The Return
Chapter 1
She cried the first time she saw him. She had been a baby when he left, only a month old, and that was a little over a year ago. Needless to say this was the last thing Master Chief expected to happen on his reunion with his daughter.
He just frowned while the girl's mother bounced her slightly, pressing a kiss against the baby's head. "What…what's wrong?"
"She's scared of you, Chief," Cortana told him, still bouncing the child. She too had changed since Chief had last seen her. She had been less than thrilled to be left with a newborn, but they both knew they had no choice. She, of all people, knew what duty and honor meant.
"I don't… Why?"
She shifted the baby in her arms. "Perhaps it's your armor."
He just stared at his daughter for a moment before moving to take his helmet off, per the suggestion of his wife. The baby wouldn't even look at him now, instead turning to bury her head in her mother's shoulder.
"This went worse than expected," Cortana joked slightly as Chief finally gave up and walked around her. They were standing in the living room of their apartment, him finally home on leave only for this to be the reaction he got. "Maybe you should go change. Are you hungry? I'm making dinner. I didn't expect you until later."
He just glanced back at her as she followed him out of the room. "I just want to shower."
"Of course." She had finally accomplished getting the baby to calm down and hung back from him, not wanting him to upset her further. "John."
He let out a grunt as he headed into their bedroom. It was the same as always, only now the crib that had been in there his last month of being home was now gone, moved to the spare room probably. He felt a pang for a second of regret. What had he missed already out of his daughter's life? And what more would he miss in the future?
"It's good to have you back."
"It's good to be back." He glanced around the kitchen before back down at his plate of food. "Very good."
"It must be good too to have my cooking, huh?"
"You only get more cocky the more time passes."
Cortana laughed slightly, looking up at him. "I've had a lot of time to practice cooking, while you've been gone."
"It's a lot quieter," Chief offered up to her. "Without you on missions."
"Don't you fall in love with your new AI," she warned. "If you thought I could wreck havoc as an AI, you should see what I can do now."
"You've been human for five years now, Cortana." Master Chief glanced behind him as he heard crying from the other room. "I think I've seen you at your worst."
"You'd think," she said, moving to get up. He held up a hand though, standing.
"I've got her," he said, feeling awkward in his own home as he stood there in a t-shirt and jeans. He always felt that way though. Outside of his MJOLNIR armor, he felt like a completely different person. "Be right back."
"Alright," Cortana said, taking her seat at the table once more though she hesitated. While John had been in the shower, she put the baby down for the night, not wanting to overwhelm either of them. Still, if he wanted to do it, she couldn't stop him. "If you're sure."
Master Chief nodded at her before heading out of the room. It was weird for him at times, being around his former AI partner. It took him years to find her again after everything happened with Didact and even longer to really get her back, as she was too far gone for Dr. Halsey to do much. As a last ditch effort, she attempted to change her into a human. The first thing Master Chief thought of when he heard the plan was Frankenstein, but it had turned out much better than that. Much better.
The Spartan was out of his element when he walked into what used to just be an extra bedroom in the apartment. Now it was the nursery that housed his daughter, who at the moment was full blown crying. She was sitting up in her crib, her hands grasping the bars of the crib as she stared out. When she spotted the mountain of a man walking into her room, she just began to wail louder.
Shaking his head, John headed over to the crib, quickly lifting the baby out. He was afraid of picking her up, honestly, for fear that he would injure her. He had never really been around a baby. He didn't want to hold her too tightly or something. At the moment though, he knew no other way to help her than to pick her up.
"You don't stink," he murmured to his child, more to himself really. That was one of his biggest concerns, really, changing a diaper. He had changed one, that month before he headed out and left the newborn and it had not gone well. "Are you hungry?"
The baby continued to whine, not liking the way he was holding her now. He had her at arms length, his hands under her armpits, just staring at her. What else could be wrong with her? And how was he supposed to figure it out anyways?
"Here." Master Chief shifted her in his arms, moving now to hold her closer to him as he had seen Cortana do. "Do you want to be held? Is that what you want?"
The baby continued to whine, though it was softer now. She was much more curious than anything. Where was her mother? Why was she just letting this man touch all over her? She didn't like this.
"There, there," he said, uneasy as he attempted to bounce the baby. He was jostling her more than anything and, after it proved to be futile, he gave up on it. "You're alright now. Miranda."
The baby looked up at her name, staring at the man's face. She knew her name, after all. Her mother said it all the time.
John didn't look down at his daughter however, instead focusing on the stuffed animals that were strewn around the room. There were blocks too and a little train set. A pile of books was in one corner and he decided when he saw it that he would have to build her a bookcase soon.
