So it was that John was sitting on a chair outside in the waiting room, staring at the floor with a coffee mug in his hand. Pick, David and Ruth sat next to him and gently rubbed his back.

"Don't worry. Everything will be fine, John." Pick hummed.

"He's just so weak and thin. The doctor said his chances of survival aren't very good." John sobbed. "And it's all my fault." Ruth gently rubbed her brother-in-law's shoulder.

"It's all our fault." Pick sighed. "I started this whole thing when I told him he was getting fat and that he was eating all the time."

"Don't blame yourself, honey." David said sadly, rubbing his soul mate's shoulder. "Mark is a tough guy. He'll get through it."

"You should have seen him." John smiled sadly. "He fought until the last minute. I'm so proud of him." The friends smiled gently. They sat in the waiting room for about thirty minutes before they were allowed to see the baby. The three men stood around the incubator with Ruth and looked down at the little baby inside. A nurse, whose name tag said Jane, smiled gently at John.

"You're the father?" She asked. John nodded quickly.

"How is she?"

"Surprisingly well." Jane smiled. "She's very small because she was not able to develop well, but the doctors could not find any damage to her body or brain. Nevertheless, she will probably be a little smaller than other children her age until she's eight years old. After that, the disadvantage should be balanced out again and looking at you, Mr. Illsley." She raised her head and looked up at the 1.95 meter tall man. "I guess she will be quite tall." The group laughed.

"That's my niece." David cooed excitedly and looked at the little baby. She had a few dark hairs on her head. "What colour are her eyes?" John bit his lower lip and shrugged.

"To be honest, I didn't pay attention."

"Blue." Jane said, catching the group's attention. "Her eyes are azure blue." John smiled and felt a warm feeling in his chest. His daughter had Mark's eyes.

*

An hour later, it was already 6 a.m., John was allowed to visit his soul mate. David, Pick and Ruth had insisted on staying, even though John had told them to go home and rest. The bassist was very tired himself, but he didn't want to go. When he entered the hospital room, he felt a lump in his throat. In the room was a bed on which Mark was lying. A few machines were beeping around him. There was a thin breathing tube in his nose, which had been placed over his ears. There was also an IV in the back of his hand. John sat down on the chair next to the bed and gently took his hand. The guitarist's eyes were closed, but when he heard his lover's voice, they flickered open.

"I love you, Mark." Mark looked at him exhausted. His eyes were barely open. John smiled gently when he saw the beautiful blue of his irises. "I'm so proud of you. You did so incredibly well. Our daughter is doing very well. She will have to stay in the hospital for a while because she was born prematurely, but she's fine. We need to think of a name. What do you think of Louisia? After your mother. Would you like that?"

"John." Mark whispered. His lips barely moved. The bassist stopped speaking and looked at him worriedly.

"I'm here, my darling." He hummed.

"I love you." Mark breathed, his eyes drooping tiredly.

"I know." John said sadly and felt tears in his eyes. Mark was very weak. "I know, I love you too. So much. You're incredible, Mark." John kissed Mark's forehead. "Rest, okay? We can talk about the name when you're better." Mark's eyelids fluttered a little more before they slowly closed. John sighed worriedly.

*

When John entered the hospital room the next morning, his eyes widened. Mark was still lying in that sterile white bed. They had taken off his nightshirt. His daughter was sleeping on his bare chest. The blanket was pulled up over the baby so that John could only see Mark's head, his shoulders and his daughter's head. A nurse was next to the bed and smiled at John as he closed the door behind him.

"Good morning." John greeted, somewhat embarrassed.

"Good morning." The nurse smiled. John realized it was Jane. The bassist slowly walked towards the bed and had to smile when he saw the small back of his daughter's head. Mark's eyes were barely open, John could only see blue slits.

"How are you, honey?" The older man asked worriedly, reaching out to put his hand on Mark's bare shoulder.

"He's very weak and exhausted. The doctors have decided to feed him artificially." Jane said, pointing to a stand of fluid running down the crook of Mark's arm. John bit his lower lip worriedly. "The doctor will tell you the rest when he comes." She assured him.

"How is our girl?" John asked, looking down at the little baby.

"Better than her father." Jane sighed. "To be honest, a lot better. Even though she's premature, the doctors decided not to leave her in the incubator for so long and to keep taking her out. I put her on Mr Knopfler's chest so she can get used to him." John smiled slightly. "If you want, I can leave the room for a while so you can be alone."

"That would be nice." The bassist nodded, and so Jane left the hospital room. John sat down on the chair the nurse had been sitting on and reached out to gently stroke his daughter's head. Mark turned his head weakly and looked at him. "Look at her." John cooed. "God, Mark, you're incredible. You've spent all these months creating this little human. I love you both so much. Yesterday I wanted to look for a baby bed, but I was just too tired. How are you? You look a little better already." John watched in shock as a small tear rolled down Mark's cheek. "What's wrong, darling?"

"It hurts." Mark whispered weakly. "Everything hurts and I... I can't, I..."

