^“Ellie,” Andre says as he walks into the room, and I look over at him. Our daughter is in my arms, fast asleep. Todd has gone to the shop downstairs to get some things and call Jude, to see if she can pop to our house and get my bag I packed for the hospital, full of baby clothes and things for me.

“Andre,” I say, my voice dripping with relief to see him here and that he is okay. The last time I saw him was when he ran into the club, to help Todd. Despite knowing he got out, I still needed to see him. He walks over and kisses my forehead as he looks down at our baby. There’s silence in the room as he looks down at her, and I watch as he runs his finger across her cheek. His eyes don’t move from his baby, not for a long time. He doesn’t need to tell me how he feels, I can see it from the look he’s giving her.

“You have no idea how long I’ve waited to meet you. How many dreams I’ve had of you. You’re so perfect, and I may have missed your birth, but that’s the only thing I’m going to miss in your life. I’m going to be there to scare the boys away who talk to you and wipe away the tears when you fall over. I will be there, my little girl. I will always be there for you and your mum,” Andre whispers, and I take a deep breath, holding in the urge to cry at his sweet words.

“She looks like you. I’m so sorry I wasn’t with you when she came,” Andre says quietly, not wanting to wake her up. I don’t think she looks like me, but all the guys are saying it, even the midwives. I just had an awkward conversation with them about the guys, explaining that they are all her dads. They didn’t seem happy and looked at me like I had lost my mind, but I don’t care about their opinion.

“That wasn’t your fault,” I say gently.

“Can I?” Andre asks me, holding his hands out for her.

“Sure,” I say and hand her over to her father. Seeing Andre holding our little baby in his arms is something I want to keep in my mind forever. In fact, seeing each of the men I love holding my baby is forever stuck in my mind. I only need to see Kaiden now. My heart tightens at the thought of him in surgery, and I need to know how he is doing. I can’t lose him. I love him too much, and I know it would destroy me. Kaiden is a part of me now.

“He will make it, Ellie,” Andre tells me firmly, seeing something in my face that gives away what I’m thinking. I look away from him towards the window; it’s dark out, and all you can see are the lights from the hospital. You can’t see the stars in the city, not like you can in our home in the village.

“I want to believe that, but Drew shot him and . . .,” I let my voice drift off as tears start falling. There’s a knock on the door, and I turn to see Annie come in. She takes one look at me and runs over, pulling me into a hug. I’m so glad to see her okay, seeing her tied up on that stage was horrible. She didn’t deserve that. I know Drew must have been watching me and finding out who I cared about now. That’s why he went after her. She has become a best friend to me, one who I trust. He took Liz from me, and he tried to take Annie, it’s horrible.

“I’m so sorry,” she says, and I shake my head, wiping my eyes.

“Don’t be. I married that asshole,” I say as she pulls away but sits close on the bed, holding my hand. Annie looks pale, with a stitched cut on her head and tired eyes. We’re all feeling tired with today’s events, but two good things came out of it. One, is that Drew is locked away, where he belongs, and two, is that our little girl was born. I hate that I will have to remember everything today when I think back to the day she was born, but it doesn’t matter. She is worth all the pain.

“The police are outside and want to talk to us all about what happened. When you’re ready that is,” she tells me.

I look at Andre. “Not yet,” I say, and he nods, understanding that I can’t think straight until I know Kaiden is okay. Andre comes over and hands our little girl over to me.

“I’ll go and speak to them, and let them know they can’t see you until tomorrow,” Andre says, before gently kissing me and then kissing our girl on her forehead.

“We are going to have a good life, Ellie, all of us together. It’s the only time we are all happy, and I want that for us. There’s no way Kaiden isn’t going to pull through and spend the next fifty-odd years annoying me,” Andre says, making me chuckle.

“I love you,” I say.

He smiles gently, “I love you more.”

I watch as he walks out. Annie doesn’t say anything for a while as she looks at my baby and strokes her hand.

“You know I don’t blame you, right?” I ask her because I truly don’t. I know Drew must have tricked her into coming to the club somehow and used her as bait.

“You should. Kaiden is downstairs fighting for his life, and if I hadn’t been so stupid–” she says and stands up, pacing by the door and avoiding looking at me.

“‘What ifs’ are going to get you nowhere. Drew is smart, and dangerous. I wish I knew that sooner, but I didn’t. I know that our entire marriage was a lie from the start. I knew when I saw him sleeping with another woman, and I realised how much more, when I found out he slept with my best friend before we met. I know that marrying him was the worst thing I’ve ever done, but you know what?” I ask her, and she stops, turning to look at me and shaking her head.

“I would do it again because it got me to where I am now, and Drew is going to prison for this. I have a little girl and four men I love more than I thought possible,” I say. “My little girl’s middle name is going to be Annie; after the best friend and the strongest woman I know.”

Annie bursts into tears. She comes over and silently cries for a long time.

“Is that okay?” I ask as my baby starts to grumble a little. She must be getting hungry.

“Thank you. I just, just thank you,” Annie says. The door is knocked on again, and I look up to see Todd coming in.

“Annie, come here,” he says seeing his sister in tears and walks over, pulling her up into a hug.

“We are all okay, Annie,” he tells her, and his eyes meet mine. Our baby starts crying, and I pull my top down, getting my breast out and trying to get her to feed. I smile when she latches on and look up to see Todd and Annie watching me with smiles.

“Is that her first feed?” Todd asks, and I nod.

“I’m glad I’m here,” he says gently, and I look down at our little girl, and think, me too.