We’re heading for the Crashdown for a last get together before Max and Liz head back to Boston tomorrow. We decided to walk because it’s such a beautiful night out. You’re being unusually quiet and as I hold your hand in mine I notice you’re sweaty palms. We’re across from the Crashdown and I reach over to hit the walk button when you pull me back towards you. You fall to one knee and I can already feel the tears well up in my eyes.

“Isabel Evans will you do me the honor of becoming my wife,” you ask, with a grin on your face that spreads from ear to ear. You pull out the most gorgeous ring I have ever seen and slip it on my finger. I fall to my knees in front of you, repeatedly telling you yes. My tears are flowing freely now and so are yours. I kiss them away as you do the same to me. Suddenly we’re interrupted by applause and I look up to see the small gathering around us including Max, Liz, Maria and Michael, who, along with Max, is just shaking his head, grinning their quirky little smiles. I know I’m blushing as you help me to my feet. We bow for our audience and head across the street with our friends, my feet barely touching the ground the whole way, I fell like I’m floating on air I’ve never been so happy.

~~~~~

The plans are now complete, our dresses made, the flowers are arranged and I’m standing at the back of the church waiting to walk down the aisle and pledge my undying love to you. Tucked deep within my bouquet is one of the healing stones we used so long ago to save Michael and Nasedo, Max insisted I use it as my ‘something old’. For my ‘something new’ and ‘something blue’ Liz and Maria gave me the most beautiful bracelet with small clusters of tiny white and blue star shaped charms. My ‘something borrowed’ is my mother’s pearl necklace, because in my heart she will always be my real mother. She may not have been the one to give birth to me, but she was the one who gave me life and I wanted a part of her with me as I walked down the aisle to begin my new life.

Liz and Maria look beautiful and I don’t think I’ve ever seen my father look so handsome. How did we get to this moment so quickly? The past four months have been a blur with school, essays, exams and planning our wedding. Since my parent’s had already paid for Max and my education’s I thought it would be best to just have a small wedding, but they wouldn’t hear of it. It’s not every day my baby girl gets married, my father had told us and so we planned a lavish ceremony. In actuality it was them that planned most of the wedding with a great deal of help from Maria and her mother and I managed to return to Roswell once a month to help out.

Liz and Maria are fussing over each other and me, primping and straightening and overall just making me more nervous. Finally the music starts and Maria prepares to start down the aisle. My father holds me back, just out of Liz’s earshot as she now waits by the door, ready to head done the aisle

“I only have a minute but I need to say something to you so don’t say anything until I’m done,” my father says to me, “The day you and Max came into our lives was one of the best days of my life. You and your brother finally made our house a home. I hope that Alex makes you as happy as you and your brother have made us and I have a feeling he will because I’ve seen the way you look at each other. You deserve nothing less. I love you honey.”

“I love you to dad…thank you,” I say holding back the tears that have formed in my eyes.

“Okay no crying. Come on let’s go, I have a feeling there’s someone anxiously waiting for you at the front of this church.” I hook my arm in his, we walk through the doorway and I look up and see you. You look so handsome and my eyes lock with yours. In your eyes I can see all the love that you feel for me and my own feelings of nervousness subside as we start down the aisle towards you and our new life together. Finally we reach the front of the church, you take my hand in yours, smile lovingly at me, we turn to the minister and the ceremony begins.

~~~~~

“Something isn’t right Liz, this pregnancy is different then my last two,” I can’t voice my concerns to you, you have so much on your mind having just opened our new computer business, so I decided instead to confide in Liz and Maria.

“Maybe it’s a girl,” she jokes trying to alleviate my fears, but I know that’s not the problem. “but to make you feel better I’ll stop by later to examine you.”

I already know in my heart that it’s a girl. Everything about this pregnancy is different then before. But there is still something else nagging at me, telling me that something’s wrong as I run my hand over my extremely swollen belly. ‘She’s’ due in a three weeks but I’ve been having contractions for the past two days, and that’s not the only problem, she also hasn’t moved in a week. I glance over at my sons, remembering how easy their births were and push my fears to the back of my mind for now and join in the conversation that Liz and Maria are having about Jared’s new preschool.

I’m heading home an hour later with Ethan and Connor arguing over a toy in the back seat. I chuckle to myself, this is my life, and reach back to take the object of both their desire from them, hoping this will stop the argument. A searing pain rips through my abdomen and it brings tears to my eyes. I pull off to the side of the road to call you, when another pain leaves me gasping for air. I dial your number at work and between clenched teeth I tell you what’s happening and where I am. You tell me not to worry, you’ll be right there right and before you hang up I can here you yelling at Dave that you need a ride, I can also hear the panic in your voice. I turn around to Ethan and Connor and tell them not to worry; daddy will be here soon. I hate the scared looks on their little faces so to try and calm them down we start to sing nursery rhymes.

