Forty Years of This [Monster Hunter World]

Chapter 34

It wasn't that the Commander didn't approve of his son in law, it was just that they were both so young. The Quartermaster tried to help him reason through it. They had both been taking partners at their daughter's age. They had both been fooling around long before they met each other. He wasn't her first partner, and he was genuinely kind and in love with her. Just as importantly, she was clearly in love with him. And her fathers had set a fairly good example of what to expect in a long term healthy relationship. But the Commander knew his Quartermaster, and he knew that the man was rationalizing for the both of them. There was no changing that the young woman was their daughter and that the two of them would always worry over her.

When they received word of what was undoubtedly supposed to be a celebration, the two of them just sort of stared at her. The Commander didn't know how to feel.

"Dad?" She waved her hand in front of his face across the table. "Did you hear me? You're gonna be a granddad."

"Already..?" His voice was weak. A part of him wanted to explode into laughter and dance, but that part of him warred with the side of him that wanted to stop time. To protect her from the world and growing old. To preserve every moment and hold it in place.

"How old do you think I am?" She leaned back in her chair and leaned on her husband.

"Twenty-three. The same age as the Commission." The Quartermaster shook his head and smiled. "Congratulations. Both of you."

"Shit. I thought you two would be more excited about this. But Dad's just." She waved a hand at him. "Whatever that is."

"I think you broke him, Dear." Her husband pressed a kiss to the side of her head.

"Yeah, alright. I'll go get a bucket of water." She moved to stand, and the Commander jumped up.

"No! No need! By the stars! How long have you known? I'm going to be a granddad? We're going to be granddads?" He looked between the Quartermaster and their daughter. "Are you staying here? In Astera?"

She laughed, her joy rolling through the room. "I figured it out about a month ago, and the Good Doctor says it's safe to assume this little pipsqueak will come out just fine and well. And we're staying." She looked to her husband who smiled back at her. "I'm not getting on a ship pregnant like this. Especially not a ship from here. This kid's going to have to be an Asteran baby. I wouldn't even think about leaving until they're old enough to stick through a voyage like that."

The next several months flew past like a falcon diving out of the sky. The Commander struggled to keep his mind on his work. The Third Fleet was preparing for the first test flight of the airship, and all hands were on deck gathering resources, assembling the last touches, and ensuring the test flight would go well, but there were more pressing things on the Commander's mind. His daughter was pregnant. His only daughter was pregnant-- no his only child was pregnant, and he knew enough about pregnancy to be scared.

Since learning he was going to be a grandfather, he began to harass the Doctor about it. How could he help? What should he be doing? What should he be worried about? He heard about this rare complication from someone and-- THWAP. She whacked him with her clip board more than a few times and banned him from the infirmary. She had actual patients to take care of and, in her words, "a broody old man who should satisfy himself with a pet hare" wasn't one of those.

The first test flight went off without a hitch. On a clear day with a gentle breeze, the engineers and researchers lit the flames under the balloons and watched as the ship began to rise. It remained tethered, but for the better part of the day the crew ran back and forth on it trying different ratios of fuel for buoyancy. As the ship was empty save for the crew and the fuel, they brought it back down after the checks were done. For the first time in months, the Commander forgot about his daughter and felt the swell of pride in his work he had once cherished so dearly.

Of course, that evening, one of the infirmary nurses came for both him and the Quartermaster. In the relative peace of her fathers' absences, their daughter had given birth to a tiny, wrinkly, pink baby boy.

The Commander cried. He openly wept as he knelt by his daughter's bed and petted the infant's head. His daughter, exhausted, gave the Doctor and her husband a knowing look then patted her dad's head. "We already named him, you know."

He took his eyes off of his grandson. "What'd you name him?" He felt the Quartermaster loom over him to look over the child. As expected, his partner made no move to touch the baby, but both were eager to learn their grandson's name.

"████." She stopped patting her dad's head and dropped her arm back down to her side. It was late, she had a hell of a day, and she was exhausted.

"Yes?" The Commander cocked his head to the side. He couldn't think of a single time his daughter had called him by his name. Realization slowly dawned on him. His eyes widened and his expression fell slack. "That's my name-- you-- you named him..."

"We named him after you. Sorry Pops. Maybe next time."

The Commander exploded into tears once again. The levy had given way to the tide that had been briefly stemmed, and he couldn't stop it. He felt the Quartermaster's hand on his shoulder, and he heard the two of them talking distantly, but all he could see was that tiny, pink, wrinkly little creature that shared his name. His grandson. By whatever gods were out there, he was determined to live a life worthy of this kid.