The hospital room had that awful vomit-inducing smell of medicinebut I couldn’t care less. All I could think about was that I was holding my healthy, beautiful daughter and looking at her amazing mismatched eyes - one blue and one... green - the same shade as that of my mother-in-law’s. Which reminded me:

“I called your parents; your father is busy but your mother is coming over tomorrow afternoon.”

Alex groaned from her position on the bed.

“I still can't believe our daughter inherited her eye color. Well, at least it’s only in one of her eyes.”

Boris’s death had set a gap between Alexandra and her parents. Even now, many years later, they still weren’t the same family they’d been before the tragedy. Becoming an only child to them, her parents had had high expectations of her, even hoping she’d enter into politics like her father. But Alex had chosen a different career path. What disappointed them even more was the fact that we got together and we stayed together. When the two of us married, her father tried his best to put up with me whereas her mother… Let’s just say there was still a long way to go before that woman warmed up to me. When we’d announced we’d gotten engaged she outright accused Alex of accepting my proposal simply to vex her. Alex had looked her straight in the eyes and had calmly explained that even though that was not the reason, it did add extra pleasure to the occasion.

We heard a knock on the door and turned our heads just in time to see Angel come in the room. He had followed his father's footsteps and became a dance instructor. He and Alex opened a studio right after graduation and now, four years later, it was a huge success. Due to his big break, Angel’s mom was able to quit one of her jobs and get a much more relaxed schedule at the other as well as spend more time with her children.

“Have you chosen a name for her?” Our best friend inquired, gazing with such love at the baby in my hands as if she was his own.

“Angelica. We thought it's suitable; you are her Godfather after all.”

We had unanimously chosen Angel for that role; he was a loving and caring person and we knew we could entrust our precious child to him. Danny and Tarra were also a good choice and had the advantage of being married to each other, but they had moved to Boston to get their business degrees and were now starting work at Tara's father's company which was situated there. Angel on the other hand was still in town and that suited Alex and me just fine; we really wanted our child to grow up close to her Godfather. He had yet to tie the knot with his long term Russian girlfriend who worked at the local Art Gallery. Speaking of her...

“How is Galya?”

“She's on her way here. Couldn't wait to see this little bundle of joy,” he replied in a sing-song voice, tickling the baby gently and making her laugh.

“We didn't inconvinience her today, did we?” I knew the girl was pretty busy these days.

“You two can never inconvinience either of us... Well, you three, I should probably say. And don't worry; they'll survive without her for a few hours. It's not like they're getting anything new untill Thursday. To be honest I'm a bit anxious about the upcoming shipment. The Art Gallery is getting several works from a promising new artist - Caden Kavanah. He and Galya both used to study at the Vermont Arts Academy. I really like his pieces and I'm excited about one in particular that is called“Life”. It depicts a beautiful brunette with gorgeous green eyes... Actually, almost everything in the painting is different shades of green and the girlseems to emerge from the ground itself, as if she’s part of the nature surrounding her. She must be the artist’s muse because I've seen a cathalog of his work and she's present in a lot of his creations,” he stated, rummaging through his bag. He took out a leaflet and gave it to Alex and me to look at.It was a compilation of multiple pictures, all of them with the same signature at the bottom. “I couldn't help but notice that whenever she's modeling his paintings always have this air of intimacy to them.”

“Perhaps she's his girlfriend,” Alex mused out loud. “She looks strangely familiar; I feel like I've seen her somewhere...”

She didn’t have time to ponder on that as three new faces walked into the room: Kevin, Devon and his sister Payton.

“Where’s my little niece?” Payton barged in without even greeting us, her British accent as strong as her brother’s.

“Niece?” I repeated, moving backwards so the overexcited girl couldn’t get to my baby.

“Well, your wife is like a sister to me so your daughter is kind of my niece,” she shot back. “Now give me the baby!”

“Not until you calm down, Payton!” I declared and she pouted.

“In the mean time, come and greet your kind of a sister,” Alex butted in and the two brunettes hugged.

“If Payton can’t hold the baby, can I?” The much cooler Devon queried.

