The next week was busy, but thankfully not dramatic. Spinelli took his first parenting class, where he and some of the other parents started talking about names during their break. Some of the parents were there to learn how to become better parents; Spinelli and a few others were first-time parents and wanted to learn what they could before their babies came. Some of his classmates gave him strange looks when he told them about the baby's mother being in a coma, which was why she wasn't with him, but they had asked. Once he explained that she'd been shot and they hadn't found out she was pregnant until after the shooting, everyone commended him for taking responsibility for the child. He accepted their praise, but secretly wondered what was so admirable about accepting responsibility for something you were, in fact, responsible for. The baby was his son or daughter; of course he would take responsibility for it, regardless of the mother's situation. If Jolene had been awake, they would be planning for and raising the baby together.

He had originally planned to wait to find out the sex of the baby before picking out names, but after talking to some of the parents, he decided to look up the meanings of names he liked. He flatly refused to name his son Damien Junior because of the reputation the name had; it meant sweet and harmless, but there was also speculation that Damien was the son of the devil, or that it meant a bad omen. He hated his first and middle names, which was why most people just used his last. The only person who ever called him Damien now was his Granny.

By the end of that night, he had a list of names, male, female and unisex. It was not a short list, but he would be able to narrow it down considerably once he knew the baby's sex.

He was fairly pleased with himself by the end of his first self-defense class, but some of the experiences he'd had over the past year had taught him not to get cocky. Not only was it a Crabby Commando thing to do, but it could also get him and others into trouble. He had been so sure he could handle a gun and he'd ended up shooting himself in the foot, which had led Jason to take the blame and end up doing community service at the hospital. That had led Spinelli to Jolene and an unplanned pregnancy, not to mention a shootout that had left his child's mother in a coma, probably for the rest of her life. He knew the shootout had had nothing to do with him, that it would have happened whether or not he'd been there, but Jolene had taken the bullet that had been meant for him. If he hadn't shot himself three months before, he wouldn't have been there for her to save then. But if he hadn't shot himself then, he wouldn't be expecting his child now and he wouldn't have been motivated to make all these drastic, but positive, not to mention necessary, changes. With each passing day, he became more convinced that this child had been what he'd needed all along. He knew with every instinct that his entire life, especially his time in Port Charles, had been leading up to the moment when he would hold his child. That was when his life would really begin.

In Cyberspace, he was still trying to find Moreau's true identity, as well as any impromptu information Stone cold might need. He was also taking his online PI course, Get Your Man. The course actually began to help him with his research for Stone Cold because he could apply it to his Cyber Sleuthing skills. By the end of the year, he hoped to be officially open for business as Jackal PI.

"Do you think it's a boy or a girl?" Nadine asked on the way to Kelly's office.

"I have refrained from speculation; my child is what he or she is and will be loved as a unique individual."

They smiled at each other as Kelly called them in.

Jolene was on a table, all the machines still attached to her, including the fetal monitor. Spinelli smiled again as he looked at the waves and listened to the beeps representing his baby's heartbeat.

"We've done several ultrasounds, but we're gonna do another one today, Spinelli, for a very specific reason."

He looked up at Dr. Kelly, alarmed until he saw the smile on her face. Nadine winked at him. He gave them both a confused look.

"How would you like to hear my niece or nephew's heartbeat?" Nadine asked.

Spinelli nodded, beaming.

Kelly did the sonogram first and handed Spinelli the picture, responding to his nod when she asked him if he wanted to know if it was a boy or a girl. She showed him all the appropriate places and he stared in amazement.

Kelly handed the picture that would normally be given to the mother over to Nadine, who looked for a minute, then smiled over at the proud father to be. He couldn't seem to take his eyes off the picture.

Kelly hooked up the ultrasound and let Spinelli hear the heartbeat. He watched the fetal monitor, still keeping one eye on the picture, as the monitor beeped and the lines moved in time with the happy swishing noise coming from the ultrasound. This was really his child; his baby was moving and growing and he would actually be able to hold the tiny person in this picture in six months. Those six months couldn't possibly pass fast enough.

He suddenly wished Georgie could have been there, but she was beginning classes today. He was glad to have Nadine there; she was the baby's aunt, but he couldn't wait to share this picture with his girlfriend. He grinned at the picture, suddenly wanting to share it with everyone he knew, even those who didn't like him. Realizing that one of those people would have had to be Logan, he reduced the number to Georgie, Mike, Lulu and Jason.

Grinning, Nadine put an arm around Spinelli and walked him out of Kelly's office. They both thanked her as they left, Spinelli still not taking his eyes off the picture. He was lost in his own thoughts; images of walking to school on the baby's first day, kissing injuries to make them better, reading bedtime stories and having someone to share mutual, unconditional love for the first time in his life. All the names but one left his head; there was no longer a list. There was only one name for this child, one that meant "magical."

"Are you OK?" Nadine asked, sounding concerned as they reached the nurse's station. "You haven't said a word since we left Dr. Lee's office."

He looked up at her, surprised to realize they had gone from Kelly's office to the nurse's station already. He'd been so deep in thought that he didn't remember walking through the halls; he barely remembered leaving the office. She laughed at the mixture of surprise and pure joy on his face. She had never seen him look so happy.

"Her name is Kendra," he told her softly.