Chapter Text
Daniel was hallucinating. That was it. That had to be it. It didn't matter that he was clean, had been for months, that he only ever used now when he was (running) away from Armand. He had to be high and seeing things; that was the only possible explanation.
… Because there was a baby inside a cardboard box right there on the white marble of his porch.
There was a brand new baby inside a cardboard box on the white marble of his porch. Brand new like fresh out of the womb brand new. Brand new, like it might haven't properly done baking, it was so tiny brand new. Daniel had never seen such a tiny human ever . He had shoes bigger than that Itty bitty human baby.
And, come to think of it, was that a shoe box the baby was inside of?
Yup, it was.
Ok, so, there was a brand new baby inside a shoe box on the white marble of his porch. And it was starting to stir.
Daniel watched, in mounting fascination and alarm, how the baby slowly opened its eyes, scrunched up its face and limbs, freeing them from the thin blanket it was covering them, and then started to wail. Or, at least it seemed to mean to wail, because it sounded… hoarse? Could babies even get hoarse? Exactly how long had that baby been crying before? What the fuck.
WHAT THE FUCK??
Suddenly, instinct seemed to kick in inside Daniel’s thick skull, because next thing he knew, he was picking the baby up and holding it gently, protectively, against his still very naked chest.
What. The actual. Fuck? Who the fuck just left babies inside shoe boxes alone on random porches? And a porch as secluded as his, at that, literally half a mile away from his closest neighbor, a whole mile away from anything else on The Night Island??
Exactly how long had that baby been alone and crying before Daniel found it to have a hoarse throat? It was long past noon, and somehow, Daniel didn't think abandoning babies on porches was something that was done in broad daylight. No, it seemed like the kind of thing to be done in the dead of night. Then again, if they had left a baby on their porch in the middle of the night, Armand would have probably noticed. Yeah, the most likely thing, seemed to Daniel, was that someone had left that baby on his porch at the ass crack of dawn. And it might be a private island, but it was still in fucking Florida, there were crocodiles out there! Daniel had seen them. Armand liked to feed them sometimes, entire human arms and legs. What if a crocodile got to the baby before he did??
“Daniel?” Armand’s voice called to him from inside his head, “I felt your distress. What is wrong?”
Armand! Armand was here, good! Great! Armand would know what to do.
“There's a baby. Someone left a baby at our door.”
“Yes, I can see that,” The vampire said out loud, materializing next to Daniel. “And hear it, as well. The baby is crying.”
“I don't- I don't know how to make it stop,” Daniel confessed, as if ashamed. To be honest, Daniel realized he sounded a little bit out of it. He kind of didn't know how to make that stop either.
“Her”
“What?”
“ Her . Not it , her.” Corrected Armand, softly. He had bent over the vacated shoebox, taking a slip of paper out of it, and holding it up for Daniel to see. “The baby is a female. And she is yours, Daniel. They did not pick a random porch.”
Dear Danny,
I'm sorry, I can’t do this. She is yours, and you have the means; take care of her.
I am so sorry,
Linda.
“Linda?” Daniel tried to remember, but there had been so many people he and Armand had invited into their bed, and so inconsequential all of them, that try as he might, he knew he would never recall her. Not that the tiny bundle of joy crying her heart out against his shoulder helped his concentration.
“Her real name was Pranpriya, and she worked at one of the hotels on this island.” Armand did remember, of course. Armand remembered everything. “You only picked her because you thought she looked like me. And that was the only reason I allowed her to live, after.”
Daniel was pretty sure he was not supposed to be kinda turned on by that. Particularly when he was holding a squirming newborn in his arms. But, oh well, Armand should really have known better by then.
“Right. Of course. Ok. Let me just put a pin on how hot you murdering people in a fit of possessiveness is, cause it's not like I can really take the time to appreciate it right now.” He gestured vaguely at the little (seriously, how could she be so tiny ) human. “Can yo,u like, help her or something? Use your mind thingy on her?”
A tiny frown appeared between Armand’s dark, perfect eyebrows.
“I’ve never tried it on one so young…” Yet despite his protest, Armand’s irises seemed to vibrate in a way Daniel had come to relate to his so-called mind gift. The baby’s cries instantly started to wane, newborn blue eyes moving around as if searching for the new presence in her head.
“She is… Thirsty. Hungry. It’s all the same, one scary, bottomless need”
“Huh. Kinda like with vampires,” Daniel observed. Armand let out an amused huff. “Well, I mean, I guess we can help with one of those, right? We just give her some water and-”
“Don’t be silly, Daniel, you can’t give her water to a baby, it would kill her.”
“What?? What do you mean water can kill a baby? That's the most counter-intuitive thing ever! Water is supposed to be like the best thing for humans! How? Why??”
“I don’t know why, Daniel, I’m not a doctor, ask them the next time you see one.”
“You know what? I will. It’s absurd. Fucking design flaw if there ever was one,” Daniel mumbled a bit sullenly. Then, “You know, that's a good idea, I think.”
Armand hummed inquisitively. Apparently, he was still wrapped up in the baby's mind.
“We should take her to a doctor, see if she's ok after however long she's been out here alone…”
“She is feeling better now,” Armand observed. “She likes you, or she likes being held by you. She doesn't understand the world; all she can see are shadows. When she was alone, she thought there was no one else at all. It can be scary, that insurmountable loneliness,” with a pang of heartbreak, Daniel realized his boyfriend was talking from experience, that he could relate somehow to the baby’s fear of being alone. After all, eternity was just as vast and for a creature of such a lifespan, just as empty and hopeless as that never-ending void. For the very first time since arriving, Armand touched the infant, the barest caress of a fingertip against her delicate forehead.
“Rest”
The baby went instantly out like a light.
“I could, perhaps… A drop of my blood could heal her from any ailment that might be plaguing her.”
Yet the vampire didn’t move. He didn’t pierce his own finger with his nail, nor did he bring said finger to the newborn’s lips like he did for her father so many times over the years. Good. Somehow, it didn’t seem right to Daniel. Armand was a dead thing, and Daniel wanted to be a dead thing just like him, but this minuscule, bird boned creature was just so full of life, so… pure.
“Are you gonna…”
Armand hesitated.
“I dare not to”
“So… hospital, then?”
“I’ll call for the car.”