Author's Note: Thanks to Andrea (iloveromance) for writing "Here For You" as a sequel to my own "All That Matters" as an early birthday present. Although her story was lovely and melt-worthy, I still felt there was more I could do with it, and so I felt the need to write this.
Daphne had done everything she could think of to get David to settle down so that he could go to sleep. But nothing seemed to work. He continued to sob, and it broke her heart. But she happened to glance into the opened door of the master bedroom. Niles lay there, resting. Though his fever was gone, and he insisted he was all better, Daphne still felt uneasy. Seeing him so ill had frightened her, and she did not want him risking a relapse.
"Would you like to go and see Daddy?" Daphne asked. David looked up at her in surprise. Of course David would want to see his father. Though Daphne was obviously David's primary caretaker, father and son had somehow formed a bond. Daphne was glad, because there was nothing she'd want than for her son to be like his father. She walked across the hall, continuing to rub David's back the whole way. "Someone wanted to come and say goodnight," she said when she reached the door.
Niles grinned. "Come here, son." He held out his arms. Daphne walked over and gently placed David on the edge of the bed. He was an expert crawler now, and he made his way over to his father. When David got close enough, Niles picked the baby up, placing his son on his chest.
Daphne's heart melted at the sight of her husband taking such care of the baby. She knew that Niles had worried about raising another one of the Moon boys, but those fears seemed ridiculous now. David began playfully hitting his father in the nose. Niles couldn't help laughing. Daphne walked into the room, standing right next to the bed where Niles lay. "You see how much David loves his father?" When he was ill and running a fever, Niles had insisted that his infant son hated him. Daphne had been heartbroken. Nothing could've been further from the truth.
Niles nodded. "I'm sorry I put you through all of that." He took hold of her hand, gently kissing the back of it.
Daphne smiled. "It's all right. I'm just glad you're better now." She leaned down to kiss him. "I think David's ready to go back to his crib now."
Niles looked up at her, pleading. "Let him stay for a while, my love. I missed playing with him while I was ill."
"Are you sure?" Niles nodded. "All right, then. I'll just go and pick up David's toys in the nursery while you two play in here. Call me if you need anything." She walked back across the hall into David's nursery. The baby had a habit of occasionally throwing or dropping toys onto the floor. She tidied up quickly, grateful that David wasn't old enough yet to make a bigger mess. She'd seen what her brothers' rooms looked like when she was growing up. She prayed David would never be like that. Once she was satisfied that she'd done all she could, she walked back to the master bedroom.
She reached the door, intending to walk in and scoop her son up. But then she stopped in her tracks. The sight that greeted her when she entered made her heart melt even more than she'd believed possible. Niles lay with his head gently resting on his pillow, eyes closed. David was still laying on his father's chest. His deep breathing matched Niles'.
Daphne wiped a tear from her eye. Could there ever be a better picture of the bond between father and son? This had to be captured. David had already grown so quickly in this first year, and Daphne was determined to remember each and every moment of it. Their digital camera sat on the dresser, and Daphne picked it up. She pressed a button, making sure the moment would be preserved forever. As Daphne returned the camera to its spot, she realized she wouldn't really need to have a picture of it. The moment would stay in her heart forever.
The End