A/N; Sorry, inspiration hit hard for this one out of nowhere, managed to write this all in one day! It represents the biggest regret I have from writing Refuge.

10. Midnight Awakening

Not even Baron's sleeping tea could keep Haru from hearing that sound! She murmured in her sleep before rolling enough to rise to a seating position on her canopied bed.

That was all it took to feel the suggestion of her friend's hand on her shoulder, gentle but firm in his insistence that she stay in bed.

Haru pouted, but her eyes were now locked on the heirloom bassinet that Baron had wheeled into her room the day she moved into the von Gikkingen estate. The ridiculously overweight cat sleeping right next to it opened one eye in slight annoyance at the sound.

A six-month old baby, still wrapped in a blanket, was seemingly being lifted into the air by nothing and gently taken to the desk that had been repurposed for a changing station, crying in distress all the way.

Haru couldn't help the gentle smile that tugged at her lips, watching the blanket unfold itself as a fresh diaper rose from the stack at the ready.

Here in the dead of night, when all the world was still save for her daughter, the mother could almost make herself believe that she could see the ghost of her grandmother's friend as he carefully switched out the soiled diaper for a fresh one.

Her baby's cries had ceased, only to be replaced with occasional smiles. It was a good hint that the baron was sneaking a few tickles to her tummy as he finished the necessary work.

Her door flew gently open, allowing passage for a baby bottle. It floated over to Haru expectantly, making her extend one wrist with a smile.

The bottle tipped just enough to coax three drops onto the few patches of skin that were showing through her evening bandages.

"Five minutes of cooling, maybe just one if you send it outside," Haru reported, not bothering to attempt grabbing the bottle this time.

When Baron decided he was taking evening duty with her baby, he could literally bind Haru to the bed if she tried to resist enough. But he seemed more fond of picking her up and setting her back in bed with covers up to her chin, even when she got up a good fifteen times in one night to try caring for her sweet daughter.

A window framing a lovely tree some distance away opened of its own accord, just long enough for the bottle to fly out like a pet that needed to stretch its legs.

The baby was still fussing a little after her soiled diaper had been deposited in the usual bin, so Baron had her wrapped up in the blanket again and was walking her in lines in front of the bed.

Or so Haru assumed. Her baby was being jostled about the same as she herself did when trying to coax her off to Dreamland.

Her smile turned wry at all the ways the ghost doted on her sweet baby. She really should have seen this coming. Everything she had ever heard of Baron Humbert von Gikkingen II, both before and after his death, screamed louder than words of his sincere love for children.

It just wasn't fair. He didn't deserve to die young. He should have gotten the chance to fall in love and raise a family in these empty halls instead of watch the dust collect until a decent tenant showed up.

Every time he beat her to her baby's needs, it just assured her that he would have made a five-star parent.

The window flew open again to admit the bottle, also admitting Toto who swooped once around the room before landing on top of a nearby wooden chair expressly for his use, sending worshipful eyes at the little girl. For once, he was even ignoring the fat cat sneaking a glare up at him.

Haru realized how surreal her life had become after coming to live her, but she couldn't help reflecting on it as she offered the bottle her wrist again. "It's perfect this time," she announced, making the bottle float to her daughter and begin feeding her.

Every bit of parenting advice screamed that letting a wild bird and stray cat near her baby was a bad idea until her immune system was more stable, but she just didn't have the heart to shoo them away. She had suspected that Baron would have a soft spot for the child after hearing her name, but she hadn't even guessed that the stray cat and 'killer' crow she had taken in would appoint themselves her adoring bodyguards.

Haru had to ruefully conclude that even if she occasionally got on Baron's nerves, he'd keep her around so he could continue to dote on her little angel.

Learning from the previous times, Baron's ghost made sure there were two towels laid out on the floor as well as one tossed over an invisible shoulder before he began burping the baby.

'Why couldn't he have been the father?!' Haru lamented again, kicking herself for her own stupidity as one hand rubbed against her head bandages that were covering her new thin crop of brown hair and healing goop. Even before the attack that had nearly ended both her life and her unborn daughter's, she had taken it for granted that Machida would do barely more than occasionally hold the baby until she had grown up enough to develop her own personality and stop leaking from one or both ends.

Frankly, until Baron nominated himself nursemaid, it had never really occurred to her that men might have interest in doing the messier parts of taking care of someone that had so little control over her body functions.

On a whim, Haru reached for one of the frames standing on her bedside table in order to stare at it.

Herself and her maternal grandmother, both sitting at a large quilting frame and raising their needles like implements of war. There were big smiles on both of their faces, and one arm wrapped around each other.

Her heart ached, wishing that her grandmother had lived long enough to join her here. Baron would have been so happy to see his little friend again…

Right. He still didn't know. Since Haru had outed herself as a fan of both the Drosselmeyer family and the von Gikkingen line as soon as she set foot here, no one in town had batted an eyelash at her daughter's name. There was no way she could have been able to tell Baron's immediate reaction, but it was bound to be one of the reasons he took such joy in caring for her, allowing the mother the freedom to restore this beautiful manor to its former glory the best she could.

The bed lurched as Muta launched himself onto the bed and padded close enough to wiggle his girth into one of her arms, looking up at her with concern.

Haru smiled lovingly at him while scratching his brown ear, but it did little to alleviate her guilt. Her grandmother failed to come back, it was true, but how much would it mean to Baron to know she tried so desperately to return?

Taking in a deep breath, her decision was made. "Baron? Could you do me a favor and set the baby in the bassinet again? There's something I should have told you when I got here."

Her baby burped loudly, proving the prudence of Baron's decision to line a spot in Haru's bedroom with towels. Wiping her face clean, he was still careful about placing the baby back in her crib. The blankets holding her tight could just be seen being disturbed, as if an invisible hand was still rubbing over the baby as it drifted back to sleep.

Even Toto broke off his silent worship to give the older girl a quizzical look.

Haru nervously rubbed a finger over the picture before offering it blindly in front of her with one hand, since Muta was still tucked into one arm. "Do you remember what I told you about my grandma?"

An unseen hand nodded her head, making her gulp guiltily.

"Well… I forgot to mention that Louise is named after her."

In hindsight, Haru regretted not waiting until morning. The resulting chaos woke up the baby again.