This was initially supposed to be a oneshot, but it ended up so long we decided to break it into two chapters.
Oh, we should mention that this is probably not canon. As far as we currently know. xD
Chapter 1
Korlys gutted the last assassin in front of him, then scanned the room looking for his next target, but the only men still standing were his own. His eyes met Mario's, but there was no need to ask if he was okay; the thief had held his own admirably well, thanks to the months of practice. No one else seemed seriously hurt, either. The ex-Crow trotted over to where Attrei and Claudio were standing, sheathing his blades as he did so. A little girl was lying at their feet, wrapped in Claudio's cloak, her eyes closed. Panic squeezed his heart. Too afraid to ask, as if voicing the question would bring his worst fears to life, he knelt next to her and put a hand on her tiny chest.
"She is just asleep," Claudio said, guessing what troubled his friend. "Attrei put her under his spell – you guys were too noisy."
Korlys exhaled, relief flooding him. "Grazie," he murmured. He glanced around again. The room was littered with dead Crows and looked like an abattoir. "Let's get her out of here," he said, scooping his daughter into his arms.
oOo
The gang made straight for the docks where the Freedom's Shadow was waiting, ready for an immediate departure as Korlys had ordered. He brought Olivia directly to the cabin Claudio used as his clinic while aboard ship. The assassin laid her gently on the examining table, and then stood back to give Claudio room to work. Worried questions filled his head but he refused to bother the healer, not wanting to distract him.
Claudio unwrapped her from the cloak and removed her clothes – the Crows were not known for their maternal instincts – but she seemed to be okay, not a single bruise on her chubby body. He carefully removed the woolen pants she wore over her diapers and reached to remove the clasp.
"Uh… I think I will leave this to you," he told Korlys.
"Leave what to me? I am not a doctor," Korlys said, slightly panicked.
"She does not need a doctor," Claudio reassured him. "She needs to have her diaper changed."
Korlys' relief was short-lived as Claudio's words sunk in. "How do I do that? Do you have diapers?" He hadn't thought through what Olivia might need on the ship; he had been so focused on making sure to get to her before the Crows hurt her.
"Why would I have something like that? Do I look like I wear them?"
"Perhaps we can just wrap her in the cloak? We can have the boys wash her diaper and clothes, and when they are dry, we will reuse them, yes?" He looked at Claudio hopefully.
"Geez, you're hopeless," Mario muttered, stepping forward. "The boys will have to do the washing, but we'll need more than one diaper. A lot more… I guess we can take a spare bed sheet and cut it up for diapers. That," – he pointed to woolen pants – "will be a bigger issue. That's pulled over the diapers to soak up pee. And other stuff. We'll need several to keep the deck dry – the diapers and pants need to be changed and she needs to be cleaned every time she pees or poops. If I recall correctly, that's at least four times a day."
"Four?!"
oOo
The first crisis had been averted; Olivia was wrapped in two diapers, while the woolen pants dried near the stovepipe in the kitchen. Thanks to Baby's spell, she was still fast asleep – he said it should last until morning – but now the question was where she should sleep.
"She cannot sleep all alone in the clinic," Claudio insisted, "and there is no room for her in my cabin."
"She cannot sleep with us. Our bedroom is no place for a little girl," Korlys insisted. He looked around and spotted the boys, trying to remain inconspicuous.
"We would love to help, but our bed is barely big enough for the two of us," Dante piped up, sensing the danger. Anastasio nodded a vigorous agreement behind him.
"No problem, I will have hammocks added to your room, so she can sleep in your bed," Korlys replied with a grin, happy to have resolved the issue so easily. "It will be fun for you, yes?"
"It might not be fun for her, though," Mario said. "I doubt the brats know how to put her back to sleep if she wakes up." If a full Crow doesn't know how to calm her down, why would apprentices know it?
"Well, then she will have to sleep in Attrei's room. He can put her back to sleep easily if she wakes up." Besides, the mage was just like a kid, really, only slightly more mature.
"Yes, I believe that is the best option," Claudio said, relieved.
"But, I don't know anything about babies!" Attrei felt panic rise in him, but he couldn't think of any other argument – and he knew this one wouldn't help, since none of them knew anything about babies.
"You just need to keep her asleep at night," Mario said.
"Sí, Mario can teach you all you need to know about kids, apparently," Korlys added. He'd get to the bottom of that mystery later, however. Right now he was exhausted, filthy, and dead on his feet. He had to get cleaned up, or at least get the blood off of him, and get some sleep.
