Disclaimer: I do not own any characters of Professor Layton, I own nobody in this story! This is how I think Professor Layton first met his soon-to-be apprentice for the very first time.
Warmth of a life.
A gentle humming of machinery echoed in the corridor of the Greensheller hospitals maternity ward, lingering for what seemed like a lifetime as the famed Professor Layton shifted uncomfortably in the smaller chair that had been provided to enable friends or family members to await for some news or such.
Naturally, Professor Hershel Layton had chose the chair that was nearest to the door so he could listen in on everything that was happening. He was supposed to be a gentleman and no gentleman should be eavesdropping on someone else conversation (or in this case a huge amount of high pitched screams) but he could not help himself as he was not only growing ridiculously anxious but he was also worried for his friend and his wife:
Clark and Brenda Triton.
All he could think about was that little life as he twiddled his pale white thumbs.
The professor was horrified for Brenda since she had been carrying a small life for a few months now and quite recently he, himself, had gone through something horrifically tragic and this thing involved his darling Claire, his sweetheart. The professor had allowed his friends Clark and Brenda to stay with him since they were so sympathetic for his position and felt that they needed to be there to lend him their support.
The professor could not have had nicer friends to be around...However he didn't expect the sudden labor of Brenda. She had fallen into premature labor hours ago and now here he was...sitting outside the hospital room since he had been tossed out for not being directly related and he was also questioning certain methods. The poor professor tipped his top hat subconsciously as he leaned heavily against the wall yet he was still seated in his rather uncomfortable chair. He sighed heavily as he closed his eyes to reflect on everything that had been happening for the passed while.
Professor Layton could see her face, her sweet, beautiful face that always brought out a different shade of red in his cheeks. Claire was his everything, his sweetheart, his amour, his moon to his night and the milk in his coffee...looks like he'll be drinking his beverage black for now.
Poor Claire had perished in a fatal explosion during an experiment, she being a lab assistant and all, and this explosion had changed the course of many lives. His life, especially. Normally he wouldn't speak ill of anybody but he was willing to make an exception for this one person: He wanted the one responsible to perish by his cold, dead hands.
Layton hung his head and his dot-like eyes snapped open at the sound of a horrific shriek erupting from Mrs. Triton's lungs no doubt. He swallowed nervously when the wonder of what was happening in that room filled his mind, making him wince from how loud those screams were. He didn't exactly understand the concept of birth but he now was really sure that he didn't want to know. It sounded like Brenda was being brutally murdered with her trachea being strangled by the knots it had become entangled in.
The professor twisted the tip of his top hat a little to adjust his views when he saw a nurse bustling passed him and coming in and out of the Triton couples room with towels and a few other stuff.
He really wanted to ask if his friends were ok but whatever he wanted to say was clogging his throat so he was rendered speechless for the time being. He just wanted to see Clark and ask him if everything would be alright even though it was looking less and less likely that he would be allowed in for awhile. He only had his thoughts to comfort him right at the moment and those thoughts weren't exactly pleasant as they mostly involved him dropping infants and seeing Claire's corpse laying in a comfortable looking coffin even though the thought of the latter thing only taken place as recently as the day before.
It killed him to see her peaceful sleeping form to lay in that casket and it ripped his heart into little pieces. She seemed so at peace at the world and he was always happy to see her sleep since he would know that she would awaken but...this time it was different since this time she wasn't waking up. Never again...
Professor Layton could not suppress the heavy sigh that escaped his throat in those three, long seconds.
He slumped down deeper into his seat and allowed his shoulders to sink down with his lower body as his spine sank into a slouch and his head was lower than before. Why did this tragedy have to happen so close to this supposedly joyful occasion? He missed Claire to death and wanted to hold on to her as tight as his arms would allow without harming her.
He bolted up straight when one last high-pitched scream exploded through the halls and this was followed shortly by the faintest of cries. The professor honestly felt all his former grief melt away within an instant of hearing that soft sound and he looked towards the closed door of the Trtions room, his head tilted towards the right and he wore an expression of pure confusion.
