Very sorry for the delay everyone. Too much going at the moment.
I hope you like this chapter. Let me know.
Chapter 60. Babies.
From the moment the Titans exited the med bay room at Slade's request, they had questioned their leader's reasoning in leaving the soon to be criminal alone but Robin stuck to his decision and assured them he would keep an eye on him. He sent his extended team to their most deserved rest then he headed to one of the monitor rooms down the hall and accessed the main security systems to observe the med bay.
Robin watched an still young Slade weep silently while holding onto Leo's hand and then for a moment, he winced and grunt in pain as he grabbed his head in the desperate attempt to get rid off the pounding headache. And there, to Robin's surprise, the body of the young man in the screen started to shake as he seemed to be breathing faster. He tried to get up but the moment he raised his head, he fell on his knees, with one hand clutching at his face and the other gripping the sheet and with one final grunt, a muffled scream escaped him and he plummeted to the ground.
Robin was at the edge of his seat before he got up, ready to assist the man but a movement on the screen caught his eye and with great anxiety, watched how slowly, Slade got up on unsteady legs while assisting himself on Leo's bed. His transformation was incredibly obvious. Taller, with a most robust body and mature features but most of all, his left eye was gone once again and a predominant scar graced that side of his face.
Slade looked around as if for a moment he had forgotten where he was but then, looked down at the girl on the bed in front of him and after a moment, gently adjusted the sheet over her body and attempted to caress her cheek with his fingers but stopped only centimeters away from her skin and slowly closed his fingers in a fist as he retrieved his hands behind his back and stood straight in his usual arrogance. There was no expression to speak of and then, he simply turned around and walked towards the counter where untreated samples of Victoria's blood and the unfinished serum laid and almost absentmindedly, started to mix the components.
"You see Titans, it's a matter of understanding or the lack of, that can bring us humans closer or push us away from each other" Slade said calmly and looked directly into the security camera closest to him on the right side of the wall in front of him briefly before continuing with his task.
"That's right Robin. I know you're watching. I wouldn't expect anything else but don't worry Titans, I'm not going anywhere… not yet. I have to finish what she started, I gave her my word that I 'd use what I know to help you just this once"
The screen of the computer next to him came to life and a small window with Robin's image appeared. Slade barely acknowledged him as he was writing down his notes on a notepad Leo used to carry around with her.
"Does she really mean that much to you, Slade… even now?" Robin asked quietly. Slade still didn't look away from his task and simply chuckled softly.
"She's… a remarkable young woman"
"That's not what I asked"
"Now, now Robin, to admit to something like that would be almost a crime and even I have my limits."
"That's not what you told Rose"
"Ah, to be young again. So carefree and careless. I have to admit I enjoyed this last few days, specially because thanks to you I rekindled the relationship with my son, however short that was"
Then, a soft whimper caught the villain's attention and he put the materials he was working on, down and got up and headed towards the incubator. Again, Robin's anxiety almost got the best of him as he watched the man get closer and closer to the little baby but to his surprise, Slade checked on the monitor, once he was satisfied the readings were correct, he gently moved her and changed her diaper, prepared a tiny bottle of formula and picked her up in his arms and softly rocked her back to sleep while she ate, just as he had been doing the last few days in his younger self when he came and visit her.
"You know Robin, I finally remember what was like to hold Rose when she was this little. All I ever wanted was for her to never be a victim, to never feel trapped and useless if she was ever to grow up alone… I think I actually accomplished that."
"I think that's the last thing she wanted, to be alone"
After a moment, Slade chuckled softly to himself, still never taking his eyes off the baby in his arms. "You know Michael, I cant help but feel like a grandfather right at this moment. I may not be your father but I am your creator and this little one right here …"
"But she's not Slade" the villain chuckled at this.
"I know, I only wish I get to see my own someday" Slade whispered to himself but he was heard non the less.
