AN: Sorry about the wait, guys! I hope you like it, though. :)
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What to Expect When You're Expecting
Chapter Nineteen – I've Been Waiting to Meet You
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"I look to you, I look to you
After all my strength is gone
In you I can be strong"
Whitney Houston― I Look To You
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The first time Gray saw his daughter, he couldn't believe that feelings could run as deep for a tiny person whom he never really saw before.
When the nurse led him to the NICU, the man was nervous and excited at the same time and when he saw the small Aurora inside the incubator, he felt as if he'd known her forever. His daughter had light blue hair that reminded him of Juvia's and she was sleeping peacefully with a pink blanket around her. The nurse took her from the incubator and instructed Gray on how to carry her right.
"She's… all wrinkled." He said when the woman put the baby on his arms and then laughed.
"If you were surrounded by water for months, you would be too." The nurse chuckled. "Give her a couple of weeks."
"She's pretty awesome, though." Gray whispered and the nurse agreed while the man looked mesmerized by the tiny human in his arms; he and Juvia had done an amazing job, even if Aurora was not planned, there was nothing else in the world he'd rather be doing than holding his daughter.
His daughter. He was finally a father, after months of waiting, of wondering how the baby might look and there she was, perfect and his.
"Yes, darling. She is." The nurse said kindly. "I'll check on the other babies, if you need anything, just call."
"Thank you." He said without stop looking to the child. "Hi, Aurora." Gray smiled after a few moments, and his eyes started to sting and, softly, caressed the little girl's cheek. "You are very, very beautiful; just like your mom." The baby continued to sleep soundly. "She will love to meet you, you know? She's asleep right now, but when she wakes up, I am sure that she'll ask for you." Gray felt his own tears roll down his cheeks and for once in his life, he didn't care if anyone saw him crying, not when he was holding his baby girl for the first time. "And there's your Nana. She's taking a train just to see you. Not even a few hours old and you are already shaking the whole family and the guild up. Why do I have the feeling that you'll be a firecracker?"
Aurora let out a yawn and Gray stared at her with adoration and realized that she already had him wrapped around her little finger and the child was just sleeping during the whole meeting, when she opened her blue (or brown, or black) eyes, he was going to be a total goner.
Gray finally looked up to take in the NICU and saw a few parents there – both mothers and fathers – looking through the glass to their children and he thanked whatever deity that might exist that he could hold his baby girl and not just stare at her.
Right next to Aurora's incubator, there were three boys; all of them with the same last name and considerably smaller than the newest Fullbuster. Gray supposed they were cute, but his daughter was cuter.
Maybe he was biased since he did give 50% of her genetic material and loved the other 50% very much, but it didn't matter.
"Full of boys in here, huh? If they ask you for your number, give mine and I'll take care of them for you, alright?" The man whispered to Aurora.
"Already this protective?" A voice came from behind him and Gray turned around, meeting a man in his thirties or so, with blonde hair and kind brown eyes.
"Like I never thought I would be."
"Liam Hark." The blonde offered his hand and Gray, a little clumsily accepted.
"Gray Fullbuster." The dark haired man saw Liam walk pass him by and check on the boys next to Aurora's incubator. "Yours?"
"Yes. I guess that we are neighbors for a while, huh? These are my boys: Daniel, Charles and George." The man pointed to each boy as he said the names. "My wife and I tried to have a girl, ended up with three boys instead. Lisa will be crazy with five men in her house. We have a three-year-old you know? His name is Samuel. Too much testosterone in only one place." He chuckled.
"My… brother and I are the only guys. There's my mom, my sister, niece, girlfriend and now my daughter." It was better than explaining how they were all linked. "Too much estrogen."
"Maybe you should go for a boy next." The man said. "My wife will have to wait to have some daughters-in-law, though. Four boys are enough for our patience and bank account."
Gray chuckled and then looked down to his daughter. "Aurora here was a complete accident."
"A happy one?" Liam asked.
Smiling widely, Gray nodded. "The best thing I've ever done."
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Juvia woke up confused and without knowing where she was; the last thing she recalled was hearing her daughter cry during the c-section and a nurse showing the screaming red faced child to her before taking Aurora to a check-up.
Looking around the room, she spotted her boyfriend sitting on a sofa, and almost dozing off. The blunette took a moment to look at him and seeing that he was relaxing, it probably meant that the baby was fine.
"Gray-sama?" The woman called him and said man immediately looked up to her, alert, sleep forgotten.
"Hey." Gray got up and went to stay by her side, grabbing her hand. "How are you feeling?"
"Like I've been in a car accident and had a baby." Juvia groaned when she tried to sit. Gray helped her and when she was settled, the blunette stared to the man. "Is she alright? Where is she? Can I see her?"
To her relief, Gray smiled. "She is perfect, Juvia. I went to meet her while you were unconscious and the doctor said that she's very healthy and the accident didn't hurt her; she's small, but she'll be alright."
"I… I need to see her." Juvia grabbed his hand tightly, she had Gray by her side at that moment, but she needed to see her baby; it was almost instinctual and raw need. "Please, Gray-sama." Her eyes watered and her boyfriend nodded.
