by Amy Davies
“How about I let your man here help you get out of the wet clothes and into clean pj’s? Then we will get you hooked up to the monitor and see how the baby is doing. This monitor will also monitor your contractions.” I don’t wait for her to reply, I start digging through her overnight bag and take out what she needs. I help Addy off the bed and walk into the small bathroom that joins onto her room. I slip off her shirt and go for her bra.
“I can leave that on,” she says.
“Nope, I read that your boobs are going to hurt while in labour, so baby, let them beauties hang free.” I wink at her. I take in her perfect tits that have gotten bigger during the pregnancy. She kept her nipple bars in.
“Fine. Oh and, Dex?” Her saying my name drags my attention from her beautiful tits sitting there, begging me to play with them. I drag my eye away from her tits and I meet her gaze. Her beautiful smile stares right back at me.
“Yeah, babe,” I answer her.
“I am thinking of taking the bars out. I might want to try breast feeding. Are you okay with that?” Am I okay with that?
“Of course I am, baby. You get to feed our daughter, fresh from your body.”
“But that means that while I am feeding our daughter, you can’t play with them.” She smiles wickedly at me. What the fuck?
“Says who?” I ask, pulling back slightly.
“Well, me and everyone out there. You will get milk in your mouth, Dex. Milk that is for your baby.” She smiles at me. Well fucking hell.
“Bollocks. She can have powder milk. We can pick up some tins on the way home. No one is taking my tits away from me,” I say seriously. Hell fucking no.
“But breast is best, Dex.” She pouts at me, jutting out her bottom lip. Oh fuck, I knew she would pull this shit.
“Fine,” I say, pulling her closer to me. Her body tenses and she leans her forehead against my chest and moans. My hands go to her back and add pressure and rub up and down. She sways through each contraction and I keep the pressure up. Once that bad boy is over with, I finish helping her get out of the wet clothes and into clean pj’s. We make our way back into the room where the midwife is waiting for us. I help Addy climb back up onto the bed and the midwife starts adding the little round monitors to Addy’s belly. Big elastic bands are placed over them, to keep them in place. Once they are in place, the midwife explains to Addy that she needs to check her. Like, down there. I am mortified for her. I wouldn’t want some stranger looking around my cock while I was in some God awful fucking pain.
“You are doing brilliantly, Addy. You are six centimeters and doing great. The baby should be here in the next few hours. Have you guys picked a name out yet?” Addy smiles up at me and I match her smile.
“We are still fighting over two names. I want mine and he wants his, obviously. So we have said we will see what she looks like and go from there. But I think I will win.” She winks at me and I kiss her head.
“We’ll see,” I say back. Another contraction comes and goes in a matter of seconds, but it feels like minutes and I’m not the one feeling the pain. I rub her back through each one; it is all I can really do. I have never felt so helpless in all of my life. Not even when Jay and me had a shitty time when we were kids.
“Dex, it hurts. Bad.”
“I know, baby. But it will be worth it. I swear.” She nods her head but doesn’t say anything. I bend over and find the small wash cloth and walk over to the sink and make it wet. Walking back to the bed, the door opens and my brother walks in. I take a deep breath and let it out. Seeing him here makes me feel like I can deal with this situation better. He sees my face and nods his understanding. Besides Addy, Jay is my lifeline. We have been through so much in our lives. He walks over to my girl in the bed as she has a contraction. She grits her teeth and a small growl leaves her beautiful lips.
“Holy fucking shit. Has Addy been taken over by the ghoul thing from Ghostbusters?” he chuckles. Addy shoots him a death glare and he backs away, raising his hands in surrender. “Just messing with you. Damn, woman. Breathe; you are looking a tad red there.” He points to her face.
“I swear to Christ I will rip your fucking balls off, Jay Castle, if you do not SHUT. THE. FUCK. UP,” she growls at him. I shake my head and sit on the edge of her bed.
“I think you should listen to her, brother.” I smirk at him. He looks shocked by her words and I have to say, slightly terrified.
“Oooooo, fuuuuck. Dex,” Addy cries out. I soothe her with my voice. She told me that it helps.
