Louis stood transfixed for what felt like forever, staring at his
son holding that baby and Lona nestled against him. A baby? Where in the
world could a baby have came from? Well, it did seem a bit obvious where
it had came from but that fact didn't seem to be wanting to sink into his
head. Lona certainly hadn't seemed pregnant when he had seen her earlier
in the day so how.... And if she had been pregnant, why on earth hadn't
she told anyone?
"Dad, please." Elmer looked at his father, a bit of worry starting to hit him now. Why wasn't his dad saying anything? Why was he just standing there staring at Lona and the baby like that? The thought had never crossed Elmer's mind that his dad would be anything but totally thrilled when he found out about the baby but now it suddenly occured to him that maybe his dad might not be so pleased after all. What if his dad didn't want to be a grandfather or hated the baby or.... He snuggled the little bundle closer to him as he thought about it, as if trying to shield the baby from the potential rejection. No, he wasn't going to let that happen to his child, wasn't going to let it be rejected and left to wonder what if might have done that was so terribly wrong to deserve rejection.
Louis finally snapped out of his confused daze at the sight of the expression on his son's face, like what would be expected on a puppy that had just been kicked. It had always annoyed Louis when Elmer looked at him like that. He wasn't really annoyed with Elmer though, but with himself.
Every time he saw that look on his son's face it just seemed to be pointing out all of his mistakes and inadequicies as a father, things that had haunted him for years now. It just hurt so much to be reminded almost constantly, to know that he had failed some terribly at something that he had wanted to succeed at so much.
"Dad?" Elmer whispered, his fears almost back full force now as he looked up at his father. Why wasn't he doing something, at least trying to help Lona? Surely even if he hated Elmer and the baby, he wouldn't let Lona suffer or die because of it!
'Hyperventilating again,' Antubis hissed in Elmer's ear as the big anteater moved slightly so that he could speak to the younger doctor without anyone hearing.
Mary approached Louis, slight concern in her eyes as she reached out and took his hand. Why wasn't he coming over to see the baby and help with Dr. Lona? Poor Elmer was so worried. He needed his father there to help him right now. And didn't Dr. Louis want to see the baby? Mary looked at him with puzzlement. He had been so sad when his other son died so why was he acting funny like this now? The little girl tugged on his hand, dragging him across the room to Lona and Elmer's side. There. Now maybe he would get the idea and do something to help if he could just get a closer look at the baby. It was so tiny and cute.
The little girl drawing him forward seemed to snap Louis out of his daze. As he knelt on the floor by his son and Lona, he shook his head slowly trying to clear it. He could worry about the details of what had happened here later. All that should matter right now was the fact that his son was safe and sound and his worst nightmare hadn't came true after all. The rest would work itself out later. Suddenly he reached out and impulsively hugged his son to him, being careful of both Elmer's injured shoulder and the baby cuddled in his arms. No, the other stuff definately didn't matter now, not with his son safe.
Elmer's eyes widened at the embrace, suprise apparent on his face,
but with worry rapidly replacing the surprise. The last time his father had done something like this was when his mother had died and then before that it had been when.... Only when someone died. Did that mean that he thought Lona was going to die? No, he couldn't lose her! Their baby needed her!
'Might want to do something to get her fixed up,' Antubis said as he looked from Elmer's now frantic expression over to Louis before snuggling closer to Lona. Boy, if he was in shock now and he had just seen the baby, wait until Louis found out exactly where that baby had been conceived! Antubis snickered softly as he thought of that. Now that would be fun to watch.
Louis shot a look at the anteater, wondering why in the world that creature kept snickering like that, like he knew something that the rest of them didn't. A look from his son's frightened face to Lona's pale one was enough to convince him that he didn't even want to try to figure out what was going on and what the anteater found so funny at the moment though.
Lona definately needed his focus. Chris and Hook had an IV going, running what must have been blood from the morgue but if Lona's pale skin and fragile appearance was any clue, it hadn't made a difference yet.
"How much blood did she loose?" He asked Hook quietly, his eyes moving from his son to Lona and back again as he spoke, wanting to reassure himself that his son was still there, safe and sound. He knew that he needed to focus his attention on Lona but at the same time he could barely resist his urge to want to tend his son and make sure that he really was alright. And then there were the questions about the baby. If Lona was the mother and it seemed apparent that she was, then who was the father?
"Too much." Hook said quietly, hoping that Elmer wouldn't hear.
If the younger doctor thought that Lona might still be in danger.... Hook thought that at this point with the baby born and the bleeding pretty much stopped, that she would be okay but he wasn't willing to say that for sure,
not yet. There was still too much that could go wrong, especially with the amount of blood Lona had lost.
"The anteater did something that helped stop it," Chris continued in the same quiet tone as she looked up at Louis with concern. She really hoped that he would be able to deal with this. Elmer was going to need all of the support that he could get with Lona so ill and with a baby now to consider. She shook her head slightly as she thought of it. Who would have believed that Elmer would have been a father by day's end that morning?
Louis' eyes wandered to the bloodstained blankets nearby, eyes widdening slightly at the number and amount of blood that seemed to have soaked in to them. If Lona had lost that much blood.... No, he wouldn't let himself think of what such an extensive bloodloss could mean for Lona's chances of survival and recovery. He had had to stand by and loose Emma without being able to save her. There was no way that he was just going to sit there and let his son go through the same thing, not while there was something, anything, that he could do to prevent it. He looked up as he saw the other witches appearing in the doorway now with the supplies,
pulling himself to his feet and hurrying towards them. Whatever it took,
he was going to fix this for his son.
