JASPER

***

"JASPER!"

The noise wakes me from my sleep and I shoot upwards wondering where the fuck I am for a moment. I was having a dream where the baby was at a dance recital. Being a girl this time, she'd made me braid my hair for the occasion.

"JASPER!"

I recognise the voice now, through the fog of my dreams. It's Libby.

"What is it, baby?" I get up and rush over to the bathroom, but as soon as I get there I skid on something wet and almost crash into the shower.

"Eugh, what was..." I trail off when I see the state of Libby's pyjamas. They're soaking, which can only mean one thing. She's having the baby.

"Fuck. Okay, erm. Fuck. Baby, stay calm," I say, although I'm panicking myself, trying to remember what the hell I'm supposed to do. All the training and all the classes have gone completely out the window now that the day has actually fucking come.

"Jasper!" She breathes steadily. "I'm scared."

Her voice floods over my panic and I stop for a moment.

"What if it doesn't like me!" She cries.

"Baby, this little person will love you. Don't worry, everything will be great," I kiss her forehead just as our bedroom door opens. "Boy or girl, this baby can't wait to meet its mom."

She smiles at me and kisses my lips, her kiss urgent as I feel her tongue sweep against mine. I wish we had more time.

"What's going on? What's with all the shouting?" Rob asks, and Libby and I break apart. His hair is in disarray and sticking up in different directions.

"Rob, Lib's waters broke. Can you take us to the hospital?" I wanted to drive her myself, but I also want to comfort her.

"Bloody hell! Yeah, yeah of course," he steps into the room and offers Libby his arm as I grab the baby bag full of supplies next to the door. It's got lots of clothes - both pink and blue - bottles, diapers and I've even snuck a bottle of champagne into the bottom. There's clothes in there for us as well, which I know I'll definitely need. I'm just pulling the t-shirt I wore over my head when I hear Rob half way down the stairs.

"Have you called Mum?" He asks Libby and she shakes her head, stopping as she breathes sharply.

"Oh my god. Jasper! It's a contraction, Jesus!" She cries out, reaching for my hand and I grab it, not saying anything as she squeezes.

Contractions are supposed to be less painful at the beginning but from the way she's squeezing my hand, it must be fucking excruciating. She's holding it harder than when she broke her leg.

"You okay baby?" I ask when she's breathing more evenly, swearing as I shake out my hand when she lets it go.

She nods. "Fucking hell, Jasper." She breathes in through her nose and out through her mouth. "Rob?"

"Yeah?"

"You better fucking drive fast."

He smiles as he takes her arm again and opens the car. I help her get in and hold her hand again, bracing both of us as Rob speeds out of driveway and down the road to the hospital.

"Mum?" I hear him shouting into the speaker as Lisa answers.

"Rob? What time is it?" She's working nights, so Libby couldn't have picked better timing.

"Mum! No time, Libby, me and JJ are on the way to the hospital. Baby's on its way!"

"Holy..." she drops something and Rob laughs whilst I feel Libby squeeze my hand tight. "Okay I'll let them know."

"Mum!" Libby shouts. "Mum, it hurts!" She squeezes my hand again as she rides out another contraction and I'm praying to all things merciful that we get there soon.

"I know, sweetheart. Just keep breathing. Jasper keep her breathing. And don't, whatever you do, push. Do NOT push."

Don't push? I'm about to ask why but then Lisa makes a joke explaining why. "I don't want my grandson or daughter being born on the side of the road," she laughs and I can't help but laugh with her.

She hangs up the phone and within minutes I see the telltale neon lights of the A&E department I know too well. We'd been in for me and for Libby twice over the last month. Me when I sliced my hand open cutting an avocado she wanted at two in the morning three weeks ago and once a fortnight ago when she thought she was going into labour. Also at two in the morning. I look at the clock and roll my eyes. Of course it's just gone two in the morning.

"You okay from here for a second? I need to go park the car." Rob pulls to a screeching halt and I'm out the door and running round to help Libby climb out. I swing her legs around for her, and offer her my hands as she shuffles forward. She's grunting each time she slides but eventually she's out and waddling to the door. I turn around and grab the bag before Rob speeds off again and join her as she reaches the first step.

"Nearly there, baby," I coo, kissing her head. "Nearly there." I repeat it to myself.

