The golden era of the third month was a bittersweet mix of celebration and a cold, creeping dread. While the Black Box was being decorated for the most extravagant gender reveal the Philippines had ever seen, the medical wing was becoming a fortress of silent, worried glances.
POV: Jay (Jasper Jean Mariano)
The ultrasound room was silent, save for the rhythmic, galloping sound of the fetal heartbeat. Keifer sat beside me, his hand gripping mine so hard his knuckles were white. Ci n was at the controls, his brow furrowed as he moved the transducer over my stomach. Mica and Freya stood behind him, their usual playful banter replaced by a clinical, heavy stillness.
"There's the head," Ci n whispered, pointing to the screen. "And the limbs... everything is developing perfectly on the baby's end."
"But?" I asked, my voice trembling. Being a surgeon was a curse in moments like this; I knew how to read the shadows on the monitor.
Ci n sighed, looking at Keifer before turning back to me. "The placenta, Jay. It's not just percreta anymore. It's starting to invade the bladder wall. The more the baby grows, the more vascular the area becomes. Your risk of hemorrhaging during delivery is... it's increasing. We're moving the scheduled C-section up. We can't let you go past 34 weeks."
I felt the air leave my lungs. Keifer's grip tightened. "What are the survival rates?" he asked, his voice like jagged ice.
"For the baby? Excellent," Ci n said. "For Jay... we have the best team in the world, Keifer. But we need to be prepared for a massive transfusion protocol."
The room went cold. Keifer didn't speak, but the "Monster" in his eyes was replaced by a raw, naked fear I had never seen before.
The Gender Reveal: A Splash of Pink
Despite the medical news, Keifer refused to let the day be somber. He wanted a distraction. The entire family—the Watsons, the Marianos, and Section E—were gathered in the grand garden.
Alexander was dressed in a tiny tuxedo, standing on a chair with his toy sword. "I think it's a ninja boy! Like me!"
"No way, Alex!" Keiran shouted, wearing a 'Team Girl' pin. "It's going to be a princess who will boss your Dad around even more than your Mumma does!"
Percy (Blue Eyes) and Aries (Horoscope) were arguing about names, while Kuya Angelo stood back with Lia and Ion, watching the perimeter. Section E had outdone themselves. Denzel and Erdix had rigged a custom-built Watson drone to hover over the fountain.
"Ready, wifey?" Keifer whispered in my ear, standing behind me and wrapping his arms around my waist, his hands resting on the danger zone of my belly.
"Ready, hubby."
I pressed the remote. The drone shot upward, exploding into a massive, shimmering cloud of vibrant pink smoke and rose-colored glitter.
"IT'S A GIRL!" Ma (Jeena) screamed, hugging Pa Pa (Jasper).
"A sister?!" Alexander looked stunned. He looked at his sword. "I need to get her a smaller sword. A pink one!"
Keigan and Keiran cheered, throwing Aries into the pool in the excitement. Section E was a chaotic mess of high-fives and laughter. But amidst the pink glitter falling like rain, I turned in Keifer's arms.
He wasn't looking at the smoke. He was looking at me, his eyes filled with a desperate, crushing love.
"A daughter," he whispered, his voice shaking. "A little girl who looks just like you."
"We're going to make it, Keifer," I promised, though the weight of Ci n's warning felt like a shadow over the pink sky.
"You have to," he said, pulling me into a kiss that tasted of salt and desperation. "Because I can't be a father to a daughter without her mother. I won't let you leave me, Jay. I'll fight God himself to keep you here."
The Night After
As the party wound down and the family toasted to the "Little Princess," Keifer and I sat on the balcony.
"What should we name her?" I asked.
Keifer looked out over the estate, his hand never leaving my stomach. "Something strong. Something that says she survived the impossible."
He leaned down, whispering to my belly, "Stay strong for your Mumma, little one. Your Dad is already building you a world where nothing can hurt you. Just let her stay with us."
In the distance, I could hear Section E starting a drunken karaoke rendition of "Girl on Fire," but in our corner of the Black Box, the silence was heavy with the realization that our greatest battle was just beginning.
After another quiet night in the Black Box, with Keifer researching every historical and powerful name in existence and Jay searching for something that felt like "Starlight," we finally found the one.
POV: Jay (Jasper Jean Mariano)
I was sitting in the middle of the bed, surrounded by baby name books and a half-eaten plate of chocolate-covered olives (don't ask). Keifer was pacing the room, his phone in his hand as he dismissed name after name.
"No to 'Victoria,' it's too common. No to 'Elizabeth,' too traditional," he muttered.
"Hubby, stop," I laughed, reaching out to catch his hand. "Come here. I have it."
He sat on the edge of the bed, his "Monster" gaze softening the moment he touched my stomach.
"Astraea Solene Watson," I whispered. "Astraea after the goddess of justice and innocence—the one who stayed the longest when things got dark. And Solene for the sun, because even in the middle of this critical pregnancy, she's the light we're fighting for."
Keifer stayed silent for a long moment, the name tasting like a vow on his tongue. "Astraea Solene," he repeated. "The Star of the Watsons."
POV: Keifer (Mark Keifer Watson)
The name felt right. It felt lethal yet beautiful. Astraea Solene. It sounded like someone who would grow up to run empires and command respect, just like her mother.
But as the name settled, my mind drifted back to the latest scans. Ci n had pulled me aside an hour ago. The "invasion" of the placenta was becoming more aggressive. Every time I looked at Jay, I saw my life, my heart, and my future—and every time I looked at the medical charts, I saw a countdown.
"Astraea," I murmured, leaning down to kiss Jay's stomach. "You hear that? You have a name now. That means you have to be strong. You have to help your Mumma. I can't lose either of you. I won't allow it."
"She hears you, hubby," Jay said, her fingers tangling in my hair. "She's a Watson. She's stubborn."
The Family Announcement: Take Two
The family was gathered in the lounge again. Section E was hovering near the bar, and Alexander was trying to see if he could fit his toy car into Percy's shoe.
"The name has been finalized," I announced, my voice leaving no room for debate. "Astraea Solene Watson."
"Astraea!" Aries (Horoscope) gasped, his eyes lighting up. "The Star Maiden! Oh, the celestial energy is off the charts! She's going to be the most intuitive child in the history of the Mariano bloodline!"
"Solene... the sun," Pa Pa (Jasper) nodded, smiling at Ma (Jeena). "A bright light for a dark house."
"I like it," Keiran cheered. "It sounds like a name for someone who's going to make Kuya pay for every single grey hair she gives him."
"Baby Astra!" Alexander shouted, jumping up. "I'll show her where the secret snacks are hidden!"
"No snacks until she's five, Alexander!" I warned, though the corners of my mouth twitched.
I looked over at Ci n and Mica. They were smiling for the family, but I saw the clinical distance in their eyes. The name was set. The nursery was being prepped. But as the 3rd month drew to a close, the "Astraea" mission was becoming the most dangerous operation the Black Box had ever faced.