Summary: After so much pain and heartbreak, Drake realizes he finally has everything he could have wanted.
Drake knew he should be sleeping. That’s what everyone said, to sleep when the baby sleeps. But in spite of the exhaustion that seemed to weigh down every inch of him, Drake couldn’t take his eyes off of either one of them. Riley, so strong and beautiful, her body curled around Clara’s sleeping form between them in the bed. Drake couldn’t believe their daughter was here, really here. Clara sighed deeply in her sleep and shifted slightly, her tiny fist clutching a hank of Riley’s hair.
After the second miscarriage, Drake had been ready to give up. As badly as he wanted kids, it broke his heart to watch Riley suffer in the aftermath of each loss, so full of the pain of being empty. But Riley had wanted to try again and he’d agreed. He’d do anything for her. And this time, the pregnancy hadn’t ended in tears on their bathroom floor. This time, Drake had held her hand while Riley squeezed so hard he thought she might break his fingers. This time, a tiny, scowling baby had been placed in his arms. Riley had laughed when she saw Clara’s expression.
“Look at how grumpy she is,” Riley had said. “There’s no doubt she takes after her dad.”
But Drake hadn’t been scowling then. Instead, he’d been staring with a love he didn’t know he could feel at his new daughter, so small and perfect and completely, completely worth waiting for.
Careful not to jostle his sleeping wife and daughter, Drake leaned down and gently kissed Clara’s forehead. He felt like he’d spent so long waiting to kiss his baby girl and he swore to himself that he wouldn’t miss a single kiss, a single hug, or a single moment with the two women he loved most in the world.
Drake laid his head back down on the pillow and gazed at Riley and Clara, mesmerized by the steady rise and fall of their breathing. He finally closed his eyes and allowed himself to sink into a satisfied sleep, certain that everything he could ever want in life was beside him.
