••• THIRTY •••
Ashton

    I paced back and forth in the waiting room of the hospital as I tried to keep myself from freaking out. The doctors were working on Sophie and had just informed me they might have to do an emergency C-section in case something went wrong during her surgery. "Ash, please sit, man. Your pacing is making me nauseous." Patrick said, breaking me from my thoughts and I sighed as I collapsed into the chair next to Mrs. Lincoln.

  "She's barely seven and a half months pregnant, what's going to happen to her and our baby if she has to give birth today?" I asked shakily and Mrs. Lincoln took a slow deep breath as she grabbed my hand gently. I looked up at her and she gave me a reassuring smile.

  "She's going to be okay, Ashton. It's just a precaution, Sophie and the baby will be fine." She said it with so much conviction that I think she was trying to convince herself that what she said was true. I took in a deep breath as I nodded and squeezed her hand.

  "I just can't lose them. I love them both so much, just the mere thought I could lose either one of them..." I croaked out as tears welled in my eyes and Mrs. Lincoln nodded in understanding as a tear escaped from her eye.

  "You're not going to lose them, Ashton."

  "Mrs. Lincoln, Mr. Maverick?" I looked up to see a doctor jogging up to us and I immediately jumped from the chair.

  "What's wrong? Is Sophie okay?" I asked frantically and he nodded.

  "She's doing okay, but the baby is in distress and we are going to have to perform a C-section on her. I just wanted to inform you that your daughter will be born in the next couple of minutes. She'll be placed in the NICU for a little while, but once she's stable we'll take you back to see her." He gave me a small smile and then turned around back to the OR.

    Patrick placed his hand on my shoulder and I turned to look at him. "She's going to be okay, Ashton." He said sternly and I gave him a watery smile as I nodded.

  "We're having a little girl." I chuckled in disbelief as tears fell from my eyes and he pulled me in for a hug.

    Two hours later, I was pulled into the NICU and saw my daughter lying in an incubator. "Mr. Maverick, I'd like you to meet your little girl." The nurse smiled at me as approached the incubator with me trailing behind her. I stared down at her and felt like the wind had been stolen from my lungs. She was so unbelievably beautiful and so tiny. "Would you like to hold her?" She asked gently and I nodded eagerly as I watched her open the side of the incubator.

    Once she picked up my daughter, she walked over to me and I held out my hands eagerly as she gently placed her in my arms. I stood perfectly still as I grinned down at my little girl and tried not to move an inch because I was afraid to mess with any of the wires connected to her. "She's doing very well, but her lungs aren't fully developed yet so we have her in this incubator and on some medication to help her body develop more." I nodded as I leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss to her tiny forehead.

    I couldn't believe she was finally here. The second girl to turn my world upside down and had me instantly wrapped around her finer. "Do you two have any names picked up for your little girl?" The nurse asked and I sniffled as a tear escaped from my eye while I stroked my finger down my daughter's face.

  "Yes, her Mother and I agreed on naming her Aurora Catherine Maverick." I breathed out and she smiled at me as she nodded and typed it into the computer. It felt surreal to say her name out loud. It just made her feel even more real. "How is my wife?" I asked and the nurse bit her lip as she looked up at me. I know Sophie wasn't my wife yet, but I didn't care about formalities at this moment. All I cared was to find out how she was doing.

  "The last update I heard, was that the surgery was a success and that they'll be moving her into ICU in the next thirty minutes. The doctor will be in shortly to give you a better update on your wife's condition." She smiled at me and then stepped outside to find the doctor.

    Aurora made a little whining sound in my arms and I looked down to see a frown on her beautiful face. "Shoosh, sweet girl. Everything's going to be okay, Aurora. I promise." I said as I gently rocked her in my arms and the frown seemed to fade away as she fell back to sleep. The doctor then walked into the room and smiled at me.

  "Congratulations on your baby girl, Ashton." He said and I smiled as I looked down at Aurora.

  "She's beautiful, isn't she?" I asked, but I didn't really care if he agreed or not but he chuckled as he nodded.

  "She really is, I have an update on Sophie if you're ready to hear it." He sighed and I looked up at him.

  "Of course, please tell me."

  "So, the surgery went smoothly we were able to stop the bleeding in her abdomen, but we had to place in her a medically induced coma to see if the swelling on her brain would decrease in the next twenty-four hours." He informed me and I clenched my jaw as I grew anxious about hearing that she was in a coma.

  "Will she be okay?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper and he took in a slow breath as he slowly nodded his head.

  "As of right now, it's looking like she will make a full recovery as long as the swelling goes down." He said and I let out a little sigh of relief as I nodded.

  "Okay, so if the swelling goes down you'll take her out of the coma, right?"

  "Yes, we'll take her out of the coma. You'll be able to visit her as soon as she settles in the ICU." He said as he headed toward the door.

  "Thank you so much, Dr. Montgomery. Thank you for saving both my girls." He grinned at me as he nodded and waved before exiting the room.

  "Did you hear that, Rory? You'll be able to visit your Mommy as soon as she wakes up from her nap and I know she'll be head over heels in love with you like I am." I whispered and grinned down at Aurora who was sleeping peacefully in my arms.

    I couldn't wait for Sophia to wake up and meet our daughter and then I could finally ask her the question I've been dying to ask since this morning.