Amari laid silently on the side of Trinity in the hospital bed while Amaria slept soundly on her bare chest, holding the same pout on their faces. Trinity specifically requested a bed that was normally reserved for heavier people so that there'd be enough room for Amari to be in the bed with her. She wanted him right at her side at all times.

He loved her so much.

She was literally the strongest person he knew, and she created the most beautiful little girl he'd ever seen. He couldn't believe she'd actually done that. There was a real child on her chest at this moment; it officially became a reality yesterday afternoon. It was no longer a dream. He was so happy.

He'd only been a dad for a day and it was already his most favorite thing in the world. This little girl was his reason for everything now. There was nothing he wouldn't do for her and he'd only known her for 22 hours. She was worth everything that he'd ever been through. He would do it all over again for her.

Amari's face lit up when Amaria blew out a heavy breath in her sleep as if she'd had the longest day known to man. A small cry followed soon after, and it was right on time because Trinity's Apple Watch buzzed with a timer that let her know it was time to feed.

"Wassup mama? How you feeling?" Amari gave her a kiss as soon as she opened her eyes, making her smile.

"I'm so tired baby. Ready to get in my bed." She chuckled, yawning to herself as she reached down to free her left breast from her tank top, helping Amaria latch on to her nipple.

"You think they'll let us go home soon?" He asked.

"I don't know. Not until they finish running tests on her." She paused for a moment as she stared down at her. "I'm so proud of her. She looks so healthy—she's so chunky. I think she's fine. I hope she is."

"I'm proud of you ma. You did good. I love the fuck out you man." He leaned over to kiss her face, and she smiled when he turned her head towards him so that he could kiss her lips as well.

"Thank you. I love you so much. You know, usually the dad is overly worried about the baby but you've been so worried about me and constantly checking on me." She smiled. "I'm fine love. I promise."

"'Cause she's our baby but you my baby." His words made her smile grow bigger, and she glanced over at him before looking down at Amaria again.

"We did good." She repeated his previous statement in a quiet voice, staring at Amaria as she let go of Trinity's nipple in satisfaction. She was so perfect.

Trinity's head raised when the door opened after a light knock, and her smile returned when her family walked in with a bunch of balloons and flowers. She'd only been away from them for a couple of hours and missed them already.

"Man get yo' ugly ass out her face folks." Amari reached over to mush Leila's head before she could hug Trinity, and Trinity laughed when Leila popped the side of his.

"Shut up raggedy bitch. Hiiii stinky fatsamama. I missed you so much." Leila greeted her sister, and Trinity playfully rolled her eyes at the name but lifted up to hug her back anyway.

"Both of y'all need to stop all that damn cursing." Sylvester, Trinity's grandfather, walked over on his cane with his wife at his side, and Leila laughed at Amari's eyebrows raising in shock because he clearly didn't know they were here.

"Papa how you gon' say that then cuss at the same time?" Miri asked with her hands on her hips, just for him to wave her off.

"Unt-un mommy. Put on a mask and wash your hands, please. Thank you." She pointed to where she already had them set out on the counter just as Faith reached for her, and she gasped at how she forgot, going to do as told.

"Baby my sista ain't playing. She's a mother, honey." Miri pretended to snap her fingers, making Trinity laugh while nodding in agreement.

Trinity fixed the little hat that was on Amaria's head before carefully passing her over to her mother, watching her father approach Faith from behind to look down at his first grandchild as well. It put the biggest smile on Trinity's face. Everybody was so in love with her already.

"Dang. Hey granny." Trinity smacked her lips at how she didn't even acknowledge her because she was too worried about getting her first look at Amaria.

"Oh chile, hush. I see you every week." Joyce waved her off, holding her iPhone XR in the air with both hands to take pictures of her great-granddaughter.

"Wow. People just switch up so fast. Y'all barely know her." She playfully rolled her eyes at all of them practically standing in line with their masks on, nonetheless thankful with how they respected her wishes.

She'd seen too many cases where infants got sick before even leaving the hospital because adults would kiss their face and grab them with hands that hadn't been washed. Her daughter was already high risk as of now because of the cryptic pregnancy so she wasn't taking any chances.

They were currently waiting on the results of the tests that were ran this morning to come back, but her doctor said that from what he could tell, Amaria met the criteria for a healthy infant. So, she had high hopes that her baby was alright. She was so proud of her for beating the odds.

"Who is that?" Trinity was snapped out of her thoughts when Amari's phone rung, watching him press the power button before putting it back in his pocket.

"Deelo." He told her, referring to his narcotics supplier. He could tell that it kind of shifted her mood, so he leaned down to kiss her face.

"I ain't doing nothin' for a while ma. We good. I ain't going back no time soon." He assured her, and she lifted her eyes to meet his to see if he was telling the truth. "I ain't like him. I'ma be here for her. She my number one. I promise."

"Okay baby. I believe you. Thank you." She pulled his head down for a kiss, and he tucked his face into the crook of her neck when she gave him a hug as best as she could with the amount of pain she was in.

Amari was really assuring himself more than he was her. He prayed all last night because he didn't believe in himself no matter how hard he wanted to. He knew that it was inevitable for him to fall back into his habits and that his efforts to become better would be short lived if he had to do it on his own.

He was so thankful that his grandparents made sure to instill the Lord's guidance into him. He knew exactly who to run to and what to do when he didn't feel good enough, or, like now, where he felt unworthy enough to be the father of the most perfect little girl he'd ever laid eyes on.

