Chapter Text
Neil and Todd were both sitting on their bed, Neil was reading and Todd was writing. They’d been happily married for about a year now. But Neil’s been thinking about this for a few months already.
“Todd…” Neil dropped his book down into his lap and looked over at his husband.
Todd looked up and smiled, gently putting his pencil down to give Neil his full attention. “Yes love?” he asked.
“Do- do you wanna be a dad?” he asked.
Completely taken off guard, Todd blinked a few times. “Like… get another cat?” he furrowed his brow slightly.
Neil smiled softly. “I mean… that’s not what I had in mind…” he glanced away slightly.
“Like- a kid?” Todd’s eyes widened slightly. “You wanna adopt an actual human child?” he sat up straight.
Neil bit his lip and nodded. “I mean, if you want to, I wanna start talking about it and stuff- but I dunno… I think you’d be a great dad and I-” Neil shrugged slightly. “I’ve always thought you’d be a great dad… and I’d love to have a family with you… but if it’s too soon- I get it.” he nodded and shrugged.
Todd quickly put his hands on either side of Neil's face and turned him back to look him in the eyes. “Neil.” he leaned in so their noses were barely touching. “I would LOVE to have a family with you. And if this is what you want, then I want it too.” he quickly pressed a kiss to Neil's lips and then smiled. “Let’s talk about it for a while. Make sure we're both on the same page.” he nodded.
Neil couldn’t help the huge grin from spreading over his face. “I love you so much-” he quickly wrapped his arms around Todd's neck and kissed him excitedly.
Neil and Todd started taking parenting classes together and looking into adoption agencies, and about six months after Neil brought it up for the first time, they felt like they were ready. They had found a woman who was wanting to put her baby up for adoption and they had gotten together with her multiple times to get to know her.
The woman was really happy she had found them and was pleased to hear when they told her they 100% wanted to move forward with the adoption of her baby. Less than a month later, their son, Elliot, was born.
Neil and Todd got the call around five in the morning and got in their car to rush to the hospital. Once Todd had parked the car he looked over to Neil and saw he was crying.
“Neil- a-are you ok?” Todd hesitantly reached over and touched his arm.
Neil put his hands over his face.
“What-what if-” Neil took in a shaky breath. “What if I can’t do it? What if I end up like my dad-” A small sob escaped his lips and Todd felt his heart break for Neil.
“That would never happen. You are nothing like your dad and you never will be. You are going to be the best dad ever.” Todd gently pulled Neil’s hands away from his face. “Elliot is in there waiting for us- you took all of those classes to make sure you were going to do everything right. I’ve never seen anyone do this much work for someone they haven’t even met yet.”
Neil nodded slightly and offered Todd a smile. “Thank you.”
Todd smiled back softly and reached over, wiping away his tears. “We’ve got this. Don't worry.” he leaned over and pulled him a little closer, pressing a kiss to his forehead. “Let’s go meet our baby.”
Neil nodded with a little giggle and smiled. “Our baby…” he repeated as if he couldn’t believe it. “Yeah, let’s go.”
The two of them smiled happily and climbed out of their car, going inside to meet Elliot for the first time.
“And this, Elliot, is our front door,” Neil said excitedly as he pulled out his keys and unlocked their front door.
“Neil, I don't think he’s gonna remember any of this.” Todd chuckled and shook his head as he followed behind with the car seat hanging off one arm and multiple diaper bags hanging off the other.
“He’ll catch on.” Neil grinned and swung the door open. “And then inside is the front room-” Neil went on giving their new baby a tour of their house all the way until they reached the nursery. “And this is your room. You’ll sleep in our room for a while, but once you're big enough, you’ll get to be in here!” Neil spread his arms out and grinned.
“You wanna get him out?” Todd asked with a soft smile as he set the diaper bags on the dresser.
“Yes!” Todd gently set the car seat on the floor and Neil dropped to his knees with a grin to pull Elliot out. “Hey there baby~” he cooed sweetly as he unbuckled the baby and then lifted him into his arms.
Elliot had large blue eyes, much like Todds, but dark almost black hair like Neil. he blinked up at Neil and then yawned.
Neil felt his eyes welling up with tears and he looked up to see Todd putting all of Elliot’s things away. “Hey, Todd…”
Todd looked over his shoulder, and when his eyes landed on Neil cradling Elliot in his arms he smiled softly. “Yes, love?”
“We’re parents.” Neil grinned.
Todd turned around and bent over, kissing the top of Neil's head. “Yes we are.” he then leaned down and kissed the top of Elliot's head.
