The Early Bird

Seven months... it had only been seven months. There needed to be a full nine months for everything to work out okay, but something went wrong.
"But what did I do wrong?" Eclipsa asked Tadashi between tears.
"Nothing, you didn't do anything."
"Then tell me why we're in the hospital only seven months in and our baby is in the NICU?"
"Preterm premature rupture of the membranes." Tadashi whispered.
"That doesn't mean anything to me Tadashi!"
"I'm just telling you what the doctor said. Please calm down. It isn't good for you to stress out." Tadashi said and removed a stray hair from his wife's face.
"How can I not stress out Tadashi?! I mean I thought we were doing everything right. I was watching my diet. I was doing the recommended light exercise. I was taking my vitamins. You brought me to my examinations on time. We asked questions at every ultra sound. I don't understand." Eclipsa pushed her head back into the pillow and closed her eyes.
"I don't either. Sometimes these things just happen." Tadashi said and held Eclipsa's hand.
"Can you leave me alone Tadashi?" Eclipsa asked in a soft voice.
Tadashi furrowed his brow. He didn't like that idea. He sighed, "Sure." He squeezed Eclipsa's hand one more time and walked out of the room.
He stood outside of the room with his arms crossed. Tadashi looked at the floor and pulled the bill of his favorite baseball cap lower. He could hear Eclipsa crying again and he wished she would let him be there with her, but Tadashi understood that she needed space. Aunt Cass and Hiro made their way through the halls of the hospital. They found Tadashi outside of the room. Aunt Cass put a hand on his shoulder and Tadashi looked up, his eyes were reddening. He rubbed the tears away.
"How are you both doing?" She asked.
"Not so good. Eclipsa's in there crying and I don't know what to do. She doesn't want me in there and we're both trying to process that our daughter only weighs three pounds and seven ounces. She has to stay in an incubator... and we want take her home with us." Tadashi whispered.
Aunt Cass hugged Tadashi, "I'm sorry honey. I'll talk to Eclipsa." Aunt Cass left Hiro and Tadashi outside.
"Guess the niece just couldn't wait to see me." Hiro joked. His words hung in the air.
Tadashi smiled, "That's one way of looking at it knuckle head." Tadashi reached for Hiro's hair and ruffled it.
"So, are you allowed to see her?" Hiro asked.
"We named her Adelaide. Yeah we can visit her. It's just... it's overwhelming in there. There are machines all over with little flashing lights and constant beeping. It's dim and there are so many people rushing around." Tadashi held his forehead.
"Hey don't sweat it big bro, everything will be fine." Hiro said and hugged Tadashi.
"Tadashi, your wife wants to see you." Aunt Cass poked her head out of the room.
Tadashi smiled.
"C'mon Hiro let's give these two some privacy." Hiro followed Aunt Cass as she walked down the hallway.
"Hey." Tadashi said and sat down next to Eclipsa's bed.
"Hi. Sorry for being so rude." she said.
"Don't be." Tadashi wasn't sure if he should hold Eclipsa's hand like he wanted to.
Eclipsa saw the uncertainty in Tadashi and grabbed his hand. "We're going to get through this together alright?"
"Yes." Tadashi smiled.
"Let's go visit her."
"You're sure you're ready?"
"Yeah, I want to see our daughter." Eclipsa smiled.
Twenty seven days of sleeplessness and worry piled on Eclipsa and Tadashi. They had gotten used to seeing theier daughter with tubes and IV's, but sometimes it could bee too much. They couldn't wait to take her home. She could breathe better now and her suck and swallow refelexes were developed. Eclipsa was glad when she could see her daughter in an open crib. The isolette was no longer needed.
She held her daughter close and a cooed, "You're going home today. Isn't that exciting?"
"Alright let's get moving. Aunt Cass said she's waiting for us at home." Tadashi said as he started the car.
It only took thirty minutes to get home. Tadashi grabbed the diaper bag and Eclipsa held the baby. Tadashi unlocked the door of thier home and found friends and family gathered around.
"Welcome home you three!" Aunt Cass said excited and ushered them in.
"The early bird is here!" Fred said and rushed toward the three.
"Fred, calm down. You have to be gentle and quiet. Have you washed your hands?" Wasabi walked over with a little bottle of hand sanitizer.
"Uncle first." Hiro said a took the hand sanitizer from Wasabi. "You just couldn't wait to see me." Hiro told the baby.
Tadashi rolled his eyes and Eclipsa laughed.
"Nice job Hamada. She looks like her mom." Gogo said and popped a gum bubble softly.
"Thanks." Tadashi said and held Eclipsa close.
"Family photo." Honey Lemon said and smiled. She took a picture of the three. "You're so cute." She giggled.
"It's nice to finally be home together." Eclipsa said.