Ty raced Amy to the hospital. On the ride there Amy's pain escalated. By the time they were 10 minutes away from the hospital Amy was telling Ty that he sucked, that he would never touch her again, that she was gonna have him sterilized and calling him cuss words Ty didn't even know she knew. When he pulled into the emergency room he helped Amy out of the truck and into a wheelchair. They were quickly lead into a room. Dr. Pratt examined Amy and told them she was 6cm and passed the point of an epidural. After the doctor left Amy went off on Ty.
"If you drove faster I would have been able to get medication. But nooo we had to drive the speed limit. I swear you are never going to touch me again!"
Ty wiped the cold cloth the nurse had given him across her forehead. he knew she didn't mean any of it but it still kinda stung. For another 2 hours Amy endured pain she never knew she could ever feel as her daughter fought her way out of her body. Mercifully the doctor told her it was time to push. Ty held her hand and helped her sit up. Amy just wanted this part to be over. The last push she gave it everything she had and fell back onto the pillows exhausted. Her daughter slid into her doctors arms. Amy felt like her world was in slow motion until she heard her daughter's cries fill the room. She raised her head in time to see a crying Ty cutting the baby's umbilical cord. The nurse carried the baby away to clean her off. Ty leaned down and kissed Amy's head. They moved Amy into a recovery room and a nurse brought in the tiny baby.
"She is perfectly healthy. 6lbs 3 ounces, 17 inches."
She set the baby into Amy's arms and walked out of the room. Amy's face stretched into a huge grin all pain forgotten. She stared in awe at her little girl. She was wrapped in a pink blanket and squirmed trying to get her little arms free. She had Ty's baby blue eyes and Amy's light blonde hair. She had a tiny button nose and soft pale skin. Amy could never have imagined loving something so much. Ty leaned down and kissed the baby's forehead. Amy looked at him and smiled.
"Sorry I yelled at you."
He laughed, "It's fine."
He leaned in and pressed his lips to Amy's. Amy looked back down at their daughter.
"I can't believe she's ours."
"I know. She is so beautiful."
Amy smiled, "She looks like her daddy."
"No she has blonde hair and your nose."
"But she has your eyes, your mouth and your chubby cheeks."
Ty just laughed. Amy lifted Maddie and handed her to Ty. He looked at her awestruck. He leaned down to kiss her cheek and someone knocked on the door. Lou opened it slowly and poked her head in.
"Hey there are some people anxious to see you."
Amy laughed, "Come on in."
Lou led in Peter, Georgie, Katie, Jack, Tim, and Mallory. A chorus of "awe" echoed through the room. Mallory pulled out her camera and took a picture of Ty holding Maddie. Ty shook his head but then spoke.
"Who wants to hold her first?"
Katie's little hand shot up in the air. Ty laughed and led her over to a nearby armchair.
"Ok Katie sit all the way back."
Katie did and Ty carefully passed her the baby.
"Ok support her head gently. Good job Katie."
Katie giggled and kissed Maddie on her head. Mallory and Lou snapped a few pictures. Katie looked at Ty and whispered to him.
"She's so tiny."
Ty laughed, "I know isn't she cute."
Katie nodded and kissed her cheek. "Ok Georgie can have a turn."
Ty took Maddie back and Georgie sat down in the other armchair. Ty handed Maddie to her. Georgie smiled at the baby and kissed her forehead.
"Hi baby." She giggled when Maddie wrapped her hand around Georgie's pinky finger. Maddie seemed to like Georgie. When Georgie was done she passed Maddie to Mallory.
"Hi, Auntie Mallory is totally available to babysit."
Everyone laughed. After everyone had a turn holding Maddie, Amy mentally established that Georgie and Jack were her favorites. They were the only two that Maddie grabbed their fingers and smiled at. Tim handed Maddie back to Amy and kissed his daughters head. Lou decided to speak up.
"Well we better go and give you three time alone."
Tim shook Ty's hand before leaving. All of them followed Lou except Georgie. She hesitated and walked over to Amy.
"I found this after the baby shower." She dug a dark brown teddy bear out of her bag. "This is Berry Bear. My mom and dad gave it to me when I was born. It was one of the only things I had to remember them by besides pictures. I used to cry without it. I took it everywhere so I washed him. I want your baby to have it." She handed the bear to Ty. "You guys are my family now. I don't need a teddy bear to remind me where I came from."
Amy was shocked. "Georgie we can't take that."
