4 1/2 MONTHS LATER
It was well after midnight, and here he was, in the hospital holding his son. His son. Karen had endured 30 long and exhausting hours but their son had finally arrived.
Derek's inner devil was telling him to run but the more he stared at his son, the more he knew he loved this child. This was his son because his name was going on the birth certificate. It was his son because he planned on being there for every moment.
Eventually they would tell their son about Jimmy, but not until he was able to understand what had happened. But for Derek, the biology didn't matter as much as the love he felt for his son.
Derek was still admiring his son when he heard a soft knock on the door. Kyle's head peaked in and looked around.
"Kyle?" Derek whispered from the couch and Kyle looked in that direction before moving towards him. "What are you doing here so late?"
"I'm so sorry Derek. I just couldn't get myself to come earlier," he admitted while sitting on the couch.
"It's okay Kyle," Derek said while wrapping one arm around the young man's shoulder. In the time between now and Jimmy's death, the three of them had grown closer. "I understand this was hard for you."
"Thank you," Kyle quietly said. "How did everything go?"
A diminutive chuckle escaped Derek's throat before he could stop it. It only lasted a brief moment then he looked down at his son to make sure he hadn't woken him up.
"It was long," Derek said with his eyes set on the bundle in his arms. "But Karen was beautiful through the whole thing. And this is our son." Derek opened the blankets so that Kyle could see the face of his son. "7 pounds 10 ounce. All 10 fingers and toes plus a healthy set of lungs."
"That's good," Kyle said before exclaiming in a hushed tone. "Oh, I brought you guys something for his room. It's a mobile that has a headphone jack. That way you can play music from an iPod or whatever. Then when he gets older it's got light patterns and not just the animals."
"That's brilliant," Derek remarked. "Karen, and I'm sure this guy, will love it."
"I'm going to go. I really just wanted to stop in briefly and make sure everything had went smoothly," Kyle said getting up to go. Derek grabbed his wrist just as Kyle was walking away.
"Stop by tomorrow," Derek said. "Karen's parents and a few other people will be here at 10. It will be good."
"Okay, that sounds nice," Kyle said.
"Good, see you then," Derek said as Kyle left the room. While Kyle had made a quiet exit, the sound of the door clicking shut had awakened Karen.
"Who was that?" she asked.
"Kyle sweetheart," Derek answered as he moved to the bed she was in. "He came by for a moment but he'll be here tomorrow."
"Good. How's your son doing?" she asked while holding her arms out for him. She had held and feed him earlier but that was hours ago and before she fell asleep from being drained.
"My son?" he pretended to be offended. "He's your son through and through. You should have heard him earlier when they pricked his foot. He's going to be a signer or something with that set of lungs."
"Our son then. How is our son doing?" she asked.
"Much better. He settled down once he was swaddled," Derek answered while he brushed his fingers through Karen's hair.
"You have to take him back," Karen said and passed the child to Derek. "I'm so sorry. I'm so tired that my eyes won't stay open."
"It's okay. You did all the work," he said as he planted a kiss on her forehead. "Go to sleep. I'll put him down soon. I promise." That was all it took and Karen was fast asleep again.
But Derek stayed up just holding his son close to his chest and then finally when he could no longer hold his arms up he snuggled his son down into the hospital crib.
"I'll see you in the morning little guy," he said before planting a kiss on his son's cheek.
A/N: I very much dislike it when an author has completed a story and then adds more chapters but here I am doing it. Someone had asked for an epilogue and I suddenly had this idea. I hope everyone enjoyed it and this will be the last chapter for this fic.