It was January 22nd, 2004. George Stacy sat in the Brooklyn General Hospital waiting room, tapping his foot anxiously on the ground. He had just finished an 8-hour shift, only to return home and find out that his wife had gone into labor while he was gone. By that time, it was 6:00 P.M, so George was beyond tired after such a long day at work. Yet there he was, waiting with the pent up energy of a little kid about to be let out of school, brow creased with worry. In the waiting room with him was his soon-to-be daughter's godfather, Peter Parker. His best friend, Jefferson Davis, was also there with his wife and brother. No one from George's family was there. He was all that was left.
Well, that wasn't completely true. He was about to hold his daughter for the first time.
It was probably around 11:30 P.M. when the doctor finally burst through the double doors which led to the waiting room. George instantly shot up, hoping for the best. Every time those double doors opened, he would spring up, ready for any news on his daughter and wife. This time, the doctor was looking for him.
"The birth was successful. Your daughter came through healthy, though she's a bit small. Congratulations." All of the people in the room immediately burst into applause, George's family and friends swarming him as his face broke into a huge smile. The doctor continued, however, "But, I'm sorry to inform you, Mr.Stacy. The birth was extremely difficult, and your wife passed away soon after. We did everything we could to save her."
In an instant, everything went quiet. The doctor rubbed his neck. "I'm very sorry Mr.Stacy. If you have any further need for me, ask a nurse to ping me." Jefferson, who had been about to clap him on the back, withdrew his hand and instead drew him into an embrace.
"Man, I'm so sorry. You don't deserve for this to happen to you." Geroge nodded blankly, seemingly as if he didn't hear Jefferson. "George...you good? George!" Still no reply. His other friends and family tried to rouse him from his stupor, with little success.
All of a sudden, his head was jerked sideways by a small but firm hand pulling his chin. George was brought face to face with the blazing eyes of Rio Morales. "George, I know this may be hard for you, but your daughter needs you right now." Her eyes softened slightly and her voice dropped down to a whisper. "If something were to happen to me during..." She gestured towards her stomach before continuing, "I'd want Jefferson to be strong for me. For our son. Be strong for your daughter, George."
He looked up, seeing the truth in her words. There would be time to grieve later. It was time to go meet his daughter now. George had the nurse page the doctor, who he followed into the operating room. He made sure to turn his head so that no one could see his tears. He needed to be strong for his wife right now. For his daughter.
* * * * *
3 months later, it was Jefferson's turn to rush to the hospital. Rio went into labor late at night, so he was able to ferry her to the hospital in his patrol car. Being a cop did have its perks. After reaching the hospital in record time, carrying Rio into the emergency room where a doctor took her away, he was left in the waiting room.
The scene was similar to the one three months ago, this time with George at his side though. As Jefferson sat there, hands gripped tightly against his chair's armrests, he couldn't help but imagine the possibilities of what could go wrong. What if the baby was stillborn? What if there was some kind of complication? Jefferson was a man of action, accustomed to being in the position to help those in need. In this situation, he was the helpless one. Seconds felt like minutes, minutes felt like hours, hours like days. The whitewashed walls seem to close in on him, crushing the air out of him.
And so, it was after what felt like a torturous eternity when the doctor burst into the room, a smile on his face as he called for Jefferson. "Congrats, the birth was successful. No complications. You're a dad!" Jefferson threw his arms around George, crushing him as he let out a massive whoop of excitement. Cheers broke out across the room, a massive weight seemingly lifted from the group's shoulders. The walls didn't seem to be so suffocating anymore.
As for George, he let out a sigh of immeasurable relief. He had experienced the pain of losing his wife no more than 3 months ago. He would never want anyone else to have to go through such a thing, least of all his best friend.
His son was born on the same day as George's daughter, Gwen. Just 3 months after. He was already imagining them growing up, becoming each other's best friends. He paused. That was getting a bit too far ahead of himself. He had to focus on the now.
Jefferson followed the doctor through the double doors from which he came, almost ready to sprint down the hall to his waiting son and wife. He nearly ran into a passing nurse, wiping a couple of tears from his eyes. Jefferson was too exhilarated to believe that his dream was now a reality. He already had the perfect name picked out for his son. Miles.
* * * * *
All Nick Parker wanted was some flour. With his Spiderman duties, he never had the time to go shopping anymore. So when he wanted to (attempt) to bake some cookies from an online recipe, he found out that he had no more flour.
10 minutes later, he was standing in his neighbor's kitchen. He had always thought his neighbor was a pretty cool guy, so he stayed to chat with him about the latest basketball news. It was late, and so an unexpected loud banging on the door made Nick jump slightly. A booming voice came from the other side, "SWAT TEAM, SEARCH WARRANT."
His neighbor's eyes widened considerably. "Oh shi-" He was cut off as the door banged open. Instinctively, Nick hit the ground, but as he did, a small metal cylinder clattered to a stop right in front of his eyes. His spidey sense went off now.
A fat lot of help that was, he thought to himself. The most brilliant light that he had ever seen filled his field of vision. It was bright. Too bright. The bang was so loud. Nick couldn't see anything, couldn't hear anything. His last thought before he lost consciousness: Is this really how Spiderman goes out?
Nick woke up to the glare of hospital lights down on his face. The light was really white, almost too white to be real. Maybe hospitals had different lightbulbs than normal people did? But to his horror, everything looked either white, black, or gray as he looked around. Where was the color? What happened to him?
When the doctor entered his room, he found out that a flashbang had detonated right in front of his face. He was unlucky enough that it led to a permanent loss of the color receptors in his eyes. He would never see color again.