Neil was in the kitchen making dinner while Todd was sitting on the couch, bouncing Elliot on his knees.
“Neil!” Todd shouted, startling Neil so badly he dropped his spoon, then rushed in.
“What? What’s wrong? What happened?” He asked frantically looking around to try and find the fire.
“Elliot just smiled!!!” Todd quickly waved for him to come over. Neil blinked then rushed over. “Watch!” Todd beamed and then stuck his tongue out at their baby.
Elliot stared for a moment before his lips curled upward in a toothless little smile.
Neil put a hand over his mouth. “Holy shit- he’s so cute-“
“Language. There’s a baby.” Todd lightly nudged Neil’s arm.
“Sorry-” Neil couldn’t stop smiling. “Todd, our baby is smiling!” He clapped his hands excitedly.
Todd nodded happily as he gently shifted Elliot into Neil’s arms. “Why don’t you play with him and I’ll finish dinner.” He offered.
“Ok.” Neil agreed without complaint. He happily took Elliot, as Todd got up and headed to the kitchen, he stuck his tongue out at him. But instead of smiling, Elliot just yawned. Neil laughed and gently started rocking their baby.
Todd wasn’t home from work yet, but Neil was doing his best to get Elliot to stop crying. During the first few weeks, Todd had stayed home every now and then to help, or Neil even felt comfortable calling him and Todd would come home early.
But it’s been almost four months, Neil should be able to do this- why wasn’t Elliot calming down?
Neil tried everything, burping, feeding, rocking, music, holding him on his stomach, changing him, and even checking for a fever, but there was nothing. There was no reason he couldn’t get Elliot to stop crying.
His crying even turned into screaming wails after long enough, and Neil was starting to feel overwhelmed.
The temptation to call his husband grew by the second, and just as he was about to pick up his phone the front door opened.
Neil spun around to see Todd walking through the door.
“Todd- what are you doing home?” He asked, he shouldn’t have been home for another hour.
“We got done early, I missed you guys and asked if I could go,” Todd said sweetly as he walked over to them. He kissed Neil on the lips and then kissed the top of Elliot's head. “Why are you crying, baby?” He cooed sweetly. Immediately Elliots screaming got softer, but he was still crying. “Here-“ he held his hands out to Neil, offering to take the baby.
For a brief moment, Neil hesitated, but then he nodded and slipped Baby Elliot into Todd’s arms. Todd propped Elliot against his chest and gently patted his back as he swayed his hips back and forth, softly humming.
Seconds later, Elliot was asleep.
Neil sunk himself into the big chair, dropping his face into his hands, tears flooding his eyes with relief.
“Hey- Neil, what’s wrong?” Todd crouched down next to his husband and put a hand on his back.
Neil sniffled and tried to get himself together. “He’s been crying for two hours-“ he managed to squeeze out an explanation. Todd was quiet for a few seconds, giving Neil the time to continue if he wanted. “I tried everything- I couldn’t make him happy-“
“Neil… hey, you make Elliot very happy.” Todd gently rubbed his back. “I’ve seen you two play together, he loves you more than anything.”
“Then why did he go right to sleep as soon as you took him?” Neil blurted out. It had been building up for a little while- Todd got to see his first smile, watched him lift his head for the first time when he rolled over on his own, and was sitting with him when he first sat up all on his own. Despite Todd working most of the day he’d still gotten each milestone so far. And now Elliot wouldn’t even fall asleep in his arms.
“Maybe he just missed me cuz I was gone all day.” Todd said softly. He was at a loss for what to say, but it was clear to him that they needed to talk. “Hold on, I’m gonna put him in bed, ok?” Todd kissed Neil’s head then got up and went down the hall. He came back a few seconds later without Elliot.
Neil sniffled, he felt guilty now, he knew it wasn’t Todd’s fault, and it was not like he was mad at Todd- he was jealous… frustrated. Todd took Neil’s hands and lifted him to his feet, and switched their places. Neil frowned slightly, looking a little confused, but then Todd pulled him down into his lap.
“Come here…” he said softly, he put his arms around Neil and held him close, letting Neil’s head rest against his chest, and gently started rocking him back and forth.
For a second, Neil thought this was ridiculous- but then he felt a tie-die whirlpool of emotions flooding his chest. It had been weeks, months since he and Todd had had time to just be close to each other. He could hear Todd’s heartbeat and he felt so loved it was a little overwhelming.
Softly, Neil started to cry and hid his face in Todd’s chest. Todd gently rubbed his back and kissed the side of his head.
