"Are you alright?" Todd asked, shutting the hospital door as he entered the room. Charity's hair stuck to the pillow and her cheek as she turned her head to look at him, pressing her lips into a sad smile.
"As alright as I can be," she replied quietly. Todd took a seat in the chair beside her hospital bed, grabbing the remote from her side and turning down the television.
"I mean, you could be great," he pointed out with a soft chuckle. His eyes were more serious than the rest of his expression, though, and Charity knew she didn't have to explain herself.
As if on cue, they both turned to look at the sleeping beauty and head full of curly hair in the crib nearby. She was quiet, and only the quiet rise and fall of her stomach reassured her parents that she was only sleeping. Of course, neither of them were new to parenthood and probably would not have been worried about that anyway. The only thing Charity was worried about was something she hoped she never had to share with her new partner. She watched the way he looked at his new baby girl, looking for any sign of the evil that had been in her first husband's eyes. Any sense that that little girl wasn't safe here. She found none, but she hadn't found any last time, either. It had been less than nine months since Charity had left her coastal Oregon home and moved inland with Todd Graham, and she still hadn't quite figured out how to let go of the images that haunted her nightmares.
"She's beautiful," Todd said softly, interrupting her train of thought. His eyes were shining with tears, and Charity wondered what that felt like.
"Brian and Casey will be good big brothers." Charity hoped that was true, too. "They'll be so excited to meet her."
Todd just nodded. "Casey's T-ball game finishes at five, and then mom and dad are going to bring him by. They have a car seat for Brian, so that should be fine." He ran through his thoughts like a checklist, making sure he had all his parental boxes in order before returning to the present moment. "They'll be excited to meet their new little granddaughter, too."
Charity smiled. "Did you have a name in mind?"
"My grandma's name was Evelyn," Todd said, blushing a little. "I'm not sure if I told you that or if you'd be up for a family name. What about your family?"
Charity swallowed to clear the lump in her throat. "I was thinking Michaela," she said, picking the first name that came to mind instead.
Todd searched her face but apparently found nothing unusual there, behind the sweat and tear stains of labor. He wouldn't have found the glowing happiness of a new mom if he had been clearminded enough to look, either. "Michaela Evelyn Graham," he grinned, leaning over the crib and putting a hand on the baby's curls, as if to christen her. "You're going to be so loved, little baby."
Charity hoped that was a promise she could keep, too.