The Saturday morning sun blared through the window, creating a romantic ambiance throughout Anna's bedroom. The house was still relatively silent, signifying that everyone remained asleep. Everyone except Anna, of course...
Her gorgeous green eyes fluttered open. A familiar look of discomfort scrawled across her face as she anxiously attempted to blink away the blurriness.
Failing at that, Anna groggily stood up, glancing at her sleeping boyfriend long enough to warrant a tiny smile.
She placed her phone into the back pocket of her sweatpants, beginning her descent down the hallway towards the kitchen.
Sure enough, everyone else was still enjoying their slumber. Although, Sarah was typically the first one up according to Joel, but it was the weekend and they all had a long night...
Anna covered her face with her palm quick enough to let out an inaudible yawn, the blurriness of her vision still taking full effect. She began to pour herself a fresh cup of steaming hot coffee, completely oblivious of what was about to occur.
Joel had jolted awake in full on panic mode; remembering how Anna had been sick last night. He quickly jogged his way into the kitchen, his hands settling around her waist.
Gently removing the hot beverage from her grasp, Joel spoke softly, "Baby, go lay down. I'll handle this." He whispered, turning Anna around to place a kiss to her temple.
Joel was the type of guy who always found a reason to compliment looks, even while Anna felt absolutely disgusting. Covered in sweat and super hot to the touch.
Knowing how much Joel cared deeply about her, Anna nodded, cracking a tiny smile when his lips touched her head.
She began to limp her way to their bedroom, stopping beside the couch when she felt several hot flashes hit her like a ton of bricks. She didn't feel nauseated this time, although she felt ungodly dizzy.
"Why is the room spinning?..."
It took less than a minute for a quiet thud to erupt from the living room, so quiet that Joel didn't notice right away.
Anna sat straight up in front of the couch, gripping the armrest as she silently attempted to pull herself back up to a standing position, "Fuck. Come on!"
Anna was hardly ever a weak link, but the more she moved too quickly, the dizzier she became. She dropped down to the floor, her legs curling up to her chest.
She burrowed her nose into her legs, beginning to whimper softly, quiet enough to avoid waking up the girls.
Unfortunately, as soon as Joel overheard Anna hit the floor, he placed the coffee pot down, heading out towards the couch.
The young Texan frowned softly, carefully scooping Anna up and going in for a hug. However, Anna's arms gripped around Joel's neck first, triggering her to start sobbing into his shoulder.
Several unintelligible words erupted from Anna's trembling body, words that Joel couldn't quite make out. Although, all he really cared about was comforting his beautiful queen, "Shhh... Shhh, my poor little sugar bear..."
No amount of comforting words would calm her down, so Joel had to resort to extreme measures, "Come on, darlin'..."
He placed an arm underneath Anna's legs, scooping her up bridal style and beginning his descent down the hallway.
When Joel attempted to lay Anna down, her instant reaction was something that the young man had never expected Anna to do.
She desperately clung to Joel's side, repeating the same phrases over and over again, "No, no, no... Please don't go... Please don't go, baby..."
Taking into consideration Anna's desperation to be held, Joel gently placed his pointer finger over Anna's chapped lips, silencing her cries, "Shhh... Don't be scared, sweetheart. I'm not going anywhere."
To prove that he really wasn't going anywhere, Joel draped an arm around her shoulders, his other hand resting on her churning stomach, "Are you hungry?"
Anna shook her head so fast that her impending migraine worsened on impact, causing her to place both hands on either side of her head, "N-No. My head hurts so bad, baby..."
Joel placed both palms along each side of Anna's head, lightly beginning to massage it in circular motions. He continued this repeated, sweet little action, "How's that feel, sugar?"
Anna slowly nodded, blurry dizziness still wreaking havoc on her mind, "It feels better. Thank you, my king..."
Hearing such an adorable, cheesy little nickname triggered a light chuckle from Joel, "Of course! Wanna watch some TV?"
Anna shook her head no almost immediately, "No... That'll just make my head throb worse."
