It has been three weeks since her accident and I truly have no idea how I managed everything.
21 days of pure desperation and fear of losing her.
Our whole plan sucked now and I had to figure out how to handle school and fatherhood.
Alone.
Even though her parents and my mother were very supportive, I can’t help it but miss her.
Not only her strength and her smart mind but so much more.
I miss how she looks at me every time our eyes meet.
I miss how the way she looks at me, is so full of love and more than I have ever deserved.
I miss how I can always make her laugh, no matter what.
I miss how she cups her face when she laughs because she thinks she looks ridiculous.
I miss her motivating mood, no matter what time it is.
I just miss her. All of her.
Clay and the others tried to be supportive and helped me out with school and missing classes because I spend every damn day at the hospital.
Her daughter always by my side.
The baby has been surprisingly easy and slept a lot.
Sometimes I wonder if she feels that her mom isn’t here to support me so she takes it easy on me.
Today I pick her up from my mom after school.
“How is she doing?”, I look down at her in the crib and my mom smiles lightly while touching my upper arm.
“It’s like you said. She’s sleeping like an angel. She probably really misses her mom.”, she sighs and I nod before I pick her up and take her diaper bag.
“Gonna go to the hospital. Check on her. Maybe she finally wakes up.”, I sigh and my mom nods with a smile an I leave the house and put my daughter in the baby seat before I make my way.
It’s funny.
She’s 21 days old but doesn’t has a name yet.
I couldn’t bring myself to name her without Y/N.
Shortly after we reach the hospital and I park the car before I take the baby with me and enter the hospital.
“Mr. Dempsey?”, a nurse approaches me on my way to Y/N’s room and I stop to look at her.
“Yeah, that’s me. What is it?”, my voice is nothing than a whisper because I fear that there a more bad news to come.
“I just wanted to hand you over Ms. Y/L/N bag. The police dropped it off.”, she smiles and hangs it over my shoulder, next to the diaper bag.
I nod as a thank you before I head over to Y/N’s room and place the baby seat on the floor next to the bed while I drop the bags off my shoulder.
A few minutes later my daughter is sleeping in my arm while the other hand holds a peace of paper.
Found it in her bag, titled with two words: Baby names
But I couldn’t bring myself to look at her ideas until now.
They were her ideas and looking at them now feels like a betrayal.
She wanted to tell me the night of the accident and was so excited because of it.
“Wanna find out your name, sweet girl?”, I eventually decide look at my daughter’s face and she yawns as an answer.
She’s the most precious baby ever.
Big eyes, little nose and she’s so small.
I didn’t know baby’s could be this small.
A little chuckle escapes my mouth and I fold the piece of paper open.
Several names are written down and crossed out.
Anna. Louisa. Jane. Katherine. Penelope.
Obviously she didn’t like any of these names, except one.
Elisabeth.
It’s the only name not crossed out but marked with a big heart.
“Elisabeth. That’s your name honey. You hear that.”, I place a soft kiss on my daughter’s head when suddenly, there is movement in the bed.
I shoot up and look at Y/N, while her eyes start to flicker.
“Y/N? Babe?”, I ask hopefully and finally, after what feels like an eternity, she opens up her beautiful Y/E/C eyes.
The same eyes Elisabeth has.
“Zach?”, her voice is nothing more than a whisper and I can’t help it but laugh and cry at the same time.
Laugh, because she really thinks about me first thing.
Cry, because of the joy that she’s awake again.
“Thank god.”, I bend over and place a hard kiss on her lips.
And even though her lips are dry and she lost a lot of weight in these past weeks, she looks amazing and kissing her tastes like heaven.
“Let me get the doctor.”, I mumble but she reaches for my free hand and carefully shakes her head.
“The baby?”, her voice is shaky and I remember the bundle of life in my arm before I nod and hand our daughter into her arms.
Careful, to not hurt any of them.
“That’s our daughter.”, she whispers and tears start streaming down her face while she holds Elisabeth as close as possible.
“I am never gonna leave you again. I promise.”, she places kisses on her face and I quickly wipe away a tear of joy.
Seeing her with her daughter seems like it was always meant to be.
Like the both of them are pieces of a puzzle that fit together perfectly.
But the guilt is consuming her right now and I have to fix that eventually.
A few minutes later the doctor comes in and examines Y/N while I keep our daughter from crying because they took her away from her mom.
“I have to say, Ms. Y/L/N I am happy to see you alive. Your internal injuries healed very well and your head trauma seems to be overcome. I want to keep you here for another few days but after that, you can leave.”, he smiles and leaves us alone again.
“Give her to me, I wanna feed her.”, Y/N smiles and I hand her over after she managed to sit up, so she can feed Elisabeth.
“I’m sorry.”, she looks over to me and I shake my hand while grabbing her free hand.
“Don’t you say that. It’s not your fault. The most important thing is, that you’re back with us again.”, I smile and give her hand a gently push.
“I love you. So much Y/N.”, I smile and she smiles back at me, before looking down on her daughter.
“And I love you too. More than you know.”
One and a half week later Y/N was able to leave the hospital and to go back to school.
“You okay?”, I look over to her and she nods with a smile on her face.
“Do you have any idea how good it feels to see these ugly walls of the school again?”, she laughs and I couldn’t agree more.
“Hey how did you know the baby’s name, by the way? I haven’t had a chance to tell you before the accident.”
“Funny story actually….I went through your stuff?”, I grin and she smiles even brighter before she gives me a kiss on my cheek.
“I can’t believe I’m saying it but: Thank you. Would have kicked your ass if you haven’t named our daughter before I wake up.”, she laughs again and we happily walk into the school together.
We made it.
Despite life throwing us stones every step of the way, we managed to make it.
Y/N is alive. Our daughter is healthy and a happy baby.
And even the college guys promised to come back, they understood why I wasn’t there and gave me another chance.
Everything will be fine.
Now that I have Y/N back, we will be unstoppable.
