Second Chances
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Affirmation
Embry's POV
I paced around the room, waiting anxiously for my mother to return with my cup of coffee. It had been twenty seven hours after our wedding and I was still wearing part of my tuxedo, Madie-love was still in labor and Quil was still retelling everyone in the waiting room, how cute Claire looked in her flower girl dress.
"You want to see Claire's picture?" he asked an old lady that was knitting by the magazine racks. "She looks so adorable. I had to record it. She is just so cute."
The old lady smiled politely and shook her head. "I already saw it, son." she said calmly, before she returned to her knitting.
I couldn't take it anymore. I wanted to punch something and Quil's face was the closest thing. I ambled towards his seat and grabbed the phone out of his hands and slammed it against the wall, making a loud thud as it fell on the floor.
"Dude," he said angrily. "What the fuck was that for? That phone had a lot of pics of my Claire." he said furiously, as he shoved me. "You're lucky that you're having a baby or I would have thrown you out the window."
I glared at him and continued pacing along the length of the room. "Calm down, sweetie." my mother said, as she entered the waiting room with two cups of coffee in her hands. "Here, drink this. We don't know how long we are going to be in the hospital." she said, handing me the coffee.
"Thanks," I muttered, as I took the cup in my hand. I tasted the nasty coffee and wanted to puke. I swallowed it hard and smiled politely at my mother. She was as nervous as me. I had been sleep deprived for the last three days. I could imagine how a baby was going to change my life. I was ready to take on the challenge. If it included Madison in my life, I was ready.
"Embry," Jake said, as he wheeled in Billy Black. "I brought you some clothes to change into. Quil text me and he's tired of seeing you in the tux."
"Thanks, man. I appreciate it." I said, taking the bag that was on Billy's lap. "Here, take my coffee. I'm gonna go change out of this shit." I said, nodding my head and giving my coffee to Jake.
"Dude, this shit tastes like shit." Jake said, after he took a sip of the coffee. "Why the fuck did ya give me this for?"
I gave him a side smile and pointed at my mother. "She bought it." I turned around and walked to the bathroom to change. It took me less than five minutes to change and when I made it back to the waiting room, Ashleigh, Elisha, Cheyenne, Theo, Leah and Mercury were there too.
"Embry," Ashleighe said relieved. "I thought that you were gone." she choked. If a vampire could cry, she would be doing it now. "The medicine that they gave her to calm the pain is finally working! The doctor and nurses are prepping her and she wants you to be with her for the birth of your son."
"Aren't you coming too?" I asked her. She shook her head. "She doesn't want me in the delivery room. I understand her fears. I also don't want to risk it, Embry..." she said honestly. "Go and take care of my daughter, please. Tell her not to worry. Tell her that I understand."
I nodded and ran to Madison. When I entered her room, she was staring at the ceiling, as the nurses carried her to another bed. "Hey," I said, taking her hand and smiling down at her. "Are you ready to deliver our baby?" I said enthusiastically. Madison rolled her eyes and continued staring at the celieing.
"They gave me drugs for the pain. They are finally working" she paused and swallowed hard. "I told my mother that I didn't want her in the delivery room." she said, averting her eyes to look at me, when a silent tear streamed down her face. "I have to be careful now. I know that she's my mom, but I also have to think of the baby. I can't let my emotions take the best of me, just because she is my mom... I have to think of our baby… I told her that I didn't want to risk the baby's life if she, um, you know, if she is tempted by the, ugh!"
"I understand, baby girl." I said, as I wiped a lone tear that rolled down her face. "I understand and I know that she understands too."
"I feel afraid, Embry." she whispered. "I'm so scared that I won't be a good mother or that I would turn in to a horrible wife, baby." she sobbed.
I kissed her lips and caressed her face. I had to be strong for both of us, for our child. If she only knew, how scared and nervous I was. All the fears that I had two days ago, were now resurfacing in my mind. What if I wasn't a good father? Or a husband? What if I was a coward, just like my father, and ran out on them? "We'll take one step at a time, Madison. Let's keep it simple, princess."
"Mr. Call, please wear the scrubs that the nurse will provide you with and follow us to the delivery room, please." Dr. Tulloch said, as he entered the room. I nodded and kissed Madison one last time, before I trailed after the nurse.
When I was done, the same nurse guided me in to the delivery room. Madison already had the machines hooked up to her and she was searching frantically for me. "Baby," she sobbed. "I thougth that you were gone."
"I'm here, princess." I said, holding her hand tightly. She nodded and winced in pain.
"OK, that was a strong contraction." Dr. Tulloch said, as he stood in front of a machine and read the print out. "Madison, you are fully dilated, so now we are going to push the baby out." he said, staring kindly at Madison. She nodded and squeezed my hand gently. "OK, let's deliver the baby." Dr. Tulloch said, as he walked closer to Madison's bed.
Forty-eight minutes of pushing, two hundred and seventy five pictures, twenty eight "I hate you, Embry", ten "Please, baby, don't ever leave me" and a tired Madison later, the wails and piercing cries of my son boomed through the entire delivery room. They took the baby to another table and cleaned him off. The doctor asked me if I wanted to cut the umbilical cord, but I was mesmerized by the perfect rhythmic heartbeats of my child. I looked down at Madison and saw her crying with happiness. I kissed her softly on the nose and wept. I was happy that my little Zeus was born. I took a picture of the nurses cleaning the baby and weighing him and smiled. He was already fussing.
"Thank you," she whispered, as she smiled at me. "Thank you for our baby. Thank you for making me your wife!" she cried.
"No, thank you." I said, kissing her lip. "Thank you for everything, lovely Madison."
"The baby weights six pounds and ten ounces. His measurements are twenty-two inches long. He is healthy, but we still have to keep him under observation, because he is six weeks premature." Dr. Tulloch said, as he smiled. I flashed him a smile and took a picture of them. "Do you want to see your son?"
