Holdinga cup full of pebbled ice, Daniel walked into Riley's hospital room to find Dr. Henderson and three nurses scurrying around the room. He hurried over to Riley's side. "What's wrong?"
He'd only been gone for five minutes.
"Your wife is finally ready to deliver." Dr. Henderson said as anurse tied a green gown on him. He winked at Riley and grinned. "Now the real work begins."
Daniel looked at his beautiful but exhausted wife. She'd finally relaxed after getting an epidural, but she had been pushing with each contraction for the last hour in preparation to actually push the baby out.
"You've got this, honey." He scooped ice chips into her mouth then smoothed a lock of hair back from her face.
She looked at the clock. "Do you think the baby will come before midnight?"
Daniel's gaze followed hers.
Eleven twenty-five.
"Maybe, but the nurse said it usually takes a while for first time mothers to figure out how to push effectively, so it might be a while yet."
A determined glint filled Riley's eyes, and Daniel had a feeling she would reach her goal of delivering by midnight, although he didn't understand why she was so eager to get the baby here before the day ended.
"Okay, Dad, I want you to wrap your arms around Mom's shoulders and help her lean forward until she can grasp her knees." Dr. Henderson continued to alternately give Riley words of encouragement and Daniel instructions over the next twenty minutes.
Riley grew more exhausted with each push, but the determined glint remained in her eyes as she frequently checked the clock between contractions. But the closer the clock got to midnight, the more frantic she looked each time she pushed and the redder her face became.
Dr. Henderson must have seen the toll it was taking on Riley too, because he said, “Lie back and catch your breath, Mom. I don’t want you to push on the next contraction.”
"You’re doing great, sweetheart.” Daniel leaned down and pressed his lips to her forehead. “Why are you so concerned about having the baby before midnight?"
She blinked away tears. "I thought it would be good if you could look forward to this day every year, instead of dreading it."
His brows drew together in confusion, then it dawned on him what day it was. A lump filled his throat.
Celebrating the birth of their child was a far cry better than remembering the life he'd unintentionally taken four years ago. But not at the expense of his wife.
Filled with love for this woman, he pressed another kiss to her temple. “I appreciated what you’re trying to do, but it’s okay for me to feel remorse each year and regret my poor choices. It keeps me from repeating them.” He reached into his pocket and wrapped his fingers around the two-year sobriety coin he earned last week. “I don’t worry about trying to stay sober on this day anymore. It will be nice to have our son’s birthday to look forward to the next day, though.”
“Are you sure?” She glanced at the clock. “We still have seven minutes.” Her gaze shifted to Dr. Henderson. “We’re close, aren’t we, Doc?”
“You’re very close, but there’s no need to rush this. You and the baby are both doing fine.”
Riley locked gazes with Daniel again. The determined glint in her eyes had dimmed, but he could tell she was as eager to hold their baby as he was.
He smoothed another lock of hair away from her face. “Let’s let our son decide his birthday, shall we?”
“Okay.”
After a few more contractions, Dr. Henderson grinned. "One more good push ought to get the head out."
A surge of excitement ricocheted through Daniel as he helped Riley bear down. Sometimes he felt like he was living in a dream. He still couldn't believe his best friend was finally his wife, and he'd get to spend the rest of his life with her. And now, they were going to be parents.
It took two more pushes before the head fully appeared, and Daniel couldn't help himself; he laughed at the amount of thick darkhair covering the misshapen head. One more big push brought the body, and suddenly Daniel's vision blurred as he admired his son.
The tiny, red, squirming body was absolutely perfect.
“Official time of birth: twelve o-five,” Dr. Henderson said.
A few minutes later, the doctor placed the tiny, striped bundle in Riley's arms, and tears filled her eyes again. “He’s so beautiful.”
“Yes, he is. And so are you.” Daniel pulled out his cell phone and started taking pictures.
