Julie awoke on the morning of February 9th, and rolled to her side to push herself into a sitting position. She waddled to the bathroom to do her business and brush her teeth, and then went back to the bedroom and sat down at her vanity to fix her hair and apply some light makeup. When she finished, she pulled a cotton floral print dress out of the closet and pulled it on over her head. She had given up on pants; her enormous belly had made getting dressed a chore. She waddled down the hall to the kitchen, where Kuu was hard at work making breakfast.

"You said you would wake me up when you got up," she grumbled.

He plated her omelet and set it on the table for her. "Good morning to you, too, my love," he said with a smile.

She sighed. "Sorry. I didn't sleep well, so I'm grumpy."

He nodded and kissed the top of her head. "I know. That's why I left you to sleep in."

She sat down at the table and slumped in her seat. "It's these damned Braxton-Hicks contractions. I was having them all night."

A shiver ran down Kuu's spine. "All night? Are they regular? Did you time them?"

She shook her head. "They're not regular. I just had a few, and they made me uncomfortable enough to not be able to sleep." She started on her omelet. "This is really good, thank you."

He set his hand over hers. "Do you want to have your mother over while I have my audition? Just in case?"

She nodded. "She was going to come over today and hang out with me anyway."

Kuu inhaled his breakfast and then kissed his wife on top of her head before going back to the bedroom to get dressed for the day. He was thankful that Tora and Tatiana were back in town so Julie wouldn't be alone. At her last doctor appointment two days before, the doctor had said she was dilated two centimeters. He said that realistically, Kuon could come at any time now, as Julie was full term. Kuu had been hypervigilant since, checking in with Julie and making sure she was comfortable.

By the time he had showered and dressed, Tatiana was already sitting at the dining room table with Julie, having a cup of tea. "Good morning, Mama."

Tatiana smiled. "Good morning, sweet boy. Are you ready for your audition?"

He nodded. "As ready as I'm going to be. Wish me luck." He kissed Julie and rubbed her belly. "I'll see you later, okay? Take it easy."

He slipped his shoes on at the door and headed out to the Jag.

Julie breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank goodness."

Tatiana frowned. "You seem glad that he's gone, my darling. Did you two have a fight?"

Julie shook her head. "Not at all! He's been so sweet. Unbearably sweet. He's just been paranoid the last couple of days, like if I sneeze too hard I'll go into labor."

Her mother laughed. "Kuu is a good boy. Have you two finished Kuon's room?"

Julie nodded and pushed herself up from the table. "We just finished it last night. Kuu's been so busy lately preparing for his audition and doing odd jobs that he hasn't had much time to put all the furniture together, so it took longer than we thought."

Julie led her mother down the hall to the nursery. She flipped the light switch and Tatiana's hand went to her chest. "Oh, Julienna, it's so sweet."

The dark wood crib stood against the opposite wall, which was not only blue, but decorated with stick-on pictures of Dayjowey characters. Murphy and Mimi Mouse, Daniel and Daffodil Duck, their friend Goober, and Murphy's dog, Plato. A Dayjowey-themed mobile hung on the side of the crib. The sheets had blue polka dots, and the stuffed chicken sat in the corner of the crib. A blue and white knitted blanket made by Tatiana lay over the railing.

They spent the next hour fawning over all of the adorable baby clothes in Kuon's dresser, and discussing their plans for him. As they wandered out to the living room, Julie stopped and put her hand on the wall. She took a deep breath. Tatiana was at her side immediately.

"Are you okay?"

Julie shivered. She had been having contractions throughout her conversation with her mother, but none of them had been as uncomfortable as this one. Suddenly, she felt a mixture of fear and elation. What if this is it? What if the baby's coming? She looked at her mother. "I think so. I've been having contractions since last night. Nothing regular… but I think maybe they're starting to be."

Tatiana's eyes lit up. "Oh!" She hugged her daughter. "It's going to be okay, my darling! Don't worry about anything." She pulled away and rubbed Julie's belly. "Your water hasn't broken yet, has it?"

Julie shook her head. "No. I don't think so…" She wasn't entirely certain what that would look or feel like since it hadn't happened to her before.

