"I can't believe I didn't make it in time." Your mother fussed. You could hear rustling on her end of the call, probably some intense rage packing,
"Mom, seriously. It was a surprise for everyone. Seb almost didn't even make it."
Glancing at him, you can see the faraway look he gets when you mention it, but he just shifts in his chair next to your bed, not meeting your eye,
"What? Where was he?"
"He had to work. Got called out to D.C. He actually made it back just in time."
"You were alone?" She near-shrieked,
"No, mom! I was at Amy's bridal shower. I wasn't alone, I'm not alone now. Everything is fine. Everyone is fine."
Regardless of your insistence, she continues her fretting, making it difficult not to roll your eyes at her.
"I need to get an earlier flight..." You hear her start to plan,
"Mom, you're already going to be here tomorrow night. There's no reason to come any earlier."
"But what if something else happens? I need to be there--"
"Mom. Please. Don't worry about this. I'm not even headed back home yet, just take a breath. You'll be here tomorrow. In the meantime, I have plenty of people looking out for me here." You finally catch Sebastian's eye and he gives you a little smile that he can't quite get to reach his eyes.
You hear the door open and turn to see Amy peeking in,
"Mom, I have to go, I'll let you finish your packing and talk to you later. Okay?"
You hear her sigh heavily, but she surrenders all the same,
"Okay. Let me know if anything changes."
Saying goodbye, you wave your friends into the room, gingerly pushing yourself upright in your bed,
"So? Where is she?" Amy whispers first, George and Chris on her heels through the door. You smile at Seb, and this time he gives you a real smile back, getting up and leaning over the bassinet beside you to scoop up a little pink bundle,
"Everyone," he begins, "meet Margaret Elisabeta Stan."
"Stan?" George asks, blinking in evident surprise, which earns him a look from Amy saying he likely shouldn't press either of you,
"I want her to have her father's name." You explain, "It makes sense to me."
He tries to hide it, but you see Seb straighten slightly, brimming with pride,
"Any idea of when you get to take her home?" Chris asks, making faces at the baby from over Seb's shoulder,
"Well, my doctor keeps saying she's totally fine. Completely out of the woods. I still need to stay for a couple of days, though. Standard recovery time and all. Upside: an extra, non-pregnant month before the wedding. That's gotta be good, right?"
Amy nods, her eyes narrowing thoughtfully, making you worry as you see the wheels turning in her head,
"What?" You ask her warily, not liking her plotting expression,
"What?" She responds with an innocent shrug,
You're about to try to talk her out of whatever it is when you hear Margaret gurgle and fuss,
"Aw, este bine, fetita. Calmeaza-te." Seb whispers to her, snuggling her closer and rocking to calm her. You both decided that you wanted her to be able to understand Romanian from the start, so Seb had been trying to teach you, at least little phrases you could use with her.
You were surprisingly rubbish at it, but you'd almost gotten the hang of it. You thought you understood a few words, like him calling her 'little girl' or telling her not to worry. You were still working on it though, so most of the time you were practically guessing.
Meanwhile, she wasn't calming down, which meant one thing:
"Ti-e foame?" You cooed, reaching for her. Despite your thick American accent, Seb still looked pleasantly surprised,
"Not bad." He nodded in approval, "She's hungry, huh?"
He passed her to you and discreetly asked for some privacy so that you could feed her. The little group was almost to the door when you remembered,
"Amy," you catch her at the door, "please don't booby trap my apartment."
She winks, which almost puts you at ease, but unsettles you at the same time. You don't have much time to worry about it as Margaret fusses more insistently, determined to be fed,
"Um..." Sebastian starts, "She wouldn't actually do that, right?"
"Wish I could say she wouldn't."
He chuckles uncomfortably, looking like he may want to follow them, but like it's not worth leaving you. He pulls out his phone instead, texting Chris to keep an eye on George and Amy if they end up back at the apartment,
"You can go with them if you're that worried." You chuckle,
"Yeah right." He looks at you like you're crazy, "Remember what happened last time I left?" You think it was supposed to be a joke, but the memory was sobering either way.
Balancing Margaret with one arm, now content to be eating, you reach for his hand,
"None of this was your fault. There's nothing you could have done differently, and it all turned out fine. Try not to worry over it."
"But what if--"
You pull him down to you, silencing his argument with a kiss.
When you try to pull away, he holds onto you, pulling you closer, kissing you deeper. He strokes his thumb across your jaw, combing his other hand through your hair as he pulls back with a sigh and leans his forehead against yours.
"I hope you know," he whispers, "I'm not letting you girls go anytime soon."
"Good thing you won't have to."
.
.
.
"Do you want me to go in and check first?" Seb asks as the two of you approach your apartment. Two days later, you've been discharged from the hospital, your family finally getting to go home.
"Nah, it's fine. Amy knows that I'll lynch her if she scares Maggie her first night home." You speak loud enough that you can be sure she hears you through the door,
"For Pete's sake!" You hear her gripe, her footsteps thumping down the hall, "You know I would never." She says, opening the door and stepping aside after alleviating Sebastian of your purse and duffle bag.