He let out a long sigh of relief as the baby finally ceased her cries, instead now making soft cooing noises as she stared up at him curiously. When he looked down at her, she giggled, reaching up to pat his face. Chief shifted her to one arm, using the other to run his hand through her brown hair.
"You need a haircut," he whispered to his baby as she continued to touch his face, giggling now. Chief wasn't sure what has sparked the change in her attitude towards him, but he was glad for it. "Miranda."
Miranda. Cortana has chosen that name, thinking it was the best way to honor the fallen Commander Miranda Keyes and Chief made no objections. Names didn't mean much to him anyways. Nor did the past. He mostly focused on the future now, as he had learned in his training. With the future so bright now, why would he want to dwell in the past anyways?
"I thought you'd put her back to bed," Cortana said as Chief walked into the kitchen, their daughter in his arms.
"I think she's hungry," he said simply as he went to sit back down at the table, his food now cold before him. "Here."
The baby opened her mouth as he held up a piece of his roll to her. She liked eating.
"Don't feed her too much, John," his wife told him, frowning slightly. "I don't want her to get sick. And no meat. I don't want her to choke."
Miranda was in his lap now, leaning back against her father. When she turned up to look at him, she found him staring right back down at her. Smiling at this, the baby clapped her hands.
"She's rather loud," Master Chief commented, still watching his daughter. "Even when she's not crying."
"At least we know she doesn't take after you."
He glanced back up at the former AI then, staring at her for a moment. "I…missed you, Cortana."
"Yes, I know."
"You know, you're supposed to say that back to me, I believe."
"I'm sure."
"Mama!" The baby seemed to suddenly realize it was her mother seated across from them and reached out for her. "Mama."
"She can talk?"
"I hardly count a word as talking," the child's mother retorted.
"Can she say anything else?"
"When she's hungry, she'll try to say bottle. We don't use bottles anymore though, do we, Miranda?"
At the sound of her name, the baby tired to push out of her father's lap. This guy was fun and everything, but if her mother wanted her now, the baby had no problem with going to her.
"Hey now," Chief complained, holding her tightly to him. When he saw Cortana raise her eyebrow, he said simply, "I don't want her to fall over."
"She's taken to you quite quickly for her to have been so upset to see you before," the woman observed, standing now to put her plate in the sink. "Do you want more of anything?"
"No," he told her, feeding the baby another piece of bread to distract her. "I'm fine."
Even after he finished eating, Chief sat there, holding his baby in his lap, finally able to relax. It felt odd to him, being home again. A year had passed. A year. He had waited for this moment, being able to be back home with his family. Family. He finally had a real family.
"Nam nam," the baby continued to babble, watching her mother go around the kitchen and clean up. "Mama."
"She's a lot bigger than I thought she would be," Chief told Cortana then randomly. "I knew she was a year old now though, but I wasn't expecting this. She was so…tiny when I left."
"It's been a long year, John," Cortana told him, still over by the sink, washing dishes. "Maybe this time…they really won't need you again. You are retired, after all."
There was no such thing as retired for a Spartan. It was a moot point at the moment though, so he just nodded his head slightly.
"Maybe."
"Regardless, it's nice to have you home." She came over to him then, though it was just to reached down and take their child from him. Chief let her go, but it was with a slight reluctance. "She is up way too late. It's time to put her to bed. For real this time."
"I'll help you," he responded gamely.
"There's really no need-"
"I should learn how to do it," he said, readily standing to follow her. Laying a hand on her shoulder, he gave her a slight smile. "She is my daughter."
"She is," Cortana agreed, smiling back at him warmly. "It will be nice to have some help."
"Don't get crazy now," he joked tentatively as the woman turned, walking off now. Chief stared at her retreating backside for a moment, taking a second to relish in the fact she was his. Though, she had always been his, even as an Artificial Intelligence chip.
"Are you coming?" She glanced back at him, the baby now whining again. "Chief?"
"Of course," he said, quickly moving to follow her. "I was just…"
"I think she wants you," Cortana told him, the baby now staring at him over her mother's shoulder. His grunt in response annoyed his wife, but the baby just giggled, fine again. "See?"
With her back to him, Cortana didn't see Chief make a slight face, trying to entertain his child. It worked as she reached back for him, opening and closing her hand, whining.
"This was the quickest bonding I've ever seen you do with a person."
Chief followed her into the nursery. "Bonding?"
"What would you call it, Daddy?"
"…I do not want to be called that."
"Daddy? She has to call you something, John." Cortana turned to face him then as he closed the bedroom door. "Or are you going to force your daughter to call you Master Chief?"
He ignored her, taking the baby when it reached out for him.
"It would make sense, what with your over inflated sense of self."
That got her a stare.
