Songbird ; Fred Weasley

Eighty-eight

The second the NICU nurses placed my little boy in my arms, tubes and wires attached to him and everything, I started crying.

I was in a wheelchair because I was so stuffed up on meds that my legs felt all soggy.

Fred was right with me, placing a kiss on my head as I cried.

I cried because my son was real, right here in my arms. I cried because he didn't deserve this start to life. He deserved to be home with his parents and his older sisters. He deserved to be properly fed, to have skin-to-skin contact as much as possible.

Instead he was laying in a closed bassinet every single day, fighting for his life.

I looked down at him as he started making small noises, as if he was sucking. He moved his hand up to his mouth, a way for babies to soothe themselves, and it made me smile, because I knew that was a good sign.

"I told you he's strong." Fred smiled, resting his head against mine while looking down at our son from over my shoulder. "A few days ago, he didn't know how to soothe himself, and he didn't show signs that he's almost ready to start feeding without the tube."

He definitely did now.

The movements and the sounds he made, showed us that he definitely started getting used to the idea of feeding.

"Nurse says sometime this week." Fred whispered as he kissed my head again. "And they're very positive we get to take him home around his due date."

"He's so strong." I whispered, running one finger over his hand.

"You know what we should name him?" Fred whispered, nudging my jawline with his nose.

"What?" I asked quietly, waiting for an answer.

Fred stared down at our son and I looked up at him as a smile formed across his face.

"He looks like a Callum." He said softly.

"Callum?" I asked, keeping my eyes on Fred while I tasted the name on my tongue. "Callum Cahira-Weasley?"

"Well, he'd need a middle name." Fred smiled at me and pressed a soft kiss to my lips.

I looked down at our son again.

Callum.

"Callum Maxwell Cahira-Weasley." I said.

"I like that." Fred agreed. "Maxwell for Max?"

I nodded.

"Wait... is Max actually named Maxwell?"  He asked me, and I nodded again.

"He doesn't like the name Maxwell, so he goes by Max." I explained. "But he means so much to me and I think he'd like it if we named a kid after him."

"Okay." Fred whispered. "I'll go inform the nurse so it can be written on the birth certificate."

Fred walked away, and I smiled as my son loosely closed his hand around my thumb.

"Hi Callum." I whispered, and he responded to my voice by cuddling closer to me.

About two weeks later, I was allowed to go home, and as Fred and I stepped through the door to our flat, I stopped and took everything in.

I hadn't been back here since before the kidnapping, and it felt weird.

Fred walked straight for our bedroom with the bag of some of the things he had brought me while I had been in the hospital.

I watched his back as he placed the bag on our bed and started unpacking.