Another holiday story of sorts. Just a juxtaposition of thoughts really. I hope you enjoy it, thanks for reading and your feedback! And to the mothers, sons and daughters out there, happy holiday!
He sat in an uncomfortable chair by her bed and watched over her as she slept.
The smile that still lit her face even in slumber told him that she dreamt about her daughter, the one that they had created together a little less than nine months earlier. The little girl she had been dreaming about most of her life, seeing her face as clearly as if she had been more than a figment of wishful thinking. Every time she had reached for her, the little girl had either remained out of reach or had faded away as quickly as she had appeared. Was she real, C.J. had often asked herself, wondering if she would ever find out.
But the little girl had been real after all, and had finally arrived after those years of waiting and when the mother and daughter's eyes met for the first time, they both remembered.
And C.J. smiled when she chided herself for finally realizing that the identity of her daughter's father should have never been a mystery to her. When Matt had gently taken the baby from her sleepy embrace and into his own strong ones, she saw his entire face change in an instant and knew that the man she loved, had himself just fallen in love. And looking at her daughter resting peacefully, she knew that it was mutual.
Their daughter that 12 hours of labor had introduced to the world, delivered by the same doctor who had saved her father's own life beginning before his birth years ago. She had happened upon his mother purely by chance after she had crashed her car by the side of a road in Texas and had gone into premature labor. And the doctor had told his mother to keep pushing, until the baby appeared and then had skillfully unwound the umbilical cord from around his neck before bringing him completely into the world and into the hands of the woman who had birthed him.
The mother who had carried him inside her body and had struggled to bring him into the world had only held him in her arms but for a brief period in his eventful life. Soon after, she had died of complications related to a medical condition stemming from that difficult pregnancy and birth. The lovely young woman with the sparkling eyes and the easy smile haloed by dark brown hair, who remained alive years in his heart where she had lived since he was a little boy. Only when he first heard the story, he had believed that she had been married to Bill Houston, the man he had believed had been his father. It was years later, when he discovered that the man who had raised him had adopted him from his biological father who never recovered from the untimely death of his wife. And after handing off his wife's only child, Matt's biological father faded into the background of his life until his untimely return years later after he had grown up.
Both men had given him life in completely different ways and both had died without ever meeting a grandchild who belonged to both of them. The father who raised him had often chided him good-naturedly about taking his time at producing the family heir and Matt just said that he hadn't met the right woman to start the next generation of Houstons with but that he'd begin working on it when the time was right. Bill had just told him, that sometimes what you were searching for would wind up leading you back where you began. Now Matt understood that was his father's roundabout way of telling him that if he didn't wise up and pursue his life-long best friend, then another lucky man would be the father of her children instead of him.
It took him a while but he got there first. And the thought that it could have turned out any other way than it did, well it wasn't one he dwelled on.
The father who had sired him before walking away had in the end sacrificed his own life to save Matt's when it had been endangered by an old family enemy as the closing chapter of a family feud that had snared many people in its grasp. That final selfless act of a father towards his son had allowed him to live to father his own child, to share that with the woman who had stood by him after the deaths of both of the men who had contributed to his life. And to build dreams of what their life together would be like while their family grew. Dreams for his daughter began to form months before her arrival, her first birthday party, her first day of school, her first dance, her first kiss… He had pushed that last one away for a while, as a bridge to cross when they arrived at it. Even while she still grew inside her mother's body, Matt had already decided that no man was good enough for his daughter. The irony of that sentiment that filled him about his own daughter hadn't yet reached him.
But the thought of being a father brought both elation and fear, along with a taste of sorrow as the memories of what he had lost hit him hardest when he least expected. That any thought he had of what kind of father he would be became tempered by his own complicated family history.
He had grieved the death of both of his fathers differently from each other and much more so than how he had with his mother. The maternal presence in his life had lived mostly in the photographs which captured her at various stages of her life and through the stories his father had told him while growing up. Stories slanted by the secrecy surrounding his adoption but even the truth didn't fade those vivid recollections that Matt had been given about the woman who had given him the gift of life. Nor did it change the reality of how much she had loved her son.
Now years later, the same doctor who had helped his mother had happily brought his own daughter into the world during the middle of the worst rain storm in over 20 years. C.J. had gone into labor while on the ranch and had struggled through the rapidly flooding roads to get to the good doctor's neighboring ranch where she had raised prized cattle after retiring from medicine. The older woman wearing the large Texan hat had opened the door wide and saw C.J. standing there, soaking wet from the rain and holding onto her abdomen trying to breathe in the way that Lamaze training had taught her. She had helped her in the house and had wrapped her in blankets to warm her, before throwing more wood on the fire.
