Page 11 of Sutton and the CEO Forever

“Come with me, dad,” the nurse reached out to take one of the babies and place them in a box carrier of some kind. Then she took the other one and placed her beside her sister. “We are going to put them under the lights for a bit while they finish up with Sutton.”

“We can still do the skin-to-skin contact?” Sutton asked anxiously.

The nurse nodded. “Absolutely. We will try feeding as well. It shouldn’t take very long for the doctor to finish up stitching you back together.”

I won’t even discuss what they did to get the babies out. I am still traumatized by that.

Feeling rather in league with the young doctor, I smiled at him. “Thank you, Dr. Young. You don’t know what this means to me.”

Dr. Young looked up at me from where he was stitching my wife back together again. “I’m happy to do it. Happy birthday to your girls. Sutton did beautifully, and so did you once we gave you a little oxygen.”

I snorted. “It wasn’t necessary.”

“Go with the babies!” Sutton called out, and I did what she asked, even though I didn’t want to leave her.

True to her word, we were back with Sutton within the hour. They had both of us do the skin-to-skin contact, each with a twin and switching after a time. It was one of the most incredible moments of my life. These tiny infants, mewling like lost puppies, were our daughters.

Avery, who was born first, was the first twin I could do skin to skin contact with. At just a little over five pounds, she hardly looked much bigger than Evie, who was only four-and-a-half pounds. The nurse helped Sutton get the babies to latch on. It looked painful, but according to the nurse, they both took to it well.

It wasn’t until Sutton’s eyes began to droop that the nurse suggested we try and get some sleep.

“I don’t want them to leave,” Sutton said sleepily.

“I will go with them,” I volunteered automatically, despite the fact that I too had been up for twenty-four hours. I hadn’t given birth, so Sutton clearly trumped me in the situation.

“You will? I love you.” It seemed that she was out like a light before we had even placed the babies in the transportation carriers.

“What if I mix up which baby is which?” I asked the nurse on the way to the nursery.

She laughed. “Well, we did get footprints when the girls were born. However, we also have their names on their ankle bracelets. Until you take them off, you should be safe.”

That was a brilliant idea. “I don’t suppose you could tattoo their names on them somewhere,” I muttered half-jokingly.

She laughed again. “Spoken like a true father. Let me just give you a bit of advice. Never repeat that in front of your wife if you ever want to practice making babies again. They get a little sensitive about their offspring. Think Mama Bear.”

Once we got to the nursery, the pediatrician came in and decided they needed a little more time under the UV lamps. Apparently, jaundice is common with premature babies, and ours were born at just over thirty-four weeks. They were both a good size, and their lungs seemed developed, and overall, we were extremely lucky.

I couldn’t help the emotion that swelled in my throat again. These two little girls, they were my responsibility. I wanted to give them the world. I wanted to show Sutton that there are men out there who aren’t deadbeat dads. There are men that take care of their families and love their children. Hell, after my shitty experience growing up with my father, I wanted to show myself that I could do what he never did.

I wished she’d met Hollingsworth. It was hard not to talk about him because he’d been a large part of my life, but I also understood Sutton's reservations about him. It wasn’t as if she hadn’t had a rough year. Hell, her whole life had been one roller coaster ride after another.

A ringing brought me out of my thoughts. I reached into my pocket and pulled out my cell. It was Brian asking about Sutton and the girls. As I shared the news, I felt happiness far greater than anything I’d ever felt before.

“Send pictures,” Brian said. “Reena and Alice are on my back, asking when they can come. Candice said that she will be there first thing in the morning.”

I finished up with my brother and then settled into one of the rocking chairs. The next thing I knew, the nurse was waking me up again.

“Time to go back and see mom again. Are you ready, dad?” she asked.

“Do you call all of the patient's mom and dad?” I asked.

The nurse laughed once again. “Indeed, I do. It makes things easier, I’m not as young as I used to be, and this way, I don’t need to remember names. You’re the first one to call me on it, though.”

I shook my head. “It’s just so strange to think that I’m someone’s dad.”

She patted my shoulder. “I can’t say it will be easy, dear. But if you let it, being a father can be the greatest thing you'll ever do.”

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