|LIFE ANEW|
After a long night of waiting on a bench in the clinic, hearing his wife crying out and seeing medics rushing to and from the bedroom for fresh supplies, Aleck had been almost nodding off. His head dipped every few moments until he heard yet another cry from inside, again and again waking at the sounds coming from within the room. One of his young family members sat by his side and uttered reassurances that his wife would be okay.
They spent a while discussing names and the legacy of previous family members, Aleck was still drifting off from time to time, his attention lapsing until finally a medic opened the doors to the private room and called the pair in. He stood swiftly, faster than he ever had before and glanced down at his other family member who had elected to remain outside. He stepped inwards, hurriedly moving across to his wife's side and offering out a finger to their newborn, which was promptly grasped in a weak fashion. He chuckled, tiredly laughing through what was a flurry of tears. He couldn't stop himself smiling, struck with a sudden joy inside him. He wiped at his cheeks, biting his lip to silence himself as he choked on his words. He uttered soft phrases of encouragement to his child, giving his heart to the newborn.
Eventually, after he had calmed and was no longer as ecstatic to the point where he essentially shook with joy; he was allowed to hold his child, bundled up in a blanket and quietly sleeping after the endeavor. He kissed his son's forehead and softly spoke a name to his heir.
"Alastair."