This wasn't necessarily a shock to hear, but Joel always felt the need to ask just in case, "Alright. I'm gonna go make some plain toast for Ellie. Hopefully, I can convince the kiddo to eat."
Anna snorted playfully, giggling at how funny it would be to see Joel trying to convince Ellie to do anything, "Good luck with that. She's a stubborn little shit, Joel."
Joel smirked subtly, gently crawling on top of Anna, stroking her cheek lovingly, "Yeah, but she's stubborn like her mama. So, if I can handle you, I think I can handle her too, sugar."
Anna laughed softly, placing both hands along the back of Joel's neck, "I salute you for dealing with her, baby. Let's hope she listens, but if she's anything like me, good luck."
Joel laughed, leaning down to give Anna a kiss before starting to stand up, "I'll be in the kitchen. Get some rest. That's an order."
The young woman gladly returned the kiss, playfully saluting Joel afterwards, "Yes, sir!" Followed by a half assed eye roll...
Meanwhile, Riley remained in Ellie's bedroom, watching her beloved girlfriend sleep with a smile. She knew that it was highly unlikely that Ellie would want to eat, but she had too eventually.
She lightly nudged Ellie's shoulder, shaking her gently, "Ellie, babe... Wake up. You hungry?"
Unsurprisingly, Ellie spoke through an extremely cracked, groggy voice, "No. Fuck off. I wanna sleep..." She mumbled, pulling the blanket over her head.
Thankfully, Riley knew her girlfriend far too well to think she was being serious. So, the slight insult only made her laugh, "You are aware that if you don't eat on my watch, your mom or Joel might make you, right?"
Stubbornly, Ellie groaned at that realization, placing her hands over her eyes. As she began to rub away the grogginess within her eye sockets, Riley placed her hands over Ellie's, "Hey, let me see those beautiful eyes of yours."
Ellie's eyes fluttered open, coming face to face with the equally beautiful Carmel brown eyes of her girlfriend. A heart stopping smile slowly spread across Ellie's freckled features, "How about now?"
As much as Ellie sometimes drove her girlfriend up a wall, she really did find that dorky smile, coupled with her sweet but badass personality attractive, "Yeah, there you go! What's the downside to eating a clock?"
In her current fuzzy state, Ellie couldn't quite pick up on the sudden upbringing of a pun, "Wait, what?" She asked, completely oblivious of something so ridiculously stupid.
Riley laughed softly, repeating her punny question, "What's the downside to eating a clock?" She said, playfully nudging noses with her girlfriend, "In case you haven't caught on already, it's a pun, dumbass."
Ellie immediately smirked, bursting into a slew of laughter, "I don't know..." She replied, mentally preparing herself to burst out laughing again within the next 30 seconds...
Riley smirked as well, matching the toothy grin on her girlfriends face to the best of her ability, "It's time consuming."
This triggered both girls to burst into uncontrollable laughing fits, Riley's expression turning to concern when she noticed Ellie beginning to wheeze painfully.
Knowing what was coming, she dug through the drawers of Ellie's bedside table, grabbing out her spare inhaler, "Here, babe..."
Seeing Ellie with such a life threatening condition was difficult, although Riley kept a promise with Anna that she would always take care of Ellie, no matter what occurred between them.
Even though Anna was previously married to Marlene years ago, Riley hardly remembered them being together. She was about to turn three when they split up, so even if Anna was considered her "stepmom" at one point, Riley didn't see it that way. Anna was just "Anna" to her, nothing else beyond that. Thankfully, her relationship with Ellie never had an awkward phase either, despite nearly facing the possibility of being stepsisters.
Ellie desperately clutched the life saving device, puffing on it like she could lose her life at any second. Which in a way... That wasn't impossible, but Anna wasn't about to let her little girl slowly deteriorate. She was a former nurse and facing the idea that those things could happen meant that Anna couldn't trust other doctors with her daughter... Not even herself. Ellie's birth was proof of that statement...