When Nick went out on patrol again later that week with his brother Peter, Peter jokingly called him Noir after the black and white movie style. To be honest, Nick kind of liked the name. He also kind of liked the dark and brooding attitude that it brought with it. At least he and Peter wouldn't both be called just "Spiderman" anymore. Those black and white films were kind of attractive, with those badass heroes always saving the day. Nick would have to think it over.
* * * * *
Jefferson Davis opened the door to his apartment at 4:00 in the morning. He was tired beyond belief, as Miles had refused to sleep until about midnight. There was a stain of puke on his shirt from when Miles had thrown up his food.
Outside of his door stood an even more frazzled looking George Stacy. In his hand, he held a baby carrier basket with Gwen snuggled inside it. George and Jefferson stared at each other for a moment, unsure of what to do. Then George sighed, "Look, Jefferson, I really need help."
Jefferson took a look at little Gwen, whose quiet puffs of breath were the only other sound to be heard. Then again, he did a once over of George, noting just how worn out he looked. He nodded. "You should come inside. I think we've got a lot to talk about."
George's shoulders sagged in relief, as he gingerly hefted Gwen's basket onto his shoulder once again. He followed Jefferson into his home, almost too tired to notice the little changes from the last time he had been there.
Plastic caps covered every available power socket. Padded mats covered every inch of marble, with foam padding fit snugly around sharp edges on furniture. Wires were taped down onto walls and the floor. A sturdy looking crib was visible in a side room, where a Spiderman mobile spun lazily over a sleeping baby Miles.
George rubbed his eyes and did a double take. He had never even thought of doing any of this. In fact, he had no idea that such preparation was necessary. His wife...had done preparations of their house, but not to this scale. It also didn't help that George didn't know what half of the baby stuff was used for. He shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts.
Jefferson gestured for him to sit on the couch. He disappeared into the kitchen, reemerging a few minutes later with two mugs of hot coffee in each hand. "We have a constantly brewing supply of coffee. Comes with being a parent," he explained as he handed a mug to George. "So, what brings you here?" Jefferson had a pretty good idea already, but he wanted to be sure before continuing.
George took a giant gulp of coffee before allowing his head to rest in his hands, rubbing circles over his eyes. When he looked up, his eyes were narrowed, yet his friend could clearly see the stress that weighed upon him. "I'm out of my depth. I want to be there for Gwen, I want it so bad. But I've been away from the department for 3 months. That's like my next 3 years of vacation days."
Jefferson nodded. Of course, he had noticed that George had been absent for such a long period of time. He would have been a horrible friend if he didn't. Yet every time he went to check on George, he insisted that everything was okay. And every time Jefferson checked in, George would appear to be in even worse shape than before.
He continued on his explanation, "Peter's been a freaking angel. Whenever I needed to go out for groceries or anything, he's been there to watch Gwen. I mean, he did spend the whole time trying to teach her how to say, 'Uncle Peter is the bestest person in the world.' But I have even less of an idea of what I'm doing than Peter."
Jefferson frowned, "Come on now, at least you know that babies don't talk till they're like four year old."
George shook his head, "Peter's actually smarter than he looks. I didn't even know what baby powder was for until he showed me. Thank god for that." Jefferson's eyebrows shot up slightly, but he nodded his understanding.
George finished off his mug off coffee before finishing his rant. "I really need someone to look after Gwen. I'm returning to work on Monday, and I can't have Peter look after her the whole time. God knows how that would turn out. So I rea-"
Jefferson cut him off there, "George, I get it. Rio can look after Gwen along with Miles. She's on maternity leave, and she's among the strongest I know. Don't sweat it. I'll talk with her about it once she wakes."
Georges eyes almost shined as he reached out to clasp his friend's forearm. "You don't know how much this means to me."
Jefferson gave him a firm squeeze back and grinned. "But I do. It's the least we could do after..." He trailed off, smile faltering slightly before he regained his thoughts. "You know I always got your back. One more thing. The nice folks down the hall are moving out soon, and their apartment would be the perfect size for a father and his daughter."
George tilted his head, fingering his chin as he thought about the possibility Jefferson was alluding to. He had chosen to ignore the awkward moment that had fleetingly passed between them. "I think...that might work. Jefferson, I can't thank you enough."
Jefferson clapped his friend on the back as they both rose. "You can leave Gwen here for the night. I'm sure Miles wouldn't mind having a new friend." With that, he led George to the door. They exchanged a final farewell, and George returned home to his department.
As for Jefferson, he unbuckled Gwen from her basket and lifted her up, checking to make sure her diapers were changed. Once he finished his inspection, he held her up against his chest as he brought her over to Miles's crib. Miles was still fast asleep, arms occasionally waving at unseen objects in the air.
Jefferson carefully lowered Gwen into the cradle, suddenly aware of the cool air as her warm body left his. He looked down at the two babies, a smile breaking onto his face. Gwen had rolled over a bit with a contented sigh, and both of them were curled up comfortably next to each other. Jefferson chuckled slightly as Miles sneezed, causing Gwen to roll away from him. It was moments like these that made it all worth it.
Having made sure that both the babies were content and safe, Jefferson finally turned in for the night. The coffee was beginning to wear off anyway.
A/N: Alright so this is the first chapter done. My next update will be for this story, then I'll work out another chapter for Some Things You Can't Refuse. I hope you enjoyed. This first chapter is mostly set up and background, so there's not as much detail and you don't really get to meet a lot of the characters yet. There's much more to come though, and I think this story will probably greater than my other one. Anyways, thanks for the read and patience. Cheers :)