Misty Cove, ME, USA

Three o'clock in the morning was not when Elsie and Charles planned to be jumping into the car. But some things in life just don't wait.

It had taken exactly nine minutes from the time Elsie hung up the phone until Charles was up, they were both dressed, and they were driving down their pea-stone-lined drive - which was about a minute and thirty seconds less than it had taken them on the practice runs they'd already done.

"No traffic at this time of night," he murmured.

"Morning," she corrected without a trace of fatigue in her voice.

"Whatever," he retorted, sounding very much like Juliet.

Elsie reached over and placed her hand on his thigh, allowing her thumb to caress it before he shifted his position behind the wheel and grasped her fingers in his own.

"Are you ready for this?" she asked.

He thought about it for a moment before replying. "Yes, I think so," he finally said.

She heard something in his tone and glanced up at his face. Reaching over, she brushed the fingers of her other hand over his cheek and they came away damp.

"Charlie?"

He put the turn signal on to merge onto the highway, heading straight for Southern Maine Medical.

"I've been ready for this for the past twenty-eight years," he finally admitted. "I just can't believe the day's finally come."

They spent the rest of the drive in silence, which suited them both. When they arrived at the hospital, Charles let the valet take the car. Elsie pulled her purse from the back seat, Charles took his wife's hand, and together they headed to the reception desk.

"Birthing center," Elsie told the young man at the desk. "We're Daisy Mason's parents."

"Ah," he said with a broad smile. "Excellent." He pointed to a bank of elevators across the waiting area. "Take the right elevator to the fourth floor. Turn right out of the door, and they'll buzz you in at the end of that corridor."

"Thank you," she replied, and she and Charles headed for the elevator.

They rode up in silence, and it was only when they were waiting to be buzzed in that Charles finally spoke.

"I wonder how William is doing," he mused.

"I'm sure he's fine as long as he's with Daisy," Elsie replied. "I can't imagine he's left her side."

Charles smiled fondly at his wife. "True. He's not left her side since they started dating, has he?"

Daisy had returned to Misty Cove three years ago, art history and education degrees in hand. She found a job in nearby York, teaching art to elementary students in grades one through four, and it wasn't long after that she and William Mason - newly home himself, but from an Army tour in Afghanistan - began hanging around together. Seven months later, after what Elsie felt must've been extraordinary patience on the part of William, the two young people were engaged. The Masons were beside themselves, with Beryl commenting to Elsie that now they really were family after all.

"It's funny to think how they never used to talk to one another when they were kids," Elsie said to her husband. "Not really, anyhow. But here we are."

"Here we are," he agreed, and they finally peeked into Daisy's room … just in time to see William place a gentle kiss to his wife's lips before taking note of their presence.

"That was fast," he said, and he made his way over to hug them both.

"We practiced," Elsie laughed, placing a kiss to her son-in-law's cheek. "How is she?" she added in a much quieter voice.

"She'll be better now you're here," he admitted. "It's been a very long night."

"Why didn't you call earlier?" Charles demanded, but Elsie squeezed his arm to calm him.

"I'm sure Daisy didn't need any added anxiety," she said to him. "We're here now." She turned her attention to William, letting go of Charles so that he could sit by Daisy's side for a bit.

"Is everything going well?" Elsie asked in a quiet voice, and she let out a breath of relief when William nodded happily.

"She's doing wonderfully," he said. "She's … perfect. And she's insisting on no pain meds. We arrived about eight hours ago."

"Well," Elsie said with wonder as Daisy let out a low moan, "good on her."

She peered around William just in time to see Charles take Daisy's hand and encourage her to squeeze tightly as he wiped a few stray hairs off of his daughter's forehead.

"There we go," Charles was saying. "And … exhale. You're doing beautifully, petal."

Daisy looked up at him, her eyes huge and tear-filled.

"I'm scared, Papa," she whispered. "It's so difficult. They said it would be hard, but I didn't expect this."

Elsie came over and gave her girl a hug and a kiss on her forehead.

"It's the hardest thing you'll ever do," she said honestly. "But it's worth it."

"Is it true, what they say? That an hour after it's over I'll forget all about the pain?"

Elsie smiled. "Maybe two hours," she said with a wink. "But yes."

Just then, the doctor came in.

"Ah! You must be the Carsons," he said, extending his hand to them each in turn. "Daisy is progressing beautifully. She's a very strong young woman."

"That she is," Charles said proudly.

"I'd say we're looking at another couple of hours," the doctor told him. "Why don't you two grab a cup of tea or coffee in the cafeteria, and then we'll come into the waiting room to get you when it's time?"

