Shane’s Little Bother – Chapter 3 – ScarsLikeVelvet

Chapter 3

Recovering from a hysterectomy while having a newborn was harder than Yuna expected without the support of her family. She had expected her parents to come around once their first grandchild was born, but it was crickets from all of them.

It was as if she and David didn’t exist at all, so they had to handle her recovery all by themselves.

David worked from home for the first three weeks of Shane’s life so he could help Yuna since no one else seemed willing to do it.

He also wanted to keep an eye on Yuna because she had gone weirdly quiet after learning about the consequences of her hysterectomy.

He understood that losing her ability to have children, even after having so many difficulties conceiving and carrying to term was like a knife to the heart for her and he figured, she might try to do something drastic if she didn’t get the help she desperately needed but denied herself because she forced herself to focus on Shane.

When he expressed, he thought she should get counseling—more than what she got at the hospital, that is—to get a handle on her feelings of loss, Yuna glared at him.

“I’ve got a newborn dependent on me, David. I can’t just take myself off to counseling just because you think I should,” she huffed in response.

David cupped her cheek and rubbed their noses together gently before leaning his brow against hers.

“Yuna, Sweetheart,” he murmured. “That’s not exactly the reason not to go to therapy you think it is. I understand he keeps you quite busy. That you are still in pain and always tired, but Shane isn’t confined to the house. You can take him to therapy with you if you do not trust me to take care of him without you here for a couple of hours. Hell, I am willing to go to therapy with you … have my time with my therapist, because it isn’t like this doesn’t affect me too.”

Yuna made another attempt to protest before she sighed and looked at their son.

“For Shane,” she eventually said. “I’m willing to handle my issues for him.”

David bit his lip. He was about to tell her that she shouldn’t put the burden of her mental health on their newborn son, but he figured she wouldn’t go to therapy at all if he pointed this out and right now, it wouldn’t do Shane any harm because he was too little to understand what was going on and he hoped Yuna would do better by the time he was old enough to understand.

—-

David loved taking care of his son. He didn’t even mind the diaper changes, even if some of them could be classified as extinction-level weapons.

Every evening he sat in a rocking chair and read stories to Shane, while the little boy rested on his chest, secured by a baby sling, and eventually fell asleep, usually mid-chapter.

He didn’t just read him baby stories, but also the books he was currently reading, because some of the parenting books he had read said that it would help expand a child’s vocabulary and understanding if one talked to them like a regular human being instead of using baby speak.

Yuna was amused by their evening ritual. Sometimes she sat with them and listened to David reading to their son, but usually she used that time for herself.

She took it to shower or unwind with a cup of tea and her own book.

David did his best to give her time to focus on her own needs and asked that the same would be provided to him. Together they also ensured that they had time to spend as a couple once Shane was a bit older.

He figured keeping their relationship balanced and giving at least temporary priority would help with both their mental health, and their neighbor’s daughter was quite willing to babysit for a couple of bucks, so they took advantage to have regular date nights.

—-

Baby Shane enjoyed physical activities a lot. He squirmed around in his bed early and rolled over before most babies would.

Yuna worried that it might hurt Shane, so she took him to his pediatrician and asked about it, but was told that every child grew at their own pace, and some rolled over, crawled, and walked earlier than others.

“It’s nothing to worry about as long as you make sure that his surroundings are safe,” the doctor said gently and smiled when Shane rolled over on top of the changing table under their watchful gaze. He put his hand on Shane’s back before the little boy could do another turn and topple off the table, held him in place for a moment before turning him back on his back.

Shane made a soft noise of displeasure and shook his tiny fists before he turned on his tummy again, making the doctor laugh.

“So my son is fine?” Yuna questioned.

The doctor nodded.

“He is doing very well, Mrs. Hollander,” he told her firmly.

The worry in Yuna’s heart eased, and she thanked the doctor before taking her son home.

—-

Yuna was home alone with Shane when he started to crawl. He had been kneeling up and rocking back and forth in place on his hands and knees for a couple of days, so she knew it was coming, but she was still surprised when he was lying on his back on his play mat, his focus on the toys dangling above him one moment, and the next he was halfway across the living room, looking around curiously.

“Oh my god, Shane,” Yuna said, clapping softly. “Look at you crawling around and exploring your surroundings.”

She grabbed the small camcorder they had bought for that very reason and recorded Shane’s exploration of the room for David to watch later that day, while encouraging her little boy with soft words to crawl toward her.

It was an amazing thing to see her six-month-old son grow up, though it also made her ache for the time when she was his whole world, providing him with everything he needed.

Later that evening, when David and she lay side by side in bed, she grabbed his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

“I want another child,” she told him firmly.

David turned his head toward her, his eyes closed in pain for a moment before he looked at her and cupped her cheek gently.

“Yuna, Dear,” he murmured. “We can’t …”

She put her index finger to his lips to stop him from talking.

“I know it won’t be a biological child … surrogacy would be too expensive … I know that … but I just … I want Shane to grow up with siblings … and there are so many children out there, who have no one … who need a family,” she fell silent for a moment, gathering her thoughts. “We could give them that.”

David blinked slowly, mulling over her words for a few long moments. He realized that it was true. There were children out there who had no family for a variety of reasons. They could apply to become foster parents with the premise that they could eventually adopt. It was something to look into at least, to figure out if what was something they could do as a family, given that they had no support from their own families.

“That does sound like something we could possibly do,” he agreed slowly. “But we’ll need to research it and make sure that we actually qualify to foster to adopt or whatever it is called.”

Yuna turned and relaxed against his side.

“Thank you,” she murmured.

“Anything for you and our little boy, my Love,” David murmured, kissing her brow. “But it won’t be easy … at least, I don’t think so.”

Yuna huffed out a laugh.

“When has life ever been easy?” she asked. “We can do this, though. Look into this and figure out how to make it work … for us … for our son … and for the children that need someone to have their back.”

David hummed his agreement.

“That’s true … life has neither been easy nor kind for quite some time, so it would certainly be what we deserve for our future,” he mused.

Yuna yawned and closed her eyes.

“We should sleep. I’ve got a feeling our son will be up with the sun just as he is every day despite having a lot of exercise today.

—-

Yuna and David Hollander applied for a foster license, took all the required courses to become licensed foster parents, and got a room for an eventual foster child ready over the next couple of months, while watching their son grow from a baby to a real-life toddler before he even celebrated his first birthday.

Shane was a little ball of energy that was always in motion. When he wasn’t combat-crawling around the house or the yard, he pulled himself up to his feet and bounced in place while learning how to balance, and eventually, he skipped trying to walk and went straight to running as fast as his tiny legs could carry him.

He tended to give both his parents near-heart attacks because they could barely turn their heads for a second and he was off exploring.

Around the same time, he also learned how to climb stairs and open doors. It made for interesting times when he also figured out how to undo the security locks on the kitchen cupboards.

Thankfully, he didn’t stuff anything in his mouth, which could have been really dangerous since he managed to access the cupboard holding the cleaning supplies. He just loved to hide in the cupboards, specifically behind the small trash bin Yuna had put underneath the sink.

It took them some time to find their boy, and it made them question if they could do what they planned, but in the end, they decided that since Shane hadn’t gotten hurt, it meant that they weren’t bad parents.

It took some time until they received their first call from their caseworker. In fact, Shane was already two years old when the call came, but somehow, that call felt like fate.