“You are doing great, baby. Just think what we will have at the end of all this pain.” I brush her hair off of her forehead and lay soft kisses over her face.
“Shit, who the hell are you and what have you done with my brother?” Jay says from beside the bed. I smile over Addy’s head at him and answer his question.
“Prick. My girl needs me and I will do whatever I can to make it better for her. You wait until Rachel gets knocked up; then I can take the piss out of you.” He shakes his head and picks Addy’s hand up, he starts massaging her fingers and her body visibly relaxes, well fuck me. I take the other hand and mirror his movements.
“This thing with me and kitten, isn’t happening how I wanted it to, man. She is blocking me at every turn.” I look from Addy, towards my brother. His shoulders sag and I can see the pain etched on his face. I hate seeing him hurting, but I know he is a grown man and can handle his shit himself. He needs to sort this shit out with Rachel or he will be the one with the broken heart. Maybe I can sic Addy on her, my girl can be a total fierce bitch when one of her boys are being hurt.
“It will get sorted, brother. Just give it time. It worked for me,” I tell him, believing my own words.
Finally.
“I fucking hate you,” I scream at Dex, who is standing across the room. He is right not to be near me right now. I have been in active labour for six hours and I am at nine centimeters. I am contracting more than I am not and by fucking Christ it hurts. “This is the only time you are planting one of your beast babies inside of me, you fucker.” I tense up as another wave of excruciating pain rips through my body. I love this baby with all my heart but fucking hell, she needs to come out… NOW!
“You love me, Ads. It’s the pain talking,” Dex says. Jay chuckles from beside his brother.
“Fuck loving you. Give me the fucking drugs. I need something for the pain,” I wail. Lauren is next to me, running the cool, damp cloth around my face. I know I can’t have anything for the pain, I am way past the point for that.
“Man the hell up woman. It’s too late for painkillers now. You need to try and relax, this baby will be coming out of your minge in no time.” Dex groans and so does Jay.
“Nice, Lauren. I am now not picturing Addy’s pussy stretching and my niece's head popping out.” Jay shudders at his words. “Ouch, you fucker.” I look across the room and see Jay rubbing the back of his head.
“Well, that's what you get for talking about my girl’s pussy, you prick. You should never be thinking about her down there at all.” I chuckle and another contraction hits.
“Ahhhhh big, fat, hairy monkey balls,” I scream. I vaguely feel the midwife checking between my legs, my poor baby cannon. It is going to be the size of the bloody Grand Canyon after I push her out. Even though they told me she was on the small side, it still feels like I am birthing a beach ball.
“Baby, can I come closer?” I can hear the anguish in his voice and the tears start to fill my eyes. I nod my head and in two seconds flat he is by my side. He lays kisses all over my face, whispering how much he loves me.
“I’m sorry I have been a bitch,” I tell him through the tears.
“It’s fine, baby. You are doing great.” The pressure builds and I feel like I need to poop.
“I need the toilet, Colleen,” I tell the midwife. She shakes her head.
“You are fine, Addy, that pressure you are feeling is the baby. You are ten centimeters and you are ready to push. So how
about you start. Chin to your chest and push like you are having a bowel movement.” I do as she says and push through the contraction. I can feel my body tighten up and I feel like I am going to burst a blood vessel. I take a deep breath and push again. The burn makes me scream.
“You got this, baby. Push, Addison,” Dex says from my side. He is holding one of my legs and Lauren has the other.
“Okay, again, Addy. One more and her head will be out.” I push through the burn and I feel the pressure lessen some. “That is the head out. Look, Dad. She has your hair.” I watch has Dex moves his head so he can see our daughters face for the first time. He takes a deep breath and his eyes fill with tears. I get a second of reprieve and then the next contraction hits. This is it, I can’t take much more. I need to push my baby out. I grind my teeth together and push for all that is holy. My lungs burn from the lack of oxygen, but nothing matters as the first sound of my daughter’s cries fill the small hospital room.
Fuck, I did it.
