"I can't believe this is actually happening." Troye breathed, staring down at the sleeping baby in my arms. The little girl's eyes twitched under her closed eyelids as she dreamed.
"Believe it, Troye. It's really happening." I whispered back and his eyes flicked up to meet mine. There was so much love in his eyes that I was sure he'd explode any second. We were at the hospital where we'd gotten to meet our new baby daughter for the first time. She'd been born about an hour ago and since the nurse had handed the baby to me, neither Troye nor I had moved other than the occasional shift of weight from one foot to the other.
"We're parents, Con. For real."
"For real." I repeated.
"Troye? Connor?" I looked up at the sound of our names and saw the birth mother smiling at us. She looked exhausted and couldn't even stand on her own. Instead she was sat in a wheelchair.
"What are you doing here? You should be resting!" Troye exclaimed, rushing over to her in a slight panic. She just laughed.
"I'm okay. I just wanted to make sure she got to you guys okay."
"Did you want to meet her?" I asked hesitantly. I knew she'd said she didn't want to meet the baby before but it might be different now that the baby was born and cradled in my arms.
"No. I feel like if I see her, I'll want to take her home with me. And she won't have a good life with me. You guys will give her so much more than I ever could." She decided and I nodded. "I do have one request, though."
"Anything. You've given us the most precious thing we could have hoped for. We're happy to do anything we can for you." Troye agreed straight away and I nodded.
"C-could you, maybe, name her after me? Not necessarily my name as her first but maybe as her middle name?" I blinked in surprise.
"You want us to name her?"
"Yeah. I figured since she's your daughter, you should name her."
"Of course we can name her after you. Riley is a beautiful name." Troye said with a meaningful look at me.
"I like the sound of Riley Mae." I said.
"That's beautiful guys." She sighed with another smile at both of us. "She's going to have a wonderful life with you two."
"That's the plan." I told her, smiling back. "I can't tell you how much we're grateful to you. You've helped us start our family."
"Well, she's better off with you than with me."
"As much as it sounds horrible to say it, I agree." Troye said quietly.
"It's okay." She grinned and gave his hand a small squeeze. "I'd better be getting back now. The doctors told me not to use too much energy for a while."
"Of course. Thank you so much, Riley. We really are forever in your debt." Troye leaned down to hug her.
"No. You don't have to be. You're just doing what I can't. Enjoy her, love her, be the parents I couldn't be."
"We will." I grinned, slightly tightening my hold on my new daughter. "Make sure you look after yourself now. Don't hurt yourself."
"I'll be careful." She began to wheel herself out of the room, leaving Troye and I alone again. He crossed the room and stood behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist as he kissed my temple.
"Connor, we have a daughter." He whispered and I felt his breath on my ear.
"We do. Do you want to hold her? I feel like I've been hogging her."
