Little Marks

Prologue

I picked up my phone anxiously, the name of mine and Dan's surrogate showing up. "Ember? Is everything okay?" I asked, biting my lip.

"My water broke. I need you to come get me and bring me to the hospital." She responded calmly. I said that we would be there soon and hung up.

"DANIEL JAMES LESTER WE NEED TO GO RIGHT NOW GET IN THE CAR WE'RE HAVING A BABY!" I yelled, shoving my feet into a pair of shoes. I grabbed my keys and ran out of our apartment, Kineti barking loudly in the office. Dan quickly followed and shut the door behind him, the two of us racing down the stairs to the first floor and out to our car, both of us getting in and buckling. I quickly pulled out of our parking spot and raced to our surrogates home, where she was waiting outside, clutching her stomach. Dan got out and helped her into the backseat, where she promptly had a contraction, crying in pain. Dan stayed in the back with her while I drove, my knuckles white from anticipation.

~~~

"Push Ember!" One of the nurses encouraged her. Ember gripped my hand tight while Dan wiped the sweat from her forehead. She cried out in pain as she tried to push again, panting. "One more! She's crowning!" Ember took a deep breath and made one last big push, our daughter exiting her body. Our baby started crying and Dan was given scissors to cut the umbilical cord. Once the cord was cut, the nurses and doctor took her away to be cleaned and measured. Dan and I congratulated Ember for her hard work and she just smiled.

"I'm glad we found you. You have been the best surrogate we could have asked for." Dan spoke.

"I'm glad you found me. I've never had a set of parents so dedicated to having a child. You gave me everything I needed and more. Thank you for letting me be part of this process."
"Just know that anytime you want to come visit, just catch up and talk or see how she grows up, you can feel free to come by. You're her mother, she'll want to know you at some point or another."

A nurse came in. "Okay guys time to let her rest, it's been a long twelve hours of labor she needs her sleep." We were led out, and instead of going to the waiting room we went to go see the nursery. By the time we found it, she was laying in a crib. Her tan skin stood out against the pink blanket she was put in, and she wasn't crying, just staring up at the ceiling, green eyes shining brightly. I pulled Dan close and pecked his lips, my eyes tearing up.

"We're dads now," I say happily. "We have a family. Our little girl has been born. We get to bring her to our new home in a few days." I start crying silently, overwhelmed with emotions. Dan wrapped his arms around me, also tearing up.

"Our little girl. Italy Impavido Lester." He wiped away my tears and smiled up at me. 

~~~