The man leaned and kissed her forehead. "Okay, okay. I'll ask a nurse, alright? You'll see that Aurora is just fine."
During the minutes that took for Gray to ask a nurse to please, bring their daughter; Gray had stayed by her side, holding her hand while the blunette stared at the door anxiously. The man understood, of course – while Gray waited for news about his girls, he had been worried and wanted to be with them and make sure they were fine.
When the nurse knocked on the door and entered the room, pushing a hospital cot where Aurora was lying down, all bundled up in a soft pink blanket, Juvia suddenly got even more nervous.
"There's someone who would like to meet you." The nurse said and Juvia smiled widely when she saw Gray get up and walk over the cot; the nurse picked the baby up and gave her to him.
"Come on, Aurora." Gray whispered to the child. "I bet you want to meet your mother just as much as she wants to meet you."
Juvia couldn't move her left shoulder properly because of the accident, so Gray took his time to put their daughter on her right arm, while with her left hand the woman supported the baby's legs.
Gray Fullbuster had seen many amazing things in his life, but none of them surpassed to see Juvia holding Aurora for the first time. The blunette didn't hide her tears or her smile; it was clear that she felt as amazed by the child as Gray had felt when held her for the first time a few hours before.
"Hi. Hi, Aurora." Juvia sobbed, while cradling the girl. "I'm your mother." The blunette whispered. "And I've been waiting for so long to meet you."
Taking his phone from his pocket, Gray discretely filmed the moment, while Juvia cried and kissed Aurora's forehead; they would want to remember that. "Can you believe that she's here, Gray-sama?"
"Not really." He answered. "It seems like a dream, yet, even though we've been waiting for her, still feels unreal."
"A good unreal."
"An awesome unreal." Gray agreed and turned to the nurse. "Could you…?" He showed his phone and the woman nodded. After
"Oh, no. Juvia looks awful." The blue haired woman complained, imagining how awful she was, being in an accident a few hours earlier and then rushed to surgery. Her hair… she didn't even want to think about the state of her hair.
"No, you don't." Gray rolled his eyes. "Plus, we'll want to remember this."
Aurora whined a little, but went back to sleep and Juvia sighed; Gray was right, it was a unique moment. "Fine. But one photo."
Her boyfriend sat by her side and put an arm around Juvia's shoulders and the nurse prepared to take the picture. After it was done, Juvia said she refused to see it, knowing that she probably looked like as if she survived in the eye of a tornado, and decided to focus her attention back to their daughter.
The nurse taught Juvia of how to breastfeed the baby – in which Gray paid attention as well, knowing that Juvia would need some help until her shoulder was fine again – and then the woman left, promising to return in half an hour to take Aurora back to the NICU, since even though she was alright, the youngest Fullbuster was still a premmie and Juvia needed to rest.
The blunette hissed a few moments after the nurse left and Gray stared at her, concerned – too much could still go wrong. "Are you alright? Do I need to get the doctor?"
"No." Juvia said. "It's just weird to breastfeed."
"Does it hurt?" Her boyfriend asked, still eying her carefully.
"No." The blunette stared back at their daughter. "It's different, but it doesn't hurt."
"Just…" Gray whispered and then sat by her side once again. "Just tell me if you feel anything weird so I can tell the doctor. You were in a car accident and then had a baby; your body's still healing."
"Juvia will be alright." She looked up, to stare at her boyfriend.
"Look, you almost died." Gray told her. "You and Aurora almost died. Do you have any idea of how it felt to stay outside, waiting to know if you would make it or not? It was hell, Juvia. So, please, if you feel anything different, tell me." He pleaded. "I can't go through that again."
Juvia smiled softly. "Okay." Gray nodded and both returned their gaze back to their child. After a couple of minutes, she continued to speak. "Sorry. Juvia never meant for you to…"
"It's alright." He kissed her temple. "It wasn't your fault; I am just happy that you are both alright." The dark haired man put his arm around Juvia's shoulders. "My mother should be arriving soon; I called her when you were in surgery."
"Good. She's been just as curious as the rest of us to know if we were having a boy or a girl." Juvia chuckled.
"Sorry for ruining the surprise, by the way."
"Oh, trust Juvia: this whole year has been a surprise." She laughed. "Knowing that we were having a girl right before I was heading to surgery was the least unexpected thing."
Gray laughed. "It's been crazy, huh?"
"So crazy."
"Even so, there's no other place I'd rather be." Gray kissed her lips.
"Ditto." They smiled to each other and then stared at Aurora. Yeap, no other place.
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After breastfeeding their daughter, Gray insisted that Juvia rested for a while and the blunette complained a lot – she wanted to stay with Aurora – but agreed when she felt her body ache all over: she did have a baby, but she had also been in an accident that same day.
Juvia asked her boyfriend to stay with Aurora while she slept and wouldn't accept anything else; Gray needed to be persuaded – he too didn't want to stay away from the newborn anytime soon, but didn't want to leave his girlfriend on her own – but agreed, telling that he would take turns between her room and the NICU.