"I'm kidding, John." She was still all smiles, watching as their daughter twisted in his arms, wanting him to pay attention to her. "Now come lay her down in the crib. It's time for her to go to bed."
"Do I just set her in there?"
"Yes."
"And she won't need us? During the night?"
"If she does, we'll hear her."
He frowned slightly. "Shouldn't you change her diaper one last time? Before bed?"
She gave him a look. "Did you want to do this alone, John?"
Taking a deep breath, he went to lay the baby down in her crib. "She just feels so far away from us in here."
"As oppose to how far away she's been this whole year without you?"
He stared down at his daughter, who just sat up in her bed, watching him back. "What else do I need to do? Will she fall asleep on her own?"
"You make things overly complicated." Cortana came to stand next to him at the crib, her arm brushing against his. Glancing up at him, she just smiled, not missing the awkwardness there was between the two of them. It had been a year, after all. "You always have."
"Mama," Miranda complained, still staring up at them. She reached out to be picked up, but Cortana shook her head slightly.
"It's time to go night-night, baby," she said softly, still leaning into her husband. "Aren't you sleepy?"
"No."
"She can say no too, huh?" Chief shook his head. "She can talk, practically."
"Mmmm."
"No!" The baby reached out for him, but Chief just stared down at her. "Mama."
"Shhh." Cortana leaned down, gently pushing her baby down to lay on her back. "You're okay. You're good. We're gonna go to bed now, huh?"
The baby whined, but Cortana just took Chief's hand before leading him from the room. He glanced back at the baby, but she did seem fine. And Cortana was right; if she needed them, they'd be right there. He'd be right there.
"Let's go lay down," Cortana said to him as she led him to the bedroom. "Be alone."
He let himself be pulled over to the bed, quickly taking a seat when she let him go. She quickly took the seat next to him, full on grinning now.
"I missed this," she told him as he laid an arm over her shoulders. "Just being with you." When he didn't say anything, she reached up to tap his skull. "I miss being in there even more. Staying here while someone else helps you out."
"Not nearly as well as you," he assured her.
"Of course not."
Master Chief turned slightly then so that he could press a kiss against her lips. When he pulled away, Cortana moved to rest her head in his chest.
"Did you think about us while you were gone?"
He nodded. "I had something to come home for, after all."
"She likes you already," Cortana told him. "So quickly."
"I am her father."
"Daddy."
He just grunted, moving to kiss her again. "You talk too much."
Spartans, of course, had a reduced sex drive. Everyone knew that. It was one of the reasons that John always thought he and Cortana were pretty good together, back when she was still an AI. The one thing he never thought about was the one thing Cortana could never give him. Things got sticky though, when she became human. It wasn't like he couldn't have sex though, because he could and he did. Just not very often.
"Mmmm, what are you doing?"
He had shifted on the bed now, pushing Cortana under him. Their kiss that seemed never-ending had ended rather abruptly.
"You don't hear her?" He pushed away from his wife. "The baby's crying."
"She's just whining, John. She'll go to bed soon."
He kissed Cortana again, but it was really just a peck. "I should go check. She might-"
"Let me."
"Cortana-"
"Last time you went to check, you brought her back." Slipping out from under him, she let her hand linger on his body for a moment before getting up. "She really does need her sleep."
"I just don't want her to-"
"I know and she won't. Alright?" With that his wife left the room, leaving him to just sit there and wait.
Master Chief woke with a start. For a moment, he couldn't figure out where he was. Then it dawned on him that's because he wasn't in battle anymore. He was home. With his wife. With Cortana.
Glancing to his side, he found her sleeping there, curled away from him. He reached one hand out, stroking her back. It wasn't her that had woken him though. Technically, it was nothing, but he was pretty sure deep down it was his daughter.
Straining his ears to hear, he heard nothing. She wasn't crying. Still, he felt the need to check on her consume him and couldn't help himself as he pushed out of the bed to go make sure she was alright. Anything could get her here, alone. She was just a baby.
Slipping on only his jeans, Chief quickly exited his bedroom and headed to his daughter's. He found it dark, save the nightlight in the corner. Stalking over to her crib, he stared down at her, finding the baby just as he had left her only now she was asleep. He let out a long breath, watching her as she slept. She was okay. She was safe. But for how long?
"John?"
He didn't jump as Cortana suddenly appeared in the doorway. He had sensed her approach, after all. He just stayed facing the crib the whole time, watching his baby. She was all cuddled up in her blanket and he was slightly worried she'd overheat. Wouldn't that be something? It wasn't that cold outside. He didn't think she really needed a-
"Is something wrong?"
Shaking his head no, he still wouldn't look at her. In a hushed tone, he said, "Just checking."
"Well, don't wake her up."
