More Than Us (Ianthony)

Chapter 06: Bonding

"Ian... Ian..." Anthony whispered as Ian's eyes slowly fluttered open, squinting at first, but soon adjusting to the lighting of the small emergency exam room. "Hey baby!" Anthony exclaimed, kissing Ian's forhead. Although he was extremely confused, Ian's lips curled into a small smile from Anthony's small gesture. "How are you feeling?" Anthony asked, brushing Ian's bangs out of his dazed eyes.

"Nauseous, confused, and I also have a headache." Ian replied, his voice hoarse. He lifted his hand up to massage his aching head, but jumped slightly when he felt something brush against his forearm. He quickly adverted his eyes to where he felt the tickling contact and sighed a breath of relief when he realized that it was just a clear tube leading to his right hand and not a large, fuzzy spider. That was also the moment that Ian realized that he was in the hospital, connected to an IV line, a heart monitor, an oxygen meter, and some other weird monitor that was wrapped around his stomach. He also noticed the quiet sound of the baby's heart beat echoing through the small room, which made him feel a little happier despite how confused he was.

"I'll go get a nurse here in a second, but I think that it would be best that I caught you up first since the doctor said that you probably wouldn't remember what happened." Ian wanted to reply, but his head was pounding too much for him to even think of a proper response. Anthony picked up on what was going on and took his right hand away from the grip he had Ian's left hand. He then placed it on his husband's forehead, rubbing it in small and gentle circles. Ian closed his eyes and sighed at the contact, relaxing into his husband's touch. "Just relax, baby." Ian groaned in relaxation before replying.

"Tell me what happened." He whispered. "The last thing I remember is calling for you because I felt really dizzy." Anthony let out a breathy sigh.

"Okay then. I guess I'll start there. After you called for me, you sat down at one of the picnic tables and blacked out. Your eyes then rolled into the back of your head and you fell off of the seat, but I caught you before you could hit your head or something. After that, your whole body tensed up and started to shake violently. In other words, you were having a seizure. Thank God that Joven was there, because I was panicking and had no idea what was going on. I was more than sure that I was watching the death of my pregnant husband. Once you stopped shaking, you started to foam out of the mouth. That scared me even more, but Joven assured me that everything was okay... Even though he was unsure himself. We got you to the hospital as quickly as we could. The doctors performed so many tests on you and it was so hard for me to sit here and watch them poke and prod you like you were a lab rat, but I knew they were taking good care of you and the baby. About two hours later, they told me that you had listeria poisoning and that the reason you had a seizure was because the infection had made it into your nervous system. This is also why you've been getting migraines. They're not sure how you were poisoned, but they said it probably had something to do with your raw carrot and ranch dressing craving that I told them about." Ian still had his eyes closed and was still enjoying Anthony's forehead massage, but had listened to everything Anthony had said.

"Why carrots? I've eaten them raw my whole life and they've never done anything before." Anthony chuckled.

"Pregnant men and women are more susceptible to things like listeria poisoning. They said you shouldn't be eating anything raw period." Ian groaned lightly.

"But... Carrots and ranch..." He whined.

"You can still eat them, the carrots just have to be cooked from now on." Ian shook his head.

"It's not the same..." Anthony laughed and took his hand away from Ian's forehead, placing a kiss on it as he got up from his chair.

"I'm going to go and get a nurse so they can check on you and get you something for your achy head. I'll be back soon." Ian nodded, and watched Anthony leave his curtain-separated room. He returned shortly followed by a young, stereotypical female doctor.

"Hello, Mr. Padilla. How are we feeling?" Ian smiled at her as much as he could with a pounding head.

"I have a really bad migraine and some nausea, but other than that, I'm fine." The doctor nodded.

"I'm going to double check the health of you and the baby and then we will get you some medication for your headache and nausea. Sound good?" Ian nodded.

"Yes. That sounds great." Anthony watched closely as the doctor examined Ian from head to toe. He could see that Ian's headache was really starting to get to him and wanted to massage his forehead for him a little more, but didn't want to interrupt the doctors examination. After she was done with Ian, she then went over to the tower of monitors next to his bed and looked at them all, slightly nodding after she checked each one.

"Okay Ian. You and the baby both seem to be doing great, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to hospitalize you for a couple of days. Listeria usually clears up on it's own and doesn't need treatment in healthy people, but it is dangerous for people who are pregnant or already sick. In pregnancy, it can lead to serious birth defects and even a miscarriage in some extreme cases if not treated. I wouldn't worry, though. I'm admitting you so you can get a heavy amount of antibiotics to fight off the infection. You wouldn't be able to get the large amount you need with just a normal prescription, so this is why. We also would like to observe you a little longer just to be safe." Ian didn't really like the idea of having to stay in the hospital, but he would do anything for the baby.

"Okay." He replied.

"Excellent. I'll get you some medication for you headache and nausea and send you up to a room here in about an hour." Anthony shook the young woman's hand.

"Thank you, doctor." He said to her as she walked out of the room. That night, Ian was already feeling better and even requested for Anthony to run out to McDonald's and get him a twenty piece chicken McNugget meal, a pickle, and an ice cream sundae. Anthony thought the request was odd, but figured it was just some weird cravings. Whatever the case, Anthony agreed. He got Ian everything that he wanted and even managed to pick himself up some teriyaki noodles from a random noodle place. They both ate together and watched a movie on the TV. As soon as they were finished eating, Ian fall asleep. Having no one to talk to, Anthony tired to get some rest as well. He also knew that their parents, friends, and crew would be there to visit as early as possible tomorrow and that he should be as rested as possible for them; but he just couldn't sleep. He just laid there on his fold out chair-bed and stared up at the ceiling, listening to their baby's heartbeat come through the monitor. It was such an unbelievable sound for Anthony to listen to. Anthony pulled back the blankets and raised up from his bed, standing up and walking over to his husband. Anthony then knelled down closely to Ian's pudgy stomach and placed his hands on it, being careful not to hit the monitor. He then began to talk to Ian's stomach. Anthony didn't know why he felt the need to do so, but he did it anyway.

"Hey there, sweetie." He whispered. "I know you're like the size of a prune right now and that you probably don't even have ears yet, but I just wanted to let you know that I'm so excited to watch you grow within daddy's tummy over the next few months. I'm also excited to figure out if you're going to be a girl or a boy. Daddy says he wants a girl, but if he were honest with himself, he'd say he wanted a boy. I really don't care what you are. As long as you're born healthy, Daddy Ant will be thrilled with your arrival." Unbeknownst to Anthony, Ian had been awoken and had been listening to Anthony speak to their child the whole time. He still pretended to be asleep, though. He didn't want to ruin the special moment between Anthony and his unborn child. "You know, I was really scared that me and Daddy were going to loose you after Daddy got sick recently. We have waited a long time for you and it's a scary thought to think that we might loose you. It's especially hard for Daddy Ian. He has been wanting for you ever since we lost your brother/sister five years back and has went through so much just to get to this point. We are so excited to finally have you, little one... Even though you're still the size of prune and have no ears yet; but that doesn't matter. Daddy and I still love you, ears or not." Anthony placed a kiss on Ian's stomach and caressed it gently. "Goodnight, baby. Daddy and I loves you." With that, Anthony laid back down on his chair-bed and cuddled into his covers, being able to fall asleep in no time. Ian was now the one who lie awake in bed, crying tears of happiness as he replayed Anthony's words to the baby over and over in his head. He had just witnessed Anthony's first true bonding moment with their unborn child and it was nothing short of amazing and emotional. If Anthony was this cute and sappy at 10 weeks, Ian could only imagine how Anthony would act when Ian was further along.