CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN #2
Julian was in awe of Kiara’s strength and focus. He’d never thought much about childbirth and all that it entailed, so it was a bit of a shock how intense it was. He was relieved that Kiara had agreed to the epidural, because he couldn’t imagine how painful this final stretch would be without it.
“You’re doing great,” the nurse said as Kiara slumped back against the bed after a contraction. “You’ve gotten the hang of it.”
For some reason, Julian had assumed that once Kiara started pushing, the baby would come right away. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.
It took about an hour of pushing before the nurse said, “I can see his head. You can do it.”
Over the next twenty minutes, the pushing grew more intense, and soon the doctor was back in the room with them.
Kiara focused intently on her pushing, and Julian did what he could to encourage her.
“That’s it,” the doctor said from her place at the end of the bed. “Here he comes. Keep pushing.”
Kiara let out a groan and then slumped back against the elevated portion of the bed behind her. Julian stared in shock as he saw the baby in the doctor’s hands.
“He’s here,” she announced as she lifted the baby onto Kiara’s stomach.
The nurse covered the baby with a blanket and gently rubbed him. He let out a squawk and began to cry.
“It’s okay, baby,” Kiara said softly as she lifted a hand to touch his cheek. “It’s okay.”
Julian bent close, his head near Kiara’s as they looked at their son. He had a lot of dark hair, which was pressed wetly against his head.
After several minutes, the doctor said, “Do you want to cut the cord, Julian?”
He glanced at Kiara. “Can I?”
“Of course.”
Feeling a bit overwhelmed, Julian moved closer to the doctor and took the scissors she held out to him. He followed the directions and soon the cord was cut.
Over the next several minutes, the doctor continued to work on Kiara, while the nurse carried the baby to a nearby infant warming bed.
“Go with him,” Kiara said as she watched the woman move away from them.
Before he did as she instructed, he turned his attention fully on Kiara and bent down to rest his forehead on hers. “You did so great. I can’t even begin to tell you how amazing you are.”
Emotions were flowing through him in a way that Julian had never experienced before. He felt closer to Kiara than he’d ever felt to another person, and in that moment, he knew that he wanted to keep that closeness.
Though she looked exhausted, she managed a smile for him. “I couldn’t have done it without you.”
Julian appreciated her saying that, but he knew that she would have been strong enough to do it on her own. He was just glad he’d come to his senses, so she hadn’t had to.
Straightening, he went to where the nurse was taking care of the baby and stared down at his son. His son. He never would have imagined himself having this moment.
Wanting to capture it, Julian pulled out his phone and took several pictures of the baby while the nurse completed the post-birth routine on him. Once he was all wrapped up, she made like she was going to hand him to Julian.
“Uhhhh.” He took a step back. “I’ve never held a baby before.”
“Then it’s about time you start, Daddy.”
Returning his phone to his pocket, he allowed the nurse to place the baby in his arms. She guided him back to the bed where Kiara waited, her eyes shining as she smiled at them.
“Here’s your mommy, little guy,” he said, shifting close to give the baby to Kiara.
She took him with more ease than Julian had and bent to kiss the knit cap that now covered his head. “Welcome to the world, baby.”
“Did you decide on a name for him?”
Kiara looked up at him and smiled. “His name is Theodore Julian Burke.”
Julian stared at her. “You’re naming him after me?”
“Yes. Unless you’d rather that I didn’t.”
“No, that’s fine,” Julian said. “I just… I never thought you’d consider that.”
“I thought we could call him Theo or TJ.”
“I like TJ,” Julian said, pulling out his phone again. “Can I take a picture to send to Angela?”
She nodded, but before he could do that, the nurse came and offered to take a picture of the three of them.
“Do you want me to let the family know he’s here?” Julian asked. “Or did you want to wait?”
“You can let them know,” she said. “And maybe let Lucy know, too.”
When the nurse mentioned she was going to help Kiara get the baby latched on to nurse, Julian excused himself from the room. He wasn’t sure that Kiara would be comfortable with him being around while that was going on.
“He’s here!” Julian announced as he walked into the waiting room.
The three jumped to their feet and came to congratulate him. Julian showed them the pictures as he gave them the details, including the name.
“That’s a great name,” Elijah said, thumping him on the back. “Congratulations, man.”
“I don’t deserve the congratulations,” Julian told him. “I did nothing compared to what Kiara did. She was amazing.”
Lucy smiled at him. “I’m glad you made it in time for the birth. She never said anything about having just me with her, but I know she was happy to see you.”
