Daddy Duo
Chapter 17
Abandoned
Sally crumpled up her empty paper cup and threw it in the garbage. It had been a long day. Not to mention disturbing.
"Who would just throw away a baby?" she wondered for the 20th time that day.
She'd seen a lot of things during the war, but that didn't make things like this any easier.
The paramedics had been called just in time. The tiny child, a boy, had been wrapped in an old towel and left in a dumpster.
Sally went over and checked the temperature readings again. After being in the incubator for 6 hours, the baby's body temperature was almost back up to normal. She sighed. She'd thought the child was dead when she first saw it.
"I don't need to be seeing this kind of thing right now," she thought, running her hand lightly over her abdomen.
She'd just found out a month ago that she was pregnant.
She sighed. Reaching into the incubator, she lightly stroked the infant's face. He was definitely more active than he'd been a few hours ago. He reacted to her touch by turning his head toward it. She sighed.
"We need to get a volunteer in here to hold you," she said to herself. "I can't be here all the time, even though you are a cutie." The nurses were literally fighting over who got to take care of him on their shifts, but they were all busy. Baby John Doe needed someone there just to hold and feed him.
"At least you'll live," she whispered. She knew how important it was for small infants to get lots of holding and cuddling. They failed to thrive otherwise. It was almost as vital as food and warmth.
Sally got a sudden inspiration. "Hey there, baby, I think I know just the person for you." She went off to find a vidphone.
Quatre's face appeared on the screen.
"I have a big favor to ask you," said Sally, smiling at Quatre.
"Anything," he said, smiling back at her. "Is it something for the hospital?"
"Well, you could say that," she said, "it has to do with a patient we have here. He's in need of some special care."
"Is it a financial problem?" asked Quatre. "You know I'm happy to help with sponsoring any charitable programs."
"More of a personal attention problem, to be honest," said Sally. "Quatre, I need someone to take care of an abandoned infant. Sort of a foster situation."
"So, you called me," said Quatre.
"It's an emergency," she said. "All of our regular families are unable to devote the time a newborn takes. For some reason, I thought you might be able to help me out. It's just until we can find something permanent."
"Let me come down there, and I'll decide then," said Quatre. "And I have to talk to Trowa first, of course."
"Of course," she said. "I don't want to pressure you, but please say yes. For some reason, I don't want this kid to get lost in the typical bureaucratic shuffle."
"Why Sally, shame on you, you've become personally involved," smiled Quatre at her. "Where's that detached professional demeanor?"
"Completely gone. Oh, Quatre, he's so tiny!" she said, a small tear escaping the corner of her eye.
"I never thought I'd see Sally Po-Chang completely hormonal," teased Quatre, but he was smiling at her.
"I know," she sighed, "I'm making Wufei crazy with all my whining and weeping. But, he asked for it."
"I'll be there in an hour," said Quatre. "We both will be," he added, looking over his shoulder, apparently at Trowa.
"Thanks, I knew I could count on you," said Sally. She cut transmission.
Walking back to the NICU, she went over to Baby Doe's incubator.
"I just found you a guardian angel," she said. "You can thank me later."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"He's over here," said Sally, leading the two men over. Trowa looked around at tiny beds and incubators full of sick or premature infants. This was not his idea of a great place to be.
She led them over to Baby Doe's incubator. "He's only in here because he's recovering from hypothermia," she explained. "Otherwise, he's a healthy normal infant."
They looked down at the baby. He had small wisps of white blond hair on his skull and pink, wrinkled skin. A typical looking newborn.
He opened his eyes at that second and seemed to look up at them. "He's a lot more alert than he was. His body temp is normal now."
"Can I touch him?" asked Quatre.
"Sure, just wash your hands and I'll get out of there. He can come out for a few minutes now."
She led Quatre over to a sink to wash his hands, and she washed her hands too.
"Just a precaution, he's still a little weak," she explained. "We don't want him catching anything."
They went back and Sally lifted the lid on the incubator, and gently lifted the baby out. He was attached to an IV line and and a heart monitor, which she was careful not to disturb.
Quatre held out his arms.
"Hello," he said to the baby, who opened his eyes and looked up at the sound of his voice.
"I'll get you a blanket and you can sit there and hold him." She indicated a padded rocking chair nearby.
Quatre sat down gingerly, making sure the lines connected to the baby were in place. Sally handed him a blanket, which he wrapped around the infant's body.
Trowa went over and stood behind the rocking chair. "I'll get you another chair," said Sally.
"I'll get it," said Trowa. "You look tired." He went off to get a chair.
"It's been a stressful day," said Sally, "but things are looking up. Thanks again for coming so soon."
Trowa came back with two chairs, offering one to Sally, which she gratefully took and thanked Trowa.
"How can I thank you?" asked Quatre quietly.
"Love at first sight, hm?" asked Sally, looking at him.
