Work Text:
“Good morning, sunshine!,” Tom whispered with a loving smile as he leaned over the side of his son’s cradle. The newborn yawned widely before he scrunched up his tiny face to cry loudly and heartily, calling for his daddy to pick him up and smother him with love and food and a clean nappy on this bright and sunny morning.
“Shh, yes…Daddy’s here, don’t you worry…Come on, sweetpea, let’s get you changed and then it’s time for breakfast. Your Mummy deserves a lie-in this morning so it’s only you and me. How does that sound, eh? Just you and me, my little boy.” Without taking his eyes off his newborn son, Tom placed him gently on the baby change unit and kept talking to him in a hushed voice while he cleaned him up and got him dressed again.
Cradling him safely in his arms, he tiptoed downstairs and into the kitchen soon after. The house was still quiet this early in the morning and it wasn’t until Tom stood by the patio door feeding the hungry baby that they finally got some company.
Stretching his tired limbs, the chocolate labrador trotted through the kitchen and towards Tom. Patiently, he waited by his side until the patio door was finally opened and he was free to run around their small but sufficient garden. He barked at the birds singing in the trees before collapsing in the damp, cool grass with a satisfied huff.
“Look at him, Henry. He seems to love this wonderful warm weather just as much as I do. And in a few months you’ll start crawling around the garden and in a year’s time you’ll probably start tiptoeing through the grass yourself. Just don’t grow up too fast, my little one. Make the most of your childhood and relish those days spent outside without a care in the world,” Tom smiled, watching his son drink hungrily from his bottle.
He was their little miracle, their little unplanned miracle, and even though he was holding him in his arms, Tom could not quite believe it yet that he was actually there and actually theirs to keep and love and care for. It was a challenge, of course it was. But life is a series of challenges and it simply depends on how they are being approached.
This challenge, this tiny, precious, fragile challenge was met with unconditional love and affection, with protective arms and tender hands, with soothing words and endless kisses.
While Henry drank hungrily, Tom allowed his eyes to wander around. They fell on the loyal, chocolate brown dog lying in the grass outside, they fell on the white cane forgotten by the dining table, they fell on the sonograms and first photos of his little boy which he had stuck to the fridge, and last but not least, they fell on the brunette woman who came padding towards them, slowly and carefully, her eyes, blind and useless, directed at the floor in front of her.
He knew the challenge was even bigger for her but she managed better than everybody thought she would, better than she ever thought she would. It filled him with pride and even more love when he watched them together, cuddling on the sofa or in bed, or when he listened to her cooing at their precious baby boy.
Slowly, she snaked her arms around his waist and pressed a kiss onto his shoulder before she carefully felt for the tiny foot of their baby boy. A wide smile adorned her face as her fingertips met with Henry’s soft skin and she breathed in his milky scent and showered him with kisses and love.
The little boy gurgled quietly, his eyes closed against the morning sun. Her eyes were closed as well but not too escape the blinding sunlight. Her eyes were closed because having them open would not make a difference. Her world remained dark in that respect but Tom and Henry and Sam made sure that her heart would never know darkness and cold and loneliness again, not this day or any other day to come.