Llama and Lion

Daddy Dan

Phil didn't know how much time had passed when he was woken up by the female doctor that had been taking care of Scarlett. Their words faded out after the news had set in. The only things he cared about at that point was the baby. "She explained that you weren't the real father of the baby, but she signed her rights over to you just before she passed." The doctor said handing him a clip board with faint scribbles on the bottom of an agreement sheet. "You don't have to accept, we will find the real father or put her into an orphanage."

"If I sign this can I see her?" Phil asked.

"Yes, but that also means you have all the responsibilities of being a parent. " She said as Phil quickly ran the pen across the paper.

"I want to see my baby." He said, a lump sitting his throat but he wouldn't let it change his motivation.

The nurse sighed, feeling as though Phil hadn't thought the decision through. She lead him to the nursery and had another nurse take him into see her.

"You're daughter is very frail and can't be held. She's being kept in a shelled bassinet which gives you no access to her. She's on oxigen and a heart monitor. We're giving her as much nutrients as we can through an IV, of course it isn't as substantial as breast milk would be but we're doing our best. We're very sorry for your loss." She said as they reached the bassinet and she stepped away.

The baby was tinny, she wasn't much bigger than Phil's hand. She was asleep but she still squirmed and stretched. He just stood there and watched her, she looked like Scarlett and Dan, but mostly Scarlett.

Phil sat down in a hard folding chair next to her and watched her sleep. Time seemed to stop as he sat there. Eventually a young red haired girl walked up to him. "Is she your first?" She asked in an American accent.

" Kind of." Phil said unsure of the right answer.

"She's a doll, it must be hard to not touch her." She said playing with the bag of fluid that dripped into the IV.

"What are you doing?" Phil asked watching her.

"We haven't had to change her dipper yet so I'm raising the fluid that's going into her hoping that she pees soon." She said.

"How do you change her dipar? I mean when she can't even be touched that is. " He asked.

"We have to scrub up and put on gloves, basically the same thing we do with surgery." She said

"Wow." He said. It was quiet for a while and then Phil spoke up again. " When the biological father gets here what rights will he have?"

"After we do basic DNA testing he'll have the same as any normal parent. Once that happens you can keep your rights or sign them over to him." She said closing the baby's charts.

"For now I'm the only parent though?" Phil asked.

She sighed and nodded. "It's a lot of responsibility but for now we'll help you out a lot."

"Thank you." Phil sighed.

"Keep your chin up." She said. "Also just a tip, we don't get cell service in here."

Phil looked at his phone. "Will she be okay?" He asked.

"Of course, I'll be checking up on her through most of the night and a nurse will be by her side almost constantly." She said. Phil smiled and stood up. "Just so you know there's a private waiting room down the hall, it has couches in it and you're totally allowed to sleep down there, I'll let you know if we need you."

Phil slightly smiled and walked into the private waiting room. He called Dan, his phone finally rang but he didn't answer. Phil couldn't leave a message so he just hung up. He sat down on the couch and broke down until he fell asleep again.

-A few hours later Phil's phone woke him up. It was Dan, Phil sat up quickly and woke up as quickly as he could. "Hey." Phil mumbled.

"Five calls while I was on the plane and one at 3 in the morning, I sure hope it was important." Dan grumbled.

"Not really, I'm sorry. Your child was just born last night." Phil snapped.

Dan was silent for a second. "How's Scarlett, can I talk to her?" He asked.

Phil closed his eyes and put his head in his hand. "No Dan, um..." Phil drifted.

"Is she okay?" Dan asked his voice cracking.

"I think you should try to get back as soon as possible." Phil said.

"I'll see what I can do. " Dan said confused and worried. "And the baby?"

"She's beautiful." Phil said.

"I'll let you know when I'm on my way." Dan said.

-A few hours later Phil got a call from Dan. "Hello?" He answered.

Dan was out of breath. "I'm getting on a plane back now. Tell my girls I'll be there soon." He said.

"Thank you." Phil said trying not to give anything away.

"No one answered when I called Scarlett's phone. Is she still mad at me?" Dan asked.

"No, she isn't mad at you anymore." Phil said, his voice drifting. "Have a good flight." He quickly hung up the phone.

"Was that the biological dad?" An American girl asked.

Phil turned around, she had pulled her red hair into a bun and was holding two cups of hot tea. She jestured one to Phil and he accepted it. "I can't tell him that she died and his daughter is untouchable over the phone." Phil said.

She nodded. "So what is he expecting when he gets here?" She asked.

"A baby and a girlfriend that isn't upset with him." Phil said feeling guilty.

She smiled "Then at least he can sleep on his way back." She said. "It isn't always awful to give false hope, us doctors are petty used to it. As long as you don't say anything right out you can't get in trouble."

"You tell people they'll be alright when they won't be?" Phil asked shocked.

"Well I work with infants so I really don't even talk to people about their condition. Babies don't really care all that much and we have other doctors that break bad news." She said. "I did tell my nephew that his pet fly would last a while."

Phil lightly chuckled and then inhaled his stress back in. "So you don't think I'm an awful person?" Phil asked.

"You took your friend's child as your own, of course I don't think you're awful." She said. "Although my break is up but honestly don't let any of this easy you up, it wasn't your fault." She patted his shoulder and then walked out of the room.

Phil had hours to ponder how he would tell Dan but he chose to go watch the baby and think of Scarlett.