"Yes you can. You and Ty have done so much for me. I want your baby to know that I love her and I'm want to be there for her like you are always there for me."
Amy smiled and could feel a few tears slipping from her eyes. "Thank you Georgie."
Georgie leaned over and hugged Amy. She gently kissed Maddie's head then hugged Ty. After she left Ty looked at Amy.
"Wow."
"Ya, I can't believe she did that."
Ty sighed and kissed Amy and Maddie's foreheads. they looked at Maddie for a few minutes before she finally drifted off to sleep.
"Hey Ty can you put her in the bassinet?"
Ty picked Maddie up and set her carefully in the bassinet. He straightened her blanket and set Berry Bear next to her. Then he walked over to Amy's bed and layed down next to her. They family of three soon fell asleep.
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The next day Amy and Maddie were aloud to go home at 4 o'clock. Ty drove them home in Amy's truck carefully. Amy sat in the backseat with Maddie. She actually seemed to like the car ride. She kicked her little legs and smiled at Amy. When she started cooing Ty got nervous.
"Is she ok? We're 15 minutes from Heartland. Do I need to pull over?"
"She's fine. I think she likes the car."
Ty didn't look convinced and kept glancing at them in the rearview mirror. Amy ran a finger against Maddie's soft cheek. The baby smiled at her.
"Are you ready to be home?"
Maddie just kept smiling. When Ty pulled into the driveway and up to the main house. Amy could feel her heart pounding. When Ty got out of the truck he opened Amy's door and took her hospital bag. Amy took Maddie's car seat from its base and carried her into the house. When they went inside they found Lou, Lisa and Mallory in the kitchen. Lou turned away from the stove.
"Hey we didn't expect you for another hour."
Amy set Maddie's car seat down on the table and started unbuckling her. "Well since we took your advice and filled out all of our hospital paperwork out before hand all we had to do today was her newborn check up and birth certificate."
Amy lifted Maddie up and cradled her. Mallory ran over and kissed her head. "I swear she's even cuter."
Amy laughed and handed Maddie to Mallory. But Maddie surprised Amy and started crying. Ty looked scared and reached over and grabbed Maddie. He started lightly bouncing her trying to make her happy but she just wailed. He handed her to Amy and she started to settle slightly. But kept crying. Amy thought for a second.
"She's probably hungry. I'll be right back."
Amy walked into Katie's bedroom and sat down in the armchair. Truth be told Amy wasn't all that comfortable with breastfeeding yet but Lou gave her a whole book on it. Amy and Ty ultimately decided it was what was best for Maddie. Amy lifted her shirt and unsnapped her nursing bra. She adjusted Maddie the way the nurse had showed her and nursed her. Maddie just started eating when the door opened. She was relived it was just Ty. He looked a little embarrassed to walk in on her.
"Oh, hey I just wanted to see if you two needed anything."
Amy stifled a laugh, "Well I'm fine but could you get her a blanket?"
"Sure." He closed the door behind him but returned quickly with a pink striped blanket. He walked over to Amy but hesitated. She smiled at him.
"Just wait a minute, she's almost done."
Ty nodded and tried not to look. Amy thought it was hilarious but convinced herself not to laugh. When Maddie was done Amy handed her to Ty.
"Can you burp her."
Ty took Maddie and put her up to his shoulder. He gently patted her back and turned away from Amy as she fastened her bra and pulled her shirt back down. When she stood up she grabbed the blanket and wrapped it around Maddie. Ty handed the baby back to her mother and they walked into the living room. Georgie and Katie were playing with Katie's dollhouse. Peter, Jack, Tim, and Caleb were sitting around talking. Ty sat down on the couch next to Jack and Amy sat down in the empty armchair. She put a pink pacifier in Maddie's mouth. She started stroking the baby's head trying to coax the baby to sleep. Lou walked in and set a tray down on the coffee table. Amy thanked her. Lisa looked over Amy's shoulder to look at Maddie.
"So when do we get to find out this little cuties name?"
Jack spoke up, "The Bartlett name ceremony starts at 7pm before dinner."
Lou walked back towards the kitchen. "We're having roast chicken."
Amy glanced towards her, "It smells amazing Lou."
Amy looked back down at Maddie who had finally given in to sleep. Katie stood up and walked over to Amy. She peered into the blanket and quietly kissed Maddie's head. When Tim started talking Katie turned around.
"Shhh! The baby is sleeping Pop-pop. "
Everyone giggles but stayed quiet. At 6:30 Jack lit a fire and Georgie set the table. Jack refused to start until 7 exactly. But at 7 o'clock Jack stood in front of the fire place and repeated what he says at every ceremony.
