The first person to learn about the birth of Emmeline discovered only just after the event.
Adrien was at Marinette's side, staring down with wonder at his daughter's little head as she nursed for the first time, when someone entered the room.
"I'm so sorry to interrupt, Ms. Dupain-Cheng, Mr. Agreste, but Scarabella is waiting out front. She mentioned she's trying to find someone who may have arrived due to the akuma, though she doesn't seem to know who. We know your visit was akuma-related, and wanted to let you know."
The woman left, and Adrien shared a look with Marinette. "How are we feeling about identity reveals at the moment? I told her after the fight that I had to go to the hospital to check on you, Ladybug-you, I mean."
"Hmm…" Marinette continued looking down, a smile playing on her face. "She knows my identity already, go ahead and tell her so she can meet Emma." Sensing his question, she glanced up. "It's Alya."
"Ah…" More pieces to the puzzle fitting into place. "I'll be right back," he promised, lightly brushing the thin locks of blond hair dusting the top of their baby's head before standing and leaving the room.
He saw Scarabella pacing in the waiting room when he entered. Her eyes caught his and widened in confusion. She walked quickly to him. "Adrien Agreste. What, ah, are you doing here?"
He kept his voice low. "If you wanted to let one Alya Césaire know, her friend has a pretty paw-some surprise she'd like to show her."
She looked at him in shock for a second. "You…?"
Adrien just smiled innocently.
Her mouth snapped back shut. "Uh, yeah, sure. I'll pass the message along. Better be on my way."
She turned and hurried out the door. Only moments later, Alya walked back in, walking with purpose to him. "You're Chat Noir?" she hissed, following him as they were buzzed through the doors. Not waiting for his confirmation, she demanded, "Is Marinette okay? She looked fine when she left me. Why is she still here?"
"She's doing well now. Did you know she found out she was pregnant this morning?"
Alya gaped at him before growing excited. "What? That's amazing! Congratulations! Unless, she didn't lose the baby in the attack, did she?" Her words grew panicked.
"No, no, everything is fine. More than fine actually. Stay quiet for me in here, will you?" They reached the door to the room and after a quick knock, Adrien pushed through. Walking past the divider blocking the occupants from view, Alya marched into sight of Marinette, holding the now sleeping baby in her arms.
Adrien caught sight of Alya's face as it went slack. Then she started grinning, dancing from foot to foot as she splayed her hands out by her face in a sign of excitement, silently screaming.
Marinette looked up with tired eyes, a smile forming. "Hi, Alya. Want to meet Emmeline?"
Up next came Marinette's parents, who they called early the following morning.
"You're calling awfully early for you, Marinette. Is everything alright? "
"Hi Maman, is Papa there too?"
"One minute, sweetie. Honey! Our daughter is calling!"
After a minute, he joined the call. "Marinette? What is it, boy troubles? Nightmare? Just tell me what's wrong, and I'll be there with some choquettes."
Marinette laughed softly, meeting Adrien's smiling gaze from where he sat in the nearby chair, holding Emmeline. "No, Papa, nothing like that. I do have a bit of a crazy story though. I found out yesterday morning that you're going to be grandparents."
Their gasp was audible, and though she couldn't see them, she knew from his boisterous laughter that Tom had picked up Sabine and was twirling her in the air. When they settled, her maman spoke. "That's wonderful news, dear, but why are you telling us this over the phone? "
"Well… I sort of got caught up by that akuma yesterday, and not everything reversed at the end…would you like to come to the hospital and meet her?"
They were met with a brief silence before her father yelled "You stay right there, honeybun, we're on our way!"
Their final call came later that morning, after Marinette's parents had finally left.
It was one Adrien had hoped to put off a little longer, but the sight of Nathalie's number flashing across his phone made him sigh. Was it too much to ask that his father would be accepting of this new development?
"Hi Nathalie."
"You're late for your photo shoot, and your father is not happy. Where are you?"
Adrien sighed, again. "Sorry Nathalie, I'm tied up, and will be for a few months. Is Father there? I need to talk to him. It's urgent."
Nathalie said nothing, but whether from confusion or because she was relaying his message, he couldn't tell. Eventually, she responded, "Here he is."
"Adrien? What's this nonsense about you being busy for months? That is unacceptable."
Adrien interrupted before he could continue his rant, choosing to rip the bandaid off. "Listen, Father, Marinette and I…we just had a baby. She gave birth last night."
His father scoffed, interrupting before Adrien could continue. "That's impossible, you have only been dating for a short period. Have you considered she's lying to you?"
"No." Adrien's response was short and full of irritation. "She only found out yesterday. But she was in the vicinity of the akuma attack, and it sped up the process. It didn't get reversed. So, congratulations, I guess."
The line went silent.
At one point, Adrien glanced at his phone to see if it had disconnected, before his father finally spoke again. "What hospital are you at?" he demanded.
Surprise filled him, and he responded with the hospital name.
"I'll be right there."
Adrien shared a wary look with Marinette.
"That went…better than I expected," he said, cautiously.
"Not without a suggestion that I'm lying to you, again," Marinette grumbled.
When he entered the room a short time later, Gabriel Agreste came to an abrupt halt inside, staring down at the baby now sleeping in the bassinet.
He didn't speak for some time.
Eventually, he cleared his throat. "Does she have a name?"
"Emmeline," Adrien offered, slightly hopeful at the way the visit was going. "Emma, for short."
His father continued to stare, until Nathalie hurried in behind him, holding a teddy bear obviously purchased from the gift shop. She took one look at the baby before her normally-composed expression broke slightly, her mouth trembling as her eyes went glassy.
She looked up at the two of them, handing the bear to Marinette. "Congratulations, she's…she's…" She cut off, looking back at the sleeping baby and catching sight of her name written on the side. "Emilie would have been so proud."
Adrien smiled through the cloudiness that suddenly impacted his vision, tears threatening to break through his own exhaustion. "I'd like to think so."
His father finally looked up, struggling through some emotion of his own before his face cleared back to feigned disinterest. "I'd like to…come back. See her again, when you both have recovered. Would that work for you?"
Adrien nearly laughed at the formality, but he was honestly thrilled at the reaction. "Of course."
His father and Nathalie left the room, and Marinette spoke. "That went surprisingly well."
"Definitely unexpected," Adrien agreed, walking over to squeeze her hand. "Now get some rest, my lady."
"That sounds good to me."
A/N: And now we're done! Thank you for reading! Reviews are treasured. Check out the spicier alternate ending on my profile - Sinfonia Vivace Con Fuoco.