December

The first Sunday in December was taken up by Maria and Steve's baby shower.

Pepper had organised it - apparently she had a knack for coordinating large events - and had decided that rather than the traditional "women only" party, that all the men were invited too.

In the end, it turned out like a normal party, in a hired hall, except instead of everybody getting drunk and dancing, they were presenting Maria and Steve with various gifts for their impending arrival.

Maria had created a wish-list of items they still needed before the baby came, and each guest was advised to choose something from the selection provided.

Phil had scanned the list one evening the previous week, and suggested to Melinda that they could purchase the bottle sterilising kit, as he knew first hand just how necessary it was to have one of those once the baby was feeding from bottles.

Melinda had nodded in agreement, and happily chipped in her half, but as soon as she saw Natasha a few days later, the two decided that Maria would much rather receive a bottle of Russian vodka, and a set of brand new shot glasses, for when she could finally relax again.

They kept that one quiet from Phil and Steve, but the grin on Maria's face when she opened it had been worth the secrecy.

The room that had been hired out for the occasion, was filled with bunches of balloons in pastel colours, both baby blue and pale pink - seeing as the sex of the baby was to be a surprise - and wrapped together with ribbons.

A few tables around the edges were covered in gifts, and the rest filled to bursting with plates of various food offerings; from mini quiches made with creamy cheese and caramelised red onion, to sweet apple and pear tarts dusted with crystal sugar, and individual sliced sandwiches, stuffed with an array of fillings that far outshone a simple cheese and ham.

The centre piece however, was a large white cake, covered in frosting, and decorated with scrolling icing with the words "new baby" along the top. There were sugar paste rattles, and dummies, in both blue and pink, and edible confetti surrounded the stand it was resting upon.

Pepper really had outdone herself this time.

To the side of the cake, was a three tiered chocolate fountain, pouring molten rivers of deep sweetness in a constant loop. Silver platters around it were filled with strawberries, grapes, and marshmallows, and there were even shot glasses, for those after a pure liquid taste.

The party passed in a blur, with guests milling around and laughing and joking.

Melinda found herself on the outskirts after a while, almost disconnected from what was going on within, but it took her until the slicing of the cake to work out why that was.

Everyone was cheering and clapping, and Maria and Steve were beaming at each other.

Steve had his hand against her stomach, and the two sliced open the cake just like they had done on their wedding day.

They were the perfect picture of happiness together.

That image, right in front of her, that snapshot of pure joy, that was how Melinda had thought she would feel when pregnant. But she didn't, and the realisation hit her like a punch to the gut. Swallowing the rest of her drink down, she forced a smile to her face when her gaze met Maria's momentarily.

As soon as everybody began to surge forwards, queueing up for paper plates and matching napkins and slices of sugar coated sponge cake, Melinda escaped the room, turning the corner at the end of the corridor, and opening the large wooden doors that led to outside the hall.

There was a small garden area out there - they had passed it on the way in - and she wandered slowly across the gravelled footpath, her boots crunching against the collection of rough stones as she went, before she stopped by a little wooden bench, set amongst the lilies and flowers that adorned the flowerbeds.

She needed space.

She needed to breathe.

In, two, three, four. Out, two, three, four.

In, two, three, four. Out, two, three, four.

She wondered if it was natural to be this afraid, or if it was just her, overreacting and being completely ridiculous about the whole thing. After all, having a baby, it was… biology. Human nature. Normal.

Maria and Steve. They were happy. They had wanted this and were practically oozing with excitement.

She had seen that look in Phil's eyes, after they had realised what the positive result of the test meant. He'd tried not to let it show, not whilst she was panicking so much, but she'd seen it all the same.

Hope.

Melinda had been so lost in her own thoughts, she only heard the sound of someone approaching about five seconds before they reached her.

As she glanced up, she met the gaze of Phil, who was smiling softly at her as he came to a stop before her, his hands shoved casually in his jeans pockets.

"Hey."

"Hey."

The both stayed silent for a while, listening to the sounds of distant traffic on some far away main road. Neither spoke.

Eventually, he removed his hands from his pockets, stepping over the small wall lining the gravel path, and came to sit next to her on the bench.

The last few days had been… strained.

Since they had found out she was pregnant, neither had seemed to know what to say.

Phil wanted to jump for joy, despite how much he hid it; Melinda wanted to hide away, despite how little good it would do her.

She knew they needed to sit down, and talk about it properly, but she wasn't sure how to do that when she herself didn't even know how to make sense of what was going through her head.

