While Sara was disguised as one of the crew members and Mal had been caught, Nico was still trying to get his hands on some passes.
Just as Nico finally thought he could find the passes in peace he heard the sound of a gun being loaded as he immediately put his hands up in surrender.
Nico hated that he was doing this but he was running out of time. "How dare you come into my house," the lady called out as she held the gun up to him still as she had a daughter that she was trying to protect.
"I'm not trying to hurt anyone," Nico told the lady who just continued to shake a little in fear as she continued to point the gun at him. "You already put my daughter's life at risk just by stepping foot in here," the lady told Nico again who just looked at her.
"I came to you for help and you tried to have me killed," Nico told the lady as he had felt betrayed by that. He trusted that she would have helped him out and instead she betrayed him when all he wanted was to save his family.
"Look, I just needed information because I can't allow anyone to know what we're doing here," the lady told Nico who just nodded as he didn't care about that. All he cared about was getting his passes and saving the only things he had left.
"No one knows and no one will. Mrs. Griffin I understand you're just trying to protect your daughter. That's what I'm trying to do too. Because I'm trying to save the only two people left in my life that matter to me. And I have a daughter too that is in danger right now and she needs me to save her. She's just a baby and no one even knows about her. They'll kill her. I can't let them do that. Please I can't leave here without those passes. Please, please help me," Nico told the lady as he let some of his tears fall.
He knew that Mal wasn't technically his, but she was his daughter anyway and he knew that Mrs. Griffin would give in more if she knew that he was doing this for his daughter as well.
To Nico's relief the lady finally understood as she dropped the gun. "Top shelf. Come on get it down. You better not make me regret this," the lady told Nico who nodded as he grabbed the machine and opened it up.
"What's her name? I assume it's a girl," Mrs. Griffin told Nico as she started plugging things into the machine. "Sara Mia Garcia," Nico told the lady who nodded as she input the name into the machine.
"And what about your daughter?" The lady asked Nico who just sighed as he didn't know how this part was going to work.
"Her name is Mal Hope Garcia. She doesn't have an id number though because no one knows she exists. Is that going to be a problem? Sara wanted to keep her safe so we never took her in anywhere when she was born," Nico told the lady as he began to panic.
Nico also knew that technically Mal's middle name wasn't Hope it was Bertha according to Sara. He also knew that Sara had been talking about wanting to change Bertha to something else however as she hadn't been in the right mindset when she did name Mal and he figured now would be the perfect time.
"So she's a blank slate. Don't worry, I can create an Id for her. I'm going to need all her information though and hurry," the lady told Nico who nodded.
"Okay her name is Mal Hope Garcia. She was born August 31st and she just turned 2. She lives at the same address as Sara. Is that enough information or do you need more?" Nico asked the lady who just smiled a little as she input all the information and a new id and social security number came up.
"Yes that's enough. And now Mal Hope Garcia exists in the system," Mrs. Griffin told Nick who smiled in relief. "Okay so what happens now?" Nico asked the lady who just looked at the screen.
"Now we wait. Can you um can you tell me a little more about your daughter while we wait," the lady asked Nico as she was feeling bad for almost having him killed when he had a little girl just like she did.
"Yeah she's the cutest thing ever. And she has the most adorable purple hair. We're still uncertain how that happened but purple is her favorite color so I guess that works anyway. She absolutely loves strawberries and dragons. And she still uses the bottle but Sara has been trying to get her off of it for weeks now. It probably doesn't help that I keep bringing more and more bottles over, but I just love seeing her little face light up with joy and her laugh is just the most magical thing ever," Nico told the lady as he smiled thinking about Mal and how much he loved her.
"She sounds amazing, you're lucky. And enjoy those years as much as you can. They fly by. Do you know where you're going after this," the lady asked Nico who just sighed.
"Yeah she is and we're going somewhere far away from here. Where we can all just be together and safe as a family," Nico told the lady who just nodded. "We're all just trying to protect the ones we love," Mrs. Griffin told Nico as the passes finally finished.
"Thank you," Nico whispered to the lady as he took the passes. "Take care," Mrs. Griffin whispered back as Nico ran off with the passes and made his way back to Sara's house.
As soon as Nico made his way there he saw the door completely opened and the house looked like a mess filling him with panic. "Sara! Sara! Sara!" Nico called out in panic as he ran around the apartment searching for his girlfriend.
He felt his heart sink when he didn't see Sara or even Mal anywhere. Just as Nico was about to break down because he didn't see Sara or Mal anywhere he heard the screaming coming from the living room as he immediately followed the sound.
Nico completely froze when he saw the man that had almost killed him just a few hours ago holding the screaming toddler up by her shirt. "Let her go!" Nico cried out as he looked at the man who just laughed.
"Oh come on why are you fighting so hard for a tiny creature that won't even last a day out there! If anything I'm going to be helping her! The world is a cruel place might as well just end her suffering now before it can begin," the man told Nico, making Mal cry even harder as she reached for him.
"Don't you dare touch her!" Nico screamed out as he pushed the man back and quickly grabbed Mal from him making the small girl just hug him close as she started shaking.
"Mal you're okay. I have you now you're safe," Nico told the small girl as he just held her close to him and away from the man's reach so he couldn't get to her again.
"Ico I scawew!" The small girl cried out as she just clung to him. "I know Mal but it's okay. You're safe now," Nico told the small toddler.
"Wa da?" Mal asked Nico as she pointed to the yellow band. "Oh that's yours you have to wear it now. Here let me put it on you," Nico told the toddler as he put the immunity bracelet on the toddler and smiled as he knew he had Mal safe now or at least that's what he thought.
"Aw now isn't this sweet a little family reunion for a creature that again won't last a day out there," Harland told Nico with venom in his tone making Nico roll his eyes as he turned around to look at the crazy man again who was now sitting on the couch playing Solitaire.
"She is not just some creature and she will not be suffering! Who even are you and why are you in this apartment!" Nico cried out as he just held Mal closer to him.
"Before shit hit the fan. I used to drive a garbage truck for the Department of Sanitation. Then all of a sudden my superiors… they started to die off. And then one day I was running the whole damn department," Harland told Nico as he continued to just rant about all his power.
Nico didn't care at all though all he wanted was Sara and it was like Mal could read his mind as the small girl just looked up at him. "Ico I wan sawa," the young girl told Nico who just nodded as he looked at the scared little girl who was now shaking and still crying from fear.
"I know Mal I do too," Nico whispered to the young toddler as he didn't want to scare her more than she already was and he remembered that Sara likes to whisper gently when Mal was scared. She always told him that it calmed her down and made Mal feel safer. Nico was really wishing that Sara was here right now.
