"My first emergency C-section was a lot like this," Riley mused, feeling oddly detached.

"Did you freak out?"

"There wasn't time to. When someone starts hemorrhaging like that, you don't think, you just move," Riley explained, watching the hospital bed that was being wheeled down the hallway.

"So, in your expert opinion."

"The placenta didn't detach; they're going to have to remove it surgically and deliver the baby," Riley said, trailing along behind them.

"We don't have to watch."

"I'd like to see them deliver the baby. Do you mind?" Riley questioned, sliding through the door that led to the OR.

"I've got nothing, but time."

"It's weird, being dead, isn't it?" Riley said, as they watched the doctors scrub in and the surgical tools be put into place.

"You get used to it," Blake assured her.

"Scalpel," Lydia demanded, holding her hand out, as a nurse tied the strings on the back of her gown. She'd promised that she could have Riley to the OR in three minutes, but she hadn't factored the amount of time it would take to get scrubbed in, to set everything up, to make sure that Riley wouldn't regain consciousness, while she was operating. And the entire time Riley was losing blood in alarming amounts.

"Doctor Breeland?" a new voice asked, as Lydia made her first incision.

"Yes?" Lydia replied, not looking up from her work. She'd specialized in both women's health and fertility, but it had been awhile since she'd performed a C-section.

"I'm Isla Green, I was Doctor Mathew's previous doctor. I wondered if there was anything that I could do to help out," Isla said, her voice hesitant.

"Scrub in, Doctor Green. I'll take all the help that I can get," Lydia assured her, reaching her hand out for the scissors she needed to get through the next layer.

"Okay," Isla agreed, the door closing as she went to wash her hands.

The sound of the machines beeping drew Lydia out of her concentration and she glanced up to check the monitors, "Let's hang another unit of blood and push it. I'm almost to the uterus."

"Got it," a nurse called back, switching out Riley's IV bags.

"She's losing more blood then we can transfuse," the nurse informed her, as she squeezed the bag of blood.

"More suction," Lydia demanded, as Riley's daughter came into view.

"Blood pressure is dropping," Isla said as she entered the room. She replaced the person in Lydia's first-assist position and took over the suction that he had been holding.

"Baby's out," Lydia announced, immediately handing the baby over to the nurse.

"Baby's not breathing," the nurse claimed, as she moved the baby to the side of the room.

"Don't tell me about it, do something," Lydia snapped, working to remove both of the placentas and stop the bleeding.

One of the machines starting beeping again and Lydia let out a groan, "Mother's flat lining."

"Start compressions," Isla suggested as Lydia continued her work.

"We're in v-fib," someone announced.

"Let's shock her," Lydia said, dropping the first placenta in a tray and backing away from the table.

"Clear," the same person said, pressing the paddles to Riley's chest.

"No response," the nurse who was watching the monitors informed them.

"Go again," Lydia insisted, "And let's get another unit of blood going."

"She looks like Lucas," Riley smiled as she watched them hook Summer up to oxygen before moving her from the OR.

"That nose is all yours, though," Blake snorted, as they followed along behind the baby.

"She's going to be okay, right?" Riley enquired, looking at him for answers.

"She's a lot better off then you are, right now," Blake said, stopping her at the doors to the NICU.

"We should stay with her," Riley insisted, trying to get passed him.

"We need to talk first," Blake informed her, leading her down the hallway and to a set of chairs, "It's time to let go, Riley."

"Let go of what?" Riley asked, wrapping her arms around herself as she suddenly became cold.

"You can't change the past, you can't relive it, or recapture it. The past is written in stone. You and Lucas broke up, he got engaged to Maya, I died," he listed.

"I didn't tell you any of those things," Riley pointed out, looking up at him in surprise.

"I've been watching and paying attention," Blake assured her, "You've probably permanently stained the wood in your office and those rugs are a safety hazard. Will you please wash the blood off the floors?"

"Why did you do it?" Riley questioned, staring at him intently.

"I couldn't save my sister, I spent my entire life blaming myself for not knowing how to save her. I dedicated my life to trying to save people because I wanted to try and make up for it somehow. You're my family, Riley, you're my sister. There wasn't an option not to walk into that room and try to save you. It was that action that helped me to finally let go of all the guilt."

"I miss you," Riley informed him.

"I haven't gone anywhere," Blake promised her, "But you have to make room in your life for all of the important people and experiences that are headed your way."

"Those dreams that I've been having," Riley trailed off, as things started to fall into place.

"They're one set of possibilities for the future. Some of it will happen, some of it won't, but whatever future you decide to build for yourself can't be based off of everything that you're trying to hold onto and everything that you can't let go of."

"I can't lose Lucas again," Riley said, her eyes moving to the floor.

"You were brought to Sunbreak for a reason, you came into my life and Roy's and Hailey's because we needed you. You can leave, if you want to, but you need to be sure that your work is done, when you do. There are people who are counting on you."

Maya couldn't breath as she watched them wheel Riley through the OR doors and left her on the other side of the red line. That was her best friend in the entire world. Riley was a permanent part of her life and she was supposed to continue to be there.

