Jay POV:
I was still laughing when Kade suddenly crawled toward me.
Fast.
Too fast.
"Wait—"
Before I could finish, he climbed straight into my lap.
Then immediately grabbed my hair.
"OW!"
Kade giggled.
Actually giggled.
The little menace.
"Keifer!"
I looked at my husband dramatically.
"Your son is attacking me."
Keifer folded his arms.
"My son?"
"Yes. Your son."
"Interesting. Five minutes ago when he slapped me, he was our son."
I gasped.
"The betrayal."
Kade was completely unaware of the family drama.
He was too busy trying to eat my hair.
I carefully pulled it from his hands.
"No, baby. We don't eat Mama."
He looked disappointed.
Then his attention landed on Keifer's watch.
Uh oh.
I knew that look.
The curious look.
The dangerous look.
The I am about to cause chaos look.
Before Keifer could react, Kade launched himself toward him.
"Traitor," I whispered.
Kade ignored me.
Keifer caught him easily.
"Come here, champ."
Immediately, tiny hands grabbed the expensive watch.
Keifer let him play with it.
I watched them for a moment.
My heart felt warm.
Keifer was so patient with him.
No matter how tired he was.
No matter how much work waited for him.
The second Kade needed him, everything else disappeared.
Then Kade suddenly yawned.
A huge baby yawn.
His entire face scrunched up.
I melted.
"Oh my gosh."
Keifer smirked.
"What?"
"He's cute."
"He looks like me."
I snorted.
"That's exactly why he's cute."
He looked offended.
"I walked into that one."
"Yes, you did."
Kade yawned again.
Then rested his little head against Keifer's chest.
Within seconds, his eyes started getting heavy.
"Aww."
Keifer looked down.
"Someone's getting sleepy."
The little fighter who had been terrorizing both of us moments ago was suddenly struggling to stay awake.
His eyelids kept closing.
Opening.
Closing again.
Opening.
Then finally—
Out.
Asleep.
How could he sleep so fast after sleeping the whole night.
Just like that.
I couldn't stop smiling.
Babies were funny.
One second they were causing destruction.
The next second they were asleep like they hadn't done anything.
Keifer carefully adjusted Kade against his chest.
Neither of us spoke for a moment.
We just looked at him.
Our son.
Safe.
Happy.
Loved.
Then my stomach growled.
Loudly.
Very loudly.
Keifer slowly looked at me.
I looked at him.
"...No."
"It wasn't me."
"Jay."
"It could have been Kade."
"Kade is asleep."
I pointed at the baby.
"Can you prove it?"
Keifer stared at me for three seconds.
Then laughed.
Actually laughed.
The sound made me smile immediately.
"Come on," he said. "Let's get you breakfast before the entire house hears your stomach."
I gasped dramatically.
"My stomach is expressing its feelings."
"Your stomach is filing a complaint."
"Rude."
"Accurate."
--
I stood up and walked towards the washroom limping.
He was rough last night...but..... I couldn't blame him, we did it after a long time.
After we freshen up we went downstairs for breakfast while Kade is sleeping in keifer's arms. It's strange. Kade doesn't sleep at mornings. Maybe he really got tired again.
Keifer laid him gently on the couch and put pillows in surrounding.
We ate breakfast but during breakfast my eyes were on Kade.
We after breakfast and I went to him while keifer went to his study.
I sat beside him and kissed his forehead.
I froze.
His forehead was burning.
My chest tighten.
"Keifer!" My voice came out louder than I wanted.
Foot steps rushing from stairs. He was here in a blink.
"What happened?" He asked slightly out of breath.
"He has a fever " I said pulling Kade on my lap. Kade stirred a little.
Keifer immediately sat beside me and touched his forehead with back of his hand.
"He was fine in the morning " keifer said standing up and ask a maid for first aid box.
After a moment she gave it to him.
Keifer pulled out a thermometer to check kade's temperature.
After the longest second of my life the results came.
"100F" he said.
---
I stared at the thermometer like it had personally betrayed me.
"100 is bad, right?"
Keifer was already pulling his phone out.
"It's a low-grade fever. But babies aren't supposed to run high. We need to monitor him."
"Monitor him? Keifer, he's burning!"
"He's warm," Keifer corrected calmly. Too calmly. "Jay, breathe."
I realized I was holding Kade tighter than necessary. His little face was flushed now that I was looking. Pink cheeks. Slightly parted lips. He looked so small.
So fragile.
My chest hurt.
"He was fine," I whispered. "He was attacking us twenty minutes ago. How is he—"
"Babies get fevers fast. It's their immune system learning."
"Stop being logical and start being worried with me."
Keifer paused mid-text. Looked at me. Then at Kade.
Then his jaw tightened.
