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"Breathe, baby," I added, feeling like I needed to take some of my own advice because I was burning the hell up. "You're doing so damn good, sweetheart."

"You're a bastard," she snarled, shoving me away only to pull me back again. "Oh god!" Knotting her fingers in the collar of my shirt, she dragged my face down to hers. "I'm sorry," she sobbed, pressing her forehead to mine. "I love you. I do. I love you…"

"I know," I choked out, panicking. "It's okay."

"Okay, Hope," the doctor called out from between her legs. "One more big push, and you'll meet your baby."

Rearing back, Hope slammed her body forwards, head-butting me in the process.

"Fuck," I groaned, jerking away from the bed.

"Don’t you dare complain," she snarled with a look of pure evil in her eyes. "Just suck it up and hold my hand!"

I did exactly as I was told, too afraid of this woman to make one wrong move.

Her face turned purple as she pushed with every ounce of strength she had left inside her.

And then I heard it.

The cry that changed my life forever.

"Congratulations," the doctor announced as he held the baby in his hands. "It's a girl."

A girl.

It was a girl.

I had a daughter.

A pair of scissors were thrust into my hands, but I couldn’t concentrate.

My entire focus was on the baby that had been placed on Hope's chest.

Ruined.

I was ruined.

She was so tiny.

So fucking beautiful.

And halfme?

It didn’t make sense.

How could something so bad make something sogood?

"Go ahead, honey," Whiskers coaxed, nudging my shoulder. "Cut the cord."

Trembling, I reached over and snipped the cord that attached my daughter to her mother.

"I can't believe you did that," I choked out, staring down at Hope with more love and respect than I knew I could hold in my heart. "You did that, HC. You made ahuman."

"You helped," she whispered, looking up at me with glassy eyes.

"Only with the fun part," I mumbled.

"We made this, Hunter," she whispered, staring down at our daughter with a look of pure adoration. "She's all ours."

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