Authors: Casey Clipper
Ryan burst out laughing. Derrick stood shocked. Sean shook his head and sighed.
"I'll give you something to take the edge off," Sean said.
Once Sean gave Courtney a shot of whatever into her IV, her body relaxed. Temporarily. Her eyes grew heavy. Derrick brushed the wet hair off her pale face, leaned down and kissed her forehead.
"My girl," Derrick whispered.
She opened her eyes and found his dark, chocolate eyes staring into hers. Love. That was what she was struck with. Her husband loved her. Reaching up with a shaky, weak hand, she touched his chiseled jaw. So handsome. Maybe even slightly more so than Darren. She couldn't describe how, except the bit of darkness that embraced Derrick made him perilously swoon worthy.
Derrick kissed her palm. "You're doing so well."
"Please don't leave me," she pleaded.
"Never," he vowed.
"Ever."
"Ever," he agreed. "I'll never leave you, my Courtney. Never," he whispered devotedly into her ear. "You're my girl." He stroked her soft, wet cheek. She closed her eyes at his gentle touch. "I love you." He kissed her dry, cracked lips.
***
Six hours Courtney spent in labor. Exhausted, she sobbed, her body drained and limp. "The baby isn't coming, Sean."
"Yes, the baby is, honey. The baby doesn't have a choice since your water broke," he said in the process of checking her dialation. "You're at ten, Court. Let's start pushing."
"Let's?" she spat. "As in 'let us?' I had no idea you were pushing a human out of your ass, Sean."
Roaring with laughter, Sean and Ryan took their positions while Derrick prepared to hold Courtney into an upright position.
"Okay, honey," Sean ordered. "Start pushing."
She did as instructed and pushed. Hard. Except when she grew exhausted she stopped, causing Ryan to yell at her from her right side, "Keep pushing!"
Courtney tried. She truly did but couldn't go further. She sagged back against Derrick and Ryan's grip.
Derrick kissed her forehead. "You're doing so well."
"I can't do this," she sobbed.
"Yes, you can," Ryan insisted.
"Okay, Court, get ready to push again. Another contraction is coming on," Sean said. When it was time, he instructed her to push again.
For the next half an hour Courtney did as she was told but got nowhere. The stubborn baby refused to leave her womb. With zero energy, she was spent.
"One more Courtney," Sean coaxed.
"No."
"Yes, honey, you have to. The baby is almost here. One more and you'll have your baby in your arms," he tried reasoning.
"Come on, sweetheart," Derrick pleaded. "I hate seeing you in so much pain. Let's get this over with, please."
Of course she listened to her husband. It'd been the same with Darren. They had her best interest at heart, and she trusted them to look out for her. So she pushed, hoping the baby would finally exit from her body.
"Keep pushing, Court," Sean barked when she was about to stop.
Courtney pushed until an angry scream echoed throughout the room. She collapsed backwards in relief. Ryan released his hold on her and attended to the new life in the room. Derrick helped her lie back.
Tears rolled down her cheeks. She wept into Derrick's chest when he pulled her against him in a solid embrace.
"You were terrific," he whispered in awe. "I'm so proud of you."
After cleaning up the tiny, screaming human, Ryan wrapped it in a blanket and handed the newborn to Courtney. "Here's your daughter."
"A girl?" she asked stunned.
Ryan smiled, gazing affectionately at the baby. "A girl."
"A girl," Sean repeated.
She looked up to Derrick, not understanding why she didn't have a son. "I thought..."
"It's okay, honey. Darren would have cherished his princess," he said.
She looked to her cousins, whose smiles were washed away, replaced with looks of concern.
A girl. Courtney stared at her daughter. She wasn't what Courtney expected. She expected a son. Darren's son. His legacy. A boy. That was what Darren had wanted, but instead, he had given her a girl. A girl.
Derrick ran his knuckles gently down the baby's tiny cheek.
"She's perfect," Derrick mused. "Just like her mother."
Courtney looked at Derrick. Tears spilled over. "But it's a girl."
Before she realized what happened, Derrick grasped her chin and held firmly.
"She's a princess. Our princess. Darren's princess. And she will be treated as such, Courtney Murphy, by anyone who comes into contact with her. She is, and will be, the most important female in our family and world, second to no one but her mother. Am I understood?" he growled furiously.
Fear rushed through her as she watched his eyes glitter with dark anger. Derrick was upset with her. Upset that she was disappointed over not having a son. She glanced down at her baby girl. Darren's little angel. Now Derrick's princess. She knew he was right. Darren would have been ecstatic over a daughter. He would have showered her with gifts, love, and protected her above anyone, including herself. She gently stroked the patch of fine hair on the top of her daughter's head. She was perfect. A perfect combination of Courtney and Darren. Their baby girl was a piece of Darren he'd left behind. She should feel blessed for his gift.
