Chapter Text
“Who do you think they’ll look like?”
Vi feels a hand pat her back, nudging her awake.
“Darling?”
“Hm?” Vi turns over in bed. The moonlight pouring through the shut curtains illuminates only a sliver of Caitlyn’s face, but her eyes are as bright as ever. The sapphire eyes look down towards the covers, underneath is her heavily pregnant belly. Vi shifts closer, wrapping her arms carefully around her.
"What do you think?" she asks again.
“I dunno,” Vi breathes out, tucking her face into her midnight hair. Her arms caress Caitlyn’s belly, sneaking under her oversized t shirt. “I’d like them to look like you,” she whispers.
“Why?” Caitlyn is taken aback. She feels Vi shrug against her.
“You're gorgeous,” Vi laughs. “And let’s be realistic.”
Vi pulls back, “your parents are snow white with dark hair. My mother too, and my sister has lighter blue hair.”
As she talks, her hands draw circles on Caitlyn’s skin. It’s soothing and warm.
“There’s a pattern,” Vi traces up her bicep to her wife’s shoulder. She tucks a lock of hair behind her ear, thumb lingering on her cheek. Caitlyn grabs her hand, bringing her thumb to her lips. She places a kiss over the scarred finger tip.
“I think they’ll look exactly like you,” she hums, kissing each digit on Vi’s tattooed hand.
“I doubt it,” Vi laughs. “And I wouldn’t want them to anyway.”
Caitlyn furrows her brows. “How could you say that?”
“I’m not very pretty. I have over sized hands and weird hair. I stick out like a sore thumb.” Vi tried to laugh off her self-deprecation, but Caitlyn isn’t having any of it.
She breaks away, startling Vi.
“Cait?”
Caitlyn turns on the lamp on her nightstand. Crossing her arms atop of her pregnant belly, she glares at her.
“What?” Vi asks innocently, propping her head in on her hand. Her elbow rests on her pillow.
“Don’t ever undermine yourself, especially when the baby comes,” Caitlyn orders. Her stern voice sends shivers down Vi’s spine. She hasn’t heard this tone in a while.
“I wasn’t,” Vi takes her hand back. “I just don’t want them to look like me.”
Caitlyn’s saddened gaze pierces through Vi’s heart. She raises her hands, points up each finger.
“One: I think you are the most beautiful woman, plain and simple. Two-“
“Cait-“
“Listen to me!” Caitlyn snaps. Vi bites her lip.
“Two,” she starts again. “Your hands are beautiful.”
Her voice softens, reaching out. She cups Vi’s hands in hers, intertwining their fingers. They’re calloused and eternally bruised, but so gentle. She pulls them towards her abdomen, placing them carefully on spots of recent activity.
“What would they think?” Caitlyn asks, still holding her hands on her baby bump.
“I don’t know,” Vi breathes out. She feels Caitlyn rubbing small circles with her fingers, tracing the tattoos in her hands.
Caitlyn presses Vi’s hands towards their baby, growing inside her. They wait a moment, then a very powerful kick hits Vi’s hand.
“I’d say they’re disappointed,” Caitlyn recalls. “Your father too.”
The only picture Vi had was a crumpled up Polaroid that Ekko managed to hide after she was thrown in prison. It was a happy family portrait, a 7 year old Vi sitting on her father’s lap. The large bearded man had the same pink locks as she did. His eyes and smile too.
“I would be so thrilled if our baby looked like him,” she starts to tear up. “And you,” she reaches up and cups Vi’s face.
Vi didn’t realize she’s crying until Caitlyn wiped a few tears away.
Vi turns her head, cupping her hand. She kisses her palm and whispers, “that’s a nice thought, but I still think they’ll look more like you.”
———————-
“Where is she!”
Vi shouts breathlessly, stopping at the front desk. The nurse looks in horror at this dirty and tattooed Zaunite now in the hospital. Her coat and trousers are covered in grime. She wrinkles her nose in disgust. “Excuse me?” she asks suspiciously.
“My wife! S-she’s giving birth,” Vi stutters out, flustered and still out of breath.
“I don’t know who you’re referring too. Please leave immediately,” the nurse nervously replies. She looks toward the security guard who struts over, puffing out his chest.
“Caitlyn Kiramman! I’m her wife. She had my baby! I need to see her now!” Vi yells, but she feels a firm hand grip her shoulder.
