Tom woke up early that morning, and entered Harper's room to find her still fast asleep, tan skin still as pale as ever. He walked over to her bed, and his fingers grazed her cheek, wishing it would flush with the blood she so desperately lacked. Settling in a seat beside her, it took a few seconds for the grogginess of sleep to wear off and realize that he had a baby, who was nowhere to be found. He hopped up, fear seizing his heart. She may be with the people he trusted unconditionally, but he was still a new father, uneasy about not knowing the whereabouts of his daughter.

Just as he turned around, he saw Arthur open the door to the room, baby in tow, gurgling against his tan jacket. "I bet you were wondering where this little girl was," he chuckled upon seeing his expression. "Judging by your face as of now."

Tom swallowed and nodded. Arthur stepped forward and handed the little girl to her father. "She's a joy already...they can't stop talking about her."

Tom smiled, and looked down at his baby admiringly. "Yeah...I love her so much already."

Arthur nodded and smiled to himself, remembering feeling the same way when his own daughter was born. He had immediately fallen for the child - she was his perfect little girl, and always would be. Oh, how he missed her. A question then pricked his brain. "You two have a name picked out for her yet?"

Tom was a bit shocked by the question. To tell the truth, he hadn't the faintest idea of what they were going to name her - it still had to be discussed. "No," he shook his head.

Arthur nodded again. "Whatever it is, I'm sure it'll suit her." He then stretched, joints popping. "I gotta take Elliot home. Frankly, we both could use a good nap...I'll be back later. Parker, Imogen, and Danni are right down the hall if you need anything."

Tom nodded. "Okay. We'll be here."

Arthur peered around Tom at Harper and his face fell, frowning. "I hope she wakes up soon. I want her to see the baby - we all do."

Tom looked from his daughter to Harper and back. "True."

The pair exchanged a short glance before Arthur stepped towards the door again. "Welp, I'll be off now and give you guys some alone time. Congratulations."

"Thank you," Tom called softly, and the door closed with a gentle thud. Pulling up a chair, he sat beside Harper's bed, content with the idea of waiting until she woke up.

A half hour passed, during which Tom took pictures and videos of his new daughter on his phone, and sent them to all his friends and family back in Westchester, and posted them to his Pictagram. He knew his mom was definitely going to flip.

For a moment, he glanced over at Harper. Whatever medication they had given her had apparently worked, and he felt relief in his heart at this. Harper was going to be okay - they were still going to be a family. Not that Tom wanted to think of the possibility of Harper dying, but it had been very prevalent just hours beforehand, and a chill ran down his spine, the thought of it haunting him a bit.

Harper's breathing was shallow, uneven, inconsistent, and short, but soft and at least there. Tom frowned as her brow furrowed in her sleep, signifying discomfort. Taking one of his hands, his other arm around his daughter, he held Harper's hand, determined to make her as comfortable as possible.

A few more minutes passed in silence, and then Harper shifted, and slowly, but surely, did her heavy eyelids flutter open. She sat up with difficulty and stretched a bit, but found she could barely move from the perpetual weakness of her blood-deprived body. Her head flopping against her pillow, she closed her eyes again and let out a sigh.

And then she heard a voice and a soft coo from beside her that made her heart stop and restart.

"Hi."

Her eyes flew open and blinked at the man beside her, who was smiling tenderly at her. She took in the sight before her with hitched breath - the man she loved with...with a baby. Her baby. Their baby. Their daughter.

"H-hey," she said back, straightening a bit. She looked at the bundle in Tom's arms and felt something wash over her, leaving her feeling stunned and breathless. He noticed where she was staring, and his smile grew. "She's here...she's finally here."

Harper blinked, unable to comprehend everything. She was a mother now. Tom released her hand then as he lifted his daughter away from his warm chest to let Harper finally hold her, knowing that even though she wasn't currently saying so, that she wanted to desperately, as he had.

Harper slowly lifted her arms, which ached. She took the small bundle in her hands and then, as she retracted them to her chest, readjusted her arms to accommodate the baby in them. Harper felt her heart swell as her daughter blinked up at her mother, eyes bright and curious as to who this new person was. An immediate smile broke out on Harper's face as she trailed her daughter's rosy cheek with her finger, and she felt tears spring to her eyes as the realization of it all hit her. She was okay - this baby and herself. All of it - everything - was okay for once and Harper had never felt more content in all her existence.

Tom watched the two girls he loved most in his life with happy eyes, before standing up and wrapping an arm around Harper's shoulders, peering down at their daughter with her. "She's perfect," Harper choked out after a while of just studying her daughter's features.

"Like her mama," Tom commented, which made Harper giggle, the chiming noise shook in his ear. He had missed her laugh.

"Dude, this is all you," she said. "She's basically your twin."

He laughed. "Everyone's been saying that. But I dunno, I think I see more of you."

Harper craned her neck up to look at him. They peered at each other passionately for a few moments before their lips connected softly, and they held them there before the baby below them began to whimper, wanting attention. Harper smiled against Tom's lips before pulling away and snuggling her daughter against her chest, shushing her and trying to comfort the small being, who carried on for a short bit before calming to a gurgle.

Tom pulled Harper's hair back from her forehead and placed a kiss on it. As he sat down on the side of the bed, he drew his mouth to her ear and whispered, "I love you so much, Harper."

She turned her face to look at him, their eyes only millimeters apart, burrowing into each other. Harper blinked, her eyelashes brushing against his nose and her warm breath beating against his lips. "I love you, too." She looked back down at the baby. "Her, too. I love her."

"I do, too," he admitted easily.

Another comfortable silence cast over the room. They stayed huddled closely, quiet. Stroking back the baby's black hair, Harper watched as she began to drift off again. "So I guess you win...it's a girl."

Tom blinked, trying to understand what she was saying, before a good-natured grin broke out on his features. "You're right," he nodded. "I win this time. Maybe next time it'll be a boy."

Harper turned her head then and raised an eyebrow. "Next time? You're crazy if you think I'm doing this again."

Tom chuckled at Harper's cynicism. Blinking from Harper to their daughter, his eyes lingered on the baby as he asked then, "So...names. What do you think?"

Harper shrugged. "I honestly have no idea. I don't like any of the names either of us have thought of so far. None of them seem...her."

Tom nodded, studying the baby as he tried to think of a name suggestion that he thought would suit her. What to name her...what to name her...and then he got an idea, eyes brightening as he turned to Harper with a barely contained smile tugging at his cheeks.

"Harper," he began. "What was your mom's name?"

Harper's heart stopped as he spoke the words and felt insurmountable emotion fill her. "M-Marie," she managed out. "Her name was Marie."

"I thought about naming her after my mom, too, but I'm thinking that can be her middle name," Tom said, his face fell when he noticed the faraway look on Harper's face. "What...what do you think?"

"Marie Akiko," Harper thought aloud, a smile creeping across her face after a moment. "I like that. It's pretty."

"Really?"

"Yeah," Harper smiled, bringing her face down to nuzzle noses with her daughter. "Mom would've loved her."

"So, Marie Akiko, it is then?" Tom asked her hopefully.

Harper tilted her head up and placed a kiss on his lips. "Marie Akiko, it is."