and kissed her forehead. "I'm sorry, Kana."

"It's ok, Shuuhei. It'll just be the three of us."

"You, me, and Seina." Shuuhei took out his phone and took a picture of his daughter. "I haven't called anyone to tell them you had the baby."

"Text them. Everyone except my Mom. You have to call her."

Shuuhei grinned and began his text message. He attached the photo he had just taken. The message read "Kana and I are happy to announce the arrival of our daughter, Seina. Come meet our little star." He listed the hospital and their room number.

Shuuhei called his mother-in-law.

"What's wrong with Kana?" she asked.

"Nothing. Her hands are full right now. She won't share." Shuuhei grinned at Kana. "She had the baby a few hours ago."

"Why didn't you call me sooner?"

"This is the first free moment we've had." He gave her the hospital name and their room number and knew she'd be there soon.

"Did you want to hold her?" Kana asked.

"I held her while they were... While you were..."

"You wanted more, didn't you?"

"I wasn't ready to take away that option. I had no choice in it. Neither did you."

There was a knock on the door. "Mrs. Hisagi, these came for you."

Kana looked at the vase of flowers. The nurse sat them down on a table next to the bed and then walked out of the room.

"That was fast," Kana said. Shuuhei handed her the card that was tucked in them. "They're from," she smiled and looked at Shuuhei. "Seina and Shuuhei. Thank you."

"You gave me a daughter. The least I could do was give you flowers."

...

He'd waited until Emi had arrived before he left his wife and daughter. He'd promised Kana he'd pick up some clothes for her and Seina. Shuuhei parked his car and headed toward the apartment building.

"I didn't want her to find me," someone said as they punched him.

Shuuhei knew that voice. His mood was raw enough that he punched back. "You left her, Renji."

"So did you."

"I had reason to. She was having sex with you. What was your reason?"

"You broke her heart. It was all about you. She didn't want me anymore."

Shuuhei sighed and wiped blood off his lip. "I'm sorry."

Renji shrugged. "I only wanted her because you had her. I didn't mean to have sex with her. It just happened." Shuuhei shrugged. As he saw it now, it led him to Kana. Renji spoke again. "I'm with this new girl now. I think I love her. Then Ran shows up and tells me I have a kid." Renji sighed and rubbed his jaw. "Where did you learn to punch like that?"

Shuuhei grinned. "This has been the best and worst day of my life." He opened the door. "Come inside, Renji. How did you know where I lived?" Shuuhei asked as they got on the elevator.

"Kira told me."

Shuuhei nodded. Kira and Renji had been in the same class, a couple of years behind Shuuhei. Renji followed Shuuhei into his apartment.

"So what happened to you today?" he asked, watching his friend.

"My wife had our baby today."

"That was the good part, right?"

"Yeah. That was the good part." Shuuhei sighed. "The worst part was the doctors telling me that we'd never have another child."

"That's a bummer. Did you want more kids?"

Shuuhei shrugged. "I don't know. I can be happy with just Seina but..."

"Hisagi, you have a beautiful wife, and what I'm assuming is a beautiful daughter. How greedy can you be?"

Shuuhei grinned. "I guess you're right."

Renji looked around the apartment when Shuuhei ducked into a room. "What are you doing here if your wife just had a baby?"

"We weren't ready for her. Kana asked me to come back and pack some things for her and Seina."

Renji saw a photo of Kana and Shuuhei on the table. The photo focused more on the woman's round belly. Shuuhei's hands covered Kana's hands on either side of the mound. His head rested on her shoulder, and her head was bent down against his shoulder. "You're really lucky, Hisagi."

"She's the best thing that's ever happened to me."

"Ran hated that you wanted to spend time playing your guitar and not with her."

"Really? She never told me that. I mean, she always interrupted me but I didn't think it was because she hated my playing."

Renji shrugged as Shuuhei walked from his and Kana's room to Seina's nursery.

"I like the album. It's really great."

"Thanks Renji." Shuuhei walked back out to the living room. "I think that's everything. Comewith me. I'll introduce you to Kana and our daughter."

...

Kana looked at the door as it opened. She smiled and whispered at Seina. "Daddy's back." She saw the other man come in behind him. "And he brought a friend." Kana glanced over at Yumi and Ikkaku. They walked over to talk to the man. Shuuhei walked over to Kana. Seeing her with their daughter filled him with love.

Leaning over to kiss Kana, he whispered, "I love you."

"I love you. What did you do?" she asked as she touched his lip.

"I ran into something."

"Something or someone?"

"Both. Where's your Mom?"

"She had an appointment. She didn't want to leave, and she'd made the appointment thinking Seina wouldn't be born yet." Kana smiled down at their daughter. "She'll be back when she's done. Who's your friend?"

"Renji."

"Really? I didn't think you'd ever speak to him again."

Shuuhei shrugged. "If all that hadn't happened, I wouldn't be where I am right now." He caught Renji's eye and the man walked over to them. "Renji, this is Kana."

"It's a pleasure. Your album is great."

"Thank you, Renji."

"I told you that you were a lucky man, Hisagi. Beautiful wife, beautiful daughter."

Shuuhei looked at Kana and grinned. Renji was right. He was lucky. Kana noticed the sadness was gone from his eyes, and she silently thanked Renji for that.