Anna remained perched up against the window of the living room, her eyes traveling everywhere. The heart rate monitor placed by her side, showing the babies drastic drop in heart rate. The ultrasound machine showing that the baby was definitely ready to come into the world... And lastly, Anna's stomach and the fact that each time the heart rate would go down, Ellie would stop kicking. All the new mother to be could do was stare at her stomach, begging for Ellie to kick one more time before it was time to give birth...
Everything below Anna's abdomen felt like period cramps, but one hundred times worse. Although, Anna couldn't focus on that...
As much as she initially didn't like kids, her perspective on everything altered when she held that positive pregnancy test in her hands... Now, the time she had been waiting for was quickly approaching and Anna had to get her out fast.
The continuous beeping from the heart monitor led to the slightest bit of closure that Ellie would be born okay, but something in the pit of her stomach didn't feel right at all...
Droplets of warm water rained down Anna's legs, her breath catching in her throat as her fingers gripped around the buttons of her pants, "M-My water broke... Fuck, Marlene's not home. She doesn't even know I'm in labor!"
Instead of dwelling on the proven fact that the woman who claimed to love her so much wasn't there to hold her hand, Anna had a new mindset, "No... I'm gonna do this and I'm gonna do it right. I don't wanna be anything like Marlene. You know what to do, Anna..."
Anna whispered, removing her pants and slowly standing up. Her plan from here on out was to walk around the house and do chores until it was time to bring her into the world... Quick, easy and simplest way to dilate.
Anna began to slowly limp her way into the kitchen, starting to wash the dishes while she waited. The dialation monitor remained clipped to the collar of her shirt, easy to access for check ins every 20 minutes.
In hopes of distracting herself from the pain factor, Anna slowly began to sing one of her favorite songs. This wasn't just to distract herself though... Doctors at work would always tell pregnant patients that you'll know when it's time if you're singing and can no longer get any words out.
Anna was no stranger to testing out old wives tales to see if they really worked, but it only took not even 10 minutes for the contractions to go from moderate to absolutely insane.
Anna placed one hand on her stomach, taking a few spaced out breaths, "Come on, baby girl... Are you ready to come out and meet mama?" She asked, glancing at the dialation detector and smashing a glass cup with her bare hands upon reading what it read, "Dialation level: 9."
Suddenly, Anna felt something she had never felt before. Also, judging by her experience with pregnant patients, this wasn't normal either...
Ellie's head seemed to be pressing on Anna's pelvic bone, causing Anna to place both hands on the kitchen counter and bite her lip to avoid screaming... She could've pushed standing up, it hurt so bad, but instead she had to attempt to make it to a laying position first.
Quickly, she ran through her delivery checklist in her head, "Nursery is set up. I've got a bag packed in me and Marlene's room. I've got a breast pump, diapers and playpen, plus an emergency first aid kit..."
Now, all Anna had to do was choose between birthing on the floor, the couch or her and Marlene's bed. Judging by their awful argument before this, their marriage was coming to an end sooner or later...
Now, as if reality had set in, Anna's dialation detector read the golden number "10." Put simply... It was time to welcome her beautiful little girl into the world.
Although, Anna didn't have a name for her yet, she had the perfect middle name selected already... "Rose." Mama's little Rose...
With a smile, Anna leaned down to kiss her stomach for the very last time, making her way into her bedroom.
She immediately laid on the bed, her legs naturally spreading apart as if her body knew what was coming. The slow beeping of the dialation detector was her green light that it was finally time.
With a long, deep breath, Anna leaned forward, pushing only hard enough to jumpstart the most difficult part. It wasn't exactly painful as much as it was instantaneous relief...
She didn't see anything coming out yet, which was only her green light to push again. Holding her breath, Anna by instinct counted from 1 to 10, her insides feeling as if Ellie was a lot closer than she thought. Unfortunately, her suspicions were about to prove to be true...
Now, it was officially time for the third and final push. The one that would not only hurt the most, but the one that would show Ellie's head. Once Anna got past the hardest part, all she had to do was cut the cord.
Anna spoke softly, gripping her legs to prepare for the moment that she had only seen working in a hospital, "1... 2... 3... 4... 5..."