“I love you and Elliot more than air itself. And I know you both love me too, and that brings me so much happiness. Elliot is just a baby, he’s not picking favorites. I wanted to come home early so I could help you take a break, yes I missed you, but I also knew you spend every single day taking care of our baby, and I feel bad like I should be doing more.” Todd spoke softly, right into Neil’s ear, never stopping his movements as he rocked him and rubbed his back. “I love you.”
Neil nodded weakly into Todd’s chest. He whimpered softly. “I love you too…” Neil put his arms around Todd’s neck and pulled himself closer.
For the entirety of Elliot’s nap, the two of them just sat there, holding each other.
Todd set up the playpen in the middle of the room while Neil stood watching, holding Elliot on his hip. “Look at Papa work, he’s such a good daddy.” Neil cooed to Eliot who responded with a big smile and a giggle.
A few minutes later, Todd was finished. “Ok, put him in.” He sat back and nodded for Neil to put Elliot down.
Neil did so and Todd gathered some toys and put them in with the baby.
“Hey, Neil…” Todd said as he put Elliot's giraffe in next to their son. “I was thinking.”
“Yeah?” Neil smiled and sat himself on the floor next to Todd, leaning into him softly.
“Maybe we should pick titles- ya know?” He said softly.
Neil frowned slightly and turned his head to look at Todd. “Uh…. Not exactly, what do you mean?”
“Like, shouldn’t one of us be daddy, and the other one be papa? So Elliot doesn’t get confused.” He shrugged. “I mean, I don’t want him to use our first names, that’s weird, but we can’t both be dad- ya know?”
“Oh.” Neil nodded and sat up. “Yeah, that does make sense.” Neil smiled. “Ok, so which one do you want?” He asked.
Todd shrugged. “You pick. I don’t care.”
Neil smirked. “Well, I already call you daddy~”
Todd went bright red. “N-no you don’t- stop that’s weird-” Neil laughed and shook his head.
“Ok, sorry.” He wiped a tear from his face. “Let’s go with me as Papa, and you as Daddy, how’s that?” Neil offered.
Todd made a face. “Fine- but never make that joke again. I get enough of it from Charlie…”
“Fair enough.” Neil nodded. “Sorry, love.” Neil leaned forward and gave Todd a kiss.
Elliot burst into a fit of giggling and the two of them pulled apart with a little chuckle.
“Come on Elliot. Eat your food.” Todd pouted as Elliot once again refused to open his mouth for the small piece of hotdog.
Neil was taking a nap because Elliot had been up during the night and Todd said he would watch him for a few hours so that Neil could get some extra sleep.
It had been almost three hours so he could totally wake Neil up, but he wanted to let Neil get as much sleep as he needed.
“Elliot, why don’t you wanna eat?” Todd put the fork down.
Elliot shook his head.
“What do you want?” Todd asked with a frown, not sure what else to do. Neil knew him better than he did, he spent all day every day with Elliot.
“Papa.”
Todd froze. He blinked, shook his head then looked at Eliot again. “What?” He breathed.
Elliot huffed. “Papa.” He said again with his cute little pout.
A grin split across Todd’s face and he quickly lifted Elliot out of his high chair. “Did you just say, papa?” He asked excitedly.
Elliot seemed a bit confused but smiled and held onto Todd’s shirt. “Papa.” He said again.
“You wanna go get Papa? You wanna go wake up Papa?” Todd asked excitedly.
Elliot laughed and clapped his hands while nodding ecstatically.
“Ok, let’s go!” Todd put his arms around Elliot and quickly rushed down the hall and burst into their room. “Neil!” He called out excitedly, “Papa, wake up!”
Todd practically jumped onto the bed, letting Elliot land gently on top of Neil.
Neil jolted awake and sat up, his hands quickly holding into Elliot upon instinct. “What? What’s going on?”
“Elliot, tell Papa what you want,” Todd said ecstatically.
Elliot clapped his hands, enjoying all the excitement. “Papa!” He cheered as he bounced in Neil’s lap.
Neil blinked a few times, then beamed. “Did you say, Papa?” He asked.
Elliot put his hands over his mouth as he giggled endlessly.
Neil looked at Todd in disbelief. “Did he just say, papa?”
Todd bit his lip and nodded.
“But- I’m papa-” he pointed to himself.
Todd laughed. “Yeah, you are.” He leaned in and kissed Neil on the lips. “He said your name first.” He kissed him again.
