The Midwife part 5
Nino woke up to a sharp knock on the door and he gave a groan rolling off the bed and stumbling his way to the door swearing loudly when his toe stubbed against the table. With tears in his eyes he hopped the remaining path to the door. His fingers slipped a little on the handle but eventually he got it open and found himself looking directly at Matsumoto Jun. The man was still wearing the same clothes that he had been when he had left the Matsumoto house and there was something of an unwashed quality about him which wasn’t helped by the thin dusting of hairs that were growing haphazardly over his chin and upper lips.
“Matsumoto-san, is there something wrong with baby?” Nino asked trying hard to stay professional when he was almost positive that Jun was here to continue the treatment that he had given to him when they were children. It was unreal that Jun could be here for anything but to bully him as they had never really achieved friendship status and he highly doubted that a baby would be the thing that changed all of that.
“No, everything is same as when you left” Jun answered and Nino flinched hating himself for almost wishing that something had been wrong so there was a reason that Jun was here on his doorstep. His mind was filled with the images of their youth and he could still hear the names that he had been called. He was an adult, it shouldn’t bother him but as it was he could still fill the chill running down his spine as he braced himself drawing himself up as much as he could while chewing on the corner of his lip.
“I’m glad. Then what can I do for you?”
“The baby, she was breach?” The other man whispered and Nino nodded wondering how he had known that. It wasn’t something that he expected Jun to know but he supposed that the sister had told him and he had looked in to it. Nino was surprised at how stricken Jun looked. He relaxed himself a little and then beckoned him inside. He felt awkward to be letting him inside but he was determined to treat him just like any other anxious new parent though it was hard for him to completely push away the feelings from his childhood.
“Yes, she also had the cord around her neck, but there is nothing to worry about your daughter is perfectly healthy” He said pushing the new father down into the chair he had been sitting in earlier and motioning to a pot of coffee. It wasn’t the expensive brand that he was sure that Jun would drink but it was all he had. Jun didn’t seem to notice but nodded as he whispered almost brokenly;
“She could have been dead”
“It wasn’t as bad as all that” Nino hummed as gently as he possibly could while making his former tormentor a cup of coffee trying his best not to wince when he saw that he’d only had an hour and half of sleep. It felt less and he still had to get up and head over to the hospital to meet the new doctor this afternoon before his shift started. “She’s a fighter, she was determined to be in this world, Matsumoto-san. And she’s a perfectly healthy and bouncy baby. You’ll feel better when you’ve had some sleep. You’re going to have to pull yourself together, after all your wife and daughter are going to need you now”
“I’m sorry” Jun said and Nino was almost positive that somebody could have knocked him down with a feather as his eyes bulged turning to look at Jun who was staring at him with an earnest expression on his face.
“Huh?”
“For when we were in school. I know that I was a jerk” Pink colour filled the cheeks of his former bully and Nino swallowed hard, a lump forming in his throat. “You don’t have to pretend that I wasn’t”
“I wasn’t pretending anything. You were a jerk, but you were a kid” It took a lot for Nino to get the words out but when they were he knew it was the truth “Guess nobody would understand why I would want to be a midwife”
“Still can’t, but I respect you for it” Jun said quickly rubbing at the back of his neck “Thank-you, for saving my daughter…”
“You’re welcome…Have you thought of a name?”
“Yeah, we’ve been calling her, Kazuko…”
TBC
A/N: I hope that this is okay ^_^
