DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT own any of the characters from ADJL. They belong to Disney. I do however own Rose and Jake's adopted daughter, Emily, along with the angel Joy and anyone else you don't recognize. If anyone would like to use any of these OC's, please ask my permission first.
Thanks!

God loves you
Enjoy!

"One Rose, Too Many Thorns"

Chapter 15-The Perfect Way

Rose shivered as Jake landed on the steps of the center. Jake rang the doorbell while Rose held their newborn daughter and huddled next to Jake for warmth.

The door opened a minute later to reveal Katie and Wendy. The child was holding a kitten in her arms.

"Is that the baby?" Wendy squealed upon seeing the bundle in Rose's arms. "Can I hold her, please, Rose?"

Rose giggled at the child's excitement.

Katie laughed as well and patted Wendy's shoulder.

"Why don't we let Rose and Jake into the house first, okay?"

Wendy nodded and blushed slightly.

Once both teenagers were safely inside, Katie took them to the family room and called Jeanie Mathews to come and look at the infant.

Jeanie agreed and drove over.

Twenty minutes later, the baby was declared perfectly healthy, with one exception.

Rose and Jake knew what that was and they didn't care so much now. They loved their daughter just as much.

As Rose glanced down at her daughter, she noticed that her blue eyes, identical to her own, were clouded over.

"I love you, sweetie," Rose said, kissing her daughter's cheek. "I love you so much."

"That goes double for me," Jake said, landing a kiss to the infant's forehead.

"Can I hold her now, please? Please?" Wendy asked, her blue eyes shining with excitement.

"Sure you can." Rose told her. "Just be careful, okay? You need to support her head."

Wendy nodded and allowed Rose to show her how to do it correctly. She enjoyed learning new things.

The baby glanced up at Wendy, as though she could see her and smiled.

"She smiled at me!" Wendy exclaimed, her happiness filling the room. "She smiled at me!"

"Aw, of course she did." Rose said, patting Wendy's shoulder. "She loves you. You're her cousin."

Wendy nodded and a grin spread across her face.

"All right, my turn." Katie announced, gently lifting the baby from Wendy's gentle embrace.

The baby settled into Katie's arms, content as ever. She seemed very easy going, something that Rose knew she had gotten from her.

"Aw, you're so cute, yes you are." Katie said, cooing over the infant. "Auntie Katie loves you, yes I do. Yes I do."

Rose grinned at the interaction between her new daughter and best friend.

Wendy played with the baby for a minute before coming over and sitting on Rose's knee.

Rose put an arm around the little girl and gave her a hug.

"So what are you going to name her?" Wendy inquired, curiosity in her tone as well as her voice.

Rose smiled down at the child as she thought about it for a minute. She turned to Jake, who shrugged.

"I don't know. What do you think?" He asked, ruffling Rose's hair gently.

Rose shook her head. Her eyes suddenly lit up with realization. She grinned at Jake and then over at Katie as she cleared her throat.

"I think I came up with the perfect name for her."

Katie looked up at her friend while still tickling the baby's tummy.

"You have?"

Rose nodded.

"What is it?" Wendy asked, not being able to contain her excitement.

Rose took a deep breath before answering the long awaited question.

"Well, I think I came up with the perfect name for her."

"Which is?" Jake, Katie and Wendy asked in unison, making Rose giggle.

"Anna Katherine Long. What do you guys think?"

Jake smiled in agreement.

"I think that's a beautiful name. " He said, kissing his girlfriend.

"I like it!" Wendy chimed in. "It's pretty. But why Anna?" She asked curiously.

"Well, a very good friend of Haley's was named Julieanna. She recently went to Heaven and it's really been hard on Haley. I wanted to do something to help her."

Wendy nodded in understanding.

Rose then turned her attention to Katie. Her friend was still holding the baby.

Katie's eyes were full of tears. She was smiling, but tears were in her eyes as well.

"Rose, I don't know what to say." She said, not knowing how to express what she was feeling inside with words. "I've never had someone name their child after me before."

Rose grinned as she got up and gave Katie a hug.

"Well, you've been my friend since I was ten years old. You introduced me to the Lord and you've done so much for me. You're my best friend and I wanted to show how much I love and appreciate you."

"Thank you," Katie replied, hugging back. "I love you too, Rose."

The two friends stayed like that for a minute or so before pulling away.

"Me too!" Wendy said, rushing forward and wrapping her arms around Rose's waist. "Me too!"

"Aw, I could never forget you. Come here." Rose picked Wendy up and gave her a hug and kiss. She then started tickling her, making the little girl giggle.

After the giggles had subsided, Rose handed Wendy off to Katie before announcing it was time for them to go.

"I can baby sit my name sake sometimes, right? " Katie asked, a grin on her face.

"Of course you can!" Rose confirmed. "I have a feeling you and Anna will be very close."

After saying good bye to Katie and Wendy, the family left.

