Keith knocked softly on the hospital door. Opening it carefully, he peeked inside.

Logan sat in the big vinyl chair near the window. He gestured for Keith to come in with one hand, cradling the baby on his shoulder with the other.

Keith's heart skipped a beat at the sight of his son-in-law-ish and his new granddaughter. Logan gave him a grin, pushing his stubbled cheeks as wide as Keith had ever seen them. His eyes sparked behind the dark circles and bags from the excitement of the last few days.

"Veronica just went to take a long, hot shower," Logan explained in hushed tones, his hands back to almost completely covering his daughter.

"How's she doing?" Keith asked, perching himself on the edge of the bed.

"Okay. She's pretty p.o.'d that the c-section has her in bed for most of the time," Logan commented with a little chuckle. "But I don't mind because I get more time with Hope."

Keith smiled warmly at the little blond-haired girl, resting in her daddy's arms. "Well, Hope does seem pretty happy with you. You really are a natural."

Logan kissed the top of his daughter's head and smiled.

"I guess. I mean, I read about ten parenting books while Veronica was pregnant. I think it was enough to make me at least seem competent."

"Well, you know, you are my hero." Keith placed his hands on his lap and looked down at the floor. "Not only do you make sure Veronica doesn't get into too much trouble, but you took on another girl with the Mars genes."

A lump caught in Logan's throat and he gave a little cough to clear it.

"Thank you Keith. That means a lot, coming from you."

Hope let out a fussy squawk and Logan began rubbing her back soothingly, bouncing her slightly as he did. The infant quickly settled, letting out a tiny sigh.

"I'm never going to get a good night's sleep again, will I," Logan questioned his almost-father-in-law.

"See these dark circles?" Keith asked, pointing at his eyes. "They appeared around the time Veronica started walking. And they never left."

Logan chuckled and pointed to his head. "See these grey hairs? I got them when I started dating Veronica again. And a few more probably popped up during Hope's birth."

"Not many women go into labour during an argument about where to put up a fake Christmas tree," Keith laughed.

Logan rolled his eyes at the memory. The crazy car ride to the hospital on Christmas Eve, with Keith in tow. The hours of painful labour, without any real progression. The epidural. The induction drip. The final decision on the c-section when they realized Hope just wasn't coming out the usual way. And the relief when she emerged, fighting and wailing, at 11:23 pm on Christmas Day night.

"Normal is just not how we roll," Logan replied.

"Pfft. Normal is over rated," Keith noted and stood from his seat. "Now, enough of this chatter…hand over my grandchild."

Slowly rising from his position, as not to disturb the sleeping child too much, Logan eased himself over to Keith. The two men stood close together looking at the baby for a moment and Keith reached out to pat Logan on the back.

"I'm proud of you, Logan. For all you have accomplished with the life you were given. I know you will make an excellent father."

Logan nodded and shifted Hope down to cradle in front of him; the tiny baby in his big hands.

"Thank you Keith. I sure hope you're right."

End Notes

This work was originally a post on my Tumblr. Thanks to Irma66 for convincing me to submit it for the collection.