The next day, Savannah and my family all decided to make a special trip to the hospital to see us and should be arriving shortly. Savannah and I briefly spoke on the phone, and Xiu couldn't make it simply because she still has a couple of days left of classes.

The wedding is going to be held in June, next month, and Xiu obviously won't be in school anymore so she'll be there for it.

Alex obviously wanted to get some rest after going through almost fifteen hours of labor, and is still peacefully sleeping. Yesterday, I witnessed the most incredible thing ever. Alex was suffering, she went through hours of agonizing pain, doubted her strength and nearly gave up multiple times.

Rosie is so much more beautiful and perfect than I could've imagined, and I'm so lucky to have her as my daughter. I'm indebted to Alex, because she went through all of that, and I did nothing. I lean over in the chair, kissing her forehead carefully before staring intently at her.

She's still shows obvious signs of fatigue like the bags underneath her eyes. Alex's body is wrapped up in the blanket, and I notice some dried tears or sweat still coating the side of her face. The hospital gown has some dried blood and spots from where Alex's breast leaked after she stopped feeding Rosie.

Suddenly, the door opens and I see Elijah, Jordan, and Jessica standing there. They all have their uniforms on, so I know that they took a break from working.

"Hey! How'd you guys find out what room we were in?" I ask in a whisper so that I don't wake up Alex.

"One of the nurses that Jordan has been flirting with told us." Elijah says, and I scoff.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot that he's been on and off with a couple of nurses.

They quietly enter the room, and Jessica smiles at Alex's sleeping body.

"How long was she in labor for?" She curiously asks.

"Almost fifteen hours, all natural. I was there for every second." I reply, beginning smile at Alex.

"Man, she's a fucking trooper. I would've just had a c-section. I can't imagine a baby coming out of my dick." Jordan exclaims, and I chuckle.

The image of Jordan screaming hysterically as a baby is coming out of his genitals makes me nearly guffaw, but I can't because Alex and Rosie are sleeping.

"You're funny." I say, snickering.

One of the many reasons why I'm friends with Jordan is because of his sense of humor. For some reason, the vulgarity really makes me laugh. With him being somewhat immature, seeing him in such a dour and serious environment like the hospital is surprising to a lot of people.

"Where's the baby?" Elijah asks, and I point over to her crib.

Jessica gasps before slowly approaching the crib. We all walk over to look at her, and Rosie is all bundled up in her pink blanket and beanie. I lean down to give her a quick kiss on the cheek, and she squirms before returning to her state of stillness.

"She's so cute! What's her name?" Jessica asks.

"Rosie Natalia Peterson."

"She looks so much like you, man." Elijah says, and his smile brightens his eyes.

"Yeah, she does have a lot of my features. But, she has a lot of her mom in her. The mouth and definitely her eyes." I say.

"She's so beautiful. Congratulations." Jessica replies, throwing her arms around me.

As they all begin to congratulate me, I hear a quiet whimper, and it progressively turns into crying. The brief celebration is short lived, and I pick her up and hold her close to my chest.

"Shh, it's okay. Don't cry." I whisper, but her crying continues.

I'm already prepared for the restless nights that Alex and I will be spending because we'll be watching over Rosie nonstop. I'm ready for the diaper changing, messes to clean, I'm just ready for everything that comes with being a father.

I know that I can do this. Especially with Alex by my side.

There is one disadvantage to this, though.

I wish that my father was here to experience this huge life change with me. He would've gotten to meet his granddaughter, watch her grow, play with her, experience things that all grandfathers get to do. He would've been able to help me if I ever get confused, but he can't.

Hopefully I'll be able to hear his voice in my mind, and it'll echo whenever I need it the most. Plus, I can just remember all of the lessons that he taught me as a way of being a successful parent to my first child.

Rosie will definitely get told about my father.

Just because he isn't here doesn't mean that she can't learn about him or hear about how excellent of a man he was to me and everyone else who knew him.

I come back to reality when Rosie's crying intensifies, and I continue to sway and rock her.

"Rosie, what's the matter?" I ask.

