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I kiss her one last time and he pulls her away to give her to the nurse. I grab his hand to get his attention. “Go with her.”
“Are you sure?” He asks.
I nod. “If I can’t be with her, I want you to be. Go.”
He bends down to press his lips to mine. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
As soon as they leave the room, I find myself drifting to sleep – completely exhausted from the events of today.
“Your niece is stunning.” I tell Jo.
She grins widely. “I’d expect nothing less.”
Caleb gets up and comes to stand next to me. “You win the award for having me the most terrified I’ve ever been in my life.”
I chuckle. “And you win the award for being the best friend to have in a crisis.”
He tilts his head to each side, pondering it. “Sounds like a fair trade to me.”
A few minutes later, Holden comes into the room. He basically ignores everyone else and comes straight over to me. Now that the chaos of everything is done, I can finally relish in the feeling of having him here.
“Is she okay?”
He lights up like nothing I’ve ever seen. “S
he’s perfect.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. They had a breathing machine ready for her in case she needed it, but she’s doing just fine without it. She’s a little small at only four pounds, but that’s the only thing keeping her in there.”
A rush of relief floods my entire body. “Oh, thank God.”
The tears are flowing down not only my cheeks but Jo’s as well. Being born so early, all of us were afraid she would have so many issues. However, I should have known she would be a rock star. After all, she is Holden’s daughter.
“When can I see her?”
Holden looks at Jo and she understands without any words needed. “I’ll go check.” She tells us and leaves the room.
A nurse ends up bringing me a wheelchair. It takes both her and Holden to help me into it. I may have downplayed it earlier when I said I’m sore. It’s a bit more than that.
The walk from my room to the NICU is short. My husband pushes me, gushing about how gorgeous our baby girl is. I can’t wait to get another look at her. He presses the button for them to buzz us in the door.
We’re both instructed to wash our hands and put yellow gowns on. Once we’re done, he walks me over to the incubator our daughter is in. She’s sound asleep and looking like the definition of perfection. I reach in and place my finger in her hand. Her reflex causes her to grab it. I feel like my heart is going to explode.
“She’s amazing.”
Holden places his hand on my shoulder. “She gets that from you.”
“Do you want to hold her?” The NICU nurse asks me.
“Can I?!”
“Absolutely. She’s doing so well.”
We move out of her way and she flicks a few latches to open the incubator. Sliding a couple of the wires out of the way, she lifts my sleeping daughter and places her in my arms. I hold her close to me, completely sucked into everything she is.
