Mommy, Where's Daddy? The Forsaken Daughter's Return

"John, I'm taking a paternity leave for two weeks," Ethan told his assistant on the phone.

He heard John Garcia's awkward response, "Ah, boss. Your family owns the company, so you don't need to ask permission."

There was silence between them before Ethan said, "I know that, John. I am telling you so you can clear my schedule and do what you needed to do. As necessary, see me at home with important documents.' "In any case, Dad will stand in for me," Ethan added.

"Yes, Mr. Wright, and congratulations on your babies! May I just say, I am very very happy for you," said John.

Putting down the phone, Ethan turned to his little man, sleeping in the hospital crib. He smiled, took Kaleb in his arms, and said, "Mommy will have to keep visiting your sister for some time... So I guess, you'll spend more time with Daddy for two weeks."

Soon, Samantha came in with Sarah, being brought with a wheelchair. Samantha said, "I'm ready to go home, Ethan."

***

During mornings, Samantha was often at the hospital. She would merely feed Kaleb once on her chest before leaving him in the care of her husband and aunt Diana.

Samantha was often accompanied by Sarah or Amanda, while looking after Kate in the NICU (Neonatal ICU).

At home, it was parental love that urged both Ethan and Samantha to keep Kaleb in their room while he was still a newborn.

They just could not surrender him to a caregiver when he was still a few days old.

During the day, Diana aided them in watching over Kaleb, but at night and while Ethan was on leave, the couple took turns taking care of their son.

Still sound asleep, Samantha felt a sudden sensation on her breast that she awoke with a frown.

She saw Ethan with a sneer, holding Kaleb next to her. Her dress was already open and her chest was bare.

"Sorry, hon. We ran out of breast milk and thought, I could let him feed on you while you were still asleep," told Ethan while retreating Kaleb in his arms.

Samantha's eyes were still heavy after four days of sleepless nights. She struggled to get up and asked, "What - what time is it, Honey?"

"It's four in the morning," revealed Ethan.

"What? You let me sleep for 6 hours? Ethan?" Samantha could not help but object. "Give him to me."

"I wanted you to rest some more, honey. I was worried that you were not sleeping enough," admitted Ethan.

Kaleb was earlier, sucking on his hands, but after having not fed in minutes, he cried.

Ethan wound up giving him up to his mother.

After Samantha let her son latch on to her breast, she said to her husband while turning her back on him, "It's the sad part of breastfeeding, hon." She forced a smile and added, "But it's okay. As our babies grow older, they will have longer feeding hours."

Realizing how Ethan had not responded, Samantha turned to find her husband, already fast asleep on the other side of the bed.

She shook her head, studying the dark circles around his eyes.

With a smile, she muttered, "Poor, Daddy." Samantha looked down at her feeding son and added, "This is his first time staying up all night, being a father... you should be proud of him."

After giving Kaleb his feed, Samantha rested him in his crib and returned to her sleep.

However, just after half an hour, Kaleb was crying out loud again, waking both his parents. Seeing Samantha getting up, Ethan said, "No - no, honey. Let me check on him."

He walked on the other side of the bed and urged Samantha to lie back down. He pecked on her forehead and suggested, "Go back to sleep. You still have to see Kate in the morning." Proud of her husband's efforts, Samantha probed, "Are you sure, hon? You've been doing a lot of sacrifices lately." She ended up chuckling before resuming her thoughts, "It's not fit for a CEO." Ethan scoffed and answered, "Just don't say this to my executives. Let's keep my fearful name intact."

Following a chuckle, Samantha yawned and said, "If you say so, honey."

Reaching Kaleb, Ethan noticed the familiar odor that he disliked.

He shook his head, hissing. He mumbled, "The most difficult part - cleaning dirt."

Ethan had never cleaned off dirt in his life, nor had he ever imagined doing so. However, since it was his son, he had to do it. After all, he repeatedly told his wife, he wanted to experience how it was to be a father.

He had to clean up Kaleb and change his diaper and clothes before finally attempting to put him to sleep.

After just minutes of being cradled in Ethan's arms, Kaleb rested again.

Ethan gently put him back to the crib and pecked on his son's head. He said, "Sleep tight, buddy."

Just when Ethan thought he could get some sleep, Kaleb cried again. He wound up picking up his son and cradling him in his arms.

"Ssshhh. It's okay, buddy! Daddy is here," Ethan comforted Kaleb the best way he could.

Again and again, Ethan had Kaleb in his arms and when he dozed off, he would put his little boy inside the crib. Yet, every time for the past half an hour, Kaleb would cry again. Only then did Ethan realize how Kaleb wanted to be in his chest or wanted his scent. He sighed and said to himself, "Oh, boy."

***

At seven in the morning, Samantha woke up, seeing her husband asleep, half-naked.

She grimaced but first went to check on her son.

Samantha ended up smiling and covering her mouth with her hand. She saw how Kaleb was wrapped in Ethan's clothes instead of linens. The best part was how her son was wonderfully past asleep, thinking his Daddy was just next to him.

"Hey, little man." She picked up her son and said, "You must love Daddy so much."

***

It was just three weeks when Kate stayed at the hospital. Fortunately, she only depended on oxygen for more than a week and had started to feed properly after another week.

With Kate needing more special treatment, Samantha insisted that like how Kaleb stayed within their room for three weeks, it was Kate's turn to care for by her parents.

To Samantha's surprise, however,

Ethan proposed, "Well, we can have both twins stay with us for a while. Maybe we can wait until Kaleb is a

month old to let him sleep in the nursery with a caregiver."

"Besides, you took care of Kenzie and Kyle both at the same time. I should be able to survive it too," added Ethan.

"Ethan, you don't know what you are talking about," Samantha said with a frown. "Are you sure?"

"Positive," Ethan answered confidently.

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After the first night of taking care of Ethan and Kaleb together, the man was utterly lifeless in the morning.

While Samantha was feeding Kate, Ethan suggested, "Honey, let's have Kaleb stay with the caregiver now. I think... he may be old enough."

Samantha laughed her heart out and answered, "He is not old enough, but... we could use help at night, Ethan."

With a sigh of regret, Ethan said, "I guess... I'm not as strong as you when it comes to this, hon."

"No!" Samantha smiled and said, "you did great, hon. Considering that you have a full load of work to do in the day, you did marvelously and I'm so proud of you." With a sigh of relief, Ethan answered, "Thank - thank you, hon."

Ethan dozed off helplessly, not saying another word.