Archive of Our Own

“You did so good, sweetheart,” Darryl murmured softly to his unconscious wife, reaching over to tuck a curl behind her ear. His fingertips trailed down her soft cheek before leaving her face and cupping under the head of his new son in his arms as he gazed down at the babe with so much love he thought he might burst from it. Leaning down, his lips brushed over the boy’s brow as he rocked him back and forth. “You too, kiddo,” he told the baby, his voice low in his chest. “You did good, too.”

It had been a hard birth for his poor little wife. Becky had gone into labor thirty six hours ago and though she’d tried to be strong, he knew that she’d been terrified. So had he, if he was being completely honest. Early in the pregnancy, because Becky had never had any luck gaining weight through her lie – though not from lack of trying on both of their ends – the doctors had not so subtly suggested that she terminate the pregnancy from fear that her size could make things harder on her. Becky had, of course, refused and had been determined to carry their baby to term. Darryl had supported her every step of the way, though he couldn’t deny his fear that maybe the doctors had been right.

That fear had proven to be legitimate once Becky had started trying to give birth. Trying being the operative word because try as she might, she hadn’t been able to push their son out. At the last minute, the doctors had been forced to perform an emergency c-section to get the baby out and by that time Becky had lost so much blood that they’d nearly lost her. Thankfully, it turned out that she and Darryl had the same blood type and thus they’d been able to get blood from him to save her. It had been, hands down, the single scariest thing to ever happen to him.

But he had to admit when he looked at his son that it had all been worth it. Brenden George Nadar was the most perfect baby to ever exist, and Darryl didn’t care if that was biased. The boy looked exactly like he had as an infant, all soft rosy skin and dark curls on the top of his head. He’d only cried right after being born and was now sleeping perfectly content in his father’s arms. He’d only been alive for a few hours but Darryl was already so in love with his son and knew that he would do anything to keep him safe and happy.

There was a sound of sheets moving and Darryl’s eyes quickly darted over to see his wife’s eyes flutter open, blurry and a little confused. Becky blinked multiple times to clear her vision then turned her head to look at him. When her eyes landed on the baby in his arms, her expression became so tender that Darryl nearly teared up. “Hey,” she breathed.

“Hey,” he smiled, leaning over to kiss her forehead. “How are you feeling?”

“Sore,” she replied, her eyes still on the baby.

“You’ll probably feel that way for a while,” he said before carefully lifting their son and settling him on Becky’s chest. “Here.”

Her arms automatically went up to hold the boy to her and she leaned down to press her lips to the top of Brenden’s head. “I love you,” she murmured, pulling back to smile down at their son.

Darryl couldn’t speak lest he burst into tears, so he settled on wrapping his arm around her shoulder and pressing a fierce kiss to the side of her head.

A commotion behind the door interrupted their quiet moment and Darryl turned his head to scowl at it. “What the hell,” he muttered, pulling his arm away from his wife and standing up. He gave her a quick smile then walked over to the door, opening it and stepping out before glaring at the people on the other side. “Do you mind? This is a hospital, not a fucking public park.”

Kelly Krespe glared back at him, crossing her arms under her chest as she lifted her chin to look down at him. “I want to see my daughter,” she declared.

At her side, George Krespe looked like he wanted to be anywhere but here. “Kelly, we really should have waited,” he started to say.

Kelly shot him a nasty look that instantly made the man shut up before turning her ire back on Darryl. “I want to see my daughter,” she repeated, with more force this time.

“No,” he told her.

His answer enraged the woman, if her red face and fury-filled eyes were any indication. “Excuse me??”

“I said no,” he said, crossing his arms to match her body language. “She just gave birth, Kelly. She needs to rest. So no.”

“How dare you–!”

“I am her husband,” he said, his voice raising above hers as he felt something hot and protective bubbling in his chest. “According to your religion, that makes me her patriarch and thus in charge of making decisions on her behalf. My wife just had a very difficult birth and doesn’t need you going in and berating her when she’s trying to recuperate.”

“I am her mother,” Kelly said, her voice getting more and more shrill with every word. “I brought her into this world! And I demand to see her!”

“Not happening,” Darryl growled, stepping closer and feeling a sort of dark pleasure when the woman flinched back. “She almost died, Kelly. Do you get that? Do you even care that your daughter nearly died ? And you haven’t even asked about the baby. You know, your grandson . So no, I’m not letting you see her until she asks for you. And if you try to come in before that, I’m calling security.” Without waiting to hear her response, he turned around and opened the door, stepping back inside the room and closing it behind him firmly.

Becky looked up when he entered, her expression drawn. “Is she gone?” she asked, her voice quiet.

“Hopefully,” he grunted, going back over to sit by the bed again. His hand reached over to cup the back of her neck, playing with the curls at her nape. “She’s not getting in here, okay? Not until you’re ready to face her.”

His wife went quiet and for a moment Darryl worried that he’d stepped over some boundary line before she finally spoke, so softly that he nearly missed it. “What if I’m never ready?”

“What?” he blinked, eyes wide.

Emerald hues met his, exhaustion written all over her face. “What if I never want to face her again?” she murmured, her arms tightening around Brenden. “What if I’m done taking all of her criticism and condescension? What if I don’t want to deal with her anymore?”

“You wanna cut her off?”

Becky nodded, her lips trembling. “She was awful through my whole pregnancy,” she said quietly. “You were there, you heard her. She kept saying I put on weight and that it wasn’t just baby weight. She said that I needed to watch what I ate and that I had to set a good example for my child when it came to food. She kept questioning whether I was ready to be a mother. Hell, at one point she suggested that I give Brenden up for adoption after he was born!”

“She what?!” Rage washed over him and the hand in his lap clenched into a tight fist. “When did she say that?”

“Right after I first found out I was pregnant,” Becky answered, looking away from him and hanging her head. She sounded close to tears when she said, “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you.”

“Hey, no no no, baby, shh,” he crooned, wrapping his arm around her and pulling her close to nuzzle the side of her head with his nose. “I’m not upset at you , Becks. Okay? Never at you.” The corners of his mouth turned down. “It’s your batshit crazy mom I can’t stand.”

“I’m so tired of dealing with her,” Becky sniffled, curling into him. “She’s done nothing but make me feel like shit my entire life. She’s always told me how much she doesn’t like me and I honestly think she doesn’t love me, either. She’ll never admit it because the Bible says you have to love your children, but I’m tired of pretending. I don’t want to do this anymore.” She lifted Brenden up to press a fierce kiss to the baby’s head. “And I don’t want her around our son. I won’t force him to put up with her like I have. He doesn’t deserve that.”

A rush of pride filled Darryl’s chest. This was a huge step for her and he knew that it wasn’t easy. “Whatever you want, you know I’ll support you,” he told her, his free hand going up to cup under hers holding their baby’s head. “My priorities lie with you and Brenden now.”

She turned her head to look at him, her eyes shining. “I love you,” she told him.

His insides turned to mush under the light of her gaze. “I love you, too,” he said, leaning over to kiss her lips.

She kissed him back, and in that moment everything was perfect.