It didn't look like he was going to give her much choice though, as the next words from his mouth told her exactly where the conversation was going.

"Mel, we need to talk about this."

She nodded meekly, pulling her legs up and crossing them beneath her, staring at the gravel path below.

"I guess this wasn't the best weekend to come to a baby shower," he joked weakly, and she smiled a little, glancing over to him next to her.

"Mel…" Phil sighed, and he turned towards her slightly, taking hold of her hands in his own. "I know this was a massive shock - to both of us - but we're going to have to decide what we're doing about it."

"I know" she replied quietly, her voice catching in her throat.

"I… I love you, and I don't want this to come between us." He swallowed, and she could feel him physically deflate beside her. "If not having this baby is the right thing, then I will support you with that choice."

"But you want it."

"It's…" he shook his head, stroking his thumbs around her wrists. "It's not just my choice, Mel, it's you who would have to go through the pregnancy, and the birth. It's your body, not mine."

"But if it were up to you?" she pressed, needing to know how he truly felt about it. "If it was you, alone."

He looked up at her, and smiled almost sorrowfully. "Then... yes, I would keep it."

Melinda blinked hard. She would not cry over this, not again. But in honesty, she'd never felt so out of control of anything in her life.

"I always imagined," she murmured softly, so quietly Phil could barely hear her, despite them being alone outside. "That if I ever got pregnant, I'd be happy."

"And you're not."

It wasn't a question, it was a statement, and the bluntness of it wasn't masked by his soothing tones.

"It's not that I'm upset," she shook her head, the tear that escaped from the corner of her eye getting rubbed away by gentle hands. "I'm terrified, Phil. I've never felt so…"

"I know. I know" he cooed. "I don't think this being sprung on you completely unprepared helped either. But, maybe it's a good thing?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, if you're scared, then it's a challenge, it's something you've never faced before. Conquer your fears."

Melinda let his words mull around for a while, and he waited patiently, letting her reassemble her jumbled mind before she spoke again.

"Can I think about it?" she asked cautiously, chewing her lip. "Give me a couple of weeks. Just… I need to get my head around it and work out what I want."

He nodded.

"Of course."

On the second week of December, Melinda, Natasha, Maria and Sharon, all decided, that rather than buying Christmas presents for one another, they would all go for a meal together instead, and spend an evening socialising and catching up.

Melinda organised it, needing something to do to keep her mind off her pregnancy. She still wasn't sure what to do, and whilst she knew how much Phil wanted the baby, despite him insisting it was completely her choice, she was still absolutely terrified by the proposition of having a child.

When she rang around, asking who was free and on which evening, everyone agreed to meet up on the Saturday… everyone except Bobbi.

Maria sat in the booth they had been allocated, drinking only water, having not felt like eating anything at all. She was too hot, not hungry, and downright uncomfortable, so whilst the others ate their meals, she decided instead to get to know Sharon a little better.

"We used to go out like this a lot," she explained, smiling as some rather eventful memories returned to mind. "Until I got pregnant… it's usually us, plus another friend called Bobbi."

"Where is Bobbi?" Natasha asked, dabbing her mouth with her napkin.

"Bobbi," Maria continued, taking another sip of iced water from the blue glass in front of her. "Is currently on a last-minute flight to London."

"She's going to see Lance?" Melinda asked, wide eyes matching the smile creeping onto her face.

Maria nodded.

"Those two have been on and off for years" Maria explained to Sharon, who was listening to the conversation with no clue who the others were discussing. "They split again in September for about the fourth time."

"He lives in England" Natasha continued, scooping another slice of pizza up with her fingers, the ridiculous number of toppings she'd ordered for it dropping off it back onto the board. "So they were kind of doing the long-distance thing."

"Fifty bucks says this time it works out" Maria announced, rising from the table for the third time that evening, before glancing apologetically at them all. "I've got to go to the bathroom again, sorry, this baby is kicking my bladder."

"Too much info, M" Natasha muttered rolling her eyes as she munched away on another slice of pizza.

"It's fine" Melinda told her instead, smiling in what she hoped was a supportive manner. She could tell how uncomfortable Maria was getting, and she didn't want to her to worry about disrupting their meal. Anyway, chances were, if she and Phil kept the baby, then she'd be feeling exactly the same way in about seven months time…

"So," Natasha asked, turning to Sharon as Maria wandered off across the restaurant. "You want in on the bet? Agree with Maria? Or, like me, do think the whole relationship is a trainwreck and she'll come back single?"

