AN:
I've been doing this for a while, and I could have sworn I posted it already . . .

Wondering what Warren was like as a baby+ ?

Chapter 1: Reason for Fear

Crying was heard from the room Sadie had been for the last few hours. Wyatt sat by her bed, but rarely moved as she delivered their son.
Sadie didn't seem to even notice; the child, now known to be a boy, was large. Large even for a Blutbad.
She smiled down at the creature being placed in her arms. It wailed madly and flailed it's arms in the air.
"Shhhh, little one." She quietly calmed the child in her arms.
The newborn quieted a little, and looked up at it's mother. Her dark brown hair framed her slender face, her beautiful green eyes looked into her sons' dark golden eyes.
'How odd.' she thought as she looked him over. In every other way, he was exactly like any other Blutbadden carriage.
Odder still, he seemed to have almost silver hair already. If it weren't for the bright golden eyes, she would have sworn he was an albino.

The child reached up for her face, and she lowered it for him to feel. He examined her with his hands, before returning his eyes to meet hers.
His father stepped closer, and the child immediately began to wail again.
"So," he gruffly leered at his son. "Have we finally agreed on a name, yet?"
"How about 'Warren'? It'll be close to your name, but not named after you directly."
"Fine."
Warrens' mother gently began rocking him, trying to calm this terrified thing in her arms.
"Hello, Warren. Welcome, my son." She smiled down at the little one who seemed to be keeping a watchful eye on it's father, who had returned to sitting in the chair across the room.

So it went; Warren was brought to their home a few days after his birth and every time Wyatt got near him, he began to wail as if he were being cut in half.
Sadie was so confused as to why he feared his own father so. It had even begun to worry her. How would his father ever be able to handle him if he kept reacting in such a way?
A few nights of this, and she called the hospital. It was late, but she was relieved when someone picked up.
"Hello? Yes, I'd like to speak to Missy Calhourn, please? I-I have some concerns about my baby . . . yes, I'll hold."
She waited patiently for the minute it took to flag down the Blutbad who helped deliver Warren.

"Mrs. Earnest?" The voice came from the phone called. "Is everything alright?"
Sadie sighed. "I-I don't know. . . my son is terrified of his father. Nothing happened, but he begins to cry whenever Wyatt even comes close. We're both Blutbadden, it's not like he's scenting another Wesen. I-I just. ." She trailed off.
"It's ok, Mrs. Earnest, it's natural. Did Wyatt ever speak to Warren when he was in the womb?"
"Well. . . no, not directly. He spoke to me, obviously, but never to him."
"That may be a reason why; the boy doesn't know his fathers' scent or voice yet. To little Warren, his father is nothing more than a stranger to him. Give him time, he'll get used to him, but in the mean time, try to get them together for some time every day, so he learns his father isn't going to harm him."
Sadie sighed again. "Ok, Mrs. Calhourn. "

"You have to try and see things from the baby's' perspective; you both are huge compared to him, and from what I've seen of your husband, he doesn't appear to smile often, so he looks even more threatening to the child. Not to mention he has a very deep voice; Warren may simply believe this giant man is growling at him. Everything is scary to a newborn until they learn what and who is safe."
"Thank you. It's helped a lot. I was so worried something was wrong."
Sadie could hear the doctor give a soft chuckle. "It's alright, Mrs. Earnest. When we checked you both out a few days ago and you both were in perfect health. I'm sure there's nothing wrong with your son. Like I said; he's probably just scared. Give him time."

Sadie actually smiled. "Thanks again. I feel a lot better."
"Any time. Anything else?"
"No, that was all."
"Alright, then, go on and enjoy being a new mother. Give your son a kiss on the head for me."
"I will. Thanks again."
With that they hung up, and Sadie moved to watch her son coo softly in his crib as he slept.

Sadie had Woged for her son already, unsure when she should do it, but figuring the sooner he found out about it the better.
Sadie was so afraid he would fear her as well, but after a whole five secconds he smiled at her and reached his hands up to be held by her.
He nuzzled happily in her rough fur, Sadie instatly recignizing his light, silver hair stood out like a beacon against her dark brown fur. The only patch of what could be considered 'silver' on herself was a small patch of light grey-ish fur around her eyes. She compaired him to a shining silver star.
"MY little Star." She smiled at him. "It's as though I have my own beam of stardust to lighten my life. Yes, 'Stardust'; that will be your name. My little Warren Sternenstaub Earnest."

