Be My Forever [COMPLETE]

Chapter 71

After Valerie was checked out of the hospital, I brought some clothes for her to wear. When I changed her, she started crying. I started panicking. I had no idea how to get her to be quiet.

Toby walked in and asked if I was okay. Close to tears, I shook my head. Valerie started wailing and screaming. I felt like I was going crazy.

"Maybe she's hungry." Toby said nonchalantly. He took her into his arms and took her to the other room. He was so calm about it. Like, he didn't mind his life changing forever.

I follow him, and suddenly I see my mother. "Mom? What are you doing here?" I ask, shocked and surprised.

"I couldn't miss seeing my new granddaughter! Toby called me a few minutes ago."

"Have you seen her yet?"

"Not yet. Do you know where she is?"

"Toby just had her."

There was this awkward silence between us. She never really told me how she felt about Toby and I having a baby. I'm sure she wouldn't have minded, but I don't know how she feels about the whole 'surrogate' thing.

"What is her name?" My mom asked.

"Her name is Valerie." I say, feeling the awkwardness between us.

"That's a beautiful name." She says. She was going to continue, but her phone began to ring. As she's talking, to a client I assume, I take her to the lobby, where Toby and Valerie were.

My mom hung up with her client, now fully focused on her surroundings. I found Toby, and he was holding Valerie, who was fast asleep in his arms.

"Oh my gosh," my mother said, completely astonished. Toby handed Valerie over to her. I could see the tears filling her eyes.

"I remember when you were this tiny," she said to me, adjusting Valerie's blanket so she'd be warm, "I never appreciated you enough. I was so young. I didn't know better." Wow, I never expected to hear this, especially from my mother.

"Mom, I think we need to go." I say. I didn't want to be in the hospital for another second. Children and adults were walking around the halls, post-surgery or pre-surgery, all drugged up or insanely ill. It was terrifying.

My mother continued her stroll down memory lane even after we got into the car. Toby was into it, listening to all of her stories, but I just wanted it to end.

-:-

"Welcome home, Valerie!" Toby said to our new daughter as we walked in.

"Well, not for long," I corrected him, "we'll be moving in a few days." Toby kissed my nose, and handed Valerie over to me. Surprisingly, she was still asleep. I wouldn't be surprised if she woke up soon, so I went to the kitchen and made some milk out of the formula.

Like I assumed she would, Valerie woke up not long after and began to cry. I asked Toby if he could bring her crib downstairs. I fed Valerie, and she didn't take long to calm back down again.

A few hours passed, and Valerie was eventually back asleep, only she was in her crib. Toby and I, being extremely cautious, put on a movie and laid on the couch together. I had changed out of my now puke-stained shirt and into one of Toby's shirts.

"Today was pretty productive," Toby said, obviously making a joke.

"Yeah, had a baby: check!" I joked back. We both laughed, but not too much. We didn't want Valerie, the sleeping angel, to wake up.

"We're going to be awesome parents." Toby said. I agreed. Although Valerie may not be ours biologically, she's still our baby.

And I'm so proud to call Valerie Elisabeth Cavanaugh my daughter.