Found Along The Way

Chapter seventeen

"She's beautiful Lina, you did amazing." Anya whispered, holding Rosie for the first time. "I'm so sorry we didn't make it before she came."

"You tried Ann, and it's okay because this guy had me the whole time." Lina reassured Anya while looking at Joey lovingly.

"I really did try..."

Which was true, after the phone cut off she and Lucas spent half an hour waiting in relentless traffic and driving in circles through the rain and packed roads, searching for the hospital. Once they arrived and found Lina and Joey, they were sat admiring their daughter quietly and calmly. Everything was over and ok, the panic diffused. But of course Anya couldn't help but feel guilty about not being there sooner.

"You're here now though Anya." Joey said putting his arm around her.

"She does look like a Rosie, we all chose the right name." Lucas chimed in after a moment, chuckling to them all. "When do you take her home?"

"I'll be discharged in the next couple of days, once my unfortunately needed stitches look good."

Lucas winced at the thought of it, which made Anya laugh.

"I'm gonna go get a drink from the cafeteria, anyone want anything?" Anya asked, grabbing her purse.

"No thanks but I'll come with you." Lucas replied, averting his gaze from the adorable sight of Rosie.

They wandered their way through the sterile halls, the walls painted a light yellow in hopes to seem cheerier than what they held. It smelled like disinfectant and the distant sounds of laughter and contrary tears coming from each ward echoed as they walked by. Anya sat down on a bench with an energy drink in hand, finally breathing after everything today had held. She checked her phone for the time,

"Jesus Lucas, it's midnight."

"Today has flown by right?" He said through a slight smile.

"It's been busy, to say the least..." Anya responded, putting her phone down.

They both took a moment to finally appreciate the silence at the end of the mayhem that had become of the day. Anya leaned her head on his shoulder and let him be with her, just for a second, before picking herself back up and taking his hands in hers.

She looked deep into his eyes and let her own fill with exhausted tears. Tears of realisation that she could have never gotten through today without him. Lucas and his resilience to battle today head on with Anya, side by side, hand in hand, watching her succeed and helping her if she failed. He wrote the speech that spoke Anya's truth more than she could say herself, he danced the pain of seeing Daniel away with her, and he drove through the unforgiving storm to get her to Lina. She knew what she had to say, she now had the words for how she felt.

"Lucas..."

"Yes?"

She took a deep breath...

"Every single time I look at your face Lucas, every time, I can't help the chills I get, and I love them because I love everything about you. And it doesn't make a whole lot of sense right now, and it hasn't made sense for a very long time but I have to put everything that has and will happen behind me. Because I want to be with you Lucas, more than I've ever wanted to be with anyone. I get so stupidly happy around you, that most of the time I don't know what to say, but there are a million things I want to say to you. Places I want to be with you, things we could do together. Lucas we could make a force stronger than no other, your words, my thoughts, and our souls could build a wall that nobody could break even if they combined every hurtful thing in this world. Lucas, I am crazy about you, and couldn't bear to take another second away from being with you."

He looked at her, his face silently lighting up at what he'd heard.

"Does this mean I was your date to the ceremony tonight?" He laughed.

"Yes." She responded through her overwhelmed smile, leaning in gracefully to meet his lips in the happiest kiss she'd ever shared. One that, had it been a movie, would've caused her hair to blow in the wind, and the sun to glow behind them. Music would swell and time would stop.

"It's so late, we should probably go home and get some sleep Ann." He said quietly, coming back to reality and tucking a piece of rogue hair behind her ear.

"You're right, but I'm coming back as soon as I wake up. I can't get enough of Rosie."

"Me neither, she's the sweetest."

They sighed softly, beginning to walk back down the hospital hall.

"Wait a minute..." Anya said stopping Lucas and quickly taking off her shoes. "They've been killing me all day." she laughed, linking his arm and continuing to walk contently, and now more comfortably.

And with that, an exhausting day for the four smitten young adults was over. Anya and Lucas drifted on home and Lina, Rosie, and Joey drifted to sleep, wrapped in a blanket of feeling content.

...Until they woke up to a crying Rosie thirty minutes later.