"My life"
Before anyone could say anything the projector lit up again.
Nine months
"So the baby is coming, right?" little Ekko asked.
"Maybe yes, maybe not," Caitlyn said.
"What do you mean?" little Ekko asked confused.
"Sometimes babies are born a couple of days after 9 months or even weeks but if it is delayed too much it can hurt the baby," Vander explained in a soft voice.
"Woah." Little Ekko said, nodding.
"You should be out by now." Jinx said to her belly, it was huge, her back hurt like hell and walking was an absolute nightmare but she was happy.
"She looks like she's going to explode," Mylo said, grimacing.
The teenage Vi hit him hard on the head. "Stop saying that stuff, you moron."
"But it's true," Mylo said, rubbing his head.
Ekko could only think about how beautiful Jinx looked pregnant, she looked radiant and full of life.
Apparently her baby liked being in her belly and didn't want to come out, which was bothering Jinx a little. They had had a couple of scares in the last month, apparently there were false contractions... Something that Jinx didn't know and that scared her a lot, but after that nothing, her baby was comfortable inside her.
"I feel like a cow," Jinx said, covering her breasts that were now wet with milk. "I have to change clothes all the time."
"It's a cow." Little Ekko said without thinking before Powder beside him hit him with a pillow.
"Don't say that," Powder said angrily.
Little Ekko looked at her in bewilderment. "What did I say? Being a cow isn't bad, Pow."
"Oh, just shut up." Powder said, looking at him seriously.
Little Ekko felt sad, not knowing what to say to her; he didn't understand what he had said that was so bad.
Jinx walked to her room to change her shirt, deciding to put on a purple nightgown with pink hearts on it.
"You better drink all my milk because we don't waste any here." Jinx said to her belly, feeling her baby move.
"It's good that the baby is going to feed well," Benzo said. "Not many in Zaun can breastfeed."
Caitlyn looked at him confused. "Why can't they do it?"
"Because of malnutrition, that prevents them from producing milk," Benzo replied with a shrug.
Caitlyn nodded, feeling a kick in her stomach, was the situation in Zaun that bad? She already knew a little but she didn't know how bad it really was.
With heavy steps he returned to the turbine and she walked to his desk, there were blueprints for weapons, mostly guns.
"I'll have to wait to make these," Jinx muttered, inspecting her blueprints.
Her hand ran across the desk until it stopped on a bomb with sharp teeth, she held it with her fingers touching every detail and her thumb caressed the pin.
Everyone in the room froze.
"What is she doing?" Adult Vi asked, suddenly scared.
"She's not going to blow herself up, right?" the teenage Vi asked, frightened.
No one could answer that, Jinx was capable of anything.
"I'll tell you something, baby." The blue-haired girl said as she placed her thumb on the pin of the bomb. "It's a secret, so you mustn't tell anyone."
Her baby moved gently inside her womb. "I'll take that as a yes."
Ekko felt a cold sweat rise up his back, Jinx wasn't going to pull the pin out of the bomb... She wasn't going to do it... Right?
"I made an escape plan for you, for when you grow up or for when you need it, actually." She said shaking her head, her hair tied in a single braid.
"I made a map, I'll make you a bag with essentials too." Jinx muttered, clenching the bomb in her hands. "The map will take you to a very nice place, you might like it."
"An escape plan?" Powder asked quietly.
"Why would the child need an escape plan?" asked the teenager Vi.
A nice place? Ekko thought, what place is she talking about?
Jinx sighed feeling tears in her eyes, she couldn't bear the idea of her baby leaving her side but maybe one day her baby needed to escape and she wouldn't stop them.
"It's just in case you really need it." Jinx whispered.
She closed her eyes tightly and pulled the pin of the bomb which began to release pink sparks.
Everyone looked at the projection with fear
"Oh god!" the adult Vi exclaimed in terror.
Ekko froze in fear, Jinx hadn't died that was obvious but what about her daughter?
Before the bomb exploded, Jinx threw it over the side of one of the turbine blades and the explosion was heard followed by pink and blue glows.
Sighs of relief can be heard around the room.
"I think I had a heart attack," Claggor said, touching his chest.
