"Mom? Mom?" Andy felt as if she'd been punched in the stomach. Slowly, she opened her eyes.
"Mom!" A blurry figure wrapped their arms around her. The voice was familiar, but Andy was too groggy to place it.
"Where am I?" After she blinked a few times, she realized Lizzy was hugging her.
"Mom, you're in the hospital." She turned her head and saw that Jessie was standing over her as well.
"I'm so glad you're awake." Lizzy squeezed her tighter, being careful not too touch her stomach.
Her stomach. Andy looked down. "Where's my baby! Is it okay?"
"She's fine Andy." Andy recognized Lu's voice. She lifted her head and saw Lu walking towards her cradling a blanket.
"Is that..?" Andy voice faded out. Tears began forming at the corner of her eyes.
"Andy, meet your beautiful baby girl." Smiling, she carefully handed the baby girl to Andy.
"Oh my God." Andy whispered as she gazed down at her daughter's face. The little girl was unusually quiet for a newborn. Her little arms were failing around. Andy placed her index finger in one of her tiny little fists.
"Congratulations Andy. You've got a fighter there." Lu smiled as she took the little girl's other hand.
As if to show how unimpressed she was with the compliment, the girl yawned.
"What do you want to name her Mom?" Jessie looked down at her newest sister and mother.
"Emily," she said without hesitation. She looked up at Lu who was smiling down at the little bundle in Andy's arms. "Emily Luisa Campbell."
Lu looked up, as if not believing what she just heard. "Andy, what-"
"Lu, I have no idea what I would have done these past months if it hadn't been for you. You've helped me through everything. You've been the best friend anyone could ask for Lu. It's the least I can do."
Now Lu had tears in her eyes. "What are friends for?" She whispered in Andy's ear as she hugged her.
"Welcome home!" Andy grinned as she looked around at all her friends and family. She had just arrived home from the hospital with Emily. Apparently, Lu and the girls had decided to throw a little welcome home celebration for her.
A few of the people in the crowd were Lu, Jessie, Lizzy, Lana, Peter, and her parents. A few of herother friends not affiliated with Rittenhouse were there as well.
Though Andy appreciated the gesture, she really just wanted to relax. So within fifteen minutes, almost everyone had left.
"Sorry I'm such a party pooper," Andy apologized to Lu after the last guest had left.
"It's fine. I didn't think you'd be up to that much celebrating after everything."
When Lu said "everything," she was referring to the accident that Andy had gotten into. A few hours after Andy had woken up in the hospital, police informed her that the driver of the truck had sped off after hitting her car. All witnesses could say about the person was that it appeared to be a man in his mid-forties. They also said that by the way he was driving, he seemed to be drunk. Unfortunately, the man had no license plate on his car and it wasn't registered, so there was no way of tracking him.
Andy didn't care though. All she cared about was that she and Emily were perfectly healthy and all right. She didn't need to deal with some drunken idiot that had almost killed both her and her unborn baby.
The young man who had helped Andy and, as she later found out, called the ambulance, just happened to be a Good Samaritan who was driving behind Andy.
"Well, I guess I'll go too then." Lu started gathering her things.
"Thanks Lu. You know, for everything."
"No problem." Lu gave Andy a hug. Then she turned to Emily. "Bye." She took one of her little hands in hers.