Attrei sighed, aware it was pointless to point out that in that case, she could stay with Mario… they'd just say he was still the only one who could cast the sleep spell. "Okay. But other than sleeping, she's in your care."
oOo
Korlys woke to the sounds of a little girl screaming. He jumped up and raced to Attrei's cabin, daggers in hand, and burst into the room, ready for a fight, but there was only a wide-eyed, tousle-haired Attrei, mumbling a spell, and Olivia, sitting up in bed, red-faced and squalling.
"What is wrong? Is she okay? I thought the Crows..." Korlys trailed off, taking a moment to calm himself. Clearly, they were not under attack.
Attrei just shook his head, unwilling to stop the spell.
"Don't put her to sleep again!" Mario said, peeking over Korlys' shoulder. "Maybe she's just wet – did you check her diaper?"
"That would be easier to do if she was asleep, sí?"
Mario shook his head. "You can't solve everything with magic! No offense, Baby – but how can you be sure that keeping her under mind spells all the time won't mess up her mind? And besides, what if she's hungry? You can't feed her when she's asleep."
"I didn't think of that," Attrei said, looking repentantly at Mario. "I don't think it would 'mess up her mind'... but I guess she shouldn't just sleep all the time."
Korlys walked over to her and stood her up. The sheets they had improvised as diapers for her were so soaked they were sagging down to her chubby knees. He easily pulled them off with one hand and looked at Attrei. "Hand me one of your spare sheets or a pillowcase or something."
Attrei really didn't like the idea of sacrificing his pillowcase, but decided it was wiser not to say that aloud. Plus he was curious to see what Korlys would do with it. He got up and pulled one from the chest at the foot of his bed. "That's the only one I have."
"Hold it open for me," Korlys directed, then put Olivia into it when the mage complied, leaving her arms and head out. "Perfect! A diaper and clothes combined."
"You need to clean her first," Mario said, a bit exasperated. "Sheesh… Just give her here. You go and get her some breakfast."
"How do you know so much about how to diaper babies?" Korlys asked suspiciously. "You never had one, and I doubt your thieves guild took in toddlers."
"I don't know much. Just what I remember from when I helped Mum with Cory," Mario said, unable to keep the affection from his voice. "She had so much work – she took in clothes to wash and mend to make a few coins, so I had to help with him. He was just as cute as she is."
"Well, you seem to have the situation under control. You can take care of diaper changing duty, and the boys can wash them. Attrei can make sure she sleeps all night, Claudio will take care of her when she gets sick, and I will be in charge of feeding her," Korlys said, satisfied they had everything figured out.
oOo
"What can we feed her?" Korlys asked, after Mario had gotten Olivia cleaned up. The toddler had not ceased her crying, and Korlys was developing a splitting headache. He was starting to think Attrei should cast just one more spell while they figured this out.
"Whatever's soft and easy to eat with fingers," Mario said, shrugging. "Cheese, applesauce, mashed potatoes… fish too, but there must be no bones in it. Nothing too big or hard, or she might choke."
"I will make sure the cook fillets the fish. I do not think we have to worry about him overlooking any bones if I make it clear it is for my daughter." Korlys didn't think Olivia would take kindly to waiting around for fish to be caught, filleted, and cooked, however, and he didn't have the patience to wait either. "Let's bring her to the galley and get her a snack while the cook gets breakfast."
oOo
Korlys watched as Olivia picked up a bit of cold boiled potato in her chubby little hand and shoved the whole thing into her mouth. He had sat her on the table in front of him so she could more easily reach the food on her plate. To his relief, Olivia's cries had subsided as soon as they'd put the plate in front of her, and she seemed to approve of – or at least have no immediate objections to – the potato. Unfortunately, there was no milk on the ship, just water, ale, and brandy, so Olivia would have to make do with water until they could get to a port and buy some.
Now that things had calmed down, Korlys had time to really study her. The last time he'd seen her up close she had been a newborn. Olivia had fair skin and thick, dark hair that curled up softly, like her mother's. She had his nose, her mother's wide, blue-grey eyes, his mouth. It was fascinating to see the features of two different people blended into someone new, like a kind of magic. Of course, being only half-elven she appeared human, which was probably for the best.
"She's beautiful," Mario said, looking over Korlys shoulder. "Just like her daddy."
"She is?" Attrei asked, confused. "I mean, of course she's beautiful! But I don't see any resemblance."
