Shout out to Lamimi25 who named the baby in her last review. She chose a better name than my original one so I'm going with it!

Anastasia Grace Evans was perfect. Her skin was the color of milky coffee and when she did open her eyes they had flecks of green like his, brown Mercedes's and blue which his sister had. Mercedes had told him that her eyes would probably get darker after a few days but he liked them just the way they were.

When it came to names, Mercedes had wanted a bible name and Sam was happy to give her anything she wanted for bearing him such an amazing gift.

"How about Anasastia Grace?"

He nodded. "That sounds pretty."

"It's more than pretty. Anastasia is from one of the Ancient bible languages. It means resurrection or coming back to life. We've both died to our old lives when we took our journey and have been restored to something new and fresh here at the Sea. Plus it can also be shortened to your sister's name, Stacey, so it'll always be a remembrance of her."

The explanation left Sam speechless. He didn't know what to say and the back of his eyes burned with emotion. Mercedes reached out and squeezed his hand. "By being your Angel, Stacey has been mine too."

Unable to express himself, Sam leaned forward and kissed her lips softly. He thought back to their first night together as husband and wife when Mercedes had introduced herself to his tattoo as her sister. To someone else it may have seemed silly but to Sam it meant the world. She returned the kiss, nibbling gently on his bottom lip until he had to reluctantly push her away with a groan. Six weeks until they could have sex again? How was he going to survive that long? Instead he changed the subject. "And what about Grace? Where does that come from?"

"Grace was my mom's name and it means beauty and the mercy of God. I've missed her so much during this pregnancy but just like dad, she's always with me in my thoughts."

One name for each of them. Nothing could have been more perfect. Every time he thought he couldn't possibly love Mercedes more she went and did something to top it.

Anastasia… Sam rolled the name over his tongue. It was beautiful but he didn't feel inclined towards using the whole thing each time he wanted to address his child. On the other hand, it also felt weird to call her Stacey. She didn't look like a Stacey, much as he appreciated the sentiment of Mercedes choosing the name. "How about Stasia? Anastasia can still be her full name but Stasia is shorter for every day."

Mercedes nodded. "I like Stasia. I think it's perfect."

"Thank you!" He kissed her cheek, knowing that she understood. To pronounce the name Stacey every day would bring back images he'd rather forget but this was close enough to honor her while allowing their child to be their own person, not living under the shadow of someone from the past.

Sam's favorite thing in the world changed from feeling baby kicks to sitting and watching Mercedes breastfeeding, expressions of pure contentment on the faces of both mother and daughter. It made his chest feel like it was going to burst with the combination of love and pride that radiated from it. If anything was going to make him into a believer it was the precious bundle of love that he and Mercedes had created. And the thing he adored most was the sound of her hiccups. How such a loud sound could come out of something so tiny he had no idea but it frequently did and it never failed to make them laugh. Even her tiny high pitched cry filled him with amazement. He didn't mind being woken up by it when she called in the night for her feed and he would sit and snuggle up to Mercedes as she patiently held and comforted the baby during instead of going straight back to sleep.

Those moments were precious and they didn't even mind how tired it made them because they didn't really have anywhere they needed to be early in the mornings. Mercedes now had people that worked for her and could afford to take the time off from her work. The two of them would just lay in bed with the baby on the pillow between them, staring at her in wonder as she scrunched herself up small or kicked her little legs and arms out.

As well as visits from the midwife, there were also Mercedes's friends and staff from Sector Center who wanted to see the baby and bring gifts and Sam did his best to make an effort with them. He would open the door and let them in, briefly playing the part of the proud father before disappearing, usually outside to paint, uncomfortable spending too much time around strangers. He knew it was fine and Mercedes reassured him it was fine, but he'd grown used to being around her and only her. Making conversation with strangers was overwhelming and he often struggled with what to say. Being brought up as an only child then working alone meant that he'd never been the world's greatest conversationalist. Often he would grimace as he remembered how much Mercedes' chatter had irritated him at the beginning. Nobody had ever really spoken to him that much before and it was a huge adjustment. One time he'd been left alone in the room with one of the friends when Mercedes went to the bathroom and after a few uncomfortable smiles at each other the woman had attempted to break the ice with the worst possible question. "So, how did you guys meet again?"

