Dietrich could think of a number of times before in his life where he was this tired, and so drained of energy that he was surprised that he was still standing. He had gone several nights without sleep before. Here, he had gone one night, and it felt like he hadn't slept in weeks.

Twelve hours ago, he was sitting with his wife, Esther, in their home, enjoying a peaceful June evening together. Over the last few nights, Dietrich had been having dreams where the baby finally arrived, so he suspected it would be any day now. He could be patient. He was surprised he had gotten to this point in his life at all. He didn't think he would ever have children—there was once a point where he didn't think he should have children. So much had changed over the years, and he was glad for it.

Despite feeling that this was going to happen sooner or later, Esther going into labor that exact night came as a surprise, and Dietrich wasted no time in getting her to the hospital. Once there, he also wasted no time in calling Troy, letting him know the baby was indeed on its way, and he left it to Troy to call everyone else so they could head over to Germany.

After putting the phone down, Dietrich made it his purpose to stay with Esther, and he refused to leave her, no matter how long it took. He hated seeing her in pain, and started praying for her pain to be taken away. She was squeezing his hand so tight that he wondered if it would break. He struggled to stay calm and gentle while encouraging her to breathe and push. There was no giving up, no quitting. He stayed. Nothing could pull him away.

Hearing the cry of his son for the first time triggered an avalanche of memories for Dietrich. He was in disbelief that everything he went through had brought him to this point. Miraculously, he pulled himself out of that avalanche. He didn't want to be bogged down in his past, not with the crying newborn being placed in Esther's arms.

Dietrich fought through his disbelief, and focused on saying a prayer of thanks that his son had been delivered without issue. Tears began choking him, but he didn't want to cry in front of the midwife. He kissed Esther's cheek, and noticed she was smiling through her own tears.

"Hello, Gunther," she breathed.

Dietrich managed a smile. "Welcome to the world, Gunther." He gently took one of the baby's tiny hands in his, letting Gunther grasp his thumb. This new chapter in his life was just beginning, and he felt more confident than he was anticipating.

A nurse told him that both he and Esther needed time to rest, but Dietrich wasn't ready to rest. He would have preferred to stay with his wife and son, and despite being a lieutenant colonel in the Bundeswehr, he still had to follow the nurse's instructions. Instead of finding somewhere to sit and attempt to nap, Dietrich wandered aimlessly, still in shock that he was now a father. He headed down to the hospital lobby, and awaited the inevitable.

The inevitable eventually came nearly an hour after he found a place to stand. The Rats and their families all came through the doors at once, Troy leading the pack. Of course, the first thing Troy said was, "Where's the baby?"

"Not even a 'hello,' Troy? We really do need to work on your manners," Dietrich said.

"You really do, Sam," Shauna replied. "You look like you're ready to fall over, Hans, are you alright?"

"I am exhausted. Not nearly as exhausted as Esther, but I am well and truly wiped out."

"How is she?"

"Like I said, exhausted, but alright."

"That's good."

"Now the fun begins," Moffitt said with a smile.

"Oh, yeah," Tully added. "It's worth it, though. You're gonna do great, Dietrich."

"Well, of course I am. I have all of you to help me," Dietrich replied.

"Never thought I'd hear you admit that," Troy said.

"He's admitted it to me," Tully said.

"Figures. Can we see the baby now?"

Dietrich sighed and rolled his eyes. "I doubt they will let you all in at once, but I will see what I can do."

As they waited to be allowed to see the baby, they took the time to call their own families to give them the big news. Moffitt called his parents, and after some excitement from his father, he turned to Dietrich and said, "My father says 'congratulations,' and my mother says that you and Esther are going to be wonderful parents."

"Thank you," Dietrich replied.

Tully was next. Dietrich could only hear his end of the conversation, which went, "Hello, Mama, it's Tully. We're in Germany. Dietrich's baby came. He's a healthy little boy. Yep, Esther's alright. Oh, I'm sure they'll appreciate anything you can send over. I'll let him know. See you in a few days, Mama. Love you." Tully set the phone down and looked at Dietrich. "Congratulations to you and Esther. Mama's gonna send you a ton of baby clothes and diapers."

"I appreciate that," Dietrich said.

Next was Hitch. "Hey, Mom, we landed in Germany. Yes, the baby's here—no, Mom, he's not actually your grandson. I know—yes, I know you think of Dietrich like another—" Hitch stopped while listening to his mother talking. "Okay. If you say so, Mom. Yes, they'll visit when they can. We'll see you later—what's that? Oh, his name." Hitch glanced at Dietrich. "What's the baby's name?"

Dietrich smiled through his exhaustion. "Gunther Samuel Dietrich."

Troy looked over at him from where he was talking with Moffitt. "Have I gone nuts or did I just hear what I think you said?"

"You did."

"You didn't have to do that, you know."

"But I did. I have had this in mind ever since I found out I was going to have a son."

Troy looked like he wanted to argue, but gave a sigh of defeat. "The magpies were right."

Moffitt playfully nudged Troy. "Of course you doubted the magpies."

"Yes, I did, because how are a bunch of birds supposed to predict whether Dietrich was going to have a son or daughter?"

"I don't think we'll ever know."

Anah was quite active on Moffitt's shoulders. "Can we see the baby yet?"

