Alison knew she should be paying attention to the activity going on at the side of the room, but she was exhausted and still focused on the pain radiating from her center. It was not nearly as painful as the contractions she had suffered through, but it was enough to keep her distracted. She rested her head back against the pillow and closed her eyes.
She dozed off for a moment before she was awoken by the nurse. "Alison, do you want to try and nurse your daughter?"
Alison opened her eyes and nodded. Flint was right behind the nurse, beaming at the baby, which made her feel guilty. So far she hadn't felt the overwhelming rush of love that Flint must have been feeling. The nurse put the baby in her arms, and Alison looked down hoping to be hit with the feeling. She wasn't, but she knew she still had a job to do.
She brought the baby to her breast and was happy to see that she latched on immediately. Alison looked down at her. She was surprised at how tiny she was, since she had felt like such an enormous presence inside of her.
The baby stopped sucking and seemed to fall asleep. Alison looked up at the nurse in alarm. "She fell asleep already. Is that normal?"
The nurse nodded as she walked over. "It is. She's had a rough day, so right now sleeping is her top priority. When she wakes up you can try again. But don't be surprised if it happens again. Your milk isn't in yet, so she probably won't eat well for a couple of days."
"What do we do in the meantime?" Flint asked.
"Just keep nursing her. What you are producing should be enough to sustain her. But don't be surprised if she loses a few ounces over the next days. We'll keep an eye on her while you're here, and supplement if necessary. You'll bring her to her pediatrician in a week to make sure she's thriving."
Alison grimaced and looked at Flint. "I knew I forgot to do something."
The nurse laughed. "Don't worry, you're not the first. If you need recommendations, I can give you a list." She gestured to the other nurse standing behind her. "They want to get you cleaned up. Do you want me to put the baby in the bassinet?"
"No, I'll take her," Flint said. After the nurse deftly handed him the swaddled infant, he took her over to the couch to give them the room to work on Alison. He just sat there, staring at the sleeping angel. She had only been in the world a few minutes, but he was already head over heels in love with her. Even though he watched it happen, he still couldn't believe that she, his daughter, was actually here.
Once the nurses were done, they left the two of them alone.
"Can you believe we made her?" Flint asked as he walked back to Alison's bedside. Taking care not to jostle the baby, he leaned over to kiss Alison's forehead.
"I know. It's pretty incredible," she answered with a tired smile.
"How are you feeling?"
"I'm tired and sore, but I'll live. Compared to what it felt like I a couple of hours ago, this is nothing."
"Was it as bad as you thought it was going to be?"
"It's funny. While it was happening I remember that I thought up several gruesome and excruciatingly painful ways of torturing you as payback. But now that's it over, I don't actually remember how painful it really was."
"It helps that seeing her makes it all worth it in the end." The baby woke up and let out a squawk. "Do you want to try and feed her again?"
Alison nodded and gingerly shifted in the bed. Flint laid the baby next to her. As he watched the two of them, his heart swelled with love and pride. They were his family. He pulled over one of the chairs so he could sit at Alison's bedside.
"So what do you think? Does she look like a Marissa?" Alison asked.
Flint rubbed his finger gently through his daughter's wispy brown curls. "She does. I think it's perfect for her."
Flint continued to watch the two of them until first Marissa and then Alison fell asleep. Flint shifted so he could rest his head on the bed. Marissa seemed secure nestled up against Alison, but Flint wanted to make sure she didn't get too close to the edge of the bed. He watched her for a few more moments before he too fell asleep.
Their family nap had only lasted a few minutes when the nurse entered the room, and scolded them for sleeping with Marissa on the bed. She told them the safest place for Marissa was the bassinet. She then placed the infant in there, while she set Alison up with the meal she had brought her.
Once she left, Alison had a few choice words for both the nurse and the food. She poked at the tray which vaguely resembled breakfast. She took a bite, grimaced and said, "I'm starving. Can you get me something real to eat?"
"Sure, what do you want?"
"Ideally, one of Roadblock's famous omelets and hash browns. But I'll take a breakfast sandwich."
Flint called his mother while he walked down to the lobby. "She's here," he said once she answered.
His mother shrieked, and told him to tell her the details. Flint choked up as he said, "Marissa Elizabeth Faireborn was born at 4:56AM. She's seven pounds, ten ounces, and nineteen inches long. And she's perfect."
His mother went silent for a few moments and then she said, "You gave her my middle name, which was your grandmother's name."
"I know. That's why we chose it."
