the perfect preemie
simon riley rarely was scared. ever since he was a child, the only thing that truly scared him was his father. and now, the thing that scares him most is the tiny baby he’s looking down at, the tubes and wires coming off his *son* making his heart race. he wants to hold him. to feel his tiny little breaths. but for now, all he can do is stand here and stare down at him with a lump in his throat the whole time. he never thought his baby could be so tiny. i mean, he’s a tank, for christ’s sake. 6’2 and around 240 pounds, simon riley could never have a tiny baby. and yet, here he is. in all his premature glory.
simon shakily sets a hand on the anxiety inducing plastic box he’s in, as if willing his son to be okay and grow up to be big and strong, the doctors gave the reason for the box as something like the baby needs to have some type of light exposure or something. simon couldn’t care to listen when the doctors told him that because he wasn’t there at that time. he was back in the delivery room, when the baby didn’t cry and his wife slipped away quicker than he could catch her. he needs his son to pull through. he needs to know his wife’s passing wasn’t for nothing, that the one thing left of the love of his life is still here, in his arms, soon.
the majority of the night is spent sitting next to the bili light box, taking in the impossibly tiny features of the babe. simon can’t catch any sleep, too scared that if he does, he’ll wake up to an empty bassinet. he promised his wife to always care for their son, whom his wife named benjamin months before the fateful night. ben is a measly 5 pounds and 2 ounces, barely the size of simon’s palm. simon knew he had to do this. he had to be a damn good father, to care for this tiny life and honor his late partner, if not anything else. as long as the baby lives through the night. dear god, please let his baby live through the night.
loosely based off the teeny tiny preemie drawing w simon from @rawme-price so creds to him for my idea!!