The young professor of archeology didn't know what to do but he knew that this could mean one thing:
The child was born.
It felt like ages until a nurse had came out to greet Professor Layton and to inform him of what the turnout was. Brenda had given birth to a beautiful little boy and Clark was just with some doctors to get his hand wrapped up since he was recovering from the fact that Brenda had squeezed his hand so tight that it broke three knuckles and snapped all four of his fingers excluding his thumb.
Ouch...that sounded painfully sore.
"So, Mr. Layton, would you like to go in now?" The nurse asked, her voice kind and somewhat too bubbly for the professor's liking.
The gentleman nodded and got to his feet. He could hear his own heart race in his eardrums, thus making his heart pound throughout his whole body and it wasn't the nicest thing to hear since it reminded the cool and collected newly appointed professor of how nervous he truly was. He couldn't lie that he was feeling totally nervous about meeting his friend's new baby for the first time.
"Um...Yes, thank you madam."
Hershel swallowed a stone-sized lump that formed in his throat and walked towards the door yet he felt like the stride he had made was in complete slow motion. He was shivery on the inside and he knew he had to shake it off. This was a bit pathetic on his part!
He softly knocked on the door and heard the soft, murmured reply come from the other side "Come in, Hershel."
He drew in a deep breath. This was it. He was going to meet the child who he had for some reason felt so imperative to meet. He knew he needed to go in there sooner or later! He started to get into a careful jog and then barreled himself through the door and entered the room he was so reluctant to enter.
Brenda laid in a hospital bed but she looked very tired and sweaty as she stared up at her visitor with the weakest of smiles. The woman's olive green hair was all messy and frizzy and her skin was all damp and sticky, proving that the experience was truly exhausting for one such as herself. Her arms gripped to the blankets of the bed she laid in and her head rested heavily against the pillow.
"Hello Brenda..." The professor called out in a soft whisper, "How are you feeling?"
Brenda sighed tiredly but answered the question nonetheless.
"I'm tired from going through all of that but I'm alright otherwise."
It came as no surprise that she was very tired from the experience. All of that must have been very stressful for anyone to go through especially through intense agony like that. She sounded like someone was really murdering her from out in the hallway! He felt somewhat relieved to hear that she was alright for Clark and their child's sake.
He slowly walked towards the edge of the bed and seated himself down near where her feet should be, all while sending her the kindest of glances. Clark must have been really proud of his wife for doing so well and he was more than certain that the young man was about to burst into the room and start boasting or something about how brave and strong she was.
"Well thats good to hear." He smiled warmly.
Brenda opened her mouth to say something else but then Clark had burst into the room, like Layton had predicted. The future mayor of Mishellery was spinning all over the place at first and he approached the bed, ignoring the dry humorless glares from Brenda and Layton.
The way he belted out some joyous songs was kind of a little charismatic and somewhat crazy.
Eventually the two had managed to get the new father to tone down his enthusiasm and got him to sit down before he made things more needlessly bizarre and before the new arrival's debut so the infant could be in a soothing, quiet environment. Clark sat by his wife while grasping her sweaty hand in his bandaged one and the professor had moved from the edge of the bed towards the corner so he could stare out into the world.
The skies were clear of clouds and were a crystal clear blue colour. The sunlight was so bright that it made for quite the sweet atmosphere outside and it complimented the equally soft one in the room as the trio of adults awaited for a nurse to return with the newborn infant that had just been welcomed into the world.
It didn't take long until a nurse came into the room, carrying a tiny bundle wrapped in blue.
Clark and Brenda's smiles softened toward the tiny being wrapped in that sweet cyan blue towel and watched with keen interest as the bundle had been lowered the latters arms as she stared down at the little boy. She passionately rocked him and looked down at the child's chubby face and stroked him with a slender finger that she drew gently up and down his face. The baby cooed softly as he managed to free one of his tiny stubby arms from its soft prison and one arm managed to flail about in the air.
