Nyoko laughed, a light laugh that filled the room with its light, as if it had scattered all the clouds in his mind.

  That laugh was like magic, quenching the storm of thoughts in his head and making time pause just to listen to her voice.

  "Is that why you're here?"

  She said teasingly, smiling and tilting her head slightly, as if laughing at his excessive worry.

  Nagisa frowned, feeling a bit annoyed, as it seemed to him that Nyoko was mocking his genuine feelings.

  He didn't understand why she was laughing in such a situation, sitting in a hospital bed! How could she laugh as if everything was normal and not worth worrying about?

  His brows furrowed, and he stared at her with a serious look before speaking in a voice filled with sincerity and emotion.

  "Of course I'll be here. How could I stay at work while my wife is in the hospital? How could I not be by your side?"

  But his serious words only made Nyoko's laughter grow, and she untangled their hands, reaching both of her small palms toward his face.

  She gently cupped his face as if she were holding his very heart, then lifted his head toward her, smiling as though bringing him a message from the heavens.

  "Oh, my beautiful, worried husband... I'm fine."

  Then she whispered, her eyes gleaming.

  "The doctor told me that this grumpy husband of mine... is about to become a wonderful father."

  She paused for a moment, just to observe the expression frozen on his face, then continued with a playful, affectionate tone.

  "Does that explain why I'm laughing at you?"

  Nagisa's mind was spinning, trying to process what he had just heard from his wife.

  "Becoming a father?"

  "Wait... does that mean...?

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  His eyes widened, and a broad smile spread across his face, almost splitting his mouth. He tried to respond, but the words stumbled out, faltering.

  "You… you… are you pregnant?!!"

  Finally, his words burst out as an excited shout, and without thinking twice, he pulled her into a tight embrace, pressing her head to his shoulder, his hand running through her hair from behind.

  Tears began to flow from his eyes, uncontrollably, tears of pure joy as he realized he was going to have a child with the love of his life.

  His tears soaked the hospital gown Nyoko was wearing, and she, in turn, wrapped her arms around him and returned the hug with equal force.

  ***

  That evening, inside the vast white hospital, where patients, doctors, and nurses bustled through every corner, Nagisa sat with his mother outside the operating room, trembling as if he were a washing machine in motion.

  His hands were tightly clasped together, and he was so tense that he couldn't even speak.

  They were difficult moments… moments in which he knew that his wife was inside, struggling and in pain, while he sat outside like an old flower vase tucked away in the corner of a guest room.

  His mother sat beside him, gently rubbing his back, trying to soothe him with all the tenderness she could muster.

  From time to time, she whispered to him, hoping it would ease his rising tension , a tension that had started to seep into her as well.

  "My dear… you need to calm down. Nyoko isn't the first woman to give birth, and she won't be the last. The doctors are professionals ,they'll be able to carry out the operation successfully."

  Though she was worried about Nyoko, her greater concern was for her son, who was trembling to the point of shaking.

  She was a woman herself , she understood what childbirth meant, the pain of it, the difficulty.

  But she also knew that Nagisa had to be strong… not just for himself, but for his wife and the child who was about to arrive in this world and take his first breath.

  Nagisa let out a loud sigh, the weight of helplessness wearing down his heart. He ran his trembling fingers through his sweaty hair and spoke with a voice that choked in his throat.

  "How am I supposed to calm down? Knowing that my wife is inside, in pain… and I'm out here, useless, worthless!

  I can't be by her side, I can't take her pain away, not even hold her hand to tell her I'm here…"

  Time stopped when the operating room was suddenly filled with the cries of a newborn baby.

  Nagisa sprang to his feet, and without waiting for anyone to come out or give him permission, he rushed inside, his heart pounding like war drums in his ears.

  He pushed the door open, and the scene he saw was enough to shatter every shred of tension rooted deep inside him.

  There, on the operating bed, Nyoko sat holding their newborn in her arms, swaddled like a little sandwich in his tiny blanket.

  Nyoko's face was pale from the ordeal of childbirth, but her smile lit up the entire room in Nagisa's eyes.

  His knees felt weak, and he moved toward her with slow, heavy steps until he stood beside her.

  He couldn't speak. Silence fell between them, the kind of silence that hugged the heart more than words could , even the baby had quieted in his mother's arms.