Fear turning into something real and breathing.
“Is he okay?” she asked again and again.
A nurse smiled gently as she wrapped the baby in a soft white blanket.
“He’s perfect, sweetheart. Absolutely perfect.”
They were about to place him in Emily’s arms when the attending doctor stepped in to finalize the medical report. He was in his late fifties, composed, experienced, the kind of man whose presence usually reassured everyone around him.
His name was Dr. William Brooks.
He picked up the chart, stepped closer, and glanced down at the baby.
And then—
He froze.
The nurse noticed it immediately. His face had gone pale. His hand trembled slightly as it hovered over the clipboard. His eyes—steady just moments ago—filled with something completely unexpected.
Tears.
“Doctor?” the nurse asked carefully. “Is everything okay?”
He didn’t respond.
He couldn’t.
He kept staring at the baby.
The small curve of his nose. The shape of his lips. And just beneath his left ear—a faint birthmark, like a soft crescent.
Emily struggled to sit up, panic rising instantly.
“What’s wrong? What’s wrong with my baby?”
The doctor swallowed hard. When he finally spoke, his voice was barely above a whisper.
“Where is the baby’s father?”
Emily’s expression changed immediately.
“He’s not here.”
“I need his name.”
“Why?” she asked, her voice tightening. “What does that have to do with anything?”
The doctor looked at her, and there was something heavy in his gaze—something old, something painful.
“Please,” he said quietly. “Tell me his name.”
Emily hesitated for a moment.
Then she answered.
“Ethan. Ethan Brooks.”
The room went completely still.
Dr. Brooks closed his eyes, and a tear slipped down his cheek.
“Ethan Brooks…” he repeated slowly. “That’s my son.”
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