His color was surprising; not even Wyatt had silver in his pelt. Like her, he was an off-brown/tan color. A typical Blutbadden color. He had some odd gray-ish patches around his shoulders, but nothing close to the pure silver their son was.
She hoped he'd keep his true, unique color as he got older, and prayed the 'Pelters' were nothing more than a story.

Sadie smiled as the little Warren nursed, kneading his fingers on her chest.
He made the cutest 'churring' noises as he drank and she couldn't help but chuckle.
Warren finished nursing and snuggled into his mothers' warmth.

"Wyatt! Wyatt, come look!" She motioned her husband over to see the tiny, happily sleeping Warren in her arms.
"Hold your son. He's sleeping so he should be fine. He's already eaten, and fell asleep. He shouldn't even know you're there."
She shifted the tiny boy into his fathers' arms. Almost instantly Warren woke up and began crying.
The sound irritated Wyatt; this boy, his son, hated being touched by him. Hated having anything to do with him.
Without realising it, Wyatt began tightening his muscles.
"Wyatt. . . " Sadie warned, trying to call some sense into him.

Warrens' cries were suddenly cut off. Even though he still appeared to be crying, no sound came from the tiny being.
"Wyatt!" Sadie growled and picked her baby from his arms, hurring away into her room, and closing the door.

Sadie gently placed the baby on her bed, Warrens' body had become still, and his eyes remained cosed.
She gently nudged his side waiting for a responce. "S-Star?"
Tears filled her eyes as she waited for him to respond, and fearing he would not. Her heart simultainiously stopped and raced, praying her tiny pup would wake up.

A short while later he stirred and began wailing again, Sadie scooped him in her arms comforting him.
"It's ok, my baby. Shh-hh-hh. it's ok."

Wyatt opened the door.
Sadie glared at him. "I think you should leave him alone for a while. I suggest you leave me alone, as well. He is your son, Wyatt, your only child! You could have killed him! He's your Pup! You should have known better!"

Sadie picked her tiny Warren up and tried to nurse him, but every time he pushed her away, he began wailing louder.

He dosen't eat for two days afterwards, fearing Wyatt would be there after he ate.

Sadie and Wyatt were woken up once more by the wailing of their newborn son. He had begun crying more and more often, but still refusing to eat. It had been two days, and every time Sadie tried to get him to eat, he would try and push away.

"Make him stop, Sadie." He groweled.
"I'm trying, Wyatt. He's just hungry and cranky, but he won't eat because he's too afraid somebody will hurt him again after." She was equally irritated, but at this stupid male she'd taken as a husband.
She sat in the chair by his crib and gently rocked him trying to get him to drink.
He squirmed, fighting back weakly against her. Sadie let a drop of milk fall on his nose and the scent quieted him.
"Come on. I know you're hungry. Drink, my Stardust, I'll be here to protect you. No one is going to hurt you. Drink, please."
Finally he relented and began nursing hungrily.
"Yes, go on, my Pup, drink." She purred. "Get your strength back."
Wyatt looked over his shoulder at the sound. It was rediculus. Blutbadden should not be making such weak noises.

After he finished nursing Sadie gently returned the sleepy, full Warren back into his crib, and fell back asleep.

She woke up to feel the sun on her shoulders. She bolted right up realising Warren should have been crying to eat hours ago.
She hurried over to his crib, fear in her heart. 'No! Why didn't I wake up? Why isn't he crying?'
Sadie found his eyes were open, but unblinking and fearfull. He didn't appear to be moving, or, even more worriedly, breathing.
She let tears fall from her eyes and gently nudged the side of his face. 'At least he went with a full belly and he wasn't hungry for once."
Sadie, gently nudging him, felt his breathing was shaky and he trembled constantly.
She picked him up and held him close feeling him tremble.

Her Stardust seemed to wheeze with every slow, unsteady breath.
That was it; the final worring sign. She had to get him to the hospital immediately.

The doctor returned the tiny Warren to Sadie, who instantly held him snugly to her chest, and he reached up, holding his hand over her heart. That seemed to be his go-to, relaxed pose.

