At one o'clock in the morning, Yoongi makes his way over to his neighbor's apartment. He hasn't slept at all since getting off of work at 10 and getting home at 10:30. He took a nice hot shower and got into bed but didn't even try to sleep.
He knew that Onyx would be up and giving Harper hell so he stayed up reading reviews on Amazon until the crying started. He waited an extra thirty minutes to go over just in case he calmed down. But he didn't so here Yoongi is, knocking at Harper's door.
She answers it and is partly shocked to see Yoongi there again. Maybe she shouldn't have been. He's the only person that would come over at this time of night. He's the only one that can hear her son's cries. There's no one to the left of her and the room above her is used for storing cleaning supplies.
"I'm sorry." She sniffles. "I'm trying to calm him down." Harper says as she steps out of the way. "He ate, he's changed. He's not running a temp. He isn't congested, I don't know what's going on with him."
Yoongi walks into her apartment and holds his hands out for the infant. She hands her son to him and closes the door.
"He's got colic. Now might be one of those times that it's for no reason." He says as she looks around. The lights are bright and all of them are on. The walls in the living room and kitchen are white so they're just reflecting more bright things around.
"Or maybe he's just," Yoongi flips the lights off and turns the lamp that's on the side table on. It's a dim hued one giving the living room a warm glow. "Overstimulated."
He looks down at Onyx and puts the pacifier clipped to his onesie in his mouth. He holds him close to him and his screaming cries turn to whines. His arms and legs start to relax and then startle up again.
"Do you have a swaddle for him?"
"Yes." Harper walks to the bedroom and looks through his dresser of things. In the top drawer are a few swaddle blankets and swaddle onesies that she bought from Target. She brings Yoongi one of each, not sure of which Onyx will prefer. She's only ever tried to put him in them once.
"I don't know how he'll like those. The one time that I did try, he fussed and was wiggling to get out of it while he cried. And he's almost too big for them, right?"
Yoongi takes the swaddle onesie and unzips it. He strips Onyx down to his diaper before putting him in it.
"Not if he doesn't know how to roll over yet. That's when you stop. Has he been trying to?"
"Sometimes during the day but not really." Harper says. Another thing for her to worry about.
"So then he can be swaddled until he starts actively doing that. I know this may sound odd and I hope that you don't think ill of me for it but I spoke to Taehyung about Onyx. He asked how he was doing earlier today."
Harper blinks at him with a blank look. "Who?" She tilts her head.
"Oh. Sorry." He shakes his head at himself. "The doctor that helped you and Onyx at the E.R. that night. Dr. Kim, the pediatrician. He's a good friend of mine. We often see each other for lunch."
"Oh... You told him about Onyx?.. Before, I mean?"
Yoongi realizes how bad she might take it and he doesn't want her to feel that way. That's exactly why he didn't want to say anything. He feels like he's overstepping.
"Yes. But only because I was worried about him. I wanted to know if there was anything that I could do to help or maybe assist in some way. I apologize if it's coming off in any way other than that."
Harper is quiet for a few seconds. Her eyes burn but she can't pinpoint why. She wonders if they think she's that bad of a parent where someone needs to intervene or if she should be grateful that someone at least cares in some form to help her.
He's a doctor. His friend, Taehyung, is also a doctor. A children's doctor, no less. She should accept the help for Onyx. This isn't necessarily about how she may look, she tells herself. It's about Onyx. And whatever they think will help, she's willing to try. She'll mull over the decision later to herself.
"No." She finally responds. "It's okay." She sits in the chair next to the couch as Yoongi swaddles her son. "What were you saying about Taehyung?"
Yoongi takes into account her soft tone. It almost sounds... docile yet.. dejected.
"He asked how Onyx was doing. I told him that he was crying for long periods of time again. We think that he may be overstimulated, he's still adjusting to life outside of the womb. That's a cause of colic and could possible extend it."
Harper nods as he talks. She remembers Taehyung telling her that in the emergency room that night.
"So what can I do to help him? Should I swaddle him more? Keep the lights off? It's already quiet in here mostly, except when he's crying."
Yoongi nods. "Swaddling him will help but only if the rest of his environment is to his liking as well. Taehyung suggested warm tone lamps or bulbs. Like brown or marigold colors. They have ones that warm the area they're in as well." He gives Onyx his pacifier and he sucks on it, soothing himself.
"So I should get some warming lamps that keep the room kind of dim and swaddle him. Basically things that remind him of the womb until he's adjusted?"
"Right. Tae also said that it makes a difference if babies were born a little early. They'll have more sensitivity for a while. I don't know if that applies to Onyx but it could help if it does. None of this is on you. It's all circumstantial. He has preferences and that's fine. Everybody does. He's just one of the babies that has a more bossy way of showing his personality."
Harper cracks a smile at his words. It's easier to think of it that way. That he's just annoyed that his preferences aren't being met. But his only form of communication is to scream so he's working with it.
"He'll be okay. See?" He looks down at the now sleeping infant. "He's just a little picky. We can work with that."
Harper holds her arms out for her son and Yoongi passes him back to her. He's knocked out. She rubs his chunky cheeks and closes her eyes as she kisses them. Seeing him so calm is so overwhelming for her.
