The ship stayed steady and after a few more rumbling shots from the Normandy's fire banks the battle ceased. Sonya assumed victory, but wondered how many casualties they had earned during the fight. Chakwas and Jeron had made them both a concoction of vitamins and other nutrients to replenish their systems after labor and delivery. The baby's had immunization supplements as well. Sonya received hers through an I.V. drip while she fed her son with a specially adapted bottle. He accepted eagerly, his mouth much more playable than his father's mouths. She wondered if that was because he was new or if it was the human DNA in his make up. His eyes remained closed, but the skin of his throat was much peachier than she'd expected. His four long fingers held the bottle with tiny talons tipping them. She'd never seen anything so adorable. Chakwas cleaned her up and prepared her for the visitors that would soon come to check her. It wasn't long before Nihlus and Garrus both arrived. Their feet stopped short and their mandibles fluttered when the sight of their son in the arms of his mother met their eyes. They'd missed the birth, but they'd made it possible by protecting their family.
Nihlus slowly made steps toward the bed. Garrus hesitated then followed. As Nihlus neared her she smiled up at him from adoring her baby. He let her see the tears of joy that wet his eyes before he nuzzled her forehead and then the child's. He loved her more then than ever, for she had given him a son.
"I'm your papa." He whispered to the boy. "I have much to show you."
He wished he could say more. Something like 'welcome to the galaxy', but it wasn't a welcoming place to be born to just yet. It would be the greatest gift he could give his son and he was determined to do so.
Sonya waited for Garrus to join them. He looked on the child with as much fascination and wonder as he did love. It was instant in his eyes, but he held back. It worried her that he did not take immediately as Nihlus had done. He couldn't have known the DNA results, but it was the only thing that she could think of that would cause him to keep his distance.
"Isn't he beautiful?" She asked them.
"Yes, he is." Nihlus answered. "As beautiful as his mother."
He pressed his mouth to her lips to 'kiss' her.
"He is." Garrus answered, but not so convincingly. "He has four fingers."
"It must be the human DNA." Sonya replied and pulled back the bottom of the blanket. "He has three toes too!" She said excitedly.
"He's perfect." Nihlus told her. His mandibles spread in a wide grin.
Dr. Chakwas walked over to check on Sonya's vitals as well as the babies. She smiled kindly up at the turian fathers.
"You should be very proud. He is the only one of his kind! It is amazing. Have you chosen a name for him?"
"We're still deciding." Sonya answered before either father could announce the dedication of his choice.
"I see. Well, take your time. His is a name that will be well known."
"No pressure." Garrus mocked.
"I'll leave you and your family with the baby." Chakwas nodded to Sonya and quietly went over to her desk.
Sonya looked up at the two of them. Nihlus was beaming and proud. Garrus stood beside him, but he did not grin. He looked down at the child and his rust colored face and saw nothing of himself. He saw a small Nihlus in her arms nursing the bottle with an unusually pliable mouth and four fingers. He saw her skin on his neck and only a bit of his grey darkening the back of the neck and fading over the sides.
"We all liked the name Taevus, right?" Sonya asked. "Child of many?"
"I liked it." Garrus nodded.
"I like it as well." Nihlus agreed, though he had not at name had grown in it's appeal. Garrus gave him a side long glance.
"And the second name?" She asked.
"Why not name him after Councillor Anderson?" Nihlus suggested. "It isn't as common for turians to have so many names."
"But if I give him my last name he will be two parts human in name. I thought you wanted equal representation."
Garrus had covered his tracks well in hacking the doctor's console while she was away. He knew the child was less his than the others, but he could help feeling something for him because he was Sonya's son. A part of him was his as well. He could not deny his first born a father's love. He could not be like his own father and reject his only son for flaws that were not of his own doing. Garrus rounded the foot of the bed and pressed his forehead to Sonya's and then bent over the child to do the same. It was strange to touch one so young. To be bound to him as his father. He stood and glanced at Nihlus before gazing upon his strong and ever more lovely mate.
"Gaolon." Garrus said suddenly. "Give him the name Gaolon. It loosely means beautiful warrior."
"Gaolon." Sonya nodded with a grin, happy to see Garrus come around so quickly.
She had worried that he might reject the child that looked so much like the other father. She was glad to have been wrong.
"Taevus Gaolon Shepard. It is a powerful name." Nihlus nodded.
The bottle emptied as the name was spoken for the first time. Sonya gently removed the bottle and placed it on the sheets next to her. She lifted Taevus to her shoulder to burp him. His tiny fingers found her hair and grasped it firmly in his many fingers. He smelled her, even as a new born, learning her scent as 'mother'.
"Do you want to hold him?" Sonya asked her mates.
Nihlus reached out first, eager to hold his son. Feeling how light and helpless Taevus was in his arms was an indescribable feeling. He felt strong and proud, but also humbled. The love that connected him to the babe unconditionally was even more powerful than his love for Sonya, and he had died for her. What more would he do for this young one that should not have been and was? A single tear escaped his eye to trail down his metallic cheek. Passing Taevus to Garrus as he came around again to hold the child had been one of the hardest things Nihlus had ever done. He began to doubt if he could continue sharing the intimacies of his life with another man.
Garrus accepted Taevus from Nihlus' arms with ease. He'd never held a infant before. It was nerve racking. He was afraid he would break him accidentally or drop him. When Taevus yawed Garrus smiled for the first time at his son. It didn't matter how much of him was his genetically or what color he was. Part of him was in him and that was enough to make him a father. Taevus' father. The responsibility of it all was a great burden he suddenly felt bering down on his shoulders, but it wasn't a weight he would exchange for anything else. He had a son and a chance to be a better man than his father was to him. It pained him to think of his father's loss, but he would honor him by being a better man and raising a great turian.
"Hello, Taevus." He said.
He smiled when the infant curled into him at the vibration of his voice.
"You have a strong mother." He told the babe that was lulled to sleep by his words and smiled up at Sonya. "I'll teach you how to make her laugh."
Nihlus stepped aside to allow Garrus to return the boy to his mother. He nuzzled her gently with one hand still on the child and his eyes closed. He didn't think he could love anyone or anything as much as he did Sonya and his son. He had loved his family because they were family and his mother was kind, but this was a family he had chosen and created. Nothing meant more.
special thanks to sandradee27 for the name suggestion and to everyone who submitted ideas! It was a hard choice and I came upwith many more due to your inspirations! Thanks so much everyone, and thank you for reading! Keep commenting, it really helps!