More Than Us (Ianthony)

Chapter 16: Another Close Call

"I'm a horrible father... I'm the worst father in the existence of horrible fathers." Anthony muttered, pacing back and forth in Ian's small exam room. Ian let out a low, agitated sigh and laid his head back into the uncomfortable hospital pillows, felling his son kick his stomach like there was no tomorrow.

"No you're not. It was an accident." Anthony stopped pacing for a second and looked over to his husband.

"An accident that could've costed me my child, Ian! It's my job to protect you while you're pregnant and I failed because I wasn't fast enough to catch you when you fell over. Hell, I shouldn't have even let you on that stupid board anyway! Now our son is probably going to die and it's all my fault" Ian let out a quiet sigh and rubbed his forehead a little.

"Did you not read the pamphlet that Dr. Goodin gave you? You're beating yourself up over nothing."

"Of course I read it, but that's why I'm panicking! You fell right on your stomach. The pamphlet said to get immediate medical attention if that occurred. Why would it say that if wasn't something serious?"

"The pamphlet also says that if the mother, or father, to be experiences no pain, discomfort, or contractions, then the baby should be fine. They tell you to seek medical attention just to be sure the baby is okay." Anthony seemed to calm down a little.

"S-So you're not hurting anywhere?"

"No. Well, my back is bothering me and Mason won't stop kicking me, but other than that, I'm fine." Anthony walked over to the chair next to Ian's bed and sat down, appearing to be a lot calmer than what he was a few minutes prior.

"Are you sure you feel okay?"

"Absolutely positive." After than, they both sat in silence, listening to their son's heartbeat on the monitor while Anthony held onto Ian's hand. He gently caressed his knuckles with his thumb and occasionally placed a kiss on them, making Ian smile. Anthony still had a concerned look on his face, but he was defiantly a lot calmer. Minutes later, the doctor came back into Ian's room with his test results. His red blood cell count was a little low, but that had nothing to do with his fall. Other than that, Ian and the baby was perfectly healthy. After the doctor gave Ian a prescription for some iron supplements to help with his low blood, Ian was released with a clean bill of health.

"See honey? I told you that the baby would be fine." Ian said from the passenger seat, reading some info about his iron pills.

"Even though you and Mason are okay, I still can't help but feel like it was my fault that you fell. I should've been there to catch you, but I wasn't." Ian placed his hand on Anthony's shoulder and caressed it gently.

"It was just an accident, Baby. Things happen." Anthony let out a breathy sigh.

"I know. I'm just so scared that we're going to loose him. We've been through so many close calls already and I fear every single day that the worst case scenario will happen and we'll never get to see our little man grow up."

"I'm not going to lie, I'm afraid of the same thing. I'm so scared that I'm going to hurt the baby that I stress about what I eat, what I drink, and what I do. It's like living your life in a constant fear. It sucks, but as long as my baby boy makes it into the world, I don't really care. The best thing we can do right now is to be prepared for anything, but hope for the best." Anthony sighed again, nodding his head to show that he heard what Ian had said. Ian then leaned over the best he could and kissed Anthony's cheek. "I love you." At that, Anthony couldn't help but smile as he replied to his little pregnant hubby.

"I love you too."