He didn't know what the hell he was doing there.
Hi. It's me. I just wanted to... to let you know that she's going into labour. This is it, Mark. She's such a sweet, brave girl. I... I wish things could have ended differently.
Vanessa's message flowed through him. Mark was glad he was sitting down on the lumpy sofa; the large envelope threatened to slip between his hands ice cold hands. He remembered hearing the excitement radiating through her nervousness and the hesitancy in her decision to call him. Vanessa was going to be a mother. Finally. He let the guilt wash over him, but it was her pain he saw when he closed his eyes. They haunted him more than those of his wife. Ex-wife, he corrected, running a hand through his hair. 'Sweet' and 'brave' were adjectives that were too mundane to describe Juno.
He wasn't ashamed to admit that he'd found a connection with her. They were two sides of the same guitar pick, he thought with a strained smile. Their friendship had meant more to him than he'd realized at the time. She'd given him more than another insight into great music and a few hours of distraction from his work – being with Juno forced him to come to the realization that he wasn't ready for the road ahead of him. As much as she could hate him now for breaking the one ideal she clung to, Mark took a page out of her book and faced the truth: he was not ready to be a parent.
The hospital was small with only two dozen rooms. And she was in one of them. If... if only... God, he was torturing himself and maybe he deserved it. Juno, as determined as she was to own up to her actions, was too young to be here.
You're so young...
"Mark?"
The voice was gruff, but held a hint of surprise. Mac MacGuff's weary and guarded face looked down at him.
"Hi, Mr. MacGuff." Mark instantly got to his feet, his right hand outstretched. Mac stared at him, long and hard, before shaking his hand.
"How is she? How is Juno?" His body was taut; his throat dry and his words came out hoarse.
"She's... she's sixteen. Juno..." Mac's voice cracked and he turned and coughed and took a deep breath to regain his composure. "She... she will be fine." Eventually. The unsaid word tore at him.
"I'm glad to hear that. I–"
"Did you want to see the baby?" Mac cut him off.
"No," Mark shook his head. He was sure that Mac knew of the divorce, but he wasn't here for Vanessa or her baby, Mark realized. "I wanted to give this to her. To Juno. She left it behind when... the last time she was over." The manga seemed heavier in his hand all of a sudden. "Would you give it to her for me?"
"Alright," he nodded after a moment, accepting the brown envelope. "Do you mind me asking what it is?"
"It's a..." Mark paused, searching for the right words. "It's a reminder that the courage and heroism is found in many forms."