Completely unexpectedly, Anna felt Ellie kick her so hard that it triggered her to push early. Thankfully, this was Ellie proving that she was okay, despite her umbilical cord being tied around her neck.
She reached down, where Ellie's head would be coming out, ready to catch her at any time, "Fuck. Come on, Anna. She's coming now. You can't stop this..."
So, with a deep breath, Anna started over the counting, "1... 2... 3... 4... 5... 6... 7... 8... 9... 10."
The very top of Ellie's head was now out, hitting the palm of Anna's hand. This was only a slight indication that one more push would do it, "Come on, mama. You've got it. You're almost there..."
By this point, Ellie's head was completely out, although she hadn't began to cry yet. This could've been for several different reasons, although Anna feared that she couldn't breathe at all, "Don't worry, monkey. Once you're out, mama will help you."
Instead of risking Ellie continuing to choke, she had decided to let Ellie naturally enter into the world. Her hand remained placed upon Ellie's full head of hair, internally letting her know that she was going to be okay.
She continued taking slow, deep breaths, reality metaphorically biting her in the ass that she would have a newborn within the next two minutes. Feeling Ellie's legs make their way out didn't hurt at all. If anything, it made her more and more eager to hold her little girl...
A sudden, faint feeling of relief swept over the new mother, upon hearing the most beautiful sound in the world... Little Ellie crying.
Taking immediate notice of Ellie's first breath, Anna cut the umbilical cord, lightly unraveling it from around Ellie's neck.
Then, she held the baby out in front of her, a faint tear filled smile spreading across her face, "Oh, monkey... I can't believe you're here."
She spoke, feeling quite exhausted after that birth, however she couldn't waste the opportunity to breastfeed her baby for the first time.
She placed Ellie on her chest, allowing her to nurse comfortably. Her tiny green eyes opening as she ate, glancing up at her mother.
After thinking of possible baby names for the last several minutes, Anna landed on the perfect name, "Ellie."
Ellie's tiny hand wrapped around her mothers pointer finger, a wide smile appearing across Anna's face, "Mama's little monkey..."
With a happy, but relieved sigh, Anna placed a perfectly sized oxygen mask on Ellie's face to assist her with breathing properly. She really would do anything for her beautiful little girl...
"Make me proud, Ellie..."
Suddenly, Anna jolted awake upon impact with that dream, looking around frantically for Joel to no avail, "Joel! JOEL!"
Her eyes traveled around the room in a blurry trance, completely oblivious that Joel was sitting right next to her, "Woah, woah, baby... Hey, hey... It was just a dream. You're safe. I was just in the kitchen making food."
Anna couldn't say anything in regards to that awful dream. The last thing she ever wanted was to dream about the best and worst day of her life at the same time...
She started sobbing uncontrollably to the point of everything around her spinning. She immediately buried her head into the side of Joel's neck, heavy breathing filling his ears, "Oh, baby..."
Joel hadn't even been Anna's boyfriend for 48 hours yet and she had already cried more times than he could count. That was okay though, because feeling emotions wasn't something to be ashamed of. To him, Anna was a beautifully perfect soul, coupled with a healing heart.
With a soft, loving smile, Joel began to speak, "That dream wasn't real, sweetheart. You don't have to worry. I won't let anyone hurt you. It's just you, me and our girls."
Did Joel just say "our"?
Fortunately, Anna was able to give Joel some closure through a mess of lip quivers, "That's the thing, Joel. My birth with Ellie was both the most beautiful and the most terrifying day of my life. It happened so fast that I didn't have time to tell Marlene and I knew something was wrong. She was born with the umbilical chord around her neck, baby. I could've lost my sweet little monkey..."
As a young parent himself, Joel still couldn't imagine dealing with something like this alone, especially when it wasn't Anna's choice. Yeah, Sarah's mother left soon after her birth, but even she specifically asked Joel to be there. This was beyond the realm of awful, but Joel had to promise now that he would stay by her side not just for Ellie, but for Anna too.
