my baby, a short and bittersweet drabble
warning: use of coarse language and mildly dark themes
Liberty smiled a sad smile as she held the little boy in her arms. After all of the stress, all she had given up, all she had to do on her own...it had all been worth it. Even though she hadn't been able to lean on JT as much as she would have liked, she got through the difficult parts. This was the easy part. This is why people had babies.
She leaned down and kissed the baby between his eyes, watching the lids flutter. It wasn't fair. She was too young, too unprepared, and too unstable to keep this baby, but damnit, her heart didn't seem to understand that. Her heart seemed to be okay with the idea that Liberty would have had to sacrifice everything for this child; she would have had to give up her education. She didn't even want to think about everything that JT had been willing to give up when he had tried to convince her to keep the child, and yet, she wanted it. She'd have given anything for it.
The nurse disturbed Liberty's desperate thoughts as she led the parents into the room. The new parents, this new couple, that would be adopting (taking) her baby. She hadn't noticed JT filter in behind the nurse or that he was standing by her bedside, looking hesitantly into the face of his son. Instead, her eyes were glued to the smiling couple and the nurse that had escorted them in. She gave Liberty a pointed look, which the young mother temporarily ignored. Tears sprung to her eyes before she could stop them and she was breathing as evenly as she could manage so she didn't burst into sobs immediately. Hesitantly, she gave the baby over to the nurse and watched her hold the baby before walking the couple out of the room.
Closed adoptions were funny things.
As soon as the door shut, JT settled himself into Liberty's bed and wrapped his arms around her. She had hardly noticed him standing in the room but she curled against his chest, her tears coming out in full force. Her body shook with sobs and she could barely catch her breath from how much she was crying. It was all of her stupid hormones contradicting her common sense. This was wrong and she knew she was wrong but she sobbed into JT's chest anyway, and he rubbed her back soothingly.
"My baby," is all that she can get out between her sobs, clenching the back of his shirt. "My poor little baby."
