Gabriel
Sequel to "When Can I see you again?" This is another pure fluff about Robert and Sophie. They are still together, but not alone for long.
Hello, all! This story is coming to an end, sadly. I hope you are enjoying it, the quiet readers as well. ;)
Chapter Eleven: Nursing
After the surgery was complete, Sophie was wheeled into a recovery room, where she was closely monitored for a few hours. Langdon stayed there with her until she finally felt asleep, and then went out to look for Dr. Toller. They told him he was examining Gabriel. Langdon felt suddenly worried. "Is Gabriel fine?" He found the doctor following a pediatrician out of the nursery. The look he saw on the man's face tranquilized him.
"I was going to fetch you right away, Mr. Langdon," he said closing the door behind him.
"Is something wrong, doctor?" he asked nonetheless.
"On the contrary. I'm amazed. Your baby is premature, he went through complicated hours before the birth, underwent a cesarean operation and even so he shows all the signs of a baby born in the right time and in perfect conditions. Normal heart, normal lungs, normal height and normal weight."
Langdon wasn't very certain about what he was trying to say. "What does that mean?"
"My dear," Dr. Toller laughed in amazement. "It means that Gabriel won't need to be placed in an incubator on a special neo-natal unit, as most premature babies do. I will only keep him in the nursery for three days to make sure everything goes well. How is Sophie?"
"Sleeping now," he told. "When will she be able to come home?"
"Well, Mr. Langdon, cesarean is a complicated operation, which requires more time for recovery. She will need special care for a couple of days."
Langdon was anxious. "How many?"
"Three of four, it depends on her."
"Can I sleep over, doctor?"
"Yes, you can. But now, don't you want to go home for a while? You look awful. Take a shower, change your clothes. I will ask the staff to call you when Sophie wakes up."
"No, thank you," he affirmed. "I won't leave her."
"You will need to at some point. You know, I'm going home myself now."
"You are? But-"
"Don't worry, everything is under control," he assured. "You should rest too."
"I will, later."
After watching Dr. Toller vanish behind a corner, Langdon spent some minutes looking at his son through the window. He asked a nurse if he couldn't hold him for some time, but she said it would have to wait. She accompanied him to Sophie's room, where she laid still asleep, and told him to push the red button if he needed her. He found himself a comfortable position on the sofa and, before he knew it, he was asleep as well.
A few hours later Sophie woke up and took a few seconds to realize where she was. Soon her look fell upon Langdon lying awkwardly on the sofa and then she knew. A joy took over her, she wanted to get up and wake Langdon up, hug him, kiss him. However, when she tried to move, the pain from the cut told her she should take it easy. She asked herself how long she had been asleep, and wondered where Gabriel was, if he was alright, if she could see him, even breastfeed him. "Robert?" she called in a whisper, but he didn't move.
The thought of going over to him flashed her mind. She knew she couldn't, though. "Robert." she tried again, a bit louder.
He rolled over and sat straight, alert. "Sophie? Oh, Sophie." He went straight to her. "How are you feeling? Are you alright? Do you want something?"
"Hey, Robert. I'm alright," she smiled, amused with his attitude. "How long have I been sleeping?"
"Well, you," he looked down to his Mickey and made some calculations. "Four hours since you left the operation room."
"What about him?"
"Gabriel? He is sleeping like an angel. "Oh, Sophie, he is so beautiful."
"I want to see him," she said. "Is he fine?"
Langdon kneeled down beside her bed. "Yes. In fact, Dr. Toller was amazed at how healthy he is."
"His breathing was normal all the time, then?"
"I think so," he reached for her hand and kissed it. "We will be able to take our little boy home when you leave the clinic."
"I have to stay for some days, I know," she looked down. "Don't I?"
"Yes, sweetheart. But I will stay here with you," he assured, still holding her hand. "So will Gabriel."
She looked up again, with a glint in her eyes. You will?"
Langdon nodded, locking eyes with her. "You know what I will do?" he asked, getting up. "I will bring him now."
He went to the nursery and told a nurse that Sophie was awake and wanted to see her baby. Easy like this, the woman nodded, went inside, checked some notes on the files hanging on Gabriel's cradle and picked him up. "Please, follow me, Mr. Langdon, isn't it?"
"Yes. Eh, can't I carry him?"
The look the woman shot him told she was not in the best of her moods. Langdon decided not to question her. She didn't even bother to talk to Sophie; she simply opened the door to her room and told him she would come back within an hour to take Gabriel back to the nursery. Before she closed the door Langdon asked her if Sophie could breastfeed their baby.
"If she desires."
"Weird woman."
Sophie couldn't contain her excitement as Langdon came to her holding that precious bundle. "We have one hour with him," he said, helping her sit straight and lay against some pillows.
She couldn't, nor did want she, help the tears that fell from her eyes when she held Gabriel for the first time. She laughed and cried at the same time. "Mon cher petit fils."
"Not teaching him some French, are you?"
"Oui," she said, her look fixed on Gabriel's little face.
Langdon fetched him a chair and sat beside Sophie. "Why won't he open his eyes?" he whispered.
"Robert, he was just born," she barely diverted her look. "Look, he is smiling."
They thought the baby was giggling when he made a funny noise, but suddenly the soft squeaky turned into crying.
"Oh, Mon Dieu."
It was funny how Sophie always turned to her native language when she was nervous. Langdon had learnt more French in those moments than he had during primary school.
She had suddenly forgotten all she had planned to do according to the instructions both Dr. Toller and Susan had given her. "Do you think he is hungry?"
"Give it a try," he encouraged.
She remembered Susan had told her that, if she needed to go through a cesarean, in the first days, she would find breastfeeding more comfortable if she and the baby lied on their sides facing each other. Sophie had planned a normal birth, but she knew she ought to learn everything she could, so she listened carefully to her friend's advices. Therefore, with her husband's help, she rolled over on her side and held Gabriel so he would be able to reach her breast. Langdon watched mesmerized his son clutch to his Mother as though his dear life depended on her, and was amazed at how he stopped crying as soon as he started to suck on her breast, and at how naturally it all happened. "He is hungry, indeed," he said.
Sophie barely raised her head to smile. Apart from not wanting to miss any detail of her first breastfeeding section, she needed to make sure Gabriel was sucking right and breathing fine. She changed position a couple of times, so the baby would suck all the available milk. Some time later a nicer nurse came and took Gabriel again, not without some protesting from his parents.
