#august floyd

[cabinetsart]

OC Refs in prep for Art Fight!

[jungle-angel]

Protector (Breath of Life Part 4)

Summary: No matter what, fathers will always be there for their sons

Notes: Might have references and touches of “Nightmare”, a shortfic I wrote about two months ago. Anywho....enjoy

Beep, beep......the tiny heart monitor blipped away

“August,” Bob murmured as he stroked the dark blonde tufts of hair on your son’s hair, sniffing back the tears that dripped from his eyes. “Hold on.....just a little while longer.....hold on for me and Mama.”

Beep, beep.......fainter than before.

Bob’s lips gently brushed the crown of August’s head, his chest growing tight as the beep of August’s heart monitor grew fainter.......until......

Bob could hear himself frantically crying out for Auggie, the baby’s tiny cries tearing and clawing at his heart, unable to do anything for him. He was practically screaming August’s name until his throat was hoarse. 

“AUGGIE!!!! AUGGIE!!!”  

He couldn’t see him, not in that hazy, red and black nightmarish void. Bob kept calling his son’s name, but to no avail.

The flatline reached his ears, loud and shrill........

“NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!”

Bob snapped awake with a loud gasp, his heart racing at a dangerous pace and an awful, freezing sweat running down the back of his neck as he ran his shaky hands through his hair. A few tears dripped from his eyes, his lower lip and chin trembling, unable to keep the shuddering sob inside. 

He hardly heard the tiny cries coming from Auggie’s crib at the foot of the bed until he snapped out of it and realized his and (y/n)’s son was there......and alive. 

Bob threw aside the bedcovers and made his way to the crib, sticking his glasses right on the bridge of his nose to see better in the dark. He stripped off his yellow-orange shirt and carefully lifted Auggie out of his crib, bringing him to his chest the way (y/n) had showed him how. God Bob wished she didn’t have to go and get the others at the airport. He hated sleeping without her.

“Shhhhh, Auggie......Auggie it’s ok,” Bob croaked, more tears dripping from his eyes as he tried to rock his tiny son back to sleep. “It’s ok.....Daddy’s here, Daddy’s got you.” 

Bob still felt the tightness of his panic, needing to get outside and get some fresh air. Out to the back porch he went, carefully seating himself in the porch rocker with a blanket wrapped tight around Auggie. The ocean roared in the distance, crashing onto the shores while a warm breeze blew in from the west. Every time Bob looked up at the stars, he counted down the hours when the rest of Dagger Squad would be home from Bethesda and when (y/n) would be bringing them back from the airport. 

He wanted so badly to just shake off the nightmare, but the intensity had shaken him to his core. He and (y/n) had almost lost Auggie, the fear of the moment still lingering on his mind like a disease. 

The storm door to the porch creaked open just a minute later as Joe graced his son with his presence and a freshly rolled joint hanging loosely from his pencil thin lips. “Hey Dracula,” Joe greeted. “What are you doing up? It’s the Witching Hour.” 

Joe took one look at his son’s face, quickly noticing the thousand-yard stare that had entered Bob’s eyes. “Bobby?” he said. “Robby talk to me, what’s going on?” 

“I.......I can’t I.......I don’t know how.....” 

Joe tucked the joint behind his ear and knelt right next to the porch rocker. “Bob, people only go quiet like that when something’s on their minds. I’m not gonna leave you alone till you tell me what’s wrong.” 

Bob shifted a little, his arms still protectively encircled around Auggie. “We almost lost Auggie once,” Bob explained, trying to hold back his tears. “I don’t wanna lose him Dad.....I’m terrified we’re gonna lose him if something goes wrong.” 

“Hey, hey,” Joe said, snaking his arm around Bob’s shoulders. “I get it. After your Mom died I swore I’d lay down my life for you if I needed to. When I heard your name called at the Top Gun graduation, all I could think was, ‘Irene, I’d lay down my life for Bob, but for God’s sake don’t let it come to that. Every time you and the rest of the squad go on a mission I can’t help but think that.”

Bob knew his father better than anybody. It took serious balls for someone like Joe to admit that. 

“Auggie will be fine,” Joe promised him. “His Mimi’s lookin out for him....I know that much.” 

Bob wiped away a few stray tears from his eyes. “Thanks Dad.” 

“No problem Robby,” Joe answered. “You know, I was gonna smoke this but it can wait till after sunrise.” 

“Can you do me one favor though?” Bob asked. “Can you hold Auggie for a minute or two? (y/n) said she’d text me when Rooster, Hangman and the others get in.”

“Sure, pass him off.” 

Bob carefully lifted August and placed him in Joe’s hands before going back into the house. Joe couldn’t help but laugh a little, his grandson practically disappearing in the crook of his arms.

“We’ve gotcha little man,” he whispered. “Your Daddy, your mom and Papa.”