Dad (AU, M/M, teen)- ficlet complete 11/5/10

[Eva]

Title: Dad
Rating: Teen
Pairing: Michael and Maria
Disclaimer: Don't own them; at all that is. I wish I would, but that’s another story. They belong to Katims and Metz.
Summary: Michael meets his premature son for the first time.

Though this ficlet isn’t autobiographical, the topic is indeed ripped out of my own life. I just wondered how Michael would’ve reacted and suddenly I started writing.






Step by step he moved forward hesitantly .

The room with the little pods scared the hell out of him. Like little isles, surrounded by wires and other medical equipment, they all seemed to have their place in the room but it felt so alien.

Finally Michael reached the small glass box in the corner. An eager nurse tried to explain what he was seeing but he hardly heard a word she was saying. His eyes were glued to the little creature lying in the incubator.

His heart tightened with fear when he saw the small features of this little human. The skinny chest collapsed after every breath the baby took, the medical tags attached to his chest moved in tandem. His eyes were closed and the soft blond down on his face couldn’t hide the frown on his forehead. Though he was born way too early, he looked completely finished; five tiny fingers on each hand and ten mini-toes.

His son.

“Would you like to cuddle him?” In a far corner of his mind Michael could hear some faint noises. He suddenly realized that the nurse had asked him something when he saw her looking questioningly at him

“Huh?”

The nurse patiently repeated her question. “I said that you could open the doors if you want to. That way, you can touch little Nick, gently. If you've got an hour, you can hold him in that special chair, for skin-to-skin contact. It’s called kangaroo care.”

The thought of taking the tiny baby with his big clumsy hands made him take two steps backwards. “Uh-uh!” he shook his head.

On the verge of fleeing away, Michael felt a hand on his back.

In his panic Michael hadn’t noticed that nurses had brought Maria’s hospital bed close to the incubator. “We don’t harm Nick by taking him out?” Maria questioned while she tried to peek in the little glass house to see a glimpse of her new-born.

A smile appeared on the nurse’s face. “Not at all. Once the baby is stabilized, we actually encourage parents to cuddle with their children. Not only does the parent's stable body temperature help to regulate the neonate's temperature more smoothly than an incubator, the psychological warmth is of extreme value. Would you like to hold him?”

Maria’s eyes lit up by the idea of cuddling her most loved treasure “I would love to.”

Maria’s fervent wish immediately set the nurse in action. After she maneuvered Maria’s bed next to the incubator, she opened the glass box. Without detaching the medical wires the nurse placed the little boy on Maria’s open buttoned chest after which she immediately covered the baby’s body with a warm blanket.

A sigh escaped Maria when she held her baby for the first time. “God, he is a wonder!”

After all the drama of giving birth more then eleven weeks too soon, she finally found some peace. The feeling of the little thing on her naked skin, made her feel that everything would turn alright. Whatever the future would contain, she knew they would cope. The three of them would manage.

The thoughts that were running through her mind made her look at her husband. She found him still standing on his spot, like a frozen statue. Maria knew him inside out. His closed off reaction indicated that he was having a very hard time with the situation. Michael had always feared to take little babies, let alone trust himself to touch this miniature neonatal, even if it was his own child.

Gently she caressed his arm with her free hand. Her touch awakened him. He squeezed her hand softly. Firmly but gently Maria pulled him closer to the bed until he had no other choice than to sit next to her, lying his arm across her shoulders.

And that’s how they stayed sitting until Michael felt a feather light touch on his middle finger. His eyes widened. To his big surprise he saw his son seeking contact. Uncertainly he moved his finger a little closer to the baby boy.

The little child immediately grabbed Michael’s finger with his tiny hand, holding it for dear life. The boy opened his eyes, and though he couldn’t see a thing, it was as if he greeted his father.

“Hi Dad.”