Snapshot One
Three AM
-----
By all outside observations, it was a perfectly ordinary night, that humid, muggy night in July. The streets were quiet; quiet even for Miami. It seemed the heat had kept even the rowdiest of club-goers inside that night. Even away from downtown, away from the streets, an odd, almost eerie quiet hung over the trees, as though even the crickets could not be bothered to make a sound; the heat was just that oppressive. The humidity was so thick that even the locals went to bed, praying for a rainshower to grant them a glimpse of momentary relief. It did not come often, nor did that relief linger around, so it was truly a blessing when it did fall around the city.
By all outside observations, it was just an ordinary summer night.
But to Eric Delko, that sticky July night was anything but ordinary.
Three AM on an ordinary, Thursday night would usually find Eric where it might find any other working local - in bed, hoping to find just enough sleep to make it through the next day, the last before the weekend. During sleep, Eric would've thrown the blankets haphazardly off of him, some pushed to the foot of the bed, and some pushed completely to the floor. It usually drove Calleigh crazy, but in sleep she too needed to find some relief from the heat. But discarding the blankets was the only option available for Eric, as the other was just unacceptable. Despite the sticky humidity, he just couldn't bear to isolate himself to his side of the bed. No, an ordinary night, no matter how muggy, would find him lying on his side, one arm tightly around his wife, pulling her back flush against his chest, his face buried in the silkiness of her hair, breathing her in as he slept.
But this was not an ordinary night. It was a night that found Eric far away from his bed, and even farther away from sleep. It wasn't a night that Eric thought he could ever find sleep anyway, even if he'd wanted to in the slightest. He was too excited; too giddy.
Never mind the fact that the main event had come and gone, hours before. Eric could still be excited. It wasn't every day that this kind of thing happened. It'd certainly never happened to him before, and Eric was going to enjoy every minute of it.
Even every minute that he could've been at home in bed, sleeping soundly, his wife in his arms. Because on this July night, at three AM, there was no place he'd rather be than here.
Three AM on this particular night found a wide awake Eric wandering the near-deserted hallways of Dade Memorial, a box of Krispy Kreme doughnuts - thank God for the twenty-four hour drive-thru - in his arms. His feet hit the tile floor in extra long strides, very nearly running by the time he made it to her room.
Quietly he stepped through the doorway, and immediately his breath was taken away. No matter what the setting, the sight before his eyes in that moment would never get old to him, whether here in the hospital, or at home in the pink nursery he'd only just finished painting in time.
Of course, he'd very much rather have them both at home, but it was just as much a blessing here.
For the moment, Eric allowed himself to slip into the shadows, giving himself this moment just to watch. The lighting was low, the solitary lamp in the room casting a soft, almost ethereal glow over the scene before him. Propped up in the bed was his beautiful wife, her golden hair slightly askew but no less stunning than it always was. Her head was bowed slightly, and Eric knew her attention was given one hundred percent to one thing and one thing alone - the tiny, pink bundle she cradled in her arms.
Their daughter. Born at four past seven, earlier that evening. Seven pounds, ten ounces. Their daughter; their little Emma Leigh Delko.
It would never cease to amaze Eric that wrapped snugly within that tiny bundle of pink blankets was his daughter. His flesh and blood; his DNA. His and Calleigh's. And suddenly, there it was, right in front of him - the family he'd always dreamed of.
Just when Eric thought life couldn't get anymore perfect, it did. He'd thought things couldn't get any better than when Calleigh had kissed him for the first time, and now, not only was she his wife, she'd given him the most precious gift she could give.
Torn between not wanting to disturb the scene before him and wanting to be a part of that scene, Eric lifted a hand, softly tapping his knuckles on the door, finally announcing his return. Calleigh slowly lifted her gaze to him, and Eric knew he'd never seen anything more beautiful. The light that flickered in her eyes, the way her hair wisped around her face, framing it perfectly, the way she seemed to glow as she smiled at him, beckoning him close. Eric knew in that moment that there was no luckier man anywhere on the planet.
"Hey," he greeted softly, quietly slipping closer to them, his family. "I didn't mean to be gone so long; I was -"
"Standing there in the doorway?" Calleigh finished for him, a teasing grin at her lips. "I felt you there the whole time."
Eric shrugged sheepishly. "Guilty as charged," he admitted, though not feeling the slightest tinge of guilt.
Calleigh giggled. "It's okay though, because you brought my doughnuts," she said happily, her eyes lighting up. "You remembered the ones with the sprinkles, right?"
