Bloom

45. autistic ache

Zayn

Kissing her soft lips, my thumbs brushed over her dimples as she smiled, our noses pressing together. I wiped her golden locks out of her face, her soft brown eyes warming me. She snuggled deeper into the covers, I wrapped my arm around her, my free hand lingering on her growing belly.

"What's your gender, little one?" I mumbled quietly, pressing my lips to her warm stomach. "Are you going to be his little brother? His little sister?" I wondered, cupping Hannah's cheeks after I had stared at the baby bump for a while.

"I wonder.." Hannah trailed off, shrugging a little.

"You wonder what?" I whispered, it was late and Zephaniah was sleeping in his room next to us.

"Do you.. Zeph looks so much like you. Do you think they will look alike? In some ways?" She frowned lightly, shaking her head. "That's a stupid question, maybe."

"No, it's not, babe." Kissing her nose, I kept staring into her eyes, wanting her this close to me all the time. I wasn't sure it'd be good for me, though. Her dimples would only distract me from my work. "Who knows, yeah? Might get my black hair, maybe the green eyes Zeph has. I don't really know where they came from. I really hope it'll get your dimples, though. That would be so cute."

Hannah chuckled, her eyes squinted lightly. "Shut up, old man. You'll only end up poking its cheeks all the time."

"What do you mean by that? It's not like I do that with you all the time either." I grinned, pressing my fingers into her dimples, softly. She laughed a little louder, I pressed my lips to hers to prevent Zephaniah from waking up due to her sound. "I love you."

"I love you too." She answered softly, staring into my eyes. We silently kissed for a few more minutes, the slumber wanting to take over. It did eventually, but before I could let it fully drag me away- Hannah nudged my shoulder.

Rolling onto my back, I sleepily stared at her, wondering why she sat up. My eyes widened, I gulped and sat up right away. "Did your water break?!"

"No." Hannah chuckled, but became serious soon after. "I think it's Zeph?"

"He's seizing?" I panicked, wanting to throw the covers off my body, but Hannah held me back.

"No, I don't think so. Listen." We became quiet, whimpers were heard soon after. I was wondering if he would be awake, it sounded like he was dreaming. "Maybe it's a nightmare. Do you think we should take a look?"

"What would he be dreaming of?" I frowned, stepping out of bed. "Lie down, babe. I'll peek around the corner." Hannah sighed softly, but did what I said and tried to go back to sleep. Her rest was important, the pregnancy was heavier than she expected it to be.

Closing our bedroom door, I opened Zephaniah's one instead, squinting my eyes as I tried to look at him through the darkness his room was engulfed in. "Zeph?" I whispered, crouching down near his face. He was still whimpering, I tried to shake him awake, but once I did, he let out a cry of pain, confusing me.

He whimpered louder, tears leaking out of his eyes. "Hey, Zeph?" I stroked his cheek, wanting him to open his eyes. "Are you okay?"

Cooper pressed his snout against his cheek, softly licking him. He whined a little, softly poking him with his paw. Eventually, he jumped upon Zephaniah's bed and lied down against Zeph, his head resting onto Zephaniah's shoulder. "Zeph?" I repeated, walking over to the light switch, dimming it so he wouldn't hurt his eyes while opening them.

"My stomach-" Zephaniah choked out, whimpering louder. "Dad, my stomach hurts- hurt so badly." He cried silently, only now seeing that he was clutching his stomach, his position curled up to, probably, lessen the pain he was experiencing.