Caged By Him

Chapter 78

Aurora's POV:

Tristan and I are asleep as he wraps his arms around me, tugging me close against him, my back to his chest.

Suddenly, we're both woken up with Eric's loud cries. I haven't slept in weeks with his constant crying.

"I'll get him." Tristan's sleepy voice hums next to me, placing his hand on mine as I was just about to get up. To be fair, Tristan has been working after hours a lot lately. He's rarely ever free and I can tell he's pretty tired. Even though, I'm tired too. I prefer to let Tristan sleep. I don't mind.

"No, it's okay. You can go back to sleep." I tell him, stripping out of the sheets.

"Are you sure?" He says in a deep voice, running his hand through his hair.

"Yes. I'm up anyways." I mutter getting out of bed. He nods with closed eyes before he slumps back on the bed, exhausted.

I yawn, rubbing my eyes as I walk over towards the chair to grab my robe. I walk over to Eric's crib and pull him to my embrace, watching his face red with tears.

"Shh, come here, baby." I coo, picking him up an letting out a grunt in the process. He's getting so heavy. I support his little head as he thrashes around with his little legs.

"Let's go downstairs, huh? We don't want to wake your dad." I whisper, looking back at Tristan who is fast to sleep.

I hold Eric against me as he stirs, still crying in my hold. I pat his back as he fists his small hands on my neck. I hate it when he cries. It breaks my heart because I have no idea what he needs or what's wrong with him. It could be anything but I wouldn't know.

"Shhh, it's okayyy." I rock him up and down in my hold, trying to get him to calm down.

I walk with him downstairs, still rocking him in my hold. I go into one of the living rooms and turn the lights on to the garden outside.

"Look over there. Look at the lights." I say as he places both his little hands on the balcony glass. My eyes go over his little face, drenched with tears as he's distracted by the garden lights. He sniffles, quieting down for a moment then bursting into tears again, louder than he has before.

I try to quiet him down, walking with him into the kitchen to get him something to eat. He started eating food a few months ago but I'm still breastfeeding him cause the doctor recommended it.

I grab his favourite snack but he just kicks at my hand to keep me away. I try breastfeeding him but he resists. He just continues his loud crying while I attempt to calm him down.

What is wrong with him?

Feeling overwhelmed and worried, I take him upstairs back into the bedroom so I can tell Tristan. Because I'm scared and he'll know what to do.

"Tristan." I call out for him, nudging his arm lightly but he doesn't respond despite's Eric's crying. "Tristan."

"What's wrong?" He says in a deep sleepy voice, pushing his hand through his hair.

"It's Eric. I think he's sick." I tell him with a nervous tone as Eric thrashes violently in my arms.

"What?" He panics, jumping out of bed and pulling me closer.

"He's irritated and he has a fever." I tell him with a scared tone.

"Give him to me." He tells me and I hand him over to him. Eric reaches out for Tristan and wraps his little arms around his neck. Tristan attempts to calm him down, holding him against his chest.

I think I'm going to cry. It's breaking my heart seeing him in pain, I've never seen him like this. He won't stop crying and I tried everything I usually do to get him to sleep. It's so late at night and I don't know what we're going to do.

I sniffle at the sight of my baby crying in pain, which makes Tristan turn to me with a frown.

"Hey shhh, don't cry." He hums, pulling me closer to him. "He's going to be okay." He tries assuring me, swiping his thumb across my cheek.

"These things happen." He continues calming me down whilst rocking Eric in his arm who seems to have quieted down a bit. "I'll call the doctor." He grabs his phone from the bedside table and starts scrolling through it.

"Yes, Doctor Chambers." He speaks into the phone, walking into the balcony with Eric. I stand there, wiping my tears and waiting for him to get off the phone with the doctor. I really hope she can help us.

He comes back a few minutes later, shining his phone into his pocket. "Did we wake her up?" I ask, rubbing up and down my shoulder.

Tristan shakes his head. "She has a night shift tonight at the hospital. She said she'll meet us in the clinic." He informs me, still rocking Eric I'm his hold

"Now?" I ask, a little taken back to which Tristan nods.

It's almost 4AM in the morning right now, its freezing outside and we're all so tired. But I guess it's the best thing to do.

I quickly dress Eric, making sure he's perfectly warm. I wrap him in a blanket and take him downstairs. As for me, I just put on a warm coat over my pyjamas. I can't be bothered by anything else right now. Tristan throws on a black hoodie with his sweatpants and grabs his keys.

~~~~~~~~~~

Tristan starts the engine as I adjust Eric into his car seat, making sure he's secure. He's a bit quieter now but he's still alert and won't sleep. Also, his temperature is concerning me.

"Come to the front." Tristan orders, waiting for me to sit in the passenger's seat next to him.

"No, it's okay. I think I want to sit with him". I want to keep an eye on Eric till we reach the hospital. He nods and drives away from the driveway.

The entire ride, I kept my eyes on Eric, my thoughts going to the worst places. I don't know what's happening to him. I've always made sure he'd be safe and now I'm wondering if this was something I did or didn't do. These assumptions race through my head the entire ride until we reached the hospital.

~~~~~~~~~~

I stood there, nervously watching the doctor as she examined Eric, who was crying, his chest heaving up and down intensely loud.

"Calm down, he's going to be fine." Tristan tells me, holding my fidgeting hand. I look over to the doctor as she examines Eric, his continuous crying making my chest tighten.

After his examination, Tristan carries him into his arms to get him to stop crying to which he succeeds in minutes.

The doctor turns to us. "Mr and Mrs Black, your baby's teething. That's the pain he's in." She informs us, removing the stethoscope from her ears and placing it around her neck.

"Is he going to be okay." I ask, fumbling with my hands.

"Absolutely. It's totally normal for babies his age. I'm just going to prescribe him these pills. He's to take them orally three times a day. They're dissolvable so you don't have to worry about anything and they're appropriate for his age." She explains as I sigh out in relief. "You did a good thing by bringing him in." She tells me, giving me a comforting smile.

"Thank you, doctor." Tristan tells her as Eric wraps his arms tightly around his dad's neck. The doctor nods and I bury my face into my hands. Oh God, I was so scared. I don't know what's wrong with me. Why I'm so sensitive and why I get worried so easily... But it's Eric, how can I not be?

"Let's go home." Tristan sighs, wrapping his arm around me as we walk out the doctor's office...