Emily

"Why the fuck did I let you do this to me?!" Another contraction hits and I feel like I'm dying.

Braxton is rubbing my back and holding my hand. He keeps being so fucking nice!

"I love you so much, Em. You're doing great. Colin will be here soon." See what I mean?

I squeeze his hand and take a breath that one is over.

"Dr.Thompson? I'm sorry, but you're only at 7 centimeters." Dr.Davidson is really not on my good side today.

I woke up at 4 in the morning to lower back pain and I didn't think anything of it. My back hurts all the time now and sleep is not something that I get very often. No position is comfortable and Colin was due 3 days ago.

Braxton just kept insisting he wasn't ready yet and that everything was okay. Nothing is fucking okay! I have a baby the size of a watermelon to birth and he is taking his sweet damn time!

"You've got this, Em." Braxton kisses my sweaty forehead and I swear if I didn't love him so much, I would cut off his balls. Then, I wouldn't have to worry about going through labor again.

I feel another contraction coming on and I crush Braxton's hand in a death grip. He grunts and if I wasn't in so much pain I would laugh. The contraction goes away and I sigh in relief.

A nurse rushes around the room and hands Braxton a cloth. He takes it and wipes my forehead with his other hand. It feels really nice.

"Thank you. I'm sorry." I really do feel bad.

"Don't apologize, you are giving the best gift I could ask for. Thank you, Em. I love you so much. Scream and yell at me all you want." God, I married the sweetest man on the planet.

"I know you're tired. It's gonna be okay, you can do this. You made it through with Cora and think of how amazing she is. Colin will be amazing too." I start crying again. His words are absolutely perfect and I'm so ready to meet our little boy.

Of course, Braxton takes my tears in stride and just wipes them away.

"How about we try the birthing ball?" I nod and he practically lifts me out of the bed. Sitting is so difficult, my baby belly is huge. Our son is going to be a massive baby.

Cora weighed 8 pounds and 13 ounces. Colin was predicted to be in between 9 and 11 pounds!

Braxton helps me onto the ball and massage my shoulders gently and I bounce lightly.

It does help a little, but when my next contraction starts I almost lose my balance.

Braxton gets down on one knee behind me and I lean back on him. His hand is like a stress ball and believe me I'm squeezing it.

"Emily! Here you are. We just got here and decided to check in on you. Leo is in the waiting room."

"Braxton knocked me up and now I'm trying to birth a fucking giant! Holy Hell!" I take a deep breath as the contraction ends. "Sorry, Brax. I love you." He just wipes my forehead again and kisses my cheek.

"I'm glad it's you and not me this time." My mom barely looks surprised and I basically just screamed at my husband.

Braxton lets out a deep chuckle and just smiles.

"She's giving me a son. She has every right to scream and squeeze my hand till it falls off." He rubs my belly and holds on to me tight.

"You picked a good one, Emily. Believe me you were less than pleasant last time too. It's okay, bringing a child into this world is hard work." I laugh, but it's not comical. It's fucking painful!

I feel another one coming on and the monitor that tracks my contractions spikes.

"On that note, I'll get out of your hair." My mom walks out and I don't know why in the world anyone would plan something like this. Then I think of Cora and how with just one 'mommy' she can turn the worst of days into the best.

"Breathe with me. In and out. There you go." He rubs my belly and it's hard as a ball. I try to breathe like we learned in birth class, but it hurts so bad. I take small deep breaths and get my breathing under control.

"This ones gone."

"Back in bed, please." I feel like I need to push soon.

"God, you are so beautiful. I love you so much, Em." He kisses my lips sweetly and then pulls back.

He helps me get back in bed, but I'm still confused.

Another contraction begins, but I need an answer.

"What are you talking about? Braxton, I'm over 40 weeks pregnant with a huge baby and I've been in labor for I don't even know how many hours now. What time is it? We both know I look horrible right now!" My voice is clearly strained as I breathe in and out.

