Chapter 13 Ethan
Lara's pov
It happened at 2 AM on a Tuesday.
I woke up to wetness soaking through the sheets and a sharp cramp low in my belly.
For a second, I was confused. Then I realized.
Oh God. My water just broke.
"Damien!" I called out, trying to sit up.
"Damien!"
He stepped into my room in a few seconds, he was still half asleep and in his pajama pants.
"What's wrong? Are you—" He saw the wet sheets and his eyes went wide. "Oh.
Oh shit. Okay. Okay, this is happening."
"I'm two weeks early," I said, panic rising in my chest. "Is that bad? Is the baby okay?"
"Two weeks is fine. It's absolutely normal."
Damien was already moving, grabbing my hospital bag from the closet. "We need to go. Now. Can you walk?"
Another contraction hit and I gasped.
"Yeah. I think so."
He helped me up, his hands shaking .I'd never seen Damien nervous before. It was kind of sweet.
The drive to the hospital was a blur.
Damien held my hand the entire time, squeezing it so tight it almost hurt.
"You're gonna be fine," he kept repeating. "You're gonna be fine. Everything's gonna be fine."
I wasn't sure if he was talking to me or himself.
Eighteen hours.
The labour lasted that much. Eighteen brutal, exhausting, painful hours.
They got me into a delivery room and hooked up to monitors. The contractions came faster and harder, each one feeling like my body was being ripped apart.
"I can't do this," I sobbed around hour ten.
"I can't. It hurts too much."
"Yes you can," Damien said firmly. He was right beside me, had been the whole time.
"You're the strongest person I know, Lara. You can do this."
"I hate you," I screamed as another contraction hit.
"I know," he said. "You can hate me all you want. Just keep breathing."
He let me squeeze his hand until I was sure I was breaking bones. Never complained once. Just kept whispering encouragement, wiping my forehead with a cool cloth, telling me I was doing great.
Even when I screamed at him. Even when I told him this was all his fault. Even when I said things I didn't mean.
He just stayed
.
Hour fifteen, I was exhausted. Completely done.
"I can't push anymore," I cried. "I can't."
"Yes you can," the doctor said. "One more big push, Lara. Your baby's almost here."
"Come on," Damien urged, his face close to mine. "One more. You've got this."
I didn't think I had anything left. But I pushed anyway.
And then I heard it.
Crying. Loud, angry, healthy crying.
"It's a boy!" the doctor announced. "You have a son!"
A son.
I had a son.
The nurse placed him on my chest, this tiny, warm, screaming bundle. And the world just... stopped.
He was absolutely perfect.
Tiny fingers. Tiny toes. Dark hair plastered to his head. And when he opened his green eyes. Striking green eyes that seemed to look right at me.
"Hi baby," I whispered, tears rolling down my face. "Hi. I'm your mama."
He stopped crying at the sound of my voice. Just stared up at me with those big eyes.
And I fell in love. Completely,overwhelmingly in love.
"He's beautiful," Damien whispered beside me.
I looked over and he was crying too. Tears running down his face, not even trying to hide them.
Seven pounds, four ounces, the nurse said. "Very healthy."
"Do you wanna hold him?" I asked
Damien.
He smiled. "Can I?"
"Yeah. Come here."
The nurse helped me transfer the baby into Damien's arms. He held him so carefully, like he might break.
"Hello," Damien said softly, his voice thick with emotion. "I'm going to love you forever. You hear me? Forever."
The baby made a little noise and Damien laughed through his tears.
I watched them together and something in my chest just... broke open. In the best way.
This was what family should look like.
Not Lucas ignoring me. Not Claire looking down on me. Not Veronica and Natasha mocking me.
This. A man holding a baby that wasn't biologically his and looking at it like it was the most precious thing in the world.
"Ethan," I said immediately.
Damien looked up. "What?"
"I wanna name him Ethan. It was my father's middle name."
Damien's face softened. "Ethan. I love that."
"Ethan Otto-Montgomery?" the nurse asked, ready to fill out the birth certificate.
"Just Montgomery," I said quickly. "Ethan Richard Montgomery."
I saw something flicker in Damien's eyes. He was kinda hurt a little.
But he just nodded. "Ethan Richard Montgomery. After your father. He would've loved that."
"Yeah," I whispered. "He would've loved him."
My dad should've been here.He should've been able to hold his grandson. Should've seen me become a mother.
But Lucas had taken that from me. From us.
I pushed the thought away. Not today.
Today was about joy. About this perfect little person we'd brought into the world.
"Can I have him back?" I asked.
Damien placed Ethan back in my arms carefully. The baby immediately started rooting around, looking for food.
"Someone's hungry," the nurse said with a smile. "Let me help you get started with breastfeeding."
The next hour was a blur of nurses and doctors trying to figure out how to feed this tiny human. Damien stayed the whole time, never once stepping out or looking uncomfortable.
Finally, everyone left us alone. Just the three of us in the quiet hospital room.
Ethan was asleep on my chest, full and content. Damien sat in the chair beside my bed, watching us with this look on his face I couldn't quite read.
"Thank you," I said.
"For what?"
"For being here. For everything. For..." I looked down at Ethan. "For loving him already."
"How could I not?" Damien reached over and gently touched Ethan's tiny hand. The baby's fingers immediately wrapped around his. "He's part of you. And he's perfect."
Tears filled my eyes again. Stupid hormones.
"I meant what I said," I whispered. "About falling in love with you. I know it's complicated and messy and probably too soon but—"
"It's not too soon," Damien interrupted.
"And I don't care about how complicated or messy it is. I love you, Lara. And I love him. Both of you. That's all that matters."
I looked at him. This man who'd saved my life. Who'd given me a home. Who'd stood by me through everything.
Who was looking at my son like he'd hung the moon.
"We're a family," I said. Not a question. A statement.
Damien smiled. "Yeah. We are."
Ethan made a little snuffling noise in his sleep and we both laughed
.
"He's so small," I marveled. "How is something this small even real?"
"I don't know. But he's ours now." Damien stood up and kissed my forehead. "You should rest. You've been through hell today."
"Will you stay?" I asked. "Just for a little while?"
"I'm not going anywhere," Damien promised.
He sat down on the chair beside my bed, his hand covering mine.
I closed my eyes, exhausted beyond words. But I'm so incredibly happy.
I had a son. A beautiful and healthy son.
I had Damien. The man I loved. The man who loved me back.
I had a family.
For the first time in my entire life, I had a real family.
And Lucas? Lucas could never touch this.
And he could never take this away from me.
Because this wasn't his. This was ours.
Mine and Damien's and Ethan's.
Our little family.
I fell asleep with Ethan warm on my chest and Damien's hand in mine.
I'm safe, I'm loved and happy.
Everything I'd ever wanted and never thought I would ever have.
It was perfect.