Author's note: This is based on the movie National Treasure, and is to a great deal dedicated to the more than worthy performance of Sean Bean. I enjoyed the movie very much, but I thought that since Ben and Ian often used similar methods to reach the same goal, I did not see one of them as more evil than the other. I also thought that the hints of the friendship we saw between them should be explored more. I began doing that in 'Who Did You Say Stole the Declaration,' this story takes up a short time after that one ended, and is my version of what happened next. I hope you all shall like it.
Big thanks to LadyDeb1970 who have been going over this for me, and helped me with plot and story ideas. Also to Celebrion for being my beta.
Disclaimer: I do not own National Treasure. I just borrowed it because I like Sean Bean as an actor. I will return all characters in good and whole order, completely undamaged, if covered with a slight glue residue from having been put together again. I also swear I will not make any serious attempt at stealing Ian. More than I already have that is…
The name of Thomas McDowell have been stolen from LadyDeb1970, with her kind permission, as well as one or two other details.
/Elenhin
Chapter 14, Like A Rubber Ball
"Are you sure that you do not want the father to be here with you?" The nurse who helped prepare Charlotte asked. "We have found that it is usually a good thing for the father to be present. Even if it can be hard to convince them of it at times."
"I am sure." Charlotte was nervous, but she was not that worried. The child she was about to give birth to was Ian's, if any child was strong enough to get through the birth it would be his. "He has been very unwell lately. I fear that this would make him relapse. It has been wearing on him much already thinking that I might be in any pain."
She was not really sure whether they believed her or not, or if they thought that she was merely making excuses for a husband who did not want to be present at the birth, and she did not really care, because then the contractions started. Suddenly she did not really care about anything else then her child that was about to be born.
Phil was not sure if he had ever seen Ian so upset and distraught before. Ian who usually stayed calm through everything. Now he was up one moment to pace, then before he had taken one step he was sitting down again. Every other second he would rake a hand trough his hair. It was as if he was a puppet on a string, and the puppet master had allowed a kitten to play with the strings. He was going one direction at one moment, and somewhere else the next.
They had waited a long time, but not all that long. Phil had just recently checked his watch, and it was about time that they ate something. Yet he was not sure if they could get anything at all into Ian. He was so nervous that he looked to be pale.
Gregor went up and retrieved him from where he stood by the far wall. Hands against the painted surface, and breathing heavily trying to steady his nerves by breathing deeply. "Come and sit down." Gregor said soothingly. "There's no need to worry about anything."
"How the bloody hell am I supposed not to worry?" Ian demanded, again pulling his hand though his hair.
"If there is any problem at all they will tell us." Victor informed him. "Just takes some time." He shrugged.
Ian just glared at them as they pushed him down into a seat. "It will be fine Ian." Phil said. "There is no danger for anything."
Ian opened his mouth as if he was about to say something, but then he closed it again and tried to get up. Gregor holding him back by a firm hold on his shoulder.
"No Ian, you'll just get yourself more and more wound up the more you pace." He said firmly.
By the time that a nurse came with the announcement that the child was born all of them were pretty wound up. They had not gotten the chance to find anything at all to eat, as none of them wanted leave long enough to commit the search, and keeping Ian anything close to remotely calm had not been easy.
When they were allowed in with Charlotte he looked almost as weary as she did. Until he saw the infant.
Ian stopped mid step as he caught sight of the tiny bundle in Charlotte's arms. The infant was quiet because busy feeding. Eyes screwed tightly shut, and a tiny fist flailing around.
Ian would have remained rooted to the floor if Victor had not taken a hold of his arm and gotten him moving again.
Charlotte had never seen any man more taken with anything before. He looked like the man who had seen the biggest treasure in the world.
"Ian, this is your daughter." She said softly and smiled as Ian did not even think of taking the chair next to the bed where she lay. Instead he was down kneeling on the floor. "I was going to name her Janna, do you like that name?"
"My daughter." Ian repeated dumbly, as if the information was to much to take in. "My daughter." He repeated in a whisper.
"Your daughter, yes." Charlotte smiled at the rest of them, a smile of gratitude that they had gotten Ian though it all.
"She's beautiful." Phil said with a warm smile. The others did not really appear capable of saying anything at all at the moment. Both of them staring at the infant.
"She's, she's." Ian broke off because he could not find the words. He lifted one hand and reached out as if to brush his finger against his cheek, but hesitated. "So wonderful." He shook his head. "I can not believe that she is my daughter."
"She is." Charlotte smiled. "Do you like the name Janna for her?" She asked again.
"It's perfect." Finally Ian dared to stroke that soft cheek. It was so wonderful to gaze into the face of his daughter.
The infant finished feeding, and so Charlotte covered herself up again. "Hold her." She told Ian.
"I don't dare to." Ian was actually close to stuttering. "What if I hurt her?"
"You won't." Charlotte soothed him. "Just hold her Ian, she is your daughter, she has been longing for you." She would not listen to any objections, and so Ian soon sat cradling his newborn daughter in his arms. He could not have imagined anything better then, he was actually holding his own daughter in his arms, and it was the best moment in his entire life.