Neil kissed him back and he started giggling. He lifted Elliot closer and kissed his cheek, “I’m Papa, baby, that’s me.”
“He wouldn’t eat, so I asked him what he wanted and he said Papa,” Todd explained.
“You want Papa to feed you, baby?” Neil asked as he rubbed his nose to Elliot’s.
Elliot giggled and nodded, patting Neil’s cheeks with his little hands.
“Ok let’s go.” Neil nodded and got up out of bed while holding Elliot in his arms.
There was a knock on the door and Neil quickly rushed to open it. On the other side was none other than his best friend, Charlie Dalton.
“Charlie!” Neil quickly put his arms around his friend and pulled him inside, “holy shit it’s been forever!”
“Hey- careful, you’ll crush the kid's present.” Charlie gently pushed Neil away, between them was a large gift bag that Neil had indeed been crushing.
“Sorry.” Neil laughed. “Elliot’s asleep, but as soon as he wakes up from his nap we’ll start the party, Meeks and Pitts are already here- where’s Knox?” Neil glanced behind Charlie and realized he wasn’t there.
“Oh, he's running late.” Charlie shrugged. “Work kept him late, you know how law students can be. He’ll be here soon.” Charlie nodded.
“Ok, come on in.” Neil nodded towards the living room where Todd was chatting with Pitts and Meeks.
“Charlie!” The group cheered when he walked in and they each took turns giving him a hug.
“Man, we really need to get together more often.” Charlie chuckled as he sat down.
They all agreed and a few minutes later they heard Elliot from down the hall. “Papa?” He called out softly.
Neil grinned and jumped up. “Be right back.” He dashed down the hall and then came back with Elliot in his arms. “Here he is everyone!”
The group excitedly clapped their hands and cheered. Sleepy Elliot clapped along and looked around, confused as to what they were clapping for.
“Happy birthday!” Charlie whooped and then Threw confetti all over the place. Where he got it from we will never know.
Elliot giggled and tried to grab at the floating pieces of glittery paper in the air.
“Charlie, Paris is gonna eat this stuff.” Neil pouted as he watched the floor get covered in paper bits.
“Paris will be fine.” Todd giggled and shook his head. He stood up and reached out to Elliot.
“Dada!” Elliot made grabby hands at Todd and Neil handed him over.
“His first word was Neil’s name, papa,” Todd said proudly.
“We know. Your post about the kid all the time.” Meeks smiled softly.
Another knock on the door had Charlie on his feet. “That’s gotta be Knox.” He went over and opened the door, letting Knox in. “Hey, man.” They exchanged a hug and a kiss at the door, then Knox went around and hugged all his other old friends.
“The last time I saw all of us in the same place was your guys’ wedding.” Knox chuckled.
“We cannot let it go this long again.” Neil agreed.
“Is this the little guy? He’s so big!” Knox grinned and held out his hands, silently asking if he could hold him.
Todd smiled softly and handed him over, “You saw him less than a month ago.” Todd chuckled.
“Yeah, but he is bigger.” Charlie scoffed.
Elliot giggled and grabbed a handful of Knox’s hair and pulled on it. “Dada-“ he then pointed at Todd.
Charlie laughed. “I think that means you need a haircut, Knox.”
Knox blushed and handed Elliot over to Charlie. “Ok, I get it, it’s gotten long.”
“Ok, why don’t we start the party?” Neil clapped his hands. The group agreed and they decided to start with presents.
They set Elliot in the center of the floor and handed him one present at a time. Neil had requested they all wrap using bags so that Elliot wouldn’t need help opening his gifts.
Paris joined them a little later and started playing with the extra wrapping and bags. The adults were all talking and chatting while Elliot played with his new toys and Paris.
But they all went quiet the second Elliot pulled himself to his feet. Without anything holding him up.
“Elliot, are you standing up?” Neil asked excitedly.
Elliot pouted and made grabby hands at him. “Papa-”
“Come here, baby!” Neil held out his hands. Encouraging him to walk over to him.
Elliot's balance shifted and then he fell back down. “Papa-” he waved his hands in complaint.
“Aw, C'mon, you were so close.” Neil frowned as Todd got up and picked him up off the ground.
“Are you hungry, Elliot?” Todd asked, putting him on his hip.
Elliot nodded with a pout.
“Time for lunch.” Charlie chuckled.
They all got up and went into the kitchen and Neil served up lunch. Once they had all finished eating, Neil got out the cake and put a candle into it. Todd lit the candle and brought it over to Elliot.
Once they finished singing they all started trying to tell Elliot to blow out the candle.
