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There was the beginning of a winter storm that night, the wind howling as Lila carefully unlocked the front gate and slipped inside. She was shivering, trying desperately not to cry as she set the suitcase down and knocked as hard as she could. It was just her luck that Five opened the door.
“Can I help you?” he asked venomously. Lila rolled her eyes and tried to ignore herself shivering in the cold.
“I need to talk with Diego, darling, is that alright?” Five narrowed his eyes at her.
“What about?”
“It’s personal, Fivey! Is he here or isn’t he?” Something in his mind must have clicked because he gruffly opened the door a little wider to let her in and disappeared in a flash of blue. After a moment she heard Diego’s footsteps thundering down the stairs. He stopped suddenly when he saw her, gorgeous brown eyes wide with concern. It sent an odd, warmish feeling down her spine that even after everything she’d done he still seemed to care about her.
“Lila?” she could barely hear him as he raced towards her to wrap her in his strong arms. Carefully she wrapped her arms around him, allowing herself some small feeling of hope as they simply held each other for the longest moment. Finally, they broke apart, Diego holding Lila gently by the shoulders, seemingly unable to let go of her entirely.
“I have to tell you something important.” Lila said. Diego raised an eyebrow good-naturedly.
“Nice to see you too, Li,” Lila tried to smile, but she could tell it was falling flat. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m pregnant.” she blurted out finally. In the background, she could hear Five choke and sputter on his cocktail. It gave her an odd satisfaction to hear him taken off guard so dramatically, but she could barely take her eyes off Diego, looking for a reaction.
“It’s mine?” His voice was childlike, quivering as his eyes turned glassy with tears. Lila had to hold back a laugh.
“Yeah,” she said miserably. “Yeah, it is. You’re the only man I’ve been with in years.”
“How l—?”
“Three months, apparently. If Mum found out she’d want to raise it like she raised me,” Lila paused to take a deep breath. “And I don’t want that for my baby.”
“So you came here.” It was more of a statement than a question, and Lila had to sit down on a nearby couch to process. God, the pregnancy hormones were driving her mad.
“Where else would I have gone?” she hissed, glaring up at him. Diego sighed and sat down next to her on the couch. She let him put his arm around her and leaned into him. “I don’t have any other family. You’re all I’ve got.” Diego studied her face, the tired lines at the corners of her eyes, the barely-there curve of her stomach that he just now realized hadn’t been there when they were together in the ’60s. He sighed and took a deep breath, closing his eyes for a moment to think.
“Okay,” he said finally. “Okay. You can stay here at least until the baby’s born. After that…” he trailed off with a sigh. “I don’t know. Have you considered giving the baby up for adoption?”Lila looked up at him sharply.
“I’m not afraid to be a mum,” she snapped. “Especially if you’re the father. I just don’t want my Mum to catch wind of it.” For a moment it was all Diego could do to just stare at Lila. ‘Especially if you’re the father,’ she’d said. It was as close to a declaration of love as they’d gotten.
“Alright,” he said softly. Diego reached over and took her hands in his. “We’ll figure it out. We always do.”
Time passed in a whirlwind of doctor’s appointments and settling into the Hargreeves’ household as Lila ballooned over the weeks. Diego, for his part, tried everything to prepare for the baby’s arrival, teaching extra classes at the gym and setting up the baby’s room next to theirs, complete with a new bassinet, changing table, and a handful of his siblings’ old stuffed toys piled semi-neatly in one corner across from a comfortable rocking chair that had once sat in their father’s study, now reupholstered in the same off-white and pale greens as the rest of the nursery. Other than that, Lila was a miserable pregnant woman. Everything, from her head and back down to her swollen feet and ankles hurt. She had morning sickness, it seemed, every day of her first trimester and then some, and after that came the stuffy nose, the leg cramps, and aching breasts. That, plus the lack of coffee and alcohol. made for a grumpy first ultrasound appointment at twelve weeks. Lila tried to take little sips of water as she tried desperately to ignore the growing ache just above the base of her spine. Diego sat next to her, leg wriggling furiously as they waited for Lila’s name to be called. After a moment she sighed and leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees.
“Could you please stop that? It’s making me nauseous.” Almost immediately Diego stopped but leaned over to murmur,
“Everything is making you nauseous.” Lila turned to glare at him, then smacked him lightly on the shoulder.
“I’m fucking pregnant, you ass! That’s what happens!”
“Well, why the hell do they call it morning sickness if you feel sick at three in the afternoon?” Lila rolled her eyes and growled. Right as she opened her mouth to reply, the nurse called the two of them in, smiling far too brightly for either of their current moods.
“So, we can get settled here, and the doctor will be in in a few minutes to check on Momma and Baby. And after that, we’ll be able to do the ultrasound! Sound good?”
“Yeah, sounds great.” Diego said with a nervous smile. He wrapped an arm around Lila’s shoulder and kissed her cheek before the nurse had Lila sit up in the stirrups. The nurse gave him a bit of an odd look before whispering to Lila,
“Are you sure you’re okay with your husband being here during the exam?” Lila felt her face flush as Diego snapped his head up, wide-eyed. After a moment, Lila nodded.
