The smell of sterilization products and hand sanitizer fills the doctor's office as Harper puts Onyx into his car seat. He's crying and red in the face but this time, the reason is known. He got three shots today. He is not happy.
"Alright, mama, you are all set with the little guy." The nurse tells her as she checks them out. "I have his check up summary papers here with his updates immunization records. We've scheduled your appointment for next month and we'll see you then. If you have any questions about anything, just give the office a call and they'll have myself or another nurse give you a call back as soon as we can, okay?"
"Okay." Harper says as she picks up the car seat. "Thank you." She exits the room and walks tour to the lobby. She waves to the receptionists on her way out office and into the hallway. She sways back and forth with Onyx's car seat, trying to soothe him as he cries.
Harper gets into the elevator and rides down to the second floor. She walks out and onto ramp to get to the parking garage. Standing there for a second, she tries to remember where she parked. Looking two rows down, she sees her silver SUV.
She looks both ways before crossing onto the asphalt. She carries Onyx's car seat in one hand and his diaper bag in the other. When she gets to the car, she set the bag down to grab her keys and unlock the car. She straps Onyx into the backseat, making sure that he's secure before putting his diapers bag in as well.
Harper gets into the driver seat and makes her way out of the car garage. She pays her toll and pulls out, heading in the direction of the expressway to get home. It's a 25 minute drive with the five o'clock traffic starting. She chose a later timed appointment, hoping that Onyx would be calm at 4 o'clock. Thankfully, he was.
She parks her car in her spot and grabs the diaper bag as well as Onyx's car seat. Walking into the building, she heads for the elevator. There's already a man standing there with a dark blue cap on his head and black jacket on.
As she gets closer, she recognizes him as her next door neighbor. Her heart rate jolts up and she grows embarrassed as she stands and waits for the elevator with him. Sensing the presence next to him, he turns his head to look at her then down at the car seat.
Harper's gaze is focused on the doors, waiting for them to open. She's glad that Onyx's kryptonite is car rides so he's not fussing or anything right now. That coupled with his drowsiness from his shots, he's going to sleep well for a few hours.
It takes a few seconds before the elevator doors open and when they do, Yoongi moves to the side allowing for her to enter first.
"Thank you." She tells him quietly and he responds with his own quiet 'of course'.
He gets in after her and presses the button to the fourth floor. Harper holds Onyx's car seat in her hands, standing still, when he starts to fuss. She sets the carrier on the floor and flips the cozy cover flap up to check on him.
His pacifier is out of his mouth and his face is twisted up but his eyes are still closed. Harper squats down and quickly feels around in the seat for pacifier. She finds it by his left thigh and puts it back into his mouth. She had to buy a whole new one after not being able to find the other one a few nights ago.
Onyx sucks on the pacifier and quiets down, soothing himself back to sleep.
Yoongi glances at the car seat and double takes when he sees the baby's face.
"He's cute." He comments as Harper flips the cover back down.
"Oh.." She looks up at him as she stands up. "Thank you."
"How old is he?" Yoongi asks, curiously. He assumes that he's a fresh one by his size. He can't be too old.
"Three months."
"Oohh. He's a chunky one." He says with a small smile.
Harper pushes her lips together in an awkward smile as she looks away. "Yeah. That he is."
The elevator door dings and opens. Yoongi lets her exit first. As she walks up the stairs, she feels that it's the perfect time to apologize. Her heart beats quick in her chest as she approaches her apartment door.
Yoongi does the same a few feet down. Harper takes her keys out, trying to encourage herself to speak to him.
When she's ready to open her mouth, he's already walking into his apartment.
He kicks his shoes off at the door and hangs his jacket up. As he walks into his bedroom, he thinks about the baby's face. He really is a cute kid. It's crazy to think that such ear piercing, violent screams come from such a tiny, innocent looking infant.
That's how he feels about babies in general, though. They're so cute and so small but they terrorize things in the craziest ways.
Yoongi looks at the clock before taking a shower. He's been out all day at appointments and running around. You'd think he'd keep better track of all the things that he has to do throughout the week, given his occupation but he often forgets things pertaining to himself. He has to make a list or keep things in his phone reminders.
When he's done in the bathroom, he walks into his room and towels his hair dry. He dresses in lounge clothes before brushing his teeth. As he looks at himself in the mirror, Harper's face pops into his head. That moment when she kind of smiled at him when he called her son cute.
He looks a lot like her, very much so. It's adorable.
Yoongi spits the toothpaste out and rinses his mouth with mouthwash. He puts the cap back on it before going into his bedroom for a nap before his over night shift.
He's working the E.R. tonight.
######
"Your son was stabbed in the abdomen. Luckily, there was no damage to any vital organs and we were able to get the large shard of glass out as well as all of the small shards surrounding it. He's still unconscious but he should be soon after the anesthesia begins to wear off."
Yoongi explains to a set of parents as they stand before him. The mother has been in tears all night and the father has been consoling her for most of that time when he, himself wasn't in tears.
"Can we go in and see him?"