“How about you calm down, outside,” the guard orders, tensing his grip.
“For fucks sake!” She yells, digging into her pockets. She retrieves her ID and shows the guard her signet ring. When he sees the crossed keys, his hand immediately retreats. Out of humility, he fixes her jacket, patting down the fabric.
“Sorry,” he mumbles. “Just a precaution.”
The nurse also mumbles an apology as she pulls up the hospital room number.
“It looks like she’s in room 840 in the intensive care wing-“ Vi doesn't wait for her to finish. She runs through the doors towards the the intensive care unit. Her heart drops as she sprints as fast as she could, fearing the worst for her wife and child.
Were there complications? Are they alright?
She continues to run, earning worried glances from the nurses and patients walking the halls.
Vi counts down the rooms:
836, 837, 838, 839-
Vi stops a few feet from the next door. It’s quiet, too quiet.
There was no commotion, not shouting, no crying.
Nothing
Vi’s heart sinks, preparing for the worst.
Of course, the one time Vi went down to the Undercity to help Ekko, Caitlyn’s water broke. She wasn’t due for another 2 weeks, leaving more room for concern.
Vi uses all the strength she could muster to move each foot toward the door. She stops in front of the door, hand grabbing the knob. It shakes uncontrollably.
She opens the door slowly-
But to her relief, she sees her wife resting in the large hospital bed with a small bundle in her arms. Various IVs and monitors are hooked up to her. The beeping of the heart monitor beats against her own heart pounding against her ear. And then it hits her.
She’s ok, they’re both ok.
Vi lets out a choked sob, getting Caitlyn’s attention.
Her wife looks up from the bundle, her smile is as wide as the ocean. The oxygen tube hooked into her nose could never diminish her gleeful expression.
“Violet,” Caitlyn calls out in a hoarse voice. Her hand reaches up towards the baby’s head, taking off its little white hat, revealing a tuft of pink hair. Vi lets out another sob, crumbling into pieces.
“Come here.” Caitlyn hums.
Vi wipes the tears and dirt from her face as she walks towards the bed.
“When the nurse said ICU I- I thought I lost you,” Vi continued to cry, facing her wife and their newborn. She takes a seat on the bed, the crisp white sheets are rough to the touch.
“We’re fine. My water broke when I was sleeping. I guess she just needed to come out.”
“She?” Vi tries to calm herself, taking deep breaths. Caitlyn nods, smiling. Her forehead is sweaty and skin clammy. Vi tucks a tress behind her ear, careful of the oxygen tube that links around.
“Our daughter made quite the entrance.”
“Yeah?”
“She was literally falling out of me during the car ride here,” Caitlyn laughs, tracing her daughter’s cheek with a finger.
“Wait, you gave birth in the car?” Vi says as she chokes out a laugh. Caitlyn gives her a tired smirk, “my father caught her, and my poor mother was yelling at the driver the whole way here. It all happened so fast-”
Caitlyn’s smile breaks, voice caught in a sob. “I was so scared,” she lets out with a shaky breath. As Vi leans in closer, she sees a few sensor patches peeking out her hospital gown. “I know, I’m so sorry I wasn’t there.” She pulls the two close to her. Caitlyn rests her forehead on her shoulder.
“I’m just glad she’s ok,” she hears her wife murmur in her coat.
“Are you ok?” Vi asks, wiping the last of her tears.
“Just had some hemorrhaging, but it’s under control,” she replies, attempting to keep her tone light, but Vi can see right through her.
“Hemorrhaging?” Vi asks through a shaky breath. “You were bleeding? Are you still-“
Caitlyn lifts her head up from Vi’s shoulder. “I’m fine-“
“Bullshit!” Vi hisses. “If only I-.”
“What could you have done?,” Caitlyn argues. A small cry breaks their argument. The couple looks down at the bundle in Caitlyn’s arms. She starts to whimper, face scrunching up and turning red. She lets out a loud cry, making Vi jump in her seat.
“Sweetheart,” Caitlyn coos, rocking her gently. “It’s alright, we’re just having a disagreement.” Caitlyn tries to smile. She looks radiant, glowing like a goddess. She calms their baby down, till only soft whimpers are heard.
This sight makes Vi’s hands ache.