As soon as we're in the doors, I'm about to shout for a wheelchair or something because Libby can barely stand, but Lisa appears from our left. Libby starts crying again, hugging her mom as she comes a stop in front of her.

"How far apart are they?" Lisa asks as Libby gets her to stop the wheelchair as she stomachs another contraction. I can see how hard she's gripping the handles.

"Not far apart at all. Last one she had was in the car five minutes ago... I think," I run a hand through my hair trying to think.

"Okay," Lisa nods. "Let's get her into a room and one of the doctors can have a check, okay?" I nod and she touches my shoulder as she starts pushing Libby down the corridor again.

Fucking hell. Holy shit, I'm about to become a dad. Libby's going to be a mom. Jesus Fucking Christ, in maybe a matter of hours we were going to be parents to a tiny little bundle. Although from the way Libby is sweating and in constant pain, I'm thinking it's arriving sooner rather than later.

Lisa gets her up onto the bed, albeit difficulty, but immediately she wants to get back down and walk around, breathing to herself, trying to keep herself calm.

"I'm going to go get the doctor okay. You guys sit tight," Lisa says, not waiting for either of us to respond before walking out. I close the door behind her and put the bag down at the bottom of the bed before taking off my jacket I'd only just managed to grab. I'm still in my pyjamas, same as Libby, but no one seems to care.

Libby tries to smile at me but it comes out as a grimace as she sits on the bed, gripping the sheets tight as she has another contraction. Yeah this baby is definitely in a hurry to meet it's mom.

The doctor comes in minutes later and gets Libby up onto the bed, and she confirms what I'd suspected. Nine centimetres dilated, so nearly there; she needs to get to ten, but I don't think that'll take long. Doc says she'll be back shortly to check on us and leaves the room.

"Jasper we haven't even decided on a girl's name yet! What if it's a girl..."

The girl's name we'd been arguing backwards and forwards over for weeks. I quite liked Harper or Rosie as girls' names, but then Libby said she had both a Harper and Rosie at her school that she didn't like, so that was them two out the window. I then suggested Lizzie, short for Elizabeth after the favourite Bennett child, but she vetoed that too, saying it was too close to her name. She then suggested some - Adaline, Emma, Georgina, Charlie - but I didn't like any of them. Rebecca, Beth, Louise, Lucy... all names have been thrown at us left, right and centre, but we still couldn't decide.

"Well then let's just hope it's a boy," I joke and she rolls her eyes. But the more I thought about it, the name could technically work for both. Although it's a bit of a stretch...

"What about Bentley as a girl's name?" I suggest. She looks up and I see her eyes light up. "Ben, or Benny, for short." The boy's name we'd both decided on straight away was Benjamin. "Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively have a daughter called James, so why can't we have one called Ben?" I joke again and she waddles over to me, throwing her arms around me as leans up to kiss me.

"I love it. Bentley..." she looks at the bump and smiles. "Bentley or Benjamin Calhoun."

I smile, a wide smile, one where I can feel my dimples.

"Oof!" She suddenly puts a hand to her side and laughs. "It's kicking like crazy so they're either ready to come out or it approves of its name." She laughs as she pulls my hand to place it over her belly. She'd been swollen for days, in quite a bit of discomfort, especially when we were trying to sleep, but she kept telling me the little person would be worth it. I'd spent three days this week either on the sofa or on the floor with Jughead because her pregnancy pillow was taking over the bed. Soon the baby would be tucked in the middle of us and I smile at the thought.

"Okay," doc says as she comes back in. "How we doing now?"

She checks and Libby and nods. "Wow, this guy really wants to meet you guys. You're at ten." I want to laugh, but I'm too fucking shocked to.

"Holy shit." Libby suddenly goes white as a sheet before flushing colour again, causing me to have a mini heart attack. "Erm, do you know where my mum is?"

"I'll find her," I go to say but then Libby turns to me and looks at me with pure terror. "Okay,  no I won't. I'm sticking with you, I promise." Just as I'm about to get my phone out, Rob comes in. "Ah perfect timing! We're headed to the delivery room in a minute - she's dilated. Can you find your mom?"

"Yeah, yeah of course," he says, moving to kiss Libby's forehead. "Good luck, Lib. Look forward to meeting my nephew or niece!" He grins and sprints from the room.

"Right. We ready to meet your baby?" The doctor asks, smiling at the two of us just as Libby's finished settling herself on the bed.

