Page 68 of The Crowing of Hell

Rooster backed away, horrified. “He’s too tiny. I might hurt him.”

“Trust me. Sit in that armchair and take your top off,” Sarah instructed.

Rooster obeyed, and Sarah carefully placed Link in his arms.

“Hold him to your chest like this,” Sarah said and helped Rooster move Link into a better position for him.

“Shit, my hand covers him,” Rooster murmured in awe. “Is he cold? Does he need a blanket?”

“At the moment, Link’s fine. These four babies are all mine, so I’m going to be here, and I’ll check on you every couple of minutes,” Sarah said and nodded at them.

Shotgun watched as she headed to another couple and then turned to Rooster.

“Fuck, brother, I’ve never seen anything so tiny,” Shotgun whispered in awe. He went to offer Link a finger and pulled back, looking at his hands.

Rooster smiled as Shotgun washed them for the third time and then, for extra safety, yanked on a set of gloves. Content, he was protected against passing germs onto Link, Shotgun reached out, and Linklatched onto his little finger. Flailing, Link thumped lightly against Rooster’s chest.

“Holy shit, Link has the Wilson temper,” Shotgun whispered.

Link let out a tiny squark, and Shotgun immediately called for Sarah. She came over and peered at Link.

“He made a noise,” Shotgun explained with panic on his face. Rooster was a little panicked himself.

“Link will makes noises. Although I’m surprised he has. He’s certainly having a tantrum,” Sarah said with a smile as Link’s arms and legs flailed.

“Is he in pain?”

“I hate to tell you this, but yes. Link’s been born far too early, and everything hurts his ears. Although his eyes aren’t open, his eyelids are so thin he can still see some light. He’s on pure oxygen to help him breathe, and we’re monitoring everything. Link does feel pain, but we’re doing everything we can to mitigate it and make him comfortable. Skin contact is a huge part of that,” Sarah explained.

A murderous rage built inside Rooster, which he battled back. Link needed him, Sadie he’d deal with later. But for now, his son needed his father’s strength and focus.

There was a knock on his window, and Rooster looked up, and a smile crossed his face. Standing there was Kenny with Phoenix beside her.

“Drake has the kids,” Kenny said through the window. “Is that my son?”

“Hey babe, this is our son, Link Kenan Wilson.Kenan after his mom,” Rooster replied.

Kenny’s eyes filled with tears. “My boy,” was all she said. It was all Kenny needed to say. Rooster understood exactly what she meant.

Chapter Fourteen.

Kendara

Three days passed since Link was born. Rooster had barely left the hospital, and the kids were champing at the bit to see their new brother. Link was struggling, and we hadn’t been sure whether to tell the boys Link had been born, but Rooster decided to.

Today, I’d brought the children to the hospital, warning them and showing them pictures of what to expect. I don’t think they fully understood, but I’d done my best.

I’d explained Link was having breathing problems as his lungs weren’t properly developed. He was also being fed through a tube. Link was suffering one of the worst cases of jaundice the doctors had even seen, and this was on top of him not being unable to regulate his body temperature. Link seemed to settlewith skin-to-skin contact, but we had to keep a blanket over him because he got cold so often.

And if that wasn’t enough, poor Link had anaemia and patent ductus arteriosus, also known as PDA. This was an opening between the aorta and the pulmonary artery, but luckily, it usually closes on its own. But doctors were treating it and keeping a sharp eye on the condition. Rooster and I’d been told to prepare for the worst as Link was struggling so much.

That’s why Rooster had made the decision to let the boys meet their brother. Not meeting Link might be a crueller thing, as they would never know what he looked or felt like. Knowing their sibling was fighting for his life had been hard on them, and they’d been quiet for the past few days. Brax had drawn some pictures for Link, and all three kids had drawn handprints to put on his incubator so Link would know they were there with him.

I showed them where to get changed and waited for them to dress before I swapped my clothes. We knocked, and Sarah, who was on duty, smiled.

“Hello!” she said as she let us in. I looked across to Link’s area and saw Rooster sprawled in a chair with his eyes closed. “The other shifts say he hasn’t left Link’s side apart from a shower, and he even eats outside the window, watching him.”

“Sounds like Dad,” Kit whispered.