He just looked confused. They all laughed and Elliot reached out to the candle. It was pretty and he wanted to see it.
Todd noticed the second before he touched the fire and with a hand as fast as lightning, he pinched the wick, putting out the small flame.
“Holy shit-” Todd let out a breath and pulled his hand back.
“Good job love.” Neil kissed his cheek and pulled the candle out of the cake. “Maybe next year Elliot.” He chuckled.
Elliot didn’t seem too upset, he was far more interested in the cake. And before they could stop him, he dug both his hands into the bright red frosting.
“Oh- oh boy.” Knox chuckled, he had reached out to stop the baby, but his hands weren’t fast enough.
“It’s ok, it’s his birthday.” Neil shook his head softly, he took the cake away and Elliot licked at his hands while Neil put the parts of the cake Elliot had grabbed onto his high chair tray, then served up the cake for everyone else.
Elliot was almost 18 months, and he still hadn’t started walking. He would stand up to things and move around sometimes, but as soon as he let go he would just sit back down and crawl again.
Neil was starting to get worried and he wasn’t sure what was wrong. He tried holding onto Elliot's hands and leading him around to help him get used to walking forward, but he didn’t like it, he would just start crying and refuse to move his feet.
“Todd I don’t know what to do…” Neil leaned his head down on Todd’s shoulder. “He just won’t walk.”
“Maybe we’re over babying him, maybe we should stop picking him up…” Todd suggested. “They mentioned that in our parenting classes, that could be it.”
“I don’t pick him up that much, he can move around on his own by crawling, I don’t think that’s it… he’ll be 18 months tomorrow, he should be walking. He’s ready, he just won’t.” Neil laced their fingers together.
Todd was quiet for a few minutes. “Do you wanna take him to the doctor?” He asked softly. “Maybe something is wrong…”
Neil felt fear creep inside him. “Maybe…” They sat in silence, enjoying the time they got while Elliot was napping.
“We could ask… our friends… or… or something…” Todd was trying to come up with answers but it was hard, he was new at this too.
“I think the doctor is a good idea.” Neil nodded.
“We can call and set up an appointment.” Todd offered. Which meant Neil was gonna do it because phone calls made Todd nervous and he hated making them.
“Yeah, I can do that.” Neil agreed and pulled out his phone.
Before long they had an appointment set up and Neil already felt a little better.
“How long does Elliot normally sleep?” Todd asked as he gently traced shapes on Neil’s knee.
Neil looked at the time. “He should be out for about another hour, it’s only been like twenty minutes or so.”
Todd nodded and Neil noticed a small blush on his cheeks. Neil smiled and leaned over and kissed him.
“Do you wanna go sit in our bedroom?” He asked softly.
“Sure.” Todd nodded, trying not to let on that’s exactly what he wanted. Neil smiled knowingly and stood up, leading Todd by the hand back to their room. They got inside and closed the door before Neil pulled Todd in for a gentle, but passionate kiss.
It had been hard for them to find time for this with Elliot, but they had been making it work… the best they could anyway.
Todd put his hands on Neil’s hips and started backing him toward the bed. The back of his knees hit the mattress and as he sat down, the baby monitor started crying at them. Elliot was awake.
“Ugh-” Neil ran a hand down his face and sighed. Then went to get up.
“I’ll get him,” Todd said, putting his hands on Neil's shoulders to keep him sitting. “I’ll get him back to sleep in no time.”
Neil shook his head. “No, once Elliot wakes up from his nap he doesn’t go back down. He just goes to bed earlier at night time.” Neil explained as he took Todd’s hands in his and stood up anyway.
Todd frowned slightly but nodded and didn’t argue. The two of them went and got Elliot up and fed him some lunch. About halfway through while Todd was making airplane noises while feeding him, Neil spoke up again.
“I think we need a babysitter…”
“Neil’s calling.” Charlie sat up and showed Knox his phone.
“Maybe Elliot started walking.” Knox grinned. Charlie quickly answered the phone.
“Hey man, what’s up?” He asked.
“Hey, Charlie… what are you and Knox doing tomorrow night?” Neil asked and Charlie quickly changed it to speaker so Knox could hear too.
“Uh- Knox, what are we doing tomorrow night?” He looked over.
“Hmm…” Knox frowned slightly as he tried to remember. “I think we've got a clear schedule, why? What’s up, Neil?”
“Well- Todd and I wanted to get out for a night… we were wondering if you would want to babysit Elliot,” Neil said.
