"EVERYTHING IS IN there, right? The extra change of clothes, toiletries..." I asked Milo as I began going through my mental checklist, waddling to the car as I couldn't see the ground below me.

"Just relax, Hads. I double checked and made sure everything was in here," Milo replied calmly, the giant, blue duffel with floral print slung over his shoulder as he opened the passenger door for me.

This was it. My water had broke.

"Thanks, Milo." I hopped in as Milo quickly rounded the hood and started up the car. He pulled out of the parking structure of our condo complex as I stared out of the window, excitement building up inside as I thought about how in hopefully a few hours, Milo and I were going to meet our first child.

"You doing okay, babe?" Milo asked as we were ten minutes away from the hospital, our intertwined hands resting on my leg as Milo kept one firm hand on the wheel.

"Yeah, I'm fine for now," I reassured him, sporting a soft smile.

We reached the hospital and went through the Emergency Room entrance. A nurse quickly showed us to a room and hooked me up to monitors, making sure that the baby's health was in good condition while keeping an eye on mines as well.

After finally settling in, the nurses making sure that I was relaxed and comfortable as much as possible, I asked Milo, "Did you call everyone?"

"Yeah, they're all trying to book last minute flights to JFK airport," Milo said, seemingly a bit out of breath. He pulled one of the chairs in the room beside the bed and sat down, running a hand through his hair.

Seeing that he was overwhelmed from the sudden change of pace and needed some comfort, I reached my hand out to him, which he gladly took and pressed a few soft kisses on the back of my hand, our hands resting on the bed as he held mines firmly. "You're gonna be a dad," I smiled, hoping that the level of his excitement matched mine.

"I know, and you're gonna be a mom," he beamed back a bright smile, "the best one in the world."

"I love you, Milo." I leaned forward and brought out intertwined hands to my lips, placing a soft kiss on the back of his hand.

"I love you, Hadley," he reached up, closing his eyes as he pressed another kiss to my forehead and added, "so much."

∞

HOURS HAD PASSED since we first arrived. The doctors and nurses came in regularly, checking to see if I had dilated to ten centimeters yet. But to no avail, I was still stuck in labor, epidural now needed as the discomfort becoming more distinguished.

"I'm here," Ava puffed as she burst into the room, slightly out of breath with a small duffel slung over her shoulder. "Where is it?"

"Did you just call my baby an it?" I chuckled, amusement evident in my inflection.

"Well, we don't know the gender, so what else am I supposed to call it?" Ava teased, calling my soon-to-be-born baby an "it" again as she settled her bag down in an empty chair and joined me and Milo.

"A baby?" I said rhetorically, a smile still lingering on my lips at Ava's words, grateful that her humorous comment helped take my mind off the pain for a split second. "Anyways, the baby hasn't been born yet, we're still waiting."

"Hurry up, little nugget. We're all waiting for you out here," Ava cooed as she bent down to talk to my belly.

"Where's Hunter?" I questioned as Ava straightened back up, feeling a contraction coming on.

"He had to make a last minute business trip to London and can't come to see the baby," Ava pouted, disappoint written on her face. Although it was a bit disheartening, I understood his circumstance, running a photography company that had recently expanded across the globe.

Dr. Reynolds, the OB-GYN, entered and introduced herself to Ava before checking up on me and the baby. "Hmm, well it seems like you're dilated to ten centimeters but I think we may have to do a C-section. The baby's position is abnormal, meaning that the baby's feet is at the entrance of the birth canal when the head should be there instead."

After Dr. Reynolds called in for a few nurses to help her out, I was wheeled into the operating room with Milo by my side, the only person, that wasn't a part of the medical staff, allowed inside with me.

Twenty minutes later, tears welled in my eyes as I heard a loud cry, Milo lingering next to me as he comforted me throughout the whole process.

"It's a girl." A nurse said as she quickly showed me my newborn baby before briskly taking her away. Euphoria flowed throughout my entire body as I heard the nurse utter those words. Although I didn't mind if we ended up having a boy, I had secretly wished for a girl.

The nurse turned to Milo and asked, "Would you like to cut the umbilical cord?"

He nodded and tentatively listened to the nurse as she instructed him on what to do. Milo returned back to my side and whispered into my ear before placing a kiss on my forehead, "She's beautiful."

After returning me to my room and performing all of the necessary check-ups, they returned her to me as I swaddled her in my arms, pressing her close against my bare chest as Milo and I stared down at her wrapped in a blanket like a burrito. Wearing a pink hat, she slightly fidgeted as her eyes remained closed.

"She's finally here," Ava squealed quietly with a giant grin as she entered the room, careful not to wake up the baby. "Did you two decide on a name yet?" asked Ava curiously, knowing that Milo and I had long discussions of possible names.

I nodded just as she began to open her eyes, staring as she looked up at me.

"She has your eyes," Milo commented with a smile, stroking her cheek with his finger before kissing her lightly on the forehead.

"What's her name?" Ava asked curiously as she smiled at the baby. I booped her nose and made a silly face at her as she continued to stare up at me with big brown doe eyes.

"Kalani Jensen."

Note: The name Kalani is of Hawaiian origin meaning "the heavens, sky , or royal one".