AJ woke up sometime after 8 to find Mikayla absent from the bed. He got up and pulled on his shorts, heading downstairs to find her. He saw her sitting on the patio in a lounge chair overlooking the water. He walked out to join her. As he approached, he saw her grasping the arms of the chair breathing deeply.

"Baby, you OK?" he said, as he put his hand on her shoulder.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said, smiling up at him. "Today is the day we're going to meet this little one, AJ."

AJ's eyes grew huge and he knelt beside her.

"Are you sure?" he asked, fear clearly in his voice. "I mean, you're sure you're in labor?"

She smiled and nodded her head.

He kissed her and ran his hand down her cheek. Another pain hit, and she closed her eyes, resting her head against his shoulder. After it ended, he helped her up. They walked around the gardens for awhile, stopping occasionally for her to hold on to his shoulders while another pain came and went. He was amazed at how calm she was, and how she was tolerating this thing that had to be incredibly painful. She had to be the bravest woman he knew. After a few hours of increasingly painful contractions, Mikayla had AJ call the midwife, who arrived very quickly. After a quick exam, the midwife told Mikayla she was ready to have the baby as soon as she felt the urge.

Within minutes, Mikayla's baby girl entered the world, screaming at the top of her lungs.

"Oh my God, Mikayla," AJ whispered, then covered his mouth with his hand. Tears were brimming over in his eyes. It was the only thing he could say as the midwife placed the baby on Mikayla's chest. Mikayla looked up and smiled. She could see that he was touched by this baby already, and she was glad..

"So what are we going to name her, AJ?" Mikayla asked, still smiling.

"I don't know. I mean... should I even... Don't you think you should name her?"

"Well, I want you to help me," she said. "Just think of some names and we can decide later."

"Ok," he said, still not sure.

The midwife's assistant cleaned and wrapped the baby while the midwife attended to Mikayla. She brought the baby to AJ and asked if he would like to hold her. AJ carefully took the baby from the woman's hands and cradled the new life in his arms. As he looked down into her sweet little face, he smiled. She had dark hair like her mother,deep blue eyes, and the tiniest little fingers AJ had ever seen. He could feel his heart melting when she looked up at him with those puffy little eyes. He walked around the house with the baby, singing softly, until she fell asleep in his arms.

Mikayla's friend, Karina, arrived an hour later. She walked in the front door without knocking, which was her usual custom. She saw AJ standing in the living room, looking out the french doors at the ocean, baby in his arms.

"You're a natural," she said softly, walking up behind him. He turned to her and smiled.

"She's perfect," he whispered.

"Does she have a name yet?" Karina asked, pulling the blanket back so she could see the baby's face.

"Well, I have one in mind, but I think I'd better run it by her mommy first," AJ said, smiling.

"Where is she, anyway?" Karina asked. AJ directed her to one of the bedrooms, where the midwife was finishing up. Karina entered quietly and stood at the back of the room until the midwife left. Mikayla was exhausted, but welcomed her friend.

"Hey, babe," Karina said. "So, do you feel like you've squeezed a watermelon out of your twizzie?"

"Oh yeah. Feels more like I squeezed a BMW out of it," Mikayla laughed.

"I saw AJ with the baby," Karina said quietly. "Girl, what are you going to do if he's not that baby's daddy?"

"I don't know," Mikayla said, looking away.

"Well, you'd better figure it out, cause she doesn't look a damned thing like him. Hell, she's got blue eyes!" Karina whispered.

"You don't know that, Karina. She's just an hour old. We have no idea what she's going to look like. I mean, all babies have blue eyes. I guess we'll do the paternity test within the next week or so. I'm so scared. What am I going to do?"

Karina went to her friend and hugged her. Mikayla put her head on Karina's shoulder and cried. AJ entered the room a few minutes later and witnessed Mikayla's weeping.

"Oh, don't mind me," she said, trying to smile at him. "Just hormones."

AJ sat down on the bed beside her and gave her the baby. Mikayla looked down at her sweet baby girl's face. As soon as she looked at the baby, she knew who her father was. She didn't even need the test to tell her. Tears began to stream down her face.

"What's wrong, baby?" AJ asked softly, putting his arm around her shoulders.

"Nothing. I'm just... overwhelmed, I guess." she answered, trying to stop crying. She put her head on AJ's shoulder and tried to collect herself.

"Well, I have a name for our... I mean your baby," he said softly.

"Ok, let's hear it," she said, waiting eagerly.

"Well, she's so perfect. I wanted her to have a name that would match her beauty. I think we should call her Lyric," he said, smiling brightly.

"Lyric..." Mikayla repeated. "That's perfect, AJ."