Tatiana waved her hand at her daughter. "Then we have plenty of time, if you are in labor. Let's watch some TV."

Julie frowned. "Should we call Kuu?"

The older woman chuckled. "Heavens no. We don't even know if you're in labor for sure yet. If your water breaks, we'll call him. Let him enjoy his calm before the storm."

Kuu sat in a hallway with other actors, waiting for his turn to be called in for his audition. His palms were sweating, but it wasn't from the stress of the audition. His mind was back in his apartment with Julie, who he was pretty sure was in labor. He rubbed his forehead. She's not in labor. If she were in labor, she would have told you. Calm down. But what if she was? He shifted uncomfortably in his seat. The door of the audition room opened, and an intern stuck her head out. "Hozu-san?"

Kuu took a deep breath, straightened his tie, and followed her into the room. The head of casting, the director, and the producer he had met with previously sat at a table. They nodded to him. "Welcome, Hozu-san. Do you need a moment to find Kai?"

Kuu shook his head. The character he was auditioning for, Kai, was an assassin. He was strong, quiet, and an overall badass. In truth, Kuu's mannerisms had changed as soon as he walked into the room. If his interviewers had been paying attention, which he hoped they had, they would notice that as he walked in, his feet had not made a sound.

The director nodded. "Begin!" And without another word, he threw a ball at Kuu.

Kuu plucked it out of the air as though he had been expecting it, as though it were the most natural thing in the world. Kuu regarded him with a cold stare, and then crushed the tiny plastic ball with one hand.

The people he was auditioning for sat up a little straighter in their seats; they had expected him to catch the ball, yes, but to crush it one-handed? The Director smiled.

"Stand down, Kai. Good work."

Kuu assumed a resting, but ready, position. The head of casting held a sheet with questions printed on it. They were strange questions, but if Kuu wanted the role, he needed to answer them correctly. The man smiled politely at Kuu.

"Hozu-san, what is Kai's favorite color?"

"Whatever color Kai is paid to like best."

The Director smirked, but said nothing. The head of casting continued on with the questions.

"Where is Kai's favorite place?"

"His grandfather's workshop."

"Who does Kai love?"

"No one since the mafia killed his girlfriend."

The questions continued on for a few more minutes, and then the phone rang. The producer sighed in frustration. "I should have disconnected this fucking thing. I told them not to call in here. Excuse me, Hozu-san." He answered the phone with a gruff, "Yes? Uh-huh." His eyes went wide and he looked at Kuu. "I… yeah, Tora. I'll tell him." He smiled and set the phone back down on the receiver. "Hozu-san, your wife is in labor."

The words had barely registered for Kuu before he sprinted full-tilt out the door and down the hall. He didn't pause to see whether or not they were going to call him back; he didn't care. The only thought that he had at that moment was, I have to get to Julie.

After watching television with her mother for another two hours, Julie had gotten up to use the bathroom. Upon getting up from the couch, however, there had been a strange gush of fluid from between her legs. After seeing the look of shock on her face, and the wetness that was pooling on the carpet, Tatiana had rushed Julie into the bedroom to change and grab her bag to go to the hospital.

When they got to the hospital, Julie was admitted to Labor and Delivery and shown to her own private room. She paced the room, shaking from her nerves. Tatiana came back from using the pay phone down the hall.

"I called your father, he's going to try and get a hold of Kuu."

Julie looked at her mother with tear-filled eyes. "What if Kuon comes before Kuu gets here? What if something goes wrong? What if– ah!" She doubled over from a contraction, and her mother reached for her to steady her on her feet.

"Julie, he's going to make it in time. This is your first baby, it's going to take a while, and Kuu is only, say, 30 minutes away? It's going to be okay. Breathe, my darling."

It was starting to hit Julie just how much she had come to rely on Kuu over the last few months. Though she was comforted by her mother's presence, Kuu was who she really wanted to hold her and speak gently to her and reassure her.