"Hey." John reached out and gently stroked Mark's cheek. "You handled this incredibly well, my darling. No one else would have handled this situation so well. I know we never talked about having a child together. But here it is. And she's so pretty. She has your eyes. But she doesn't have a name. Do you want to choose it? I didn't want to decide without talking to you about it." Mark took a shuddering breath. John waited patiently for Mark's answer. He knew that the younger man always thought long and hard before giving his perfect answer.

"John?" He murmured.

"Yes?" John leaned forward and smiled gently at him.

"I..." Mark closed his eyes for a few seconds.

"What's wrong?"

"Can you call a nurse?"

"What's wrong? Are you not feeling well?" John asked worriedly as he leaned forward and pressed the button for the nurse.

"I have to go to the bathroom." The dark blond man murmured. John nodded understandingly and slowly lifted his daughter from Mark's chest. He held the newborn gently to his chest and smiled down at the little girl who snuggled up to his broad chest. It wasn't long before Jane came into the room.

"What's wrong? Is the baby not feeling well?" She asked worriedly.

"No. Mark has to go to the bathroom." John said and felt his cheeks warm up.

"Oh." Jane stepped to Mark's side and helped him sit up, the guitarist moaning and groaning miserably in pain. John watched the whole thing worriedly. He had never seen Mark in such a state before. It took ages before the guitarist stood on his wobbly legs. Jane held his hands tightly and supported him. John's cheeks flushed when he saw the diaper that had been tied around Mark's hips. But he said nothing. There must have been a reason for it. Mark walked very slowly towards the bathroom door while Jane led him. The bassist watched him worriedly. Suddenly the baby let out a scream and all the adults turned around. Mark almost fell to the floor when he turned around in shock. Jane supported him worriedly. John rocked the girl gently in his arms and soon the crying stopped. A few minutes later Mark came out of the bathroom again. He was very pale and it took him at least as long to lie down again as it had when he got up.

"Flora." Mark croaked dazedly. His vision was blurred and his blood pressure was very low again, which is why his voice was very soft. John and Jane looked at each other questioningly.

"What do you mean?" The bassist asked, bewildered.

"Flora Louisia Knopfler-Illsley." Mark murmured, his eyes almost closed again. John began to smile and looked down at the little girl in his arms.

"That's a very beautiful name." Jane said, grinning.

"Are you sure she should have a double name? I won't be mad if she only has your last name." John said gently, placing a hand on Mark's upper arm.

"Knopfler-Illsley or Illsley-Knopfler." Mark murmured, his eyes almost closed again. John smiled gently and kissed Mark's forehead.

"Okay. I'll go and do the paperwork and you rest, alright?"

*

John named his daughter "Flora Louisia Knopfler-Illsley," as Mark had first suggested. When everything was done, he took the tram home and made a phone call. He called his parents and told them about the happy offspring that was in the incubator in the hospital. His mother cried over the phone and promised to come visit the next morning with John's father. When that was done, he called Mark's parents. However, this phone call was not as calm as he had hoped. Mark's mother was angry. Very angry.

"How dare you put my son in this situation!?" She shouted angrily. "He could have died during birth! Haven't you thought about why he ate so much more, John!?" John swallowed hard and looked at the floor.

"I'm sorry, Louisia, but I didn't notice. Mark never told me that he had morning sickness or anything like that."

"The poor thing didn't even know what was happening to his body!" Louisia exclaimed in horror. John took a deep breath.

"Anyway, you have a granddaughter now. If you want to see her, you can come to the hospital tomorrow at 2 p.m. If not, then don't." With that, he hung up the phone and sighed deeply. He knew that Louisia was just very worried about her child, but the accusations she made against John hurt him quite a bit.

*

When John woke up the next morning, he stretched across the bed, tired and yawning. The bassist prepared breakfast and took a shower before getting dressed and taking the tram to the hospital. Once there, he went to the right hospital room. When he opened the door, he had to smile. His parents were already there. Next to Mark's bed was the incubator where Flora was. John's parents stood smiling next to the incubator and looked inside. Mark seemed to be sleeping, at least his eyes were closed and his body was limp.

"Good morning." John said quietly so as not to wake his soul mate. John's mother raised her head and smiled at him.

"She's so beautiful." She cooed with tears in her eyes. John smiled as he walked over to the incubator and looked inside for himself. Now there was a small ribbon wrapped around Flora's wrist with her name and her parents' names written on it.

"Well done, John." Smiled Phillip, John's father, and slapped him on the back. John smiled a little.

"I hardly did anything, Dad. Mark did all the work." Sarah, John's mother, smiled a little and sat down on the chair next to the bed. She gently brushed back some of Mark's hair, causing the guitarist to wake up. He moved weakly and opened his eyes to slits. He was still very exhausted and thin.

"Hello darling." John said immediately, taking Mark's hand in his. The guitarist blinked dazedly and stared at John in confusion, causing those present to laugh. "How are you?"

"Hungry." Mark croaked weakly.

"I thought so." Sarah said, nodding and bending down to get something out of her bag. "I brought you some things that I ate after giving birth." John leaned over the bed to see what his mother had brought. Sarah opened a packet of crisp bread and handed John a piece. The bassist broke off a small piece and held it to Mark's lips. The guitarist bit into it and chewed lazily. "You'll feel better soon. Don't worry." Sarah hummed and rubbed Mark's arm.

