Lilian glanced in the backseat of the Envoy, looking down at Sophia for what seemed to be the fiftieth time during the ride home. The tiny infant was sleeping soundly, oblivious to the outside world.

It was two weeks after Dave and Lilian had rushed to the hospital in the middle of the night; fearful for the life of their baby. Now, they were finally bringing little Sophia Anne Batista home.

"Is she still there, Lil?" Dave asked, stopping his SUV at a stop sign, partly amused as he watched Lilian glance into the backseat yet again.

"Yes, she is," Lilian said tensely, glaring at Dave. "I can't help it that I want to keep looking at my baby. I… no, WE almost lost her, so PLEASE forgive me for-"

"Hey, hey, hey," Dave interrupted softly, placing a gentle hand on her arm. "I didn't mean to upset you, Sugar. I was just playing."

Lilian briefly closed her eyes, trying to ward off the Spanish tirade she felt coming up moments before. "I'm sorry, Dave," Lilian finally said softly. "I just… we came so close to losing Sophia. I can't help but look at her and think how lucky we are."

"I know," Dave agreed, taking her tiny hand in his and kissing her knuckles. "We are very lucky. She-" Before Dave could go on, an irritable car horn broke the duo out of their thoughts. "Okay, okay," Dave muttered, waving grumpily to the driver before easing gently onto the gas.

The pair remained quiet, though Dave kept a gentle grip on his wife's hand. After a few minutes, the pair pulled up to their house, Dave merely shaking his head at the sight of a large banner stating "Welcome Home, Sophia" and all of their friends standing underneath the banner.

"Okay, this has 'Trish Stratus' written all over it," Lilian said with a shake of her head, taking the seatbelt off and getting out of the Envoy before opening the back door to the SUV. Carefully lifting Sophia and her baby seat out of the SUV, Lilian turned to her friends.

"Guys, I want you to meet Sophia Anne Batista," she said softly, gently turning the seat so everyone could see the tiny baby wrapped in a pink blanket.

"Oh, my God," Lita was the first to speak up. This was the first time many of them had seen Sophia, and like those who had met the baby, they were shocked by how adorable the infant was.

"She's as delicate as you, Lil, but has Dave's good looks," Trish pointed out quietly, carefully reaching into the baby carrier and touching Sophia's silky cheek. The baby barely stirred, briefly opening her green eyes before closing them and falling back asleep.

"She has Momma's eyes and Daddy's hair," Randy pointed out quietly, reaching a shaky hand down to stroke Sophia's tuft of black hair. Trish smiled at the young superstar before looking at her blonde friend.

"We cleaned up for you. The McMahon's bought you a new mattress and it was just delivered yesterday. We figured you and Dave hadn't had a chance to buy a new one, so they got you one. We made your bed, and made sure Sophia's room was ready and all," Trish explained. "And a few of your friends wanted to meet the future WWE Diva, so we all stopped by."

"God, I forgot all about the mattress," Dave sighed, referring to the fact that their original one had been ruined the night Lilian went into early labor. "We've just spent time with Sophia, making sure that she was okay. I totally forgot."

"Thank you, Mrs. McMahon," Lilian said politely, shifting the baby carrier to the other hand. "Please, let us know how much the mattress is and we'll write you a check."

"Don't worry about it, Lilian," Linda replied with a small smile. "Just let me hold that adorable little girl for five minutes and we'll call it even."

"Okay," Lilian agreed. "Just let me get her inside." Looking down at her daughter, Lilian chuckled softly. "You know, Kiddo, for someone who is 6 pounds, you sure are heavy."

"Here, Sugar, let me carry her," Dave insisted, stepping over and taking the carrier. "I know you're still kind of hurting," he said softly to his wife, not wanting to draw attention to the fact that the little blonde was hurting from the birth. Her OBGYN had told her, after the birth of course, that it hadn't been the best option for Lilian to deliver Sophia naturally; rather, she should have delivered the baby by a Caesarean Section.

It was too late for that now, though.

"Hey, little sis, you okay?" Dahlia asked, watching concerned as Lilian gingerly dropped onto the soft couch, wrapping an arm across her abdomen.

"Yeah, I think so," Lilian replied with a sigh, watching as Dave carefully placed Sophia in Linda McMahon's arms. "I'm just sore… and my stomach's a little upset."

"And thanking God every chance you get?" Dahlia asked, settling down next to her sister and wrapping an arm across her shoulders.

Lilian merely nodded, bringing her legs up underneath her and laying her head on Dahlia's shoulder, smiling to herself as Trish hopped from foot to foot, eagerly waited her turn to hold Sophia. "More than anyone will ever know."

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Dave wasn't sure what woke him, but he became aware of the fact that Lilian was throwing up and Sophia was crying at the same time. With a sigh, he forced himself up off the bed, stumbling to the bathroom where Lilian was laying her head miserably against the toilet seat.

"Lily… baby, what's wrong?" he asked sleepily, moving to kneel next to her.

"I don't know," Lilian said tearfully, bringing a hand up to push against his chest. "I feel like shit," she managed to say before heaving into the toilet again, wrapping an arm across her sore abdomen.

"It's okay, Lily," Dave soothed, trying to help her to stand.

"No... let me be," Lilian said with a sigh. "Go make sure Sophia's okay. She's crying."

