by Melody Anne
“We’ll do this again the right way later but for now it’s the best we can do on such short notice,” Jasmine told her.
“Thank you very much, you really didn’t have to do anything at all,” Trinity said self-consciously. She knew she must look a wreck but she wasn’t even allowed up for a shower, only sponge baths. She didn’t exactly feel like a blushing bride. It hurt her heart a little bit so she pushed it out of her mind.
The ceremony only took about fifteen minutes. Ryan went out the door and came back in with a beautiful cake and some sparkling cider. She got a little bit choked up as Drew fed her a piece of the cake, then leaned down to kiss her lips. He seemed so happy, she knew she’d made the right choice.
“I know this isn’t a traditional wedding by any means but none of that matters. What matters is you two love each other and are going to have this beautiful baby girl soon. There will be plenty of time later to do things the right way. May you have many romantic days and far more passionate nights,” Ryan said, as he held up his glass in a toast.
Trinity could feel the blush stain her cheeks at his words. It may not have been her dream wedding but it was perfect nonetheless. She looked at Drew and realized she was head over heels, completely and totally in love with the man. She didn’t know at what point she let down the walls around her heart but she knew the door was open and if he decided to leave her, she was going to be beyond devastated.
She couldn’t say it was any one particular moment she fell in love but several smaller moments over the last several months. The man was simply too hard to resist and now she was married to him and her world had flipped completely upside down.
Chapter Eleven
Trinity barely reached thirty-six weeks in her pregnancy. She’d been having contractions all morning and nothing the doctor’s did could stop the labor. She prayed she’d kept her inside of her long enough she’d be okay.
In the afternoon her water broke and nothing was going to stop the delivery. She’d hoped to stretch it for even a day or two more. She’d deal with the pain to give her baby girl more time inside her womb, safe and sound.
“Trinity things are moving along really quickly, we need to move you to the birthing room. Your daughter is anxious to meet her parents and it’s not going to be much longer,” the doctor told her.
They wheeled her down the hallway and Drew never left her side, which she was incredibly grateful for. She’d never needed anyone like she needed him at that moment. She was terrified and wouldn’t feel better until the doctor told her the baby would be fine.
“Everything looks good Trinity, her heartbeat is strong and she has put on some good weight this last week and a half. I know that doesn’t seem like much time but for a baby it can make all the difference,” the doctor continued to reassure her.
She cried terrified tears as they switched her onto a new table and began prepping her for the birth. “You’ll both be okay, baby. I know it,” Drew told her, while gripping her hand. He was solid as a rock and the confidence in his expression was encouraging.
“It’s too soon,” she cried helplessly.
“You’ve done everything you were supposed to do and I know she will be strong, just like her mother,” he reassured her and bent down to gently kiss her. She took a deep breath and got ready for the hard task of pushing.
The hospital staff got her legs in the stir-ups and checked her dilation. “You’re ready now, so the next time you feel a contraction, I want you to use all your strength and push,” the doctor explained.
She didn’t have to wait long before the pain came ripping through her body. She’d never felt anything like it. It was as if her insides were turning inside out and she was going to explode. Sweat broke out over her brow and she cried out, as she pushed down with all her might.
“That’s really good Trinity, I can see her head. I think she’s going to come out with only a few pushes. I know it’s hard but you need to relax and push just like that when you get your next contraction,” the doctor said.
The next one hit before she was ready but she did what he said, gripping Drew’s hand tightly in hers, as she pushed with everything she had. “Very good, she’s crowing. We need to get her head out so as soon as it hits, push with all you’ve got,” the doctor told her.
She wanted to bash his head in. It was really easy for him to tell her to give it all she had. He wasn’t the one trying to pass a child through a small opening. Drew rubbed a cloth over her sweating brow, then the next contraction hit with the force of a tornado. She didn’t see how she wasn’t ripped in half from the horrible pain.
She screamed as she bore down and pushed as hard as she could. She felt nothing but the burning pain as the baby’s head came out. The doctor was doing something and then the next contraction hit even harder and she pushed again, without any words from anyone and she felt more burning. She thought she may die right there on the table, before she even saw her daughter.
The contractions were right on top of each other and she barely had time to catch her breath before the intense urge to push again hit her. She did it a couple more times and she felt relief as her daughter passed through her body.
She looked up to see the doctor stick something in her mouth and then the most amazing sound in the world surrounded her, the angry wail of her daughter’s intense displeasure of being taken from her warm home of eight months.
The nurse quickly wrapped her in a blanket and lay her down on Trinity’s chest, then she was looking into the squinting eyes of her baby girl. She was the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen in her life. She was trying to open her eyes but the lights were far too bright, allowing her only to open them to tiny slits. She was crying in the most pathetic little voice Trinity had ever heard and she sobbed right along with her.
She was so tiny, lying there on her chest she didn’t see how it was possible she could be okay but she looked pink and beautiful beneath the slimy paste on her body. Trinity looked at Drew and was amazed to see a tear slide down his own cheek as he touched his daughter for the first time. Her heart swelled even more for the man, in love with their little girl.