"So, Robin, do you realize that, in essence, you're this little one's father as well?" Slade said as he put the baby down again and draped a blanket over her tiny body and he couldn't help but hear a muffled gasp but no reply came, so he continued as he walked back to the counter he was working on.
"Think about it Robin. Michael is not your twin brother but yourself, or rather, the personified rebel in you"
"You're wrong Slade, she's only mine"
"Then tell me, Michael… who are you ?" Slade asked in that malicious tone he was known for but again, no reply was made.
After a few more moments in silence, Slade was done. His result were two syringes with a greenish looking content. He quietly explained which one to give to Victoria if her condition accelerated and the other one was for Meliah when she woke up. And before he exited the room, he looked over his shoulder and said "Thank you Raven for giving me a second chance in life".
When he left the room, the shadows started to take form. Raven was first, Garfield had been a moth perched on the nearby wall and now was back in his human form next to his fiancé and Michael appeared right next to the incubator and watched his daughter sleep comfortably as the others looked at each other then towards the door.
Robin followed the villain down to the cell room and watched him say his goodbyes to his kids and then make his way back to the med bay right before Leonore woke up. After he said his goodbye to the girl, he followed him thru the cameras and watched him break thru a window and freely fall several stories down before Starfire caught him. He tried to struggle free but the alien's grip was rock hard without hurting him.
She gently placed him on the ground and immediately he turn around ready to fight but stopped at the sight of her sad expression. She handed him a small bag that was hanging from her shoulder. When he saw the contents she added.
"These used to be Cyborg's. it was the only thing big enough I could find that may fit you better" she said nodding to his less than fitting clothes.
"Does your team know what you're doing?" he asked as he took the sweat pants and sweater.
"I'm sure they do now. If I may say something… I will miss young Slade, he was… charming" then she turned around and started to levitate when she heard him say.
"Thanks again, princess"
Cyborg had been hidden by the door and watched the villain from afar, change his outfit and take off running. And for once, none of them, not even Robin, felt the need to pursue his nemesis in abandoned obsession.
When Leo was finally free from the sheet Slade had thrown over her head, she had started to cry and never noticed the green young man come next to her and wrap his arms around her. She fell asleep, sobbing.
…
…
Days had passed and Leo was in the same condition. She didn't speak, barely ate and she simply read over and over a small note she had found under her pillow. It was short and simple, it said Thank you for believing in me, I'll never forget our time together"
Everyone was worried but there was nothing they could do.
"This is worse than before Rae. She wont even talk to me now. I don't know what to do"
"She's broken hearted Gar, I doubt any of us can do anything about it"
Dr Simmons had come back as she had been away during the ordeal getting things ready for when Meliah woke up. She had tickets ready to leave the country, headed overseas. Not to Africa too many memories there. But to Paris.
Raven had been getting ready to redo the ritual. The book she had been reading the day they went out on their date, had information she could use in their circumstances. But there was one more matter she had to take care of, and that was to get things straight with herself, her rather angry aspect that had played her trick after trick and was evading her in her own mind.
When Raven arrived to Nevermore, she found her every aspect, gathered in the huge library that was Knowledge's domain.
"What's going on?"
"You have subconsciously been thinking of a solution to Leonore's predicament" said the one in yellow while adjusting her glasses.
"Duh, what does it look like we're doing. We're trying to find a way to help Leo" said the one in orange lazily holding a book before she threw it on a pile behind the couch she had been laying on.
"And? Any progress?" asked Raven to no one in particular.
"Only that, if she doesn't start talking, then we don't know how to help" said the one in blue who was floating above the ground with her eyes closed. Raven nodded and looked around.
"Where is Rage?"
"Avoiding us, as always. She hasn't been out since…" Happy stopped her sentence when she saw Raven's frown. "…in a while" she corrected herself and went back to reading the book she had in her hands. Hiding behind it was more like it while she smiled.