“Hey, hey! She,” Kevin pointed at my child, “is my niece. If anybody gets to snuggle that baby, it would be me!”

“And you’ll drop her in less than a minute,” Payton, who never missed a chance to rag him, sneered.

Kevin glared at her and with a “Oh, shut up, Pay!” gently took the baby off my hands.

“So what’s her name?” Devon inquired, just as the little girl grabbed one of his fingers with her tiny hand.

“It’s Angelica,” Alex replied, making her cousin frown.

“Couldn’t you pick something starting with a K? You deprived me of being her Godfather, you could’ve at least named her something with a K,” he muttered the second sentence yet we all heard him.

“Oh, get over it already! You are still her uncle, Kev. Besides, Angelica suits her,” Payton affirmed, leaning over the baby.

“You named her after Angel?” A new voice joined our conversation.

“Hey!” My best friend left my side and meet his girlfriend halfway, greeting her with a kiss.

“They are so cute,” Devon stated. It didn’t escape my notice that he took the opportunity to check Angel out.

“They are sweet,” Payton started, “but they get on too well. Just like that Tara-Danny pair: they almost never argue. What is the fun in a relationship if you don’t piss off each other every now and then? It helps get rid of the monotony.”

“If your idea of flirting is making fun of people, you’ll die alone,” replied my wife’s cousin.

Alex and I exchanged a look. We both knew Kevin had a thing for Payton even though he used to be her favorite pranking target when they were kids; we knew just as well that the reason she jested with him so often was because Payton had a thing for Kevin.

“And what are you all doing here?” A middle-aged woman in a nurse uniform scolded. “Shoo, shoo all of you! The mother and the child need rest.”

One by one our friends reluctantly dragged themselves out of the hospital room but not before kissing Alex goodbye and cooing at our baby.

“And you?” The strict-looking nurse addressed me.

“I’m the father,” I reminded her, giving her a warning glare just in case she was delusional enough to think she can wave me off like the rest.

“Then I’m sure you wouldn’t mind your wife and daughter getting some sleep,” she went on, completely unabashed. “And don’t you glare at me, handsome; you are not the first father I kick out! Besides, you are still smiling at your baby and that kind of ruins the effect.”

I laughed, realizing the nurse was right: the smile had not left my face ever since Kevin put my daughter back into my arms as he was leaving.

“Five minutes,” the nurse announced as she headed for the door. “I’ll be back in five minutes and these two better be on their own by then!”

“Pushy, isn’t she,” Alex commented once we saw the nurse’s back.

“Yeah, but I guess she’s got a point.” I handed her the baby. The sight of the two most precious for me people – my wife and my daughter, melted my heart. How was I to leave them even for a few hours so that they could rest? Maybe I could stay here; I’d keep quiet and just watch them, making sure nothing disturbs their dreams.

“I don’t see why all the staff is fussing over me; I’m fine.”

“It was a difficult birth, Alex, for both you and the child.” I frowned, remembering those long hours during delivery when I could do nothing but wait while Alex was alone with the doctors and nurses. Once the baby came into this world a very tired-looking nurse, the same one that shooed at me now, came and announced that there were complications but both my wife and daughter were no longer in danger. They did not allow me to see them for some time and someone was constantly observing them for a while. Back then, I thought this nurse to be sympathetic as she updated me regularly on what was going on with my family.

“But I gave birth days ago,” Alex protested, pulling me out of my thoughts.

“Kitten,” I started a talk we had had before. “The doctors said you should stay here in the hospital and do nothing. And I’m going to make sure you do just that, no matter how bored you get.”

I kissed her on the forehead, attempting to appease her.

“Don’t think that the nickname is going to make me all soft and mushy,” she commented sternly but hid a smile. I knew how much she liked me calling her that. “I’m fine now and so is Angelica.”

“Well, she’s a fighter. Just like her mom.”

“And like her dad,” Alex replied, no longer being able to contain that heart-warming smile.

Think you’ll miss the characters? Want more of them? Then read Last A/N to Here We Go Again to learn about the upcoming one-shots and short stories featuring them!