Prologue: You'll Always Be My Baby

"In the sunlight or the rain, brightest nights or darkest days
I'll always feel the same way,
Whatever road you may be on
Know you're never too far gone, my love is there wherever you may be…
Just remember that you will always be…my baby." –Sara Evans, You'll Always Be My Baby

She laid back in the hospital bed and prayed for the moment she could leave as tears coursed down her sullen cheeks. The labor of her child had been difficult, and she now had sixteen stitches courtesy of her little bundle of joy.

Only the papers sitting in front of her, waiting only for her signature, were testament of the truth: her bundle of joy, a child she loved dearly and had since the day she had heard that strong heartbeat, was being given to a gay, male couple who were, for obvious reasons, unable to have their own children.

Yes. Shelby Corcoran was merely a vessel. But the further into her pregnancy she had gotten, the more she had fallen in love with the tiny, unborn being in her womb. The breaking point, though, had been when she had heard her baby, her little girl, cry right after she had been born. There had been no epidural for Shelby, as the contractions had hit her suddenly and violently in the middle of the grocery store and by the time she had arrived at the hospital she had been ready to push.

But even through the ghastly pain of pushing a seven pound baby girl into the world un-medicated, the cries of the infant had sent chills of love and heartache down her spine. Those were cries of need. Need for a mother. A mother who the little girl would never have. Shelby had looked at the unnamed Baby Corcoran through tears as the nurse held her up. In that instant, the baby had stopped her screams, her halo of brown hair that matched Shelby's perfectly sticking up everywhere, and simply stared into Shelby's tear-filled eyes. Shelby held her tiny hand, and then she was gone.

Gone forever. Or at least until she was eighteen. But at that very moment, Shelby felt that it was forever. She had to love her baby from afar. It was breaking her. How could she give her baby away? That baby was part of her. This was supposed to be easy. Shelby had seriously thought, in her young, twenty year old mind, that the morning sickness was going to be the worst part. Why had she thought that? Why?

While the doctor was stitching her up, Shelby cried. She sobbed for everything. Her emotions, her baby, her pain. No one in the room with her was able to console her. She didn't want to be consoled.

That was the exact moment her big sister walked into the room. Leah Corcoran Alexander had tried to make it for the birth of the baby, but hadn't been able to get there on time. After yelling at three nurses, she had finally made it to her sister. She hadn't cared that her sister was being cleaned up. She hadn't cared that her baby sister was being stitched up. She hadn't cared that her baby sister was being looked after by doctors and nurses. She merely wanted to be with her, to hold her. Because, while her sister had thought that giving her baby up would be easy, at the age of twenty-six, Leah Corcoran Alexander had known differently. She knew that she could be what no one else could for her sister, she had known that it would be necessary. She would be a rock for her sister in her time of need. Always if need be.

Leah hugged her sister to her and let her cry while she was being taken care of, and then had let her sister cry some more when she was taken to a private room.

Now, Shelby was alone, though only for a few moments. Her sister had gone to get them something to eat and, Shelby suspected, gone to peak into the nursery to get a look at the niece she would never hold and never see again. Shelby picked up the pen she had had Leah dig out of her purse before she left. It was her favorite pen, and she had kept up with it for three years. It had been a gift from her sister. A just because gift for her little sister who was close to graduating high school and was at the top of her dance team and Glee club. The body of the pen was purple, Shelby's favorite color, and the ink flowed out of the pen as if by magic.

Shelby knew that after she signed her name to the papers in front of her, she would never use the pen again. She would keep it, but it would be placed somewhere safe. Somewhere hidden.

Shelby pulled the table over her bed closer to her and stared at the papers. She knew what they said. She knew every single word. She had to sign these before her baby could be taken from the hospital. She placed the pen to the top paper and held it there, tears blurring her vision.

She heard the door open, but didn't dare look up. She was not sure if she could truly face her sister at the moment without completely breaking down. She wasn't sure if she would be able to sign the papers if she met her sister's all knowing eyes.

"Shelby… Don't sign it." A voice said from the doorway.

But it wasn't Leah. The voice was male and deep. It was a voice that Shelby knew. Shelby finally looked up and noticed Leroy Berry.

Tears were falling down his cheeks.

Shelby completely froze. She noticed that Leah had came in right behind him and was standing, listening to whatever this man was going to say to her little sister. She was standing protectively by the door, ready to jump in and protect her sister if she needed too. She would. Her sister was already broken and did not need any added hurt.

"It is Hiram. He…he was in an accident. He…I am not sure what happened. He didn't make it, Shelby. I knew that I had to come here. I had to come here and not let you sign those papers. We both know that the baby was yours and Hiram's. We knew it the moment we saw her. She is yours now. I don't want her. I can't…not without Hiram." The man sobbed. He turned and ran out of the room.

Shelby felt her breathing pick up. Was it a lie? Was it the truth? Was the baby hers? Was this some sick joke to punish her already breaking heart even more?

"Leah?" Shelby whispered through her sobs.

"He was telling the truth, Shel. I heard about the accident while I was out, though I didn't know that it was Hiram Berry. Calm down, Shel," was Leah's whispered reply.

Leah walked over to Shelby and looked down at her. She lifted her hand up and gently took the pen from her left hand, where it was still grasped tightly and held down to the paper on the table in front of her.

"You get to keep her, Shel. You get to keep her and not feel guilty about it." Leah whispered into her baby sister's ear and held her head with her right hand against her chest.

Shelby broke down again.

But this time, the sobs were different.

A terrible thing had happened to Hiram Berry.

But she had her baby. She had her baby and she didn't have to share, or give her up. As selfish as it was, Shelby didn't care. She was going to keep her baby and she was happy. She was happier than she had ever been. She didn't even know that it was possible to be this happy.

"Rachel Barbra Corcoran." Shelby whispered.

Leah smiled against the top of Shelby's tangled head of dark brown hair and brought her hand up to gently run her fingers through it to hopefully untangle some of the mess.

"That is perfect."

Leah leaned down further and kissed the top of her baby sister's head.

Everything was going to be the way it was supposed to.

Everything happens for a reason, Shelby thought to herself as she was hugged by her big sister.

Everything was going to change now.

But Shelby knew one thing was for certain. She would simply take everything in stride...

…One step at a time…

AN: Hey all. Thanks for reading:) Let me know what you think. I have quite a bit of this fic already written, and there is an expansive summary on my profile page. Also, if my Avatar is showing up, that is the banner for this fic.

While this is not a Song Fic, (which are not allowed on here anyways) I will try to use a verse from a song at the beginning of each chapter that will work with that particular chapter. Whatever I do use, I will give the song title and the singer unless I make something up.