Meanwhile, outside her mind, Raven's body was floating above her bed, eyes closed, facing the open window oblivious to her surroundings. Garfield had come with Leo in his arms in her still catatonic state. She had been standing in front of the window next to her bed in the med bay, the one she had been standing when she last heard Slade's voice, but after two days of not sleeping or talking or even eating, she had almost fainted while Michael was tending to his daughter.
Garfield was just coming in to check on her when he saw Michael lifting her gently to her bed but was still staring into space. Garfield then decided to take her to Raven, he had asked her before if she could do something for their friend. Even if she had to put a spell on Leo to at least make her eat because she had refused to let Cyborg connect her to an IV, Raven had told him to give the girl time, but Garfield simply couldn't wait longer.
Garfield walked in the room he now shared with Raven and found her meditating. He set Leo down on a chair Raven kept by the door but received a call from Cyborg to come to the med bay as they were getting ready to transport Meliah back to the cave where the first ritual was performed. So he left Raven a note on the bed and Leo had fallen asleep.
But the swish noise the door made when it closed, woke Leonore. She looked around for the first time and saw the empath floating above her bed. In more normal days she would have sprinted to her feet and study the sight and attack Raven with question after question until her curiosity was satisfied but as it was, she didn't even feel the merest speck of anything.
She got up on weak legs as her curiosity had finally sparked something in her. Where she had always been around chemistry utensils and such, Raven had a vast collection of vials with strange looking… whatever they were. Some faintly glowed and others were warm or cold to the touch.
There were artifacts she had only read about and there was just an eerie feel to every corner. She made her way to the other side of the room where a more normal looking dresser occupied most of the space and an intricately crafted hand mirror that upon closer inspection, seemed to glisten for no apparent reason.
And there, instead of her own image, two pairs of red eyes stared back at her with a simple command "Come" that Leo thought she heard in her head and as she touched the surface, she was trapped by a claw of dark energy and disappeared into the void.
…
…
Raven opened her eyes and immediately sensed Garfield's lingering aura and knew he had been there recently. She walked out of her room with a brief glance at her mirror.
…
…
Leonore opened her eyes and tried to move but grunted immediately at the soreness of her body. Her surroundings were… less than promising. The dark sky over the open, rocky terrain and a mangled cage nearby as if something dangerous and big had escaped and immediately, a sinister laugh resonated around her.
"Who's there?" Leo asked as she got up, all pain forgotten.
"Ah, so she speaks." said Rage behind her, leaning on a two faced statue with her arms crossed over her chest.
"Raven?" she asked but barely recognizing the girl. The cloak was dark red, almost blood red if she wanted to be specific, there were two sets of bright red eyes staring at her, not mentioning an unsettling malicious smile that seemed to belong to a predator.
"Yes and no. I'm part of Raven but not her exactly. My name is Rage and you… are getting to my last nerve" she said and pushed herself off the statue and started to glide, very slowly, around the now shaking young doctor.
"W-what do you mean?"
"Let's get to the point, shall we? I want to know why are you in this… deplorable state of mind… ugh, even I'm getting depressed just being around you. Everyone's been walking around egg shells because of you, not even bringing anything up because they don't want to hurt your so called feelings but here is what I think. Why treat you as if you were fragile when you're already broken? Explain to me why should I, of all people, care when you don't even show anything for anything"
"I'm sorry" Leo whispered and lowed her eyes.
"I don't want your damned sorry words, I want answers. Did you really think Slade wasn't going to remember? What made you think that? Who are you that makes you think you're that important?"
Leo was in the verge of crying when the entity's words finally sank in and with a frown and a glare that could only be from Raven.
"How dare you" Leo said with a snarl that made Rage's malicious smile all the more dangerous.
"Finally"
…
…
Raven walked in the med bay looking for Garfield and finally found him next to the incubator with little Victoria in his arms. He was gently rocking the baby with a smile she had only seen ever since Victoria was born but, she had also noticed that he wouldn't hide from the others, only her.
He was so lost in his task that he failed to see Raven coming until she was very close and just as she expected, he pursed his lips and his goofy smile was back. "Hey babe, how did it…"
"Why do you that?" she interrupted.