Jordan puts a finger to Rosie's mouth, shushing her. This only causes her to get more upset, and I frown at him.

"Get your fingers off of my daughters face, dude! I don't know where your finger has been!" I jokingly say, and he laughs before wiggling his eyebrows.

"Well, see—" He starts, and my eyes widen.

Jordan works at a hospital, yet isn't very clean. Oh, the irony.

"What the hell? Did you just—" I exclaim, but he laughs.

"Once I was finished with her I washed my hands." Jordan says nonchalantly.

Elijah and Jessica throw him some disgusted looks, and I give him one as well.

Did he just finger a nurse and proceed to put his finger on Rosie's fucking face?!

"Are you fu—," I stop myself so that I don't curse in front of Rosie. "Are you serious?!"

I know I sound hypocritical because I've definitely done it a copious amount of times with Alex, not only because she enjoys it, but I get the thrill off of it, too. But, it's not like I go around wiping my hands on someone's face after I finger her.

"Chill! I was kidding, I haven't even passed second base with that nurse."

"Second base? What, are we in seventh grade again?" Elijah asks with furrowed brows, and I chuckle.

Elijah has a bit more sense than Jordan, when it comes to being mature. Obviously, at the party, he's carefree and has the mindset of a teenager, which Jordan has all of the time. Jessica, however, is more levelheaded.

Normally, you'd think that a place full of doctors, physicians, specialists, and nurses would be a bit more devoid of any lightheartedness and that we're all phlegmatic and stark, but we're actually really fun people.

"Jordan, you're so disgusting sometimes." Jessica retorts.

"Yeah, it's apart of my charm. Thanks for the reminder, though." He replies sardonically.

I turn around, and I see Alex beginning to wake up. I instantly feel bad because she deserves all of the sleep she could get because she just went through a lot. She sits up, and rubs her eyes before focusing on Rosie and I.

"Good morning." Alex says groggily before giving me a small smile.

"Afternoon. You slept through the morning." I say, smiling back at her.

I walk over to the bed, stooping down to give her a kiss. I use my free hand to hand Alex the cup of crushed ice, and she thanks me. She chews it noisily, causing Elijah to cringe slightly.

Elijah can't stand the sound of people chewing because he has misophonia. I know that he can't help it, but I find it funny how the sound of certain things can tick him off easily, but being a neurosurgeon doesn't intimidate him whatsoever.

I love finding the irony in things.

"Hey guys." Alex says semi-bashfully.

They all greet her back, and congratulate her. I lean down, carefully easing Rosie into Alex's arms.

"Aww, what's wrong?" Alex asks, and Rosie begins to fuss.

"I guess she's a bit cranky."

"A bit?" Jordan says, and Jessica nudges him in his side.

Alex exposes her breast, and places Rosie's mouth over it so that she can be fed. I stand in a position so that Elijah and Jordan can't see her breasts.

Rosie no longer cries, and is already about to fall back asleep as she continues to drink the milk. Alex smiles at her, and she caresses Rosie's chubby cheeks. I already can tell that Alex is already an excellent mom, and I'm so proud of her.

Damn, words can't describe how proud I am.

"She just wanted to be fed, that's all." Alex says, and I smile.

"You're so good with her."

Alex just continues to smile, and I sit on the edge of the bed and continue to watch one of the first moments of mother and daughter bonding.

"How are you?" I ask.

"Why do you ask?" She replies, looking puzzled.

"Well, you just shoved a baby out of your vagina. You were in a lot of pain, and I'm just trying to make sure that my fiancée is okay." I say, placing my hand on her knee.

"I'm okay, really. Plus, I'm getting my placenta made into pills so I'll be getting a lot of nutrients from it." Alex informs me.

"I didn't think that you'd want to do that." I reply, shocked.

"Why wouldn't I? While you were busy cutting the cord, one of the nurses asked me and I told her that I was okay with it."

I nod, taking in the information as Alex feeds it to me. I completely support her wanting to encapsulate her placenta, because there's a plethora of health benefits that she's going to get from it.

