Prelude: It was Fate

~Third Person p.o.v.~

*The Past, 18 years ago*

"Mr. and Mrs. Archer?" A tall man called from across the room. He was wearing a lab coat and a pair of light blue scrubs underneath it.

On the opposite side of the room, a happily married couple sat patiently in their seats, side by side. The young woman stood up first and she sprinted eagerly over to the man who had just called out their names. She outstretched her right hand toward the man, offering him a handshake. "Phoebe Archer!" She introduced herself while holding onto her very swollen stomach with her opposite hand.

The man in the lab coat looked down at her, his lips slowly spreading into a smile. Then he gladly accepted her gesture, giving her hand a gentle shake. "Doctor Lockehart." He replied, introducing himself before he released her hand and offered it to the man who had just walked up beside Phoebe, standing behind her. "You must be the husband?"

"Evander Archer, yes sir." The other man answered, firmly shaking hands with the doctor.

Doctor Lockehart released Evander's hand and took a step back, smiling politely at both of them. He tucked the clipboard underneath his armpit and motioned with his hand for the couple to follow him. "Right this way," he instructed, before spinning on his heels and walking back through the double doors. They followed after the doctor all the way to the end of the hallway and stopped in front of a door with a black name badge hanging up on it. The name read, Patrick Lockehart. He opened up the door and waved his arm out, allowing them to walk in first.

"Thank you, Patrick." Phoebe teased the doctor. Her husband rolled his eyes and covered his laughter with a small cough so as not to offend the doctor. Phoebe walked into the room and immediately sat down on the patient's chair. She leaned back on the headrest and raised up her shirt. "So, Pat, are you married?" She asked bluntly.

"Oh my...Phoebe!" Evander gasped in shock, shaking his head at his emboldened wife. "Doctor Lockehart, I am so sorry. I am afraid this pregnancy is affecting my wife's brain." He sighed, running his fingers through his hair. His chocolate brown hair that usually was kept pulled up in a tight bun, now flowed down to his shoulders.

Patrick simply shrugged, entering the room after them before he closed the door. "She's fine, and to answer your question, Phoebe. No, I am not married, but maybe one day if I ever find my person." He replied with a friendly smile, walking over to his stool before pushing it closer to the patient's table where Phoebe was already waiting. "I see that you two have found your person and, soon, you'll be adding a third."

Phoebe grinned widely, lifting up her shirt to expose her swollen belly. "Yes. He should be making his arrival soon." She replied, beaming at her husband who was sitting in a chair at the other end of the room. "We picked out the name Apollo, after the Greek God of Archery."

"You picked out the name Apollo." Evander spoke up, rolling his eyes as he smiled back at his wife. "I wanted to name him Robin after Robin Hood."

Patrick listened to the couple banter back and forth about the name of their unborn child as he got to work examining Phoebe's stomach. He made sure to slip on a pair of fresh gloves before touching her stomach, pressing around on different areas and asking her if she felt any pain. She told him that she didn't feel any pain at all, except for the typical aches of her stretching skin. After he finished feeling around her stomach, he pulled out his stethoscope and listened to her heartbeat. Then he moved lower to listen to her lungs and was happy to tell her that her organs sounded incredibly healthy. Once he finished listening to her breathing, he moved to her stomach to listen to the baby's heartbeat. Doctor Lockehart tried not to appear worried as he placed the stethoscope over her belly and noticed that he wasn't getting a rhythm from the fetus' heart. He pressed the stethoscope over a couple more spots and then stood up from his chair.

Patrick tried not to think negatively as he turned on the ultrasound machine and set it up. He moved around the room to grab the gel to rub on her belly and then swapped out his gloves for a new pair. Afterwards, he walked over and sat back down on his stool and scooted closer to her again. "Alright, let's see how the baby is doing in there." He smiled, but sadly it didn't reach his eyes.

"How did his heart sound, Doctor Lockehart?" Evander asked from the other end of the room. He sat up and placed his elbows on his knees.

The doctor swallowed nervously, clearing his throat as he answered him as best and honestly as he could without scaring them too much. He didn't want to worry them before he was certain of what his ears heard, or better said didn't hear. "There was a lot of sound coming from Phoebe's digestive system, but we should be able to hear his heartbeat perfectly through the monitor."

