Disclaimer: I do not own ELR nor do I own any of the characters.

A/N: I am working on writing the 10th season of Everybody Loves Raymond, this is the first episode. Please R&R!

Debra is sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of tea. What was wrong with her? For the past couple weeks she had been short tempered, moody, tired, she'd even yelled at the twins when they asked her if they could sleep over at their friend Chris' house. She couldn't remember feeling this way since– no; it couldn't be that. She was probably just feeling overwhelmed by everything that had been happening lately. Even though it had been 2 months, she still thought about how she'd almost lost Ray. She'd never been as scared in her entire life as that day when that nurse came out of the operating room and told her Ray wasn't waking up. It had taken all her strength not to collapse right there in the hospital.

"Mom," Ally said, with a note of surprise in her voice, as she walked into the kitchen. "What are you doing up so late?"

"I couldn't sleep," Debra told her, waking up from her daydream.

"Oh," Ally replied, getting a glass down from the cupboard.

"I could ask the same of you," Debra said looking over at Ally. "You have school tomorrow; you should be in bed already."

"Well I was," Ally said, taking a pitcher of water out of the fridge and bringing it over to the table. "I just wanted to get a drink."

"Ok." Debra replied. "Make sure you go straight back to bed."

"Sure mom." Ally replied as she poured herself a glass of water and put the pitcher back in the fridge.

Debra looks down at her mug, running her finger around the rim. She couldn't get this out of her mind. She could just have a virus or something, but what if she didn't? How would everybody react?

"Mom," Ally asks, turning around in the living room. "Are you ok?"

Debra looks up at Ally with a smile on her face.

"Sure sweetie," she replies. "I'm fine."

Ally smiles at her and goes back upstairs.

As Debra watched Ally going upstairs her mind wandered back through all the memories she had of her daughter growing up. She couldn't believe it had been so long since the day she found out she was pregnant, when she told Ray out in the hallway of their apartment building so Marie wouldn't tell him the news first, that first time she had held her, the first time she said 'Mommy.' Now she was in high school, soon she would be going off to college, maybe getting married and having a family of her own. She didn't need her parents as much anymore, she was so independent.

"Mom," Ally said as she came back into the kitchen. "I forgot to ask you something."

"Sure hun," Debra says, looking up from the table. "What is it?"

"I didn't know if you'd be getting up early with me tomorrow morning," she explained. "Molly asked me if I could stay over at her house tomorrow night, so I was going to go over there right after school, if it was OK with you and dad."

"Sure sweetie," Debra said with a smile. "Go ahead, have fun."

"Thanks mom," Ally said as she gave Debra a kiss. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight sweetie." Debra replied.

As Ally went back upstairs, Debra began to think about what it would be like to have another baby. To carry a little life inside of her again; she remembered what it was like when she was pregnant with Ally and the boys. The first time she heard them cry, and how they stopped when she took them into her arms and held them close to her. Then, she thought of what Ray's reaction would be to all this. She thought of everything he would say to her and the look on his face if she told him she wanted to have another child. Well, on the other hand, maybe it would be worth talking to him.