Older || Sequel To SOS

Thirty-Four

"They have Elodie out of surgery, she's headed to a room in the maternity ward if you want to go meet her." A nurse approaches Luke softly, it's nearly 5am and Luke knows he should be exhausted, but Atlas seems to be giving him some sort of strength. He's sat for hours rocking her, staring at her, watching her little face move gently and listen to her little coos and squeaks.

"I probably should." Luke sighs, "But it's hard to want to leave here too."

"Atlas will be just fine, and we are only two hallways away. You go check on Elodie for a while, Atlas can sleep here, and she will be ready for more dad cuddles when you come back." She pats his shoulder softly.

"Ya, thanks." He sighs, standing carefully and transferring Atlas back into the bassinet and leaning over to kiss her head softly, mumbling that he loves her and so does mummy before standing back to his full height.

"Keep that bracelet on and you will have no trouble getting back in here to see her any time you want." The nurse smiles, leading him to the door again, "Head that way, take a right just past the bathrooms and there will be a desk at the next corner, let them know you're looking for Elodie and they'll get you to her room." She instructs.

"Thank you." Luke nods, running a hand through his hair yet again as he heads towards Elodie, feeling torn about leaving Atlas alone in the NICU, but knowing he needs to see Elodie too.

"Good morning, sir. Can I help you?" A tired looking nurse is sitting at the desk he'd been instructed to find.

"My fiancée was in surgery after giving birth in an ambulance, they let me know she was coming out of surgery and to a room here." He explains quickly.

"Yes, your little family has been the talk of the night, how's baby doing?" She smiles softy, typing quickly as she asks.

"She's perfect." Luke chuckles, "And doing incredibly well for coming so early."

"That's good to hear. Did they give you a wristband in the NICU?"

"Ya." Luke shows her his wrist.

"I just need to scan it quickly." She lifts a small scanner, a small red light appearing before a small beep sounds. "Elodie's room is 312, just down this hallway." She motions behind her, "Good luck with everything."

"Thanks." Luke offers a small smile, rounding the corner and heading down the hall, looking at each door for Elodie's number until he finds it, pushing into the room softly.

"Hey." Her voice is so low and slow, but her eyes blink softly as she lifts her hand an inch or two, reaching for her.

"Hi, Pretty Girl." He can't help the sob that bubbles out of his mouth as he crosses the small space to reach her, taking her hand tightly in his.

"I'm okay." She breathes out harshly, "Just really tired."

"You did so good, El." He chuckles, wiping below his eye quickly to catch a tear, "You made the most perfect little girl in the entire world." He reaches to dig his phone out of his pocket, pulling up the dozen of photos he'd taken of Atlas.

"She's beautiful." El chuckles lightly, "Make sure she knows I love her, until I get to see her."

"I will, I already have. She's doing amazing too."

"Good." Elodie sighs, "You look tired, Lu."

"It's been a long night, I haven't slept since that little nap I took on our flight from Hawaii. Fuck, that feels like years ago now." He shakes his head.

"I'm tired too, we can sleep. I'm sure my body will heal better if I sleep. If you didn't know, I am in rough shape." She tries to joke.

"Trust me, I know." He chuckles, picking up his phone as it vibrates, smiling as he sees the text from Rebecca on the screen. "Rebecca will be here in a few hours, she's just getting to the airport to catch a flight."