"I don't know her," she replied, grinning as she stabbed another slice of chicken in her salad. "But fifty says she returns from England engaged."

Natasha raised her eyebrows, pausing a pizza slice halfway to her mouth. "You picked the wrong side, Carter."

Sharon tilted her head to the side, winking at Natasha and spearing a lettuce leaf.

"Depends on where you're standing."

Phil placed the small wooden tray, holding two flapjacks on little white plates, and two cups of steaming coffee, down onto the table in front of him, before removing the items and positioning them in front of both seats.

Anne smiled up at him in thanks, and once he had been to collect some sugar sachets to add to the drinks, he returned, and took the seat opposite his mother.

It was a Thursday afternoon, less than a week before Christmas, and Lola was at swimming once more. Her class in school had finished for half term, and Phil had broken up the day before, so he had happily obliged when his daughter wanted to go back to the pool for a few hours.

Being at the fitness centre however, meant that Melinda didn't get as many holidays as he did, therefore she was still at work. She'd booked off the week after Christmas, and he knew for a fact she was counting down the days until she could escape the madness for a while.

He had decided to spend the afternoon with Anne, after realising in shock that he hadn't seen her properly and had a proper catch-up since Melinda's birthday in October, and that simply was not good enough. Sure, they would be seeing each other over Christmas, especially since everyone was going round to Anne's house on the 25th like usual, but days like that were usually taken over by food and excitement and general festive joy… followed by falling asleep on the sofa.

Naturally.

The two had headed out to a small cafe a few blocks from the fitness centre, and, after a little wait for a table, had managed to get a cute corner set up, with a sprig of holly in a vase in the middle.

The whole place was decorated for Christmas, from the flashing lights that adorned the window, to the tinsel draped across the serving counters and fridges.

But Phil had to admit, he wasn't feeling entirely Christmassy.

"You've been quiet all morning," Anne told him, and he realised he'd drifted off into daydream mode again. "What's the matter?"

He shrugged, not wanting to worry her or bother her, or to ruin their afternoon out, but as usual, she wasn't taking no for an answer.

She placed a hand over his own, patting it softly.

"What's happened Phil?"

She knew him too well; there was no way he could hide anything from her. Phil smiled a little, but not too much, not wanting her to get carried away with her reaction.

"Melinda is pregnant."

The grip on his hand tightened, and he watched as a smile spread across her face.

"She is?"

He nodded, before glancing past her, and staring out of the window, into the frosty street outside.

"Only a few weeks, but…"

He trailed off, and he could see the smile falter slightly from the corner of his eye.

"But what?" she asked softly, watching him carefully as he looked back at her.

"She's terrified" he admitted, shaking his head a little as he thought about how scared Melinda really was - he had a feeling she hadn't shown him half of what was going through her mind. "She's terrified, and… I don't know what she wants to do."

"It was unplanned?" Anne asked quietly, still resting her hand against her son's, and picking a chunk off her flapjack with the other, absently placing a piece into her mouth.

He nodded. "Completely."

"What do you want to do?"

"Honestly?" he replied, picking up his coffee cup and taking a glug of the scalding liquid. The heat as it burned it's way down his throat actually made him talk. "I want to keep it. I want this child. I know we haven't been together long, but I just think it would be… amazing."

"It would," she assured him, taking a sip of her own coffee. "Have you spoken to her about it? Properly?" She looked at him over her cup, and he almost felt himself squirming.

"Yes. I told her that… it was her choice."

Anne raised her eyebrows, so he elaborated.

"I said it was her who would have to go through the pregnancy and the labour, it would be her body that would change, so I said it was her choice if she wanted to do this."

Anne smiled proudly at him, placing her cup back onto the table in front of them.

"My son" she murmured almost to herself. "I raised you well."

Phil wasn't sure what to make of that, so he simply smiled a little abashedly.

"Your father and I," she told him quietly, ignoring the remaining bits of flapjack that littered her side plate. "We found out we were expecting your sister completely out of the blue. We always wanted just one child, and we had you, and we doted on you," she continued, and Phil listened closely, never having been told this story before.

"So when we found out your sister was coming, we were a little stunned."

She smiled to herself, and Phil waited whilst she lost herself in memories he had no knowledge of.

"When did you…" Phil began, before changing the wording of his question. "At what point did you know you'd made the right decision?"

