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As soon as the plane had touched down, we’d grabbed the first available vehicle. Rodger had insisted on driving because I was already shaking, but he drove like an old woman who needed glasses. At least, that was how it seemed in my head when I’d considered him getting us to the birthing center as quickly as possible. Subconsciously, I knew he was a great driver. I’d trusted him to get Mia and her mom from point A to point B many times. But at the moment, he was in the back seat while I drove like the freeway was a Formula 1 racetrack.
Finally, the birthing center came into view, and I braked hard at the front entrance. As I did, Jesse and Drake came out of the sliding double doors, which told me they had been waiting on us. Drake got behind the wheel to park the SUV for me, while Jesse gave us a recounting of everything he knew so far—which was nothing we didn’t already know.
Emmie pushed her anxiety down and switched from worried mom to total boss in an instant. In no time, the two of us were led back to the private birthing rooms. As we passed a nurses station, we were given warm smiles, but I was focused on trying to listen for any sound of Mia.
I hadn’t liked aspects of her birthing plan. The idea of her being in pain had made my stomach churn, but she’d been adamant about no drugs, no epidural. Everything would be as natural as possible unless something went wrong. My biggest fear was that we would arrive and hear her screaming in agony from the contractions.
The nurse who was showing us to Mia’s room paused and then knocked softly before opening the closed door. As we followed her inside, I noticed the lights were turned down low. The only sound I heard was Nik quietly singing Mia’s lullaby.
In the dim lighting, my eyes traveled around the room in search of my wife. I found her sound asleep, lying in the bed with oxygen tubes in her nose. On the other side of the bed, in a reclining chair, Nik sat with a little bundle in his arms. Even when his gaze met mine and then Emmie’s, he never stopped singing.
Realization hit me, and my knees nearly buckled. The baby had already been born. I’d missed the birth of my first child. Guilt mixed with disappointment tried to choke me again, but I pushed that aside as I quietly crossed to my father-in-law. The singing turned to soft humming as he stood and gently shifted the baby, who was wrapped in a yellow blanket.
“How did it go?” Emmie whispered as she reached her husband. “Is Mia okay?”
“We had an adventure,” Nik said with a grim smile. “But Mia handled it just like I would have expected her momma to. Like a superhero.” He lowered his arms a little so she could get her first look at her grandchild. “Say hello to Emerson.”
The name didn’t tell me if I had a son or daughter. Emerson was a gender-neutral name that Mia had come up with. I’d seen the glitter in her eyes, knew how much the name meant to her, and I’d agreed without hesitation that it was the perfect name for our child.
“Emerson,” Emmie repeated, her voice full of awe as she touched the baby’s cheek.
“Emerson Nikole,” Nik said, and I felt light-headed.
A girl.
I had a daughter.
Sucking in a deep breath, I watched my mother-in-law through tear-filled eyes as she swallowed roughly and continued speaking to the baby. “Hello, sweet girl. I’m your MiMi.”
“Beast?” The sound of Mia’s voice nearly knocked me on my ass, but I found the strength to cross to the bed. Bending, I kissed her forehead, scared to touch her for fear that I might hurt her in some way.
She smiled up at me, but I could see she was exhausted. “You made it,” she whispered.
“I missed it,” I choked out. “I’m so sorry, firecracker. If I had known, I never would have—”
“Shh,” she soothed, stroking her fingers through my beard. “There’s no reason to apologize. You left me in good hands.”
“But I should have been beside you.”
“Next time,” she murmured with a smile. “I promise, you’ll be beside me every second of the next delivery.”
“Next time?” Nik nearly whimpered. “I don’t like this ‘next time’ shit.”
“Was it bad?” Emmie asked, glancing from her daughter to her husband and back again, her shoulders tensing. Her green eyes got even bigger, if that was possible. “You two aren’t telling me something. What happened?”
Mia snickered. “I had a baby. What else could have happened, Momma?”
“How many times did you have to push?” her mom grilled.
“Twice,” Nik answered. “Two big pushes and our granddaughter was in my arms.”
“Two pushes?” Emmie said with a mixture of awe and disbelief. “That’s unheard of for a first-time mother.”
“Yeah, it was definitely crazy,” Mia said with a yawn. “But I’m glad you two are here now. Have you met Emerson yet?”
“She’s beautiful,” Emmie whispered, lowering her gaze back to the yellow-wrapped bundle.
I could only stand beside my wife’s bed, watching them. My baby girl was right there, waiting in her grandfather’s arms, and all I could do was stand like a statue, watching. I ached to reach for her, but my arms wouldn’t move. The adrenaline that had been coursing through my veins since we’d gotten the messages that Mia was in labor was finally starting to recede, and I felt just as exhausted as my beautiful wife looked.
