Description: This story takes place in the near-distant future.

Spoilers: None

Archive: Sure, just let me know where you put it.

Author's Note: My first WW fic


Rule My World 1/1

"Donna, wake up." He called to her softly while gently squeezing her
limp hand. "Please wake up." His throat tightened and he could no
longer hold back the tears that pooled in his eyes.

He had never been one to give in to the softer emotions. Not
since he had learned that the world was a big bad place that
threatened to swallow little boys like him whole. Instead
he had long ago chosen to mask his gentler emotions behind
passion and sometimes hostility. Just as he had once vowed
to never again let the world get the best of him.

But this was different - this could, quite possibly, break
him. Why, just when he'd found his measure of personal
happiness, did the world attempt to take it away?

He clung tightly to her, stroking the satiny skin on the
back of her hand with his thumb. "C'mon Donna!" This is
no time to mess around." His frustration momentarily
overrode his quieter instincts. He swiped at the tears
on his face and rubbed his eyes to clear his
blurred vision.

She was so pale, her formerly rosy lips having lost their
color. Her chest rose up and down with each breath she
involuntarily took. He watched the blessed movement of
her chest beneath the cloth of the standard-issue hospital
gown. He breathed as she breathed and exhaled as she
exhaled, hoping to find the place where she was so he could
bring her home.

"Come back to me," he begged on a whisper. "Come back
to us." He glanced up at the IV bag and noted that nearly
a pint of AB negative, her second, had found its way into
her veins. She would wake soon, he hoped - any minute now.

But the minutes ticked on until they became an hour, and
then two and three. He was afraid to leave her, even for
a second. Even though there were responsibilities that needed
tending. A nurse came in, and then the doctor. They
whispered the he needn't worry so, that rest was the best
medicine for her now - now that she was out of the woods.
But their words didn't ease the disquiet of his heart.
Only the sight of her blue eyes, bright with love and
rebellion, could do that.

"Donna," he demanded this time. "It's time to get up.
No more slacking on the job."

And then, as though the magic words had been spoken, her
eyes fluttered opened. The breath caught in his chest as
his hand settled on her cheek, stroking it tenderly.
"Hey there," he whispered.

"Hey," her voice was raspy from heavy sleep.

"How do you feel?"

Her eyes fluttered to stare up that ceiling. She took a
moment to remember where she was and why she was there.
Her lower body was numb but tingled with potential pain,
which she found oddly comforting. And then her memories
of her earlier that morning flooded back to her.

"The baby?" she asked.

"Is fine," he comforted, before she had the opportunity to
get upset. "She's fine…she's perfect."

"Can I see her? I want to see her." Her hand tightened in
his, a sign of her returning strength.

He picked up the call button and pressed it firmly. "The
nurse told me that she already misses her mother.
I'm sure they'll bring her in a few minutes."

She smiled, releasing a breath she didn't know she'd been
holding. Her eyes settled on his face again, and she reached
over to touch the stubble on his chin. "You look like hell,
Joshua."

"You had me pretty scared for a while there."

"I don't remember."

"Hemorrhage," he explained. "You lost a lot of blood, and it
was too late to do a Caesarian. They kicked me out of the delivery
room."

"How long was I out?"

"Forever," he smiled. "Eight hours. I can't remember the last
time I went that long without hearing your voice."

"And you've seen her?"

"Yeah. I held her - counted her fingers and toes - she's all
there, by the way. She's just like her mother, she wouldn't
stop crying."

She giggled and grimaced at the twinge of pain it caused.
"Well," she said, when she recovered, "I'm sure you'll have
her charmed in no time."

"One can hope."

They shared an intimate moment of silence. He lifted her
hand to his mouth and placed a kiss upon it, his eyes never
breaking contact with hers.

The sound of the nurse's shoes squeaking on the floor
brought the silence to an abrupt end. He turned to see the
maternity nurse, wheeling a mobile bassinet through the door.
The kindly looking woman maneuvered the bassinet right next
to the bed, and reached over to help Donna adjust the bed's
position until she was sitting upright. Casting a quick
glance at Josh, the woman headed for the door.

"Am I okay to feed her?" Donna called after the nurse.

"You're fine," she answered. "And she's hungry."

Josh approached the bassinet and placing one hand beneath
the baby's head, and the other beneath her bottom, he lifted
his daughter and placed her Donna's waiting arms. He joined
her on the bed, made just large enough for new families, and
watched as his wife pulled back the baby's blanket to inspect
the infant.

"Ten fingers. Ten toes," he said. "You don't trust me?"

"God, Josh," she whispered with awe. "Look what we did."

He wrapped his arms around his wife and infant daughter, and
placed a kiss on both their foreheads. His throat tightened
again, and he wondered what is was that marriage, and now
fatherhood, had done to him. He breathed in the moment,
wanting to remember it for all time, while knowing that it
would be impossible to forget. He closed his eyes, and
silently thanked God for all the days to come - just in
case he might get forgetful in the future.

"Thank you, Donnatella."

"Well, I do my best."

"I know you do."

"So, you really don't think I slack off at work?"

"Not a chance," he responded.

"Good answer, Joshua." Her eyes narrowed slightly.
"Good answer."

Their daughter began to cry and he was quick to stroke
the soft, soon-to-be-alabaster skin of her cheek. Her eyes
opened, and for an instant she seemed to look straight at him.

In that moment, he knew that she would be just like her mother.
He knew that she too would rule his world.


The End