Instead of asking a ridiculous question like, "Is that why she has asthma?," Joel only decided to take Anna into his arms, fighting back his own tears, "I wish I could've been there, but I'm here now. Look at your beautiful little girl. You may have lost Marlene, but in a way, you can say that when she left, she gave you your little girl. So, in a way... You've still won, Anna. She lost, you won. You've kept a relationship with Riley and Ellie is one of the best basketball players I've ever seen. That's all on you, Anna. You created those things."
To these words, Anna placed her hand around Joel's wrist, her other hand resting upon his cheek, "If somehow I could be given the chance to go back in time, I'd do it all over again without Marlene."
Joel leaned their foreheads together, his thumbs dragging along the surface of Anna's face to wipe away her tears, "And that's why you're a damn good mom. You put Ellie before everyone else, including yourself. I do the same thing with Sarah."
Despite it being still quite early to utter out that three word phrase, Anna leaned in for a kiss. A deeper kiss, this time...
Anna's hand ran across his freshly shaven chin, her other arm securely wrapped around his neck. Joel kept both hands around Anna's hips, absentmindedly assisting her with sitting across his lap.
In this long awaited moment, Anna knew exactly where she belonged. She never once questioned if he was the man for her. She already knew... And previously being family friends helped create this bond a ton.
Meanwhile, Riley remained in Ellie's slightly smaller bathroom, setting up a bath for her while Ellie finally ate her breakfast.
She wasn't usually one to be considered "the romantic type," but sometimes whenever they had their stupid little arguments, Riley would step up to the plate.
She would show up with food or flowers after Ellie's basketball games, or tell excruciatingly dumb puns to make her girlfriend laugh. Although, this was meant to make Ellie feel good about herself, even when she wasn't in the greatest mood...
Knowing that Ellie wasn't much of a "girly girl," Riley had decided to keep things simple. Basic bath without any bubbles, not too hot but not too cold either, "Alright, let's hope she likes this..."
She stuck her head out of the bathroom door very briefly, yelling Ellie's name, "Ellie, come here. I'm in the bathroom!"
Completely clueless, Ellie weakly limped her way towards her bedroom door, wiping the slight residue from the toast off her cheeks, "Is this your fancy way of making me take a bath because you know my mom's gonna do it eventually?"
As much as Riley totally adored her girlfriends smartass personality, she only wanted to make Ellie feel good for a change, "Just get your ass in here."
Ellie sighed, the sounds of her crutches clinking against the floorboards as she walked. Thankfully, Riley held the door open for her, "I've got you, babe." Riley playfully retorted, perfectly referencing their favorite Etta James cover song.
Ellie shook her head, eyes traveling across the room as fast as flying saucers, "Woah! What kind of bullshit did you do to feel the need to suck up to me this time?"
Riley laughed softly, gently removing Ellie's crutches from her hands and balancing them up against the wall.
Lastly, her hands gently took hold of Ellie's waist, carefully beginning to pull Ellie's shirt up, "Nothing, babe. You deserve to feel good sometimes."
Instead of arguing, Ellie's eyes soared with love, her heart filling with joy upon hearing her sappy girlfriends words.
Her arms swiftly wrapped around Riley's neck, pulling her in for a massive hug, "You set up all of this for me?"
Riley smiled, nodding softly while she pointed towards a beautiful glass vase full of ice cold water and rainbow colored roses. Beside the vase was a box of Ellie's all time favorite delectable chocolates for those damn period cravings, "Always. I know my girl. Just saying."
Ellie giggled, surprisingly loving the romance involved to make this happen, "You know... You might just be my favorite person again. What would I ever do without you?"
Riley smiled, placing a soft kiss to Ellie's temple, "Shhh, stop talking and get in that bath, babe. I promise you'll feel better afterwards."
The 12 year old girl was never one to deny that baths always helped her during sickness. It had been her favorite part about being sick ever since she was a toddler...
Before Ellie could even begin to remove her clothing, Riley started doing the tedious task for her, "No. Let me help you, my Rosebud."
A playful snore escaped Ellie's lips, mixed with an unstoppable slew of giggles. Hearing Riley be so romantic was practically unheard of, although Ellie loved to finally experience it.
