Little Surprise

Chapter Four- 2 More for the Show

      Birkhoff found himself standing in the makeshift nursery in a fog.  He held Avi in his arms, just nervously glancing around the room.  He knew nothing about babies- he had never been around them.  There were barely any lasting relationships to speak of in his life- much less the talk or preparation for a baby.  His mind suddenly jumped to Sonya.  It was the longest relationship that Birkhoff had ever had- and now he would have to find out how she would respond to the fact that he had a baby.

                Avi’s sudden cry brought Birkhoff back to reality.  Walking to a small fridge, he pulled out a bottle filled with water, and then carefully put formula into it as Ella had shown him.  He shook the bottle as he walked to the rocking chair and sat down.  Avi took the bottle very willingly and gave Birkhoff a grateful look with her tiny eyes.  Carefully he rocked with Avi in his arms as she took the bottle hungrily.

                The big question was how Birkhoff could handle being a father.  When they had given him the baby, Birkhoff had felt an even strong bond to her- something in his heart changed once he knew she was unquestionably his.  Immediately he felt an incredible love for her and wanted nothing more than to protect her.  He was sure those were very fatherly feelings, but it was still very strange to him.  Ella had spent an hour working with him- showing him how to feed her, prepare her bottles, how to change and swaddle her. All the things that the baby’s mother would have been showing him how to do.  It was strange to him since he had never gotten the nine months or so to prepare for the fact that he was going to be a father.  One day he was not a father (that he knew of) and the next day he was a single-father.  It was mind boggling to him and completely scary.  He was now in charge of this little person and raising her to be a functional human being and member of society- something he couldn’t eve claim to be himself.

                After a little while rocking Avi as she took the bottle, he looked down and realized that Avi had fallen asleep after finishing her bottle.  Putting the bottle down on a table beside the rocking chair, Birkhoff wiped her mouth and burped her, then placed her into the crib that the women had set up.  Then seeing the baby monitor on the dresser table, Birkhoff turned it on and put the monitor in his pocket.  For the most part he was going on instinct for now.  After he made sure that Avi was settled and still asleep, Birkhoff headed back towards Operations.

                “So are you planning to have the baby?  You are, right?” Sean nervously asked Alex.

                Wringing her hands, as nervous as she was, that answer was easier than she had imagined.  “Of course.” She replied, “I couldn’t do anything else.”

                “This is amazing.” Sean excitedly commented.

                Alex grinned.  “I take it you are excited to be a father?”

                Nodding, Sean replied, “I love my nieces and to have one of my own is going to be exciting.”

                “And with me?” Alex questioned.

                Sean just smiled in reply.  “There is no one I would rather it be with.”

                Alex rubbed her belly, still flat at this point, and then asked Sean, “Do you think we’ll have a boy or a girl?”

                Shrugging, Sean replied, “I’m not sure.”

                “Let me rephrase then.” Alex immediately responded, “Do you rather have a girl or a boy?”