Congrats to SusieQ_1994 for winning firsrt place for the first prompt in the second Skript contest! 

Rami stays with Yahya for the first time :D

It was a bright, sunny Friday afternoon, and Rami had the day off. He was enjoying a lazy day just snuggling with Rana on the couch as they watched Yahya play with a stuffed toy in his playpen.

"I love days like these," he sighed contentedly, relaxing against his wife. "Don't you?"

"They're wonderful," Rana smiled, eyeing her son as he bashed his stuffed fish against the walls of the playpen, shrieking with laughter.Just then, a buzzer began to vibrate from her pocket, and the two groaned simultaneously. Rana was on call at the hospital she worked at today, but she had been hoping for a quiet day off. 

"You jinxed it by mentioning how wonderful today was!" she accused Rami as she reluctantly pulled out of his arms and headed for the kitchen, where she had left her mobile phone.Rami sighed, hoping it wasn't anything serious. Maybe they just wanted to ask her a question about one of her patients in aftercare, he reassured himself, listening to the quiet murmur of her voice from the kitchen as she spoke to someone from the hospital. He turned his attention to Yahya, pulling silly faces at him to make him giggle.Suddenly, Rana burst from the kitchen, looking worried and grabbing bits of clothing from here and there and donning them quickly. 

"There's an emergency," she told him hurriedly. "A car accident victim was just brought in and he needs immediate surgery. I'm the only surgeon on call, so I need to go right away. Time is of the essence."Rami looked slightly panicked. 

"What about Yahya?" he asked. "I've never stayed with him before!"

Trying to wrap her scarf and pull on her shoes at the same time, Rana just shook her head at him. 

"There's no time, Rami! And nobody will be able to come on such short notice. You'll be fine, habibi."

"But what if he cries? What if he hurts himself? Oh my God, what if he throws up?!" Rami was working himself into a panic, although he knew that his wife needed to go right away. Rana grabbed the car keys off a hook on the wall and quickly kissed her husband. 

"He'll be fine! Look, he's playing. I won't be too long, in sha Allah, and he might not even notice. Love you, habibi!"

Giving him no chance to reply, she rushed out of the door and locked it behind her. He dropped onto the couch, putting his head in his hands and groaning. 

This was going to be a disaster.

Suddenly noticing that his mother was gone, Yahya looked up from his toy and gazed around the room for her, babbling. Rami peeked cautiously through his fingers, inwardly cringing at what he knew was going to happen. As if on cue, Yahya began to scream, reaching for the door his mother had left through.

"Noooo, habibi, don't cry!" Rami begged him. 

"Look, look at the monkey!" He held up one of Yahya's toys and began to make monkey sounds.Yahya's face was beginning to turn bright red as he ignored his father and continued to scream. He began to throw toys out of his playpen one by one, as his father scrambled to find something to distract him with. "Look, Yahya, it's Barney!" Rami said desperately, pointing to the children's show he had put on TV. "It's a dinosaur! Raaaawr!" More screaming. 

Someone was going to call the cops any minute now. The kid sounded like he was being murdered. Rami grabbed his phone and dialed Hudayfah's number.

"Assalamu alaykum, Rami!" Hudayfah's cheerful voice came over the phone. "Uhh, is everything okay? I hear Yahya screaming."

"HELP!" Rami almost yelled into the phone. "He won't stop crying! I don't know what to DO! Can Jenna come over?!"

Hudayfah smothered a laugh. His best friend, a huge hulking bodyguard, sounded like he was going to cry any minute. 

"Sorry, dude. Jenna went out for some shopping with Emma. Where's Rana?"Rami was now juggling his screaming child and his mobile phone, holding it in place with his shoulder as he patted Yahya's back and paced around the living room. 

"She was on call today and she had to go in for an emergency. And she left me here all by myself! With a baby!"

"You're not a five year old, Rami. It's perfectly okay to leave you by yourself with your baby." The amusement in Hudayfah's voice was clear.

"You're no help," Rami groaned. "Either tell me what to do or leave me to my misery!"

Hudayfah laughed, but took pity on his friend. "I don't even have a kid yet! You should have called Sami... Doesn't Yahya love him? Anyhow, why don't you distract him by reading to him or something?"

Rami sighed. 

"I'll try that. Thanks anyway. I'd better go now, salaam bro."

"Good luck. Salaam." They hung up, and Rami turned his attention to his son, who was now sniffling piteously in his father's arms, his little lungs exhausted from the screaming.

"It's alright, buddy," he soothed him, rubbing his little back carefully, as though he was the most fragile little thing. "Mama will be back soon." At the word "Mama", Yahya began to cry again, reaching his arms for the front door again. Oops, wrong move, Rami thought with a cringe. He quickly headed for Yahya's room and his bookshelf, where they kept several children's books. He grabbed a bunch of them at random and sat in a nearby rocker, arranging Yahya in his lap and beginning to rock him. He opened one of the books and began to read loudly, using silly voices as he tried his best to distract his son.

"Fred the kangaroo went HOP, HOP, HOP, right over the fence!" Rami exclaimed with a shocked expression. His son stopped crying as he warily regarded his father and then the colorful picture of the kangaroo in the book in front of him. "THEN," Rami continued, "Ted the rabbit went LOP, LOP, LOP, under the fence!" He made a face at the book. What kind of word was "LOP", anyway?

