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Chapter 25 - Touch

The first week was the hardest. As much as we wanted to hold our son to comfort him when he cried, we weren't allowed to hold him yet. As perfect as he was to us, medically he wasn't. He had some problems and the first week showed them. But we were on the second week now. Things were seemingly better.

Between the two of us, we'd only made one trip home each. Other than that, we'd been at the hospital all day, every day. My parents and brother had come to see Archie, and Mum had practically come every day to see us all.

Today was the day Emily's parents were finally able to make their way down here. She was in the shower, trying to make herself more presentable than she felt she had been the last week. To be fair, her parents were more serious when it came to presentation than my family was.

So, while she showered, I sat on the hospital bed that had been our makeshift bed and held my son's hand. He was still in the incubator, and we didn't know for how much longer. That was the hardest part.

There was a knock at the door and our doctor came walking in. "Good morning." She smiled.

"Morning." I gave her a small smile. "Emily's in the shower. She should be out soon."

"Well, we'll wait on her." She took a seat. "How do you think he's doing today?"

I shrugged. "I'm no doctor, but better. He makes more noises, and I don't know...acts more like a baby should act."

"That's great."

"Okay, Le, you're turn—Oh. Hello." Emily was walking out of the bathroom drying her hair with a towel.

"Hello. I came to check in on you all and give you guys some good news." Emily sat down next to me and grabbed my free hand. "He's gained a pound, so that's great. He's also—we believe—strong enough to be taken off the breathing tubes."

"Really?"

"Really. There is one more thing." I squeezed my wife's hand. "We're going to let you hold him. We'll see how he does with the world outside his bubble and if all goes well, I have no doubt your stay here won't be for much longer."

"Thank you so much."

"Of course. I'll be back shortly with some nurses. We'll get some pictures for you girls as well."

"Again, thank you." Emily said through a sniffle. The doctor only smiled again before heading out. "We're going to hold him, Le."

"We are." I kissed the side of her head. "I love you, Em. So much."

"I love you too."

During the small amount of time that passed between us holding him, we must've washed our hands a hundred times. I know I paced, and the anxiety built up in me during the break between. When the nurses came in, they told us we could go ahead and sit, so we found ourselves by the window. I leaned against the wall, but Emily was already sat.

"Who's holding him first?" The nurse was looking at Emily.

Well, it was obvious she'd—

"Come on and sit." Emily nudged me.

"No, Em you go ahead."

"Don't be stubborn. Sit down." I sat next to her and felt her scoot closer to me.

"Are you ready, Leah?" The nurse asked, coming closer to us with him in her arms.

"As ready as I can be." She gently laid him in my arms. His little eyes were opened and so blue. "Hey there, little guy."

"He's so perfect, Le."

Archie's tiny hand was on Emily's finger. We both could see how he him squeeze it.

"He's strong." I looked over at my wife, who had tears in her eyes. "You did good, Em."

"We did good. It takes two to make a baby you know." I chuckled and kissed her forehead. "He's our boy."

"Our boy."

We only got a few more minutes with him until he was taken back to his bubble again. But we had held him. We got to kiss his small head for the first time.

"That was the first of many, girls." Our doctor told us. "As of now, he did great for being on the outside for so long. I have no doubt he'll be eating from a bottle soon and will be ready to go home."

"Thank you." Emily said.

"We'll see how he does within the next hour or two and maybe holding him can be as often as you'd like. I'll be back in an hour or so to check in. This is exciting ladies."

Once the doctor was gone, Emily wrapped her arms around me. "I love you." She kissed my shoulder. "You make my wildest dreams come true."

I turned my head and kissed her softly. "I love you."

She kissed me again. "Go shower before my parents get here. You know how they are."

"I do." I chuckled.

I made my way to the bathroom with a small smile on my face.

✧✧✧

We got the news that we were able to hold Archie at any point we wanted since he hadn't had a reaction from earlier. So, while Emily went down to get her parents, I was sitting in a chair with Archie asleep on my chest. His little hand was wrapped around my forefinger and his other hand gripped my sweatshirt.

His little face scrunched up, making me smile. His eyes opened and he looked at me. "You're so loved buddy. You have no idea how much your mummy and I love you." I whispered. 

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AN: These have been pretty short lately. I've been pretty busy lately. I'm going to attempt to get a chapter of World's Apart out before my slam packed weekend 🫠

As always, vote ⭐️

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