You are my sunshine, my only sunshine

You make me happy when skies are grey

You'll never know, dear, how much I love you

Please don't take my sunshine away.

-Johnny Cash, "You Are My Only Sunshine"

Two Months Later – Late March

Panama City Beach, Florida

Brooke

A sharp pain woke me at 2:17 am on a Saturday.

"Um, Luke?" I murmured, shaking his shoulder.

"What?" he mumbled, barely stirring. "I'm sleeping."

"I think I'm having contractions," I whispered, knowing that would get his attention.

He shot up out of bed and onto his feet. "What?! Contractions?! But it's not time yet!" he exclaimed, grabbing his sweatpants and hopping around the room in an attempt to put them on and help me out of bed at the same time.

"Calm down, Luke," I said calmly. "Dr. Young said it could happen anytime between last week at the appointment and the due date. It's going to be fine. We just need to get to the hospital," I assured him.

He took a deep breath and held his hands out in front of him. "Okay, I'm calm." He pulled a t-shirt over his head and helped me out of bed. I smiled at him and put my hands on his cheeks.

"Luke, this is it. We're finally going to be parents," I whispered. "It's really happening."

He grinned and pulled me to him, kissing me gently. "All right, baby. Let's do this."

***

Fifteen and a half long hours later, I was pushing one more time, and after that last push, I heard the sweetest sound to ever grace my ears – my daughter's cries.

I barely saw Luke cut the umbilical cord, barely felt the pain that was radiating through every part of my body, barely noticed the tears rolling down my cheeks.

I couldn't believe that our daughter was finally here – the rainbow after the storm we had endured during my dark days. The storm that my recklessness and bad decisions had caused.

As the doctor placed our daughter in my arms, I looked up at Luke as he sat next to me on the bed, and felt my heart expand.

He kissed me on the temple and then put his palm across our daughter's forehead, smiling at the shock of black hair she'd been born with.

"What are we going to name her?" I asked softly. We had said we wanted to wait and meet her before we settled on a name.

Luke smiled and brushed his thumb against my cheek. "She looks just like you, Brooke... what if we use Lillian? Plus, wasn't that your mom's middle name too?"

A tear fell down my cheek and I nodded. "Yes. I'd like that... What about Lillian Jane? That way she's named after both of our moms."

Luke grinned. "Lillian Jane Salazar. Perfect. This is perfect."

And it was.

Tallahassee, Florida

Rachel

"What!? The baby came already?!" I yelped, jumping up out of my chair at the library, scaring Alex, making him jump in his seat.

"Yes, Rachel, calm down," Luke was saying, but I was too excited.

"Is the baby okay? Brooke? Did you make it through without passing out?" I teased.

He laughed. "Everyone is fine. And no, I didn't pass out, thank you very much," he responded. "Brooke is asking for you," he said, and I grinned.

"I'm leaving the library right now," I said, gathering my laptop and books, shoving them in my backpack. "I'll be there in a few hours!"

I ended the call and put my phone in my pocket. "My niece is here!" I exclaimed, and Alex grinned.

"That's great, Rach." Alex checked his watch. "It's a little late, Rachel. Be careful on your way to Panama City," he cautioned.

"I will. I've made this drive a thousand times. It'll be fine," I promised, throwing my backpack over my shoulder and picking up my purse.

"All right. But let me walk you to your car," he insisted, putting his laptop in his backpack and standing up.

I smiled. "Okay, but hurry up," I said, darting out of the study room we'd been in and down the stairs to the lobby.

When we got to my Camaro, I told Alex bye and got in, putting the key in the ignition.

But nothing happened when I turned the key.

"What the fuck?" I murmured, trying again. Nothing.

I opened the door and called for Alex, who was walking to his car. "What is it?" he asked as he jogged over.

"My car won't start!" I groaned, leaning against the back door.

"Oh, shit," he said, holding out his hand for the keys. "Let me have a look."

Ten minutes later he closed the hood and scrunched his nose. "It's not the battery, which is the only easy fix here. I think it's the alternator."

I didn't know much about cars, but I knew that wasn't something that could be fixed right now.

"Damnit!" I exclaimed, kicking my tire. "What am I gonna do now?"

"Can you take Miles' Jeep?" he suggested. "I can take you to your apartment."

I shook my head. "Parker and Jessica took it on a camping trip this weekend."

Alex stood there a moment and shrugged. "I'll take you," he offered.

"No, I can't ask you to do that," I said, shaking my head.

"It's really fine, Rach. I don't have anything to do tomorrow. We were all but finished with that project. Otherwise, how are you gonna get there? The bus?"

I sighed and looked at my car one more time. "All right, Alex. Thank you," I said, smiling at him.

"No problem," he said, reaching in the car and grabbing my backpack and purse, putting them on my shoulders.

I smiled, and we headed to his car, and I actually didn't feel weird about it; maybe things were normal between us again after all.

Panama City Beach, Florida

Holding my niece, Lillian Jane, for the first time was one of the best moments of my life. She was so beautiful – a perfect mix of Brooke and Luke. I had no doubt that she would grow into an incredible young woman in every way one day, but for now, I just basked in the glow of her newborn innocence and beauty.

Alex waited in the lobby while I went up to Brooke's hospital room, and when she asked me if my drive was all right, I shrugged and attempted to change the subject.

"What? What's this that you're doing here, Rachel?" she waved her free hand in front of me, the other holding Lillian to her breast.

"What do you mean? Nothing!" I said, shaking my head. "The drive was fine. Nothing unusual at all."

