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Robbie was terribly unamused as Daisy brought the cake out to the table and placed it in front of their daughter and friends. The others chuckled at the edible ouija board that had been put in front of them, chocolate frosting and letters made out of gummies making this a baking project that even Daisy could do. It was cute and the perfect thing for a child born on Halloween but it still put him on edge, especially since Daisy had kept it a surprise.
He put on a strained smile as a single candle was placed on the cake and lit, Rosa giggling as everyone started singing. For a moment the joy on his daughter’s face was enough to make that smile genuine before frustration bled in. That stupid ouija board pointer was on the Hello, driving Robbie crazy. The planchette was a real one too. Daisy must have pulled out the real ouija board and taken that out just to make him mad-
An elbow to his side brought Robbie back to the moment and to his brother.
“Giving that cake dirty looks isn’t going to stop her from growing up you know.” Gabe spoke softly in Spanish, not wanting to draw attention to Robbie’s disgruntled look. That was what Robbie should have been paying attention to, what he wanted to be focusing on, his baby girl clumsily fisting cake and frosting into her mouth for the first time.
It wasn’t his frustrations and anger Robbie was feeling but the Ghost Rider’s bleeding over. The demon had been on edge this week, he was always on edge around Halloween, but this was worse than normal. Maybe it was just the Rider feeding on his own fears but normally they weren’t blown so out of proportion.
Now that he was aware of it, Robbie could push back against the Rider and try to keep those frustrations at bay. Long enough to see the end of Rosa’s birthday party and to get Gabe and the SHIELD team out of their apartment without anyone else commenting on his sullen mood. Even before Phil and Melinda were out the door, Robbie was gathering up the dishes scattered throughout their place to wash by hand. They had a dishwasher he could have loaded but the chore was a familiar one that gave him the time and privacy to prod at the Rider.
“Am I allowed in here or are you still crabby?”
“I’m not crabby,” Robbie replied even as he scrubbed harder at the plate he held underwater.
Daisy’s hum said she didn’t believe him but still came into the kitchen, setting the baby monitor down on the counter. “Really? Because you’ve been in here for over an hour boiling our dishes.”
Robbie looked at the time over the stove before glancing down at the soapy sink water. “That’s a simmer, not a boil.” He tried to give Daisy an easy smile but she was having none of it. “I am not crabby, ok? But he’s…” Robbie hunched over the sink, brow furrowed in frustration before he pulled the plug and watched the water drain. “I don’t know what’s going on with him. He’s so wound up and on edge but won’t tell me why or what to do about it.”
The annoyed look Daisy had been wearing faded and she came to stand behind him, wrapping her arms around Robbie and resting her chin on his shoulder. “Maybe he’s just jealous that you gave all your time tonight to family instead of him. I know how much the Ghost Rider likes to be out on Halloween.”
That didn’t sound right but it also didn’t sound wrong. Rosa’s soft babbles came through the baby monitor, only further proving Daisy might be right as Robbie felt the Rider stir and his skin growing even warmer. Daisy took a step back and picked up the monitor, giving Robbie an ‘I told you so’ look.
“Maybe you’re right. This just seems extreme even for him.” Reaching out Robbie took the baby monitor from Daisy. “Halloween or not, he didn’t get like this when I had to take multiple days off.” Rosa was still chatting away and that, that seemed off as well. Her babbles paused and their tone changed like she really was chatting with someone.
It was probably nothing. This had been a big night for his little girl and she was probably just wound up on excitement and sugar. Still, that stupid ouija board cake came to mind. He kept the monitor in hand as he left the kitchen, Daisy following behind more slowly.
He stopped outside of Rosa’s room, turning down the monitor. Even though the closed door Robbie could hear his daughter’s muffled chatter, her happy giggles making the Rider thrash and silently rage. That sense of unease and wrongness twisted in Robbie’s gut as he opened the bedroom door, knowing that something was wrong.
But there was nothing. Rosa was sitting up in her crib, cooing happily at the sight of Robbie. Nothing was out of place, nothing seemed odd, but the Rider still wasn’t settling down.
The touch to his shoulder made him flinch and Robbie hated that even Daisy looked concerned now.
“Robbie? Maybe you should take some time to go out tonight.” He wasn’t supposed to notice the way Daisy put herself between him and the crib, like he was the threat here and not… Not what? The only frightening thing in Rosa’s room was the dirty laundry.
Your vengeance Roberto
Daisy went to check on Rosa as Robbie backed up, trying to make sense of the Rider’s urgings. His vengeance had long been dealt with and had nothing to do with the Ouija board that kept flashing through his mind or his daughter or anything.
The Rider had a different opinion and clawed for control, Robbie’s skin sizzling as Rosa started crying.
“Robbie! Pull it together!”
He wanted to snap at Daisy’s unhelpful comment, his frustration mounting as the Rider took advantage and ripped control away from Robbie. Fire rippled over him, eyes burning away before Robbie stopped fighting the devil and their transformation halted.
Rosa went silent midcry.
Their baby held the bars of the crib in a white-knuckled grip, her whole body going tense and rigid. Her mouth was still open like someone had just hit the mute button and at any second her cries would continue. They didn’t continue though, instead it was a wheezing sound, like someone squeezing the air of the baby. That would have been bad enough but even as Rosa’s breath hissed out of her, there came a creaking sound from her throat.
Now that his warning had been received too late the Rider retreated, Robbie’s skin cooling as fear settled into his veins. How? How could he be back? He was dead.
“Tell me you know what’s happening.” Daisy looked back at him before turning to their daughter, concerned etched on her face at the girl’s frozen posture and the noises she was making.
“Yes.” He reached for Daisy’s hand, pulling her away from the crib. She tried to fight him until she saw the look on Robbie’s face. “She’s being possessed.”
As if on cue, Rosa’s body jerked and twitched. Daisy tried to lunge for her daughter and Robbie hated himself for having to hold her back. There was nothing either of them could do.
“Who or what is doing this?” Robbie was envious of how calm Daisy managed to sound even with tears running down her face. His lungs refused to work as Rosa collapsed, eyes rolling to the back of her head until they were just the whites showing.
“Eli.” His uncle’s name left a bitter taste in Robbie’s mouth and the world trembled at Daisy’s reaction. The would-be god must have had some sense of his surroundings as Rosa’s eyes turned black at his name.
“How the hell did Eli get out of hell.” Daisy was shaking, with rage or fear Robbie wasn’t sure but he pulled her close and answered her question with silence. He couldn’t tell her it was the cake, or that the Rider had been trying all night to stop this.
All of Rosa’s creaking and wheezing suddenly stopped, the baby going limp and her eyes closing. Robbie didn’t stop Daisy this time as she went for their daughter even as he stayed back. She reached down to touch Rosa, murmuring words of comfort that Robbie doubted their daughter could hear.
The baby stirred at the touch before obsidian black eyes opened again. There were no clumsy movements as ‘Rosa’ sat up and the smile she gave Daisy lacked any of their daughter’s joy and love. One chubby hand reached up to cover her mouth as she coughed, such an adult gesture from such a tiny body. But it was the harsh sound that came afterward that made Robbie’s skin crawl and Daisy jerk back, that deep, adult voice that Robbie could only associate with pain and betrayal and vengeance.
“Heh, heh happy birthday to me.”