Family Man

I was crying and screaming and being rushed through the hospital on a stretcher. I wasn't doing those things because I was about to have my first baby... well, the third thing was kind of the baby's fault. But I was crying and screaming because my husband wasn't here.

"Ella," I cried. She squeezed my hand as the nurses wheeled me into a room. "Did you talk to Teej?"

She nodded repeatedly. "He's on his way right now."

"How far away?"

"About an hour..."

I turned to the nurse. "How long until this stupid thing falls out?"

She was surprised and her eyes widened. "Um... Probably about an hour and a half. Do you think you can last that long?"

I breathed out a loud, heavy sigh of relief. "I hope it takes that long."

The nurse walked over to Ella and I and pulled out a clipboard.

"So your name is..."

"Emmaline Oshie."

"And the father of your baby's name?"

"TJ Oshie."

The nurse frowned slightly and raised an eyebrow.

"So the father is your husband?"

I nodded, becoming extremely annoyed with her constant questioning. A contraction rippled through me and I groaned.

"He couldn't make it?"

The tone of her voice made TJ sound like a selfish, unloving man who didn't want to be here to see his child's birth. I wanted to scream at her but Ella quickly took over.

"TJ is away on business, and he should be here in about an hour. I'm a good friend of theirs and so I brought Emma here."

The nurse nodded in understanding and left the room with the clipboard.

It seemed like years passed by as the nurses poked and prodded me. My stomach was wrenching with contractions, and I hadn't once stopped crying. I'm pretty sure I said some words I shouldn't have, but the nurses didn't mention it. They were in the middle of hooking me up to an IV when TJ burst through the door. I started to cry even harder seeing him there, and began to sob.

TJ ran over beside the bed and I barely noticed as Ella left the room.

"Baby girl," he cooed. He bent down and gave me a kiss, brushing my wet hair away from my eyes. His cheeks were flushed and his hair was a mess, but he looked entirely wonderful to me. I reached up and ran my fibngers through it a few times. He squeezed my hand and sat down by the bed. I held onto his hand for dear life; I was not letting him go now that I had him here.

"I'm so glad your here," I squeaked. TJ nodded and caressed my hand.

"Me too, baby, me too. What's happening now?"

"They said he'll be here soon."

A few minutes later, I was crying out in pain as I finally pushed that baby out of me. Tears were streaming down my face and as I looked over at TJ, I saw tears glistening in his eyes. I had kind of expected him to be the "I'm gonna puke" type guy, but no such thing. I was proud of him. He squeezed my hand and then brought it to his lips, kissing it gently. His knees were moving up and down like they always did when he was excited and nervous.

"Here you go," the nurse smiled, handing me my baby boy in a light blue blanket. She left us alone in the room and I motioned for TJ to come over.

"Let's see him at the same time," I whispered. TJ nodded and I pulled the blanket away. I felt my heart swell with pride as I took in the tiny baby. The one the love of my life and I had created. I felt more tears beginning to form as I was overwhelmed. I reached my finger down to gingerly touch his nose, and felt a smile grow on my face as he gripped his tiny fingers around my single one. "Hi, baby," I whispered. I could hardly bear the joy that was threatening to overpower me. I looked up at TJ and realized there were a few tears sliding slowly out of his eyes.

"Teej," I said gently. He laughed at himself and used the back of his hand to wipe his eyes. I held up the baby for him to hold. As he took it in his arms, I watched his reaction. He gently reached down and stroked his finger alongside the baby's cheek.

"I can't believe you're finally here, little guy." TJ's eyes were bright and he was smiling from ear to ear. He looked over at me. "Any names?"

"I was thinking Travis Timothy Oshie," I smiled up at him. "Gotta keep the Timothy going."

TJ nodded and grinned in agreement. "Well, hello then, Travis Timothy Oshie. Welcome to the best family in the world."