Friday, February 7, 1992
12:15 pm
Houston Methodist Hospital - Houston, TX

At this point, the lack of sleep is getting ridiculous. Tami doesn't know why she was dumb enough to not realize that they don't just magically let you sleep immediately after you have a baby. Which was fine for a little while, because at first she just wanted to hold her new daughter and stare at her because she is so perfect. But now she was ready for a nap but it just seemed like people just kept barging in to check on her or her baby or even to do nothing (or so it seemed).

Tami's daughter was born this morning at 6:30. She was barely at the hospital for two hours by then. From what she's read in baby books and such, she knows her labor went pretty quick. She is definitely okay with that. She is not one of those mothers who wanted some magical, natural birthing experience. Nothing wrong with women who do, Tami just didn't need that for herself. As far as she's concerned, the birth part doesn't matter as long as nothing goes wrong. She cares more about what happens from here on out, now that her daughter is a real person here in the world.

Her mom had arrived at the hospital at about 8:30 this morning. Nearly two hours after the baby was born, but there's no way she could have made it. She brought Shelly with her. Shelly, who still lives at home at nineteen and didn't go to college. Tami's glad she game, though. She feels like she can use all the help she can get right now.

The only thing bothering Tami is that her daughter has been in this world for nearly six hours now, and Eric still has yet to meet her. His father, bless his heart, did in fact stay with her. He apparently figured Eric was asleep so there was nothing he could do for his son anyway. He didn't exactly coach her through the birth, but he stood near her bedside and awkwardly faced the wall. Her amusement about that kept her oddly a little calmer during the worst of the delivery pain. Afterwards, and after her mom arrived, he went back up to Eric's room to check on him. He came back once after that to report that he was still asleep. Tami's not even sure if her husband knows he's a father yet.

And Tami refuses to legally give her daughter a name until Eric knows she's been born. They've toyed with some ideas for boy and girl names, but they haven't settled on anything for sure and she is not about to decide without him now.

Baby Girl Taylor is slumbering away in a bassinet next to her bed. Tami looks at her daughter with envy; why can't she sleep like that? She was given a choice a little bit ago to send the baby to the nursery or to keep her here for a bit. Her mom and sister went to get some lunch and John is upstairs now with Eric. Tami thought she'd feel lonely, especially without Eric, so she opted to keep the baby in here. So far, she's been pretty quiet.

Hopefully her mom or Shelly will think to bring her something to eat. She's absolutely starving. Giving birth takes a lot out of a person, and can seriously work up an appetite. She hasn't eaten since last night.

Suddenly there's a hand on her shoulder. She flinches, not realizing anyone is in the room with her. Did she fall asleep? Only now is she realizing her eyes are closed. She must have dozed off.

"Tami," a deep voice calls softly to her. She opens her eyes and sees her father-in-law standing above her.

"Hey," he continues when he sees she is awake. "I brought you something." Her first thought is food. Did he bring her a burger? She remembers vaguely telling him somewhere in that brief time between arriving at the hospital and the baby coming out of her that she was hungry and a big, juicy cheeseburger would really hit the spot.

But no, he did not bring her a cheeseburger. That's okay, though, because when she sits up she sees that he brought her something much better.

Eric.

Her eyes well with tears when she sees him. He's sitting a little ways behind his father, in a wheelchair with his injured leg propped up. He has an IV pole next to him - she can't imagine how they managed to maneuver that down with him from his room - that's probably still pumping narcotic pain killers into him. It is a little chilly here so she's glad to see that he's got his A&M football hoodie on over his hospital gown.

But most importantly, he's looking at her with clear eyes, despite the drugs. She can see a slight hint of tears in his normally stoic gaze and there's a quality of desperation in his expression. His eyes are boring right into hers and she smiles tearfully.

"Sweetheart," she breathes. "I didn't think they'd let you come down here today. I was going to see later if I could come to you and bring the baby."

"They weren't gonna," he replies softly, a small twinkle in his eyes. She loves how expressive his eyes are. He doesn't have as much of a poker face as he thinks he does, because no matter how expressionless he may try to keep his face his eyes always betray him. "So I got a little pissed off."

John snorts from where he now stands beside Eric, which makes Tami giggle.

"They didn't want to mess with me anymore," Eric smiles, "so they gave up and let me come down here."

She sits up and lets her legs hang off the side of the bed so she faces Eric. Her baby is behind her by the window. "How're you feeling, hon?"

Eric's smile fades but only a little. "I'm a'right. Head's a little fuzzy, I'm a little bit sore, but I'm okay. I am so, so sorry I missed this." Now Tami's husband was not smiling anymore; instead, he looked very sad.

"Oh, honey," she tells him, "it's okay. It's not at all your fault you weren't here." As upset as she had been back at the hotel, she does not blame him one iota for missing the birth of their child. She looks at him and he looks weary and pained. The birth part is over, she doesn't care that he wasn't there. She's just so very thankful that he's here now, and that he is alive and ready to be a part of his child's life. Their child that they will raise together.

