Hello again, lovelies! As promised, this is the sequel to Crashing In. I decided to title it Beginning Again, as it is kind of like a new start for Mal and Nat, with Halia and all. This story should still make sense if you haven't read Crashing In yet, but you'll miss the back story and references to prior things that happened. So if you haven't read it yet and have some time, read that before you start this one. C:

These are the review replies from the last chapter of Crashing In. Thank you so much for all of your support for my writing! It means a lot! C:

HopelessRomantic1994 ~ Thank you so much, Jade! I'm really glad you liked it, and the name. I spent more time researching what to name her, than I did actually writing the chapter, haha. Again, thanks so much!

mozzi-girl ~ Thanks for all the support, Molly; you're awesome!

DizzyRedhead ~ Thank you! I'm a bit sad to see it end, too, but I have a lot planned for the sequel. C: Thanks again, Hazel!

Helen (Guest) ~ Oh my goodness, thank you soooo much! That's so sweet. I'm glad you liked it, and I hope you like the sequel, too. Again, thank you so much, Helen; that means a lot!

Emmyrox2011 ~ Thank you so much, and thanks for reading!

CauseOfDeathLover13 ~ Thanks so much! I really appreciate all your support. I'm glad you liked it. (:

So yeah, enjoy, and please tell me what you think! C:

Chapter One – Six Months Later

I was awakened sometime during the ungodly hours of the night by the sound of a high-pitched crying. Mal and I's six-month-old daughter, Halia Grace, had apparently awakened and decided to fuss. I groaned and rolled over, and a couple seconds later, Mal groggily murmured something unintelligible.

"You want me to get her, or should I?" Mal slurred tiredly.

"I'll get her," I muttered, reluctantly pulling myself out of bed. "But it's your turn next time."

"Mkay," Mal sighed, immediately falling back asleep. I sighed and pulled a sweatshirt and sweatpants on over my minimal sleeping attire. I glanced at the clock, reading glowing numbers that revealed it was nearly two in the morning. I rubbed my eyes to force them into focus, then walked down the hall to Halia's room. She was in her crib, still screeching away. I reached over and turned on the pink lamp on the bedside table. The dim light softly illuminated the pastel-pink walls. I reached down into the crib and picked her up. I gently cradled her in an attempt to calm her down.

"Shh," I quietly soothed, "Mommy's here, it's okay." I sat down in the rocking chair by her crib and rhythmically rocked back and forth. Her cries subsided a little, but not much. When she still wouldn't calm down after a couple minutes, I started to softly sing a lullaby that I'd sang to Maddie to help her fall asleep.

"Hush little baby, don't say a word," I sang lightly, "Mama's gonna buy you a mockingbird." Her crying abated slightly, so I continued to sing.

"And if that mockingbird won't sing, Mama's gonna buy you a diamond ring." I proceeded to softly sing the rest of the short lullaby, and Halia's cries turned to occasional whimpers, before eventually relenting all-together. Soon enough she was asleep again, but I lingered there, rocking her back and forth, for several minutes after I knew she was asleep. I finally stood and gently placed Halia back in her crib, before slowly turning and closing the door behind me.

I trudged back down the hallway to our bedroom and gratefully climbed back into bed. I fell asleep within minutes.

I woke up again that morning, and was alarmed to see it was already after the time I was supposed to get up. The radio was playing, and I realized Mal and I had both slept through our alarms by nearly thirty-five minutes. I quickly sat up and looked over at Mal, who was still fast asleep with a pillow over his head. The July sunshine shone clearly through Halia had woken up three more times throughout the night; Mal got up twice, and I got up once more. Neither of us had gotten more than a couple hours of straight-sleep.

"Mal," I murmured urgently, gently shaking him awake. "We're half an hour late, get up!" Mal and I had to go to work today, and our babysitter would be here in less than half an hour. We didn't both go into work at the same time on a regular basis; but at the time, we were working a high-priority case, and Anders needed us both present. Mal started awake and abruptly sat up.

"Ah, hell," he muttered, immediately sliding out of bed.

"You shower first, and I'll go get Halia ready," I suggested.

"Alright," he said quickly, briefly kissing me on the forehead before turning to go and shower. I smiled at him, then went down the hall to Halia's room. She was awake once again, but she wasn't fussing. I gently picked her up from her crib and began to dress her. She giggled and smiled at me as I lightly tickled her stomach. Soon enough, I had her dressed in a pink outfit, her favorite stuffed cat in her hand. As much as I hated cats, she seemed to like them. By the time I brought Halia out, Mal was finished showering and already preparing breakfast.

"Go ahead and get ready," Mal said, taking Halia from me. "I'll feed her breakfast."

"Thanks," I replied with a smile.

I took a quick, five-minute shower and quickly got dressed in my work attire. I applied my minimal make-up then blow-dried my hair. I emerged fully ready from the bedroom just as the doorbell rang, almost as if on queue. I quickly went to get it while Mal finished up feeding Halia.

"Hey, Amber," I greeted with a smile, stepping aside to let her in. Amber was seventeen, and she lived a couple blocks over from us. Mal and I had met her and her parents during a case we had a couple years back. Amber's younger sister had been kidnapped in the middle of the night; thankfully, we were able to bring her back in one piece. We had asked Amber to babysit Maddie quite a few times, too. It originated when I saw her taking a jog while I was out getting the mail. Mal and I had to go to work that day, too, and lacked a babysitter, as our usual one had to work. I recognized her and asked if she would watch Maddie for the day. She happily agreed, and was back at our house in a half an hour, showered and ready to go. When our usual sitter graduated high school and went off to college across the country, we made Amber our primary sitter. She was very mature for her age, and she was really great with kids. Maddie loved her, and it seemed like Halia did, too.

"Good morning," she greeted back, flashing me a smile as she walked in. She flipped her long, blonde hair over her shoulder as she shoved her keys into her purse.

"Mal is just finishing giving Halia her breakfast, but there are two other bottles of formula in the fridge, just in case we don't get back until around dinner time. Just grab something from the cupboard or fridge if you get hungry." Amber nodded and followed me to the kitchen where she greeted Mal with a smile.

"Morning, Amber," he addressed with a friendly smile.

"Hi, Mal," she replied back. She set her purse down on the kitchen counter, then accepted Halia from Mal.

"Hey there," she cooed gently with a smile, lightly tickling her in the side. Halia giggled and smiled at Amber. I smiled at them both, then turned to Mal.

"We should get going," I advised, "We'll barely make it in time." Mal nodded and grabbed his keys from the counter, leaving out the garage door to go start the car. I quickly followed after him, stopping only to grab my purse and a mug of coffee Mal had made me. I said a quick 'see you later' to Amber before shutting the door behind me.