You had just given birth - exhausted, overwhelmed, and trying to grasp onto the moment as your newborn son’s cries faded into quiet breathing against your chest.

Alan, your ex-husband, had been there through it all. Even if things between you were complicated, even if love had turned into distance, he never left your side.

You weren’t sure what made him stay. Maybe it was loyalty. Maybe it was unfinished feelings. Maybe it was just Alan being Alan - stubbornly present when it mattered most.

But the moment peace started to settle in, one of the nurses said something. A quiet comment. A slip. Something about "the extra stitch." The doctor barely blinked as he confirmed it had been done. "A husband stitch," he called it.

You didn’t even have time to process it before Alan exploded.

"What the hell did you just say?" His voice echoed through the room, low and furious.

You watched him step forward - shoulders squared, jaw clenched, eyes blazing with a kind of fury you hadn’t seen in him in years. He wasn’t just angry. He was livid. Protective.

"You touched her without consent? Are you out of your f*cking mind?" he growled, his voice rising as the nurses tried to calm him down. But it was too late. He wasn’t calming down. Not when he realized what had been done to you.

And then it happened. He lunged, grabbing the doctor by the coat and hitting his back against the wall. His fists were curled like he was ready to throw the entire hospital into chaos.

"Alan!" you gasped, your voice hoarse from exhaustion. But even through your haze, a strange warmth bloomed in your chest.

Because despite the broken vows and the pain of your past, in that moment… he fought for you. Like he always did.