[A/N]: This chapter means a great deal to me on a personal level. I'd truly appreciate hearing your thoughts, feelings, and suggestions about it.
Domino nodded, then froze mid-motion. "Yeah, Didi did mention..." She shut her mouth abruptly.
Jay's eyes narrowed, but before he could pursue it, Domino pivoted. "What about the child?" Her eye carried unexpected tenderness. "Since you know this world so well, what do we do with him?"
Jay rubbed his hair, fingers tangling in the strands. "Actually, we have precedent. Jonathan Richards. Future son of Franklin Richards and Rachel Summers, future grandson of Reed and Sue." His voice gained confidence. "Since this child has the same genetic makeup, Franklin and Nathan's DNA, it matches existing characters."
Domino sighed with affectionate exasperation. "You and your comics. Were the writers so bored they played matchup with every hero? Franklin and Rachel? Really?"
Jay managed a weak smile that faded almost immediately. "You wouldn't believe half the things they did, but Dom, I need to ask you something. And I need you to be honest."
He shifted to meet her eye directly. "What are your feelings about him? You saved him, risked the Death Stone, went into the spiritual plane to bring his soul back. Meanwhile, I..." His voice died.
Domino understood without him finishing, then stood and moved to the makeshift cradle, lifting the boy with practiced gentleness while cradling his weight against her chest.
He stirred but didn't wake as small hands curled against her collarbone and his head tucked beneath her chin with instinctive trust that made her throat tighten.
When she spoke, vulnerability colored her voice in a way Jay rarely heard.
"You know, seeing you with kids; the bond you formed with Franklin from the moment he was born, the confidence when you delivered Nathan." Her voice dropped. "I was jealous of Sue and Jean. Watching them hold their babies with that joy and love on their faces. They were so happy, so complete. I couldn't understand what that felt like."
Her eye glistened. "But for me, attachment means pain. You know I was raised where my friends died every other week, couldn't handle the procedures or training." Her hand stroked the child's soft hair. "I learned young that caring meant watching them disappear, that loving someone was setting yourself up for loss. So I stopped, stopped letting myself want things that would destroy me when they were gone."
She looked down at the child while her expression transformed into something achingly tender. "But with you, with these relationships we've somehow managed to build, the family we've made from broken people who found each other..." Her voice cracked. "I have a feeling this child is meant to be ours. A blessing for us. A chance at something I never thought I'd want, let alone deserve."
The sun had begun its descent with amber rays filtering through the waterfall, hitting Domino's hair and creating a halo around her black and white strands. The light caught the moisture in her eye while the baby cradled against her chest, backlit by setting sun with that genuine smile on her face, made her look radiant.
She met his gaze directly.
"Jay." Hope and fear and desperate want compressed into his name. "Will you..." She swallowed hard. "Will you raise this child with me? Be his father while I figure out how to be his mother? Help me not screw this up?"
Jay's heart broke in the best possible way as his mind flashed through every moment that led here: the isolation of being a transmigrator, the desperate struggle to survive, finding Domino and learning what trust meant, building connections with the Network, the Fantastic Four, little Franklin, his Master, fighting for a future worth living.
But no moment compared to this.
Jay stood on weak legs and crossed the distance like walking toward his entire future compressed into a single choice.
He cupped her face with both hands, thumbs brushing away tears, then kissed her forehead with infinite gentleness while being mindful of the child between them.
When he pulled back, that ridiculous smile she loved spread across his face.
"Yes." His voice came out rough but certain. "Absolutely yes."
Domino's breath hitched as tears spilled freely, but she was smiling wider than he'd ever seen with her whole face transforming into joy that looked almost painful.
They embraced carefully with the child cushioned safely between them, three people forming a small family in golden light.
Time stretched and slowed while each second contained its own eternity.
Sunset light fell through the waterfall, throwing rainbows across their skin as the cave's beauty created perfect stillness for this moment.
The child stirred against Domino's chest and made a soft sound of contentment before his small hand reached out, grasping Jay's finger with surprising strength.
Jay looked down at those tiny fingers while feeling the pulse in that small wrist, the warmth, the trust in that unconscious grip as something fundamental shifted in his chest.
This wasn't responsibility forced by circumstance or obligation created by guilt, but choice. Deliberate and conscious choice to build something good in a world determined to tear everything apart.
"We should name him," Domino whispered. "He needs a name that's his own. Something that means something to us."
Jay nodded slowly while his other hand came up to stroke the child's brown hair, and he was quiet for a long moment.
"Luv." The name emerged fully formed. "We'll call our son, Luv."
The word felt strange but right as he realized: son, he had a son, they had a son.
Domino pressed closer while nodding, her whole body shaking. "Luv Thurman. How does that sound?"
"Perfect." Jay kissed her again and tasted salt from her tears mixed with his own. "It sounds perfect."
"We'll figure it out together, make mistakes together, learn together."
Outside, the sun finished setting while stars began appearing through the waterfall's curtain, and inside their hidden sanctuary, a new family found fragile peace.
Domino shifted while adjusting her hold on Luv. "We should call Sue and Jean eventually. They deserve to know about the genetic samples."
"Eventually." Jay's exhaustion was catching up. "But not tonight. Tonight, he's just ours. Tomorrow we can deal with explanations and consequences."
Domino became suddenly aware of how exhausted she was as her muscles screamed and her eyelids felt like lead.
Jay noticed immediately. "Come on. Let's get him settled properly before you collapse."
They moved as one with Domino carrying Luv while Jay retrieved more pillows and blankets, and within minutes they'd transformed the makeshift cradle into something substantial, a proper nest that would hold their son safely.
Luv settled without waking with his face still peaceful.
Jay and Domino collapsed on either side while facing each other across the small space where their son slept, and their hands found each other over his sleeping form.
"I can't believe we're doing this," Domino whispered. "I never thought I had it in me to care for something this fragile. I hoped sometimes, but never actually believed..."
"You'll be more than enough." Jay's thumb traced circles on her palm. "We both will. Together."
Domino's eye began to drift closed, but just before sleep took her: "Love you, Jay. Love you both."
"Love you too, Dom." Automatic and warm. "Both of you. My family."
He stayed awake longer while watching them sleep as his mind tried to worry about tomorrow, about explanations needed, cosmic entities watching, threats lurking.
But for once, the worries couldn't gain traction.
He was a father now.
Eventually, his eyes closed too, and in the hidden sanctuary beneath the Savage Land, surrounded by waterfall mist and starlight filtering through ancient stone, three people who'd all survived their own forms of death slept peacefully together.
[Image here]
[A/N]: Support my work and get early access to chapters, exclusive content, and bonus material at my P@treon - Max_Striker.
If you wanna hang out, join my Discord server- https://discord.gg/XxGEYk2PM5