"It's 5:30. You look gorgeous, baby, you are giving birth to our son. You may be sweaty and tired, but you're glowing too. I love you more than I ever thought possible. My love for you grows everyday and after seeing you go through this I'm so impressed. Fuck! I could never go through this much pain, but here you are going through it all for the second time. With no drugs!" The cursing was probably because I am crushing his hand.

I wish I could use the drugs, but I read multiple articles that said it could hurt Colin and as much as I want the pain to go away, I need our son to be healthy.

"Shit, I feel like I need to push. Call the doctor." I focus on breathing in deep and exhaling, but I'm feeling more and more pain.

Dr.Davidson strolls in, he fucking strolls. He probably just woke up from a goddamn nap! I've been in labor for over 13 hours!

After waking up at 4 this morning, I tried to get more sleep, but it was a worthless attempt. At 6, Braxton got up and we ate breakfast. Cora was up by 8 and when I doubled over in pain, Braxton called Ethan.

Cora was dropped off at Ethan's by 8:30 and we were at the hospital at 9.

I was quickly taken to this room and I've been here for hours.

"I hear you feel like you need to push?" I give a sharp nod. Speaking is just not an option right now.

"Okay, let's check." I prop my feet up once again and he checks how far dilated I am.

"I have good news for you! You're dilated to 10 centimeters and ready to start pushing." I turn to look at Brax and he looks absolutely terrified.

"When your next contraction starts, I want you to bear down. You know how this works, when you feel like you need to push, then you push." I nod again and take a deep breath.

My contractions are coming closer and closer together, hopefully I don't have to push for long.

I feel another one come on and start pushing, this is the worst part of labor.

I've been in pain for hours and now I have to push a 10 pound baby out of my body. With Cora, I pushed for at least an hour. I don't think I can do that again.

"Em, baby, I love you so much. You can do this. Just breathe through it." I crush his hand and I'm so close to screaming at him.

"Dad? Grab her right leg and push it up like this." The nurse is giving him instructions, but I'm so out of it I don't process the words.

Braxton pushes my leg up and keeps a hold of my hand.

"Keep pushing, baby. Colin is almost here." His words snap my patience.

"Are you fucking kidding me? I'm birthing a 10 pound baby and now you want to just say 'keep pushing'. If I wasn't in labor right now, I would castrate you! Colin better be here fucking soon!" Braxton has the sense to look terrified.

I continue pushing until the contraction ends. The nurse and Braxton lower my legs.

"You're doing great! Think of our little boy. You're such an amazing mom already. Just wait until he's here, he's gonna be beautiful like his mama." I squeeze his hand gently this time and he squeezes back.

"I can't wait to meet him. I hope he looks just like his daddy." I really do. Cora looks like me and I love it, but I hope our son resembles Brax.

The next few contractions go by without too much yelling. Don't get me wrong, they still hurt like a bitch, but I tried to control my screaming. Braxton has been amazing and it's only mostly his fault.

"You are so strong, Em." Braxton starts rubbing my lower back and it feels amazing. My back kills me and his hands are perfect.

"Please don't stop that."

"Okay baby, Colin is so close. You can do this." I bear down even more.

"I can see the head. Keep pushing." Dr.Davidson is really getting on my nerves.

I push harder than ever and Braxton continues rubbing my back.

"Just a little more. You'll have your baby soon!" Dr.Davidson is encouraging but I just want to meet my son.

I push once more as hard as I can.

"It's a boy! Dad, do you want to cut the cord?" Braxton nods and Colin cries out. The sound is beautiful. I can't believe we finally have our little boy here, safe and sound.

***

Braxton

The sound of my son crying is perfect, absolutely perfect.

I take the scissors from the nurse and Dr.Davidson shows me where to cut.

I cut Colin's cord and they wipe his face off. He is placed on Em's chest and instantly, he stops crying.

