Suddenly

Mamrie

The incessant ringing was really putting a damper on her date with Leonardo. They were about three minutes from leaving the swanky restaurant and heading back to her place, if it weren't for that damn ringing!

Somewhere, in the more coherent part of her mind, she realized it was her cell phone doing the ringing and she happened to be sleeping.

With a jolt, Mamrie awoke from her dream and snatched her cellphone off her bedside table.

"Whoever this is, you had better have a damn good reason for waking me up at," she glanced at the clock, "two am!"

"Mames."

The redhead sat upright in the bed, suddenly brought to attention at the sound of her best friend's broken voice.

"Hannah? Honey, what's wrong?"

Mamrie was already throwing off the cover and searching for her car keys.

"I just need you to come over, I can't explain it over the phone." Hannah sniffled pitifully.

The sound of a baby crying came through the line.

"What? Hannah, do you have a baby?" Mamrie asked stupidly, sure her mind was playing tricks on her.

"Just come over, Mame, and hurry." Hannah disconnected the phone hurriedly.

Exactly thirty three minutes later, Mamrie pulled into Hannah's driveway. She bolted from the car and was met by her blonde friend at the front door.

Hannah looked absolutely disheveled as she held tightly to a sleeping toddler.

"Umm, Han? Who's kid this that?"

The shorter woman sighed, she made a motion for the redhead to keep it quiet. She had not just gotten the nervous baby to sleep for her to wake her up again.

Silently, she motioned for her friend to follow her into the house. The two made their way into the living area where Grace slept soundly on the couch, with Goose keeping watch at her feet.

Mamrie's jaw dropped as she saw her former friend. How was this possible? Was she still in a dream? She had this dream many times, could this just be a repeat?

"Gr-" Hannah cut her off with more shushes, she wasn't ready yet for Grace to wake up. She wasn't prepared to deal with that just yet.

She pulled Mamrie into her bedroom so they could talk without waking the blonde up.

"What the hell is going on?" Mamrie hissed, careful not to wake the sleeping kid in Hannah's arm. She had suddenly developed a fondness for her now that she knew who she was. She wanted to hold her, but that could wait.

"She just showed up! Something is wrong."

Mamrie felt her heart drop. "Josh?" She questioned.

A dark look flashed over the younger blonde's face as she shrugged and hefted the baby higher in her grasp.

Mamrie almost smiled at her friend, "Why don't you go lay her down? You don't have to hold her all night."

Hannah's face flushed. "I guess you're right, I just don't want to lay her down and she wake up crying. She's really jumpy, it took her forever to get comfortable with me."

The two women shared a moment just staring at the little girl. Though neither of them voiced it, they both wondered what could cause such a young human to be afraid.

After a moment, Mamrie reached forward and plucked the sleeping child effortlessly out of Hannah's arms. Ayla moaned in protest for a moment, then settled into the new set of arms and drifted back to sleep.

"She is light as a feather." Mamrie murmured, almost to herself.

"She's got to be well over a year, but she looks so tiny." Hannah agreed, stretching her now stiff arms. She was thankful for Mamrie taking the little girl, but then again, she suddenly felt empty without her.

It was funny how quickly one could fall in love with someone they just met.

That tiny little girl had already taken Hannah's heart, and Mamrie's by the looks of it. They had wondered about her for so long, now here she was in the flesh. She was the spitting image of Grace. She was a part of Grace.

"Do you think she finally left him?" Mamrie finally asked after what seemed like an eternity of silence.

The question had hung between them since they had first seen the missing girl. They had hoped for the day that she had finally been brave enough to leave her rotten husband  for forever.

Neither of them had ever liked Josh. He had always seemed manipulative. Then Grace got pregnant, and she begged them to give him a chance. They had, only for him to whisk her across the country and alienate her from her entire life.

"She is covered in bruises, I saw her shirt ride up a bit. Plus, she is so skinny. Mames I hope she has finally done it." Tears had begun to fill Hannah's eyes. All she had wanted for the past couple years was her friend back.

Mamrie extended a hand to the shorter girl's shoulder. Neither of them said anything for a long time.

"So, um, what's her name?" The redhead finally asked, realizing she had no clue what to call the small child in her arms.

Hannah let out a small laugh. She shrugged her shoulders. "Honestly, I don't know. I think Allie? Grace said her name earlier but I was so caught up in the moment of seeing her again that I didn't catch it."

Mamrie chuckled. "Allie? Hmm? Grace never liked that name. She hated Allison. Something about a girl from her high school that was a bitch."

The two had moved to Hannah's bed and sat comfortably, Mamrie still held sleeping Ayla. She wasn't ready to lose the warmth of the small little girl yet. She had waited for so long to meet her, now she never wanted to let her go.

"Like I said, I didn't catch it. It was an A name."

"Ayla." A hoarse voice came from the doorway.

The two looked up to see a very sleepy Grace standing there with Goose at her side.