Page 107 of The Closed Off Captain

He watches me carefully. “A good surprise or a bad one?”

“A good one.”

His smile matches mine. “Good.”

“Do you mind helping me get everything from the car for them?” I ask, glancing at my phone. It’s getting late, and they’re going to want to settle for the night.

“Sure.”

He stands to his feet. “We’re going to get their stuff,” he says to Seb and Stephanie who are talking quietly.

“Need help?” Sebastian asks.

Gunner looks to me. “No. We can get it all.” Gunner takes the lead, and we walk through the hospital back down to the ground floor.

“How’d your interview go after the game?”

“It was fine. Hopefully, everything I said made sense. I was trying to hurry through it, so I could get to you.”

“To the hospital,” I mindlessly correct.

“No.” He looks down at me and squeezes my hand gently. “To you.”

We head back up to the waiting room a little bit later with everything Aiden and Bri need. Rico and Amber are back, and Sebastian and Stephanie are gone now. “How is everybody doing?” I ask as we settle back in our chairs.

“Oh, my word. He's adorable,” Amber says with big eyes.

“And Brielle?” I ask.

“She did amazing,” Amber says with a proud smile. It’s not long before Stephanie and Sebastian come back, both smiling widely.

“Your turn,” Stephanie says as she sits next to us.

“Oh, I don’t know,” I start.

“We have to take them all their stuff anyway,” Gunner reminds me. We gather everything and head to the room that Amber tells us. When we get there, Gunner knocks softly before opening the door. Aiden sees us coming and lets go of Bri’s hand and stands to his feet. Gunner sets the car seat down and gives him a bro hug. “Congrats, Dad.”

Aiden smiles and turns to me. I give him a quick hug. “Congratulations.” I put the bags on the floor next to the car seat before turning to face Bri, who is absolutely beaming as she holds a tiny bundle in a blanket. I walk over to the bed, and she turns that smile on me. I can see how tired she is, but she is glowing with happiness. “Chloe, meet Archie, named after Aiden’s grandpa.”

I stare down at the tiny, but perfect baby. “He’s beautiful,” I say softly.

“Want to hold him?” she asks.

I hesitate only a moment. “Yes.” I lean forward, so that she doesn’t have to lift him to me. I stare down at the tiny bundle. He’s got his father’s dark hair. “He’s perfect,” I tell Bri. She blinks back tears.

“I know.”

I turn to Gunner, and he smiles down at him. “Hey, Archie,” he says softly. “You gonna be good at hockey, like your dad?”

I hear Aiden chuckle from the other side of the bed. I stare at him a moment longer before lowering him gently back into his mama’s waiting arms.

“Congrats, Guys. He’s so precious,” I tell both of them.

Bri reaches up and grabs my hand. “Thank you. For everything.”

“I’m just glad we finally convinced you to get to the hospital.”

Her smile widens. “Me too.”

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