“Alright, dads, two of you come with me and our little guy, and one of you can stay behind with mom while we get her prepared to go back to the room.”
“I’ll stay,” Max says, petting Sloane’s hair.
Bram and I both give him a nod as the nurse puts the baby in a clear little bassinet and pushes him back to the room. She does a few more things there.
I take pictures of everything while Bram calls Sloane’s family, and I shoot off a text to my dad.
We already know all the protocol about what Sloane wanted for her birth, and she wanted her close family here at the hospital after. Friends would be once we get home.
Bram tosses an arm around my shoulder and squeezes me as we look at the tiny human we’re now responsible for.
“Holy shit. We’re dads,” he says, and I bump his hip with mine.
Not so long ago, Bram didn’t even know who the fuck I was, but now he’s one of the people I trust most in this world. Now we have a child together. It’s crazy how life brings you to the people you need at the right time.
Sloane and Max get brought back into the room, and I carefully pick the baby up. It’s probably the most terrifying moment of my life. I grew up around kids smaller than me, but a baby is a whole different thing.
I put him in Sloane’s arms, and she just stares down at him for a long moment before looking up at the three of us.
“Nothing ever goes to plan with us, does it?” she says before taking off the baby’s hat and stroking his soft blond hair. He doesn’t have a lot of it, but it’s definitely there.
“What do you think about Arie?” she says, looking at Bram.
“He’s ten pounds,liefje. You can’t name him Arie,” he says.
She snorts and looks back at the small little guy when in actuality, I suppose he isn’t so small as far as newborns are concerned.
“He needs a strong name,” Bram says.
“What do you think about a combination of all of your names?” I furrow my brow and look at the other men, and Sloane bites her lip. “Braxton,” she whispers. “Bram, Max, and Ethan. I know the end is on and not an, but it’s pretty close.”
The three of us look at each other. She wants to name her son after all of us.
“I think that’s a strong name, baby,” Max says, looking down at our son. “Can I hold him?” She nods, and Max swallows. “Can I sit down and someone hand him to me?”
Bram clears his throat and picks Braxton up. “Brax for short?” he says, glancing at Sloane who nods. “Brax Nilsen, a third generation hockey player. Son of Bram Nilsen, Max Connery, and Ethan Heart, and grandson of the legendary Kristoff Applegate. You’re going to go far,” he coos at the baby.
Sloane smiles wildly as Bram hands the baby to Max.
Max looks a little panicked. “Am I doing this right?”
“Yes, just support his head. There you go.” Sloane cheers him on as she nestles into the bed more, and I come over to her bedside.
“What do you need?”
“An entire sushi boat to myself and a Dr. Pepper,” she says.
“I can do that. Are you okay if I pick up my dad and bring him over too?”
“Of course,” she says, squeezing my hand tightly.
When I come back to the hospital with a massive bag of sushi, a six-pack of Dr. Pepper, and my ailing father, the room is full of family.
Sloane’s mothers are checking on her while Henderson and Kristoff are holding Braxton.
Max gets up so my father can sit, and I help him with his walker as he looks up at me.
“You’re the best thing that ever happened to me, son. Now this is the second best,” he says, making me wipe under my eyes as I put Sloane’s food down and transfer the bundle from Kristoff to my dad.
