[name_u]Connor[/name_u] [name_m]Viorel[/name_m] Markham (32) is the father of [name_u]Pip[/name_u] 's son and therefore the person who caused the whole “Babygate” scandal by trying for a child with his current girlfriend. All of this is because he was adopted from Romania and always wondered who his true parents are , this missing piece has instilled a need in him to have a traditional family . This is why he tried to pursue [name_u]Pip[/name_u] relentlessly the moment he found out they were pregnant. He acted very excited when they told him , went on a few dates with them - bowling , kayaking , the movies and even a fancy restaurant - while paying for everything. At the eight date [name_u]Connor[/name_u] got [name_u]Pip[/name_u] their favourite flowers - jonquils and the tenth one culminated in [name_u]Connor[/name_u] serenading [name_u]Pip[/name_u] on his maple violin while in the parking lot of their apartament building - with a piece he composed himself , mind you.
[name_u]Pip[/name_u] invited [name_u]Connor[/name_u] in and decided to open up about why all of this made them feel quite uncomfortable - not only did they feel preassured but also put in the traditional role of a woman being pursued romantically , which not only made them dysphoric but also feel trapped in a way where they couldn’t really make a move and do something nice for [name_u]Connor[/name_u] because he was focused too much on [name_u]Pip[/name_u] and not telling them enough about himself. [name_u]Connor[/name_u] understood that and also confessed about why he acted that way and how being an adoptee affected his mindset. This made [name_u]Pip[/name_u] convinced that deciding on a long-term relationship for the sake of the child only while not even knowing each other would put too much preassure on them both and especially on [name_u]Connor[/name_u] who would probably see the potential deterioration of the relationship into disfunction as a failure in terms of a major life goal. [name_u]Pip[/name_u] spent the next few weeks convincing [name_u]Connor[/name_u] that respectful co-parenting is the best option for them and the next few months on discussing extactly how this will play out. When [name_u]Pip[/name_u] found out it was a boy, they decided to put [name_m]Viorel[/name_m] somewhere in the name of their son - because they valued the moment of vulnerabilty with [name_u]Connor[/name_u] and how he told them about his family with emotion nearly breaking his voice.
He said he knew why the parents he now has decided to adopt him - it turned out their biological children would be born with a high risk for cystic fibrosis and so they decided to give up on establishing their family the conventional way. His older sister was also adopted as a baby , but from Belarus - [name_u]Connor[/name_u] sometimes envies her as she is much more in touch with her roots, currently a journalist for the local newspaper and an activist for freedom of the media in Belarus - which is the last dictatorship of contienental Europe as of now. She’s also clearly his parents’ favourite - for having a “respectful humanities job, not just a head in the clouds”. [name_u]Connor[/name_u] never really wanted to go into medicine but wanted to earn the approval of his parents as a young adult more than he probably should have - despite his passion for violin and wanting to play in a professional orchestra , his parents never supported him in that goal and wanted him to pursue something that , quote “actually pays the bills and is not just an extension of a childish hobby we paid for to keep you busy”. And so - two of his life goals, being establishing a traditional family and becoming a violinist are ones that he failed at miserably which sometimes causes him to wonder if things would have been different had his 8-month-old self never left Romania. His current gilfriend who’s really into spirituality helped him come to terms with the fact that sometimes goals fail and the only way we can achieve peace with that is looking inward. [name_u]Connor[/name_u] loves her because she’s mysterious, has an artistic soul and is truly ubothered by the shallow things in life unlike so many of the rich doctors he knows. Her calm nature prevented him from literally assulting [name_m]Florent[/name_m] when drunk [name_u]Connor[/name_u] found out that he knows so much about “Babygate”, swearing at him and telling him to “quit gossiping and get the hell out of his family’s business”. If it wasn’t for his girlfriend’s sudden phonecall and a random passerby’s intervention, things would have gotten out of control and he knows that - he hopes [name_u]Pip[/name_u] never, ever finds out about the situation and it looks like they never will because [name_u]Connor[/name_u] 's girlfriend has decided to keep this private - especially becaue [name_u]Connor[/name_u] is the one having primary custody of his 8-year-oldson due to objectively better living conditions (with Pip’s full approval ) so discussing this stressful matter in front of him would be no good either.