"Yes. There will be a nurse out shortly to take you back once we get him settled into his room."
"Thank you so much, Doctor."
"Of course." He smiles at them. "You folks sit tight. A nurse will be out soon for you." He nods at them before walking away down the hall. He goes behind the E.R. receptionist's desk and grabs the clipboard for the patient that he just finished surgery on.
He starts the paperwork for that as he sits at the desk. The short sleeves of his scrub top pulls against his biceps as he writes. He looks at the time on his wristwatch before writing it down for the log.
A stack of papers drops onto the desk next to him and he looks up to see who put them down. He immediately looks back down at the paperwork and continues to write.
"Those are from the patients you prescribed onsite meds to and the one you treated for her anaphylaxis." The woman tells him.
"Thanks." He replies as he continues to write.
"Mhm." She hums as she walks away.
His upper lip twitches as he exhales.
"I didn't know you were on shift tonight."
Yoongi looks up at the sound of his friend's voice. Taehyung walks over as he puts his stethoscope around his neck.
"Though I guess I really shouldn't be surprised. What time you here til?" He adds to his previous statement.
"8. And then I'll be back at 2."
"Jesus. God, help you. What time do you get out tomorrow?"
"12. Midnight."
Taehyung's eyes widen a bit as he frowns. "You're just gonna work yourself half to death, aren't you?"
"I have an obligation as a doctor, Taehyung. I love my job."
"Yeah, so do I. There's nothing better than seeing all the snot nosed, lollipop loving, rambling about their light up shoes, toddlers I see day to day. But even I need a break from the lovely sounds of baby giggles. So I can't even imagine the things you need a break from."
Yoongi raises his eyebrows an tilts his head. "Yeah, well.. I have nothing better to do. It's either work here and help people, save some lives or go home and hear very large cries from a very tiny human."
Taehyung makes a face as if to say 'fair enough'. Yoongi stops writing and looks up at him.
"He's only three months." He says in disbelief. It's still a shock even though he suspected he wasn't very old. "I didn't even know infants could scream that loud. And for that long? That's crazy."
"Well, is he okay? As much as you say he screams, he could have a fever or something more serious that needs to be looked at." Taehyung tells him.
"I don't know. I just saw him for the first time earlier today. His mom got on the elevator with me. She could barely look me in the eye. It's not really my place to question her parenting. I don't want her to think I'm shaming her or anything."
"Yeah, but if something's wrong, it'd be better coming from you to worry than a regular citizen. You're a doctor, Yoon."
"Yeah, I know. I just-... I don't want her to feel bad, you know?" Yoongi says as he signs his signature on the finished paperwork for the stabbed patient. He sets it led to the side before grabbing a folder from the pile set down for him.
"She lives by herself. I don't think anybody's helping her with him at all. I never see or hear anyone else over there. It's probably hard enough without other people down her throat judging her. I can't imagine doing that alone." He shakes his head.
Taehyung thinks about his words as he speaks. He knows that it isn't easy. As a pediatrician, he sees a lot of different parent sets. Same sex couples, single mothers, single fathers, surrogate parents who never actually intended to keep the kids they carried. All kinds of parental makeups. Single mothers always break his heart the most.
All parents look exhausted, they all look troubled from the terrors of newborns and toddlers. But nobody more than mothers. They just cannot catch a break. They literally grow an entire human using their own body for nine months and then push them out to raise them by themselves. Talk about tired? From the time of conception until their kids are out on their own, they stay that way. Absolutely exhausted.
Their children moving out on their own doesn't even guarantee that they'll get rest after that. They have a whole new list of things to worry about for their child.
'What if somebody breaks in their house? Are they going to be okay on their own? Have I taught them everything that they'll need to know? Have I done a good enough job as a parent on my own for them to run off into the world? If I haven't, they can always just come back home. This will always be home for them.'
"I know you're trying to respect boundaries as a neighbor but I still think you should say something as a doctor. If she's a new single parent, she might be trying to figure things out on her own. She may need some sort of guidance from somewhere but doesn't have anyone to ask. Or maybe she doesn't know how to ask or she's afraid of the judgement that might come with it, you know? Maternal instinct is strong but everyone may need a helping hand every now and then. It doesn't mean she's incapable of parenting her child. It's just new. Of course, there's gonna be a struggle period." Taehyung tells him.
"And if she wasn't a new mom and had a kid already, every baby is different. What works for one doesn't always work for the other. I see it all the time with sets of multiples. But.. I don't know. I'm just saying." He shrugs.
"I'll see you tomorrow. I gotta get home. Kara's probably sleeping on the couch waiting for me." He says as he takes his phone out to check the time.
"Drive safe. I'll see you tomorrow." Yoongi calls to him. Taehyung waves as he walks off down the hall. He puts his coat on as he passes the threshold at the end.
Yoongi goes back to his paperwork, thinking of Taehyung's words.
Maybe he should check on his neighbor one of these nights. He'd be losing his mind if he were in her shoes. Better to be safe than sorry.