Eathan held his best friend's hand as she screamed in pain. Her little Jade was helping the nurse in any way a genius 8-year-old could. Which basically meant that she held down the fort while the nurse ran around trying to find a doctor. But the baby didn't want to wait for any doctor. Eathan was terrified, he'd never heard Eleanor scream before, let alone this much. Suddenly she screamed so shrilly that the window cracked, and Eathan heard an infant screech back to their mom. The nurse raced in and helped Jade with her little sibling. Eleanor muttered in Gaelic, "Le do thoil ... insint dó faoi na páistí. Ní féidir liom é seo a dhéanamh ina n-aonar."
The nurse held up a baby boy, "What will you call him?"
Eleanor smiled, "Robert. After mon père. Robert Dantè Vale. Dante for short."
Three days later, Eathan stood on Metz's doorstep. He couldn't believe that he was about to do this. Metz opened his door, "Eathan? What are you doing here?"
Eathan walked in the house, "Let's go sit on the couch. Eleanor asked me to do this for her, she's busy right now."
They sat down, and Eathan looked Metz in the eye, "Eleanor got pregnant three times. She didn't tell you because Jorgenson threatened to kick out her husband when he found out who it was. She thought she could take care of me, but then she got a paralysed daughter, and now you have a son. Eleanor is in the hospital recovering from a poisoned bullet, and the nurse says that the poison would kill any normal person. But this is Eleanor, and she will have a minor set-back, but that's it."
Metz looked Eathan in the eyes, "I have three kids? And why are you telling me this now? How long have you known?"
"From the beginning, and she told me that she personally doesn't believe that she will survive. She wants you to be part of the children's lives. Particularly your son. She wants him to be more like you. I didn't tell you because she begged me not to say anything about the first two. But she didn't tell anyone, even me, about the third Vale. She gave the oldest one, Mary, to her mother so Marion wouldn't commit suicide. The other two are at the Venice HQ right now."
Metz thanked him, and went upstairs. Eathan let himself out.
About two months later, Eathan heard someone pounding on his apartment door. He was in the middle of a date with Sandra, and she had fallen asleep on his shoulder while watching a movie. He lowered her down, and opened the door. Metz stood on the doorstep with tears flowing his grief-stricken face. He collasped on the ground and sobbed, "Jorgenson died this morning, and...she went missing! I don't know how to take care of an infant! How am supposed to raise two kids without her?"
Eathan's heart dropped, "Eleanor's missing?"
Please...tell him about the children. I can't do this alone.
Nailed it! And it took less time than I expected! Not bad. I hope that no one hates the quality, but it's the best I can do under the circumstances.