Exactly one hour after Cleo had felt the first contraction and was rushed to the hospital by Enrico, who wasn't paying attention to red lights or anything else, Mariana Katelynn Teller⸺Hernandez was born. Luckily Jax hadn't missed the birth of his daughter and had made it to the hospital in time to give his Old Lady the support she deserved.

Ever since he first set his eyes on Cleo, he's had a hard time not staring at the brunette constantly. Her beauty had dazzled him from the start and if he was honest, he hadn't thought that Cleo could get any prettier. But as he watched her bring their daughter into the world, he fell in love with her all over again. He didn't care that her face was covered with a little sweat, or that her hair was disheveled and her make up was smudged⸺ he just saw a strong woman who had given birth to his child.

Since he could neither be present at Abel's nor Thomas' birth, he was all the happier to have been present at Mariana's birth. Even though he now had a guilty conscience towards his sons, he was glad he had the chance to stand by Cleo and to hold his child in his arms right away. However, he let Cleo go first, even if he wanted to hold his daughter himself the moment she was born.

When the doctors put the crying baby on Cleo's exposed chest and he could finally see what his daughter looked like, he had to swallow hard and quickly rubbed his eyes. Overwhelmed by his emotions, he planted a kiss on Cleo's lips, who was sobbing with joy and gently sliding the side of her index finger down Mari's cheek, and buried a hand in her hair.

“I'm so proud of you, babe”, he whispered lovingly against her lips before kissing her again. “You did great.”

“It's not like I had any other choice”, she said with a soft laugh that sounded exhausted but happy. A few tears of joy ran down her cheeks, which Jax wiped away with his thumb and let out a laugh, too.

“She's perfect, isn't she?” Jax gently ran a hand over Mariana's tiny head and just looked at her for a few minutes, watching his daughter relax and settle into Cleo's chest. All the cute noises Mari made, made them both fall in love with the little girl even more⸺ if that was even possible. A nurse put a blanket over the baby and Cleo and asked what name she should write down.

Jax and Cleo had discussed the name a while ago and it was the blonde who suggested using Cleo's mom's name as a middle name for Mari, which he told the nurse. The brunette was touched that Jax's suggestion came before she could even suggest it to him. However, her mom didn't know about it yet, they wanted it to be a surprise when she would meet Mari for the first time.

“That's a beautiful name”, the nurse commented with a friendly smile and wrote down the baby girl's full name.

“It is, right?”, Jax smirked, pure pride in his tone which made the nurse chuckle and nod in agreement.

“Thank you”, Cleo thanked the nurse, her smile just as friendly. “For everything.”

“You're very welcome. The doctor will be back soon to check on you guys.” The woman patted Cleo's arm, giving her another smile before leaving the room to get some things and give the family a moment to themselves.

The brunette was completely overwhelmed. There wasn't a moment she ever felt happier than right now. Mari was the result of Jax and her love, a sign that they were now officially family. Even if they were before, Mari welded them all together now. The little girl created a bond between all family members and Cleo couldn't be more proud.

It was true what everyone always said. Once the baby was born, all the pain would be gone. Ten minutes ago Cleo thought she was going to die from the pain, but when she heard her daughter's screams/crying for the first time, all the pain was forgotten. She was also relieved that everything had gone smoothly during the birth. There were no complications, the baby was fine, she was fine and Jax was fine after watching his daughter being born. Basically, the birth couldn't have been better.

“She looks just like you”, Jax stated with a smile.

“That's not true”, Cleo disagreed while gently tapping the baby's nose. “She got your nose and eyes.”

The blonde scrutinized his daughter closely as he sat down on the edge of the bed and placed his hand on Mari's back. Pride washed over him at Cleo's words. Who didn't want to hear that their own child bore a resemblance to their father?

“You think?”, he asked with excitement and a raised brow making the brunette next to him laugh.

“Yeah, it's definitely your nose and eyes. But she does have my lips though”, Cleo thought. Not that it mattered, their daughter was perfect. But in her eyes, she was the perfect mix between her and Jax.

The girl had light brown hair and Jax was sure it would stay this way. She also had a light tan, which also came from Cleo's side of the family, and she would surely get brown eyes as well. He couldn't confirm the rumors that newborns often didn't look beautiful. Mari was perfect, beautiful and healthy, everything he and Cleo had wished for.

When Cleo watched Jax stare at his daughter with nothing but love and pride, she sat up a little and positioned the baby in her arms to hand the small bundle of joy to Jax.

“Go on, hold your babygirl and get to know her”, she smiled.

