The Right One

Two

The news about his niece's arrival could not have come at a better time for Raymond. He had just concluded a promising deal and had called his brother to deliver the good news only for his brother to drop the news about his wife's delivery instead. He had been out of the country at the time and had been tempted to abandon everything else and fly back home to see the bundle of joy that had just been added to their family.

Every other thing from that moment on seemed to be in a blur as his mind was focused only on the fact that his favorite couple just had a baby. Sophie had been heavily pregnant when he'd left and he'd had a feeling she was due anytime soon so the news hadn't come as such a surprise.

It took him three days before he was in the clear to fly back home. He'd immediately booked a flight back and was currently ringing the doorbell to his brother's house, waiting for someone to open the door.

On cue, the door swung open and before he could process it, his niece, Angel was flinging herself at him.

"Uncle Ray!" Angel exclaimed, her hands wrapping around him in a vice like grip.

"Hey darling." Raymond grinned, lifting her up for a proper hug. "Hmm, I've missed you so much."

"Me too!" Angel exclaimed before jumping back down. "You have to see Angel junior. She's so cute!"

Raymond couldn't resist laughing. "Angel junior? Please tell me you didn't give her that name."

Angel grinned sheepishly before turning on her heels and bounding up the stairs. Everything about her mood screamed 'super hyper'. "Everyone's upstairs, hurry up."

Angel was fast on her feet and was already at the top of the stairs before she even finished her sentence. She'd inherited the height that ran in the family so she had the long legs to grace it. At fourteen, she was taller than most of her peers and was always so vibrant and bubbly.

Raymond followed her up the stairs as Angel led him into a room that formerly belonged to him. He guessed that it had probably been converted into the nursery.

Angel swung the door open and announced, "Uncle Ray's here!"

Two pairs of eyes focused on him as Raymond was faced with the remaining members of his family.

"Hey." It was his sister-in-law, Sophie that approached him first and he was once again wrapped into another warm hug.

"Hey," Raymond replied, hugging her briefly before pulling away to observe her. "How are you feeling? Are you even supposed to be walking around yet?"

Sophie rolled her eyes before hitting him lightly on the shoulder. "You and Alex are brothers alright. The hospital discharged me because I'm fine, you know."

"Yeah, but still . . ." Raymond still felt uneasy. How could someone who'd just ejected a life human be so agile in just three days?

"Don't even bother," Alex interrupted, walking over to give his brother a firm shoulder pat. "She won't listen anyway."

"Right," he agreed, moving closer to the crib where 'Angel junior' was sleeping. She looked so tiny and peaceful lying there covered with a shawl, the gentle and steady rise of her chest indicating she was asleep. Raymond couldn't see her full features but from what he saw, the baby looked like her mother. "She's so beautiful."

"She is, isn't she?" Alex said beside him and Raymond didn't miss the tone of pride in it. "You should see her while she's awake though, a real terror."

Raymond chuckled, his eyes still fixed on the baby. "It's hard to imagine."

"Don't worry. You'll be here when she wakes up. You'll see for yourself then," Sophie stated with a chuckle. "If not for mum and Hope . . . It's been just three days and I'm wondering already how I'd have survived."