I had an idea of a series of oneshots of how some characters from the Cal & Niko Leandros series first met (the ones who meet 'off-stage,' of course.) The first one is my take on the birth of Cal. Warning: ends with sappiness. ;)

OOOoooOOO

Niko was four when the scary man came to see his mother after dark. It was late and the man wore a big coat and wide brimmed hat, but Niko could see that he had long white hair and his eyes sparked like a cat's, only red. His mother had already been drinking for a while, and normally she would have slammed the door on the man, but he flashed a shiny ring in front of her face to get her attention. Sophia's quick fingers flickered as she took the ring from his hand. As she stepped aside, she noticed Niko peeking around his bedroom door.

"Get your ass back in bed!" she snapped. Niko shut the door and jumped back under his covers. He was scared, and tried to listen for a while. He heard his mother's soft, purry voice and the stranger's grating hiss going back and forth for a little bit. And then the front door shut again.

The next night Niko was sent over to stay with their neighbor Mrs. Halverson. His mother marched him over there and stood on the woman's doorstep, asking her to watch her son for the night, saying she had to go to the next town over to care for a sick friend. The older woman stared at Sophia for a moment, her mouth tight, until she glanced down at Niko. Then her mouth softened and she nodded. Sophia dropped Niko's hand and walked away. He watched her over his shoulder; he was afraid the white haired stranger would take her away for good. Then Mrs. Halverson patted his shoulder, and led him inside. They had a nice dinner at the table, and she found a book to read to him. When it was bedtime, she made up the couch with sheets and blankets, and everything smelled good, like soap. Even though the lady was very nice, Niko could not stop thinking about his mother. Would she come back for him at all? Mrs. Halverson seemed to understand, and as she tucked him in, she reassured him that his mother would be back tomorrow. Niko wondered if she knew Sophia was fibbing about the friend.

The next morning their neighbor fed him breakfast and walked him back to their house. She knocked on the door, and then opened it. They walked in to find Sophia lying on the couch, one arm over her eyes like she was sick.

Mrs. Halverson asked, "How's your friend?" She didn't look very nice when she said it.

"None of your damn business," his mother growled, not moving her arm.

The other woman sighed, and knelt down to face Niko. "If you need anything, honey, I'm right across the way, okay?"

He nodded. "Thank you," he said seriously.

The next few days, Sophia barely moved from the couch, like she was sick. Niko tried to take care of her by bringing her glasses of water and sandwiches, but she was real mean. Eventually she started moving around again, and one of the first things they did was go to a crowded little store that had everything in it, from radios to jewelry to swords. As Niko wandered around the store looking, his mother argued with the owner who sat in a wire cage. Sophia brought out a bunch of jewelry and coins, dumping them on the counter. She and the man argued a long time about them, until finally he took most of it and gave her a lot of dollar bills in exchange.

That summer Sophia seemed happier at first, and for once they had plenty of money. Sophia often gave him money and told him to go out and buy himself lunch. Even at his age, Niko understood she wanted him to stay out while she read people's cards. But after a while she started to have stomachaches, and sometimes threw up in the morning. And her belly started to get big. An older boy in the neighborhood told him that meant there was a baby growing in her stomach, and soon she'd have to go to a hospital so the doctors could take it out. Niko was happy at the thought of having a little brother or sister, but Sophia didn't seem to be. As her belly got bigger, she got madder. But Niko thought she might be scared, too. The scary man came back twice, and each time Sophia yelled at Niko after he was gone.

They moved after the second time, with his mother loading up the car the next morning and telling Niko it was time to go. They drove for days, and then weeks. Sophia had plenty of money, but they always stayed in dirty motels and left really early in the mornings. Then came the day when Sophia's belly really started to hurt. They were in a rural area with only a small hospital available. Sophia checked herself in, and for hours Niko waited in the hall and listened to his mother scream and curse. Nurses stopped by to reassure him and make sure he'd been fed and taken care of. Once he went to use the bathroom, and on his way back he heard lots of people talking and laughing in one of the other rooms. He peeked in and saw a woman lying back in bed, cradling a tiny baby. The father had his arms around them both, and there were some older people and children in the room. Everyone was admiring the baby and congratulating the parents. Niko crept away and took his seat again outside his mother's room.

After nightfall he finally heard a baby cry, and Niko had to sneak to the doorway to look. He couldn't see much because people were in the way, but he did see a tiny, wet baby being placed on Sophia's belly, and he saw her make a sour face and look away. The nurses were cooing over the baby's pearly skin and soft black hair.

"Like Snow White, only he's a boy!" one of the women exclaimed. The others laughed.

I have a baby brother, thought Niko with awe. He wrapped his arms around himself.

Later that evening Niko watched carefully as an older nurse changed the baby's diaper. Another nurse was writing on a clipboard.

"Where did the mother go?" asked the first nurse.

"Outside, to smoke a cigarette." The note-taking nurse was younger. She was frowning like Mrs. Halverson. She continued on, "What sort of a name is Caliban, anyway? Is it a gypsy name?"

"It's from Shakespeare," the older woman answered. Something about how she said it made Niko wonder if it was a bad name. But then the baby started to make fussy noises. "He's hungry. I'll make some formula."

"Probably a good thing he won't be breast fed. I've never heard of 80 proof mother's milk," the younger nurse snorted with amusement.

"Sally," the older woman snapped, glancing at Niko. "Why don't you take those papers to the desk now?"

She shrugged and walked away. As the nurse mixed the formula for a bottle, she smiled nicely at Niko. "What's your name, hon?"

"Niko, ma'am."

"Aren't you the polite one? Well, Niko, would you like to feed your baby brother?"

He nodded his head quickly.

"Alright, then. Sit down in that chair with your legs crossed. Good. Now I'll just settle him in there, and you'll need to support his head like so. Mind you don't drop him."

"I wouldn't!" Niko said, drawing up with all the indignation a four year old could muster.

"No, of course not, dear. Now take the bottle and make sure he latches on good and firm. There he goes. Your brother is strong."

Niko nodded, staring down at Cal (he didn't want to use the longer name in case it did mean something bad.) Unlike Niko's own blond hair, he had a patch of thistledown as black as their mother's. His skin was supersoft, and pale white, unlike his own olive skin. His head was a little pointy. The nurse told him most newborns look like that, but it would get better. He thought about the happy family he had seen earlier. Here in this room it was just Niko and the soft, heavy weight of his baby brother. The only sounds were the occasional paper turn as the nurse wrote things down, and the little snurtling noises Cal made around the bottle. Niko suddenly felt warm inside for the first time ever. He knew then that this was what it would be like for them forever: the two of them together against the world. Suddenly he wasn't lonely, either. He made a silent promise then that he would always look after Cal.