“Move. However you need to.” Juliette should have been a damn OB/GYN at this rate.
We get Claire shifted in between contractions to where she’s facing me, arms over my neck, with her head against my chest. I have the perfect position to reach Teeny, and now it’s just a matter of waiting. Both of my hands cup the head, and within a matter of minutes, it’s out. Things move insanely fast after this. Claire relaxes against me as Teeny is finally out and in my hands.
“Oh my God.” Tears roll down my face.I just caught my own baby.Talk about a story to tell.
Juliette grabs an emergency blanket, helping Claire sit and handing me the blanket to wrap the baby in. I can’t focus on anything. It’s like the world has completely changed. Everything I was worried about, everything that was uncertain, no longer matters.
All I see is Teeny and a fucking incredible woman who is stronger than she will ever know.
“What’s Teeny?” Claire asks, exhausted. Juliette is tending to her but also letting us have a moment.
“I didn’t even look.” I chuckle through my tears. I sit next to her, leaning in close and moving the emergency blanket.
“Charlette Morrison,” Claire whispers.
I will tell anyone who asks that I cried like a damn baby, sobbing as this little person wraps her small fingers around mine.
Things are hazy after that. I know that doctors take Charlie from me and take Claire up to a room. I try to follow, but Juliette tells me to grab some clothes from the back and change before I head up to the room. It’ll take them a few minutes to get my family all set up apparently.
When I walk out of the restroom after changing, Stone and Juliette are waiting for me.
“Good job, dad.” Juliette has tears in her eyes.
Stone is looking at Juliette like she hung the moon. I wish I could focus on that, but I’ve got a woman and baby to go check on.
We walk up to Claire’s room and find a doctor checking Claire over while she holds Charlie. Claire looks more tired than I have ever seen her, almost dazed. I turn to Stone and ask for a favor before I go to my family. He agrees readily, leaving me with Claire and Charlie.
“Hey, mama,” I whisper, leaning into her and pressing a kiss on her forehead.
“Hi.” She’s still looking at baby Charlie.
“I am so in awe of you.”
“I don’t even know what just happened.” She chuckles, looking up at me.
“You were fucking superwoman,” I whisper. I don’t have adequate words to tell her how the last ten minutes changed my entire life. “I’m so in love with you.”
“I love you too. I’m glad you were there,” she breathes out. Her thumb brushes across the full head of hair Charlie has, Claire’s head resting on my shoulder.
The rest of the night goes by in a blink. I don’t sleep; instead, I am content to hold Charlotte Morrison while the love of mylife gets some sleep. The doctor said we were lucky that Juliette knew what she was doing. There weren’t any complications, and even though Charlie was born a little early, she’s perfectly healthy.
The next day, a knock on our hospital door—followed by my team—makes me smile.
“Hey, how are you doing?” Juliette immediately asks Claire.
“Good, thanks to you.”
“Eh, that was nothing.” Juliette brushes it off.
“Guys, I’d like to introduce you to Charlette Jules Morrison.”
Juliette’s eyes immediately go to mine and well up.
“You guys,” she whispers.
“It was only right to honor the calmest person who made sure Charlie was healthy,” Claire says.
“Can I hold her?” Juliette asks.