Charlie and Knox’s eyes met and they both grinned.
“Um, duh!” Charlie said excitedly.
“We would love to!” Knox agreed, “What time, we’ll be there!”
They could hear Neil sigh with relief. “Thank you guys so much- probably be here around five and we will be back around… uh…. Midnight?”
Charlie lifted an eyebrow, seeming to realize the reason for finally asking for a babysitter. “Neil, are we the first people you’ve ever asked to babysit?” He asked.
“Um… yeah? Why?” Neil responded.
Charlie cracked a grin. “When was the last time you and Todd actually did it? Not a quickie- not a blow job. Actual, in bed, hanky panky.”
Knox bit his lip and put a hand over his mouth, trying not to smirk at hearing Charlie say “Hanky panky”. Neil sputtered out his response. “Eh- we- it- I dunno- I don’t keep track! This has nothing to do-“
“Don’t lie to me, Neil. You and Todd are getting dinner, then getting a hotel room.” Charlie laughed. “We’ll be there at five and you better not come back till morning.” Charlie nodded.
“If you need a babysitter, we can always watch your kid.” Knox chimed in. “Even if it’s once a week. We’d be happy to.”
Neil was quiet for a second. “I’m definitely not paying you Charlie…” he muttered.
“Yeah yeah, whatever. Just make sure you’ve got everything you need all packed and ready to go. It’s a literal pain in the ass when you forget something.” Charlie smirked even more and both Neil and Knox groaned.
“Ok, I’m hanging up now.” Knox laughed. “We’ll see you tomorrow Neil.”
“Kay…” Neil sighed and they ended the call.
Neil, Todd, and Elliot sat in the waiting room of the doctor's office, Todd held Elliot with a book in his hands. He would point at pictures then look up at them and ask “what dis?” More than once on each page.
Todd would smile and then quietly explain what each sea creature was. Neil was watching with a smile on his face while he quietly worried on the inside.
Todd was worried too, but he did a better job of hiding it. And he’s had years of learning how to regulate it, not to mention his new anxiety meds really helped.
Finally, it was their turn to go back. They took all sorts of measurements from Elliot and he took it like a champ when they got his blood pressure. He only wiggled a little when they checked his ears and nose, but he did a great job.
“So, what exactly is the problem today?” The doctor asked as he looked over the clipboard that the nurse put all her notes on.
“Well- he just passed his 18-month mark, and he’s not walking yet…” Todd explained.
The doctor smiled. “I know as first-time parents you can’t help but worry about your child, but some children are just slower than others. I’m sure he’ll start walking in no time.”
Neil frowned. “No, we think somethings wrong, he’s been standing up to things since he was 11 months, he’s ready, he just won’t walk,” Neil explained.
“He probably doesn’t feel the need to walk.” The doctor set the clipboard down on the counter and smiled at them. “First-time parents tend to pick their child up a lot more than they should, and when they do that the child is hesitant to take the next step in the progression.”
“But- we don’t-” Neil felt out of options- he felt like something was really wrong, ever since he made the appointment he had known it was the right thing to do. “I’ve tried leading him by his hands and when I do that he just starts crying and won’t move his feet-”
“I’m sure he’s fine. As I said, it’s probably a combination of the two things I already said.” The doctor waved off his concern. “Give it some more time.”
Todd was glowering at the floor. He knew this meant a lot to Neil and the Doctor was treating it like it was nothing. Neil was sure something was wrong, and Todd had the same feeling.
“Please, just watch- maybe you’ll see-” Neil turned to take Elliot from Todd but the Doctor stopped him.
“All his measurements and vitals are healthy. Elliot is fine. Maybe- it’s because of the lack of…” the Doctor paused and narrowed his eyes. “How do I say this… maybe the lack of a motherly figure in his life is affecting him that way- are you in touch with Elliot's birth mother?”
Neil went pale- he hadn’t even considered that-
Todd gently handed Elliot over to Neil’s waiting hands and stood up. He was furious.
“That is the most bullshitting excuse I have ever heard from a doctor!” Todd raised his voice. “We are not in contact because Elliot’s birth mother did not want to stay in touch! The lack of a FEMALE presence in his life has NOTHING to do with why he’s not walking!” The doctor took a step back.
“I- I'm sorry-“
“Neil, we’re leaving.” He nodded for Neil to go out the door while he kept his eyes on the Doctor. “We will not be coming back to your practice-” Neil was out the door and Todd raised both his middle fingers. “Fuck you, Dr. Phillips.” Then he turned and followed his husband out.