This entire time, Joel has been trying to convince himself that nothing is wrong. If something had been wrong, if Dane was ever in any sort of danger, he's sure the doctor and nurses would have been much more frantic. If he'd been sick or born far too early, they wouldn't even have let Joel and Spencer hold him for the time they'd been allowed before whisking him away, he knows all this, but at the same time he hadn't quite been able to convince himself. Hearing the nurse say it for the first time sends a wave of relief through Joel so powerful that for a moment he feels like he might actually lose his footing. His knees threaten to unhinge, but he manages to keep his balance by tucking his hand around Spencer's arm and holding onto him for a moment until the feeling passes. Then he's staring at Dane, staring down at his perfect little face wrapped up in the blanket, and he doesn't think he's even aware of the rest of the room. Spencer is beside him, he can feel the heat from his husband's arm, but besides that, it's only their baby. Dane is the only thing he can see, the only thing he can focus on, and he feels his heart beating faster, but this time it isn't due to fear or anxiety, he's just full of love and overwhelmed by emotion that he can't seem to respond in any other way.
"Can I hold him?" Charlotte asks, the first to break the silence, and Joel looks at her with a smile. He hadn't been sure if she would be afraid to pick him up or if she would immediately decide she's an expert at holding babies. With his sister, he's never quite sure if she's going to end up on one extreme end of the spectrum or the other, but it's always an extreme. Charlotte never does anything halfway and it's part of what he's always admired about her. She's brave in ways Joel has never been.
"Yeah," he says. "Of course you can hold him."
Dane is still blinking sleepily and Joel knows he's far too young to be able to focus on anything, but he still likes to know the baby is maybe already beginning to recognize the shapes and sounds that make up him and Spencer. He makes a soft little gurgling sound when Charlotte picks him up and she does so with the ease of someone who really is comfortable holding babies, although he can't remember a time when she might have had any reason to hold a baby. Still, she cradles Dane expertly, smiling down at his face and touching one finger gently to the tip of his tiny nose.
"Hi, Dane," she says, her voice soft. "I'm your Aunt Charlotte and any time your stupid dads won't let you do something fun, that's where I come in. Or probably Coop, I bet he's going to try and take over the fun uncle thing from me, but I met you first. You remember that when he swoops in with the fancy house on the beach and all his puppies. I met you first."
"Hey, this stupid dad is letting you hold his baby," Joel protests, but he's laughing anyway, mostly because he thinks Charlotte is probably right. She and Coop are going to have to fight over who gets to do all the fun things with Dane, like fill him up with sugar and get him really hyper before sending him home. He's sure they'll both find ways to make it possible.
"And not for much longer, it's my turn," Ellie adds, holding her arms out for Dane. "You can only deprive a grandmother of holding her first grandchild for so long before she turns nasty and I don't care if we're in a hospital, I will whip out the magic if that's what it takes to get him into my arms."
"Oh my god, here," Charlotte says, rolling her eyes as she carefully passes the baby along to Ellie. "You'd think I'd been hogging him for an hour or something instead of thirty seconds."
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"Can I hold him?" Charlotte asks, the first to break the silence, and Joel looks at her with a smile. He hadn't been sure if she would be afraid to pick him up or if she would immediately decide she's an expert at holding babies. With his sister, he's never quite sure if she's going to end up on one extreme end of the spectrum or the other, but it's always an extreme. Charlotte never does anything halfway and it's part of what he's always admired about her. She's brave in ways Joel has never been.
"Yeah," he says. "Of course you can hold him."
Dane is still blinking sleepily and Joel knows he's far too young to be able to focus on anything, but he still likes to know the baby is maybe already beginning to recognize the shapes and sounds that make up him and Spencer. He makes a soft little gurgling sound when Charlotte picks him up and she does so with the ease of someone who really is comfortable holding babies, although he can't remember a time when she might have had any reason to hold a baby. Still, she cradles Dane expertly, smiling down at his face and touching one finger gently to the tip of his tiny nose.
"Hi, Dane," she says, her voice soft. "I'm your Aunt Charlotte and any time your stupid dads won't let you do something fun, that's where I come in. Or probably Coop, I bet he's going to try and take over the fun uncle thing from me, but I met you first. You remember that when he swoops in with the fancy house on the beach and all his puppies. I met you first."
"Hey, this stupid dad is letting you hold his baby," Joel protests, but he's laughing anyway, mostly because he thinks Charlotte is probably right. She and Coop are going to have to fight over who gets to do all the fun things with Dane, like fill him up with sugar and get him really hyper before sending him home. He's sure they'll both find ways to make it possible.
"And not for much longer, it's my turn," Ellie adds, holding her arms out for Dane. "You can only deprive a grandmother of holding her first grandchild for so long before she turns nasty and I don't care if we're in a hospital, I will whip out the magic if that's what it takes to get him into my arms."
"Oh my god, here," Charlotte says, rolling her eyes as she carefully passes the baby along to Ellie. "You'd think I'd been hogging him for an hour or something instead of thirty seconds."