Epilogue: Unlocked

Mickey ran through the hospital, the smell of antiseptic cleaners and sterile rooms overwhelming. He was nearly mad with the thought of his little girl being without him after all the time they had been separated. Finally he found the room they had told him over the phone. “812! Finally! Don’t worry, baby! Daddy’s here!”

He threw open the door, his smile wide, his eyes teary. Fiona, however, looked annoyed.

“Dad, you saw me yesterday morning,” she sighed. “And where’s mom?”

“The doofus left me in the elevator!” Ellie called from down the hall. She got up to the room, glaring at her over eager husband before turning her attention to her daughter. “How is he?”

“Perfect,” Eric said, gazing down at the baby boy in Fiona’s arms. Ten year old Rosie leaned over, trying to touch him again.  “In how many languages do I have to say no touching the newborn?” Eric said, smacking her hand lightly. “I will duct tape you to the wall. Your brother is fragile.”

“Yeah Rosie,” five year old Lily said from the corner seat, coloring in her book. “Knock it off or we’ll lock you in a crate.”

“Try it, goblin,” Rosie said, sticking her tongue out.

“Why did we have a third?” Eric asked, weariness in his voice.

“Because we could,” Fiona said. For twenty years they had been free of the curse of Loch Ness. No more medicine. No more necessary trips to Scotland. But they still gathered to remember what the AI in the long forgotten ship had given them. The gift of being whole, of being completely unlocked from their past.

“The first boy born from a woman in our family in hundreds of years,” Fiona said, gazing at his soft, red, tired face.

“And the first third child. Guess the curse actually is gone,” Eric said.

“Curse nothing. Without it I wouldn’t have you, jackass,” Fiona said.

“You two have a name yet?” Ellie asked, doing her best to not get weepy.

“Rex,” Eric said. “It means king.”

“Also because T-Rex. Because we used to turn into lizards,” Fiona said. Eric couldn’t help it. He burst out laughing, followed by Fiona and the girls, finally joined by her parents. Little Rex slept against his mother’s chest, unaware of his significance. A boy born with his future completely unlocked.