Magic

He looked down at her and remembered all the reasons he loved her. She was kind, charismatic, loving and perfect. To him, no one could compare.

Her hair fell around her face the way it had on the day they first met. She was his everything, and she was lying in a hospital bed.

Jackson grabbed her hand and brought it to his trembling lips. She had always compared their hand sizes and point out that there wasn't much of a difference between the two. She believed it made her seem manly; Jackson thought it was a sign that they were soul mates.

Erica's heart monitor fluttered and Jackson couldn't help but wonder if she was thinking of him like he was of her.

She had these eyes that would change color depending on her mood, and when she cried they became a fierce shade of emerald. To Jackson, nothing else could compare to their beauty.

"Everything will be okay," Jackson said more to himself than to Erica. She was always the optimist, but today it was Jackson's turn.

Jackson remembered the fight that had started the entire thing.

"Jackson, I don't understand," Erica had said. "I do everything. I cook, clean, work and clean some more. All I had asked was that you have the dishes done before I got home."

"I work too, Erica! I got distracted. I'm sorry," Jackson had lamented.

"I don't want you to be sorry, I want you to help!" Erica had exclaimed just before a wave of pain overtook her body.

Jackson's mind had gone blank, and quickly filled with a million different thoughts, like where the hell were the car keys? He went into robot mode and rushed Erica to the hospital.

It wasn't supposed to have happened like this. We were supposed to be happy, Jackson thought.

Erica's hand tightened around Jackson's and his dark brown eyes rushed to meet hers. She began to say something, but a group of nurses bustled in before she could get anything out.

Jackson looked up at Nurse Barley-23-Blue-Eyed-Bimbo who was holding what looked like a wadded up pink blanket.

She has to be holding her wrong. Who let her be the designated baby holder? Jackson thought itching to reach out and take his newborn daughter away from a complete stranger.

Erica, however, was much smoother at hiding her discomfort and reached out for their daughter in the most graceful way. Jackson could have sworn he fell in love with his wife all over again at that very moment.

After saving their daughter from the unqualified nurse, Erica gazed lovingly down at their newborn. Jackson could already see that their baby had her mother's eyes. He shuddered to think of what that would mean once she became a teenager.

"Joliene," Erica said as she held her child's tiny hand.

It took everything for Jackson to hold back his tears of pride and simply nod at the beautiful women that were his family