"Dad, please." Elmer looked at his father, a bit of worry starting to hit him now. Why wasn't his dad saying anything? Why was he just standing there staring at Lona and the baby like that? The thought had never crossed Elmer's mind that his dad would be anything but totally thrilled when he found out about the baby but now it suddenly occured to him that maybe his dad might not be so pleased after all. What if his dad didn't want to be a grandfather or hated the baby or.... He snuggled the little bundle closer to him as he thought about it, as if trying to shield the baby from the potential rejection. No, he wasn't going to let that happen to his child, wasn't going to let it be rejected and left to wonder what if might have done that was so terribly wrong to deserve rejection.
Louis finally snapped out of his confused daze at the sight of the expression on his son's face, like what would be expected on a puppy that had just been kicked. It had always annoyed Louis when Elmer looked at him like that. He wasn't really annoyed with Elmer though, but with himself.
Every time he saw that look on his son's face it just seemed to be pointing out all of his mistakes and inadequicies as a father, things that had haunted him for years now. It just hurt so much to be reminded almost constantly, to know that he had failed some terribly at something that he had wanted to succeed at so much.
"Dad?" Elmer whispered, his fears almost back full force now as he looked up at his father. Why wasn't he doing something, at least trying to help Lona? Surely even if he hated Elmer and the baby, he wouldn't let Lona suffer or die because of it!
'Hyperventilating again,' Antubis hissed in Elmer's ear as the big anteater moved slightly so that he could speak to the younger doctor without anyone hearing.
Mary approached Louis, slight concern in her eyes as she reached out and took his hand. Why wasn't he coming over to see the baby and help with Dr. Lona? Poor Elmer was so worried. He needed his father there to help him right now. And didn't Dr. Louis want to see the baby? Mary looked at him with puzzlement. He had been so sad when his other son died so why was he acting funny like this now? The little girl tugged on his hand, dragging him across the room to Lona and Elmer's side. There. Now maybe he would get the idea and do something to help if he could just get a closer look at the baby. It was so tiny and cute.
The little girl drawing him forward seemed to snap Louis out of his daze. As he knelt on the floor by his son and Lona, he shook his head slowly trying to clear it. He could worry about the details of what had happened here later. All that should matter right now was the fact that his son was safe and sound and his worst nightmare hadn't came true after all. The rest would work itself out later. Suddenly he reached out and impulsively hugged his son to him, being careful of both Elmer's injured shoulder and the baby cuddled in his arms. No, the other stuff definately didn't matter now, not with his son safe.
Elmer's eyes widened at the embrace, suprise apparent on his face,
but with worry rapidly replacing the surprise. The last time his father had done something like this was when his mother had died and then before that it had been when.... Only when someone died. Did that mean that he thought Lona was going to die? No, he couldn't lose her! Their baby needed her!
'Might want to do something to get her fixed up,' Antubis said as he looked from Elmer's now frantic expression over to Louis before snuggling closer to Lona. Boy, if he was in shock now and he had just seen the baby, wait until Louis found out exactly where that baby had been conceived! Antubis snickered softly as he thought of that. Now that would be fun to watch.
Louis shot a look at the anteater, wondering why in the world that creature kept snickering like that, like he knew something that the rest of them didn't. A look from his son's frightened face to Lona's pale one was enough to convince him that he didn't even want to try to figure out what was going on and what the anteater found so funny at the moment though.
Lona definately needed his focus. Chris and Hook had an IV going, running what must have been blood from the morgue but if Lona's pale skin and fragile appearance was any clue, it hadn't made a difference yet.
"How much blood did she loose?" He asked Hook quietly, his eyes moving from his son to Lona and back again as he spoke, wanting to reassure himself that his son was still there, safe and sound. He knew that he needed to focus his attention on Lona but at the same time he could barely resist his urge to want to tend his son and make sure that he really was alright. And then there were the questions about the baby. If Lona was the mother and it seemed apparent that she was, then who was the father?
"Too much." Hook said quietly, hoping that Elmer wouldn't hear.
If the younger doctor thought that Lona might still be in danger.... Hook thought that at this point with the baby born and the bleeding pretty much stopped, that she would be okay but he wasn't willing to say that for sure,
not yet. There was still too much that could go wrong, especially with the amount of blood Lona had lost.
"The anteater did something that helped stop it," Chris continued in the same quiet tone as she looked up at Louis with concern. She really hoped that he would be able to deal with this. Elmer was going to need all of the support that he could get with Lona so ill and with a baby now to consider. She shook her head slightly as she thought of it. Who would have believed that Elmer would have been a father by day's end that morning?
Louis' eyes wandered to the bloodstained blankets nearby, eyes widdening slightly at the number and amount of blood that seemed to have soaked in to them. If Lona had lost that much blood.... No, he wouldn't let himself think of what such an extensive bloodloss could mean for Lona's chances of survival and recovery. He had had to stand by and loose Emma without being able to save her. There was no way that he was just going to sit there and let his son go through the same thing, not while there was something, anything, that he could do to prevent it. He looked up as he saw the other witches appearing in the doorway now with the supplies,
pulling himself to his feet and hurrying towards them. Whatever it took,
he was going to fix this for his son.