His mother started to cry. Flint struggled to keep himself from doing the same. Once his mother got control of herself she said, "Dashiell, thank you and thank Alison. I love you all, and I can't wait to meet this little angel. Now let me call the rest of the family."
Luckily the next call to Hawk wasn't nearly as emotional. But he too promised to let the other Joes know. Flint figured that took care of his obligation to alert everyone he cared about to the news. He then bought two breakfast sandwiches and went back into Alison's room.
Once they were finished, Flint left to take a cab back to the Pentagon to pick up Alison's car. He then drove to their home to shower and to pick up Alison's bag. Since he planned on spending the night at the hospital, he packed a bag for him as well. Before leaving, he installed the car seat. It took longer than was probably necessary, but he wanted to make sure it was safe and secure.
When he returned to the hospital, he noticed right away that Alison's mood hadn't improved. She grumbled to the nurse who was in the process of taking her blood pressure. When she pulled out a thermometer, Alison exhaled sharply. "I still don't have a fever."
Flint had to give the nurse credit for keeping her composure. "Mrs. Faireborn, I'm sure you know your body better than me, but I still need to make sure you aren't in the early stages of an infection."
Once the nurse finished her checks and left, Alison slowly and painfully stood up from the bed. Flint went to help her. "Should you be getting up?"
"I want to change out of this gown and into my own. It's okay. Nurse Ratchet actually wants me to walk around a bit."
Flint made sure she got to the bathroom okay, and then went to check on Marissa, who was sleeping peacefully. Alison exited the bathroom. "You missed Stalker and Lydia earlier."
"That was nice that they came by. I'm sorry I missed them."
Alison looked from the door to the bed. "I was going to attempt to take a walk, but this little adventure tired me out more than I want to admit. I think I'm going to try and take another nap. The nurse did say she would take Marissa to the nursery if I wanted to get some sleep. I might take her up on that."
Since Flint had been gone most of the day, he didn't want to send Marissa away. "No, don't do that, I'll watch her."
Alison nodded. "Okay. She did eat about a half hour ago, and she has a fresh diaper, so I think she should be good. For how long, I don't know."
Flint helped Alison into bed, and then kissed her. "Don't worry, I'll take care of her. If I need help, I have reinforcements outside."
Alison fell asleep shortly after her head hit the pillow. Flint had to admit that the idea of a nap was tempting. He looked over at the pull-out couch that was in the room. It didn't look comfortable, but he knew he had slept in worse places. However he was still keyed up after Marissa's birth, and he meant what he said to Alison about wanting to spend the time with Marissa.
He walked over to the bassinet and was greeted by a pair of blue-grey eyes looking up at him. He grinned at Marissa, and even though she was probably weeks away from learning the skill, he still held out hope that she would return his smile. Instead she shot him a quizzical look, scrunched up her face and made the cutest and tiniest little squawk.
He scooped her into his arms and turned to look at Alison. She was still asleep, so he left the room. Flint slowly closed the hospital door behind him. The nurse on duty frowned at him as he walked across the hall but he flashed his arm band. "I promise, she's mine. My wife wants to take a nap, so I thought I'd take her for a walk."
The nurse still didn't look happy. "Okay, but only up and down this hallway. If you try to take her off this floor, her armband will set off the alarm."
As Flint walked down the hall, he wondered why they would need such intense security. He then made the decision that he wasn't leaving the hospital again until Alison and Marissa came home. Once he completed the loop, he headed for the family lounge that was located caddy-corner to Alison's room.
He sat down in one of the chairs with a clear view into the hallway, in case Alison had any other visitors. A couple of minutes later he recognized Beachhead heading towards Alison room. "Wayne, in here," he called out.
"Al's taking a nap," Flint explained once Beachhead took the seat near him. "She had a long night."
"I bet," Beachhead answered. "But she's doing okay?"
"As good as can be expected." Flint looked down at his daughter. "And this is Marissa Elizabeth. Do you want to hold her?"
Beachhead jerked back. "No I'm good. I'm better at admiring babies from afar."
Flint tried to not take the comment personally. He settled into the chair, knowing Beachhead's visit was going to be awkward until Alison woke up. Trying to find a way to pass the time, he asked Beachhead to get him up to speed on what happened after they left the Pentagon.
"We stood around with our thumbs up our asses until the lights came back on. Once things returned to normal, the Jugglers wanted to continue the exercise. But then we got word that Zartan had escaped."
