After being separated in a dramatic move, Connor Harding is moving back home. His ex-best friend Hope Stryker, is terrified and torn. After three years without contact and lots of family drama, the two have fallen off. Their friendship isn't the sam...
Connor was sitting beside me in a pair of seafoam green scrubs with his hair covered by a funny-looking hairnet.
"Why are you giggling?" His voice was soft, and his grin only made me smile more.
"You look funny."
He shook his head and tucked some of the loose strands of my unruly hair back underneath my own hairnet. "Do you feel okay?"
I chewed on my bottom lip for a second, trying to understand the emotions taking over my body.
Not long after Connor had gotten to the hospital, Dr. Raleigh circled back to see if I had made a decision. I clammed up on the spot, unsure of the questions to ask and how to ask them, but Connor stood tall. He asked the doctor all of the reasons, why I should consider a c-section, and the possible repercussions if I decided not to get one. Then he asked about the c-section itself which, I admittedly tried to tune out because the idea of it still made me nauseous.
But thanks to Connor's game of 20 questions, it was pretty obvious that the safest option for myself and my baby was to have a c-section.
Dr. Raleigh had relayed the information to my parents who had reappeared with cups of coffee and junk food. They were understandably nervous but had agreed that this was arguably the best way for me to deliver the baby.
The next major decision I had to make was who I wanted sitting next to me in the operating room. Connor had told me over and over again that it was okay if I wanted my mom to go come with me, but I needed him beside me.
I needed his strong calloused, hands to hold mine and brush away my hair. I needed him to whisper in my ear and press kisses to my forehead. I just needed him.
So here we were; two teenagers suited up and ready to welcome a baby into the world on a random Saturday in March.
"I'm sorry I'm ruining your birthday." I mumbled as the doctor and nurses began moving around. They had placed a tall sheet beneath my chest, so neither Connor nor I could see what was happening, which I was thankful for.
"You're not running my birthday." Connor shook his head and rubbed tender circles on my cheek with his thumb. "My birthday isn't even for another eight hours."
"You're turning 18 in a hospital." My eyebrows furrowed, and my nose turned up in disgust.
"I'm turning 18 with my favorite person by my side." Connor corrected. "There's no place I'd rather be." He carefully leaned over and pecked my lips.
After a few encouraging words from Dr. Raleigh and some of the nurses, the procedure started. I don't really know what drugs I'm on, but I know they're working because I can't feel a single thing. I could hear everyone moving around and speaking medical jargon that I absolutely didn't understand, but my attention was focused on Connor. His eyes were boring into mine, and neither of us said anything as we stared at each other.
For so long, we had been playing a cat and mouse game, but now that I finally had him, I never planned on letting him go. He was my forever.
All of a sudden, a high-pitched cry erupted, cutting through the silence and tension in the room.
"It's a girl!" Dr. Raleigh shouted. "Congratulations!"
A girl. My baby was a girl. I was the mom of a baby girl.
"Did you hear that baby?" Connor's eyes were now full of tears, and his voice wavered as spoke. "A girl."
I smiled up at him, unable to put my words together. I was so emotional, and the relief that flooded through my body as I heard my baby cry gave me a high like no other.
A baby girl. I couldn't help but keep repeating that phrase over and over again. I had waited so long – which was nobody's fault but my own – to find out my baby's gender, and now I knew.
A girl.
"You did so good, babe. So so good." Connor kissed me again, and this time I felt a tear splash against my cheek. Except it wasn't mine.
Connor amazed me every day with the things he did. The insane athleticism that he had. The ginormous brain that he used to conquer math problems I could never dream of. But the one thing that I admired most about him, was his heart. The way he loved people and openly showed them affection was my favorite thing about Connor.
And here he was crying, over the birth of a baby he loved so much that he didn't care that it wasn't his. The baby could have been green, and Connor would have still thought it was the prettiest baby to ever be born.
"I love you." I said with a smile.
"I love you a trillion times more." Connor whispered with a watery grin.
A nurse appeared by my head with a bundle of pink wrapped in her arms. "Here she is, Momma. Congratulations." Since I wasn't able to actually hold her, the nurse lowered my baby and placed her on my chest.
I had never felt more whole than I did at that moment. The second I laid eyes on the little girl in front of me, I knew that everything would be okay. No matter what life threw at me or where I ended up, I had a baby girl who was going to love me simply because I was her mom. And I was going to be the best mom I could to her because I loved her just as much.
After I pressed a couple kisses to my baby's head, the nurse whisked her away so that she could check on her vitals and ensure that everything looked okay. Since she was born pre-term, they were going to run a few extra tests, but Dr. Raleigh assured me that she looked healthy and that I shouldn't worry.
"I have a name." I said as I turned to look at Connor.
"You do?" He asked. I had kept my list of names a secret from everyone – not even Layla had seen it – and everyone was always trying to get me to share at least the names I had crossed off.
I nodded. "Avery."
"That's a beautiful name, Hope."
"Avery Jean." I watched Connor's eyes well up with tears as I spoke again. "Your mom was one of the greatest people I've ever met and if I can be half the mom, she was, I'll be happy. For my baby to share a name with her means so much more than you'll ever know, C."
Connor swiped at the tear that was trailing down his cheek and shook his head. "She loved you so much Hope. She would be so proud of you; I just know she would be."
Soon after, I was being wheeled back into my room, where my parents, Layla, and siblings were waiting.
I wasn't sure if Raeanna would be here, and by the looks of it, she was just as nervous to be here, but I was glad she was. I wanted to put all of the arguing and hatred behind us. I just wanted my sister back.
Layla was by my side in an instant, squeezing my shoulders but careful to avoid my stomach. "I'm so proud of you, babe. I was out in the waiting room the whole time, pacing up and down the hallways. I'm shocked that I didn't wear a hole in the floor."
And as I laughed at my delirious best friend, I couldn't help but be grateful. I had all of my favorite people with me, I was healthy, and my baby was healthy. The plan that I had created for myself all those years ago may have gone completely haywire, but looking back now, I couldn't be more thankful that it had.
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