Chapter Text
Yuna absolutely loves her son. From the moment he was born he has been the best part of her life. It was hard to accept that she and David couldn't have more kids, but Shane is more than enough. She couldn't be more proud of her son and she can't imagine life without him.
Right now, for the first time, Yuna wishes Shane was not in her life.
Shane has been living with them for a little over two weeks now, ever since he got injured during a game. The first few days it was pretty easy. Keeping Shane off his phone was easy enough and he spent most of his time asleep.
Then he got restless. She's never been good at doing nothing and Shane is just like her. Being cooped up with limited mobility, while his own team is playing very bad hockey, is slowly driving him insane. Yuna has always believed that her son is the best player on his team, but now she has absolute proof that he's been carrying them to their previous wins. They make a lot of clumsy mistakes and it drives her insane, but as much as she loves the team, she isn't a part of it. It must be so much more annoying for Shane. And now she's left to deal with his foul mood.
It got worse yesterday. Shane had insisted on watching the Boston-Ottawa game, which meant that Yuna watches the game and narrates it while Shane faces away from the TV to give his brain the rest it needs. Things changed when she told him that Rozanov wasn't playing. Shane asked a million questions about him that Yuna had no way of answering. He spent more time on his phone than was really recommended, but Yuna didn't dare take it away from him. Now she knows Shane always gets intense about playing against Rozanov, but this was something else.
She could hear him pacing around all night. All day he's been restless and any attempts to get him to calm down or take a nap are cut short with a snappy response the like of which she hasn't seen since he was a teenager. This isn't just him being concerned about a fellow hockey player, there's something more to it. Yuna just can't put a finger on it.
When there's a knock on the door, Yuna is thankful for the distraction. She leaves Shane pacing around the living room, checking his phone every couple of minutes. What she finds on the other side of the door is a tired looking Russian, holding a tiny little baby.
"Rozanov?!" she asks. The name works like catnip to Shane, because he's at her side before Rozanov can say anything.
"Ilya? What are you doing here?" he asks.
Ilya? Since when does Shane use his first name?
Ilya looks nervous and refuses to meet either of their eyes. "Can I come in?" he asks.
Yuna steps aside to let him pass at the same time as Shane reaches out to touch his arm. "You didn't respond to my texts. What happened? Whose baby is this?"
Ilya finally looks up at Shane. "Yours," he says softly.
Yuna watches Shane freeze up. She barely knows how to act herself. Yours keeps repeating in her mind. If that baby is Shane's, that means it's her grandchild. Is Shane dating Rozanov? Was it just a hookup? Ilya has a reputation, is he even sure that's Shane's baby? If it is, that would mean that she has a grandchild. She's not sure she can't handle thinking about all of those questions for long, so she shifts into problem-solving mode. That is easy for her.
"Okay, let's get you all inside," she says, gently ushering them inside. They walk towards the living room and Shane spends the entire time looking between Ilya and the baby. She watches Ilya flinch as he sits down, his face contorted in pain.
"Oh, honey, you should lay down. Are you in a lot of pain?" she asks. God, he just had a baby. This is why he couldn't play yesterday.
"Is okay," he says. Yuna doubts it is, but she doesn't want to argue with a man who looks so overwhelmed.
"Ilya," Shane says softly. "What happened?"
Ilya holds the baby a little tighter to his chest. "I need you to know that I did not know about her. I wouldn't have… I didn't know until she was coming. I'm sorry."
Yuna doesn't know if the apology is for Shane or the baby. Perhaps it's for both of them.
"She's okay. She's healthy and doing good. I did not mess her up," he continues. Those last words break Yuna's heart. She wants to bundle him up in a tight hug.
"And you?" Shane asks.
"I need you to promise you'll take care of her," Ilya says, instead of answering the question.
Shane frowns at him. "What do you mean? We'll both look after her. She's ours."
Ilya shakes his head. "They're buying out my contract. I have to go back to Russia. They're going to say I had a bad injury and couldn't play anymore. I can't take her with me, it's illegal for a man to have a baby there. So, I need you to take her."
Yuna read an article about Russia's policy towards carriers just a few months ago. There's no legal testing available for men to even find out if they're a carrier, and if a man gets pregnant they're arrested and sent to work camps. She's not going to let that happen to anyone, not even her son's rival.
