Emerald

"He's still walking back and forth, what should we do?" Melanie asked her colleague with a worried tone, before releasing a deep sigh.

The man had been restless since his partner had entered the delivery room a few hours before, and had not stopped pacing the floor since. Not even for one break.

They had offered him hot drinks, brought him warm food, cosied up the chair with a blanket and pillow, suggested he should take a rest and promised they would update him as soon as any news would come out.

He would not accept any of their offerings or suggestions, his answer always the same. Let me in or get me some proper information.

Michael was not a calm man by nature and he was infuriated that they wouldn't let him access the delivery room. Somehow not being married meant that he did not have the right to be with his partner as she gave birth to his child.

The more the seconds and minutes passed by, the harder it was for him to accept this idiotic constraint made by who knows whom. He felt justified for being on edge.

Even in his best days, he was not the kind of person that connected easily with many or that cared about others. But the few ones he had close, he cherished with all his heart and soul.

Just the idea that anything could go wrong - he didn't dare to imagine any further detail than that - was leaving him shaking with fear and anger for his impotence.

Little Rose. He couldn't wait to meet her.

Yet, all he could do was waiting and walking. Damn hospital.

"I know he looks young and fit, but after all these hours and the stress I'm afraid he's going to faint." Melanie continued on her thoughts, hoping to find a way to help that lost soul.

"Don't worry." The older nurse replied, as she kept typing on her keyboard with the quick movements and a calm smile shaped by years of experience. "Nothing will give him peace other than seeing his woman and child. Let's wait, I'm sure it's just a matter of minutes now."

She was almost right. The minute hand of the big wall clock did not even complete a full cycle before the creak of a door roughly sliding on the floor filled the air.

The father-to-be turned instantaneously towards the sound and like a thunder headed straight to the doctor who was just beginning to walk past the doorframe.

None of those present could notice his strong steps faltering for one moment, as doubt creeped in before he could shut it out again, right before he finally reached the doctor.

"Mr. Light." The doctor greeted him as he removed the mask covering his face. "I'm glad to inform you that everything is well and the ladies are ready to meet with you. Please follow nurse Voight, she'll take you to room 5."

The doctor's announcement was concise and precise. He knew what the man in front of him needed to hear and did not want to say any more. As efficiently he then gave a node as a gesture of acknowledgment to Melanie who promptly stood up from her desk, while the young man whispered a thin heartfelt "Thank you."

Michael followed in silence the nurse as she walked him through multiple turns of the slim white corridor hiding past the sliding door. He had thought time had started to work funny in the past hours, but it was nothing compared to how it felt now as he was walking through that long corridor towards room 5. Everything was moving so fast and so slow at the same time, the long lines of the walls closing in on him in an unusual bend of space and time.

Lost in this distortion, it took him a few moments to realise that the nurse had stopped in front of an open door and was gesturing him to enter.

His eyes focussed on the young woman without really seeing her, his whole essence still and frozen.

Then, he let out a sigh and walked in.

Christina was lying on the bed of a very light blue room, looking tired and yet more beautiful that he had ever seen her before. In her arms, lying on her bare chest, was a little white bundle.

The new mother smiled adorably at him and slowly sat herself up a little better on the bed, fingertips lightly brushing the top of the bundle, as Michael swiftly reached her side.

Eyes locked in hers, he gently caressed her left cheek as he cupped it in his hand.

"You are my hero", he simply said, voice filled with love.

Instantly, a flash of green light caught his attention. He redirected his gaze from the mesmerising face of his lover to the new being she was holding in her arms. Rose had turned towards him and opened her eyes slightly, before letting herself rest on her mother's chest again.

That fleeting moment was all it took for Michael to know he was never going to be the same again. Those beautiful emerald eyes had shined fast and bright, illuminating the dim world with a new light of hope.

Somehow, it all made sense now. His life and hers.