Adrien swore he had fallen asleep while standing in the shower. After he had watched the sunrise with Chloe, he was convinced to go home to sleep and shower. He took it as an opportunity to finally breath from the grim situation.
He couldn't stop thinking about his daughter, how cute and perfect she is and how much joy it would bring to the happy couple. Though the thought Emma helped him calm down, but seeing Marinette awake and holding their baby would make him feel relieved upon sight. Until then, he could only worry about his wife.
As he was rubbing a towel through his hair and walking into the living room, he read a text from his father informing him that Marinette is allowed visitors but not many at one time. She's going to be unconscious for a couple more days due to the medication. Adrien thanked his father and encouraged everyone to relax until after the examination to determine her condition. He forwards the message to Alya and Nino, then to Chloe who was starting to worry over Marinette as if they were suddenly friends.
He placed his phone back on the charger on the kitchen counter and laid down on the sofa in the living room. He stared at the ceiling, alone with his thoughts until he fell asleep again.
Four hours later, the blonde woke up to his ringtone he had set for Nino. The sound made him groan as he rubbed his eyes. Slowly, he stood up and walked to his phone in the kitchen, removing the charger, and answering his best friend. "What's up?" he asked.
"Hey, did I interrupt your nap? I called three times over the last two hours." Nino laughed.
"Sort of." Adrien yawned and stretched. "How's Mari?"
"Same since last night," Said the DJ, "Alya and I were wondering when you were going to come to the hospital to visit Mari and Emma."
Adrien glanced at the clock on the stove, realizing it's already two o' clock in the afternoon. "I'll be around soon. I'll buy something to eat for us, and we can hang out at the hospital. I really want to spend time with Emma and visit Mari."
"Alright. We'll see you soon." Nino said, then hung up his side of the call.
Adrien noticed that the bakery was finally opened, guessing that Mr. and Mrs. Dupain-Cheng had gone home to relieve some stress of the situation. When he entered to intentionally buy croissants and other baked goods, he noticed the regular customers gushing over the picture of the newborn baby in a picture frame with information next to the register.
"What a cute little granddaughter they have!"
"Look at those eyes!"
"I'm sure Marinette will recover smoothly soon."
He couldn't help but smile over the positivity in the small room. He spoke up and announced how grateful to have a healthy daughter and how Marinette's recovery is going well.
A few women said that the condition was rare, and how unfortunate it happened to a young woman like his wife. He tried not to take it as bad as it sounded, but he didn't want his anxiety to make him break again like last night.
He tried to keep a smile and thanked everyone for their comments and tips as he attempted to order some snacks.
Seeing families and friends visiting with fast food bags in their hands was apparently normal in the hospital. So walking around with a huge paper bag of baked goods and a drink tray with three large coffee cups was the most normal human thing Adrien could do.
He had texted Nino he was coming up and how many people he had to dodge, but Alya was the one who met up with him at the elevator.
"Let me help you out with those." Alya offered, picking up the drink tray and walking away from the elevator.
"Thanks. Any news?" he asked, smiling a bit in high hopes.
"Blood work as usual. They changed the IVs, and she's able to breathe on her own." She said, checking the labels of the drinks. "Emma is a happy baby. Nino and Mr. Agreste has been playing with her most of the morning."
"I guess everything is great." He sighed in relief, following behind her.
Alya agreed and lead him to the room Nino and Gabriel were with Emma.
Emma couldn't have been happier to see her father. Her eyes were fixed on him as she laid in a baby mat on the floor. She cooed to grab his attention, often getting her little feet tickled as a response.
"Such a happy baby." Adrien smiled, cleaning his hands with a napkin before picking her up and holding her in his arms. He gently rocked her and brushed her soft hair. "You're a good girl, Emma."
She yawned and whined when she started drifting to sleep, wanting to be awake and see her father for a little bit longer.
Adrien held her hand with his finger and smiled. "Daddy's here. You have nothing to worry. You're safe with me, my princess." He kissed the top of her head and watched her fall asleep. "There she goes. Another nap time for her."
"She's like her mother." Gabriel said. "Full of energy, but wonders about the world like you, son."
"Father, you should go home and rest." Adrien suggested. "I know you don't like hospitals, so staying the night was probably bothersome."
Gabriel nodded and turned to pick up his coat. "If you insist." He said. "I'm happy I was able to spend time with your daughter, but I should be getting back to work and sleep eventually." He stood up and smiled at Emma and Adrien. "Have a good rest of the day. Marinette will be happy to know her friends are here with the baby."
