Spiralling Skywards: Fading (Contradictions, #2)(36)

I ignored him. I should have been grateful that he delivered my son safely, but I wasn’t. Instead, I blamed him for doing it all while I was unconscious and without Liam being present.

“We’re good, doc. If we think of anything, we’ll talk to the midwives,” Liam answered when he realised I wasn’t going to.

I changed my mind when the tea and toast arrived and decided that I was starving. We shared the space on my bed and sat and ate quietly.

I felt totally lost and couldn’t seem to get a grip of my emotions. I was a new mother with no baby to hold. I wanted him with me so badly that the ache in my chest was beyond painful, and I felt as if I were fighting every moment not to cry.

The door opened slowly, and Kim put her head in.

“Okay, you two. His blood sugars have come back fine, and we’ve got his temperature up. Once you’ve finished your tea, we’ll pop you into a wheel chair and take you down to see him.”

I swiped away at the fresh tears falling down my cheeks, and a nervous-sounding laugh escaped me as I asked, “Will I be able to hold him?”

“You will, in fact, we’d like you to try to feed him so we can see how he copes with latching on.”

I felt a huge sense of relief settle over me and closed my eyes for a few seconds so I could savour it fully.

Twenty minutes later, my son was in my arms. He was perfect and very hungry and latched on to my breast on the third attempt. It took a few more attempts before he worked out how to breathe, suckle, and swallow, but he finally got it. When he did, I felt euphoric. I’d finally found my place . . . my role in life.

I brushed my fingers over his head full of blond hair and breathed him in.

“I’ve never seen you look more beautiful,” Liam whispered.

“I’ve never felt more beautiful.”

He leant forward, kissed me, and then kissed our son.

***

We finally brought him home eight days later. He was still small, but he was so much bigger than most babies born at his gestation. He wanted to eat all the time, but he would fall asleep so quickly I ended up having to express milk after every feed so that Liam and I could share the load. Switching between the bottle and me confused him at first, but he eventually figured it out.

The day we brought him home, I was a bit worried that we hadn’t picked a name for him yet. We had read list after list online and the titles after every film and television show we watched, but nothing was jumping out at me.

I was sitting curled into the corner of our sofa with a cushion supporting my arm as I held the baby to me for a feed. As usual, Liam watched us with a look of reverence on his face.

“You look exhausted,” I told him quietly.

“I think I’m running on pure adrenaline right now, but I could sit here forever and watch the two of you.”

“We’ll have an early night, I’ll wake up and do the feeds.”

“I don’t mind doing them.”

I shook my head. “I’ll do through the night and sleep in tomorrow.”

“We’ll see.”

“Any more thoughts on a name?”

“I’m too tired to think about it right now. Let’s give ourselves a few more days to recover, and then we’ll have a brainstorm.”

After a shallow bath to avoid getting my incision wet, I climbed into my bed, where Liam was already waiting for me.

He pulled my back into his front, and we both fell asleep with our son sleeping in his crib beside me.

I woke with a start hours later to an empty bed and an empty crib. Pulling my robe around me, I realised my boobs were full and leaking as I stood, It was almost five in the morning. We went to bed at nine, which meant I’d missed at least two feeds, possibly three.

I pad barefooted down to the nursery, following the sound of Liam’s voice.

He was standing in the middle of the room in just his boxers, his arms cradling our son as he swayed gently.

“And when you’re a little bit bigger and your mum is feeling better, we’ll take you there to meet them.” I leant on the doorframe as Liam talked to the baby.

“But you’ve got lots of family here, too. You’ve already met all of the crazy Carters, you’ve got big Uncle Luke, who will take on the world for you. Then, there is Archie, who’s your Pops, and Mai, who’s your nanna.” He was quiet for just a few seconds, but then he continued, “Oh, and there is Aunt Sash, who’s not technically a Carter, but she may be someday, if your uncle Luke finally grows some balls. She’s the craziest of them all, but don’t hold it against her, because again, she’s loyal and will guard you with her life.”

He put the now empty bottle down. “Ya know what, little man? I’m actually digging that name. I think it might work. Carter Delaney, how does that sound, bud? We need to run it by your mum when she finally wakes from her coma, but I think we could be on to a winner.”

“It’s perfect. Luke and Grandad will be chuffed to bits,” I whispered, finally stepping into the room. “How about Daniel as a middle name?” I added. It was only fair to give his family some recognition, too.

“He’d be stoked, but he’s already getting Delaney as a surname, so we don’t have to.”

“No, I like it. Carter Daniel Delaney. It’s perfect.”

He pulled me in and, with Carter between us, kissed me hard on the mouth.