Chapter 49
Andilyn
The first thing that breaches the fog clouding my mind is the low murmur of the guys’ voices.
With my mind still clinging to the last vestiges of the anesthetic, I’m too groggy to make out what they’re actually saying, but their hushed swearing is unmistakable.
My attempt to scold them comes out weak and scratchy, but then Briggs is there, his lips moving against my ear as he recounts the promise he made me.
I breathe a sigh of relief at hearing the baby made it through surgery as well.
Prying my eyes open, I blink several times to clear my vision, grateful to see the lights in my hospital room have been dimmed.
Glancing to my right where the others are huddled, my breath hitches when I’m met with Col cradling a tiny pink bundle.
“Would you like to meet your daughter, Angel?” I nod reflexively, but the moment he tilts his chin upward and signals for Col, I grip his hand and squeeze. Briggs dips back down, his brows knitting together with worry at the expression on my face. “What’s the matter, baby?”
“Her eyes,” I croak, forcing myself to swallow past the lump tightening my airway. “What color are they?” Briggs gives me a sad smile that’s full of understanding, brushing his thumb across my cheek lovingly.
“They’re a beautiful, matching shade of deep blue.
Like the ocean. They’ll likely change by her first birthday, but she doesn’t have heterochromia, Angel.
” My lungs expel the breath I was holding, my fingers tingling from the rush of relief that floods my body.
I know it’s irrelevant now that we’re free, and I wouldn’t have loved her any less if she had been born with it, but the idea that she would’ve experienced what I did if we hadn’t escaped, at the hands of the man who helped create her no less, is more than I can bear.
“Sunshine?” Col hedges, swaying side to side as he gives me an encouraging smile.
“I think our little girl is eager to meet her mama.” My chin quivers at how easily they’ve all laid claim to both her and Hudson.
Briggs presses the button to let the nurse know I’m awake as I carefully extract our daughter from Col’s embrace.
I’m in complete awe as I take in every detail.
She’s beautiful and perfect and far more than I deserve.
Hugging her close, I close my eyes and whisper a million apologies for ever dreaming of not keeping her.
All those fears I had of not being able to stomach the sight of her were completely pointless. She looks nothing like Tobias.
“I’m so proud of you, minha luz,” Raiden voices reverently, dropping a kiss to the crown of my head.
“You look really good with a baby in your arms, Butterfly.” Dayton waggles his eyebrows seductively, or at least he attempts to. “Thank you for making me a daddy.” He bends down to press his lips to mine, our kiss tender and sweet.
“You’re very welcome.” I smile against his mouth before jamming my finger into his chest. “But don’t you even think about another baby while this one is only a few hours old.” He backs away with his hands raised, tossing me a wink.
“So,” Col starts, taking a seat on the edge of the bed. “Have you picked out a name yet?” I grin, admiring my little girl as she starts to wiggle and grunt.
“This,” I quietly state, pressing my lips to the tip of her dainty nose. “Is Izabelle LeAnna Adams. Izzy for short.”
“That’s beautiful, Sunshine. I think Seth and LeAnna would love it, too.”
“I really hope so.”
A knock at the door interrupts the emotional moment, announcing the arrival of my aftercare nurse.
She quickly checks my vitals and does a cursory examination of my incision.
The guys step away, giving us some privacy as she palpates my stomach, then helps me get Izzy latched so I can feed her.
It takes a lot longer than I imagined it would, but she finally gets the hang of it.
Later that evening, when the sun starts to set and we’re all yawning with exhaustion, I try my hardest to convince the guys they’d be more comfortable going home, where they can shower and sleep in their own beds, but they’re too stubborn to reason with.
They’ll end up fighting over the single fold-down couch, and the others will be relegated to the hard plastic chairs a sweet older nurse was kind enough to provide, seeing as how my hospital room is full to bursting with bodies.
Col, however, seems to have a sixth sense that’s specifically attuned to my anxiety, and offers to head home to be with Hudson.
I trust Royce and Rita implicitly, but we’re still working through his abandonment issues, and I’m already anxious to be spending the night away from him for the first time.