All of this time, he's just been uncomfortable and trying to tell her. But how could she have known? She was clueless. She'd have never thought of it, she's have never known a thing had Yoongi not intervened.
Harper looks up at him as her eyes water. She wipes them with the sleeve of her shirt, embarrassed that she's crying this way in front of him. She cries when Onyx crying, she cries when he's not. She can't control her tears no matter how hard that she tries. She's a mess.
"Thank you." She sniffles and looks away from him as he makes eye contact. "It helps.. more than you know." Her voice becomes thick with tears and she stops talking, deciding to just leave it at that.
"No need. Whatever I can do to help, please let me know. I want to make sure you guys are okay over here." Yoongi tells her and she looks at him.
"Both of you." He adds.
Harper looks at him, stunned by his sudden offer of assistance. Hopefully, she won't need it at all after this. Hopefully, she can start applying to jobs so that she can start working again. When that happens, all she has to do is find a childcare provider for Onyx. Maybe will take some of the load off of her if she can get even a few hours of a break.
"Oh.. okay. I'm going to be going back to work soon, hopefully. So we won't be too much of a bother during the day." Harper says.
"You're not really a bother now. Well, on the days that I am home, anyway. I work a lot, so."
Harper gives him a small smile. "You're a surgeon. I think that's to be expected."
"Yeah. I guess it is, huh?" Yoongi says as he thinks.
Before he was even out of med school, he knew that his job would be time consuming. If the university work was that way, why would the job itself be any different? Working long hours and difficult shifts was a given. It was an expectation that he knew he would have to have.
Med students complain about these things all the time. So it should have come as no surprise to anyone that it came to fruition after he graduated and got a job. Especially people that saw and interacted with him on a daily basis.
There was no reason for it to have become an issue down the line when there was a full disclosure about what him being a surgeon entailed. Specifically at one of the best hospitals in the city.
Harper looks from him to her son, not sure how to fill the awkward space that has risen between them. It's nothing that he feels but she recognizes it immediately. She gets up and walks Onyx to her room, laying him in the bassinet. She hovers for a few seconds, waiting for his cries but they never come.
She sighs. Of course, she's happy that her son is content and can sleep. But the defeat that she feels that she couldn't figure it out on her is eating away at her.
As she walks back out to the living room, Yoongi stands up. Taking his cue for the night, being that the child is asleep, he'll go back to his own apartment to get some sleep before his morning shift.
Another 12 hour, 16 counting the four hours he's picked up in the E.R., at the hospital. There are always others that can take the shifts but sometimes there's a lag to get people to do it. Yoongi knows that he has nothing else to do so why not?
If he's not working, then he's sleeping or laying up watching television. He relaxes to soothe his sore muscles or sometimes, he's running errands. Grocery shopping, doctor's appointments, hair cuts. Things of that nature.
He really doesn't do much recreationally. He hasn't the time. By his own choice, of course.
"Alright, well," Yoongi says as he walks toward the door. "Call me if the little one needs any more desensitization methods. Or if anything worries you about him, really. Taehyung is one of my best friends. I can always call him and get a personal baby appointment for you." He jokes and Harper smiles.
The white of her teeth shows and she looks at the floor as she grins at his joke. This is the first time that he has seen her smile wide enough to see them. Or give anything other than the small awkwardly polite smile she usually does.
"Oh! Might be difficult if you don't have my number. Do you have a pen?" Yoongi asks and Harper looks around. She walks to the kitchen and finds a pen on the counter as well as a piece of paper.
She hands them to Yoongi and he writes his name and number down for her.
"I really don't want you to think that I'm trying to overstep or anything like that. And I hope that that isn't what it's coming off as."
Harper shakes her head lightly. "It's okay. I really appreciate it. I feel like I'm going crazy sometimes, so... yeah."
She takes the piece of paper form him and puts her head down, feeing like she's saying too much. She doesn't know why she just told him that. This is why she doesn't like speaking to people in casual conversations. She always feels like she's rambling or saying things that don't need to be said.
"You're not, trust me. He just needs a little extra comfort. There's no instruction manual to parenting. You kind of just have to find what works, you know?"
"Yeah... guess you're right." She says quietly, looking at the floor. Yoongi senses her awkward discomfort and decides to take his leave for the night.
"I'll see you around. Let me know if the swaddling and warm light help him."
"Okay. I will. Thank you."
"Have a good night." He tells her as he leaves.
"You, too." She replies as she closes the door.
Harper twists both locks into place and looks at the paper in her hand.
"Yoongi." She reads the name quietly.
As she walks back to her room, she unlocks her phone and puts the number in her contacts. She keeps the paper on her dresser before getting into bed. She peeks into Onyx's swivel bassinet to find him knocked out with his pacifier in his mouth.
Harper gets under her blankets and repeats the surgeon's name to herself in hopes that she won't forget it.
A|N
#When I write books, I keep a page for each one in my phone notes. That way, I can pre-write key scenes and important moments. I'm snitching but I have so many for Onyx and Yoongi😩 I can't wait for you guys to see