"Okay, so he gets four ounces every two and half to three hours but I already fed him so.. he'll be fine. I put diapers and wipes on the side table. There's two extra outfits laid out in the room in case he has any accidents or blowouts." Harper explains to Yoongi as she shows him everything.
Her appointment is in 30 minutes but they always say to be there fifteen minutes before and it takes fifteen minutes to get to the doctor's office.
She got Onyx, bathed, fed and content so that when she did give him to Yoongi, he should be fine or go down for a nap.
They're standing in her living room as he holds the three month infant. It was decided that it'd be better for Yoongi watch him in her apartment rather than his since all of Onyx's things are in here. Harper didn't want to run the risk of forgetting something or him needing something while she wasn't home and Yoongi not have access to it. This is the easier option.
The surgeon is attentively listening to everything that she's saying and watching her show him where everything is.
"There's Tylenol is in there too, just in case. There's some saline spray and a bulb sucker in the inside pocket. And just in case anything happens at all, his insurance cards are in there. But please call me if there's an emergency with him."
Harper is almost out of breath as she talks. Her nerves are high strung and it shows.
"We're going to be fine. But in the event that something does happen, of course I'm going to call you. You don't have anything to worry about. You'll come back and we'll be chillin on the couch." Yoongi gives her a reassuring smile and she exhales.
"Okay. Uhm.." Harper looks around as she thinks of other things that he may need to know.
"You can always text or call me if you forget anything."
"Right. Okay... alright. I'll call you if anything then. And I'll, hopefully, be back in an hour or less." She tells him as she walks toward the door.
"No rush."
She looks at her son as Yoongi cradles him. He's looking at her with his big brown eyes as he sucks his pacifier.
"I'll see you later, baby. Mommy's coming right back." She kisses his cheek before walking out the door. "Thank you, again, for this."
"Not a bother at all. We'll see when you get back."
Harper jogs down the stairs and Yoongi closes the door. He looks down at Onyx and the baby blinks at him once.
"We're gonna watch Sesame Street." He states as he walks to the couch.
He sits down with him and puts him in lap to watch tv. With the remote in his hand, he clicks the buttons until he finds Sesame Street episodes on YouTube. As the episode plays, he points out the characters.
"The red one's Elmo. He's kinda the star of the show. He's the most popular one. The pink fairy one is Abby. She's like the little sister that you're annoyed with constantly but kind of stuck with all you have to love her anyway. The blue one is Cookie Monster and he probably has several cavities."
Yoongi thinks about it as he speaks. "Well, maybe not. He doesn't really have any teeth..."
Onyx looks up at him happily sucking on his pacifier and watching the man talk.
"It doesn't matter. You're not paying attention to teeth yet. He's not the best one, anyway. My favorite is Big Bird and Mr. Snuffleupagus. That's a mouthful, isn't it?" He looks down at the baby whose becoming distracted by his the string on his hoodie.
Onyx is reaching out to grab it with both of his hands. He gets ahold of it and pulls. He goes to put it in his mouth and Yoongi gently pulls it back.
"Oh, don't do that. You don't want to put that in your mouth. Ulch. It'll taste like dryer sheets." He sticks his tongue out and makes a face. Onyx stops sucking his pacifier and stares at him. He makes the face again and the baby smiles a little.
"You can smile?" Yoongi gasps dramatically. He pokes his stomach in various places. "Are you ticklish yet? That takes a while, right?" He questions himself. "I should call Taehyung and ask."
The pediatrician wanted to be there himself but remembered that he works in a doctor's office that's open 8-5 and Harper's appointment is in a doctor's office. No matter what the time was that she needed them to watch Onyx, he would be at work, unable to get out of the shift.
The only reason that Yoongi got out of his was because it was an emergency room pick up. He swapped out with another doctor and now has to work a double tomorrow because of it.
But Harper needed someone to watch her son and just as Taehyung said, her health is just as important.
Yoongi takes his phone out and then looks at the time. It isn't Taehyung's lunch hour. He'll have to wait to call him.
Onyx reaches for Yoongi's string again and pulls it.
"Don't put it in your mouth. It's gonna taste like fresh baby powder." He pulls it back from the baby. Onyx has a grip on it though, not allowing Yoongi to take it away so easily again.
