"God Lindsay, he's so beautiful." Stella cooed as she sat on the edge of the hospital bed next to Lindsay, stroking the top of the newborn's head.
"I know, I can't stop looking at him." Lindsay said, the same warm smile had been on her face since he was placed in her arms. She ran her finger gently over his cheek, drawing his attention to her.
"Where's Danny?" Stella asked looking around the room for the new father.
"I don't know, he said he'd be right back." Lindsay said as she offered her finger for her son to grip, which he did. She smiled and dropped a gentle kiss to the baby's forehead, then kissed his little nose. "But that was a half an hour ago."
"Strange." Stella said as she stood up to get her phone from her bag, than sat back in her place. "Does it hurt?"
"What?" Lindsay asked looking at Stella curiously, a lot things about giving birth to a baby hurt.
"Breast feeding." Stella clarified nodding her head towards the baby who was starting to make a sucking motion with his mouth and becoming fussier by the minute.
"It's not the most pleasant feeling, but" she started as she situated her son so she could feed him then continued. "It's the most important I've ever felt."
"He's hungry." Stella laughed as she watched Lindsay wince.
"Danny? What the hell are you doing out here?" Flack asked as he walked up to the entrance of the hospital. "Are you smoking?"
"Yeah, so?" Danny said finishing his cigarette and putting it in the smokers pole, then sat on the ledge by the garden, letting his feet dangle.
"Dude, you just had a baby, and you're out here in the fucking cold smoking?" Flack asked annoyed sitting next to Danny.
"Leave me alone Flack." Danny growled staring off into the parking lot.
"Did you and Lindsay fight or something?" Flack asked curiously as he rubbed his hands together trying to warm them.
"No, not unless you count how she yelled at me during the delivery." Danny laughed remembering how agitated Lindsay had been with him, swearing they would never have sex again.
"That doesn't count." Flack said. "Danny why are you out here instead of in there with your girl and newborn son."
"Just leave it Flack." Danny warned dropping his gaze to his feet.
"Have you even held him yet?" Flack asked as he watched a new mother being wheeled out of the hospital, the father carrying the car seat with the baby.
"Yeah, the doctor pulled him out of Lindsay, nurse put him in a blanket and put him right in my arms while they stitched Lindsay up." Danny said softly watching the same family as Flack getting ready to go home. "and he was crying, but as soon as I started to talk he calmed down." Danny added as the family drove off. "and he just looked at me, like, I don't even know, like I was his world, but."
"Danny, for the next I don't know five years, you are going to be his world, you and Lindsay." Flack said patting Danny on the shoulder. "Then he'll start school and make friends."
"I shouldn't be." Danny whispered meeting Flack's eyes.
"What? Why?" Flack asked, thankful they were finally getting to the bottom of this because he was freezing his ass off.
"Did you see him? He's perfect. And you didn't see the way Lindsay looked at me when I handed him to her, she looked at me like I was the most amazing person in the world, and told me she loved me." Danny continued dropping Flack's gaze to look up at the hospital.
"Danny, that's not a bad thing."
"It is, I shouldn't be here, I shouldn't be a father or a husband. I couldn't take care of Ruben for one day," he stopped and swallowed hard forcing himself to continue. "I cheated and she gave me a second chance, and now we have Julian, and."
"Stop, just stop." Flack said almost angrily. "You know Ruben was an accident, not your fault, Lindsay's knows you're a good guy, that's why she gave you another chance. Lindsay's smart, she knows you're a great father Dan, you just got to believe in yourself."
"I don't want to mess this up."
"It's in your name you can't help it." Flack laughed as they both stood up and headed into the hospital.