Chapter Text
Almost 17 years ago…
David Russell looked down upon his grandson that he rocked in his arms. The baby, less than a week old, looked at him sleepily and in slight resentment of not being his mother. David had taken the baby for the night so the new parents could get some rest. His daughter, the baby’s mother, suffered from post-partum depression and needed a night off with just her husband. The baby, named Gabriel, had his mother’s looks completely. Beautiful hazel eyes, corn blonde hair, and dimples as deep as the Grand Canyon. The only part of his father to be seen was his stern look the baby usually sported unless he was eating. David hummed a melody he had sung to his daughter when she was this age, watched as the hazel eyes blinked slower and slower until finally they dropped into sleep.
Once he was sure the baby was as deep into sleep as he could be, David slowly stood up from the rocking chair, feeling all of his fifty-eight years on this Earth, and walked over to the crib that his daughter had used years before. He laid down Gabriel into the crib, pulled the light sheet half way on top of him, and turned on the baby monitor. He watched Gabriel for a little while longer, thankful that he had finally been given a grandson. As he turned around to walk out of the room, he felt a slight breeze. He looked over to the window and saw that it was still cracked open from earlier when he was airing out the old nursery. David closed it and latched it before walking out of the room, leaving the door cracked open. He slowly made his way down the hall and down the stairs, checking the front and back doors and making sure they were locked as well as the windows.
He then climbed back up the stairs to his room, pausing at the portrait of his late wife Marie. They had been married for over thirty years before cervical cancer had taken her. She had been his angel before and after she died, and he missed her every day. He smiled and said his good nights like every night, and blew a kiss to her. He opened the door to his room and turned on the baby monitor in his room in case Gabriel woke up. He turned and looked towards his door, wondering if he should check on his grandson one last time. He shrugged and got into bed, he was sure Gabriel was fine and still asleep. He pulled the blankets up and closed his eyes, making a list of things to do tomorrow before he slowly fell asleep.
He never heard the creak of the door as someone came into his room and silently turned off the baby monitor…