A/N: hey guys! it's me again. i made a mistake in the last chapter author note. i said that there were two more chapters left in this story - i lied. after this chapter, there's only two chapters left. sorry for the miscommunication.
A/N 2: thanks to everyone who reviewed this story. all of you ROCK MY SOCKS!
anyway, onto the story...
CHAPTER TWENTY
(chapter title - Six Months Later)
"Roger! Oh God! It's happening!" Crystal screamed from her and Roger's bedroom. Roger was out on the balcony, writing a song when he heard Crystal's ear splitting scream. He dropped his notebook and went to Crystal's side.
"Okay, baby. Let's get you to the hospital." Roger carefully lifted her in his arms and grabbed the hospital bag that they had packed the week before. Crystal began crying as Roger ran out of the loft and to where his car was parked just a couple minutes away. He unlocked the car and put Crystal in the front seat. Roger then turned on the ignition and headed for the hospital.
---------------
They arrived at the hospital seven minutes later. Crystal was now crying and sweating, which made Roger panic just a bit. He helped her into a wheelchair and wheeled her into the hospital. A nurse greeted them at the nurse's station.
"Hi, how may I help you?" she greeted them calmly.
"My wife is in labor!" Roger nearly screamed at the nurse.
"Okay, sir. Let's get her to the delivery room and into a hospital gown. What's her name?" the nurse asked.
"Crystal - Crystal Davis." Roger answered.
"Crystal, hi. I'm Doris, I'm gonna take you to the delivery room and get you ready to have this baby, okay?" Doris told her calmly. Crystal nodded as Doris wheeled her away. Roger took this time to call Mark and Destiny, Maureen and Judith, Hannah (Joanne had passed away due to loss of blood from her knifing) and anyone else he could think of.
-------------
After Mark and Destiny arrived, Roger rushed to the delivery room to be with Crystal. The nurse told him that she was in delivery room C on his left hand side. Opening the door, he saw Crystal dressed in a pink hospital gown. He ran to her side and stood next to her. She had sweat running down her face.
"How's she doing?" Roger asked the delivery doctor. He nodded and smiled.
"Okay, your husband's here, so let's push for him, okay?" the doctor told Crystal. She nodded and sat up in her hospital bed, Roger helping her to lean forward so that she could push easier.
"I can see the head!" the doctor told the couple. Roger felt tears run down his cheeks as he leaned over to see his baby.
"It looks like a giant bubble." Roger laughed/cried. Crystal smiled and reached up to brush Roger's tears away.
"Okay, on the count of three, I need you to push extremely hard, okay?" the doctor spoke up. Crystal nodded.
"On three - one, two, three!" Roger counted, holding Crystal's hand and squeezing it tightly. A moment later, the doctor held up a bloody baby for them to see.
"It's a girl!" he told them, handing Roger scissors so that he could cut the umbilical cord. The doctor smiled and went to get the baby cleaned up, weighed and measured.
"I'll be right back." Roger kissed the top of Crystal's head and exited the delivery room and headed to the waiting room where everyone was waiting. Mark looked up as soon as Roger entered the room.
"Well?" Mark inquired. Everyone's eyes were now on Roger - Maureen, Judith, Hannah, Mark, Destiny, Caitlyn, Jason, Sophia, Jules, John (they had hopped on the first plane taking off to New York) and Helena.
"We have a girl!" Roger announced. Everyone exclaimed and hugged him.
"Can we see her?" Jules asked. Roger nodded and led the way to the delivery room where Crystal was. Mark came up to his best friend and hugged him.
"Thanks." Roger thanked his friend, smiling as Mark pulled away.
"What's the baby's name?" Mark inquired.
"We're thinking of naming her Angel Rosario Davis." Roger told him, opening the door to the delivery room. Crystal was there with little Angel. Roger motioned for everyone to wait where they were while he went to check on Crystal.
"Hey honey." Roger whispered, kissing Crystal's temple. She looked up at him then back at the bundle in her arms.
"Sweetie, meet your new daughter - Angel Rosario Davis, 6 pounds, 13 ounces. She's twenty inches long." Crystal whispered, handing Roger his daughter. He looked down at her and smiled. She was so beautiful and perfect - ten fingers and ten toes.
"She has your eyes." Crystal told Roger.
"She has your nose." Roger told Crystal. Crystal laughed at that. Remembering the group over in the corner, Roger walked over to them, baby in his arms.
