Central Park

A thin woman stands against a wall stretching her legs. The sun is slowly falling below the horizon. She wore the clothes of a jogger. White earphones hung in her ears. Her long blonde hair pulled back. She didn't notice the strange man watching her from the bushes.

He stood there watching the pretty woman. He rubbed his bruised, bloodied hands. He was tall and thin. Dark almost black eyes looked out at a world who mostly ran from him. Upon his head curly black hair and a long scraggly beard. He wore rags. Rarely did he stay in one place long. They were after him. Everyone was after him.

He stepped out of the bushes towards the woman. Her eyes widened in fear as he approached. She took off running. He stood there deflated. He wanted to go after her. Sitting on a bench he sighed and looked at the ground. His stomach rumbled. Oh he was so hungry. It had been at least three days since he last ate. He tried to go to soup kitchens. But he couldn't handle being around others for long. They thought him weird when he started talking about the Angels.

"Excuse me." A police officer said to him. But he didn't look at the officer. He focused his attention on the ground. "I'm talking to you." The officer said again.

He looked at the officer. But he didn't say a word. His dark eyes focused on the officer. The wind around them picked up. He smiled at the officer. Then his eyes turned red with fire.

The officer's eyes widened as he backed up and put his hand on his gun. "What are you?"

The man rose from the bench. "Your worst nightmare."

The officer turned and ran. He was radioing for backup.

The man just stood there. Soon shadows surrounded him. "Stay back!" He screamed and ran in the direction the officer had run.

**Persephone*

Pain. Extreme pain woke me up from a sound sleep. The room was dark. I had slept through dinner. Bryan was snoring next to me. More pain caused me to cry out. I put my hand on Bryan's arm. "Bryan." The pain got more intense. I knew what was coming. "Bryan!" I said louder.

He just snorted and rolled over. Pain shot through me. I cried out. "BRYAN!"

His eyes flew open. He sat up and looked at me. "What's wrong?"

"The baby is coming."

He jumped out of bed. "Okay. Okay. We got this." He started rushing around the room getting dressed.

Sally and Aunt Karen rushed into the room. "What is going on?" Sally said.

"Show time." Bryan said.

We were soon in the car. I sat up front panting. The contractions were coming closer and closer. Sally and Karen sat in the back seat. Sally was barking orders. It was annoying me. I know she had done this four times. But I didn't like her telling me what to do.

It wasn't long before we reached the hospital. Bryan ran in to get a wheelchair. He came out and helped me out of the car. He was the picture of calm. Most fathers would be breaking out. Not Bryan. He had been through this twice before. Karen and Sally followed behind. Arguing of course.

I put them out of my mind. I just breathed. It wouldn't be long before I had my son in my arms.

Finally, in a room. Bryan and Aunt Karen were sitting beside me. Sally had left the room to call the family. The last contraction had passed. I lay there just staring at the ceiling. I was ready for this to be over.

My doctor entered the room. He attempted a smile at me. He examined me. "Shouldn't be much longer."

"That's good to hear." My voice was laced with sarcasm. I could feel more pain coming on. I closed my eyes and gripped the sides of the bed. I tried not to scream.

I felt my husband's hand on my arm. "You can do this Persi."

"Shut up." I said through my teeth.

I felt his hand leave my arm. Soon the contraction passed and I lay there panting. I opened my eyes. My mother-in-law had entered the room. "I called Hank. He is on his way with Megan and the kids."

I rolled my eyes. I wasn't entirely thrilled to have the whole family in the room. I liked Bryan's youngest sister Megan. We got along quite well. Her to kids were great. I just really didn't want to be around them right now. Bryan's father on the other hand. He would barely talk to me. I tried my best to be friendly towards the man. He was the traditional type. To him women belonged at home. Not out working.

Hours went by. Contractions came and went. A steady stream of relatives came and went. Between Bryan's family and mine. The meeting of conservative and liberal. Oh it was working out great.

I looked at my husband. "Bryan. I just want you and Aunt Karen in the delivery room."

He pursed his lips. His mother and older sister Nicole had expressed their desire to be in there with us. I knew he didn't want to tell them that I didn't want them in there. At this moment I didn't care about their feelings. I was going to be selfish. This was about me.

Sally and Nicole entered the room. Bryan looked at them and sighed. "Mom, Nic…we need to talk." He took them aside. I could see Sally's face go from happy to angry. She glared at her son then at me. She stormed out of the room. Nicole soon followed her mother.

Another hour passed. It was time. In the delivery room I was screaming. "Are you sure you don't want drugs?" Bryan asked.

"NO!" I said through gritted teeth. "Just get this thing out of me."

Aunt Karen patted my arm. "You are doing fine sweetie."

The doctor looked at me. "It's time to push."

The next contraction came. I pushed. I tried stifling a scream but it came out. The lights in the room flickered. The room shook. The doctor looked at the nurses. Bryan leaned down. "Um Persi, are you doing that?"

"What?" Tears streamed down my face. Sweat laced my skin. I wanted this baby out of me. What was my husband talking about? Another push.

"He's coming." The doctor said.

The lights flickered again as I pushed. I could feel the fire in my eyes. The doctor looked up at the wrong moment. Fear crossed his face. He held my gaze. Then looked down.

Another push. The lights almost went out. A few burst. Glass rained down on the nurses. Then I heard his cry. It was over. The doctor held him up. He was perfect. I lay panting for a moment. I watched as Bryan cut the umbilical cord.

Soon the nurse brought him to me. I held my son in my arms. He was the most beautiful thing I ever saw. Bryan stood next to me. Tears streamed down his face. I looked at my son. I couldn't be happier. I just wish my dad was here at the moment.

"Oh Persi. He is beautiful." My Aunt Karen kissed the top of my head. She looked at Bryan. "What is his name?"

Bryan and I had been mum on the name or gender of the baby. We wanted it to be a surprise for the family. I looked up at my aunt. The woman who had raised me. She had showed me love that a mother should have. "Tristan." I let Bryan hold his son. "Tristan Lucifer."

Aunt Karen laughed. "That is a great name." She knew who my father was. They got along. In fact, she quite liked him. "Oh I can't wait to see the look on Sally's face when you announce that."

Bryan laughed. "Well, they are just going to have to deal with it. We are honoring Persi's father."

Karen nodded and excused herself from the room. It was quiet.

I watched my husband holding his son. The joy across his face was hard to miss. "Thank you." He said to me.

"For what?"

"For this. For everything." He kissed the baby as he slept.

Nothing could spoil this moment. I looked up. I said a prayer. I knew He was listening. If only I knew what was to come.