Ekko could relate to that so much, his heart was beating so hard in his chest that it hurt.
Jinx looked at the explosion wiping the tears from her face, she went back to her room where she fell asleep for a well-deserved nap.
The blue-haired girl yawned as she woke up, she didn't know how long she had slept but she wanted to keep doing so except she was hungry. She struggled out of bed, her breathing briefly labored, and she left her room barefoot, heading for her kitchen.
As soon as she entered, she got the scare of her life (up to that point) and screamed as loud as she could.
Everyone jumped automatically when they heard the scream.
"Shit she can scream," Mylo said, grimacing as he touched his ear.
"Why did she scream like that?" Caitlyn asked.
"What the fuck are you doing here!?" Jinx asked screaming, looking at Sevika while putting a hand on her chest.
"Oh it's just Sevika." Adult Vi sighed. "I thought it was something bad."
Sevika looked at her with wide eyes, Jinx's scream had startled her. "Silco told me to stay with you today."
"And why the fuck didn't you tell me?" Jinx asked angrily, her heart pounding and a pressure starting to build in her lower back.
"You're sleeping, last time I woke you up you shot me."
"Of course, typical, everyday thing," said little Ekko sarcastically.
Jinx made a noise with her mouth at his response. "Well, next time find a way to warn me, I don't know."
The blue-haired girl felt a strong pang in her belly, she could hear Sevika talking but she didn't understand anything, she couldn't concentrate on that. And then she felt a liquid running down her legs.
"Oh-oh." The teenage Vi said nervously.
"She peed on herself?" little Ekko asked with a grimace.
Vander shook his head, feeling his heart begin to pound. "That means the baby is coming."
Powder looked at Vander excitedly, she wanted to see what her daughter looked like. Her and Ekko's daughter.
Oh Janna
Really now? Janna what do I do?
Jinx looked up at Sevika who was still talking, her hands had started to shake as well as her legs, she wasn't going to stand much longer.
"Sevika." The blue-haired girl said, clenching her teeth as she felt what she believed was a contraction.
"If she's already started having contractions then Sevika need to get the doctor." Caitlyn said feeling adult Vi take her hand and squeeze it.
Ekko felt his hands start to shake too, his daughter was going to be born, his heart was beating hard and he could only feel anxious, he needed to meet his daughter.
"What?" Sevika asked, taking things out of the bag she had brought.
"My water broke," Jinx whispered, looking at the water between her legs.
Sevika looked up quickly seeing the same thing as Jinx, her face paled and she quickly approached Jinx.
"How do you feel?"
"What do you think, stupid? I'm having contractions." Jinx said, squeezing Sevika's shirt tightly.
"Sevika damn it." The adult Vi muttered.
Jinx knew her labor was going to hurt, but this... Not even labor and she was already dying of pain, it was a lot like the pain of her period but 100 times worse.
Every woman in the room winced.
"Oh, it's going to hurt her so much." The teenage Vi said, clenching her hands together, feeling very nervous.
"I'll take you to your room, can you walk?" Sevika asked, holding out her hand for Jinx to squeeze.
Jinx nodded taking a deep breath, together they walked to her room and each step was like stepping on a nail.
"Is it that painful?" Mylo asked confused.
All the women looked at him as if he were stupid.
"I know you don't use your head most of the time, but Jinx is going to have to give birth to a tiny human that might weigh anywhere from 5 to 10 pounds." The teenage Vi said, speaking to him slowly as if he were a child. "And not only that, the baby is going to come straight out of a small hole," she said, making a small circle with her hands.
"Ouch." Mylo said, looking at young Vi in surprise and perturbation.
"That sounds very painful," little Ekko muttered.
Sevika carefully helped Jinx onto the bed. "I'm going to get the doctor and Silco."
Jinx quickly shook her head without letting go of Sevika's hand, her body trembled and her eyes were watery. "Please don't leave me."
Adult Vi's eyes filled with tears, she should have been there for Jinx.
The teenage Vi watched the scene with pain, she wanted to be there with her little sister and comfort her.
Sevika's eyes softened as she squeezed Jinx's hand. "I'm not going to be gone for long."
"I'm scared." Jinx whispered as she began to cry, her legs tense from the contraction she was going through, her free hand gripping her leg tightly, her nails digging into the flesh.
