Chapter 16
"I knew I loved you before I met you/ I think I dreamed you into life/ I knew I loved you before I met you/ I have been waiting all my life…" ~Savage Garden ("I Knew I Loved You")
Sara sat in silence
with her new baby in her arms. She still could not believe that the love she
and Nick had shared could be as perfect as the sleeping baby she was holding.
Finding herself choked up, Sara decided to sing the first words to her child.
"And I will love you/ Baby always/ And I'll be there/ Forever and a day/
Always…" Sara took a pause. "Just like your father."
She looked at the darling boy and studied his features. "You've got my
eyes," Sara said quietly. "And his lips…" Tears now ran
down her face in a mixture of happiness and pain. "He should be here next
to me," Sara told the infant. "Your Daddy's sick. He loves you though.
He loves you very much."
Just then there was a knock on the door and Jane and Bob Carter looked in. "Can
we come in?"
"Come meet your new grandson," Sara said with a tear stained smile.
Jane and Bob gathered around and their eyes too felt the familiar sting of tears.
"Mom, Dad, meet Michael Nickolas," Sara said proudly.
"Michael Nickolas?" Jane asked with her eyes stinging.
"For Nick…" Sara trailed. "We picked Michael together, but
not Nickolas." Sara suddenly felt panicked. "Is that OK?"
"Sara, honey, it's fine," Jane said as she kept staring at baby Michael.
* * *
In the waiting
room, everybody was a wreck. Everyone was on edge. Nobody sat still, and surprisingly
nobody talked.
The return of Jane and Bob caught everyone's attention.
"It's a boy," Bob announced as the breath everybody was holding was
released.
"So everyone's OK?" BJ asked.
"Everyone's fine."
"What's his name?" Aaron asked.
"Michael Nickolas…"
Everyone again fell silent at the mention of Nick's name.
"Mom?" Leslie asked. "Do you think that Nick knows about the
baby?"
"I'm sure he does and I'm sure that he's very proud," Jane's demeanor
started to crack. "And I'm sure he wishes that he could have been there
for Sara."
* * *
"Normally,
Miss, infants aren't allowed outside of the maternity ward," Sara was informed
as she and Michael were wheeled back to Nick's room.
"But Nick should see his child, regardless," Sara said in the same
tone.
"Congratulations," the nurse said as she opened the door to the room
and wheeled Sara in to help her get settled in her bed.
"Can I sit in the chair?" Sara asked.
"Not right after surgery," the nurse reported. "You shouldn't
even be up here."
"Can you move the bed closer to him please?"
The nurse grimaced. "You young people. You want everything."
But, nonetheless, the bed was moved so Sara could be as close as possible to
Nick within her medical reaches. In Sara's eyes it seemed like forever until
the nurse left to give them some privacy.
"Michael," Sara began as she shifted the infant in her arms so he
could see the next bed over, "I want you to meet your father. Michael,
meet your Dad." Sara looked down to see that the child was still wide eyed
at looking at her. "I know he doesn't look too great now, but one day,
when you're old enough, I'll tell you all about his trips all over the world
and how we met or the times he surprised me and played his tricks." Sara
smiled down at Michael. "You'll see how much he loved you before he even
knew you."
A knock on the door broke the tranquility of the moment. Instead, eleven people
made their way into the room.
"And these are your aunts and uncles," Sara whispered as everyone
drew nearer.
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