Kyuhyun could hear Daerim crying.

Leaning over, he looked down, expecting to see her small face, tear stained and pink as she wailed. But to his shock, her bassinet was empty.

“Wonnie, did you take Daerim again?” he called out, stepping out of bed.

He walked over to his bedroom door and then down the hall to the living room.

“Wonnie, why is she crying? Wonnie?” he called looking for Siwon in the living room.

He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw a woman standing in the far side of their living room cradling his baby.

“Who are you? What do you think you're doing? That’s my daughter,” said Kyuhyun defensively as he walked towards the woman.

Her head was down as she tried to coo Daerim into silence, ignoring Kyuhyun.

“It’s okay aegi-yah, eomma is here,” she said slightly rocking Daerim in her arms.

“No, her appa is here. Give me back my daughter, please. She’s crying for me,” said Kyuhyun reaching for her.

“Get your hands away! She’s my child!” the woman snarled as she finally looked up and into Kyuhyun’s eyes.

That was when he realized it was her.

“S—Suyun?!” he asked in absolute horror.

“I told you that I wanted her. And look, clearly she needs an eomma. She’s been crying ever since I found her. You’ve done nothing but bring her pain and I’m here to take her back!”

“You really are crazy! Give her to me!” said Kyuhyun trying to grab Daerim out her of arms.

“What makes you think you could even began to raise her?! No matter what you do you’re gonna fail! She’ll never be worth anything in life if she has you as a parent! You don’t even deserve that right!” she said holding Daerim close to her chest.

“I swear to G-d if you don’t give me my child I’ll break your neck!” screamed Kyuhyun as he went to grab Suyun.

She backed away from him until her back touched the wall beside the open window.

“Fine,” she said eerily calm as she glanced to her side. “The first one to catch her wins.”

Before Kyuhyun could even breathe Suyun held Daerim out of the open window and dropped her, before quickly following after her herself.

“Nooooo!” screamed Kyuhyun as he sat straight up in bed.

His chest heaved as he panted for air.

Siwon woke with a start, quickly sitting up when he heard Kyuhyun’s scream and Daerim’s cries.

“Baby what’s wrong?! Are you hurt?! What is it?!” asked Siwon frantically as he tried to figure out what had put Kyuhyun in this state.

Kyuhyun quickly scrambled out of bed and then ran into his and Siwon’s bathroom. He fell to his knees in front of the toilet bowl and retched.

Siwon had no idea what to do first. Daerim was crying and Kyuhyun was sick which put him in an awkward position. Figuring Daerim should be his first priority, he moved across the bed and picked her up from the bassinet.

“Shhhh, shhhh, it’s okay aegi-yah, everything’s okay. I’m sorry Kyu appa scared you, but you’re fine sweetheard,” cooed Siwon as he stood up with Daerim still whining in his arms.

She had slightly calmed down the moment he held her, but she still fussed as he made his way to the bathroom to check on Kyuhyun.

Kyuhyun’s body lurched forward as he dry heaved into the toilet. His body felt sore from the stress of vomiting as he leaned back against the wall.

He cupped his stomach as he breathed deeply, closing his eyes.

“Kyu, please, you're scaring me and your daughter half to death, please tell me what’s wrong,” said Siwon as he knelt down beside him.

Finally hearing Daerim’s cries, Kyuhyun jerked forward and reached out for her.

“Give her to me please!” he shrieked as he took her from Siwon’s arms.

“Be careful!” said Siwon as Kyuhyun recklessly took hold of her. “Kyu look at me! Look at me!”

Kyuhyun clutched Daerim to his chest as he looked at Siwon’s eyes.

“What is happening to you?!” asked Siwon grabbing Kyuhyun’s shoulders as he gently shook them, being mindful of Daerim.

Kyuhyun sniffled as tears started running down his cheeks.

“I had a dream,” he choked out.

“A dream?!” asked Siwon completely in disbelief.

Kyuhyun nodded and looked down at Daerim.

“Well can you tell me about it?” asked Siwon helplessly as he reached forward and the back of Kyuhyun’s head softly.

Kyuhyun sniffled again as he rocked Daerim.

“She was in it.”

“Who’s she?”

“That woman from the restaurant…Suyun,” said Kyuhyun softly.

Siwon sighed knowingly. “What did she do?”

“She had Daerim, in her arms…she had come to take her away from me,” said Kyuhyun holding Daerim a little tighter.

“Well it was only a dream Kyu. Daerim’s right here, in your arms,” said Siwon soothingly.

“That’s not where it ended,” whispered Kyuhyun.

“How did it end?” asked Siwon warily.

“I screamed at her to give Daerim back. So she said…she said the first one to catch her wins, and then…she dropped her out of our living room window before jumping out herself.”

