*Sasha*
“You’re doing great, baby,” Lucas’s calm, grounding voice whispered in my ear. He held my hand tightly and kept dabbing my forehead with a damp cloth.
Doctors and nurses swirled around for what seed like hours. The entire ti, I felt like I was splitting in two, right down the middle. They all kept telling it was normal and to keep pushing, but I didn’t think anything about this was normal....
I pushed and pushed and it never seed like the pain would end, each powerful contraction shaking my entire body.
“I see the head,” the nurse told . “That’s it, Sasha, just a few more big pushes.”
“You can do this, Sasha.” Lucas kissed my hand and then my forehead.
I nodded, too winded and in too much pain to form words. I gripped his hands tighter and pushed with all my might.
“He’s out. We’ve got him.”
“Sasha, you can relax now,” Lucas told .
Imdiately, I relaxed on the table, feeling euphoric as endorphins rushed through now that the pain was gone. The lights in the room blurred slightly and all the sounds around were muffled.
All but one.
Through the grogginess, I heard one sound, clear as day, above all others–a baby crying.
I saw the nurses moving around the room. They took my son to a nearby table, washed him and swaddled him. He cried until they had him bundled up in the warm blankets. I saw them do a quick exam.
The nurse handed the bundle to Lucas. I hadn’t even noticed he’d left my side.
My mind was still swimming in a daze.
Lucas rocked his arms gently and cooed at the little life in his arms. I’d never seen him look so happy and tender. I swear there were tears in his eyes, but that could’ve been the euphoric aftershock.
Lucas brought the baby to . “Ready to et our son?”
I nodded and held out my arms. Everything in the room started to co back into focus. The nurses still swirled around , checking out to make sure I was okay.
I ignored them all. My strength returned as I held out my arms. Lucas placed the baby in my arms and I pulled him close. He had his little eyes closed and his hands tucked up to his face.
“Oh my Goddess,” I whispered. “I’ve never seen....”
“He’s absolutely perfect,” Lucas agreed. He squeezed into the bed beside , wrapping an arm around my shoulders and putting his other hand on our son.
“He’s so beautiful. I can’t... I never want to take my eyes off of him.” Tears welled in my eyes and I sniffled. I leaned down and kissed his soft face. He cooed in his sleep and wiggled around.
“You were amazing, Sasha. I can’t believe how great you were. It was a lot of hard work.”
“It was worth it,” I gushed. I hadn’t taken my eyes off my perfect, beautiful baby boy.
The nurses took our son again for another exam and to give a little ti to rest. After I was cleaned up and changed, Lucas and I took a nap in each other’s arms. Even in all my exhaustion, all I could think about was the adorable little face of my son.
***
“Here you are, Mom,” the nurse said, bringing the baby back when Lucas and I woke up.
I imdiately kissed him and held him close. I wanted him to always know how loved he was.
“What are you going to na him?”
I glanced at Lucas. “Oh....”
“Um... we haven’t made a final decision yet,” Lucas admitted.
“Well, you better hurry. I need a na for the birth certificate.” She checked my vitals again and started reviewing so things on a clipboard.
“I can’t rember any of the nas we talked about when we were at the beach,” I admitted. “None of them seem right.”
Lucas nodded. “I agree. We need sothing fitting of a prince because he’s our prince now.”
The nurse chuckled. “You three make such a beautiful family.”
“How about Hunter?” I asked.
Lucas thought it over. “Yeah, I like Hunter. It is strong, gives him purpose, and is worthy of soone of his stature.”
I kissed the infant’s forehead. “Alright, then, he’s Hunter.”
“I’ll put that on the birth certificate. A lactation specialist will be by in a little while.” The nurse flashed a smile and left.
The lactation specialist stopped by and patiently walked through breastfeeding and pumping. I felt so silly, like a fumbling child, as I figured it all out.
After Hunter had a good al, the doctors ca and moved us to a recovery room where we could have visitors. I had no doubt my mother, Maeve, and other friends and family were lined up to et him.
Maeve and my mom were already waiting. They ca right up to the bed and tossed several stuffed animals on my lap.
“Oh my, what a handso boy,” Maeve said, “worthy of the Black family na.”
Lucas cleared his throat. “Actually, we haven’t talked about whose last na he’ll have.”
Maeve gave him a sharp look.
My mother sat on the edge of the bed and gave a side hug. “Wow, Sasha, he’s so gorgeous. You did a good job with him.”
“Yeah, we made a pretty good-looking kid,” Lucas chuckled.
“Lucas!” Maeve slapped his arm.