Adrien smiled and waved. He watched his father leave and sighed. "You know...he didn't have to stay that long. Mari's parents already opened the bakery today."
"It's what Marinette probably wants us to do." Alya spoke up. "I know in her best interest that she doesn't want everyone to stop what they are doing for a long time if she's down."
"Yeah, she would want her parents and your dad to go back to work before checking in on her again." Nino said.
Adrien nodded and carefully laid down on the couch, placing Emma on his chest. "It's weird..." he thought aloud. "Having a baby now with my true love. I have a new princess to watch over for a long time."
"You're going to spoil her like a princess in that small apartment you two have." Nino laughed.
Adrien laughed with him as he rubbed the baby's back. "We were talking about moving into a home last month. We decided to wait a year after Emma was born to move so we are settled. Seems like we're going to put more of our savings into the medical bills this year, which I don't mind. Marinette is going to wake up, hold our baby, and we'll go home and adjust to a new schedule."
"Just keep a close eye on her, okay?" Alya asked. "If you've done your research, she's going to be a mess trying to get back to normal."
"I know. I'll be there for everything." He said. He heard a knock on the door and waved at the person he saw in the window. "You can come in."
Chloe smiled as she quietly opened the door and walked in. "Hey, I wanted to see if anyone was here with Emma." She said. She expected the surprised reaction from Nino and Alya, but she walked into the room in a friendly matter.
"Nice of you to stop by, Chloe." He said, admitting he was stuck into the couch while holding the baby. "How's your dad?"
"Observation appointment." She sighed, pulling a chair away from a table and sitting closer to Adrien. "Sort of to determine how much longer he has."
"Sorry to hear that." Adrien said. "Your dad held on for as long as he could for you."
"Yeah...well, it was going to happen someday. No one had asked me until now. Thank you for the concern."
"You're welcome." He smiled. "Thanks for talking me through everything last night in the courtyard. I really needed the fresh air."
"I hate seeing you go through panic attacks." Chloe looked down at him. "It was either take you outside to breath or get a nurse to stop you from clawing your skin off in front of the nursery."
He sighed and looked down at Emma again, petting her head as he thought about his emotions last night. "I was scared. Been awhile since I was scared."
"I know. You were vulnerable to your thoughts, so you had a panic attack."
"You know, Chloe," Alya said. "It's not nice to bring that up right now." She crossed her arms.
"He wasn't the only one who wanted to curl up into a ball in the hallway to cry last night." Chloe replied sternly. "For as long as I remember, Adrien and I lost a very important person in our life." She turned and noticed the look on Adrien's face, the face she sees when he's mentally processing everything in his life. "Everything...will get better again. No one is alone."
"Then how come I felt like I was alone." Adrien mumbled. He lifted his hand to see if he was shaking again, but place it back down on Emma's back.
Adrien was left alone to his thoughts during the evening hours. He had visited Marinette a couple times briefly, only to calm himself from the recent talk. He wasn't mad at Chloe for bringing last night up, he just hated remembering those emotions. Being alone triggered the emotion he had, then he soon remembered that he really wasn't the whole time.
During this visit to Marinette's room, around nine-thirty in the evening, he carried Emma in his arms as he entered the room. The nurses had Emma rest in the nursery during his first few visits, so this was the first to bring their daughter to Marinette.
He sat in a rocking chair with soft padding next to Marinette, listening to the sound of the machines. Everything seems normal as he checked the screens, but he was still quiet. Emma had stirred slightly due to the sounds, but her father's finger in her tiny hand calmed her.
Adrien watched Marinette's chest rise and fall slowly, her hair was a mess but a neat kind of mess as Alya or Mrs. Dupain-Cheng had brushed it earlier. Her eyes didn't flutter or anything, her face slightly pale and still.
Holding Emma in one arm, he reached out his free hand to gently hold Marinette's. "Hey Mari." He whispered. "I'm back here again, and I brought Emma with me." he smiled a bit. "I know I told you this so many times, but Emma is a beautiful princess."
He leaned back in his chair and used his foot to rock the chair back and forth to make Emma fall asleep. "Thank you, Mari. I hope you wake up soon so you can hold our beautiful little girl." He sighed a bit and looked at Marinette.
Please...wake up soon, Marinette.