"Guys, come on over." Roger hissed, not wanting to disturb his sleeping baby. The group slowly made their way over and looked over Roger's shoulder at the sleeping baby. Maureen, Judith, Sophia and Helena went to congratulate Crystal while Hannah, John, Destiny, Caitlyn, Jules and Mark took turns holding Angel.
"She certainly is an angel." Mark told Roger, smiling slightly.
"That's why I picked that name - the old Angel was the one that held us all together, so maybe this Angel will." Roger informed the group, tears in his eyes. Jules, who was holding Angel at the time, carefully hugged Roger. He hugged her back, his eyes glistening with tears. He left the group and walked over to where Crystal lay in her delivery room bed. He sat down next to her and held her in his arms. She continued to sleep, unaware that Roger was next to her.
"You have no idea how proud of you I am." Roger whispered, kissing her forehead. After a while, he continued. "I love you so much, Crystal Davis, and I always will."
---------------
The next day, Crystal and Angel were coming home. Mark helped Roger as much as he could - he packed up Crystal's hospital bag, packed up all the cards that Crystal had gotten and held Angel while Roger helped Crystal get in the car. Mark placed the baby in her car seat and strapped her in while Crystal got in the other side.
"She's so beautiful." Mark told the happy couple as he got in the front seat.
"Thanks." Roger said, starting the car and driving out of the hospital parking lot and back to the loft.
"How does it feel to be a dad, again?" Mark inquired.
"Great! I've missed it so much!" Roger answered, smiling briefly at his best friend. The three adults talked about everything and nothing all the way to the loft.
-----------------
"Shh! Here they come!" Hannah called, running to a room to hide. She, Destiny, Maureen, Judith, Jules, John, Caitlyn, Helena, Jason and Sophia ran into different parts of the loft to surprise Roger and Crystal with a surprise "Welcome Home" party.
Ten minutes later, Mark, Roger, Angel and Crystal walked into the loft. Roger was carrying his daughter in his arms while Mark carried up Crystal's hospital bag and helped Crystal walk up the steep stairs to the loft. As they entered the loft, they didn't see anyone, which was odd because usually everyone was there at the loft, no matter what.
"I'm gonna grab my camera really quick, I'll be right back." Mark informed them, running to his room. Roger and Crystal exchanged confused looks and made themselves comfortable on the couch. They talked to their daughter in baby talk and took turns holding her.
"SURPRISE! WELCOME HOME ANGEL AND CRYSTAL!" Eleven voices chorused. Crystal turned around and saw everyone smiling at her.
"Oh, God! Thank you!" Crystal said, tears in her eyes. Angel had started crying at the noise, but Roger, being the dad that he was, gently calmed her down by rocking and singing to her. The eleven figures gathered around the couch and took turns holding little Angel.
"What's next for you guys?" Caitlyn asked, taking her turn to hold Angel. Destiny showed Caitlyn how to hold the tiny infant so that the ten-year-old wouldn't drop her by accident.
"Well, we're hoping to get a house near here." Crystal told her, resting her head on Roger's shoulder. Roger smiled, wrapped his arms around her and kissed her neck.
"I want a turn mommy!" two-year-old Jason pouted. Two-year-old Sophia and five-year-old Helena started pouting that they wanted to hold Angel, too.
"You're too young, ladies. Sorry." Judith told them, crouching down to their level.
"But mommy! I got to hold our class bunny's babies when she had babies." Helena said, shooting her mom the infamous puppy-dog pout. Judith laughed and scooped Helena in her arms.
"I know, pumpkin. But a baby human is a lot different than a baby bunny." Judith told her daughter. Helena sighed and wiggled that she wanted to get down. Judith laughed and set her daughter down before going over to her new partner. Maureen smiled at her and rested her head on Judith's shoulder.
---------------
Later that night, Crystal was fast asleep in her room in the Davis' new loft, right next door to Mark and Destiny's. Roger was finishing holding Angel before putting her to bed and climbing in next to Crystal. As soon as Angel was fast asleep, Roger put her in her crib and went to his and Crystal's room. Without waking Crystal up, he took off his shirt, shoes and jeans and climbed in next to her, taking her in his arms. She stirred a bit, but went right back to sleep.
"I love you." Roger whispered before falling asleep. Crystal rested her head on his chest and traced his abs in her sleep. He smiled, kissed her forehead and fell asleep. He knew it wouldn't be long until Angel woke up and started crying, so he tried to get as much sleep as he could before the baby woke up. As he slept, Roger thought of his perfect family - his beautiful girls, Angel and Crystal and their new life together as a family.