I look at Libby and she grins up at me, her previous terror completely gone from her eyes, replaced with excitement. "Yeah!" She beams at me as she rests her head on my chest while I lean over her. She's pulling on my shirt as the bed starts to move, but she lets go when we come out of the doors, breathing steadily.

When we get to the delivery room, doc pulls me to one side and asks me to put on some scrubs.

"Jasper!" I hear Libby call, and I call back saying I'm just changing. Two minutes later I'm dressed like an idiot and she's laughing at me.

"Oi, don't start!" I point at her as I take her hand and she stifles her next giggle. I have a scrub cap on, covering my hair, and I'm dressed in blue plastic.

"You look like a smurf!" She laughs and a few doctors laugh with her. I roll my eyes and shake my head.

"Right, Libby I need you to start pushing when I say, okay?"

"Nooooo, no no no. My mum isn't here!" She cries, crying out as she breathes heavily.

"Here she is!" I say as I see a blur of blonde hair comes up towards us. She kisses Libby's head and I see the relief flood through her face at having her mom here.

"Okay. Lib you have to push, the baby's crowning."

Holy shit. "Lib, you can do it, baby. You can do this," I chant a mantra to her as she pushes with all of her might.

Her eyes are screwed tight and she is gripping my hand harder than ever. I don't even care if it's bruised or broken tomorrow. She screams as she continues to push and then she breathes when she takes a break. I look over the sheet, trying to see anything, but the doctor's heads in the way. Libby's face is red with effort and her face and hair are drenched in sweat. But she keeps pushing whenever the doctor asks, despite looking absolutely drained and exhausted.

"Nearly there, Libby. That's it, one more push," the doctor says and I can hear she's smiling behind her mask from her.

Libby screams and pushes, pushing her head forward as she does so, yelling from the effort.

And when we hear the cries of our baby from the other side of the curtain, Libby flops back down on the bed with a loud sigh of relief. After hearing about nightmares of labour lasting a few days, Libby's was seemingly over within a matter of hours.

"Daddy?" I hear it being called over my heart beating in my ears. "Daddy, do you want to come over and cut the chord?"

Lisa pushes me forward after I kiss Libby hard on the mouth. "You did it. I love you, baby mama. I love you." I kiss her again and she's laughing, tears falling down her cheeks.

I walk slowly round to the other side as the baby's cries start to slow. It, or rather I should say she, is covered in blood and gunk and she looks gross, but utterly beautiful at the same time. The doctor pulls my hand and puts a pair of scissors in my hand as she directs me forward. I don't even register that I'm cutting until I hear the sound.

"It's a girl, Lib. It's a girl!" I shout. Little baby Bentley is lying in the doctors arms as she's being cleaned, not making a fuss as she moves her big, beautiful blue eyes around the room. "We have a daughter," I say quietly to myself. "Holy shit."

I walk back around to Libby's head. She's pink in the face and still breathing hard and sweating but she looks utterly happy. The smile on her face is my favourite one and as doc brings Bentley up to her head, the tears start coming as the now-screaming bundle is put into Libby's arms.

But as soon as Bentley's in Libby's arms, she stops crying. Libby croons down to her, her eyes filled and brimming over with tears as she looks at the precious pink package in her arms.

"Hi," she whispers to her. "Hi," she says again before dropping the softest of kisses on her tiny little forehead.

She looks so fragile and it makes me terrified, and I feel I like I shouldn't touch her in case I break her. Her head is barely the size of the palm of my hand. Her tiny little hands are poking out of the blanket, stretching out, looking for something to hold on to. Her minuscule little feet and toes are sticking out the other end of the blanket. We knew she'd be big because Libby's bump was fucking massive.

"Have you guys thought of a name?" Lisa says softly, and I look up and realise it's currently just in the delivery room.

I pull off the cap I'm wearing and kiss Libby's head and she smiles down at Bentley, who was now asleep in her arms.

"Bentley," Libby says softly. "Bentley Calhoun."

"Bentley?" Lisa questions and Libby nods. She then looks at little Bentley asleep in Libby's arms and smiles. "That works. Because you certainly are one in a million."

I smile as I stroke Bentley's tiny amount of blonde hair. It's so soft, like stroking a peach, and she smells amazing.

"Hey baby girl," I croon, crouching down next to Libby as I drop a tiny kiss on Bentley's head. In response she opens her mouth and yawns, which makes me laugh.