Sevika sighed and stroked Jinx's sweaty forehead. "I promise I'll be back. I'll go find your dad. You want him here, right?"
Jinx sighed, closing her eyes and nodding, Sevika looked at her one last time and ran off to find the doctor and Silco.
"I'd be terrified." Caitlyn murmured, looking sadly at how scared Jinx was.
"I should be there with her," Ekko whispered in frustration.
Being alone, Jinx allowed herself to cry hard, she laid her head on the pillow and cried in pain. She wanted her daddy here, she wanted her mommy, Janna, she wanted her big sister and him...
"I wish you were alive, Vi," Jinx whispered through her sobs. "I wish you were here."
"Oh, Pow." Adult Vi whispered, letting tears run down her face. Her chest hurt, life really wasn't good to her little sister and her, huh? When she was locked up in Stillwater she sometimes wondered what they had done to deserve this life? To deserve so much pain? So much loss?
She wanted Ekko here, he deserved to be here with her... He deserved to meet her baby but he wouldn't.
Ekko felt those words like a punch in his stomach, she wanted him to be there with her but she hadn't told him about the baby... He tried to understand but he couldn't. What was he supposed to think?
Jinx moaned in pain, gritting her teeth as she felt another contraction. Where the fuck was the doctor?
"I'm going to kill someone." The blue-haired girl whispered, squeezing her leg tightly. She really wanted to push, but she knew she couldn't yet.
Jinx's body shook with pain, she spread her legs almost writhing from the especially painful contraction and bit her lip hard, breaking it.
"I think this is putting me off having kids," Powder said, watching in horror as Jinx writhed in pain.
"Don't say that when our daughter is being born." Little Ekko gently slapped her arm.
Powder looked at him in disbelief. "We don't have a daughter."
"But we will have it," little Ekko replied.
The adults and teenagers in the room looked at them in amusement.
"When they're teenagers I'm going to have to keep them away from each other," Vander sighed, already feeling exhausted.
The adult Vi patted his arm with a soft smile.
Just as she was considering going to get her gun she heard footsteps hurrying into her room, a flustered and disheveled Silco appeared through the door, behind him were the doctor and Sevika.
Benzo laughed softly. "Silco looks so funny here."
"You two can take as long as you want, I have all the time in the world," Jinx said angrily, the pressure on her lower part was killing her.
"I'm sorry, dear." Silco said, walking over to stand beside Jinx, gently brushing her hair from her face and wiping away her sweat and tears with his handkerchief.
Once again that ugly green thorn stuck in Vander's chest, envy was eating away at him, he had to be there with his little girl.
The doctor wasted no time and got to work, spreading Jinx's legs and checking how dilated she was.
"How awkward." Jinx whispered, she never thought that the second person who would put his fingers inside her would be a doctor, oh well.
"Ew." Mylo said with a disgusted grimace.
Ekko slapped his forehead, Jinx couldn't stop being shameless?
The doctor informed them that they should wait a little longer because Jinx was not fully dilated.
"Wait, what does that mean?" Powder asked, looking at everyone in the room. "I thought the baby was coming now."
"In order for the baby to have room to come out, it has to dilate, otherwise it won't be able to come out and they'll have to do a C-section," Caitlyn said, trying not to be too graphic.
"What is a C-section?" little Ekko asked confused.
Caitlyn sighed, the kids had a lot of questions today. "They basically open up the belly and take the baby out and close it back up."
Powder and little Ekko looked at Caitlyn in horror.
"Oh shit." Jinx muttered not wanting to bear the pain anymore.
The doctor sat down on a chair as did Sevika. Silco stayed by her side the whole time wiping her face and giving her water.
The hours passed and she was still not completely dilated so the blue-haired girl began to walk around the room with her father helping her.
"She's been like this for hours?" asked the teenage Vi, feeling sorry for her sister. "I don't know if I could stand that much."
"I'm going to kill someone." Jinx whispered, squeezing Silco's arms as she felt another contraction. "I'm very serious."
"You can kill after you have the baby," Silco replied, carrying her back to bed.
"You better tell me to dilate enough or I'll put a bullet in your head" Jinx moaned in pain, scratching her own leg.
