A Silent Love

Together

~ Flash-forward~

Five months after Rachel's accident, at an appointment with our doctor, we received the news that we are going to have a baby. We were back from our honeymoon for just a week when we returned to this fabulous news. Rachel had recovered and was back working on Broadway doing a few shows a week. I was still looking to buy a shop for my dance studio. We had a meeting with the real estate agent after our doctor's appointment, and we were on a high and hoping that the good news would continue.

It did and we finalised out buying of the shopfront in downtown New York. It was great to have such great news after what had been a rough time, mostly filled with negative happenings. After Rachel's accident, we had decided when she was still in the hospital that we wanted kids. We both had for such a long time. The IVF had been successful one time before, but I had miscarriage. It was devastating for us both because ewe wanted so much to have a child. I knew how great it was, as I had had Beth, but Rachel had not experienced it. When we had gone down the hospital for the twelve week ultrasound that was when she found it. I cried when she told me and Rachel just held onto me. It was a shock, but we weren't going to give up.

Time flew by from then and before I knew it we were back in the same hospital, but this time on better terms. Our beautiful baby was about to be brought into the world. We didn't know the sex of it, we both wanted a surprise. But I know that I was definitely hoping for a little girl and I'm sure Rachel was too.

At 4:26pm on the 13th April 2017, Rachel and I welcomed our beautiful baby girl into the world. After the birth, we held her all night and Rachel slept with us too. As we sat admiring our daughter and enjoying the silence, Rachel spoke up. "I think Lucy would be a perfect name for her." I hadn't put much thought into it and there was no one that I wanted to name her after, certainly not my mother. "She's pretty, like you and it was your name. To name her after you, well would be perfect."

"If that's what you want to do. Lucy Berry-Fabray. It has a ring to it."

"It's a beautiful name, for a beautiful girl."

We didn't move all night and within the next few days, Lucy and I were released. Rachel and I had saved our money and brought a little house about five minutes from the centre of town. Now that there were two people putting in for everything, I found it a lot easier to cope. Not that I was struggling before, it was just more of a piece of mind.

Lucy was eleven months old when Rachel decided to take some time off Broadway. We would still have the income from my dance studio and I had picked up some part time work at NYADA. Rachel would still work with me at the studio, she was just holding off on the Broadway for a bit. We had decided to try for another child.

We were more successful this time, with Rachel not having a miscarriage as I had. Lucy was 1 year and nine months old when Rachel gave birth to Poppy Berry-Fabray on the 17th December 2018. It was even more magical that Lucy was there with us that time to welcome her baby sister into the world. Right after Poppy was born and we had been moved to a room, I brought Poppy in to meet her. It was then that she said something that was magical and beautiful for someone so young. She looked at her sister in Rachel's arms and said, "Mummies, I promise to look after her forever. I'll protect her." It was beautiful. She had been talking for a few months but was great at it. She definitely took after Rachel for that.

"We know you will sweetie," Rachel answered her and smiled down at her then up at me. I sat on the edge of the bed and Lucy joined me. I wrapped my arm around Rachel and we sat there for hours, talking and being silent. Rachel and I again admiring our beautiful creation.

The girls grew up quickly. From the time Lucy could walk, we had been bringing her along to the studio, giving her a head start on all her future competitors, and then repeated this for Poppy. Rachel did part-time teaching between NYADA and our studio. I did much the same, but I spent more time at the studio than NYADA.

Time continued to fly and before long, Lucy was starting school and the year later, Poppy followed. They would come home raving about what they had done, just as I remember myself doing to my parents. With running our own studio, we could choose when to work and sometimes we would just close up and go to the park with the girls or to see a movie. They are both talented and have a bright future ahead for them.

I have three beautiful girls in my life. And how I have been so blessed to have them, I don't know. It all seems so surreal sometimes and I constantly have to pinch myself to know it's not a dream. Yes, there had been pain along the trail to the happiness that I have, but I would not change a single thing that I have done or endured to get here. I can only hope that I'm making Rachel and the girls happy, and wish such a wonderful future on them. Because everyone deserves to be happy and if I was half as happy as I am now, well that would be enough for me. But I have so much more than I could ever have asked for and I wouldn't change a thing.