Disclaimer:  Don't own Shadow Hearts, do own Anne (and the new baby!).

**

            "Come on…come on, Annie, come to daddy…"

            The nine-month-old clung to the chairs as she made her way on wobbly legs.  Anne looked like she was about to fall once or twice, but eventually she made it all the way to Yuri, who then lifted her up into the air.  "Good job Anne!"

            The little girl gurgled happily, her smile showing the teeth that had started growing in.  Keith watched the pair with amusement; he hadn't thought of Yuri ever as a father, but he seemed to have adjusted to being one well.

            Suddenly the yelling started again.  Anne looked upset at the noise; her face scrunched up, the classic warning sign, and then she started wailing.  Babies hate loud noises and crying, and Margarete, over in the next room, was providing a bit of both.

            Keith sighed as Alice stepped out of the room.  "Not yet?"

            She shrugged.  "It hasn't been that long Keith.  But she's coming along pretty well.  The doctor said the baby could come in maybe an hour, maybe less."  She walked over to Yuri, who was busy bouncing Anne up and down, trying to keep her happy.  "Have you been feeding her?"

            "She hasn't cried yet…well, 'cept when Margarete sets her off."

            "Have you changed her diaper?"

            Yuri grimaced.  "Yes.  And you owe me.  That one was nasty."

            "Then you owe me for all the diapers you shoved off on me."  Alice raised an eyebrow.  "You'd be in massive debt."  She walked over to the door.  "By the way, you'd better feed her.  It's past her mealtime."

            "Where's her food?"

            "Um…I'm not sure.  Just look around."  She opened the door, allowing both men to hear half the swears that Margarete knew and others that she was now inventing for the benefit of the doctor.  Quite an educational experience.  Anne started wailing again and Alice quickly shut the door.

            Keith tapped his foot against the floor.  "Shouldn't I go in there?"

            Yuri shook his head.  "No.  I tried going in there for a while when Alice was having Anne, but…well, she ended up yelling at me to just leave."

            "Aren't you supposed to feed her?"

            "Oh yeah."  Yuri put Anne on the floor, where she began crawling around.  Then he picked up the blue bag they'd brought with and searched for the food.  Eventually he found a can of it and opened it.  He brought it up to his nose and his face twisted in disgust.  "Now…spoon…"  He started rummaging through the bag again.  Despite digging through diapers, blankets, and other containers of food, he couldn't find the utensil.  "Where the he—where is the spoon?"

            The vampire grinned.  "Looks like Alice trained you well."

            "Shut up."  Alice had told Yuri that if her daughter's first word was a swear, he would find himself 'in big trouble, mister.'  Bottom line was, no cursing in front of Anne, and Alice had made sure to enforce that.  It'd gotten to the point where he'd check himself if Alice wasn't there to do it.  "Anyways, Margarete's teaching her a whole bunch of swears right now."

            "She has an excuse."

            "Yeah, yeah…"  Yuri finally dug out a spoon, then picked up Anne.  "Hey Anne…time for your supper…"

            The baby looked at the spoon, as though she doubted that the orange substance on it was actually food.  Yuri put the spoon to her lips, but she refused to open.  Then, with a 'Don't-you-DARE-tell-anyone' glare to Keith, he started acting as though the spoon was a train, with much enthusiasm and 'choo-choo' noises.  Anne laughed and the spoon darted into her open mouth.  She swallowed and then allowed her father to feed her the rest, without the theatrics.

            "Darn babies, never know what they want," Yuri said, seeing her reaction.  "No?  You never know what you do want, do you?"  This was addressed to Anne, who simply smiled back at him, orange goop trailing down her chin.  "Good luck with your kid, Keith."

            "It better be a boy," Keith said.

            "If it's a boy, what's she going to name him?"

            "I don't know."

            "Girl?"