Korlys opened his mouth to remark on Attrei's sudden blindness, when Olivia picked up the tankard of water next to her and attempted to drink from it. He was quick to grab the cup and help, but not before she had spilled a good deal of water on her, the table, and into the plate in front of her, forming a small pool.
"Badh!" Olivia said with a laugh, slapping the water in the plate and making little splashes.
The assassin's brow wrinkled. Bad? Bath? "What?"
"Badh!" Olivia crowed again, then picked up another chunk of now-soggy potato and crammed it in her mouth.
Korlys' nose crinkled in disgust at the soggy potato. Whatever she was trying to say, she seemed happy enough. They could work on refining her taste in food later.
oOo
Fed and dried off, Korlys attempted to take her above decks to get some fresh air, but Olivia kept squirming out of his grasp, not content to be shown around in his arms, but wanting to see everything up close for herself. At least she didn't seem to have been greatly affected by her time in the Crows' clutches, and whatever part of last night she had witnessed before Attrei managed to put her to sleep. Korlys could only wonder when she would start pining for the only mother and father she had ever known, but for now, at least, she seemed preoccupied with her new adventure.
"I'm not sure about the, um… dress," Attrei said, when Olivia tripped yet again. Since her only dress was wet, they had made a makeshift dress from a pillowcase, with holes for head and arms, and buttons at the back. It seemed a great idea at the time, but besides making her look like a weird, oversized ragdoll, it was clearly impossible to walk in it.
Korlys picked Olivia up for what must have been the hundredth time, and set her back on her feet. A toddler on the deck of a sailing ship had enough problems staying upright without having to deal with a pillowcase for a dress as well. "I agree. It seems useless, anyway, since the weather is so warm," he said, as he took the pillowcase dress off her.
"Let me try something," Mario said. He crouched in front of the little girl, and smiled. "Can I take you 'round the ship? No, I won't carry you," he promised, when she frowned. "You lead the way, okay? I'll just hold your hands, so you don't fall. Okay?"
Olivia smiled. "Oday," she said, holding a hand out.
Mario stood up and moved behind her. He had to bend forward to reach her hands. "Okay, ready? Let's go!" Mario shuffled after Olivia, trying to steer her away from anything dirty or dangerous, but the little girl was very obviously Korlys' daughter – stubborn, unafraid, and determined to have her way.
"This used to be much easier when I was shorter," he muttered to Korlys.
"Really?" Korlys asked, fighting to keep a straight face. "When was that?" He tried to make the question sound innocent, but the snickering was ruining the effect.
Mario shot a side glance at his lover and grinned. "I'll have to spank you for that tonight."
"There's a baby here," Attrei cut in.
"And a toddler, on top of that," Mario said with an evil grin.
"A biwd!" Olivia suddenly shrieked with glee. "A biwd! A biwd!" She squirmed to be let go, clearly wanting to run and pet the bird. Or at least get a closer look.
"Want me to lift you up there to say hello to the bird?" Mario said.
The toddler was nearly jumping up and down in her excitement. "A biwd ower der, a biwd ower der!"
"Okay." Mario lifted her and gently sat her down on the yardarm; he didn't really let her go, but Korlys moved to the other side, just in case she wriggled out of his grasp. The seagull wasn't a fan of the commotion, and flew away the moment they got close, but at least it landed on the yardarm right above them.
Olivia immediately attempted to get to her feet and climb up to where the bird was now, only to be stymied by Mario's grasp. "Biwd ower der now," she patiently explained to Mario, pointing to the bird.
"I think she's a bit shy," Mario explained. "She wants to chat from over there today. Okay?"
"Wand do ped dhe biwd!" Olivia insisted, throwing her arms toward the bird and attempting to launch herself as if she could fly, her patience clearly wearing thin.
The seagull, scared by the sudden movement, flew away again. "See? She's shy. Next time we'll be very, very quiet and maybe she'll let us get closer," he said, then quickly changed the topic, before she decided to whine. "Now, wanna jump down? Like a big girl?"
Olivia turned to look at him, wide eyes brimming with tears, her mouth slightly ajar, an expression of shocked horror on her face, as if Mario had just stabbed her kitten or something.
"Nonono – don't cry!" Mario looked around for something, anything, that might save the situation. "Um… look, daddy is here! He'll know what to do, yes?"
Korlys instantly materialized next to him. "Of course," he agreed, looking at Olivia with a wide grin. "I know of something much better than a plain old bird!"