"Where's Houston," the doctor had said.
But C.J. just shook her head, gearing herself for the next labor pain.
"All the phones are out," she said, "I couldn't even get through on my cell."
The roads were too flooded for them to make it even to the nearby medical clinic let alone the hospital so the doctor just told her that the baby wouldn't wait and that they would remain sheltered inside the house and deliver her child there. C.J. had just nodded, feeling so many emotions rush through her at once. Excitement, mixed with fear but also trust in the woman in front of her who she had impulsively gotten up and embraced tightly, thanking her for saving Matt's life not long after meeting her at a party.
That's when Matt really should have guessed the depths of her feelings toward him but at the time, he still didn't view her as anything but a woman he had been close friends with since childhood. But so much had happened to the both of them since then, that by the time they had reached the other side of it, he couldn't imagine his life with anyone or his children having anyone else as their mother.
Including his daughter, who he had held in his arms, moments after she had been born. So tiny, so helpless looking until she had grabbed hold of his finger. The strength of which and her determination to hold onto him only broadened his smile as she made a place for herself inside his heart.
It was only natural that after having been conceived in the middle of a hurricane that his daughter would naturally choose to time her birth with the arrival of another unseasonable tropical storm. The two of them had gotten married after C.J. had discovered that the couple of days and nights they spent holed up inside the penthouse suite of his corporate offices in Houston indulging in a passionate interlude had gotten her pregnant. Whether it had taken place before or after she accepted the marriage proposal didn't make any difference to either one of them, so happy they were to begin the family they had dreamed about, one they traveled so far to realize together.
Her pregnancy had proven to be the most joyful experience in their lives so far, but the arrival of the baby they very much wanted soon transcended even that time spent together.
Matt had found his way back to the ranch after flying his helicopter back in the middle of the storm, determined to make sure that his wife was safe from harm after she had failed to return his phone calls. He had landed his helicopter at a nearby air strip and then had tossed some bundles of cash at a confused man before taking off in his car towards the ranch.
While driving down the debris strewn highway which had been emptied of the usual traffic, he has seen her right before his eyes. His own mother, perfect in life as he remembered her in death. And in that second he knew just where to find his wife.
Indeed something deep inside of him had drawn him towards the ranch of the woman who had played such an instrumental role in his own birth and his homing instincts had led him in the right direction. The good doctor had placed her hands on her hips, grinned at him and then asked him what took him so long before leading him back to where his wife had been busy bringing their daughter into the world.
He had walked in to the bedroom where C.J. lay, drenched with perspiration and her face filled with concentration as she breathed her way through the pain of labor, as her daughter struggled to move from the world she knew to the next one. At first, he felt at a loss of what to do but when their eyes met, he rushed over to her and took her in his arms, whispering words that came quickly to mind, words that made her relax as the doctor told them what would happen next. She closed her eyes for a few minutes then and rested her head against his chest while he held her. She had always proven to be the rock he needed during any storm that crossed their paths.
"Come on sweetheart push," he encouraged her, "We're almost there."
"I don't know if I can," she gasped, "Her birth is proving to be much harder than her conception."
He smiled at that and stroked her back.
"Just one more push and I'm going to be here right with you," he said. She knew he meant every word as she prepared to bring their daughter into the world, reaching past the pain, the fear that she had used up every bit of strength she had left. Only to find out that he had given her what she needed.
And not long after that, their baby crowned and drew her first breath.
A beautiful baby girl with a shock of dark hair and already, her mother's spirit judging by her lusty cries after breathing air for the first time. The doctor had smiled approvingly and then had handed her to C.J. and soon enough, Gracie had stopped crying and settled down at her mother's breast while both her parents examined her carefully. The most beautiful baby girl that Matt had ever seen, resting alongside her most beautiful mother.
The baby who now lay sleeping down the hallway inside another room filled with other babies lying in color-coded cribs and identification tags.
Gracie Elizabeth Houston, weighing in at 6 pounds and nine ounces, born just after midnight on the second Sunday in May.
Mother's Day.
Her name had been picked in advance by the two of them even not knowing for sure, the gender of the baby growing inside of her. But C.J. had known for a long time that her first child would be a girl with dark curly hair like her own but her eyes belonged to her father, though it took longer for C.J. to figure out who that would be. Silly now, she had realized but not as much as naming her daughter after a hurricane.