"Sounds good," Elsie said. Just then, Daisy called out for William, who rushed to her side as Charles looked on painfully. "Come on, Papa," she murmured in her husband's ear. "You'll only torture yourself watching these last couple centimeters go by."

Charles followed her obediently down to the cafeteria, where he added a dish of chocolate mousse to their cafeteria tray as she prepared coffee from the self-serve station.

"You're like a child, sometimes," she laughed. "Did you know?"

She paid the cashier as her husband nodded. "They didn't have any cake," Charles shrugged.

They shared the mousse and chatted quietly over their coffee, wondering what William and Daisy had finally settled on for a name and reinforcing their bets against each other over the baby's gender.

Elsie's phone buzzed on the table before them, startling her.

"Oh! It's Logan," she told Charles. "Tommy's just on his way from the station and they're coming right down."

"That'll take an hour and a half or more!"

"Hush," Elsie admonished, typing her reply. "It was Tommy's first week. You know he couldn't have left early."

"He's going to miss it," Charles said. "Mark my words."

"Well, that's alright," Elsie replied. "They'll be here soon enough. Besides, I'm not sure Daisy wants that many people in the room."

Charles sat back in his chair, massaging his slightly-trembling hand. "I suppose not."

Just then, a nurse walked over to them at a rather quick pace. "Mr. and Mrs. Carson?" she asked, slightly out of breath. "It's time. William sent me for you."

The Carsons were already on their feet, Elsie disposing of the cups and the tray, before the woman was finished speaking. She took Charles's hand and kissed the back of it as they followed the young woman back up to the labor and delivery ward.

"Here we go, Charlie. Are you ready to meet your granddaughter?"

He returned the gesture, kissing her knuckles as he murmured, "Grandson."

Elsie laughed, tugging his hand, and he wrapped his arm around her.

"I didn't think it'd be today," he whispered. "She wasn't due til next week."

Just then, Daisy's cry rang down the corridor, silencing him completely as they made their way back into her room. He pulled his wife close, placed a kiss to her forehead, and she turned and stood on her tiptoes, resting her hands on his cheeks and making him look her in the eyes.

"She'll be fine, Granddad," she murmured, and she pulled him down for a brief kiss.

He nodded, unsure.

oOoOoOo

One hour later, Charles and Elsie Carson watched their granddaughter come into the world. She weighed in at just over eight pounds, which Daisy repeatedly blamed on her husband's genes. William just looked pointedly at Charles every time, but he was smart enough to keep his comments to himself.

"I cannot believe your parents are in Vermont this week," Elsie told him. "Your mother is going to be devastated to have missed this."

"I know," William agreed. "But she couldn't put it off. And we thought we had two more weeks to go! But the buyers for the The Cheeky Devil are only there for forty-eight hours before heading to see their own kids up in Canada for the rest of the winter. It was a blessing they were able to meet up and go over the rest of the details."

"And nice that your folks could extend their weekend," Elsie agreed. "But … still."

"Well, they'll be officially retired now, and able to spend more time with the baby."

Elsie sighed. "I wish Becky could have lived to see this day," she whispered, and William just gave her a tight, understanding hug.

A soft coo drew their attention back to Daisy, where she was just finishing nursing her daughter for the first time.

"You're a natural," Elsie praised her, leaning over to kiss her daughter's forehead before trailing a finger over the baby's head. "Do you have a name picked out yet?"

Daisy nodded. "Yeah, but we wanted to wait until the boys are here." She sighed. "I can't believe Juliet is away at school. We're going to FaceTime her in on my phone, and get Beryl and Bill on William's."

Tommy and Logan arrived twenty minutes later; Tommy, Elsie noted, hadn't even changed out of his work suit, his badge still clipped to his waistband.

"There he is," Charles said proudly, standing and receiving a hug from both men. "Detective looks good on you, son," he added, patting Tommy's shoulder proudly.

"Thanks. It's been a busy week, too, which is unfortunate. But I've got a few hours before we have to head back."

William fetched Daisy's phone after everyone else had a chance to greet one another, and he dialed in Juliet.

"Oh, my god! Is this it?" they heard her tired voice yawn. "Is she here?"

"How do you know it's a 'she?'" William teased.

"Because that was Mam's bet," she replied, and everyone in the room laughed.

"Hello, sweetheart," Charles said.

"Happy Valentine's Day, everyone," Juliet replied as William panned the group with the camera. "And Happy Birthday, Papa. What a gift, huh?"

"That it is," he said proudly, and he took his seat again as his wife stood behind him and rubbed his shoulders.

"So," Logan pressed. "Now that everyone's had a chance to say hi, can we please find out this lovely lady's name?"

