Blind Date // A.I (completed)

thirty-six

< Thursday 28, 2019 >

{ Hannah }

After 17 hours we finally made it to the hospital. Of course, we were exhausted from the drive but we were just ready to see our little boy.

As soon as we parked, we jumped out of the car and headed inside. We went to the front desk, grabbing the lady's attention,

"Our son, Cason, is here. We need to go to him" I spoke,

"Cason Bates?" she asked and I nodded. She typed some things in and then wristbanded both Ashton and me before sending us to the second floor where an officer was waiting to meet us before we went into Cason's room.

As we approached, Ashton sucked in a breath and clenched my hand,

"Do-do you want to be alone with him? Do you want me to wait?" he asked, making me look at him confused,

"What do you mean? Why would I make you wait?" I questioned,

"I-I just don't want to overstep. He's your son" he mumbled, making me stop us in the hall and making him look at me,

"He's yours too. You have always treated him as so. He officially became yours the day you signed those custody papers with me" I spoke, bringing my hand up to his cheek, "Cason considers you his dad and so do I. He's going to want us both in there"

Ashton nodded and I leaned up and pecked his lips,

"Let's go see our little boy" I smiled. Ashton smiled and took my hand again as we walked to Cason's room, stopping at the officer outside,

"He's okay. There was no sign of sexual or physical abuse so you don't need to worry about that" he assured, "We did arrest your parents and they will be taken back to California and charged with kidnapping"

"Thank you" I smiled,

"Of course" he smiled and shook mine and Ashton's hand, "You can go in and see him. His doctor will probably be in soon"

We nodded and I placed my hand on the handle. Ashton smiled and I gently pushed it open,

"Mommy! Daddy!" Cason yelled immediately. Tears came to my eyes as I rushed to him, engulfing him carefully in a hug and kissing him over and over,

"Oh my god" I mumbled, "I'm so glad you're safe"

I pulled back and wiped my eyes as Cason stared at me then looked at Ashton. I moved out of the way and Ashton hugged and kissed him,

"You feel okay?" he asked him,

"Cold" he mumbled. That's when I noticed the four blankets on his bed. Ashton and I both got up and got Cason covered up,

"I'm so sorry baby. I'm so sorry you were taken from us" I teared up again,

"It okay Mommy" Cason smiled, "I be okay"

I chuckled and looked at Ashton,

"You're handling this like a big boy" Ashton spoke, "It's okay not to be okay Cas Cas"

"I know" he nodded, "Mommy and you here make me happy"

We sat there for a few more minutes hugging and cuddling him until his doctor walked in,

"It's nice to meet you all. I'm glad you guys got here" he spoke, sanitizing his hands before moving to Cason. He checked Cason's vitals and then asked to talk to Ashton and me in the hall. We followed him out of the room, ready to listen,

"He's going to be just fine. I just want to get him eating and get his body temperature back up. Nobody knows how long he was walking along that interstate. He was purely exhausted and so cold he was almost blue when he got here. It's been snowing since before he was found so I just want to be positive he's warm and okay before letting him go home" he explained, "He's not on an IV anymore so you can hold him, cuddle him, whatever. All I ask is we keep blankets on him and keep him warm"

"We brought some clothes and stuff for him. Can we let him put them on?" I asked,

"That is perfectly fine" he smiled, "Any questions?"

"I have one" Ashton spoke up, "Mentally, how do we go about this with him? Is he going to be effective?"

"I'm going to be honest with you all, it's going to be hard" he admitted, "Even though he wasn't held that long, he will have effects. He will problem make backward process. He'll probably start wetting the bed, throw massive tantrums, and want to be held or babied all the time. He's also going to be anxious and scared. Just assure him that he is okay and that Mom and Dad won't let anything happen again. He may start withdrawing from you all. His eating might be off and he may not sleep. He will probably have nightmares too"

"Should we consider counseling?" I asked,

"See how he does. Your reassurance might be enough. If it's not, then you decide whether that step needs to be taken"

Ashton and I nodded,

"I'll let you two be with him. Lunch will probably be coming around soon. He does not have to eat hospital food. He can eat whatever"

We thanked the doctor and he walked off, leaving Ashton and me,

"I'll go grab our bags from the car. That way we can get him into some warm clothes rather than the gown" Ashton told me. I nodded and we split off.

I went back into the room and found Cason sitting straight up and staring at the door I just walked through,

"Mommy" he spoke as his lip trembled, his eyes full of tears that were silently falling,

"Oh baby. I'm right here"

I rushed over to him, pulling him back into my arms and holding him,

"It's okay. It's okay" I rocked him side to side, "Mommy's right here"

He just continued to cry. He was clutching onto me tighter than ever before like he was scared I'd leave again,

"Mommy isn't going anywhere" I whispered,

"D-Daddy?" he cried out,

"Daddy went to get you some things from the car. We brought some pjs and some toys- even Blankie and Pluto" I told him. He cried some more as the door opened and Ashton walked in. As soon as he saw Cason's state, he was panicking,

"Daddy" Cason reached out, just wanting us both to hold him. Ashton put our bags on the chair and rushed over, sitting next to me and holding us both,

"It's okay buddy" he whispered, "Mommy and I are here. We won't leave you. I promise"