Phoebe blushed and watched as Doctor Lockehart lifted her shirt up a little higher and then rubbed the cold gel on her stomach. He smeared it around evenly and then placed the wand over it, rubbing it around. They all waited patiently to hear the baby's heart and Patrick silently prayed that the baby was fine. He pressed a little harder on her stomach with the wand, but still they were met with absolute silence. "Is the volume turned up? Maybe the sound got muted." Phoebe suggested, her smile faltered as he noticed both gentlemen in the room looking lost. Her eyes started to fill with tears and a large lump rose in her throat. She swallowed it down and blinked back her tears, looking up at the doctor's desolate eyes. "N-no... No, it can't be." She shook her head, refusing to believe what was right in front of them.

"Mr. and Mrs. Archer, I am so sorry. Truly I am." Doctor Lockehart whispered, bowing his head in respect for their loss.

Evander stood up and rushed to his wife's side as she screamed in agony, holding her swollen pregnant belly where their deceased baby lied in rest. He wrapped his arms protectively and comfortingly around his heartbroken wife, fighting back his own tears as he held her tightly. She grabbed onto her husband's shirt for support as it felt like her whole world had just fallen apart. After ten years of trying to conceive a child and being told by multiple doctors that it wasn't possible. They had almost given up until they found out a few months ago that they were expecting a miracle baby. Then for their baby to be taken from them before it was even born, felt like a slap in the face to her. Phoebe felt like God had betrayed her and then dislodged her heart from her chest and stomped all over it. She clung onto her husband, sobbing in his arms as he squeezed her tightly while silently crying himself.

Doctor Lockehart slowly stood up from his stool and walked to the door. "I am going to give you both a bit, but when I return I will need to discuss the next steps." He informed them before leaving the room. He wandered through the hallway feeling his own tears form in his eyes, and quickly entered the nearest storage closet. Once inside, Patrick allowed himself to grieve for the couple's loss. He cried his own tears, feeling the same betrayal that they felt. Patrick followed their story through the newspaper. He studied their case and agreed with the rest of the world that their baby was indeed a miracle. He didn't understand how God could grant them such a blessing, only to snatch it from them before even getting to meet the baby. Not only that, but he was furious that God gave him the opportunity to be their doctor after their previous one had retired. None of this was fair and it wasn't right that they were so close to meeting him. They were a month and a few weeks away from delivering their child. Now, they were going to have to deliver a stillborn and he knew that it would break their hearts to hold their deceased baby in their arms.

Patrick allowed himself just five minutes to break down for the young couple. When the fives minutes had passed, he went to the doctors' private restroom and cleaned himself up. He wiped his tear-stained face and made sure he looked presentable again. Patrick checked his watch, noticing that it had already been ten minutes since he left the room. He went to the cafeteria and got himself a glass of water. He waited a little while longer before finally returning to their room. It had been half an hour since he left, and when he walked in he was surprised to see the couple looking much better. Phoebe was still sitting on the patient's table, and Evander had pulled up a chair beside her. They gave Doctor Lockehart a weak smile as he entered their room, and he returned it politely.

For the next hour they went over everything that would happen next. Phoebe's labor would be induced to deliver her stillborn baby, and they would be allowed to hold him before he would be taken to get cleaned up and sent to the morgue. They were allowed to option out of holding their deceased baby, but they both insisted on at least seeing him once. The doctor explained that it could be very emotional for them and that he would get them a therapist for them to talk with about their loss. He knew it would be good for the young couple, since this was their only shot at having their own biological children. However, Evander and Phoebe both declined the offer. They were strong enough to cope with this by themselves. Besides, they had each other and that was enough for them. After being married for 10 years, they have learned to lean on each other. They didn't need anyone else budding in on their business.

Patrick understood and simply dropped the subject. Once he was finished explaining everything to them, he left for a few more minutes to get everything set up in the delivery room. Then he gathered his nurses and had them wait in the room as he went to go get the couple. Patrick and the couple went to the delivery room and, after a few hours, the fetus was born. They held him, cried for him, and said their goodbyes before the nurses took him out of the room to get him cleaned up. They chose to have him cremated and picked out a cross for his ashes to be placed inside. Finally, after another hour of making sure that Phoebe was safe to leave, they were allowed to return home.