She figures she should have him meet the baby now quickly so he can go back to his room to get some rest. Tami knows wild horses could not have dragged Eric away from visiting her at some point today, but damn. He just had surgery yesterday. He needs to rest and recover. So does she, really. As she stands up she realizes how sore she is.

"Babe, you want to meet your daughter?" As she asks him, she sees his eyes light up once more. His mouth slowly spreads to a smile. She thinks again that she maybe sees tears forming in his eyes.

"I didn't tell him it's a girl yet," John tells her. That explains it. Eric is just now finding out that he is a father specifically to daughter.

"A little girl," Eric whispers, that twinkle back in his eyes. "I've got a daughter."

Tami, by way of response, hops off the bed and goes around to the other side to the bassinet where their daughter still sleeps. She stirs a little when Tami picks her up, but she continues to doze. She turns around; Eric's gaze is following her every move with intensity and eventually it slides from her face down to the bundle in her arms.

He reaches his arms out, ready to accept her, but Tami hesitates.

"I don't know if you should hold her just yet, hon," she tells him. "Your ribs are bruised. I don't want to hurt you."

Eric's face turns sour. "I don't give a damn," he whispers. "This is my daughter, Tami. I'm going to hold my daughter."

Her face softens. She supposes he's already sore, if she hands the baby to him gently he'll be a little extra sore but what does that matter, really, in the long run? Gingerly, she sets the baby down in her husband's outstretched arms.

"I'll give ya'll some privacy," John says from behind Eric. Tami almost forgot he was there and she gives him a small smile as he slips out.

Eric grimaces as he shifts their daughter's weight around in his arms. He stares at her wordlessly; it seems the two of them are in their own world together as Tami watches them. She finds a chair from her own bedside and pulls it up next to Eric and sits down.

A small smile starts to break on Eric's face. She loves that particular smile. Sure, she loves the rare occasions when he breaks out a wide, toothy grin. But there's something about this subtle smile that melts her almost as much. It's a quiet little smile he gets when he is calm and contented – like things are going right with his world and he just wants to enjoy it without a fuss. She looks down at their beautiful daughter and she can't help but grin a little as she slips an arm around Eric's shoulders.

She can't see his face now, but she can feel his smile grow a little. "She's amazing," he whispers, and he leans over to kiss the top of her head. "She looks beautiful, and she looks like her mama."

"She has her daddy's eyes, though," she tells him. "You'll see them soon, I'm sure. But the girl sure can sleep."

"You haven't named her yet, have you?" he asks.

She leans her head on his shoulder. "Of course not. I would never do that without you. Even if they didn't let you see her for three days, she'd stay 'Baby Girl Taylor' for as long as it took."

"Well, thank God it didn't take that long." The baby's eyes begin to flutter a little, and Eric tenses expectantly beside her.

They're silent, for a few moments, this new family. The girl stirs in her father's arms and eventually, her tiny eyes peek through the lids. Tami smiles as she watches the baby's mouth move upwards too as her unfocused gaze drifts up to her father. Is that a smile? Can she even smile? Don't they have to be a certain age first?

Eric chuckles quietly. "Hey little one," he whispers to her. "I'm your daddy." He takes his index finger and wiggles her bottom lip. "I'm sorry about that, by the way. Hopefully you'll be more smart and graceful like your mother. Hopefully you'll grow to be more like her than me. And I'm sorry I wasn't here when you were born but I'm not goin' anywhere from here on out."

Tami laughs quietly. "Don't worry hon, it's more her fault than yours for comin' early and comin' the day after you have surgery instead of waitin' a couple more weeks like she's supposed to."

"Oh, you're a troublemaker, huh?" Eric's tone is playful, and he has that twinkle in his eyes again. "Boy this is gonna be fun, huh? You're too young to be rebellin' against us already." The baby stares blankly up at him. "Well, that's alright. Just don't go strayin' too far, okay? Your mama and I love you. Yes, we do. And you know what, kid? You need a name, that's what you need."

"Yes, she does," Tami agrees. She reaches over with her left hand and places it on the baby's head. "So which of the names we talked about did you decide you liked best?"

"None of 'em," Eric says. "I don't like any of 'em. They don't suit her. And let me tell you, when my dad told me she'd come today and I was lyin' in my room waiting for him to convince someone to let me come down here, I got to thinkin'." He pauses to look back down at their daughter, rubbing his giant finger over her tiny ones, one at a time. "How would you feel about naming her after my mother?"

Tami lifts her head off of his shoulder. Of course. His mother. The woman she never got to meet, because she'd been killed in a car accident when Eric was twelve. He doesn't talk about her all that much, but when he does it's clear how much he misses her. It's clear how wonderful of a woman she was.

"Julie," Tami whispers the name. She realizes that with Eric being in an accident yesterday, it must have made him think about her a lot.

"Julie," he repeats, tapping the baby's chest with his finger. He looks back up at her with that small, quietly content smile again. "And we could middle name her after your mother. After all, she did drop everything to come out here this morning."