"He's beautiful, perfect," sighed Quatre, looking down. He sighed, "You're setting us up for the coup de grace."
"Definitely," said Sally. "You need this child, he needs you. Both of you," she added, looking at Trowa.
"Yes," said Trowa simply. He nodded, his face serious.
"We can't just let anyone have him," he said.
"It's time for his feeding, you want to do it?" asked Sally.
Quatre nodded.
She went to get it ready.
"You're sure?" asked Quatre, looking at his love.
"Yes," said Trowa. "You're so happy, I can't deny you anything," he said.
"Are YOU happy?" asked Quatre.
"Yes," said Trowa simply. "I'm not afraid anymore."
He scooted the chair over and put his arm around Quatre, who had started to cry.
"Here," said Trowa, handing him a handkerchief.
"You're crying too," said Quatre. "Keep it."
He pulled a handkerchief out of his vest pocket.
"I anticipated this time," he explained, laughing a little and wiping his eyes.
Sally brought the baby's bottle over and Quatre began to feed him.
"So, what do we name him?" asked Trowa, after a minute or so.
"I haven't really thought about it, but we can't just keep calling him 'baby' or 'John Doe'," Quatre shuddered slightly.
"Tristan," said Quatre. "I like that name."
Trowa nodded, "Me too, but we don't have to decide right now."
"We'll discuss it later," said Quatre.
"When can we take him home?" he asked Sally, checking the bottle to see how much the infant had eaten.
"In a day or so," said Sally. "You'll have to get things ready, and by then, he'll be completely out of danger. And, I need to make a few arrangements," she said. "Have you sign the right papers with the social agencies and such. There should be no problems. I've already talked to them and they're thrilled to find this kid a great foster home."
Quatre nodded, sniffling a little. "I'll have everything ready in two days," he said.
Sally bent over and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Have fun, Dad," she whispered. She gave Trowa a small hug. "You too, Dad."
"I can go home now that I know that he's in good hands," said Sally, standing up and stretching.
"Maria here will help you with him when you're ready to leave." She indicated the NICU nurse standing next to one of the other incubators.
"Dad," repeated Quatre. He fumbled for his handkerchief again.
"Here," said Trowa, "Let me." He gently dabbed at Quatre's face.
"I still say Tristan is a great name," said Quatre. "It's a noble name, classic."
"I get to pick the middle name, then," said Trowa. "Deal?" He leaned over and gave his koi a soft kiss on the cheek.
"Deal," said Quatre.
Chapter 17
Abandoned
Sally crumpled up her empty paper cup and threw it in the garbage. It had been a long day. Not to mention disturbing.
"Who would just throw away a baby?" she wondered for the 20th time that day.
She'd seen a lot of things during the war, but that didn't make things like this any easier.
The paramedics had been called just in time. The tiny child, a boy, had been wrapped in an old towel and left in a dumpster.
Sally went over and checked the temperature readings again. After being in the incubator for 6 hours, the baby's body temperature was almost back up to normal. She sighed. She'd thought the child was dead when she first saw it.
"I don't need to be seeing this kind of thing right now," she thought, running her hand lightly over her abdomen.
She'd just found out a month ago that she was pregnant.
She sighed. Reaching into the incubator, she lightly stroked the infant's face. He was definitely more active than he'd been a few hours ago. He reacted to her touch by turning his head toward it. She sighed.
"We need to get a volunteer in here to hold you," she said to herself. "I can't be here all the time, even though you are a cutie." The nurses were literally fighting over who got to take care of him on their shifts, but they were all busy. Baby John Doe needed someone there just to hold and feed him.
"At least you'll live," she whispered. She knew how important it was for small infants to get lots of holding and cuddling. They failed to thrive otherwise. It was almost as vital as food and warmth.
Sally got a sudden inspiration. "Hey there, baby, I think I know just the person for you." She went off to find a vidphone.
Quatre's face appeared on the screen.
"I have a big favor to ask you," said Sally, smiling at Quatre.
"Anything," he said, smiling back at her. "Is it something for the hospital?"
"Well, you could say that," she said, "it has to do with a patient we have here. He's in need of some special care."
"Is it a financial problem?" asked Quatre. "You know I'm happy to help with sponsoring any charitable programs."
"More of a personal attention problem, to be honest," said Sally. "Quatre, I need someone to take care of an abandoned infant. Sort of a foster situation."
"So, you called me," said Quatre.
"It's an emergency," she said. "All of our regular families are unable to devote the time a newborn takes. For some reason, I thought you might be able to help me out. It's just until we can find something permanent."
"Let me come down there, and I'll decide then," said Quatre. "And I have to talk to Trowa first, of course."
"Of course," she said. "I don't want to pressure you, but please say yes. For some reason, I don't want this kid to get lost in the typical bureaucratic shuffle."
"Why Sally, shame on you, you've become personally involved," smiled Quatre at her. "Where's that detached professional demeanor?"
