The Final Countdown

Chapter 20

Maddie

Everything that followed after Ethan's phone call had been a blur.

Cameron and I barely had time to discuss our plans, but we finally decided for me to fly out to Phoenix first. With my job just starting, my boss was surprisingly okay with me taking three days off. And with football taking up the majority of Cameron's calendar, he had to hang back until he would be able to find time himself to fly out.

The flight had been quick. As soon as I landed, I took a taxi to the hospital, and now, riding up the elevator to the maternity wing, I'm nervous. My own birthing experience with Izzy hadn't been the best. Her heart stopped beating on the monitors, so they rushed me to an emergency c-section. I'll never forget the agony of waiting for her to cry. Waiting to see if my daughter would be okay. Wondering why the hell I never told Cameron as they cut me open, wishing he were beside me, whispering reassuring sentiments in my ear.

The doors open, and I let out a shaky breath as I walk to the front desk. Ethan hasn't called me since he spoke several hours ago with Cameron, so I have no idea if she's still in labor or not. The woman at the reception desk gives me her room number because I've apparently been on the list of approved guests, and I practically sprint down the hallway to the correct room.

Whatever state Maya is in on the other side of this door won't matter to me. She was beside me every step of the way, and while she didn't fill Cameron's role completely, she did a damn good job of trying to do so. Not only do I have an obligation to her, I have an obligation to my brother.

Giving the door a gentle crack, I slip inside, eyeing the blue curtain hanging from the ceiling that's covering the bed. There's not a baby crying, and no one is speaking. Almost immediately, my heart drops into my stomach, and the anxiety coils tightly in my gut. I can't wait any longer, so I rip the curtain open, stilling at the sight in front of me.

Maya is asleep on the bed with my brother curled up beside her, a hand draped over her stomach as they both cradle...a perfectly healthy baby boy. Ethan smiles lazily at me, the proud grin of a new father, and it shouldn't make me emotional, but it does. I wonder what Cameron's face would have looked like if he had been in that surgery room with me.

"He was born a little over an hour ago," he whispers. Bags lay heavily beneath his blue eyes, his mop of blonde hair a mess on his head, but he's never looked happier. "Do you want to hold him?"

I nod and tentatively take a step closer to the bed, tears pricking in the backs of my eyes at the overwhelming joy I feel for both of them. "As long as it won't wake her. She needs the sleep."

Ethan quietly scoffs. "This woman can sleep through anything. Trust me." He gently removes Maya's arm, which was placed over his, and sits up straighter in the bed as I step up beside him, reminding myself of how to correctly hold a newborn. The minute that baby boy is tucked safely in the crook of my elbow, my heart melts into a tiny puddle right here on the hospital floor.

It's amazing how this brings a completely different feeling than when I held my daughter for the first time. This baby boy, my nephew, is a mixture of my best friend and my brother. Two people I love with every ounce of my being created something so beautiful. "He's absolutely perfect, Ethan," I whisper, stroking my nephew's chubby, pink cheeks.  "You guys did good. Really good."

"I'd like to think so," he says, a hint of proudness in his tone.

I sit down in one of the plastic chairs, continuing to stroke his cheeks. He's swaddled in a hospital blanket with a hat covering his head and ears, but already, he has Maya's tan complexion, and his nose looks just like a button—Ethan's nose.