"For generations Bartletts have found stones around the ranch and whenever a new member enters the Bartlett clan the grandfather of the child chooses a stone from the ranch to add to the fire place after the name is announced. God has blessed Ty and Amy with this beautiful baby girl and she is a part of the Bartlett family."
Lou was tapping her foot, "Ok no offense Grandpa but dinner is going to get cold. So Amy, Ty what is the name?"
Amy nodded to Ty. Ty cleared his throat.
"Well after considering several names."
Georgie giggled, "Probably several that have to do with motorcycles."
Ty laughed, "Well yes a few had to do with motorcycles. But we ultimately decided to go with Madelyn.
Amy leaned in to Ty so he wrapped and arm around her waist. She looked at her family.
"Her full name is Madelyn Grace Borden. But we're going to call her Maddie for short."
Everyone awed. Lou walked over and hugged her sister, careful not to crush Maddie between them.
"A beautiful name for a beautiful girl."
She leaned down and kissed Maddie's head and then hugged Ty.
Jack hugged them both and ran a finger across one of Maddie's plump cheeks. He then cleared his throat.
"Tim the stone?"
Tim walked over and handed the stone to Ty. "I found this stone down by the creek. I felt that since it was Amy's favorite place to ride that it was perfect."
Amy smiled, "Thank you Dad."
Jack looked at Ty, "Alright place the stone on the fireplace."
Ty found Amy's stone and placed Maddie's right above it. Everyone clapped and then Lou announced dinner was done. Georgie disappeared for a second and returned with Maddie's car seat and offered it to Ty.
"I didn't want to see you attempt to hold her and eat at the same time."
Ty laughed and took the car seat. Georgie turned an armchair around to face the table and Ty set the car seat down on it. Amy gently layed Maddie in her seat and sat down in the seat closest to her. Georgie sat on one side of her while Ty sat on the other. They all ate and chatted. When Amy was done she reached for Ty's hand under the table. He squeezed hers gently. Then Maddie decided she wanted to be in on the excitement and cried to be picked up. Amy turned and grabbed her. Maddie kept sucking on her paci but her eyes wandered around her. She glanced at Ty a lot. After dessert Ty and Amy decided to go home. They drove to their house and carried Maddie inside. Lobo greeted them at the door. Amy had left the car seat in her truck so she carried Maddie into she and Ty's bedroom. Once she layed the baby on the bed Ty walked in and layed down next to her. Amy went into the nursery and grabbed a pink striped sleeper that had horsie faces on the feet. She changed Maddie's diaper and put her in her pjs. When she was done she placed Maddie next to Ty on the bed and layed down on her side facing them. Ty rubbed Maddie's belly and bent down to talk to her.
"Why do I get the feeling you are not gonna take it easy on us tonight."
Amy laughed, "She can't be as bad as Merlin. He needed feed every two hours and you slept in the barn 3 nights in a row."
"Yeah well if you thought I was bad with him I'm gonna be worse with her."
"I figured."
Maddie dropped her paci and started twisting her face but Ty already had it back in her mouth before she could actually cry.
"See you're already whipped."
Ty didn't answer he picked Maddie up and started bouncing her gently. After a few minutes she must have fallen asleep because he placed her in her bassinet. He and Amy changed their clothes and fell into bed.
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Amy woke up the next morning to her daughter's cries. She glanced at the clock 7:06am. Amy pulled herself out of bed and plucked Maddie out of her bassinet.
"Good Morning Princess. Are you hungry?"
Amy sat down in the rocking chair next to the bed and started nursing. Last night wasn't as bad as they had anticipated. Maddie slept on average, 3 1/2 hours between feedings. Amy and Ty had taken turns getting up with her. When Maddie was done Amy burped her, changed her and carried her to the bed. Ty opened his eyes when Amy layed Maddie next to him. He kissed Maddie's forehead.
"Morning you." He looked at Amy, "Did she eat ok?"
"Ya but she is wide awake."
"Ok." Ty sat up and cradled Maddie against his chest. Amy scooted closer to them and rested her head on Ty's shoulder. She reached a hand out and let Maddie suck on her finger. Amy looked at the two of them.
"Yup, she's a daddy's girl."
Ty laughed, "What was your first hint?"