She reaches up towards the whimpering bundle, opening her hand to her, but stops.
“Vi?”
Her hands are dirty. Wrappings soaked with dirt and blood from an altercation several hours prior.
“One sec,” Vi stands and walks to the bathroom, taking off her coat and rolling up her sleeves. She unwraps her hands, throwing the fabric away before washing her hands.
She washes between her fingers and under her nails, making sure her hands are as clean as possible. But they're not. From what she’s done and been through, how could she hold her daughter. She doesn’t deserve this happiness.
“Darling?” She hears Caitlyn call out to her.
“Coming!”
Vi walks back into Caitlyn's hospital suite. She quickly sits back onto the bed, leaning over her wife and their baby. With a scarred and tattooed hand, she reaches up and runs a hand over her baby’s hair. It’s soft and bright. It scares Vi how much she looks like her, or at least she assumes. She still looks like a scrunched up potato, but if Caitlyn’s assumptions are correct, she’s gonna have a mini me running around the Kiramman mansion soon.
“Are your parents around?” Vi asks.
“They stayed the night, then went back home.” Caitlyn explains. “They’ll be back sometime tonight I suppose.”
“I’m sure your mother is thrilled,” Vi smirks. She and Caitlyn joked a few weeks ago how soft her mother would become as a grandmother. The stern Kiramman Clan head baby talking to their daughter is something Vi would pay to see.
“She is,” Caitlyn hums. “They had to pry her from her arms when she had to nurse,” she laughs. The laugh sounds pained, and of course, Vi leans in with concern. Her other hand caresses her cheek.
“I’m fine, honestly.” Caitlyn tries to comfort, but Vi’s hand still lingers. It rests down onto her shoulder, then pulls her close.
As Vi continues to stroke her baby’s head, a calm silence settles over the couple while they hold on another They breathe in each other’s presence, thanking the powers that be for a safe delivery. Caitlyn starts to chuckle again.
“The nurse’s gloves were cut while putting on her mittens," she hums. She reaches up, tucking away the blanket to make sure her wife can see their baby.
“Already a little monster,” Vi laughs, wiping her tears with the back of her hand. The baby lets out a little mew, smiling up at her. With that, Vi feels an arrow hit her chest, piercing her heart. She thought she knew what love was, real love. But looking down at her daughter, there’s a whole new meaning behind the word.
“Lemme see those big paws, little one,” Vi muses, taking off one of the mittens. Her tiny hand flexes out, grabbing onto her ring finger. Her grip is surprisingly strong, but Vi pulls back.
Caitlyn watches her wife open her palm, comparing her hand to her daughter's.
“Yeah, she’s got fat hands.”
Caitlyn bursts out laughing. Both women continue to cry and laugh. Emotions exhausted and energy spent.
“Would you like to hold her?”
Vi freezes. Her body is tense with worry, but she fights through it. Opening her arms, Vi holds the newborn carefully as Caitlyn helps rest her in a comfortable position.
Violet looks so natural, holding their beautiful baby girl.
“Isadora,” Vi whispers to her. “My baby girl, Izzy.”
Caitlyn leans back at the sight, her heart bursting at its seams.
“I chose her middle name.”
“Did you?” Vi asks, eyes still glued to the bundle in her arms.
Vi isn’t familiar with middle names, so she didn’t pay any mind to them. When she registered in Piltover, she chose to add a middle name. To no one’s surprise, Vander was her choice. Caitlyn’s own middle name is after her mother Cassandra. Every first newborn Kiramman should take their parents’ given name as their middle name. Normally she’d rebel, but why not stick to tradition this time.
“Take a look at her birth certificate.”
Vi raises a brow, but stands up, still carrying her baby. As she walks to the table adjacent to the door, bouncing slightly.
When she peers over, her breath hitches, caught in her throat.
“Are you serious?” She asks, looking back at her wife.
“I think it’s very appropriate,” Caitlyn hums. She watches as Vi lets out another sob.
“Oh, darling,” she opens her arms to her. Vi quickly takes a seat, leaning into her wife. “Don’t cry.”
“I don’t deserve this,” Vi chokes out.
“Of course you do, and she does too” Caitlyn coos. She looks down at her baby in her wife’s arms, saying,
“Welcome to the world, Isadora Violet Kiramman, I hope you’ll be exactly like your strong momma.”