The Soulmate Initiative: Book 1

2. FEBRUARY 2016

LOCATION: AVENGERS TOWER

2 weeks before Candice's due date, Stacey, Ashley, Suzanne, Nian, Warren, little Maria and Candice moved back into the Avengers Tower in the middle of Manhattan, ready for the baby, and leaving Vision in the Mansion. They don't want to invite their Doctor home, they trust their Doctor to help them give birth, but inviting them to a place only Avengers, Jessica Rhodes and Pepper know the location of, isn't an option.

They spend 11 days just relaxing, watching movies and playing games. Then on day 12 Candice goes into labour during lunch. The Doctor is immediately called and everyone does what they can to make Candice comfortable, firstly moving her from the dining chair. Candice keeps her misery to herself, misery of not all her soulmates being there, Prisha especially. Prisha had saved her life and is the main reason Candice decided now was the time to have a baby, but she isn't here. She doesn't even know how she's getting on, if Lavina and Tasia even managed to save her. Warren hears her thoughts very loudly, he makes sure to not leave Candice's side at all, he holds her hand the entire time.

After 11 hours, a baby boy with light brown hair and his mother's green eyes, is born. Everyone let's Candice decide what to call her son, she goes with Braden. The first thing she wants to do after the Doctor has left, is get up, there are lots of protests. Candice is so adamant to get up, that the group end up coming to a compromise. Nian picks Candice up and carries her to the elevator, when she tells her soulmates she wants to go to the roof, there's even more protests, but Nian knows how stubborn Candice is, so he takes her to the roof. Once on the roof Nian puts Candice down on her feet, but holds onto her waist. Candice holds her newborn baby up in the air like in Lion King and calls out, but not too loudly "Heimdall! I just need you to look and listen! This is my son, Braden! I want you to go tell Tasia, or Lavina, or Prisha! Whoever of them are there! I want Prisha to know that she's the reason Braden is here!" She holds Braden up for a few more moments, then she starts feeling silly, so she brings him close to her chest to cuddle him. Candice hopes Heimdall heard her and gets the message across, she just wants them to know they're loved and aren't being forgotten about. She makes a decision and calls up to the sky one last time "I'm going to stay here for 30 minutes! If they're available, please let them know! They don't need to come down here, I just want them to see him!"

It's not the warmest out, so some of the Avengers go to grab coats and blankets, they know they desperately need to keep little Maria, Candice and baby Braden warm. They all sit on the roof, chatting, for exactly 30 minutes, before going back inside. During those 30 minutes, Heimdall locates Lavina and tells her about what's happening on Midgard, she leaves Prisha's side and heads to the dome, where Heimdall shows her a glimpse of Braden.