To my dearest Baby Sister,

Happy Birthday! On this, your sixteenth birthday, I just wanted to leave you this extra-special letter, all the way from Alaska, sending you my love and all my best.

You know, Helga, I am so honored and privileged to be your big sister and while we may not always see eye to eye, nothing will ever change the bond we share as sisters; the bond we share together that is passed down to us through our very blood. We Pataki Ladies are strong and intelligent women and that has been proven over and over again not only through me and my achievements, but also through you and yours, my sweet baby sis. And while Mommy and Daddy may not always see those gifts or give you the accolades you deserve, I give them to you now: You Helga, are special- a gift. You are a good person with many talents and gifts that will take you far in life, if only you let them. Never forget that.

It's funny Helga, I can still remember when Mommy and Daddy first announced to me that they were having another child.

The phone rang in the Pataki house one day, and as Olga went down the stairs to get it, her mother beat her to it and picked it up, answering cheerfully.

"Hello?" She said into the receiver and waited a beat as the person on the other line introduced themselves to her and she nodded her head; Olga waiting curiously on the steps to eavesdrop as to who she was talking to when she saw her mother's face drop slightly.

"Oh, you do?" Miriam asked in surprise while crossing her other arm across her chest and waiting for the person on the phone to say their next item of business. It was when they said this, that her mouth dropped open and she took a stumbled step back as if she were to fall backwards and Olga wondered if she should go down and offer her mother some support in case she were to actually fall from whatever news she was getting.

"No, no, I'm still here it's just... well... I thought it was impossible. I'm already 39," she said while shaking her head and then switching to nodding her head. "I see, well, thank you for calling." She finally said before hanging up the phone as Big Bob called out from the other room where he was seated on the recliner watching television.

"Who was that Miriam? Was it John from the empire?" Bob asked and Miriam shook her head, still in shock where she stood by the phone in the hallway.

"Uh... no B, it was the doctor," She replied and Bob paused for a moment before responding.

"Well what'd he call for? I've been fit as a fiddle." He said and Miriam shook her head while bringing a hand up to her forehead.

"No Bob, he was calling for me."

"What's wrong with you?" He asked and she took a deep breath to control her breathing before quietly responding just loudly enough for him to hear.

"I'm pregnant again, B."

Silence.

"YOU'RE WHAT?" He hollered all of a sudden before booming into the hallway and Miriam frowned while turning around to face him.

"I'm pregnant, B."

"But you're 39 for cripes sake, the odds of you getting pregnant are-"he tried, but Miriam was quick to cut him off.

"Very slim, I know, but the doctor said that it does happen and we should be grateful."

"Grateful?" He asked before shaking his head and laughing. "Grateful? Grateful for what? We already HAVE one perfect kid, why do we need another? I don't want to go through all that baby shit again, Miriam. I'm too old for that! I"m 42!" He yelled and Miriam shook her head.

"Well we're just going to have to, Bob." Miriam said calmly while putting a hand on Bob's shoulder, though he was quick to shrug it away.

"Whatever, Miriam. If I were you, I'd just get rid of the thing," he grumbled while stomping his way into the kitchen as Miriam called out after him.

"I'm not going to do that, Mister!" She yelled before looking down to rub at her stomach. "I'm not going to do that to you," she said softly before Olga huffed from where she had been looking on on the stairs and stomped her way to her room.

"I can't believe this," she said to herself as she moved to sit on her bed and crossed her arms tightly over her chest. "A baby? A baby, really? We'll be 12 years apart! What good will THAT do?" she asked herself from where she sat before swinging her legs up to lay on the bed; a soft knock coming from the door as she turned her head to look at where the sound had come from.

"Yes?" She asked before the door opened to reveal her mother, fresh from crying but with a smile on her face.

"Olga, sweetie, can we talk for a moment?" Miriam asked and Olga nodded her head while moving to a sitting position once again so her mother could sit beside her on the bed. "Olga," her mother began, "There's something important I have to talk to you about."

Knowing already what that was and being unhappy about it, Olga frowned, but played dumb. "What's that mommy?"

"Well honey, your father and I, well, I am having another baby, sweetie." She said lovingly and Olga kept her frown tight on her face.

"Oh, that's... that's wonderful." She forced, but her mother could see the pain behind her expression and she set a hand on her daughter's shoulder and eyed her curiously.

"What's the matter, Olga? I thought you've always wanted to be a big sister?" Her mother asked and Olga sighed while turning to look away.

