I let her words sink in as another contraction slowly builds.
“And we are going to do it with you,” she says firmly.
“Okay, okay, what do I do?” I ask, my voice cracking.
“When you feel that pressure building, I want you to bear down and push, like you are going to the bathroom,” Ria explains.
I screw my face up as the pain climbs its way up my body.
“Push Tor,” Ria coaxes, and I muster every bit of strength I have to bear down and push.
“Good, good, that’s it. Keep going,” Ria encourages, and it’s clear she’s done this many times, and I’m thankful she’s here with me.
I let my head fall back against the couch, waiting for the next contraction, but I don’t have to wait long. I lean forward silently, squeezing Ali’s hand as Gabby and Ria support my legs.
“That’s it, Tor. You’re doing it,” Ali cheers. I bear down, willing myself to keep going, as Noah’s voice floods my ears, telling me to keep fighting, to keep going.
A deep, guttural roar—something verging on animalistic and primal—rips from me as my body reaches the peak of its pain threshold, stealing all my senses. The world goes dark for just a split second, and then I am met with the most beautiful sound.
The sound of my daughter’s cry.
Ria places the screaming bundle of perfection onto my chest, and the minute her skin connects with mine, I am overwhelmed with emotion and a love I can’t describe.
I glance around at the girls’ crying faces as they soak in my new daughter. No amount of thank yous will be enough for the way they just supported me, but I say it anyway.
I look down at my daughter, who is all big blue eyes like Noah and dark hair like mine, and when I kiss the top of her head and breathe her in, a rush of calm floods my body. All my sadness is stolen away because of her, because I now have an even stronger purpose to keep fighting, to keep strong and have faith that everything is going to be okay.
I watch in awe as my daughter stares back up at me, taking in her surroundings, and I press a soft kiss to the tip of her button nose and smile.
“Welcome to the world, baby girl Jones. I’ve waited forever for you.”
Chapter Sixty-Eight
Tori
I don’t think I have slept in the past forty-eight hours. After my dramatic homebirth, we went to the hospital, and even though she was a little early, baby girl is doing great, and there were no concerns. We stayed overnight for monitoring, and since we got back to Ali and Harry’s apartment, I have been in my newborn bubble of breastfeeding, diaper changes, and contact naps, and it has been the distraction I needed. There is still no word from Noah or his unit. They are still missing in action, and it has been nearly ten days.
My wandering thoughts are interrupted by a small wail from my baby girl. She still doesn’t have a name, it didn’t feel right to name her until Noah was home, so for now she will remain as baby girl Jones.
“She smells like baby powder and pancakes,” Lexi, Noah’s eldest niece, says with a wrinkle of her nose. “I like her.”
“She does smell like that,” I agree with a smile.
“My turn, my turn,” Noah’s other niece, Elle, pleads, jumping up and down.
“Okay, but be very gentle. You need to sit on the couch,” Jack says in a soothing tone as he lifts my baby out of Lexi’s arms.
“Okay, daddy,” Elle coos, widening her arms ready for Jack to lay my baby in her lap, but never really letting go.
“I forget how tiny they are,” Jack says.
“Ready for another?” I tease.
He shakes his head. “Four is quite enough.” Jack chuckles. “I think me and Ria would lose our damn minds.”
“I go play, Daddy,” Elle declares as she tries to wriggle away. Jack cradles my baby into his chest and shakes his head. “She has the attention span of a puppy, that one.”
“Just like her Uncle Harry,” I joke.