“We need to take her over here and make sure she’s okay. We’ll bring her back right away if all her vitals check out,” the nurse told her kindly, before picking the baby up. Trinity’s tears fell, at the empty feeling of not having her daughter in her arms.
“She looks healthy and strong Trinity, you did a really good job,” Drew reassured her, as he once again bent down to kiss her softly.
“I hope so,” she said, not taking her eyes off her daughter laying helplessly under the warming lights. The nurses didn’t seem to be in a panic as they checked her vitals, which was reassuring.
The doctor gave her some kind of shot that numbed her as he cleaned her up. She realized she must look pretty frightening but Drew was looking at her like she was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. It filled her with warmth, which she needed, as she couldn’t stop shaking now that things were all over.
The nurses cleaned her up and lifted her onto a new bed, which caused more pain for a moment. The heated blankets under her and on top of her made the pain worth it though because she was finally starting to warm up.
“It looks like you kept her safe inside for long enough because she’s healthy. Her lungs are fully developed and she won’t need oxygen. She’s a little underweight at only four pounds eight ounces, so we’ll want to keep her here until she’s over five pounds but other than that you have a healthy, beautiful baby girl,” the doctor finally said.
Trinity was filled with relief at his words. Their baby was going to be just fine. She would’ve stayed in the bed for the next month straight if she could’ve given her more time but she was still going to be fine.
“Can I hold her again?” Trinity asked them.
“Of course you can,” the nurse said, as she brought her over and placed her back in Trinity’s arms. She was now wrapped up in a warm blanket and mother and daughter watched ea
ch other in fascination.
“How are you doing, Princess?” she said to her as she rubbed her head. She looked back at her with those beautiful blue eyes all newborns had. She blinked a few times and Trinity couldn’t believe she was actually holding her in her arms. “Do you want to hold your daughter?” she finally said to Drew.
“I’m afraid I’ll break her. I’ve never held such a tiny baby,” he admitted with a worried frown between his brows.
“You’ll be perfect at it,” Trinity told him with confidence. He leaned down and gently picked her up and cradled her to his chest. The complete look of overwhelming love on his face made more tears fall down Trinity’s cheeks. It was more than obvious he adored his daughter and she knew she’d done the right thing in marrying him so they could all be together. Even if he never loved her, he’d always love his little girl and that meant more than anything else.
“She weighs nothing, it’s like I’m holding nothing but a blanket,” Drew said in awe as he held her close to his chest. He couldn’t believe how unbelievably beautiful his baby girl was. She was so tiny but so perfectly formed. He had never in his life loved something so much, as he loved his daughter. It was overwhelming in its intensity. He loved his family and he loved Trinity, although that was hard for him to accept but the love for his daughter was unlike anything he’d ever experienced.
As he held his daughter and looked down at his wife, everything felt so perfect. He knew he couldn’t possibly live without either of them. He’d fight to the ends of the earth for them. He could now understand what his cousin Derek had been through and felt a bit of guilt at how much he had teased the poor man.
He had all the money in the world but he’d never felt truly rich until this moment in time, with his newborn daughter in his arms and his wife looking up at him with love in her beautiful eyes.
“It’s time to move you back to your own room,” the nurse told them. Drew laid the baby back in her arms for the transport. She gladly held her and didn’t take her eyes off the baby the entire way. She wouldn’t have noticed if the building was falling down around them, she was so fascinated by her daughter’s tiny features.
They got into the room and the nurse helped her sit up in bed, then brought in a tray of food. She realized she was starving for the first time in over a week. Drew took the baby back in his arms and sat in the chair next to her bed while she ate.
“Are you going to be nursing, or should I make up a bottle for her?” the nurse asked.
“I’m nursing,” Trinity told her. She knew it was a natural thing but she still blushed, since Drew was sitting there in the room with her. She’d never discussed any of that with him and didn’t know how he felt about it. She just knew it was important for the baby to get all the added help she could, especially with her being born early and weighing so little.
“After you’re done with your meal, we should try and get her to eat. She won’t be very interested in it at first but she will soon gain an appetite,” the nurse told her.
“Okay,” Trinity answered shyly. She was a little nervous to be talking about such a personal thing with a stranger but glad to have some help, as she didn’t really know what she was doing.
She finished her meal and the nurse helped her with the process of getting the baby to latch on. It wasn’t an easy task but Trinity had all the patience in the world for her daughter. After some time went by, she finally managed to latch on and get some food. Trinity was beyond proud of her little girl.
Drew stepped out of the room, to give her some privacy and to let his family know his baby girl was born. They were all in the waiting room, most likely pacing. He let her know he’d give her about an hour before bringing them in to see the newest family member.
They arrived soon after she finished and nobody could get enough of her, commenting on how beautiful she was. “Oh my gosh, she makes Britney seem so big, now,” Jasmine said, as she cuddled the baby close to her. “I want to have ten more of these Derek,” she said with a smile of longing.
