Ashley Baxter Blake was so excited because her sisters Brooke and Kari, and their families were already at her house, and her brothers, Luke and Dayne, and their families were on their way from Indianapolis and should be there soon. Ashley's youngest sister, Erin, and her family should be there soon as well. Erin, her husband Sam, and their four daughters were coming up to Bloomington, Indiana, from their home in Austin, Texas, for the Baxter family patriarch's surprise 70th birthday party. Ashley's dad and stepmother, Elaine, should be last ones to arrive in about fifteen minutes. Ashley's mother died of breast cancer about 10 years ago, so her father married a good friend about five years or so later. Ashley thought this surprise party would be the best family reunion ever.
Luke and Dayne arrived on time, but Erin, Sam, and the girls didn't arrive on time, which was expected since there was a lot of construction on the interstate that runs right near Bloomington, Indiana. When John, the Baxter family patriarch, and Elaine arrived, John looked like he was about to get sick. Everyone asked what was wrong, but Elaine had to answer for him.
"Just as we pulled into the driveway, John got a call from a former co-worker at the hospital, that his daughter had been in a bad car accident and John needed to get to the hospital right away. All of you are, even Dayne, and Erin is in Texas, so I guess he was wrong," Elaine said, and a sudden shock filled the room.
"Actually dad, we were going to surprise you by having all your kids home for your 70th birthday," Ashley told her father.
"That would have been the best surprise ever, but I think we are needed at the hospital right away," John replied.
Elaine and Luke's wife, Reagan, volunteered to stay with the kids at the Baxter house, while all the adults and the three oldest cousins went to the hospital. About the time they were ready to leave, Landon, Ashley's husband who is an EMT, received a call from his co-workers, Jack and Stephen O'Malley, wanting Landon to come and help at the accident scene. Everyone was glad the O'Malley brothers were working there, since they were close family friends and really good at their jobs. But they would feel better if Landon went to see for himself, so he went to the accident scene.
When the Baxter's arrived at the hospital, Landon, Jack, and Stephen met them in the ICU waiting room to deliver the news they found out. Erin and Sam's second youngest daughter, Heidi, died on impact and the rest of the family was in critical condition. The youngest daughter, Amy, was not as critical as the rest of her family since she only had a broken arm and minor internal bleeding. Erin, Sam, and the oldest two daughters, Clarissa and Chloe, all had spinal and brain damage. After the O'Malley's told the Baxter's about Erin's family, Jack and Stephen's sister, Rachel O'Malley who is a traumatic counselor for the Red Cross, came to the waiting room.
"Jennifer is working on the girls, and things for Amy are really looking positive. I promise that even though it hurts now, you will all get through this time, maybe changed for the better. Always remember that God has a plan, even in this situation," Rachel helped comfort the Baxter's with this.
This was a relief to the Baxter's because Jennifer was a wonderful pediatrician, maybe even the best in their town. The Jennifer also said that Lisa, another sister who is a forensic pathologist, is at the scene of the accident trying to figure out what exactly happened. Although the Baxter's were somewhat comforted by the news that the O'Malley's were working to help them in this situation, they were still really sad. Rachel went around to everyone in the waiting room to help them figure out their emotions from the shock of hearing about the situation. She spent extra time with John because Erin was his daughter, all of John's children were special to him, but Erin looked the most like her mother, John's first wife.
Within a few hours of arriving at the hospital, Jennifer O'Malley and her fiancé Tom, another great pediatrician, came to the waiting room to inform the Baxter's that Erin's oldest daughter, Clarissa had died from her injuries. Rachel was again a great help and comfort to the Baxter family. A while later, Lisa O'Malley came to the hospital to tell the Baxter's what she found at the accident scene.
"From what the witnesses said, and the way the truck driver looked, the driver must have fallen asleep at the wheel and died on impact as well. I'm so very sorry for you having to go through this, especially since you all have been such wonderful friends to all of us O'Malley's," Lisa said sincerely.
Next was the hard news that within fifteen minutes of each other, Sam and Chloe, the second oldest daughter, both passed away due to injuries and Erin was not doing very well. Luke, who is an attorney, decided this would be a good time to talk about what happened if Erin died.
"Amy would have to go back to her birth mother, and that would not be good, so we need to find a way to fight the decision the court would make on this situation," Luke informed them.
All of Erin and Sam's daughters were adopted, but Clarissa, Chloe, and Amy all had the same birth mother. Heidi had a different birth mother, but girls got along like they were biological sisters. Luke then called the social worker who handled the adoptions of the girls to tell her what had happened that day. The social worker said once she told Amy's birth mother about the accident, she would most likely want money to "raise Amy" with. The social worker said that the money was probably going to be used for other reasons that are dangerous or unlawful. As the Baxter's continued talking about Amy and the adoption, Luke thought it would be a good idea if one of the Baxter kids would adopt Amy, so they would have a better chance of keeping her in the family.
The next day when the Baxter's arrived at the hospital once again, Luke started a meeting by asking who would adopt Amy. Dayne and Katy, who live in California, said they would adopt Amy if no one else did, but they lived far away and she wouldn't get to see her family very often. Luke and Reagan felt the same, but they only lived an hour away in Indianapolis. Brooke and Peter, and Kari and Ryan both said they would if they had to, but neither of these families had much extra room in their house. Ashley and Landon said they would love to adopt Amy. Ashley wanted to do this for Erin as a way to apologize for the way she treated Erin when they were kids. John was very proud of all his kids for their parts and decisions in this situation.
Jennifer then came in to tell the Baxter's that Amy was doing really well and they were going to bring out of the coma they put her in later today or tomorrow. Rachel then came in to tell them that after talking to Erin's doctor, they were pretty sure Erin wouldn't live through the rest of the day. So, John went to sit by Erin's bed and Ashley went in to tell Erin that she was truly sorry about the way she treated her, and that she would make sure Amy would remain forever in the Baxter family and not have to go back to her birth mother.
"It looks like her heart is giving up, I'm sorry but it won't be much longer now," the doctor said as some of the machines Erin was hooked up to began to beep a lot.
John then told Ashley to go get the rest of the family. When the rest of the family was huddled around Erin's bed, John suggested that they all sing a song called "Great is Thy Faithfulness," because this was Elizabeth's favorite hymn and in a way it was the Baxter family's anthem. Just after they finished singing the song, Erin's heart stopped, and she passed away.
After all the funerals and when Amy woke up from her coma, Luke and Ashley flew to Texas to try to get custody of Amy into Ashley's family and away from her birth mother. Amy's birth mother did a decent job of convincing the courts she had rehabilitated well enough to get out of jail early, but her testimony fell apart when Luke told the story of something she had recently Facebook messaged Erin about. In the end, the judge decided that she would return to jail and Ashley and Landon could adopt Amy free and clear. All the Baxter's were excited about the decision and Amy spent the rest of her life as a member of the Baxter family.