Hope arrived on a rainy Tuesday.
Lina woke at 3 AM to a contraction—not the Braxton Hicks she'd been having, but something real. She timed them, waking Kai when they were five minutes apart.
"It's time," she said, voice calm despite her racing heart.
Kai was instantly awake. "Now? She's coming now?"
"She's coming now."
The hospital was a blur.
Admissions. Monitors. Contractions growing stronger, closer, more painful. Lina gripped Kai's hand through each one, breathing the way she'd learned in class.
"You're doing amazing," he kept saying. "So amazing. So strong."
"I can't," she gasped during a particularly bad one. "I can't do this."
"Yes, you can. You're the strongest person I know. You've survived everything life threw at you. You can survive this."
She wanted to argue, but another contraction hit.
Hours passed.
Twelve. Fourteen. Sixteen. Lina lost track of time, lost track of everything except the pain and Kai's voice and the nurses' instructions.
Finally, finally, it was time to push.
"You're almost there," the doctor said. "One more push."
Lina screamed, pushed with everything she had, and then—
Crying.
A baby crying.
"She's here," Kai breathed. "Lina, she's here."
They placed Hope on her chest—warm, wet, perfect. Lina looked down at her daughter and fell completely, utterly in love.
"Hi, baby," she whispered. "I'm your mom. I've been waiting for you."
Kai leaned over them both, tears streaming, kissing Lina's forehead, Hope's tiny head.
"You did it," he whispered. "You did it. She's perfect."
"We did it. Together."