Chapter Text
Through the darkness (when did it become night?) the phone rang. Startled, Felix sat up, reaching out to pick up his glasses from the bedside table. He’d fallen asleep, it seemed, fully dressed (shoes included. Linda wouldn’t be happy that he’d tracked mud all over the bed). He didn’t even remember going anywhere today. Damn, maybe he ought to be keeping a journal just to keep his days straight.
Nevertheless, he stumbled over to the phone, steadying himself on the wall as he went. He cleared his throat several times, pressing it against his ear after the eighth ring.
“Felix. Come quickly.”
Jack? This sounded important. He glanced, guiltily, at the calendar hanging on the wall. Had he missed some sort of important event? No big red mark. Someone’s birthday? Think, think, think...
“Jack? What’s wrong? Has something happened?” His car keys were still nestled in his front pocket. Thank goodness, he could get going right away if he was really needed, although he knew he was really in no condition to drive.
“Sophie is here, Felix. My daughter is here!”
Sophie. Oh my god. Their first child had been born and he’d completely missed it. Passed out and thinking of nothing but where his next drink would come from and how debilitating his headache would be the next day and how hard it was to open pill bottles with shaking hands. He ran a hand through his hair, and found he couldn’t contain the smile that found its way onto his face.
“Sophie? She’s really here?” Rosemary must have said something in the background, as Jack didn’t respond.
“Please, come immediately. We want you to meet her!”
A long, drawn out pause. Despite the good news, Felix’s body felt heavy and uncoordinated, and he wanted nothing more than to fall back into bed and sleep it off. Sophie would surely be there tomorrow to meet, right? But Jack’s excitement had been nothing short of contagious.
“Right. I’m on my way. See you soon, Jack.”
--
“Jack? Rosemary?” he knocked lightly on the door the nurse had pointed him to. It had taken him more than a little bit to get himself together and at least decently presentable. He’d changed out of his sweat-stained shirt and brushed his teeth. First impressions were important. Even if she wouldn’t remember this.
“Come in.”
Rosemary sat in the hospital bed and Jack had pulled a chair up beside her. They were sitting very close together, smiling fondly at the small infant in Rosemary’s arms. Even as he came in, their attention couldn’t be pulled from the newest addition to the family for very long, although Jack motioned to the empty chair beside him. He’d never seen anyone more proud and absolutely infatuated than the two of them.
“Wow,” Felix whispered when he sat down in the chair, peering down at the infant. “She has so much hair.”
“Just like her father,” Rosemary replied softly. As if on cue, she straightened up and the infant was very gently placed in Felix’s arms without much warning. Rosemary laughed, “relax. You look very tense. You aren’t going to drop her, I promise.” He hadn’t even realized how still his posture had become.
“Wow,” was all Felix could say, staring wide-eyed at the baby. He really couldn’t believe anyone had ever been this small before, much less himself. Being an only child, he never had any nieces or nephews. This was new. And very strange. The amount of trust these two put in his hands right then and there - it felt undeserved, but at the same time, this moment was special and he didn’t want it to end anytime soon.
“Well, Sophie,” Jack held one of her tiny hands, smiling when her fingers wrapped around his. She stared up at the two of them with big brown eyes. “Say hello to uncle Felix.”
At that moment, everything stopped. At least, it had for Felix. Had he heard that right or was this a very convincing dream? Or premonition? Hell, maybe he is still in bed right now and he’d wake up any second. He braced himself mentally for the blaring alarm clock that only ever worsened his pounding headache but it never came.
For a very long moment, no one moved. Felix found himself staring at Jack, a mixture of confusion and shock on his face.
Jack just laughed.
“U-uncle Felix?”
“Yes, my friend. You’re family. I think it’s fitting if she called you uncle.” Felix hardly looked convinced, prompting a raised eyebrow and slightly disappointed expression from Jack, “unless, of course, you’d rather she call you something else?”
“N-no! I just-” he adjusted his glasses, suddenly finding the art on the wall very interesting. He cleared his throat loudly and looked back at the infant in his arms, his voice soft now, “I wasn’t expecting it. That’s all. Really, I’m- I’m flattered.” More than flattered. He couldn’t wrap his head around this, not in a half-drunk haze. Uncle Felix, huh? It would take some getting used to.