“Um,” I stuttered when Fern was finally laid on my chest, tiny screams ripping from her lips, “She’s so small.”

“She’s perfect,” Clara sniffled, rubbing Fern gently on the back, “Absolutely perfect. You did so good, Ren.”

After two hours of labor, something that surprised everyone, as Fern was my first child, she made her way into the world screaming. Fern now shared a birthday with Edward, something that filled my heart even if I hadn’t originally wanted that.

“Fern Clara Bell,” I whispered, and Clara gently kissed my forehead.

“You aren’t giving her Eddie’s last name?” Dara looked at me, surprised.

“No. He’s not here. It would feel weird to give her his last name when I’ll probably marry down the line. I don’t plan to spend my life alone now that I’ve lost Eddie. He wouldn’t want that for me or Fern. No, he wouldn’t,” I cooed, cleaning Fern’s face a bit, “She’s beautiful…”

“She looks like you,” Clara laughed, heading to the door to get Rian, “Dad will want to see.”

“I know.”

Fern was a small but chunky little girl, her skin a bit light, which surprised me as Edward was darker-toned than I was. She had a bit of dark brown hair, and her eyes were a light hazel, making her nearly identical to myself. There were a few signs of Edward; she had the same almond eyes and thin nose, but her lips were puffy like mine.

Dara gently sat on the side of my hospital bed, a smile on his face, and he laid his hand over mine as I had rested it on Fern’s back, “She’s so beautiful, Renny. I am so damn proud of you. Can I hold her?”

“In a little bit. The golden hour is important,” I whispered, relaxing when Dara ran his hand through my hair, never taking his eyes off of Fern, “You’re staring at her in the same way you stared at me when we were little.”

“I’m overprotective of you, so you know damn well I’ll be overprotective of Fern,” he rolled his eyes at me and I giggled, “How are you feeling?”

“Still numb. That epidural worked too well. We get to go home tomorrow. Are you sure you can stay home to take care of me?”

“He better not come into the shop for at least two months,” Kipling called as he walked in with Rian and Clara.

“Kip!” I smiled, and he jogged over, pressing a soft kiss to the top of my head, “Hey, you.”

“Hey,” he sniffled, “Sorry. I’m just happy Fern is here. I've been waiting for her. You gave birth to yourself, damn.”

“And you look more and more like your Mum every time I see you.”

Where Dara and Rian were twins, Kipling took almost exclusively after Clara. They were both blonde with bright sky-blue eyes, but Kipling towered over everyone. Dara and Rian were around six foot two, but Kipling was a staggering six foot nine and broad after four years of football in high school and continuous weight lifting now at 27. We both teased Dara about being a string bean, but as he swam in high school, he had a lithe frame over being bulky like his brother.

“What’s her full name?” Kipling gently patted my head, and I yawned softly.

“Fern Clara Bell.”

“Not Ramirez?”

“No. Eddie wouldn’t have wanted that if he were gone. I know him; hell, we all knew him.”

“True,” Rian smiled, “Clara, look at her…”

“I was waiting for the day we were grandparents. Ren,” Clara cradled my face, wiping a tear from my cheek, “I know I’ve told you this before, but bringing you fully into our family was the greatest choice we ever made. We’ve loved you like parents since you were six, and the fact that you have called us that for five years now means everything. Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts, for letting us be Grammy and Granda. It means so much to us.”

“It means everything to me too,” I whispered as Fern started to cry, “Um.. Day? Can you make her a bottle? Seeing as I can’t feed her.”

“Already on it,” Dara laughed, holding up the pink glass baby bottle full of formula, “Here,” he handed it to me, and I shifted Fern onto her back, gently nestling her in my arm as I started to feed her. She slowly opened her eyes, and I smiled, “She feels safe with her Daddy.”

“That she does.”

After Fern was fed and changed into a set of pajamas Dara put her in, everyone but him left to give me space to sleep. Dara was quietly rocking her in a chair, the tiny bundle that was my daughter safe in his arms, and I drifted off, the adrenaline of today finally wearing off.

I landed in a small forest clearing, unable to see anything but the trees, but I knew I was dreaming, so I sat amongst the poppies, running my fingers through the petals.