"I guess it isn't that, it's just... what if you love them more than you love me?" She asked and her mother laughed for a moment while shaking her head.

"Oh Olga, we'd never love our other child more than you. We'll love you both just the same. You don't have anything to worry about other than being the best big sister you can be."

I was a little jealous at first, I'll admit, but once the initial shock of having another person in the house subsided, I was overcome with joy and excitement at finally having a baby brother or sister I could call my own; even if we would be 12 years apart. I wanted to be the best big sister I could be, and I made it my mission to become just that.

But nothing could stop my elation at your soon to be presence. I told all my friends about your coming into my life, and while they were less than kind about your soon-to-be birth, they were still supportive of me and my excitement to be a Big Sister at long last- something I'd always wanted.

"Did you hear the grand news?" the young blond asked her friends the next day at school. "I'm going to finally be a big sister!"

"A big sister? At your age?" Her friend, Stacy, said with a cross of her arms and a bubble of her gum soon snapped.

"Yes! I know it's less than ideal, but I'm so excited to be a big sister," Olga said while clasping her hands in front of her chest.

"That's kind of lame," Her friend Theresa said with a laugh while Olga frowned.

"That's not very nice to say, Theresa," She said with disappointment and her friend reached out to try and calm her down.

"No offense, Olga," Theresa was quick to say, though the offense was already thrown and Olga already felt bad.

"Well, I guess it's okay," She said, though it didn't feel okay. "I just hope it's going to be a girl."

You see, Helga, ever since I was a little girl, probably 3 or 4, I would use my birthday wish on my candles hoping hard and wishing with all my might for a baby sister. I'd take a deep breath, filling my lungs with air to the best of my ability, and blowing them out to make sure I got every candle in order to make my wish valid and let it have the best chance at coming true. Silly, I know, but at the time, it was the only hope I had when it came to having a sister that I could call my own. And while you came a little later than I had hoped or wished for, you still came and that's all that mattered. In the end, my wish was finally granted and the day that you came into the world was the happiest day of my life.

"It's time," Miriam said from where her water broke at the foot of the stairs as she had just walked down them.

"My god, Miriam, really? The wheel just started," Bob said from the living room and Miriam grabbed the railing for support. Olga was quick to rush down the stairs and grabbed her mother's hand.

"I have your suitcase for you Mommy," She said, "Should I call the hospital?"

"B!" Miriam hollered as she stood frozen in her stance, "B! We have to go to the hospital! Get the car!" She yelled and at last the man turned his television set off and grumbled his way to where the woman was standing and he set his hands on his hips.

"You seriously can't wait until the wheel is done?" he asked one more time and Miriam furrowed her brow with a narrowed expression on her face.

"B! Car! NOW!" She demanded and he held his hands up in surrender and wandered out the door to follow her demand as Olga waited with her mother calmly.

"Just focus on your breathing Mommy, like they told you in class. In, in, and out. In, in and out." She soothed, and her mother did just that as they waited for the man of the house to bring the car around for them to enter it and head for the hospital. Soon, he entered the house and sighed.

"Car's ready. Are you?"

They raced to the hospital, Miriam following her breathing techniques the entire ride there. Once they entered the hospital, the nurses were quick to get the woman into a wheelchair and took her to a room where they gave her some medications Olga was unfamiliar with to stop some of the pain that Miriam was enduring. Once she was settled, the mother looked to her daughter and smiled weakly.

"Thank you for being such a great daughter. You'll be a great influence on your little sister, Olga."

Olga smiled back at her mother and reached out to her. "You really think so?"

Her mother nodded her head and held her daughter's hand. "I know so."

Just then, Bob's phone rang, and he left the room just as the doctor entered to help deliver the baby that was ready to enter the world. Nurses followed in, escorting young Olga out, though she asked to stay, wanting to be with her mother as her soon-to-be baby sister came into the universe.

Mommy was doing her breathing while Daddy was taking an important phone call in the hallway. So the doctors were kind enough to let me in to help mother deliver you. I'd never seen her scream so much in her life. She screamed and screamed, begging for you to come out, and I held my hand out for her to grab for some support, just for her to know that someone was there.

"You're doing great, Mommy," Olga encouraged, though the woman before her seemed in agony as she continued to push and push, the baby still not yet out of her, despite her efforts.

"I can see the head," The doctor said, "Keep pushing, Miriam, we're almost there."

"You've got this, Mommy," Olga said again while squeezing her mother's hand. "I know you can do this. Just breathe through the pain."