Her son's rival, that isn't right anymore. Shane is treating him so gently and they have a baby together, her granddaughter. This man is a part of her family. She's not going to let that happen.
"I'm not going to let that happen," Shane says.
"Shane, is okay. I have made peace with it. I just need to know Dasha will be okay," he says.
"Dasha, her name's… no, wait, I'm not going to let you go!" Shane says. Yuna is so proud of her boy.
"It's okay, I will be okay. They won't tell anyone I have a baby, so no one has to know. I will survive Russia and you can raise her."
"No. You are going to marry me and you and Dasha," Shane looks down at the little girl and repeats her name softly, "Dasha… are going to stay with me. I'm not going to let you go."
"Shane, without my job I lose my visa," Ilya tries to argue.
Now it's Yuna's turn to cut in. "I'm going to find the best immigration lawyer," she says, putting as much authority in her voice as she can. "If you think for one second that I'm going to let my granddaughter be separated from her dad, you are wrong. They can't fire you for this either, I can get you back on the team if you want. You've given so much to them and it's not right for them to let you go because of this."
Ilya looks at her, tears in his eyes, his chin wobbling. God, he's been through so much in the past day. "I could stay?" he asks.
Yuna nods. "You are staying," she says. "Now, please tell me the doctors cleared you to leave the hospital and you didn't just walk out."
Ilya looks away sheepishly. "I am okay," he says.
"Ilya," Shane chastises him.
"I had to take Dasha to you, I could not tell you over the phone," he explains. Yuna can respect that, even though it was stupid.
"You need your rest," Shane says. "I can show you to my room. I'll look after Dasha."
"I…" Ilya opens his mouth to protest.
"Ilya, if you don't take the rest you need, I will have my mom kick your ass," Shane says.
"You would not, I gave you a daughter." Ilya looks over at Yuna.
"He doesn't need to ask, sweetheart," Yuna says. "You had a baby, your body needs the rest. Dasha is safe with us. We'll take care of you, so you can take care of her dad."
Ilya nods reluctantly. "Okay…" With the help of Shane he gets up, still holding onto his baby girl tightly. Yuna wonders if it's fully hit him yet what happened. She knows it'll take some time for it to feel real for her. "I really get to keep her?" he asks.
"Yes, sweetheart," Yuna tells him. "I will take care of this, you just focus on yourself and that baby."
Her promise seems to relax him a little. She's thankful for the image she's created over the years of getting things done quickly and efficiently if that helps Ilya feel at ease. Shane helps him to his childhood bedroom and Yuna begins her search for the best immigration lawyer in the country. She knows plenty of lawyers by now, but none of them deal with this and she's not going to rely on some amateur to keep her family together.
Her family… oh, that thought hits her hard. Her family has just grown by two people. She has a granddaughter. Questions begin forming in her mind again, but she can't afford to let herself get distracted by them. She needs to make Ilya feel safe. She laughs at that. She never expected to care this much for Ilya Rozanov of all people, but he looked so hurt sitting on her couch, holding that little baby girl. He was willing to break his own heart to make sure her granddaughter would be okay. That's more than enough for Yuna to accept him into the family.
She's deep in the rabbit hole of finding a lawyer by the time Shane comes back, carrying Dasha in her car seat, his other arm still in a sling.
"Mom," he says softly. "I'm sorry. I didn't want you to find out this way. Ilya and I… I'm so sorry."
Yuna shakes his head and gestures for him to join her. "None of that now. I don't want to hear any apologies. How are you holding up?"
"I don't know. I have a baby."
"You're a dad now. Oh, my baby has a baby." Yuna sets her laptop aside and leans in to truly look at her granddaughter for the first time. What she sees takes her breath away. "She looks just like you."
"Her full name's Daria Hollander," Shane says. "Ilya said he wants her to have my name. Dasha's like a Russian nickname. Apparently it's common there. I didn't know. I barely know anything about Russia… I have to learn Russian."
"We'll learn Russian together," Yuna says, adding it to her mental list of things to do. She'll have to write that list down soon to keep track of everything. "Can I hold her?"
