Prequel to this.
Jaime sat up on the hospital bed, groggy. He looked around, confused. No chaos. No mess. No trays and carts. Where was Laura? Where was CJ? And how did he end up in bed? Jaime swung his legs over the edge just as CJ appeared in the doorway, holding a small bundle in his arms.
“Hey,” CJ said, his face lighting up. “You’re awake.”
“Yeah. What happened?”
“You fainted.”
“Oh,” Jaime said, his ears turning red.
“The doctors said that wasn’t that uncommon. I almost did too.”
Jaime didn’t answer immediately and scratched the back of his neck. “Was…everything ok? With Laura and the baby?”
CJ grinned. “Laura’s sleeping. She’s fine.” He walked over and sat next to Jaime. “Meet Silas James. 8 pounds, 1 ounce.” Jaime heard CJ’s voice crack. He passed the bundle to Jaime, trembling slightly with nervousness. “Here. Happy Father’s Day, Jaime.”
“Oh my god,” Jaime breathed, taking their little one in their hands for the first time. “He’s so little. So tiny. So adorable. He’s totally passed out. Aw, lookit these little fingernails!” Jaime sniffled and looked up at CJ. “He’s ours?”
“Yes.”
“That’s just…that’s just…amazing.” They exchanged a kiss.
“Hey uh CJ, wasn’t Father’s Day like four days ago?”
CJ laughed. “Maybe. So Silas took his time getting here. All that’s matters is that he’s here. And we can still celebrate.”
“Yes,” Jaime agreed. “That’s all that matters. I just…I can’t believe it you know? Finally getting to hold him. Nearly three years of paperwork and home visits and interviews, and then Laura shows up like a guardian angel and makes the most selfless decision on the planet. I don’t know how I’ll ever be ever to thank her. If Silas was mine, I wouldn’t be able to hand him over.”
CJ put an arm around his partner. “That’s because you want a baby. Laura is 19, and would have to give up a full ride to college to raise him.”
“We got lucky.”
“We did.” Jaime sniffled again. “Shit, I’m crying.”
CJ chuckled and pulled Jaime close, kissing him on the temple. “We got eighteen years ahead of us. Think we can do it?”
Jaime nodded quickly. “I want more than that.”
“Well, if we play things right, he’ll stick around and take care of us when we’re old.”
Jaime raised an eyebrow. “You are too hot to get old.”
“Oh come on. I’m a Dad now. Dad’s aren’t hot. They’re cool. I’m a cool Dad.”
“Oh pfft. Good luck with that.”
“I can play video games. I got this.”
Jaime shook his head, smiling. “Sure you do. Hey if you’re ‘Dad’, am I also ‘Dad’?”
CJ thought. “Not sure. You want to be Dad 2?”
“Would Papa work?”
“Yeah,” CJ said, kissing Jaime on the temple again. “It would. Aww look, Silas yawned. Are you awake? Can you open your eyes and see Papa for the first time? Or you can sleep. You can sleep all you want. We’ll be right here.”
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Captions are fictional.