Amy pressed her lips to his and then to Maddie's cheek. At 8 o'clock they got out of bed. Ty made breakfast while Amy showered. He also feed Lobo then let him outside. When Amy emerged from the bathroom she was dressed in a pair of jeans and an old t-shirt. She had pulled her hair into a pony tail and walked into the kitchen. Ty had made scrambled eggs and bacon and handed her a plate. Maddie was in her baby swing in the living room. Amy poured herself a cup of coffee and sat down at the table. Ty sat down across from her and they ate while chatting about Ty's classes. Amy had 3 weeks of Mat. leave but they didn't know about who would watch Maddie while Amy was working. Ty had to go back to school in 2 days but Scott and Jack gave him a week off of work. Ty didn't want to go back to school so soon. He felt uncomfortable leaving Amy alone with a newborn. When they finished Amy went into the living room and turned on the news. Ty walked over to the baby swing and checked on Maddie. Amy laughed at him.
"We're right here. Trust me she's fine."
"I'm just checking."
He sat down next to Amy and pulled her to him. She snuggled into his side when something hit her.
"Did you call your mom and tell her Maddie was here?"
Ty looked at her, "Of course I..."
His face turned into shocked.
"Crap I forgot."
Amy tried not to laugh but it still snuck out. "Well I would think that she would like to know."
Ty nodded and pulled out his cellphone. He held it up to his ear and waited for a few seconds.
"Hey Mom it's me. I have some news. The baby was born the other day."
He listened but Amy could hear Lily's voice rise.
"Mom I forgot. I was kinda busy."
He listened again.
"We named her Madelyn Grace...Yeah I love it too."
He leaned down to kiss Amy's cheek while his mom talked.
"Well I go back to work in a week...Ya you can come tomorrow. I have to go back to school the day after so I would feel better if someone was here with Amy."
He listened and glanced at Amy.
"Well i'll talk to Lou and see if there is an empty cabin at the dude ranch...ok I will...I love you too Mom...Bye."
He looked at Amy, "She'll be here around 2 tomorrow. She was booking her bus ticket while we were talking. She's gonna stay for at least 4 days."
"Ok i'll ask Lou about the dude ranch."
"Ok." He kissed Amy and stood up. He plucked Maddie out of her swing and started making faces a her. He turned and looked at Amy. "Do you want to head up to the main house or stay here?"
"Let's go up to the house. I need to talk to Lou and Mallory."
"Ok. Do you want to get her dressed while I shower?"
"Ya." Ty passed the baby and walked into their bathroom. Amy walked into the nursery and set Maddie down in her crib for a minute. She picked out a white onesie with blue writing that said "daddy's princess" and the matching leggings with attached skirt. She layed Maddie on the changing table to dress her and at last minute decided to put a blue bow headband on her and little white socks. When she was done she packed the diaper bag and walked into the living room. She had just layed Maddie down on the couch when Ty came out of their bedroom fully dressed. He sat down next to Maddie and started tying his boots. When Maddie cooed he looked down and saw her eyes moving trying to find him. He leaned over her and blew raspberries on her tummy. Maddie smiled up at her daddy. When Amy was ready the picked Maddie up and walked towards the main house. When they walked in Lou, Mallory, Georgie, and Katie were in the kitchen. Amy looked at Georgie confused.
"Georgie why aren't you at school?"
Georgie looked up at her, "Today's parent teacher conference day so no school for me. I just have to go when it's time for my meeting."
Lou handed Ty a cup of coffee and confirmed. "Ya Georgie's time is of course at 3:30 the most odd time of day. So Peter will be back at 2 so we can be punctual."
Georgie rolled her eyes but looked back at Amy. "Can I hold Maddie?"
"Of course."
Amy gently passed Maddie to Georgie. Maddie immediately smiled. Amy giggled.
"She really likes you Georgie."
Georgie smiled and kissed Maddie's cheek. "Well I like her too."
Ty sat down next to Georgie and looked at Katie. "Hey girlie what are you drawing?"
Katie grinned at him, "I'm drawing Phoenix for Georgie."
"Oh, that's nice of you."
Katie leaned over and kissed Ty's cheek making him laugh. Amy looked at Lou.
"Hey Lou is there an empty cabin at the dude ranch?"
"There all empty for now. I'm not excepting any bookings for two weeks so I can be available to help you."
"Great would you mind if Lily stayed at the dude ranch for a few days? She's coming tomorrow."
"Of course. I'll make sure to leave her a few jars of strawberry jam."
Ty stood up and hugged her. "Thanks Lou."
"It's no problem."
With that Amy relaxed.