.In which Walter Strickler becomes a father
Walter Strickler admittedly was not the bravest person, but he has faced many hardships this past century. He worked for Bular, son of Gunmar the Black and has lived past any failure. He survived the wrath of an ancient troll assassin out for revenge. He even survived becoming a family with people he truly cared for. But the last thing he was ever prepared for was becoming a FATHER.
As a rule, changelings avoided ties to any humans beyond superficial. Trolls, more specifically the gummgumms, saw changelings as impure creatures. Disposable and the bottom of the ladder, barely above goblins. Any offspring garnered by a changeling meant death for both the offspring and changeling. This was a terrifying new experience. One he was having doubts that he was ready for.
He was pacing in the waiting room, as Barbara had gone into labor. Jim was sitting on a chair against the wall. Next to him was a small brown box with a fragment of heartstone, for incase of an emergency; in his hands the amulet and his cellphone. Normally he'd be out patrolling, but his friends took care of that for tonight. Blinky insisted Jim be with his mother for this (tho he practically BEGGED him to call the second the baby was born and Barbara was ok).
He looked up and saw Strickler muttering pacing. He could just barely make out the tail end of what he was saying.
"I mean what business do I have in being a father?" Walter ran his fingers thru his hair, eyes flashing between his normal green and the yellow red. "How will I be a good father for the child?"
His rants were pretty much a cycle of similar statements.
"Dude, chill out. You're going to be a great dad for this kid." Jim said, snapping Walter out of his tirade, eyes returning to normal.
"You think so?" He asked, unsure.
Jim sat back, crossing his arms.
"Well, yeah. I mean, you were a pretty great teacher," he quirked an eyebrow, giving a cocky grin. "You know, up until the whole 'trying to kill me' thing."
Walter put his hands on his hips.
"I'll have you know, I did everything in my power to prevent Bular from outright killing you. And I must say I did a damn good job at that."
"Right. Up until resurrecting an ancient troll assasin, things went REAL good." Jim countered.
"Well I had to protect my assets you know, with Bular gone, I knew I had a target on my back. And things went well with that until YOU stole and then destroyed the ring with his soul." Strickler rebutted, waving a hand in an idle gesture.
"Hey!" Jim said pointing at Strickler. "Technically he destroyed his own soul. If he hadn't taken Daylight from me, that wouldn't have happened."
Before Walter could argue another point, Jim held out a hand. "Regardless of what happened in the past, you definitely have changed now. Especially while I was away. You'll be a great dad. I know it."
Walter detected a note if sadness in the boy's voice, perhaps stemming from his own father's estrangement. But before he could say anything about it, a nurse came into the room.
"Uh, Mr Strickler?" She asked, catching his attention. He turned towards her, grateful that the Young Atlas had managed to distract him long enough.
"Yes? Is everything alright?" He asked, worried.
"Yes, everything is fine. The delivery went well, and your daughter is perfectly healthy. You can go back now if you want."
Walter felt his knees go numb. A daughter? He had... a daughter? He could barely believe it, and could barely contain his excitement. He felt a hard slap on his back, snapping him out of his new racing thoughts.
"Hey, go on back, I'll be there in a few." Jim said, holding up his phone. Walt nodded, and followed the nurse to his wife's room, where he saw her, His daughter, asleep in Barbara's arms.
He approached the bed quietly, where Barbara handed him their daughter. She was beautiful, tufts of auburn hair, ever so curly, peaking from the blanket. She opened her eyes to look up at the newcomer, they were his emerald green.
At that moment, he fell in love a second time in that moment. And he would make sure to never miss a moment in letting her, and everyone know.