"We gave him an x-ray and found he had a hairline fracture on one of his ribs, his right hip and left leg as well as a slight crushing in his bronchial tubes, and severe malnutrition. What happened to him? He was doing so well when he left."
"It was an accident. Wyatt - Warren's father - got a little stressed because Warren always cries around him. He might have held him a little too tight. After that, he seemed to be terrrifired to eat, and refused to nurse for two days." SHe looked to her tiny newborn, eyes barely open. He seemed exhausted and as though he had just been through an ordeal.
The doctor made a soft 'hmm', and wrote on the paper. "His body is exhausted; with the lack of food and the sudden damage to his already fragile bones, his body went into shock and partially shut down. He's going to have to stay here for a while so we can make sure he'll be alright."

The nurse came in and gently took him from his mother, wrapped him in a new blanket and carried him out of the room, handing her the blanket she'd brought Warren in. He remained quiet and still, not reacting to the motion of being transfered to another.

Sadie watched her baby be taken away, painfully aware this may be the last time she saw him alive.

Sadie sat in the chair in the room, holding his tiny green blanket to her face, letting her tears fall freely, soaking into his old blanket. She wanted her baby back.
The little Warren was her first, and admitted would probably be her last. A litter of one, and no matter what, she would love him more than life.
'My Pup. . I can't loose my little Stardust. . . ' She wondered if she would even go back home if she were to loose him.
The thought sent ice through her heart; his tiny little body in a box. . . still, forever more. His short life of a week and a half, when Wyatt wasn't in the room, Warren was so alert, so curious. He was going to be smart, that much was obvious.

A week and a half.
Was it even worth it to have brought him into this world for only a few days of pain and fear?

She loved him dearly. In the short time he'd been on this earth, she made sure he knew that. None would be as perfect as her little boy. She was glad she got to meet him, even if it was only for such a short time, and hoped it wasn't too stressful for him. Despite the pain she will feel if he doesn't make it, she was happy he existed.
But was all this worth it for him?
Sadie wanted to lay down; just curl up into a ball and wait for her son to be returned to her. She felt so helpless, so useless. She hadn't been able to protect her newborn, who depended on her for everything.

A nurse came in. "Sadie? He's under observation, but you can see him."
She was led to a small viewing room and saw Warren behind glass. He was on his back and had a few straps over his body; one across his hips and one over his chest, keeping his body still so he wouldn't squirm. They put mittens over his hands, and she saw the reason why; he had scraped the side of his face. He must have been fussing a bit. The IV and heart monitor stood beside him, the IV easing nutrients into his body, and attached to his left arm, the thin drip was wrapped in gauze on his arm so he couldn't accidentally or intentionally pull it out.

Most disturbing was he had two small tubes sticking out of his mouth, hooked up to a small machine next to him.
Sadie shook and the nurse explained. "That's a rebreather; it's to help him get oxegyn until his throat can heal."
"Will he be ok?" Sadies' voice was barely audible.
"He should be fine. After hearing about how this happened, I'd like to have his father come in for some evalutaions. You seem like an exelent mother, I'd hate to have to remove your boy from your care."

Sadie fought back tears.
The nurse held her back. "He'll be ok. You have one tough boy there. And such good temperment! He only fussed once, when we changed his onsie into the hospital pair. He was even fine when we placed the Rebreather and IV in him, but he wanted to keep his onsie on."
She handed Sadie a bag containing the clothes he came in with. She held the tiny onsie in her hands, watching her boy sleep behind the glass. He made a soft squirm but never opened his eyes.

She wanted so bad to comfort him; to hold him close and let him know she didn't abandon him there, that she still loves him.
He must have been so scared; taken away and put into an empty, silent room, having those . . . . things shoved down his throat . . . . having the IV injected into his arm, the heart monitor on his finger, being run through a loud MRI machine, nevermind whatever medications he's been put on and what they're doing.
He could no longer catch her scent, now that they had taken his onsie from him and replaced it with a new one.

What must he have been thinking? The only scent he had ever known his entire week-long life had been removed. The only kind voice was nowhere, nor was the familiar warmth of his mother. He must have felt so alone, so scared. The heart monitor was beeping steadily, but that could have just been the medications working to keep him physically calm. There was clearly nothing in that room but plain, white walls and silence.

