CHAPTER SIXTY-NINE
THE NEXT DAY
Martha was sitting up in her hospital bed; cradling Laila in her arms. The little girl was wide awake and looking up at her mother with a beautiful pair of blue eyes.
"You're such a beautiful little thing, aren't you?" Martha smiled down at her.
Martha looked up when she heard a noise at the door; it was Jack. She had made him go home and get some sleep. Over the last two days, he had been at the hospital with her constantly. He'd hardly ever go home. So that morning she'd ordered him to go home and get some rest. He'd been a bit reluctant at first; but he eventually left.
"Did you get some sleep?" Martha asked.
"Yeah," Jack nodded. "I feel much better," he said as he leaned down and gave her a quick kiss on the lips.
"That's good," Martha said.
"My turn," Jack grinned as he held out his arms; wanting Martha to hand over Laila.
Martha smiled at him as she handed the baby to him. He was going to be a great father to Laila; and he already adored the little girl.
Jack walked over to a chair and sat down. "How long has she been awake?" Jack asked Martha as he stroked his daughter's cheek.
"About half an hour," she answered. "I just finished feeding her before you got here. She'll probably go back to sleep soon," she continued.
Martha and Jack sat and talked quietly for about ten minutes; Laila still hadn't fallen back to sleep.
A few minutes later, Tony arrived. "Hey guys," he said as he entered the room.
"How come you're not at work?" Jack asked his father.
"Oh, my next class doesn't start for another hour and a half, so I thought I'd pop in a say a quick hello," Tony answered. "And I know how much this hospital food sucks, so I made you two some lunch and brought it in with me," he said, as he placed a bag containing sandwiches, muffins and fruit, up on the table.
"Thanks Tony," Martha smiled. "I really can't wait until I can go home and get some real food into me. Some of the stuff here tastes like plastic," she explained.
They all sat and talked for about ten minutes before Jack handed Laila over to Tony for a cuddle. "How about you and poppy go for a little walk down the hall," Tony said in a soft voice as he smiled down at his granddaughter.
He walked out of the room; leaving Jack and Martha alone. Jack moved towards the bed and hoped up next to Martha. "You know, we're going to have to be careful with him," Jack laughed; referring to his father.
"Why's that?" Martha asked.
"Because he'll probably run away with Laila and never come back," Jack answered with another laugh.
Martha smiled at him. "It's his first granddaughter Jack," she started. "Of course he's going to be totally smitten with her," she grinned.
Jack leant down and kissed Martha softly. "I can't wait until I can take you two home, and we can start the rest of our lives as a family," he said to her.
"I love you," Martha kissed him back.
"I love you too," Jack exclaimed.
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LATER THAT EVENING
Jack wandered down the hall to Martha's room. He'd been called into the station for a couple of hours and Martha had made him go. He much would have preferred to stay with Martha and Laila, but Martha had insisted that he go.
But now he was finished and he could back and spend time with his fiancé and daughter; it was where he belonged. Plus he had a little bit of good news to tell Martha.
He knocked softly on the door and walked in. Martha was sitting up on her bed; with a few pieces of paper surrounding her, and a whole stack of photos of Laila. Martha had gotten Robbie to take a whole heap of photos; then he had downloaded them onto the computer and then printed them out.
"What are you doing?" Jack asked as he sat up on the bed. Laila was asleep in the crib next to the bed.
"I'm writing a letter to my brothers," she answered. "I'm sending some photos to them. I've already got a package ready to send to my mum in New York aswell," she explained.
"I'll drop them at the post office in the morning if you like," Jack offered.
"Thanks," Martha smiled sweetly at him. "I knew you were good for something," she teased.
"Hey, I'm good at making beautiful babies too," Jack pointed out.
"Alright, I'll give you that one too," Martha laughed. "So, how was work?" she then asked.
"Same old crap," Jack shrugged. "But I have got one piece of good news," he exclaimed.
"What is it?" Martha wanted to know.
"McGrath's told me that I can have the next two weeks off," Jack told her.
"Really?" Martha's eyes lit up. "That's great. We'll be able to spend more time together with Laila," she said.
"Exactly what I was thinking," Jack grinned. He was just about to lean over and kiss Martha when Laila woke up and started to cry.
"I'll get her," Jack offered. He stood up and reached his hands into the crib; picking up a crying Laila. "Hey hey, it's okay now. Daddy's here," he said softly.
"Maybe she's hung…..," Martha started to say, but then paused when Laila stopped crying. "Or maybe she just wanted her dad to give her a cuddle," she smiled.
"I've told you before Martha; I have the special touch," he smirked.
"Don't I know it," Martha smiled cheekily at him.
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