Anonymous said:

Adoption Verse prompt; the night before Gold starts his chemo/surgery Bae gives him his Spiderman pillow to lay on while he's in the hospital

Anonymous said:

While Arthur is in the hospital, he needs a pair of emergency pajamas for some reason, and Belle ends up bringing back a pair with a truly obnoxious-adorable pattern. (Silly jammies being Belle's fault or Bae's fault, up to you.)

anonymousnerdgirl said:

TAV prompt: After Emma hears about Bae's dad being sick she gives Bae a dreamcatcher because it helped her when her family was going through tough times. (Unless you've used the dreamcatcher already or have plans for it.)

They'd decided to give Bae the day off school for Arthur's surgery. For his part, Arthur was relieved he'd get to see his son up until the moment he went under for anesthesia, but at the same time, he wanted everything to go ahead like there was nothing strange going on and like he wasn't about to have a portion of his body removed. They got to the hospital at an ungodly early hour and it felt like forever until he was able to be admitted and checked in for surgery.

Pre-op was terrifying. He wanted Belle and Bae with him the whole way, but when the nurses came in to prep him Bae had suddenly gotten very pale and it had been gently suggested that they should get some fresh air.

"They'll be back soon," the blonde woman said even though he hadn't asked. "If it was just your wife it'd be one thing, but kids don't really do well with this part."

Arthur didn't bother to correct her about his relationship with Belle, though he probably should have. He was distracted by the male nurse, who had been busy at a side table, and Arthur hadn't been watching him until he wheeled the table over.

"I'm John Raisor," the man said, offering his hand to shake. "It's nice to meet you."

Arthur took the other man's hand quickly.

"I always like to get to know the patients," the nurse continued. "Otherwise this next part is really awkward."

Arthur glanced down at the table and realized for the first time it contained shaving equipment. Oh God, he was getting his chest shaved. He was suddenly glad that the other nurse - Caitlyn, if her nametag was to be believed - had sent Belle and Bae out of the room. God, he was going to look like a nightmare when this was over, wasn't he?

"Aw," nurse Caitlyn said sympathetically. "Is it your first time getting shaved?"

He managed a stiff nod, not really sure when else he'd have the need to shave his chest.

"Don't worry," John interjected. "They don't call me John Razor for nothing. Get it? Because of my last name?"

Caitlyn didn't even glance at him, but Arthur could practically feel her eyes rolling. Instead, she seemed to be completely focused on hooking him up to an IV.

"Has anyone ever laughed at that?" Arthur finally asked the portly blond man with the razor.

"You would have been the first," the nurse admitted with a shrug. "Helps break the ice, though."

Arthur couldn't really disagree with that statement, and not just because the nurse currently had a blade perilously close to his nipple.

"Will you both be in the operating room with me?" he asked, unsure whether it would be easier for him if these two were going to be there or not.

"I will," Caitlyn replied, marking something on her chart. "John is pre-op, but I'm your nurse anesthetist."

"Caitlyn is just here to plan your anesthesia," John explained. "She'll be the one making sure you're unconscious the whole time."

Arthur couldn't do much more than nod at this information. Staying asleep for the surgery was pretty high on his list of priorities for the day, and he had the sudden urge to send this nurse a fruit basket or something.

A knock on the door heralded the return of Belle and Bae, and no sooner had Belle's head poked through the door than John was covering Arthur with his surgical gown and muttering some joke about preserving Arthur's modesty. Some part of Arthur was grateful for the other man's foresight in not making Bae nervous, but mostly he was just thrilled to see his family again. He wanted to draw whatever strength he could before they put him under, because no matter how professional the surgical team was, there was still a chance he wasn't waking up from this.

Bae came to stand next to his father's bed, and Arthur wished desperately that his son would fling himself into his father's arms like he'd done after the spider bite. It had been a balm to his soul, and what he wouldn't give to have it one last time...but there wasn't really any good way to ask his son to need him more.

