The clock arms pointed at one minute until midnight. Sharon smiled at her children. She topped up everyone's champagne glasses while Andy poured Rainie and himself flutes of sparkling cider.

Sharon's gaze raked around the room. Emily was holding Henry's hand, Ricky had his arm around his girlfriend, Eva's waist, and Rainie was rubbing her rounding stomach.

"Ten, nine, eight…" Her family began to count down the seconds.

Sharon felt Andy's fingers sliding between hers. She lifted her gaze to him and smiled softly. He raised their joint hands and pressed a kiss to her knuckles before the countdown ended, and his lips captured hers.

"Happy New Year, babe," he whispered against her mouth when they parted and toasted his glass with hers.

Sharon kissed his cheek softly before taking a sip from her champagne. When she looked around the room again, she noticed the radiant smiles on her two eldest children's and their significant others' faces. Their joy was beautiful. All she ever wanted was for her kids to be happy. When she turned her gaze to where Rainie stood, she found the spot vacant, and the flute of sparkling cider abandoned on the coffee table.

The balcony door was open, and a cold blast of wind came into the living room. Sharon grabbed a throw blanket from the back of the couch as she made her way to the balcony.

She found Rainie staring into the dark night. As she came closer to her daughter, she noticed that her cheeks were wet. Sharon gently placed the blanket around her daughter's shoulders and stood next to her, providing silent support.

For a few minutes, she listened to her daughter sniffling and watched her trying to wipe away her tears before they restarted again.

"I didn't mean to ruin your evening, mom." Rainie broke the silence.

"You didn't ruin anything," Sharon said.

"It's just – seeing everyone kissing. I miss that," Rainie said.

Sharon nodded. "I know that feeling."

Rainie turned to look at her mother, wiping her tears on the corner of the blanket.

"It's not exactly the same, but after Jack left, I felt lonely. It was just after Ricky was born, and I was going through so many changes, and he wasn't there. And on the first holiday season without him, it felt even worse, and I broke down, just like you."

"I'm sorry you had to go through that, mom," Rainie said.

"And I'm sorry it's happening to you, sweetheart. It's so different than what I wanted for you," Sharon replied and took her daughter's hand.

"It's far from how I imagined my life, too," Rainie said bitterly. "Ouch, what the hell?" She rubbed her stomach.

Sharon felt her spine tensing at the sight of her daughter in pain.

"It's nothing, mom. It's just Jellybean; she's kicking," Rainie said.

"Are you sure?" Sharon asked.

"Yeah, it's fine," Rainie assured her. "Here, feel it." She took Sharon's hand and placed it on her stomach.

"Oh, my God." Sharon bit her bottom lip to avoid crying as she felt the gentle flutter under her hand. "It never fails to amaze me, you know?" A bigger movement under her palm surprised her, and she felt Rainie gasping. "She's a sassy baby. She probably gets it from you."

Rainie chuckled. "Probably."

Sharon smiled, relieved that her daughter's mood improved a little bit. The growing life inside her daughter's body was a source of hope, not just for Rainie but for Sharon and Andy too.

"You know, there's an apartment available in our building, on the ninth floor. Do you think you might be interested?"

"Are you that desperate to get rid of me?" Rainie joked.

"Oh, honey, no. I just thought you'd want to have more privacy, especially after the baby comes. You're welcome to stay here for as long as you like," Sharon said.

"I was just kidding, mom. I guess it would be nice to have my own place, although I'm not entirely sure that I'm ready to be on my own yet," Rainie replied.

"Well, it's not a problem. People are always moving in and out of this building, so I'm sure there will be other opportunities."

"I'll see the apartment, mom. Maybe it's a good idea to at least set it up before the baby comes and move into it after I'm not alone anymore," Rainie said.

Sharon was about to tell Rainie that she wasn't alone, but her daughter proceeded to ask, "Who lived there?"

"I think it was the cellist lady," Sharon replied.

"You mean the one who couldn't actually play the cello and made noise," Rainie said. "Let's hope that her cello didn't leave any scuff marks on the floor."

Sharon snorted. It was so much like Rainie to nitpick even before she saw the apartment. "We'll see. I'll schedule a meeting for us so that we can see it together?"

"Thanks, mom. I know that I haven't been easy recently, so I appreciate it that you and dad are putting up with me."

They went back into the living room, sliding the glass door closed and trapping the night's chill outside. Emily immediately approached Rainie and drew her into a silly dance to a pop song that Sharon didn't recognize. Ricky and Eva were dancing together, and Andy took the chance to grab Sharon's hand and pull her to him for a slow dance that did not match the upbeat music.

"I love you, babe," Andy said and kissed her when the song changed, this time to a slower song.

Sharon pressed a kiss to his lips and then leaned to whisper in his ear, "I felt the baby kick."

Andy spun her around and then pulled her to him again. "I'm jealous," he whispered.

All of a sudden, they saw Rainie gasping before she got down on all fours. Everyone stopped dancing.

With her breath caught in her lungs, Sharon approached her daughter's side. Emily also knelt next to Rainie. "What's wrong?"

"I think I twisted my ankle," Rainie gasped in pain.

The relief that Sharon felt that moment was immense. For a moment, she thought that there was something wrong with the baby. She let Emily take over the situation as Ricky brought Rainie some ice from the fridge.

With a gentle motion, Andy pulled Sharon towards the hall, and she followed him. "You okay? You're pale."

Sharon took a deep breath and shook her head. "I thought something was wrong with the baby."

Andy wrapped his arms around Sharon and pulled her to him, pressing a kiss to her temple. "Jellybean is strong, like her mother and grandma." He rubbed soothing circles up and down Sharon's back.

Sharon let out a long exhale and hummed.

"Your ankle is fine." They heard Emily saying. "It's just a pinched muscle. All you need is someone to give you a foot massage."

"Any volunteers?" Ricky called out.

"See? They're already making jokes. If I didn't know you raised them, I would think your kids grew up in the circus."

Sharon giggled, admitting that Andy had a point. "Their sense of humor certainly didn't come from me," she said.

"Yeah, you're probably right about that. Let's go back and see who volunteered for the foot rub."

Taking each other's hands, they walked back to the living room together. Eva volunteered to give Rainie a foot massage, and Rainie seemed to be pleased with it.

Sharon and Andy looked at their family and smiled at each other. Even though it was initially stressful, this was a beautiful moment. Their new year was already full of love, and Sharon hoped it was a sign of things to come.