Bip-bip. Bip-bip. Bip-bip.
Piston Hondo pushed himself upright and clicked his alarm off. The sun was just starting to rise, spilling a little light in through the curtains.
After pulling his shirt on, he heard Natsumi groaning from the other room. Concerned, he went into her bedroom. Natsumi had just sat up, and her bed was soaking wet.
Piston Hondo shook his head and knelt down to her level. "ほら, 私たちはあなたをきれいにすることができます. 大したことじゃないよ-" (Look, we can get you cleaned up. It's not a big deal-)
Natsumi moaned again. She really sounded like she was in pain. It was then that it clicked in Piston Hondo's head that she hadn't wet the bed.
That liquid was amniotic fluid.
He jumped up and tossed her her phone. "あなたのドゥーラを呼んでください! おばあちゃんをゲットします!" (Call your doula! I'll get Grandma!) He ran to his grandmother's bedroom. "おばあちゃん! 起きろ!" (Grandma! Wake up!)
"リキ、ハニー、どうしたの?" Grandma sat up and rubbed her eyes. "何かが起こったのですか?" (Riki, honey, what's wrong? Did something happen?)
"夏美は赤ちゃんを産むつもりです! 今すぐ!" (Natsumi's going to have her baby! Right now!)
"おー!" (Oh!) Grandma threw the covers off, hopped out of bed, and ran to Natsumi's bedroom. Boy, was this going to be a stressful day!
After a bit more freaking out, the Kobayashi family had made it to the hospital. "አሁን፣ ሚስ ኮባያሺ፣ ልጅዎን ከመወለዱ በፊት ትንሽ ጊዜ ይሆናል," said Nurse Mahari, brushing a lock of hair from Natsumi's face. (Now, Miss Kobayashi, it will be a little while before your baby is born.)
"ここでどのくらい話しているのですか?" Piston Hondo was still trying to catch his breath. "ランチタイムまでに? 就寝時間? 明日の朝?" (How long are you talking here? By lunchtime? Bedtime? Tomorrow morning?)
"ጊዜ ብቻ ነው የሚነግረን ውዴ።" Nurse Mahari was writing some things down on her clipboard. "የዚህ ሕፃን አባት ነህ?" (Only time will tell, my dear. Now, are you the father of this baby?)
"何? グロス、私は彼女の兄弟です." Piston Hondo made a face; very out of the ordinary for him. (What? Ew, I'm her brother.)
Nurse Mahari cocked an eyebrow. "ያ በጣም የዕድሜ ክፍተት ነው።" (That's a big age gap.)
Piston Hondo was getting frustrated. "いや、いや、私はナツミの兄弟で、サクラの兄弟ではありません." (No, no, I'm Natsumi's brother, not Sakura's brother.)
Nurse Mahari chuckled. "አውቃለሁ፣ ዝም ብዬ እያሾፍኩ ነው።" (I know, I'm just teasing.)
After a little longer, Nurse Mahari sent Piston Hondo and Grandma on their way, to be called back when the baby was born. Piston Hondo had arrived at the arena, and was sitting on the couch in the lounge, trying to calm down. "मैंने तुम्हारा यह पक्ष कभी नहीं देखा, रिकी।" (I've never seen this side of you, Riki.)
"What did you expect? His sister's having a baby!" Super Macho Man swung his arms out in a "come on" fashion.
"Respire, Riki," said Joe, holding his hand. "Elle ira bien." (Breathe, Riki. She'll be okay.)
娘のお母さんは出産で亡くなりませんでしたか? (Didn't your daughter's mother die from childbirth?) Piston Hondo wouldn't dare say it out loud, especially not when Joe and Katrina were sitting right there, but he still felt like Joe's comfort was more of a bad omen. He stood up. "失礼しますが、散歩に行きます." (If you'll excuse me, I'm going for a walk.)
Just then, the door swung open. "What's going on in here?" Pierce asked.
"His sister's having a baby!" Super Macho Man swung his arms out again, and this time, he nailed Piston Hondo right in the face. He yelled.
"Ooh, that's gonna bruise real bad," said Katrina.
"Well, that's gonna be an interesting first picture with Uncle Riki," joked Mr. Sandman.
Around five o'clock that evening, Piston Hondo got a message from the hospital, calling him back to meet the baby. He took Great Tiger with him and made his way downtown. "あります," said Grandma when they got there. (There you are.) She then spied the bruise on Piston Hondo's face. "戦っていましたか?" (Were you fighting?)
"लाउंज में एक दुर्घटना हुई थी।" Great Tiger cut in. (There was a mishap in the lounge.)
Grandma sighed and shook her head, and the three all entered the room together. And there was Natsumi, cuddling a tiny pink bundle in her arms. Sakura looked just like Natsumi did when she was first born, except she had a big tuft of black hair. "एक घंटे की उम्र में, और उसके बाल पहले से ही आपसे बेहतर थे," teased Great Tiger, elbowing Piston Hondo. (One hour old, and she already had better hair than you.)
Sakura blinked her eyes open and looked up at her uncles and great-grandmother. "नमस्ते," said Great Tiger. "मैं आपका चाचा अमर हूँ।" (Hi, I'm your uncle Amar.)
Sakura winked one of her eyes, then sneezed. "彼女はあなたが好き," said Natsumi. (She likes you.)
"እሺ፣ የደስተኛ ቤተሰብን ፎቶ እናንሳ," said Nurse Mahari, holding up Natsumi's phone. (Come on, let's get a nice picture of the happy family.) She snapped a photo of the five together. Sure, maybe Great Tiger shouldn't have been wearing a shirt with a death metal band logo on it. And yeah, maybe Piston Hondo's face was still half-purple from his bruise. But standing in the moment, it didn't matter to anyone. There was a new addition to their wonderful little family, and there was only room for love in this family, imperfections and all.
