Staal

I woke up to find Jordan sitting in the chair beside my bed. I sat up, trying to ignore the protest of my stomach as I did.

"Jordan?'

He turned. "Hey Babe. How are you feeling?"

"A whole lot better. What time is it?"

"It's 11 am. You slept through the rest of yesterday and last night."

"Why did you let me sleep that long?" I asked, shocked.

"Because you were still pumped full of anesthetic, and you deserved that sleep. I know you weren't sleeping well the past few days."

"Thank you for letting me sleep. How's Emma?"

"She's fine. She's in the nursery right now."

"Can you go get her?" I asked, wanting to spend time with my baby girl.

"Sure. You need to call Hope. Let her know what happened. Max told her but she didn't believe him." Jordan smiled as he left the room.

I picked up the phone and dialed Hope's number. It rang four times before she answered.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Hope. What's up?"

"Charli? OH MY GOD!! Are you alright? How's the baby?"

'I'm good. A little tired and my stomach is really sore. Emma is wonderful. She's very pleasant."

"Are you up for visitors? I really want to come see her." Hope asked.

"Umm, yea. I'm feeling better than I did yesterday. I think I could manage to stay up long enough for you to grace me with your presence."

"Shut up you skank. I'll be there when I get off. You're in the children's hospital right."

"Yes mam. Now, get back to work. I'll see you in a bit." I hung up and sat back in bed.

After waiting for a few minutes, I heard my door creak open and Jordan walk in carrying Emma in his arms.

"Come here. I wanna see my girl." I said, opening my arms and accepting her.

"So, I just ran into Marc."

"Really? Has he met Emma yet?" I asked, smiling down at her.

"Yeah. Danielle's in labor." Jordan said smiling.

"WHAT!" I yelled. Emma started to cry. "Oh, I'm sorry darling. I didn't mean to scare you."

"Yeah. All of the stress from you made her go into labor. I think Marc's baby didn't want to come second."

"Well, too bad. How far along is she?"

"About four centimeters he said. She's having a hard time with it."

"Aww, poor thing. Hope is coming to visit me in a little while. After that, I"m gonna talk to my doctor and see if I can go sit with her. She wanted me there with her - I can't let her down."

"I know sweetie. I'm gonna go hang out with them when Hope comes. I'll come back in about an hour ok?" He asked, kissing Emma on the forehead as he stood up.

"What, I don't get a kiss too?" I asked, pouting a little bit.

He smirked and laid the most passionate kiss I've ever had on my lips.

I started panting. "God, man. What are you trying to do, kill me?"

"Nope! I love you."

"I love you too. Give Danni my love." I said as he left.

I had a few minutes alone with Emma before Hope came in.

"Hey, Darling. How are you feeling?" She asked, putting the gift bag on the table at the foot of my bed.

"I'm feeling great. Danielle's in labor now."

"Really? This is crazy. Those babies just couldn't wait to come out."

"Well, Danielle was actually pregnant a month before I was. So she's technically right on time." I smiled.

"So, how's the little miss?" Hope asked.

"She's great. Do you want to hold her?" I asked.

Hope nodded and I placed Emma gently in her arms. They both looked at each other and formed an instant bond.

"Wow, Emma. You're the first baby that hasn't cried when I hold them. I like you already kid."

Emma gurgled in reply.

"So, how are you and Max?" I asked.

"We're good. We're thinking about moving in together." She said.

I almost choked on the water I was drinking. "You what?'

"Yeah. We've been together for almost five months now. We think it's time to take that step."

"Well, then. I hate to say I told you so - but I told you so! I told you you'd end up in a long relationship with that boy."

"I know. I'll admit it." She said as my doctor walked into the room.

"Hi Dr. Stirling. What's up?" I asked.

"Just wanted to come check on you and see how you were feeling." He said.

"I'm good. Really excited because Danielle is in labor now."

"That's great. Are you feeling any pain?"

"Umm, not really. It's really sore, but no pain."

"That's wonderful. I just want to do a quick exam and then we'll decide on your release date."

He examined me while Hope took Emma over to the window and showed her the view of the city.

"Well, Charli. You're healing amazingly well. I'm very impressed."

"Thanks. When do you think I can go home?" I asked.

He thought for a minute. "Well, you did just have major surgery. I'd like to keep you for another few days at least."

"Can I get out of bed and go visit Danielle?"

"I don't see why not. As long as your in a wheelchair." He said.

"Ok. I'm cool with that." He smiled and left.

"Sweet. Only a few more days!!" I beamed.

"Yay. I'm so happy for you." Hope said.

We sat and talked for a while until her pager went off. "Damn it. That was work. I need to go back." She said, handing Emma back to me.

"It's ok. I still love you." I smiled. "Call me later on tonight if it's not too late."