"I'm calling Dr. Matthews."
There it was.
The worry.
I felt weirdly validated.
---
The doctor arrived within twenty minutes.
Twenty minutes of me pacing the living room while Kade slept on the couch, Keifer switching between checking his temperature and answering work emails he clearly didn't care about.
"You're going to wear a hole in the floor," Keifer said.
"Good. Then I'll fall through it and won't have to watch my son suffer."
"He's not suffering. He's sleeping."
"Fever sleep. That's different."
Keifer didn't argue.
That's how I knew he was worried too.
---
Dr. Matthews was an older woman with kind eyes and zero patience for dramatic parents.
"100.2 now," she said, pulling the thermometer out. "Any other symptoms? Cough? Runny nose? Rash?"
"No," Keifer said. "He was fine this morning. Normal energy. Then he fell asleep and the fever came."
She nodded, pressing her stethoscope to Kade's tiny chest. The baby stirred but didn't wake.
"Lungs sound clear. Ears look fine. Throat isn't red."
"So what is it?" I asked.
"Could be teething. Fever is common when molars come in. Could be a mild virus. Either way, it's low-grade. Keep him hydrated. Infant Tylenol every four hours if he seems uncomfortable. Call me if it hits 102 or if he stops drinking."
That was it?
That was the plan?
"Just... Tylenol?" I said.
"Just Tylenol," she confirmed, packing her bag. "Babies get fevers, Mrs. Watson. It's scary, but it's normal. Trust his body."
She smiled at Kade.
"He'll be fine."
After she left, I stood in the middle of the living room feeling useless.
Keifer walked past me to the kitchen. I heard cabinets opening. Closing. Water running.
He came back with a small medicine dropper, a bottle of infant Tylenol, and a damp washcloth.
"Sit down," he said.
I sat.
He handed me Kade, then knelt in front of us, measuring out the medicine.
"You're being very competent right now," I said.
"I'm terrified."
"Oh. Okay. That makes me feel better."
"Didn't say it to make you feel better. Said it because it's true."
He looked up at me.
"We're both scared. But we're both here. He's okay."
I swallowed the lump in my throat.
"Wake him up," Keifer said gently. "He needs to take this."
---
I kissed Kade's hot forehead again.
"Baby," I whispered. "Mama needs you to wake up for one second."
His eyes fluttered.
Opened.
Looked at me like I had personally ruined his nap.
"I know. I'm the worst. But you have to take this."
Keifer brought the dropper closer. Kade's little face crumpled in confusion. Then the medicine hit his tongue.
The betrayal in his eyes was Oscar-worthy.
He started crying.
Not a full meltdown. Just a whiny, exhausted, how dare you cry.
"All done," Keifer said softly, wiping Kade's mouth with the back of his hand. "You did so good, champ."
Kade sniffled.
Then his eyes started closing again.
Already.
Like the whole ordeal had exhausted him more than the fever.
I held him against my chest. His breathing was warm. Too warm. But steady.
Keifer pressed the cool washcloth to his forehead.
Kade sighed.
I almost laughed.
"Dramatic," I whispered.
"Learned from you."
"Keifer."
"Yes?"
"I'm scared."
He leaned over and kissed my hair.
"I know. Me too."
We stayed like that. Both of us watching Kade breathe. The clock ticked. The house was quiet.
Then Keifer said: "He'll be fine."
"You don't know that."
"He has your immune system."
"That's not—"
"You never get sick. You're annoyingly healthy."
"That's not science."
"No. But I choose to believe it."
I looked at him. Really looked.
His eyes were tired. Dark circles from last night. From work. From being a dad who never stopped.
But he wasn't panicking.
Not because he wasn't scared.
Because he was holding it together for me.
"You're a good dad," I said quietly.
He blinked.
Then looked away quickly.
But I saw it.
The way his throat moved.
"Yeah, well," he muttered. "Don't tell anyone. Ruins my reputation."
I laughed.
Kade shifted in his sleep.
And for a moment, the fever didn't feel so big.
---
Two hours later, Kade woke up hungry.
Not just hungry. Ravenous.
He downed his bottle like he hadn't eaten in days. Then demanded more with a series of aggressive babbles.
"You're feeling better, huh?" I asked.
He threw a pacifier at my face.
"Fever's gone," Keifer said from the doorway, holding the thermometer. "99.1."
"That's still a fever."
"Low-grade. And he's acting like a menace again. That's a good sign."
Kade grabbed my hair again.
I didn't even stop him.
Because his forehead was cool.
Cool enough.
And his little hands were strong.
And he was okay.
He was okay.
I kissed his cheek.
"Don't ever scare me like that again."
He giggled.
Then tried to eat my nose.
I'd take it.
__