"Lily-"

"Go!" Lilian managed to yell hoarsely, closing her eyes.

Dave stood, walking out of the bathroom and down the hall, muttering about his stubborn wife. He walked into Sophia's room, avoiding turning on the lights. "Hey there, Baby Girl, what's wrong?" Dave asked softly, reaching down and picking up his tiny daughter, once again surprised at how small his daughter was in his arms.

Sophia's only response was a long wail, one that made Dave wince. "Okay, okay," Dave replied, reaching down. Her diaper was dry, and she had just eaten before bed. "What's the matter, little one?" he asked softly, though the question wasn't really meant for his daughter.

Dave walked around the room, talking softly to Sophia. "Shh," he soothed, rocking her gently. "I know you're upset sweetie, but I have no idea why. But it'll be okay," Dave said, sitting down in the oak rocking chair.

Sophia's crying was dying down, so Dave began rocking back and forth, hoping to put Sophia to sleep with his gentle movements. Her cries eventually died down. Dave stood carefully, placing his daughter back in the crib. He kissed her forehead gently before walking out of the room and back to the bathroom, rolling his eyes slightly when he saw Lilian curled up in a ball on the floor, her cheek resting against the cold tile.

"Come on, Sugar. Let's go to bed," Dave said softly, reaching down to help Lilian up.

"No! Don't wanna," Lilian grumbled miserably, turning away from him.

Dave nearly laughed, shaking his head as he easily scooped his wife up. "Let me be," Lilian whined weakly; however, she made no move to fight him off.

"No, we're going back to bed," Dave told her, easily carrying his lightweight wife back to bed. He had no sooner got her settled and was laying down when she shot up, covering her mouth with her hand and running for the bathroom, slamming the door against the wall in her haste to make it to the toilet in time.

By the time Dave reached her, Lilian was again hunched over the toilet, heaving. Dave held her hair back, closing his eyes briefly when he realized the commotion had reawakened his two week old daughter. "I'm so sorry," Lilian said tearfully, struggling to stand.

"It's okay, honey," Dave said gently, kissing Lilian's forehead. "You stay here. I'll go sit with Sophia."

Lilian nodded, closing her eyes and slumping to the ground, once again curling up and laying her head against the floor.

"Hey there Sophia," Dave said with a sigh, wiping away his daughter's tears before picking her up again. "It's okay," he soothed, running a large hand over her back. "Momma's just a little sick, but she'll be fine."

It took less time this time for Sophia to fall back asleep, and Dave made his way back to the bathroom to retrieve a sleeping Lilian from the floor.

This routine continued until early the next afternoon until Lilian's fever dropped and she was resting comfortably and Sophia was sleeping soundly. However, Dave knew that he needed to wake Sophia to feed her. Luckily, there was some milk ready in the refrigerator for him to give Sophia. God bless Lilian and her preparedness…

"Hey there Sweetheart," Dave said tiredly, testing the milk on the back of his hand to make sure it wasn't too hot for the infant. "You sleep well?"

The tiny baby didn't answer of course; rather, she looked at Dave with the same intense green eyes as her mother. "Okay, kiddo," Dave said, reaching down and picking up his daughter carefully, walking to the rocking chair as he cradled Sophia.

"Looks like we're gonna get good use out of this rocking chair that your Mama insisted on buying aren't we?" Dave asked Sophia, settling down in the chair and positioning the bottle so Sophia could suck on the bottle.

Dave sat there for several long minutes, simply mesmerized as he watched Sophia eat, little fingers greedily wrapped around the bottle. He was so mesmerized that he didn't realize that Lilian was leaning in the doorway, looking exhausted and pale as she watched Dave feeding their daughter.

"Hey, babe," Dave said quietly, not wanting to startle Sophia. "You feeling better?"

"Much," Lilian replied with a slight sigh, running a hand through her tangled blonde hair which was still damp from a shower she had apparently just taken. "At least I'm actually standing and not falling into the wall trying to make it to the bathroom in time. I feel human again."

"You look better," Dave pointed out. "What do you think is wrong?" he asked, looking down when Sophia suddenly pushed at his hand, indicating she was done eating.

"I think it's just a stomach bug," Lilian replied, walking into the room.

"Are you okay to be out of bed?" Dave fretted, standing up from the rocking chair.

"Yeah, I'll be fine," Lilian replied. "I'm actually hungry now and I don't have a fever anymore." As she finished her sentence, she held her arms out. "You, on the other hand, look exhausted," Lilian pointed out, accepting the warm bundle as Dave placed Sophia in her arms.

"Lil, are you okay to be holding her?" Dave asked worriedly. "You were awful weak last night…"

"I think I'm okay," Lilian cooed, nuzzling her nose against Sophia's chin. "I wouldn't hold my baby girl if I thought I would hurt her."

"I know you would never hurt her, Lil," Dave said softly, stepping next to his wife and daughter, wrapping an arm around Lilian's shoulders. He reached his other hand around so it was resting on Lilian's forearm, his fingers stroking Sophia's arm.

Lilian rested her cheek against Dave's shoulders, simply staring down at her daughter for several long moments.

Even though it had been a rough first couple of weeks, everything was going to be fine. As she stood, holding her daughter while in the embrace of her loving husband, Lilian knew everything would be fine.

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End Part 4.6

End And Baby Makes Three

Next in the Series… The First Year