Closer 2

115.

"Hey," Eddy said in a soft voice as Benjamin was gently placed on his chest by the doctor. Next to him, Brett was standing with Elise on his arm looking like he was about to burst with pride and happiness. "I'm so happy to finally get to hold you."

The little boy squirmed a little as the environment changed, but quickly settled when Eddy placed his hand on his back to keep him steady. It made his heart best faster to see just how small he was compared to his hand.

"Daddy?" Elise asked from Brett's arm, but Brett shushed her. Eddy didn't really hear it anymore, completely forgetting about the real world as he focused on Benjamin's slow breathing. It felt completely unreal that this tiny baby was half him. The fact that he actually kind of looked like pictures of him as a baby made his stomach tickle.

Brett took out hus phone to snap a picture of this precious moment while Elise demanded over and over again to know why she couldn't talk to daddy two centimeters from his ear.

"Why why why why why?"

He still somehow managed to get a picture, thankful for the fact that Eddy seemed completely in his own world and for the fact that the doctor and the nurse had slipped out of the room.

"Shh," he told Elise again as he opened the picture he had just taken on his phone to look at it. He smiled a bit, but Elise impatiently kicking her legs against his hip pulled him out of it.

"Babaaa! Whyyyy?" Elise asked again, slapping Brett's hand to get his attention. Unfortunately, that lead to his phone slipping out of his hand and landing on the hard floor with the distinct sound of the screen shattering pulling even Eddy back to the real world.

"For fucks sake, Elise! Because we didn't want to disturb!" Brett said, raising his voice as he was so annoyed. It didn't make it better that his stern voice scared her and made her start to cry instead. She had never experienced baba lose patience like that.

"Bretty..." Eddy tried to say in a calm voice, not really wanting to speak too loudly and startle Benjamin too. Brett didn't seem to hear him as he picked up his phone, of course finding it shattered.

"Look what you did!" Brett said sternly, showing Elise the phone. She cried harder, squirming to be let down. Baba scared her, and as soon as she had her feet placed on the floor a bit more firmly than normal, she ran over to daddy sitting in the chair and trying to climb up into his lap.

"Daddy," she cried, looking up at him with big, scared, teary eyes. She didn't understand what she had done wrong, or why baba was angry with her so suddenly. She had just wondered why she suddenly hadn't been allowed to talk to daddy!

Brett watched as Eddy helped her up to sit on the arm rest of the chair and letting her cry against his side as if he had hurt her. It frustrated him so much, and to avoid another emotional outburst he had to go, to take some time. He exited the room and shut the door a bit too hard after him. It wasn't clear to him if he was angry, sad or just frustrated, but the tears flowed over as he walked with long strides down the hallway.