#| sidekick

[walkwithkings]

….What‘s your favourite place?

I used to think places mattered. The truth is, they don’t — Not anymore. Because I don’t have a favourite place. I have favourite people. And wherever they are, that’s where I belong.

To my family — I’ve stood in places most people will never see. Mountains, deserts, war zones, cities on the other side of the world. I’ve watched sunsets over oceans and sunrises from helicopters thousands of feet above the ground. And yet none of those places ever stayed with me. You did. Home was never a house, never a city, never a country. It's a feeling.

It's Kate laughing at one of my terrible jokes while pretending she didn't find it funny. It's Dawn rolling her eyes at both of us because we're acting like children. It's Lily, Jack, and Reece filling a room with so much noise that silence suddenly feels wrong. It's our little girl kicking from inside her mother's belly as if she's already trying to join the conversation. It’s family movie nights. Messy breakfasts. Arguments that somehow end in laughter. It’s the sound of everyone being home.

That’s my favorite place — All of you.

Because I’ve learned something over the years: Home isn’t where you are. Home is who you can’t imagine living without. And every single one of you became my home a long time ago. So if anyone ever asks me where my favorite place is, my answer will always be the same:

….Wherever my family is. That’s where I’ll always want to be. @xcrimescenedonotcrossx

[suicdesqad]

I have to confess, I find these first words incredibly difficult. How do you express in a single sentence how much I love you? How proud I‘m? You are my whole life, my light in the darkness. Five years ago, I was a man who thought he'd experienced everything life had to offer. But then you came into my life. One after the other, you made me feel things that are unbelievably intense. Between loving you endlessly and wanting to strangle you, I've found my purpose in life. Being your father fills me with so much pride that words could never do it justice. Do you know what the best thing about you is? You're more different than ever, yet you complement each other in your own unique way. Even the youngest ones have already integrated into the pack and found their place. You are my life, my pride and joy. The reason I keep fighting every day and feel love and warmth in this dark world. You are my whole world!!! I love you 3000 times over!

[suicdesqad]

Purest form of love.

📸 by @xcrimescenedonotcrossx

[suicdesqad]

Protect what you love.

[suicdesqad]

All my happiness summarized in three pictures. I have to pinch myself daily because I still can't believe I'm not living in a dream. I can't tell you often enough how much I love you and how happy I am to call you my family. You make my life worth living. You are my greatest treasure and my greatest adventure. Thank you for allowing me to experience every day with you. I love you with every fiber of my being. @xcrimescenedonotcrossx

[suicdesqad]

Dawn, wow, where do I start? I am so incredibly proud of you! You do the job of big sister so incredibly well. Every time you look at Lilian, I see this indescribable love in your eyes. It is absolutely heartwarming how much you care for her when she cries. Seeing how much you want to be involved in everything is beyond my imagination. I was so worried that you would feel left behind, but you proved the opposite. I love you little moth!

📸 by @xcrimescenedonotcrossx

[walkwithkings]

𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐘 𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐎 𝐍𝐄𝐄𝐃𝐒 𝐀 𝐒𝐈𝐃𝐄𝐊𝐈𝐂𝐊!

It was July 24, 2024, around 8:00 a.m. — I was in a doctor's office in the middle of New York. Unusual for me, as I should already be at headquarters at this time. Nevertheless, I was here with my fiancée. A young woman called out the last name of my companion, and her voice still echoes through my head today: "Mrs. Beckett Dr. Faser is waiting for you in treatment room 3." As soon as I entered the room, I realized that this moment was completely real. "Then let's see if you'll soon become parents," said the older man as a greeting. I felt these words were inappropriate, but perhaps he wanted to keep the tension as short as possible in order to congratulate us. Could he do that? Congratulate us? I still remember the uncertainty that arose in me when Dr. Faser applied the contact gel to Kate's slightly domed belly. And then it happened, the absolutely unbelievable — your tiny heart was beating and resounding throughout the room. A feeling was brewing in the pit of my stomach that I can hardly describe. I knew this moment from Dawn, but experiencing it again was just incredibly intense. Kate's eyes and mine met and I thought I saw a lake of tears in them. I had never seen so much happiness in her eyes. Until today...

It is now January 2nd, 2025, around 11:30 p.m. We have had a few crazy hours. Sleepless hours... almost 30 hours to be exact. We are tired and exhausted, especially Kate. But she fought to be able to greet you. The sight of you in your mother's arms is a gift. I am even slightly jealous that our physical contact has only consisted of tiny touches so far. You have a very unique smell that I already enjoy and don't want to miss anymore. The barely audible sounds from your thin lips fill me with happiness. I have tried countless times to imagine what you look like and all my ideas were wrong, because you are even more perfect than I previously thought. I can hardly wait to tell Dawn about you and to bring you together... but there's still time, because now the moment as a threesome is what counts. And then suddenly the time had come. The midwife gave the signal that the umbilical cord had finished bleeding and I was able to cut the umbilical cord and hold you in my arms for the first time a few moments later. There you were: 𝐋𝐈𝐋𝐈𝐀𝐍 𝐀𝐔𝐑𝐎𝐑𝐀 𝐅𝐋𝐀𝐆. You burned into my heart and I decided never to let you go again. The scales showed your weight; 𝟑𝟏𝟒𝟎 𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐌𝐒. The measuring tape clung to your tiny body and announced your height; 𝟓𝟑 𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐒 — You are perfect. | @xcrimescenedonotcrossx