Yours Are the Sweetest Eyes I've Ever Seen
There are fireworks shooting in the sky on the night Ana Santiago-Peralta is born.
The sound is muffled by the closed windows and Amy's cries, but Jake can still hear them buzzing outside as he does his best to help her go through her sixteenth hour of labour.
"I'm so proud of you, babe. You're doing so well." His encouraging words are met with a painful grunt and a harder squeeze on the hand that's been intertwined with hers for this whole time. Despite his own pain crushing through his knuckles, Jake can't help but smile.
His heart is racing in his chest at the thought that sooner than ever now, he's going to meet his daughter for the very first time. He's going to be a dad.
His smile turns into an amused grin when he realizes that the fireworks seem to be in perfect synch with the noises Amy makes – popping into the air when she pushes, then quieting down when she does too, taking a break to breathe, breathe, breathe.
"Push," the midwife instructs again and as the future mother obliges dutifully, another festive detonation occurs in the sky.
It's like all of New York – all of America, even – has united tonight to celebrate their upcoming daughter's birth, Jake likes to muse.
(Charles will think the same when later, as he gets to hold his goddaughter for the very first time, he will argue with emotion prickling in his eyes that it all makes sense Ana is born on the 4th of July – nine days before her given due date. She's the daughter of America's Dream Couple, after all.)
(Camila and Victor, otherwise, will say it's all because she's a Santiago and Santiagos have a great sense of timing – arriving early everywhere they go.)
(Jake and Amy, on their part, will simply relish in the happiness of getting to know their baby a few weeks in advance – especially Amy, who was becoming crazy, stuck on desk duty.)
Jake remembers how, as a child, he used to love going to see the fireworks with his parents every 4th of July – when they were still a loving and united family, that is. They'd buy some ice creams first then watch them all together.
He remembers the first time he went to see them with Amy as a couple as well, on a rare 4th of July they were both spending off-duty. They went to their favorite spot in the city to watch them, at the top of their roof back on 397 Barton Street. They laid out a blanket to sit on the floor and wrapped another around their bodies to keep themselves warm – or mostly just Amy –, with a bag of nuts and his girlfriend's head resting on his shoulder as they looked up at the colored-painted sky and their hands intertwined together under the blanket.
(Jake didn't pay much attention to the show the fireworks were offering that night, though. His attention was focused on Amy's face for the whole time. It was glowing with the light each new detonation brought to the otherwise dark and starless night. Fireworks were beautiful, but she was the most beautiful sight, to him – still is, even in moments like this one, all sweaty and exhausted in her not-so-flattering hospital gown after hours of working on delivering their baby.)
He can't help but think about the years ahead too now, and how they'll hopefully make a tradition out of going to see the fireworks together with their daughter as their own little family, on this date that'll become even more special to them from this day on.
(Ana will be 7 when she gets tired of them.
"I made a list of things I want for my birthday," she'll say solemnly to her parents a few weeks prior to the D-Day, and in her chest Amy's heart will burst with pride – she's so organized already.
They raised her so well.
She'll hand them the little piece of paper she wrote in her child's handwriting, then will pause for a beat before voicing out her concerns.
"Also, I don't want fireworks this year," she'll request very seriously. Her parents will be startled at first – then it'll take them everything they have in them not to burst into laughter as a wave of adoration for the little girl will take over them.)
(Somehow though, she'll be very disappointed to learn the whole country hasn't been celebrating her birthday for the past six years.)
(They'll blame Charles for putting such ideas into her head.)
"I can see the head!" The midwife's voice takes Jake out of his meandering thoughts and back to the present. He shoots Amy a knowing look, anticipation and excitement coursing through his veins.
This is it – the moment they've been waiting for for the past nine months.
(And even before that – from the day he told her he was ready to have kids with her.) (Which he is. Right now more than ever he can feel he is.)
With one last push the baby is all out into this world – into their world.
There's a second of silence after that – even the fireworks seem to have quieted down again –, heavy in the air as it lasts for a beat too long, but then the infant starts crying and both Jake and Amy release the breath they were holding. Just like that, the whole atmosphere switches. As if to welcome her, a new detonation occurs outside and brings some more light into the room – it comes shining on the newborn baby.
A few happy tears threaten to fall down Jake's cheeks as the midwife carefully puts their healthy and oh so beautiful daughter into Amy's arms. He doesn't even try to keep them in. Although he's soon to wash them off, when they start to blur his vision as he looks at the wonderful sight his two dream girls offer in front of him. He hasn't felt this blissful since the day Amy told him she was pregnant.
And now their baby's here, real and tangible and absolutely perfect.
He exchanges a loving, knowing look with his wife before quickly bringing his gaze onto the infant again. He's unable to look away from her for too long. He loves her so much, already, he thinks as he stares at her in awe. Never would have he guessed before that such a tiny thing could bring the most enormous and magnificent waves of emotions through his body – some he didn't even know he had within.
Yet here she does, shattering his whole world in the best of ways minutes after entering it.
"You wanna hold her?" Amy offers after a little while and of course he agrees.
Ever so carefully, he takes the baby into his arms. A grin forms on his face when her big eyes meet his for the very first time. A new pang of love and blissfulness hits him hard in the chest.
"Welcome to the family, pal," he says softly as he brings his free hand to her rosy chubby cheek and strokes tenderly with the tip of his finger. She's so tiny in his arms; her skin, so soft against his touch.
Through the window, the sky is now painted in an explosion of colors as the fireworks reach their grand finale, but only one matters to Jake at that moment – the blue of his newborn daughter's eyes.