Unexpected connection [a Damian Priest story]

29 The second time around

I was relaxing in bed watching my husband lying on our bedroom floor doing push-ups and sit-ups. Mateo was having a blast and laughing the whole time while sitting on either Damian's legs or his back. This way Mateo was busy and Damian could work out at the same time. 

When Damian lifted Mateo up in the air with his strong arms like a weight and repeated it over and over again, our son giggled so much that I couldn't help but film the two of them exercising. I enjoyed it so much to see how the two of them interacted with each other. Mateo adored his father more every day.

"Are you having fun, monkey?" I asked him with a laugh.

"Yes!" he cheered loudly.

"Is Papi doing a good job?" I wanted to know.

"Yes!" he said again, beaming all over his face.

It was probably the last few hours that we spent together as a trio, because I had been having mild contractions on and off since that morning. However, they were not yet regular. The intervals between contractions ranged from 20 minutes to an hour. And also the strength varied strongly.

So while we waited for either the contractions to speed up or my water to break, we passed the time this way. Damian was a little tense, but tried not to let it show. I knew he was trying not to make me nervous. And I loved him for it. Although I had to say that I was much more relaxed than the first time. After all, I knew what to expect.

When the two were finished, Mateo crawled into bed with me and snuggled up to me. I slowly brushed his wild hair out of his forehead while Damian disappeared into the bathroom to freshen up.

"Mateo, who's that?" I asked, pointing to my stomach.

"Bebé." he said with a grin.

"That's right, honey. That's your little sister in there." I praised him.

"Bebé sis." he then said.

"Right. Mateo will soon be a big brother to Mica. The best big brother." I replied and gave him a kiss on the forehead.

"Mami loves you so much, monkey." I said as he snuggled up to me and put his little hand on my belly to see if his sister was moving.

While we didn't know how much Mateo understood about the whole thing, in those moments I hoped he was looking forward to having a sibling.

"How are you feeling?" asked Damian as he came out of the bathroom wearing only shorts.

"Pretty good. They're getting a little more regular. About every 25 minutes. I'll make Mateo dinner and then we'll put him to bed. I think then we can be on our way to the hospital." I explained to him.

"Okay... okay. I'll put the stuff in the car and call Kevin. Then he can get on his way. I can't believe it's almost time." he said so fast that his words almost overlapped.

"I know. Papi is nervous, Mateo," I said.

"Not nervous. Excited. Other than that, I'm fine." he replied, sitting down on the edge of the bed.

"Papá fine." repeated Mateo, climbing over my legs to join his father.

While we were waiting for Kevin to arrive, the contractions were now getting stronger and more painful every time. 

"Okay, baby boy. Be good for Kevin. Mami and Papi love you. And the next time we see each other you'll be a big brother." said Damian to Mateo as he laid him in his little bed.

"Love you." the little man replied.

"Don't worry about anything. I've got everything under control." Kevin assured us as we headed out of the house.

"Thanks, Kev. See you later." I gasped as the next contraction came. 

I quickly held onto Damian's hand and tried to breathe through the pain. When it went away again, my husband guided me to the car and helped me inside.

"You're doing great!" he kept repeating.

We had barely arrived at the hospital and were assigned a room when my water finally broke. I was examined and hooked up to the equipment so that the doctors could monitor the birth. At the moment it looked like it was going to be a little faster this time than with Mateo.

"It's time, Y/N. We can start delivering the baby. When you are ready you can start pushing." said the doctor who had already helped Mateo into the world.

And it did indeed go much faster. I only had to push 5 times until the first, very loud cries of Mica echoed through the room. They placed her on my chest and she was absolutely perfect. Just like her brother.

"She looks like you!" whispered Damian as he placed a kiss on my temple.

"Yes, it looks like it." I said tiredly.

"Time of birth 1:23 in the morning. May 14th. Do you have a name yet?" the doctor asked after Damian cut the umbilical cord.

"Micaela Solea Priest." I said proudly as I looked at our little sun.

"I love you, Y/N. And you, baby girl." Damian said to us and it was clear in his voice how emotional he was.

"Your girls love you too, Papi. I can't wait to see how Mateo likes his little sister." I replied softly as I placed my hand on Damian's cheek.

"Oh, she'll have him wrapped around her little finger. I'm sure of it." he smirked.