200 - Noah

200 - Noah
I guess I can think about retirement. I’ve officially come full circle. - Joanna

Darkness thought about how after Camille had been brought into the emergency room, she had admitted that she had been having the cramps for about three days. Two days ago, the doctor on duty in the emergency department had told her that it was just intense Braxton Hicks. When she talked to Tammy about it on Christmas Eve, the midwife was not as certain and advised Camille to go to the clinic first thing on the 26th.

Camille’s regular doctor was called and told that the baby had been born. She was in Colorado with family but requested that her partner take over her patient’s care. It came as no surprise that Camille did not want to see the on-call doctor ever again.

The doctor from two days ago had quickly been escorted out of the small room in the emergency department when Camille said that she would rather have the drunk in the bay next to her tend to her over that man.

Darkness had glared at him, grateful that the nurse had the newborn and his own hands were empty. He reverted to his old self and remained silent as he moved towards the man. Doc moved between them and offered the younger man a simple warning.

“You left a woman in labor for two days, nearly six weeks early. What the hell were you thinking?”

The doctor looked from the upset woman, still in the process of delivering the afterbirth, to her very large and extremely upset husband. Wisely, the man opted to leave rather than face either of their wraths. Or the wrath of the staff nurses and physician assistant.

Now, standing in a small nursery, Darkness held his newborn son as Camille settled into the nearby hospital room for her recovery. His light mocha skin had gained a little more color from the paleness he had at his birth. He had a canula for oxygen taped to his cheeks and they had been warned that a feeding tube may also be needed.

Since there was little to no body fat this made his body look unproportionately small compared to his head. He was as bald as his father but without having to shave his little head. However, there were fine dark hairs that covered his body, mainly on his back.

The baby let out a soft sigh against the dark chest with a white ink tattoo. His large dark hand shifted to gently caress his son’s head with his thumb. With his other hand under the diapered butt, he wished he had a third hand to take a picture of the moment. His memory would have to suffice.

A nurse opened the door to the nursery from the small hallway with the sink and walked inside. “You must be Darkness,” she smiled at him. “I’m Joanna. I was just in seeing my baby momma and her momma.”

The middle-aged woman was moving around the room effortlessly and was getting everything ready for the baby to go out to the room. She checked the drawer under the plastic bassinet and added a few diapers before sanitizing the mattress and adding a fresh sheet. Pausing in her efforts and her monologue about what she was doing, she smiled at him.

“Camille was the first baby I took care of. I had just started my clinical rotations here, the head nurse was giving me the tour and Sid came in.”

He grinned as he handed over the newborn, “So, I guess you’ve seen quite a few Saint babies come through here over the years.”

“I have,” she chuckled.  “Now I am seeing the second generation come through. Maybe before I do retire, I’ll hold the third generation.”

With the efficiency of twenty plus years of tending to newborns, she quickly changed the diaper and swaddled the baby in the light blue blanket. Placing the baby in the bassinet, the nurse tucked a blue and white striped knit cap on the bald light mocha colored skin. Just before turning to the father, she slipped the baby card into the holder.

Noah Adrianus Johnson

December 25

10:47 AM

5 pounds 2 ounces

16 ½ inches

“Let’s get this little guy to mom and then we’ll get you all set up in the nesting room.”

“Nesting room?” Darkness asked as she hooked the oxygen canula to the portable tank attached to the bassinet.

She gave a small nod and a little laugh. “It’s what we call the other private nursery. This one is for the babies that need a little more care, we weren’t sure what he would need. He’ll still need some time in the incubator, but he won’t be in it all the time.”

Grabbing the curved sides of the bassinet that made handles, she unlocked the wheels and motioned to the door. “Come on dad, you’ve got a big sister and a couple of big brothers that want to meet this little guy.”

Darkness grinned as he opened the door for her, “It’s going to take a little bit to get used to that. My niece and nephews don’t call me dad.”

“Oh?” She asked as she pushed the button for the door to the main hallway to unlatch and slowly swing open.

“Yeah, they lost their parents during the pandemic, we didn’t want to make them feel as though they had to call us mom and dad.” He explained softly as they walked out into the hall. “They had a mom and dad; they were just taken away from their kids.”

“We lost a lot of people here during that.” She shook her head sadly. “Second door, right around that corner.”

Going around the corner, Darkness moved to the second door and knocked before opening it. The room was filled with their three other kids, Camille’s parents and Momma Dee. He smiled at his wife as she sat in the bed looking exhausted and beautiful.

“All right,” Joanna said as she picked the baby up. “Mom and dad have both gotten some cuddles. Who gets them next?”

“Let Momma Dee hold him,” Camille motioned to the woman in the wheelchair.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, Darkness watched as Joanna handed his son to his great grandmother. Camille leaned into his side, and he leaned down to give her a kiss. Linking their hands together she smiled at him as she brushed tears away from her eyes.

“Are you okay?” he asked her quietly.

“Yes,” she smiled as another tear slid out of her eye. “Just emotional.”

He leaned down and kissed her again, “I love you, ma belle.”

“I love you, too.”

She rested her head against his chest as he wrapped his arm around her. He rested his chin on her head as he watched Momma Dee offer a blessing over the baby. The old woman then passed the baby to Mitch.

“Darkness,” Vin said nervously, “we’ve been talking; Mitch, Nicki and me. We already talked to Momma C, and we think it’ll be confusing for Noah if we call you Darkness. Is it okay if we call you dad?”