The next few months passed quickly, and before I knew it, Leah had delivered her baby daughter. It happened after I had fallen asleep after doing a double shift--something I was technically not supposed to do in my new role, but as it had been an emergency, it was approved. My coworker who had been scheduled to go in after me had called in, panicked, because her youngest daughter had appendicitis. As a single mom without any family nearby, there was no way Hallit and I could have said no.

So, while Hallit and I were dead asleep after working sixteen hours straight, Leah had been in the midst of a painful labor. Everything went well enough--except that our mother had shown up, and tried to be allowed in. Leah and I had no idea how she'd even found out, but neither of us should have been surprised. With the money and connections our parents had, secrets were almost impossible to keep.

"Mark nearly got himself arrested," Leah told us, at the next dinner. "If the nurse had let him in, I would have been a single mom, because he would be in jail for murder."

"Self-defense," Mark corrected, squeezing her shoulders. "And that goes for you, too, Rach. If that damn bitch shows up at your place or your job, let me know, and I'll deal with her."

I flushed. "Thank you," I murmured.

"She better not come around," Leah nearly growled, rocking her baby in her arms. "I can't believe she actually showed up at the hospital. She must know where we live..."

"I'll buy a gun," Mark promised. "I know how you feel about it, babe, but if that bitch shows up..."

"No, you're right," Leah agreed. "We'll both take shooting lessons. Rachel? Do you want us to get one for you, and join us?"

"Um, sure," I agreed, awkwardly.

I knew how to shoot--well, Hallit did, with the Dracon beam we'd recently been issued, thanks to Sorren--but I figured alien guns and human ones were pretty different. For one thing, Dracon beams had levels ranging from hurt to stun to obliteration without enough material left over to provide DNA.

"The last thing Sarah needs is that woman in her life," Leah murmured, still rocking her. "One generation of abuse is more than enough."

"I still feel bad for not being there when she was born," I admitted, staring at my beautiful niece with adoration. I hadn't been around many babies, and maybe if I ever had one I would feel differently, but I thought Sarah was the most beautiful baby in the world.

Barely a week old, she had the beginning of blonde ringlets--thanks to Mark's Scandinavian side of the family, he said--and dark eyes that were positively piercing. She had full lips, and dimples, and a laugh that would make you want to tickle her and play peekaboo for hours.

Yeah, Sarah was perfect.

"After a sixteen hour shift? You needed your rest," Leah told me, only for the tenth time. "Besides, as much as I love you, Sarah, you sure took your time getting here. Ten hours of hard labor! And they wanted to do a c-section at one point. Rachel, if you ever have kids, get an epidural. I don't know what I was thinking, going the natural route."

"You were amazing," Mark said, with admiration. "I don't know how women manage. If men could have babies, humanity would go extinct."

"Or have super high levels of pain tolerance," Rachel quipped.

Mark chuckled. "I admit it, I'm a baby. Oh, I can run a four minute mile, but God forbid I get a cold."

"I've noticed," Leah said, wryly. "Which reminds me. How did Lisa pull through?"

Lisa was Tammy's daughter, the one who had appendicitis.

"They got it out just before it burst. Tammy sent me a huge box of chocolates and this beautiful card with a picture Lisa drew, to thank me for covering for her," I answered. "And yes, I saved the nut and peanut butter ones for you."

I hated those flavors--and Leah loved them.

"She's being released from the hospital tomorrow. They wanted to keep her a few extra days, because she's only five. But everything looks good. Tammy's been able to do her shifts, and stop by afterwards," I concluded.

"Bless her," Leah murmured. "Have you told her about The Sharing? A young widow like her might find a nice guy there."

"I've thrown out the idea a few times, but I don't think Tammy thinks she even has a free minute most days," I answered.

Technically, of course, it had been Hallit who had "thrown out the idea" as well as Sorren. Not that I was opposed. A good Yeerk could be a huge help to someone's psyche, as I knew all too well with Hallit. But sometimes, just getting someone in the door was the hardest part. Studies showed that at least half of the people who attended one meeting became associate members, and of those, a third went for full membership. I wasn't sure exactly how many ended up becoming voluntary, but as crowded as the cages were, the voluntary area always had plenty of people.

Besides, many of the cages held Hork-Bajir, and almost none of them were voluntary...

"If you're free next Saturday, we can head to the gun store," Mark offered.

"I'll check. I only work one Saturday a month, but the next month hasn't been posted yet." I paused, trying to think. Hallit helpfully sent me the memory. "I should know by Wednesday."

"Sounds good. And if you can't, we can wait a week," Mark offered, and Leah nodded. "So, who's up for dessert?"

No one said no to this, especially since it was chocolate cake. Leah had made it earlier, from a mix, but it was still good. And even though my finances were much better than they had been, she still sent me back with half of it, as well as leftovers from dinner.

It would be our last normal dinner--not that they would know for some time.

Two days later, when Hallit and I would go to the Yeerk Pool, Cassie Campbell would steal my body, and very nearly get me killed by Visser Three.

A/N: Welp! Twenty-seven chapters of setup for the big event. Perhaps I could have shortened it, but as I said in the beginning, this IS Rachel's story to tell. I do expect that the lion's share of the work is over at this point. The next chapter will cover the infestation, the following ones the aftermath, and it will pretty much conclude with a more or less happy ending--at least, for the main characters.

As always, I greatly appreciate constructive feedback!