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Nine months had passed quickly for the Hiddlestons, all of which Tom and Holly had been practically inseparable for. With his next two movies not coming out until 2017, he was able to stay home and be with her for the entirety of her pregnancy.
When her water broke, they had been in the backyard, Tom weeding the garden for her while she read her book in a chaise lounge just off to the side. The sun was shining happily in the heat of summer, baking her husband to a crisp. She had gasped and her hand stopped rubbing her stomach. “Tom?” she called uncertainly, setting her book on the table beside her and doing her best to sit up.
“Yes, darling?” he called back, sitting back on his feet to look up at her.
“Um, I think…” she trailed off, looking at the patio to confirm her suspicions. “My water broke."
"Wh-What?” he said, pulling the gardening gloves off quickly.
“My water broke!” she called one more time. Tom raced over, wiping the sweat from his forehead and inspecting the situation, eyes darting from his very pregnant wife to the wet patio. “Tom,” she said excitedly, reaching up with her free hand to cup his cheek and to get his full attention. He beamed down at her, leaning down to kiss her sweetly.
“If you weren’t about to give birth to our child, I would spin you around right now.” he murmured, kissing her once more. “Now, let’s get you in the car.” Tom wrapped his arm around her waist and led her to the door, calling Ellie inside and locking the door behind her. “Go ahead and jump in the car. I’m going to feed El and grab the overnight bag."
"Okay.” Holly breathed, gingerly heading for the front door. As she got strapped in, Tom came jogging out the door with their overnight bag and carseat. The contractions had become a bit more intense and painful, making her wince as he got buckled in and the Jaguar purred to life.
“Alright, darling. Here we go.” he murmured, fingers shakily tightening around the wheel as he backed out of the driveway. She went from quiet to whimpers and whimpers to groans until they reached the hospital. “Deep breaths, my love.” She nodded, resting her head back against the seat and complying while he parked the car and rounded to her side, the bag slung over his shoulder. Leaning into him, they walked to front desk slowly. Tom rattled off their information, reminding the nurse that they had requested a private room while they helped Holly into a wheelchair. She reached out for his hand, needing any sort of physical contact. He smiled down at her reassuringly, squeezing her smaller hand and cupping her cheek with his free one, bending down to kiss her forehead.
“Okay, Mr. and Mrs. Hiddleston,” the nurse smiled comfortingly, "time to get you into your room.“ Holly whimpered as another contraction wracked her body, squeezing Tom’s hand tightly.
"Alright, darling. We’re almost there. Squeeze as hard as you need to.” he said quietly. They ushered the couple into the room and he helped her change out of her clothes and into the hospital gown. She groaned as he helped her onto the bed, setting the duffel bag beside his chair. Her eyes closed and her thoughts began to drift, remembering how amazing the past nine months had been. Tom held her hand and his leg bounced up and down anxiously.
The hours dragged and the contractions became regular and more painful. Her husband stayed by her side, getting anything that she needed and keeping both families updated until the time came.
The nurses and doctor filed in, preparing the area for the birth. Tom wiped the sweat from Holly’s forehead and neck, feeding her ice chips carefully. “Alright, Mrs. Hiddleston, you are fully dilated! It’s time to push!” the doctor said cheerfully.
Holly rolled her head to look at Tom, smiling as best as she could. He returned a knowing smile, brushing a kiss across her forehead. His hand gently ran over her damp hair in slow, soothing strokes. When she began the pushing, she screamed out in pain, her hand firmly squeezing his as tears ran down her face. He murmured words of encouragement; thumb stroking over the back of her hand. Time stood still as she pushed and pushed, clutching Tom’s hand and begging and pleading to their baby to help her out a little bit.
She heard someone call out that the baby was finally crowning and her tears began to fall faster in relief that it was almost over. This time, she felt his hand squeeze her as he watched the doctor expectantly. The energy in the room grew as they announced the baby’s forehead, nose, mouth, and then chin.
“Keep pushing, Mrs. Hiddleston. You’re almost there!” the doctor said happily, supporting the baby’s head and suctioning the nose and mouth out. Finally, the next contraction and push brought the shoulders out and the baby was pulled out into the world. “It’s a girl! Congratulations!” Holly lay back against the bed in exhaustion, trying her best to see the newborn baby girl, still clutching Tom’s hand.
“Mr. Hiddleston, would you like to cut the umbilical cord?” a nurse asked, smiling reassuringly at him.
“Sure.” He smiled, releasing her hand with a kiss to her forehead and hurrying over to do the honors. They gently placed the baby in her arms for skin-to-skin contact and Tom sank into the chair beside them, resting his chin on her shoulder.
“Hi, sweetie.” She cooed, gently kissing the baby’s forehead. Tom smiled happily, wiping his tears away. “Are we still going to use the name we agreed upon for a girl?” she asked, taking in the baby’s soft blond hair and warm skin.
“Emilia,” he murmured the name that he had researched on, a name from one of his favorite Shakespeare plays, “Emilia Hiddleston.”
“Then Mia or Emmy for short.” Holly agreed, smiling up at her husband.
“It’s beautiful.” He said quietly, wiping a second round of tears away. “I can’t believe it.”
“We did a good job.” She chuckled sleepily, leaning her head against Tom’s.
“Alright, family, Emilia has to go take a nap. We’ll bring her back in a bit.” The nurse said, reaching for the baby. Holly pouted a bit, but handed her over, watching as they wheeled her out in the bed.
“I love you.” Tom murmured quietly. “Why don’t you get some rest, darling?”
“Mmm,” she murmured, pressing her lips to his and laying back, letting herself fall asleep.