"And there she is, Internet, the mother of my yet-to-be-born child!"
You turned your head to see Dan holding his phone. "Dan," you whined, covering your face with your hands. "Don't put me on camera. I look like a dying warthog."
"You're the prettiest dying warthog I've ever seen." Dan leaned over and pressed a kiss to your hands, causing you to giggle.
You peeked through your fingers. "Seen a lot of those, have you?"
"A surprising amount, yes."
You smiled, even though you knew he couldn't see it. "Please turn the camera off."
Dan held the phone in front of him. "Well, Internet, you heard the lady. We've been in this hospital room for a good thirty hours. Hopefully, we'll be out of here soon."
You watched Dan put his phone back in his pocket and slowly took your hands away from your face. "You really should go home, Dan. You need sleep."
"You honestly think I'm going to leave my pregnant girlfriend alone in the hospital?"
"Neither of us have slept much in the past day and a half. And you've got a big interview soon."
"I'll be fine. I'll just load up on coffee."
"Dan, please."
"Y/N," Dan said, sitting down next to you, wrapping an arm around you. "I'm not leaving you. We're in this for the long haul. Besides, you're the one who has to push a screaming ball of flesh out of you. The least I can do is stay right by your side."
You couldn't help but laugh. "Please don't call our daughter a 'screaming ball of flesh'."
"Well, we haven't exactly picked a name for her yet. Why not that one?"
You laughed as you leaned back further into the pillow. "What name means 'taking forever'? Because honestly, this is taking for-freaking-ever." You looked down at your bulging stomach and poked it gently. "Come on, little one. Hurry up and make your grand entrance into the world."
"Knock, knock," a voice from the doorway called.
You turned and saw Phil walking in, a teddy bear in his hand.
"Still no baby?" he asked, slightly saddened.
"No," you said. "She procrastinates as much as her daddy."
Phil set the bear down on the bedside table. "Well, I hope she gets here soon."
"Anxious, Uncle Phil?" Dan joked.
"Like you aren't."
Unfortunately, speed was not on your daughter's mind. You spent another ten hours in labor before she finally appeared, screaming her lungs out.
Dan looked down at his daughter, curled against your chest. She had big eyes that were trying to take everything in.
"She's beautiful," he said softly. He pressed a kiss to your temple. "Thank you, Y/N."
You smiled as you gazed down at the tiny creature in your arms. It had been a long journey but you knew that it was worth it, that she was worth it. "You want to hold her?"
"I'm afraid I'll break her."
"You're not going to break her, Dan." You carefully maneuvered the baby into his arms, watching the slight trace of fear on his face. He stepped over to the small loveseat, cooing at his child softly.
You grabbed your phone and texted Phil, telling him to come back to the room. Then you snapped a quick photo of Dan, already loving how he looked with Melanie.
Phil poked his head into the room. "Is there a baby in here?"
"There finally is," you said with a smile.
Phil stepped over to the loveseat, sitting next to Dan.
"Melanie," Dan said quietly. "Meet your Uncle Phil."
Phil made a tiny squeak as Dan passed the baby over to him. "She's so tiny!" he said, gazing down at her.
"She didn't feel tiny when she came out," you said.
Both guys laughed. "I suppose that's true," Dan said. "I would never want something like this to come out of me."
"So are you two gonna have another one?" Phil asked.
"Not for a while," you responded.
______________________________________________________________
Dan ended up staying the night at the hospital, wanting to spend time with you and Melanie. The next morning, Phil came by and got Dan and the two headed for the interview.
"Are you sure you're going to be okay?" Phil asked.
"I'm fine. Just tired," Dan promised.
"Did you get any sleep?"
"Maybe like an hour."
The two got to the building where the interview was and were led up to the room. Once there, they were prepped and then the interview began.
During the questions, Dan felt himself drifting off slightly. Phil noticed and did his best to divert the interviewer's attention and answer the questions.
The interviewer, however, wasn't having it. "Dan, everything okay over there?"
"Yeah, fine."
"You look a little... exhausted."
Dan chuckled. "Yeah, well... under the circumstances..."
"What circumstances?"
"Well, Y/N was in the hospital for the past two days."
"Is everything all right?"
"Of course. She... she gave birth to our daughter." A huge smile split Dan's face as he uttered those words.
"Congratulations, Dan!" the interviewer said. "Do you have a picture?"
"I do," Dan said, pulling his phone out. He handed it to the interviewer.
"She's gorgeous, Dan. Congratulations. I'm sure you and Y/N are very happy."
"We are. Tired, but happy."
"Well, let's go ahead and end this interview so you can get back to that little bundle of love."