“Baby, you did it. She is here, baby. Fuck, she is here. God, I love you so fucking much.” I barely feel Dex kiss my mouth, then my eyes and my cheeks. My body is deflated, exhausted from all the physical pain and lack of sleep. I lay back and take in the sound of my daughter’s cries, she really doesn’t like being outside of her warm, comfy bubble in my belly. Dex chuckles next to me. “She is perfect. She has a good set of lungs on her.” He kisses me again.
“Mouthy, just like her mum,” Lauren says from my side, and I laugh. I turn my head so I can see Dex. He isn't hiding his tears. He is wearing them with ‘daddy pride’.
“I love you Dexter Castle. I love you so much. It was worth the wait.”
“I love you too, Addison Cole. And yeah it was. We got here in the end.”
“Does Mum or Dad want to hold her first?” asks the midwife, dragging us from our declaration of love for each other. Soppy, I know, but fuck it, we are riding the ‘baby high’.
“I think her mum, can have her first,” Dex says. She lays the baby on my chest; she is wrapped up in a light green hospital blanket. I move the material away from her face to see her more. My breath catches in my throat at how much she looks like Dex. She is beyond beautiful. Her eyes are still closed but she is trying her hardest to open them. I chuckle and kiss her nose, which she wrinkles a little.
“She’s perfect, baby. Thank you so much for her.” Dex says beside me, emotion laying claim to his voice.
“I’m gonna take off. I will pop to the house when you guys are home. Congrats to you both,” Lauren says quickly, before leaving us.
“I’m gonna shoot also. I love you guys and congrats on my niece.” Jay comes over and kisses me and the baby, before man-hugging his brother.
He leaves quietly, and then there were three. I look down at the squishy bundle in my arms. Dex moves closer and rests his arm around mine, holding the baby to me. His other arm moves around the back of my neck, rubbing his thumb over the skin. The pain has been forgotten, but the tiredness is seeping in. I rest my head on Dex’s shoulder but force my eyes open, keeping them on our daughter. My heart grows twice its size from looking at her, she is pure perfection.
Her hair is dark like Dex’s, her little button nose and full lips are his too. Damn, I didn’t get a look in. Her eyes flicker open and I gasp, seeing my own eyes stare back at me. The same clear blue as my own. Thank the Lord there is some of me in her. Dex will be lapping up the attention that our daughter is a spitting image of him. Her eyes move slowly, like she is trying to focus. I smile and run my finger over her smooth cheek. She needs a bath because she still has some of that white stuff all over her skin.
“She is perfect,” Dex whispers beside me, his voice low in an attempt not to scare the baby. I nod my agreement. I pull the little beanie hat off her head, needing to see and feel her hair. Dex chuckles when her hair sticks up in all directions. His large hand comes up and smoothes her hair down. “Damn, it’s so soft, but thick. I am dreading brushing that when it gets long enough. You are going to have to show me how to style her hair. I want to be one of those dads that help with their daughter. Or I could do the same as that YouTube video, you know, the one where the dad uses a hoover to suck the hair and then push the hair tie down. That was wicked,” he laughs. The midwife chuckles from the bottom of the bed. I shake my head at him. The thing is, I truly believe he would do that.
“You would try that wouldn’t you?” I tell him.
“Hell yeah. My girl is gonna look bad arse all the fuc- flipping time. I guess I need to watch my swearing now, huh?” I nod my head.
“Yeah, babe. Can you imagine her first word being a swear word?” I can’t stop touching her, but I know that Dex needs his fill too. “Your turn, baby.” I nod towards the baby. His face pales a little and my heart soars at his reaction. He is this big arse alpha bloke and he is scared to death of holding his tiny daughter.
“What if I hurt her? Or drop her? Fuck, Ads, I don’t know if I can do this.” He sounds so unsure of himself.
“Dex, you will be fine. You would never hurt her. Do you want to sit in the chair?” He twists his body to look at the chair and then looks back to me. He shakes his head.
