"The greatest honor of all as your guardian."

[hotbrassdance]

Who: Julie Fitzpatrick, Euan Fitzpatrick and Noah Cameron
What: Family matters
Where: Mount Sinai, NYC
When: Sunday evening

When the news came that Noah had woken and had been conversing, it came as just as much relief to Julie as when Euan had woken after being shot. Like any mother who valued their family, she had spent months with her heart in her throat terrified Noah would die. It had been a difficult few months of juggling life so they could frequently be here for Noah. One thing no one could accuse them of was not having a solid family foundation. The things they had been through and overcome, she was so proud of them all.

That night, both Euan and Julie had a day off. Ciaran was down with a cold, so April was home home sitting him. Euan and Julie came to visit Noah, and brought Caley with them. Noah had been asking about her. It was going to be a hard thing for Noah to face, because he had been unconscious of three months of her six month old life. She had been a tiny bundle last time he had seen her. When they got there, Julie went straight over to him and gave him a hug, being gentle as she possibly could be, despite wanting to smoosh him, hold him, and not let go in case he slipped away again.

"Oh, it's so good to see your eyes, my darling. We've missed you." She kissed his head and cheek, brushing his hair down softly with her fingers.

Comments

[lovesguinness]

It had been a difficult few months on the family. They had two young kids, and an older in a serious condition in hospital. One was just a baby, and they both worked. Julie was technically still on maternity leave, though she had consulted on a couple of cases still open that she left behind. Euan found himself battling fatigue frequently, a result of his cancer battle the year before. At the moment, that was just a given. Even if he initially hated taking a desk job, although it was one of significant power and status, once Noah was hurt, it became a godsend (not that he fucking believed in god).

Noah was feeling a little more lucid now, and the doctor's reports to Euan had been positive. Noah didn't seem to have lasting cognitive damage, but time would tell if anything physical came to light. His HIV was completely controlled, and having been in hospital on extensive treatment, the viral load had reduced significantly. But the kid wanted to talk to them, which was understandable, all things considered. Euan was pushing Caley in the stroller, and the bairn was bundled up to keep her warm from the winter chill. It was touching for him to see his beautiful missus greeting Noah. It felt like things were on the up and up for the first time in a long time. He went over and ruffled Noah's hair. "How's it goin', buddy? How ya' feelin'?"

[maybethatsalie]

"Hey," Noah greeted them, and managed a smile. "Feeling real tired. They said it's the pneumonia making it hard." He was getting treatment for it, but even if he had come around, he still mostly just slept. He had no idea of the day or the time of day. He wasn't eating, so meals couldn't even mark that for him. A physical therapist came and did stretches with his legs to start trying to strengthen them again with aims to get him up. The nurses came and went taking obs, but mostly, all Noah felt was tired and sick. It gave him a lot of time to think about that pile of papers Euan left with him.

He spotted the stroller, but from where he was sitting up in the bed to keep his chest clear, he couldn't see Caley. "You brought her? I can't wait to see her. She's got to be grown so much." He did want to talk to Euan and Julie about everything. Perhaps one thing in particular above all else. "I... I wanna talk to y'all about the papers."

[hotbrassdance]

Julie was still stroking his hair, looking him over closely. It was the first she had seen him awake in months. She had been here since he had come-to, but he had been sleeping each time. She and Euan had spoken extensively, on and off, about the prospect of legally adopting Noah. At first, it hadn't really needed to be on the cards. They never really expected Noah to stick around once Euan helped clean him up, but he had become part of their family. It was after Caley was born that Julie suggested it. She had already legally adopted Ciaran, and ever since Noah had become part of their family, she saw him as one of their own. This was just like putting into place what was meant to be. If Noah wanted it. "Takes more work for you to breathe, sweetheart. But you've also been unconscious for a long time. It'll zap your energy trying to function at first."

He smiled and went to scoop their baby daughter out of the stroller and taking her little coat off her. She sat back down beside Noah, close so he could see Caley. "As soon as they have you unattached from some of these wires and tubes, sweetie, you can cuddle her as much as you like. You see this, baby girl? This is your other big brother." Caley was beautiful, and loved to smile and giggle. She gave Julie a drooly smile. "That's okay. It's important we talk about them. We can talk as much as you need."

[lovesguinness]

When Caley had been born, things had felt settled and right with their family. It felt like shit finally settled the fuck down and was giving them a break. Ciaran had been well, their baby daughter born health and perfect, Euan was still in remission, Julie's lifelong dream to have a baby herself happened without a hitch despite fearing all along she could lose the pregnancy, and Noah was thriving after getting his GED and Lewis taking him on as an apprentice in the industry he had only dreamed he could work in. Then it all went fucking horrible wrong when Clint was calling him saying he dragged Noah out of a drug den, unconscious and on death's door with what seemed to be an overdose. Noah had been fighting for his life on life support ever since. It had been months. They really thought he was gone, but Euan wouldn't let them pull the plug. He couldn't give up on the kid, not after everything.

