Declan goes still. His hand tightens around mine, eyes shining. “Hearing it out loud…”
I smile up at him, exhausted but overflowing with love. “I know. Me too.”
He swallows hard, then leans in and kisses me—slow, reverent, everything unsaid in one touch.
When he pulls back, both babies are in our arms. Two tiny heartbeats pressed against us, steady and new.
The next few hours pass in a haze of happy noise—nurses in and out, monitors beeping, voices soft but constant. Then the visitors arrive.
Declan’s parents. David and Erin with flowers. Maya beaming as she whispers, “I have cousins now.” My dad catching the first flight from California.
Sophie hovers near the bassinets through it all, a self-appointed bodyguard until we finally convince her to go grab food with Maya—promising the twins will be watched every second.
By late afternoon, soft light filters through the blinds, painting the walls in gold. The nurses have gone quiet, monitors dimmed, and for a few long minutes it’s just the four of us. Me, Declan, and the two tiny bodies nestled against my chest.
Declan hasn’t stopped staring. He’s sitting in the chair beside my bed, elbows on his knees, like he’s afraid to blink and miss something.
“They’re so small,” he whispers, eyes moving from one twin to the other.
“They’re perfect,” I say softly.
He huffs out a quiet laugh, shaking his head. “I’ve lifted the Cup in front of a packed arena, and this—”
He gestures helplessly at the babies. “—this is heavier.”
I smile, brushing my thumb over Lila’s cheek. “Good thing you’ve got strong shoulders, Captain.”
A little later, the door opens again—slow and careful. Sophie’s head pokes through.
“Can I come back in?”
Her voice is barely a whisper, like she’s afraid to break whatever spell is in the room.
Declan straightens immediately. “Hey, kiddo. Come sit with them for a minute.”
She comes around to my side of the bed, moving slowly like she’s afraid to startle them.
“They’re so… tiny.”
Declan chuckles under his breath. “That’s what I said.”
Sophie looks between us, then down at the twins again. “Which one’s which again?”
“This,” I say, shifting slightly so she can see, “is Lila Grace.” I nod toward the smaller one tucked in the crook of my other arm. “And that’s Finn Declan.”
Her eyebrows lift. “You named one after Dad?”
Declan grins, rubbing a hand over the back of his neck. “Yeah, Charlie’s idea.”
I shoot him a look, smiling. “Ouridea.”
Sophie takes it all in—two tiny bundles, their slow breaths, the quiet.
Then she whispers, “They’re beautiful.”
Something in Declan’s face breaks open at that—pure pride, pure love. He leans forward and kisses the top of her head. “So are you.”
Sophie grins, shy but glowing. “Can I hold one?”