“I want to stay here; you can help me hold her.” I nod my head. I move to hand the baby over and the midwife comes around to help him adjust his position a little. I copy his actions from earlier and lay my arm around the baby, over his arm, holding her to him. My nose burns as the tears arrive and decide to stream down my face. I am already a fucking hot mess, so what are a few thousand tears to add to the mix? Dex does the same as me; he kisses her hair, her face. He counts her fingers and slowly kisses each one in turn. My tears are coming fast and hard and a sob escapes my throat, drawing his attention me.
“Baby?” I wave him off and lean my head on his shoulder, looking down at the precious gift in my man’s arms.
“Happy tears. We have had a hard few years. I honestly never thought we would get here. I had to believe that one day we would but, Dexter Castle, you can be a bloody pain in the arse when you want to be. I had resided to the fact that we would never be and then this little one comes crashing into our lives, tipping it on its head. She is the reason we are here. Like the name I want for her, she made things clear and brought the brightness back into us. She showed the way. And holy shit I sound like one of those bloody Hallmark movies that Penny loves so much.” We all laugh.
“I will be right back, you two,” the midwife says. I nod at her and she offers me a smile.
“So, what are we going to name her?” Dex asks. “We both want completely different names. It is going to be hard to chose, babe.” I shake my head at him. I know what she will be named. She looks like the name I have chosen for her.
“My name suits her, but I have one alteration to it.” My heart rate spikes. I’m not sure how he going to react to my decision. I take a deep breath and move my head so I can look at him head on. I brace myself and tell him what I want to name our daughter.
“I want to name her Phoebe Fiona Castle.” I hear him suck in a breath. I close my eyes and will the tears to stop. I know how much he loved Fiona and they had always wanted children, so adding her name to my daughter’s name is in honour of her. Well, that’s what I think. The bed moves and my eyes snap open; I look at Dex who is now standing next to the bed, holding the baby close to his chest. He looks between me and the baby. When his gaze catches mine, I see he has tears in his beautiful eyes, my heart aches for this man standing before me.
I look down at my hands in my lap and pick at the cracking blue nail varnish I have on, I change the colour up all the time. My toes not so much; the belly got in the way.
Seconds, minutes, hours pass, I have no bloody clue how much time. But I do know that Dex is still silent. At least if I have a heart attack from my over-beating heart I am in the right place to do so. I rub my chest to try and alleviate the pain that is there. My head snaps to Dex when he clears his throat. His face wet from his tears.
“Have I told you how much I fucking love you?” I nod my head and wipe the tears away, stopping them from dripping down my chin. “Good, because you bringing Phoebe into my life made the love triple. But giving her that name? Fuck, Ads.” He clears his throat again, fighting through the emotion. “You have made me the happiest man on the planet. We planned for kids, but you know how that turned out. But putting her name in our daughter’s... Damn, that is perfect, but only if you are sure. Baby, I would never force you into anything you don’t want to do.” I cock an eyebrow at him and he chuckles. “Okay, fine. I won’t try and force you anymore. Besides, I have pretty much everything I want, so there is no need to force you into anything.” He winks at me and I smile. We are both on cloud nine and above right now.
“So you like her name then?” I have to ask, I know it sounds stupid. But I need to clarify he is on board with her full name.
“Baby, it is perfect for her. Phoebe Fiona Castle.” He leans in and kisses her head. His smile fills his face when he looks back to me. “Plus, you will be Addison Castle soon, so your name will match ours.” He bounces his eyebrows at me. He has been hinting for the last few weeks for us to get married. I would fucking love to be Mrs Castle but we need to take our time - take one step at a time. His words from just a second ago come fluttering to the front of my loved-up, gooey brain.
“Pretty much everything?” I ask, tilting my head.
“You caught that, yeah?” I nod with an ‘umm-yeah’ look.
“Well, I have the woman I love. I have a beautiful daughter that I love. Now I would like a son to complete the package.” My heart stutters and so does my speech.
“I-I’m sorry what?”
“You heard me. As soon as we can get back to it, I want to try for a boy. Phoebe needs a sibling. I love how close me and Jay are. I want that for our kids.” He shrugs like he just asked for the TV remote.
