and if she kept it up, his arm wouldn’t fare much better.
The door swung open again and Sandy and Chelsey rushed in behind the doctor.
“I told you he’d still be here,” Sandy told Chelsey.
“Is it a crime for a father to want to see his baby come into the world?” Chelsey asked.
Derrick decided he liked Chelsey.
“Donating sperm to a clinic for money,” Sandy added, “does not make him a father.”
Satan…not so much.
Chelsey stood close to Derrick’s side and leaned over the railing. “You’re doing great,” she told Jill. “Keep breathing. That’s right. You can do this.” Chelsey started doing her breathing exercise again and Jill followed along. The doctor and two nurses were taking care of business. Sandy grabbed a video camera and aimed it their way.
He could hear Sandy talking into the camera, muttering words like “ass” and “idiot” every once in a while.
Chelsey was perfectly calm, and she handed Derrick a cool rag and told him to wipe Jill’s brow. Glad to have something to do, he used his free hand to try and soothe her. Having no desire to see blood, he decided to focus on Jill’s face, which he noticed was heart-shaped. Disregarding the dark circles under her eyes, her skin was creamy and flawless. Although her lips were dry and cracked at the moment, they were also full and had a nice shape to them. She had beautiful eyes when they weren’t rolling to the back of her head, and she had high cheekbones and slender brows. There was an understated beauty about her he hadn’t noticed earlier.
Jill’s cheeks puffed up as she and Chelsey readied for another push and Derrick found himself pushing along with them. The three of them puffed three times, inhaled, three more puffs, inhaled, pushed, and then they all repeated the process for another thirty minutes before the baby finally decided to enter the world.
The baby’s cry wasn’t anything like the cries of all the other babies he’d heard before. This baby’s cry was mild in comparison, bordering on soothing, like music to his ears.
Derrick looked over his shoulder and smiled into the camera before turning back to Jill.
“It’s a boy,” the doctor said.
“We did it,” Jill said, her voice weak.
He thought she was talking to Chelsey until he realized Chelsey had joined the nurses down south.
“ You did it,” he said. He reached for the cup of ice chips and after he’d fed her a few, he gently applied lip balm to her cracked lips. Then he stood back and watched the nurse hand Jill her baby…their baby.
CHAPTER THREE
The next day, Derrick ignored the cell phone vibrating in his pocket. He climbed out of his car, grabbed the bouquet of flowers from the backseat, and made his way across the parking lot to the entrance of Sutter Medical. He’d already talked to his mother, his father, Maggie, and four of his siblings. They all wanted to drive to the hospital to see the baby.
Well, everybody except Maggie. Maggie wanted to wring his neck first for not listening to her. Then she wanted to see the baby. Instead, she told him she would see him at the Los Angeles County courtroom at three o’clock tomorrow afternoon if he wanted any chance at all of gaining partial custody of his baby boy.
Now all he had to do was talk to Jill. It was seven o’clock in the evening. He’d planned on visiting Jill much earlier, but after getting little sleep and taking a dozen phone calls, time had gotten away from him. His son had yet to be named since Jill agreed to wait until today to make a decision. He liked the name Joe and Matt, nice healthy strong sounding names, but Jill hadn’t seemed thrilled by either of his choices. His sisters, on the other hand, were rooting for names like Colton and Deandre because, according to Mom, they really liked the show American Idol.
He called the hospital this morning and was transferred to Jill’s room but nobody picked up. Although he’d only known Jill for a little more than a day,
The door swung open again and Sandy and Chelsey rushed in behind the doctor.
“I told you he’d still be here,” Sandy told Chelsey.
“Is it a crime for a father to want to see his baby come into the world?” Chelsey asked.
Derrick decided he liked Chelsey.
“Donating sperm to a clinic for money,” Sandy added, “does not make him a father.”
Satan…not so much.
Chelsey stood close to Derrick’s side and leaned over the railing. “You’re doing great,” she told Jill. “Keep breathing. That’s right. You can do this.” Chelsey started doing her breathing exercise again and Jill followed along. The doctor and two nurses were taking care of business. Sandy grabbed a video camera and aimed it their way.
He could hear Sandy talking into the camera, muttering words like “ass” and “idiot” every once in a while.
Chelsey was perfectly calm, and she handed Derrick a cool rag and told him to wipe Jill’s brow. Glad to have something to do, he used his free hand to try and soothe her. Having no desire to see blood, he decided to focus on Jill’s face, which he noticed was heart-shaped. Disregarding the dark circles under her eyes, her skin was creamy and flawless. Although her lips were dry and cracked at the moment, they were also full and had a nice shape to them. She had beautiful eyes when they weren’t rolling to the back of her head, and she had high cheekbones and slender brows. There was an understated beauty about her he hadn’t noticed earlier.
Jill’s cheeks puffed up as she and Chelsey readied for another push and Derrick found himself pushing along with them. The three of them puffed three times, inhaled, three more puffs, inhaled, pushed, and then they all repeated the process for another thirty minutes before the baby finally decided to enter the world.
The baby’s cry wasn’t anything like the cries of all the other babies he’d heard before. This baby’s cry was mild in comparison, bordering on soothing, like music to his ears.
Derrick looked over his shoulder and smiled into the camera before turning back to Jill.
“It’s a boy,” the doctor said.
“We did it,” Jill said, her voice weak.
He thought she was talking to Chelsey until he realized Chelsey had joined the nurses down south.
“ You did it,” he said. He reached for the cup of ice chips and after he’d fed her a few, he gently applied lip balm to her cracked lips. Then he stood back and watched the nurse hand Jill her baby…their baby.
CHAPTER THREE
The next day, Derrick ignored the cell phone vibrating in his pocket. He climbed out of his car, grabbed the bouquet of flowers from the backseat, and made his way across the parking lot to the entrance of Sutter Medical. He’d already talked to his mother, his father, Maggie, and four of his siblings. They all wanted to drive to the hospital to see the baby.
Well, everybody except Maggie. Maggie wanted to wring his neck first for not listening to her. Then she wanted to see the baby. Instead, she told him she would see him at the Los Angeles County courtroom at three o’clock tomorrow afternoon if he wanted any chance at all of gaining partial custody of his baby boy.
Now all he had to do was talk to Jill. It was seven o’clock in the evening. He’d planned on visiting Jill much earlier, but after getting little sleep and taking a dozen phone calls, time had gotten away from him. His son had yet to be named since Jill agreed to wait until today to make a decision. He liked the name Joe and Matt, nice healthy strong sounding names, but Jill hadn’t seemed thrilled by either of his choices. His sisters, on the other hand, were rooting for names like Colton and Deandre because, according to Mom, they really liked the show American Idol.
He called the hospital this morning and was transferred to Jill’s room but nobody picked up. Although he’d only known Jill for a little more than a day,
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