“But we got through it. You told me labor wasn’t that big of a deal. You’ve been shot enough times to know what real pain is like.”
“I’m an asshole, and I don’t know what I’m talking about.” She was a fighter and one of the strongest women he’d ever known.
“Marco?”
“Yeah?”
“I love you so much.”
“I love you too.”
His little girl opened her eyes. They were the brightest blue. She made a little noise, and it just melted his heart.
“What should we call her?” he asked.
“I don’t know. She is just so perfect in every single way.”
“Anna,” he said. “I want to call her Anna.”
“Anna Guidi. I like it.”
He kissed his wife, and he saw she was getting tired.
“Will you take her?” she asked. “You need to support her head.”
Marco took his little girl, holding her in his arms. He stared down at her beautiful face.
“You don’t need to be too stiff. She wants to feel loved and protected.”
He held her closer.
“That’s it, Daddy,” Petal said.
He looked at her, amazed.
“You’re a daddy now.”
“A husband and a father,” he said. “Wow.”
He heard her giggle.
“I’m tired.”
“You go to sleep. I’ll be here to keep an eye on the two of you.”
Petal nodded, her eyes falling closed. He heard her sigh.
“Marco?” she asked.
“Yes, baby.”
“Do you want another one?” she asked.
“You went through all of that and you want another?”
“A brother or sister for Anna.”
He lifted her hand to his lips, kissing her knuckles. “You’re going to be the death of me, woman.”
“Is that a yes?”
“You know I’ll give you whatever you want. You just got to say the word.”
“I want another child. I want to have a big family with you.”
“We’ll work on it soon.” He held her hand and kept Anna tucked closer against his chest. When the nurse came in, she didn’t say a word.
He wasn’t leaving his girls. This was where he was meant to be.
Loving them.
Protecting them.
Making sure their lives were complete and perfect.
He didn’t need anything else because they made his world worth everything.
The End