"I can take it if I know I'll see my brother."

[nothingelsematters]

Who: Lorenzo and Clint Chevalier
What: The family grows
Where: NICU, Mount Sinai
When: After this

Lorenzo wouldn't let Lewis take him home after what went down. It didn't matter if he should be on bed rest and taking it easier, nothing would have gotten his ass out of that hospital while his brother and extended family were going through so much. Lewis was understandably worried, but knowing people in high places helped, and Lorenzo retained the hospital room so he could at least be under the same roof as Clint while everything was so precarious. As much as he wanted to be taken straight to Clint to help him, and be there for him, he respected that Lincoln was Clint's husband. Same as Clint had respected that Lewis was Lorenzo's husband when he had been in the worst condition. Lewis said he and Clint spoke a lot, but Clint hadn't tried to stick his nose in on what was Lewis' responsibility. Boundaries were something they were learning now everything had changed, but they were getting there.

This wasn't what anyone would have seen coming. You would never wish complications on any pregnant woman or their baby. It was a hard enough experience as it was, and all you were doing was trying to learn and get it right. But the body could be fragile and things could go wrong. Lewis made sure he had constant updates coming to him so he could keep Lorenzo in the loop like he needed to be. No news had come for a long stretch of time there, but just as Lorenzo had started to feel panicky that the worst was happening, Richie came up and delivered the news the baby had been born safely by emergency c-section, and transferred to the NICU under Nate's care once he was stable.

Like Holly, he was small at birth. Holly only just breached four pounds, but this little button was even smaller, but born earlier than Holly, so that was understandable. Lorenzo cried in relief when he heard that his nephew had at least arrived safely. Though he was critical. He needed a lot of intervention to be able to grow and thrive. He would need help getting his tiny organs to grow and strengthen. But the worst was past. Ange was kept in Recovery for quite a long time, but considering the blood loss she had suffered prior to the birth, and then another large haemorrhage after the birth, it was the best place for her. Richie said that as soon as she was stabled, they would transfer her to the ICU, just over from the NICU. She would be able to see the baby as soon as she could safely be moved.

Lorenzo had to get to Clint. He wasn't going to be able to rest until he could see him. Even if Lewis was a giant ball of stress at the moment, he didn't even try to intercept Lorenzo's twintuition. It was a new thing for him to be experiencing. At least, consciously. So, Richie arranged for a wheelchair to take Lorenzo over to the NICU and once he got there safely, Lewis was going to take Holly home to bathe her and put her to bed. Or probably put her in their bed with him. She had been shaken up with what happened and they had spent the day taking turns nursing her in their arms because she started to scream again every time they put her down. She would probably be okay once she could get a cuddle from her Auntie Angie again.

Gowned up and Richie pretty much drowning him in antibacterial wash, Lorenzo was finally taken in to where Clint was sitting by an incubator. Holy fuck, surreal sight. Richie, baby brother to both of them now, knew they needed twin time alone, even if he was officially an uncle all over again and this time from scratch. As soon as he was at Clint's side, Lorenzo put his hand on Clint's back. "Hey. We've got this, okay? All of us, as a family. You ain't on your own, dude. Fuck, you're a dad. This is incredible."

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[nothingelsematters]

Lorenzo couldn't have quite known how much this would emotionally impact on him too. He and Clint had been partners in crime since, they now knew, pre-birth. They might be as different as chalk and cheese, but they had always been close. This was a day he never thought would happen. Ever. Clint had been one of those people who just had no interest in kids, or procreating. He found pleasure in too many non-child friendly things. That was just how he was. But life had thrown them all so many curve balls, that a lot of things they thought would never change, had changed forever. He had never thought he would see Clint married, either, but Clint found his perfect match and he actually loved being married, because they set their own rules, which is exactly how it should be. Lorenzo knew Clint would protest, but he also knew that he and Lincoln were the only two people on the face of the earth who could push him to do something he was resisting.

He put his hand up to his mouth, seeing Clint nursing his son for the first time. Zephyr was so tiny and fragile, but if anyone could nurture him to strength and health, it was his four parents who adored him. Lorenzo would be right there with Lewis and Holly, offering all the help and support they needed. But this? This was blowing Lorenzo away, especially as soon as he saw Clint's tears, which were something that rarely happened, unless he was facing something out of his control that he couldn't pull strings to fix and make better. He put his hand on Clint's shoulder, giving it a squeeze. "Fuck, he's perfect. I know you don't feel like he is, but he survived, buddy. He got through this. He can get through anything. He's gonna make you feel things you never fucking thought you would feel. He's got the Chevalier eyes."

[privateinvestigations]

For Clint, this moment felt like time stopped. It felt like he was having an outer-body experience. It felt like he couldn't quite breathe properly. Mostly because he had come to hold his breath without realising it. It didn't feel like a baby. He looked like one, just a really fucking tiny one. He had all baby features. Looking him over, holding him he was about to break if he made the merest of movements, Clint took in his son's tiny nose, his little mouth, his ears, his eyes, those tiny eyelashes. He looked at the fingers and that hand that had all the markers of being human, but it wasn't big enough. He was overwhelmed, and there was no control over any of this situation. It was why he was fighting it. He wanted to stay in the denial arena, because he knew how to navigate shit there. This? This was so out of his depth, he was floundering. But Lorenzo wasn't going to let him keep playing an ostrich. He continued to flounder even then, kind of holding the kid like he was highly fragile vase that might explode into a million pieces if he breathed too hard.

It was the eyes that did it. Up to that moment, he hadn't considered the fact the baby had eyes. That would so so fucking stupid if he said it out loud, but it hadn't crossed his mind to check what Lorenzo was pointing out. He hesitated at first but as soon as it was out there, his gaze was drawn there. It was true. Those family eyes, the ones passed on to them via their grandmother. Ironically, had skipped the generation of their father. Their father's eyes had been dark, almost black. Evil eyes, on the fucking vile cunt that he was. They matched his soul. But the blue eyes went on to Lorenzo and Clint both. Richie, too, and Renz had passed them to Holly. Now it seemed Clint had passed them to his son. His thumb brushed the baby's cheek. "I've got no fucking clue what I'm supposed to do with this, Renz," he finally admitted out loud, gazing at the baby in his arms. Or hands, to be more accurate.