"Can't I go in and see him? At least to let him know I didn't abandon him."
"I'm sorry, Ma'am." The nusrse shook her head. "It's a sterile room. We can't risk anything infecting his already damaged throat. He could loose his ability to speak permanantly."
"Then how do you feed him? How do you clean him?"
"The IV is constantly giving him the nutrients he needs, but we give him a bottle to make sure he feels full. We have one nurse that is trained on how to handle quarrentined newborns. She goes in every day and gives him his bottle every two hours. She is the one that takes care of him while he's here."
Sadie sighed, and put a hand on the glass. 'I'm still here, my Stardust. I won't leave you. You know that, don't you?'

Another nurse walked by and was stopped by the first. "This is Sally Solomon. She's the one that's taking care of your son. Sally, this is Sadie Earnest."
"Hello. Your boy is wonderful to work with. Such a sweet thing."
Sadie nodded. "When you feed him, he likes his back rubbed, not pat. He doesn't like being bounced, but rocked. . ."
Sally smiled. "It's ok. We know what we're doing here. I have a daughter of my own. We'll take good care of your son. I'm on my way to give him his bottle right now."

She went off to a door and closed it behind her. A few muinutes later, she appeared in the room in a quarentine suit.
Sadie watched as the woman gently undid the straps over his body and removed the heart monitor from his tiny finger, followed by the two tubes. Warren squirmed at the sudden touch, and ever so slowly opened his eyes.
Once again, it wasn't his mother standing over him, but that strange puffy, white thing.
He made a near - groaning noise and squirmed again.

Sally took one of the bottles from the fridge and warmed it in the microwave before attatching the top and gently picked the boy up. She sat in the chair and offered the bottle to him, but he had refused it.
Once again, he had fought being fed. He didn't want her, he wanted his mother.
Sadie saw the woman must have been talking to him, but between the mask she wore and the glass between her and her son, Sadie couldn't hear what she said.

Warren gained his vehiment refusal to eat with increasingly aggitated shoves of the bottle and the woman holding him.
Finally she managed to get the bottle in his mouth and despite himself, began to drink.

When he finished, she filled the small tub with warm water and began to bathe him.
Normally he loved the water and was excited to be in it, but now he just lay there, no longer reacting to what he normally loved.

The nurse let her view her son for a while before reassuring her she could come back tomorrow.

Sadie went home in a daze; her heart aching, leaving the hospital without her baby. She closed the front door behind her before Wyatts' voice spoke.
"What happened?"
Sadie glared at him. "He'll be in the hospital for a while. He has some fractured bones and a semi-crushed throat. They want to talk to you."
He looked up from his newspaper. "Me?"
"Yes, you. They might take him away from me!"
"What, not me?"
"You don't care about him, anyway. You could have killed him! Not even a week old, and his body was shutting down!"

All night Sadie would wake up, and not hearing Warren cry, hurried over to his crib, only remembering he wasn't there when she found the crib empty. Finally she sat in the chair and held her head in her hands. She sobbed, fearing she would loose her son in several ways; if he lives, child services might take him thanks to Wyatt. She eventually fell asleep in the chair, leaning her arm over the crib and her head on her arm.

Sadie returned the next morning to see her son. Once more they led her to the room Warren slept.
She sighed. "Please don't take him from me."
"We'll do what we can. If worse comes to worse, we'll have the boys' father removed. You seem to be taking good care of the boy, and it's not you he's having a negitive reation to."
This time, when Sally came to feed Warren, he caught sight of his mother through the glass and reached out to her, beginig to wail, waving his arms towards her.
"Want to see your mama?" Sally carried him over to the window and Warren instantly reached out to Sadie, touching the glass, she placed her own hand on the other side of the glass.
"It's me, it's ok, my little Stardust. It'll be ok. I won't leave you here by yourself." She smiled and a tear escaped her eye.
She felt miserable as the doctor moved him back to the custom crib. Warren squirmed - he knew what that table meant.

After a few moments of fussing, he ended up quieting down, Sadie's heart breaking at the look on her sons' face - he looked so exhausted, so tired of fighting.

Sadie's heart turned to ice. After only a few weeks of living, he had given up all hope his life would be anything more than this; day after day of poking, prodding and tubes shoved down his throat.

