Kaedan was giving Inarora her prescription formula two weeks after her surgery to correct her pyloric valve. He cooed at her softly as she stared up at him with wide, ice blue eyes. Her silver hair was not long enough to cover her eyes but he was glad—he loved seeing her beautiful eyes. 

“Hey Dad, Mom,” he started quietly. “Think we can take her out to the lake later?”

Byron glanced up from his coffee, tapping his fingers on the side. “Sure, son. We could certainly do that.”

“I would love to,” his mother, Xarlen, said. “The four of us, together! Oh, we should get a picture together out there.”

"I would love to, Mom," Kaedan chuckled.

A loud scream sounded from the front door. Kaedan clutched his infant child gently and closed his eyes. Oh no. Iris discovered she had been locked out. And just when he had soothed Inarora for the morning…

“Let me in, Kaedan!” Her words were muffled but he could still hear a lot of what she was saying. He grimaced at the round of insults slung at him.

“Dad, please get Iris out of here,” he said, placing an exasperated hand on his face as Inarora began fussing. “I cannot deal with her.”

Byron nodded. “Of course, son.” He rose to his feet and rushed to the front door. He opened it and Iris’s ears were flattened against her head with rage. The woman’s raven-black hair was picked up by the wind, and her amber eyes burned with rage. From Kaedan’s view, he could tell this was not going to go well. However, his job was to hold onto Inarora and protect her. His mother moved closer to his side and gently held onto him.

He whimpered quietly, pressing his face into his mother's shoulder, and he set the formula bottle down. His ears flattened against his head and he held onto his child, swallowing his fear. Please don’t do anything, Iris, he thought. Yet he knew the woman would do something. It was a feeling he had.

Byron pressed his hand against the screen door and stood tall. “Iris, you are forbidden from entering our home.”

“You can’t stop me, old man!”

Kaedan flinched, screwing his eyes shut. Please don't hurt my dad.

Byron lashed his tail and summoned his staff from the miasma. “You forget, I took magic defense classes and I still practice to this day.”

Iris brandished her wand from the miasma and aimed it at the screen door. Kaedan ducked his head, dreading the ensuing fight. He trembled with fear. Please don’t hurt my dad. Please don’t hurt him.

A loud ‘bang’ followed by the sound of shattering glass told him that, indeed, she was serious. It was hard for him to look up—all he wanted to do was protect himself and Inarora. Suddenly, he heard a ‘thud’ on the floor and he looked up in a panic—his father had been thrown down. It must have smarted him because he writhed in pain. Oh no. Iris glanced at his father, but then did nothing more to the man.

That’s when she approached Kaedan, Xarlen, and Inarora. He tried to speak, but the words got caught in his throat as he tried to swallow his fear. 

“You and me. We were supposed to get married,” Iris sneered. “We have a daughter.”

Xarlen hopped to her feet and stood in between Kaedan and Iris. His mother’s stubby tail lashed behind her. This was not going to go well.

“Mom, please be careful...” Kaedan whispered.

“You are not marrying my baby,” Xarlen growled. “No one deserves what you've done to my boy.”

“You’re so cute, trying to protect your son,” Iris sneered, holding up her wand to attack Xarlen.

“Mom, look out!” Kaedan cried as Xarlen tried to brandish her staff from the miasma.

Before she could attack Iris and stop her, Iris lashed out with a swipe of aeridhani magic—a ball of air shot forth and sent Xarlen flying into the living room, hitting the side of the couch. Xarlen gasped in pain and groaned. Iris waved the wand again and created a wind brace to keep his mother from moving. Kaedan whimpered and clutched his baby, squeezing his eyes shut. I have to protect Ina. I have to.

“Now where were we...?” Iris asked with a twitch of her ear.

“Please stop. You keep…hurting me…” Kaedan trembled, feeling the fur on his tail stand on end. “You need help. Serious help.”

Iris’s facial features twisted in an acerbic smirk, but then held her hand up. Kaedan flinched away, but was not quick enough to avoid the incoming slap across his face. He recoiled against the pain, which now radiated with heat against his cheek. Without thinking, he reached his hand up to his face to gently massage the pain away. Immediately, Iris reached to snatch Inarora away and Kaedan could not stop her.

His precious angel began screaming bloody murder. Which, honestly fair. Kaedan wanted to do the same but couldn’t.

“What are you doing?” his voice was weak with worry. 

“I’m taking my sweet baby.”

“No!” Kaedan snapped. “She’s my child.”

“She's our child,” Iris cooed, cradling Inarora. “Yes you are. You are ours.”

“There is no our,” Kaedan's voice trembled as he spoke. “I don't know how you could even say that, given you barely helped when she was suffering from pyloric stenosis, or after her surgery!”