"I will. Talk to you later. Bye Emma." She said as she left. "Oh, wait a minute. This is for you." She said, handing the gift bag to me.

I opened it to find a few sleeper's and a baby-sized Toronto jersey with "EMMA" on the back.

"Aww, thanks so much. I love it." I said, laying Emma down on the bed between my legs and giving Hope a hug.

"You're welcome. I figured you'd want something nicer to put her in while you guys were here."

Hope smiled and left the room. I decided that I was going to put Emma in one of her new outfits. I took her out of the one she was in and put her in the purple sleeper that said "Superstar". I knew that Max picked that one out!

I sat and enjoyed my daughters company as I brushed my hair and put on a little bit of make up.

"Babe, what are you doing?" Jordan asked as he came back into the room.

"Getting ready to go visit Danielle." I said, putting my lip gloss down on the table.

"How was your visit?" Jordan asked, picking Emma up off the bed. "Did Max pick this outfit out?"

I laughed. "Yea. Hope brought a bag of goodies for Emma. Did you know what Max and Hope are moving in together?"

"Yeah. Called and told me earlier today while you were sleeping. He said not to tell you because Hope wanted to."

I smiled. "See, I told you they would end up in the long-term."

"I know you did." Jordan said, sitting down on the bed next to me.

"How's Danni doing?"

"She's alright. Still having a hard time with it though. What did Dr. Stirling say?"

"Well, he said that he wants to keep me for a few more days. But, I can go visit Danielle as long as I'm in a wheelchair." I smiled.

"That's great. We can put Emma back in the nursery and I'll take you down to Danielle's room." Jordan smiled.

Jordan went and got me a wheelchair. After making sure Emma was settled in the nursery we headed down to Danielle's room.

She looked horrible. You could tell she was having a hard time. She was sweating profusely and seemed to not be able to get comfortable.

"Hey, Danni. How are you feeling?" I asked as we got closer to the bed.

"Charli? Thank god you're here. I feel terrible." She said, grabbing my hand.

"How far along are you?" I asked.

"I think he said 8. I'm getting scared now. It's so close."

"I know, Sweetie. Just think though, it's almost over."

"I wish I could have surgery like you did." She said.

"No you don't. Trust me. It hurts like hell. I was unconscious for most of yesterday and today, and I've got this giant scar running from hip to hip. You don't want that. You just want the drugs." I smiled.

Danielle's doctor came in and checked her - revealing that she was 10 centimeters dilated and that it was time to have a baby.

"Get ready, Danni." I said. "I know that you want me to stay with you but I can't. Don't worry. Everything's gonna be fine. I'll see you in a little bit." I smiled, giving her hand one last squeeze as Jordan and I left the room.

It had been four hours and Jordan had gone to get Emma after the first two. We laid in bed with Emma in between us, watching tv when Marc came barreling in.

"It's a girl!!" Marc said, tears running down his face with a big smile plastered on his lips.

"Aww, congratulations Marky!" I said. "How's Danni feeling?"

"She's really tired, but happy. She wants to see you."

I held Emma and got in the wheelchair, taking her with me to meet her aunt and new cousin.

"Aww, Danni. How do you feel?" I asked when we made it to the room.

'Like I've been hit by a bus. But it's totally worth it! I want you to meet Carter Linda Staal."

I looked up to see the baby. She was beautiful. Emma was still the most beautiful, but Carter was a cutie.

"This is Emma. I didn't know if you had gotten to see her or not."

"No, I didn't. Oh my god, Charli. She's beautiful. Wow."

"Thank you."

"Listen. Marc is gone to ask Jared if he would be Carter's godfather. I was wondering if you'd be her godmother."

I was shocked. "Really?"

"Well yea. You're like a sister to me. Well, you are now. I'm closer to you than with my own sister. I think you'd be perfect."

"I'm honored. Of course I'll be her godmother." I smiled.

We sat and chatted for a while until Danielle was falling asleep. Jordan and I walked back to my room and got settled. We fed and changed Emma, and then put her to sleep.

I sat in bed and Jordan laid down beside me.

"Are you sleeping with me tonight?" I asked, laying my head on his chest.

"I haven't slept with you in three days - of course I'm sleeping with you." He smiled, placing a kiss on the top of my head.

"Jordan?"

"What?"

"Have you thought about who you'd like to be Emma's godparents?" I asked.

"Well, I was thinking Eric and your sister, Emily." He said.

"I like that. Jared and I are Carter's godparents."

"Really? That's awesome." He said, yawning.

"Aww, Babe. Are you tired?"

"Yea. I didn't get any sleep last night and I've been running around on empty all day." He said, getting comfortable.

"Ok, Babe. I'm pretty tired too. Let's go to bed before Emma wakes us up." I smiled.

"I love you, Sweetie."

"I love you too."

We shared a kiss and fell asleep in each others arms, our baby girl sleeping in the bassinet beside us.