Knockout

Chapter 27

We've been waiting for about an hour now this morning. Instead of being in that awful waiting room, we're sitting with Maverick in his room. He's gonna be in bed for a few weeks from his liver donation. As for Ren, she was conscious for a little bit but fell back asleep. Dr. Torres says that she needs the rest. No one has seen Rule at all, he's been in and out of surgeries all night.

"How does Ren look?" Mavericks asks.

"She looks horrible." I tell him, sighing. "But she says she's feeling alright which is the important thing."

Maverick nods and leans back into the pillows. He's drifting to sleep, surgery takes a lot out of you. I rest my head on Marshall's shoulder, hugging his arm. He presses a kiss on my forehead and I shut my eyes for only a moment before they snap back open as Dr. Torres enters the room.

"Oh good you're here." She says, smiling at us. "I was going to take Maverick to see Bo." She glances at him and chuckles to herself. "I guess he's a little too tired for it. Would you two like to come?"

"Yeah." I say and stand up quickly.

Marshall rises too and holds my hand rather tightly as we follow her down a series of vast hallways. I think to myself that the NICU is very far away from where Rule and Ren are. Bo isn't and has never been within the vicinity of her parents.
I glance down at my hands and see Marshall's knuckles clenched tightly around mine. He's nervous, and I peck him on the cheek to reassure him. Finally, I see the door for the NICU and Torres hands us both trauma gowns. We tie the backs of each other's and then walk through the door.

"She's over here." Torres says and leads us to the back part of the NICU.

I feel my stomach drop as we get closer. We stop in front of a small crib-looking thing. And then I see her, she's a little smaller than usual but otherwise she looks normal. Even though she's just a baby, she's definitely Rule's daughter. There are distinct features of his in her already and she's not even a week old. I glance at Marshall, his eyes are fixated on her, I know he sees the similarities too.

"Would you like to hold her?" Dr. Torres offers.

We stare blankly at her for a couple seconds and then she laughs once. She grabs a blanket off a nearby table and loosely wraps Bo in it. She tells Marshall to sit in the chair next to her cradle and he obeys. Dr. Torres lifts Bo and places her in Marshall's waiting arms. I pull up a chair next to him.

"I have a surgery to get to, but stay as long as you like." She smiles and turns and walks out of the NICU.

Marshall holds her against his chest, his hand is easily close to size of the length of her body. He's captivated by her, resting his hand on her tiny stomach. Bo probably feels like she's encased in a heating blanket, Marshall runs very warm.

"She looks like her dad." He says quietly, careful not to wake her.

"Yes she does." I agree, resting my head on Marshall's shoulder.

"She's so small." He states, and Bo kicks her feet in her sleep.

"I think you're just big." I joke, and he laughs.

The rumble of his chest causes Bo to stir. She stretches her arms out of the blanket and let's out a squeaky yawn. When her hands fall back down, she grips Marshall's index finger. Her hand only reaches about halfway around, and he stares admiringly at her.

"She likes you." I say and he turns to look at me.

"Hold her." He urges, turning to give her to me but I stop him by touching his arms.

"She's comfortable." I explain, guiding his shoulders back to the chair. "I'll hold her later."

Marshall leans over and kisses my cheek quickly. Bo opens her mouth and let's out a faint cry. Everything she does is so...cute. But the cries persist, and without hesitation Marshall wraps the blanket over her body. He slides his hand up to support her neck and brings her up to kiss her forehead. He brings her back down to his chest and her crying ceases almost immediately.
Marshall leans down and I hear him whispering sweet little things to her. My heart aches, turning in my chest. He would've been a great father. All of a sudden I feel myself getting sad, and water building up behind my eyes. I can't help but cry, I wanted this with him so bad.
I try to keep quiet but he notices and his expression instantly transitions to one of worry. I turn away, quickly trying to halt these tears. Marshall gets up and begins to place Bo back in her crib.