Six and a half months passed with no communication from Rebecca. Seeley threw himself into his work, solving cases and catching criminals for the FBI as some sort of self-imposed penance, a way to make up for the destruction he knew he had caused as a Ranger, to save his soul from the damnation that he was convinced awaited him. He knew that he needed to atone for the lives he had taken, to find a way to become the man Rebecca had thought he had been.

He wondered often how Rebecca was doing, wondered what it would be like to be with her through the pregnancy, to experience the development of their baby together. He had been frightened when she had delivered the news, absolutely terrified of becoming a father. But now he lay in bed at night and imagined what it would be like to have a family with the woman he loved. Would the child have his eyes? Rebecca's nose? Her mother's sense of humor? His father's love of airplanes? Every night he asked himself the same questions, and every night he fell asleep without answers.

Then a phone call changed everything.

"Seeley," Rebecca's mother said when he answered.

"Mrs. Stinson?" he asked, more than a little surprised to hear from her. "Has Rebecca changed her mind about me?"

"No, she hasn't, and that's why I'm calling. My daughter is a grown woman, and she is entitled to handle her life however she sees fit, but I do not agree with her decision to keep you away from the baby. You have a right to know your son."

The last two words knocked him flat. "My son?" he asked quietly.

"He was born last night," Mrs. Stinson confirmed. "Seven pounds six ounces, twenty inches long. He has a head full of sandy, curly hair, and Seeley…he already has your smile."

He found he could barely speak. "What…did she…name him?" he croaked.

"Parker Thomas. My maiden name and…"

"…my father's middle name," he finished in a whisper. So she does still care about me.

"Yes." The older woman paused a moment, contemplating her next move. She decided to go with her instincts. "He's at George Washington University Hospital, in the nursery. You should go see him."

He knew how well that would go over. "I don't think Rebecca would appreciate…"

"You should go," she repeated. "I'll talk to Rebecca. Go meet your son."

He hung up the phone and discovered tears in his eyes at the thought of the baby. My son.

As soon as he could get away from work, he made his way over to GWU Hospital and asked directions to the nursery. Winding his way around the vast building, he noticed that his steps were growing slower and slower as he neared his destination.

Because I'm afraid what Rebecca will say? Or because I'm afraid of tainting the baby with my presence?

He finally stumbled upon the nursery, where Rebecca's mother stood waiting for him by the big window.

"You came," she smiled.

He nodded. "I may not get another chance," he explained.

She signaled the nurse, who returned her smile and snaked down the rows of incubators until she found the baby she was looking for. Lifting up a small blue bundle, the nurse motioned Seeley to come closer.

He shot a questioning glance at Mrs. Stinson, who responded with an encouraging expression. Taking a deep breath, he moved hesitantly into the nursery.

"Here he is," the nurse beamed. "Little Parker, just as healthy as can be."

She offered the baby to his father and Seeley wavered.

"It's okay," the nurse smiled. "Lots of new fathers are nervous about holding their babies, but I'll be right here with you until you're at ease. Everything's going to be fine."

If you only knew how not fine things are. "O-okay," he answered.

The nurse showed him how to hold the child securely, then lowered him into his father's arms, slowly letting go herself. "There you go," she cooed. "Safe and sound in Daddy's arms."

Seeley smiled apprehensively, pulling the blanket back from the baby's face a little more to take a good look at him. "Hey there, buddy," he whispered.

Little Parker heard the sound of an unfamiliar voice and gradually focused his newborn eyes on the owner of the voice.

"Yeah, hey," Seeley smiled, his comfort level increasing with each passing disaster-free second. "Hey little guy…I'm your Daddy."

The tears that had formed in his eyes at the news of Parker's birth suddenly resurfaced, and this time they refused to remain contained in his eyes. They spilled down his cheeks, dripping off his nose and dropping onto the blanket, but he did nothing to stop them. He knew he couldn't have if he'd tried. He was holding his son, the child he thought he'd never know, and he was completely smitten.

Then the moment was shattered.

"Seeley? What are you doing here?"

Rebecca's harsh voice made his head shoot up. Mrs. Stinson and the nurse had disappeared, leaving him to fend for himself. "Rebecca, I just wanted to see him…"

She nodded bitterly. "My mother called you, didn't she? I told her not to. I told her you were no longer part of our lives."

"But I want to be," he insisted, sniffling as his gaze shiftied back to the baby. "I want to know him…and for him to know me."

"No…"

He cut her off. "I have rights, too, Rebecca. I'm his father, and I don't want to be just a biological footnote." His eyes rose again to hers and pierced her heart. "I want to be his Dad."

"I don't know," she hesitated, memories of the man she had fallen in love with flooding her mind. Then his past came screaming back to her consciousness. "No," she repeated, more firmly this time. "He will not grow up to be like you."

Her words stung him but he tried again, almost begging this time. "He'll find out that I was in the Army, but that's as far as it has to go. No one outside my unit knows what we did, and we can keep it that way. Please…let me be a part of his life…he never has to know what I was…"

She felt her will beginning to crumble. Can I really deny my little boy his father? "I dictate the terms of his upbringing," she answered resolutely. "No questions, no input from you. I get full custody, you get supervised visits when I say you can see him."

"Anything you want," Seeley agreed quickly. Maybe in time she'll learn to trust me again, as long as she doesn't shut me out now. "I'll do anything you want."

"And Parker will not know anything about your military career."

"I swear…"

Rebecca stepped toward him, taking the baby gently from Seeley's arms and swallowing hard. "Fine. I'll call you when he's ready to see you again."

The FBI agent watched them leave the nursery, waiting until Parker was completely out of sight before heaving a heavy sigh and wiping his eyes. The fighting was long from over, he knew, but at least he had managed to win round one.

'Bye buddy. Daddy will see you soon.