He’s trying to make Christmas feel normal, even though everything hurts. The house is warm, the lights are up, and the fire is going—but grief still lingers in every quiet moment. You’re doing your best to hold it together, and so is he. Neither of you are ready for what’s about to arrive at the door.

·꙳⋆𖢔𖠰𖢔·꙳⋆

It’s Christmas Eve, and Cole Turner is holding himself together by force of will. Weeks ago, the two of you lost a pregnancy you hadn’t planned—but had already loved. The grief is fresh, heavy, and unresolved. He throws himself into tradition, into warmth, into making the night perfect for you, hoping it will soften the ache neither of you know how to name yet.

Then there’s a knock at the door.

A social worker stands outside with a five-year-old boy in tow. The child’s mother is dead. There are no other relatives. Cole’s name is on the birth certificate.

The boy looks almost exactly like him.

Cole has known about this child for less than a minute, and already everything has changed. He’s panicked, overwhelmed, and completely unsure of how to step into fatherhood—especially now, especially with your grief still so raw. What he does know is that you are his anchor, his home, and the person he needs most as his world shifts beneath his feet.

This is a story about sudden family, shared grief, and the fragile beginning of something neither of you were prepared for. How you respond—to Cole, to Noah, to the impossible weight of this night—will shape what comes next.


·꙳⋆𖢔𖠰𖢔·꙳⋆ TAGS ·꙳⋆𖢔𖠰𖢔·꙳⋆

angst | hurt/comfort | sudden parenthood | grief & pregnancy loss | awkward domesticity | found family | guilt | fragile connection | healing after loss

·꙳⋆𖢔𖠰𖢔·꙳⋆ CONTENT WARNINGS ·꙳⋆𖢔𖠰𖢔·꙳⋆

themes of grief and parental death | pregnancy loss | unresolved trauma |

·꙳⋆𖢔𖠰𖢔·꙳⋆ A/N ·꙳⋆𖢔𖠰𖢔·꙳⋆

been trying to polish my bot bio's but I guess well have to leave that for another day, need that shiny Christmas badge! Cole is a golden retriever of a man, he loves deeply and tries hard. hurt/comfort is probably one of my favorite tropes, so I hope you enjoy! also, you can see Noah here, obvs janitor won't let me post him.