Day 4: Wedding/Family Life/[Love Child]

I'm obviously not a doctor, so I don't know the entire logistics of the NICU, so my knowledge is from the minimum amount of research and movies, which is probably wrong in that aspect.

Tired Shuichi: drkinedits on Tumblr
Sayaka: Dixonic_ on Reddit
Emi: yunimikii on Danganronpa Amino
Saizono kid belongs to Instagram user lonelyheart_art.21/Katelyn

Sayaka took a small sip from her water before looking through the glass that separated her from her baby girl. This had been her view ever since she was born, unable to properly see or hold her baby.

Emi was only born a month early, but for whatever reason, she was so small and sick, like a premie. When she was born, it took a moment for her to cry, but as soon as she did, she sounded like a mouse. The bluenette was happy she was alive, but her baby crying and not sounding like a baby hurt her.

Since then, she'd been in the NICU. A full month and she had made such little progress. Everytime Sayaka looked at the small baby through the glass, she couldn't help but tear up.

The door opened and a male walked in with two cups of coffee. The female smiled softly at the male, setting her water to the side. "Hey, Shuichi..." Shuichi smiled back and sat next to her, handing her one of the coffees. She carefully took it and, with a small thank you, took a sip.

"Have you heard anything?" "No, not yet. Have you?" Shuichi shook his head, making Sayaka sigh and slowly drink her coffee.

Shuichi was a doctor for this hospital and the connecting clinic, but he specialized more in pregnancy and other child care, not sickly newborns. As such, Shuichi had to continue working, but was luckily close enough to visit his wife and child when he got the chance.

The bluenette set her cup of coffee down on the table next to the couch and got up, her husband watching as she went to the window and placed her hand on it, looking in at all the newborns. All of them were new, the others that had been here before or even a little after Emi got here were healthy and had gone home to their happy families.

"It's not fair..." The doctor looked at his wife in worry, but didn't say anything. He knew what she meant, but it was best to let her speak than try to say anything first..

"Why is our baby still here? Why is every other baby fine and healthy, all of them making progress, while our sweet little girl is still on the oxygen machine, having to fight for her life?" Shuichi frowned and set his own coffee down, going over to his wife and putting his arm around her. "I know, angel. It's just how it is. But I can tell she'll get better, I know she will." "HOW DO YOU KNOW!?" She whipped around to face him, her face turning red as her tears fell.

The bluenet had to quickly shush her when a nurse inside looked over at them angrily. He looked in and saw the babies being a little fussy, but none looked to have woken or been too shooken.

Sayaka's eyes widened as she realized her mistake, whimpering quickly as she fell to her knees, Shuichi falling with her as he held her close. "I'm so sorry, Shuichi...I'm just...I'm scared. I know she's alive, I know she's stable, but I just...don't want her to be in pain. I'll love her, no matter what, but I don't want her suffering because of me."

Shuichi gently pulled her away and held her face, using his thumbs to wipe her tears. "Baby, this isn't your fault. This just happens. I've seen it plenty of times, and I've seen so many mothers break down in tears, believing it's their fault. It's a sad reality, but it happens. You can't do much for her right now. But what you can do is stay by her side. Continue to love her. It may not seem like much, but in her eyes, it will be the best thing."

The bluenette couldn't help but begin to cry more, but this time, joy was mixed in. She fell in his chest again, letting his scrubs muffle her cries, as to not disturb the newborns, and hugging him tightly as she did so. Shuichi only petted her hair gently, giving her kisses on her head as comfort. "She'll make it, baby. She has you as her mother, the strongest woman I know. I promise she'll be okay."

After a moment, she sniffled and moved her head so she could speak, laying her ear where his heart was. "How did I get so lucky..." "I think that's a question we both want an answer to." He chuckled softly and leaned down, giving her a gentle kiss on her forehead, making her smile softly.

The door into the NICU suddenly opened and a nurse walked out with a clipboard, scanning the room before setting her eyes on the couple. "Dr. and Mrs. Saihara?" Sayaka looked up and got a little scared, scrambling to get to her feet. Her husband carefully helped her, getting up and standing by her side while holding her hand.

