Rachel awoke before dawn that late October day, her belly tightening.

"This is the start of it." She thought. She didn't feel ready. She didn't feel fully prepared.

Ric was warm beside her. He slept beside her each night wearing army issue boxers, his bare chest at her back, cradling her in his arms. She always felt protected as he cuddled her this way. He might not love her, any more than she loved him, but she knew he would lay down his life for her and their child.

The next pain was slightly more intense.

Rachel contemplated her married state. It really felt as though she had a warm cuddling roommate rather than a husband. Ric had not had sex with her since the night they met. And she strongly suspected he would not attempt intimacies until she was legally an adult, married or not- he had been truly horrified to discover how young she was. If she was honest, she wasn't even sure they would have sex even then. Stephanie still invaded his dreams. He would talk to her in as he slept. Rachel knew he loved Stephanie. Just as Rachel knew he would never be unfaithful even to this marriage devoid of love. Her husband just wasn't built that way.

The gush of warm liquid surprised her. It felt sticky

"Ric, oh God,"

Instantly awake, Ric drew back the sheets, intending to move Rachel across to his dry spot in the bed, while he addressed the moisture from her waters rupturing. Ensuring her comfort.

Instead, they both drew in a sharp breath as they looked down at Rachel's damp nightgown and watched the red blood stain spread.

And then Rachel drifted from consciousness.

Ricardo Carlos Manoso was a Captain in the Army, a Ranger, an elite warrior. He had survived battle, stanched the flow of blood from gunshot wounds in his fellow soldiers, and eliminated threats to his team. He was always ready to step into the breach, to do the impossible, to finish the mission and achieve the often-impossible goal. It was why they called him Ranger, in jest but also in awe. But the moment Rachel lost consciousness, all his training deserted him and he felt true panic.

Then everything happened in a rush. Calling out for Abuela, and Abuela calling for an ambulance then calling the Brown apartment, begging Bobby to come, happened as Ric held Rachel's hand, a welling pain in his chest. Rachel was just a child. And his daughter. He loved the child he had not yet met. Wanted her to be alright.

Bobby in the room with him, speaking to him, it sounding so far away. Like when he was shot. This was shock. He was in shock. And then he heard his Abuela, the warm kindness in her voice, her small hand on his shoulder.

"You must dress, Carlito, so you can go with her." The ambulance personnel and Bobby were taking care of Rachel as Ric pulled on jeans, a t-shirt and socks, then finding his running shoes by the door. He was ready when they made to leave with Rachel on the stretcher for the ride to the hospital.

Once in the ER, he watched the staff work in smooth and rapid motions. Oxygen, an IV, a heart monitor, a fetal monitor, the baby's heartbeat, Rachel's too low blood pressure. A surgeon, telling him to sign a consent. The words terrifying him. No time…Crash section. A pen in his hand, signing on the line, Rachel rushed to the operating room. Bobby explaining Ric could not go with her… Bobby leading him upstairs to wait. The fog around all his thoughts. The dryness of his mouth.

She was so pale, she looked so fragile. His child bride. He could lose her, the girl he had not wanted, did not love. And his daughter. He could lose them both. The burning in his eyes and the pain in his chest, the racing of his heart, emerged from him in a sob so fierce and raw it sounded inhuman. Bobby wrapped his arms around his friend and held him tight as Ric crumbled to the floor.

Ric had no idea when Tank arrived with Lula. He was seated in the surgical waiting area. Abuela sat next to him, holding his hand. Lula handed him a cup of black coffee, and he sipped the bitter brew, as the coldness washed over him again and again.

The surgical nurse arrived, a tall, young man called Bones, to tell him his daughter had been delivered and would be taken to the nursery to be checked by the pedestrian. Would he like to go with them and hold her.

"My wife?"

"They are still working on her…" The nurse spoke to Bobby and Ric registered some of the words- placental abruption… transfusion… too soon to call.

In the end, Lula and Abuela went with the baby and Tank and Bobby sat on either side of him, helping wordlessly to hold him together as the time ticked away.

"Captain Manoso?" The man in surgical scrubs spoke to him and Ric rose to his feet, his two friends at his sides.

"Mrs. Manoso has been stabilized. She lost a great deal of blood, but we were able to get things under control and we did not have to take her uterus. So, she will be able to have more children if she desires, in the future. She will be in recovery for several hours and we will keep her in-patient for seven to ten days, but your daughter will be able to go home tomorrow. She is a perfect little angel."

Thanking the man, he asked when he could see Rachel. The battalion surgeon knew this was Ranger Manoso, a legendary fighting machine, and could not refuse him. "Come. I will take you to her."

Rachel's mouth was dry and she hurt all over. She saw it was dark out the window, and that Ric was beside her, holding a small bundle.

"Mama is awake, little one." Ric whispered to his daughter, and Rachel smiled.

"Is she?"

"Julia Rose Manoso is perfect." They had decided to use the first names of each of their grandmothers for their daughter. "You had a rough time and it will take a while for you to fully recover, but you are going to be fine, Rachel."

"Can I hold her?"

Instead of a verbal answer, Ric placed their daughter in Rachel's arms and helped her hold her daughter for the very first time. "My sweet Julia Rose."

Rachel inhaled the sweet baby smell and drifted back to sleep. Ric lifted his daughter and held her to his chest and realized his heart would always remain, in part, within this tiny child. He would never be the same.