Chapter 9

A beautiful baby girl lay in his hands. He hadn’t expected to grow attached to the strange organism growing inside him, but seeing her now changed everything. He didn’t know how to explain it.

Was it love?

That was probably it. But it was hard not to love her when she was the cutest girl in the world.

Logan was taken to a private recovery room, and the infant was kept with him. As Logan lay in the bed, he felt compelled to reach out to the tiny baby. Her little hand would grip onto his. The contact made his heart leap.

If only momentarily, he forgot about the cameras recording his every action. The flashing red light and the eyes he knew were likely watching him from behind the mirrored wall. He was willing to ignore it all, only if he had this child with him.

Logan wasn’t even aware he’d fallen asleep with the baby still holding onto him until he was rudely awakened by the cawing of a wrinkled old bat.

“How dare you have your child without letting us know? You ungrateful brat!” Madam Esmeralda snapped.

Her incessant yelling woke not only Logan but also the baby peacefully sleeping in the crib. Logan decided to focus on the one that mattered more in this situation, the tiny girl in the crib.

“Is that your child?” Rebecca asked, peering over Madam Esmeralda’s shoulder.

“Yes, so I’d appreciate you keeping it down,” Logan replied, shooting Madam Esmeralda a glare.

“Sorry,” Rebecca apologised.

“Oh, nah, I wasn’t speaking to you. I was talking about that white-haired Gremlin, spouting off, next to you.”

“What did you call me?” Madam Esmeralda growled. She swung her cane around, completely forgetting they were in a hospital.

“If I may ask you to refrain from such violent outbursts,” Agent Monroe’s voice cut through the air. She stood behind the two women, almost like a phantom. Perhaps she was observing from the cameras. “If you continue to be disruptive, I’ll be required to have you… dealt with…”

She adjusted her glasses, not elaborating on what her threat explicitly meant. Luckily, they didn’t need to find out. Madam Esmeralda lowered her head and apologised. With that, Agent Monroe left, her steps echoing down the hallway.

“I think Madam Esmeralda is just frustrated because she wanted to be there when you gave birth. We were both worried when we couldn’t find you,” Rebecca explained.

Logan felt a little bad, but it wasn’t his fault. He couldn’t call them because all the lines were still out. It was the one bit of infrastructure the agents seemed in no rush to fix. Perhaps… they never intended to reconnect them in the first place.

But with that out of the picture, the only way Logan could’ve let them know was to visit them. Something that he wanted to do, but wasn’t given the opportunity. The agents were very adamant that there wasn’t enough time.

If anything, it was those bastards' fault.

Not his.

The infant shifted in her crib, making a soft sound. Logan let out a sigh. The past was the past. He had a daughter now who required his attention.

“I’m sorry, there wasn’t time,” Logan tried to explain. The look on the old witch’s face suggested she wouldn’t take a bar of it. She began to ramble, carrying on like a pork chop. Rebecca quickly covered her mouth. Something not even Logan would dare do.

How could Rebecca be so brazen?

“We are both just happy to see you are well,” Rebecca commented on the pair's behalf. Madam Esmeralda seemed to ease with her words. Logan would have to learn the secret from her sometime.

“Rebecca is right,” Madam Esmeralda commented, slipping from Rebecca’s grasp. “I’m glad you seem to be well.”

“As well as someone who has just been cut open,” Logan added, hoping that this would give him some sympathy.

“Now then, brat, where is my precious grandchild?” she responded, giving absolutely no care for Logan’s well-being.

Logan nodded toward the crib, and the two women stepped forward to gaze down at his daughter sleeping soundly once more.

“Have you thought of a name?” Madam Esmeralda asked.

“Yeah, I think I have the right one for her,”

“Well, spit it out, will you?” she snapped back.

“Nah, don’t feel like it,” Logan turned his head away like a child refusing to do their homework. He was planning to tell her, but he wanted to take the opportunity to tease her a little.

“Brat! I don’t care if you are still healing, I’ll yank you off that bed and smack some sense into you.” She pointed her wrinkled finger at him. He could tell by the look in her eyes that she was dead serious about it.

“I would also like to know her name,” Rebecca mused. Logan had forgotten about her being in the room.

“Alright, I was just joking. I was gonna tell you both anyway.” Logan thought about the name he picked. It was a name that reflected the blessing that she was to him. “Her name is Grace.”

“Grace, what a beautiful name,” Rebecca squealed with joy.

“It’s not bad. It’s hard to imagine you came up with it on your own,” Madam Esmeralda backhandedly complimented him.

As if already recognising her father calling her name, the tiny girl opened her eyes, revealing her beautiful lavender eyes that sparkled in the room's dim light.

“Oh my! Her eyes!” Madam Esmeralda gasped, using her cane to remain upright.

“Why are her eyes that colour?” Rebecca asked Logan, as if he knew. Although Rebecca tried to mask her concern, Logan could still detect the panic in her voice.

Logan shrugged apathetically.

“Dunno.”

Quite frankly, he didn’t care. Sure, lavender eyes were far from the status quo, but then again, so is male pregnancy. So at the end of the day, it wasn’t a big deal to him. It just made her even cuter. The prettiest little girl in the world, Grace.

୨⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯❤︎⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯୧

End of Chapter 9