"He's perfect." Her voice is so happy, but tears are dripping down both of our faces.

"Colin Jack Thompson." He looks so beautiful. Absolutely perfect.

"I can't believe he's really here." I grab her hand and place my other hand on his back.

We're all connected now. Just like the family we are, all we need now is Cora.

"He needs to do some newborn testing real quick. It should only take a few minutes. We still need to deliver the placenta." The nurse takes Colin with her and Em finishes with everything else.

Soon, everything is done and Em is just resting before we can see our little boy again.

"He sounded healthy, right? The cry was loud and he looked good." Em's voice is a little high pitched, I can tell she's worrying.

"Colin is perfect. He sounded great and he looked gorgeous. They just need to test him really quick. He's fine, Em." She takes a deep breath and nods.

"Thank you so much. We have a little boy! Colin is beautiful. You were amazing. The strongest woman I've ever met." I kiss her lips gently and she smiles up at me really big.

"Thank you for helping me. You said all the right things, even when I was screaming at you."

"You deserve to scream at me. I would take that pain for you in a heartbeat if I could. My hand may be bruised for the next week, but you did all the hard work. I love you, wife." She kisses my chin and I grin.

"I love you too, husband. God, I can't wait to see him again!" I love it when she calls me husband, it's something only we will ever share.

"Me neither!" I say as the nurse walks in pushing Colin in a crib.

"He did great on all of his tests! Congratulations!" The nurse is kind and hands Colin to Emily.

She holds her arms around him, making sure to hold up his head. He fits perfectly against her, like he belongs there.

"He's so precious." Em is gazing down at him with so much love. I may sound like a pussy, but it melts my heart.

Henry would probably scoff at my reaction, but I am so grateful for everything Em has brought into my life. Looking back, I realize how I was simply surviving.

I'm so much happier now, my family brings me so much joy. Every little thing, lights up my world.

I sit on the edge of the bed next to my wife and son. My right arm is wrapped around Em tightly and the other is holding up Colin.

"Our boy is so handsome." Em looks up and nods.

There's a knock on the door and I look up. The kind nurse is back.

"You both have some visitors. Would you like me to send them up?" We nod in unison and she leaves.

We fawn over Colin for a few more minutes until we hear another soft knock. Everyone in the family is here. Leo, Jo, Ethan, Julie, Charlotte, Harry, my dad, my mom, and Cora.

"Oh my god! He's adorable!" Julie is on the other side of Emily and rubbing Colin's cheek.

Her reaction freaks Ethan out a little bit, I don't think they are too far behind us, but he looks terrified.

"Brax, can you take him for a minute?" I pull him into my arms and cuddle him to my chest.

He keeps his tiny little eyes closed, but opens his mouth the littlest bit. I rub my thumb over his full head of brown hair. Em scoots over in the bed and gives me a little more room, so I scoot closer to her and she looks up at me. She gives me the same expression she gave Colin earlier, the one filled with love.

"Awww. What's his name?" Jo seems elated to learn about her newest grandchild.

I nod to Em because I know she'll want to announce it.

"Everyone ready?" Every member of our family nods. "We named him Colin Jack Thompson!" My grin is huge, I'm so proud of the name we picked and how perfect our son is already.

Cora climbs in bed with us and looks at Colin.

"Hi, Colin." She raises her hand and runs it down his head.

I've never seen something so sweet, she is gentle and so excited to meet her baby brother.

"I love the name! He is so cute already!" My mom leans over me to get a good look at him and I see tears in her eyes.

"Thank you." Em and I say at the same time.

We all start laughing and Colin doesn't even stir in my arms.

My dad walks over and pats me on the back. "I'm honored to share a name with this little one."

I give him a nod that shows my gratitude, but I can't do anything more because my arms are full with my son.

"We are going to head out. Just wanted to peek in on you guys real quick. Congratulations! Bye everyone!" My parents shut the door on the way out and now only a few are left.

