“She’ll be here any minute,” Kate reassures her, moving around the room quickly, collecting towels, mats, a trolley on wheels with sharp looking implements that curdle my stomach, and a see through crib with an overhead light.
Alexis screams out again. “Fuck! I want to push. I want to push, he’s coming.”
“Not yet, Alexis, just breathe through it. You can push in a minute. You’re doing really well.”
“What happened to not saying fuck, Hunny?”
“Fuck you! You try pushing a tennis ball out the eye of your dick and see if you can not say fuck. Fuck!”
The doors to the birthing suite open, and Dr. Rainer walks in with gloves and a big smile on her face. “Just in time I see,” she says as she sits on a stool at the end of the bed. “Bryce, would you like to come and stand next to me and help deliver your son?”
Deliver my son? Me? Are you crazy?
“Sure,” I answer, like it’s something I do on a daily basis.
Alexis screams out again and pushes, and all I can see as I stare at her is her mouth moving at a million miles per hour. She looks angry...and red...and angry. I can’t hear anything she is saying though, because it’s like someone has just pushed a mute button and removed all sound. What I can decipher is just how beautiful she is, how amazing and strong she is, and how much I adore her. I smile at her lovingly; she simply takes my breath away.
“Are you smiling at me, Bryce?” she growls, snapping me out of my adoration and removing the silence.
“What?” I stutter.
“I said are you smiling at me? Does this look fucking funny to you?” she yells.
Mental note yet again: don’t smile.
“No. I’m—”
“Okay, Alexis. I see his head. When I say, I want one big push and—”
“Head?” I croak, and take a sneak peek between Alexis’ legs. The sight before me nearly has me dying of shock. “I can see his head, Hunny. Push!” I command with over enthusiastic encouragement.
“No. Not yet,” Dr. Rainer warns and gives me an annoyed look.
I ignore it.
“No. Don’t push,” I add, following her instructions. She is the doctor after all.
“When can I push? I want to push. Screw you all, I’m pushing.”
Dr. Rainer places her hands around my son’s head. “Now, Alexis. Push!”
“Now, Hunny,” I add again.
Alexis lets out a mighty big yell and pushes with all she has. The sound of her pain and sheer determination rips at my heart, drowning my ears until I hear the most wonderful sound in my life—my son’s cry.
Looking down, I see his tiny little body in Dr. Rainer’s hands, and I can’t for the life of me begin to describe what my heart is doing in my chest. I’m stunned, yet so happy, and I want to fucking cry. I never fucking cry.
“Daddy, would you like to cut the umbilical cord?” Dr. Rainer says as she hands me a pair of scissors.
I accept them and automatically go on daddy-autopilot, snipping the cord and helping to wrap him in a blanket. Shit! He’s so bloody small.
Alexis is now quiet and her breathing, more controlled. Her eyes are wide and damp, and her neck is craning, searching for our boy. Dr. Rainer gives him a quick check over then places him on Alexis’ chest.
I’m fucking floored, stumped; halted in my tracks. My fiancé is holding our son in her arms and it’s the most amazing thing I have ever seen.
“Hi, little boy, it’s me, Mummy,” she says as she drags her nose along the bridge of his and kisses his forehead.
Seeing that small loving gesture has my heart thumping like crazy in my chest. “I love you,” I say softly, finally opening my mouth and finding the words. “And I love you, too, baby boy.” I lean in to kiss my son for the first time. Wow! He’s so warm...and soft...and perfect. Perfect like his mum.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, I drape my arm around Alexis’ shoulder and kiss her like never before. Pouring everything I have into it. “Thank you. You make me the happiest man alive. Thank you for our son.”
She cups the side of my face then looks lovingly at the little miracle in her arms. “So, Daddy, do you think he looks like a Brayden now?”
I gently wiggle his nose with my finger and his lazy little eyes find mine. “Yes, I do. It suits him.”
She smiles through elated tears and hugs him to her chest. “Welcome to the world, Brayden Lauchie Clark.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
In the blink of an eye your life can change. How you feel, act, think, and see the surrounding world around you. It just changes...without your say so...never being able to go back to the way it was beforehand. Not that I would EVER want my life to revert back to how it was prior to becoming a father. No way in hell!
Standing here with Brayden sleeping peacefully in my arms, and Alexis who is sleeping soundly beside me in her hospital bed, I feel like my life has just begun.
I slowly take steps around the room, lightly bouncing and assisting Brayden in a lulled slumber. The swelling on his face is just starting to go down, being only hours after he entered the world.
“Brayden,” I whisper, while placing a soft kiss on his head. “Daddy loves you so much, and I can’t wait to take you home and spend every minute together. You and me, buddy, we are going to have so much fun.”
A gentle knock at the door sounds right before it slowly creaks open. Lucy pokes her head around and locks sight on me cradling my son. The smile we share in that moment is profound and one only Lucy and I can communicate.
I nod my head and indicate she come in.
As she tip-toes over to where I’m standing, a tear is already making its way down her cheek. “Oh my God, Bryce, he’s amazing!” she whispers as she places her hand on his head and wraps her other arm around my shoulder. “Congratulations, big bro. I’m so happy for you.”
“Thanks,” is about all I am capable of saying, still semi-speechless from sheer awe.
“It’s overwhelming, isn’t it? Finally holding, smelling, and seeing your baby in the flesh for the first time.”
Staring down at his peaceful little face, I answer. “There are no words, Luce. No words.”
Lucy nods toward Alexis. “How is she?”
“Yeah, she’s good. Just tired and exhausted, but other than that she’s fine.”
“So, it was a quick labour?”
“God, Luce! It was the longest and fastest two hours and fourteen minutes of my life. Alexis though...well...she was just simply perfect the whole time. She just...” I shake my head in veneration as I glance over at her sleeping. “...she just amazes me.”
Lucy gently trails her finger down the side of Brayden’s face. “What did the doctor say about him being four weeks premature?”
“Dr. Rainer did a thorough examination after Alexis bonded with him. She was happy with his vitals, and when he attached to feed without a problem, she was even more pleased, saying there was no reason why he couldn’t remain in the ward with us.”
“He’s a tough little cookie then, isn’t he? Determined and strong-willed already. Hmmm, I wonder why that is?” Lucy mocks. “So, does my gorgeous nephew have a name?”
“Yes, of course he does. It’s Brayden...Brayden Lauchie Clark.”
Lucy is silent for a moment, staring intently at Brayden, her expression appearing full of emotion. She sucks in a deep breath, squeezes my arm then nods and smiles. “Perfect, Bryce. He’s just perfect.”
“I know.”
“So, have you had anything to eat today? Gone to the loo, that sort of thing?”