A/N: Hey guys! I'm kind of obsessed with Uncharted 4 and the Drake brothers and the adventure family right now and I wanted to write a bunch of fics and stuff for them, and this is the first one I came up with so…maybe more to come? Hope you guys enjoy. : )
02:06 A.M., 9 DECEMBER, 1976
The morning Nathan is born, it rains.
From where he stands in the waiting room of the hospital, Sam looks out the window almost desperately, watches the water splattering the street, listens to the sound of it pounding against the stones as he leans his head against the glass. In comparison to the stifling heat of the hospital, the pane is refreshingly cool, almost comforting, far more reassuring than the father sitting in the chair in the corner with his fingers laced together, glaring periodically over at Sam as if to accuse him of this whole situation somehow being his fault.
As if he's been cued, Levi Morgan clears his throat pointedly and lowers his magazine. "Samuel," he begins, "why aren't you sitting down like I told you to?"
Sam angles his face to look towards his father and ignores the question. "What's taking Mom so long?"
His father sighs. "She's giving birth, Samuel. It takes time."
"How long? We've been here forever."
"We've been here three hours. Forever is a lot longer."
"It feels like forever," Sam disagrees, frowning out the window at the moon glistening off the streets.
"It isn't," Dad says again. "Now sit down."
Sam doesn't sit. He shifts his weight, then looks at Dad again. "Why aren't we with Mom?"
"Because she doesn't want you watching," Dad says, and he sounds tired. "Sit down."
Sam shakes his head. "I don't want to."
Dad puts his head in his hands, massaging his temple briefly, the way Mom does when she has a headache. "Samuel-"
"I'm just watching the rain."
"I know what you're doing, and I'm telling you to-"
A door opens, cutting off Dad's response. "Levi Morgan?" The nurse standing in the doorway is youthful, dark eyes and tan skin and short hair tied back into a ponytail so small Sam almost wonders what the point of it is.
His father stands. "Yes?"
The nurse smiles, and Sam thinks she looks almost relieved. "Your wife is asking for you and your son. She wants to see you."
Dad's eyebrow quirks up. "Is she out of labour?"
The nurse's smile widens, her eyes brightening with her facial expression. "She is indeed, Mr. Morgan. Congratulations." She pauses, opening the door wider to allow for them to enter. "I'll let her tell you the specifics. If you would follow me?"
Dad nods, looking stunned, and he beckons Sam to follow him and this time, Sam listens, abandoning his perch by the window and following his father's lead through the winding hallways of the hospital to a room with a piece of paper taped on the wall reading Cassandra Morgan.
When they enter the room, Sam notices immediately how tired Mom looks. She's slouched against the pillows, her hair plastered to her forehead, looking pale and exhausted as she holds a small bundle of something in her arms. Her eyes are tired but open, and they brighten as they set upon Sam. "Hey," she says, smiling softly. "I was wondering when you two were going to be here."
Sam nods his agreement. "So was I."
Mom doesn't get a chance to respond before Dad moves to stand near her side, smoothing her hair back against her forehead with a gentleness that Sam was always surprised to remember he possessed. "Cassandra," he says, "how are you?"
Her smile broadens briefly, and her shoulders twitch in the barest implication of a shrug. "Tired," she admits, "but well." She lifts the bundle in her arms gently. "Meet our newest son."
An expression Sam can't decipher flicks across his father's face as he looks toward the bundle. "Son," he repeats, almost curiously. "Nathan, then?"
Mom nods. "Nathan William Morgan," she confirms, and lifts him slightly. "Here, do you want to-?"
"Of course." Smoothly, Dad takes the baby from Mom's arms, holding him against his chest and looking down at him. "Hey there," he begins, but before he can say another word, Nathan starts to wail.
Sam has to bite back a laugh, unable to disagree. Anytime he's near Dad, he feels like screaming too. "Hey now," Dad says, but Nathan's crying only intensifies, and after a few minutes of no progress, resignation settles into the outline of his shoulders as he turns to face Mom. "Here," he says, moving to hand Nathan back, "I think he likes you better."
Mom holds up a hand before Nathan can settle back in her arms. "Let Sam hold him," she instructs, looking toward her older son. She sees the surprise and doubt on his face, and she smiles. "Go ahead," she assures him, "you'll be fine. I promise."
Dad looks just as doubtful as Sam feels, but neither of them are about to argue with Mom, and when he lays the baby in Sam's arms and tells him to be careful, Sam has to resist the urge to snap at the reminder. It's not as if he's intentionally going to break his brother – it's accidents they need to worry about.
At first, Nathan's screaming continues at its typical fevered pitch, and now that he's getting the full force of his baby brother's vocal cords, Sam has to marvel at how something so small is capable of making so much noise. "Hey there, Nathan," he says, "you got a nice voice there. Think you can keep it down?" Nathan – predictably, Sam realises – doesn't respond, and his screaming continues. Unsure of what to do, Sam resorts to instinct, and he carefully bounces the baby the way he's seen some of the moms in the market do it, careful to not shake him too much.
It takes a moment, but shortly after he starts to bounce Nathan, he notices the crying starts to quiet. He almost doesn't believe it at first, but after a few minutes, Nathan has almost stopped crying completely, and he's staring up at Sam looking wonderstruck.
A smile creeps its way across Sam's face, half-surprised and half awed. "You like that, huh?" he whispers, bouncing Nathan again, and when his little brother laughs, Sam looks up at Mom in absolute joy.
Dad looks uncertain, but Mom's eyes are dancing with light. "He likes you," she says softly, and Sam smiles.
A/N: Nate's middle name comes from a headcanon of mine that the boys have middle names based on explorers. Nate's comes from William Clark. Sam's is Christopher, after Columbus.
