It was only after Jess had drifted off, her breath even and steady and in sync with the faint beeping of the heart monitor, that Nick Miller could breathe again. He shifted in the hospital chair next to her bed and gripped her hand a little tighter and tried to reconcile everything that had happened in the last few hours. He couldn't wrap his head around the idea that just that afternoon they'd been sitting on the couch making bets on when the baby would come, only for Jess to suddenly and violently almost lose her life and the baby along with it.

She sighed deeply as Nick watched over her. Even in the dim light he could see how pale she was, how much of a toll the day had taken on her. His heart broke for her, knowing what she had lost. But then, on the other side of her bed, Nick saw the little blanket in that clear hospital bassinet start to wriggle, and his heartbreak was instantly drowned out with a feeling he had a hard time naming. He reluctantly let go of his wife's hand and went to pick up his son, and for the millionth time marveled at what he and Jess had created.

"You scared the hell out of me, kid."

In fact, it was the first time in all of this that he'd felt an ounce of fear. From the moment Jess had shown him that pregnancy test Nick had been excited and level-headed, but never afraid. He knew everyone thought he'd been in shock and walked on eggshells waiting for him to freak out, but Nick had felt it in his bones that he was meant to do this, to be a dad. And then Jess had started bleeding, a lot, and she'd tried not to be scared but he could tell she was terrified, so he held it together. He'd called the ambulance and called Sadie to meet them at the hospital, and he told Jess that it was all going to be okay.

He held it together when Sadie came out to tell him very seriously that Jess had lost too much blood and needed an emergency c-section. He held it together when he barely had time to tell Jess he loved her before they wheeled her away. He paced in the waiting room and stared at his phone and finally remembered to text Schmidt, who instantly circled the wagons and arrived at the hospital in record time with Cece and Winston in tow. Then Sadie finally appeared, and Nick froze. He felt Schmidt's hand on his shoulder and his friends crowding around him like a protective shield, but all he could do was watch as Sadie approached, trying to read her face and brace himself.

"She's okay."

Nick's legs went weak and he grabbed Schmidt's arm to steady himself. "And the baby?"

"Baby's okay too."

And then the dam burst and he collapsed into a chair and cried, and everyone else cried and started making phone calls. And in the celebration, Sadie pulled Nick aside. "Nick, Jess was hemorrhaging badly, and we couldn't stop it."

The terror returned. "But you said she's okay."

"She is now. We had to do a hysterectomy."

It took a long moment for him to understand, and when he finally did, he ached for Jess. "But the baby's okay, right? Since it was early?"

Sadie smiled then. "He's great."

"He? It's a boy?" A son. He had a son.

"You didn't know?"

"No, we wanted it to be a surprise."

"Well congratulations, Dad. I'll take you to them."

Schmidt and Winston had tried to follow, but Cece held them back and promised they'd come back in the morning to visit. Nick barely noticed, he was so fixated on seeing for himself that Jess was alright. He paused in the doorway when he saw his wife in that bed with their son, and his heart skipped a beat. He turned to Sadie, who had saved his family, and knew he could never repay her. "Thank you."

Jess looked up then, and smiled. "Hey, Miller."

Everything else faded away as he kissed Jess and brushed back her hair, and memorized the face of his child. "I don't know what I would've done, Jess-" His voice hitched as the gravity of the situation hit. "I almost lost you."

"But you didn't, and now we have him, and he's perfect."

"He is a good-looking kid. Easily the cutest baby out of all the others."

"Right? Definitely no contest. Hey! Who won the bet?"

Nick could hear the forced cheer in her voice and could tell how hard she was trying to pretend she was alright. "Jess," he said quietly, and she wouldn't look at him. He could see the tears welling up, and how she kept blinking them away. "Jess, it's okay to be sad."

"This isn't how it was supposed to go, Nick. I was supposed to have my baby playlist and my favourite nightgown and Cece and my mom were going to be here, and you were going to be freaking out and fainting, and I was going to swear that I would never have another child again because you'd never be allowed to touch me again, but then I'd see his face and forget about all that, and I'd do it again in a heartbeat, and now-" She took a deep, heaving breath and finally looked at him. "And now I can't. I can't ever again. I'm so sorry, Nick."

He'd never seen such aching sadness and his heart broke a little more. "Jess, no. Jessica, listen to me. I love you. The only thing I need in this world to be happy is you. Everything else is just a bonus." She cried and kissed him and gingerly shifted aside and demanded he get in the bed with them. "We need to decide on a name," she said, after a long stretch of contented silence.

"I thought we agreed-"

"I am not calling him Russell, Nick."

"Jess, it's the perfect name!"

"No."

Nick chuckled, glad he'd been able to make her feel normal again for a moment. They argued over names for awhile before she'd gotten tired, and now as she slept Nick had the chance for his first ever father-son moment.

"Well you're definitely my kid – you picked the hardest way possible start your life." He imagined his boy huffing out a satirical half-laugh, because of course they would have the same sense of humour. "Maybe take it easy on your Mom for awhile, huh? You can't be difficult right up front, you have to charm the ladies first. Or dudes! I mean, whoever you want to date is cool with me… I wouldn't be friends with your Uncle Schmidt if I wasn't comfortable in my – Jesus, Miller," he muttered, rolling his eyes shut in exasperation. "The kid is two hours old. You don't need to give him the sex talk yet."

"You have so many people who can't wait to meet you, and so many kids to hang out with." Which was a blessing, he realized, since there would be no brothers or sisters for him to run around with. But that didn't matter to Nick. Then his tiny little boy shifted in his arms and made a cute little sigh, and Nick knew he was a goner. This kid was going to rule him and Jess, and he'd never been happier.

"I should warn you though - I don't know who you were expecting to get as parents, but Jess, that's your mom, is a little crazy in the best way. I'm kinda crazy in a different way, but hopefully we cancel each other out. And you come from a long line of weirdos and criminals, like your Grandpa Walt. I bet if he was still here he'd be taking you to the track the minute you could talk." Nick laughed a little at the idea, and felt an unexpected stab of sadness that his son would never meet his grandfather.

"Maybe he'll be his own special brand of crazy."

Nick looked up to find Jess watching them. She looked happy, and the vise around his heart loosened a little. "He'd better be," Nick said, and handed the baby over to her. He watched his wife and son for a long, quiet moment and realized this was the first time in his life he knew true contentment. "You two are everything I ever wanted, you know." Jess didn't tear her eyes away from the baby. "Your Dad has a way with words," she said, and he could hear the hitch in her voice. "I know his name," she said suddenly, determined. "Cole."

"Cole?" He tried it out. It sounded pretty good.

"Cole. Short for Nicholas."

Nick's heart stuttered. "Jess, are you sure? I mean-"

"Shut up, Miller."

"I mean, I'm pretty sure my name is on at least one no-fly list. Do we want to saddle him with that?"

"Stop deflecting. You're the best, Nick. I hope he becomes even half the man you are."

It was on the tip of his tongue to come back with yet another self-deprecating retort, but he stopped himself. The fact that Jess had so much faith in him made Nick love her even more, but it really hit home that his son's opinion would matter too.

"Ok. Cole it is. But for the middle name, I really think-"

"Not Russell, Nick!"

Nick laughed, utterly content.