Cooper's Children's Home - New Beginnings // BradGa

T H I R T E E N

Bradley watched Stefani sleep inside of the hospital bed, her lips slightly parted and her skin still sweaty.

She'd barely made it through giving birth before the incredible exhaustion overcame her and she basically fainted on the spot. The fibromyalgia pain intensified as soon as the first contractions had hit her earlier that day and the dreadful hours until she could give birth hurt Bradley more than he could process. Seeing her in so much pain, even after they tried to medicate her, felt like someone continuously stabbed him. He held their perfectly healthy baby girl in his arms and gently played with her tiny fingers that had been wrapped around one of his fingers the second she was placed inside of his arms.

Stefani stirred in her sleep and let out a groan at how stiff her muscles felt. She could barely move when all she wanted to do was enjoy the arrival of their baby with Bradley. Her head turned to look at Bradley and their daughter and she managed to smile at the beautiful sight in front of her. She couldn't believe they were a little family now.

"Hey. How are you feeling?" Bradley asked quietly, not wanting to startle Angel awake.

Stefani tried to get rid of some of the tension by gently moving her limbs with a frown on her face. "Tense. I'm just glad most of the pain is over." She sighed. "How are you?"

Bradley chuckled. "Pretty fucking happy. She's stunning, Stef. I can't believe we made her." He said in awe, getting up to sit down on the bed next to Stefani. He gently pushed the blanket out of Angels face and showed her to Stefani again.

She barely had time to hold her or appreciate her after giving birth because she was in way too much pain, so it felt like laying eyes on the creation of their unconditional love for the very first time. She couldn't stop the tears from coming and let out a frustrated huff when one of them rolled down her cheek. She gently wiped it away and smiled, not daring to take her eyes off of their little Angel.

"I know you can't see now, but her eyes are blue, just like mine." He told her, a huge smile on his face.

"I'll be in big trouble then. Your eyes are my weakness." Stefani giggled, gently tracing the curve of the baby's nose with her pinky.

"You mean, I'll be in big trouble! She's already got me wrapped around her tiny little fingers and she didn't do anything yet. Now I have two beautiful women in my life." He complained, showing Stefani the way Angels fingers held onto his finger.

"God, I love you so much." She whispered to Bradley, who gently placed his lips on hers, savoring her taste.

"I was scared shitless before. I thought you'd faint on me or something." He mumbled, a worried look on his face. "I really thought I'd lose you for a moment. You looked like you were in the most intense pain."

Stefani wiped at his slightly teary eyes and rubbed his cheek with her thumb to soothe him a little. "I'm so sorry I scared you that much." She whispered. "I'm fine now and we're going to be the happiest little family ever. I promise."

••••

"I can't believe she peed on me. Again!" Bradley complained, showing his wet shirt off to Stefani who held back a laugh.

Angel had a habit of peeing every time Bradley picked her up to change her diaper and it made him mad every single time. Not that he'd ever be able to stay mad at the adorable baby, but he'd be lying if he said that changing his shirt three times a day wasn't annoying the crap out of him.

He handed the happy baby to Stefani who immediately placed a warm bottle of milk against her lips and began to feed her. She came to a stop in front of Bradley and grinned up at him, placing her lips on his. "Maybe you should get out of that shirt then and wait for me in the bedroom?" She mumbled against his lips before letting out a laugh at the way Bradley immediately took off towards their bedroom.

••••

Stefani ran her finger along his chest, both of them still out of breath after they made love for hours, just enjoying the comfort their touch brought to them.

"I can't believe she didn't wake up. You were loud today." Bradley teased her.

She sat up a little and laughed, pushing at his shoulder. "Shut up! You weren't exactly quiet either." She kissed him, squealing when he rolled them over in bed again, his body hovering over hers. He brushed some hair out of her face and smiled. Bradley couldn't believe that she was his, the mother to his child and the love of his life. He never wanted to live another day without her by his side, that was something he was sure of.

"What are you thinking about?" Stefani asked, running her fingers along his scalp in a comforting way when she noticed he had drifted off into deep thought.

"How I never want to live a single day without you in my life again." He answered truthfully, holding the intense lock their eyes had.

"The feeling is quite mutual." She smiled, letting him kiss her again.

When her eyes opened again and she caught sight of the diamond ring that reflected the lights inside of their bedroom perfectly she let out a gasp. Her eyes filled with tears and Bradley couldn't believe that they managed to outshine even the most blinding diamonds on earth.

"I could go off into an endless speech about how much I love you but I could probably not even name all the things that I find so mesmerizing about you, Stef. You gave me the most beautiful daughter I could've asked for, a home in your heart and I don't even deserve you. I treated you terribly and I promised I'd spend the rest of my life, making it up to you and I would love to seal that promise with this ring." He paused, gently grabbing her shaking hand in his to trace her ring finger. "Stefani Joanne, you're the love of my life and you will always be. Please, marry me?" He asked, the hopeful glance in his eyes making her tear up even more.

How could this man, even for a second, doubt that she'd want anything else besides just that? To spend the rest of her hopefully long life with him embedded into her heart. "There's literally nothing I'd want more than that, Bradley." She whispered, watching him slip the beautiful ring onto her finger. It didn't surprise her that it fit perfectly, he'd studied every single part of her body more than once.

"I love you more than words can say." He smiled, relieved at her answer. He already couldn't tear his eyes away from the ring on her finger. His ring on her finger.

Stefani grabbed the back of his neck and pulled him down again, so she could kiss him, making him chuckle at her eagerness. "Make love to me?" She whispered.

Bradley locked eyes with her, their fingers laced together over her head when he entered her, doing just that. There was nothing that could compare to the feeling of their bodies connecting like this and they both felt pure ecstasy rush through their veins with every second that passed by.

His lips found hers in a passionate kiss while they both neared the edge, their breaths shallow.

"I love you." Stefani whispered breathlessly, her body giving up on her after she came, her eyes closing as the exhaustion finally overcame her.

Bradley traced her arm with his fingers and placed a kiss on her forehead, watching her fall asleep inside of his arms.

Little did they both know that they had another new beginning ahead of them.

The end.