Belle, on the other hand, was far more affectionate than the last time he'd been in the hospital. She was sitting by the bed and holding the hand that didn't have the IV sticking out of it. Her fingers were warm and soft and comforting and suddenly he was fighting the urge to jump out of his bed and sprint out of the hospital as fast as he could go. He had never been so afraid in his entire life, and only the need to keep a level head for Bae was letting him stay where he was.

By the time Caitlyn came back to start putting sedatives in his IV, it was almost a relief to not have to be strong anymore.

"Here," Bae blurted out awkwardly, pulling a Spiderman pillow that usually lived on his bed out of the backpack he'd been carrying all morning and nestling it next to Arthur on the . "So you don't have to be alone."

Arthur's mind was starting to swim from the drug cocktail, but even so, he understood that his son was trying to be strong for him. He didn't want to cry, but there was really no helping it, so instead he pulled Bae into him for a hug. He felt the boy shiver before his arms came around his neck and Bae was sobbing I love you. It only lasted a few moments before Bae had pulled away and was in his mother's arms. And then the nurses were wheeling Arthur out of the room and his son was gone.

Strangely, the Spiderman pillow nestled next to him on the cot was giving him strength as the anesthetist put the mask over his face and he began counting down from a hundred.

Bae loved him.

Bae still needed him.

He would get through this.

For Bae…

Belle just wanted to go sit in her car and cry. Arthur was in surgery and Bae was so damn scared and she just needed a moment to gather herself together to be there for him, but she couldn't leave him long enough to go calm herself down. Her chest felt tight as she led her son into the waiting room.

Bae's teachers had given him work to do to cover his absence, and Belle was so grateful for the distraction it provided. Not that the reruns of The Nanny playing on the old TV weren't helping, but she needed something constructive to do to keep her from crawling out of her skin and math was just enough to keep her afloat. Or at least, as afloat as she could possibly manage.

Bae ran out of homework long before his father was out of surgery, but he had his Nintendo that his father had bought him. Was it really just ten months ago now that they'd met Arthur? She still remembered when he'd given Bae that game - it was the first time that he'd come to dinner. They'd only even met him the day before, and he'd only known about Bae a little while longer than that. He'd been a stranger who seemed on the verge of stealing her son away, and now he was he family and she was terrified she was going to lose him.

She couldn't hold it in anymore. She excused herself quickly to the restroom, but she felt Bae's eyes on her the whole way to the door. She locked herself in the last stall and broke down in tears. She didn't even know what she was crying for, really. She knew the statistics backwards and forwards. The odds of complication here were ridiculously low and there was no reason at all to think he wouldn't be able to come home within a day. It was the stress, she decided as she splashed water from the sink on her face. She needed to get Bae and Arthur through all of this so she could have her breakdown without feeling like a completely failure of a mother.

Bae was still playing his game when Belle came in, but no sooner had she regained her seat that she noticed something on his wrist.

"What's that?" she asked him, reaching out to touch the little dreamcatcher dangling off a cord that he was holding.

"It's a dreamcatcher," he said nonchalantly, barely bothering to look over at her.

"I can see that," she replied. "I was wondering where it came from."

"Emma gave it to me," he said, studiously avoiding looking at her now. "For good luck."

"Oh," Belle said. What else was there to really say to that?

They sat in awkward silence for a few more minutes when suddenly a nurse came in and walked up to her.

"Everything went well," the woman said quickly, and Belle imagined that must be the first thing most people asked her. "The tumor was very small, and we were able to get all of it. He's resting now, but you can go and sit with him if you like."

It's funny how you can feel so close to drowning and not even realize it until suddenly your head is above water. Belle was lightheaded as she walked her son into the recovery room to see his father. Arthur was so small in all the monitors and tubes that were tracking his vital signs, but they were all good. His heart was beating and it was strong. He wasn't awake yet, but he was okay They had gotten through the most dangerous part. He'd go home with her the next morning and then they could finally get their happy ending.