Shane nods. "I can't hold her… fuck, I need to heal. I can't hold my baby."
Yuna can see Shane start to spiral, which is the last thing they need right now. "When your dad gets home I'll send him up to the attic to get your old crib. I knew it would come in handy one day. I also kept some of your clothes. We should make a list of things we need. Diapers and formula, of course."
"Oh… dad doesn't know yet," Shane says.
Yuna hadn't thought about that yet. Her husband is in for quite the shock when he gets home from work. "I'll tell him, you have enough on your mind." Daria stirs slightly in her arms. "Your grandpa is going to spoil you rotten, just you wait." She remembers how good David had been with Shane as a baby; she had barely needed to change a diaper when he was home.
"He's not going to be angry?" Shane asks.
"No. We both just want you to be happy. Does Roza… Ilya make you happy?" She corrects herself from using Ilya's last name. It's going to be an adjustment, but if Ilya's going to be her son-in-law she needs to get used to calling him by his first name.
Shane nods. "I tried to deny how he makes me feel. I tried dating women… Rose… I just couldn't. Mom, I'm sorry."
"No, I'm sorry. I should have made you feel safe enough to tell me sooner." She can't make up for the past, but she can make sure that Shane's life is as easy as possible from now on. It's going to be tough, there isn't a single out hockey player in the league yet, but she's going to do everything in her power to change things. "How long have you and Ro… Ilya been together?"
"We aren't… it's complicated. We've been… you know… for years now. I was hoping to ask him to be exclusive this summer. I invited him to my cottage, but he didn't give me an answer yet."
"I think it's safe to say he'll go there with you now. You also basically demanded he marry you and I didn't hear him protest that."
Shane laughs a little. "He told me I need to get him a ring before he says yes."
"Ask your dad to take you ring shopping, he's got a good eye for it. He's never disappointed me."
Daria is starting to wake up in her arms. She's fussing and her face contorts before she starts to cry. "Oh, darling. Are you hungry?" Yuns asks, rocking her slightly.
"Ilya got some formula from the hospital, I'll get it." Shane looks thankful to have something to do. Yuna can't imagine how painful it is that he can't hold his own baby yet. She watches as Shane prepares a bottle. He tells her that he's helped out Hayden and his wife a couple of times, so at least he's not completely clueless about babies. That will come in handy.
"How about I hold her and you give her the bottle," Yuna suggests. It's the best they can do for now.
"I'd like that." Shane sits as close to her as he can and offers Daria her bottle. Thankfully she begins drinking immediately. "I really have a baby," Shane whispers.
"I have a grandbaby," Yuna says. "It doesn't feel real."
"Usually people have time to prepare for this. Fuck, I can't imagine what this must have been like for Ilya. To have her and think that he's going to lose her…" There's tears in his eyes. However unreal this feels to Yuna, it must be a thousand time as intense for Shane.
"I'll make sure that doesn't happen, don't you worry about that." When Daria finishes drinking Yuna burps her and then she has an idea. Shane can't hold his baby, but she can lay on his chest.
"Lean back a bit, I'll put Daria on your chest. Tell me if it hurts."
"I… Is that safe? I don't want to hurt her," Shane says.
"I am right here, if you can't hold her I'll help you." Shane is so much like her, but in this moment he's all David. She remembers the first time he held Shane. He'd been so nervous about hurting him. As soon as Daria lays down on his chest, his expression softens. The look on his face is nothing but love for this perfect little baby.
"Hello, Dasha," he whispers. "I'm your daddy. I promise I'm going to take such good care of you and your papa. You don't have to worry about a thing."
Yuna quickly takes some pictures to capture this moment. "Looks like you've got her. I'm going up to the attic to look at your old baby stuff."
Shane immediately looks at her with a panicked look in his eyes. "But, what if I drop her?"
"You won't. She's already falling asleep on her daddy and you're holding onto her tightly with your free arm. She is safe with you," she assures him. Shane still looks a little scared, but Yuna leaves anyway. He deserves some time alone with his daughter. Oh, that's going to take some time to get used to. Her baby has a baby. She's been hoping he'd find someone to start a family with for a while now, but she never imagined it would be like this.