“She’s beautiful,” he whispered.
I couldn’t stop staring at her to respond to him. I only nodded. He asked me if I was ready for her. I nodded again and he moved to pull her out of her bed.
Instantly she stopped fussing. My tough, buff, and never emotional husband choked as he laughed. He bounced her ever so slightly, cooing at her.
“Hey you, it’s nice to meet you. You’re a little early but that’s alright. We’ll take you.”
I giggled and realized that my eyes were watering. He looked away and almost begrudgingly leaned down to hand her to me. I moved my arms so he could lay her on me easily.
She fit into my arms perfectly. As if she were meant to be there. I stared down at the miracle child. Our miracle child.
I was suddenly blinded by a deafening snap of a camera. Looking around I saw Derek holding a large camera. He was snapping photos of all of us. I glared at him and he shrugged his shoulders innocently.
“What? Cleo asked me to capture the moment.”
Cleo smiled down at Mark and I and closed her eyes.
“She didn’t tell you to go buy the most obnoxious camera you could find,”Chase teased.
“It’s not mine, it’s Dita’s. Thank you very much,” he shot back, clicking and blinding us all more.
The child in my hands started fussing and I looked back down. I reached my hand over and pressed it to her tiny lips. She opened them instinctively and I giggled again. She must be hungry. I voiced my thoughts and Ethan pushed a button, alerting the nurses.
One came and brought me a tiny disposable bottle of formula. Mark took it from her and handed it to me, his hands shaky. I chuckled and commented on it. He smiled down at us and shrugged.
“I don’t know, it’s all kind of surreal. Sorry, I’ll catch up.”
I looked back at the tiny, squirming bundle in my hand and as I pressed the nipple to her lips, she opened her mouth wide and began trying her hardest to get it in her mouth.
I watched her eat in awe of her. This little person was a part of me and a part of Mark. I looked back up to Mark and found him staring down at us. His grey eyes showed nothing but love. All remnants of our fight from last night completely gone. None of it mattered anymore.
“You’ll get to take her home tomorrow. I’ve got to stay a few more days, but she can leave sooner,” Cleo murmured, keeping her eyes closed.
I searched for any signs that she was upset over this news, but nothing showed on her face. I couldn’t imagine carrying a baby for this long and not getting to keep it. This was a big thing, and I didn’t want to leave before she was ready.
“Are you sure? We could stay until you are ready to go,” I suggested but she shook her head.
“No. I’m fine. Really. I am ready for some relaxing time to myself for a few days. Plus, I’ll have tons of time for cuddles when you guys come over. I knew what I was signing up for,” she promised, popping one eye open to glance at the baby in my arms.
“Mom, can I see the baby? Is it really a girl?” Jimmy popped up from her nanny’s side. Cleo looked towards me for an answer.
“How about once she’s done eating, she can be lightly passed around. You can be first if you want,” I told her. She beamed and went back to her seat to wait patiently.
When she stopped eating, I positioned her to burp. It was almost instant and the room chuckled. Mark took her from me and coo’d at her as he took her to the eager little girl. She’d been waiting for so long for another little girl in the family. Dallas, Blue, and Rocky looked curiously at the two girls, but otherwise seemed uninterested.
“She’s trying to open her eyes!” Jimmy exclaimed from across the room. Attention swung their way.
“She’s probably wondering who is who. She’s spent the last few months listening to all of us,” Adrian mused.
Soon Jimmy was asked to pass her on and once everyone had a quick chance to snuggle with our newest family member the nurse came in and announced that she needed to take her to get her hearing test.
“Mom, Dad, do you want to come?” She looked around the room, unsure of who exactly we were. Mark raised his hand awkwardly and started pushing me out of the room after them. As we were leaving, I heard Cleo ask again about Christopher and Duchess.
Ethan cleared his throat and when I looked back, I saw everyone leaving the room. He was going to tell her. I couldn’t even imagine having to do that. Despite being madly, head over heels in love with Ethan, I could still tell that she felt something for Christopher, right until the end. If I could see that, then Ethan had to know that too.
The room in which they were doing the test was small, so Mark went in while I watched from the window. They had to unswaddle her and she started wiggling her arms and legs furiously. She was so pink!
Mark started playing with her feet and the nurse gently but firmly scolded him. He pulled his hand away and looked at me with wide eyes. He lifted his shoulders as if to say, ‘this is all new to me’. He was so damn adorable I giggled.
