MR. MORENO'S SURROGATE ✔️

33 - Leilah

We put a bassinet in the room next to my side of the bed. Elijah's such a deep sleeper that he probably wouldn't hear the baby crying in his sleep. It's about six o'clock in the morning when I wake up to Maverick crying. I get up and I turn on the lamp on my nightstand before I walk to his bassinet against the wall to try giving him his pacifier. He quiets down for a second before beginning to cry again. My guess is that he's hungry or wet, so I look at the line on his diaper and it's blue, letting me know that he's definitely wet.

"I've got you, honey. Shhh, you're okay," I say tiredly as I walk out of the room to go to his nursery.

I push the door open and I turn on the lamp in his room, letting the light illuminate the nursery. I lie him on his changing table and I put his pacifier next to his head as he wiggles, looking around with his big eyes. I watch him as I reach down to grab a diaper and baby wipes to change him, smiling at him as I begin to change him. I look down at him and I can see nothing but Elijah. He has a nose and mouth just like him. I'm not really sure what color his eyes are yet, but their shape mirrors Elijah's. The only thing he has that resembles me is his eyebrows and his head shape.

"No fair," I say to him, smiling in adoration.

I'm finished changing him, so I pick him up carefully and I head back to the bedroom to feed him. When I walk in, the bathroom light is on, and Elijah's not in bed. He's standing at the sink putting more bandage on his wound, then he washes his hands and dries them before turning off the light and turning back to look at me closing the door. He walks up to me as I hold Maverick's head to my chest, my other hand supporting his butt as I stand there with him. He puts his hands on my waists and he kisses me softly before pulling away and kissing Maverick's head.

"He's a quiet baby," Elijah says.

"He is. I'm surprised. I thought he'd be louder," I admit, unclipping my nursing bra.

"Like his mom," he says, holding Maverick's little hand.

"Wow. Shots fired," I say, giggling as I hold the baby's head to my breast for him to latch on. When he starts to eat, I hold him up a bit so he doesn't choke.

"I'm being honest," he replies, smiling. He sits back on his pillows and places a hand on my thigh, looking me over. "How're you holding up?"

"I'm fine, surprisingly. I'm not in extreme pain like I thought I'd be. It's bearable. At least I can walk around and I'm not bedridden," I say, watching Maverick as he eats and slowly falls asleep.

"That's good. You know I'm proud of you."

"That means a lot. Thank you."

"Thank you," he says back, giving me a small smile. "Did the others ever get to hold him?"

"Yeah. They're head over heels," I say, smiling down at him, running my finger over his eyebrow and into his hair.

"Did Luis?" He hesitates to ask as he looks me in the eyes.

"No. Not yet. I mean, I didn't know how you'd feel if I did. Maverick had fallen asleep before he could anyway, and he just looked so peaceful. I wasn't going to wake him up," I say. "I do think he's a mama's boy though. He couldn't stay still or quiet until either he got his pacifier or until he got back to me. I guess I'm doing something right." I lift Maverick from his feeding, and I put a burp cloth over m shoulder before I put him on it, patting his back softly to burp him.

"You're his mother. You carried him for nine months, of course he'll act that way. He's attached to you, just like you are to him."

"That justifies it pretty well," I say, finally hearing him burp. I take him down to hold him in my arms, and I put my breast to his mouth to see if he still wants to eat, and he closes his mouth and just sits there asleep in my arms, so I hand him to Elijah so he can hold him. before clipping my nursing bra back on. "Are you sure you can hold him?" I ask, gesturing to his wound.