It was early morning, and Tex had yet to get any sleep. He gently rocked his young son as he tried to soothe the child's cries. Keith was currently running a low grade fever and combined with the fact that he was also teething; well, the poor kid wasn't really having the best time of it right now.
Tex was glad that he had called in sick for the next morning. Being a single father to a six-month-old was a lot tougher than he initially thought it would be. This was the way it had to be though. Krolia had to leave to protect the location of the Blue Lion and the universe as a result.
She had to leave to keep them safe.
He was grateful at least that his work mates were understanding of his situation. A few days after Krolia had left, he brought Keith with him to the station for the first time, largely out of necessity. With no close family living in the area, Tex had been short on babysitting options. His colleagues had fallen in love with his tiny son on sight, captivated especially by his inquisitive indigo eyes that he had inherited from Krolia.
Some had questioned on the identity of Keith's mother, and Tex had told them that Keith was the result of a one night stand and his mother had shown up out of the blue and dropped him off with Tex only a few days prior, only to disappear again. He had felt terrible for that. It was of course a lie, but in reality, for the five months that she had spent with their son, Krolia had been a fantastic mother. Thankfully, everyone had bought the lie – due to Tex largely keeping his life private to begin with – and had offered to allow Tex to bring Keith with him to work. Someone was always at the fire station, so while Tex went on jobs, Keith would still be well looked after.
Keith continued to cry, though his loud wails had decreased to soft whines and whimpers over the past couple of hours. Tex was at a loss. Initially he wasn't worried, Keith had begun teething a couple of weeks back and he was largely uncomfortable during the night as a result. However, the fever did worry him. It wasn't high for now, kept at bay by the dose of medicine he had given his son earlier, but it concerned him all the same. This was the first time Keith had gotten sick, and like most first time parents, Tex felt that it was probably natural to panic, even just a little.
However, Keith getting sick had brought with it unpleasant thoughts. Although his son at first glance seemed human, Tex could not deny that his son was part alien as well. Krolia initially had been confused on how to care for a human baby, confessing to Tex when Keith was not yet a month old that Galra babies became self-sufficient a lot quicker than humans, and that if Keith was full Galra he would already be crawling. At the time, Tex had comforted her that for human babies it was normal for them to take longer, and Krolia seemed so thankful that her partner would be there to help her through this.
Tex recalled the memory with a touch of bitterness, as he was alone now, and if anything distinctly alien happened to his son in the future, he would have no idea how to fix it.
A luxury for most first time parents was that when they were distinctly worried about the health of their child, they would be able to go to the hospital or at the least consult their nearest GP. Keith, in his short six months of life, had never needed one. Krolia had given birth at home, for obvious reasons, and they had lucked out that Keith had avoided getting seriously ill within those first couple of months; but still, Tex worried.
Keith's cries were finally beginning to peter out as exhaustion began to settle in. It had been a rough couple of hours for the poor kid, and unfortunately it was probably going to be a rough couple of days ahead for the both of them if Tex couldn't bring the fever down quickly. He'd done all he could do for now though, having given Keith medicine only an hour before. Any other problems would have to be dealt with when they came along, Tex rationalised to himself, lest he worry himself into a state.
Keith's cries finally ceased with a comically large yawn, his eyelids finally beginning to droop. Even in his sleep deprived state, Tex found himself chuckling softly at the display as he settled himself deeper into the cushions of their worn out sofa, figuring that he may as well make himself comfortable as he doubted he'd be moving from this spot over the next couple of hours. With Keith's head resting on Tex's shoulder, he rubbed soothing circles along his sons back, humming a generic lullaby to ease his son to sleep. Tex sighed in relief when after a few minutes he could feel Keith's breaths even out; his sons congested, heavy breaths fever-warm against the side of his neck. With his son now finally asleep, Tex felt his own exhaustion begin to pull him under.
Tex missed Krolia, and her absence had left a part of him feeling empty. Tears prickled at the corners of his eyes for the first time since Krolia had left. The thoughts overwhelmed him at what Krolia was going to miss out on. He didn't know how long she would be away for – Krolia had seemed unsure herself – but it seemed certain that she was going to miss out on a lot of Keith's early milestones, if not a good chunk of his childhood.
What if she missed out on their sons entire childhood?
Tex's own father had walked out when he was young and he was familiar with the pain of growing up without a parent. It was under very different circumstances, but Tex had never wanted his own children to have felt that pain. And yet here he was, raising his son alone and facing the possibility that Keith would never know his own mother. He wouldn't know how brave and courageous she was. How even though she was a seasoned warrior, she was selfless and caring. And that even though she had been raised in an environment lacking in it, she had nothing but love to give to her only child.
It was that same love that forced her to leave.
The exhaustion from the past couple of hours finally hit him as the tears split over. Although, the weight resting on his chest reassured him that Keith was still here, a constant reminder of the three years he and Krolia spent together. Krolia wasn't here, but Keith was. Tex hugged his sleeping son tighter. He couldn't do anything for Krolia now she was gone, but he would do all he could to be there for Keith.