"When we saw that first scan. We found out later on in the pregnancy that I was expecting, so she was a little more developed than usual. This little shape on the screen, with a heartbeat and a brain and tiny lungs. And I just knew. I knew we were meant to have another child."

He smiled then, never having realised how different his life could have been if his parents had made another choice.

Anne squeezed his hand once more.

"You're right Phil, it is her body, but remember, this is your child too. Don't let fear take over and make a rash decision for you both."

"Mama... I'm pregnant."

It was Christmas Eve, and whilst Phil and Lola spent the afternoon together, wrapping presents for their relatives, drinking far too much hot chocolate with whipped cream on top, and sitting in front of the flickering orange flames of the fire, Melinda had gone to visit the one person she knew she needed to talk to the most.

She went to visit her mother.

Sure, the two of them didn't have the best of relationships, but Melinda knew one-hundred percent that it was her she wanted to see, to discuss what was happening, and seek advice from the person she trusted the most.

Her mother paused, her tea halfway to her mouth at her daughter's words, before she placed the cup back onto the saucer in front of her. She collected her thoughts for a moment, before looking back up.

"Qiaolian, you are not married."

"I know." She'd accepted before she had made the journey to her mother's house that once she found out, the fact her daughter was not married before she became pregnant would be a slight irk of her mother's. "This was… we didn't mean to..."

"You were careless?"

"No." Melinda shook her head, and glanced to the table. "No. It just... " she sighed. "Mama, I don't know what to do."

Tian observed her for a while.

"What do you want to do?"

"I don't know!"

She waited for her daughter to calm down again, before changing the direction of her questions. "What does Phillip think? He knows, I assume?"

"Yes. He…" Melinda looked down into her lap, and played with her hands, twisting her fingers together whilst she found the words. "He said it was my body, so it would be my choice."

"Phillip is a good man" Tian murmured, surprising Melinda, who glanced back up to see her mother watching her, almost looking impressed. "Does he want the baby?"

She nodded, remembering how hard it had been to tell him she wasn't sure, and seeing the light fade slightly in his eyes as he realised it might not happen.

"Do you, Qiaolian?"

"I…"

"If I took you to a clinic next week," Tian asked her softly. "Could you get rid of it?"

Melinda unconsciously covered her stomach with her hands, before shaking her head, at first timidly, then a little stronger. "No, I couldn't."

"Why not?"

"Because… because it's a baby. It's…" Melinda swallowed. "It's our baby."

Tian nodded in silence, before turning back to her book, giving her daughter the chance to come to terms with her own thoughts.

Melinda knew she couldn't do it, she wouldn't.

"Life isn't perfect, Qiaolian" her mother murmured, flicking over the page and reaching out to pick up her cup from the coffee table in front of her. "Things don't always run to the plan you may have thought you were following. There are unexpected alterations, journeys complete themselves before you believed the path over, and others continue much longer. This baby is a surprise, yes, but it may also be a blessing, to you both."

She placed her book onto the table in front of her, alongside the now-empty teacup.

"A mother, Qiaolian, you would be a mother." She looked up, and met her daughter's gaze; Melinda hadn't heard her say so many words together in… well, her whole life. "I promise you, that raising a child would give you greater joy than anything else. More than your job, more than wealth, or holidays, or nights out with your friends. A child will fill your entire life with happiness, and stress, and anxiety. But it will all be worth it, when you can sit here, across from them, and realise with pride, what an incredible person they have become."

Melinda wiped away a tear, and smiled.

"This is your choice, Qiaolian, and I will support you whatever you decide, but remember, you may not get another chance to be blessed with such a miracle. I know you would rather pretend nothing is happening, but you can't… it's time to deal with reality."

Melinda glanced around the room, and couldn't help but smile.

So much had changed in just one year. Twelve months ago, and she had been in her flat, alone, watching a cheesy film on tv, and eating takeout pizza, waiting until it was an acceptable time to go to bed.

Now, she was curled up against the man she loved, a tin of chocolates in between them, with Lola at their feet under her duvet cover, and they were all watching a film about a magic train taking children to the North Pole to meet Santa.

It was perfect.

As the end credits rolled, Phil stirred, rising slowly from the sofa, passing her the tin of chocolate to stop them falling to the floor.

"Right Lo," he announced, stretching out slightly and yawning. "Time for bed."

She turned around from her position on the carpet, and looked up at them both with sleepy eyes.

"I need to put the things out for Santa."

