Believe It Or Not (An Eddie Munson Story)

Almost

Eddie's POV:

"He's really grown swimmingly, Mr. Munson," Nurse Morgans beams. She holds Orion out to me and I lean forward and take my baby boy from her arms. "Not too much longer now and he'll be ready to go home."

I smile widely at that. It's been a month since Orion was born and he has been in the NICU ever since. Ripley and I have visited every single day to check on him, hold him, and shower him with love. There have been a few close calls and a number of ups and downs. Luckily, the last few days have been serene and wonderful. Little man has been growing beautifully and knocking every milestone out of the park. They were finally able to take his oxygen tube out and he even tried and successfully drank breast milk for the first time. The doctors want to keep him just a little longer to ensure we are on the right path, but all is looking good.

Ripley is talking to his doctors towards the entrance to the NICU, a bright smile on her face and my chest is alight with happiness. It's about damn time we had good news. After everything that has happened to us, it's finally time that some good came from all of our misfortune.

Noir Records has been extremely supportive during this difficult time and has not pushed for me to leave home. The music video for 'My Queen' is still sitting at number one on MTV for the third consecutive week and the song has since been bumped from its number one spot, but at least remains in the top ten on the metal charts. Our first album dropped yesterday and we have already hit record sales for the label and are expected to surpass all expectations. My professional outlook can not be better.

As for Ripley and I, we have been engrossed in worry over Orion over the last month that we have barely had time to think about much else. When we are both at home, we make time for the necessities like eating, showering, and sleeping. But otherwise, we rush to the hospital and spend all of our free time with him. Honestly, we prefer it this way. Once he is safely home and settled, I imagine that Ripley and I will sink into a more loving routine, but for now we are simply trying to navigate being parents to a preemie and what that entails.

Motherhood comes easily and is beautiful on Ripley. She radiates femininity and grace when she cares for Orion and I'm in awe at the fact that I find myself falling more and more in love with her with each passing moment. She handles him so carefully and yet without an ounce of fear. I often find myself second guessing how I do things or fretting over making a mistake, but she just does it. Parenting is like breathing to Ripley and I find myself wanting to learn from her.

The first few weeks, I asked Ripley any and every question that came to mind, eager to understand. It was obvious that she didn't give what she was doing a second thought because my questions startled her and for a while, she didn't know how to help me. But over time and with the nurses' help, we built our own rythym and now we work almost wordlessly together. It's a beautiful thing and I'm beyond grateful that she is the one beside me on this crazy journey.

"Dr. Swartz says that as long as he is continuing to take to the breast milk well and is gaining the appropriate amount of weight, he can go home next week." Ripley says, plopping down beside me. Her sterile gown rustled loudly against mine as she leans down and gazes at our sleepy boy.

Over the last four weeks, Orion has grown a decent amount of curly brown hair atop his head. They spring against his forehead and tangle around his ears, making him look like a tiny cherub. His eyes have since opened and are the standard newborn blue, but a part of me hopes that they will only become a little darker. I'd love for him to have his mother's eyes. He brings his hands to his mouth and starts to fuss in my arms. I can tell that he is sleepy, but he must also be a little hungry. Ripley has been pumping since she can't be with him all the time, so she gets up to prepare some milk that we have left in the fridge here for him. She quickly warms it and I rock him. He cries in frustration as I gently pat his behind, swaying with him in my arms.