He had determined that you would carry nothing heavier than the diaper bag, and no matter how awkward it seemed for him to be carrying Margaret in her carrier, and your duffle from your hospital stay, he wouldn't even allow you to take your purse. Even though he wouldn't admit it, he looked relieved when he was able to set down the baby seat, roll his shoulders, and flop down onto the couch
"You want a drink?" You ask, half teasing,
"Oh, I can get it. Don't worry about it." He says, starting to stand.
"Don't even think about it." You push him back down, he hardly even puts up a fight. It just occurs to you how odd that is when you step into the kitchen and are met with a quiet, though enthusiastic,
"Surprise!"
Clapping a hand over your mouth to muffle your yelp, you finally begin to register the faces of a dozen or so of your closest friends and a few family members all crammed into the small room with balloons, food, drinks, and even gifts,
"What's this?" You ask, turning to see Seb and Amy smiling at you,
"She was actually planning on this being next week." He says,
"Generally, this would happen before the baby comes, but since she decided she was ready ahead of schedule, I figured you would probably need these things a bit early as well. Honestly, I was afraid they wouldn't be able to make it. Your extended stay at the hospital was the perfect opportunity, I couldn't pass it up." Amy says, almost bashful,
You blink at her, still a little confused,
"It's your baby shower."
You try to chalk it up to pregnancy hormones, but you just can't hold in the flood of tears that spills over. Amid the shutter clicks and 'aw's, you get hugs and heartfelt congratulations from every friend,
"So this is what you were planning?" You ask her, once well-wishes had been expressed,
"Sort of. The real evil plan is what I'm considering your gift." With that she takes your and Sebastian's hands and leads you both down the hall, leaving Margaret with Mackie, Chris, and George all cooing over her.
Without preamble, she leads you into the nursery.
You gasp, taking in the pale yellow walls, the pastel butterflies and flowers in a mobile above a crib of dark wood, the glider rocker placed between the window and crib, various stuffed animals, the bookshelf overflowing with children's books. It was exactly what you pictured. Exactly what Seb described, and judging by the way he laces his arm around your back, he agrees,
"Amy," he says quietly, "it's perfect."
"I took some liberties on the decor, since we found out she's a girl. Thought it would be nice if it wasn't completely gender neutral. I also got George to put the bigger furniture together."
"Seriously, Amy. Perfect." You say.
She blushes, more than a little proud of her work,
"I'll bring Maggie in." She says, leaving you two alone.
You drift into each other, his arms wrapping around your back, yours finding their way around his neck, resting your head against his chest,
"Welcome home." He says softly.
You know what you want to say.
It's on the tip of your tongue. Everything in you wants to say it.
You lean your head back to look at him, open your mouth to speak,
"I think someone is getting hungry... Or tired... Or she just doesn't like me, I don't know. I don't really speak baby... Oh." George appears at the door with a fussy Margaret, squirming in her carrier. He immediately senses his interruption, "Maybe we should come back later, Magpie, looks like mommy and daddy are busy."
"No," you tell him, reaching for her, "it's okay, we want her to see her room anyway, right?"
He sets the carrier on the changing table and you carefully scoop her up,
"I'm gonna go... grab something to eat. Yeah, that sounds believable." He says, backing out of the room.
"Not exactly overflowing with tact, is he?" Seb chuckles when George is gone,
"You have to ask? You remember the night we met, right?" You shake your head remembering the pitiful attempt at a set up.
He looks at you thoughtfully,
"I do."
"I swear, if you say you loved me as soon as you saw me, baby or no baby, I'll smack you." You laugh.
"Maybe not love, but if I hadn't just gotten out of a relationship... Maybe this wouldn't have taken so long." He says,
"This? This what?"
He steps forward, his hands digging a little deeper into his pockets. He takes a deep breath, about to speak,
"Where are they?" You hear Elise's voice echo down the hall, followed by the front door closing, "I want to see my granddaughter."
You can't help but snort when Seb closes his eyes, his head drooping with a sigh. You make him meet your eyes with a hand on his cheek, but before either of you can say any more, Elise appears in the doorway.
"There she is!" She coos immediately, "Oh Sebastian, ea este frumoasa."
"Oh, 'frumoasa'. 'Beautiful', right?" You ask Sebastian, he nods,
"I don't know why you think you aren't getting the hang of it." He says, shaking his head at you,
"Do you mind?" Elise asks and you pass her over, "I'm assuming she has a name, yes?"
It finally dawned on you that Elise didn't get to visit while you were in the hospital. She hadn't heard.
"We decided on Margaret Elisabeta Stan." You tell her.
She gasps softly, looking between you and Sebastian, her eyes welling slightly. She takes a breath, looking down at the baby in her arms, the baby named after her,
"Welcome home, Little Margaret." She says quietly.
You catch Seb's eye,
"Yeah," you breathe, "welcome home."
