Closer

103.

The next morning, Brett woke up in his chair to the sound of a knock on the door. He quickly sat up and rubbed his eyes, trying to be half awake. His eyes quickly went through the room, finding Eddy with Elise in his arms by the window, and a moment later the door was opened.

"Good morning!" a new nurse they hadn't seen before said with a big smile. "Brett Yang and Eddy Chen, right?"

Brett nodded sleepily, taking his glasses off to rub his eyes properly. His back was sore from being asleep in the chair, but at least he had eventually gotten some sleep.

"Any news from the paternity test?" Eddy asked quietly, looking down at his daughter. In his mind, he begged for her to be Brett's. There was no way he could give her up now, and it would make everything so much easier.

"Oh, yes! The papers from the lab were delivered just before I got here! Let me go get them for you," she said with a bright smile, and Brett felt the nerves kick in for real. Did he want to know? Maybe it would be best if he just assumed she was his without knowing?

"God, what do I do if she isn't mine?" Brett asked himself out loud, putting his head in his hands. Eddy took three long steps over to him and placing a hand on his shoulder while making sure Elise rested securely on his other arm.

"I can't decide what you want to do, but..." Eddy began, having to swallow hard to keep tears from overwhelming him. "But I can't give her up, Brett. There's just no way."

Brett looked up at him with the perfect little baby girl on his arm, and it made sense to him that of course they weren't going to leave her behind anyway. Not if the system would let them, anyway.

The nurse came back in and handed Brett an envelope before excusing herself to run off to a mother who had rang for her. Brett stared at the envelope for a moment, feeling sick and nervous. Eddy squeezed his shoulder gently.

"Let's figure this out so we can move on," Eddy said quietly, and Brett took a deep breath before nodding.

"Yeah," he exhaled and got the envelope open, pulling out a bunch of papers that were stapled together. Brett couldn't see what it said as tears blurred his vision, but he still tried to flip through them to find the information.

"I... I can't see where... Where does it say?" he sniffled, trying to wipe his tears. Eddy leaned down and kissed the top of Brett's head carefully.

"Give it to me, I'll see for you," he whispered shakily, and Brett was quick to hand him the document. Eddy flipped it back to the page where the conclusion was. He had to clear his throat before reading aloud.

"Based on our analysis, it is practically proven that Mr. Brett Yang is the biological father of the
child," Eddy read in a shaky voice, getting choked up at the end of the sentence. Brett let a sob escape before standing up and giving Eddy a side hug and a kiss.

"Oh my god, she... She is mine..." he whispered, wiping his tears with shaky hands. Eddy nodded, feeling the tears press on.

"Wanna hold her now?" Eddy asked as a shaky whisper, and Brett couldn't do anything but nod.

Carefully, Eddy moved the little girl into her baba's arms, and Brett sobbed again one she was completely secure in his arms.
"Oh babygirl, I'm so sorry I... I shouldn't have hesitated, I..." he whispered between sobs and sniffles to the little girl who didn't understand a word of what he was saying, only that she was now being held by someone else. "I'm so sorry. Of course you're mine."

Eddy snuck his arm around Brett's waist and rested his head on his shoulder to be close to his little family and get a view.
"She won't remember, Brett. It's okay," he whispered, kissing his cheek softly. "It's okay, Bretty."

"I love you," Brett croaked, reaching over to stroke her cheek with one finger. Then he turned to look at Eddy. "Both of you."

"We love you too," Eddy mumbled, pulling them closer.