"Look at all that hair! He looks just like you did in your baby picture, Braxton." Charlotte replaced mom by my side and is staring at Colin.

"I hope he grows up to look just like you!" Em says and brushes her finger over his hair.

"We'll have to teach him all about the ladies." Harry declares. Ethan and I both nod, Colin will definitely be a ladies man.

Em, Charlotte, Julie, and Jo all share a look.

"I think we'll head out too. It's been an exciting day. Congrats you two!" Jo and Leo walk out with big smiles.

"How long 'till you guys have one of these?" Charlotte and Julie grin, but Harry and Ethan both look to the floor. They are terrified.

"Don't worry, guys. You'll be fine. Parenthood is amazing, well except for birth. That hurts like a-" Em places her hands over Cora's ears. "Motherfucker. It is so fucking painful. I threatened to castrate Braxton. I'm dead serious, in the moment, I honestly wanted to." She moves her hands from Cora's ears and relaxes back down.

I lean over and kiss her cheek.

"She's being serious. I was terrified. Just watch out for that and I still can't feel my hand."

I'm not sure that we actually helped Harry and Ethan because they look more scared than before, but at least they know the truth.

"Totally worth it though, I would go through all that pain a thousand times. Just look at Cora and Colin. They're perfect!" She looks down at our family and then back up at me.

"They really are, Em." I kiss her gently, completely forgetting about our company.

"Hey! Hey, Braxton! You may have married her, but I don't even want to think about that!" Ethan practically yells and I quickly look down, but Colin is still asleep.

"Seriously, you are here because I just had his second baby! Did you think I just woke up pregnant one day? You do know how babies are made, right?" Em taunts him a little and I love her even more for it.

"That's disgusting, you will always be my baby sis. I never want to think about you having sex." He practically gags and I laugh.

Before he can make a smart ass comment another nurse knocks then walks in.

"It's about time for your son to try latching on. I'll grab you another pillow and you can say goodbye to your visitors." She walks out again.

"Well, we need to get Cora home anyway. I'll bring her to come visit again tomorrow." Ethan says.

"Congrats guys! He's beautiful!" Charlotte and Harry leave, then it's only Ethan, Julie, and Cora left.

"Cora, you are going to go home with Uncle Ethan and Aunt Julie again because we have to stay here with your baby brother." Cora nods and gives us both big hugs.

"Bye mommy. Bye daddy. Bye Colin." She blows us a kiss and Julie picks her up.

"She really is daddy's little girl!" I laugh and nod, she really is.

"Bye guys, love you!" They walk out and I place Colin back in Em's arms.

"You are my girl and Cora is my little girl. I'm so glad that I met you. Twice. Thank you for everything, Em. I love you." I kiss her sweetly.

"I'm so grateful that I met you. Thank you, Braxton. For our amazing family, for everything. I love you." I look into her eyes and then down at our son. She has given me two beautiful kids and her love.

I couldn't possibly ask for more.

The End

***

Author's Note -

I would like to thank everyone for reaching this point with me. When I started thinking about writing a book I was beyond excited. I thought about it for months before making a list of things I wanted for my characters. From the beginning Braxton was always the man I hope to find, even when he makes dumbass mistakes. The day I started actually writing I realized, that it is way harder than I thought. I didn't think anyone would read it and for a while I thought about keeping it to myself. After all, I had accomplish something huge, I had written a book and regardless of what happened I that wouldn't change. Throughout the whole process, I only told one person in my life about writing this book. She motivated me to finish it and was there every step of the way. I want to dedicate this book to her because I know for a fact that without her this would be an idea in my head that I wouldn't have gotten to share with anyone. Thank you again to all the readers that have shared Emily and Braxton's love story with me. Please feel free to comment and tell me what you think of it and if you have any suggestions.

P.S. I kinda wanna know how old you guys think I am, so if you have any guess comment them!

***