Chapter 8

My Dearest Mother,

I hope this letter finds you well. Gemini gave birth to a beautiful daughter. Even though her language during the delivery was...

Shinjiro paused during his writing. He should probably leave Gemini's language during the delivery out of the letter. He wanted to tell his mother about the birth of her first granddaughter, but it was difficult to put into words. He didn't usually get writers block when he wrote letters to his family back in Japan. It was similar to how he felt after his and Gemini's wedding. He was overcome by his own happiness. Succumbing to his inability to focus on the letter, he put his pen down and went to the bedroom. There he was greeted with the heart warming sight of his beautiful daughter, cradled in the arms of his lovely wife...

...who was currently in the middle of breast feeding.

"Oh, I'm sorry." he said as he pulled the door back to him as he backed out of the room.

"Shiny, you've seen me naked dozens of times." said Gemini "I don't mind if you look."

Oh. That's right.

"Sorry. Old habit." he said as he came back into the room. He sat down next to Gemini on the edge of their bed.

Gemini placed baby Dawn in the crib next to the bed. Dawn looked up with the most adorable smile and tired blue eyes, before drifting off to sleep.

"So how's that letter coming along?" Gemini asked, after she covered Dawn with a blanket and sat down next to her husband.

"Slowly. I'm still wrestling with the reality of it all. That our child is finally here. I'm glad you both made it through the delivery safely." he said as he put his arm around her. "I was worried about you, during the delivery, with all the yelling..."

She gave a slightly embarrassed laugh. "Yeah, I guess I kinda lost it for a while."

"You did say that I had horse droppings for brains, to say the least..."

Gemini leaned over and rested her head on his shoulder.

"You're still the guy I want to spend the rest of my life with, Shiny. I love you. And no matter what the future holds, I'm going to cherish every moment."

"I feel the same." Shinjiro said as he looked into Gemini's happy blue eyes, "I just wish I could have done more to help you through it."

"Just having you there in that delivery room, holding my hand was enough help."

She took hold of his hand to look at it.

"So, is it still sore?" she asked.

"A little." said Shinjiro as he opened and closed his hand a few times "I never realised just how strong a grip you have."

"Hey, that was noting compared to what I went through."

"You're right, Gemini. What right do I have to complain? You're the one that went through childbirth."

"Yeah, but it was worth it." she said, looking over at the sleeping baby. "We're got a full on family now."

Shinjiro stood up and looked into the crib. He gently caressed the top of Dawn's head. Gemini stood up and joined him.

"We've got a good looking kid." said Gemini. "I reckon that photo album Cheiron gave us is going to fill up, pretty fast."

"I think you're right. And I think I know how to finish my letter home, now."

0o0o0o0o0

A few days later, in Japan, Futaba Taiga went to her front door to collect the mail. Upon seeing a letter with a United States postmark, she felt a rush of excitement. It was the letter she had been waiting months for. She opened it to see a photograph of Shinjiro, Gemini and a baby with beautiful black hair. They all looked genuinely happy. She read through the letter that accompanied the photograph. She nearly shed a tear of pride upon reading it.

My Dearest Mother,

I hope this letter finds you well. Gemini gave birth to a beautiful, healthy girl whom we've decided to name Dawn. It's difficult to describe how happy we are, but in America, they say that a picture says a thousand words. So, I hope this photograph explains at least a little bit of the happiness our daughter gives us. Gemini and I look forward to the day you and Dawn meet in person.

With love,

Shinjiro.

The End