“Ren,” Edward called from behind me, and I looked over my shoulder with a smile to find him in his police uniform, dark brown waves tucked under the cap, tanned skin glowing in the sunlight, “Hey, you.”

“Happy birthday,” I laughed as he sat next to me, taking off his hat, “You’d be 22.”

“And you brought your little girl into the world,” he nodded, staring up at the canopy of trees.

“Our little girl.”

“Nah,” he laughed, shaking his head, “Yours. I’m not there to raise her, she’ll have no idea who I am even when you tell her about me. I’m not her Dad. I mean, biologically, sure, but she’ll grow up calling someone else Dad, and honestly, I’ve made peace with that. I know I’ve come to see you a lot since I died. But I think this is the last time I will. You don’t need me to come and confirm I’m okay all the time. You’re healing well, Ren. I give it a year before you notice.”

“Notice what?”

“That I don’t have your heart anymore,” he knocked his head on mine, hard to feel as this was nothing more than my own mind trying to comfort me, “I haven’t in a long time. Remember?”

“We were in the middle of breaking up when you died,” I whispered, staring straight ahead, “We decided it was best to just be friends since we wanted different things. I wanted the house, the kids, all that. You never did. You wanted to be single since we were only ever together. Then you died, and I found out about Fern. I thought I needed you to do this.”

“But you never did,” he laughed, “You’ll figure it out soon.”

“Figure out what?”

“That, my adorable little Brit, I can’t tell you. Just let it happen, and I promise you, you’ll be happy.”

“I believe you,” I whispered as the dream came to an end, Edward fading away one last time.

I woke up slowly to find that Dara was asleep in a chair, Fern in the bassinet, wiggling a bit, her tiny tongue coming out a few times. I carefully reached in, picked her up, and laid her between my legs. She was clearly wet and needed to be changed, and I found wipes and a diaper at the other end of the bassinet. I had very little practice at changing a diaper; Kipling, Dara, and I had practiced on a doll for a few months, but I figured it out quickly before she started to squeal at being cold. Dara shot up in the chair, looking over at us, and I shushed him softly, wanting him to rest.

“She woke up quick,” he whispered before yawning, “I barely put her down two hours ago.”

“Remember what we read? She’s probably going to wake up every two hours for the first few months, hungry and wet. That’s all it is, right, princess?” I cooed as Dara made another bottle and brought it to me.

“Are you hungry? You haven’t had anything to eat in hours.”

“Oh,” My eyes grew wide as my stomach rumbled, “I didn’t realize. Yeah, I’m starving.”

“My parents left the van. Kip took them home, so I can bring you and Fern home tomorrow. I can go get you anything you want from anywhere you want.”

“I’m fine with cafeteria food, Day.”

“Nope. I want to treat you. So tell me.”

“Um,” my face grew warm for a minute as I forgot how desperately Dara loved to take care of me, “Two tacos, curly fries, and an oreo shake.”

“You got it,” he pinched my ear gently before checking on Fern, “Hit the call button if you need anything before I get back, and a nurse will come in. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

“We’ll be waiting.”

Dara left with a smile, and I cuddled down with Fern, watching her eat before turning on a movie. My cellphone startled both of us, ringing from my side table, and I quickly answered once Fern was calm.

“Hello?” I whispered.

“Sasha?” My birth mother's voice came through, and I nearly ended the call before clearing my throat, confused how she had my phone number, “Sasha, is it true?”

“I don’t know anyone named Sasha,” I managed to croak out, and Eliza huffed.

“Ren. Is it true?”

“Is what true?”

“Is Edward dead?”

“He died last year. Today, or I guess yesterday, was seven months. You just found out?”

“I was visiting a friend's grave and happened to pass him. I was shocked. Why didn’t you tell me you were finally away from him? I have the perfect person for you!”

“Are you… fucking kidding me?” I hissed, “That’s all you can say? That I’m away from him! He died, Eliza! He died a fucking hero and you act like I escaped! For your information, we were already in the middle of breaking up when he passed, you miserable bitch.”

“Huh?” Dara’s voice came from my left, and I snapped my head over, my eyes full of tears as I had never shared that with him, “Ren, who is that?”

