Unexpected (A Chris Hemsworth Fanfiction)

Chapter 31: Officially Mum & Dad

The News Flash We Sent to Family & Close Friends and Later the Official Birth Announcement:

Name: Christine Elyss Hemsworth

(This is a sidebar. Some may judge the fact that I decided to give Christine Chris' last name given his name was reflected in her first one. I expected Chris and I to get married at some point in the near future. But more importantly, I never had a real attachment to the surname of Andrews. I went by Perry Edwards, just to differentiate between my family and me. Although now, I had more connection to the Andrews, I lived by the concept of a rose by any other name would still be as sweet).

Date & Time of Birth: May 16th, 2016 @3:36 am

Weighing 7 lbs. and 8 ounces

She has her father's blue eyes and mother's thick brown hair

After a near two-day long labor, I expected us to be home: beginning our lives as a family at around 11am or so, eight hours following Christine's arrival. However, I was kept for another day, under observation for any early signs of post-delivery complications considering the labor stalled suddenly. As expected though, additional tests also needed to be performed, by virtue of Christine being a newborn. Thus, we were all camped out in the hospital room for another twenty-four hours. Although Chris and I could barely keep our hands and eyes off our daughter, we made the most of the circumstances by regaining some of our strength and rest lost over the prior thirty-six hours. I found it easier to sleep as I was no longer in a constant state of being on edge from muscle contractions or completely tethered to IVs and other hospital equipment, restricting my movement. I assumed that no matter where I was, at the hospital or in my own bed, the exhaustion would allow me to sink into dreams in order to be able to focus on home.

On the other hand, I truly underestimated the giddiness that seemed to fill every one of my cells after meeting Christine for the first time. The first thing on my mind was to get to sleep, but it was the last thing my body wanted to do. I felt like a kid trying to stake out a sleepover in terms of seeing who could stay up the longest. The giddiness could also be compared to the butterflies of first love. I was over the moon about Christine, but still the anxieties about motherhood faded in and out. I wished to constantly be watching her out of the pride stemming from disbelief of making that thing for over nine months as well as in protection, wondering what else could go wrong from here on out. The nervous and excited energy in tandem made it incredibly difficult to completely stay physically still over the course of the day. In between testing, check-in rounds from hospital, working with a lactation specialist, and our own hang-ups, we received visits from our family and friends.

Around mid-morning, some hours after Christine came into the world, Liam brought Leonie and Craig to meet the newest member of the Hemsworth family. The first thing that Liam did, of course, was remind me of our bet made on Christmas about the baby's sex. Leonie and Craig chastised him for his childishness, but I gave him a wink to prove that a debt owed would be a debt paid. The trio took turns holding Christine and fawning over her. Leonie despite this being her fifth grandchild, was all water and flattery. Craig and Liam practically had to beg her for a turn. When Craig held Christine, he made a comment about the exception of her blue eyes, fortunately this new baby girl took after me from the dark brown hair on her head down to the shape of her fingernails. Liam agreed with the assessment and made promises to her that he'd protect her forever while spoiling her rotten. He promised to get her into the trouble that he and his brothers got into. While we knew some of this was to make us squirm, I knew Liam wouldn't be the perfect influence and that didn't matter. If anything, that's what we wanted from Erika and Liam as the primary aunt and uncle, to teach Christine that it's okay to have a little fun and to do so, sometimes it means getting into trouble. Once they spent a couple hours with us, they gave us our privacy and instructed us to call when we were home, so we could coordinate times for help at home.