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I lifted her hand to my lips and kissed it. Then I turned to Dean. "Thank you so much for getting her here, Son." I squeezed his shoulder to accentuate my appreciation.
He nodded. "You're welcome."
"Are you going to stay here or are you going to head home?"
Dean looked over at Betts, his face going pale. "Maybe I could just wait in the waiting room?"
I realized he was nervous about seeing the birth of a baby.
"It could be a while. It's okay if you go home," Betts said to him.
"No, I'll wait."
I handed him my keys. "Would you mind parking my car, assuming it hasn't been towed yet? It's right out front. Oh, and would you mind calling Analyn, Ruby, and Naomi? I'm sure they'd like to know that Betts is having a baby today."
He nodded and seemed glad to have a task he could do outside the labor room.
When he left, I turned back to Betts, leaning over the bed and kissing her temple. "I'm so sorry I wasn't here."
She managed a sweet smile. "You're here now. That's what matters."
Six hours later,I watched as the head of our baby emerged from Betts's body. I remembered back to when Dean was born and the sense of awe that I had felt. It was a fucking miracle that two people having sex could create something as miraculous as a person.
With a final push, the baby was born. Betts collapsed back in the bed, and I leaned over, whispering in her ear, "You're fucking awesome. I love you so much."
She squeezed my hand in response as her breathing was still labored.
"It's a girl."
Tears welled in my eyes as the nurse set the baby into Betts's arms. What the hell did I do to deserve this? A second chance at life. A second chance to do it right.
Betts looked up at me. "Are you okay that it wasn't a boy?"
"Are you kidding me? You and I made this beautiful being. It could've been born purple with twelve toes and I still couldn't be happier."
Across the room, the nurse made an “aww” sound.
"I'm glad it's a girl. Not that I'd be unhappy if she was a boy, but I don't want Dean to feel displaced."
Just when I didn't think I could love Betts any more, she'd say something like that. Something that showed how much she didn't just love me and our child, but Dean is well.
"I think Dean would be fine either way." I looked down on our brand-new daughter. “What are we going to name her?" We had gone through a zillion boys’ and girls’ names but could never quite settle on one that we both loved.
She looked up at me with a smirk. "I was sort of thinking of Mikaela."
I liked that name. "It's nice. What made you think of it?"
"For Mikael."
My smile faltered. "You want to name our daughter after Mikael."
She shrugged. "You once told me that the whole reason you brought him here was so that you could spend time with me. And if you think about it, a lot of the significant points of our relationship related to Mikael. We don't have to tell him, of course."
"I guess it's a way to pay homage to what worked to get you to fall in love with me," I said.
Betts reached up her free hand, putting it around my neck and pulling it toward her. "Or what made you fall in love with me."
I smiled and then kissed her, pouring every ounce of love I had for her into the kiss.