"She's really going to shoot the doctor right?" Claggor asked a little worried for the poor man.
"Yes." Ekko nodded before shrugging. "But I'll allow this murder, it's piltie."
Caitlyn looked at him in shock and hurt. "She shouldn't kill anyone, no matter if they're Zaunite or Piltovian."
Ekko looked at her without bothering to answer, she would never understand what Zaun went through because of Piltover and the selfishness of the council.
The blue-haired woman sighed with relief when the doctor told her she could now push.
"It's about time." The adult Vi sighed.
Ekko sighed deeply trying to get rid of the nerves he had but it was impossible, his hands were sweating and his legs were shaking. Soon he would meet his daughter.
Jinx screamed like never before, the pain was excruciating, it was like having all your bones broken at the same time and that wasn't even close.
"We're not having kids," Powder told little Ekko, shuddering at Jinx's screams.
Silco was giving her words of encouragement as was Sevika, the doctor was reminding her of the breathing exercises but Jinx's mind was blank.
She felt so scared and started shaking her head, trying to close her legs. "I can't."
"What?" the teenage Vi asked out loud.
"She's panicking," Vander said worriedly.
Seeing her sister so scared made her feel so helpless, Adult Vi promised herself that she would make it up to Jinx, that she would make up for everything she missed in her and her niece's life.
Silco, seeing his daughter panicking, gently took her face. "Jinx, listen to me."
"I can't, I can't, I can't do it" Jinx whispered.
"Yes, you can do it." Silco whispered, wiping her face tenderly. "You'll be a great mother, you can do it."
"Come on, little one, you can do it," Vander whispered helplessly.
Jinx's body was still frozen, she was terrified, she was having a baby and she was panicking, how stupid. It wasn't until she heard a deep voice speaking softly to her, she didn't see him when she looked for him but she did hear him.
Ekko felt his heart stop for a second. And then he could breathe, as if for the first time in a long time. Even though he wasn't there for the birth, Jinx had blown him away, she always blown him away in a good, sweet way, and that made him so overwhelmingly happy. He didn't know what he would have done if she hallucinated him in a bad way like with Mylo or Vi.
"Breathe, baby blue." Ekko whispered in her ear. "Don't you want to meet our baby?"
Jinx nodded, crying.
Everyone was silent, Jinx really loved Ekko right?
"Then keep pushing," Ekko whispered. "Soon you will bring the most beautiful baby into the world, I know you can do it."
"You can do it, blue." Ekko whispered, feeling tears in his eyes.
Jinx squeezed Silco's hand tightly and began to push again. The pain was unbearable, her leg was already covered in bruises and a few cuts from her nails.
"Just a little more." Ekko whispered.
"Just a little more." Jinx whispered before screaming and pushing once more.
Jinx didn't know how much time had passed until suddenly the pain stopped and a cry pierced the room.
A wave of happiness swept through the room.
"Congratulations, kid." Benzo said, patting the adult Ekko.
Ekko could only smile, tears falling down his eyes softly.
Jinx was exhausted, her eyes barely staying open, she was all sweaty and bloody but this moment... This very moment was perfect.
The doctor approached her with her crying baby and placed her in her arms. "It's a girl."
Jinx then looked at her, so small, so fragile and so perfect. She didn't even notice that the baby stopped crying, she was lost looking at her baby, inspecting every part of her.
Just as she thought it was a perfect match between Ekko and her, Ekko's skin, his eyes and her hair, just a little blue fluff but it was there.
"Oh, she's beautiful," Ekko whispered, staring at his daughter in rapture.
"She's so cute," said the adult Vi with a big smile. There was her niece, so small, dirty and full of fluids but she was so beautiful.
Vander couldn't help but cry, his little girl had had a baby, now he was a grandfather.
"Isn't she perfect?" Jinx whispered with tears coming out of her eyes.
"She is, my dear." Silco said, wiping away his tears elegantly. His granddaughter was the most beautiful baby he had seen since Jinx.
Vander felt a pang of affection for his brother, despite everything he had taken such good care of his daughter, he had been with her in everything since before she was even born.
"You're perfect," Jinx whispered to the baby. "So perfect."
