Chapter 25 - The Arrival
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The delivery room was quiet, bathed in the soft morning light filtering through the blinds.
Grace was exhausted, her hair plastered to her forehead with sweat, but her eyes were fiercely focused. She gripped Nathan’s hand with astonishing strength as the next contraction rolled through her body.
“You’re doing incredible, Grace,” Nathan whispered loudly over the hum of the medical monitors. “Almost there. He’s almost here.”
“I can’t push anymore,” she gasped, shaking her head.
“Yes, you can,” Nathan said securely, pressing his forehead against hers. “You are the strongest person I have ever known. One more push. Just one.”
Grace took a deep, shuddering breath, closed her eyes, and pushed with every remaining ounce of energy she possessed.
A moment later, the sharp, beautiful sound of a newborn baby’s cry filled the sterile room.
“It’s a boy,” the doctor announced, quickly clearing the baby’s airway before laying him directly onto Grace’s chest.
Grace looked down at the tiny, red, screaming infant. He had a shock of dark hair and perfectly formed little hands that immediately gripped the fabric of her hospital gown.
“Oh my god,” Grace sobbed, wrapping her arms protectively around his slippery little body. “He’s here. He’s perfect.”
Nathan was crying freely, his tears dropping onto Grace’s shoulder as he leaned over them both, placing a large, trembling hand over the baby’s tiny back.
“He’s beautiful,” Nathan choked out.
Unlike Lily’s birth, which had been shrouded in fear, secrecy, and the terrifying unknown, this birth was entirely enveloped in love, safety, and undeniable truth. There were no shadows in this room. There was only light.
“What are we naming him?” the attending nurse asked gently with a clipboard in hand.
Grace looked at Nathan. They had discussed a dozen names, but they had always known which one felt right.
May you like
“Arthur,” Grace said smoothly, choosing the name of Nathan’s grandfather—the only man in the Cole lineage who had been a carpenter rather than a corporate shark. A man who built things with his hands instead of tearing people down.
“Arthur Cole,” Nathan repeated, kissing Grace deeply.
