Closer 2

111.

After some time of Elise watching the cat through the window and Eddy still not seeing it, Elise eventually turned around to wander off again.

"Kitty bye-bye," she explained, looking up at her daddy with a grin. Eddy chuckled softly, picking her up as he stood up.

"Of you say so, I'm sure you're right," he chuckled, kissing her cheek. "But we have to get some dinner, so you can choose today what you want, okay?"

"Yaaaaa!" Elise shrieked with excitement, flailing her arms. Eddy thought it was adorable how excited she got.

"So, we can either have noodles and veggies or we can have pizza," Eddy smiled, going to get his phone he hsd left in their new bedroom. They were just ordering food today, as their new kitchen cabinet wasn't set up yet.

Elise looked like she thought about it for a bit, and Eddy waited patiently for her answer. After a bit, she got a smirk that looked so much like Brett's on her lips.

"Oodles!" she decided with a few excited hand claps. Eddy chuckled, kissing her forehead again.

"Okay, noodles it is," he said, finding the number of a nearby takeaway place he had been to a while back. They weren't the best, but it was definitely edible.

"Oodle oodle oodle!" Elise cheered, clapping her hands for every time she said the word.

"N-oodle," Eddy tried to correct her gently, smiling at her as she didn't understand what was wrong.

"Oodle," she said back, tilting her head like Brett sometimes did when trying to understand stuff. Eddy shook his head slightly.

"There's an 'N' first. N-oodle," he said as clearly as possible.

"Moodle," Elise said back to him, grinning as she was sure she had made it this time. There was a sound first!

"Know what, close enough. Good job, baby," Eddy praised, kissing her forehead. She'd get it eventually. She wasn't even two yet, so it would be okay. They had been told by the doctor at the last checkup to encourage her to say sentences instead of words, but Eddy usually felt so mean correcting her. He personally hated having his speech corrected, at least in English.

...

"How are they doing?" Brett asked the evening shift nurse softly who had come in to check on them and on him. This nurse was a lady in her fifties who they had seen a few times during her stay. A nice, gentle woman who always made it seem like she had all the time in the world for them, even though she probably was quite busy.

"Aidan is still a bit weak from the starting infection we are wornign on, but his temperature is better and he's taking his nutrients well," she smiled, looking back at Brett in the chair. "And Benjamin is doing really great. I'm sure if we ask the doctor, I can stay here for a bit so you can hold him, if you'd like that."

Brett's heart almost stopped. Hold him? His son? But he was so small still! Even smaller than Elise had been!

The nurse chuckled softly at his shocked face.
"It'll be okay as long as the doctor approves it. I'll be here as well to help you, yes?" she said with an emcouraging smile. Brett's heart had apparently restarted in that time, because now it was beating out of his chest.

"I'd love that, if... if it's safe..?" Brett asked, noticing how shaky his voice was. He honestly wanted to cry from excitement.

"I'll go check with his doctor, as he's the one on call today, and then I'll finish my rounds and come back to help you, okay?" the nurse said with a smile that only a lady who truly loved her job could have.

"Yes please. Thank you so much."