"Are you going to tug-of-war me for my own hoodie? That's not very nice."
Onyx ignores him and spits his pacifier out. He puts his fists into his mouth to get to the string and Yoongi pulls it back. When it's out of the baby's hand, his tiny lip quivers. It doesn't take him long at all to start crying.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. But you can't have the string. It's not edible. It's not even a good flavor." He gets up and walks around the living room.
Harper told him that Onyx ate a while before he came over so it's likely that he may be getting tired again. Yoongi rocks the baby and grabs the pacifier clipped to his clothes. He puts it into his mouth and he quiets down.
His eyes flutter after a few minutes and the man smiles.
"Ha haa. Gotcha. You're tired." He dims the lights for the living room and paces the area. He watches Sesame Street as he sways around the room. Several minutes of this and Onyx's little body is weighted in his arms. He is knocked out.
Yoongi sits on the couch and moves the baby pillow closer to him. He lays Onyx on his back and he starts to fuss. He quickly picks him up and remembers that he would prefer to be swaddled.
He looks around and realizes that she didn't take one out for him. He knows that all of his things are in her room and doesn't want to overstep by going in there.
Instead, he lightly swaddles the baby in his blanket and lays him on the pillow. He gets a good look at him as he lies there. His first thought is that he looks like his mother. They share so many features, you'd think that she created him by herself.
His second thought is that he's got quite a bit of hair for three months. It's not thinning or anything. It's full and going to be thick from the looks of it.
His final thought is that Onyx is an adorable child. Such a precious being. An innocent one.
A commercial comes on the TV and is much louder than the show. Yoongi startles and grabs the remote, turning the volume all the way down. He looks over at Onyx to find his eyes open.
He starts crying and Yoongi sighs. "This is why I like Mr. Rogers. He'd have never done this to us."
Yoongi picks the baby up and puts his pacifier back in his mouth. He walks around the living room, bouncing and rocking the crying infant until he falls asleep again.
When he does, he's laid into the baby pillow again. Yoongi sits next to him on the couch and stares at the TV. His heart almost leapt out of his chest when the volume blasted.
Lucky for him, Onyx is having a rather calm day.
Harper makes it to her appointment in time and gets the check up done and over with. She schedules the pap smear for the next year and gets out of the building. Despite not getting any concerning text messages or calls from Yoongi, she's still a little worried.
She makes it home in 11 minutes and impatiently waits for the elevator. Time feels like a drag the way that she's having to wait. By the time that she gets into her apartment, her heart is racing in her chest.
Yoongi looks at her from the TV and his eyebrows raise. "Back already?"
"Yeah. How was he?" She asks as she takes her shoes off.
"Great. He tried to eat the string to my hoodie and I didn't let him. I think he got mad at me because he started crying." Yoongi tells her and she smiles.
"We watched Sesame Street, too. But he was tired so I rocked him to sleep. He's been out since. It's been about 45 minutes. I don't know how long he usually sleeps but... he's out for now."
He stands up from the couch and Harper walks over to see her son. He is, in fact, sleeping soundly.
"He'll be up soon then. Anywhere from now to 20 minutes."
"He was a pleasure to watch. Well, it was only for a short amount of time but if you ever need someone to watch him again, I can. If I don't have to work, I mean. We can coordinate the way that we did today. Taehyung was a little upset that he couldn't be here so." Yoongi smiles and Harper chuckles.
"He's a wonderful pediatrician. You can tell that he really cares about the babies and kids that he sees."
"He's always been like that, good with kids. It was either this or opening a daycare for him, for sure. When he called to let me know that he couldn't be here, he sounded so sad about it."
Harper smiles as she looks at Onyx. "Well, maybe I'll take you two up on that offer one of these days then. During the day when he isn't so fussy. I do have to start work soon." She talks, simply making conversation.
"Be careful with that. Taehyung might burst with joy."
"He doesn't have any kids of his own?" She asks curiously. He seems like he'd be a wonderful father the way that he is with his clients.
"Not yet. Taehyung is taking interest in a woman but he's... shy." Yoongi explains.
"Oohh. I see."