Phil nodded, and Melinda watched as the two of them headed out of the room towards the kitchen. Phil had told her of the tradition he had built with Lola, and sure enough, a few minutes later they returned, a glass of milk and a plate of cookies in Phil's hands, and a carrot in Lola's. All three items were placed onto the coffee table in the middle of the room, and Lola nodded.

"Okay, now I can go to bed."

She hugged Melinda tight, before wandering from the room, trailing her purple spotty duvet alongside her, and Phil lingered in the doorway a moment longer, waiting until Lola was up the stairs before talking.

"I'll be back in about ten minutes" he murmured quietly to Melinda, who had turned off the tv, and was tidying up the wrappers that littered the couch. "You still okay to help get the last things wrapped?"

She nodded, and gave him a small smile. "Of course, you go."

He grinned thankfully at her, before bounding up the stairs like an excited child, and a few minutes later Melinda could hear his deep tones through the ceiling, as he read "The Night Before Christmas" to his daughter.

Despite how prepared Phil liked to think he was, it had still reached Christmas Eve, and all of Lola's gifts were not yet wrapped.

Melinda shook her head fondly at how hopeless he was, before herself rising up from the sofa. After waiting for the momentary dizziness to pass, she walked to the kitchen and binned the wrappers, placing the now half-empty box back into the cupboard. She opened the door next to it, and pulled out two tall glasses, then headed across the room to the fridge. Peering inside, she selected the fizzy pop that Phil had bought for Lola, before she poured both herself and Phil a glass of the stuff each.

As she headed back into the living room, she could hear the sound of Phil closing Lola's bedroom door, and opening theirs, and a few minutes later he joined her in the front room, a selection of various chocolate items and miniature novelties laid out around them.

He pulled a roll of wrapping paper out from behind the sofa, and between the two of them they organised a system, where he cut the paper to size and pulled off tape, and she wrapped the gift.

It was going to be a long night.

Once the final present was wrapped, a good two hours later, they stuffed them into Lola's stocking, and Phil took it upstairs, hanging it around her bedroom door handle, before helping Melinda clear up the debris of paper shreds, sellotape pieces that had been screwed up when they misbehaved and stuck to fingers, and stray strands of metallic ribbon that littered the floor.

He then headed back upstairs, followed by Melinda, and the two of them brought down all the gifts that "Santa" had brought for Lola, and they arranged them underneath the tree.

She was a lucky girl.

When the final present was placed, Phil turned off the fairy lights that adorned the branches, and took Melinda's hand, leading her up the stairs to their room, the quiet of the house both calming and reassuring from the deep night outside.

They got reading for bed in the quiet, the only sounds those of running water from the tap as Melinda brushed her teeth, and the slight creak from the wardrobe door as Phil closed it behind him.

They curled up together under the sheets, Melinda resting her head against his chest, Phil's arms encircling her body.

"So," he murmured, caressing her hair under the stream of moonlight cutting through the gap in the curtains. "I never got a chance to ask, but how is your mother?"

"She's okay."

"Is she still coming with us tomorrow?"

Melinda nodded against him.

"I said we'd pick her up about two, if that's alright?"

"Yeah," Phil replied. Tian was, joining them for Anne's annual Christmas Day meal, which could make for a very interesting day. "We don't need to be at my mother's until three, and Steve and Maria might be late anyway… apparently she was having Braxton Hicks contractions today," he continued. "So she's worried the baby might be coming sooner than they expected."

Melinda nodded again, and curled herself up against him a little bit closer, inhaling the scent of him that was as familiar to her now as her own.

"My mother knows I'm pregnant," Melinda whispered, finally starting the conversation she knew they needed to have. At her words, she could feel Phil tense up slightly, as though he was already fearing the worst.

"I thought you didn't want to tell her?"

"She guessed. Sort of."

He stayed quiet for a moment, and she could feel his fingertips tracing circles on her back.

"How did she take it?"

"Better than I thought," she replied, "much better, in fact."

"What did you say?"

"I… I told her the truth," Melinda murmured honestly. "That I was terrified, and didn't know what to do. And she asked what you wanted."

"Mel, it's -"

"- I know," she interrupted, lifting a hand and gently touching his cheek. "I know, Phil. She asked, and I told her you'd said it was my body, so my choice." Melinda trailed her fingertips across his jaw-line, and looked up to him. "And she turned around and said that you were a good man."

Phil raised his eyebrows. "Seriously?"

