Page 464 of The Tempted

And his mom? She was pretty hot too.

I lifted my hands from the incubator, hesitating as I brought them to the circular holes for my arms to slide through.

“You sure I won’t hurt him? I can’t like pull a wire or anything like that, right?”

“I’m sure,” she said calmly.

I drew in a sharp breath, turning my gaze back to my son, thinking how strange it was that it felt perfectly normal to be calling this little guy my son. That wasn’t something I expected to feel. I thought it would feel strange at first, constricted and forced but one look at him and it was the most natural feeling I had ever had.

I was always a sure shot, a steady hand and a perfect eye. My hand never once quivered when it was wrapped around a gun but my hands trembled as they slid into the incubator and my fingertips touched my son’s skin for the first time.

“Oh,” I whispered. “You’re really here,” I said, softly caressing the top of his hand with my index finger.

He’s so tiny, making my hands look so much bigger than they really are.

“Hey, little guy, I’m your dad,” I introduced myself, crouching down so he could hear me better and I could see him more clearly. “It’s okay, Daddy’s here, you don’t have to be scared. I know it’s a big deal, coming into the world and all that. It’s terrifying to go from being safe inside your mom to the ugly world that ripped you from her but I promise you, you don’t have to be afraid anymore,” I vowed, drawing circles on his tiny hand with my fingertip.

“You know I’m already the proudest dad in this place. Just look at you being such a strong boy, fighting hard like a little bull—you get that from your mom. She’s a fighter and right now she’s fighting with everything she’s got because she wants so badly to meet you, to hold you and to kiss you. She’s loved you since she first found out you were just a little pea inside of her,” I whispered, feeling the sting of unshed tears assault my eyes.

I blinked, tears escaping the corners of my eyes but I didn’t take my hands out of the incubator to dry my eyes. I wanted to touch him for as long as I could, to comfort him. I wonder if he realizes I’m here. Does he recognize my voice? Probably not.

“Do you have a name picked out for him?”

I turned my gaze to the nurse and shook my head.

“No, but I bet his mom does,” I said, turning back to glance at my boy. “I’m sure it’s a good, solid name, perfect for you.”

I pictured Kitten holding our son for the first time, looking up at me and telling me what the name she chose for him was but then another thought invaded my mind.

What if she doesn’t make it?

What if she doesn’t get to meet our son?

What if he doesn’t get to know what a great mom he has?

What if she never gets to tell us what his name is?

I felt myself teetering on the edge, ready to lose it and succumb to the grief of it all. The grief of losing Bones, of not knowing if Lauren will live or die and standing here watching as a machine breathes for my newborn child.

And then the most amazing thing happened.

A tiny hand wrapped around my finger.

I stared at my son’s hand, his small fingers wrapped around my index finger and I was undone.

I thought I had the perfect life, that I had everything I wanted and wasn’t missing anything. But it wasn’t until that moment, when my son held onto me that, I realized I didn’t know the meaning of life…until him. Kitten and Tiger may have given this boy life, but he gave me a reason to live mine.

Heart.

It was right there, three pounds one ounce of the purest love I’d ever know.

Thank you.

“Oh, kid, you’re already wrapped around my finger, but thank you,” I whispered. “I love you, Pea,” I whispered.

A knock on the glass window startled me, pulling me away from the most precious gift I had ever received and when I glanced over my shoulder my eyes met Anthony’s. His eyes dropped to the incubator before they closed briefly then finally lifted back to mine.

He crooked his finger and I read his lips as he uttered the name that made my world stop for just a second.

Lauren.

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