Siwon closed his eyes as Kyuhyun started crying again. He slowly moved to the other side of Kyuhyun and Daerim, and then pulled Kyuhyun to sit between his legs.

He then wrapped his arms around Kyuhyun who continued to hold Daerim and gently hugged them, as he buried his face in Kyuhyun’s neck.

“I’m so sorry you had such an awful nightmare Kyu, but it was only a dream baby. It was just a dream…just a dream,” murmured Siwon as Kyuhyun continued to cry silently.

Later that morning, after Siwon had gotten Kyuhyun to calm down and accept that his dream would never be a reality, they sat in their bedroom together with Daerim.

Kyuhyun seemed to be extra clingy towards Siwon and not as protective over Daerim as he had been for the last few weeks.

Siwon glanced at the clock in the room as Kyuhyun continued to watch TV, snuggled against his arm.

“Kyu, it’s just about time to feed Daerim her bottle. Do you want to give it to her or—

Kyuhyun shook his head as he closed his eyes.

Siwon sighed, “That’s alright, I’ll do it. But I’ll need to go and fetch it. Stay here with her for a few minutes, okay?”

Kyuhyun held onto Siwon’s arm as he stood up from the bed.

“Kyu, I have to go to the kitchen,” said Siwon gently as he peeled his fingers off of his arm.

Settling back on the bed Kyuhyun sat stoic as he watched the TV program , not once glancing at Daerim’s bassinet.

Noticing this, Siwon exhaled as he finally walked out of their bed room and then into the kitchen. When he returned with Daerim’s bottle, he once again offered it to Kyuhyun.

“I don’t want to do it,” he murmured.

“Kyu, what is going on? For two weeks now, I’ve almost had to reserve time to hold Daerim, and now ever since your dream this morning, you won’t even look at her. Why?!” asked Siwon growing frustrated.

“I don’t…know,” mumbled Kyuhyun.

Siwon shook his head firmly. “She is our daughter, she deserves a better answer than that.”

Kyuhyun pursed his lips as he looked down.

“Well?” asked Siwon a little softer.

“In my dream, Suyun also said that…I’m going to fail at being her appa. That no matter what I do…Daerim will never be worth anything, because of me,” he said as his face turned sad.

“Kyu,” said Siwon embracing him.

Kyuhyun leaned his head on Siwon’s shoulder as he felt himself turn weepy again.

“Baby, listen to me. Please…I really mean it, listen to me,” said Siwon the back of Kyuhyun’s head as he waited for confirmation.

When Kyuhyun nodded he continued.

“Last night was a dream. Nothing that Suyun said to you was real, okay? You are you going to be the most perfect father for Daerim because she’s your child. Suyun is nothing to her and she’s nothing to us. We are the ones that will raise Daerim into a bright little girl and then into a beautiful young woman. And you will not fail her. You love her way too much to ever let her down. So please, don’t take anything that happened in your dream to heart. You are the best thing that could ever happen to our little girl. And I love you. I love you so much.”

Siwon kissed Kyuhyun’s hair as he felt him grip him tighter.

                                                            ~~~

Later that night, Kyuhyun’s mood had improved greatly. Siwon had given him lots of encouragement through out the day, for every step that he made towards caring for Daerim.

That evening as they were changing her together, Daerim’s umbilical cord stump fell off.

Both Siwon and Kyuhyun gasped and then smiled down at Daerim who was looking up at them with wide eyes.

“Aegi-yah now we get to see your little belly button!” cooed Kyuhyun excitedly.

“And you know what this means, right?” said Siwon with a smile.

Kyuhyun looked at him with his head cocked to the side.

“Remember the nurses told us that when this came off we could finally give her her first bath,” he said still smiling.

“You want to try now?” asked Kyuhyun a little nervously.

“Sure, we have everything ready. We can do it together, right at the kitchen sink,” said Siwon picking Daerim up and then handing her to Kyuhyun.

“Uh, okay, sure,” he said as Siwon left the room excitedly to go and grab the supplies.

Kyuhyun made his way to the kitchen, as he held her against his chest.

When Siwon entered he had a bottle of baby soap, towels, wash clothes, and a rubber duck.

“Okay, I think we’re all set,” he said looking at the items as he turned the faucet on to set the temperature.

“And the rubber ducky would be for you, I assume?” smirked Kyuhyun.

“No, it’s for Daerim, I just thought—

“That an almost three week old would enjoy playing with a toy during bath time?” giggled Kyuhyun as he started to take Daerim’s diaper off.

“Well maybe my other baby will enjoy it then,” said Siwon kissing Kyuhyun’s cheek, making him laugh even more.

Even if Kyuhyun wasn’t completely out of the woods with his anxieties, Siwon figured as long as he could keep a smile on his face, then he was headed in the right direction.