Rose couldn't stop smiling during the flight home. She was still a little nervous about raising Anna, but she knew the Father would guide her way, so she had nothing to worry about. She also knew Jake would be there to help her as well and that was enough to ease her fears.

Later that night, Rose was up with Anna. She was feeding her and just relishing in the love she felt for her. She had introduced Anna to Emily and the eldest Long daughter was happy to be a big sister. She had questioned Rose's love for her once again and Rose had assured Emily that she would NEVER stop loving her.

This seemed to satisfy the five year old. She asked Rose if she could help get Anna ready for bed.

Rose allowed Emily to help and then she tucked her eldest daughter in.

Now, Rose was sitting in the nursery, feeding Anna and talking to her.

The sound of movement in the hallway, caused Rose to look up. She spotted Haley coming back from the bathroom and called out to her.

"Haley, honey, come here for a second."

Haley did so, stepping into the room and closing the door behind her.

"Hey." Haley said, getting a good look at the bundle in Rose's arms for the first time. "Is that my new niece?"

Rose grinned and nodded.

"It sure is. Do you want to hold her?"

Haley nodded.

"Sure."

"All right, let me just get finished feeding and burping her and then you can hold her."

Haley grinned. She sat there and waited patiently. She occupied herself with checking out the décor of the room.

Rose could tell that something was on Haley's mind, so she tried to strike up a conversation with her.

"How was your mall trip?" Rose asked, patting Haley's shoulder gently.

Haley shrugged.

"It was fun. Becca and I bought some earrings and I got an outfit I was saving up for."

Rose nodded. She had seen the outfit Haley was talking about and thought Haley looked cute in it.

A few minutes of silence passed between them. Finally, Haley broke it with a question she had been wanting to ask Rose ever since her sister had beckoned her in the room.

"What's her name?" Haley asked, curiosity in her voice. She then sighed and blurted something out that she had on her mind now since that morning. "I want to do something to remember Julie, but I can't think of anything. I mean Becca was trying to think of ideas too, but she couldn't come up with anything either."

"Well I think I have a solution for you." Rose said, smiling gently at Haley.

"You do? What?" Haley asked, eager to hear what Rose had to say.

"Well, first I want to answer your question, then I'll tell you. And I think once I answer your question, it will give you half of the answer."

Haley nodded and waited for Rose to continue.

"Anna Katherine Long."

It took Haley a minute or two before she realized what Rose had just said.

Once realization had hit, Haley's face broke into a grin and she hugged Rose around the neck.

"Thank you," was all Haley said. Her voice was sincere and full of emotion.

Rose understood what Haley's 'thank you meant and she nodded.

"The other idea I had was maybe you could hold a memorial service for her and try to raise awareness about child abuse."

"That's a good idea!" Haley exclaimed, forgetting Rose had Anna in her arms. It was going to take some getting used to. "Oops. I'm sorry."

Rose shook her head.

"It's okay. I know you didn't mean it. Here you go." With that, Rose placed Anna in Haley's arms.

Haley supported the infant's head and gazed down at her with a smile of love on her face.

"Hi there, little one. Hi, Anna. I'm your Auntie Haley. Yeah. I'm gonna teach you a lot of fun things as you grow. Yes I will. I love you." With that, Haley kissed the baby's cheek before starting to sing her a lullaby.

After Haley was done, the baby girl was fast asleep.

Rose smiled at the interaction as she tucked Anna back in bed.

"Thanks, honey." Rose said, patting Haley's shoulder. "I really appreciate it."

"No problem. I like singing. Besides, Anna is a sweetheart. She's going to take after you, and that's a good thing."

"OH it is, is it?" Rose asked as she launched a tickle war with Haley. She picked the squirming and giggling girl up and carried her back to bed. She tucked Haley in and stayed with her until she fell asleep.

"I love you, Rose." Haley said, half asleep.

"I love you too, sweetie. Sweet dreams."

"Thanks," Haley said, suddenly more awake. "Thanks for naming the baby after Julie. It's the perfect way to keep her memory alive."

"I couldn't agree with you more." Rose said, giving Haley a kiss before leaving the room. "I couldn't agree more." With that, Rose left to check on both of her girls.

When Rose reached Emily's room, she found her asleep. Rose watched her sleep for a few minutes before tucking the covers around her and kissing her cheek.

"I love you, Em. Mommy loves you so much. That will never change. Sweet dreams, honey." With that, Rose kissed Emily's cheek once more and stroked her hair before leaving the room.

When Rose returned to Anna's room, she sat near her crib and put a gentle hand on her youngest daughter's shoulder. She patted it gently before giving Anna a kiss.

As Rose sat there, she gazed out of the window and up into the nighttime sky.

"Thank you, Father. Thank you for blessing me with two miracles. Amen." With that, Rose turned her attention back to Anna. "I love you, Anna. I love you so much."

THE END