Page 50 of Strip for Me

“Is that our little princess?” I ask, and he nods. Dominic looks like he’s been crying, and I end up wiping a few tears myself as I lean over and kiss Ellie’s forehead. This has been one hell of a night.

“Congratulations, Ellie. I knew you could do it, and everything is going to be okay now,” I say, and she bursts intotears. I slide onto the edge of the bed and hold her close to my chest. This has been a lot for all of us.

“Kaiden, is he?” she asks through her tears as I hold her close.

“He’s in surgery but you know Kaiden, he will make it through this. He hasn’t waited all these months to die before he gets to meet our baby. That’s not happening,” I tell her, stroking her back. Dominic comes over, sitting on the other side of the bed, and I finally get to see our little, baby girl. She has loads of blonde hair, a little nose, and pouty lips that remind me of her mum. She is fast asleep and looks so peaceful. I reach over and take her little hand in mine. She squeezes my finger, and Ellie leans back to watch. She is beautiful, just like her mum.

“Is she okay? I mean, she is early,” I say, knowing that Ellie was only thirty six weeks, and she nods.

“Yes. They aren’t worried about her but want us to stay in a week to make sure everything is good,” she tells me.

“Here, you want to hold?” Dominic asks me, and I nod, pulling back from Ellie and taking the tiny baby into my arms.

“Careful with her head, she can’t hold it up on her own for a while,” Dominic tells me, and I resist the urge to tell him I held my niece and nephew when they were babies, and I know this. I’m surprised how small she is, smaller than the twins were, and how she fits nicely into my arms.She is perfect.

“She looks like you,” I say, and Ellie chuckles as she leans forward and runs a finger over her cheek. It’s clear how much Ellie loves her from one look at her face as she stares down at her baby. It’s the same way I look at her, the way I’ve seen the guys look at her and the same way I feel when I look down at the baby.

“I think she looks like Andre with all that blonde hair, and her eyes are blue,” she tells me. I look up at Dominic who nods; he agrees with me, she is the image of her mother. There are bitsof Andre in her, she has his hair and maybe some of his features. But, the rest is Ellie, she’s going to be as stunning as her mother.

“I read somewhere that all babies’ eyes are blue for the first few months,” I say, and she smiles.

“So, someone has been doing their research,” she smiles up at me as she speaks. I may have been reading the baby books around the house and looking up things online. Jude has been telling me random things every time I’m at hers. My sisters are just as excited about the baby coming as I am. Well, except Cleo, but she is young and hopefully, comes around sometime.

“You read that book I gave you on babies,” Dominic laughs quietly.

“Yeah, well . . .,” I say, deciding not to say any more as I look down at the little girl in my arms. I know I’m not her biological dad, but I feel a bond to her. I know I would do anything for her, she wouldn’t even have to ask. It’s hard to look away from her, she is everything.

“I’m going to wait in the waiting area for news on Kaiden. I will call you the minute I know,” Dominic says, coming over to Ellie and whispering something to her as he kisses her cheek. I’m glad he was here with Ellie for the birth. One of us should have been.I wish we all fucking were.

“I should come as well, I want to make sure Annie and Andre are okay,” I say. I know Andre would have gotten them out, and I saw Annie running out the door, just before the paramedic shut the door to the ambulance. Andre would have brought Annie here, so I know he won’t be far behind, and he will want to meet his baby and check on Ellie.

“They will be okay, and I’ll send them up here when they come,” Dominic tells me, and I look down at Ellie who flashes us a worried look. I don’t want to leave her and our baby alone, but it’s difficult to stay here when I don’t know what’s going on with everyone else.

“I still should–” I start to say, and Dominic interrupts. I glance down at the little baby in my arms. She doesn’t know about anything that’s going on, and I know I can’t leave her right now. I look up at Ellie, who places her hand on my arm. She doesn’t need to say anything, I know she doesn’t want me to leave. I also know she’s trying to stay calm for the baby.

“You should stay with Ellie and the baby,” Dominic says, before kissing Ellie gently once more.

“You did so well, and I’m so proud of you,” he tells her, and he wipes away a tear from her cheek. He walks to the door and stops.

“Did you come up with a name for her?” he asks Ellie, and she shakes her head. We’ve been making a list at home and texting each other ideas for a name for weeks. We came up with ten names that we all liked, and then Ellie said she would choose when she’s here. It’s hard to pick a name for someone you haven’t met before.

“Yes, but I’m not telling anyone until Kaiden can hear it,” she says firmly, and Dominic nods, his worried gaze hitting mine. If that’s not a reason to wake up, then I don’t know what is.

Forty-Three

DOMINIC

“Where is she? Is Kaiden ok?”Andre asks in a rush as he walks into the hospital waiting room, with Annie following close behind him. They both look a mess with smoke-smelling clothes and worn-out faces. Andre has blood on his hands, and Annie has a nasty-looking cut on her forehead, which is dripping blood down the side of her face as she holds a towel to it.

“Madam, you really need to have your head looked at,” a French-sounding nurse follows them in. She goes straight over to Annie who waves her away as she watches me. The nurse is our age, with long, black hair and a worried expression as she takes in the state of Annie and Andre. Andre coughs a few times which makes her frown more.

“The baby is born, and they are both healthy, congratulations, man,” I tell Andre who smiles for a second before he asks,

“Kaiden?” I watch as he walks over to the sink in the room and washes his hands.

“I haven’t heard anything about Kaiden yet,” I say, and Andre rubs his face with both wet hands and then uses the towels up. None of us say anything, as we all know it’s going to be touch orgo for Kaiden. Watching Ellie give birth was amazing, and she was so strong. Our little, baby girl came out screaming, and Ellie held her straight away.

“I’m going to see the baby and Ellie, call me with any news, man?” he asks me, and I nod.

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