Today was always a long shot; we had no idea how long this pregnancy would last, but I have to thank my lucky stars that we got to this stage. I like to think my brother and Ava’s dad have something to do with it; looking down on us, protecting us, but since my emotions are already causing my lungs to burn with its intensity at the prospect of finally meeting my daughter, I put that thought to the very back of my mind. I can only take so much emotion on a day like today without bringing up ghosts as well.

I keep my eyes on Ava, allowing her sweet browns to get lost in my dazzling green eyes she loves so much—her words not mine—in a bid to take her mind off the brutality the surgeons are currently inflicting on her. I find myself tightening my grip against Ava’s hand when she winces a few times at the heavy pressure I can imagine she’s feeling as they force our daughter out of her womb, and I know it’s only seconds until we finally get to see our daughter in the flesh. The moment Ava’s contorted face smoothes out, both surgeons cheer through laughter along with the other medical staff.

“Oh wow, you’ve sure got yourselves a beautiful baby girl,” one surgeon says before a lungful of crying can be heard. My heart skips a beat when we get a brief glimpse of our blood-covered daughter over the screen before she’s taken away to get cleaned up.

But wow, she’s so fucking beautiful, even covered with vernix and blood.

Ava’s lip trembles just as my eyes begin to blur with happy, emotional tears. “We have a baby girl?” Ava questions with amazement, even though we’ve known the sex of our baby since her eighteen-week ultrasound at the emergency appointment.

“Yeah, we have a baby girl,” I choke through thick emotion.

Laughter bubbles from the back of her throat and it quickly turns into a high-pitched sob. I can’t help but cry along with her as we take in the pure magnitude of this moment. The moment that is sure to be the third greatest moment of my life.

The first was when I stumbled across the beautiful brunette mother who was in front of her daughter’s incubator, the daughter who I’d been closely observing.

The second was the moment that beautiful brunette mother agreed to marry me in an impromptu ceremony at my brother’s wedding, then two months later married me again with Lily-Mai in my arms on a hot exotic beach, where Ava officially became Mrs. Ava Bailey.

And the third is now … the moment a nurse lays our baby in my arms and I find myself falling in love again, only this time it’s my daughter who I’m madly in love with. She’s beautiful and looks just like her mom.

I edge even closer to Ava so she can get a good look at her daughter. I gently caress my baby girl’s hat-covered head with my fingertips as her puffy dark blue eyes roam over my face, blinking heavily every few seconds.

“She’s perfect,” Ava says with an exhaled sob and I can only agree, because she really is … she’s incredibly perfect.

“She really is,” I repeat my thoughts out loud, and my vocal chords at this point become strained with heavy emotion and I hardly recognize my own voice. After gazing at my daughter without so much as blinking for two minutes straight, and I’ve memorized her cute button nose, full lips and soft wrinkled skin, I finally look at Ava and our tear-streaked eyes meet each other’s.

“You did good, baby … so fucking good.” Tears continue to fall from her glistening eyes and she gives me a breathtaking smile through a stammering cry.

“I couldn’t have done it without you,” she replies as her eyes briefly take in her daughter who is now wriggling in my arms as a screech-filled cry escapes her tiny little mouth.

I adjust her slightly in my arms and smile down at her. “It’s okay, baby girl …” I hush softly, kissing the top of her head. I inhale the heavenly smell that all newborn babies are born with and I watch as Ava’s eyes roam over every inch of our daughter’s beautiful face.

“She has blue eyes … which tells me she’ll probably have the same green eyes as you.”

“You think?” I ask with a smile.

“I hope so … they’re my favorite shade of green.” My smile grows and I fall in love with her all over again. Hell, if I could marry her again I would … in fact, maybe I will; after all, I did promise she could have as many weddings as she wanted.

“So what name are we going to go with?” I ask after a few long moments of staring contently at our beautiful creation. After months of trying to come up with a name, two days ago we finally had it narrowed down to two, but Ava didn’t want to decide until we got our first glimpse of her. Ava looks at me and with a huge smile plastered on her face, I know exactly the name that goes perfectly with our daughter because the very second I saw her I knew it in an instant. And it’s a wonderful tribute to Ava’s late sister.

“Francesca,” Ava says softly as her eyes glisten and spill with even more tears. And with that, I remove my mask and gently press another kiss against Francesca’s head before pressing a kiss to Ava’s mouth, lingering there for a few long moments. I pull away with a smile. “I love you so much. Not only do I have you and Lily, I now have Francesca and it’s more than any man could have ever dreamed for.” I look at my daughter and chuckle under my breath. “But damn, baby … I’m officially screwed. I’m up against three chicks now … that’s a lot of pink.”

Ava gently laughs and she shakes her head with amusement.

“Well I’ll be sure to purchase some football shirts for us, to even the pink out a little.”

“Or maybe we can try for a boy …” I say, being deadly serious with her. The thought of having a house full of kids feels incredibly good right now, and the thought of extending our family with a boy makes me excited to try for another baby the second Ava gets the all-clear to have sex again. I know the past several months have been tough; not knowing if Ava would make it to full term with Francesca, or if we would have had a fighting battle on our hands like we had with Lily, but all those tense moments makes this moment of looking down at our daughter—who is only minutes old—worth every second of panic and heartache.

Ava glares at me as if I’ve lost my goddamn mind. Maybe I have but I want a big family, or at least enough to make us a fivesome. “Are you being serious?”

“Deadly,” I say with a determined smile. “I see Francesca and it makes me want to have a house full of children. I come from a family where my childhood was surrounded with my brothers and I want Lily and Francesca to have that. I want a big family.”

She shakes her head, bemused at my declaration of wanting more children. “I’m currently being stapled back together as we speak … you do realize that, right?”

My mouth curls up into another smile, and my free hand comes up to caress my thumb against the sweet glow of Ava’s cheek. “I know, I’m sorry … but we’ve made one hell of a beautiful child.” I gaze down at Francesca whose eyes have just flickered closed as she falls into a restful sleep. “You can’t blame me for wanting to make another one.”

Ava looks at her, smiling contently before her eyes meet mine. “You’re right, we did make a beautiful child, but right now I want to enjoy her before we even think about adding a third child.”

“I can deal with that … but just so you know, I’ll be getting you good and pregnant again. You mark my words, baby. It’s going to happen.”

“Is that a promise?” she asks with a raised brow, a smile splaying across her lips.

I press my lips against hers before pulling away with a, “Hell yeah.”

The story after the epilogue …

I know this isn’t traditional but I still feel like their story is still unfinished—slightly. So here are a few important facts that I feel will finish off Ava and Ashton’s story completely. Call it an epilogue after the epilogue if you will …