Vanessa looked down at her son and couldn't help but cry. She couldn't believe that that baby came out of her body. Vanessa looked at Zac with tears running down her face and saw Zac in tears as well.
"I'm so proud of you baby" Zac said.
"I love you. Every pain and problem was worth it" Vanessa said.
Zac kissed Vanessa's lips softly.
"I love you too, so much. I can't believe he's here" Zac said.
"Vanessa, we need to take him to go get checked out by a pediatrician and we will give him right back" Amy said.
"Okay" Vanessa said.
Amy picked Chris up and walked away. Zac looked at Vanessa.
"We are parents" Zac said.
Vanessa nodded with tears running down her face.
"I'm still in complete shock that he's here" Vanessa said.
Zac smiled.
"Everything that we have gone through in the past nine months has been worth it. We may fight and yell but at the end of the day, we love each other so much. I could never see myself with you or Chris. You both are my life and I love you guys more than you will ever know" Zac said.
Vanessa was sobbing. She leaned over and kissed Zac's lips. Zac pulled away and smiled. Dr. Todd came back over to the bed.
"Vanessa, we need to deliver the placenta. You need to push one more time" Dr. Todd said.
"Okay" Vanessa said.
Vanessa spread her legs and took a deep breath and pushed. The placenta came out and Vanessa looked at Zac. Amy came back over to the bed with Chris, who had a blue beanie on and was wrapped in a blanket.
"Here's your son, Vanessa" Amy said placing Chris into her arms.
Vanessa looked at Chris and smiled.
"Hi sweetheart, I'm your mommy" Vanessa said.
Zac smiled and sat on the edge of the bed.
"He has your hair" Zac said.
Vanessa looked at her son.
"He has your nose" Vanessa said.
Vanessa looked at Chris and kissed his head softly.
"I love you baby" Vanessa said looking at Chris.
Zac smiled.
"Babe, sit next to me" Vanessa said.
Vanessa moved over carefully and Zac lied down next to Vanessa. Vanessa placed Chris into his arms. Zac looked down at his son.
"How do you feel daddy?" Vanessa asked.
Zac smiled and looked at Vanessa.
"I'm speechless. I'm so happy. I don't even have words to explain it" Zac said.
Vanessa smiled and leaned her head against Zac's shoulder.
"He's perfect" Vanessa said.
"Yeah he is. How are you feeling?" Zac asked.
"I feel sore but I don't even care" Vanessa said.
Zac kissed Vanessa's head.
"When should we call everybody?" Vanessa asked.
"Let's call them tomorrow, just so that we can have time with him before the grandmother's get a hold of him" Zac said.
Vanessa giggled and looked at her son in Zac's arms.
"I can't believe that he's ours" Vanessa said.
"I know" Zac said.
Amy came back into the room and smiled.
"How are we doing in here?" Amy asked.
"Fine" Vanessa said.
"I need to take him to the nursery to have some tests done because he was premature" Amy said.
"Okay" Vanessa said placing Chris into Amy's arms.
"I'll be back in a little while" Amy said.
"Alright" Vanessa said.
Amy left the room. Vanessa looked at Zac and smiled. Zac looked at Vanessa and smiled. Vanessa carefully moved so that she could snuggle into Zac's chest. A thought came to Zac's mind.
"Are you going to breastfeed?" Zac asked.
Vanessa looked at Zac.
"I want to but I heard that it hurts" Vanessa said.
"So what do you want to do?" Zac asked.
"I will try it and see if it feels okay. If I don't like it, I will give him formula" Vanessa said.
"Okay, I just didn't know what the plan was" Zac said.
Vanessa nodded.
"I'm glad you are here" Vanessa said randomly.
Zac smiled and kissed Vanessa's lips softly.
"I couldn't have gone through this pregnancy or birth without you. You are the one that gave me strength to do what I did today" Vanessa said.
"I'm glad that I am here too. I wouldn't have let you go through it by yourself. Even if it wasn't my baby. I still would have gone through everything with you because I love you" Zac said.
Vanessa smiled and kissed Zac's chest.
"You are going to be a great dad, Zac. I want you to know that" Vanessa said.
Zac smiled.
