The palm of a tiny hand eagerly jostled Maero's shoulder; he shot upward in the chair, suddenly aware of the damp nighttime Stilwater air. Somehow, he had stumbled into a catnap. The palm shook him once more, "What! What! I'm awake." He groaned. He was blatantly unaware of his companion. Emmalyn glared at the man, clutching the bottom of her abdomen. She bit the bottom lip, sucking her teeth as the contraction clinched. "Get the hell up NOW!" Emmalyn demanded, tugging at Maero's crimson shirt.
Still incoherent to his surroundings, he hobbled to his feet, mindlessly trailing behind Emmalyn to the living room and out towards his Compensator. Without much of a lucid thought, Maero started the truck, speeding down the serene back road. "Now, where am I supposed to be driving to?" he unthinkingly mumbled, a startled Emmalyn staring at him with bug-eyes. "The hospital…." She replied hesitantly, all pain an afterthought. Maero simply drove to the location instinctively; however, Emmalyn was grasping hold of the seatbelt. The rambunctious driving continued for several minutes.
"Baby, do you know what's going on right about now?" Emmalyn impatiently asked, waddling out of the Compensator and upward on the hospital steps to her location. "We're at the hospital." Maero responded sleepily, gazing around the environment. She snatched his hand, shaking him. "Hey! Earth to Maero! I'm in labor!" she shrieked in the quiet maternity ward waiting room. His head twitched minutely, those deep brown eyes grew miraculously wide. An anxious silence emerged. Emmalyn was gently yet hurriedly scuttled towards her room. Maero's wits snapped rapidly, "Wait a minute, are you serious?" he called after her, his intimidating composure diluted to a naive aura, taking broad strides behind Emmalyn, he treaded behind the nurses.
The sense of indefinable trepidation palpitated from within Maero's every pore. Her profoundly deep mocha skin was smooth, purely soft. Her light brown hair was untamed – it already bore a mind of its own. With novel eyes, every wall, pillow, person was studied carefully. Her new surroundings did not bother her. Only a few hours of age, Bethany Audrey Rodriguez had a distinctive persona. Maero peered over her carefully, terrified of dropping her. Emmalyn was within the depths of slumber. The room was serenely quiet as he watched his daughter gaze directly at him, as if she was challenging him.
A few feet away, a soft knock was heard, but before Maero could answer, his sister, Alyssa barged in silently. "I had to sneak away from Nathan, but Matt is eager to see the little thing!" Alyssa whispered loudly, stealing the small child from her father's grasp. "Well, isn't she just a precious little thing!" Alyssa complimented, smiling at the baby. Bethany merely stared her Aunt cautiously, studiously. Maero sighed and stretched, sitting back into the firm couch. "You've got yourself a handful." Alyssa stated, as the child cooed. Bewildered, he gazed at his sister, "Aren't most babies a handful?"
She stifled a giggle, catching a glimpse of her inexperienced brother. "Dude, I have a sneaking suspicion she's going to have your temper. You two have created an intriguing little human." She warned jokingly. Slightly taking offense, Maero glowered at her, "What's that supposed to mean? And what would you know?" he retorted. "I have one year old, which is nothing more than the carbon copy of Matt. It's just something we women know long before birth occurs." She snapped back.
"Are you out of your mind?" Jyunichi roared across the dimly lit bedroom. With a finger to her mouth, Eliza attempted to shush the man. "Are you trying to wake Minami and Tomoharu?" she hissed back. Jyunichi ignored her words, gliding towards the brow beaten woman. "Look, this plan of yours is getting out of hand. You're crossing into territory that you know shouldn't be crossed! I'm not for it." He boomed, gazing directly to her. Eliza stepped away from Jyunichi, her lips pursed. "You wanted to take them down and this how it can be done and we wouldn't have to worry about them – ever again." She replied.
He sighed heavily, grabbing her shoulders, "Don't you see what the fuck you're doing? If we even dare touch them, Maero will have his steel-toed boot so far up the Ronin's ass we'll never see daylight again." He warned. Eliza wiggled from his grip, "So, are you afraid?" she teased tortuously. "What? No! I just know a failure when I see one!" he snapped. The silence pervaded the room. "I'm going through with it." Eliza confirmed, ignoring all reason.
"If that's your choice, only you live with the consequences. I'm taking the children back to Nagoya. I'm not having them in the crossfire." He stated, leaving Eliza in the room.