The Other Branning ~ Eastenders

By her bedside

Joey sat with Grace in the hospital, day and night. He loved her an enormous amount, praying everyday that she would wake up and smile. All she did was cry, in shock, in anger, in pain. Joey hadn't been able to bring Aria to see her Mummy in over a week. He was struggling cope.

After Grace had escaped the clutches of the cellar thanks to Denise, she had gone into early labour from the shock. The baby was in intensive care, almost a week old and underdeveloped; neither it's Mum or Dad had been to see it.

"How's she doing?" Jack popped his head round the door of Grace's hospital room, holding JJ, with Johnny in tow.

"Aria's crying out for her Mummy every night. I don't know what else I can do." Aria had been growing up immensely since it had all happened. She sat on Johnny's shoulders giggling, now just over ten months old. "Look mate, I know it's scary. It was when Ari was born. But spare a thought for your little one, Grace will be well looked after by her Dad. Go up and meet your baby." Johnny urged him.

Joey shook his head. "No. No, I can't leave her. I love her."

"And she'll love you if you look after her babies. That little one is a part of you, you don't know if he'll survive through this. He's severely underdeveloped but the Doctors are doing all they can. If Grace never gets to meet the baby, Joey, she's going to need you to have memories of it to tell her." Jack pleaded with his nephew. "I almost didn't live to see my JJ. You'll regret it if you don't put the effort in."

"You won't leave Grace's side?" Joey made his Uncle promise.

"She's my baby girl. Of course I won't. Now please, go and see your son." He promised. Joey gently kissed Grace's hand, placing it on her belly. "I don't think she even knows she's had him." Jack sighed. His daughter was a mess, they were unsure how long it would take Grace to get over this. She was mentally unstable.

Joey took Aria from Johnny's arms, wrapping his strong arms around her tiny body, cuddling her close. "Let's go and meet your baby bro." He whispered in her ear. "Alright if I take her with me?" Joey turned to Johnny.

"Hey, she's your daughter too." Johnny smiled back. Leaving the room, Joey took a deep breath. He had wanted to have this moment with Grace. Jack and Johnny had reminded him that he needed to shift his focus, only a little. He may only get one chance to meet his own baby boy.

Joey paced upstairs to the neonatal ward, where a Nurse showed him through to meet his boy. "Look, Ari. That's my boy, your brother." As soon as he laid eyes on his son, tears fell from his eyes. He was perfect. Everything he could've wished for.

"Is this your daughter?" The Nurse sweetly asked Joey.

He nodded. "This is Aria, my eldest, and her baby brother." He announced, like the proudest Dad in the world. "Why does his name tag say Louie? That's not my boys name." Joey asked, confused.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, we just didn't like calling him 'the baby' or 'the boy', so we gave him a temporary name. If you don't like it, you don't have to keep it. Again, I'm sorry, it was unprofessional." She apologised over again.

"No, it's fine. I'd just like it changed to his actual name."

"Of course. What is his name?"

Joey smiled, it was a bittersweet moment, "Grace and I decided, before this all happened with her mental health, that we would call him Rupert. Rupert Joseph Branning."

"It's lovely. Traditional."

"Say what you want, Grace thought it was cute. She called him her little bear, and Rupert seemed the perfect fit." Joey explained. "And you are just a picture perfect little Rupert. Daddy's little soldier, aren't you, my boy? Now I've got my Queen, my Princess and my little Bear Cub. We just need our Queen to get better, then we'll be a perfect fit again."

"Would you like me to get a picture of the three of you?"

"Erm, yeah. It doesn't seem right without Grace. But here," he handed over his phone. He posed with a slight smile. "How's he doing, Nurse? Will Rupert even make it through the night?" Now Joey had seen his son, he was desperate for answers. Grace needed to meet Rupert.

The Nurse tried to smile positively, "he has an infection and he can't breathe properly on his own yet. But we are hopeful that in a few weeks he'll be able to breath. Rupert has hip dysplasia, which means his hips didn't fully develop in the womb. He'll have to wear a full cast on the bottom half of his body for up to sixteen weeks, however it could be as little as twelve. We're hoping Rupert's infection will clear up within a couple of days." She explained to Joey.

"I can deal with that. No need to worry Grace. What are his chances of survival?"

"There's a thirty percent chance that Rupert won't make it through the night. But seventy percent is good odds, we have every hope that Rupert will pull through this. He has grown stronger every day he's been on the ward. Apart from the infection, Rupert's chances of survival have gone up by fifteen percent since he's been here. There's no need to worry, we are looking after him well."

Joey turned to face his baby boy's incubator, "hopefully I'll be able to bring your Mummy up to see you soon, my little cub." He smiled a little, his own son. "I can't wait until he curls his little fingers around my thumb, best feeling in the world when Aria did that for the first time. Or to see him walk, talk, when he cuts his first tooth."