"Um.. Do what?" he said and as he placed the sleeping baby back down, the tender smile crossed his features briefly and when he straighten up again, it was gone.
"That. You always smile at her like that when you think no one's looking. Or rather, when you think I'm not looking. When Cyborg, Leo or even Starfire are around, you keep it but when I'm around, you hide it. Why is that? … and before you ask, I'm not asking because I'm jealous but because I'm curious." but there was no response other than a shy smile as he tried to walk away.
"So it is true. You do want kids of your own"
"I cant believe Cyborg dared to tell you after I asked him not to" he said almost offended trying to change the subject but fail miserably.
"No one had to tell me"
"Hehehe, am I that obvious then?" he said as he scratched the back of his neck.
"Gar, we are already engaged, why would you hide the fact that you want kids as well?"
He sighed.
"Because I promised you that I wouldn't pressure you so to marry me so long as you said yes, and you did but talking about kids this soon, well…"
"You didn't want me to freak out and break our engagement" Raven said softly and Gar only sighed and shook his head before looking away but Raven placed her hands on both sides of his face and pulled him in a tender kiss. When they pulled apart, she run her fingers lazily thru his hair for a moment while he rested his hands on her waist.
"Gar, I know you enough to know that on my own. Don't you think I'd consider it before saying yes?"
"That's what chrome dome said… so, have you really consider having kids with me?" he asked with a playful smile and hopeful eyes that bore into her own.
"Yes, and… I've had some tests done to find out if we are compatible"
"What do you mean compatible? What kind of tests?"
She let go of him and started to walk away. "I'm a half breed gar, not fully human, not fully demon and in some species, that means infertility. I wanted to find out if I can get pregnant before we… did anything"
"Before? … what were the results? And why am I finding out about this until now?"
"The results were inconclusive because Leo is not familiar with demon physiology but she's curious enough to give it another shot but… I'm not so sure I'd like another result like the previous ones and the reason I didn't tell you before is because, if indeed we're not compatible then…"
"You would brake our engagement anyway" his tone was disappointed.
"It wouldn't be fair for you to stay with me when I cant give you kids of your own, Gar"
"And what would you expect me to do then Raven? Just, hook up with the first chick that comes my way? Or would you like me to pick from the ones that are already here?" he was almost shouting and Raven could only look away and close her eyes. When she didn't reply right away, he sighed and gently pulled her chin to face him.
"Raven? Please look at me…" she finally opened her eyes and they were red as she was fighting back tears. "Babe, I'm sorry for raising my voice at you, I'm so sorry but, couldn't you let me make that decision myself?" she tried to look away again but this time he grabbed her face with both hands while a tear run down her cheek.
"Raven? Please listen to me, because I want you to understand something, ok? With or without kids, it wont matter so long as you're with me. I already told you I've known for some time that its you who I want to spend the rest of my life with. Why don't you believe me?"
"I told you. It wouldn't be fair to you"
"And I told you I don't care. If we're able to have kids, great, if not, oh well. We can always adopt" he said tentatively.
"Gar, I don't think our resume would qualify us as parent prospects"
"Well, perhaps its too soon. Lets not talk about it for now, ok? No need to stress over something like that yet."
Raven nodded and he gave her a peck on the lips right before Victoria woke up. Garfield picked her up and rocked her gently until she fell sleep again while Raven observed with mild curiosity a few feet away.
"Here. Would you like to hold her?" he asked with a smile.
"Oh no Gar, you know I'm not comfortable being around her. Meliah might have been able to control her instincts and tell whether I was a threat or not… eventually… but Victoria…"
"Its ok beautiful. Perhaps if she gets used to you now, she wont be afraid of you" said Michael as he walked in the room. Freshly shaved, bathed and his hair dye retouched. Garfield made a face and wrinkled his nose when Michael was close, ready to take his daughter back.
"Dude, what's that smell?" Gar asked as he rubbed his nose with the back of his hand.