"I don't plan to."
"She's fine, you know," the woman said, walking closer. "What exactly are you checking on?"
Shrugging, he said, "I don't know."
"Come back to bed."
He shook his head slightly. "I'm not tired."
"You slept for what? Two hours?"
"It's all I need."
"So what? You're going to stand there and watch over her all night?"
"If I have to."
"Chief, how do you think she's slept for a year without you? How she's done anything?"
He gave a slight shake of the head. "If I can't sleep anyways, what difference does it make?"
She came closer still until she was at his side, staring down at their daughter as well. "Did you think about her a lot?"
"I tried not to, thinking if I put her out of my mind I would work better, but I couldn't." He glanced at her. "You know that I did not plan to be gone for so long."
"When duty calls, it calls."
"Still."
"It's not like I was alone, John."
"You were without me."
"You were without me too."
He gave a curt nod. "It's not the same out there anymore, when you're here."
"Would you rather I was still in your head then?"
He smirked slightly, looking away from their daughter finally to glance at her. "And give up this?"
She smiled back at him. "When you put it that way, it's not a hard choice, is it?"
"Not at all." He turned his vision back to his daughter. "Can…can she sleep in bed with us?"
"Chief," Cortana sighed. "I don't feel comfortable with that."
"Why not?"
"Babies can suffocate that way."
"I hardly move in my sleep. Neither do you."
"But what if you did? And squashed her or something?"
"I wouldn't do that."
"It's better for her to sleep in here, in her crib."
He grunted, shaking his head.
"I know that you want to watch over her, Chief, and you can. Just not all the time."
"I can stand here," he told her. "Watch for awhile. It won't hurt anything."
She leaned up then, pressing a kiss to his cheek. As she let her hand fall down his bare chest, she took in the scarred flesh with a slight frown. "Do what you need to, John. I'll be in bed."
He stroked the back of her head for a moment before turning his attention back to their daughter.
"Goodnight," she whispered before leaving him alone.
Clasping his hands behind his back, John stared intently down at the little girl, who was breathing softly. That was another thing. What if she suddenly stopped breathing? Huh? How would they hear that all the way from their bedroom? They wouldn't. Cortana just didn't get it. She was all complicit with how she had done things. But change was inevitable. Master Chief was back and he didn't plan to let such things go unchecked.
His concerns were answered around midnight when the baby woke up with a slight cry, kicking her feet. See? Overheating. Clearly.
"Oh," he said simply as he smelt it. Not overheating. Poop. He glanced behind him hoping that his wife was still hanging around. Alas, it was just him. This was his job. As Cortana said earlier, when duty calls…
After that was done, Chief decided that since the baby was up anyways, Cortana couldn't be mad if he took her out of the room. She could sleep later. She was just a baby. She'd have all day to sleep.
"Ah," he sighed as he sat down on the couch in the living room, his baby in his lap. She made a loud noise, reaching up at pat his chest. "Shhh. Be quiet, huh?"
She rubbed her head into his chest, giggling. "Aba."
Letting out a long breath, he leaned his head back and closed his eyes. He had been so nervous on the way home. Not that he'd ever admit it or anything, but he had been. It was odd, that he could go off into battle with courage, but the thought of meeting his daughter and having to take care of her scared the crap out of him. It did though.
The baby let out a yawn, snuggling back against him. John opened his eyes, glancing down at her before giving her his hand. He saw guys do that sometimes, give a baby their fingers to hold. It entertained them for some reason or so he assumed.
"You like that?" He smiled slightly as she sniffed one of his fingers. "Huh?"
The baby licked his finger then, giggling. Chief made a face, shaking his head slightly. Looking up at him, she smiled before kissing his finger now.
"You're giving me kisses, huh?" John bounced his leg slightly. "Miranda." When she looked up again, he smiled. 'You know your name, don't you? Miranda."
They must have sat there for an hour or two, the baby falling asleep at some point in his lap. Chief just sat there though, holding her. So this is what it was like. Huh.
"John, if you do not get her back in the crib now, I will hurt you."
"Shhh," he shushed Cortana as she came back into the room. Why couldn't she just leave him alone? "She's sleeping."
"Like she was in her crib?"
"She's safer this way."
"What exactly do you think is threatening her in there?"
He had no answer for that, as he had yet to find a threat to his daughter. And if he did find one, he would eliminate it. Quickly and efficiently.
"Well, I'm going to take her now, huh?" Cortana gently lifted his daughter from his lap, being careful not to wake her. "Daddy."
"You're going to harp on that, aren't you?"
"For the rest of our lives."
Yes, I recognize the unlikelihood of Cortana ever becoming human much less having a child with Chief, but hey, it fits with the idea.