Hey look, a timely update! Enjoy...

Booth stood just outside the NICU, frozen in place. He stared down at his hands as he twisted his ring around his finger, thinking about a comment Dr. Tinkham made earlier. He had a hard time swallowing the fact that his baby daughter could wear his wedding band as a bracelet. He closed his eyes and stuffed one hand into his pocket, finding his poker chip and fiddling with it while he tried to even his breathing and calm his heartrate. He told himself that in a minute or two, he'd go in.

Dr. Tinkham approached him and placed a hand on his shoulder, causing him to jump. She smiled at him. "Sorry to startle you, Seeley. I just wanted to tell you that she's all settled. You can go see her now."

He nodded, but made no move towards the door. "Uh, thanks."

"When you're ready," she added.

He nodded again. "How is she?"

"Your little one is a trooper. She's a cutie, too."

He smiled. "So she's doing okay?"

"She's doing great, Seeley, but it's been less than an hour. We're running blood and urine tests now, her breathing and heartrate are being monitored, and she's getting IV fluids. Good news is she's breathing on her own. Her O2 levels are a little low, so she is getting some extra oxygen through a nasal cannula. We've inserted a tube through her nose, which will be used for feedings until she's ready for the bottle. Overall, you have a healthy, 2 pound-10 ounce, 16.5-inch baby girl. Congratulations."

He swallowed.

"Do you and your wife have a name for her?" She laughed. "Besides Blue, I mean?"

He cracked a genuine smile. "Kyla," he whispered. "Kyla Louise."

"She's a beautiful little girl." She paused. "Well, I have some patients I need to check on. I'll swing by Temperance's hospital room later." She started to walk away, but Booth stopped her.

"Wait, uh, Dr. Tinkham, how long is Blue going to have to stay in the NICU?"

"I wish I could give you a specific answer, which I'm sure is what you're looking for, Seeley, but I can't; it's just too soon to tell. In order to be discharged, Kyla needs to be able to maintain her temperature while in an open crib and she should be feeding from a bottle well enough that she's gaining weight steadily. We'd also like her to be able to breathe on her own without any respiratory support."

He nodded; he wasn't expecting a specific answer, though that was what he wanted to hear. "I understand."

"Just enjoy your baby girl. She'll reach those milestones and be on her way home in no time."

He sighed. "Thanks, Dr. Tinkham."

"You're welcome, Seeley." With that, she left him there at the entrance and walked off in the direction of the elevators.

Booth was feeling a bit better after talking to Brennan's doctor. At least now he wasn't completely in the dark about Blue. The next step was to walk through those doors and finally meet his baby girl. He took a deep breath, exhaling as he entered the NICU. He stopped just inside and looked around. He was surprised to see that this particular unit was made up of several private rooms, rather than set up like a nursery. In the middle, there was common area with couches and coffee tables. As this was his first time visiting, he wasn't surprised he was stopped and asked for his ID. He signed in, showed the nurse what she needed to see, and filled out some paperwork, detailing who was allowed to visit Blue while she was there. With that out of the way, he washed his hands thoroughly and returned to the nurses' station. "Excuse me?"

A different woman then who he had dealt with minutes earlier looked up from her computer screen and smiled at Booth. She removed her glasses, letting them hang around her neck by a bejeweled chain, and tucked a piece of her graying blonde hair behind her ear. "Can I help you, sir?"

He nodded and glanced at her nametag briefly. "Good afternoon, Carla. I hope you can help me." Despite his mood, his charm smile was firmly in place. "I'm looking for my daughter. She was just brought up here forty-five minutes ago." He paused. "Her last name is Booth."

Carla nodded and consulted her computer. "She's in room 206." With a sharpie, she circled the room on a laminated map and handed it to him. "Her room is around the corner, third room on the left."

"Thanks." He followed Carla's directions and soon he was standing in front of Blue's room.