Julian was glad to hear that, but he wished that he’d told her sooner that he wanted to be there for her. She shouldn’t have had to worry about going through something like that on her own.
“I need to let the family know,” Julian said as he took his phone back. “And I can only imagine the response that’s going to get.”
“You'd better let Angela know first,” Lucy told him. “I think Kiara would want that.”
Julian agreed, and rather than send out a group message, he opened one to just Angela.
Meet your nephew! Theodore Julian Burke, aka TJ. He arrived a few minutes ago weighing 7 lbs 12 ounces and measuring 20.5 inches. He’s perfect.
To the message, he attached a couple of pictures. One close-up of TJ and the other of Kiara holding TJ.
“I need to get back to Kiara,” he said. “Once everything is settled, you can come meet the baby.”
The trio returned to their seats as Julian left the waiting room.
When he got back to the room, Kiara was sitting up, the baby cradled close to her. He hesitated for a moment, but when Kiara looked up and smiled at him, he approached the bed.
“How are you feeling?” he asked as he sat down on the chair he’d used off and on throughout the labor. “Did he feed okay?”
“So far, so good,” Kiara said, looking down at TJ. “My milk hasn’t come in yet, but he seems to be doing fine.”
Julian had no idea what that meant, but if Kiara was happy, he was happy.
His phone rang, and he glanced down to see a video call request. “It’s Angela. Are you up for a chat?”
He still hadn’t sent an announcement to anyone else, but that could wait. It was important for Kiara to be able to connect with her sister.
At Kiara’s nod, he accepted the call and handed the phone to her.
“Kiki!” Angela exclaimed. “Why didn’t you tell me you were in labor?”
“Well, there was nothing you could do since you weren’t here,” Kiara said.
“Julian was there?” Angela asked. “I thought he was coming to New York.”
“Lucy told Anthony I was in labor, so Julian decided to come here instead of staying in New York.”
“Oh, I’m glad he was there,” Angela said. “And oh, Kiki. The baby looks so precious. I’m so happy for you!”
“I’m happy too,” Kiara said, glancing at Julian for a moment. “Though I’m also tired. It was a long labor.”
“You’ll have to tell me all about it when I get home.”
“When might that be?” Kiara asked.
“I’m not sure, but if Duncan and Elizabeth decide to return home sooner, I’ll come with them, even if Jude has to stay longer.”
They chatted for a few more minutes, then Kiara ended the call after promising she’d call Angela again later.
“Thank you,” Kiara said as she handed the phone back to Julian.
“I’m going to send a message to Duncan and Annie now so we might get a couple more calls,” Julian said. “Are you up for that?”
“I am.” Kiara smiled. “I know people have been excited about the baby, so I want them to see him.”
“Would you rather wait until after you’re done feeding him?”
“I think he’s done,” Kiara said, looking down at the baby. “He’s fallen asleep.”
Julian shifted to give Kiara some privacy as she situated herself, and he took the opportunity to send the same message to Duncan and Annie that he’d sent to Angela. The responses were immediate, as he had expected.
Duncan: Congratulations to you and Kiara! The name is perfect. I can’t wait to meet Theodore Julian. Love to you all there.
Julian stared at the words. Love.
His gaze shifted to where Kiara cuddled TJ close. Her gown was back in place, and the baby slept contentedly in her arms. Kiara also looked content.
Emotions swept through Julian, and the strongest one was love. He might not have been sure that was what it was before, but now he knew.
These two had become his world. His home. His everything.
Even before meeting his son, he’d already been feeling that way about Kiara, but he hadn’t known how to label it. Now he did.
But how did Kiara feel? She’d never given him any indication that she had any sort of feelings beyond friendship for him.
She hadn’t rejected the little moments of affection when he’d reacted naturally and without putting too much thought into it. She’d hugged him. She’d allowed him close enough to kiss her, even if it had just been on the forehead. So she didn’t seem to be opposed to the affection.
He didn’t know how to prove to her that he loved her or how to prove that he was worthy of her love, but he was going to figure it out.
At one point, he’d accepted that an end date to their marriage was inevitable, but he no longer wanted that.
Julian prayed that God would give him the words that would help him keep his family together because he now believed that He’d brought them together. They might have had a rocky start, but that didn’t mean it had to stay rocky.
Elijah had told him that God could create beauty out of something ugly. That comment had been regarding the ugliness of his life prior to getting sober, but Julian thought that it could apply to the situation with Kiara, too.
Their relationship might have started out mired in alcohol and poor decisions, but that didn’t have to continue to define it.
However, their marriage could only end up somewhere beautiful if Kiara also wanted that.