Waking up, I blink as the bright light hurts the back of my eyes. Then again, my head was throbbing, too, and I don't think that was because of the lights. Groaning, I lift my hand to shield my eyes and slowly start to get up, noticing quickly where I was. 

"Why am I in the hospital?" I asked myself. From my side, someone scoffed and I turned to see Isaac watching over me. "What happened?"

Isaac quirked an eyebrow at me. "That depends. What's the last thing you remember?"

That was a very good question. I was joking around with some guests at the Ball, pointing out some of the finer details of the collection Sophie had painstakingly put together when suddenly Keira came over and demanded that I go to the women's bathroom. Laughingly, I brushed her away a few times until she threatened to drag me there unless I voluntarily went with her. Her boyfriend gave me a sympathetic smile and suggested that I might want to do as Keira says because she was on a mission. 

Eventually, I did as I was told and followed Keira through the crowd, sometimes stopping because someone wanted to speak to me, and arrived at the bathroom to see a fair few familiar faces waiting in the hallway. Isaac's daughter, Martha, was guarding the door, glaring at Sam who was insisting he be let inside to see Sophie. That's when I started to panic and ran through the door...

"I came into the bathroom and then..." I try to recall what happened after I stormed through the door but I can't remember. All I knew was that there was something wrong with Sophie. "Soph, is she ok?"

Isaac laughs. "In a way, yes, she's fine. A little bit in shock, I suppose but she'll get over it."

"Yes, I guess seeing me faint would have shocked her," I mumble. Looking around the room, I see that it's only Isaac and me here, with no sign of my wife. "Where is Sophie, anyway? Is she ok?"

"How about we get you discharged and then we can go and see them, yeah?" Isaac suggests before getting up from his chair and exiting the room. He came back five minutes later and said that I was good to go. "We need to go up a few floors. Do me a favour, yeah, don't faint again. I've had enough drama tonight."

Nodding, I follow Isaac silently to the lift and allowed him to press the buttons. When we arrived on the floor we needed, Isaac turned left and started to make his way down the hallway, bypassing most of Sophie's family and all of our friends. They all beamed at me, wide, toothy grins on all their faces that I couldn't understand. Why wasn't anyone asking how I was? They all seemed unconcerned for my wellbeing. 

That's when it hit me. Why were we on a different ward? Had Sophie collapsed after she saw me faint? Was she ok? Suddenly, with so many questions whirling around in my mind, I quickened my pace and soon overtook Isaac as I rushed down the hall, shouting out Sophie's name. It garnered a disapproving glare from a nurse but I couldn't have cared any less. I needed to see my wife. 

"Daniel, stop shouting like a banshee," Charlotte scorned me as she walked out from a room a few doors down the hall. She was still in her ballgown, her hair mussed and looking delirious. "They're in here. Just be quiet, alright. We don't need you disturbing the little one."

Not caring enough to listen to Charlotte's advice, I stormed into the room and rushed to Sophie's side, pulling her into a tight hug. She groaned under the force of how tightly I held her and had to pat my shoulder to get me to release her. Laughing at how I must look, Sophie cupped my cheek and pulled me in for a much-needed kiss. 

"You're alive, I see," she jokes, although right now, I didn't find her words funny. 

"Sophie, you scared the shit out of me," I tell her, fully prepared to read her the riot act. When she arched an eyebrow in my direction and pursed her lips, I thought better of it. Given the fact that I had passed out on her, I guess I had scared her more than she had scared me. "Soph, why are you in a hospital bed?"

From behind me, I hear a masculine laugh, one that I knew belonged to Isaac. "You didn't tell him?" Charlotte said, her words followed by the sound of a whack. Isaac grunted. "You deserved that. Come on, you bloody idiot, let's go join the other and leave these three alone. You're such a dumb arse, Issac."

I turned in time to see the door close and then quickly looked back at Sophie, asking her what has happened in the time that I was unconscious. She shakes her head and tells me to take a look around the room- what was unusual about it? 

Well, to begin with, it's a hospital room. I still wasn't sure why we were in one. There was a hot tub in the corner of the space which was also unusual because, well, it's a hospital, not a spa. There was medical equipment lying around, including forceps, and then there were countless charts depicting babies. 

However, the most unusual thing was the fact that there was a baby in a plastic cot at the side of Sophie's bed. The baby looked funny, as most newborns do, but there was something quite cute about it. From the white romper it wore, it was impossible to tell if the baby was a boy or girl, but more than that, I couldn't for the life of me work out why someone would leave a baby in my wife's room. Surely they should take it to its mother's room. 

"Is it lost?" I asked, pointing at the wriggling pink thing in the cot. "Are they making you share a room?"

Sophie laughs. "No, this is my room."

"And the baby?"

"No, she's mine, too," Sophie says. 

"Ok."

