Jack was resting in the living room with Davey and Crutchie who had come for support of their close friends. Jack was in distress, the early morning sun creeping through the curtains by the window and casting a soft light into the room. Crutchie and Davey dare not say a word to the sorrowful father. Silence engulfed the apartment until the midwife entered the living room from the bedroom. "Mr. Kelly... your wife wants you."

Jack stood slowly, casting glances to Davey and Crutchie before stepping carefully into the bedroom. Katherine lay on the bed, her eyes swollen yet dry. She had cried more than what she thought was possible, but at the state she was at now, she couldn't cry anymore. She just felt he anguish and guilt deep inside of her heart, tormenting her with the suffering.

"Mrs. Kelly, you're still going to have to birth the child," the midwife instructed. Jack knelt by Katherine, running his fingers through her hair comfortingly before clasping her hand in his own. His heartache matched Katherine's own, nothing able to comfort them in their time of mourning.

Katherine began to push, but unlike her first three children's births, she never made a sound. It wasn't long until the small infant—barely even the size of large fruit—was laying in the midwife's hands. "A boy," the midwife told the two parents. "Would you like to see him?"

Jack was about to say yes when he saw Katherine shaking her head curtly. He knew then what was going through Katherine's mind: she didn't want to get attached. She didn't want to take one look at his underdeveloped face and think about how they lost him. Jack sighed, looking up at the midwife and instructing her quietly, "Can we be alone?"

"Of course." The midwife, still carrying the motionless child, exited the bedroom, closing the door quietly behind her. Katherine's head turned away from Jack, but he knew that her tears were returning.

"Ace, I know what you're thinkin', and this ain't your fault," Jack told her, squeezing her hand in his. Katherine turned her head to face Jack, her expression full of exhaustion and sorrow.

Katherine couldn't bring herself to believe Jack's words, shaking her head slowly. "But it is. I put too much on myself. My stupid stubbornness and desire to be independent—"

"Is what makes ya special, Ace," Jack interrupted, cradling her cheek tenderly. "Things have got ta be tough sometimes. Believe me, I wish this didn't have ta happen either, but it's just life."

Katherine couldn't stop the tears now, closing her eyes and turning away from Jack, "But our child didn't even get to have a life whatsoever."

These words hit Jack. He found himself struggling for words, so he attempted to make the situation better by bringing Katherine's hand up to his lips, kissing her knuckles lightly. "We can at least see him and give him a name."

Katherine didn't open her eyes for a moment, thinking over this option. Did she really want to look at the face of the child she had lost? Was bidding him a farewell the action that would help her move on? She couldn't see how, but she reluctantly opened her eyes and nodded to Jack.

The midwife brought the baby into the room, able to carry it in one hand. She tenderly passed it to Katherine, who brushed her thumb over the soft cheek of the fragile face of the child. He looked so at peace, as if he were never troubled by the world's issues. Unlike his mother and father, he'd never have to experience the pain of society's cold, hard truth.

"Goodbye, James Kelly."

<><><>

"How's she doin'?" Crutchie asked once Jack stepped out of the bedroom, running a hand through his disheveled hair.

Jack shook his head leaning against the wall and tilting his head back to rest it against the structure. "She's upset. She wanted to be alone with him."

"Him?" Davey questioned softly, careful with his choice of words in order to avoid overstepping his boundaries.

Jack nodded slightly, almost unnoticeably, in response, "A boy. We chose James ta be his name." Jack was conflicted with his emotions. How was he supposed to feel? These ordeals didn't happen everyday. The only thing he knew was that his underdeveloped son would always hold a place in his heart alongside Velma, Veronica, and Joseph.

Crutchie and Davey exchanged a sorrowful glance, leaving Jack to the peace he desired. Their friend had always been one to feels s if the weight on the world were on his shoulders, and there was rarely ever s time where that weight seemed to crush him. Now was one of those times, and Crutchie and Davey could tell he was trying to place a mask over his emotions, pushing the comfort he needed away and replacing it with the idea that it was his job as father and husband to offer that comfort.

Katherine brought her legs to her chest, feeling the bump she once had twenty-four hours ago gone and replaced with the realization that this wasn't a dream; that this wasn't the letter. This was reality, and the child she loved from the moment she first conceived him was gone. The only shrivel of hope that this was an even a slightly positive situation was that he was in a better place; he was living in peace, away from the world's conflict.

Katherine held onto that hope, believing that perhaps one day she'd be able to meet her small son in a better life.