Eric chuckled. "You know it," he murmured, setting the box on the table. "Trust you to crave doughnuts at three in the morning," he teased, prompting a smirk from Calleigh. Ever so gently, so as not to wake Emma, Eric lowered himself to the bed next to Calleigh, pressing a kiss to her temple. "How're you feeling?"
For a moment, Calleigh didn't speak. There were no words to give this feeling justice. "Amazing," she eventually murmured, finally tilting her head upward, gazing into her husband's eyes with a sigh.
Eric reached out, gently brushing his knuckle over her cheek. "You know, that wasn't what you were saying earlier this evening," he teased.
Calleigh gave an embarrassed grin, her cheeks tinting lightly. "Well, I hurt earlier," she reasoned with a pout, leaning into Eric's touch. "Now I just…" she trailed off, turning her gaze back to little Emma in her arms. "You know, I never thought I could feel this…this…" Again her voice fell away; though she tried, Calleigh lacked the words to describe what she was feeling.
Eric smiled warmly. He knew what she was feeling. It was the same feeling he'd felt as soon as he'd laid eyes on the little bundle. "So in love with something so small?"
"Yeah, exactly."
A touch of silence fell between them, though it was a silence that conveyed their every feeling, their every thought. No words were needed, none at all. Softly Eric wrapped an arm around Calleigh's shoulders, pulling her closer as again he pressed a kiss into her hair, deeply breathing her in. Calleigh welcomed the comfort of his arms, relaxing against him and laying her head atop his shoulder. Her smile widened once more as she felt Eric's head come down, resting gently atop her own. The warmth of being in her husband's arms, along with the security of having their daughter in her own lulled her into a state of tranquility. She suppressed a yawn, unwilling to let go of this moment. Calleigh knew she could very, very easily get used to this.
Emma squirmed lightly in Calleigh's arms, cooing softly in her sleep. Eric gave a grin, gently pulling Calleigh even closer to him. "She's just like you already, you know."
Calleigh blinked, looking up at him in puzzlement. "What do you mean?"
Eric smiled. "By the first time I ever saw her, she had already stolen my heart." Gently he reached out, brushing his fingers through the small tuft of blonde hair at the top of Emma's head. "She's so beautiful, isn't she?"
"Yeah," Calleigh whispered, nodding slowly. "She is."
"Just like her mother," added Eric, punctuating his words with yet another kiss to Calleigh's temple.
Closing her eyes for a moment, Calleigh sighed as she was flooded with another wave of overwhelming, unimaginable happiness. Pure happiness. The lightness she felt was unlike anything she'd ever allowed herself to feel before. She was sure there was nothing else like it. "She woke up earlier," Calleigh murmured, slowly looking up at Eric. "She has your eyes, Eric."
He simply gazed back at her for a moment, the smile stretching across his face enough to melt Calleigh's heart, all over again. "Really?" he asked in wonderment.
Calleigh nodded. "Yeah, she does. Beautiful, dark brown eyes…" This time as she trailed off, she was unable to stifle a yawn.
Eric lifted his hand, bringing it gently to Calleigh's golden locks, stroking tenderly. "Why don't you get some sleep, baby?" he suggested quietly. "You've had a rough day."
Calleigh shook her head. "I'm fine, Eric," she murmured. She felt Eric let out a breath, and she couldn't help but smile. He had a protective streak that could annoy her to the core, but now it wasn't just for her. Now they had a daughter, and as far as Calleigh was concerned, Eric couldn't be protective enough. "The nurse will be back in here in a little while to take her back to the nursery," she continued, a hint of sadness in her voice. She didn't want anybody taking their baby girl away. "I'll get some sleep then. I just want to enjoy this right now," she finished softly.
He'd never been able to say no to her in the past, and Eric certainly wasn't about to start now, not in this moment. Instead, Eric maneuvered his body as best he could in the small bed, twisting slightly so he could bring Calleigh in to lay back against his chest, tucking her head beneath his chin. Calleigh gladly took the invitation, smiling happily as she felt his strong arms envelope both her and Emma. "I love you," she murmured softly, the words almost unheard.
But to Eric, the words echoed loudly in his ears, as loudly as though Calleigh had yelled them from the rooftops. He tilted his head, nuzzling softly behind Calleigh's ear, his heart fluttering in his chest at her soft giggle. "I love you too," he murmured in return, his arms tightening slightly around them. "Both of you."
Eric could easily look past their hospital room setting, or the less than comfortable bed on which they lay. It didn't bother him in the slightest that it was closing in on four AM, and the sun was closer on the horizon than any form of sleep was. He had everything he could ever need in his arms; he didn't need anything else.
He had Calleigh, and he had Emma.
Eric had his family.