The pain was so intense. Every 7 minutes, every 5 minutes and now they seemed to come one right after the other. You had tried to prepare yourself for it but this was so much more than you could have imagined.
The only thing keeping you from getting lost in the pain was his voice. Patrick hadn't left your side the entire time. Encouraging you and trying to ease the pain anyway he could. And now his soft calm words were bringing you back out of the depths of the contraction.
You couldn't wait to see your baby's face. You wondered if he would have his father's brown eyes and hair. You had waited 9 long months to meet him and with each horrible wave of pain you knew you were that much closer.
You stood up to change positions when the next one hit you. You turned towards Patrick and placed your face against his strong chest. He told you to place your weight on him as he rocked with you back and forth. He whispered in your ear how strong and amazing you were. You dug your fingers into his arms but he never flinched. He was your rock.
When the pain finally eased away you looked up into his face. You could see the pain in his eyes. You knew every time your body was breaking with pain his heart was breaking just as much. But he would never break down in front of you. He knew you needed him to help you finish this marathon.
Finally, after several hours it was time to push. Patrick took a deep breath trying to calm his nerves before taking his place by your side. He grabbed your hand kissing it and you held onto each other like never before.
After several pushes you were exhausted. You had no more strength left in you. You pleaded with everyone to just let you rest but they insisted you keep going. You looked up into Patrick's eyes silently pleading for his help. You could see tears of pain in his eyes but he quickly blinked them away. He leaned over whispering calmly in your ear. He told you how strong and beautiful you were. How much he loved and believed in you. His words gave you the strength to keep going.
Finally after several hours of agony you hear the sweetest sound in the world. They place your tiny crying baby on your chest and your heart explodes. You have to wipe away your tears so you can see his face more clearly. What little hair he had was brown with a hint of curl in it and when you looked into his eyes you felt like you were looking into Patrick's. Just like you imagined he would be.
As you look up at the other love of your life you see tears of joy and pride streaming down Patrick's face. He kisses you softly and tells you he loves you. He then whispers in his son's ear. He welcomes him to this big world and promises to always love and protect him. You knew at that moment you were the luckiest person in the world.
