Rose lays the baby down into the crib and straightens with a sigh, her hands going to the small of her back as she winces. She pads through the house to the kitchen and pours herself a cup of coffee before leaning against the table and looking around. The house is a complete and utter disaster area – but then again, who has the time to look after a baby and clean? Rose finishes the almost cold coffee in a few gulps and begins to gather the washing strewn about; she may as well put on some laundry.
Rose hears an odd noise and frowns. Oh no, a bird must have flown in, she thinks, putting down the arm load of washing and turning. She stops dead, a hand going to her mouth as it gapes in shock. "Emmanuel?" she gasps. "Emmanuel, what the hell?"
"Hello, Rose," he says. There is something different about him, not just the new look of a suit and trenchcoat, but his voice... "Where is Daphne?" Rose's knees go weak, and she slumps into a chair. Oh god, he doesn't know.
"Where have you been?" she manages to ask. "All this time... Where have you been?" Emmanuel's face is blank for a moment, before he repeats his question.
"Where is Daphne?" There's a little growl in his voice now, one that makes her shiver. She opens her mouth to reply when she is cut off by the sound of a baby crying.
"Sorry," she says, rising to her feet and making her way to the front room. Emmanuel follows her and stares intently as she picks the baby up from the crib and arranges the blanket so the crying child is cuddled into her shoulder. "Oh, Emmanuel." Rose is starting to cry herself; she wipes her eyes on the corner of the baby's blanket before turning back. "You weren't here. She... The pregnancy was so difficult for her. And the baby... Oh, I'm so sorry, Emmanuel. She... Daphne... My sister's dead." Rose returns to Emmanuel and holds out the baby. For a long moment, he just stares at her, silent. "Take her," Rose encourages, and slowly, Emmanuel's hands lift and he takes the crying baby from her. The child silences instantly as Emmanuel arms form a cradle.
"A girl?" he says in a whisper. "I... I have a daughter?"
"I named her Gabrielle," Rose says softly. "After-"
"Your mother." Emmanuel makes a choking noise and bows his head, but not before Rose can see the glimmer of tears in his blue eyes. "Hello, Gabrielle," he says to the blanket wrapped bundle in his arms. "I'm sorry I wasn't here to save your mother. I'm..." The baby's hand reaches up and presses against his nose, and Rose watches him smile, that sweet smile that her sister fell in love with. "But I'm here now. And I'll protect you, I promise."