The next day, Sarah was holding Emmy after nursing her. "Elliot wants to make sure you are still comfortable with him and Noah visiting," Olivia said.
"Definitely," Sarah responded.
"He also wants to know what to bring you for dinner." Sarah's eyes lit up.
"A turkey sandwich," she said. "I really missed deli meat while I was pregnant. And a peanut butter cookie," she added. Olivia smiled.
An hour later, Elliot and Noah came in, carrying bags from a deli and packages. "Can I see the baby?" Noah asked Sarah excitedly, as soon as he'd washed his hands.
"This is Emmy," Sarah said. She was swaddled in a blanket, but Sarah turned her so Noah could see her face.
"She's so tiny," he marveled. "She looks like a doll."
"Do you want to hold her, Noah?" Sarah asked.
"I'm allowed to?" Noah said with wide eyes.
"You can hold her if you sit in one of the chairs. Your mom or dad will show you how to support her head." Once Noah was ready, Elliot brought Emmy over and showed him how to hold his arm under her head. Elliot stood nearby, but Noah was extremely gentle.
"Her hand came out of the blanket," Noah said, "Look." After a few minutes, Elliot took Emmy back from Noah. "You did a great job," he told him.
"You did, Noah," Sarah added. Noah beamed.
"Can I hold her, Sarah?" Elliot asked.
"Of course you can," Sarah replied. Elliot sat down with Emmy, nestling her against his chest.
"We have presents for you and Emmy," Noah told Sarah. He handed her two brightly wrapped packages. "I picked them out." Sarah opened them and took out a set of three fuzzy mouse lovies and a pair of striped purple pajamas and matching hat.
"These are perfect, thank you, Noah," she told him, hugging him.
"I picked the pajamas because her room is purple and they felt nice and soft. I wanted to get her a toy too, and Dad said getting more than one lovey was a good idea, so she could have extras."
"It's a very good idea," Sarah responded. "Emmy will love them."
Noah brought a bunch of purple tulips out of one of the bags. "These are for you," he said more shyly.
"Thank you, Noah. They're beautiful."
They ate dinner together, then Elliot took Noah home. "I'll be back tomorrow to bring the three of you home," he said. "Just text me in the morning to let me know what time," he told Liv.
"How do you feel?" Olivia asked Sarah, after they'd left.
"Exhausted, but good. I'm glad we can go home tomorrow. Being in the hospital hasn't been as hard as I thought, but I'm so ready to go home. I feel emotional," she said, starting to cry a little, "but not about the assault. I'm just grateful that she's here and healthy. It's hard," she added, "to have seen everything that can wrong. I'm so lucky."
Olivia squeezed Sarah's hand. "Emmy is lucky too," she said. "You're an extraordinary mom."
