"Oh, it feels so great to have my three girls back with me!"

Reaching out to squeeze their hands, Topanga beamed from Angela to Rachel's face as they smiled back at her, squeezing her hands back. The three of them had retreated to Svorski's Bakery for the afternoon while the guys hung out at the apartment.

Topanga had been waiting for months for this afternoon. Talking on the phone to Rachel and Angela wasn't anywhere as satisfying as having them present, and that was really the only kind of social connection she had ever gotten during the year. Topanga had made acquaintances with others from NYU, but she didn't really connect with them as well as she did with Angela and Rachel.

There were only two people she had been waiting to discuss the soon-to-arrive Baby Matthews with, and that was Angela and Rachel. Plus, none of her other college friends had stories that were anywhere as exciting as what those two had gone through during the previous year.

"We have missed so much time together." Topanga said. "I really can't wait to hear what you guys have been up to."

"Same here." Angela said with a distressed grunt. "I mean, I can't believe I lived a whole year without my best friends!"

"Yeah, writing letters isn't at all the same as talking with you guys face to face." Rachel said.

"So, Angela? You go first." Topanga said, smiling as she waited for her to begin talking about Europe. "How was your year with your dad?"

"It was great, actually!" Angela said. "At first, I had my doubts about leaving you all behind for so long, but it ended up being a nice experience."

"Where did you two go?" Rachel asked. "Surely you traveled a little while you were in Europe."

"We started out exploring for a couple weeks before we had to be at the military base. We stayed a few days in London, seeing Big Ben, Westminster Abbey-you know, all that jazz."

She grabbed a few pictures from her purse, spreading them across the table as Rachel and Topanga eagerly reached out and examined them with wide eyes. "Here's a few pictures."

"These are beautiful!" Rachel said, flipping through snapshots of the late afternoon sun reflecting off the intricate, golden architecture of Big Ben, pictures of the lit-up London Eye against the black night sky, and even self-portraits of Angela and her dad riding on the top of a red double-decker bus as Angela's hair twisted in the wind.

"Here's some of Paris-" Angela set out more pictures of the Eiffel Tower and other exotic attractions. "We spent another few days there, then we went to Spain for our last stop."

Continuing to glance through the pictures, Topanga said, "So, where was your dad stationed?"

"At a military base near Luxembourg, Germany." Angela said. "Yeah, we spent one hectic year there."

Looking up from the pictures, Topanga frowned. "A bad kind of hectic? Or-"

"It wasn't a very good kind of hectic, I can tell you that." Angela said.

"Why? What happened?" Rachel asked.

"Well, things started off well." Angela explained. "I was taking online courses at Pennbrook while dad handled his business, until one day I answered the phone and heard news that scared the heck out of me."

"My dad had been pretty badly hurt in an explosion during training, and I honestly didn't know if he was going to make it for a few weeks. Thankfully, he made it out of that hospital, but it was a hard few months afterwards."

"Gosh, Angela, I'm sorry." Topanga said with tender sympathy in her tone.

"It put a damper on our year for sure, but it's over now. And Dad is stationed out in Texas right now-" Angela added the last part rather grudgingly, but then finished with a positive tone. "But I'm glad I got to spend a whole year with him. It really helped our relationship to be with each other that long."

"Well, I'm so so so glad you guys are back now." Topanga said, cheerfully grinning at the two of them again. "I was beginning to get pretty lonely. College acquaintances aren't at all the same as college friends."

"I bet you haven't had the chance to talk about the baby with anybody else, huh?" Rachel said.

"That's what I've really been looking forward to, being able to talk about her with you guys." Topanga grinned, stirring around objects in her purse as she pulled out a book.

Holding it up, Rachel and Angela gasped as they suddenly smiled.

"You haven't named her yet?" Rachel asked, eagerly realizing that they could help her.

"No, I wanted to wait for you guys to help me!" Topanga smiled.

"Girl, let's name that baby!" Angela said excitedly, ready to break open the book and explore the different names.

Flipping it open, Topanga skimmed through the pages as she said, "I already have a few ideas, but I thought you guys could throw out some suggestions, too."

"What have you found so far?" Rachel asked.

"Well, I like Lily-" Topanga smiled as Rachel and Angela both cooed over the name. "And Chloe, Samantha, Kylie, Mackenzie-"

"Oooh, how about Brooklyn?" Rachel suggested. "I've always thought that was a cute baby name, and you guys live in New York City."

"That's cute!" Topanga remarked, smiling as she continued in imagination, "Brooklyn Matthews…"

"Maybe Ellie…?" Angela said.

"Ellie Matthews…" Topanga said. "That's good, too.."

"Are you looking for a meaning behind the name?" Rachel asked. "Something that would suggest a character trait you want her to have?"

Topanga squinted as she thought, continuing to glance through the book. "I didn't actually think of that.."

"Do you want her to be, like, 'bold', or 'caring'?" Angela suggested.

Keeping her eyes on the page, she ran her finger down one page as she skimmed through the names. "Riley…"

"Riley?" Rachel asked as she and Rachel pondered the name in their heads.

"Riley…" Angela said softly. "That sounds like a beautiful name."

"Riley Matthews…" Topanga said to herself, smiling as the two names combined and flowed together perfectly. "It means 'courageous'..."

"Courageous…" Angela said as her eyes widened. "Topanga, that's perfect for your daughter! You're the most courageous person I know!"

"She's right, Topanga." Rachel smiled, affirming Angela's statement. "That would be a wonderful quality for her to have."

Topanga smiled at her friends. "Riley Matthews...courageous."