On Riley's side of the spectrum, she knew they were still young. However, she didn't necessarily view Ellie as "sexy..." More so beautiful and goddess like.
As far as Riley was concerned, stripping Ellie out of her clothes only made her appreciate Ellie more. In a mature way instead, not an inappropriate way in the slightest.
While assisting Ellie with stepping into the bath tub, she took immediate notice of an earth shattering look of discomfort on Ellie's face, "Ow, my ankle hurts..."
Riley frowned, gently helping Ellie to a sitting position in the water and kissing her forehead, "Just focus on me, babe. Focus on me..."
Ellie tearfully nodded, wiping at the sizzling sensation behind her eyelids. Ellie couldn't stand crying in front of her girlfriend, but she knew it was always safe to do so...
Having already washed her hair, Ellie couldn't hold back her tears anymore. Watching as Riley gently massaged her ankle with body wash as an impromptu lotion, little lip quivers jutted out from Ellie's mouth.
Of course, Riley was quick to realize what was about to happen. Knowing it wasn't something she could stop, Riley ran her fingers along Ellie's cheek, pulling her into a hug, "Aw, babe... Please don't cry. Is it your ankle, or something else?"
Through soft, silent whimpers, Ellie answered in one single breath, "Everything..." Ellie answered, her foot tingling like pins and needles and her stomach intensifying with the scourge known as "period cramps."
Now fully finished with the bathing portion, Riley began to pick Ellie up out of the tub, draining the water while Ellie had gotten dressed.
Placing a loving smooch to Ellie's forehead, Riley had helped her with walking out of the bathroom. She knew she was more than enough to make Ellie feel better, but her mom included in the process would make the process easier and quicker...
Meanwhile, Anna remained in the master bedroom with Joel, watching television together until footsteps could be heard.
Briefly turning the volume down, Anna glanced towards the door, immediately frowning at the discomfort amongst her daughters face, "Oh, monkey... Did you want your mama?"
Eagerly nodding, Ellie crawled onto the bed with Riley's assistance, curling herself up into a ball on her mothers chest, "She's in so much pain, Anna. I got her some flowers and chocolate and helped her take a bath."
A bright smile appeared on Anna's face, loving how well Riley treated her daughter in comparison to how Marlene treated her, "Thank you, Riley. Feel free to stay in here with us. I'm sure our sweet little Rose would love to keep you around."
Riley smiled, slowly leaning down to kiss the side of Ellie's head, "Of course I'll stay. When my girl needs me, I'll always be here."
Anna nodded, giving Riley a motherly hug with one arm while cradling Ellie with the other.
Suddenly, Joel softly nudged the young mothers shoulder, gesturing downward towards a peacefully sleeping Ellie, "Ain't that the best?"
Anna laughed lightly, watching as her not so little girl remained fast asleep within the safe confines of her mothers arms, "It reminds me of when she was a baby."
Joel smiled softly, a toothy grin accompanying his bearded frame, "Exactly. No matter what, she will always be your baby. No matter how old she gets, she will always need her mama."
Riley joined in on their little moment, glancing at Anna with a loving smile. After all, Anna raised her more than Marlene every did. Even to this day, "Thank you for taking care of me in ways that my mom never did..."
Anna pulled her former step daughter into a much needed, well deserved hug, "Always, Ry. Even though you're my daughters girlfriend, my arms are always open for free mama hugs. I've got your back, I always will."
Sometimes, in order to feel wanted in a place that wasn't yours, all you need is a mothers touch. Soft snuggles, serene hugs and a house that wasn't yours... Riley could always boast that she was, in fact, safe within the four walls of the Williams household.
Only now, all Riley hoped for was that Anna finally landed the happiness she had been hunting for, years in the making.
Anna most assuredly deserved that much, however there was always more happiness left to achieve. Judging by the smiles upon Joel and Anna's faces though, they were already halfway there.
This realization would inevitably take some time to confirm, but with Joel... Anna already had found the missing part of herself. It took several years, but Anna was finally where she was destined to be...