I nodded, unable to remove my eyes from the blue bundle that the doctor held in his hands. My heart swelled with pride when I saw the dark haired and russet skinned child that was wrapped in a blue blanket and then placed on Madison's chest. He was beautiful and tiny and gorgeous and mine. He was my son. He was a piece of her and me. He was the culmination of our love. I loved him and I couldn't imagine a lifetime without him. I wanted to see my son grow in a home full of happiness. I wanted to be the best father in the world... I wanted to be like the father I always imagined I had.
"Oh my goodness, Em." Madison cried happily. "He looks just like you! He is your exact copy. Nothing that resembles me… That's not fair, little guy! I carried you inside me all this months. Why don't you have any resemblance to your mommy? Are you already trying to contradict me?" she said, caressing the baby's face. The baby opened one eye, when it recognized her voice and quickly closed it. "Did you see his eyes?" she asked excitedly. Our baby yawned and I could see his little dimples.
"I did," I said, smiling down at her. "They are green like Mercury's. My little Zeus is beautiful."
"Damn, nothing that resembles me." she said disappointed. She touched the baby's nose with her index and smiled. "You have your father's dimples too, little boy."
After a few minutes of admiring our child, they took Madison to her room. I ran to the waiting room and when I entered, Quil and Jake were clapping. The rest of my brothers were there. My mother was crying with happiness and Ashleigh and her clan sat in the back, staring at us, with sadness in her eyes.
"It's a boy." I said proudly, as I hugged my mother. "He looks just like me!"
"Then he must be ugly." Jared teased, as he patted my back. "Nah, just kidding, Em! I am happy that everything turned out alright."
I nodded at him. I walked up to Ashleighe and took her cold hand in mine. I knew that this was an emotional time for her... so I set aside my hatred for vampires and saw her the way Madison saw her, like a loving mother. "He has green eyes and is the cutest kid in the world. Do you want to see him?"
"I would love to." she said, smiling pleasantly at me. We walked to Madison's room, my mother, Elisha, Theo, Ashleigh, Mercury and Leah followed, but Cheyenne stayed behind chatting with Collin. "She can see the baby later."
When we entered the room, her family surrounded Madie's bed and admired the baby. I couldn't stop staring at my lovely girl. She looked so beautiful. I loved the way she gazed lovingly at our child. Her eyes were a little puffy from crying, but she was smiling happily at us. When everyone had left, the nurse came in to take our child back to the neonatal room. Madison cried and complained, but at the end, she reluctantly handed our baby to the nurse.
"You'll see him early in the morning." the nurse said reassuringly.
Madison nodded, as she handed him to her. "Take care of him. If something happens to him, I'll skin you alive and feed you to the wolves."
"Alright, ma'am." the nurse said, wide eyed. "We'll take excellent care of him."
I almost laughed, but remained serious, when the nurse stared at me. "She means it." I said menacingly. She avoided my gaze and exited the room, holding my precious baby boy. When she was gone, I turned to face Madison. She looked pretty tired and exhausted from being in labor for so long. "So, how are you feeling?"
"Tire," she said, leaning back against the head of the bed. "I miss him alredy, Em." she said sadly, touching her stomach. I placed my hand on her leg and smiled tenderly at her. "It's so strange to finally be able to hold him. He smells so good. I just want to kiss him and, wow, I love him. I love our baby, as much as I love you. Isn't that ridiculous?"
"It's not, sweetie." I said. She scooted to the side, making space for me to lay beside her. I did as she wanted and she rested her head on my chest. "So, what are we naming the baby?" I asked, when she stopped shifting.
"What do you mean?" she asked confused, raising her head to look at me. "I thought we decided to name him Zeus. Wasn't that what you wanted?"
"Madie-love," I paused, kissing the crown of her head, pressing her body closer to mine. "I know you don't want to name our child Zeus. We can name him anything that you want, as long as it's not Embry, Jake, Seth or Quil!"
She laughed, resting her head back on my chest. "I like your middle name Alexis." she said, as she played with the buttons of my shirt. "I also like Dominic, Franco, David, Adam and Braxton."
"How about we say Alexis followed by the names that you like? If you like how it sounds, then we name him that, ok?" I suggested. She nodded and sighed. "Alexis Dominic?"
"Hate it!" she said annoyed.
"Alexis Franco?"
"Too strange!" she sighed.
"Alexis David?" I said, she didn't respond so I continued. "Alexis Adam?"
"Too many A's." she said irritated.
"Alexis Braxton?" I mumbled. She raised her head and smiled widely.
"Alexis Braxton Call. Initials ABC!" she laughed. "I like it, but, um, how about Braxton Alexis Call?!"
"It has a nice ring to it, right?" I said, caressing her hair softly.
"Braxton Alexis Call," she paused, savoring the name on her lips. "I love it." She bobbed her head and sighed.
"You need to rest, princess." I said, gently rubbing her shoulder with my hand. "We can talk more tomorrow."
"OK," she said softly, as she accomodated her arm over my chest. "Happy Father's day, Em." she giggled.
"Happy Mother's day, Madison." I said, smiling happily at the ceiling.
It'd been a long day, filled with amazing memories, but we knew that tomorrow held many new challenges for us. I was ready for them, as long as she remained beside me, keeping me company down the road ahead. If she was with me, I would welcomed the challenges. When Love fell asleep, I closed my eyes and dreamed of my wife. Madison was holding our child securely in her arms, as she smiled lovingly at me. Her smile held the affirmation that I needed. We were young and in love, yes, but the bonds that united us were strong and had a solid foundation. Our son would be a constant reminder of our promises and vows. We were a family; a small family, but completely happy! Yes, we were happy.