A/N: I wanted to get this chapter just right, and I went through a lot of different ways of doing it. I toyed with the idea of writing like a gossip magazine article announcing the birth, which I might still do. This story started as something I wrote when I was getting writer's block on my multi-chapter stories, but somewhere along the way this became more of a focus. As such, it feels like I'm obliged to write it, and that's like a chore, it just sucks all the fun out of it. Don't worry, I will keep the story going, but the updates might be more sporadic. Hope you enjoy this chapter! I also hope you like the name I chose, I've had that as the name of their first daughter in my mind for at least a year. Remember to review!
She was perfect. Absolutely perfect. Bathed in the golden morning light and fast asleep in his arms. Sure, she was a brighter shade of pink than the blanket she was swaddled in, and less than an hour ago he'd watched her practically rip her mother apart, but she was perfect.
And she wouldn't exist without them. They had made a baby. An entire person now existed where an hour ago she hadn't. They had made a perfect, tiny little human. He'd had nearly ten months to get used to the idea but he realised now he hadn't been prepared at all.
So far she appeared to take after Beck. Her skin, though pink just now, was obviously darker than Jade's, and her tuft of inky black hair was clearly Beck's. She hadn't opened her eyes yet, but Beck hoped she had Jade's eyes. Jade's eyes were possibly his favourite part of her body. Even when everything else about her was saying she was angry, her eyes never lied, their mischievous twinkle almost never went out. She couldn't lie to him, even if she tried, which she never would, her eyes would give her away, he could read them like a book. He really hoped the baby had those eyes.
There was a time, just out of high school, when Beck had worried that his life had peaked there. The girl he had loved for nearly five years had agreed to marry him, he'd been cast in a recurring role in a well-known television show, life was pretty great. For a while, he had worried that it wouldn't get any better than that, that he'd never be anything more than that. And look at him now. He almost couldn't believe the way his life had unfolded. He'd met the love of his life when he was thirteen years old. He'd known what his calling in life was before that. He was a successful actor, having had a supporting role in an insanely popular Netflix series for six seasons, and he had a starring role in a movie lined up for early next year. He was a husband to the best woman he had ever known, and now he was a father.
He was sitting in the armchair next to Jade's hospital bed, the baby cradled in his arms. Jade was taking this time while the baby was quiet to have a well-deserved rest. Her labour had been long, over 16 hours, but thankfully uncomplicated.
In an instance of insane irony, Beck had been on the phone with their doctor, scheduling an appointment to induce labour the next week, when Jade walked up to him clutching her belly and panting, and screamed at him to take her to the hospital. He hadn't imagined then that the screaming would last another seventeen hours. But it was all worth it now, looking down at his beautiful, perfect daughter.
The early morning light was streaming in the window behind him, casting Jade in golden light, but as usual, she didn't stir. He wondered if that would change with a baby in the house, or if night-time changing and feeding and cuddling would be left to him. He wondered which of them would be the one to hear her first word, see her first steps, teach her to ride a bike. He hoped it would be both of them, though he knew that would be nigh on impossible. He didn't want to miss a moment, but he didn't want Jade to, either. She was theirs.
And she was entirely dependent on them. That was a terrifying thought. Newborns had those soft spots on their heads that were like little self-destruct buttons! She'd need them to feed her, and change her, and save her from monsters under the bed, and help her with her homework, and teach her to drive! Oh God, what if they screwed up? Anything they did could affect her for the rest of her life!
Just then, her tiny little fists began to clench and unclench. Uh-oh, it looked like quiet time was over. At the first noise of distress from her daughter, Jade's eyes fluttered open. Seeing Beck holding her on the chair, she smiled. She reached her arms out for Beck to pass the baby to her. She probably wanted fed, she'd been alive for a whole hour, after all. As Jade held the baby to her breast, Beck held her hand, and the two of them just looked at each other. Jade loved moments like this. When they just gazed into each other's eyes, or held each other, and didn't say anything. It was times like this she felt most loved. And now, with their daughter between them, that love was stronger than ever.
When the baby had had her fill, Jade adjusted her position so that their little girl was lying on the bed beside her. And lying there between her parents, with the soft morning light illuminating the small hospital room, Nerissa Rose Oliver opened her eyes for the first time to reveal a brilliant sparkling blue, exactly the same as Jade's. They were going to be just fine. She was perfect.
A/N: Anyone who can tell me what Disney movie I got Nerissa's name from can send me a prompt and I will write a oneshot! You have to PM me though, because if you put it in a review then everyone will know and I can only do it for the first person.