Within minutes you are here, Dave must have been speeding the whole way. You climb in beside me and I shift over to the passenger seat. You tell me that you’ve called Liz and she and Max will meet us at our house. The pains are coming so fast now and I can hardly catch my breath between them. Connor starts to cry but Ethan, always the protective older brother, hands him the toy they were fighting over earlier, and tells him it’s okay cause daddy’s here. We are finally home and Maria comes out of house to gather up Ethan and Connor. She tells us everyone is inside and asks the boys if they want to go get an ice cream cone. Eagerly they accept, my sweet toothed boys. You’re at my side of the car helping me out when another pain brings me to my knees. You lift me up in your arms, carry me into the house and upstairs to the bedroom where you lay me down on the bed.

“Alex I’m so scared…what’s going on…this is happening to soon…why does it hurt so much?” Even as I ask you I know you have no answers for me. You smile at my encouragingly, squeeze my hand and tell me once again that everything will be all right.

It’s been 14 hours and I am completely exhausted. I can see that you and Liz are also. Max looks more refreshed then any of us, probably due to his hourly trips downstairs to report my progress to our parents, Michael and Maria and the nap he took in the chair in the corner of our room. Liz took a short nap earlier while Max kept an eye on me. He tried to convince you to go get some sleep but you refused to leave my side and you haven’t. The contractions are less then a minute apart and I don’t know how much more I can take.

“Just one more push Isabel, you’re almost there.” Liz tells me. Max squeezes my hand and smiles down at me but there’s something in his eyes that confirm my earlier fears, he’s keeping something from me.

“Come on Is, just one more push,” you whisper in my ear.

“I can’t Alex… I’m so tired,” and I fall back on the bed. You sit down on the bed beside me and continue whispering encouragingly in my ear. I finally feel a small wave of strength flow through me and with your help I manage one last push.

“It’s a girl,” Liz announces and then I hear her gasp, “Max she’s blue…the cord…get the scissors Alex,” these are the last words I hear before I fall into darkness.

I wake up some time later, feeling like I’ve been run over and still completely exhausted. You’re asleep in the chair you’ve pulled up beside the bed. I lay my hand on your knee and you stir in your sleep and open your eyes. They instantly fill with tears. Oh my god, what’s happened? Where’s our baby? Why are you crying? I feel the tears streaming down my cheeks and I try to pull myself into a sitting position but I’m still so sore I can barely move. I glance at the clock and realize I’ve been asleep for at least 6 hours, where is everyone?

“Shhh, Isabel, it’s okay, she downstairs with Max and Liz, we thought you could use the rest… Max saved her life you know,” and the tears that have formed in your eyes start to trickle down your cheeks as you explain to me what happened. Apparently I was in so much pain because she was a breach. Liz and Max knew early in my labor but didn’t want to scare me. When Liz finally managed to turn her around and pull her out, the umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck and she was blue from lack of oxygen. You cut the cord and Max gave her CPR. At one point you and Liz thought it was hopeless but Max refused to give up on her and finally she started breathing.

“I don’t know what I would’ve done if he wasn’t here, we owe him her life.” You brush away the tears from your cheeks and softly run your hand down my cheek. “She’s beautiful Is,” you smile at me through your tears, “I’ll go get her.” You head for the door just as Max and Liz come into the room, Max cradling our tiny daughter.

“We figured you’d be up. Your daughter’s hungry.” Max says as he hands her to me, smiling warmly. I look up into my brother’s eyes and without a word said between he knows how grateful I am. He just reaches down, squeezes my hand and nods his silent acceptance of my gratitude. I smile over at Liz, mouth a thank you and gaze down at the tiny bundle in my arms.

“So did you two finally decide on a name,” Liz asks. She knows about the big name debate we’ve been having for the last seven months.

I glance done at our daughter and say, “Taylor Maxine Elizabeth…because according to my husband if it wasn’t for the two of you, she wouldn’t be here,” I look over to you and you nod in agreement. We look towards Max and Liz and they both have tears in their eyes.

Max rubs away the tears, grabs Liz’s hand and heads to the door, “We better get back downstairs to watch the rest of the brood before someone burns the house down,” and they head downstairs. I hear little feet running down the hall and look up to see Ethan with Connor in tow, standing in the doorway to our bedroom. They are so cute. Ethan in his little tractor pajamas and looking exactly like you, including the ears, the only resemblance he has to me is his eyes. But Connor, standing there in his little footed bunny pajamas that his brother teases him about relentlessly, looks more like me. He has your smile but his other features are mine.

“Come and meet your new little sister,” you swing Connor up into your arms, take Ethan by the hand and bring them over to the bed.