"Um…cologne"
"Geez, did you have to bathe in it? "
"What are you talking about? I barely used any"
"Its disgusting" Gar said with another face and the thief rolled his eyes. Then took the little baby from the changeling and to his surprise, his daughter also wrinkled her nose in her sleep and started to stir.
"See that? Even Vicky agrees with me"
"She'll get used to it" the thief said with some indignation.
"Dude, there's no getting used to that. I feel bad for her already"
Michael rolled his eyes again and Raven's lips briefly curved into a tiny smile but he saw her all the same. He shook his head and started to walk towards the incubator to put his baby back away from the apparently uncomfortable smell.
"So, Raven. How did it go with Leo?" Michael asked as he adjusted the blanket over the tiny body.
"What do you mean?" she asked with a slight frown.
"I left Leo on the sofa earlier in your room while you were meditating. Chrome dome called me so I left you a note" said Garfield with a frown of his own.
"There was no one in the room when I finished meditating but…" then a gasp escaped her.
"What? What is it?"
"I've been thinking about her for some reason… now I know why" Raven said as she started to walk faster back to her room.
"Why? Where is she?" said Garfield when he caught up with her.
"She's in Nevermore"
…
…
"You're a liar and a deceiver. Why would you tell me that?" yelled Leo back at the entity who smugly watched her every expression with delight.
"I told you. You're already broken. No need to sugarcoat anything. You're intelligent but also so naïve and gullible, its disgusting."
"He was willing to change, for me… if Rose wouldn't have intervened…"
"Oh please." Rage interrupted. "You know the "what ifs" don't exist. He remembered. He left. End of story."
"I still love him and I know he loves me too, that's why he left"
"So, if you know the reason… why do you mop around like a beaten up puppy?"
Leo was panting, fighting back angry tears. "Then what do you suggest for me to do?"
"I don't know what can you do but you're intelligent enough. You'll figure it out. All I can tell you is… there is more than one way to be with someone. Trust me… I know" that cynic smile was annoying the hell out of the young doctor but something in her words clicked into place and her frown visibly melted almost into a smile.
"That's enough!" said Raven and Gar came running and pulled Leo away from the smiling, angry emotion.
"Leo, are you alright? Did she hurt you?" he said as she wrapped her arms around his midsection and buried her face in her chest, sobbing.
"I'm sorry Gar… I'm so sorry"
"Why are you sorry for Leo? You have nothing to be sorry about"
Meanwhile, Raven had literally dragged Rage with a strand of her dark energy.
"What do you think you're doing? What did you tell her. What did you do?"
Rage easily broke the force field and simply smiled in a disturbing way. "Nothing. I simply made her talk. Isn't that what needed to get done?"
"Don't get smart with me. We still need to discuss what you did with Gar and Michael"
"What exactly bothers you? The fat that I took matters on our hands or that you cant remember how good it was"
"Enough. You are not to take over again unless I say so"
"And what makes you think I need your permission?" Rage said and her eyes glowed brighter as her hands were enveloped in her dark power. Raven took a fighting stance with her eyes glowing white and her own hands glowing but then, Garfield stood in between them, facing Rage. He knew it was because of her that Raven was upset so he decided to get to the source.
"Gar, what are you doing? She can hurt you" warned Raven with a bit more edge in her voice but Garfield simply shook his head and addressed the demonic entity in front of him.
"Rage, what you did was wrong…" Rage flinched at his words for a moment then immediately frown "I'm not saying I regret it, all I'm saying is that Raven gets worried when she cant remember what happened"
"But we were with you, I don't know why she gets all worked up over nothing"
"Its not nothing. You hid her memories with me on purpose. Its my fault too for not saying anything right away" her eyes and hands stopped glowing at his words.
"But I like to be with you. We all do" she whispered.
