"There's a light in a woman's eyes that speaks louder than words."-Arthur Conan Doyle

He'd been pacing outside Lady Mary's door with his heart in his throat for what felt like an eternity. The pain in his knee vanished upon the sound of an infant's wails alighting his ears. Simultaneously laughing and crying with the joy and relief that flooded his entire being, John Bates could hardly maintain his decorum.

"I'm a father," he whispered to himself in sheer amazement.

Compared to the previous hours spent waiting, the minutes following the birth seemed interminable. By the time Dr. Clarkson emerged to offer his congratulations, John could hardly focus on anything beyond seeing his family.

Within two steps inside the room, he was riveted. His eyes immediately settled on the image of his wife and child and he could've sworn his heart had stopped beating in that moment. In his life, of all the places he'd been and all the things he'd witnessed, there wasn't a one that came close to comparing to the beauty he found before him. Nestled in the center of the bed and bathed in the soft light of the nearby candles and grand fireplace, Anna cradled their precious newborn.

In a half-whisper, half-prayer, "My Darling," was all he could manage.

It was only then that she lifted her head to look at him and he was struck by what he saw. He wouldn't have thought that the beauty of the moment previous could've been off-set by any other…until that look. She graced him with the purest smile he'd ever seen on her lovely face; but beyond that, he saw the tears welled in her eyes. In her gaze, he could see all the things she didn't need to say. Words could never thoroughly communicate the intensity of her joy, her contentment, her gratitude and the overwhelming love she felt for her little family in that moment. What words couldn't say, her eyes could. In her eyes, he could see her pride in holding their child at long last. He could see her humbleness in finally realizing their dearest wish. He could see a pure glow radiating from her that took his breath in a rush.

Swallowing the knot in her throat and blinking back tears, she choked, "Oh, John…come and meet your son."

As they listened to the crackling of the fire and the occasional muffled grunt from their son, refrains of Auld Lang Syne began to make their way to Anna and John's ears. She looked into her husband's eyes in that way she had a thousand times before, where words were unnecessary, and everything in her heart felt was simply understood by him—because he could see it as bright as the sun shining right at him. And life, for that moment, was perfect.

"Happy New Year."