Touched By An Angel

Part 13

Lindsey returned with the doctor a few minutes later to find her sleeping peacefully... for a moment he thought he had dreamed the whole thing, and felt his heart sink as he looked at her, once again still an lifeless in the hospital bed. Her skin was so pale he was afraid to enter the room further, until he heard the constant bleep of the monitor attached to her body... and it somehow seemed... stronger.

He stood back in silence as he watched the doctor analyzing her vital signs, listening to her breathing as he held the stethoscope against her chest... Lindsey waited until he had finished to ask any questions. He didn't want to sound hopeful, and then have his hopes crushed beneath the doctor's hesitant words and answers if she wasn't going to be all right. Lindsey couldn't take that after the night that he had suffered through... he would break.

"Well... Mr. Buckingham... it looks like everything has stabilized, her breathing is calm now, and her heart has grown stronger too... Your wife seems to have some amazing survival instincts going on... She doesn't want to give up... I heard as much in the O.R. before we delivered the child via C-section. In fact, she was arguing for us not to do that... she didn't want to miss the miracle of her child's birth... but we managed to calm her when we explained we had to save the baby. She was too weak to have gone through the delivery on her own."

Lindsey couldn't help but allow a small giggle to escape as he felt the tears welling in his eyes. She was going to be all right... and she had been just as stubborn with the doctor as she had always been. It warmed his heart to know that she had been aware their child was about to enter the world. Stevie would not be totally in the dark on how things had occurred, and that eased his mind.

Lindsey kissed her lips softly as he felt her breathing against his face. The feeling bringing warmth to every part of his body as he felt signs of life from her in the quiet darkness of the room. He didn't want to disturb her, he knew she needed her rest, so he exited the room quietly. He had a mission, and a purpose, and he hoped when he returned he would be able to fulfill that mission.

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He had waited for the nurse to finish feeding the small infant that she held in her arms, watching from the side, wishing that it was Stevie holding the small girl in her hands. He couldn't wait to watch her taking care of such everyday needs, and he couldn't wait to help her with these same tasks. The nurse had offered to let him finish feeding her, but the mental image was much nicer than he could let go of... if only in a dream that was created by his own mind, he was watching Stevie care for their baby, and he didn't want to let that dream go.

The nurse placed the baby into his arms, and he inhaled the scent of her... baby powder mixed with that sweet smell that always surrounded babies. He was mesmerized by the ten tiny fingers that flailed in his direction as she settled herself into his arms. It seemed as though she knew him, though she was so small, she sensed that he was one of the people that would never hurt her. Now... it was time for her mother to meet her. If Lindsey had to sit there for hours holding her, and talking to her as he waited for Stevie to wake up... he was determined she would meet her daughter. She needed to meet her daughter... she she could rub it in his face that she had been right. Lindsey, in all honesty was glad she had been right. As soon as he laid eyes on the pink bundle exiting the operating room in the doctor's hands, he'd known this little girl would wrap him around her finger. How could she not... she was a part of her mother.

He walked down the hall, slowly as though he were carrying a china doll that might break if moved too fast. His eyes glued to the small face that lay beneath a swath of pink blankets, her small head covered by a hat... he was amazed she had no problems after coming a little early, but the doctor's had assured him after he first held her that she was perfect... she had obviously been ready to be born.