Until The End

The voices came through first, muffled and distant. I couldn't make out specific words or voices. It cleared slowly, and I turned my head.

"...doing all we can, Mr. Seward," a woman said.

"What are her conditions?" Johnny. "Is she getting better? Why isn't she waking up-"

"Johnny, sit down." Zacky. "I'm sorry about him. He's just worried about-"

I groaned, and the room went silent. A searing pain crossed below my stomach, and my breath faltered. I felt a hand on mine, and I opened my eyes. The room was bright, and everything was blurry. My head rolled, and I felt a shaky hand on my cheek.

"Lissa?" a quiet voice said next to me. My vision went in and out of focus, but I recognized Johnny as he said, "Lissa, it's me."

"Joh..." I said, barely making out his name. "John...ny...?"

"I'm here, Liss," he said. "Everyone's here."

I made out the blurry images of six other people in the room. I didn't know if I was smiling or not, but I was happy.

He kissed my cheek and said, "Liss, wait 'til you see her. She's beautiful."

"Wha..." I groaned.

"Emma," Johnny said. "She's the most beautiful baby I've ever seen. She looks just like you. The nurse says when you're awake, you can hold her. God, she's so tiny, Liss. Can you hear me?"

My head rolled again, but I said, "I wa...wanna see her..."

I forced my eyes to stay open, and I smiled at him. My vision cleared slowly, and I saw his bloodshot eyes light up. I ran a hand through his hair.

"Miss Turner, I'm afraid we're going to have to ask everyone else to leave the room," the nurse said.

"W-why?" I asked.

"It's regulations," the nurse said. "I wish I didn't have to, but because she was born two months early, we have to follow certain rules."

"M'kay," I mumbled. "B-but Johnny can stay...right?"

"He is the father?"

I nodded.

"Then yes. He's free to stay. I'll be back with your baby."

The nurse smiled and turned to leave. Zacky, Brian, Sam, Matt, Jimmy, and Naomi reluctantly left the room, and Johnny clutched my hand in both of his. He was shaking slightly, but he brought my hand to his lips.

"You gave everyone quite a scare," he chuckled. "They had to do an emergency c-section. We could have lost both you and Emma if they hadn't operated immediately."

I rubbed my eyes, trying to focus on something. Johnny kissed my forehead, and I took his hand. Even the pain from my incision couldn't allow me to comprehend that a child had come out of me. A living, breathing thing that I could hold.

There was a soft knock on the door, and Johnny opened it. I saw the nurse walk in, and her arms were filled with a tiny figure. I sucked in a breath and felt the tears welling up in my eyes.

"Emma..." I said quietly.

The nurse set her in my arms gently, and I saw her tiny face. She was sleeping peacefully. Her soft cheeks were a rosy red, and she had Johnny's round nose. I touched her small hand, and her tiny fingers wrapped around mine.

I felt a tear fall from my eye and watched as it hit her baby pink blanket. She was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. She was a living and breathing baby, and I had carried her for what seemed like an eternity. Every minute, every second, I had helped her become a tiny human being.

She let out a soft cry, and her mouth opened in a small yawn. Her eyes fluttered open, two pale blue diamonds. Her eyes locked with mine, and I smiled. There's a moment that changes everyone's lives, for better or worse, and at that moment, I would never be the same.

Johnny knelt down beside us and gently touched her cheek.

"Hi, Emma," he said quietly. "It's daddy. And this is your mommy. And you're here. You're finally here."

He was beaming. I'd never seen him happier, and I had never been happier myself.