Page 118 of The Forsaken
A broad smile spread across Quinn’s face as soon as Dr. Young left. A boy. A healthy, perfect baby boy. She couldn’t wait to finally see him and hold him. Now that she knew the baby was a boy, she couldn’t imagine him having been a girl. It was as if she’d known all along, just as Phoebe had, and Quinn’s grandmother Rae, who’d made the same pronouncement. Quinn would have liked to be the first to tell Gabe the news, but she assumed Dr. Young had spoken to him immediately after the surgery, to put his mind at rest, about both her and the newborn baby.
SEVENTY-FIVE
“Happy birthday,” Gabe crooned as he sat next to Quinn and leaned down to kiss her.
“Is it?”
“It’s past midnight, so it’s September twenty-seventh.And we have a son.”
“I know. Isn’t it marvelous? Have you seen him?”
Gabe smiled guiltily. “Through the glass. He’s adorable. And speak of the devil.”
Nurse Winnie entered the room, wheeling a plastic bassinet. “Here we are, Mummy and Daddy,” she announced.
Quinn’s vision blurred with tears as Winnie carefully picked up the baby and placed him in her arms. He was tightly wrapped in a hospital blanket and a knitted cap covered his head, but Quinn could see downy strands of dark hair peeking from beneath. The baby opened his eyes. His dark blue gaze was unfocused, but it seemed to Quinn that he was looking right at her. She held her breath as she beheld his little face. The baby wasn’t red or wrinkly, since he hadn’t been pushed through the birth canal. He was the perfect shade of pink, and his little mouth opened and closed as he turned his face toward Quinn.
“He’s hungry,” Winnie explained. “Will you be breastfeeding?”
“Yes.”
“Then go on and put him to your breast. The milk won’t fully come in until tomorrow or the day after, but there’s enough colostrum to tide him over until then.”
Quinn pulled down her hospital gown and put the baby to her breast. It took him a few moments to latch on, but once he did, he seemed to know exactly what to do.
“Enjoy your midnight snack, little one,” Winnie said and walked away.
Gabe looked on with such reverence that Quinn couldn’t help teasing him. “We’re not the Madonna and Child, you know.”
“You are to me. I was so worried,” he confessed.
Quinn nodded in understanding. “Is Emma still sleeping in the nurses’ lounge? And what did Winnie mean when she said you know people in high places?”
“I didn’t want to wake her. I called Logan after they took you into the operating theater. He wasn’t on shift, but he immediately came over. He took us into the lounge and commandeered the sofa for Emma. He is with her, in case she wakes up.” Gabe smiled sadly. “God, Quinn, she really lost it. She was so frightened. I couldn’t comfort her. She thought you were going to die, just like her mum.”
Quinn pulled up her gown once the baby stopped nursing and fell asleep. His face looked like a tiny moon, round and serene. “Gabe, it will take years for Emma to come to terms with what happened. All we can do is be patient and understanding, and never belittle her fears. She has every right to be afraid. For a moment there, I was pretty terrified myself.”
“So was I. May I hold him?” Gabe carefully accepted the baby and cradled him in his arms. A look of pure wonder spread across his face as he smiled down at his son. “He looks like me.”
“That he does. That’s two for you, none for me.”
“Does this mean you’re open to doing this again?”
“Not in this decade. Check back with me closer to 2020,” Quinn joked.
“Don’t think I won’t. So what shall we name this little man?”
“Alex,” they said in unison.
“Alexander Graeme, after your dad,” Quinn clarified. “What do you think of that?”
“Well, it worked out quite well for Alexander Graeme Bell. Maybe he’ll grow up to be an inventor.”
“Stop projecting your own dreams onto him, Daddy. He’s only an hour old.” Quinn felt overwhelmed with love as she looked at the two of them, so natural together.
She was just about to say so when Logan walked into the room. He had Emma, who looked wide awake, by the hand.
“Are we just in time for the welcome party?” he asked. “Look, Em, it’s your baby brother.”