Iris flicked her ear dismissively at him as she continued trying to soothe Inarora back down. Conflicting feelings rose up: his fear against Iris and his protective father side. Yet, he couldn’t let Iris have Inarora. He trembled and fought the conflict—he had to protect Inarora. Struggling against it, he watched as Iris walked deeper into the kitchen and then reached for a knife. She cooed at Inarora, cradling her in one arm as the tiny baby screamed.

“Now, now, Inarora Alwheni…there’s no need to scream. Mommy’s here for you.”

Rage boiled in Kaedan’s blood. How dare she talk with such honey in her tone? As if she was not terrorizing Kaedan, his father and mother, and his baby. As if she had done anything for Inarora except carry her for ten months. Iris continued trying to soothe the crying infant, but Kaedan knew it wouldn’t work: Inarora did not like Iris, and thus would not respond to her attempts at soothing.

Finally, he forced himself to his feet, adrenaline making him tremble. He was not letting that woman Then, he lunged at Iris, trying to snatch the knife from her.

“Leave my baby alone!” he shouted. 

Iris kept her grip and knocked him back with a swipe of the knife. Hot pain seared his skin as he realized she had grazed his jaw. He placed two fingers where she got him and pulled away only to see bright crimson streaking his fingers. Lovely.

“Oh Kaedan, you know I have the upper hand,” she tsked. 

You can't have my child, Kaedan thought as he narrowed his eyes at her. You will never get away with it. He sensed movement and saw his father out of the corner of his eye. If he could just keep Iris focused on him, Byron could take her down and Inarora could be safe. 

“I’m sorry,” he faked his apology, returning his awkward gaze to his ex-fiancée. “We won’t change the locks on you again, Iris. Please, just don’t hurt Ina.” 

Byron crept forward, but Iris’s gaze remained fixated on Kaedan. He continued to say whatever Iris wanted to hear, allowing his father the ability to sneak in and—

Iris saw him and reacted.

Pain seized his heart the minute Kaedan saw Iris swipe the knife across Inarora’s tiny little hand. The infant screeched with pain and was now wailing. Kaedan immediately began crying; he couldn't hold back anymore. The straw that broke the karsith's back was seeing his baby hurt.

“No, Iris, please stop!” he begged. “She’s innocent. She’s just a baby!”

Anger flashing in his sky blue eyes, Byron lunged at Iris and waved his staff in front of her. A stream of light left it and slapped the knife out of Iris’s hand. Taking the opportunity while she was shocked, he snagged Inarora from her and passed her back to Kaedan. Relieved that his baby was back in his hands, he cradled her and held her comfortingly. To stanch the bleeding, he snatched up the cloth he had kept next to her bottle and began trying to tie it into a tourniquet.

“It's okay, baby,” he whimpered as he tried to calm his child down. “Daddy's here for you, you're safe now. I won't let Iris hurt you.”

Growling, Iris moved to attack Byron again and the older Beservera ducked, ready for what she would deal next. 

“You old bastard!” the woman snapped.

“I’ve already put in an SOS. Intel is responding. At least they’re being useful this time.” Byron responded. “So, go ahead, keep making things worse.”

Before Iris could respond, Byron turned to his wife and zapped the wind brace with a bolt of lightning, breaking the air molecules apart and allowing Xarlen to escape. Kaedan's mother scrambled to her feet and rushed to Kaedan's side, wrapping her arms around him and pulling him close.

“Are you okay, Kae?” Xarlen asked gently.

Kaedan trembled and sniffed. “I'll be fine, Mom. I'm more worried about Ina.”

Xarlen took in the sight of Inarora's hand, now covered in a bloody rag, and flattened her ears with anger.

“That bitch will pay,” she said. “How dare she harm an innocent baby?”

Seriously, though. What did Inarora do except exist?

“You and your mother need to get Inarora to safety,” Byron said. “I’ll be okay.”

“Dad…”

“Inarora is more important. Go.”

Kaedan swallowed hard, worried about what Iris might do to his father. Unfortunately, Byron was right—Inarora needed to be taken to safety and get her cut looked at. With a tentative nod, Kaedan and his mother rushed out of the house with Inarora. Xarlen kept close to Kaedan, her staff brandished to cover his back in case something goes awry.

“You coward!” Iris screamed after them.

Kaedan refused to look behind him as he rushed into the street. He could hear Byron in the house, fighting Iris off. Much to his relief, he heard alarms. Flattening his ears against his head, he took a shaky breath as Xarlen protectively wrapped her arm around him again, stopping him so they could wait for the medics to hop out.

An ambulance pulled up to the front of the house. The driver caught sight of Xarlen, Kaedan, and his baby and shouted something to the medics in the back.