            "Don't know."  The vampire sighed.  Margarete had told him, in no uncertain terms, that she was going to name any seven-odd-pound thing that she had to carry around for nine months and then give birth to.  He supposed he could see her point, but he still wondered what kind of name she was going to give their child.  Maybe Vincent…or Allen…wait, that wouldn't be a good name…

            A loud and rather prolonged noise distracted Keith from his thoughts and he looked up at the guilty baby.  "Again???  Anne, c'mon, that's gotta be the third so far!"  Anne laughed at Yuri's incredulous expression and he sighed.  "Now I've got to change you again…"  He laid the infant down again and got a diaper, muttering, "Alice is going to be changing your diapers all next week, I'm sure not doing it…"

            "Keith!"  Alice's eyes were wide with delight and she was beaming.  "The baby's coming!"

            "What?!"

            "H-hey!" Yuri protested.  Keith and Alice both ran out of the room, leaving him alone with Anne.  He gave Anne a mock glare.  "You always have to do this at the worst time…"

**

            By the time he got Anne cleaned up, the nurses were busy washing the blood off of the new baby.  Keith was pleased at the fact that it was a boy, and Margarete just seemed pleased that it was all over and she could rest.  But first, there was a small issue.

            Alice tapped a sleepy Margarete on the shoulder.  "Margarete?  They have to fill out the birth certificate."

            "Sure…"

            "What are you naming him?"

            "Later…"  Margarete felt ready to drift off into dreamland.  Alice couldn't blame her.  After Anne's birth, all she had wanted to do was sleep for the next twenty-four hours.

            "Hmm…I guess I'll have to name him then," Keith said, trying to get his wife to wake up.

            It worked.  Her eyes shot open and she protested, "I'm naming him!"  She blinked and then yawned.  "His name…his name's Locke…Locke Alexander…"

            "Locke Alexander Valentine?  That's a mouthful," Yuri commented.

            Keith smiled.  "It's a good name."

**

Author's Notes:  Wow, that's the first time I've made up a full name for a character.  It took a long time to think of both first and middle name.  Wasn't sure of Alexander…but it seemed like a good name.  And a nine-months pregnant Margarete is going to be a very bossy woman.  At least, I thought she would be.

In the next chapter…is everyone okay if I create a genetically impossible character?  I know I really shouldn't…but hey, it's fiction…and I can't get the mental picture out of my head…^^.

About the names Keith thought of…Vincent is, yes, an FF7 reference, and why is Allen a bad name?  Think about it.  Allen Valentine?  That's a name you're going to get teased about.  Of course he could always drink their blood or something like that, but then their parents would probably get upset ^^.

**

Reviewers:

Gutterfiend: You know what's funny about that?  The first time I wrote that chapter, it didn't even strike me as gallows humor.  I just thought of it as a joke.  When I re-read it, I realized that it was a little twisted, but I still thought it was in-character for Margarete.

Milia: I don't think Yuri would take that into consideration.  Alice probably would, except it probably wasn't such a big deal back then, plus add Yuri and some wine in…^^

Greyfriars: Actually, the story is planned to end about when Anne is either nine or ten (probably nine).  So Locke will be either eight or nine when it ends.  Basically, it doesn't matter if he's immortal or not.  It doesn't even really matter whether Margarete's aging can be stopped (at least, it doesn't affect the storyline).  It might cause Keith some grief if Margarete does age, but he probably wouldn't mention it to others, least of all his son—and this isn't a Keith-centric story, so no Keith angst.  Now if I did a sequel, then this might all become relevant ::light bulb pops up::  …do they have pills for dealing with Multiple Fic complex?

::sweatdrop:: are you people really that anxious for me to spoil the whole plot?  I can't tell you what's going to happen!!!

Nights Mistress: Well…that might come into play later

Um, why's Aenea restrained?

PoopooPlaTTer: Well, Keith and Yuri aren't pregnant…O_o …that was a scary mental image  ::shudder::

Hm…Halley…he might make an appearance next chapter.  Actually, everyone might.  Reunion sort of thing ::sweatdrop::  Boy, I sure seem to use that as a reason for getting them together a lot…