MacGyver Imagines

"He Didn't Have to Be"

A/N: Hello Wattpad world! I hope you're all doing well. This is a story that I came up with a while ago, and I've finally finalized it in a way that makes me happy. 😊 Of course, I hope you all enjoy reading it! Let me know what you think in the comments below. 💚💚💚
Song: "He Didn't Have to Be" by Brad Paisley
Rating: Everyone

***Bradley's POV***

***20 years in the future***

I've never loved hospitals. To me, they've always represented the worst moments in a person's life. Until now, I've never realized all of the beautiful moments that can take place in a hospital - patients finally being discharged home after a long stay, countless lives saved in ERs and operating rooms, and new lives beginning as new parents hold their children for the first time.

This late at night, the hallway of the maternity wing is bathed in stark quietness. Of course, it probably should be at three o'clock in the morning. But, we all know that babies don't like to wait for normal working hours to arrive.

As I'm walking out through the doors to the waiting room, I have to stop in my tracks, overwhelmed by the miracle that I witnessed only moments ago. I'm a father. I simply can't believe it. It isn't until now that it's truly starting to sink in.

When I reach the little room, hands still shaking slightly and eyes tired, my mom's head snaps up from her position on one of the green and blue linoleum chairs. She instantly stands when she sees me, bringing her hands in front of her chest as if her heart is about to burst with excitement. Anxious energy radiates from her posture, and I can tell she's silently wondering if she's officially a grandmother.

I break out into an exhausted smile. "She's here. She's really here, Mom. You have a granddaughter."

Her face lights up with pure elation, and her arms immediately fly around my neck, embracing me in the tightest hug. "Oh, Bradley, I am so proud of you." When she pulls away, there are glossy tears in her eyes - the kind eyes of my loving mother, which are only slightly wrinkled with age.

"Thanks, Mom."

"How is she? And how's Ainsley?" She begins to spout a thousand questions all at once.

"Ainsley is perfect. And the baby's perfect - she's got ten perfect little fingers and ten perfect little toes."

A small smile escapes from the corner of her lips. "Awww. I am so over the moon for you lil' bear!" She embraces me in the tightest hug once more, and a small chuckle escapes my throat.

"Mom, I'm a grown man."

"But, you will always be my lil' bear, even when you're sixty." When she pulls back again, a melancholy visage has overcome her features. "I remember so clearly the day you were born. Your father and I were so overwhelmed."

"Overwhelmed seems like an understatement right now," I admit.

"Bradley, you and Aisley are going to be just fine. Your dad and I had a million anxieties about being responsible for a new little life. But, more than anything, we were overwhelmed with love. Gosh, he would be so proud of you, my darling."

"I know, Mom. He'd be proud of you, too," I whisper in her ear. "You know that?" She nods, her lip quivering. A half smile spreads across my lips. "So, what do you say? Do you want to meet your granddaughter?"