The haziness from the sedatives quickly began to fade, and now I could just open my eyes. I saw Harry sitting there, I felt her grasping my hand in hers, her calloused hands rubbing against mine. She was talking to Sherlock, who was wiping tears from his eyes now as she spoke. I could hear their voices as they talked, but the words they were saying I couldn't understand.
What was she saying to make him act like this?
Sherlock then looked at me and must have noticed that I was waking up. He leaned over and gave my forehead a soft kiss, and I could hear him whisper in my ear," Wake up, love."
I managed to force myself to open my eyes and blinked several times, clearing the blurriness that was clouding them. The fogginess in my head began to fade as I became more and more awake, taking in sounds and smells.
" Welcome back, John." Harry said, rubbing her thumb over my knuckles. " Where is Will?" I asked," He's sleeping in the incubator, John." Sherlock said, smiling at me.
" What happened?" I asked," Why did they knock me out?" " You were remembering, John." Sherlock said. I looked at him," Did I hurt anyone? Is Will okay?!" I asked, turning to look over at the incubator, where I could barely see Will as he slept," Everyone is okay, John. They sedated you to protect you from yourself," he said," But we do need to talk."
Sherlock told me about what he and Ben had talked about, and what Harry was doing.
" I'm not going back into therapy." I said after Sherlock and Harry had given me all of the information I needed," We'll cross that bridge when we get to it, but for now, Ben is going to let you physically recover, then you and Will can come home, okay?" Sherlock said, kissing my hand. I nodded and smiled at them," Can I see Will again?" I asked, looking over at my sleeping child," Yeah, just let me give Ben a call." Sherlock said, pressing the call button on the hospital bed.
Ben came in not a minute later, smiling and holding (another) cup of coffee," Okay! How are you doing, John?" Ben asked, smiling at me," Much better. I just really want to hold my son again." I said.
Ben walked over to the incubator, lifted William from it and walked over to me. He showed me Wills' face, and his big smile, watching my reaction cautiously. I reached out for him, and Ben slowly placed him in my arms.
Will cooed up at me when he saw me, waving his tiny arms around. I took his left hand and he wrapped his fragile fingers around the tip of my thumb, squeezing onto me. "For a little guy, he sure has a hell of a grip!" Harry said, fawning over her nephew.
Harry had gone through two miscarriages before giving up on having children, and here I am, not even supposed to be able to carry children, and I have a son. I smiled at her," He hasn't met you yet."
I lifted his head from the crook of my shoulder and handed William to Harry. Her eyes lit up and she took him, being very careful to support his head. " My god John, he is so perfect." she said, making a face at the boy and making him laugh. " He has mom's freckles." she said.
Oh my god... He does.
Those freckles didn't come from Jim. No, they were from my mother. I remember seeing her in a photograph once. She was pregnant with me, and she was tickling Harry, her large baby bump evident in the picture. She was smiling and laughing, and freckles dotted her face as her lips curled into a hysterical smile, her eyes were bright and happy.
" Yeah... Th-they are." I said, smiling at the memory. Sherlock smiled at me, peace in his eyes.
Ben nabbed a bottle of milk from the table next to him," Do you want to feed him, John?" I nodded, and Harry handed back Will.
Ben showed me how to hold Will when I fed him, nestling his head in the crook of my elbow as I held the bottle with my other hand.
" Sometimes, babies can be very picky about the bottle, so just..." Ben trailed of when I put the bottle nipple to Wills lips, and he clamped down and took big gulps." Never mind then." he chuckled," Now you will want to give him some breaks. With the way that he's eating, he could easily get a tummy ache." I pulled the nipple gently out of his mouth, and he gurgled, making some saliva and milk bubbles dribble out of his mouth and down his chin. I wiped it off with he blue bib that Ben had given me to use," There you go. And if he ever does get a tummy ache, put some peppermint into his bottle and let it dissolve, it helps." Ben said, grinning as the baby began to eat happily once again.
Ben showed me how to burp William after he ate, and pulled over a chair and sat next to Harry.
" I'm assuming you're Harry?" he said, extending his hand," Yep. " she said, shaking his hand," Call me Ben. I hate it when people call me by my doctor name." he said, smiling. Harry smiled and released his hand. " I'm going to need to talk to the three of you about releasing John home next week." Ben said, taking out his clip board.
William was breathing softly as he began to drift off to sleep in my arms, full and warm. I snuggled him close to my chest as he slept, keeping him warm and content. " John is not to be left alone for the duration of 2 1/2 months. Either you" he turned to Harry," or Sherlock must be with him at all times. I will be checking in at random to see how he is progressing mentally." he turned to me," At the end of the 2 1/2 months, you will come here and I will oversee the test that you will go through. It is just a few questions, that is all. But if your mental health has not improved by at least half, then we will need to look into other options." " I'm not going back to therapy." I said," You can put me on whatever medication you want, just no therapy." I said, " We will just have to see, John." Ben said.
Harry agreed to the terms and to stay at the flat for however long she was needed there. Ben chatted a little bit, and left shortly after.
" You have a great doctor, John." Harry said, smiling at me," He's been really supportive of us since the beginning." I said, looking down at my sleeping son. " I'll let you two have some time to talk. I'm going to go to my hotel and pack up my stuff. Chicago won't miss me for long." she said as she left, squeezing my shoulder and giving William a kiss on the head as she left.
" He sleeps like a rock." Sherlock said, gently fixing Williams thin hair, which was sticking up," Yeah, he does." I said, watching his back rise and fall with every tiny breath he took. " Sherlock," I said, taking his hand," You do know that since we're getting married, you're his father now." I said with a grin. I saw the realization in Sherlocks eyes as I told him, the joy and love. He smiled and kissed Williams head," I have a son." Sherlock said, his eyes filling with tears," Yes! Congratulations ! It's a bouncing baby boy!" I teased, kissing his curls.
He kissed me passionately, taking a fist full of my hair in his hand. I returned the passion and broke apart. He looked down at William and kissed the top of his head, his eyes tightly shut to hold back his tears.
He fell asleep with his head on the bed, and our fingers intertwined.
I couldn't ask for a better family.
Will John go into a psychotic breakdown? Will he loose it, and for some reason lash out at little William?
You'll have to keep reading for that info!
-PerfectMoments