Jax smiled at his Old Lady and took the baby in his arms, he held her with as much care as if the baby might break at any touch. It made no difference that he already had two children and should be used to holding a newborn by now, it was always a great experience, but it also made him nervous. Which was perfectly normal.

He slowly rocked Mari in his arms and told her between sniffles about her big brothers, how much everyone had been looking forward to meeting her, and that he couldn't wait to take her and Cleo home with him.

“Your brothers can't wait to meet you, angel”, he whispered, placing soft kisses all over her face. Cleo's heart was about to explode so sweet was the scene she was given. She loved Jax' nickname for their daughter and how gentle he was with her.

The brunette listened while Jax said all the cute things and covered her mouth with a hand as she yawned. Despite the tiredness, she didn't even think about getting some sleep. She also needed a shower to clean herself up.

“I'm a little embarrassed to ask, but can you help me take a shower later when my mom and Enrico visit Mari?”, she asked meekly and turned a little to the side to be more comfortable.

Jax looked at his girlfriend with an understanding smile and brushed away some damp strands that were still stuck to her forehead. This time he wanted to support his Old Lady in everything from the start, not like he had done with Wendy and Tara. Even if his ex, whom he hated with every fiber in his body, had ruined a lot of things in their relationship, Tara wasn't to blame for everything. He knew that he should've been there more for her and the children. Same for Wendy. His ex wife hadn't just relapsed for no reason when she was pregnant, he played a part in it too.

“There's nothing to be embarrassed about, darlin'”, he assured her lovingly and caressed her cheek. He didn't miss how tired she was, but he also knew that sleep was the last thing on her mind right now. “I'll get your mom and Enrico, then I'm gonna help you with a shower. And after that you're gonna eat something, alright?”

Cleo smiled gratefully and nodded briefly. “Sounds like a plan. Thank you, handsome.”

A smirk formed on his lips at her nickname for him as he stood up. Carefully, he put Mari back in her arms and let her feed the baby first before he would get her mom and brother. Just watching her breastfeed their daughter made him smile once again.

⸺

It was hours after the birth when she was finally in a room, showered and had something to eat. Mari has been fed three times now and the little bundle in Dawn's arms was sleeping peacefully. The soft snoring coming from the baby put a smile on everyone's face who was in the room.

Jax sat next to Cleo in bed while Katelynn and Enrico sat with Dawn on the sofa that was in the room. All three of them could hardly take their eyes off the newborn.

“You really do make cute babies”, Dawn snickered, a wide grin plastered on her face as she looked over to where Jax and Cleo were. “Everything about her is perfect!”

“We know that”, Jax gave his infamous Teller grin and draped an arm over Cleo's shoulder who immediately leaned into his side, still tired but not able to get some sleep. “I mean, look at us.”

“You're so sure of yourself”, Cleo let out a laugh and rolled her eyes in amusement, making the others laugh too.

“But Dawn has a point. My granddaughter is absolutely beautiful”, Katelynn beamed with excitement. When she heard which name they chose for Mari, she couldn't believe it and totally bursted out in tears. Katelynn was one proud grandma and couldn't wait to spoil that little girl.

What surprised Cleo the most was when Enrico started crying. Never in her life she had seen her brother shed a tear but the moment he held his niece for the first time, he couldn't hold his emotions in⸺ which made all the women waste a few tears, too.

“I won't let anyone hurt you, you hear me, princesa. Your uncle will always protect you and I'll always be there for you.” Those were his first words he said to Mari and Cleo and Jax believed every single word of it.

If they knew one thing, it was the fact that Enrico would do anything for his niece. Just like her mom, Dawn and the whole club. Also the Mayans would protect the baby with their own lives, at least the Santo Padre Charter. Mari would experience a lot of love in her life and what it meant to stick together and have a big family. 

They chatted a little while longer until Enrico had to leave for club business and Katelynn had to go back to the diner. Dawn told Jax to stay at the hospital with Cleo and Mari and that she'd take care of the boys until they'd be back home with the baby.

Both Jax and Cleo thanked all three of them for visiting and just being there for them, also for the little present Dawn got them before she came to visit. After that, Jax put a sleeping Mari in the bassinet next to Cleo's bed and turned the TV on so Cleo could relax a little. The guys were dying to see the baby but they respected that Jax and Cleo wanted to wait with so many visitors until they got home.

“I love you, babe”, Jax whispered into Cleo's ear as she finally allowed her eyelids to flutter shut. The blonde got off the bed so she had more space and kissed the top of her head.

“I love you, too”, she murmured just before she fell asleep.

⸺

authors note; I'm not really good at writing birth/wedding chapters but I hope you still enjoyed it. 🖤