Sam literally felt the color drain from his face and his palms begin to sweat as the words came out. What was he supposed to say? There'd not been anybody to ask him that before! Artie certainly hadn't.

What had Mercedes been saying when she was asked that question? For all the time they spent with each other they'd never actually put their heads together to come up with a story that didn't involve him having pulled a gun on her and putting her life in danger.

"We met in a diner didn't we honey." Mercedes was back and put her arms around him as she smiled at her friend who was still holding their baby. "This was back in the days before Sam got sick. He came in one night and literally swept me away right then, changing my life completely. We came here so we could get married and now it's been nearly eight years already!"

"That's so sweet!"

"Yeah." Sam smiled but he still felt physically ill from the emotional intrusion. He turned and kissed Mercedes on the cheek. "I have to go honey, and do that… that thing…" He stood from the place where he'd been nervously perched on the armrest of the couch. "If you need me I'll just be outside painting."

"Sure baby." Mercedes shot him a look of understanding that he was grateful for and he quickly made his escape.

But despite everything Sam never failed to count his blessings for Mercedes, how she tolerated his self-exile and how she covered for him without lying as only she could.

It seemed irrational for Sam to be scared of such a tiny thing, but five minutes after Mercedes left on her first visit to Sector Center without the baby he was drenched in a cold sweat. It was one thing handling her when Mercedes was just the other side of the wall and quite another when she wasn't there to rely on.

Mercedes had reassured him over and over that she trusted him fully with their little girl but that didn't help as the two of them stared each other out on the bed. Stasia was the first to cave, kicking her legs and breaking out in a gummy smile that melted his heart.

"Hey there beautiful!"

She responded to his voice, her eyes following as he approached and lay down next to her. "I guess it's just you and me kid!"

Stasia blew bubbles with her mouth and continued to kick her arms and legs.

Sam leaned forward and kissed her tiny squishy nose, inhaling her baby scent as he did so. "You're super cute. You know that right?"

The response was a happy gargle and more bubbles. Of course she knew she was beautiful. She was her mother's daughter after all! Her huge eyes took him in and just like Mercedes' they had the ability to hold him in a trance. Sam played with her for a few minutes, using his finger to stroke he palms of her hands and the soles of her feet until she gave a jerky reaction.

Suddenly the gargling stopped and she frowned, starting to fuss.

"Hey, what's this noise?"

She fussed some more and drew up her legs, looking as if she were about to wail. Just as he was about to pick up her up a loud noise came from her nappy and she looked relieved.

"Oh no you didn't! Mommy's been gone less than ten minutes!"

Stasia simply shot him another beaming smile, her eyes twinkling as she put her hand in her mouth and started to suck on the fingers.

"I refuse to believe you need another clean diaper so soon!" With mock annoyance he checked.

Clean.

"Okay trouble, I guess that was just a whole lot of hot air!"

She laughed again and kicked her legs, making the most of her diaper free seconds for unrestricted movement before he did it back up again. Stasia frowned at him for destroying her fun before hiccupping and yawning.

"Nap time!"

As if recognizing the words, the baby immediately began to fuss and Sam picked her up, placing her on his shoulder and pacing the room before she could actually start crying. Several songs and infinite laps around the room later and he had one small sleeping child with her face in his neck. All attempts at putting her down to sleep in her crib resulted in fussing and whining so he was left with no choice but to hold her. "I guess there goes any hope of getting any painting done while mommy was out!"

Sinking into the seat that Mercedes usually sat in to breast feed he kicked the foot rest into reach and released a contented sigh as he got comfortable.

"I told you that you'd be fine!"

Sam opened his eyes to see Mercedes smiling down at him. Had he really fallen asleep? Stasia was still curled up against his chest, her diaper clad butt in the air and her face turned towards him.

"I'm surprised she hasn't woken up for her feed yet!"

The sound of her mom's voice made the baby start to stir, and Mercedes took the drowsy child, expertly opening her top and attaching the child to her breast without even fully waking her. The sound of milk being gulped down and the opening and closing of her little fist told him the baby was enjoying herself. Sam leaned forward and kissed his wife. "I'll make you some tea then you can tell me all about the interviews you just did."

"Thanks love."

She still didn't get it. He was the one who should be thanking her for his happiness. This domestic bliss gave him life!

Author's note: In my head their child's name is pronounced 'Stasya' but you my dear readers, may pronounce it whichever way you hear it in your own head.