Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ Aishiteru, otou-chan ❯ One-Shot

To my dear friends for Christmas. I know this isn't much, but this was the best I could do on the tight budget that I'm on at the moment. ^_^ I do hope that you all like it, I'm sorry if I've disappointed you. Merry Christmas, or Happy Hanukkah, or whatever you celebrate. May all the luck in the world come to you.

Most of you can probably figure out who this is before the end of the story, but if not, tell me who you thought it might be. *shrugs* I hope that you like it, for I'm also entering it in a contest. Merry Christmas.

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"Mommy, I'm bored."

The young woman sitting on the bed next to him smiled slightly. "Sweetie, I know you are, but I can't help that."

The two, almost three year old that sat next to her, played with the cushions the chair. "Can we go see the baby?"

His mother shook her head. "Momma can't take you, but maybe Papa can when he comes back. Do you still have that bear that you bought him a few months back?"

The little boy nodded. "Yep, and it's a moose Mommy, not a bear."

"I stand corrected," She smiled down at her little son, sighing as she thought of her other. The baby that she had just had was about a month and a half early, and so tiny, not much bigger than the moose that his brother had bought for him during the Christmas holidays.

The young woman was no more than twenty-two years old; barely ready to raise a family with her husband, and pay this huge hospital bill that she knew she was bound to have. She had to pay for the labor, and that was bad enough, but down she had to pay for the care that they were currently giving her little baby. She feared for herself, but mostly, for her baby's life.

"Mommy, when is Papa coming back?"

She snapped out of her thoughts, turning to the boy. "He should be here any moment, maybe he'll bring you a game, or read to you or something."

Her son nodded, going back to the coloring book that he had been coloring, well, attempting to anyway, in. He lifted one up to his mother, prouder than anything that he had managed to stay in the lines in one. "Look Momma!!!!" he cried, jumping from his chair to show her. "I did it!"

She smiled. "Yes you did, good job son!" She kissed the top of his head, looking as the door to the hospital room opened. "Hey there."

The young man closed the door behind him, smiling at his wife and older son. "Hello there." He ruffled his son's hair, smiling as the little boy glared up at him. "How are we today?"

"Very tired." The woman sighed. "Can you take him to see the baby? The doctors won't let me out of the bed, so I can't take him."

The young man nodded. "Yes, but I'm going to take him home first, I've got a few thing I've got to pick up, plus he needs to get that toy be bought for the baby."

His wife nodded. "Be careful."

He kissed the top of her head, smiling. "Always am."

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"Alright little one, pick out the things you need." He smiled at his son as the little boy ran to the back bedroom.

The boy knew what he wanted. He grabbed the stuffed moose that he had picked out especially for his little brother. He had bought it during Christmas time, and had picked out a reindeer for himself. His mother was only a month along with the baby, but he had felt so strongly about that little moose that he thought it was the perfect gift for when the baby joined him in the world.

The moose was a dark brown color, with tan, velvet horns. He was wearing a red shirt, with a green pocket that said, `Snowflake Friends' on it. The year, 1991, was written on the foot of the moose. He was very cuddly and the boy was sure that the baby would like it. If not now, then when he gets older.

The toddler ran out of the room to his father. "I have it, Papa." He held the moose up to his father, grinning from ear to ear.

His father smiled, and took his sons hand. "Let's go see your little brother now."

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The ride to the hospital was an exciting one for the boy. He grinned the entire way, looking from the moose, to his father, then out the window. "Papa?"

"Hm?"

"Do you think that the baby will like the moose I bought for him?"

The father smiled down at his son. "I'm sure he'll love it. Why wouldn't he? He's got a great brother that obviously cares a lot about him." He parked the car. "Come on, lets go see him now.

The toddler looked around the hospital, noting in his little mind that it was a different section that what his mother was in. The baby section of the hospital was very quiet, as not to wake the babies. "Papa, we passed where the babies are."

His father shook his head. "You're brother is in a different section." He led his son into a large room, where the first then the boy saw was small boxes that held the babies, and a lot of women, or parents crying.

"Why is the baby in here?"

"Because your brother was born a little early. He needs help staying alive right now." His father led him to a certain box.

"Why is he in a box?"

His father laughed. "It's called an incubator. It's what's helping your bother. Here," He picked his son up and lifted him to the baby. "See, your brother is in there."

The toddler gasp as he saw one of the tiniest things he'd seen. "He's small, Papa." He saw his father nod sadly and he stared down at the baby.

The baby was breathing softly, not opening his eyes. The little one took the moose in his hand, and placed it in with his little brother. He smiled as the baby felt the soft fur of the stuffed animal, and for the first time for anyone, opened his eyes.

"Papa!" he said softly. "He's opening his eyes!"

"He's looking at you."

The baby was about as big as the moose itself, and his brother watched him as he wrapped a hand around one of the antlers and silently tried to sleep again. His brother stuck a hand in the hole in the `box' and stroked the baby's hand. "Sleep little one…. Papa?"

"Yes?"

"What's his name again?"

"Ken. Ichijouji Ken."

The little boy, Ichijouji Osamu, nodded and looked back down at his little brother. He remembered his mother telling him something.

You're a big brother now. It's your job to protect him from all the mean things in the world. Can you do that?

Yep.

The two Ichijouji brothers both were amazed, even if one was just born, as the stared at each other, both making a small promise to themselves. The eldest of the two stared the small boy and promised himself never to leave this small child that he was so amazed with. "Aishiteru otou-chan."

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Ichijouji Osamu, now eleven years old, stared down at his sleeping little brother. He brushed his fingers through the eight-year-olds indigo hair. He smiled as he noted that `Moose', as Ken had named him, was lying next to Ken. The moose was now very dirty, and patches of fur had fallen out in places.

As Osamu looked down at his younger brother, he felt proud. Proud that he was this marvelous boy's older brother, and that Ken was going to go far in life. He smiled as he stood up off of the boy's bed, flipping off the light switch as he did so.

As Osamu walked out of the room, he looked back just once more. "Good night Ken-chan. Aishiteru, otou-chan."