"And we are"
"Not like that, I mean like we are now. You're here. Out there, we've been hardly together because of all that's happening and it makes me angry. I'm strong enough to take over because of you, not because of Trigon or because I'm a rampaging entity by nature. You are the one that makes me want to come out and have feelings on my own but she cant understand that. She doesn't trust me…or you"
"Then show her you can be trusted. Don't hold your memories back anymore" Garfield said when a soft touch on his shoulder made him turn around. Every other aspect of Raven were gathered around them. The one in purple, Love, was the one who had come closer.
"We'll take it from here Garfield. Thank you" she said and gave him a peck on the cheek. Brave and Happy had their arms around Rage's shoulders as they walked away but she freed herself and came running to Garfield and kissed him fully on the lips.
Leonnore was next to Raven watching with great interest at what was happening, then looked over at the empath who was now visibly calm as she sighed in unison with the rest of her copycats while watching her fiancé.
"You… do not mind?"
"How can I. after all, its me who he's kissing right now"
Leonore looked around again and every one of them had the same content smile until Rage let go of him and walked back to the others and before they disappeared she said "Remember what I said, doctor", leaving her only with Gar and Raven with the two embraced in a loving hug and a tender kiss.
"Thank you" whispered Raven in his ear.
"You're welcome" he answered with a smile.
"That was quite interesting, Raven. You're mind is… a wide complexity of emotions"
"I'm sorry Rage was rude to you Leo. In her own bizarre way, she only wanted to help"
"And she did. She worked up my anger enough to make me snap out of my depression. Thank you."
"I'm glad. Now lets get back, I believe Cyborg and Dr Simmons would be ready to transport Meliah back to the cave, any minute now"
"Wait, but I haven't finished the formula, I still need to find the last component"
"Don't worry Leo, actually, Slade did that for you. That's how he cured you. He found the last ingredient and gave you the antidote" said Garfield while walking next to the two girls towards the forbidden door when Leo stopped.
"Cured me? But I'm not the one with the rare condition"
"You were for a short while. When Ravager stabbed you the last time, it was with an infected piece of glass from Meliah's samples." said Raven in her monotone.
"Leo, you were dying. He decided to remember to save you" said Garfield who winced as soon as the words came out when Leo's expression suddenly saddened and Raven gave him a mild glare.
"He really did that?" Leo asked to no one in particular but Raven nodded their answer. A smile graced the young doctor's features and a sparkle in her eyes briefly before resuming her walk. The other two left behind only looked at each other before catching up with her.
Once outside, they reappeared in Raven's room when a loud nock on the door got their attention. Raven opened the door with a flick of her hand and Cyborg was on the other side.
"Where have y'all been. I've been calling you a hundred times. Lunch time passed and none of you were nowhere to be found."
"Sorry Tin man, we had… a little crisis"
"Hey Cy" came Leo's cheery voice. Cyborg smiled happily in response.
"Hey little lady. Feeling better?"
"Much better. Say…would you have left over food from lunch? I'm kind of starving" the girl said as she wrapped her arms around herself and gave him a shy smile.
"Left overs?… there's no way you're having left overs little lady. I have an entire steaming, hot buffet waiting for you…" his booming voice and Leo's giggling faded as they walked down the hallway. Leaving the couple to themselves.
"So, you remember everything?" Gar asked as he took Raven's hand.
"I'm not sure what's everything but, yes. Some of the blanks are gone. Whatever you told her, worked"
"So you don't remember everything"
"For the most part but, she asked me to let her keep some of them with you to herself"
"Is that good?"
"You know what you've done with her and you know what you told her. She trusts you blindly which means I do. I'm not worried."
He kissed both her hands and pulled her in a hug and whispered in her ear "Thank you" and shared a brief but tender kiss. When they pulled apart, they walked out of the room hand in hand towards the common room. After eating their lunch, they were all gathered in the huge sofa, discussing how would they proceed with Meliah's ritual.
They were all very clear as to what needed to get done. Robin had pressed on the matter of Meliah's memories not wanting to repeat the circumstances they had gone thru with Slade recently and was decided that only Raven, Dr Simmons and Garfield, were to attend the ritual not wanting to risk Meliah's mental health anymore.