"Completely gone. Oh, Quatre, he's so tiny!" she said, a small tear escaping the corner of her eye.
"I never thought I'd see Sally Po-Chang completely hormonal," teased Quatre, but he was smiling at her.
"I know," she sighed, "I'm making Wufei crazy with all my whining and weeping. But, he asked for it."
"I'll be there in an hour," said Quatre. "We both will be," he added, looking over his shoulder, apparently at Trowa.
"Thanks, I knew I could count on you," said Sally. She cut transmission.
Walking back to the NICU, she went over to Baby Doe's incubator.
"I just found you a guardian angel," she said. "You can thank me later."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"He's over here," said Sally, leading the two men over. Trowa looked around at tiny beds and incubators full of sick or premature infants. This was not his idea of a great place to be.
She led them over to Baby Doe's incubator. "He's only in here because he's recovering from hypothermia," she explained. "Otherwise, he's a healthy normal infant."
They looked down at the baby. He had small wisps of white blond hair on his skull and pink, wrinkled skin. A typical looking newborn.
He opened his eyes at that second and seemed to look up at them. "He's a lot more alert than he was. His body temp is normal now."
"Can I touch him?" asked Quatre.
"Sure, just wash your hands and I'll get out of there. He can come out for a few minutes now."
She led Quatre over to a sink to wash his hands, and she washed her hands too.
"Just a precaution, he's still a little weak," she explained. "We don't want him catching anything."
They went back and Sally lifted the lid on the incubator, and gently lifted the baby out. He was attached to an IV line and and a heart monitor, which she was careful not to disturb.
Quatre held out his arms.
"Hello," he said to the baby, who opened his eyes and looked up at the sound of his voice.
"I'll get you a blanket and you can sit there and hold him." She indicated a padded rocking chair nearby.
Quatre sat down gingerly, making sure the lines connected to the baby were in place. Sally handed him a blanket, which he wrapped around the infant's body.
Trowa went over and stood behind the rocking chair. "I'll get you another chair," said Sally.
"I'll get it," said Trowa. "You look tired." He went off to get a chair.
"It's been a stressful day," said Sally, "but things are looking up. Thanks again for coming so soon."
Trowa came back with two chairs, offering one to Sally, which she gratefully took and thanked Trowa.
"How can I thank you?" asked Quatre quietly.
"Love at first sight, hm?" asked Sally, looking at him.
"He's beautiful, perfect," sighed Quatre, looking down. He sighed, "You're setting us up for the coup de grace."
"Definitely," said Sally. "You need this child, he needs you. Both of you," she added, looking at Trowa.
"Yes," said Trowa simply. He nodded, his face serious.
"We can't just let anyone have him," he said.
"It's time for his feeding, you want to do it?" asked Sally.
Quatre nodded.
She went to get it ready.
"You're sure?" asked Quatre, looking at his love.
"Yes," said Trowa. "You're so happy, I can't deny you anything," he said.
"Are YOU happy?" asked Quatre.
"Yes," said Trowa simply. "I'm not afraid anymore."
He scooted the chair over and put his arm around Quatre, who had started to cry.
"Here," said Trowa, handing him a handkerchief.
"You're crying too," said Quatre. "Keep it."
He pulled a handkerchief out of his vest pocket.
"I anticipated this time," he explained, laughing a little and wiping his eyes.
Sally brought the baby's bottle over and Quatre began to feed him.
"So, what do we name him?" asked Trowa, after a minute or so.
"I haven't really thought about it, but we can't just keep calling him 'baby' or 'John Doe'," Quatre shuddered slightly.
"Tristan," said Quatre. "I like that name."
Trowa nodded, "Me too, but we don't have to decide right now."
"We'll discuss it later," said Quatre.
"When can we take him home?" he asked Sally, checking the bottle to see how much the infant had eaten.
"In a day or so," said Sally. "You'll have to get things ready, and by then, he'll be completely out of danger. And, I need to make a few arrangements," she said. "Have you sign the right papers with the social agencies and such. There should be no problems. I've already talked to them and they're thrilled to find this kid a great foster home."
Quatre nodded, sniffling a little. "I'll have everything ready in two days," he said.
Sally bent over and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Have fun, Dad," she whispered. She gave Trowa a small hug. "You too, Dad."
"I can go home now that I know that he's in good hands," said Sally, standing up and stretching.
"Maria here will help you with him when you're ready to leave." She indicated the NICU nurse standing next to one of the other incubators.
"Dad," repeated Quatre. He fumbled for his handkerchief again.
"Here," said Trowa, "Let me." He gently dabbed at Quatre's face.
"I still say Tristan is a great name," said Quatre. "It's a noble name, classic."
"I get to pick the middle name, then," said Trowa. "Deal?" He leaned over and gave his koi a soft kiss on the cheek.
"Deal," said Quatre.
