23 | mend life

"COME ON, AVELINA! You can do it... push!" the doctor exclaimed. Adrik's hand was beginning to get sore from how tightly she held onto him.

Despite being curious to see the baby come out of her, he didn't leave her side.

She screamed as she began to push. Strands of her dark hair stuck to her face with sweat. No matter how many times Adrik put her hair back, it always managed to fall back onto her face. He wanted to give it up, but the urge to fix her hair was too strong, so he ended up fixing it once again.

As he touched her hair, he already began to miss his own. He cut it off because he wanted to go for more of a fatherly look. The men he observed on the streets and on his phone never had long hair. Their hair was always cut down, short, and simple. He wished to be just as good as a father, and to him, the first step into becoming one was looking the part.

If only he had been there with Avelina. He knew he could trust leaving Natasha with her seeing as she was a great protector, but it wasn't an excuse for a quick, reckless decision. They had too many enemies to leave Avelina alone. All he knew was that now he had two people to protect—both Avelina and their baby. He couldn't afford any more quick, reckless decisions.

"One more time! Push!" the doctor exclaimed.

Again, Avelina clamped down on Adrik's hand as she gave a big push. Only this time, they were awarded with the sound of a baby wailing. Adrik immediately looked over to see his baby in the hands of the doctor, covered in blood, crying.

"It's a girl!" the doctor said, smiling as she looked down at her. Adrik looked over at Avelina to see there were tears in her eyes. The doctor began to dry off as much blood and fluid from the baby using a soft towel just before wrapping her in a pink blanket.

Slowly, the doctor handed her over to Avelina who couldn't stop smiling.

If Natasha hadn't left so suddenly, saying she had things to take care of, she would have gone through the roof in joy. She loved babies—always had.

He quickly joined Avelina, leaning down to inspect their newborn. She was the most beautiful girl in the world. The nurse came and clamped her umbilical cord.

"Would you like to do the honors, Dad?" the nurse asked Adrik, handing him a tool to cut the umbilical cord. It was different being referred to as someone's father, but it was a good different.

He couldn't take his eyes off their baby girl even as he cut the cord connecting her to her mother. It was quite tough to get through, but he managed to do it.

"Okay, Mom, we have to go run some tests and clean her up. Do we have a name for her?" the nurse asked just as the doctor walked out of the room after saying her goodbyes and stitching Avelina up.

Adrik looked over at Avelina. They never really got the chance to discuss any baby names. Just as Adrik gazed at Avelina, she gazed back.

"Marina," Adrik answered, turning to face the nurse. A smile came across Avelina's face.

The nurse grinned. "Beautiful name for such a precious girl," she said.

Avelina allowed the nurse to take the baby. It was impossible not to see the instant attraction she had for Marina. There was longing in her eyes the moment she was taken from her.

"I'll be right back with your paperwork," she said, walking out of the room after placing her inside of a carrier.

"Did you know Marina was my mother's middle name?" Avelina asked, turning to Adrik with a sleepily grin. She looked more pale than normal and it was obvious she was exhausted.

"I did not," he answered.

"I love it," she told him. "Natasha had this big idea to combine both our cultures into a name... so, what about Marina Elizaveta Zolotov?"

"Marina Elizaveta Zolotov," he smiled. Adrik came over and pressed his lips to her sweaty forehead. Once she turned away, he grabbed a nearby tissue and wiped his lips.

"You are tired," he pointed out. "You should sleep."

Just on time, she yawned. Thankfully, the doctors had given her a lot of medication for pain and even an epidural. If they hadn't, he was sure he would never get the chance to rest his throbbing hand.

"After Marina comes back," she said tiredly, turning her head to the side and shutting her eyes. Adrik sat down in a nearby chair, staring lovingly at his gorgeous woman who gave him the most precious gift in the world—Mariaba. Even with all her sweat and exhumation, she was breathtaking.

Just before she could fall asleep, a different nurse had returned with paperwork. They had to sign everything from birth certificates to pay for labor. Adrik did most of the work, seeing as Avelina had just given birth.

Once they completed everything, the nurse informed them that the baby would return shortly and exited the room.

Avelina began to fall asleep again. He could tell she was battling her tiredness as every time she shut her eyes, she would open them just before slowly drifting off to sleep again.

He reached for her hand, and just as sleep was about to overcome her, her eyes shot open.

"Miss Paola!" she exclaimed, looking around the room frantically. "Miss Paola wanted to be here! Oh, I'm the worst person ever! She took care of me and Marina and she's not even here!"

When she realized there wasn't a phone around, she turned to Adrik. "Please, call Miss Paola and tell her to be on her way! Tell her I had a baby girl, and tell her we named her Marina. Tell her I'm sorry."

"Okay," Adrik said, pulling out his cell phone. He wanted to make sure Avelina went to sleep, so he took it upon himself to leave the room. The moment he was out in the hallway where the walls were painted blue and full of fake fish and rubber duckies, he dialed Miss Paola's number.

At first, the number went to voicemail after dialing it a few times. So, he decided to try again and only this time did she answer.

"Hello?" a voice questioned. It wasn't the loud Miss Paola that Adrik was familiar with. The voice was softer, yet still very mature-sounding.

"Am I speaking to Miss Paola?" Adrik asked into the phone.

"Yes, well, no... it's her daughter, Cheyenne," she said.

"Well, can I speak to Miss Paola?" Adrik's glanced over at the doorway to see Avelina once again fighting her sleep. "It's important."

Cheyenne sighed. "My momma is sick right now. She's too weak..." her voice cracked. "She's too weak to answer the phone right now. I'm sorry."

"Okay," Adrik stated. "Goodbye."

He pulled the phone away from his ear and hung up the phone. Once he entered the room again, it appeared that Avelina lost her battle to sleep because there she was, her eyes closed and her lips parted. Shutting the door behind him, Adrik had gone to go sit down on the chair.

Just as he did, the door opened and the nurse came in with the baby. A smile came across Adrik's face as the nurse picked her up and placed her into Adrik's awaiting arms.

"Marina is good to go. She passed all the tests. Mom over here certainly delivered s healthy baby at eight pounds and twenty inches," the nurse informed Adrik. "If there are no future complications, Avelina could be heading home tomorrow."

"Okay," Adrik said, never taking his eyes off his beautiful girl. Her eyes were still shut, and she had the smallest amount of hair atop her head. She already looked a lot like Avelina.

The love Adrik felt in his heart was unlike anything he had ever felt before. With Marina in his arms and against his chest, it was like Beethoven himself was playing a ballad right there in the hospital room.

"Okay," the nurse chuckled. "I'll be right back in once Mom is awake to check on her. If you need anything, there's a button on Avelina's bed that will call for me immediately."

Adrik didn't respond, so she took it as a sign to leave. With a smile, she exited the room and closed the door behind her.

Adrik went to fix Marina's blanket, which they kept around her body when she grabbed ahold of his finger with her little hand. Adrik's smile grew until he planted a kiss on her forehead.

"I love you," he told Marina. "And I promise to always protect you."

—

Instagram: amarieauthor

Twitter: amarieauthor

Facebook: authoramarie

Tiktok: amarieauthor

Website: amarieauthor

Join my Patreon to get the next couple of chapters before Wattpad! Go to the link in my description or https://patreon.com/eroticmarie

Thank you for reading. Please vote.