"I'm sorry," she whispered.
"Don't apologize, sweetheart, just love her. Love her like Darren and I love her and love you," he insisted. He leaned over and kissed her then whispered, "I'll never allow you to fail, my Courtney."
She leaned her forehead onto his and sobbed, again, exhausted and emotionally spent. "I don't know what I would do without you," she admitted.
Ryan interrupted, "Sorry, guys, let me take her and clean her up for you. I need to weigh and measure her."
Courtney handed her daughter to Ryan.
"Be careful with my baby girl," she warned.
Ryan rolled his eyes. "Oh, okay."
"Okay, let's get you up and cleaned off then clean the bed so you can stay in here tonight," Sean said.
"Can I have a shower?" she pleaded.
"If someone is in there with you to help, "Sean said.
"I'll help you, sweetheart," Derrick said. "Let me get your nightgown."
"Thank you."
Derrick kissed her chastely then left the room.
"Courtney," Sean said, grabbing her attention. "You're lucky to have him." Sean pointed to the doorway Derrick just left. "He's totally in love with you, and now with your daughter. His brother's daughter. Let him in," he said.
She had to look away from her cousins. She found she had no response. Over the past few weeks she noticed she emotionally leaned heavy on Derrick the same way she had with Darren and he took it all in stride. It was no secret Derrick would worship her daughter and her. If she allowed him into her heart, he'd assuredly make the perfect partner. Though his darkness and serious nature made him much different from Darren, she embraced it. Her life had already taken on so many changes with him as her main staple. When it came to leaving the house, shopping, whom she spoke with, who surrounded her, where she was going, he wasn't playing games. She answered to him. And he
always
questioned her. He treated her with respect but wasn't lenient when it came to her safety.
They'd always been close to each other. He'd take her out to dinner when Darren went away on business. She'd stay at his apartment or he'd stay with her on those occasions. Random calls to check in on her and impromptu lunch dates had been the norm when Darren was alive. She even planned him a surprise birthday party a couple years ago. Their bond had always been strong. Greater than even Darren realized. But now that relationship needed to evolve. The problem was how could she allow herself to love Derrick without pushing Darren out of her heart? Essentially losing him permanently. How did she handle that?
Derrick drifted back into the room with Courtney's satin gown and robe. Sean and Derrick helped her into the main bathroom. Once she was steady, Sean left them alone to clean the makeshift hospital room. Derrick started the shower and helped her out of the stained hospital gown. Embarrassed, she felt her face flush. It was the first time she'd been naked in front of him. She wrapped her arms around her bare stomach to hide her body.
Derrick
His wife's shyness was evident and Derrick needed to nip it in the bud. It may be the first time he had the pleasure of seeing her nude, but he couldn't look at her in any way than a wife who'd just given him the greatest gift. He wrapped his muscular arms around her naked waist and pulled her body into his, her back to his front. He leaned down and kissed her bare shoulder and worked his lips up to her neck.
"You're beautiful," Derrick said absolute. "Don't hide from me. I'm honored you gave me a daughter. You have nothing to be ashamed of."
Her head relaxed onto his chest and he felt her body sag with exhaustion. While he continued to run his lips along her soft skin, his grip tightened to keep her from falling.
"I love you," he whispered. "Thank you for the gift of our daughter."
She sighed, contented.
"Let's get you in the shower, sweetheart, and then into bed so you can rest," he said.
Carefully he helped her into the shower but didn't join her. Not until she gave him permission would he overstep her comfort zone. He shrugged off his white button down oxford to help when she wasn't able to bend over to wash her legs and feet.
After she was finished, Derrick helped her climb out of the shower, dried off her body and towel dried her hair. He relished intimately pampering his wife. He felt fifteen feet tall taking care of his woman who needed and depended on him.
They went back to the room to find their newborn baby girl screaming, testing her little lungs.
"She's hungry, Court. Are you going to breast feed?" Ryan asked.
"I don't know. That's not something I'm sure about," Courtney shamefully admitted.
"Why don't you give it a try, once, and if she takes to it, great. If not, we go to formula," Ryan suggested.
"Okay," she agreed.
Gingerly she climbed into the bed then was handed her baby girl. She cradled her daughter just as Ryan instructed. With Derrick's help, she pulled her robe apart and slid the strap off her shoulder to try to feed her daughter. The baby girl took to it like a pro. Courtney watched in utter awe. Derrick's eyes danced with sublime joy. There was nothing more amazing than watching his wife feed his child.
"Good job, Court," Ryan said proudly.
"Do you have a name picked out?" Sean asked as he wrote in a chart.
Derrick was impressed with the fact that they may not be in a hospital but her cousins treated the entire delivery as if they were.