Chapter 14 – Newborn

(Outside the dome)

"It's a girl!" The nurse exclaimed, holding the newborn baby for both Julia and Barbie to see.

Exhausted, out of breath, and still tingling with pain, Julia smiled. She longed to hold her new daughter, but knew she would have to wait a few more minutes. Barbie stood next to her, squeezing Julia's hand. He couldn't take his eyes off the crying baby. His baby. He knew babies were small, but as he stared at her, he couldn't help but feel like she was tiny. Too tiny for a man like him. How was he supposed to hold her without crushing her? How was he going to know what she needed? What if she didn't like him?

"We have a daughter," Julia said, pulling Barbie out of his thoughts.

He looked down into Julia's eyes, seeing the tears flowing freely down her cheeks. He brushed his own tears away.

"It's a girl," he repeated to himself. "We have a daughter. I'm a dad."

"Yeah, and I'm a mom."

Barbie was still completely in awe. In awe of Julia's strength, in awe of everything that had transpired since Julia's water broke ten hours earlier, and in awe of the new, crying baby that the nurse was holding up for them to see. He couldn't believe that he and Julia had created something so amazing.

"Would you like to cut the chord?" The nurse asked Barbie, holding out a pair of sterilized medical scissors.

He took them in his hand. The nurse showed him where to make the cut. As he saw the umbilical chord break, he felt nothing but joy in his heart. He was a father. The nurse quickly took the baby, clearing her nose and mouth of any mucus. Barbie turned back to Julia. He brushed her matted hair away from her forehead.

"You are amazing," he said. He leaned over her and gave her a quick kiss on the lips.

"I'm sorry for crushing your hand," she replied.

While in labor, she had taken out some of her pain on Barbie's unsuspecting hand. He didn't once complain, though. He could only imagine the pain she was going through to bring their child into the world.

"It's fine," he assured her, wiping her matted down hair away from her forehead. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

The nurse walked over to Julia with the baby wrapped in a blanket in her arms.

"Ready to meet your daughter?"

Julia put her arms out and the nurse gently placed the baby in them. Julia brought the baby against her chest, holding her carefully. The baby opened her eyes slightly, enough for Julia to see that they were a light brown. Although she had very little hair, it was the lightest shade of red.

"She's perfect," Julia said. "I can't believe she's finally here." She leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on the baby's forehead.

"Hey baby girl," Barbie said to her. He rubbed his thumb over her tiny cheek. "I can't believe how small she is."

"She'll grow," Julia said.

She had to wipe another tear from her cheek. She had wanted a baby for so long. With Peter, they were both always too busy to worry about having children. With Barbie, though, it was different. Perhaps it was because being stuck in the dome taught them that life was too precious to waste or perhaps because they knew they were meant to be together, starting a family became a priority. After being out of the dome for only a year, they got married. It was only a few months later, Julia presented Barbie with a positive pregnancy test. She had never seen him happier. Nine months later, Julia's water broke as she was sitting at the kitchen table eating breakfast. It had been a whirlwind of a year, but neither of them had ever been happier.

"You were so incredible," Barbie said.

"We haven't settled on a name yet," Julia reminded him. They had gone back and forth on names so long, they both decided to wait until they could hold their baby in their arms before they made a final decision.

"I still like Isabella," Barbie replied.

"I think I have a better idea."

"Please tell me you're not pushing for Penelope."

Julia smiled. "No. How about Angie?"

Barbie tore his eyes away from his daughter to look at Julia. He knew exactly what she was thinking. Even after all of their time away from the dome, it was impossible not to remember the people they lost. Angie had been one of those people. Her life was cut short in the most horrible way imaginable. Barbie could think of no better way to honor her than to name their daughter after her.

"It's perfect," he finally said.

"Our beautiful little Angie."

Julia brushed another light kiss against the baby's forehead.

"You should get some rest," he said.

"You just want to hold her."

"She's going to be daddy's little girl," Barbie said.

"I'm sure she will be."

Barbie carefully leaned over and took Angie from Julia's arms. He made sure he she was secure, cradling her head. He made a silent promise to her that he would never let any harm come to her. Barbie began to walk around the room, slowly rocking the baby in his arms as she slept.

As the nurses bustled around, cleaning up and checking on the monitors and machines, Julia watched Barbie with their daughter. She couldn't believe just how tiny she looked in Barbie's strong arms. It made her see Barbie in a whole new light and she loved him even more than in that moment than she ever had before. Although she never wanted to take her eyes off her baby, Julia could feel her eyelids getting heavy. She was exhausted, both mentally and physically. She knew she needed to rest. As she let her eyes close, she could hear Barbie talking softly to the baby.

"Hello, baby girl," he said. "I'm your daddy. And that amazing woman right there is your mommy. We both love you more than anything in this whole world. You're going to grow up to be so amazing. I hope you get your mother's looks and her amazing strength, but I hope you get my temper. She can fly off the handle sometimes."

"I heard that," Julia said, groggily.

"But she is the most remarkable, extraordinary, beautiful woman I've ever met. I hope you grow up to be just like her."

"Nice save," Julia mumbled.

Barbie walked closer to the bed. Julia scooted over just enough to give him enough room to climb in with her. He lay back against the back of the bed, which was propped up to make Julia more comfortable. Julia immediately rested her head on his shoulder. Barbie leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. She fell asleep as Barbie safely held their future.

Author's Note: I just couldn't do different "pregnant" stories without adding in one about the actual birth of the baby. Thank you to everyone who has been following these stories. I'm having a blast writing them!