A/N A long chapter to make up for the crummy short one last time. And the finale! I hope you enjoy -speshly the little people I've slipped in as characters lol!

Sorry if there is any grammar mistakes. I've got a brand-spanking-new laptop for my birthday and I'm still getting used to the keyboard. :D

Chapter Eleven

Dear Diary

Dear Diary,

I understand it's been awhile since I last wrote. Almost nine months, in fact. But I'm making up for this in this final entry. See, I won't have any time to spare for writing diary entries now. Lily's made sure of that.

I'd better explain right from the beginning. Where did I leave off? Ah yes, nearly nine fateful months ago, in Cairns. The day I lost the love of my life.

"Lily's gone," I said, rocking backwards and forwards. She just disappeared. She moved on. And I didn't even get to say goodbye."

I sank onto the bedspread I'd collapsed onto with confusion just hours before. Susannah joined me and slipped an arm around me, rubbing my shoulder sympathetically.

"Oh, God, Jess," she said. "I'm so sorry. Are you OK?"

"Um, I'm not sure," I replied. I guess I'm still in shock," I replied. Suze let go of me, and stood up.

"Then you'd better stay sitting down," she said slowly to me. "Because I have some news."

I raised my head from where it had been drooping. "Yes?" I asked.

"Well," started Suze. "I'm pregnant."

Have I reminded you now? Of course, my head just dropped back to the palm of my hand where it had been sitting. Because I don't think my nervous system could take anymore.

"Susannah," I said slowly, as if I was talking to a small child. "You need to go and tell Marco. It's obviously his."

"I don't think so," replied Susannah, timidly. "We always used protection. And then you and I-''

"I don't need a reminder, thankyou, Susannah," I said, sitting up. "But we need to get you to a doctor, or a family planning clinic. We have to check."

"I have," she said. "And its certain. I told Marco this morning, and he left just after noon. He wouldn't believe me."

"What did the nurse at the clinic say?" I asked, trying to keep my tone even.

Susannah suddenly looked upset. "She gave me some options," she replied, and fished out some abortion leaflets from her pocket, that were soggy with tears. "But I… I…"

"You have to have this baby, Susannah. You, of all people know that death should be prevented…"

"I know." Susannah sniffed. "But I'll have no help. My mother will be outraged. I can't tell her yet-"

I took her hand and squeezed it. "Suze," I said softly. "I am going to be here for you. You know I will. We'll go back to Carmel together, and I can get start helping out financially, now I'm an obstetrician in the city hospital. I... oh, god!"

"What?" asked Suze.

"I…I may be the one to deliver your baby!" I said, excitedly. "I could be the first to see our child!"

"Jess, that's wonderful," Susannah smiled sadly, and nuzzled her head into the crook of my neck. "I love you, Jesse. Maybe not romantically anymore, but you're my best friend, you know that?"

" I guess I do," I said, kissing the top of her head. "Now, lets sort out our flights. This tiny little baby needs to be back in its homeland."

So Susannah and I flew back to Carmel, to inform Mr and Mrs Ackerman ( or Mom and Andy, as known to Susannah). Of course, they weren't over the moon, but they didn't throw Susannah out of the house like she had expected. Instead, they helped us buy a flat near the coast, so the baby would be getting plenty of sea air. I took Suze to ante-natal classes, where we encountered some pretty strange mothers-to-be. Of course, Suze had to arrange play-dates in the future with the woman who was naming her daughter Nettle Rose, but I just put that down to hormones. I like to think I was being a good father – running out in the middle of the night to buy cookie dough and peanuts for the screaming Suze who desperately craved them. But we got through the nine months. I don't know how, but we did.

It was a horrible October night, and the wind was howling, and the rain was lashing down in sheets. I was typing in last months bills into the laptop on the bed, when Suze rolled over to face me, and smiled angelically.

"What are you craving this time, Susie?" I asked, without even making eye-contact. I could see the desperation in her eyes from the corner of my own.

"Raspberry ripple," she replied, licking her lips greedily. "I'm sorry, babe."

"No worries," I said, but I sighed. I shrugged on my jeans, and a faded blue shirt – money was a little scarce after the three hundred dollar shopping sprees in the mall for the baby. I tucked my pager into my pocket, and grabbed a few dollars from the bedside table. "I'll be ten minutes," I said firmly.

I ran quickly to the corner shop, and placed the tub ice-cream and some mints for me on the counter, and dropped the crumpled dollar notes onto the hand of the shopkeeper. Then something buzzed angrily in my pocket.

"Excuse me," I said to the shopkeeper, and fished my pager out of my pocket.

"Baby!" it read. "Coming!"

I ran from the store, not collecting my groceries, and straight up five flights of stairs to our apartment.

"Call an ambulance!" I yelled to our neighbour Em, who had stuck her head out curiously to see what was with my choppy, loud breathing. "The baby is coming!"

Em's eyes lit up, and she ran back into her apartment. I jammed my key into the door and found in the bathroom looking sheepish.

"My waters…" she panted. I picked up the dropped pager from the bathroom floor, and held both of Suze's hands.

"Its OK," I said. "Em is calling an ambulance. The paramedics are on their way.

"Jesse and Susannah De Silva?" a young man in the doorway asked.

"Susannah Simon," Suze corrected him loudly, and she began groaning again. "Baby… coming… get me a stretcher, fool!"

The boy in the doorway straightened and beckoned his colleagues. He turned to me. "You're a mighty lucky man," he said. I laughed.

Susannah was rushed straight to delivery and I signed in downstairs.

"Jesse De Silva," I said hurriedly. "Obstetrician, hoping to deliver my baby. Susannah Simon, straight to delivery?"

"Yes, Mr De Silva," said the receptionist, and I ran upstairs to prepare.

"Its on its way," said Marianne, one of the trainee nurses at my side. "Patient name Susannah Simon-"

"Its my baby," I said breathlessly, and I put on my gloves. "Lets go, Marianne."

"Yes, sir," she said obediently.

I squeezed Suze's hand as I entered the room. "Are you ready?" I asked.

"Um… no?" replied Suze questionably.

"You'll be fine," I said, then gave a nod to Marianne. "Here goes everything."

The baby came out squealing, as most do, but it was perfect. Its olive skin, squinting green eyes, and a mop of dark curling hair – it was definitely my baby. I gasped at its appearance, as Marianne checked the sex.

"Congratulations, Mr De Silva," she said. "It's a girl."

She took the baby off me, to get her cleaned up. I almost skipped over to Susannah. "Did you hear?" I asked. "It's a girl!"

Marianne came back with Baby Girl Simon-De Silva (what a mouthful!) and handed her to Suze. "Have you decided on a name?" she asked us.

"Well," said Suze, her mouth twisting into a smile. "I do have one idea."

I couldn't believe that we hadn't discussed names. We had been too caught up in prams, and car-chairs and bedding, that we hadn't even thought about what to call the poor thing.

"Yes?" asked Marianne gently.

"Jesse," replied Suze, turning to me with our daughter. "Meet Lily Simon-De Silva. What do you think?"

"Lily," I said, the name taking my mouth by surprise. "Its perfect, of course."

"Lily. That's a pretty name," said Marianne. "Lily Simon-De Silva, born October 2nd – just. Congratulations."

And at that moment, the sheets of humming rain stopped, and all was silent in the tiny room. It was just Susannah, me, and our gorgeous daughter.

Lily.