“Thank you,” I tell him, giving him a kiss goodbye.
“Not just for taking care of Hudson, but for finding Briggs and bringing him back.” I keep my voice low, even though the guys are busy talking amongst themselves, comparing schedules and availability so I’ll always have a helping hand for the first few weeks.
“Even without me intervening, he was always coming home to you, Sunshine. Never doubt that.” I dip my chin in acknowledgment, then hand Izzy over so he can get in a few more snuggles before leaving. “I’ll be back tomorrow morning with Hudson. Any requests for breakfast?”
“Surprise me.”
Later that night, after everyone is sleeping, I stay awake and stare at the beautiful little girl that’s been growing inside of me for the past nine months while she snoozes in the bassinet beside me.
I’m overwhelmed with emotion, a mixture of gratitude and unworthiness warring within me.
For weeks, I couldn’t even stomach the idea of being her mother, and now I can’t imagine what life would be like if I had given her up so easily.
She’s mine, and nothing about her genetics is ever going to change that.
Before I can fully succumb to sleep, the nurse wakes me once more to press along my abdomen.
With how painful it feels, I’m convinced she’s trying to touch my spine with her fingertips.
She helps me to the restroom, which is just as awful as I thought it’d be, the tug on my staples making me hiss in pain.
Finally, when I’m situated in bed once again, she hands me a dose of ibuprofen to help manage my discomfort through the night.
I know the guys would prefer to be the ones helping me, but I refuse to interrupt their sleep when it’s going to become so scarce in the weeks ahead of us.
Before the nurse heads out, she makes sure the call button is within my reach should I need anything else.
As my eyelids grow heavy, a smile curves my lips at the faint snores filling the quiet and lulling me to sleep.
“Oh dear God,” Dayton exclaims, his light blue eyes wide with horror. “Why is it black?” He gags dramatically, but his hold on Izzy never wavers.
“But I thought you knew everything after reading your baby books?” Briggs mocks with a roll of his eyes.
“Move aside, you wimp.” He relieves Dayton of diaper-changing duty, shouldering him out of the way.
I watch from the bed, enjoying the unintentional show the two of them are putting on.
“To answer your question, babies have tar-like poop when they’re first born because of meconium, which is a mixture of things they swallowed in the womb.
Like amniotic fluid, skin cells, mucus…” Both Dayton and I turn a little green at his explanation.
“It should clear up within a few days, but then she’ll have explosive bowel movements that are mustard-yellow and kinda seedy.
” Briggs grins maniacally at the disgust on our faces.
“Enough,” Dayton pleads, looking seconds from throwing up.
“I think I liked it better when you were pretending to be ignorant about anything medical-related.” I tense, preparing for Briggs to get offended.
I might be in the dark about the particulars of his trauma, but I’ve been able to piece together that whatever he went through, it changed him drastically enough that he gave up being a doctor.
To my shock, Briggs only snorts in amusement.
“Is that better, my little love? Are you nice and clean now?” Briggs draws Izzy to his chest, lightly patting her back. She’s dressed in a fresh onesie that says Little Sister across the front.
“Incoming,” Dayton announces, glancing at the notification on his phone.
Raiden went to assist Col, since wrangling a toddler is a two-person job on the best of days, but especially when your hands are full of to-go coffees and breakfast. Not a minute later, the door cracks open, revealing Raiden’s breathtaking form.
His mouth is pinched with a slight hint of irritation as he quickly closes it behind him, preventing anyone else from entering.
My brows draw together with confusion as he rushes to my bedside.
“Is something wrong?” I question, glancing back at the door, expecting to see Col and Hudson.
“Not wrong, per se,” Raiden huffs, tangling our fingers together. “It seems we have a few more visitors than we planned for. Royce and Rita would like to see you and Izzy.”
“Of course they can,” I interrupt, shocked that Raiden would even think to keep them out, or that I’d want him to.
“Mia’s here as well,” he continues.
“Okay?” I tilt my head to the side, trying to pinpoint his unease. “I love your sister. It stands to reason she’d want to meet her niece.” The smile he flashes me is full of pride and love.