"I know," she teased, "I was shocked too."

He rolled his eyes and shook his head at her, but she was pleased to see the twinkle was back in his eyes. She'd missed this, this easy banter between them, just the two of them relaxing freely.

She'd missed it because she'd freaked and blocked him out, and that realisation hurt.

Her mother was right. No matter how scared she may be, it was time to deal with reality.

"I was going to give you this tomorrow," she murmured, disentangling herself from his arms and sitting up, leaning over the side of the bed. She pulled her handbag up onto the blankets with them, before rummaging through it. "But I think… you should have it now."

Out of her bag, Melinda removed a small wrapped package, bound in green metallic paper and silver ribbons, before dropping her handbag back onto the floor.

"Happy Christmas Phil" she murmured, handing him the gift, and staring intently as he frowned at it in confusion.

"You want me to open it now? Not tomorrow?"

She nodded in silence, and crossed her legs beneath her, watching as he began to untie the ribbons holding it together.

The tension nearly killed her.

As he pulled off the paper, Phil turned the gift over in his hands.

It was a book, a small hardback book, with a rainbow of colours across the cover.

"The Big Book of Baby Names" he read, his voice catching on the last two words as he realised what she had given him. "Mel," he looked up at her with wide eyes, the hope and excitement clear as day, finally not being reined back in. "Are you saying…?"

"We're doing this," she replied, a small smile on her face, despite her nerves. "I want to do this."

He stared at her, shaking his head slightly as he gripped the book in his hands.

"I'm frightened, Phil," she confessed, knowing it was true despite what she kept trying to tell herself. "And I have no idea what to do next. But yes, I want this baby. I want to have a baby with you."

He let out a choked laugh, before reaching for her, and pulling her into his lap, holding her against him tightly as he realised what this meant. They were having a baby together.

This was it.

This was happening.

"Mel…"

"I love you."

Bonus

January 1st.

01:48

The sound of the phone ringing downstairs would not normally be something that woke Phil up; he tended to sleep deeply most nights, as opposed to Melinda, who drifted lightly through the hours.

But as soon as the shrill tones began from the hallway, his eyes were open, having clearly not fallen into a total slumber at all; it had been more like a nap, whilst they waited for the call they knew would be coming soon.

And anyway, seeing as it had been New Year's Eve the night before, it wasn't as though they had been asleep for long, maybe an hour tops.

He clambered out of bed hurriedly, listening across the house as he crossed the landing. Lola apparently was sleeping through the noise, but Melinda was following him from the room at the same speed, clearly having not slept much either.

The two of them padded down the stairs, and Phil reached out to the phone on the stand in the hallway, grabbing it on it's final ring.

"Hello?"

"Phil? It's Steve."

Phil turned to face Melinda, who was perched on the second to last step, watching him intently. He pressed the button to switch the phone on to speaker mode, so she could hear him as well.

"Hey," he replied, before swallowing. "So, have you…?"

There was what sounded like a half-laugh and half-sob at the other end of the line.

"She's here… we have a daughter, Phil. We have a little girl."

Melinda put her hand over her mouth, and Phil grinned, shaking his head in amazement.

His younger sister had a baby. He had a niece.

Maria had been right when she thought it would be a girl; clearly there was something to say about mother's instinct.

"That's amazing!" Phil found himself almost laughing with joy as well, and Melinda stood, wandering over to him and linking their free hands together in the darkness of the hallway - neither had thought to turn a light on. "Is she okay, and is Maria okay?"

She hadn't been due for another ten days, so there was always the slight chance that the baby might have needed a little bit of help.

"Maria is… amazing," Steve replied. "She's exhausted, but she did it, and she is amazing. Baby is… I mean, six pounds and three ounces… did I mention that? No, well, yeah, she's beautiful, she's… she's just so perfect. I can't believe it."

His voice held a wonder that neither had ever heard him speak with; it was pride, and happiness, and disbelief, for both of his girls, all rolled into one tone.

"Have you picked a name yet?" Melinda asked quietly, stroking her thumb against Phil's palm, and leaning her head against his shoulder as they listened.

There was a slight pause, and what sounded like a baby beginning to cry in the background followed by Maria's soothing tones, before Steve answered.

"Jemma, we've called her Jemma."

And that's the end! Thank you so much to everybody who has read this story, I've had loads of fun writing it, and I really hope you all enjoy how it's ended! The sequel will be written later on this year, so keep an eye out ;)

Thank you, E xxx