"We're sorry, we didn't mean to be loud, I was just-" The nurse stopped her, giggling a little. "No no, it's alright. Aside from the sudden outburst, everything is fine. I came out to inform you two that Emi has finally shown a significant amount of progress. She still has a ways to go, but she's finally able to get off the oxygen mask, and is beginning to show color in her skin. Well, enough color as you two have."

The bluenette's eyes widened as she smiled brightly, tears returning. "Emi's okay...?" "Yes ma'am. So much so, she's allowed to have visitors now, after washing your hands and wearing the protective scrubs."

The couple both gasped at the same time. Emi had been so sick that they couldn't even go in to hold her hand, and only ever got contact from the latex gloves of the nurse and doctors. While she would still only have that latex, her own mother and father would finally be in there with her.

The nurse ushered them into the room, which had two large baskets with clean and unclean scrubs, a counter with masks and gloves and a sink in the corner. Shuichi did the procedure needed while helping Sayaka at the same time. Once all her hair was under the cap and he washed his hands and put gloves on, the nurse scanned them in.

Making their way through the incubators, they could see each unique baby, each having their own illnesses to deal with. Sayaka could only imagine how the mothers were feeling, much like she was right now.

"Here she is." The couple looked over and saw a small baby girl in an incubator near the middle of the room, her eyes wandering as she held her foot as best as she could. Her eyes landed on the two adults who looked back with tears, a smile growing on her face as she cooed up at them.

Sayaka put her hand over her covered mouth, her tears returning once again. "Hello, sweet Emi..." Shuichi softly whispered, placing his hand on top of the incubator. Emi tried to reach up for his hand, but frowned from how short her arms were.

"You can open the little holes and hold her hand for now, but keep your gloves on, okay?" "Yes ma'am, thank you." The nurse smiled softly at the family as Sayaka carefully opened one of the holes and put her hand in, carefully taking Emi's. The little girl giggled and squeezed her hand as best as she could, as well as holding on as tightly as possible. "I'll be checking on the other babies while you two are here. Call if you need me." "Thank you, Katelyn."

Katelyn smiled and nodded before going to make her rounds with the other newborns.

Shuichi took his turn by opening a hole on the other side and putting his arm in to take his daughter's hand. Emi giggled and looked over at the male, babbling a little as she drooled slightly. Her mother giggled softly and tried to wipe her mouth, but only smeared it. The bluenet chuckled and shook his head. "The nurses will get it, sweetie, if it isn't dried." "I know, I guess it's mother's instinct."

The two sat there for a while, just staring at Emi as the baby looked around as best as she could, babbling and drooling. She would kick her feet softly every now and then, but was mostly calm. Katelyn came over once to turn on the heating lamps since Emi was beginning to get cold, but for the most part, they had their alone time.

After a little while, another nurse came in, looking to be in a hurry. "Sorry to interrupt, Dr. Saihara. But Dr. Owada requires your assistance with a patient." Shuichi's frown was slightly visible through his mask as he looked at his daughter. "Go on, Shuichi. I don't want to keep you." After staring for a moment, he sighed and nodded. "Alright. Call if anything comes up. I'll come visit again as soon as I can."

The doctor followed the nurse out of the room while his wife stayed. She looked out the window into the NICU lobby, where Shuichi came out from the sanitation room. He noticed her staring and blew a quick kiss, mouthing "I love you." She pulled her mask down slightly and quickly mouthed "I love you too" before putting her mask back up and Shuichi hurried out.

Sayaka spent the next hour or so with her daughter, talking softly to her about her family, her home, and when she may have been able to come home. After that hour, Emi had to be taken for some more treatment, with Sayaka reluctantly going back out to the lobby.

As she sat there worried, she remembered what Shuichi had said before they were allowed in with Emi. "She'll make it, baby. She has you as her mother, the strongest woman I know. I promise she'll be okay." The bluenette couldn't help but smile at that thought. He was right, she'd been through a lot and made it. But she also had Shuichi as her father, who had also had his own troubles. That made her twice as strong.

Their love for each other was strong enough to make her, creating her in her belly for those 8 months. Now, their love for her would help her get through this first obstacle. It did suck that she had to face such troubles straight out of the womb. But with the two of them with her, she'd overcome it, and anything else that came her way.