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“Tell them to give me that epidural, now,” she grinds through her teeth before casting her gaze over to Dominic, who’s standing at the corner of the room silently. “You just going to stand there or what?”
I can’t help but smile to myself as I hurry from the room and find one of the nurses, alerting them that Casey wants the epidural as soon as possible. It’s a little refreshing, knowing that Casey is letting a side of her out that not many people get to see. It only hurts me that it’s during a time when she’s in immense amounts of pain. Hopefully our little girl makes a quick arrival though.
***
It’s been two hours since Casey and I got to the hospital and she’s only progressed two centimeters since then. I’ve noticed the concerned looks on the doctors faces when they come check on her, along with the whispering they do when they think no one is paying attention. If something is wrong, we deserve to know.
I stop at the nurse’s station with a frown and wait for Casey’s nurse to look up at me from her papers. “Excuse me,” I mutter. When she glances at me I ask, “Is there something no one is telling us?”
She shakes her head. “The doctor will be in her room soon to talk to her. You’ll have all the information you need to know then. I’m not authorized to tell you, since I’m only a nurse.”
“Thank you,” I mumble before heading back into Casey’s room.
The epidural is doing a great job of keeping the pain at bay, which has done wonders for Casey’s mood, thank God, but I’d still like to know when I’m going to meet my daughter.
“Casey,” Dr. Frisha says when he finally comes into the room. “There’s some concerns I’m having with your progress. Since your water broke, there’s no reason the baby shouldn’t have come yet or at least made more progress. I’d like to induce you to help move things along.”
Casey squeezes my hand tightly and shakes her head. “That wasn’t the birth plan, though.”
Dr. Frisha shrugs. “Unfortunately, most birth plans never go according to it, so it’s not unusual that it’s going in a different direction. Everyone’s birthing experience is different. I can assure you that you’re in good hands, and so is your little girl, but I’d like to try and avoid a C-section if possible.”
“Okay,” says Casey.
***
Not long after being induced, our little girl enters the world and makes her presence known with a loud cry. I’ve never heard something so perfect. The doctor holds a pair of scissors out to me, and I cut the cord, smiling the entire time, before going back to Casey’s side. Her eyes are on me, silently asking if the baby looks okay, and I nod in response.
She’s perfect.
Watching Casey hold our baby girl is the most wholesome thing I could’ve experienced. The way Casey’s eyes lit up at the sight of her bundled in a blanket was enough to show me how much I want this life with her. I’ve been wondering when I should pop the question, and looking at our daughter gives me the best idea, which I mentally push back until we are situated in a room.
I’ve never been so sure about spending the rest of my life with someone as I am with her.
A little while later, we are finally getting put into a room that’s far different than the one we were in before. Instead of a large room, this one is much smaller and only has enough room for a few people at a time. Casey still hasn’t been able to stop looking at our little girl, and I smile at her, my head snapping up when a knock sounds on the door.
One of the nurses walks through, smiling down at our daughter, and asks, “What’s her name?”
Casey looks over at me with a smile, and I nod, then she brushes her knuckles over our daughter’s chubby cheeks while responding with, “Everly Nicole Lincoln.”
When we went over different names, I thought it would be a good idea to name her after Dominic, but we couldn’t figure out a good way to do that. We used the last three letters of his name and created this one, a perfect addition to the family that I’m sure Dominic will cherish deeply.
A couple of hours later, while Casey is asleep, I calmly take everything out that I had Dominic bring me from home when he came by. He’s ecstatic about the plan I told him and asked me to film everything so he could see her reaction, which is where the video camera comes into play. It takes a few minutes, but I finally get it set up in front of the bed, then walk over to Everly, sleeping soundly in her bassinet.
She stretches when I lift her up but otherwise stays asleep against my chest. That doesn’t last long when I start pulling her hospital clothes off to replace them with the onesie I had specially made. Her cries cause Casey to stir in bed, and I freeze, waiting to see if she wakes up, then quickly pull the new onesie over her tiny body.
The words printed on the front stare back at me, and I smile before reaching into the jewelry bag and stuffing the small box into my front pocket. When Everly’s cries don’t let up, Casey sighs in bed and holds her arms out to me. “Let me try to feed her,” she says softly.
This is it.
I nervously carry our daughter over to the bed and place her at the bottom, making sure the onesie is visible from where she’s laying. As Casey leans forward to read what it says, I kneel onto the ground and pull the ring box out.
She gasps, her eyes snapping to mine with tears in them. “Emmett.”
The ring shines brightly under the hospital lights, and she stares at it with wonder in her eyes. I clear my throat and smile. “There’s nothing that could have prepared me for this moment since I never thought I’d be doing it, but I will never regret how you’ve made me feel. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, Casey, and watching you be the absolute best mother to our kids. You are the missing piece I didn’t know I needed. Will you marry me?”
Casey nods and chuckles, her hand popping out for me to slip the ring on, and then she wraps her arms around me eagerly. Everly lets out a tiny squeal, and we both give her all the attention. I’m bursting with nothing but love and happiness, thanks to the woman sitting next to me.
Here’s to many years together and a lifetime of adventures.
