Author's Note: Here it is! The final chapter! Thanks to everyone for reading and reviewing! I love you all! Anyway, it's short but it was kind of just meant to serve as a quick little epilogue anyway. Hope you guys like it!
Chapter 6 – Emily
Her body aches in ways it never has before. Parts of her she doesn't even recall existing throb any time she so much as moves, or blinks, or breathes. Her emotions are all over the place due to the rush of hormones, making her feel things she never knew she was capable of feeling. And she is completely and utterly exhausted, down to her bones—even deeper than that, actually. Down to her very being.
18 hours of labor will do that to a woman.
She finds she doesn't care how crappy her body feels as she gazes down at the little pink bundle nestled in her arms. She'd go through the excruciating pain every second of every day if it meant getting to call this little girl hers. The baby yawns, and CC feels like her heart could burst.
"She's clearly the smartest baby ever born," she says mostly to herself.
"I'm sure you're right, but why?" Niles asks, perched on the edge of the hospital bed, never tearing his eyes away from their daughter.
"She's tired, so she yawned," CC explains with a shrug.
"The kid's a genius," Niles agrees as he smiles at their newborn, "aren't you, Emily? Yes you are! Yes you are!"
She opens her mouth to scold him for using baby talk on their clearly superior child, but instead finds herself beaming up at her husband.
"We did this," she says with a soft sigh, gesturing to their daughter.
"You did this," Niles corrects her with a nudge. "You were amazing, Babs."
"Drugs were amazing," she amends, shifting uncomfortably in the bed, "and now they're wearing off, so can you take her for a little bit?"
"Of course I can," he takes the baby into his arms and stands up, rocking her gently. "Is it too early to tell her the story of how I got you to cluck like a chicken?"
"The moment you do, I retaliate with the time I caught you dancing in your underwear to Bob Seger," she grins wickedly.
"Fine, fine," he sighs dejectedly. "I can wait until she's older. Maybe I'll save it for her first birthday."
CC rolls her eyes good-naturedly, "This kid is gonna have some pretty interesting bedtime stories."
"Lucky her," Niles smiles as he walks around the hospital room. He stops in front of a chair, which has an oversized hot pink teddy bear perched on it.
"What in God's name were the Sheffield's thinking with this monstrosity?" He says with a tsk.
"Probably that Emily will need some pink in her gender-neutral, yellow and green nursery," she surmises. "We'll put it out when they're over and throw it in the back of her closet when they're gone."
"You're growing soft in your old age. A couple months ago you would have suggested burning it," Niles raises his eyebrows at her.
"Are you saying I'm losing my touch, Butler Boy?" She can't help the challenging note that creeps into her voice.
"Never. I'm saying motherhood suits you," He winks at her and she feels herself welling up.
"Oh, let me get a picture of you two," she says as she blinks away the tears and fumbles for their camera.
She furiously snaps away at her husband and daughter, not wanting to miss a moment, when Emily begins fussing.
"Are pictures of this really necessary?" Niles deadpans.
"Absolutely. I'm framing this and putting it in her baby book," CC cackles as the Emily's cries grow louder.
"You wicked, wicked woman," Niles groans as he bounces the baby up and down, trying to soothe her.
Emily responds by projectile vomiting all over Niles.
A moment of dead silence passes throughout the stunned room before CC erupts in hysterical laughter, snapping one last picture of her little family.
"Nine months of dwelling in your womb. I should have known you'd condition her to torture me," Niles says as he passes their now placated daughter back to her, grabbing a cloth to clean himself up.
"And it's only the beginning, babe. Only the beginning," CC says as they exchange exhausted, deliriously happy grins.
She turns her attention back to Emily, wiping the trace spit-up remaining on her angelic face. The baby yawns and her bright, blue eyes flutter closed as she drifts off into a content slumber.
"Emily," CC says as she snuggles closer to her daughter, "I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."
The End!