A quiet hospital room...reserved for saying goodbye.

Alastor's POV

I felt like I had been preparing myself for those words...but hearing them made my body begin to go numb.

Suddenly, it became difficult to even stand as I shook my head.

Before I could properly react, the doctor continued talking.

"We did everything we could...but the trauma and the stress were too severe," he said, "that, on top of the infant being premature...there was just nothing we could do."

There weren't any feelings inside me at the moment. It was as if my body had just taken an electric shock straight to my core, and I couldn't even bring myself to cry.

My fingers twitched, and in that moment I envisioned killing everyone in this hospital, and then myself.

None of them could do their job and save her. They don't deserve to live.

And neither do I.

For the second time tonight I could feel the bloodlust taking over, the urge to slit the doctors throat surging through me.

My teeth grit hard, and I was just going to let it take me.

"We were able to give your wife some morphine...she's resting right now, but—"

It was like my soul snapped back into place and my eyes opened wide as I came back to myself in that instant.

"What?" I interrupted him, my voice cracking, "s-she's alive?"

The doctors eyes widened, "oh...oh, yes sir, your wife is going to be alright...I apologize for my wording...we unfortunately did lose the baby, however," he rephrased, and I felt so many things crash down at once.

Relief. Relief was the first thing to wash over my entire being.

She's alive.

Then...heartache began to set in when I realized the baby...our baby didn't make it.

I was conflicted, stuck between being happy that I didn't lose them both, to being grief stricken that I lost one...

My back straightened and I looked down, my brows furrowing together. A lump formed in my throat and I clenched and unclenched my fists.

Looking up into the doctor's eyes, I cleared my throat slightly, "d-does she know...?" I asked weakly.

This is going to shatter her. Absolutely shatter her.

She was so happy...I'd never seen her smile the way she did when she would talk about this baby. The entire life she had planned for them, for us...she lost it all.

We lost it.

And it's all my fault...

The doctor drew in a deep breath and shook his head, "no sir...at first, we thought maybe we could save her, so we didn't say anything...but the surgery took a lot out of your wife...she is a very strong woman," he said, "the baby passed while we were trying to stabilize the heart...and your wife had already passed out. She needs to rest for a bit...luckily she was able to tell us her blood type, and we had enough on hand to keep her from going into shock."

I nodded, processing the dump of information. Then I sighed, "thank you, doctor...for saving her...u-um...you said "her"...w-was the baby...?"

"Female? Yes...would you like to see her, Mr. Broussard?" He asked me softly.

Immediately my chest tightened, and I didn't know what to say.

Do I want to see her...?

Something inside me was tugging...telling me to hold her at least once.

I drew in a deep breath, and nodded...although I knew this was going to hurt worse than hearing the news itself.

The doctor began leading me down the hall, and we passed the room where Fawn was being kept. I paused, glancing into the room to make sure she was, in fact, still there.

Seeing her laying in the bed wasn't enough, and I couldn't stop myself before I opened the door and went into the room. I heard the doctor say something, but he didn't try to stop me so I didn't care enough to slow down and listen.

I went quickly to her side, and it smelled heavily of blood and chemicals in this room. Her skin was still pale, and her hair was stuck all over her face and neck with drying sweat.

But the most important thing was I could see her chest rising and falling, an indication that she was still alive.

A smile made its way to my face and I looked down at her for a moment before reaching over and pushing the hair away from her face.

I could see why the doctor probably didn't want me in here. It looked like a crime scene, and there were medical tools still covered in blood set on metal tables.

Her ripped gown exposed her stomach where there was a line of black stitches just above her crotch.

There was blood all over her, and the sight made my teeth clench.

Someone cleared their throat beside me, and then I heard the doctor.

"She'll be resting for a while...her body went through a lot," he explained, and I gave a stiff nod.

Then I looked away from her, "could you have your nurses clean her...and give her fresh clothing, please," I requested, my voice tense.

He nodded, "yes, of course...now come with me please, the baby is just in the other room," he said, and my eyes lingered on the frail woman sleeping in front of me.

I leaned down to kiss her forehead, petting her slightly, "I love you..." I whispered, then stood up and began to follow the doctor once again.

The walk was only to the next room over, which was an empty hospital room. The doctor opened the door for me, and nodded to let me know he wouldn't be following me inside.

"Nurse Emily has her...I will go tend to your wife with my other nurses," he said, and I simply stepped into the room, allowing the door to close behind me.

The nurse...Emily, he said her name was...was holding a very tiny bundle in her arms. When she saw me, she gave me a little smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

I walked up to her, the silence of the room almost too much to bare.

Silently, she handed me the bundle. I'm not sure if she was being silent because she didn't know what to say, or if she thought she should just say nothing at all.

She herself looked rather young, and her eyes were a bit red around the edges as if she'd been crying as well.

I wonder if this is a common occurrence...

Once she had handed me the baby, she stepped back and bowed her head slightly before turning and walking out of the room, leaving me alone with my stillborn child.

It took me a moment to gather myself properly until I could look down. The weight in my arms almost didn't even feel real...there was no crying, or squirming...she hardly even felt like she weighed anything.

When I finally looked, my throat immediately felt tight again.

Her eyes were closed, and her face looked rather peaceful...there was no movement, or breathing...but if I didn't know she was gone, I probably wouldn't have been able to tell...