“Eliza,” I started to cry, and he set my food down, gently taking my phone from my hand.

“Don’t you call him. Don’t you ever call him again. Ren is not your family. You’re not allowed to upset him,” Dara growled into the phone, his protective nature on full display and making my heart thud, “He’s ours, Eliza. Not yours.”

“Dara, you don’t get to make that choice,” Eliza yelled after Dara put the call on speaker, “I found her the perfect man, someone that will overlook her nasty… transgression of having her breasts removed. She’ll finally be in a position to get away from the brainwashing you put on my daughter.”

“He is not your child in any sense and hasn’t been in five years. Ren is ours, do you understand me? There is nothing that will pull him away from my family. I’m his anchor and his protector. Kipling was the one who dried his tears when Eddie died and cleaned the wound you left on his face when you beat him with that damn belt. We're more Ren’s family than you have ever been, and I will ensure that the no-contact order stands. If you violate that again, I will have you arrested, Eliza. Do you understand me?”

“Dara, let me talk to Sasha.”

“No. There’s no one here by that name.”

“Dara!”

“Eliza,” he mocked her as I cried softly, holding Fern close, “You’re upsetting Ren on a monumental day. It’s not any of your damn business why, but you don’t get to upset him. He is ours, do I make that clear?”

“Since when? Huh? Did your brother finally manage to steal her from Edward now that he’s dead? She won’t ever love him, Dara!”

“I know,” Dara whispered, and I looked up at him in shock, “I know, and Kip doesn't need Ren to love him. He gave up on that years ago. We just need him close. He’s our best friend. Goodbye, Eliza,” he ended the call, blocked the number she had called from, and turned my phone off, “I brought your dinner.”

“What was the end of that call about?” I sniffled, laying Fern in the bassinet as she had managed to sleep through the entire argument.

“They gave us two extra tacos when I told them you had Fern,” he ignored my question, pulling the little table over that slid above my bed, “They want you to bring her in when you can so they can meet her. We’ve been going to Bunky’s Drive-In since we were kids; everyone knows us.”

“Dara, answer me.”

“I got ranch,” he continued to ignore my pressuring and I sighed, taking a bite of one of the tacos, turning my gaze to the small television in my room as Dara was stubborn if he didn’t to talk about something and there was no one on the planet that could force him to talk outside of Kipling, “Oh, and they gave you extra cherries on your milkshake.”

“Thank you,” I muttered.

“You’re welcome.”

We ate in silence before Dara cleaned up after me and forced me to rest, his hand on the side of Fern’s bassinet to ensure she was safe. I was entirely correct about how protective of her he would be, as he had hovered around when the nurses came in to take a bit of Fern’s blood to check for any genetic or health issues. She was given a clean bill of health, but he kept checking her tiny foot, making sure that she wasn’t bleeding anymore as they had pricked her heel.

I fell asleep once my stomach was full, and I managed to walk to the bathroom. Dara assisted me as I was required to go at least once before we were allowed to leave. Dara took the chair once again, putting Fern between us, and I slept for six hours straight, waking up to him changing her into the going-home outfit I had packed.

“Day?” I coughed, and he smiled at me, fixing his glasses before sitting on the side of the hospital bed, “Why didn’t you wake me up?”

“It’s best you sleep as much as possible right now. It’s a big adjustment, and your body went through trauma. I don’t mind getting up to feed and change Fern. It’s nice to have those quiet little moments. She sticks her tongue out a lot, it’s cute. I know you’ll be doing everything when we get home, but I’ll be there to help so you can rest when you need it. I already plan to cook, clean, and help when you need sleep. That’s why Kip won’t let me come to work. You can’t do everything alone, and I don’t want you to. I’m right here.”

“But why?” I whispered, pushing my hair off my neck.

“Because I want to be. I get to take you two home in three hours. It’ll be easier to rest there.”

“Okay. Um… Day?”

“Yeah?” He smiled, carefully handing me Fern as she wiggled.

“Thank you. For everything you do for me. I don’t know how to pay you back for it.”

“I don’t do it because I expect anything. I do it because we’ve been friends for so long, I can’t see life without you anymore.”

“M-Me either.”

“I know.”