Onyx starts fidgeting in his swaddle and Harper moves to take him out of it. She holds him in her arms and Yoongi looks between them. Now that they're right next to each other, he thinks that she really spit him out.
His phone starts ringing and he looks at it. It's the hospital.
"Duty calls."
"Work?" Harper asks and he nods as he walks toward the door.
"Yeah. I gotta take this. I'll see you."
"Okay. Thank you again."
"Not a bother at all." He repeats what he's said before as he puts the phone to his ear.
Harper watches him walk down the hall for a few seconds before stepping back into the her apartment. She closes the door and looks at her son.
"Did you have fun? You watched Sesame Street?" She coos at the baby as she walks back to the room. She lays him on the bed to change his diaper before going back into the living room.
Pulling out the baby activity mat, she lays him down on it for tummy time. He's about the age that he should be doing this more often.
Harper thinks that she could use the abdominal strength. So she has no qualms about joining her son on the carpet for baby planks.
Whatever keeps him motivated.
######
Yoongi walks into the emergency department of the hospital with a smile on his face.
"Good afternoon, Nurse Cathy. How are you today?"
"I'm good. I've got some kiddos that need IVs and you know how I feel about those."
"Where's Taehyung? He's good about things like that?" He asks as they walk down the hall.
"Treating a kid with a sprained wrist."
"Ouu." Yoongi scrunches his nose. "How'd that happen?"
"Jumping on the bed her older siblings. They double bounced her and whoop-. Off she goes. She's not even crying, though."
"Tough kid. I'll see you around." He waves as he walks into the employee room.
He puts his bag and and jacket up before grabbing his hospital coat out. It goes on over his white button and black slacks. The top two buttons are undone revealing his white beater and thin gold necklace underneath. It's just one, a very simple piece of jewelry.
The embroidered script on the pocket of his doctor's coat reads Yoongi Min, MCh. The highest level applicable for a surgical science degree. 10 years of schooling total to become a Master of Surgery. Not to be confused with a surgery Master's degree.
Yoongi spent four years in college and 4 years in university graduate school (the last two of them being residency and internships). The final two years were after he received his PhD. He decided to go for another 2 years in post-doctoral schooling for the highest level that he could get.
He had faith in himself but he'd be lying if he said that it wasn't the most trying thing that he's ever done. Some of the hardest years of his life can be solely attributed to working for his degree.
He shot for the stars and earned his place among them. He knows that he may have missed out on a lot of things but for the job that he has, it feels well worth it to him.
His future is secured for him and he gets to do what he loves. He helps people, he works almost every day to save the lives of others. This is his personal reward for working so hard.
Yoongi reaches into his bag and pulls out his glasses case and puts them on. Because it was his day off, he didn't bother to wear his contacts. He didn't have the time to put them in before he left for work. So glasses it is. He grabs his water bottle out of his bag along with two pens and heads out of the room.
Stepping out into the hallway, he's greeted by Nurse Hailey.
"Good afternoon, Doc."
"Afternoon, Hailey. How's the PEDS unit today?"
"Uh, let's see. Six year old with a broken finger, four year old with a sprained wrist, two year old with a stomach bug and a five year old with food poisoning."
"So great." Yoongi gathers.
"Better than ever." Hailey says with a smile as they separate at the intersection.
It's a good day in the E.R. if no child's life is in danger. If there's no need for a CPS call, no life threatening injuries or no invasive surgery needed, it's an even better day. The best.
"Tell Tae I'm here!" He calls to Nurse Hailey.
"Oh, he knows. He's the one that told Hyde to call you in. Something about a get-back?"
Yoongi chuckles as he rolls his eyes. "Sounds about Taehyung."
He walks into the emergency department and clocks in at the computer. He's going through the shift from the current people admitted when Doctor Hyde walks over. He's the operating manager for both emergency departments. There's another manager that oversees just pediatrics as well, Doctor Kellen.
"Afternoon, Dr. Hyde."
"Afternoon, Mastery Surgeon Min." Hyde says with a proud smile on his face as he reads the scripting on his coat.
When Yoongi first began working at the hospital, his white coat only specified that he was a surgeon. Though he had no issue with it, Hyde realized and ordered him a new coat with the proper titles on it. He paid for it himself and apologized for not realizing the mistake sooner.