Brooke glared at me. "What happened?"

I sighed and looked at the ceiling. "Ugh, fine. When I got in the car to come here, it wouldn't start. Alex and I were doing a project at the library when Luke called, so he had walked me to my car – see, he promised Miles he would watch out for me and – "

Brooke cut me off. "Rachel. Get to the point."

I rolled my eyes. "The Camaro's alternator is out. Parker and Jessica took Miles' Jeep camping. I had to get here somehow. Alex drove me. He's downstairs right now." I said in a mechanical robotic voice.

"Smart ass," she muttered, kicking me gently. Then she cocked an eyebrow. "Alex drove you here. Alex, the guy that tried to kiss you... the guy Miles hates."

I crossed my arms and turned to face her. "Miles and Alex made nice at the Christmas party. And Alex apologized for that. He's been a perfect gentleman ever since. There's nothing weird going on here, Brooke. Trust me, please?"

Brooke pursed her lips and finally nodded. "Fine. I trust you. But I would like to meet him," she said, but then she dropped it, thank God. "Did you get to talk to Miles?" she asked.

I shook my head. "We have a Skype call scheduled for Tuesday, so I can tell him then. He was the first person I wanted to call, though. Where are Luke's parents? And Katherine?" I asked, looking around.

"They took Luke out to get some real food. They're bringing me some back, and then we are going home in the morning," she said, rubbing her stomach.

Just then a nurse came in. "Are you ready to try feeding, Ms. Kane?" she asked.

I stood up and kissed Brooke on the forehead. "I'll leave you alone to do this, honey. I'll come back by before we go back to Tallahassee, okay?"

"All right, Rachel. Thank you for coming. I love you."

"I love you too, B." I leaned down and kissed Lillian on the top of the head and with a final smile, I left the room.

When I got back to the lobby, I found Alex slumped down in a chair, his legs straight out in front of him, his head propped on his fist, sound asleep.

I grinned and nudged the bottom of his foot gently with mine. He blinked and yawned. "Ah, sorry, I must've dozed off."

"You're fine. I was up there awhile. The nurse came in to help with feeding, so I had to leave. Are you hungry?" I asked, clutching my stomach.

He nodded and stretched his arms over his head. "Yeah. Let's go get some food."

I nodded. "Then we can come back, I can see Luke and then we can go back home. Sound good?"

"Yep, sounds perfect," he said. "What about IHOP?"

"Pancakes, yes!" I exclaimed, and he laughed.

***

Two hours and too many pancakes later, we returned to the hospital and ran directly into Luke as we came through the automatic doors.

"Luke!" I exclaimed, wrapping him in a hug. "Congratulations, Dad!"

He hugged me back and grinned. "Thanks, Rach. Isn't she perfect?" he asked.

"She is, Luke. She's flawless."

He looked over and noticed Alex for the first time. "Hello," he said, a little awkwardly, looking at me for information.

"Oh!" I said. "This is Alex. Alex, this is Miles' brother and my friend, Luke."

"Hey man," Alex said, sticking out his hand in greeting. "I'm Rachel's friend from class."

Recognition crossed Luke's face as he shook Alex's hand, and I prayed silently that he would keep his mouth shut.

"Ah! Alex, okay, nice to put a face with the name," Luke said, and I flared my nostrils as I stared him down. "Rachel has told us about you," he said, and I relaxed.

Alex smiled. "Well, same, for sure. She talks about you and Brooke all the time. Congrats on the baby," he said.

Luke grinned at the mention of Lillian. "Thank you. I was just going to grab Brooke's drink out of the car. Can't forget the Dr. Pepper. Walk with me, Rachel?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"All – all right, sure," I agreed. "Alex, just wait here, I'll be back."

He nodded and sat back down in the same chair he had occupied earlier.

I followed Luke outside and he looked at me curiously. "Explain," he said simply.

I rolled my eyes. "My car broke down. I needed a ride. He was at the library with me when you called. We were working on a project."

"Isn't this the guy that came onto you at the bar that night?" he asked, dipping his brow.

"Yes. But that was a long time ago. We're past that now," I insisted.

He nodded. "Maybe so, but how would Miles feel about this?"

I cocked my head to the side. "Come on, Luke. That's not fair."

"Maybe it isn't, but you can't tell me he'd be okay with this."

"He and Alex came to an understanding at Christmas, before Miles left," I said, but I knew Luke was right. It didn't matter how civil they'd been –Miles would be pissed.

Luke shook his head. "Just tread carefully, Rachel."

I scowled. "Luke, what are you saying?"

"I'm saying that I understand it's hard on you with Miles being gone... just..." He took a deep breath. "Just don't get carried away."

I rolled my eyes. "I would never, ever cheat on Miles. Just because..." I stopped and shook my head before I said something I'd regret. "Just trust me, Luke."

He grabbed the soda out of the car and stuck it in his back pocket. "Fine. But if that fucker tries anything else, I'll gladly stand in for Miles and kick his ass."

I laughed. "Deal. Now come on, Luke. Let's go inside."

Fallujah, Iraq

Miles

"Heads up!" Dale shouted from the crane he was operating. The soldiers standing near the edge of the bridge moved and he placed the last beam.

It was almost the end of the workday, and only a few of us were left at the job site. We were almost done with this bridge, and the boss wanted us to get it done before we went back to camp for the night.

Dale climbed down from the crane, and we cleaned up the site, getting ready to leave.

The next thing that happened occurred in slow motion.

The explosion was deafening, the flames blistering hot – red, orange, and yellow.

Then, everything was black.