He left the room with the nurse and Aurora, giving Juvia a look before leaving; he would call someone to stay with her for a while. Juvia just smiled weakly and closed her eyes, exhausted.
After a few minutes at the NICU and chatting with Liam – his wife, just like Juvia, had a C-section and was resting –, Loke called his cellphone, telling that he went to pick Ur from the train station and they would be there in ten minutes. Gray thanked his friend and kicked himself mentally for forgetting to call his mother.
And just as the orange haired man said, Ur was entering the NICU, wearing the same disposable yellow coat just like every other parent in there. Gray stepped away from Aurora's incubator and went to greet his mother. The older woman opened her arms to accommodate her son in a big hug.
"Hi, mother." Gray whispered to her after a moment, without letting go of her.
"Hey, kid." She said. "How is Juvia?"
"She's fine; resting." The man told his mother and they stopped the hug. "Demanded me to stay here." Gray smiled. "Want to meet your granddaughter?"
"A girl?" Ur asked, smiling widely.
"Yes." His own smile grew larger as he took his mother's hand and started to lead her towards Aurora's incubator.
"Is she alright?" The woman asked her son, while staring at the sleeping baby through the glass.
"Born a little early, but healthy." Gray informed her while staring at his daughter at the same time. "She's a tough girl."
"She is gorgeous, Gray." Ur said, blinking fast to keep her tears from falling. She was so happy for her boy and Juvia – during those months, she became quite fond of the blunette.
"Yeah." Gray agreed with a chuckle. "She looks like her mom with that blue hair, even if she has almost no hair at this point."
"Lucky her." Ur snickered and Gray rolled his eyes. "She dodged a bullet, imagine if she looked like you."
"Shut up, mother." He said and both stayed in silence for a while. "We named her Aurora."
"Such a beautiful name." The woman dried the tears that fell from her eyes. "Little Aurora."
"Aurora Jane Fullbuster." He said and Ur looked up. "Jane's because of…"
"Your mother." The older woman nodded in understanding.
"You'll be her grandmother, mom." Gray said, fast. "It's just… Juvia never met her own mom and even though you are also my mother, I would like to tell my daughter about my… other mother."
"I understand, Gray." Ur smiled; and she really did understand. Jane gave birth to Gray and raised him until he was seven and of course he would want to honor her anyway he could. "Your mother was a good woman, just like this little angel will be. And as you said, I am her nana." She looked to the baby and made a face. "Damn it, Gray. She's too cute and I'll babysit all the time."
The man laughed. He knew she was going to flip as soon as she saw the baby. Gray put an arm around his mother's shoulder and kissed her cheek – he wasn't too keen about showing affection too often, but he did almost lose two of the most important people in his life that day, so he was a little sentimental.
"I'll hold you to that when both Juvia and I need a couple of nights of our own." The man said.
"So… did your friends meet her?" Ur asked.
"Not directly, they stood outside that glass door," Gray pointed "while I held her – too many people and all that – and they loved her, of course. What's not to love?" He laughed. "There were tears. The girls also tear up a bit… You wouldn't believe the big tough guy who definitely cried when he saw her… I am pretty sure his girlfriend filmed, though. I'll send you the footage as soon as I get it."
"What?"
"I know my friends: that footage is going to spread around – it's not every day that we see Gajeel Redfox tear up because of a baby girl, trust me in this one."
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AN: Yay, happy ending with no cliffie in this chapter. I am being a good and nice girl! Haha.
About Gray talking about his mother: I know that Ur is a very big part of his life and his role model, but his mother and father are kind of the reason Gray ended up with Ur in the first place, so, I hope you understand why I named Aurora 'after' his mother.
By the way, that thing with the triplets? Real story. My cousin had a baby girl and she stayed at the NICU for weeks and her 'neighbors' were three boys and her father whispered that line about the phone number to the baby, her mother told me.
Thanks to: fyriagita, P. FullbusterBelieve, Tamniin, Rochi-Chan, KHR1427, Hayden, TheRedSin, Pseudo, tunder-crashed, TheGrammarQueen, TwilightxTanzie, xoxoKana-himExoxo, mgaa, Professor Nebilim, OnceUponABrokenRegal, Anna R, Yukistar, rosaji, Rainbows-and-Rainclouds, MashiroLOVE, Rachy Writes, FeatherGuitar, Miho, LyonAndJuviaForever, superduperizee, Theeha-sama, Cookie-chan91, Mrs Murasaki-sama, YamixTeaLover, Esthellar, Darkhope, WhatGoesUpGoesDown, MrsGooglyBear, BrigitteoO, cuteandfierce99, AliceCullen, greyjuvia, Medaka-chan, Lavi-hime-4E -3, Duchess K, otaku03, SakuraIchigoDark, golden promise, Chibi Waru-Chan, Sarapyon, YukiOnnaMonet, daughter-of-octo and starflow.22. You guys rock! When I was down and sad, I came to look to my reviews and you guys make my mood hit the roof; you have no idea how special you make me feel. I really love you.
11/26/2013 ~ BonneyQ