Her mother took a deep breath, following her daughter's advice. With one deep breath, she inhaled deeply and delivered a push that at last let free the daughter she had been carrying within her, a wild scream letting loose from not only the mother, but the child itself, the room illuminating somehow to both of them. The world now one person bigger as a new child entered it.

At last, you came out, screaming yourself, and both Mommy and I cried as they cleaned your little butt off and prepared you in a blanket for Mommy to hold you.

"Here you are, Mrs. Pataki," The nurse said while delivering the baby to the mother's arms. "A beautiful baby girl."

Miriam held the small child in her arms, a smile spreading across her face as she did so. "My little girl," She cooed, "My sweet little girl." The woman turned to look at Olga whose face was lit up like a lightbulb in a dark room. "Olga, come see your baby sister."

She moved to lean over the hospital bed and gleamed as she looked at the child who's big blue eyes were staring up at her in wonderment. "My goodness," Olga said as tears welled in her eyes. "She's beautiful..."

Daddy finally came in, and after a conversation between the two of them, it was finally his turn to hold you too, tears welling in his eyes as he held you.

"Is it over yet?" Bob walked in while strapping his cellphone to his belt as Miriam looked over to him, glaring.

"Your daughter is waiting to see you, B." She said and he looked at Olga.

"What do you need, Olga?" He asked and Olga giggled.

"Not me, daddy," She said, "Your other daughter. My baby sister."

"Oh," he said, slightly disappointed. "Well give her here then."

Carefully, Miriam handed the child over to Bob's open arms and he looked down at her, his eyes welling with tears as he looked down at the tiny figure in his embrace. "Oh Miriam," He said, "She looks just like Olga did when she was born."

And then it was my turn. I picked you up, and I held you close to my chest, my heart pounding as I held you tightly, not wanting to let you fall. "Oh little one," I remember saying, "I've got you, my sweet baby sister."

"You wanna hold her now, Olga?" Bob asked while already trying to hand his child off to his other daughter. "I gotta make another call before my client walks out on me and chooses another beeper company."

Olga's eyes lit up and she nodded her head while taking the baby and brushing back the smooth blond hairs on the head of the tiny child. "Oh little one," she said while gazing into the azure eyes looking up at her, "I've got you," she cooed, "my sweet baby sister."

Then it came time to name you. There was a woman with the birth certificate waiting in our room with a pen ready to fill out the sheet. Mommy and Daddy went back and forth on names for a while before I interjected.

"What about Ruth? After my Aunt?" Miriam asked and Bob shook his head.

"That's so ancient, Miriam. Our child has to have HONOR in her name. Something the name of a champion. What about Olga the Second?" he offered and Miriam gave him a deadpan look.

"Really B? You want to name our daughter after our other daughter?" She asked and he shrugged his shoulders.

"Well why not? Our daughter IS a champion, isn't she? I see nothing wrong with that." He argued and they stared at each other before their eldest daughter interjected.

"Helga," I said as they looked at me for a moment. "What about Helga?"

"Helga," Olga said while rocking their newest child in her arms gently, "What about Helga?"

The two parents shared a look as Bob stroked his chin. "Helga," he repeated and thought deeply about the name for a moment. "Well that sounds a lot like Olga... I think... I think I like it."

"Helga," Miriam said with a smile and rested back in her bed and closed her eyes. "Helga Geraldine Pataki, after my grandmother... I love it."

Of course, they loved the idea, and Helga became your name, baby sis.

"Is that what you will be deciding on, then?" The nurse asked and Miriam and Bob shared a look before glancing to Olga who was still staring down at her baby sister while rocking her carefully; a smile gracing her face.

"I think so, what do you say, B?" Miriam asked and he nodded his head, his gaze transfixed on that of his eldest daughter who seemed content at the decision that she herself had come up with. And in his book, anything that she'd come up with was a winning idea to him.

"Helga Geraldine Pataki it is," he agreed and so it was written down on paper, the name that now attached itself to the small child in Olga's arms; a smile now forming on the young one's lips.

"Helga," Olga cooed while gently stroking the top of the babe's head, "Olga and Helga..."

So today, baby sister, on this a milestone of your young life, remember where you came from and remember that there are people here to support and love you no matter what the world throws at you. I for one will always be one of those people. No matter our differences, Helga, I will always be in your corner, and that will never change. Stay strong, baby sis, and above all, have a wonderful birthday.

Forever yours,

Olga

This is my personal HC for Helga's birth and backstory as to how she got her name and everything so i'd love some feedback as to what you thought of this story! Please review!

-Polka