William handed Daisy's phone to Charles and dialed his parents on his own. Brief greetings were exchanged before everyone finally fell silent in anticipation.

"Everyone," Daisy said, her voice strong and sure, albeit tired as she looked at them all in turn, her eyes landing on Tommy last of all. "We'd like to officially introduce you to Laura Elisabeth Mason. And we'd like to ask you guys to be her godparents."

Logan, who was standing behind his husband, moved closer and wrapped his arms around Tommy's shoulders from behind, resting his chin on Tommy's shoulder and touching their temples together.

"I'm alright," Tommy whispered, a tear falling from his eye. He looked Daisy in the eye and nodded his thanks, any other words escaping him for the moment.

"We'd be honored," Logan said with a smile. "But Juliet?"

"She can have the next one," William teased, breaking the seriousness and making them all laugh.

"Fine by me," Juliet chimed in. "You guys are gonna be wonderful parents yourself someday. This'll be … practice." She winked at her brother, who winked back.

Elsie turned her attention to William's phone, where she saw Beryl wiping her eyes.

"We're definitely celebrating when we get back," Beryl said. "I've got a special bottle at the house that has been waiting for this day."

Elsie just nodded, looking back over everyone gathered in the room, her heart so very full of love for each and every one of them.

It was Charles who broke her reverie. "Let's go home, Grandma," he murmured in her ear. "I think everyone needs some rest, and we can come back in a few hours."

Elsie nodded, seeing Daisy start to drift off as she held Laura in her arms. "Good idea."

oOoOoOo

Hours later, Charles found himself home again, delighting in the feel of his wife in his arms. The sound of the surf could be heard even through the closed windows of their beachfront home, but his attention was wholly drawn to his wife and her tender touches. They'd returned home, napped, and then gone back to the hospital to spend more time with the children. But now, at Elsie's insistence, they were home once again to celebrate the rest of his birthday.

"We'll celebrate quietly at home, just the two of us," she'd told him.

It appeared now, however, that quietly wasn't exactly the right word.

"My turn," Charles told her when he was barely able to take any more of her ministrations without completely losing control of himself. He sat up in their bed and grabbed her waist, lifting her off of his legs and laying her back on the pillows before kissing her firmly on the lips and then trailing his kisses to her cheek, ear, neck, and further down.

After receiving quite a bit of uninterrupted attention from her husband, Elsie pulled on his shoulders, encouraging him to come back to her.

"Charlie," she moaned as he pressed his body into hers, tipping her hips to fully welcome his presence, their motions familiar but never ceasing to please either one of them.

Much later, when she lay cradled in his arms, Elsie pressed a gentle kiss over her husband's heart.

"Seventy," she murmured, and he swatted her behind.

"Don't even start," he chided, but she could hear the teasing in his voice.

"And a grandfather," she added with wonder. "Who would ever have thought we'd be grandparents?"

"I can't wait to see Laura again," Charles said, stifling a yawn. "She squeezed my fingertip today when I was holding her, just as she fell asleep."

"I know," Elsie said lovingly. "You told me. Twice."

"Did I?" He laughed, then tipped her head up and kissed her softly, deeply, before lying back on the pillow again.

"You did," she confirmed, "but I can forgive you." She snuggled in more closely as he squeezed her to him. "Charlie?"

"Hmm?"

"I don't think I've ever been as happy as I am this very moment."

"I know," he agreed, his voice deep. "She's going to be such a wonderful mother."

"Yes, and William is already a natural. I have to say, I was touched that they named her after Tommy's mother. That was lovely - truly. I'd have thought she'd have named the baby after her mother, instead."

"You mean Laura 'Elisabeth?'" he asked with a smile in his voice. "Elsie … I think she did."

"Charlie, my name isn't Elisabeth," she reminded him.

"Close enough," he murmured, unable to stifle his yawn this time.

"Well, I'm not so sure," she replied, settling in to fall asleep, her head pillowed on his chest as she trailed her fingertips through the sparse hair on his belly.

"I am," he insisted. "Because I asked. Now, as much as I'd like to continue this argument, I'm an old birthday boy, one whom you've worn out most completely, and I need my beauty sleep."

Elsie glanced over at the clock; it was past midnight.

"It's not your birthday anymore," she said. "And you're still quite beautiful."

"Hush, you," he teased, squeezing her tightly. "I love you."

"I know," she replied. "I love you right back. You know how much."

"Indeed."

She felt it the instant that sleep pulled him under. His breathing became slower, deeper, and steady. She counted the beats of his heart, which seemed in her sleepy state to be blending in with the sound of the surf.

Laura Elisabeth, she thought as she drifted off. How about that?

I'd love to know what you thought - thanks so much for reading. x