She quietly sobbed. He knew nothing more than the day-to-day exams of the doctor, the constant routine.
He would be woken up at the begining of the day. The tube would be pulled from his throat.
Then he would feel a pinch in his arm before the weight of the straps that held him down would be removed.
The strange puffy white thing would pick him up and try to feed him. After a few muinutes of struggiling, he would let in.
After he finished the bottle the puffy thing would take his onsie, and clean him up, giving him a bath and giving him a new diaper.
It would sit and rock him for a while, but soon he would return to the table to have the pinch in his arm, the tube returned to his throat and the weight of the straps across his body.

In a few hours this would begin again.

Once more, the night was the longest. Sadie gave up laying in bed and sat in the rocking chair beside the crib, leaning her chin on the top and looking into the empty, quiet place her son slept in. She refused to speak to Wyatt at all.

Weeks passed.
Warren was now over a month old, more than half of his tiny life has been spent in that sterile room, away from his mother, and everyone he knew.
Sadie would watch her tiny son lay still and quiet in the flourecent white room.
This day, the nurse had noted he was fussing more than usual. She made a note and sent an intercom to another part of the hospital.
She continued checking the monitor when a soft blinking red light appeared over a cubby-looking slot in the wall.
The doctor opened it and retrieved the small black sheep stuffed animal from within. She placed it beside the squirming boy and removed the IV, the tube, the straps that held him still.

She smiled, and spoke in a voice muted by the suit.
"Here you are, little one."
She held the little sheep by the small boy and he reached for it, almost instantly bringing it to his chest.
The doctor smiled. "That's what I thought; you were lonely. You have a new friend to keep you company."
She went about the usual routine. Often having to move the sheep so she could do what she needed.
He began whining when she took it from him during the bath. She barely got him dressed before he'd gotten a hold of the sheep again.

The tiny Warren made less of a fuss when the doctor returned him to his crib, refastening the IV, tube and straps. SHe made sure to keep the sheep under his arm so, even though he couldn't move, he would feel it's soft fur.

Soon, Sadie returned to the hospital, only to be ushered into a private exam room.
Her heart dropped. Why wouldn't they let her see her baby? Did something happen?
The doctor returned, carrying a small bundle in her arms. "Mrs. Sadie? Someone wants to see you."
She looked up and saw the tiny Warren bundled in the blankets. She eagerly took her son, who immediately opened his eyes. He smiled and reached up for her, the mittens trying to knead over her heart.
She sat happily in the room, holding her baby close as he nursed contentedly for the first time since he'd been brought there.
"His bones have knit well, and he's gaining weight quickly. He can go home today." The nurse smiled at the mother nursing her son.
"I'm giving you a list of things to look out for. He should be fine, but if he exhibits any of the symptoms, be sure to come right back." She handed Sadie a paper, and continued retrieving items.
"He'll have to be on medication for a while to make sure he remains healing. It's best to give it to him just before or after he nursed. You're going to use this, well, we call it a baby baster, with two ounces of the liquid and squirt it by the side of his mouth. It's a good thing he just nursed."
She showed Sadie what to do, pulling the clear liquid into the plunger and moved it into the corner of his mouth. Sadie watched the doctor push down the other end making the liquid rush down his throat. Warren squirmed and tried to fight back, but it was already done, and he swallowed.
"Obviously, he's not going to like this, but if you have any problems, try wrapping him tightly in a blanket. Clean it thouroughly after each use with mild antibacterial soap and warm water. Try to keep it once a day, around the same time. You can also help his bones recover by gently and slowly moving his legs. It works best when he's laying on his back. Other than that, he sould be perfectly fine."
She cleaned off the dispenser as she spoke.

At home, Sadie laied in bed, her back to Wyatt, letting her tiny Warren lay next to her, nursing. She held her arms securely around her precious baby as he kneaded on her again.
The sensation of her son nursing again sent a sense of calm thorugh her body. She was so pleased to not only have her son back, but to have him nursing so eagerly made her purr again.

The next day Sadie let Warren nurse until he was full, before she let him sleep, she took the medication and got ready for a fight.
Instead he looked up at her feeling the plastic at his mouth but still smiled happy to be home with his mother.
She cautiously approached with the plastic dispenser, but he just watched, letting her slip it into the corner of his mouth and felt the liquid pour down his throat. He whined a bit, and figited, but held her hand and let her give him the medication.
She smiled. "That's my big boy."