Silence fell in the room. It lingered for a while. Then it was broken as I realised what Sophie had said.

"Wait, what?" Moving a little too quickly, I fell off the chair and hit the floor before jumping back up to my feet and pacing the room. "What do you mean she's yours? How long was I out cold for? Did I miss nine months or something? I... I... Hold on, she?"

A tiny sound- perfect, sweet and innocent- came from the cot and something inside me stirred. Rushing to the cot, I go to pick the baby up, only to stop and look to Sophie for permission. With a roll of her eyes, she tells me to hold the baby. Carefully, I reach into the cot and scoop the baby up, noticing how small and delicate she was in my hands. 

My heart thuds in my chest, almost as if were swelling to a disproportionate size as it made room for all the love that now coursed through me. Instinct kicked in and I suddenly felt protective of this tiny bundle that was more precious to me than anything else that ever was or ever would be. 

"Sophie, she's..." Slowly moving closer to my wife, I bend down to kiss her forehead and whispering, "Thank you."

"Well, thank you, too, in that case," Sophie laughs as she scuttles over on the bed, making room for me to sit next to her as I continue to cradle our daughter. Sophie lovingly gazes at the baby and lifts a finger to brush along the baby's cheek. "We're going to have to think of names."

I laugh humourlessly. "Names? Sophie, I think we have a lot more things to think about. We don't have a crib, clothes, nappies... we don't have anything a baby needs. Hold on a second," I say, shaking my head as my senses start to come back to me. "How did we not know that you're pregnant? Were pregnant, I mean. Like, you didn't have any symptoms, you were still having periods and stuff. How the hell is she even possible?"

"According to Isaac," Sophie begins, looking up at me with a seriousness etched on every feature. "It's perfectly possible to be pregnant and not know. It's uncommon but possible. It's called cryptic pregnancy, he says. I could have confused my periods for spotting. She's a tad underweight so Isaac reckons that there was a hormonal imbalance that meant that I didn't gain weight. He also reckons that hormonal imbalance is why we had no idea about her and maybe she was an inactive baby. I don't know, Daniel... I honestly can't explain it. To be honest, I don't care, just as long as she's ok."

"And is she ok? Has she been checked out? Have you been checked out? Are you ok?" I demand all in one breath. When Sophie nods in response, I calm down a little and let my eyes drift back to our little bundle. "I like Leah for a name but maybe we can give a French spin on it. For that matter, I also like Josephine. Is there an accent on that somewhere?"

"I can make that work," Sophie agrees. "And I quite like Victoria, after where she was born. How many people can say they were born in a museum, huh?"

I scrunch up my nose at the suggestion. "Victoria is hardly French, is it? How can we give her two very French names and then throw in Victoria? Doesn't flow, I'm afraid."

Sophie tells me that she has a plan on the name front and I'm sorry to say this, but I really didn't care. My daughter was perfect and that's all that mattered. I counted ten little fingers and ten little toes, perfect pink lips and a cute button nose. That's all that I cared about. She was here and she was healthy. She's my whole purpose.

Charlotte and Isaac were more than happy to give us some of Seraphina's clothes that she had grown out of, as well as the Moses basket that she was no longer using. I was told that James Delaney, Sophie's father, was calling in any and every favour from his contacts in the business world to make sure that our house would be ready for the baby's trip home, even going so far as to getting the owner of John Lewis to open up a local store so that some of his staff could go and source furniture for the nursery. 

"Maybe we should go and get our family," Sophie suggested, her voice quiet. "They've been waiting outside for hours and they're dying to come and meet her. Charlotte and Isaac are the only ones that were allowed in here. I'm sure your grandmother can't wait to meet her great-granddaughter."

I passed the baby to Sophie and with some hesitation, I left the room and went to the waiting area where our family and friends all stood when they saw me. Camille, Jimmy, my grandmother, sister and brother all rushed forward, waiting impatiently for me to speak. 

"And?" My grandmother prompted. "Are we allowed in now?"

"Sophie says it's ok but if any of you disturb either the baby or the mother, I'm kicking you out," I warn them. Stepping aside, I let them make their way to Sophie's room, stopping Isaac when he tries to pass me. When I'm sure we're alone, I reach out my hand for him to shake. "Thank you."

Isaac nods. "Anytime."

Patting my shoulder, Isaac drags me to the room and forces me to the front of the crowd so I can take my place next to my wife and daughter. As I watch Sophie coo over the baby, I can't help but think of how much I love her and how that love for her grows and grows and grows. Now, with the baby, it's love to the power of infinity and it all feels... perfect. Complete.

"Everyone," Sophie's voice is soft but full of pride as she looks down at our everything. "We'd like you to meet our daughter."

https://youtu.be/pwsH75OKbOY

Chapter Song - Daddy's Girl ~ Peter Cetera