"October 1st, 1981"
"Newborn"
"Oh my goodness, Naomi, she's perfect! Our little angel." Caleb's mouth quivered as he looked down at his daughter for the first time with tears in his eyes.
"She's the most precious thing I've ever seen", Naomi muttered as her world started to go black.
"She's a blessing. Are we still keeping the name we decided on?" Caleb asked without taking his eyes off his newborn.
With no response from Naomi, Caleb looked down at her. "Naomi!? Baby?! Help! Somebody help! Help!" Caleb panicked.
The nurses rushed into the room where they have just experienced the most joyous moment of their lives. With the sound of the flat line ringing in his ears, Caleb was rushed to the other side of the room as the doctors and nurses took over. Caleb stood, helpless, in the corner of the room clutching his newborn as he watched the doctors and nurses hurriedly do whatever they could to save the only woman he had ever truly loved.
"I'm sorry Sir, but were going to have to ask you to leave", a nurse said as she swiped the newborn from Caleb's arms and shooed him out of the room.
Caleb leaned against the wall of the hall in the desolate, little hospital and slowly slumped down to the floor. "Please!" He pleaded with his head in his hands. "After all we've been through, you can't take her away from me now! You just can't!"
After what seemed like years, a man slowly walked out of the hospital room, covered in blood, with an unpromising look upon his face.
"Mr. Bridges?" He asked.
"Yes? Please tell me my wife will be okay", Caleb said with tears streaming down his face.
The doctor laid a heavy hand upon Caleb's shoulder, "I'm so sorry, Mr. Bridges. But we did everything we could. There was a large amount of blood loss in such a short amount of time – ". The doctor trailed off, but Caleb could only think about one thing.
"Where's my daughter?" Caleb inquired.
"She's in the nursery and doing great. But I must say, if you'd like to say goodbye, then now would be the best time". The doctor started walking away, then he stopped and turned around, "Mr. Bridges? Again, I am so sorry."
Caleb walked into the hospital room, feeling the most bittersweet feeling he had ever felt. He slid his hand under Naomi's head and pulled her in close to give her the last hug he would ever be able to give her. He whispered, "My love, you've been my life for so long, I don't know what I'm going to do without you. After everything we've been through! We've faced death more times than I can count. I can't believe that this is the way that we end our journey together; right here, right now. It doesn't seem real. I will keep the promise that we made to each other the night you told me you were pregnant. I will keep our daughter out of harm's way. But I will ALWAYS teach her to protect herself. At least I will always have a part of you with me, and whenever I look into our daughter's eyes, I will see you. You've been the most beautiful gift God has given me and I have enjoyed our time together more than you will ever know."
Through his tear filled eyes, Caleb looked down at his wife. "Thank you for such an amazing life you've given me. And thank you for giving life to our beautiful little girl. I couldn't ask for a better wife and daughter. I will see you again. I love you, so much". Caleb lowered his head and gently kissed her goodbye.
With a heavy heart, Caleb reentered the hallway in search of the nursery.
Stopping a lone nurse, he asked, "Excuse me, where is the nursery?"
"If you keep going down this hallway, it will be the second to last door."
Caleb stood over his newborn baby, a million thoughts spiraling through his head. He had a lot of uncertainty about the future, but he knew they would be alright. He leaned down and gently picked up the only thing he felt he had left in this world.
Looking down into his newborns eyes, he knew he had to keep the name that he and Naomi agreed upon. "Welcome to the world Eva Grace. Everything will be fine, we'll always have each other".