The two parents watched their son in awe while the professor looked on with the happiest of grins even though his dot-like eyes were soft towards the new family. He wondered for a brief moment if he would have ever experienced this joy with Claire if she were still alive? Would they have had a family of their own someday? He didn't know for certain but he did feel an overwhelming sense of joy flood his healing heart.
He began to creep out the door when Clark called out towards Layton as softly as he could, despite his voice usually being loud and authoritative "Hershel, would you like to hold him?"
The professor froze dead in his tracks and he looked around the room for anyone else who Clark could be referring to even though he was more than certain that he was the only Hershel in this hospital. He pointed to himself but didn't say a word and stared at both Clark and Brenda in surprise, clearly not believing that he was being asked to hold a newborn infant.
Clark chuckled warmly at Layton's clueless attitude and took the boy from his mother's hold before holding him out towards his friend, expecting the professor to remove the child from his hold.
The professor was reluctant but he did slide his hands under the bundle to properly hold him and managed to deftly lift the baby out of Clark's arms and he nestled him into a cradling position. Hershel Layton peered into the fold in the blanket revealing the little boy's face and he got a good look at his godson's face for the first time.
The boy had tan skin, his cheeks were plump and rosy and he had tufts of blonde-brown hair that matched Clark in every aspect.
His breath had been swept away as the professor rocked the bundle as gently as possible and the smile never left. Layton grinned with his eyes tearful "Hello there, little fellow." He chuckled brightly and tickled his cheek.
The little baby giggled a bit and waved his arm aimlessly in the air, his comically tiny hand eventually grasping hold of the sleeve of Professor Layton's brown trench coat and this catching the young man in his late 20s off guard completely.
Professor Layton was silent for a moment. This boy was so strong for something so small and helpless but he felt some significance to that grip on his sleeve, like he should be expecting it again in years to come. The baby made some high pitched sounds of interest at the professor's sudden silence and watched eagerly as the professor lifted his head and went to look at Clark and Brenda.
"What is his name?" He asked.
The professor watched as both Clark and Brenda looked at each other for a moment and then smiled warmly back at the two "LUkas Clarence Triton, or Luke for short..."
Professor Layton smirked couldn't stop a few tears from invading either of his eyeballs.
He knew that the middle name was in reference to Claire, and he could feel his heartstrings tug in response to the overwhelmingly strong feelings that fluttered through his chest.
Besides, the name suited this little one like a glove!
It was sort of sweet since Luke then reached a hand up towards the professor's top hat, piquing the young archaeologists interest as he noticed the very thing that teeny tiny hand was reaching for. The professor hesitated while mulling the decision over to remove his top hat, as he had promised to not remove it since Claire made him promise. He did, however, have an alternative idea.
He shifted little Luke in one arm and dug around his back pocket, searching around for something to appease the infant. Clearly Luke was a very sharp child who needed to be entertained during his stay in hospital and he wasn't even half an hour old yet! The professor grinned when he found the object he had been searching for and dug out a red cap, the same one he had wore not too long ago. He didn't exactly need that cap anymore so why not give it as a gift?
Professor Layton smiled as he gently plopped the hat on top of Luke's tiny head. He could see by the lit up smile Luke wore at that instant that this made the baby really happy even though those tiny digits of his still wrapped around a handful of fabric of the sleeve. He decided to hold Luke at least until he decided to release his small grip on his sleeve and he chuckled warmly again as he whispered to Luke, ignoring Clark and Brenda's new conversation in the background.
"Don't fear little Luke, I be there for you..." He rubbed his nose against the boy's tiny forehead "...You will grow into a fine young man and I shall be there."
A/N: This is how I think the Professor first really meets Luke for the very first time. I know that its really corny and stuff but I am sort of proud of how this turned out. I think Professor Layton is sort of a father figure to Luke and I think their relationship is sweet. Thanks, guys, and I hope to see some reviews.
-Chloemcg