Pain and exhaustion blurred together as the contractions swept over me in waves, each one pulling me further into an aching darkness I couldn’t shake. I could barely make out Jaxon’s voice beside me, his words steady, his grip on my hand a firm anchor keeping me grounded.
“You’re going to be alright, Jasmine,” he said, his voice as steady as his hand on mine. “Both you and the baby will be fine. I promise.”
I clung to those words as the world faded in and out, my only thought for the child I was about to bring into this world, desperate for him to be safe. “Please… the baby,” I murmured, fighting back tears as the sharpness of another contraction washed over me. “Save him… please, save him.”
Jaxon’s fingers tightened around mine, his voice dropping to a whisper. “He’ll be alright, Jasmine. He’s a fighter, just like his mother.”
As the nurse guided me through each breath, Jaxon had to step aside briefly to fill out paperwork at her request. She’d assumed, naturally, that he was the baby’s father, and though we both knew he wasn’t, he filled out what he could without hesitation, nodding to me through the doorway. He was there for me, for my son.
Hours passed in a fog, my mind racing as I labored, until finally, finally, I heard the faint cry of my baby—a sound so powerful, it seemed to reach into my heart and stitch it back together. Relief washed over me as I fell back against the hospital bed, every ounce of strength gone, yet my spirit lighter than it had been in years.
The nurse placed my son in my arms, his tiny form bundled in a blue blanket, his features a soft reflection of my own. No trace of Cale, nothing but a pure, innocent spirit free of the pain that had brought him here. My heart swelled, a fierce love washing over me as I looked down at him. My child, my son. He was my flesh and blood, my hope for a life that was mine alone.
Jaxon was by my side moments later, his expression unreadable as he looked down at the tiny bundle in my arms. A trace of a smile touched his lips, softened by a hint of awe. “He’s beautiful, Jasmine,” he said quietly. “Strong, too.”