“You can have as many as you want,” he told his wife and kissed her. “We can get started tonight in fact,” he added with a look of lust in his eyes. Jasmine giggled and passed the baby over to Ryan. He gently cradled her in his arms, with a look of complete awe on his face.
“She’s just so tiny,” he whispered. She looked even smaller against him. One of his hands was the length of her body. “I’m afraid I’ll break her,” he finished nervously, as he looked at Drew with panic.
“Don’t look at me, I’m afraid I’ll break her too,” he said with just as much awe.
“You guys wouldn’t do anything that would harm her, not in a million years,” Trinity told the men. They soon handed her back to Trinity and she greedily took her in her arms. It hadn’t been that long but she’d missed her sweet scent already.
“What’s her name?” Derek finally asked.
She and Drew looked at each other. They hadn’t really discussed names and in all the excitement since the birth, neither of them had thought about it. She hadn’t the slightest idea what she wanted to name her little girl.
“I have a favorite aunt named Stephanie. I’ve always liked that name,” Drew suggested to her. She tried the name out and it seemed like a fit.
“Okay then her name is Stephanie,” she agreed with him, which earned her one of his heart-stopping smiles.
“Hello there Stephanie Titan, welcome to the family,” Ryan said as he brushed his hand against her soft head. Trinity really liked the sound of that. Her beautiful baby girl, Stephanie Titan had arrived safe and sound and healthy.
She started to yawn and the family said their goodbyes so she could get some rest. Drew carefully picked up Stephanie and laid her in the basinet next to the bed. If she made a peep then Trinity would wake up and be able to tend to her. She fell asleep before the last family member left the room.
Drew looked at his beautiful wife and sleeping baby and felt so much overwhelming love for them he didn’t understand how his heart didn’t burst. He knew they had a hard road ahead of them but at the moment things were too perfect to even imagine anything bad could happen.
Drew worked his typical magic because the baby was kept in the hospital for four days while she put on weight and he made sure they were there with her the whole time. Normally the mother was released after two days if she was healthy and ready, like she was, but she couldn’t leave her newborn there. Drew made sure she stayed as a patient so she could still have the comfortable bed and private room.
She didn’t care how he did it. She only cared she could keep Stephanie with her because she wasn’t willing to spend even a minute away from her daughter, let alone all night. When the doctor finally gave them the okay to bring her home, she was more than ready to get out of the hospital though. She wanted her own bed and her daily routine to start with her daughter at home.
Chapter Twelve
Trinity looked at her daughter and smiled. She couldn’t believe she was already a month old. The time was flying by too quickly and she wanted nothing more than to stop the clocks.
She and Drew had come to a truce of sorts because they were both mesmerized with their little girl. He had stayed home non-stop for the two weeks after she’d come home from the hospital but then one of his resorts was having some problems and he had to take off. She couldn’t believe how badly she missed him.
He’d set her up with a video conferencing system because he said he couldn’t bear to not see his daughter on a daily basis. He’d set up a private camera that hung over her crib, so he could click his computer on and watch his little girl sleeping. Trinity was overwhelmed with how much he loved her.
Of course, as she looked down at her baby girl, it was impossible for her to imagine anyone not loving her like crazy. She was more beautiful and wonderful than anyone could ever imagine.
Trinity was also very grateful to have Jasmine, especially with Drew being gone for such a long period of time. The home was so large a
nd she was really lonely. Jasmine had been coming over often to keep her company. She said she got lonely herself, with Derek working and Jacob at school.
Both women were extremely excited for the new shop to open. Today was their last day of getting the final touches done. The next morning was their Grand Opening. They had hired a few employees and Jasmine had a nanny who would be at the shop to help with the two babies. It all seemed too unreal to be true.
She’d been too worn out from the hard pregnancy and delivery to close her old shop down and it was bittersweet to go into the empty shop, after it was cleared out, to make sure everything had been done correctly.
She was moving on to a better place so it wasn’t like it was the end but it had still been sad for her. She’d been grateful to have Jasmine with her when she’d done the final walk through.
Drew had hired a staff for the house so she was never truly alone but it wasn’t the same thing as having her husband there, or her best friend. She was getting pretty close to Maria, their cook. She was about the age her mom would be and full of life and laughter. The woman was a phenomenal cook as well. Even Jasmine liked her food and she was most definitely a critic.
Trinity heard Jasmine’s laughter about two seconds before she entered the room. “I love that little dress. She looks so adorable today. I can’t believe how much she keeps growing,” Jasmine said, as she pulled Stephanie into her arms. The baby coo’d at her, which had Jasmine laughing more.
“It’s really amazing how quickly they grow,” Trinity said in awe. “Where’s Britney?” she asked.
“I left her home with the nanny because we’re going to be putting the final merchandise out and I thought it would be easier. She’s walking all over now,” she said as she nuzzled the baby.
“I love Stephanie getting bigger but I’m grateful she can’t get away right now. It would be much harder to keep an eye on her while we’re down there,” she said.