"The problem is that he's too thin." John sighed. "The doctor said that he has very low blood pressure and that's why he's not feeling well." Sarah nodded worriedly.

"You should eat a lot of carbohydrates." Sarah said. "Bread, pasta, potatoes. Then you should feel better soon."

"John?" Mark croaked.

"Yes. I'm here." John nodded immediately.

"Flora..."

"She's fine. Don't worry." John assured and kissed Mark's forehead. They sat in silence for a while before the door to the room opened and Louisia and Erwin Knopfler came in. The woman was holding a basket in her hand. Her eyes widened when she saw her son. Without greeting those present, she ran to the bed and reached out her hand to touch Mark's cheek.

"Good morning." Erwin said and closed the door behind him before joining Phillip and looking at his granddaughter. Erwin and Phillip got along quite well, while Sarah and Louisia sometimes argued.

"Mark, my darling. It's me. Your mommy." She cooed softly. Mark turned his head weakly and looked into his mother's face. It took a while before he realized who was standing in front of him. "What do you look like? Terrible. How are you? You're so terribly thin, my darling." She whimpered worriedly. John bit his lower lip. He could tell from Louisia's tone that she was about to say something angry to him. Normally Mark would step in and settle the argument, but in his condition? Impossible. "What did John do to you?" She whispered sadly when she saw Mark's bony chest. The guitarist was breathing weakly and blinking dazedly.

"What does that mean?" Sarah asked, horrified. "John didn't do anything to him!"

"Of course he did! Mark was pregnant and John told him not to eat so much because he was getting fat! It was by no means a healthy pregnancy! If Mark hadn't been so thin, he would be fine now! And the baby too!"

"You take that back immediately!" Sarah shouted angrily and stood up. The two women stood opposite each other and growled at each other. "It's not John's fault! Not even Mark knew he was pregnant!"

"John got him pregnant! It was his job to notice that Mark wasn't well! You didn't raise your son properly!"

"Didn't raise him properly!? What are you thinking!?" Sarah screamed. The two shouted at each other. Erwin and Phillip exchanged worried glances. John tried to break up the argument, but as always, he only made things worse. The women became hysterical and screamed at each other. The two didn't even stop screaming when Flora started to cry. Erwin put his hand in the incubator and gently stroked her back to calm her down.

"Sh. My little one. Your grannies just fight." He hummed, making Phillip giggle.

"You raised an absolute good-for-nothing!" Louisia screamed angrily. "My son was a perfect journalist and teacher! What's yours!? John doesn't deserve Mark at all and he just showed that again!"

"Mom, please stop fighting!" John shouted, trying to keep the two women apart, but he couldn't. Suddenly a broken cry of pain rang out and the argument ended abruptly. Mark had pushed himself up on his forearms and turned his head out of bed to vomit. Phillip quickly got the trash can and held it under Mark's head, but the first gush of vomit was already on the floor.

"Look what John did to him!" Louisia shouted and wanted to continue the argument, but Mark pulled his head out of the bucket. He was sweating heavily again. His hair was sticking wetly to his forehead and his body was shaking.

"That's enough now, Mom." He croaked, dazed.

"You're not in a condition to take part in this conversation, honey!" His mother exclaimed. Mark pushed himself up on his elbows again and, in enormous pain, managed to sit up and sit on the edge of the bed. Erwin supported his son by his shoulders, worried, as Mark stood up and staggered on his feet.

"That's enough!" Mark shouted as loudly as he could, even though his voice was very quiet. His bare feet trembled on the hospital floor while Erwin held him upright. Mark held onto his father with one hand, trying not to look helpless, although he failed. "I'm damn tired. I feel like I'm going to die any minute and all you two are doing is arguing!" Mark exclaimed. "It doesn't matter whose fault it is that we're in this situation." Mark slowly walked towards the incubator. Erwin followed him worriedly. John stood silently in the room and couldn't help but smile. It seemed as if Mark was returning to his old self. "Instead of arguing, you could look at your granddaughter." Mark took a shuddering breath. "I didn't know I was pregnant and neither did John, so it's neither of us to blame."

"But..."

"We fucked and we knew what could happen." Mark said firmly, which made Erwin and Phillip laugh. John's cheeks turned pink. "For God's sake. Stop arguing and be happy about your granddaughter. Or don't." Mark's voice grew weaker with every word he said. His body tension also eased and he slumped further against his father. "I don't care at all. But let me... leave me alone with your argument."

"Mark..." Erwin began worriedly.

"If you came to argue, then at least go outside." Mark croaked before his body suddenly went limp. He would have fallen to the floor if Erwin hadn't held him. John rushed towards him and patted his cheek.

"Mark? Mark, wake up!"

"He's unconscious." Erwin said worriedly. "Let's put him back in bed." John nodded worriedly and took Mark's legs while Erwin carried his upper body. They laid him back on the bed and covered him.

"And you go argue outside if you have to make such a fuss!" Phillip shouted angrily and pointed at the door while looking at the two women.