Sunrise

Chapter 1

Rachel had never felt this exhausted in her life before. Every muscle, every single inch of her body ached and the lack of sleep just made everything worse. She could’ve sworn if she closed her eyes even for just a few seconds, the exhaustion would definitely take over and she would easily fall asleep. But she also knew she wouldn’t want to even if she could have. She still wanted to stay awake - basking in these amazing feelings a little bit longer as she watched her newborn daughter sleeping peacefully in the hospital bassinet.

Her baby girl.

She couldn’t believe it.

She had a daughter.

She’s a mom now.

She had more than forty weeks to prepare her for today, but nothing could’ve prepared her for the way she was feeling right now. It was merely hours after she officially became a mother, but she could already tell that this was the best thing that could’ve happened to her. She could not believe how someone so small – someone so tiny, could capture her heart in an amazing way like this. She had never known what it felt like to love someone this strong - this unconditionally, until her daughter was born.

Don’t get her wrong, Rachel had loved her that very moment when she found out she was pregnant – when her baby was still as small as a tiny bean, she couldn’t even recognize her through the ultrasound images.

Gosh, those days already felt like a lifetime ago.

She’d watched her unborn baby daughter grow through appointments after appointments, learning together with Ross every single development their unborn baby made each week. She even vividly remembered crying happily as she heard their baby’s heartbeat for the first time, when the baby was strong enough so that she could feel her kick for the first time in the middle of the night, or that time when they found out they were having a girl and she swore that she’d do anything to protect her daughter.

But still, nothing felt quite like this…

Nothing compared to the feelings she felt as she heard her baby’s cries for the first time… as she held her newborn daughter in her arms for the first time… as she looked up to find the same amazement, love, and even tears in his eyes… and when he looked up, their gazes met, and they shared a kiss – a very emotional kiss she knew she would never forget even if she tried to…

Rachel was going to be completely honest; this was hands down the best day of her life.

That same love she felt when she first found out she had a little tiny human being growing inside of her had multiplied to a million times stronger today.

She had never felt this happy before.

Everything was just so… perfect.

Well...  she thought it was perfect until Janice came and ruined it for her.

Now she was scared. Still unbelievably happy – the feeling was not going to go away anytime soon, but she was also completely and utterly petrified.

How could she not?

The second she knew she was pregnant, she believed with all of her heart that Ross would be there for her and their baby throughout everything. She knew him really well; she probably knew him better than anyone else in this world. He knew Ross loved being a father and that he always wanted to have more kids. So, that time she found out she was pregnant with Ross’ baby, it didn’t seem so scary, because she subconsciously knew he’d always be there and not just for the baby, but for her as well.

She knew she wasn’t going to raise this baby alone.

But now… Her hormones were all over the place right now, taking control of her rational thought. She had been feeling emotionally overwhelmed and she couldn’t think clearly. She didn’t even know what to believe.