Tatiana prattled on, trying to relax her daughter; she knew that if left to her own thoughts, Julie would spiral into an anxious fit, and panic was not good for the baby. "When I was in labor with you, your father was in England of all places! I called him, he caught the first available flight, and he made it in just before you were born. I was by myself for most of that time. Your Nana was watching Lana, and of course, my parents were in Russia. If I was fine for 10 hours, you'll be fine for 30 minutes, Julie."

35 minutes later, almost on the nose, Kuu appeared in the doorway looking windswept and frazzled. Julie burst into tears of relief upon seeing him. He crossed the room where she was sitting on a big inflatable ball and hugged her to him. He rubbed her back. "I'm here, my love. I made it."

Tatiana, who was sitting in a chair by the window, giggled. "Good, you can join me in waiting."

Kuu blinked. "Waiting? How long's it gonna take?"

February 9th faded into February 10th. Julie had come to the hospital at around 2:00 PM, And now, Kuu thought bitterly, it's past midnight. Julie was laying in her hospital bed now, curling in on herself and whimpering with pain every three minutes. A nurse had come in earlier and hooked her up to a heart rate monitor, and strapped a fetal heart rate monitor over her belly. She had been kind enough to show which heart rate was which and even how it monitored the duration and strength of the contractions. All of this was lost on Julie, who was in agony. Kuu rubbed Julie's back and she held his hand which she squeezed until it turned purple with every contraction.

A nurse came in to check on how dilated Julie was. She pulled on some gloves and inserted her fingers, which made Julie squirm. She smiled. "Shouldn't be too much longer now! I've got you at 8 centimeters."

Julie nodded, exhausted. "While you're here, when can I have an epidural?"

The nurse gave her a nervous chuckle. "Um… epidural is not something that we do in Japan, Julie-san."

Julie's eyes widened. "What?" Julie had thought an epidural was given. She knew that they were almost standard procedure in the US.

The nurse nodded. "It is better for the baby if the mother can bear the pain unassisted."

Tatiana stood up from her chair by the bed. "We'll pay extra for one. Just do it."

The nurse frowned. "I'm very sorry, Duris-san, but it simply is not available at the hospital." She left the room, and Julie turned to Kuu, panicking.

"What the fuck does she mean I can't have an epidural!? Kuu, why didn't you tell me I couldn't have an epidural!?" Her next contraction hit, and she gritted her teeth against the pain of it. Tears flowed down her cheeks. Kuu kept rubbing her back, helpless.

"I'm sorry, my love. I didn't know!" And it was true. He didn't know. Why would a 23-year-old first time father know anything about an epidural? She was lucky he knew to put the toilet seat down.

Julie did her best to keep from screaming as the contractions worsened. The pain was radiating from her pelvis, down her thighs, and into her back. Each one was leaving her breathless, and leaving Kuu's hand more and more mangled. Her mother coached her to breathe through the contractions, but it only helped to a point. Then, her eyes shot open.

"I need to push."

Tatiana was on her feet in a flash to get the doctor into the room.

Kuu kissed her sweaty forehead. "You've got this, my love."

The doctor followed Tatiana back into the room, put his gloves on, and put Julie's feet into the stirrups at the end of the bed. He checked her cervix and nodded. "It's showtime. On your next contraction, Julie-san, I need you to take a deep breath and bear down."

Julie was shaking as she looked up at Kuu. "I'm so fucking scared."

He squeezed her hand. "You're tough as hell, Julie. You speak 4 languages, you're the fiercest model in the world, have your own clothing line, and you can do anything once you set your mind to it. If anyone can do this, you can."

She paused for a moment, and then nodded and he wiped her tears off of her next contraction swept over her like a tidal wave. She did as the doctor said and bore down hard, all of her pain coming out in a long grunt of exertion. When the contraction ended, she lay back against the bed, panting. Kuu smoothed her sweaty bangs out of her face. "Good job, my love. Good job."

This break didn't last long. The next contraction hit less than two minutes later, and Julie couldn't help but cry out. "Ah! Kuu!"

Kuu was pretty sure she had re-broken his hand, but he soldiered on. "You're doing great, my love. You're doing really well."

