Homeward Bound//Sam Kiszka x OC!Layla

Bye Bye Birdie

March 31st/April 1st, 2025

    As Josh exited the elevator the wails from down the hall were ones he could recognize anywhere. They made his stomach churn. While having only heard these sounds a few times in his life, when Sam fell from the tree in the back yard in eighth grade and broke his ankle, when their grandpa died and the most recent occurrence when Layla miscarried Juniper's twin. Sam's wails were unmistakable. Hearing them now made Josh stumble, he knew that something horrible had to have happened and he hoped whatever higher power there was that it could be reversed. 'No, no, no.' He thought as he raced towards the waiting room. He quickly found Sam wrapped around a trash can, puking into it. He got down to his level, sitting on the floor, stroking his back. Sam flinched hard at the sudden contact, going to shove whoever it was away until his peripheral vision caught sight of the curly mop of hair that was unmistakably Josh.

Sam breathed in and let out a shaky breath, collapsing into Josh's chest. Josh hesitated, not quite sure what to do for Sam, it had been years since he's seeked out comfort in this way. He quietly took the hair tie off his wrist that he kept there for Lauren when she needed one, tying Sam's hair in a sloppy bun, calmly stroking the right side of his face as Sam shuddered into him, apparently all cried out. Josh wiped Sam's tear stained cheeks, "What happened?" "She's gone," he barely let out above a whisper. "What do you mean gone?" Josh was having a hard time comprehending the situation. "She's fucking gone, Josh. She looked at me with a sparkle back in her eye and asked if Birdie was as pretty as Juniper was, and I looked away for one second, my eyes left her for just one second, Josh, just one to glance at our daughter and she was gone. I didn't get to even look at her again. If I could've just talked to her o-or kissed her, just touched her, and she would've come back to me. She always comes back to me. But they didn't give me a chance. They didn't even let me try, Josh. The nurse pushed me out of the room. And all I've been able to hear is that incessant alarm going off like a timer deeming that my time with her was up. I don't want it to be up, Josh. I made a promise to love her until we're old and gray. I'm twenty five and she's twenty nine. What kind of sick, cruel god takes away someone at twenty nine?! A mother. A wife. Someone's fucking soulmate."

Josh could only gape at his little brother, there were no words he could give to comfort him. He uncrossed his legs, bringing his much larger younger brother into him fully as Sam clutched his bicep, beginning to cry again into the side of his neck. He couldn't imagine the pain Sam was in, it was indescribable. To become a widower at twenty five. "I've only had her seven years, I've wanted her for thirteen and have only had her for seven. She's my everything, my confidant, my whole heart and soul. And she was just gone in an instant, Josh. Fucking poof, like it was nothing. My everything was gone like it was nothing. And it's all my fault. I wanted another kid. If we would've only kept Juni and Atlas, I would still be able to wake up to the love of my life every morning. But I was selfish and wanted one more. Why the fuck did I have to have one more? We were so excited she was a girl. And now I have to raise three kids alone. I don't think I can do it, Josh." Josh used his right hand to wipe Sam's tears, while his left continued to rub circles into Sam's back. "Hey, hey, hey," he cooed softly, "I'm sure the doctors are doing everything they can to save Layla. This happens all the time with births, I'm sure it's routine for them."

A nurse rounded the corner and placed a hand on Josh's shoulder, "The baby is healthy and in the nursery if he's wanting to see her." Josh glanced up, "I'll try, but can you give us like, ten minutes. Any news on Layla?" She pursed her lips together, frowning. The sadness in her eyes was overwhelming to him and he was thankful Sam had his eyes shut. "No news is good news right now. The doctors are doing everything they can. She lost a lot of blood in surgery and that caused her already failing heart to just give out. But I promise we're doing everything we can." He nodded his thanks, going back to rocking Sam, clutching him to his chest. "It's okay, Sammy. Everything is going to work out. They're giving her more blood. She's gonna make it." He pressed a kiss to his forehead. "Do you want to go see Birdie?" Sam nodded, sitting up and away from his brother. Josh stood and offered his hand, Sam accepting it and holding it like they were children again. Josh shouldered Sam's entire weight to the nursery window for them to look at her before placing her in a room with him.