"You are going to be a great mom. I already see how amazing you are with Chris and it's not mother's intuition" Zac said.
Vanessa smiled. The couple was so happy that their son was finally here and safe. The next day, Vanessa was sleeping soundly. She hadn't gotten any sleep in the forty-eight hours that she was in labor. Zac woke up and stretched his body out. He remembered that Chris was here and he smiled. Zac got up carefully and changed his clothes. He put his sweatshirt on and put his hood over his head. Zac walked out of the hospital room and walked down the hall to the nursery and went to the front desk.
"Are you here to pick up your son?" Amy asked.
"Yeah, Vanessa is still sleeping so I thought I would come and get him" Zac said.
Amy walked to a bassinet that was labeled "Efron" and brought the baby over to Zac. She placed Chris into Zac's arms.
"Thank you" Zac said.
Zac walked down the hall quickly and carefully so that he wouldn't be seen by anyone. Once he got to Vanessa's hospital room, Zac opened the door and walked in. He closed the door behind him. Zac looked at the hospital bed and smiled when he saw Vanessa still sleeping. He walked over to the chair that he had been sitting in and sat down with his son in his arms.
"Your mommy is exhausted from having you buddy. Why did you have to give her such a hard time hm?" Zac asked.
Zac heard movement coming from the hospital bed and looked at the woman lying in it. Vanessa turned over so that she was facing Zac and opened her eyes slowly.
"Good morning sleepyhead" Zac said.
Vanessa smiled.
"How is he doing?" Vanessa asked.
"He's fine. Getting him out of the nursery was a challenge" Zac said.
"Why?" Vanessa asked.
"I don't want people seeing him right now. We don't need all of that attention yet. I literally had to pull a mission impossible to get him back in here without anyone seeing me" Zac said.
Vanessa giggled.
"I want to hold him" Vanessa said.
"You aren't going to go back to sleep?" Zac asked.
"No, I'm exhausted but I'm also really hyper" Vanessa said.
Zac laughed.
"How does that work?" Zac asked.
Vanessa shrugged. Zac got up and walked over to the bed and placed Chris into Vanessa's arms. Vanessa looked down at her son and smiled. She put her hand on his back.
"For being so tiny, he was hard to push out" Vanessa said.
"Yeah" Zac said.
"When do you want to call our families?" Vanessa asked.
"We could call them now" Zac suggested.
"Okay" Vanessa said.
"I'll be right back" Zac said.
Zac left the room and called their families and told them that Chris had arrived. Ten minutes later, Zac walked back into the room and saw Amy with Vanessa.
"What's going on?" Zac asked.
"She's going to teach me how to breastfeed" Vanessa said.
Vanessa turned back to Amy.
"Now, you need to pull your gown down a little bit" Amy started.
Vanessa pulled her gown down, exposing one breast.
"Alright, now hold him close to you" Amy said.
Vanessa held Chris close and watched him latch onto her. She smiled and looked up.
"There you go. I will come back later and check how things are going" Amy said.
"Thank you" Vanessa said.
Amy left the room. Zac sat down in his seat and watched Vanessa and their son.
"Does it hurt?" Zac asked.
"No, he's pulling but it doesn't hurt" Vanessa said.
Zac smiled.
"Our families are on their way here" Zac said.
"Okay" Vanessa said.
"I love you" Zac said.
"I love you too" Vanessa said.
"It's still crazy to me that he's here" Zac said.
Vanessa smiled and saw Chris pull away from her. She picked him up and patted his back gently until he burped.
"There you go baby. Can you hold him while I go change?" Vanessa asked.
"Do you even have to ask?" Zac asked opening his arms.
Vanessa carefully placed Chris into Zac's arms. She then got out of bed and stood up. Vanessa moaned in pain.
"What's wrong?" Zac asked.
"I'm really sore" Vanessa said.
"Take it easy Van" Zac said.
Vanessa walked to the bathroom and took a shower. Twenty minutes later, Vanessa came out of the bathroom, feeling refreshed. She walked back to the bed and lied back down.
"When did our parents say they were coming?" Vanessa asked.
"They should be here soon" Zac said.
As if on cue, there was a knock at the door. Starla Efron poked her head in and smiled.
"Hi guys, where's our grandson?" Starla asked.
