South-Side Renascent || c.g.

In His Arms

Cailee

After months of being sick, hungry, tired, sometimes energetic, and moody, our little Valentine's Day baby was finally born.

Everyone had stopped by to see Cody. My aunt came after work and melted as soon as she saw her. Kev started crying because he started thinking about when his daughters were that small (V calmed him down of course). Fiona fell completely in love with Cody, and I could see every ounce of doubt she'd held disappear from her completely.

Nobody was as in love with Cody as Carl, though. I held her for a while before Carl took over. He let everyone hold her, but once she was back in his arms that was it.

By one in the morning, everyone had gone home and we'd been moved out of delivery and into a normal hospital room. Carl was sitting in a chair with Cody asleep on his chest. I noticed that his eyes were getting droopy.

"Carl," I whisper-yelled. His eyes shot open and he mumbled a 'hmm?' "Put Cody in her cot, baby. You're tired."

He stood up and laid her down into the baby bed gently. "Goodnight, princess," he whispered before kissing her forehead, and my heart fluttered. "You sure you don't want me to stay up with you?" he asked me.

"I'm gonna try to get some sleep before I have to feed her again, it's okay."

"Well, goodnight my queen," He leaned in to press his lips to mine.

I felt the heat rise to my cheeks. "Goodnight, my love."

_

When I woke up again, it was still dark out. Carl was gently shaking my arm.

"Hey, baby," Carl said. He was gently rocking Cody in the chair next to my bed.

"Hello, my loves," I reached down to gently rub Cody's tiny hand. "How long have you been up with her?"

"A few minutes. She started getting a little fussy, so I figured she was hungry again."

"Come here, little one," I said as Carl handed her to me. I pulled my hospital gown down at the top and held her to one of my breasts, just like the nurse had taught me. "Ouch," I jumped when she latched on.

Every time I held her, I took my time to really examine her features fully. She had Carl's long eyelashes, his lips, and a perfect mix of our noses and skin tones. Her eyes were blue, but my doctor told me that they could darken into a green, hazel, or brown color. We'd done well making such a beautiful little person.

_

The rest of the night went the same; Carl and I were up every hour or so with the baby. By 6 pm, all of Cody's test results were back (she was healthy, and just perfect), Carl and I had signed her birth certificate, we got discharged, and Lip was on the way to pick us up.

"My body hurts like hell, but it was worth it," I said, looking at Cody who was all dressed and ready to go in her car seat.

"Still wanna kill me?" Carl asked, resting his head on my shoulder.

I smiled down at our daughter, "Less so."

"Hey, kiddos," Lip said quietly as he walked into the room.

"Hey, Uncle Lip," I smirked. He came over and smiled at Cody, who was sound asleep.

"I still can't believe you two have a kid," Lip said, patting our shoulders. "You ready to go?" Carl and I both nodded. Lip grabbed my bag and I grabbed the baby bag. Carl pulled Cody's blanket over her and carried her in the car seat.

When we got outside, I noticed that my car was there instead of Lip's. He opened the back door closest to us.

"My truck is at your house. Aubrey told me to pick you up in yours so you didn't have to hook this part up again," Lip said, gesturing toward the part of the car seat that was already in the backseat.

"Man, I love her," I sighed happily. Carl put the car seat into its second piece and it snapped in place. Lip put the other bags into the trunk and we all hopped into the car. I sat in the back with Cody and Carl was in the passenger's seat.

Carl

"I'll be back in a few minutes," I said, kissing Cailee quickly. We'd gotten home and everything was put away. Cody was asleep in her crib. "Lip wants to talk to me about something."

"Oh, okay. Go see what it is," she replied.

"Yes, ma'am," I trailed off as I went outside. Lip was standing against his truck, doing something on his phone. "What's up?"

"How does it feel bein' a dad?" he asked patting my shoulder.

"Tiring so far, but I love her so much already," I smiled, thinking about my little angel. I had secretly wanted a girl the entire time, but shhh, that stays between you and me.

"Still can't believe you had a kid before me," he shook his head. "So, how's work going?"

"It's... going. Probably gonna have to work two jobs now that Cailee's gonna be home with Cody."

"You still planning on going to the police academy?" Lip asked.

"Uh, yeah. Why?"

"When?" What was up with all the questions?

"I planned on going in May or June, but that was before Cailee got pregnant," I sighed.

"I'm not gonna tell you what to do, but maybe you should consider going a bit earlier. Cailee's gonna have her hands full with school, and babies cost a lot of money."

"I got it, Lip, trust me," I said. It wasn't how I truly felt though. He made a point that would stick with me for a long time.

After our chat, I headed back inside and straight up to our bedroom. Cailee and Cody were both asleep and peaceful. I was so fucking lucky to have them.

I remembered what I'd came to do and looked around for our laptop. I found it and took it downstairs, sitting it down on the coffee table and plopping on the couch. I needed to look deeper into the Chicago Police Academy's requirements. I reached the page I needed to and started reading... Which turned into me slightly panicking.

"Fuck..."

♡