"She is beautiful you guys," the doctor says, and I look up to see that the curtain has gone and Libby's been cleaned up. "Baby Bentley, did you say?" Libby and I nod. "Gorgeous."

"She's got your eyes, Lib. So big and blue."

She rolls her eyes, "Which probably means she's you in every other way," she laughs. "But I love her. And you, Jasper. You were so great," she leans a hand across to stroke my cheek as I kiss Bentley's tiny little fingers.

My heart stops for a second and I feel a wave of tears roll through as Bentley's tiny fist wraps around my index finger. Her tiny little mouth is open as she sleeps, with what looks like a smile on her face. And as she continues to sleep, Libby gently transfers her to the nurse's arms so she get her properly cleaned up, as she's still covered in gunk.

We watch as Bentley is cleaned carefully by the nurses, and as Libby's transferred from bed to chair, Bentley is placed back in her arms.

When we get back into our room, it's just us for a few minutes. Libby looks exhausted, bags starting to form under her eyes. But she looks smitten by little Bentley in her arms. She's now awake again, her big blue eyes staring up at her mom with wonder as she presses her palms to her face, exploring.

"Curious little thing," Mike says as he comes in, seeing what's going on. I walk over to him and throw my arms around his shoulders as I choke out a sob.

"You did good, Jasper. You did good," he assures me, rubbing my back. Tears are now falling freely down my face at the pure emotion now running rampant around my body. I've been scared, I've been happy, I've been sad... I've been up and down the spectrum of emotion about six times since we arrived here two hours ago.

"You want to meet her?" I ask, pulling back and wiping my eyes. He nods and I can see tears in his eyes too as he walks towards Libby.

She effortlessly transfers Bentley into his arms and Mike sits down, cooing over her already. I sit down on the bed next to Libby and kiss her forehead as she looks at her dad bonding with our baby daughter. I can't believe nine months of waiting has come down to this.

It's come down to this moment. It's come down to seeing those big blue staring up at me. It's come down to seeing her yawn, showing us all adorable toothless gums. It's come down to seeing Bentley smiling back up at her mom, seeing her so loved. All those arguments over names and restless nights are so entirely worth finally having this cherub in our lives.

"You okay?" Libby asks, wiping at a tear I hadn't realised had been rolling down my cheeks.

"Yeah." I kiss her forehead softly. "I am so in love with her already."

"Me too." She looks across at Mike, who now has his finger trapped in Bentley's grip, same as I did. I laugh as he makes a face.

"You haven't held her yet?" Libby asks, looking at me. I shake my head and look at moving bundle, who looks so small and fragile in Mike's big arms.

"She's so tiny," I say, my voice no more than a whisper. I'd never held a baby before, other than the fake babies we've been practicing on in the class. "I don't want to break her."

She laughs quietly and strokes my cheek again. "You aren't going to break her, Jasper. She's got your strength anyway. But you won't," she says, looking at me then looking at Mike, giving him a nod.

Mike gets up and comes to stand in front of me, and I'm shitting myself. She looks fragile, but so unbelievably adorable swaddled up in the blanket. As Mike transfers her over to me, I try to remember to support her head, and soon she's nestled in my arms, just as comfortably as she was in Libby's. She has me worried that maybe she's broken?

"They're supposed to cry more than this aren't they?" I whisper, looking at Libby and she laughs. "She hasn't cried at all." I kiss her tiny forehead and smile as she tries to open her eyes.

"I think you'll experience that soon enough, Jasper," Mike says, joking as he kisses Libby's head. "She is so precious you guys. I'm so proud of you."

"Thanks Dad," Libby whispers sleepily.

I think he must see how exhausted she is because he kisses Bentley's head one more time before leaving the room. I'm about to say something when I feel Libby's head drop onto my side, fast asleep.

I transfer my sleeping baby to my other arm, holding her with one arm and put my other arm around Libby as I shuffle gently down the bed. She stirs slightly, only to budge up, and then puts her head back into my side when I've settled myself.

For a time that is unknown to me or anyone else, I sit and watch my family sleep. I watch the rise and fall of my wife's chest, listening to her breathing as she dreams, smiling. And I watch the tiny movement of my daughter, asleep and comfortable in my arms as she grips onto my thumb, pulling from time to time.

Our duo has become a trio, and I know, as long as we're together, we can take on the world.