Vanessa smiled and pointed to Zac. Starla and Gina walked over and looked at Chris.
"He's beautiful" Gina said.
"Thanks" Vanessa said.
"How was labor?" Starla asked.
"Exhausting. Forty-eight hours of labor. How is that even possible?" Vanessa asked.
The two women smiled.
"I was in labor with you for fourteen hours" Gina said.
Vanessa sighed.
"Who wants to hold him first?" Zac asked.
"Starla you go first" Gina said.
"Alright" Starla said.
Zac carefully put his son into Starla's arms. Starla looked at the infant that was in her arms.
"He's gorgeous. He looks just like his daddy" Starla said.
Zac and Vanessa smiled.
"I think he looks more like Van than me" Zac said.
"He looks like you when you were a baby" Starla said.
Starla kissed Chris' head softly and carefully put him into Gina's arms. Gina looked at her grandson.
"I agree. He looks a lot like Zac" Gina said.
Zac and Vanessa looked at each other and shrugged. The couple and their mothers talked for a little while longer until they told Vanessa that she needed to get some rest. Zac walked their mothers out and came back a couple minutes later.
"When can I go home?" Vanessa asked.
"I don't know baby. When Amy comes back, we can ask her" Zac said.
As if on cue, Amy came into the room.
"Hey, how's he doing?" Amy asked.
"He's doing fine. I think his grandmother's wiped him out" Vanessa said looking at her son in her arms.
"When can she go home?" Zac asked.
"Let me check with Dr. Todd and see when you can be discharged" Amy said.
"Okay" Zac said.
Amy left the room. Vanessa looked at Chris in her arms.
"He's dead asleep" Vanessa said.
Zac smiled.
"Let him sleep" Zac said.
Vanessa kissed her son's head. A few minutes later, Dr. Todd came in.
"Hey there, how's he doing?" Dr. Todd asked.
"He's sleeping. He must be exhausted from being pushed around all day yesterday" Vanessa said.
Dr. Todd smiled.
"Let me check you out and see how everything is going. If everything looks okay, then I will discharge you tonight" Dr. Todd said.
"Okay" Vanessa said.
Dr. Todd did a head to toe exam and wrote some notes in Vanessa's file.
"Everything looks good. One thing to look out for in the next few weeks is that your emotions are going to be everywhere. They are going to try to get back to what they used to be and that's normal" Dr. Todd said.
"Alright" Vanessa said looking at Zac.
"More mood swings" Zac said.
"Sorry baby" Vanessa said.
Zac smiled.
"It's okay. I just want you back to normal" Zac said.
"Alright, I will see you guys later. Congratulations" Dr. Todd said.
Dr. Todd left the room.
"Are you ready to get out of here?" Zac asked.
"Yeah, how are we going to get out of here without anyone seeing us?" Vanessa asked.
"I will take him and you walk behind me" Zac said.
"Okay" Vanessa said.
Zac, who had brought the car seat up to the hospital room, put the seat on the bed. Vanessa got up with Chris in her arms and placed him into the car seat. Zac buckled his son into the seat and picked up the seat.
"Are you ready?" Zac asked.
"Yeah" Vanessa said.
"Just walk behind me okay?" Zac said.
Vanessa nodded. The couple walked out of the hospital room and left the hospital. Hundreds of photographers were standing outside of the hospital. Vanessa entwined her fingers with Zac's. The couple got to their car and put Chris in the backseat. Zac and Vanessa got into the car and sighed.
"That was crazier than I thought it was going to be" Vanessa said.
"Yeah, but at least we can go home and be in the comfort of our own home" Zac said.
Zac drove home and parked his car. He locked the gate behind them and walked back to the car. Vanessa opened the backseat door and heard Chris crying. She unbuckled Chris from his car seat and held him in her arms.
"It's okay baby. Don't cry. We are home" Vanessa said.
The little family walked into the house. Vanessa walked into the living room and sat down on the couch with Chris. She lied Chris on her chest and watched him fall asleep. Zac came into the room and smiled.
"He just fell asleep" Vanessa said.
"Do you want me to bring him upstairs?" Zac asked.
