The first time Shadow cried and wasn’t absolutely traumatized by the reason why was when his baby girl was born. Seeing such a tiny, delicate looking thing— looking around at the doctors as if she’d just been insulted, it made his poor black heart melt into sludge.

He stared at her as she lay in her bassinet- his red eyes wide and his gloved hands against the plastic. 4 pounds, three ounces was how much she weighed. She had black hair just like him, and tiny velvety ears on top of her head. His baby; named after sweet Maria— a child he created. How wonderful was that? How could a creature, a weapon, a monster like him… have created such an angel? His little girl just took his breath away. He wasn’t sure if he could hold her.

Hell, he didn’t know how.

“She’s so tiny.” He murmured softly. “Baby Maria… How does a creature get that small?”