The Royalty

Chapter 36

It was over a minute before she relaxed. Remembering my reading, I knew that the contraction was much too long for the beginning of labor. "How long have you been in labor, America?"

"A while," she hedged. I sighed.

"Why didn't you get me?"

"It's not like it would've mattered. I couldn't do anything about it until a little bit ago. Besides, you were busy. I didn't want to bother you."

"America, you know I would've left any meeting to come be here with you."

"I know that. I'm just saying there wouldn't be a point. Can we not argue about this right now? I'm kind of on the verge of giving birth, if you haven't noticed."

I shook my head, laughing. She was still as stubborn as the day I met her. "Anything for you."

We sat there for a minute in silence and she practiced steady breathing techniques. The quiet only ended when the next contraction came. She cursed under her breath, clearly in an immense amount of pain. I saw the beginning of tears in her eyes, but she managed to hold them in.

"You're doing great, America," I reassured.
Still squeezing her eyes shut, she hissed through her teeth, "Not in the mood. Could you be quiet for like ten seconds, please?"

I knew she was in a lot of pain so I wasn't hurt by her sharp words. If that helped her feel a little better, she could be mean to me as much as she needed.

Once it passed, one of the doctors that stood in the room with us said, "Okay, Your Majesty, it's time to push."

I met her eyes. "Are you ready?"

She swallowed. "Yes," she whispered. I gave her a quick, firm kiss on the forehead. Then, it was time to start.
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The next fifty-five minutes were the longest ones of my life. I'd nearly fainted. Twice. The books did nothing to prepare you for the real thing. It was hard and long and scary as hell.

As long as it was, though, it did eventually end. The nurses and Marlee whisked the baby away before either of us could see it to do some quick checks. We would've preferred to hold it right away, but it was the rules when it came to royal births. Health before family. We didn't even know the gender yet.

America gripped my hand tightly despite her exhaustion, and I used the other hand to rub my necklace between my fingers as the baby started to cry. It was a habit I'd developed over the years that happened when I was anxious.

Marlee looked back at us as they quickly slipped on a little hat and wrapped it in a warm blanket. She had a huge smile on her face. "Your baby boy is perfectly fine."

It was a boy! I had a son! Jubilation exploded in my heart. America was crying happily, grinning with all of her might.

"Are you ready to hold him?" Marlee asked America. America was so overcome with emotion that she could only nod. She carried him over to the bed and placed him in America's arms. I sat on the edge of the bed so I could get a better look.

He had a little tuft of dark, honey blonde hair peeking out from under his hat. He was still crying a little, but I could see that his eyes were a pale blue color. All of his features were soft, no sharp angles on his jaw line or his nose. I was shocked by how much he looked like me. I'd expected him to look more like America.

In short, he was the most beautiful baby I'd ever seen.

America was crying along with him as she stared breathlessly at him. She ran her fingertips over his skin lightly in awe. I could understand how taken she was by him. It had been hard for me to pull my eyes away from him for even a moment.

"Hey," she whispered to him. "I'm your mommy. Nice to meet you." She looked over at me. She tilted him so I was in his view. "And that's your daddy. Say hi, Maxon."

I smiled and said, "Hi there, little man."

America gave me a loving look before returning to our son. "Now, if you want to introduce yourself, you're going to need a name, aren't you?" she cooed. I could tell already by the way she spoke to him that she would be an amazing mom. It was like she was showing a whole other level of tenderness that I'd never seen before.

"What should his name be?" America asked me.

I thought back to our list of baby names that we made the day after we got engaged. It seemed like so long ago, but I still remembered each and every name. I knew immediately what I wanted to name him.

"He looks like an Alexander, Alex for short. Maybe Gerad as his middle name, for your brother."

She grinned at me. "That's a wonderful name." She said to the baby, "It's settled then. Welcome to the world, Alexander Gerad Schreave."

The weirdest thing happened. As soon as his name escaped her lips, his cries faded off. It was like not having a name upset him. I guess he approved of our choice.

We all sat there in silence for a while, my little family and me. I embraced the happiness in my chest as I looked at Alex. He seemed too good to be true. I couldn't find a single flaw.

America noticed my expression. "Do you want to hold him for a bit?"

Fear jumped into my throat. Not really, I thought to myself. Well, of course I wanted to hold him, but I was afraid of doing it wrong and accidentally hurting him.

"Do I have to?" I asked, my apprehension creeping into my voice. "What if I drop him?"

"You're not going to drop him. Just be careful."

"But-" She fixed me with a stern gaze.

"Maxon Calix Schreave, I swear to God, if you don't hold your son-"

"Okay, okay. You're the boss," I relented. I kept my reading in mind as I gingerly took him from her arms and sat down in the chair next to the bed, remembering to support his head and neck. He wasn't as heavy as I thought he would be. Alex stared up at my face, seeming to be as curious about me as I was about him.

I loved him. I hadn't even known him for an hour and I already knew without a doubt that I loved this child with every piece of my soul. I didn't even know him yet, but I did. It was like there was this instantaneous bond that clicked into place the second I started holding him in my arms.

Tears formed in my eyes. One spilled down my cheek as I looked up at America. "He's so perfect, America," I said. "I didn't know it was possible for anything to be this beautiful."

She beamed at me. "Me neither."

After a few more minutes of holding him, I unfortunately had to hand him over to America. She said he had to be fed, which he probably did, but I think she really just missed the feeling of holding him. I couldn't blame her.

I watched for a while, but I took a break to go to the bathroom and start spreading the news. I gave her and Alex a quick kiss before leaving the room, walking with a spring in my step that hadn't been there before.