"What?" Flint shouted, causing Marissa to cry. He cursed his actions. He shifted the baby to rest against his chest and shoulder and rubbed her back until she calmed down.
"Yep. The Dreadnoks broke him out, and then they literally rode off into the sunset. Duke's bringing a team to Fort Meade to see if they can find any leads, but if it's anything like our past dealings with them, they're long gone."
Flint nodded. "That can't be a coincidence."
"That's the thinking right now. There are at least a dozen different theories floating around about how the Dreadnoks did it, and if they had help. The only thing we know for sure is that the outage extended from New York to Richmond."
Flint whistled. "That's a lot of real estate."
"It is. Luckily, casualties were minor. If it happened in the height of either summer or winter, I'd be telling you a much different story."
The two fell into a silence while Flint contemplated the news. But then Beachhead interrupted his thoughts. "Did Alison ever tell you I tore her a new one when I found out she was pregnant?"
"She mentioned it, but she didn't go into details." Flint answered. That was a time of his life he didn't like reliving. But it made him appreciate the miracle in his arms even more.
Beachhead nodded, and Flint thought that conversation was over. However, Beachhead surprised him. "When I was in boot camp I had a fling with a fellow private. Looking back, I don't know how we had the energy or the time, but we were young and stupid. Two weeks before the end, she told me she was pregnant.
"I was shocked, as that was more than I had bargained for. I didn't have the best father as a role model, so I didn't think I had what it took to be a dad. I told her I needed time to think, to sort things out. She said that was fine. Since we were so close to graduating, she wanted to keep her condition a secret for the time being. That didn't sit well with me, and I told her so. Needless to say, she told me where to go. Said I couldn't decide to opt out of the process while dictating her decisions.
"Two days later she suffered a fall during one of our early morning training sessions. It didn't seem serious, but the next day she started bleeding and lost the baby. I hadn't even fully come around to the idea of fatherhood at that point, but I was still upset when I heard. Even though the doctor claimed the fall wasn't the cause, and that the miscarriage would have probably happened anyway, I blamed her for her carelessness which ended any relationship we had left at that point.
"Looking back, it was probably for the best. We were just kids, we barely knew each other, and we ended up being sent to opposite ends of the world. But every so often I find myself thinking about what could have been. So when I found out Alison was taking the same gamble with your baby, I railed into her. I knew how hurt I had been, and I hadn't had nearly the same type of feelings for my girl as you do for Alison. I knew if you lost either one of them you would have been devastated."
Flint subconsciously hugged Marissa tighter. "A belated thank you for looking out for my best interests."
Beachhead shrugged. "I figured I owed you for the hard time I gave you over the years. I think my experience clouded my judgment when it came to military romances. I still don't think it's a good idea, but I'm glad in your case it worked. You're a lucky man. And maybe one day, being a husband and father will happen for me as well."
Flint was temporarily speechless as he had never had such a deep heart to heart with Beachhead. "How about Joanna? She seems really nice."
Beachhead smiled. "She is. And she puts up with my quirks, which is a big plus. But I don't know if she's the one. Were you sure with Alison?"
"I was," Flint admitted with a grin. "Pretty much right from the beginning."
Beachhead sighed and sat back into the chair. "That's what I'm looking for."
"Don't just go by my experience. Sometimes it takes longer."
"I know. And I do enjoy being with Joanna, so we'll see what happens."
Alison's door opened and she looked into the hallway. Once she saw them sitting in the lounge, she gingerly took a few steps towards them. Flint rose and met her halfway. "Did you sleep okay?"
"Yes, I was out cold. I still feel like I can sleep for hours, but I wanted to check on you two."
Marissa's eyes opened again at the sound of her mother's voice. Her face scrunched up and she began to cry. Flint passed her to Alison. "Sounds like she wants her mommy."
"And I'm going to take that as my cue to leave," Beachhead said.
"Are you sure? This shouldn't take long," Alison said.
"Yeah. I spent some good quality time with Flint and the baby. She's beautiful. Congratulations."
Once Beachhead left, Alison turned towards Flint. "You guys spent quality time together? I didn't hear any arguing."
"No, it was strange but nice. I didn't think it existed, but Beach actually has a soft side."
Alison climbed into bed and began to feed Marissa. "I've caught glimpses of it as well. I think being away from the Joes is good for him."
Flint settled into the chair and rested his head back as his exhaustion caught up with him. While he began to doze off, he thought about all that Beachhead had said. The Ranger was right. He was a lucky man.