Fatherhood

She was going to kill him, yes she was. The greatest thing in the world and he was missing it.
His heart couldn't beat any faster; his hands could not be shaking as much as they were now. Too bad he couldn't fly to get there sooner.

Why the hospital was so far away was beyond him.

The nurses stared at him as he ran through the white halls. Sure he had been pushing a few people on his way there, but it wasn't like he had hurt someone. Too much at least.
He stopped in his tracks when he saw Chin sitting in the waiting room, his head bowed. His nervousness grew and so did the beating of his heart.

"Chin..." He spoke and the man before him stood up quickly. "Where is she? Am I late?"

"No, the doctor took her to the OR just now"

"I wanna see her" he moved away and walked around, searching for the OR frantically. He had been there many times but at that moment he felt lost, he had no sense of direction, he couldn't even think straight.

"You have to take care of that first" Chin motioned to his forehead, where a thin line of blood fell. He touched the wound and winced in pain. With all the nervousness he didn't noticed the cut on his forehead.

"I'm fine" he dismissed Chin's concern (and his pain) with his hand.

"C'mon, if Kono sees the blood she's gonna freak out" he grabbed his arm and pulled him away from wherever he was going.

"I wanna see her" Steve complained but got no response from Chin other than the pull from his arm.

"The doctor already took her in, we have to wait." He reasoned with him, talking slowly as if he were talking to a child "c'mon Steve"

He agreed reluctantly though the pain in his forehead made it impossible to ignore. Chin practically dragged him away though, his eyes somewhat lost.

He winced again, the stitches hurt more than he had thought, though now there was no blood. He sat out there, at the same place Chin had been when he arrived, the doctor hadn't showed up and as much he was trying to remain calm he was freaking out inside.

He cursed himself. He should have been there; he should have taken her to the hospital like they had planned, instead of him being out while she gave birth. Besides the fact he had tripped, ever so lazy, on his way here. That surely had never happened before.

"Relax" Danny spoke all of a sudden

"What?"

"I'm pretty sure Kono is fine, she's strong"

"I should be there with her" Steve whispered, feeling once again angry with himself "she wasn't supposed to do this alone"

"But she's not alone. We're all here with her, you are here" He tried to comfort his friend as much as he could, but the feeling of guilt was still written in his face. He will never forgive himself for missing his son's birth.

He rested his head back, breathing heavily and closing his eyes. Danny smiled to himself. His friend before him was not the same Steve he had met three years ago. This whole fatherhood thing was changing him in a very good way, he was not careless or reckless anymore, he did everything carefully not to be in danger. He used to say it was because Kono would be really mad at him if something happened, but Danny was hundred percent sure becoming a father played a big part in this brand new Steve.

"God I wanna see her" Steve confessed, his heart ached in a way he could not describe. If something happened to Kono while he wasn't there he would never forgive himself. Ever.

"You will. Don't worry about it" Chin spoke this time, squeezing his shoulder lightly.

"And before you know it, this baby will make your heart tight and your eyes water" Danny spoke smiling to his friend.

"I will not cry" Steve stated, frowning

"Yeah, that's what you say but trust me you will"

No. Steve McGarrett did not cry. Ever.

The doctor called ten minutes later. His breath caught in his throat, his hands became sweaty, his heart beat faster than he had expected. Truth be told he had never more anxious and nervous in his whole life.

He walked inside the room slowly, watching as Kono slept peacefully on the bed. She looked more beautiful than ever, if possible. The only thing he wanted to do was hold her and kiss her. His plans were drastically changed by a soft cry on the crib beside her bed. He moved closer, careful not to wake her up, and stared at his son for the first time.

His heart caught in his throat once again. He didn't know what to do with himself, he was happy, more than happy. He had been waiting for this moment for nine months, and he was finally here, he had imagine everything different, him a little bit more cool and calm not almost on the verge of tears. But either way it was perfect, his little boy was perfect.

"Hi..." He whispered, his baby's eyes opened ever so slightly and watched him. He took him out of his crib, cradling him in his arms carefully. He touched his little face with his finger, his hands, smelled his perfect baby scent. He felt all fuzzy inside as the baby grabbed his finger and squeezed it slightly. "God I can't believe you're finally here, you're so beautiful. We waited for you for nine months and I can finally hold you in my arms" He sighed, his eyes suddenly watered, a knot formed on his throat as a tear ran down his cheek "you're the best thing I've ever done. I loved you even before you were here..."

"We both did baby" Kono whispered from the bed, her own eyes teary at the sight before her. Steve holding their son, crying. She had dreamed with that for so long.

"Hey" he walked closer, cradling his son comfortably in his arm and with the other squeezed his wife's hand "baby I'm sorry I couldn't be here..."

"I'm glad you are now" she barely whispered, exhaustion taking over her body.

"Get some rest. I'll be here if you need me"

Danny and Chin peeked inside the room, smiling broadly at Steve. They walked in, each of them standing next to Steve, looking at the baby in his arms. Danny was focused on something else though; smiling once again at his friend he pushed him lightly on the shoulder.

"What?" Steve asked him frowning at the goofy smile his friend had

"You were crying" Danny whispered

"No" Steve refuted, shaking his head vigorously.

"I told you. I told you, you were gonna cry. See? Fatherhood changes you. It's happening now. Get ready my friend, lot of more tears will come" he patted his shoulder and moved away.

Steve looked at his son one more time as he slept peacefully in his arms, feeling the tears surfacing once again. God he hated how Danny was always right. Fatherhood had already changed him.

THE END!