Not only do I want Rosie to be healthy, but I want Alex to be, too.

"I really wish you guys the best." Jessica says, and we both smile.

She walks over, hugging Alex and I before exiting the room. Jordan and Elijah do the same before saying goodbye and then leaving as well.

"Rosie really does look like you." Alex says softly.

"She looks more like you than me, baby. She's possessed all of the beauty that you passed down to her." I say, and her cheeks redden.

Rosie is already just like her mother. Beautiful.

A few minutes later, the door opens and I see Savannah stick her head in before completely entering the room. Alex is about to get up to hug her, but Savannah walks over so that Alex doesn't have to stand.

"Hey, Mommy!" Savannah says playfully, and Alex's chuckle is muffled.

Savannah gasps when she sees Rosie, and she placed a hand over her heart.

"Aww! She's so adorable!" She squeals.

"Yeah, she's obviously a mixture of both Rian and I, but he thinks that she looks more like me. What do you think, Vannah?" Alex asks, and her smile widens.

"She really does. Man, I wish Xiu was here for this." She adds, and Alex nods.

"Yeah, but she'll get to see Rosie when she's finally out of school and comes back to Cali for the summer." Alex whispers, and I notice that Rosie is completely asleep.

"This is so fucking cute! I need to get a picture of the three of you." Savannah excitedly implores.

Alex and I pose together, smiling brightly for Savannah while she holds her phone up. She turns it around so that Alex and I can see it, and Alex shakes her head.

"God, no! I look awful." She says, pretending to vomit, but I frown.

"What? You look great." I say, and Savannah nods in agreement.

Savannah takes another picture, and Alex approves this time. The door opens again, and I see Brendan followed by Vanessa and my mom. Savannah's cheeks redden, and Alex completely ignores it and beckons to my mother. They hug, and she stares in astonishment at the baby.

"Baby, I'm so happy for you." Mom says, nearly on the verge of happy tears.

"Thanks, Mom. It's so nice to see you here."

"Of course I'd be here! You just had your first child, and can I just add that Alex looks amazing? I wish I looked that good when I gave birth." Mom exclaims, and Alex chuckles.

"Thank you! Although, I don't feel so amazing. I've been feeling exhausted and like everything inside of me has been ripped out." Alex finally admits.

There it is.

I knew that she was feeling normal, but I could tell that she wasn't going to tell me exactly how she felt because I tend to worry a lot about her.

"Every woman feels that way after giving birth. I know I did." Mom says with a chuckle.

"I'm gonna take my placenta pills so that I don't feel that way anymore."

"I wish I had done that. I went through that feeling three times." Mom sighs, and I can tell that she's reminiscing.

I remember after she gave birth to Vanessa, she fell into postpartum depression. My mother just wasn't the same for a while, and we all worried about her. Once it ended, I was extremely glad because I hated seeing my mother so irritable and unlike her usual happy self.

While Alex and my mother continue to talk, I notice that Brendan is still talking to Savannah and hasn't even bothered to congratulate us. I stand up, and I clear my throat so that it breaks them from their conversation.

"Hey, man! Congrats on the baby!" Brendan exclaims, giving me a quick hug.

"Yeah, I was wondering when you were going to congratulate us, but I see that—"

"Yeah, Savannah just caught my attention and stopped me in my tracks." Brendan says, and he gives her a small wink and wicked grin.

I throw up in my mouth a little, and I walk over to Vanessa who is taking multiple pictures on her phone. She zooms in on just Alex and Rosie, cutting our mother out of the photo. Once she's done taking the picture, she gives me a tight hug.

"I'm so glad that I'm an aunt." She says, and I smile.

"You'll be the greatest aunt ever. I promise that you guys will see her as much as possible."

"I'll travel up to San Francisco to see little Rosie. She's so precious." Vanessa says, clapping her hands with excitement.

Everyone gets to hold Rosie, and they all still seem to be in awe that Alex and I are parents now. It's definitely going to take some time to adjust to parenthood, but I know that Alex and I are going to be great.

