Case Closed Fan Fiction ❯ When Pandora's Box Is Opened ❯ Hope ( Epilogue )

Epilogue

Hope

One year later

“Did they say what it was?” Aoko mutters with a yawn as a nurse directs them down one of the dark corridors.

“Nope,” Kaito says, reading door numbers in the dark.

“Probably the only man in the world that can be so alert at three in the morning,” Aoko thinks, yawning again. She estimates that she's been up at this time for most of the past year. Ran and Shinichi's wedding evidently set off some kind of chain reaction- first those two cops a couple of months after them, then Heiji and Kazuha a couple of months after that, then those two from the FBI (though isn't one a teacher professionally now?) then another cop and a definitely-teacher, and another teacher, and of course her and Kaito… she still can't help blushing as she twists the ring on her finger. It's been six months and it still feels so new, but nothing has ever felt so perfect. “I pity the kind of awakening it much have been for Ran-chan, though...” They pause as they approach the correct hospital room, confused by the sound of muffled but strong laughter. Kaito tentatively opens the door.

“Whassup, Kudo?” He asks.

“Hey, you're the first ones here,” Ran says. She is grinning widely but looks exhausted. “No wonder...”

“So what's the laughter about?” Kaito asks, closing the door behind them. Aoko rushes right past him to get a good look at the little bundle sleeping in Ran's arms. All she can make out is a tuft of dark hair sticking out of the blanket.

“We named him Conan,” Shinichi says with a grin that makes him look even more disturbingly like Kaito than usual.

“You didn't!” Aoko gasps in surprise, freezing.

“No, we didn't,” Ran says, poking Shinichi in the ribs. He folds up, gasping, acting as if he's in great pain, though despite the fact that Ran hasn't done any karate for eight months he's probably not hamming it up. “It's a girl.”

“So what is her name?” Kaito asks pointedly.

“Mikomi,” Ran says softly, turning the little bundle in her arms to face the adults. It strikes Aoko as looking rather like a little Ran, though there's something about the shape of the closed eyes that seems very Shinichi.

“It means “Hope”,” Shinichi explains, with a gentle smile, his eyes sparkling. Aoko leans over, entranced by the little girl. Shinichi and Ran can't take their eyes off of her either, though Shinichi seems to be keeping a suspicious eye on Kaito out of habit. Kaito sticks his tongue out in response and returns to watching Mikomi.

“Well, she can't come to the wedding next week,” He suddenly says firmly. The three others glance at him in surprise.

“Why?” Shinichi asks sternly and not a little warily, conscious that whenever Kaito sounds serious he's generally setting you up. Aoko can think of only twice when he wasn't.

“Akako's going to have a fit if you bring a girl that'll be prettier than the bride,” Kaito chuckles, wrapping his arms around Aoko and leaning over to get a good look at the baby girl. Aoko gets a mental image, surely shared, of Akako throwing a fit halfway up the aisle.

Kogoro and Eri, the next ones to reach the delivery room, are also surprised by the sounds of laughter.

And Mikomi opens her sea-blue eyes and looks out, ready to take wing and spread out into the world.

 

 

The End

 

Of this story…

 

 

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And that, ladies and gentlemen, was what happened When Pandora's Box Is Opened. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Please leave all rubbish in the trash receptacle and leave the theatre in an orderly fashion. No hiding under the seats for the next showing. Seriously, thank you for taking the time to read this epic labour of love. I hope you enjoyed it. If it made you laugh, made you cry, made you scream obscenities at your computer, then my work here is done. This fic really means a lot to me- it marked a lot of my evolution as a writer, both in giving me confidence that I actually could write- and when I started this, I was sorely lacking in confidence that I could do anything at all- and for me to practice different techniques and develop my style. A special thank-you to everyone who even took the time to review. They really have been the light of my world for the past few months, especially during exams and writer's block- they were what got me writing again.

Super-special thanks to KSA Key-chan (formerly International DCFanficNut 1207 (formerly AngelRoy)), Pretztailfan95, Silver Shadowbreeze, HaibaraDaiFan and Mel72000, who were some of my first reviewers and stuck with me the whole way through. I love you guys! ^_- Also thanks to those who were regular reviewers throughout (or at least popped in to say hi occasionally), such as, in no particular order, BobbyNeko, PlayingThePiano, FHP2208, Hattergems, Kayla Edogawa, StargateNerd, Girl Wonder 2005, A Midsummer Night's Dream, A Bibliophile, Nataeiy1, Peppymint, Delyrical, DiGi -Former YoshimiKurosaki-, Desperatembrace, Lifawn, Twilightserius, Flippant Wisdom, Kitty Neko, Sable Katze, Eyeinthesky, Zeodyme Delacross, FaithlessGirl, Ebil Stasia, Kairi922, Ziraulo, KageNoNeko, Kolidescope, ObsessedConanFan, Topaz-tantei, Fireline, TwilTye, HikariPachi, JapaneseAnimeFreak16, Kyoko-chann, Alice Starr, Sharishima, ChrissyViolet, Yuki Taiki, MyMelo, Mimzsilver, Chou Ni Natte, Hybrid Speed, Marie Ravenclaw, Sunny Lighter, SkysterHikari, Lawliet Tenshi, Pu7o, Virushunter981, Alice Starr, WolfDaughter, and SetoJouFan. Thanks also to everyone else who read and reviewed, but weren't mentioned here. It's just such a long list! I do love and thank you all. Your name liveth forevermore!

What now? More writing, I guess. My next fics, A Phantom Thief (KaiShin) and Forgotten But Unforgiven (canon couplings = extra angst) will probably start in a couple of months. Definitely by the end of the year. Hopefully. Maybe. Hope to see some of you again there!

Sayonara, and Arigato Gozaimasu!

 

Writing complete

14:12 (O_o wow, gotta love the numerical coincidences! XD)

Saturday

August 15th

2009

 

Edits complete

16:59

Thursday

September 17th

2009