I stripped off my shirt, leaving me bare-chested, and sat in the comfortable chair that I assumed was here for nursing mothers or for fathers to do this exact thing.
The nurse handed her to me, and I cradled her to my chest. Her little face nuzzled my skin, her mouth opening and closing. She didn’t wake, though.
“Hello, little one. I’m your uncle, Jayden.”
I wished Ivy was here to see this. What would she think?
To my surprise, I found myself relaxing with the baby. Poor Hallie, missing out on her daughter’s first hours. She was going to hate that she wasn’t awake for this.
“I’m sorry your mummy hasn’t been able to hold you yet,” I told the baby. “But she will soon. Very soon.”
I hoped I was right.
***
THE TIME CAME TO SWAPover again. I went to relieve Tam.
“How’s the baby?” he asked.
“Good. I held her while she slept. She’s really cute. I wish Hallie was awake to meet her.”
We both turned to my sister’s bed.
Hallie’s eyes fluttered open.
Tam was there in an instant, taking her hand. “Hallie? It’s okay, sweetheart. I’m here.”
“Tam?” she said. “What happened?”
Then her memory must have come back to her as her eyes widened and she reached to her belly. “The baby? Oh God. Where’s my baby?”
She tried to sit up.
“She’s fine,” Tam said. “The baby is fine. She’s just in the NICU for observations. She had a little trouble breathing at first, but she’s healthy.”
Hallie fell back against the bed. “Thank God.”
“You were the one we’ve all been worried about,” he said. “You gave us hell of a scare.”
“What happened?”
“You haemorrhaged. Something about the blood vessels where the placenta was attached not clotting. I don’t know any more details than that, but you’ve been given a lot of blood.” He nodded to the drips still feeding into her veins.
“I want to see my baby. Did you say it’s a girl?”
He smiled. “Yes, a baby girl. Seven pounds five ounces, with a head of curly black hair.”
She returned the smile. “Lots of hair? That’ll explain all the heartburn then. I’m blaming that on you.”
He laughed and squeezed her hand. “I’m just glad you’re okay. I couldn’t have done this on my own, Hallie. You know that, don’t you. I don’t work without you anymore, and I sure as hell wouldn’t have a clue about how to take care of a newborn baby.”
“That makes two of us then.”
Tam glanced over his shoulder at me. “Jayden’s here, too. He’s been helping to look after the baby.”
Hallie smiled, though it was tired. “Jayden with a baby? Never.”
I grinned at my sister. “I guess I’ve surprised you.”