"What's her name?" Sevika asked, trying to pretend she hadn't cried too.
Jinx smiled softly with more tears coming out of her eyes and looked at her dad. "Isha, that's her name."
Vander and Benzo gasped in surprise.
Silco felt like he could cry again, Isha was the nickname he had given Felicia and she didn't allow anyone else to call her that apart from Silco. He told this to Jinx, she told him that she already knew because her mother had told her but Silco never thought that she would give that nickname to his granddaughter, Felicia's granddaughter...
"Oh Felicia." Vander sighed, he missed his little sister so much. He didn't know that Silco had told Jinx about Felicia, but he was glad that he did, even though that was always a difficult subject for Silco.
"Isha is a perfect name," Silco replied with a soft smile.
Jinx looked lovingly at her baby. "My Isha, I love you." She kissed her forehead, Isha smelled weird but that was normal and she was still perfect.
"Isha." Ekko said, testing his daughter's name on his lips. His arms were shaking as he wanted to hold his little girl, hug her and kiss her, give her all the love he hadn't been able to give her in years.
A few hours later
Jinx was exhausted but couldn't sleep, her head could only focus on her daughter... Her daughter, it sounds so nice, she was now a mother, how crazy really.
Isha was perfect, she was more beautiful than she had ever imagined, everything the baby did fascinated Jinx in a way she had never believed. She was only a few hours old and she was already wonderful.
"Our daughter is very cute, Pow." Little Ekko said, causing Powder to look at him annoyed.
"We don't have a daughter," she replied, shaking her head. Although her heart was pounding, maybe one day... Who knows?
There were no voices or hallucinations in Jinx's head, there was only Isha, those big brown eyes were just like Ekko's and they were beautiful.
"That's right, they're exactly your eyes," Benzo said, smiling at his son.
Ekko smiled with joy, his daughter looked so much like him physically and that filled him with happiness.
Silco and Sevika went to look for food for her so for the first time she was alone with her daughter, she no longer felt fear only an indescribable happiness.
Jinx cradled her baby in her arms, still staring at her. "You look a lot like him."
Without Jinx noticing, Silco and Sevika stopped before entering the room and listened attentively to the blue-haired girl speak.
"Oh." Mylo said, wiping tears from his eyes.
"If she says your name you're dead." The teenage Vi told Ekko trying to calm her crying.
"But this is the past, if Silco knows about me why has he never done anything?" Ekko asked confused.
"I'm sorry he's not here to meet you, sweetheart." Jinx said to the sleeping Isha. "Don't tell anyone, but I went looking for him before I decided whether or not you would be born."
"She came looking for me?" Ekko asked breathlessly.
Jinx felt tears well up in her eyes. "But I saw him so happy with his bug friends that I couldn't."
She shook her head, biting her lip softly. "No, I couldn't do it. I know he would love you, I know he would do it but..."
Jinx sighed as tears softly ran down her cheeks. "I couldn't tie him to me, he hates me and I couldn't punish him like that, I... I love him too much to do that to him."
Fool, no matter how much I try to hate you I can't do it, Ekko thought with pain, I would give everything in the world to have been there for you.
She and he were going to have a very long talk when all this was over. His own feelings were conflicted, he knew he loved her, he was always in love with her but she did so much harm to his friends. He wanted to hate her and some days he thought he did but then he thought about those big blue eyes and her laugh, manic and uncontrolled but beautiful like everything about her and he was lost.
Why was everything so difficult? He just couldn't have a simple life with the love of his life and his daughter? Apparently not.
Jinx's voice cracked on the last part before she watched as her daughter woke up crying softly.
"Easy, my love." Jinx gave Isha her breast to feed on.
"I feel like we shouldn't be watching this," Mylo said, looking away.
"I think... For the first time in a long time I'm genuinely happy, you work miracles Ish." She smiled at her daughter. "My love, my life you will always be my everything, from today and forever."
She could only look adoringly at her baby who was feeding enthusiastically at her breast.
Ekko could only look with adoration and tenderness at the two women in his life, two women he now loved with all his heart, two women he would kill for if necessary.
Outside the room Silco and Sevika looked at each other before entering the room with the bags of food.