Her shock at actually seeing him for the first time—dark red hair, piercing blue gaze, already so unexpectedly aware, intelligent. No sounds but his, no warmth but their bare skin, no other face.

More Responses: Skenshingumi &Terry-McElrath, ha! See? This is exactly what I meant: no one else really "got it" that this was all about the instant at which you "become" a mother, as well as a father, which is also the point of this story—Kenshin getting a taste of "normal" happiness, undiluted by bitterness or regret, by shadow or threat. This was a completely autobiographical story for me; I just forced Kaoru and Kenshin into my own history for my own gratification. (Isn't it great to be the All-Powerful Author?) Actually, my favorite part is: "Calloused hands reached in, lifted the small, sturdy body from her arms, reverently held it close", I guess, in large part, because it so conjures up for me my daughter in my husband's arms.