Although he'd probably said it a million times by now, he really didn't want to fail her or Trinity. He wanted to be the man they needed rather than a disappointment like his father who was the only male parental figure he had outside of his grandfather. There were too many instances where he acted just like Silk and he wanted to make sure his daughter never got to witness that.

He'd already traumatized her mother by letting her see that side of him. He didn't want anything like that to happen again.

"Will you help me go to the restroom please?" Trinity asked him, pulling him out of his head.

"Oh—yeah ma. Yeah, I got you." He got out of the bed and walked around to her side, carefully lifting her up.

Once they were inside, Amari pulled down her sweats and the diaper she wore, then placed a liner over the toilet seat before helping her sit down. Trinity watched as he switched out the diaper without her even asking him to, helping her freshen up.

"You are way too comfortable." She told him after he stuck a pad on the inside of the diaper.

"Shut up. You just pushed out a whole seven pound baby for me. This the least I could do." He sucked his teeth in annoyance when she took the pack of wipes from him so that she could wipe herself, making her smile.

"Thank you love. And..I only wanted you to come in here so that we could talk. Get out of your head. You're right—you're not like him. So don't second guess yourself." She rested her elbows on her knees to stare at him since he was squatted in front of her, watching his expression soften.

"I'm so scared Trin. I thought it would be easy but it feels harder now that she's here. I don't wanna fuck up wit' her ma. You know that's all I do. I can't ever do righ—"

"We can't prevent mistakes no matter how hard we try, Amari. You aren't perfect. You will mess up a few times but that will not ruin her entire life. Wanting to be the best is already showing how good of a father you are and she isn't even a day old yet. You'll do fine love." She rubbed his cheek as soon as a lone tear rolled down it, and Amari reached up to wipe his face while nodding his head.

"Davon raised you. You have one of the best examples out there. That's who you need to think you'll end up like—not Silk. Start choosing the positive side of things instead of the negative all the time. You're better than that."

Trinity smiled when his arms wrapped around her in another hug, holding her tightly as if he was afraid to let her go. She just gave birth not too long ago and still found a way to make him feel better when she was the one that was in pain. He loved her so much. She always knew just what to say.

"I miss him so much baby. That shit hurt. I wanted them to see her." He let his tears fall freely, trying not to break down.

"I know. I did too. And when she gets older, we'll show her all of their pictures and your grandma's journal. And you can give her Davon's bible like you said you would. They may not be here, but their experiences will never leave you. You can share them with her."

"I never even thought about it like that man. How you do that? Always knowing what to say? I wanna be like you when I grow up." He spoke playfully but was so serious at the same time, making her laugh.

"Foreal though.. I appreciate you. I love you so much. Soon as we leave the hospital you need to get on the phone with a wedding planner. I ain't tryna waste no time." He told her, causing her smile to spread further across her face.

"Yes sir. You ain't gotta tell me twice." She chuckled, letting him help her stand up from the toilet.

"Does it hurt to walk? I can carry you." He told her after they both washed their hands, and she shook her head in response.

"My coochie sore but I can walk. It's because I didn't tear a lot—which is shocking since we literally had no guidance." She told him, smiling at how he grabbed her hand anyway to help her back to the bed.

"I ain't have no room to make mistakes. Had to make sure my babies was straight." He leaned over to kiss her face just before she could get under the covers.

"And you did a hell of a job, son. I'm proud of you." Vance patted his shoulder twice, making his smile return.

"I appreciate that OG." They clasped hands in a handshake, and then Vance carefully handed over Amaria since everyone had gotten their chance to hold her.

Everyone else, including Trinity, fell into conversation about the impromptu home birth while Amari sat on his side of the bed with his daughter on his chest. The way her eyes darted around her surroundings and all of the quiet noises that were being made by her mouth made his heart swell. She was so perfect.

"You so pretty baby. Daddy love you so much." He lifted her up to smell her skin, obsessed with that newborn scent. This was his first time being around a baby. He was in love with everything about her.

"Ma ma," He nudged Trinity's arm to interrupt her conversation with her sisters, making her head turn in his direction.

"Can I take the blanket off now?" He asked.

"Yes. Just watch out for her hands. Babies like to scratch their face up and pull their own hair. So just make sure she doesn't hurt herself." She told him, and he nodded to show that he understood.

He carefully unwrapped the blankets that were swaddled around her, and his face lit up when her hands reached up into the air before moving to her sides, finally realizing that she had arms. It was so cute to watch.

Amari didn't like having her wrapped up in those blankets. He would rather put one of the onesies on that covered her hands and feet so that she could still move freely but be unable to hurt herself at the same time.

He took one of the pink ones out of the 'hospital bag' Trinity packed last week and began to dress her in it. He also added one of the infant hats the hospital gave them that had a bow on it. He couldn't wait to rebook their maternity shoot photographer to take her baby pictures.

Amaria silently yawned in the midst of dozing off in his arms, clearly calm and safe in his embrace. He hoped she would feel this way forever. He wanted her to know that he would always be here to protect her and hold her until she fell asleep, no matter how big she got. She was only a day old and he was already sad about her becoming an adult one day.

He hoped she would never outgrow him.

Ugh I haven't held a tiny baby in so long 😖 one of y'all take one for the team so I can be auntie Kai 🥹