It was plain on his face as well. He was sitting on the floor with his daughter in his arms, and just stared at the tiny infant, a dumbstruck expression on his face. Slowly he traced her features with his finger, as if he could not believe that what he was seeing was real but had to feel it as well.
Charlotte glared at the other men to make sure that no one laughed at him. This was not the time to let Ian know that he did look a bit silly like that. On the other hand it was apparently not necessary.
All three of them was hanging over Ian's shoulders to get as good a look as possible. All grinning like fools.
They all looked the poster image of a proud father, and she was willing to bet that they felt like it all of them.
Ian certainly did not pay attention to anything else until the infant began to cry out.
"What did I do?" He asked worriedly, looking to Charlotte for help. "What did I do wrong?"
"Nothing at all." Charlotte soothed him. "Either she wants more food, or she wants to sleep. Infants cry a lot Ian, it does not mean you did something wrong, and you did it perfectly right."
She brushed a kiss against his cheek as he handed the baby back, he might even have noticed that she did it, it was really rather hard to tell as he still did not have eyes for anything else than his daughter.
The nurses eventually made them leave saying that the mother and the child needed to rest. Ian was more than reluctant to leave. The thought of leaving his daughter even for a day seemed like an impossible thing to do. He had longed so to see her, and yet he could not stay with her.
It was his friends who lead him out as they chuckled. Assuring him that they would be back again in the morning.
Ian took them on their word, meaning he tried to drag them up at the crack of dawn. When the clock struck six in the morning Ian was shaking Victor awake.
"Come on, it's time to get going." Ian urged. He had not been able to sleep at all because he was so exited about going back and seeing his daughter again. He was so exited about the fact that he had a daughter that he had not been able to think about anything else.
Victor forced his eyes open. "Ian, it's to early to go there. Go back to sleep." He tried to roll over.
"I can't sleep." Ian ran a hand through his hair. "I have a daughter Victor, a daughter. I want to go to her, I need to go to her."
"No, you need to sleep. She won't even be awake. Ian they will not even let you in there this early. Now go back to bed." Victor tried to kill a yawn.
"I can't sleep, I really can't." Ian shook his head. "I just have to look at her again."
Victor groaned but sat up, placing a hand on Ian's shoulder. "Listen to me, I understand, now you have to understand something Ian. It is too early, they do not allow visitors this early. You have to wait, and since you have to wait, go and sleep."
Ian looked at him as if he had no idea what he was talking about. "Could you wait?" He asked.
Victor stifled another yawn. "I'd have to. You'd make me, and even if not, they would not let me in. Listen to me Ian, that girl there is your daughter, and the closest thing to a daughter I will ever have. I want to go back and see her as much as you do."
"Then let's go." Ian begged.
Victor sighed, it was at times like this that you really needed Shaw. He was the only one who could tell Ian to shut up and go to bed again. The best he could do was nowhere near Shaw's ability. Yet at least it would give him a short respite.
"Get Gregor up first." He muttered. Ian nodded and took off to wake Gregor up, making it possible for Victor to roll over and go back to sleep. Leaving Gregor to try and deal with the overly excited father.
Of course, you could always count on dear Gregor to be vindictive enough to send him back. How wound up did a guy have to be not to notice that he was being passed back and forth between the two of them like a rubber ball?
Victor and Gregor was more inclined to rue the fact that neither one of them thought to send him over to Phil. It was not fair that he was the only one who had been allowed to sleep through the whole night.
At least they were allowed in when they came, Victor had no idea of how they had managed it, but they had even made Ian wait long enough for breakfast.
It was Phil who had threatened him with telling Charlotte that he was not eating if he did not. Still Ian was the image of a child who had discovered that coffee made you active, and had emptied pot after pot.
Until he was in the same room as Charlotte and his daughter again. It was a room with six new mothers and their babies in it. As soon as Ian saw his daughter he stopped in his tracks again. Just staring at the child in Charlotte's arms.
"Now he is taking it easy." Victor groaned. "Before you could not get him to be still for a moment."
"She's so beautiful." Ian whispered softly. He was looking at his daughter, his daughter.
"She is your daughter Ian." Charlotte smiled at him. "Of course she is beautiful."
"Like her mother." Ian walked closer to the bed and reached over his daughter to kiss Charlotte on the cheek. Then he turned back his attention to his daughter. Her eyes was half closed as if she was sleepy, but she was still looking at Ian. He reached to stroke her cheek gently with his finger.
"Sit down Ian." Charlotte told him, motioning to the chair beside the bed. "You hold her and let the others have a good look."
This time Ian did not object, he was still terrified that he would hurt his daughter by accident. Yet it had been so wonderful to hold her the first time that he could not resist. He was too taken with her to even be afraid.
The others crowded around him, looking at the baby and Charlotte chuckled. She felt so happy for her daughter, and even more so when Ian and the others were there.
"Have you told Ben that she is born?" She asked. She rather suspected that he had forgotten about that detail. She would not be surprised if he had, but she would have been very surprised if he had remembered it.
He shook his head and looked sheepish, so clearly he had not recalled to do it.
