One more push. That’s all it took.
And then she was here.
Our daughter.
The doctor placed her on my chest, this tiny, screaming, perfect little human, and the world stopped. It felt like in that moment, everything changed. I changed.
“Oh my…” I whispered, tears streaming down my cheeks as my hands came up to cradle her. “Owen, look at her.”
He was crying. Full-on sobbing, tears streaming down his face as he stared at our little girl with wonder.
“She’s perfect,” he choked out.
“Do you want to cut the cord, Dad?” A blonde nurse in blue scrubs asked.
He nodded as more tears streamed down his cheeks. He followed their instructions, and then the nurse took her to get her cleaned up.
“Six pounds, four ounces,” the nurse announced, cleaning her off gently. “Strong, healthy lungs. Congratulations, Mom and Dad.”
The nurse wrapped her in a hospital blanket and handed her back to me.
Lucy. We named her Lucy after Owen’s mom, and looking at her now, I knew we made the right choice.
She had Owen’s nose. My chin. A shock of dark hair that stuck up at odd angles, and when she finally stopped crying and opened her eyes, they were the most beautiful shade of blue I’d ever seen.
“Hi, baby girl,” I whispered, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “Welcome to the world.”
Owen leaned over us, his arm around my shoulders, his hand gently stroking Lucy’s cheek. “She’s ours,” he said. “We made her.”
“We did.”
A knock on the door made us look up. Syn peeked her head in, her eyes already red from crying, Ryat right behind her with his hand on her waist. “Can we come in? Or is it still family only?”
“Get in here,” I said, waving them in.
They filed in one by one. Jax and Kaia. Syn rushed to my side immediately, with Ryat following.
“She’s beautiful,” Syn breathed, moving closer to get a better look.
“Can I hold her?” Jax asked.
I nodded, and Owen carefully transferred Lucy into his arms. Jax cradled her like she was made of glass, his expression melting into something so tender it made my chest ache.
“Hey there, little one,” he murmured. “I’m your Uncle Jax..” He shifted so Kaia could see the baby.
Syn was next, holding Lucy. “She has Owen’s nose,” she observed, then looked up at me with a grin. “Poor kid.”
“Hey,” Owen protested, but he was smiling.
“I’m kidding. It’s a good nose.”
Ryat moved closer to Syn, looking over her shoulder at Lucy with an expression of wonder. “She’s tiny.”
“Most babies are,” Syn said.
“You want to hold her?” Owen asked.
Ryat looked startled. “Me? I don’t... I’ve never held a baby before.”