A pair of medics rushed out of the back of the vehicle with kits in their hands. Kaedan still trembled as he held Inarora while the first medic—an eathyn with multicolored hair and dark skin—began stitching Inarora’s hand. The child cried, but Kaedan continued holding her and ensuring she was safe.

Another medic, a kharg with green skin and braided hair, started healing the cut on Kaedan's jaw.

“What happened?” the first medic asked. 

Kaedan trembled, unsure of what to say. “My…ex fiancée…she…” He swallowed hard. 

“His ex fiancée was locked out of the house, and when she was able to get inside, she attacked my husband, me, and my son and grandchild,” Xarlen answered for him. “She took Inarora hostage and cut her hand when Byron tried to stop her.”

“Are you okay?” the second medic asked her.

“Well, I hit my head but I hit it against the couch,” Xarlen admitted, gingerly rubbing the back of her head.

“I'll go ahead and at least give you a look over to see if it's serious, alright?” The kharg finished the cut on Kaedan's cheek and then stepped away to help Xarlen.

“We'll file a report,” the first medic said. “Alright? You and your baby and your family will be safe after this.”

Kaedan nodded and whimpered, tears streaming down his face.

“You’re safe now, Mister,” the second medic soothed. “You, your mom, and your baby.”

Another alarm sounded and when he glanced up, he saw the Intelligence Ward had arrived at the scene. Agents quickly hopped out and circled the house.

“Iris Morozov, you have been surrounded,” the first agent shouted. “Come out of the house with your hands above your head.”

Kaedan did not watch. He couldn’t—he was terrified of Iris. Instead, he continued holding Inarora and kissing the top of her head. Xarlen kept close to him, making sure he wouldn't be spotted by Iris.

“You’re such a brave little one,” he said gently to his baby. 

The first medic finished the stitches, performed a healing spell, and then Inarora’s hand was as good as new. Except, a scar remained and the flesh surrounding the scar was bright red with irritation. It must’ve been too deep.

“There you go, sweet one,” the medic cooed gently. “Your hand is all better.” They looked at him. “May we give her a little buddy?”

He nodded, giving his permission. The medic went back to the ambulance and reappeared a few moments later with a satin doll in her hands. The body was a purple satin, except for the arms. The face was made of a soft hemp plastic, and the bonnet on the baby’s head was made of cotton—just like the arms. The doll was made in the image of an elf infant.

“Here you go, little one,” the medic said. “I hope she brings you comfort.”

Inarora had mostly calmed down by this point, likely because the scary situation was mostly over and the pain was gone. Her eyes widened at the sight of the new friend and the medic tucked the doll into her arms. Immediately, his baby was in love. She squeezed her new best friend and cooed happily.

“Th-Thank you,” Kaedan said with a shaky voice. 

“It’s no problem, Mister…”

“Beservera. Kaedan Beservera. This is my child, Inarora.”

“What a beautiful name, and an honor to the goddess Inarora.” The medic purred with delight. “May Lady Inarora brighten your path, little Ina.”

Kaedan smiled but it faded when he heard shouting. When he looked again, he saw Iris leaving the house with cuffs on her wrist. She glowered at him and he looked away quickly. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of his mother turning to return a glower to Iris.

“You will pay for this, Kaedan.”

“Don’t say anything,” the medic warned, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder. 

“Yeah, don't say a single word to her,” Xarlen agreed.

“Just give us more of your statement,” the first medic suggested.

Kaedan whimpered and nodded, trying to give more details as he could. When the shouting stopped, he turned again and saw Iris had been shoved into the back of the Intelligence vehicle. He breathed a sigh of relief. As they drove off, Byron was escorted out of the house with an agent, but not because he was in trouble. Byron was giving the details of what happened. 

Why did Inarora have to be hurt? How vile did one have to be?

As they both spoke, Byron was taken care of in the ambulance. Once the story of what happened had been told and Byron was taken care of, the agent took the information to his vehicle and left. Then, the medics bade their farewells and left as well.

Byron and Xarlen both drew close to Kaedan and put their arms around him lovingly.

“I'm sorry,” Kaedan apologized with a cracked voice.

“Don't apologize, son,” Byron said. “Iris chose to be this way, and she tricked you. But your mother, Sutari Seri, and I are all here for you and Ina. Alright?”

Kaedan trembled and nodded. “Y-Yeah. Thank you, Dad...”

Byron and Xarlen both rubbed Kaedan's back and gently led him towards the house again.

“I'll call Seri,” Xarlen told Byron. “And he can come over and help us.”

“That sounds like a good idea,” Byron admitted. “Thank you, dear.”

“Of course,” Xarlen said, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

After everything settled from the morning's chaos, Kaedan was able to soothe Inarora enough and put her back to sleep for the time being. Exhaustion wracked his bones and when he finally sat on the couch with his parents, he laid his head in his mother's lap and closed his eyes. He needed sleep.