“Okay, okay. I’ll go get a couple hours of sleep,” I told him when he just kept staring at me.
“Twelve.”
I snorted. “I can’t sleep twelve hours on the best fucking night of my life.”
“How about after the roughest week of your life?”
Shaking my head, I grumbled, “Four,” as I started for the door. Looking at him over my shoulder, I warned him, “You better look after my kid.”
“Nothing will happen to him while I’m here.”
I knew it wouldn’t. Relay would protect Collin with his life. Actually, that wasn’t right. He would slay the world itself to protect Collin. There was no level of violence too far for Relay when it came to protecting his loved ones. “I have my phone on. Call if anything happens.”
“Will do.”
I made it back to the house and slept for six hours and felt like a new man when I woke up. I was ready to take on the day and the coming night. Ready to give him any kind of comfort I could and take comfort in being able to participate in his care times. It was the only chance I got to connect with Collin. He needed dark and quiet, which I was more than willing to give him, but I would also take every opportunity to connect with him.
There were three nurses frozen in the hallway when I walked up. They were all staring at the door to my son’s NICU room. Fear crashed over me, thinking something was wrong with him, but then I heard it. A sound I hadn’t heard in too many years. I stopped behind the women and a smile slowly spread over my face.
Relay had always had this deep baritone. He used to sing all the time. Was always humming under his breath. At least he had before…
That he was singing to my son now sent a crack shooting down my heart. As much as I loved the new version of my brother, I missed the old him as well. Maybe with Collin here we could gain a little of that older self back. He certainly had beenshowing up more and more these last few months as he helped with my old lady, and now with my son.
One of the nurses jumped a little when she realized I’d caught them listening. “Why does that song sound so familiar?” she asked after a moment of silence between us.
“It’s Misty Mountains Cold.” She frowned at my answer. “The dwarves’ song from The Hobbit.”
Another nurse gasped, “I love that movie! I knew I recognized it.”
It was the perfect melody and range for my brother’s voice. I smiled at the women, then stepped into the room.
Relay quit singing and glanced at me over his shoulder. “He was fussy.”
It was all the explanation I needed. Anytime he got fussy inside his little isolette, the alarms would start going off. I swore I’d heard them while I was dreaming. We were only five days out from Collin’s birth, but already I was learning what everything meant.
Devyn was still admitted to the hospital as they tried to get rid of all the fluid her body was retaining, and make sure her kidneys and blood pressure were going back to normal. Her heart was fine now that she’d given birth, thank fuck.
But she was doing well. Her body was starting to respond to the meds, though Dr. Natalie had told her she wouldn’t be able to leave for a couple more days. She was able to come to the NICU and visit, though, and had been as much as she was able.
“That wasn’t twelve hours,” Relay said, leaning back against the counter. The lights were down low and Collin’s isolette was draped with a cover to keep him contained in an area that mimicked the womb as much as possible. They’d keep him like this for at least a month.
Despite the low light, I could see the worry on Relay’s face. He rarely showed much emotion anymore, so seeing it there meant I’d looked like absolute shit when he’d arrived.
“We agreed on six.” I was damn grateful for this NICU. Some of them had visiting hours, where parents could come visit but they couldn’t stay twenty-four hours a day. Not this one. The nurses and doctors encouraged parents to stay as much as they could. And from now on I could grab naps in the recliner as things were quiet.
The nurses understood that people had to work, or had other kids at home, but they were all excited that I was here with my boy all day and night. I was eating out of the hospital cafeteria, and while the food wasn’t the best, I didn’t mind. I’d eat gravel if that was all they had.
We both looked over as the alarms started going off. Relay’s brows drew together, but he didn’t say anything as we waited. Sometimes Collin’s numbers went up on their own, other times the nurses would come in and check on him. This time they stabilized on their own.
“Did you eat?”
I looked over at Relay and shrugged. I hadn’t thought of it. My only concern had been getting back here.
“I’ll go pick you up something,” he said with a shake of his head. “Drop it off for you.” He paused, then sighed. “You know you can’t help either of them if you drop from exhaustion.”
“Everything’s fine.” I didn’t bother to explain any more than that.
“‘Course it is. I’ll be back soon.”