He kept his gaze on Olivia as he lifted her up from the yardarm, grin never faltering as he barked an order to Dante and Anastasio. "Boys!" They were supposed to be scrubbing the decks, but Korlys knew they'd been just going through the motions as they'd watched the scene unfolding.
Dante looked at Anastasio, who was just as reluctant to obey as he was. Watching the scene was fun, but Korlys calling them now meant he wanted them to take care of the little creature, and that would not be fun. But obey they must, and so he got up, making sure to accidentally splash some dirty water over his shirt. Surely Korlys wouldn't give his precious daughter to someone who had clearly been doing a dirty job a moment ago?
He made sure to look agreeable and attentive as he stood in front of Korlys. "Yes, ser?"
"Go get your toy dragons to show Olivia." Luckily, Attrei had thought to buy them for the kids' birthday; they were the only toys on the ship.
Dante's heart sunk to the bottom of the ocean. Show his dragon, the only precious thing he'd ever owned, to this little creature who couldn't make two steps without tripping over her feet? She would want to touch it, of course she would – who wouldn't? And then she'd inevitably break it. No way he'd let that happen! "Of course, ser. But... if I may suggest? Attrei knows how to change into a bird… One that she could pet, if Attrei allows it, of course."
Hope dawned on Olivia's face as she gave a hesitant smile. "Ped dhe biwd?" she asked.
"Sure, why not." Attrei smiled at the little girl. "But let's go inside, please. I don't want to end up a real seagull's dinner, thank you."
They retreated to their private dining room, the two apprentices trailing behind them, scrubbing the deck forgotten for the moment. Korlys sat Olivia, who kept demanding to 'ped dhe biwd' all the way there, into a chair, and looked at Attrei.
"Such an audience," Attrei chuckled. "Feels like the theater show we watched in Amaranthine…" But Olivia hardly cared for that; she looked like she might break into crying any moment now, and he didn't want to hear it again. Once in a day was quite enough. He turned into a sparrow and flew to the table, landing right in front of her.
Olivia's face lit up in amazed joy. "A biwd, a biwd," she shrieked excitedly, clapping her hands. Korlys wasn't sure if she was so excited because there was a bird within arm's length, or she was delighted by the spectacle of a person turning into a bird, or both, but she recovered quickly and reached an arm out to 'ped the biwd'. Well, lunged would be a bit more accurate.
Korlys, who had been sitting nearby and watching her closely, grabbed her forearm before her hand reached Attrei. "Softly," he admonished, "or you will hurt the bird." He didn't pull her arm back, but guided it to make sure she couldn't apply too much downward force as she ran her hand down the bird's back.
"Biwd sof," Olivia said in reverent awe. She turned her head to look at Korlys, her eyes shining with joy, a big beautiful smile on her face. "Dhe biwd sof," she said, and Korlys knew he'd give his life for her, without hesitation.
A second later the toddler's attention returned to the bird, and she resumed her petting. Korlys could see that the downward pressure on the little bird was probably still too much, even with his guidance, because Attrei was being pushed into the birdy version of a crouch with each stroke. "Perhaps if you hold your hand out and stay very still, the bird will land on it," he suggested, guessing that Attrei might appreciate that.
Attrei chirped in agreement, trying to hop away from the girl's hand – for someone so small and cute, she was surprisingly strong.
"Aww, you should've let her continue – someone finally got Baby to do push-ups," Mario said with a smirk, then turned to Olivia again. "Birds are shy. They like soft voice, soft touch," he said – softly, to prove his point. "Watch." He stretched his hand to Attrei, while putting the finger of his other hand in front of his lips. "Shhh."
Attrei silently counted to five, then flew to Mario's hand and chirped.
"See?" Mario whispered. "You now. Softly, okay? Shhh."
"Sof," Olivia whispered as she put her hand out. Korlys kept his grip on her arm to keep it steady, and to make sure she didn't get so excited she lunged for Attrei again.
Once again, Attrei silently counted to five, slowly hopping closer to Olivia, until he finally flew up on her chubby little hand.
Olivia squealed with glee, squirming a little as she said, "Oww, id's scwachy. Scwachy biwd."