“What? It’s true.”
I giggled and snuggled my baby boy. “His na is Hunter. Mom, thank you for being here.”
I knew my mother’s own experience with pregnancy and childbirth was much different than mine, but I was glad she was there with .
“Maeve and I are heading to the mansion after this. We want to make sure you have everything you need for bringing the baby ho.”
“Oh, that’s a huge help, thank you.”
My mom kissed my forehead and the new grandmothers cooed over the baby once more.
After they left, Amanda stopped by for a visit.
“Amanda, you didn’t have to co.”
“What are best friends for? I’ll tell you. They are for bringing you the things you need that your baby daddy forgot to pack.” Amanda stuck her tongue out at Lucas. She put a bag on my bed and pulled out so shampoo and soap, a novel I was reading, and a hairbrush.
Unexpectedly, I burst into tears.
Lucas ca over and took Hunter so I could hug Amanda. “You are... absolutely my best friend.”
“I didn’t an to make you cry, Sasha.”
“Pfft. It’s just the hormones. But thank you, I need all this stuff. Although, I can’t stop looking at my son long enough to read.”
We laughed as we pulled apart. Lucas gave the baby back and I showed him off to Amanda.
“Wow... I an... just... wow. He really is perfect, isn’t he?” she whispered in complete awe.
“Yeah, he is.” I looked over at Lucas and he nodded.
We’d discussed how we wanted certain people to be involved in our son’s life before he was born.
“Amanda, there’s sothing I want to ask you... rather, that we want to ask you.”
She looked at us expectantly. “What is it?”
“Do you want to be Hunter’s godmother? I an, there’s no one else I would trust to teach him the ways of the world... or about , if... you know.”
Amanda’s eyes lit up with tears. “Yes! Of course, I will be his godmother. That ans I get to spoil him rotten forever!”
“Thank you. That ans a lot.”
Amanda jumped up. “I better hit the gift store before it closes. So much to buy the little prince. Sasha, I’ll get you so chocolate, too, since I noticed Lucas hasn’t provided that, either.”
Lucas groaned and rolled his eyes. Amanda winked and tossed us a quick gaze.
I sighed and shook my head. “She’s really going to spoil the heck out of our son.”
As I recovered, nurses stopped by to help with breastfeeding, diaper changing, swaddling, and how to calm a fussy baby. I learned fast and I absolutely loved taking care of the little life that was dependent on .
Lucas was totally Mr. Dad. He was so good with Hunter. I loved watching him with the baby and he was always ready to help out.
When Hunter was asleep in the hospital-provided bassinet, Lucas and I would just sit there and watch him for hours.
Every little expression and sound he made had us oohing and aahing over him. Was this what the rest of my life was going to be like?
If so, I was here for it.
“You’re such an amazing mother,” Lucas whispered while he watched Hunter sleep. He put his arm around my shoulders and kissed my cheek.
“And you’re an amazing father. You’ve taken to it so well.”
Lucas smirked. “Honestly, I never expected to love soone so much. Before we found out you were pregnant, I didn’t think a lot about what it would an to be a father. I’m so glad I have the two of you. I wouldn’t change a thing.”
“ neither.”
My mother and Maeve ca by every day. They both had plenty of unsolicited mother advice to give . I didn’t let it bother much. It was only natural for them to want to impart their wisdom.
When Lucas and I would stay up and watch Hunter sleep, we’d put our arms around each other. I could feel the bond between us growing stronger. Our mate bond brought us closer every day, and the love we both shared for our son and our family only made it stronger.
I was so grateful to have Lucas, my mate, by my side through all of this.
After just a couple of days, Hunter and I got released from the hospital. Ian picked us up and brought us ho. I sat right next to Hunter in his car seat and I couldn’t take my eyes off him. Every bump in the road, every sharp turn had gasping and clinging to his car seat. Without the support of the hospital staff, going ho was nerve-wracking.
As soon as we got back to the mansion, my mother and Maeve were there to et us.
“Don’t worry, we got you a huge supply of infant diapers,” my mother said. She took my bag and walked up the steps with .
“And Maeve and I made a bunch of als for the two of you and put them in the freezer. They just need to be ward up.”
“Wow, Mom. Thank you so much.”
“Now, we know the two of you want to have ti to be a family. Just rember, if you need anything, we are more than happy to help.”
I glanced at Maeve and nodded. “That ans a lot.”
We got Hunter inside and into the nursery. I sat down in the rocker and nursed him while Lucas and his grandmothers stood around talking.
I was happy to be ho and happy to have my whole family with .
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