Pain of the Past (a Preminger fanfiction)

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Nothing is quite as sobering as the innocence of newborn life.  Age jades the mind and the soul and the hardships of life overwhelm the beauty of the mundane over time. In the trials of life, we become quick to forget that life in it of itself is the purest miracle of all.

When Erik and Vanessa's daughter smiled up at him for the first time, these thoughts broke through the shroud that had hung over Preminger's spirit for so long. He felt a warmth in the pit of his chest where it had been for so long cold and empty. And for the first time in a long time, he smiled. A true and genuine smile as he looked upon his friends, his family crouched by the window of that little room.

Erik pressed his forehead against his wife's, cradling the child between them who seemed so impossibly small. Preminger felt his eyes mist with tears and he looked away, feeling suddenly like they were owed a moment of privacy.

He turned away, looking to Madam Carp who had a tight, unreadable expression across her face.

"What shall we name her?" Erik asked in a soft voice.

There was a pause, Vanessa's eyes fluttering closed in exhaustion, but there was a lightness of joy in her smile even then.

"Erika," she responded weakly. "After her father."

At this, Erik laughed, a sound of pure joy as his eyes dampened with tears. He held his family close in a tight embrace, pressing his lips to the top of Vanessa's head and hugging his daughter close between them.

"I swear as long as there is breath in my lungs I will love and protect you both. My Erika. And my V...Vanessa?"

The urgency in his voice seized Preminger's heart with fear and he turned back to them to see Erik holding Vanessa's face with his free hand. She looked much paler than usual, there were dark circles beneath her eyes and her lips were white. She looked up at Erik through dark, heavy eyes.

"I'm alright, I'm just tired." She said, forcing a tone of reassurance in her voice that did little to calm anyone's nerves.

"She's probably lost a lot of blood," Preminger observed, walking over to stand beside them. Erik stood, carefully passing the swaddled child into Preminger's arms before he had a chance to protest. Preminger started for a moment, unsure of himself as he balanced the small body in the cradle of his arms. He held her close to his chest as Erik kneeled beside his wife, laying a hand across her forehead.

"She's burning up. Is that normal?" he asked worriedly.

"I'm alright, Erik." Vanessa insisted. "Between the two of us, I think I've helped deliver more babies than you. All I need is some rest. Maybe some water."

"Water," Erik nodded, eager to hear that there was something he could do to help.

Just at that moment, the furious sound of knocking resounded from down the stairs, startling everyone in the room. In his arms, baby Erika began to cry.

"Can't we catch a break? Who could that be at this hour?" Erik wondered as he took the baby back from Preminger.

The knock sounded again and Madam Carp let out a huff, hitching the skirts of her nightgown as she turned to leave down the stairs.

There was a moment of silence as they all held their breath, straining to hear what was happening down below. The lock of the door groaned, Madam Carp let out an exclamation, and suddenly hurried footsteps thudded up the stairs.

Nick and Nack burst into the room, their faces glistening with sweat as they struggled to regain their breath. Preminger couldn't help but sigh in relief at the sight of the two of them, but his relaxation suddenly vanished once he realized the distress on their faces.