It was fucking touching for him to see Julie sitting there with Caley, letting Noah see her and be able to at least touch her a little, even if he was too hooked up to shit to be able to hold her. She was a wriggler, always had been. They wouldn't risk her ripping anything out of him. He pulled up a seat so they could talk. He wasn't honestly sure at this point if it was what Noah wanted. He knew when he told him, it was a bolt out of the blue he hadn't seen coming. He had also been sick for months, so processing anything was difficult. "What's up, kiddo? Ya' know ya' talk t'us 'bout anythin'. Any o'this. Whatever ya' need."

[maybethatsalie]

Noah touched Caley's little head. Her red hair that matched Julie's had gotten longer, and she had big bright eyes. She really had grown, and he was lost for words seeing her again. She had been this smallest little bundle in the last memory he had of her, barely weeks old. She was smiling at him, and when she closed her eyes at his touch, he could see she had long eyelashes too. Euan was going to be murdered guys - or girls - with his own hands if they tried to get to her with bad intentions when she got older. He protected his children with his life. "She's so beautiful. Feel like I missed so much. I can't remember what happened," he mumbled, and was trying not to get upset by it. It was hard to learn you nearly died, wake up seeing a baby that was a newborn before having grown this much. He was overwhelmed and confused.

His chest was hurting with the pneumonia. This wasn't the first time he had it, so he knew how ill it made you. He was on constant breathing support and was being given steroids to try to heal his lungs, but they said it wouldn't be an overnight fix. "I just... just... um... i-is all this, with the adoption... because I was dying? Is that the only reason y'all want to do it?" It was one of the hardest questions he ever had to ask in his life, and the potential answers terrified him, because being alone, homeless, and drug addicted were all memories never far away in his mind. They saved his life more than once. He knew that. He was scared of losing them. They were his family. More of a family than his own had ever been to him.

[hotbrassdance]

Julie softly brushed Noah's hair down. "It's okay, sweetie. No one is pushing you to remember. Don't think on that just now. You don't need to be getting upset." She could see it was distressing him, and that was the last thing they wanted. They were here to try to help him get better, not worse. It was all still far too soon, and he was recovering. It was going to take time. The doctors had specifically said neurological issues could come to life because of the severity of the overdose. It was a miracle Noah's heart was still beating by the time Clint got to him. He had a cardiac arrest in the ambulance, so his life had been hanging by a thread. Without getting completely emotional and losing it here, she was so relieved he was awake. She wanted to take him home, tuck him into bed, feed him soup, and make sure he was warm enough. She couldn't help it. Her maternal instinct was fierce.

She glanced at Euan, because it was better coming from him. Euan was instrumental is rescuing Noah way back when, when he was skinny as a rate, malnourished, ill without treatment, homeless, severely addicted to drugs. Julie just jumped in as his partner in crime, just like she had done with Ciaran. To her, it was no different. Noah's question was fair, and it wasn't a surprise this was where his mind went. He wasn't privy to the discussions Euan and Julie had about this, or been there for the many sleepless night Euan had trying to figure out how to save this kid's life.

[lovesguinness]

Euan sat forward and picked the papers up, flipping to the back page. He handed them to Noah. "Have a wee look for ya'self, buddy. These were drawn up back in August, before any o'this shit when down w'ya'. We were gonna give 'em to ya' f'Christmas, so we got the ball rollin' real early so it was all in place. But it wasn't meant t'be. Kid, I don't expect ya' t'know what happened t'ya'. Not even close. Sure, it'd make tryin' t'understand it easier if ya' did, but ya' tox screen had some real hard shit in ya' bloodstream. Like, lethal levels o'it. It was only f'Clint bein' in the right place at the right time that got ya' out with a fightin' chance. Ya' shouldn't be here. All along, they were contemplatin' whether it was most kind t'switch ya' off, but I couldn't do it..." he told him, shaking his head.

"Same as I wouldn't flick the switch on Ciaran, or Jules, or anyone as long as there was a fightin' chance. And there was. Ya' kept goin', hanging on by a thread right through. Then ya' started t'turn a corner. Ya' vitals picked up a wee bit, and it gave us hope ya' might waken. And ya' did. But I can't promise ya' ain't still gonna have a fuckin' fight on ya' hands. 'Cause ya' will. If ya' were out doin' the shit on ya' own accord, ya' gonna have that battle o'stayin' clean on ya' all o'er again. And even if ya' weren't, ya' been out for a damn long time, and the drugs'll have fucked ya' up. Ya' gonna need time t'recover, and wait out if there are any longer-term shit ya' gonna have t'face. No matter what it is, I want ya' fightin' as our son. Just like ya' been ever since ya' came into our family. This ain't because ya' been sick. It's because we're not gonna give up on ya' whether ya' sick or healthy. Doesn't fuckin' matter. Family's family," he resolved, making sure he gave Noah enough dots to keep connecting here, to understand and not just think this was an act of charity because they felt sorry for him.