Phoebe walked into their small three-bedroom cabin. She made her way to the back of the house where the nursery room is. When she entered the nursery, she felt the walls she had built come crashing down and fell to her knees. The tears came instantly as they slid down her cheeks. Phoebe hugged her arms around her now empty stomach, sobbing for her loss once again. She allowed herself to break down even more than before, now that she was alone and in the comfort of her home. She didn't call out to her husband, wanting to be alone to grieve by herself. Not for forever, but just for a little while. She had lost so much throughout her life, but this was the one thing she truly felt robbed of. She felt that God had stolen her womb from her and deprived her of being a mother. She knew that eventually she would have to forgive him, but for now she would allow herself to be angry with him. Seven months and eighteen days, she carried her baby in her womb and he had stolen the breath of life from his lungs while he was inside of her.

Evander knew that his wife wanted to be left alone. He could feel her need to be by herself for a bit in order to let herself break down. His wife is a strong and stubborn woman. She would hold herself together in front of others in order to keep her image, but once she was in solitude, she could truly allow herself to feel strong emotions. Doing what he did best, he ran outside to his barn and grabbed his bow and a sheath of arrows. He tossed both over his shoulder and ran deep into the woods behind their house. He would give his wife time to grieve while he too grieved in his own way. In the only way he knew how. Hunting the creatures that lurk in the shadows of the night around these woods. Evander stayed out late until the sun had completely set and all that was left in the sky was the bright moon. His eyes lifted up to gaze at it and noticed that tonight was a full moon. Not only that, but it was a blue moon.

A shiver went down his spine as he started walking back in the direction of his cabin. He didn't know why but he felt like he was being watched. It was only a few minutes until the feeling was confirmed when a bush rustled a few feet away from him. He lifted his nose in the air and sniffed around. Nothing smelled out of the ordinary and he let himself relax just a little. He closed his eyes and opened up his ears to listen to the world around him. Evander waited a few minutes and that was when he heard it. A cry. It was soft, barely audible, but he heard it. Immediately, his feet ran in the direction of the cries. He ran deeper through the woods until he stopped right in front of the source of the cries. There lying in a white basket on the ground in the middle of the woods was a baby. An infant girl wrapped in a soft baby-blue blanket with an unusual appearance. What was unusual about her was the hues of blue running through her pitch-black hair that made it resemble the night sky, and her bright silver eyes that reflected the color of the moon.

The baby bawled until her bright eyes caught sight of the man in front of her and then she immediately fell silent. The baby didn't look much older than a week old. Evander wondered if she had just been born today and her parents had abandoned her here, hoping someone would find her. He quickly leaned down and scooped her up in his arms, keeping the blanket around her so she wouldn't get cold. He felt something hard brush against his arm and noticed a patch stitched onto the blanket. He read it and smiled, looking down at the little bundle in his arms. There written on a patch was the name, Lucinda, and he realized that the name meaning 'ray of light' fitted perfectly with her. He stood up and grabbed the basket in his other hand. Then he carried both the baby and the basket back to the cabin.

When he returned, his wife came running outside the house. Her eyes widened at the sight of the infant in his arms and a gasp slipped from her lips. She ran over to them both and scooped the baby into her arms. "Where did you find her?" Phoebe asked, tears forming in her eyes.

"In the woods. Someone left her there. She's a newborn. Look at her, darling. This is fate!" Evander smiled at his wife. He kissed the top of her head and then the top of the baby's head.

Phoebe spotted the name on her blanket and cradled the baby against her chest. "It must be. Hello, Lucinda." He cooed at the baby. "That fits her." She told him, kissing the baby's forehead. "Let's get her inside, I should be able to breastfeed her."

Evander walked behind his wife as they entered their cabin and they walked back into the nursery. Phoebe sat down in the rocking chair and got herself situated, exposing one of her breasts. It took the baby a moment to latch on but soon she fed from Phoebe's breast. Evander kneeled down beside them both, watching his wife in awe. He couldn't help but be proud of how strong she was. Here she was feeding a stranger's baby after having just lost her own. She truly was pure of heart, just like her name stated. He knew without a doubt that this was fate. As sad as it was to lose their baby, they were meant to find Lucinda in the woods. They were meant to raise her as their child and his wife was meant to be a mother.

He watched with a soft smile gracing his lips as Lucinda continued to suck on his wife's breast. His hand moved up to brush the tiny strands of hair out of the baby's face. Then, without a moment of hesitation, the words whispered from his lips. "Welcome to the family, Lucinda Archer."