Give your heart a break (Code Black fan fiction)

Chapte 16

"I'll go and get some coffee" a rather tearful Jesse said wiping his eyes as he walked along the corridor.

"Don't worry, guys." Neal consoled as he let Lolly cry into his shoulder. "mum's going to be fine."

His son hugged him and tried to stop all of the tears from escaping his eyes.

"What about the baby? When can we see her?" Jackson was anxious, just like his mother would have been in the situation.

"It should be soon." He consoled him, barely believing his own words. He had never been a particularly optimistic person when it came to things like this.

"Dr Hudson....Neal ?" The midwife who had been helped with the birthing of the child and such walked up to them. She smiled at Jackson and Lolly who were snuggled up to their father. "She's stable, you can come see her now."

"Oh, thank god." The half an hour had been one of the longest of Neal's life. But when he and Jackson and Lolly walked in, time slowed down almost to a screeching halt.

It was like an otherworldly experience. The only thing Neal saw was his wife, holding his child, with Jackson and Lolly perking up at the sightly as well.

Jackson and Lolly was just excited to be a big sister and brother. Jackson and Lolly stood next to their mother's bed and just smiled at their new baby sister. She was so tiny!

Neal stood beside his oldest daughter and gave her a side hug. "How you feeling?" He asked his wife.

"Fantastic, thanks for asking." She laughed, the child in her arms squirming at the sudden movement.

"She's so little..." Jackson said, holding his hand out and watching as the baby wrapped a tiny little hand around the 6 year old's finger.

"I know." Leanne said, smiling. "But so were you, when you were born."

"I was?" Jackson didn't know that.

"Was I small too mom?" Lolly asked reaching out and placing her finger for the baby to hold.

"Yep, you both were." Leanne held the baby out a little. "You wanna hold her?"

"Yes!" Jackson sat down on the chair next to the bed and held his arms out and gently cradled the newborn child close to him, the tiny little person making a small cooing sound in response.

"What did you name her,?" Lolly asked the parents giddily.

"Madison Hudson." They answered in unison.

Lolly smiled. "Oh, right." Jackson looked back at the baby and could feel the little heartbeat through the thin hospital blanket. "Hi, Maddie! I'm your big brother! Welcome to the outside world!"

Everyone laughed quietly.

"Can I...?" Neal  gestured to Jackson, asking to hold Maddie.

"Here dad." he gently handed the baby off to their father.

Neal experienced another time-stopping flood of emotion. He almost couldn't comprehend the fact that he had made this little bundle of joy. "Hey, baby." He said.

His voice was soft and sweet, like none of them had ever heard before. There was a brief silence as Leanne and the kids watched their father for a moment. Jesse ended it, though, by poking his head into the room.

"One sec, let me take a picture!" Jesse moved to the foot of the bed and aimed the camera at her Leanne, Neal and the kids.
" seriously Jesse right now?" Leanne sighed.
" you look fine, you look how you always look after a long shift" Jesse Said calmly.
" great! That's just great" Leanne chuckled but winced in pain.
Neal handed Maddie back over to her mother, and leaned in grabbing Lolly and Jackson, wrapping his arms around them both as they smiled whilst Jesse photograph them.

"One, two, three, cheese!" Jesse said as he snapped the picture.

Maddie was now Angels memorial and Facebook official.

Madison Hudson was the newest member of the family

~a few months later~

"It's your turn." Leanne nudged Neal in the ribs - by accident - signaling to her husband that he needed to get his ass out of bed to get the baby. Who was crying, again. By again, I mean for the second time in that night alone.

"Uh, fine." He groaned as he sat up in bed and headed, groggily, I might add, for the baby's room.

She was in her crib, crying, as per usual. "Come on, Maddie. Mommy and Daddy need some sleep!" He told the infant, as if it might get her to be quiet.

No such luck.

He sighed and picked her up, and the three month old immediately became silent.

Neal walked into the living room, sat down on the couch and rocked his daughter back and forth, trying to make her go back to sleep.

No such luck.

Maddie remained wide awake, but silent, as she laid her tiny little body calmly against her father's strong chest.

And when Leanne woke up that next morning, they were still lying on the couch. Neal was laying down, using the armrest of the couch as a pillow, with Maddie lying on his stomach, using her father as a pillow.

Leanne just smiled, lifted the baby off of Neal and put little Maddie to bed.

Then She decided to take the child's place, and laid on top of her husband. His arm moved onto her lower back, but he didn't move in any other way.

"I love you." Leanne said, knowing that Neal was awake.

"Of course you do." Neal responded. "And I love you, too." Then the couple fell back asleep, the first long rest they had had in months, thanks to Madison Hudson.