Slowly I walked over to the large window where moonlight was pouring into the dark room, rounding the chair that was there so I could sit down.

I couldn't take my eyes off of her...part of me was waiting for those eyes to open up and look at me. That numbness set into my chest again and I rocked the small bundle back and forth.

It's strange for me to feel like this for something I never once met before this moment...to feel as if a piece of me has just been broken off and killed.

But I talked to her every single day...when we woke up, at work, and I would read to her before bed...

She recognized my voice, I know she did...

My shoulders shook slightly as tears started rolling down my face again. She's so small...she's barely big enough to sit properly in my arms...

Fawn always told me that when I spoke to her, she would get excited. She'd start "dancing" she said...excited to hear her daddy's voice.

Despite my tears, a smile was on my face and pulled the white blanket back to I could see her face better.

My knuckle brushed over her cheek, slightly, and it surprised me just slightly to feel that she was warm. Then it just turned into an ache when I realized that warmth would fade eventually.

I could see fuzzy brown hair on her head, and her eyelashes were long like her mama's. Part of me wondered what color her eyes were...

As curious as I was, I couldn't bring myself to try and open them. I feel like I should just hold her...and let her rest before saying goodbye.

The room was silent, and so was the hospital. Everything seemed so calm now...after all of the chaos that just happened within the last few hours.

In a way it was peaceful. Fawn is alive...she will be ok. I'm sure Edith is with her right now, slipping her some healing jelly while the doctor isn't looking.

"Is this my punishment..." I whispered, looking down at my baby before lifting my eyes to look at the moon just outside the window, "is this your way of telling me I don't deserve this sort of happiness after all the blood I've shed..."

My voice wavered, and a stray tear slipped off my bottom lash line.

Of course I received silence as an answer, and I wasn't expecting anything more.

Until I heard a very soft noise, almost like a hiccup, and I could've sworn that the bundle in my arms shifted just slightly.

Immediately my brow furrowed and I looked down quickly, only to see the baby was still...seemingly deceased...and unmoving.

I watched her closely, tilting my head as I wondered to myself if I'd just imagined that.

Have I completely lost my mind?

My eyes searched every inch of her face for any sort of expression change, or any movement in her little body at all...

Then she did it again.

Except this time, I was looking at her. I watched her draw in a short gasp-like hiccup, and my eyes widened.

Quickly, I glanced up at the moon once more and narrowed my gaze before focusing back on the baby in my arms.

My heartbeat is slowly rising. I bounced her gently.

"J-Juliette...? I-it's daddy...can you hear me...?" I asked the infant hesitantly, still not entirely believing what I'm seeing.

She still seemed motionless...her expression relaxed, and calm.

Slowly I brought my fingers up to her face. Surely, she should be cold by now...but when I touched her, she was still warm.

And then she hiccuped again.

I shot up out of the chair, holding her close to my chest before nearly sprinting out of the room with her in my arms.

"Nurse! Nurse!" I called, throwing myself out of the room and practically running over poor Emily.

She gasped and stumbled back, looking up at me with wide eyes.

"I-is everything alright—"

"My baby is alive!" I nearly shouted.

The nurse was taken aback and blinked several times as she processed what I said.

"S-sir I don't—"

"She hiccuped! Three times just a minute ago, I-I promise you I'm not crazy," well...that's debatable, but I'm not delusional, at least.

The nurse's thin brows pinched together in thought and mild concern, and she opened her mouth to speak before once again getting cut off when another door opened.

"What's going on out here?" Came the doctor's voice, and the nurse turned to look at him.

"H-he says the baby hiccuped multiple times..."

"And she's warm!" I blurted, looking at the doctor now. I moved past the nurse, towards the doctor and he watched me before glancing at the baby in my arms.

His eyes were a bit tired and sad before he sighed softly, "sir...that child was born without a heartbeat, and we couldn't resuscitate her. It's impossible for her to be alive...I know it's difficult, but—"

Just then, Juliette hiccuped again and the doctor froze and blinked before looking at her. For a moment, he seemed to be pondering whether or not he actually heard that just like I had.

"May I see her?" He asked, holding his hands out. I quickly handed her off.

The doctor carefully used his stethoscope, pulling back the cloth to place it against her chest. Upon the cold instrument touching her skin, I watched my baby's face make just the slightest expression of discomfort.

And then the most beautiful noise I think I've ever heard...she started to cry.

Oh my god.

I couldn't believe what I was seeing...just minutes ago she was unresponsive, and still. My brain couldn't comprehend what was happening, but I didn't exactly care as a tension I didn't even know I was holding in my body released.

"She's alive!" The doctor said, sounding exactly how I felt. He then looked at nurse, and ordered her to prepare a few things for him before he looked at me.

"I'll need to take her to make sure her organs are functioning...for now you need to go sit with your wife. She's beginning to wake up."

At those words my heart leapt and I smiled brightly, unable to contain my sudden excitement.

Holy shit...

They're both alive.

**

A/N: gotta keep y'all on ur toes.

Lol, but this is actually something that can and does happen. Babies that are born without a heartbeat are often not actually dead. It's perfectly scientific, and very possible for this to happen...

Or maybe someone up above decided to give Alastor a little taste of something miraculous.

You decide.

Extra info not previously stated: Fawn was 36 and a half weeks pregnant when she went into labor.