Fall Into Place (Taking the Fall 5)

I let go of her face and she turns her attention back to the doctor. “Let’s do this.” She grips the sides of the bed and takes a few short breaths before bearing down and pushing hard.

“That’s it, Nika. Push, push, push!”

I knead her lower back with my fist, helping with the contraction and mentally cheering her on. She can do it, she’s got it.

She lets out a cry at the same time the baby does, and we all breathe a sigh of relief. Leaning down, I take her face in my hands and kiss her hard. Our tears mix together as we both hear the sound of our baby crying for the first time. Quickly, we break apart, anxious to see him or her. We didn’t find out beforehand. We wanted a surprise.

“Congratulations, Mom and Dad. It’s a boy.”

The doctor passes our baby boy over to Nika, and she wraps her arms around him, and I wrap my arms around them both.

We decided after last year when Nika got shot it was time to hang up the cuffs. Luckily for both of us, it just grazed her leg, but the thought of something worse sat hard with us. We’d been talking about wanting a baby for a long time, and this was just the sign we needed. Our families had pushed for us to stop long ago, but we wanted it to be on our own terms. After that it wasn’t a hard decision.

Nika and I moved back to my home because we wanted to be close to family when we had kids. Nika’s mom and dad followed, settling down a few hours away from us, wanting to be close to their grandkids when we got around to having them. It didn’t take me long to put my baby in her, and Nika says I’m too proud of that fact. I just keep telling her my seed is strong, and she rolls her eyes.

Now after the doctor has left and the nurses have taken care of everything, we’re left alone with our son. I’m laid on the hospital bed beside Nika, cradling her and our baby next to me. I couldn’t possibly be more happy and in love than I am right now.

“Samuel Viktor,” Nika says, gently touching his cheek.

“It’s a strong name. I think it will suit him if he’s anything like his mama.”

Nika looks at me and smiles. Seeing how happy she is makes everything worthwhile.

I kiss her forehead and tuck her under my chin, looking down on my little family. I know the rest of our families will be in here in a few minutes, so I’m just enjoying the quiet time with just us.

I couldn’t be more thankful for meeting Nika and having her as my wife and partner. She’s my rock, my world, and my reason for living. I give her another kiss on her forehead and entwine our fingers. One day I hope to find the words to tell her all of this, but until then I’ll just keep showing her.