Thin Lines - A Markiplier Fanfic

Chapter Seventeen

“No, not really. It’s not the mistakes, it’s the fact that you haven’t learned anything from making them. You haven’t changed anything after making the same mistakes ten times,” I corrected him.

“Well, if I finally correct my mistakes now, I’m sure that would be too late and it wouldn’t be good enough, anyways. I don’t know what the hell you want me to do. I’m sorry that I fucked up, but it happened. That doesn’t mean I don’t love you and the baby and that doesn’t mean that I’m not committed. It just means that I messed up. I don’t know what else to say,” Mark breathed. Before I could say anything back, I felt something - my pants were wet, but it was no accident. There was only a week left before it was officially nine months, so that had to mean that my water had just broken. 

“Mark,” I said, unsure.

“What?”

“I think my water just broke…” I muttered.

“What do you mean, you think your water just broke?”

“I mean, we need to get to the hospital because I swear to god I did not just wet myself. The baby is coming. Like, now,” I explained. For a moment, Mark just stood there, confused. But, after a moment, it hit him.

“Oh! Okay, um, what do you need? What do you want me to do?”

“I have a bag packed with the things I’ll need in our room. Just grab it and start the car,” I told him. It was so strange. I thought I was supposed to be in pain. I mean, where were the contractions? It didn’t really even feel like I was about to have a baby. I calmly went into the bathroom to change into more comfortable clothes, and when I came out, Mark was taking the hospital bag outside. I followed him out, locking the door behind me.

“Ready?” he asked.

“Yeah, I guess I’m ready,” I decided, as if I had a choice. We got in the car and Mark began driving, and that’s when I felt them - the contractions. They were terrible, and they only got worse the longer they went on. I urged Mark to hurry so I could possibly have a little of my pain relieved. I couldn’t imagine not having anything to help with the pain. 

Mark’s POV

Claire was hurting a lot. I had never seen her like this before. She was a strong girl, so I could tell she was feeling bad. I drove as fast as I could without putting us at too much risk of getting a ticket, and we got to the hospital in record time. The doctors and nurses tended to her right away. The contractions seemed to be getting worse, so I did my best to try to calm her down. I just kept talking to her and telling her everything was going to be okay, and that she needed to be strong. I didn’t know what else to do. I actually felt like everything I was doing was wrong. I had never been through anything like this before. What was I supposed to do? How was I supposed to help? How was I even supposed to feel? I didn’t even know what I was feeling. Nervous? Yes. Afraid? Definitely. Unsure? Possibly. To put it lightly, I was freaking out on the inside. But on the outside, I stayed tough, for Claire.

Fifteen hours. That was how long she was in labor. Those fifteen hours were probably the longest hours of my life. We just kept waiting and waiting, and she was never dilated enough. Until, finally, it got to ten centimeters. Then it was time for her to push.

I didn’t know what the hell I was doing. I just did what I had seen in the movies - I tried to get her to focus on her breathing. I held her hand. I encouraged her. And just like that, it was over. I heard a cry, which meant the baby was out and healthy. Well, not just “the baby”. OUR baby. Our daughter. 

The doctors cut the umbilical cord, cleaned her up, and wrapped her up to keep her warm. As soon as that was done, they gave her to Claire, who happily took her in her arms. The second I saw the two of them together like that, I knew Claire was meant to be a mother. 

“Do you want a turn with her?” Claire asked after a few minutes. I nodded. She carefully passed our daughter into my arms, and I had never been so cautious about anything in my life. That beautiful, healthy baby who already had a nice head of dark hair was my daughter, and I couldn’t let anything happen to her. She was so light and fragile - it was almost unbelievable. I had only known the little girl for a few minutes, but I was already so in love with her. For the first time in my life, I really felt like a father, and it was the greatest feeling in the universe.

“So, does she have a name?” we were asked. Claire looked at me, and I nodded. We had decided on a name a while ago, and we hadn’t changed our minds.

“Persephone. Persephone Hope Fischbach,” Claire answered.

The story with the goddess Persephone was that she was kidnapped by Hades. Hades was in love with her, and he trapped her in the Underworld. She was unhappy for a long time, but it wasn’t always that way. She eventually fell for Hades too - at least, enough to be faithful to him and to finally be truly happy with him. That was so close to the story of Claire and I. I was ashamed to be the Hades of the story. I would never forgive myself for what I had done, but Claire had. She was Persephone. She was strong. I could only hope that our daughter would be as strong and brave as Claire was.

Well guys, it happened! Claire had the baby! AND the name has been revealed! I've dedicated this chapter to XxZoethezombiexX because she was the one who suggested the name Persephone, along with the story of her and Hades as an explanation. I loved almost all of the names that were suggested, but after I saw how much that related to Mark and Claire, I knew it was the perfect name. Well, you know the drill - if you enjoyed the chapter, please vote, and leave comments! This is NOT the end of this story, so don't panic! There's still a little more coming :) Thanks for reading!