"I'll do it." She said with a smile. "I need a breath of air anyway. Just hold her while I am gone Ian." It was not really a necessary instruction. Ian was not about to let go anytime soon. Yet Phil tore himself from the infant to go with her and make sure that she was alright. She suspected that their over-protectiveness during the pregnancy had yet to wear off. She hoped that it would wear off, because frankly, not being allowed to go anywhere on your own could get tiresome at times.
Phil handed her his cell phone, and she made the call to Abigail, preferring to talk to her instead of Ben. She did not know why, but Abigail seemed more compassionate in some way. Maybe because when she herself had been telling Ben off, Abigail had actually noticed how distressed Ian had been and even moved to take care of him.
If Abigail had not done that, then Charlotte would have been forced to let Ben get away with it at the moment. Ben who had not even noticed. Ben had started to turn into a pompous bastard if you asked Charlotte. Either Ian would be able to do something about that, or Charlotte would only allow it to get so far before she acted.
Now however they needed to know that they could soon leave to follow the first clue. As soon as Janna was old enough to be taken along safely. She wanted her to be at least four months old or so first, not because it was strictly necessary, she just wanted them all to settle into the routine of having a small child with them before they moved.
It made sense. Then she had to get back to Ian before Janna began screaming over something. She was quite certain that Ian would not know how to handle that quite yet, which was a good reason to wait until he realised that a baby was not dying just because she was screaming. It usually just meant that she was hungry.
It was a good thing that she got back when she did. Janna was beginning to fret, and Ian was trying to sooth her. For a new and uncertain father he was doing a very good job of it. If not, Janna would have been screaming by now.
Ian was rocking her gently in his arms, speaking softly to her. Charlotte thought that he was a natural with the baby.
"I think that she's hungry." She said as she kissed Ian. "I'll just feed her."
"Does she eat often?" Ian asked as Charlotte took the baby back.
"All infants eat often Ian." She explained. "Our little Janna still have a healthy appetite though."
"Where did the name 'Janna' come from?" Victor asked.
Ian gave Charlotte a curious look. He had just thought that Charlotte had liked the name, he had not even considered the fact that it might come from something else."
"It was close to Ian." Charlotte smiled smugly.
Ian stared at her.
"Should have been Ianna then." Victor frowned. "That's closer."
"It's not a real name." Charlotte objected.
"It's a lot closer to Ian than Janna." Gregor agreed. "Fits her as well."
Charlotte had a feeling that henceforth they would be calling her Ianna. It was just Ian who did not look as if he had been comprehending the exchange.
"We'll name her Janna." Charlotte told them. "But you can call her Ianna if you want to."
The others seemed please with the solution, and Ian still seemed surprised over the fact that his daughter was named after him. Like if she could have named her after anyone else.
It was so amusing to see them with the child, when they were at home and the infant was lying on a blanket on the floor there was always one or the other there on the floor beside her. Right now it was Ian and Phil stretched out on the floor. Both of them trying to get Ianna's attention with baby toys. Ianna ignored them both for the fun of pulling on her own foot.
Charlotte laughed at the three of them. Children were so cute they just where. She had not imagined that anyone would be happy to be changing diapers. Yet not only did Ian not seem to mind that part. He would eagerly go and do it. He also did not whine about midnight feedings. They had prepared a huge wicker basket as a crib, because that one they could take with them when they left, and Ianna was happy to sleep in it.
Whenever she began crying Ian would wake up, he was usually a light sleeper. So when Charlotte woke up for the feeding he had already brought her over to her. All she had to do was the actual feeding and then Ian would take Ianna back to bed again.
She had heard rumours that no men ever acted that way about it, and yet here was a living example of one who did. It was a struggle to make Ian leave the child for anything at all. He was just too taken with the concept of being a father.
Charlotte thought about how her father had congratulated them on the infant, he had been so proud as well. He also knew they would be leaving for a bit, but he trusted her and Ian. Ian was not overly comfortable around him though. He was so afraid that he would fail. So her father chose not to impede on them much, understanding what it was Ian had been going though. He understood it very well.
He had also seen all the proof he needed that Ian would do all he could to protect both mother and child. He had also now met the rest of them, and he seemed to like them all.
It was a good thing, it would be a problem if your father did not like the man of your choice, or his friends. Especially when they spent as much time together as Ian and his men did. She felt certain that later they would all live together, it just would not be able to separate them, and she did not mind the thought one bit.
Yet it felt great to be able to relax after the pregnancy, it had been rather taxing on her strength. Especially since she did not want Ian to find out about how draining some of the things could be. She still wanted at least one more child, but not just yet. She could wait a while first.
Let this one get a year or so before there was any siblings.
It would probably take that long to get Ian to pay her any attention again, for the moment he only had eyes for his daughter. She did not mind, it was so fun to watch him on the floor with a baby toy. Especially when Ianna went to sleep and Ian just lay there beside her, watching her, it was so cute.
She had not thought that someone as active as Ian could just lay on the floor for hours staring at a kid, but he could. He was doing it every day.
This is the end of this chapter, I shall update again in two weeks, and keep the updates up every second week.
I want to thank everyone who read my earlier National Treasure story, thank you, all of you.
I have now switched to the direct review response for all signed reviews.