Page 84 of Found By You

“Now, you’re a little early, and that’s okay. The baby will be fine, but I need you to understand she’s going to be small, Maci.”

Maci nods, and Dr. Sanderson shifts her attention to the nurses, instructing them to get NICU on-call and ready for the baby if needed.

“Duke,” Maci says in a hushed whisper. “I’m scared.”

I kneel beside her. “I know, angel.” Her body starts to tremble as another contraction hits her. I rub her back, rocking her as she holds onto me. “You can do this, beautiful,” I say, kissing her temple. “I’ll be right here with you.”

“But we didn’t install the car seat yet,” she softly cries.

I fight back a chuckle. “I’ll take care of it.”

“I missed you.”

“Angel, I miss you every second of every minute when I’m not with you,” I tell her. “Enough to become a damn stalker according to Butch.”

“Maybe just a little bit.” She laughs lightly. “But I liked it.”

I chuckle. “Well, I hope you didn’t like it too much. I’ve been miserable not being beside you.”

Her glossy eyes shimmer. “I love you.”

“I love you more,” I say, kissing her tenderly.

Maci works through contractions for another painful half-hour before she’s fully dilated and ready to push. But she’s drained, exhausted from the intense, rapid labor. According to Dr. Sanderson, what Maci’s doing now in a mere few hours, takes women nearly twelve hours or more to accomplish.

I asked if there was an Olympic race for giving birth this fast… Unfortunately, the dad joke was not well received.

With Cassidy holding one of Maci’s legs, and me holding the other, Maci gets into position and starts to push.

“Perfect, Maci.” Dr. Sanderson nods in encouragement while a nurse counts down on the contraction. “Just like that. Keep going, keep going.”

She’s panting, sweating, a cool cloth over her forehead as she works to push. After roughly a dozen or so pushes…

“We’ve got a full head of hair.” Dr. Sanderson smiles. “Get ready, sweetie. Next contraction, I want a long, good push, okay?”

Maci has a look of pure determination on her beautiful face. And as the next contraction hits, she bears down, pushing long and hard with a silent scream in pain.

“Here she comes!” Dr. Sanderson catches Olivia. The faintest little wail fills the room, and my heart swells.

Maci sobs, reaching out as they place her baby on her bare chest. She’s tiny and perfect in every way. A nurse wipes Olivia’s eyes and face, draping warm blankets over them.

Maci glances at me with a beaming smile and tears in her eyes. I kiss her, tasting the salt of her tears mixed with mine. “I love you,” I choke out, overcome with emotions.

She peers down at Olivia nestled between her breasts and tucks the blanket softly under her chin. “And we…love you,” she whispers before gazing back at me.

I stand in front of the nursery room window, on strict orders from Maci to keep an eye on our little girl.

“She’s tiny,” Butch says lowly, his voice strained as we watch a nurse get a weight and length on Olivia. Her wails of protest are music to my ears.

Cassidy sniffles. “She’s absolutely beautiful.”

“Yeah. She is.” I rub my face, fighting back the tears, but I can’t.

Butch slaps a firm hand on my shoulder, bringing me in for a hug.

Cassidy fans her eyes. “Stop that.” She laughs. “You guys are going to make me lose it all over again.”

I sniff and wipe my eyes. “Think you can do me a favor, man?”

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