Thinking of how much my life has changed in the past year really is mind blowing. I've definitely gained a lot of positives. Alex, Rosie, being engaged, and now being a father. Losing my father and watching my family have a breakdown was one of the most rough things I've ever witnessed, but I'm okay now.

Dad wouldn't want me to waste the rest of my life being depressed over him.

Yes, there are days when I think about it, but I can't let it consume me for the rest of my days. Especially now that I have a daughter to take care of.

While we all get the chance to talk and celebrate, a nurse walks in to check on Alex's vitals. I take Rosie from her arms and carefully put her back in the crib and watch her sleep. I feel someone tap my shoulder, and I see Brendan.

"I still can't believe my little brother is a baby daddy now." He says jokingly, and I nudge him.

"You better believe it." I reply, and he laughs.

"In all seriousness, I really am happy for you and Alex." Brendan says, and we hug.

"Thanks, man."

As the nurse exits the room, someone else comes in, and Alex's jaw drops.

"Laura?"

She launches up from the bed, hugging her tightly. The two hold each other like it's the last time they'll ever see each other, and Alex almost begins to cry.

"It's so good to see you." Alex sighs, holding on tighter.

"I know, and I'm sorry that I haven't seen you in person for so many years. FaceTime and Skype just isn't the same." Laura says, smiling at Alex once they separate.

"It's okay. I know that you've been traveling the world with your job, so there's no time to come and see me." Alex says.

"Still, I could've taken some time off to see how you and everyone else is doing."

They look at each other intently, studying their features.

"Man, you've grown up so much since I've been gone. I remember how short you were and how squeaky your voice used to be." Laura says with a giggle.

"Puberty happened," Alex says, chuckling. "A lot has changed."

Laura turns around, and her eyes bug out of her head when she sees Savannah.

"Savannah! Damn, everybody's grown up since I was in college, huh?" Laura says, and Savannah laughs before hugging her.

"Yep! It's nice to see you, Laura. I think I was in seventh grade the last time I saw you." Savannah replies.

"You're still friends with my sister?" Laura asks.

"Of course! So is Xiu, but she's in New York for school so she couldn't make it. Ever since you left for college and since your father passed, Xiu and I have been there for Alex." Savannah explains.

Alex's facial expression turns grim, and so does Laura's. Both of them really have suffered since the death of their dad, especially Alex.

"Oh, God. Was Mom still hurting you?" Laura asks, understandably concerned for her sister.

"Ever since Dad died, it just got worse. You were away in college, and Caleb and Spencer were still too young to know what was going on and—" Alex pauses, and horror covers her entire face.

"What's wrong, Alex?" I ask.

"Caleb and Spencer are our little brothers. What if she started abusing them, too?" Alex asks, becoming frantic.

"I've gotten a hold of her, they're okay. She told me that she tried to bond with you but you won't let her." Laura says, and Alex's eyes instantly turn cold.

"If she had abused you for more than six years, you'd understand why." Alex retorts, and she sits back down on the bed.

The awkward silence lasts for a few seconds before Alex sighs while shaking her head. I walk over to her, kissing her cheek. Laura smiles at us before holding out her hand for me to shake.

"This is the famous Rian Peterson, huh? I'm Laura, Alex's older sister."

"Nice to meet you." I say politely, giving her hand a quick shake.

"You treat my sister right? Alex is one of the most important people to me, and if you ever do anything to hurt her—"

I'm assuming that she knows about Austin and how much he hurt Alex, which is why she's saying these things to me.

"Laura, chill! Rian has done the complete opposite of that, so you don't have to worry. He's the one who took me into his place when the beatings were getting out of control." Alex admits, and Laura's eyebrows shoot up.

"I couldn't just let her sit there after being attacked by your mother, I had to do something. The thought of her having to go back and continue to get abused made me sick, so I took her in." I explain, and Laura smiles.

"Good. I used to be overprotective and tougher on Alex, and when I left I was worried sick."

We all were worried about her.

My sister in-law shouldn't think bad of me, because I'm the one who helped Alex regain her strength.

I've been there for her ever since that night I took her to my flat.

I always will be.