Booth knocked and pulled the door open. He stepped inside and let the door shut softly behind him as he took in his surroundings. There were monitors set up, an incubator in the middle, and a sitting area with a coffee table, two high-back chairs, and what looked to be a pull-out sofa. A nurse was standing near the incubator, adjusting Blue's IV bag and singing softly to the baby. He couldn't make out the lyrics and didn't recognize the tune, but he smiled. "Hello?"

The nurse jumped and turned to face to Booth, her cheeks reddening. "I didn't hear you come in. Are you here to visit this little peanut?"

He nodded. "I'm her father. Seeley Booth."

"I'm Nancy." She laughed. "Are you going to come say hi? She won't bite. Not yet anyway."

He cautiously walked over to the incubator, both excited and terrified to meet Blue. He closed his eyes and let out a breath. He slowly blinked and glanced down. The first things he noticed were all the tubes and wires connected to her. The second thing was how small and fragile she looked lying there. He let his eyes wander to the various machines surrounding the incubator.

"Don't focus on the machines or the wires and tubes. We'll worry about those. You just focus on your baby girl," Nancy said.

He blinked, casting his eyes back down to Blue.

"You can touch her. It's okay."

He nodded and slipped his hand inside. He began by stroking her hand with his thumb, but as he felt her respond to his touch, he grew more confident and after a few minutes, he picked up her hand and held it. He smiled when she wrapped her hand around the tip of his index finger. "Hey, there, Blue, it's Daddy." He watched her chest collapse and expand as she struggled to breathe and quickly looked away, focusing on her legs.

Blue stretched her legs out and her right foot twitched.

He smiled and looked back at her face. He slid his free hand in and touched the wisps of dark hair poking out from beneath her pink cap. Moving his fingers down, he brushed the pad of his thumb across her cheek and felt her grip tighten around his thumb. "Hang in there, Blue. We—your mom and I—love you." He continued to hold her hand and stare down at her, memorizing everything. His head popped up when he heard a beep from the monitor, his heart racing.

"Don't worry about that. It's just a warning beep," Nancy reassured him.

"Is she doing okay?"

Nancy nodded. "So far, so good." She paused. "What's her name?"

"Kyla Louise Booth," he answered, his focus still on Blue. He couldn't stop staring at her. It still didn't seem real that she was here.

"Fitting."

"Excuse me?"

"Her name, it means Lovely Warrior." Nancy smiled. "How long will you be visiting?"

He looked up momentarily and then went back to staring at Blue. "Uh, I don't know. A while, I guess. I'll be back later, too, probably, with my wife."

"I'll have to meet her another time, then, unless you plan on stopping by before 6:30."

"It depends on her. Things are complicated." He left it at that and set Blue's hand back down at her side.

Blue curled her hand into a fist and yawned.

"Mommy can't wait to meet you, sweetheart, but she's resting right now. Hopefully, she'll be up to seeing you later. Today's been pretty crazy, Blue. Things happened so fast; there was nothing we could do." He paused and brought over the rocking chair. He situated it facing the incubator and sank down into it. He shifted and leaned back into the pale green cushion. Closing his eyes briefly, he opened them and refocused on Blue.

Nancy noted a few more things in Kyla's chart before leaving the room, her departure unnoticed by Booth.

He sprang up the second he heard Blue cry and looked down at her. He saw her face crumple and her lower lip quiver as rapid, low-pitched cries erupted from her small body. He slipped his hand inside and gently stroked her belly. "Shhh, Blue, it's okay. Daddy's here. Shhh." He paused. "Blue, honey, you have to calm down." He didn't completely understand the monitors, but he could hear the beeping. "C'mon, baby."

The door opened and the room filled quickly with a team of nurses. Booth was pushed away, forced to just stand there, helplessly. He couldn't see anything and all the voices melded together to the point where he couldn't hear or understand anything that was being said. Everything had been fine. How had things changed so quickly?