The sound of a baby wailing woke him up. He felt his neck ache and his arms sore as he properly sat up from the chair he was sitting in. Ray rubbed at his half opened eyes as he was beginning to wake up from slumber. He cleared his throat as his eyes tried finding the source of the crying.
The young doctor eyed the hospital infant bed that was right next to the bed where Ray's husband, Mikey, was sleeping peacefully. Ray got up from where he fell asleep and neared towards the infant bed where he found Mikey's and his newborn daughter.
Ray gently picked up his baby girl and tried soothing her, but he sensed she was hungry. It made sense since she had been asleep for some time since she was fed and changed last. He felt bad that he had to wake up Mikey though.
"Ray?" He wheeled around to see Mikey sitting up on the bed looking at him with concern. "Is Grace hungry?" Obviously, Mikey would know what his child would need.
Ray sat on the bed and delicately handed Grace over to Mikey. He watched as Mikey held Grace as she fed. Ray thought it was a loving sight to see such a connection between a mother and infant. He was a pediatrician and saw sights like this all the time, but none could compare to seeing Mikey be this way towards their daughter.
He examined the small dark circles under Mikey's eyes. Mikey's pregnancy had been hard enough and with the addition of the difficult delivery, Ray felt bad. Ray recalled the back pain his husband endured. For now, Mikey just wanted his baby close to him.
Unfortunately, Ray could only take a week off work for Mikey and Grace. His parents and Louis promised they would visit. There was also Gerard and Frank, who were definitely going to be coming over. Ray was just content that Mikey wouldn't be all alone with their infant daughter. Mikey would need as much rest as he could get.
"She's perfect, Ray." Mikey broke the small silence as he lovingly stared at his daughter.
Ray got closer to his husband, sitting right next to him on the bed. He draped an arm over Mikey's shoulders. "She looks beautiful like you," he said before planting a soft kiss on Mikey's cheek.
Mikey looked away from Grace temporarily to glance at Ray. "I wonder if she'll end up with your beautiful hair."
Ray rolled his eyes. "Gee and Frankie will be excited to see her." Ray said with an ounce of sadness. Due to the stress Mikey was undergoing during the delivery, Ray thought that Frank and Gerard should wait until they brought Grace home to show her off.
Ray felt bad that Gerard couldn't see her since that was his niece, but he couldn't since it ended up interfering with Mikey's health. Gerard and Frank were perfectly understanding though and would wait until tomorrow when they would bring baby Grace home. His parents and Louis were there for a moment but left for the same reason.
Regarding male pregnancies, doctors warned families that the delivery room should only be full of doctors and nurses. Doctors didn't want to risk anything going wrong. Being a doctor himself, Ray didn't argue with them. It broke him that he couldn't be in there with Mikey, but the other understood - Ray was thankful for that.
He kept getting text messages from Frank and Gerard that a small party was being thrown for the welcoming of Grace. They didn't want to startle Mikey, so his friends said he could reveal the surprise to his husband which Ray did. Mikey was happy about the idea and made a mental note to make a big feast for them once he was back on his feet.
"I agree," the pretty male replied as his eyes averted back down to Grace. "I can't wait for Gee and Frankie to see her. Gee is going to let her draw whatever she wants. Frank is going to treat her like glass."
