When she sees Blake, her entire face transforms. Hope and fear war in her expression.
"Are you my daddy?" Her voice is so small, so fragile.
Blake crosses the room in three long strides and drops to his knees beside the bed. "Yeah, sweetheart. I'm your daddy."
Lily launches herself at him, wrapping her thin arms around his neck with desperate strength. Blake catches her and holds on, one large hand cradling the back of her head while she sobs into his shoulder.
"Mommy said you didn't know about me," she hiccups between cries. "She said she was sorry she didn't tell you but now she's gone and I don't have anybody and I'm scared."
"You have me now." Blake's voice is thick with emotion. "I've got you, baby girl. I've got you."
I stand near the door, giving them space while my own eyes burn with unshed tears.
Karen touches my elbow gently. "There's paperwork to complete. Why don't we give them a few minutes?"
In Karen's office, I sit while she pulls out forms and documents. Blake is a father. He has a daughter who needs him. Our already complicated situation just became exponentially more complex.
"Are you his wife?" Karen asks.
"No. I'm his girlfriend." I blink after I say the words, surprised how easily they fell from my lips.
"Lily will need stability and support during this transition. It's good that Blake has you."
I think about Jack and Noah waiting back at Blake's house, about my own twins who don't know their real father, about the secrets I've been keeping for ten years.
"What happens now?" I ask.
"Blake will need to complete a paternity test, though given the birth certificate and physical resemblance, that's mostly a formality. Then we'll work on custody arrangements." Karen looks up from her paperwork. "Does Blake have a stable home? Income?"
"He's a high school football coach. He owns his house. He's one of the most responsible people I know."
Karen nods, making notes. "Good. Lily can be released into his care tonight if he's willing."
Tonight. Blake is going to leave this hospital as a father.
We return to Lily's room to find Blake sitting on the bed with his daughter tucked against his side. She's stopped crying but her face is blotchy and her eyes are swollen. The stuffed elephant sits in her lap.
"This is Mr. Elephant," Lily says quietly. "Mommy gave him to me when I was a baby."
"He looks very important."
"He is." Lily clutches the elephant tighter. "Are you going to leave me here?"
"No, baby. I'm taking you home with me tonight." Blake glances at Karen for confirmation and she nods. "You're going to stay with me from now on."
Lily's lower lip trembles. "Forever?"
"Forever," Blake promises.
An hour later, we're walking through the parking lot with Lily between us. Blake carries her because she's too exhausted to walk, and she's already half asleep against his shoulder.
"I don't have a car seat," Blake realizes suddenly. "I don't have anything for her. No bed, no clothes, nothing."
"We'll figure it out. There's a twenty-four-hour Walmart ten minutes from here. We'll get the basics tonight and handle the rest tomorrow."
Blake looks at me with such gratitude that it makes my chest ache. "Thank you. For being here."
And suddenly, with crystal clarity, I realize I can't keep my own secret anymore. Watching Blake meet his daughter, seeing the instant love and acceptance despite the shock and fear, makes me understand what I've been denying Jack.
