Chapter 4
Connor
I followed them out of the room and stood there as they wheeled Ellery down the hall. I was scared shitless and worried. If something happened to them, I didn’t know what I’d do. I would never forget the look on Ellery’s face as they wheeled her away from me.
“I’m going to make sure that Ellery and the baby are fine,” Henry said as he put his hand on my shoulder. “Get changed and I’ll see you in operating room.”
I nodded my head as Ellery disappeared from my sight. Nurse Bailey handed me a pair of light blue scrubs and told me to change in the bathroom.
“She’s going to be all right, Mr. Black. Now hurry up and put those on.” She smiled.
As I walked into the bathroom to change, Peyton went to the waiting room and sat with my family. I quickly changed, and when I opened the bathroom door, Nurse Bailey was standing there, holding a mask in her hand.
“You need to put this on before we go into the room. It’s for the baby’s safety.”
As I took the mask from her, she led me down the hallway to the operating room where Ellery was. She told me to wait outside the double doors while she went to make sure they were ready. A few moments later, she walked through the doors and motioned for me to follow her. When she led me into the sterile room, Ellery turned her head and looked at me. Immediately, she held out her hand. I smiled as I walked over to her, gently took her hand, and sat on the stool next to her.
“Hi.” I smiled.
“Hi back,” she whispered.
“Okay, Ellery, let’s have this baby,” Henry said as he started making the incision.
As she stared into my eyes, I leaned over and lightly rubbed her forehead with my thumb.
“I remember the first time I stared into your beautiful eyes.” I smiled.
“In your kitchen, after you accused me of breaking your rule.” She smiled back.
“Yeah, but I’ll never forget the feeling that overtook me the moment you turned around and looked at me.”
“I thought you were an ass,” she whispered.
“I know you did, and I was, but you changed me, Ellery. You swooped in, broke all my rules, and completely turned my life around.”
Suddenly, the cries of a baby jolted us back into reality. Ellery and I looked at Henry as he held our daughter up. “Congratulations, Mom and Dad.” He smiled.
She was screaming as she moved her little arms and legs around. Henry handed her to the nurse, who took her over and cleaned her up.
“You did so good, baby. I’m so proud of you,” I whispered as I kissed her.
“You look very sexy in that mask and those scrubs.” She smiled.
“Well, that was random.” I smiled back.
I got up and walked over to where my daughter was being cleaned up. The nurse wrapped her in a pink blanket and handed her to me. I was incredibly nervous to hold her, but it was what I’d been dreaming of since the day Ellery told me she was pregnant.
“Ellery, I’m going to start stitching you up now and, when I’m done, then you can hold your baby,” Henry said.
“Thank you, Henry, for everything.” She smiled.
As I walked over to Ellery’s side, she held out her hand. I sat down on the stool and brought our daughter closer to her so she could touch her. At this point, she had stopped crying, and she could barely keep her eyes open. She wrapped her delicate little hand around Ellery’s finger. I watched as a tear fell from her eye.
“She’s so beautiful, Connor,” Ellery said.
“Of course she is. She’s your daughter.”
Ellery reached her hand up and softly stroked my cheek. I’d never felt this kind of feeling before. I loved Ellery so much that my entire existence revolved around her. I didn’t think it was possible to love her or anyone else even more. Looking down at my baby girl, seeing the love of my life in this child, and knowing that we both created this miracle, made my love grow even more for both of them.
“I want to talk to you about something,” I said as I looked at her.
“What is it?” she asked.
“I know we talked about a couple of different names for her, but I think we should name her after your mom, Julia.”
Ellery stared at me for a moment as tears sprang to her eyes. “I love it, Connor.”
“I think she should have a name that’s a part of all of us. I would like to name her Julia Rose Black.”