"Elizabeth," she whispers again. She and Eric are gazing into each other's eyes now. "Julie Elizabeth Taylor."

"Julie Elizabeth Taylor," he once again repeats. He smiles wider again, down at the baby.

"I really like that," she tells him. "Julie Taylor. Julie Elizabeth Taylor. It's perfect."

"Julie Elizabeth Taylor it is, then," he declares. He lightly pokes the baby's cheek. "You like that name."

The newly-named baby Julie gurgles a bit and her tiny arm waves around, whacking into Eric's arm in the process, making the new father laugh.

Tami leans her head back on Eric's shoulder and just watches Julie. She's so incredibly adorable and perfect, and Tami can't get enough of her. It's weird though, because as enamored as she is with her brand new daughter, she is terrified that she'll be a terrible mother.

She turned twenty-three this past November. Sometimes she feels that she's practically a child still herself. Definitely not qualified to raise a child. And Eric is a year behind her and his birthday is still a few weeks away - so he's still only twenty-one. He's still in college. And Tami just graduated two months ago. They have no money.

These are worries that have plagued Tami off and on for months. She'd hoped they'd go away when she had the baby, but they haven't. She still worries. Her mother told her earlier this morning that those worries don't really ever go away. Her mother had said that any parent worth anything would always worry if they were doing a good enough job for their child. She looks at Julie's innocent face.

At least she has Eric, she thinks. He is sitting there playing with her fingers and making dumb faces at her and it makes her want to laugh.

"I wonder if she's ticklish," he says after a moment. With a devilish smile that melts Tami's heart, he slowly reaches a finger around towards Julie's onesie-covered foot. He very lightly pokes the bottom of her tiny foot and rubs his finger up and down. Julie seems oblivious.

"Honey, I don't think babies are ticklish," Tami tells him. "I think that's something that develops later. I think I read that somewhere."

"Come on now," Eric argues, still stroking Julie's foot with a feather light touch. "Their nervous systems are fully developed when they're born, right? How could they not be ticklish now and then become ticklish later? That doesn't make sense."

As if to punctuate his point, Julie's foot suddenly jerks away from his touch. Eric laughs deeply, but then grimaces. His ribs must hurt.

Tami sits up straight and looks at him. During this peaceful moment they've just had, she'd nearly forgotten he was injured. "You all right?"

Eric doesn't even acknowledge the question. "You know what? I like her." He nods down towards the baby. Tami knows he's ignoring her and the situation. "Kid seems funny. I think we can keep her."

Tami has to admit, she doesn't want to acknowledge Eric being in pain either, because that would mean he'd have to leave soon and rest and she doesn't want him to. So she plays along. "Well I'm so glad she has your stamp of approval, hon, because I carried her around inside of me for nine long months so it would have really been a shame if now you decided you wanted to trade her in for a better model."

Eric chuckles again, and once again he can't hide the subsequent wince. They're all quiet for a moment, with Eric and Julie having a staring contest and Tami watching.

"I can't believe I missed it," Eric whispers after awhile.

"Eric-" Tami starts to say, but Eric cuts her off.

"No, I know," he says. "I know, you're not mad I missed it and you don't blame me, but maybe I'm mad that missed it. First important moment in our kid's life and I wasn't there. I'll never get that back."

"Maybe," Tami says, placing her arm around his shoulders and leaning her head on him again. "But you know what, babe? Julie and I could have lost you forever yesterday. But we didn't. So I'd rather think about all the important stuff in her life that now you will be around for. And that's what'll matter to her. She won't remember today. But she'll know you're there as she grows up and has you around. And I think that's more important. Besides, maybe we'll have another one someday and you'll be there for that and you'll see you didn't miss too much other than me yellin' and screamin' a bunch. And then suddenly, there's a baby."

Eric chuckles a little, so she knows her pep talk was at least a little bit successful.

"Wish I could have been there for you¸ though," he tells her. "And I don't know how much help I can be for awhile."

Tami shrugs. She has thought about that. It's part of why her mom was going to come for awhile when the baby was still not expected to come for a few more weeks. And not only was there Julie to take care of, but Eric will probably have to grudgingly accept a little help himself. He'll be off his feet for quite a long time.

She looks at him and strokes his hair. "We'll make it work." And they will. Eric's concern about the situation reinforces her belief that he'll be an amazing, caring father.

They would indeed make it work, she had no doubts about that. They were all here, and that was all that really mattered. And Tami couldn't be happier then to just be here, in this room right now, with her husband and her daughter. Her own little family. She wasn't naïve, she knew they were in for quite a ride, both in the short term and the long term, but she loved both of these two people with every fiber of her being. She looked forward to their lives, good times and bad.

She knew Eric would have to leave her and go back to his room in just a few minutes, but she decided to ignore that for now. She leans her head back on his shoulder and just enjoys this moment.

That's the end, thank you for reading! Leave a review if you feel like it.