“Yeah, he can stay. I don’t mind.” The nurse nodded and left the room. When they were alone Diego stood and went to stand next to Lila.
“...husband?” he said quietly. Lila shrugged.
“I don’t care if they think we’re married.” she said, taking his hand. He turned her ringless left hand over in his own for a moment, lost in thought.
“Do you want to be?” he asked.
“Be what?”
“M-m-married,” Diego watched as Lila’s eyes widened. “I don’t have a ring, but--” he was cut off suddenly by the appearance of the obstetrician.
“Hello!” she chirped, grinning a sunny smile. Lila and Diego shared a look and giggled. “So, this is just going to be a normal four-month checkup and ultrasound, correct?” Lila nodded, and the exam began.
After the physical, the doctor lead the two of them down to the ultrasound room. The ultrasound tech greeted them with the first poker face they’d seen all day and helped Lila spread the ultrasound gel over her stomach.
“Bloody hell!” she hissed, much to Diego’s amusement. “It’s cold!”
“Sorry about that,” the tech said, unrepentant. “So, are either of you interested in hearing the potential sex of the baby today?” That took the two of them off guard.
“I am,” Diego said after a moment. “Lila?” She glanced away from him, silent for a long moment. Somehow, she’d been able to separate the pregnancy from the actual reality of what she was doing, the new life that she and Diego were bringing into this world. Finally, Diego leaned over.
“We don’t have to find out right away, Li,” he said quietly. To the tech, he repeated. “Not today, I think. It’s… it’s been a long couple months.” The tech raised an eyebrow but nodded.
“Actually,” Lila said after a moment. “It’d… be nice to know a little bit of what we’re in for.” Diego grinned and gave his girlfriend a quick peck on the lips before settling back down to let the tech do their thing. The image on the screen was blurry, more like a puddle of dirty water as seen through a broken camera than anything else, but it took shape soon enough. Diego could see the shape of a tiny head on the left side of the monitor, the faintest outline of feet and wriggling hands over on the right.
“So, it looks like we got lucky today,” the tech commented. “This is actually a pretty decent image in terms of what you can get on an ultrasound this early in the second trimester,” he paused and pointed to a lower middle-ish part of the image, tapping his finger. “And it would appear that the two of you are expecting a daughter,” Diego couldn’t stop himself from grinning like an idiot as he stared at the blurry image on the screen. “Bear in mind,” the tech continued. “There is a significant margin for error in sex discernment, especially in this stage of pregnancy…”
“It’s a girl?” Diego managed to choke out. The tech raised an eyebrow again and nodded.
“Most likely.” Diego nodded and hurriedly wiped at his eyes. He glanced up at Lila, who was staring at the screen pensively.
“We’re going to have a little girl,” she murmured. “Hello, sweetheart.”
In the car Lila seemingly couldn’t keep her hand off her stomach for more than a few minutes, all the while staring out the window at the passing snow-covered city streets. It was not quite a week before Christmas, and the holiday spirit was making her head spin with anxiety.
“So you never answered my question,” Diego said finally as they pulled back into the garage. Lila pulled herself out of her anxious daydreaming and turned back to him.
“What question?” Diego sighed and took her hands in his.
“Will you marry me?” Lila chuckled before sobering.
“Oh, you were serious.” Diego nodded.
“I want you to be my wife, if you’ll have me.” For a moment, Lila just stared at him. This was commitment. Sure, she was having his baby, but that didn’t preclude her running off in the middle of the night just in case. The thought of marriage made her want to run, fast and far, getting lost in the timeline until she barely remembered ever having the thought. And yet… Diego was staring at her, waiting for a response, his gorgeous dark chocolate eyes seemingly begging her to say yes, to him, to the baby, to everything she never knew she wanted until she had them. Another full minute seemed to pass before she spoke.
“Okay,” she said quietly. “I’ll marry you if you want me to.” Diego grinned, stunningly beautiful in the dim fluorescent light of the old garage.
“I want you to,” he said before kissing her, urgently, as though something had burst inside him ready to spill out. “I really, really want you to.”
Christmas Day shone bright and early that year, a gentle snow falling in fits and bursts as the day ran on. New Year’s came and went in much the same way, with Lila slowing acclimating to the chaos of the new-and-improved Hargreeves mansion. Luther had taken over a complete remodel of the main house, selling off a solid chunk of the back lots to be refurbished into apartments, along with most of their father’s guns and old hunting trophies, keeping the front half of the house to be kept in the family as first Klaus, and then the rest of the siblings started trickling back into the house one by one as the stolid old house the siblings had grown up in transformed into more of a home, somewhere they could gather and shelter from the ravages of the world with the family.
It was May before Lila knew it, her due date approaching quickly. She waddled to the bathroom, one hand on her aching back as she filled the tub with warm water and some lavender bath salts. She disrobed and finally lay down in the warm, scented water, sighing with relief. She’d been having these absolutely godawful cramps since before she’d gotten up that morning. The doctor had said that these sorts of late-term pains were normal, and the main reason she’d opted to have a soak in the tub at one o’clock in the afternoon. Another cramp came on like a tidal wave and Lila couldn’t stop the groan that escaped her lips. A knock came at the door. Lila glanced down between her legs: blood. Her blood ran cold as she tried to get up, only to fall back in the tub as another wave of what she now realized was labor pains hit. The knocking intensified before a pop of blue announced Five arriving to check in on her.
