Forever For You 🌷

19th May 2019

A yawn. Another. Alex was tired. And despite the fact that there was a distinct lack of comfort in the chair he had pulled to her bedside, he had been drifting in and out of sleep for the past two hours. His elbow was on his knee, his cheek resting in his palm and his mouth opened to let out a soft snore with every other passing minute but the lights of the hospital room were bright and garish and helped him jolt back awake each time he almost dozed off permanently.

Lifting her head gently from the pillow as she stirred, Izzy shifted to sit up slightly in the hospital bed, wincing as she moved. She drew her gaze to her husband as soon as her eyes had fluttered open again, reaching out for him to take his hand as he lifted his head from his hand, sensing her movement. The slight tilt of his lips upwards made her heart skip a beat, the familiar chocolate brown of his eyes was endlessly soothing, and though there was a hint of darkness beneath them which she was sure matched hers, he was still utterly gorgeous and exuded a warmth she was permanently addicted to, longed to be near to.

Alex took her hand and linked his fingers with hers, bringing them to his lips to kiss her knuckles gently. He missed the feeling of her wedding ring being there and the overwhelming emotions he still felt whenever he caught sight of it, so paid extra attention to that finger, moving his lips there in a soft, slow peck. Though he was tired and his brain was working in overdrive to combat his sluggishness, he couldn't remember ever having looked at Izzy with more pride, the delicate but exhausted smile on her face as she smiled back at him making him sigh.

"Yeh alrehyt, me love?" he murmured, his lips still ghosting her skin.

"Mmm..." she sighed absent-mindedly. "I just can't believe he doesn't have a name..."

Izzy nodded beside her where their newborn son was laid in his bed, his tiny hands balled into fists as he slept, a small teddy bear tucked beside him. His cheeks were pink, there was a tuft of dark hair on top of his head and he snored in a pattern she had come to associate with his father, had giggled quietly to herself when the both of them had been sighing in sync whilst asleep.

"'e ain't even twenteh-four hours old yet, Izzeh, darlin'..." Alex mumbled, squeezing her palm with his reassuringly. "Weh'll fink of summat..."

"But we knew straight away with Daisy didn't we?" she continued. "We knew as soon as she was born that the name worked... but everything on our list just seems-"

"Wha' about Miles?" Alex chuckled quietly, playing with her fingers as he spoke.

"For the hundredth time..." she laughed, her head dizzy. "No. It'd go to his head too much."

"Mmm..." Alex sighed, looking across the room where the obnoxiously big balloon Miles had bought them was floating. "Maybeh sumfin' like Daiseh then?"

"What do you mean, gorgeous?" she asked, raising an eyebrow curiously.

"Like uhm... anofer plant or flower or summat..."

"Well, there's a flower called a Sweet William, but I don't like the name."

"Me eifer..." Alex sighed. He looked down at his son as he let out a quiet gurgling noise, eased when his nose scrunched and he continued to sleep peacefully. "Wha' about trees then?"

"Oak?" Izzy laughed, shaking her head. "Aspen?"

"Mmm... maybeh not..." he drawled, shaking his head back at her. "Cooper?" he offered, half-jokingly. "Clarke?"

"I'm sure he'd be flattered," she said.

Alex wrinkled his nose when she giggled. He knew she was tired, but there was still so much joy in her features, an ease to her demeanour and he reached cross to affectionately brush her curls from her face, stroking her cheek with his thumb.

"Wha' 'bout Alexander Jr.?" he teased.

Just then, the baby let out a soft mumble, took a sharp breath in then broke into a heartbreaking wail. The noise was quiet but gradually grew in volume and Alex drew his hands away from his wife to quickly shuffle over to the crib and gently peel back the soft blanket to lift his son.

"'e definiteleh dun't wanna beh called Alexander then..." he chuckled.

Izzy pouted watching Alex scoop their new born son into his arms and lift him against his chest, beginning to bounce him as he stood beside her. He was already a wonderful father to their daughter, attentive and gentle and Izzy had no doubt that he'd be just as nurturing to their son too, couldn't have asked for more from him.

"'ey, lil' man..." he whispered, his voice deep and quiet as he smoothed his hand down his son's back. "Why all the noise, eh? Weh're rehyt 'ere... mummeh 'n' daddeh are 'ere..."

Alex hated the crying, had never got used to it even with their first born. It was the helplessness, the never knowing what was wrong and how he could fix it, the feeling of the fragile heartbeat pounding against his chest. With his eyes closed, he jigged on the spot and rested his cheek against his son's hair, smoothed his thumb over the back of his head with affection in an attempt to soothe him, to soften the cries. He inhaled the comforting, warm scent he couldn't get enough of.

"'e's not calmin' down, Izz..." Alex mumbled worriedly, his eyes wide when he opened them. "Are yeh 'ungreh, lil' man? D'yeh want yehr mummeh?"

Izzy lifted her arms out to take their son. Alex's hands were shaking with worry as she brushed them and he stayed at her side, sinking down beside her, stroking their sons balled fist. Izzy pushed up the pyjama top she was wearing and positioned the baby's head softly in the crook of her arm and then his cries became muffled when he began to hungrily suckle gently on her breast.

Alex let out a shaky breath, relieved by the silence and smiled when Izzy met his gaze.

"He looks exactly like you in your baby pictures, Al..." she mused, stroking her son's flushed cheek. "Adorable." Alex still smelt faintly of his cologne and Izzy inhaled it as she lifted her hand to stroke his fluffy hair from his face, smoothed it back.

"'e's cuter than I was... got bof our good looks..." he grinned, mesmerised by the pair of them, tilting his head into her touch.

Alex looked down to the empty cot beside them where the teddy bear was placed and Izzy followed his gaze curiously. The bear was light brown and soft, a surprise from Alex after her labour and he took it into his hand now, smoothed over the t-shirt with the phrase 'baby's best friend' stitched into it and hummed in thought.

"What about Theodore?" Izzy whispered, almost in amazement that she'd found something she liked.

With a chuckle, Alex lifted his eyes to meet the sparkling blue of hers, amused that they'd had the exact same thought. He held the bear up to Izzy. "Teddeh for short?" he drawled, his lips curling into a warm smile.

Izzy's heart melted at the way her husband spoke the nickname, his voice thick and comforting, a sound she had come to resonate with home and she instantly wanted to hear the word a thousand times over in his accent. "Teddy..." she nodded positively, smoothing her thumb over Alex's jaw and lips, giggling when he gave a gentle peck. "It's perfect... he's perfect, you're perfect."

With his heart pounding in his chest, the emotions of pride, admiration and content still bubbling within him, Alex leant over and pressed a kiss to the side of Izzy's face, then one to Teddy's, beaming down at him as he ran his finger tips over the soft hairs on top of his head.

"'ello, Teddeh Turner..." he whispered. "Weh're so 'appeh yeh're 'ere..."