Korlys couldn't help laughing with her. "Attrei, from now on, you must wear socks when you are in bird form," he said in mock seriousness, "so your feet will be as soft as your feathers."
oOo
Olivia's good mood seemed to be over surprisingly quickly to Korlys. She had played with Attrei until he tired of it, which took longer than it did for everyone else to grow bored with it, so he couldn't fault the little mage there. But that seemed to be the point where the toddler's crankiness started. They'd managed to distract her with lunch, at least, but now it was early afternoon and Korlys had run out of ideas for entertaining his daughter.
"Wand dhe biwd, wand dhe biwd," Olivia cried, for the hundredth time. Her face was flushed and wet with tears from all the crying she'd been doing, and Korlys' patience was wearing thin.
"Attrei does not want to turn into a bird right now, Olivia."
"Twee biwd!" Olivia insisted stubbornly.
"No tree bird!" Korlys retorted.
"Tree is very tired of all the play," Mario offered. "He went to have a nap…" he blinked as he got an idea that might help save their sanity. "You should take a nap, too."
"That is an excellent suggestion, Mario!" Korlys replied, pouncing on the idea. "Time for your nap," he told Olivia as he swept her into his arms and headed for Attrei's room.
"No nap!" the toddler said. "Twee biwd!" Olivia stuck her lower lip out and crossed her chubby arms.
"No!" Korlys yelled, hardly believing he was having an argument with a toddler, for Maker's sake.
Olivia threw back her head and started weeping hysterically. Attrei's room was empty, thankfully. The little mage had probably found a place to hole up somewhere until the coast was clear. He laid Olivia on the bed. "Now, go to sleep," he said, and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him.
"Uh, I don't think that'll work," Mario said, trying to keep his face straight.
"Just give her a moment," Korlys said, leaning back against the door. "She will stop crying sooner or later. She is just being stubborn."
"Mum used to sing a lullaby when Cory couldn't sleep. Maybe you should try that, too," Mario teased.
"Tsk, my daughter does not need to be coddled in such a way."
Mario lifted his brow, but obediently waited next to Korlys while the toddler in the room wailed her lungs out. From the sounds inside, it seemed she had gotten off the bed and was now crying right behind the door.
"Wand my mommy," Olivia wailed from the other side of the door, and Korlys' heart melted. He opened the door, perhaps too suddenly, and he had to kneel quickly to catch her as she fell forward into his arms.
"Mi dispiace, Olivia, but I cannot do that," Korlys murmured, wondering what sort of lie he could make up. The family that had taken her in, the only one she'd ever known, had been slaughtered by the Crows. He could only assume she had either not witnessed that, or perhaps more likely, had shut it out of her mind. Korlys couldn't imagine the Crows would have gone out of their way to keep Olivia from the trauma of witnessing her family's murder, but it was possible it had worked out that way incidentally.
He couldn't tell her the truth, but whatever lie he told, he'd be building her hopes up that her separation was only temporary. One day, Olivia would hate him for that, but what else could he do? Korlys took a deep breath and looked her in the eye, wiping her tears away while he did so, although that did nothing to stop the flow. "Your mommy cannot be here right now, but she asked me to take good care of you, okay? I will keep you safe until she returns, I promise."
Korlys kept his tone gentle as he drew her into his arms, and when she did not pull away, he picked her up. "We will just rest together," he murmured as he walked into the room and gently closed the door behind them. "I will sing to you, yes?" Korlys didn't have a clue what that would be, but had a feeling it wouldn't really matter. As they settled down onto the bed, he started singing softly to her and waited for her to drift off to sleep.
oOo
Mario lifted his head as Korlys finally entered the private dining room; he'd stayed in front of the cabin for a while, listening to Korlys sing in his beautiful deep voice, but it felt too pathetic, to just stand there and listen, in front of the sailors snickering behind his back.
"Is she finally asleep?" he asked, noticing how defeated Korlys looked, walking with his shoulders slumped and staring at the floor – unlike he'd ever seen him before.
"Sí," Korlys said with a sigh as he sat down across from Mario. She had basically cried herself to sleep, although he liked to think his singing at least helped calm her faster than she would have otherwise. The assassin stared at the table in front of him, feeling lost. I can't do this, I have no idea how to raise a child. I will just ruin her life; she needs a mother and a father, and someplace safe. A normal family, a normal life. I can never give her any of that. Korlys felt desperation envelop him and wished he could climb to the crow's nest. Maybe the cold air would clear the fog from his mind. But he wanted to stay close to Olivia in case she woke up and needed him. What am I going to do?
