Chapter Twenty:
Falling Into Place

"What's going on in there?" Luca asked Greg, as if he knew. They sat in the pristine hospital waiting room right outside of the hustle and bustle of the hallway. Luca watched nurses and wheelchairs go by the windows. Her fingers were intertwined with Greg's and she squeezed them every so often.

"I'm sure everything's fine," he had repeated for what felt likethe millionth time.

"I hate waiting," Luca whined.

"You waited nine months for this," he reminded her.

She sighed and watched an old lady shuffle up to them in her slippers.

"How far along are you, dear?"

"She's about to burst any second now," Greg answered, smiling awkwardly.

"May I?" She put her hand out toward her stomach.

"Sure."

The old woman touched Luca's stomach.

"The baby's kicking," Luca said.

"It's a she, both of them," the lady said before going on her way.

Luca looked at Greg in awe and he rolled his eyes.

"She's probably a mental patient, Lu," he said.

"How would she know there's two babies?" She said, her eyes wide. "Nat's not here. I don't look like I'm having twins, do I?"

"I'll believe it when I see it," he said.

"If both of these babies are girls, swear to God, I'm going to adopt that little old lady and keep her in the kitchen."

Greg shook his head. "Well,both of them arenot going to be girls."

"Got a better prediction?"

He shrugged and was cut off by Nick running in fromthe hallway. "It's a girl!"

Luca raised her eyebrows at Greg. He shook his head.

"We named her Ophelia Constance."

"Can we see the girls?" Luca asked, jumping up suddenly.

"Did you see her?"

"She's beautiful," Luca told her, nodding. Her stomach rested on her crossed legs as she sat on the chair next to Natalee's bed.

"When's that one coming out?"

"Soon, I hope."

Natalee looked too tired to talk. "Well, it's totally worth it."

"I bet. Especially when they give you the epidural."

She smiled, too exhausted to laugh. "I bet you want it out, huh?"

"It's a she," Luca informed her.

"You knew and you didn't tell me?"

Luca explained about the old woman and Greg not believing her.

"I want this lady. I want her as my new grandmother," Natalee said, chuckling.

"You'd love her, Nat." She smiled. "That's going to be you when Ophelia gets tired of you, wandering around the hospital predicting the future."

Natalee smiled at the notion also.

"Well, you need sleep," Luca said.

"Wake me up if she comes," Natalee said, looking at Luca's stomach.

"Luca?"

She opened her eyes slowly, not expecting to see Morgan sitting next to her in the hospital chair.

"I didn't mean to wake you but I'm leaving soon," she said.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" She was too exhausted to sit up or raise her voice so she turned on her side away from Morgan's tanned face instead.

"I wanted to tell you I'm sorry for everything. And I love you. And I'm getting help for my alcohol problem," Morgan said. "And I really want to be a part of my niece's life."

Luca buried her head in her pillow, the tears welling in her eyes. She still couldn't figure out if it was because she was happy or upset about Morgan being there.

"You don't have to forgive me now, but at least think about it?"

She swallowed her pride andturned onto her back again. "I forgive you."

"Really?"

Luca nodded. "You're my sister. You're all I have."

"I want to move to Vegas to get closer to you and the baby," she said.

"Her name's Valeria. It means valor and strength," Luca informed Morgan.

She smiled. "I like it."

Greg looked in from the hallway unobtrusively, both sets of Valeria's grandparents behind him.

Luca watched Greg holding Valeria, concealed by the swinging kitchen door. He was so gentle and natural with her, as was Nick with Ophelia. She and Natalee joked about the menbeing so maternal, which they didn't appriciate much, but all four knew it was true.

They were good parents.

Luca sat next to Greg on the couch.

"Want to hold her?"

She shook her head. "She's so peaceful in your arms, I'd hate to upset her."

"I can't believe we made this little thing," Greg said with pride.

"Me either. She's perfect."

"She really is." Greg touched her smooth cheek and then her soft hair.

They watched Valeria sleep in silence for a long time, caught up in the silence that was so infrequent.

Luca smiled suddenly, thinking about how she was going to start classes in the fall and how she was so lucky to be surrounded by such amazing people.

"What?" Greg asked, noticing the grin. "Why are you smiling?"

"Everything feels so right," she said.

"Like what?"

"My whole life. I finally feel like everything's finally falling into place."

The End

A.N. It's been fun writing and I just wanted to acknowledge everyone who left me reviews and encouraged me and gave me tips. Thank you!