Sleeping with the Assistant

Chapter Fifteen: Cherish

Jasmine's pov

   "Joseph you don't need to give me time off I can work perfectly fine," I protest.
  "Do I need to remind you that your doctor put you on bed rest?" Joseph asks. "Come on I'll take you home."
  "Please just let me work for today," I beg.
  "Jasmine you're nine months pregnant, I think you should go home and rest," he says. "You could go into labor any day."
"Joseph I'm fine, I have like four weeks," I reassure him.
"Julia had six weeks and she still gave birth," Joseph compares.
  "Well I'm fine," I grumble. As I type away on my laptop, I feel something wet trickle down my legs and a sharp pain from my abdomen. I feel a sudden drop too.
  "Oh no. Not now baby," I whisper. "Why do you want to come into the world right this second?"
  "Are you okay?" Joseph asks.
  "No, I felt the baby drop. It's time," I groan loudly.
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At the hospital

   "Joseph I can't do this," I whine. "It hurts so bad."
  "You can do this. We're about to meet our child for the first time," he assures me.
  "I have waited nine long months to finally see her," I say.
  "Squeeze my hand as tight as you need to okay?"
  "Okay."
  "Get ready to push Jasmine. One big push and your baby will be here," my doctor says. I start pushing with all my might and squeeze Joseph's hand tightly. Sweat beads start to form on my forehead and roll down my face as I keep pushing. This is the worst pain in the world, but once I hear the cries of my daughter all of those sweat and tears were definitely worth it.
  "Congratulations, it's a girl!"
  "What do you want to name her," Joseph asks me.
  "Cherish Angel.." I mumble before drifting off into a deep sleep.
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Seven hours later

   "She's so beautiful," I whisper to Joseph, who is rocking Cherish to sleep. He's been so amazing while I've been in and out of sleep. Though, if my body wasn't exhausted I'd do everything myself.
  "She is. Why did you pick the name Cherish?"
  "You're going to think it's corny," I whine.
  "Come on tell me," he says quietly.
  "Because... I'm going to cherish her forever," I mutter.
  "That's so cute Jas. Do you want to hold her?"
  "Yes please." He smoothly hands Cherish to me and I hold her close. I feel nothing but pure bliss whenever she's in my arms.
  "Thank you for blessing me," I tell him.
  "I should be thanking you. I'm so in love with her." Joseph sits next to me on the bed and sighs.
  "What's the matter?" I ask.
  "I really want to be with you. I've fallen out of love with Julia," he explains.
  "One day we can be together," I promise.
  "What if you don't love me by then?"
  "I'll always love you no matter what. You've given me the two greatest things on earth; our daughter and your love," I assure him.
  "I hope one day is soon." A faint knock comes from the door, then it opens slowly. It's Chad with a pink teddy bear and a card.

   "Hey, you two. I hope I'm not interrupting," he smiles.
  "Not at all. I should probably get going. Julia's most likely wondering where I am," Joseph says while getting up. He places a kiss on mine and Cherish's forehead before leaving.
  "Oh wow she's so tiny," Chad whispers while putting the stuff down. "So cute."
  "Do you want to hold her," I ask him.
  "Can I?"
  "Yeah just use the hand sanitizer," I tell him. He squeezes a bit onto his hand and rubs it thoroughly before taking Cherish.
"You know I've always dreamt about having a family with you. This kind of feels like it," he tells me. "Maybe one day we could.."
"Chad... I don't feel the same way. I love Joseph, even if me and him can't be together I'll always feel that way about him," I say. "I'm sorry."
"It's okay. I just want you to be happy in the end, even if it means you and Joseph end up together. I'm going to head out. Let you get some well-deserved rest," Chad says. He hands Cherish to me and leaves my hospital room. I can't help, but feel sorry for him. I hope he moves on.
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Later that night

The sound of the creaky door wakes me up. I see a shadowy figure walk over to the table with my things on it. I try to move, however, I'm physically drained from giving birth so I just lay there drifting back to sleep. I watch as the figure pulls out Cherish's birth certificate and what seems to be a phone. The bright flash blinds me as this person takes pictures of the certificate.
"What.. are you doing," I ask sleepily. They didn't answer, and once they were finished they left. I could've sworn I saw Cody's face when the flash died down.