magicChapter 340: Epilogue (II)  

"Stop staring at the phone," Stephen commented in monotone. Cage was on set, doing some stunts and all he could think about was his wife and the impending birth. ;

The assistant director called him to tell him he was needed at the scene. He scampered off, ready to be hung from a wire. He gave one last glance at the phone and shrugged. Maybe it wasn't going to be today. ;

They were a week over the estimated date of delivery and there was no sign of Little Miss Cavanaugh appearing. If he guessed, this little girl would be a tornado. ;

He had to smile as he imagined raising their little girl and spoiling her. ;

He was in the middle of ducking a punch when he heard Stephen yell his name. He failed to duck, the punch landing square on his jaw. His head rang as he fell to the floor and remained there motionless. ;

He shook his head, dazed as people clamored to get to him. Someone grabbed his hand and pulled him up when he suddenly realized why Stephen had yelled. ;

He pushed through the throng of people and made his way to Stephen. "Is it time?" he yelled, half-way there.

"Yeah, it's time!" Stephen assured. Cage was running past the director who begged Cage to stay and finish the scene. The medic who was trying to check if he was okay was shooed away along with everyone else that was hindering him. ;

"My wife is giving birth," he rushed the words and the people quietened down. If they spilled the news before the official press release, there would be hell to pay. In no time, Cage had hopped into Stephen's fancy sports car and they were riding through traffic like there was a fire on their asses.

"Faster!" he commanded. Rather than being irritated, Stephen cackled and slammed the accelerator. Even though it felt like forever to get to the hospital, the clock said a different story. Stephen parked while Cage ran into the hospital and was escorted to the private room. ;

He scoffed. Private? Everyone in their circle was standing in the room, surround Katherine who lay on the bed. ;

"Cage!" Anna called. "Angelina is still in a shoot so she won't make it. Everyone else is here." He nodded but all he wanted was to see his wife. He moved to her side and grabbed her hand. She frowned as the pain hit again. ;

"Are you okay? Did they give you drugs yet? Where's the doctor? Is it time to breathe?" He had read up all about the breathing. It looked scary but Cage could do it! ;

"You need to breathe," Katherine told him, chuckling when the contraction passed. "It just started. We have a long road ahead of us."

"Seriously, you should have paid attention in class," Stephen commented. Cage threw him a withering look before turning back to Katherine.

"He went to class and paid attention. Don't tease my husband," Katherine warned. ;

"Yes, and every appointment. The directors ate my head every time he cut the scenes short." That was true. Cage refused to miss a single moment. He was right beside her throughout the journey. When he first heard the thudding of his baby girl's heart and found out she was a girl... he would never exchange that for anything.

"I can finally call you a DILF now," Lily joked. ;

"Stop, I'm not a DILF," he smirked. Katherine didn't say a word. Well, only for her. ;

She giggled and then grimaced again. "Damn, it hurts to laugh."

"Stop making her laugh!" Cage shouted. ;

"It's fine. I need something else to concentrate on." She touched his cheek, tracing the bruise that had formed. ;

"I just..." he trailed off, not knowing what to say.

"I'm nervous too... She'll be here soon. It's okay. We're going to be fine."

But Cage wasn't fine. It took hours and hours. Each hour was longer than the previous and Cage grew more anxious as the pain on Katherine's face grew. Katherine dozed off for a while but not for long. Cage, on the other hand, couldn't sleep at all. He got her ice ch.i.p.s to wet her lips, caressed her hand, and rubbed her back to soothe the pain. ;

He did everything he could to make it easy for her. ;

It was three in the morning when the time to push finally came. ;

Even though Cage was exhausted, everything seemed sharp and in focus. He focused on her death grip on his hand and the doctor's firm order to push. It was like watching a movie and tunneling into the important bits. ;

He was terrified. Katherine was fighting to bring their daughter into the world and he could only stand by and watch. He could only tell her he loved her and how beautiful she was. ;

She even laughed through her pain and called him a liar. ;

Katherine wasn't overdramatic. She didn't blame him or the world, she cursed under her breath and yelled for strength. Her focus was purely on what she was doing. It took everything in him not to rush the doctors. ;

After what seemed like a century, the doctor announced the birth of their healthy daughter. His precious little girl was handed to him and he cuddled closer to Katherine. They cried together as they counted all ten little fingers and toes. ;

Katherine looked down at the red and wrinkled crying face and started to cry another round. "Oh god, she is so beautiful." She paused. "Even though she looks like an alien potato... it must be the hormones." The doctors and nurses laughed. Cage remained silent, agreeing with her. ;

Cage knew at that moment that he would never love anything more than these two people. It wasn't possible.

"Shouldn't we call her by her name?" he asked, wrapping his arms around Katherine and his daughter. ;

"Did we ever decide?" she replied. ;

Well, they had never come to the conclusion. ;

"You name her," Katherine coxed. He looked down and felt his eyes moisten with a fresh batch of tears. ;

"Kate Cavanaugh," he said proudly. Big eyes looked up at him. "I think she approves," he said softly. ;

"Of course, she does. She has the best father in the world." Cage kissed her softly. ;

"I just realized that we have alliterating names." Katherine gave him a curious look. "Katherine Cavanaugh. Cage Cavanaugh. Kate Cavanaugh." They laughed. "You know what? I'm going to do my best to be the best husband and father in the world." ;

"We have faith in you," she said. ;

He promised himself that he saw to it. All the money, the fame, and the awards, none of them compared to his family. His wife and child (hopefully more to come) would be the miracle of the universe. The product of a chance encounter that was never supposed to happen. Now that he had happiness, he was never letting it go. That was all that mattered. ;