Vanessa nodded. Zac walked over and he carefully lifted his son out of Vanessa's arms and walked upstairs. He walked into the guest room that he had made into Chris' room and placed him in his crib. Zac walked downstairs and went into the living room and saw Vanessa crying. He walked over to the couch and sat next to her. Vanessa snuggled into Zac's chest. Zac rubbed Vanessa's back soothingly.
"What's wrong baby?" Zac asked.
"It's like I have some sort of separation anxiety or something. I'm sad that Chris isn't in me anymore. I miss feeling his little feet kick me and everything" Vanessa cried.
Zac smiled and kissed her head knowing that she was having a mood swing that Dr. Todd had told them about.
"Van, he's upstairs" Zac said.
"I know that. I'm happy he's here but I miss the feeling of him being inside me as weird as that sounds" Vanessa said.
"You have a bond with our son because you carried him for nine months. That's normal babe. It's not weird" Zac said.
Vanessa sniffled.
"Sorry for being so emotional" Vanessa said.
Zac put his finger under Vanessa's chin and brought it up so she was looking into his eyes.
"Hey, I understand. Don't apologize Van. It's okay" Zac said.
Vanessa wrapped her arms around Zac's waist and snuggled into his chest.
"I love you" Vanessa said.
Zac smiled.
"I love you too, so much. You have no idea" Zac said.
Vanessa looked up at Zac and sniffled. Zac wiped his girlfriend's tears away. Vanessa smiled.
"Hey, there's my favorite smile. Yours" Zac said.
Vanessa leaned over and kissed Zac's lips. Zac pulled back slowly.
"Why don't you go take a nap? I will be on daddy duty and make sure Chris is okay" Zac said.
"I want to-" Vanessa started but was cut off by Zac's finger at her mouth.
"Go upstairs and go to sleep. I will take care of everything" Zac said.
Vanessa nodded. Zac leaned over and kissed Vanessa's lips. Vanessa then walked upstairs and went into the bedroom and fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. Zac walked into the kitchen when he heard Chris cry. He walked quickly upstairs and went into Chris' room and picked him.
"Sh.. Chris. It's okay, daddy's here" Zac said as he looked at the crying infant.
Zac walked around the room with Chris in his arms. He rubbed his back in small circles. Chris' crying turned into whimpers which then turned to silence. Zac looked down at his son and saw that he had fallen asleep. He then carefully brought Chris to his crib and placed him into it. Zac kissed his head softly.
"Love you buddy" Zac said.
Zac walked out of the room and went into the master bedroom where he saw Vanessa sitting up in bed.
"You are supposed to be sleeping" Zac said.
"I know but I couldn't sleep" Vanessa said.
"And why is that Miss Hudgens?" Zac asked sitting on the bed.
"Do you think I will be a good mother?" Vanessa asked randomly.
Zac smiled and motioned her to move closer to him. Vanessa snuggled into Zac's chest.
"You will be the best mom in the world Van. I have already seen it in the couple days that he's been here" Zac said.
"I just don't want to mess up his life" Vanessa said truthfully.
"You won't babe. I promise" Zac said.
"Do you think he will find a girl like you found me?" Vanessa asked.
Zac smiled.
"Baby, he's a day old. He has years before he starts dating" Zac said.
"I know but I was just thinking" Vanessa said.
Zac sighed.
"When he's old enough, I know he will find a girl that is as loving and caring as you" Zac said.
Vanessa smiled and leaned over and kissed Zac's cheek.
"Is he asleep?" Vanessa asked.
"Yeah, he just went down. You need to get some rest too" Zac said.
"I'm not tired" Vanessa said lifting her shirt up.
Vanessa looked at her deflated stomach.
"That needs a lot of work" Vanessa said.
Zac smiled.
"A lot of it is water weight Van. It will come off quickly" Zac said.
"I hope so" Vanessa said.
"You could start walking and do some cardio. That will burn some of it off" Zac said.
"Yeah, looking at this weight makes me depressed" Vanessa said.
"Hey, you still look beautiful" Zac said.
"You have to say that" Vanessa said.
"I'm just being honest. So you gained a little weight from having a baby, every woman does. If you really want to get rid of it, then workout" Zac said.
Vanessa nodded.
"I would just wait a week until your energy is back" Zac said.
