Page 75 of Burned

Chapter Twenty-Five

Rhys was relieved to walk into the NICU to see that Sadie wasn’t there. It more than likely meant her sisters had been able to convince her to go home and get some rest for the evening. She usually arrived in the morning and didn’t leave the hospital until around dinnertime and that was at her sisters’ insistence. That’s why he’d started coming to visit Elizabeth later in the evening in hopes of not seeing Sadie. It wasn’t that he liked avoiding her it just seemed to be the best option because things were extremely awkward between them. He wasn’t sure how to act around her anymore. On the one hand he could understand her focus on their child and making sure she was okay but on the other, he felt Sadie was using the baby as an excuse to shut him out. It was frustrating as hell but it wasn’t as if he could do anything about it as long as Elizabeth remained in the hospital.

It had been three months since his daughter’s birth and she had gained three and a half more pounds. Because she had gained those few pounds, she was now able to retain her own body heat which meant she was moved from her incubator to a regular crib. She was also able to wear her onesies. While she’d been in her incubator, she wasn’t allowed to wear anything other than a diaper.

Elizabeth’s stay in the hospital hadn’t been an easy road. She’d had a few hiccups along the way. After her first month, the doctors had trouble getting her off the ventilator. It took a few more weeks until she could comfortably breathe with just a CPAP machine. The scariest part of this journey was when Elizabeth had simply stopped breathing while he was holding her. Rhys had never been more frightened and helpless in his life. Sadie had been a wreck as well, crying hysterically as the nurses revived their tiny baby. There had been a few touch and go moments but now, she was off of the CPAP and only had a tube for oxygen which he was told Elizabeth would be off of soon according to her respiratory therapist.

She looked like a completely different baby. While she was still smaller than any baby Rhys had ever seen out in public, his daughter had filled out quite a bit. She had chubby cheeks, dimples and a headful of curly hair. She was so beautiful. And it seemed like she recognized him whenever he came for a visit from the way she’d kick and wave her arms and legs when he got near her crib.

He leaned over her crib to see her chewing on her fist. When she saw him she started to kick her little legs. The best part about her being off the machines was the fact that they could pick her up without a nurse’s permission. Those days when it was a huge fuss to hold her because they had to work around the machines was over.

“There’s Daddy’s big girl. How is my princess?”

Elizabeth opened her mouth in what appeared to be a smile, but he couldn’t tell. Either way, she was absolutely adorable. “Do you want Daddy to pick you up?”

Again she gave him that gummy semi-smile.

“Okay, let me just wash my hands.” He quickly finished his task before returning to her. Gently he scooped her up and held her against his body before carefully taking a seat. In the beginning, he had been terrified of holding her because she was so small. Even now she practically weighed nothing. But after a little practice, he never missed an opportunity to pick her up.

“Mr. Edwards,” Yvette, one of Elizabeth’s nurses tapped his shoulder. “you’re just in time for her feeding. I already know the answer, but I have to ask, would you like to do the honor or would you like me to feed her?”

“Of course I’d love to feed her. Thank you.”

“She’s really getting the hang of the feeding portion of her development. When Mom was in here earlier, Elizabeth actually latched on to her breast and she has a strong suckle. That’s a very good sign.”

Rhys’s heart flipped in his chest. He would have given anything to see Sadie nursing their daughter. “That’s great news. I know she expressed an interest in breastfeeding so I’m glad that’s a possibility.”

Yvette nodded. “It helps that Ms. Flowers has been expressing so much breast milk. Some mothers unfortunately can’t produce enough milk even if they want to so they have to opt for formula. It usually harder for formula babies to take to the breast if that’s all they know. Elizabeth has been on breast milk from the beginning so that helps. Here you go.” She handed Rhys the tiny bottle full of Sadie’s milk.

Elizabeth greedily started sucking as soon as Rhys put it in her mouth making him chuckle. “You must have been hungry. You’re just like your Daddy, you love to eat.”

As Rhys fed his daughter, his heart constricted. He loved this tiny human more than life itself, but when he looked into her beautiful brown eyes, he saw Sadie. More than anything he wanted them to be a family but he didn’t know how when Sadie seemed to be of the mindset that they should just remain friends and co-parents for Elizabeth’s sake.

He was certain that she’d forgiven Carys. In fact, his older daughter usually visited Elizabeth on the weekends and she’d also say how nice Sadie was and that they were actually becoming friends.

Rhys had apologized to Sadie so many times for not being a better boyfriend that he wasn’t sure what he could do to fix things. Rhys wasn’t sure if he was capable of just being Sadie’s friend when he was still so deeply in love with her. She claimed that she’d forgiven him but it was clear that Sadie didn’t want to get back together, so every time he saw her, his heart broke a little bit more. After their last conversation, Sadie might as well have ripped his heart out of his chest and stomped it into the ground because that’s exactly what it had felt like.

Rhys walked into the NICU with an armful of stuffed animals. Elizabeth wasn’t big enough to play with them yet but he could put them on the shelf by her crib so that she could see them. He’d noticed that the other parents in the NICU had decorated their children’s spaces and he wanted to do the same for his baby.

When he made his way to Elizabeth’s area, Sadie was sitting in a rocking chair with their daughter cradled in one arm and a huge book of nursery rhythms that she softly read. The baby probably didn’t understand, but Rhys’ heart warmed at the way Elizabeth seemed transfixed on her mother’s face. In that moment he would steal thesun from the sky for those two. Silently he approached and just watched the loves of his life interact.

Sadie was so beautiful. Ever since Elizabeth’s health had been upgraded to fair and it was looking like she’d be home soon, Sadie looked more relaxed and happier. He wished that he was the one who put the smile on her face but he couldn’t begrudge her the joy she received from the good health of their child.

She must have sensed his presence because Sadie stopped reading and glanced in his direction. She gave him a tight smile before returning her attention to the baby. “Hi. I just finished feeding and burping her. I thought I’d read to her a little bit while she was still awake. And from the smell of it, you’re here just in time to change her. She must have been holding this in for you.” Sadie scrunched her nose.

Though changing diapers wasn’t his preferred thing to do with his daughter, he needed the practice. He hadn’t done this since Carys was a baby and she hadn’t been this small. “Uh, sure. Let me put these toys down.”

Sadie giggled. “Did you buy out the entire toy store?”

“Not quite, I left a few items there.” He placed the stuffed animals on Elizabeth’s shelf.

“I’ve been meaning to bring in some toys to decorate her area but I keep forgetting. I have some dolls I can put with the things you bought her.”

“Sounds like a plan. I’ll wash my hands and give this young lady a fresh diaper.” He leaned over and kissed Elizabeth on top of the head. Rhys really wanted to kiss her mother but didn’t want to ruin the tenuous truce he and Sadie had.

He washed up and took the baby from Sadie’s arm. He nearly gagged when he caught a whiff of the bomb Elizabeth had dropped in her diaper. “Holy crap, what has she been eating?”

“Just breast milk.”

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