“Call Diego.” Lila managed before she had to swallow back another groan of pain. For a moment Five seemed rooted to the spot, brown eyes wide with the first sign of fear she’d ever seen darken the young-old man’s face. She barely had time to revel in it though, as Five disappeared as quickly as he’d appeared. Lila felt the tears escape to run down her flushed cheeks as another contraction hit, harder this time. Finally, she heard the thunder of footsteps outside the bathroom door as she tried to push, gritting her teeth as Five popped back in and unlocked the door. Diego burst in, still sweaty from the gym, and tried to help Lila out of the tub.
“It’s too late, the baby’s coming!” she grunted as another contraction hit. Thinking quickly, Five unplugged the drain and sent a terrified Luther out for clean towels as he swallowed nervously and checked between Lila’s legs.
“There’s a head,” he said plaintively before tossing away his jacket and rolling up his shirt sleeves. “Just push when the contractions start, I’ll--”
“Shut up, Five!” Lila and Diego shouted in unison. She felt him kiss her softly as she felt the head and shoulders pass through the birth canal. Right on cue, Luther arrived with the towels, gaping wide-eyed at the newborn as Five shakily tied off and cut the umbilical cord before wrapping the baby up and handing it to Lila.
“It’s a girl,” he said dryly. “And I need a drink.” With that he stood up and grabbed his jacket, pausing just as he got to the door. “Congratulations, Diego. Lila. You did good.” Finally, Five left, leaving Luther to help Lila quickly pass the placenta as Diego held his daughter in his arms. Just as everything started to settle down Klaus appeared in the doorway, house phone in his hand.
“EMTs are on their way,” he said needlessly. “But I guess they missed all the excitement,” Klaus grinned and walked over to the happy couple, cooing gently as Diego passed his daughter back over to Lila. “She’s gorgeous, Diego! Are you sure she’s yours?” In the background, Luther hid a chuckle as Lila and Diego almost simultaneously flipped him off, still grinning like lunatics. Klaus laughed and cooed gently at the newborn.
“Have you thought of a name?” he asked. Immediately Lila’s smile faded as she traded a glance with Diego.
“We... haven’t really decided yet,” Diego said quietly. The subsequent awkward silence was thankfully interrupted by the heavy footsteps of the EMTs arriving with a stretcher. With Lila’s permission, Luther gently lifted her and the newborn out of the tub and onto the stretcher.
“We have time.” Luther heard Diego mutter as he walked past, following the EMTs down the stairs and into the ambulance.
Elena Grace Hargreeves came home the next morning to a fanfare of aunts and uncles crowded around the happy couple as they entered the front hall. Lila grinned as much as she could bear, and felt almost relieved when Vanya asked to hold her, then Klaus, then Ben, and so on down to Luther, who seemed almost overly cautious when it came to his turn holding his baby niece.
“She’s so tiny.” he said quietly. That made the siblings laugh.
“Everyone’s tiny compared to you.” Five said dryly. Diego chuckled.
“You’re the only one who hasn’t gotten to hold her yet, little brother,” he said jovially. “C’mon, she doesn’t bite!” At that Lila snickered tiredly.
“It’s alright,” she added. “It’s only right that the midwife gets a turn too.” Five rolled his eyes but let Allison arrange the baby in his arms.
“Wow,” he breathed. “She’s… she’s beautiful.” He looked up at Diego, looking, for once, like the child he was physically. Diego smiled.
“She is, isn’t she?” After a moment he took Elena back, cradling her in his arms like he’d been doing it for years. As the impromptu baby shower wound down, he noticed Lila slipping out of the room and upstairs to their bedroom. He passed the baby off to one of his sisters and followed her.
When he glanced in, there was a suitcase on the bed. Lila’s suitcase.
“W-what’s going on?” he asked quietly. Lila jumped and stared at him, almost frightened.
“Diego, I can explain--”
“I thought you were going to marry me,” he said. “After the baby was born. We were going to have a summer wedding.”
“Diego--”
“When were you planning to tell me you were leaving? Were you even going to tell me or just slip out when you thought no one was looking?” Lila set her jaw and walked straight up to him. “I thought you loved me.” he finished. His eyes threatened tears and Lila felt an unfamiliar twinge of guilt. She’d never meant to hurt Diego. It was to protect him in the first place that she’d originally planned to leave. But now…
“I’m not leaving you, Diego,” she managed. “I was unpacking the suitcase.” Diego blinked stupidly at her.
“Oh.”
“And I’ve never been terribly anxious to marry anyone, but you’re not just anyone. Not anymore. Not to me. I’m in love with you, Diego. Always have been, ever since we escaped the asylum. I love you. And you’re not getting rid of me that easy.” That last bit made Diego laugh and he leaned down to kiss her, gently, lovingly, like something she never thought she’d ever have.
Family.