The rest of the day the couple relaxed around the house. A week later, Vanessa had gotten her energy back and was starting to figure out a workout schedule. Vanessa walked downstairs and went into the kitchen where she saw Zac holding Chris as he made a snack.
"Are you going to be free for an hour?" Vanessa asked.
Zac looked at Vanessa.
"Yeah, why?" Zac asked.
"I'm going to go to the gym and I wanted you to watch him" Vanessa said.
"Okay. Go to the gym. I got everything under control. You need to get out of the house anyway" Zac said.
"Alright. Call me if you need anything. There is some milk that I pumped this morning in the fridge" Vanessa said.
"Okay. Have a good workout babe" Zac said kissing Vanessa's lips.
"I will. I love you" Vanessa said.
"I love you too. Chris say bye to mommy" Zac said looking at his son.
Vanessa kissed Chris' forehead.
"I love you baby" Vanessa said.
"Alright, get out of here" Zac said.
Vanessa left the house and drove to the gym. Once Vanessa arrived at the gym, she walked in and started running laps on the track. Three hours later, Vanessa had finished running her fifth mile on the track. She stopped and instantly started getting dizzy. Vanessa immediately sat down and drank some of water. She picked up her phone and dialed Zac's number.
"Hello?" Zac answered.
"Babe, you need to come get me at the gym" Vanessa said as she put her hand on her head.
"Why? What's wrong?" Zac asked.
"I ran five miles and after I stopped, I got really dizzy and still am" Vanessa said.
"Okay, give me ten minutes so I can drop off Chris at your parents house" Zac said.
"Okay" Vanessa said.
The couple hung up and Vanessa leaned her head back against the wall. Ten minutes later, Zac walked into the gym and looked for Vanessa until he saw her sitting by the track. He walked over to her and kneeled down in front of her.
"How are you feeling?" Zac asked as he put his hand on her forehead.
"A little dizzy" Vanessa said.
"I'm going to help you walk to the car" Zac said.
"Okay" Vanessa said.
Zac helped Vanessa stand up and walked her to the car. He helped her sit down and put her seat belt on. Zac went to the driver's seat and started driving.
"You need to take it slow, Van. You can't overdue it" Zac said.
"I just want to lose the weight fast" Vanessa said.
"I know you do, honey. But it's not healthy to do that. You have to do it little by little" Zac said.
Vanessa sighed. Zac drove to the Hudgens' home and parked his car.
"Why are we here?" Vanessa asked.
"I dropped Chris off here and went to the gym to get you" Zac said.
"Oh" Vanessa said.
The couple got out of the car.
"Are you feeling better?" Zac asked.
"A little bit" Vanessa said.
"You aren't dizzy anymore?" Zac asked.
"I'm a little dizzy but not as much" Vanessa said.
Zac walked over to Vanessa and took her hand in his.
"Why don't you go wait in the car? I will get him and bring him right back" Zac said.
Vanessa nodded as she got back into the car. Zac waited until Vanessa was in the car before walking to the front door of the Hudgens' home. He rang the doorbell and waited for someone to answer.
"Hi Zac" Gina said opening the door.
"Hey, I need my son" Zac said.
"Alright, come on in" Gina said.
Zac and Gina walked into the house and went into the living room where they saw Greg Hudgens, Vanessa's father, sitting on the couch with Chris in his arms.
"How was he?" Zac asked.
"He was fine. He cried twice but other than that, he was an angel. What's going on?" Gina asked.
"Vanessa called me from the gym and said that she ran five miles and felt dizzy. So that's why I literally drove by and dropped Chris off and didn't really say anything. I didn't know what was going on until I got to the gym" Zac explained to his girlfriend's parents.
"How is she?" Gina asked.
"She's still a little dizzy but she's feeling better she said. She's trying to lose the baby weight fast and I told her she needs to do it slowly" Zac said.
"Let us know how she is later okay?" Greg said putting Chris into Zac's arms.
"I will. Thanks for watching him" Zac said.
"No problem" Gina said.
Zac walked out of the house and went back to the car. He opened the backseat door and buckled Chris into his car seat. Zac then walked to the driver's side and got in and started driving home. Life with a baby started to settle in for the couple and it was only the beginning.