“Go with her,” I tell Nikolai, knowing how badly he wants to keep her in sight. He gives me a kiss and promises to come back with her as soon as possible. I watch them both leave and immediately feel the pain of their loss.
As soon as the nurses and Doctor Reed are sure everything is okay and I’m unhooked from everything, I’m wheeled into a different room. One of the nurses helps me into a clean gown and lets me know I’ll probably still be numb for a couple more hours, even though the epidural catheter was removed already. I’m going to enjoy the last few moments of not feeling how sore my poor vagina is.
When Nikolai comes back in, pushing our now freshly scrubbed little girl, I’m more than ready to have the two of them back with me. I smile at Nikolai’s beaming face.
“How many photos have you taken already?”
He laughs and wheels Katya right next to me. “Probably a few hundred,” he admits, not looking even the tiniest bit embarrassed about it. “I’ve also sent them to everyone.”
I laugh and then groan when he pulls his phone out and starts to take photos of me. “Please tell me you’re not going to send those out to everyone.”
“I should because you look beautiful, and I’m so damn proud of you, but I’ll keep them just for me if you want.”
He puts the phone away and sits down beside me, looking at Katya as her eyes drift closed.
“I never knew I could love anyone as much as I love you. The second I saw her, I was a goner, though.” He looks at me and smiles. “She’s even more beautiful than I imagined.”
“She is,” I agree, resting my hand on her chest. She’s swaddled tightly in a blanket, and the little pink cap they put her in looks so adorable on her. “I see so much of you in her.”
He beams like it’s the highest praise anyone could give him. “I see a lot of you in her, too. She has your green eyes,” he says with a wink.
“And your mouth and black hair.”
“She’s perfect,” he says, and I nod in agreement because she absolutely is.
I lean back in the bed, feeling the last few hours catch up with me as a wave of complete exhaustion washes over me. Nikolai leans down and kisses my softly.
“Thank you for being so amazing and for making me a father and giving me a family that I never even let myself dream I could have.”
I rest my palm against his gorgeous face and smile. “You’re welcome, but please don’t ask me to do that again for at least a couple of years because that really, really hurt.”
He laughs and says, “Deal. She will need a younger brother to boss around at some point, though.”
I smile and close my eyes, knowing I need to take every second of rest I can get. The next twenty-four hours is a whirlwind of joy and exhaustion. I’m more than ready to go home, but I have to wait until tomorrow night. To cheer me up, Nikolai comes in carrying presents.
“This one is from Gina and Dmitri,” he says, holding up a giant pink bag with a cute stuffed bear sticking out of it. “And this is from Aleksei and Jamie.” He holds up a similar bag, except this one has a stuffed dog. “They didn’t want to bother you in the hospital, but they all said they couldn’t wait to meet Katya and for us to call them when we get home and you’re ready for visitors.”
I smile at him and then look down at our daughter who’s happily nursing and doesn’t seem to give the slightest damn about getting two bags of presents.
“Open them up so we can see.”
He laughs, knowing this is all for our benefit and digs into Aleksei’s bag. I ooh and aah over the cute, pink outfits and little baby headbands with knitted flowers that Jamie has obviously picked out. When he gets to Dmitri’s bag, he opens the card and laughs.
“It says that one of the outfits is a joke, but that they’d be thrilled if we wanted her to wear it anyway. He adds at the bottom that it’s only a matter of time before it becomes a reality.”
I look at Nikolai who looks just as confused as I do. He opens the bag and pulls out several cute outfits and baby blankets and a beautiful silver frame for us to put a family photo in. When he pulls out the last pink onesie, Nikolai breaks out into a deep laugh and says something in Russian before flipping it around so I can see.
Future Mrs. Volkovais written across the front in white letters. As soon as I see it, I burst out laughing, startling Katya who gives a soft whimper at being interrupted during her meal.
“I see they’re already planning a future for Katya and Seryozha.”
“They will be very close in age and will see each other all the time.”
I sigh and smile at him. “You realize how careful we’re going to have to watch the two of them when they’re teenagers?”
Nikolai shudders at the thought. “God, you’re right. I can feel my hair turning grey just thinking about it.”
“You’ve got plenty of time to get used to the idea of her dating,” I remind him. “She’s not even three days old yet.”