Chapter Six
Madeline
At three in the morning of January 14th, I woke up to stumble into the bathroom and felt an unmistakable feeling of rushing liquid. Trying to remain calm, I went back and woke Carlos up.
"¿Qué?" He muttered as I shook his arm.
"My water just broke."
Eyes opened slowly, and he blinked at me, tired. I groaned. Carlos was not a morning person.
"My water just broke, Carlos. The baby is coming today."
That got a response. He sat up in bed. "How long have you been in labor?!"
"My water just broke. We have a while. But will you make me some food? They're only going to give me ice chips at the hospital."
He nodded, getting up and throwing on some pants. "What do you want?"
"Something light. Piece of toast, half an orange, and some water?"
He nodded. "It'll be ready before you know it."

I sat on the couch, carefully nibbling at everything he brought me, watching the time between contractions and watching Disney movies while we waited. The bag was ready to go, car seat secured, and Carlos was ready to go as well, somewhat twitchy every time I checked my watch to time the contractions.
Finally, after a really uncomfortable contraction at the end of Brave, I looked at my watch and nodded. "About five and half minutes, and it's really starting to ache. Time to go."
He nodded, grabbing the go bag and helping me out to the car. "Do you want me to call anyone?"
I shook my head. "Call them afterwards, unless something happens. I don't want them to all be waiting for me to do something."
"Alright."

Carlos
About the time Maddie's swearing went from a whisper to a growl, the nurse came in to check on the progress and nodded. "Okay, dad, it's time to put on some scrubs. We're moving to delivery."
Maddie was wheeled away as I quickly got into the scrubs and followed the nurse. Once inside, I took a spot next to Maddie's head, holding her hand. "How's it going?"
"Stand too close to me and I'll punch your fucking nose." She muttered, and then gave another push. "Fuckin' hell!"
"I see the head, Madeline. Push as hard as you can with the next contraction."
Her hand practically crushed mine with the next contraction. "Bloody hell!" She screamed.
Another push, another push. That was what our world had become. For a few more seconds, there was only two of us, fighting against the pain and praying for a safe delivery.
"One final push, Madeline."
I held her hand as tightly as I could, and a final scream tore its way from her body, just as a tiny cry rose above it.
Maddie and I both snapped to attention, and Maddie spoke first. "What is it?"
A nurse smiled. "You have a little girl."
Maddie reached for the girl, smiling, and we both got the first glimpse of our daughter, scrunched up tiny face and all. "Hello, Alejandra. Hello!"
The placenta was delivered, and I cut the cord, probably to give me a vague feeling of effort in the delivery of my daughter. After that, she was placed back into Maddie's arms.
The whole world could have frozen and we wouldn't have noticed. Alejandra's tiny cries were everything to us right now.
"Hey Alejandra. I'm your daddy." I whispered, looking at the coppery skin and black curly hair. Madeline smiled.
Once they took her to a private room, I slipped out and called some numbers. It was about four in the afternoon. First I called Arthur and Francis.
Francis answered. "Bonjour, Carlos. How are you?"
"I'm fine, actually, better than fine. Maddie just gave birth."
Francis was silent for a second and then shrieked in delight. "Oh, mon fille has given us a grandchild, Arthur!"
I heard a shout from the Englishman, and Francis spoke again. "A boy or a girl?"
"A little girl. Alejandra Madeline Muchado."
"Arthur, a girl!"
I managed to translate the shouts of the Englishman into something along the lines of We'll be right there, and Francis said the same before hanging up the phone.
Next I called Alfred and Ivan, and Alfred picked up. "Yeah?"
"You have a niece." I said. "Alejandra Madeline Muchado."
Silence, than a happy shout of joy. "How big is she?"
"Seven pounds, twelve ounces. Eighteen inches long."
"I'll be there as soon as Ivan gets home. See you then!"
Returning to the room, Maddie looked up. "You called everyone?"
"Everyone except Sofia. I thought you'd want to make that call."
Madeline took the phone and dialed the number while I looked at our daughter. A tiny wristband read Madeline W. Bonnefoy-Kirkland.
"Just in case we lose her, I guess." I said, looking at her. "Hi, Alejandra. You're going to be one of the best things in my life."
Maddie hung up the phone. "Sofia's on her way."
I nodded. "Let's enjoy the moment of silence while we can."

Madeline
Two anxious grandfathers arrived first, and papa cooed over her. "Copper skin, your curly hair, Madeline. Big brown eyes."
Dad, looking a little awkward, patted me on the shoulder. "She's a cute kid."
"Dad, don't you want to hold your granddaughter?" I asked.
Dad looked at me in shock, and then stepped forward. Papa, getting the message, picked Alejandra up and carefully set her in dad's arms.
"She's... she's beautiful, Maddie." He finally managed to get out, trying not to cry at the tiny little girl in his arms. "I'm your grandpa Arthur, Alejandra."
Sofia came next, and took some pictures, putting together the birth announcements while we sat there. She was quiet and didn't ask to hold Alejandra. I suspected she was trying to give us some space so we could all have some time with the baby while not overwhelming her.
Alfred suddenly barged in, Ivan behind him. "Worst traffic jam ever, and Ivan manages to put us right in the middle of it."
Ivan looked mildly offended at the insult to his driving capabilities, but ignored it in favor of looking at Alejandra like the rest of us.
"She's just like a tiny sunflower." He said finally, and Alfred laughed.
"I thought she looked more like a tiny Amazon warrior." Alfred said, and Carlos shook his head. I was unable to tell if it was laughter or annoyance.
As night fell, we managed to get everyone out of the room, and I looked over at Carlos as he settled down onto the couch. He made eye contact with me and smiled. "Is she everything you ever dreamed of when you talked about having a family?" He asked.
"All that and more." I replied, and blew a kiss to him. "I'll see you in the morning, mon amour."

Carlos
Getting home the next evening, we settled into our new life. Maddie had me move her old mattress into the nursery, and we set Alejandra into the bassinet.
Maddie laid down, and sighed. "I guess there's always another chapter in our lives. So this is the beginning of the next one."
I laid down behind her and wrapped my arms around her. "Yep. A new chapter with our little girl."
We watched her sleep, such a delicate thing, and then I kissed Madeline. "I'm going to go back to the bedroom."
She nodded, and I stood up, turning off the lights as I exited. But I gave everything one last glance. Alejandra, in the bassinet, was silent, and Maddie watched her with so much love it was amazing.
I really am the luckiest man alive.

Translations

Spanish
¿Qué?-What?

French
Bonjour-Hello
mon fille-my daughter
mon amour-my love