He and Annette had been so sure she'd be safe with the family who'd adopted her. Why wouldn't she be? The country was littered with Crow bastards, and no assassin in their right mind would ever get attached to them, if they were even aware of their existence. Korlys would never have known about Olivia if it hadn't been for the comfortable nature of his relationship with her mother.
He'd made it a point to change lovers almost as often as he changed clothes, avoiding any chance of emotional entanglement. However, because Ana was a Crow from another cell, neither of them had had to worry about the other making demands on the relationship. Since there was no fear of things getting complicated, he'd never felt the need to end it. They got along well, the sex was amazing, and they were both happy to leave it at that. Neither of them wanted to be parents, but by the time Ana had realized she was pregnant, she couldn't bring herself to go to a healer to get it taken care of, and had been stuck finding another option.
Suddenly Mario was snapping his fingers in front of his face. "Mi dispiace, Mario. I did not mean to be inattentive. Were you saying something?"
"What's wrong?" the thief asked, a worried frown on his face. "Whatever happened, tell me."
"Nothing happened, I was just thinking about what I should do with Olivia. She needs a mother and a father, people who know about raising children properly. I want her to grow up in one place, not bouncing from city to city, never making friends with other children. I want her to have a normal family; I want her to have roots, a proper community, a hometown." Korlys was quiet for a moment, then added, "A little girl needs a mother, at the very least, not a group of men who know nothing about raising children, much less little girls. Women have maternal instincts that we do not, and there is no substitute for that."
"I don't think you learn how to change diapers by instinct." Mario rolled his eyes. He gently held Korlys' hand in his own, as he looked into his eyes. "You are her family, her Dad – the best she could have. I saw you, Korlys – I saw how you look at her, how you smile at her. You'll be a great father."
Korlys shook his head slightly, but a small smile appeared on his lips. Mario was wrong about instinct. He would have sworn Annette didn't have a maternal bone in her body, and yet somehow when Olivia was born, she had seemed to just know what to do. But of course, Mario had never had that experience, and he had the feeling the thief would continue to insist that there was nothing mothers could do that fathers couldn't do equally as well, even if he had. "Mario, do you think you may be just a bit biased?"
"No." Mario's tone was resolute, but Korlys could see a bit of humor evident in the crinkle at the corners of his eyes, a smile threatening to break through. He clearly wasn't backing down, but Korlys could tell the thief recognized some truth in what he was saying. Not that he would admit that.
"True, you don't know how to take care of a toddler – yet. But I don't think it's too hard to learn… And I am convinced that you can give her all she needs."
Korlys sighed. "I cannot give her the stability I want for her, a chance to grow up somewhere without constantly being on the move, never being able to make friends for more than a few months, no roots, no safety. This is my daughter's life we are talking about. She deserves a normal childhood in a normal family, with both a mother and a father, perhaps even siblings."
"No safety?" Mario asked, ignoring all the rest. "You truly think anyone else can protect her better than you can? The Crows have already found her once. Who can say they won't find her again? And what if we're not there to-"
"I know!" Korlys burst out, jerking his hand away from Mario's grasp and slamming it down on the table. "Do you think I am not aware of that? Why do you think I-" He stopped himself and took a deep breath. It wasn't fair of him to take it out on Mario, who was only trying to help. He continued, his tone subdued, staring at the table. "I know she will never be safe, simply because she is my daughter. I just do not know what to do."
Mario stood up, then pulled Korlys up, too. "Stop worrying so much," he said, wrapping his arms around Korlys' waist. "Remember when we were at the Dalish camp?" the thief said. "How I had to shake some sense into you because you didn't believe we could survive the Crows? But we did; we stole the ship, we escaped Ferelden, we defeated the fucktards who wanted to hurt your baby. Now you say you can't be a good father. Do I have to shake some sense into you again? Just say the word, and I will."
This was about much more than safety, but as usual, Mario had gone to the heart of the problem. There was no getting around the fact that Olivia would not be safe no matter where she was, but she was safer with him than anywhere else. He had doomed Olivia to this life from the start, and there was no way to change that now. Korlys put an arm around Mario's shoulders and squeezed. He would just have to do his best to give Olivia as much stability as he could, what precious little there was to be had.
AN:
A New Life was written as a gift for Nyusha, who had her first child, a precious baby girl, in December. Which is when we started writing the story. xD
Congratulations, Nyusha! Look at all you have to look forward to! :D Also, chapter 2 will be coming out soon. We promise. xD
Thanks so much to our awesome betas, Bloodsong 13T and Suilven!