“Is the water warm enough yet aegi-appa?” asked Kyuhyun squirming out of Siwon’s grip.

Relenting, Siwon ran his wrist under the tap and then placed the stopper in the sink. Letting it fill up to just a few inches, he moved the faucet head to the other side of the double sink.

“What if she doesn’t like it?” asked Kyuhyun worriedly as he bit his lip while Siwon helped him lead Daerim down into the sink. “They say some babies hate the water.”

“Well we’ll just have to hope she takes after her Hae samchon,” shrugged Siwon.

“Very funny,” smirked Kyuhyun shaking his head.

Once they had placed her body down into the water, they held their breath as they waited to hear the screams they had been prepped for.

Looking down at her, Daerim remained completely calm, grunting as she kicked the water with her tiny feet.

“See, she likes it!” smiled Siwon as they watched her splash the water more.

“Okay, but we can’t just let her play,” smiled Kyuhyun. “Do you remember anything else important the nurses told you about bathing her?”

“Uh, check the water with your wrist, only fill it up a few inches….wash her hair first!” said Siwon reaching for the soap.

“Only a little Wonnie, I don’t think she’s been working up enough dirt to need a full shampoo,” said Kyuhyun as he saw Siwon about to squeeze a glob into his palm.

Scooping a little bit of water into his free hand, Siwon sprinkled it over Daerim’s hair before taking his soap covered finger tips and rubbing them through Daerim’s thick black hair. Smoothing her fine locks with his hands, he made them stand up in a Mohawk fashion.

“Choi Siwon,” sighed Kyuhyun shaking his head with a smile.

“What? I think she looks cute,” he laughed.

“I think she’s clean there,” said Kyuhyun. “You can rinse her now Mr. Sassoon.”

Siwon chuckled as he reached for a small cup that was nearby, He scooped some of the water in the bottom of the sink and then poured it over the back of her head as Kyuhyun held her still the best he could. He then scooped more and poured it over her belly.

Her body jerked with reflexes and she cooed as she went through this new experience with both of her appas. 

“Do you like that aegi-yah? Does it feel good?” asked Kyuhyun as he smiled down at her.

Daerim grunted in response as Siwon poured more warm water over her.

Taking one of the baby washcloths Siwon put a little more soap on it and then gently cleaned her limbs and then the rest of her body. When it came time to rinse her off again, she cooed and kicked more.

“It think it’s safe to say she likes bath time,” said Siwon with a smile as he reached for her towel.

“I’m pretty sure it’s been the highlight of her life so far,” chuckled Kyuhyun as he placed Daerim into Siwon’s waiting arms.

“Well if you liked that aegi-yah, just wait until the day you roll over, sit up, and eat solid food,” grinned Siwon as they patted her dry.

Kyuhyun once again shook his head at his husband lovingly, before taking Daerim from Siwon’s offering arms.

“Did you like your bath Daerim-ah? You’re so squeaky clean now. And you smell so nice,” said Kyuhyun as he walked back to his and Siwon’s bedroom.

When Siwon followed after them, he stopped to get pajamas for Daerim. But as he walked towards their bedroom he stopped in the doorway.

Kyuhyun was lying on the bed with his back to the door. Daerim was beside him, on her back, looking at Kyuhyun’s face.

“Appa’s sorry aegi-yah,” he said softly. “Can you forgive me?”

Daerim babbled as Kyuhyun her cheek.

“No matter how sad I get ever, can you just remember one thing? Appa loves you so much Daerim. And I will never…ever…let someone take you away from me. You are mine,” he smiled down at her face. “My precious little miracle.”

He leaned down and kissed her forehead.

Siwon couldn’t help himself as he sighed happily.

Kyuhyun looked over his shoulder and threw his head back, mortified at being caught.

“Wonnie, how much did you hear?” he groaned in embarrassment.

“Everything,” beamed Siwon as he walked to the other side of Daerim and lay parallel to Kyuhyun.

Kyuhyun blushed as he turned his face away.

“Don’t be embarrassed Kyu. I think it’s sweet. You should tell Daerim everyday how much you love her. Just like I tell you, all day, every day,” he said cupping Kyuhyun’s cheek.

“Well I don’t think  you’ve said it for at least the past hour,” said Kyuhyun softly.

Siwon closed his eyes as he laughed.

“I love you Kyu. Only G-d knows how much. You and our precious little miracle,” said Siwon kissing his index and middle fingers and then placing them on Kyuhyun’s.

a/n: Thank you guys for so being so patient! I know this chapter was kind of a roller coaster of emotion. But Kyuhyun was going through his baby blues period, so I wanted to show his more emotional and vulnerable side. I promise though in the upcoming chapters, you'll see more of a story arch forming.