Yahya giggled at the expression on his father's face. Rami immediately pulled another one, earning another giggle, and a silly grin found its way onto the little tearstained face. He cuddled his little boy closer and continued to read, varying his voice and facial expressions to make him laugh. He gave an inward sigh of relief as Yahya's tears became a distant memory. So maybe he was going to survive, after all. And nobody had called the cops yet, so that was good too, right?

Several hours later, Rana walked into the house, which was eerily quiet. Immediately worried, she began to look for her husband and son. Where had they gone? And why were there toys scattered all over the living room? She began to search the house, beginning with the bedroom and bathrooms. No Rami. Finally, she peeked into Yahya's room and a huge grin spread over her face as she pulled out her phone and quickly snapped a picture of the peaceful scene before her.

Rami was leaning back in the rocker, fast asleep, with Yahya cuddled into his chest, also sleeping peacefully with his little thumb stuck into his mouth and his tiny arm wrapped trustingly around his father's neck. There was a huge pile of books sitting in little piles around the rocker, with one still lying open and unfinished in Rami's lap.

As she gently picked up Yahya to settle him into his crib, she smiled lovingly at her sleeping husband. 

"I knew you could do it, Abu Yahya," she whispered softly, dropping a kiss onto his forehead.

Congrats to LaughingLove for second place :)

*Rana pulls her coat on, rolling her eyes as Rami carries on complaining*

Rana: Rami. Habibi. You'll be fine. 

Rami: No I won't! What if the Zombie Apocalypse starts! Huh!?

Rana: *huffs as she makes her way to the door but Rami blocks her way, panic working it's way to his face* Zombie Apocalypse isn't real Rami, now move out of my way! Please!!

Rami: But...but...but what if he hurts himself?!Rana: He's just a- *Rami cuts her off*

Rami: What if someone kidnaps him!?!

Rana: Theres a- *she gets cut off again*

Rami: what if he runs away!?

Rana: *narrows her eyes amusingly at him* He can't even crawl and you're talking about walking? 

Rami: You never know these things! *he pouts and Rana pouts back, copying his actions and he whines* Stop!!

Rana: *pats his cheek before twirling round him* I'll be back as soon as you know it!

Rami: That's what everyone says, and is it true? No!

Rana: *waves at him to bend down and kisses him* Oh habibi, you gotta learn.

Rami: But I'm not the mo- *Rana cuts him off before he delays her from arriving late to the resturant*

Rana: Look, this is the one night I get to enjoy myself-

Rami: OH SO YOU DONT ENJOY YOURSELF WITH ME!?!

Rana: I meant spending time with friends.

Rami: You have a husband for a reason. *he glares at her and she just laughs*

Rana: I promise I'll be back soon. And remember to give him milk no more than 4! *the door slams shut and Rami stands there, a cloud hovering over his face as he hears faint cries*

Rami: Ya Allah help me! *he walks into his room where Yahya was laying in his cot, wailing, and he slowly picks him up* Come on Habibi.*Yahya cries in his arms and Rami looks around desperately, hoping for a miracle to happen. He takes his phone out and calls Rana*

Rana: Rami? What's wrong?

Rami: Are you coming home yet!?

Rana: I've only just left! Come on Rami, stop acting like a weakling. 

Rami: Weakling? WEAKLING!? I'll have you know that I'm probably the hunkiest guy in the country! So don't go and say- *he hears silence and sees she hung up* Rana! *Yahya continues to wail loudly and Rami throws him up in the air. He goes silent and Rami throws him up again.*

Rami: You like that don't you Yahya habibi?*he playfully throws him up again but a bit too high, almost dropping Yahya until Rami catches him, ending up laying face flat on the floor. His hands begin to shake as he lays Yahya back in bed but the baby starts crying again*

Rami: What do you want then!? Where's your pacifier? *he stares at Yahya and the baby stares back* You're just like your mother you know! WELL YOU HAVE TO BE LIKE ME! I AM YOUR FATHER! I AM HULK!!*the doorbell rings as Yahya begins to cry again and Rami runs to open it*

Rami: Oh Rana, thank Allah you're- *he doesn't see Rana but their neighbour standing there, crossing their arms* What?

Neighbour: Can you please stop shouting? I can hear you booming from my living room.

Rami: Well duh! You live right next to us.

Neighbour: Well please keep it quiet-

Rami: DO YOU KNOW HOW HARD IT IS TO LOOK AFTER YOUR OWN CHILD WITHOUT KNOWING WHAT THEY WANT AND WITH NO MOTHERLY SUPPORT?!? *the neighbour is quiet and Rami nods* Exactly! *he slams the door shut and starts on his search to find his pacifier as Yahya bawls his eyes out*

Rami: Ya Allah! I'm going crazy. WHERE IS HIS FREAKING DUMMY?!!

*3 hours later*

*Rana unlocks the door and steps in, hearing nothing but silence. She walks into her room and switches the lamp on, smiling as she saw Yahya laying on Rami's chest. Rami was scattered across the bed, his hair a mess, dark circles beneath his eyes and his mouth open, snoring. She took her phone out and took a picture of that moment*

Rana: *whispers* Oh habibi. I knew you could do it. I knew you'd go crazy, but hey! You did it.*she looks around the room and tries to hold back a laugh*

Rana: I bet you didn't even feed my poor baby.

Rami: *in a tired voice* Which baby?

Rana: *chuckles as she sees he's sleep talking* Both my babies.