Chapter 6
TESTIFY TO LOVE
All the colors of the rainbow
All the voices of the wind
Every dream that reaches out
That reaches out to find where
Love begins
Every word of every story
Every star in every sky
Every corner of creation lives to testify
For as long as I shall live
I will testify to love
I'll be a witness in the silences
When words are not enough
With every breath I take
I will give thanks to God above
For as long as I shall live
I will testify to love
From the mountains to the valleys
From the rivers to the sea
Every hand that reaches out
Every hand that reaches out to offer peace
Every simple act of mercy
Every step to kingdom come
All the hope in every heart will speak
What love has done!
Quite suddenly, with one, final scream of pain from Monica, the crying of a tiny baby could be heard. A sound so beautiful and so miraculous that it seemed to cry out to the very world around it. A sound they had all been waiting so long to hear. Andrew gasped in amazement when he saw her. A baby girl. "Oh, Monica she's beautiful. Look you have to see her." He exclaimed joyfully as tears spilled down his face freely now. Monica, who had previously had her eyes closed tightly with agony, forced them open on Andrew's demand as she collapsed back into a laying position on the hospital bed, allowing every muscle in her body to suddenly relax and drop all tension.
Then she saw her. Sam held her up for her to see for a moment before he wrapped her a pretty little pink blanket. She was amazing, beautiful. Andrew was right. She couldn't believe it as she stared at the tiny infant. She was such a miracle. Quite suddenly, she forgot all pain and anguish she had gone through to get this far. She forgot everything she thought she couldn't do, for she had done it. "Oh, thank God!" She proclaimed as tears fell freely from her honey-brown eyes and she suddenly realized she was laughing and crying at the same time.
Andrew then leaned over and kissed Monica's temple lovingly before resting his forehead on her own for a moment, allowing his tears to mix with hers as they poured over both of their features. "I'm so proud of you. I can't believe you did it. That was amazing!" He told her as he kissed her forehead one more time before standing up straight again so Sam could place Monica's baby in her arms. She stared down at her for what seemed like hours, throughout which the tears never stopped. It was just astonishing what had just taken place. Abby, Mike, Gloria and Tess had all missed it, but that didn't matter now. They were coming and they would be here soon, and besides, Monica had her angel boy by her side the whole time. He hadn't been lying. He had stayed with her through everything and she couldn't be more grateful.
The storm had surrendered to the beautiful miracle that had happened in that hospital room and now the clouds were clearing and the sun's rays broke the darkness of the entire thing as an angel held a tiny baby in her arms.
Quite suddenly, the little girl opened her eyes and caught her first – and probably her last – glimpse of her real mother. She had the same eye color as Monica, and even though a lot of babies are born with brown eyes, you could tell that hers would stay this color, for they held that same honey tint in them. She was just the most amazing little creature Monica had ever seen and she knew it as she held her. She was just gorgeous. The angel's tears began to slow now, but they didn't stop and Monica was sure they never would after this.
It was then that Monica suddenly realized how utterly exhausted she was and decided Andrew deserved to hold her too. "Andrew," she called softly as she held up the baby a little so he knew what she meant. She was even too tired to simply finish the sentence. But Andrew was absolutely touched that she wanted him to hold her as well, and he wasted no time in reaching down to – as carefully as he could – take the baby girl into his arms.
As he held her and looked down at her, Andrew couldn't believe what he was seeing. He then rested the baby's weight in one arm while he used his other hand to move some of the blanket out of her face, but just as he did so, the tiny infant reached up and took hold of his index finger with her entire little fist. It didn't seem like much of a gesture, but to Andrew, it was the world. It made him feel even prouder of his friend than he had before and he beamed from ear to ear as he looked down at the child. It was then that the baby girl caught sight of this and suddenly a seemingly amused grin broke her tiny face too. And that was the moment that Andrew realized the child had both Monica's eyes and her smile.
"Monica she…" Andrew started to say something to his friend, but as he glanced up, he found that she had already fallen asleep and he was glad to let her rest after what she'd been through. The others would be here soon and in the mean time, he took the few minutes he had to baby talk the little girl to sleep.