Then there was an urgent beeping. Kuu looked over at the monitor beside the bed where Julie's, and Kuon's, heart rates were being monitored. Kuon's was steadily dropping.

The Doctor stood up as his team filtered into the room. Tatiana got up from her seat beside the bed. "What's going on!?"

The Doctor's face, which had once been good-natured and smiling, was now stony. "The baby has to come out now. His heart rate is too low." A nurse approached the bed with paperwork for an emergency c-section as another nurse began flipping the brakes off of the wheels. Julie signed the paperwork with a shaking hand, and they wheeled her down the hall. Tatiana tried to follow, but was taken to the waiting room by another nurse.

Kuu was made to wash up and put a gown and gloves on before being admitted to the operating room. When he got there, he found Julie laying there with her eyes half open. They had administered an IV full of fun drugs, and put a sheet up to block her view of the surgery. She blinked as he took his seat beside her and giggled a little. "They gave me an epidural."

Though he was absolutely freaking out internally, he couldn't help but smile as he kissed her forehead. "You always end up getting what you want. Are you comfortable, my love?"

"Mm-hmm." All of the panic she felt at the prospect of Kuon being in distress was currently being washed away by a flood of medication meant to calm her and numb her.

The Doctor called over the sheet. "I'm beginning the incision now, Hizuri-san. You might feel some pressure." Kuu kept his head firmly behind the curtain; he had been fully prepared to see his son born the natural way, but he knew that if he were to watch someone cutting into his beloved wife, he wouldn't feel good about it. He kissed Julie's forehead.

"He's almost here, Julie," he whispered. "I'm so excited."

Julie gave him a weak smile. "Me too."

Then, the room was filled with the sounds of Kuon Hizuri's first cries.

Relief washed over Kuu as he looked up to see the nurse bring his son around the curtain, wrapped in a white towel. Kuon's blonde hair was slick with blood and fluids, and he was red-faced and squalling angrily after being taken from the safety of his mother's womb and into the bright light of the operating room, but he was the most beautiful thing that Kuu had ever seen.

He looked down at Julie with tears in his eyes. "He's here, Julie, see?" No answer. Her eyes were closed. His heart stopped as fear gripped him. "Julie?"

Before Kuu understood exactly what was happening, a large orderly was shuffling him out of the operating room, away from his wife and son. "Please come with me, Hizuri-san."

He panicked, trying to look over the large man's shoulder. "No! I'm not leaving her! You can't do this!"

When they were safely out in the hallway, the man put his hands on both of Kuu's shoulders. "Hizuri-san, calm down, please."

Kuu mustered as much calm as he could, given the situation. A nurse opened the door, her face grave above her mask. "Hizuri-san, the doctor has encountered a severe complication that has resulted in massive blood loss, and your wife is not conscious. He needs your permission to perform an emergency hysterectomy."

Goosebumps erupted down both of Kuu's arms. "Hysterectomy?" He heard his voice as if it were coming from someone else. He knew that Julie wanted more kids. "Is it entirely necessary?"

The nurse nodded. "We need you to make the call, Hizuri-san. Now."

Kuu swallowed hard, afraid of what Julie's reaction would be. He managed to choke out, "Save her. Please."

The nurse and the orderly disappeared into the operating room once more, leaving Kuu to stare after them in shock. Soon, the doors reopened and another nurse wheeled Kuon out in a plastic bassinet. She gave Kuu an encouraging smile, a calming tactic. "If you'll follow me, Hizuri-san, I'll show you to your room."

He looked at the doors of the operating room, his heart falling somewhere near his stomach. "But… Julie. What about Julie?"

"She'll be out soon," she said simply. "If you follow me, I can get you settled in with Kuon-kun."

Kuu stood there for a moment, unsure. Every nerve in his body was screaming at him to wait outside the doors of the operating room like Hachiko. He looked down at Kuon, who was still crying, in the bassinet. Kuon who was less than five minutes old, Kuon who he was fully responsible for. Kuon, who if god forbid anything should happen to him, Julie would have an absolute cow.

"Okay."

He followed the nurse down the hall, away from the operating room, doing his best to act as Julie would have him act.