And after Matt's own mother, Elizabeth, who had been a force of nature in her own right.
C.J. had seen many photographs of Matt's mother, including those carefully posted inside several photo albums. Pictures of the little girl at a birthday party, with a cake in front of etched with an image of the state of Texas. Photos of her riding her favorite pony, Brandy dressed like her heroine, Dale Evans. Pictures of her wearing beautiful gowns and dancing with several different young men including Bill.
And a photo of her smiling in jeans and a blouse between Bill and another man who she now knew had been Wade, Matt's biological father.
Matt had told her the story behind his adoption and the circumstances which led to him discovering the truth about his family origins. They had been lying in bed after making love in their new house, wrapped up in each other's arms, with their new baby growing inside of her. The words had come spilling out of him as if the dam that had held him had just broken and it had, on the day that Matt learned he was going to be a father.
After he told her, she cried softly into his shoulder, not out of sadness but at the realization that if it hadn't been for the father that Matt thought had abandoned him when he first found out the truth, had saved his life. So that one day Matt could have his own children and decide what kind of father he wanted to be. After he confessed that, she kissed him and pulled him into her arms, telling him in no uncertain terms that he would combine the best in both of the men who had played important roles in his life. And after they had made love again, he slept peacefully in her embrace.
Now it was her turn to get some sleep, much needed rest after what she had been through in the past 24 hours. When the phone service had returned, he had called Uncle Roy, Will Chris and Dan and the rest of their friends, to give them the news about Gracie's arrival. And he knew they were all working on finding a way to the hospital. The doctor had examined the baby and said that in a couple of days, both mother and daughter would be strong and rested enough to send home to begin their lives together.
He heard her stir and looked over at her. She had opened her eyes and had propped herself up on her elbow watching him.
"How you feeling," he asked, moving closer to her.
"Tired, like I've been wrung out and sore as hell," she said, "But I've never felt better than I do now."
He sat on the edge of the bed and she decided that wasn't close enough so she wrapped her arms around him and drew him closer. And he very gingerly placed his body next to her own, and she rested her head on his chest.
"This was the most amazing day of my life," Matt said, "I'll never forget it."
"Me neither," she sighed contently.
He stroked her arm.
"But should we really be thinking about having more children," he said, "Child birth just seems to be so damn hard on the mothers. Doesn't seem fair that for the guy, it's a hell of a lot of fun for us and for the woman, a lot of work."
She chuckled.
"Oh Houston, it was a lot of fun for me too," she said, "and as for the rest of it, it's already slipping away like a dream that I had once. Gracie's so worth all that anyway whatever it took to bring her to us."
He seemed happy about that.
"Really, so then it's okay if we have about five or six more," he asked, "We can always add onto the house."
She thought about it.
"Maybe not quite that many," she said, "or at least I'll have to think about it but I definitely want more Houstons running around the ranch getting into everything."
They held onto each other, peacefully for a little while and then Matt remembered something.
"Wait a minute, I just remembered," he said, reaching for his pocket, "I got you a present."
She arched her brows.
"What for Houston," she said, "I already have everything I want right in this hospital."
He handed her a small box and she looked at it.
"Happy Mother's Day, C.J."
She remembered that her birth happened on the day that honored women like her everywhere. She would have figured that out sooner but she'd been pretty busy herself. Opening it up, she found a small necklace inside, with a little frog, dressed in gold. Matching the tattoo on her shoulder where an ugly memory had been erased.
She smiled broadly knowing how much she and Matt adored frogs. And remembering back to the day when she had helped him win the frog jumping competition and created a love match between his frog, Rupert and her own Hildegard, not to mention that kiss…
And now a couple thousand kisses later, she knew that her frog had turned into a prince after all.
"You put it on," she asked him, her voice soft.
He did just that and then kissed her gently on the mouth, before settling aside her again.
"Now you need to get some rest young lady," he said, "It's been a long day."
She closed her eyes, listening to her heart beat as she often did, and her mind returned to her daughter safely asleep in her crib not too far away. Lying on her back with her hands softly clenched, dreaming her own dreams of the world that in the days to come would become less foreign to her and more like home with the two parents who loved her. Who would protect her while giving her plenty of room to grow into the woman she would become.
And the little girl slept with her eyes firmly closed but inside her mind's eye, another woman with dark hair and a sparkling smile in her soft brown eyes continued to watch over her.