Chapter 26 - Annabelle

Amelia and I had spent the last hour, fussing over how tiny she was; all six pounds and five ounces of her.  She had a beautiful head of blond hair and her eyes were the deepest blue, almost black.  Her cries had made my chest fill with so much love and pride for her and the amazing woman that carried her for these past nine months.  She was finally here!  Forgetting what had transpired between us, we were smitten with our little princess.

“What do you think about Annabelle?”  I asked her.  She looked like she was pondering it for a moment as she looked down at our precious bundle sleeping in her arms.

“That sounds great.”  She says and kissed me hard.  “I love you.”

“Are you sure?  You didn’t seem like my biggest fan earlier.”  And I knew I was bringing up our argument that set all of this in motion.  We wouldn’t be forgetting our first argument as a couple from now until the day we died or lost our minds, whichever would come first.  “I’m sorry.”  I nuzzled her forehead.  “I’m so sorry to have put you through all of that.”

“It’s okay.”  She tells me, leaning into my chest.  “Having little Annabelle here makes it all worthwhile.”

A few hours later, a nurse wheeled Amelia to a private room where she’d spend the night.  Provided that Annabelle maintained her weight and all her tests came back fine and Amelia remained healthy, we could go home in the next day or two.  My cell vibrated in my back pocket.  I knew it had to have been my parents.  I could only imagine how Aiden was with all of this excitement.

“Daddy!”  He exclaimed in the phone.

“Hi buddy.”  I laughed into the phone.  “Why aren’t you in bed?”

“I’m too excited to sleep, Daddy!  Is the baby here?”  He asks me.

“She sure is!”  And Annabelle chose that moment to start to wake up and fuss for a feeding.

“Is that her?  She’s loud!”  He tells me and that deserved a chuckle.

“That’s your sister Annabelle.”  I told him.

“That’s pretty.  I like Annabelle.”  He says and I smirked, looking over at Amelia who was now breast-feeding like she always knew how to.  I had told him a short story to get him to go to sleep for my parents.  Once done with that, I spoke to my mother and assured her that everything had gone well and that mother and baby were both, very much beautiful and healthy.  Amelia blushed from that one.  It had been a while since I had seen her blush.  I hadn’t realized how much I had missed it.

I couldn’t manage to pry myself away from my two girls.  It simply was impossible.  The nurses were nice and brought me a portable cot to spend the night in.  When Amelia set the baby down to let her sleep, I took my opportunity to hold my woman.  She made room beside her on her bed so I could sit beside her.

“Come here.”  I say quietly, pulling her into me with my arms wrapped around her.  I could feel the love radiating off of her.  “You’re amazing, you know that?”

“What’s so amazing?  I gave birth to our beautiful baby girl.  Women do that everyday.”  She laughed softly.

“Not you.”  I said and kissed the side of her head.  “I love you so much, it hurts sometimes.”

“You’re such a sweet-talker.”  She tells me.  “I think I’ve told you that before, haven’t I?”

“Yes, you have; but I speak the truth.”  I wink as she shook her head at me, rolling her beautiful blue eyes.

It had been a rough night; for Daddy, that is.  Annabelle had been great.  She woke twice throughout the night and went back down without a fuss after her feeding and a quick diaper change.  For me though, I was so wound up with the excitement of the day that I couldn’t keep my eyes closed.  The fact that the cot the hospital gave me wasn’t the most comfortable hadn’t helped either.  I found myself consumed with worry that Amelia and I would be sleeping and never hear Annabelle cry if she woke.  I knew that was impossible thanks to the set of lungs that kid had.  Tantrums were going to be fun in a few years!  When the hospital delivered Amelia's food to her room, she looked at it like it had grown eyes.  To be honest, it looked like food they wouldn't even give to prison people in the worst of places.  I went out to one of the little coffee places inside the hospital and got us some breakfast sandwiches and milk.  I came back, fifteen minutes later, my woman holding my baby girl.  I stood in the doorway watching them as I fell in love with both all over again.

“Hey!  Don't stand out there in the cold.  Pop a squat and feed me breakfast will you?”  She says.  I had to laugh.  I put our food on her hospital tray table and took our daughter from her arms.

“Come to Daddy you little princess.”  I tell her, kissing her forehead.  “Today, you get to meet your big brother, Nana and Poppy.  They are so excited to meet you.”

“Your Mom's not going to want to let her go, you know that right?”  Amelia tells me.  I know my mother and if she could, she'd most likely take off with Annabelle while we weren't watching.  Not literally but she'd hog her the whole darned time.  Just as I had thought of them, I heard a knock and there they were.

“Daddy!”  Aiden exclaimed running toward me as Amelia looked at him and put her index up to her lips, indicating that everyone had to be quiet.

Mom and Dad had completely turned into an emotional mess when they had seen Annabelle.  It was great!  After a day, she looked more and more like her mother; the only difference being that her hair was whitish blonde.  After a few hours, the nurses came to take baby Annabelle for a few tests to make sure that everything was still good.  Dr. Parrish came in and checked up on Amelia and everything seemed fine and she had the all clear to come back home.  It now depended on Annabelle's tests.  When the nurse came back with Annabelle, she gave us a smile and told us that her weight had been maintained.  I couldn't have been any prouder.  All we had to do was wait for the blood-work to come through and we were heading home tonight if all was well.  And then it occurred to me; the car seat.  I had forgotten to put the car seat in the car.  How could I have been so stupid?  I quickly called Dad and asked him if he could run to the house for us and bring it over.

The day had gone by slowly.  We had cuddled while Annabelle slept and watched a few old reruns of Friends.  Finally, at around dinner time, Dr. Parrish came back and I can honestly say that I was thrilled that he had a smile on his face.

“Good news!  You're free to go!”  He says.  “Everything looks great.  If there's anything of concern, make sure to get to your nearest clinic or hospital.  Take care folks.”  I looked at Amelia and she seemed just as relieved as I was that we were heading home.  When Amelia was dressed, we called the nurse to let her know we were ready.  She wheeled Amelia, holding Annabelle down to the car.

“Are we ready to rock and roll ladies?”  I joked as I looked to the back seat and smiled at Amelia and Annabelle made some cute noise which was most likely gas, but whatever.  “I'll take that as a yes.”

Our first night at home was amazing.  I had ordered us some pizza as we simply cuddled in bed.  We had rushed upstairs to show Annabelle her beautiful jungle critter room.  Amelia had turned every wall in to a mural of the jungle.  There were trees, animals and color everywhere.  Truly a baby's wonderland.  Giving Amelia a break and time to settle herself in, I took Annabelle and let Amelia go off and do her thing.  I knew she ached for a nice hot shower.  When she came back wearing one of my button down shirts.  My mind raced at how I couldn't wait to make love to her again.  Annabelle was sleeping in my arms so I slowly got up and put her in her crib.  Turning off the lights and closing the door, I took Amelia's hand and brought her to our bedroom.

“Hey sexy.”  I say, winking at her.

“You're hilarious!”  She says, rolling her eyes at me.

“Lets get in bed and let me hold you like I used to.”  I was talking about how I used to be able to pull her completely into me, feeling the entire front of our bodies against each other.  I ached for that closeness.

“Sounds great.”  She says and I pull her into me.  She wrapped her arms around me as she cuddled into my chest.

“Good night, my love.”  I say as I kiss the top of her head.

“Good night.”  She says and just like that, I felt her breathing becoming deeper, settling into its sleeping rhythm.  Not too long after, I fell into the darkness that had eluded me much of last night