“The most important thing in the world is family and love.”-John Wooden
Garfield blinked awake. He squinted into the darkness, his eyes quickly adjusting to the low light. A flash of pale skin caught his attention, and Garfield sat up. “Rae?”
She paused, hovering at the edge of the bed. It was then that Garfield could hear the gentle crying drifting in from the other room. He was up immediately, trying to usher the empath back into bed. “Go on back to sleep, Rae, I’ve got this.”
Raven wavered reluctantly, her gaze darting towards their bedroom door. “Are you sure? He might be hungry.”
Garfield chuckled. “Well, if he is I’ll come get you.” He leaned forward and pressed a gentle kiss on her forehead. “Now go back to sleep, okay?” Garfield didn’t wait for her to answer; instead he padded to the door and slipped out into the hall.
The cries grew louder as Garfield crept through the little apartment. He carefully opened the door and peered within. A smile quickly tugged at his lips as the outline of the crib caught his gaze. Garfield slipped into the room and flipped on a lamp, calmly padding up to the little crib. “Hey, little guy,” he cooed. His sharp nose caught the foul scent of a soiled diaper, and Garfield carefully scooped up the wailing newborn.
Chester Mark Logan, only three weeks old. Raven had picked the name; she’d read it somewhere in one of her many novels. Garfield hadn’t been fond of it at first; after all, he felt his own name sounded old. But after a lot of negotiating, or, on Raven’s end, insisting, the name had grown on him.
Garfield undid his son’s sleeper, mentally bracing himself. He was getting good at changing diapers. It was still disgusting, seeing the weirdly colored poop his child produced, but years of soiled food rotting in the fridge seemed to have prepared him.
The poop was just as bizarre as expected, and Garfield had to hold his breath to take it off and dump it in the trashcan. He snagged a wipe and cleaned Chester up, humming softly under his breath. The little newborn had settled down a bit, seemingly pleased that the soiled diaper was removed. He cooed up at Garfield, his big, purple eyes sparkling in the lamplight. “Hey, little dude,” Garfield murmured. Chester cooed in response, waving his little green fists in the air. It was utterly adorable. Then again, everything about Chester was adorable.
Despite the fact that his son had inherited his…green-ness, Garfield couldn’t see Chester as anything less than perfect. He’d always struggled with feeling attractive and handsome, and it wasn’t until he fell in love with Raven that he started to see that aspect of himself. And now, with Chester, he really saw it. The kid was a handsome little thing, green skin and all.
A pair of arms slipped around his waist, and Garfield jumped in surprise. Raven’s familiar scent washed over him, and he leaned into her touch. “I thought I told you to go back to bed?” he teased. Raven hummed into his back.
“You were taking too long; I wanted to make sure everything was okay.”
Garfield chuckled. “What, don’t trust me with a diaper?”
His wife pulled away, and he turned to see a smile lighting up her features. He stilled, admiring the joy sparkling in her eyes. Even now, at two o’clock in the morning, wearing rumbled nightclothes and a messy bun, she was still the most beautiful woman he’d ever laid eyes on. And he was lucky enough to call her his wife.
“You’re better with it than I am,” she murmured, her voice light with amusement. Garfield rolled his eyes and grinned. This was surprisingly true. Raven was a pro at figuring out what Chester needed when he cried, thanks to her emphatic abilities no doubt, but changing diapers was not her forte. The first time she tried, Raven had taken one look at the diaper’s contents and fled the room, leaving Garfield to do damage control. Which didn’t quite go so well; he’d nearly thrown up a few times until the diaper was changed and their son was cleaned up.
Now, though, changing diapers was a breeze. Garfield scooped Chester up and cradled him against his chest. He smiled softly as the little baby yawned and snuggled close, already drifting off to dreamland. A light touch grazed his arm, and he looked up to meet Raven’s gentle gaze.
“You’re so good at this,” she said. Garfield grinned.
“Eh, I’m alright. You on the other hand, are a goddess.” His statement earned him an eyeroll and a peck on the cheek, much to his pleasure. Raven leaned on his shoulder and slung her arms around his waist, smiling that beautiful smile he loved so damn much. How he ever got so lucky to have such an amazing family, Garfield didn’t know. He wasn’t sure if he’d ever know, but he wasn’t going to complain. Gifts like these were hard to come by, and he planned on loving his family with everything he had.
“You know, I wasn’t sure if I could have kids,” he murmured. Raven blinked up at him, her smile disappearing.
Garfield shrugged awkwardly, trying not to disturb Chester. “Yeah, well, messed up genes, remember?” He snorted, dropping his gaze to his son. “I mean, I could have gone to a lab and gotten tested or whatever. But…I guess I was afraid of the answer.”
Raven squeezed him in a one arm hug and pressed a kiss onto his shoulder. “It’s alright. I suppose I never knew if I could have children either.” There was a warmth to her voice despite her words, and Garfield blinked at her.
“Well, I am a half-breed,” she said with a rueful smile. “It was possible I’d be sterile like a mule. However, my father is not mortal, so I already figured things didn’t quite work how they normally would.”
Garfield hummed thoughtfully. She had a point he hadn’t even considered before. Biologically speaking, two species similar enough could copulate, but if they differed too greatly, the resulting offspring was typically sterile. Like mules, for instance. Or ligers. But since Trigon was a demonic entity from another dimension, it made sense that magic was most likely involved.
Which had a tendency to make things a bit…interesting.
Chester stirred in his arms, snagging Garfield’s attention. “Do you think he’ll inherit our powers?”
Raven shrugged. “It’s hard to say. Our powers are so different…there’s no telling what combination could arise.”
They both stared silently at their child, apprehension and wonder filling the air between them. Garfield held him close, feeling suddenly protective. Powers or not, he’d do whatever he could to make Chester’s life as good as he possibly could.
He’d let Chester stay a kid for as long as he could.
Raven carefully pried their son from his arms, cradling him to her chest. “It’s time to let him sleep,” she murmured, shooting him a gentle smile. She kissed Chester’s head and laid him in the cradle, cooing words of comfort under her breath.
Garfield smiled at the sight. What a lucky man he was, indeed.
I got it to work. Victory is mine. Also, Garfield is the best dad, confirmed.