"Where am I assigned today?"
"You are on rotation, actually. Freddy was here but his little sister was in an accident on her way to work and their parents are out of town for business so he's her emergency contact until he gets back."
"Oh, wow. Is she being admitted here?"
"No. The closest hospital was WestGate and she needed emergency surgery.
"Oh.. God. I hope she comes out okay." Yoongi says as he becomes worried for his co-worker's family.
"Me and you both. She's only 17. Got her whole life left." Hyde agrees.
This is the hard part of their job working in emergency. These people come in needing life saving help. It feels like catch 22 sometimes. If they move too quick, they could miss something and give the wrong treatment or advisory. If they move too slow, the damage could be time sensitive and get worse. With situations like that, you need to be on your toes and able to work in fast paced settings but with accuracy and precision.
"Anyway, enough sad talk." He smacks his hand on the counter. "We just got a kid in room nine with a few gashes in his arm. Not too bad. You should see it on there if your refresh." He looks at the desktop in front of Yoongi.
He presses the refresh key and scans the patients and rooms.
"Michael Dennis? 22?"
"Yep." Hyde confirms.
"Minor lacerations on his upper arm, bicep area. Caught on... fencing.. wire?" Yoongi says in a questioning tone.
"Yeah. That's what I said. Beatrice is the attending for the room. She's administered antibiotics already. He's in there with his girlfriend whose going to apply the numbing solution when the pharmacy sends it up."
"Alright." Yoongi backs the chair up and stands. "I'll go introduce myself. See what the lacerations are looking like."
"Alright. I'll be.. around." He waves his hand and Yoongi nods.
Hyde does the most running around during his shifts. It's a great job for him because the idea of standing still in one spot for too long makes him jittery. He'd much rather prefer to roam around.
Yoongi walks down to room nine and puts hand sanitizer on as he enters. The man and woman look at him and he smiles.
"Hello. I'm Doctor Min. I'll be taking care of you today." He looks at Michael. "You've got some cuts on your arm?"
"Yeah. I was walking to my girlfriend's house and I always hop the fence to get there quicker. I hopped it one house too early and they have a dog in their yard. A Bully."
Yoongi cringes and Michael nods and laughs.
"He was not happy to see you, huh?"
"Not at all. He chased me to the fence that separates his yard and my girlfriend's. He didn't catch me but their fence is a little high so he doesn't jump over. He's tried to though so the top is kinda loose and unraveled. I just barely made it over when he tried to bite me. I got over in an awkward position and fell. Scratched my arm all up."
Yoongi puts his gloves on and starts inspecting the lacerations as Nurse Beatrice walks in.
"It doesn't look too terrible. Hey, B."
"Hey, Min. I was looking at them a few minutes ago before you got in. I was thinking the three at the top need a few stitches. The last two just need some bandages. I applied the antibiotic already."
"Yeah, I'm thinking the same. These ones down here aren't too bad. These top three get deeper the higher up they go."
Michael hisses as Yoongi gently pulls the skin apart.
"Sorry. Just trying to see how deep it is."
"It's fine. Just stings a little."
Yoongi nods as he backs away and takes his gloves off.
"That top one is gonna need about four or five stitches. The second and third one only gonna need two." He walks over to the desktop to add it into the notes.
"The numbing solution should be up soon. It's just lidocaine topical gel. You'll just apply with a cutip that we'll give you and let it soak in for 10, 15 minutes. In the meantime, just hang tight until we can get that for you, okay?"
"Alright. Thanks, man."
"Of course. No problem." Yoongi and Beatrice walk out of the room. "How long on that lidocaine?
"They called right before I came in and said they're sending it up."
"Good." He walks to the desktop behind the receptionist's desk and refreshes the patient page. A new patient with an orange dot appears and Yoongi reads the summary.
"I have someone in two. Let me know when seven is done with the lidocaine application."
"Will do." Beatrice salutes and Yoongi smiles as he walks away.
Being called in on days like this is an easy duty. A very easy, successful shift.
A|N
#I'd sell my left lung to see Yoongi babysitting an infant