"No, not yet, Anah. You and Troy need to be patient."

Hitch stood next to Dietrich after ending his phone call with his mother. "Mom is very happy for you and Esther, and she's demanding a visit as soon as you two feel ready."

"We will visit her in good time. Can we recover first?" The last time Dietrich had been showered with this much love from the Rats' families was after he and Esther were married. It was a little overwhelming, but he was happy that they considered him one of their own. I never would have expected this twenty years ago.

The same nurse who had told Dietrich to get some rest came into the lobby, and was surprised at just how many people had come to welcome Gunther into the world. She decided it would be best for everyone to visit one at a time.

Naturally, Troy was first. Dietrich could tell he was struggling to contain his excitement as they were escorted up to Esther's room. She grinned when she saw them. "I had a feeling Troy was going to be first."

"He insisted on it," Dietrich said. He was gentle while taking Gunther and passing him over to Troy. He hovered over Troy's shoulder for a moment, then stepped back to let Troy enjoy his moment. "For the record, we did… name you and Shauna as godparents."

Troy wasn't listening. He was talking to the baby, very quietly, and walking around the room with him. "He's the cutest little stinker I've ever seen," Troy said, glancing over at Dietrich. "I'm really happy for you. Seriously, though—" Troy's smile faded a little, "you didn't have to give his middle name after me."

"I feel that I owe you that much, after everything you have done for me."

"Even after everything I did to you?"

Dietrich nodded. "Gunther will grow up knowing you as a friend. When he is old enough, though, we will tell him the truth."

"Yeah. Not arguing with that." Troy looked back down at the baby when he started squirming a little.

"I think it is time to give him back to his mother," Dietrich said, "before he starts—"

Gunther let out a shrill cry.

"—doing that."

"Okay, okay." Troy handed Gunther back to Esther. "Want me to leave the room now?"

"You can go get Shauna and Antheia if you want." Dietrich sat next to Esther's bed when Troy left the room. His head was heavy and throbbing with exhaustion.

"Are you alright, Hans?" Esther asked.

"I am more worried about you," Dietrich replied.

"Go get yourself a cup of coffee."

"Have you ever had hospital coffee? It is little more than flavored water. Not worth it."

When it was Moffitt's turn to see the baby, Dietrich wasn't prepared for Anah's gushing.

"Oh, look at this adorable little scrap of life! Dietrich, you and Esther must be very proud. Hello, little Gunther! I am your Auntie Anah. I look forward to watching you grow up. Your father actually saved the world a couple of years ago." Anah gradually devolved to baby talk and cooing.

Dietrich looked over at Moffitt. "Was she like this when Jules was born?"

"Oh, she was far worse when Jules was born," Moffitt said. "We had just gotten her to calm down when you came to see Jules for the first time."

"Yes. I remember her curled up with Jules when I visited the hospital. That was probably the happiest I have ever seen her." Dietrich looked back down at Anah, who was nuzzling Gunther's forehead and continuing to softly talk to him.

"I love him so much, Dietrich," Anah said. "He is so precious."

"Thank you, Anah."

The cobra was quiet for a few seconds. "Can you believe everything has led up to this?"

Dietrich wasn't sure how to respond to that. "At times, no. There was a time where I never thought this would be possible, and… never felt I deserved this."

Esther reached up to touch her husband's face. "You deserve this, Hans." She grinned. "I fell in love with you for more than just your good looks."

"I know you did." Dietrich kissed Esther's hand. "I fell in love with you for more than just your lovely face as well."

"You've always been someone who looks at a person for what's below the surface," Moffitt said.

"That is another trait we love about you," Anah added.

"You both are too kind," Dietrich said. "Moffitt, would you like a turn with the baby?"

"Yes, please." Moffitt was grinning while being handed the swaddled newborn. Like with Anah, it didn't take long for Moffitt to start cooing at the baby.

"Just like that, you melt to a puddle," Vanora said, shaking her head.

"To be honest, I miss when Jules was this little sometimes."

"Jules was never that little! He was huge when he came out!" Vanora looked at Esther. "How big is Gunther?"

"They weighed him at eight pounds even," Esther said.

"Jules was nearly ten-and-a-half pounds, Jack. You should remember, because you were quite proud of that."

"I'm still proud of that!" Moffitt said. He patted his son's dark-haired head. "You're going to be tall, just like your father. You should be hitting that major growth spurt soon."

Jules looked like he was resisting a smirk.

After Moffitt was Tully and his family, followed by Hitch's. Dietrich was just about ready to finally fall asleep when the nurse announced that he had one last visitor before everyone was getting kicked out for the day.

"Who could it possibly be?" Dietrich groaned. He stood up rather quickly when General Preisner walked into the room, holding a bouquet of flowers. "General, I-I was not expecting you to—"

"At ease, Colonel," Preisner said, grinning. "I came to congratulate you on your new baby. Please, sit, you look like you are on the verge of collapse."

Dietrich tried not to let it show, but his legs were shaking when he lowered himself back into his chair.

"You have an exciting journey ahead of you," Preisner squeezed Dietrich's shoulder.

"Oh, I am excited alright. And a bit nervous, but… I can do it." Dietrich leaned over to kiss Esther's forehead. "We can do it."