Cyborg had prepared a car with the necessary luggage for mother and daughter to take them to the airport for them to leave the country immediately.
An hour later, they were at the cave. Cyborg, Robin and Starfire were waiting outside just in case anything went wrong.
They had to be quick as they had to unplug Meliah from every monitor and machinery that was keeping her alive. But as confident as Raven felt on performing the ritual, it couldn't be rushed and could sense the girl's struggles to live within her own mind. It required all the concentration and power that Raven could muster to finish the ritual and keep the girl alive but fortunately, it worked and amidst the fog and dust, the toddler Raven had seen in Meliah's mind was laying on the ground unconscious. Garfield immediately called the others in.
Dr Simmons was crying, thinking that in fact, she had lost her daughter after all but a quick scan Cyborg performed, he told them Meliah was only exhausted. The kind of energy she had lost, had been too much for the little. They rushed back to the tower and with the help of an astonished Leonore, they got Meliah in a stable condition and just let her rest for the rest of the night.
Dr Simmons was the only one when Meliah woke up later that night. She had fallen asleep leaning on the bed when a little hand touched her face. "Mommy?"
It was the most wonderful sound Dr Simmons had heard in a very long time and she cried of happiness while she hugged the little girl. "My baby girl. My little Melie, how are you feeling sweetheart?" she finally asked when the little girl struggled to get free of the vice like hug her mother was smothering her in.
The little girl looked confused for a moment, then looked around and started to suck on her thump. It was late so the lights were out other than a lamp on the nightstand next to the bed. Her mother had prepared her a zippy cup with warm milk and gave it to her which she finished right before falling sleep.
From the shadows Garfield watched his friend. His heartbeat went faster and his breathing started to shake. Raven grabbed his hand and squeezed it gently before disappearing into a portal.
…
…
Later that night, Michael had woken up to his daughter's crying. A small lamp illuminated the small room while he changed the diaper and prepared a new bottle of formula when suddenly…
"Baby?" came the voice of a little one. Michael thought he imagined it but heard the little footsteps approaching and he froze. Out of the dark corner, a shy, little girl made her way to him. He did a double take and he didn't dare move for a moment.
"Hi" she said softly and waved her little hand at him.
"Hi…um…" he was at a lost. He had been in the meeting they've had that afternoon pertaining Meliah's condition. He didn't know how much would his presence affect her and tried to say the least possible, hoping her mother would come soon looking for her but at the same time, he had to admit, she was the most adorable little girl and immediately saw the resemblance between the two little girls.
"I'm Melie. May I see the baby please?" again he was lost and didn't know what to do but little Melie simply extended her arms at him, inviting him to pick her up so she could see over the crib.
Reluctantly. Michael picked her up and for a moment the little girl looked directly into his eyes, she frowned for a moment then wrinkled her nose.
"Eww" she said before turning to look at the baby in the crib.
"Ok, ok I get it. I'll change the cologne" he said, making the little girl in his arms giggle.
"Meliah? Meliah where are you sweetheart?" came the worried voice of Dr Simmons, followed by a gasp when she saw her in Michael's arms.
"Look mommy, the pretty baby" she said pointing down while her mother took her in her arms. "Young lady, don't ever do that again. I was worried"
"But I heard the baby crying" little Melie whined.
"Well, lets leave the baby so she can sleep, ok? Her daddy is also tired" her mother said as comforting as she could but couldn't help a shiver of nerves at the delicacy of their position at the moment but Melie extended her arms at Michael again. Her mother sighed in defeat and closed her eyes while Michael took her in his arms again.
"May I give the baby a tiny kiss?" she asked innocently and leaned in towards the baby. Michael held her tight until she gave the baby a kiss on the rosy cheek and then wrapped her arms around his neck briefly before wiggling herself free and running back to the room she shared with her mother. Dr Simmons and Michael sighed in relief and the woman touched his arm with a shaky hand before catching up with her daughter.