Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters who appear in this story.
Title: Baby Girl Shannon
Summary: Marshall reflects after the birth of Baby Girl Shannon, who desperately needs a name. Spoilers Up to 'Something A-Mish'.
Rating: PG
Baby Girl Shannon By New York Hope
Marshall Mann looked through the small hospital window into the room where the squalling red-faced newborn was protesting at the treatment she was receiving from the nurses who were simply trying to record her weight. Her weight. Marshall ran a hand over his sleep deprived face as he gazed lovingly at the baby girl in that ridiculous pink cap, which Mary had vehemently protested before she'd given into the exhaustion that only came from 18 hours of labor to bring her daughter into the world.
"Are you the new dad?" a friendly faced Hispanic woman inquired as she sidled up next to him, peeking around Marshall to gaze at the petite newborn.
Marshall knew he should've expected the question. He was standing in the middle of Mesa Regional's maternity ward wearing the scrubs they made him put on to accompany Mary into the delivery room. Plus, he was fairly certain he looked as tired as any new father could be expected to look. However as the question passed the woman's well-intentioned lips, Mark's face flashed across his mind's eyes and Marshall remembered all too clearly the way Mark had looked at Mary that night... the night Mary's daughter was conceived. But even as the unwanted thoughts of the baby's biological father entered his mind, Marshall thought back on the past eight months.
He'd been the one to find and schedule Mary's Lamaze classes and forced her to make every single one of her OBGYN appointments. He'd controlled her diet, cooking and bringing her most of her meals throughout the pregnancy to ensure she ate properly for her and the baby's sake. He'd even scoured the city for the right blend of herbal tea that wouldn't make her grimace at every sip. He'd taken up residence in her guest room in the middle of the second trimester after sudden abdominal pains had sent him racing across the city from Abigail's, breaking every traffic law possible, to get her examined. Two weeks ago, he'd changed the locks on Mary's house to keep Jinx's good intentions outside the range of Mary's claws. He'd had a copy of the sonogram in his wallet, until he'd started spending all his time at Mary's and hung it on the fridge. He wanted to be sure that this little girl had the father that Mary didn't. He knew Mary did too, but wouldn't say it. It was in her face every time he asked a hundred questions from the doctor at their appointments or the way he'd packed, unpacked and repacked her bag for the hospital over the last month. If he wasn't that little girl's father, Marshall wasn't sure who would be.
"Sorry, what was that?" Marshall feigned having not heard the woman after he realized he must've been in his own thoughts for far too long.
"Is she your daughter?" the woman repeated, gesturing to where the red-faced newborn had calmed down and was being laid gently in the warming bed by one of the nurses.
"Yes, yes she is," Marshall replied, his face breaking into a proud smile as the nurse beckoned him into the room to give Baby Girl Shannon her first bottle of formula.
Marshall stood over Baby Girl Shannon and held the bottle carefully, just as he was shown by Nurse O'Malley. She latched onto the nipple and sucked deeply, drinking the formula down in steady swallows. She opened her eyes widely, staring at the man above her, revealing to Marshall the first sign that he was going to be in big trouble with this little one. She gazed up at him with bright green eyes, the exact shape and shade of her mother's. The soft dark hair peeking out from under the pink cap came from her father, but the gentle turn of her lips and the look in her green eyes were all Mary. As was her appetite, Marshall chuckled as his thoughts returned to the task at hand. He removed the bottle gently, although the little girl squawked in protest at the removal of the nipple. Nurse O'Malley came and took the empty bottle from him, leaving him to gaze down at the little girl in wonder.
Mary Shannon opened her eyes, blinking at the harsh lights of the hospital. She hated hospitals, usually avoided going as much as possible. She would've given birth at home if Marshall hadn't spent an entire day spouting off facts of the risks involved in home births and the mess she'd had to clean up afterwards. She didn't lift her head, still feeling the after effects of labor, but her eyes locked in on the scene before her. Marshall sat in the chair beside her bed, cradling a small pink bundle to his chest, humming softly some tune Mary didn't recognize. She did recognize the look in his eyes as he gazed down at her daughter, the protectiveness and love she'd seen before in the eyes of witnesses with their children. Now it was Marshall's turn to have that look light up his blue eyes as he gazed down at their daughter. Marshall had proven true to his word, as always. Not a week had passed after they'd acknowledged her pregnancy before her partner had pointed out that if she was having a baby, they were having a baby. And he'd been right. There was no one else stable enough or close enough in her life who could've handled her erratic mood swings and her violent urge for pie while managing to steer her through a relatively painless and healthy pregnancy with all three of them intact and healthy. While she's growled, bitched, moaned and snapped throughout the past eight months, Mary found that it was all worth it to look upon this moment.
Marshall could feel eyes upon him and turned his gaze from one set of newly awakened green eyes to the other set. He smiled as he moved closer to Mary, so she could see their daughter.
"She's beautiful," Mary smiled softly and then frowned slightly, "Can we take that stupid hat off her?"
"I'll check the hospital policy on stupid hats," Marshall deadpanned with a smirk, "She needs a name, Mare. Can't call her Baby Girl Shannon forever."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Mary grumbled and moved to sit up a bit more, "She's not a call girl."
Marshall chuckled and carefully transferred the baby into Mary's arms, "What about Annabelle?"
" Too Southern."
"Josephine?"
"No 'book' names, numb-nuts"
And so they went for an hour, which was precisely the reason why they had not chosen a name before the baby arrived. Mary had referred to her as 'the bump' on good days or 'the parasite' on her not-so-good ones over the past eight months. Mary scowled and stared down at the sleeping face in her arms, trying to force the right name into appearing.
"Phoebe," Mary murmured.
"The first female Marshal? Hmm, Phoebe Shannon..." Marshall tested the name on his lips.
"What do you think?" Mary addressed the bundle in her arms. Phoebe only yawned and with a soft coo nuzzled deeper into the blankets that enveloped her small form.
"I think she likes it," Marshall smiled at the image of his tough-as-nails partner looking down with such a soft expression. He'd never seen such an expression cross her face before and Marshall sincerely hoped this wouldn't be the last time. He pulled his chair closer to rest one arm over the arm-rail of the bed and the other to reach over to rest his hand over Mary's to cradle their little girl.