Chapter 20

I cried, more silently than our daughter, who was lying right beside me in the hospital bed. Koen sat on the edge of the bed eying us and couldn't seem to stop smiling. "Our Sophie," he whispered.

"Our Sophie," I repeated and kissed my husband's lips right under the nose of the nurse applying me with a mild pain killer. Our daughter had ripped me apart thoroughly, but I didn't exactly mind, not when I looked down at the perfect little girl. It had been a little shock to hear the obstetrician say we had a girl, since we had both been convinced we were having a boy. We had been fighting over a good boy's name so much to get a girl in the end, about whose name we both agreed immediately. Well, I just hoped our Sophie would like the color blue then…

I easily let my dark blond head rest against Koen's chest. "Tired?" he asked, and to my own surprise, I felt myself nodding to him and carefully handed him our new born baby girl for him to put her in her crib beside the bed. She had been fed and burped no longer than half an hour before, so I hoped she would be asleep for at least a couple of hours straight.

I sighed happily against my husband as he settled next to me again and closed my emerald green eyes peacefully. The peace got disturbed by a noise in the corridor, though: a mixture of very familiar voices was audible. Anette burst into the room first, her sight unclear by the pile of presents she carried and dumped on the spare hospital bed. Emma, Calleigh, Andreiinna, Tarrah, Janeau, Horatio and Heather were to follow after her. The room had gotten just a little crowded in barely a minute time.

I looked on as Heather put down a giant box next to Anette's presents. "The contains are from... all of us," she explained, at my too confused expression. I didn't have to look up to be aware all women had gathered around Sophie's crib to see the littlest CSI-to-be. "Now... Where's my goddaughter?" Anette exclaimed, lifting the newborn out of her crib. 'Don't crush her!' I wanted to put in between, but Koen and I briefly shared a glance and I kept quiet.

"Pain killers?" Janeau wondered, nodding towards the needle running into my arm.

I nodded. "Yeah. I lost lots of blood during and after the birth. Our little Sophie caused some internal bleeding trying to get out and tore me apart thoroughly as well. I seriously–" "Shut up, you're scaring me..." Anette let out, suddenly. She blushed at the glances of everyone present. "I'm going to have a baby, too... I'm about eight weeks pregnant."

"And when did that happen?" Emma wondered, the first one to speak after the declaration, voicing what everyone else present thought. I honestly hadn't noticed anything on her, and all I had known was that she and her girlfriend were planning to have a child in the near future as well, but not exactly that fast...

"Odyssea and I both got a little jealous of you guys and soon wanted one ourselves..." Anette blushed, not looking at any of us. "It became sooner than planned for us as well; never thought it would work from the first time."