What Love Sounds Like | TayNew AU

Part 8

NEW's POV

We were crammed together on the small hospital bed a few hours later. Our son, who was just several minutes old, slept on his daddy's bare chest. I nestled up against his side and touched my baby's soft cheek with my thumb. I was already battling sleep, exhaustion from pushing out an almost ten-pound baby, and my husband's warm body next to me made my eyes feel heavier by the second.

"Babe," Tay said softly, drawing my attention. "Get some rest, Frank will still be here when you wake up."

I smiled warmly as Tay used the sign we chose for our son's name, and my heart fluttered in my chest as I saw my husband and son interact, the latter looking so comfortable on his daddy's broad chest.

I was about to fall asleep when a nurse entered, offering us a nice smile as she witnessed the intimate moment.

"Sorry, dads, I'm stealing this adorable baby for a few tests. It won't take long, I promise," she said, and when I explained what she intended, Tay reluctantly handed Frank up.

"Is it for his hearing test?" Tay asked just as she was ready to walk away, startling me once again by saying it out loud.

The nurse nodded. "Yes, among others," she said before exiting the room.

Tay immediately tensed up, bit his lower lip, and gave me a concerned look.

"No matter what the outcome is, it'll be fine, love. We've discussed this before." I said, snuggling even closer to Tay on the little bed, knowing how much he needed it right now.

"I know, but I'm still hoping he won't be deaf," Tay said as he ran one of his hands down my back. "Hin, you should really try to get some sleep. You look worn out."

"I am,"  I said with a chuckle, making myself comfortable against Tay's side. "I love you."

"I love you too."

~*~*~*~

Frank wasn't returned to the room for about an hour, and I awoke when the nurse handed our baby back to Tay.

"Is everything okay?" I asked, my voice a little strained from the screams I let out during labor and delivery.

When she looked at me, the nurse had an odd expression on her face.

"I'm afraid that only doctors are permitted to discuss the results," she said, waiting for me to relay the information to Tay before continuing. "The doctor will be with you shortly to discuss it."

She left again shortly after, and when I turned back to look at Tay, tears were slowly running down his face.

"He's deaf, New."

"You don't know that, Tay," I said as I reached over to wipe Tay's cheeks while he clutched our son as if he was afraid someone would come along and kidnap him.

"It's the way she was looking at us, Hin,"  he said. "With pity, something must be wrong."

"Babe, I—" 

I was interrupted when the doctor walked in, he had the same sad expression as the nurse who had just left.

"Dads, I'm afraid I have some bad news to share," he said as he sat down in one of the plastic chairs lining the white wall, which he had pulled closer to the bed. "I'm not going to keep you wondering much longer. Sirs, Frank is deaf. We gave him two hearing tests and he didn't respond to either. We can perform more testing to see if it's genetic or caused by other circumstances, but given that deafness runs in one side of the family, we can almost certainly guess the answer."

"But he always reacted to our voices while I was pregnant," I quickly said. "Surely it wasn't coincidental every time?"

The doctor gave a small shrug. "Because they produce vibrations in the amniotic fluid, babies, in general, can sometimes react to sounds from inside the womb. That's what I'm guessing he was reacting to."

Tay retained a somber expression on his face as he watched me sign the words to him, silently cradling Frank to his chest. As I exchanged a few more words with the doctor, he remained silent and stoic as the man walked away, giving us one last sad smile before leaving.

"Tay..."

"Don't."

As I stared at my husband beside me, my heart began to tighten. I was afraid Tay was blaming himself since his face was blank and emotionless. Our son appeared to be particularly little, coiled up and sleeping soundly on his daddy's breast once more.

"Tay, please,"  I said again. "Talk to me."

"I don't want to talk about it right now,"  he said, one of his hands coming up to stroke Frank's chubby cheek. "I know you're tired, and it's almost midnight; you should try to sleep, New."

I knew I should drop it for now since his expression didn't change while he spoke. I winced slightly as I shuffled in the small hospital bed next to Tay, trying to make myself as comfortable as possible.

"Wake me up if he does," I said, waiting for Tay to nod before closing my eyes. My thoughts wandered for a few minutes while I listened to my husband's steady breathing, but sleep came fast, the entire day of labor and pain caught up with me.

~*~*~*~

When I awoke, it was light outside, and Tay was seated in an uncomfortable medical chair by the window, looking down at his phone, rather than in bed next to me. When he noticed me sitting up, he looked up and smiled tiredly.

"How are you feeling?"  he asked as he stood up and walked over to my bedside, kissing my forehead. "Slept okay?"

"I'm fine, just a bit sore,"  I said, returning his smile. "Where's Frank?"

Tay motioned to a small plastic cot on the other side of the room, and as my gaze fell on our baby, I instantly grinned.

"Did he get a good night's sleep? I didn't hear him cry once," I said with a slight frown.

"No. I brought him out to the hallway a couple of times when he became fussy so he wouldn't wake you up. A nurse also came with a bottle around four a.m. and I got to feed him. He's been sleeping ever since."

"You should have woken me up, love, so we could have taken turns. You must've not gotten much sleep yourself," I said, shaking my head slightly in displeasure as I watched Tay move over to the bassinet and lift Frank out.

Tay returned to the bed and gently placed Frank into my waiting arms, smiling as the baby appeared unfazed by the movement.

"You needed it more," he said as he took a seat next to my legs on the bed. "I don't think I would've been able to sleep anyway."

"Love," I said while looking at Tay instead of our son.

He was looking down at me, considerably calmer than he had been the night before.

"I'm just trying to wrap my head around it properly," Tay said, reaching over to stroke our baby's soft head. "I just want what's best for him."

"So do I, babe. But we can't do anything about this apart from giving him all our love and affection," I said, returning my gaze to Frank, who was a little version of my husband and was lying in my arms. "You know this isn't your fault, right? That I don't blame you even one bit for any of this?"

For a few moments, Tay seemed torn, biting his lower lip before nodding. "I know that... but it still hurts."

"I know, babe," I said while placing one of my hands on top of Tay's which was on Frank's back. "But, in my opinion, at the very least, you'll be able to teach him all of your tricks, which will make it easier for you to bond with him. I'm confident that everything will work out in the end, love."

~*~*~*~

A/N
i hope you're liking this story so far ☺️ don't hesitate to vote or leave a comment, it really warms my heart if you do 🥺💙💕