"Hey, what's going on?" Josh questioned, stopping in front of her, "The nurses said that you needed someone."

"Riley's going into emergency surgery, there was so much blood," Maya rambled, feeling herself get lost in the shock. She was lightheaded and she felt herself swaying, until Josh wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close.

"You really think that Riley's going to stop fighting when she's so close to having everything that she's ever wanted?" Josh asked, rubbing her back.

"She's been fighting for such a long time, what if she's tired?" Maya returned, voicing her fears and burying herself into his shoulder. She could feel from the way that he was trembling that he was scared too, but he was being strong for her and she loved him for it.

"Riley doesn't stop fighting and she doesn't give up," Josh promised her, "You should come hold, Noah, it will make you feel better."

"I don't want to let go of you," Maya admitted, wondering if she would regret being vulnerable when this crisis had passed.

"Haven't you figured it out, yet?" Josh asked, his voice choked with emotion, "You might be the only mistake that I haven't made. I'm not going anywhere."

"We should go to the nursery," Blake suggested, standing up.

"Summer's going to be in the NICU and I doubt that Lucas has let them take Mathew away," Riley pointed out, as she fell into step beside him.

"We're not going to see them," Blake replied, turning down another hallway and pausing just outside of the window.

"I don't understand," Riley admitted, as she found herself looking at someone's front yard, instead of the bassinets of newborns.

"There's going to be a day when you lose faith and I want you to remember that there's someone waiting for you," Blake said, gesturing to the brunette girl who was running through the sprinklers in the front yard. She looked young, but as she turned in their direction, Riley gasped as she realized that the girl looked exactly like her.

"That's not me," Riley felt the need to clarify, pressing her hands to the glass.

"No, that's your daughter and it's going to take a fight to get her here, but she's going to do amazing things, Riley."

"Lucas," Lydia found him in the hallway, holding his son. She wasn't entirely sure what he had been updated on, but she bunched her scrub cap in her hand and sunk down next to him.

"How are they?" he asked, his voice filled with emotion.

"Your daughter is on oxygen, we had a little bit of trouble convincing her to breath when she was born, but she's going to be just fine," Lydia offered, biting her lip.

"And Riley?"

"We stopped the bleeding, her heart stopped for about three minutes, but we managed to get it started again. She's stable, we're just waiting for her to wake up," Lydia said, reaching out to squeeze his hand.

"Thank you," Lucas whispered, bending forward as his entire body began to shake with sobs.

"We haven't gotten passed all of the hurdles, yet, but I have a good feeling. Riley's a fighter and we're going to get through this," Lydia promised, tears filling her own eyes as she let her relief takeover.

"It's time for me to go back, isn't it?" Riley said, feeling a strange pull that wanted to take her away from the scene in the window.

"Just about," Blake agreed, pulling her into a hug.

"It's going to be awhile before I see you again," Riley sighed, wishing that she could hold onto him a little longer.

"If it is, then you're just not looking hard enough," Blake informed her, pulling away.

"I'm supposed to go that way," Riley said, gesturing to the pull that was coming from down the hall.

"There's one more thing that I need you to know before we get you back," Blake stopped her.

"Besides to let things go and not to give up?"

"I know that you've been looking for someone to take my place at the practice," Blake admitted, "And I figured that it was only fair that I got a say in who gets to replace me."

"I don't like any of the candidates that we've seen," Riley informed him, folding her arms.

"I'm sending someone, she needs a Riley Mathews' in her life," Blake smiled.

"How will I know which one is her?"

"You'll know," Blake promised, as the halls around her started to fade.

"Riles?" a voice cut through the darkness and she found herself fighting to get her eyes open. Her body was sore and she felt as though she had become incredibly heavy, "I didn't leave and you don't get to leave me. I will never forgive you if I have to move to the middle of nowhere to raise your children with Ranger Rick."

"Hey," Josh's voice complained.

"You know that she would have stayed in New York to help you out if I had died," Maya pointed out.

"But I was never in danger of marrying Riley," Josh pointed out and someone in the room made a grossed out sound.

"You would come with me, wouldn't you?" Maya questioned, her voice sounding oddly vulnerable.

"Yes, Miss Hart, I would follow you to the middle of nowhere," Josh promised.

"Isn't there a rule against flirting over someone who is recovering from surgery?" Farkle's voice questioned.

"If there is, Riley's going to have to wake up and chew me out for it," Maya said and Riley could feel Maya's best friend ring on her wrist, where Maya was holding onto her.

"Visiting hours are just about over," Lydia cut in, her voice drifting from where Riley guessed the door was.

"We'll be back tomorrow, Riles," Farkle promised and Riley felt several people press kisses to her forehead before feet started to drift out of the room.

"They're gone, now," Lucas's voice took over and Riley felt the bed dip as he sat down right next to her.

"They don't sound overly concerned," Riley groaned, the words sounding strange as her voice strained from disuse.

"They know that you're not going to leave us," Lucas replied, twining his fingers with hers.

"Where are our children?" Riley questioned, still unable to bring herself to open her eyes.

"Right next to you. Your family is very annoyed because I won't let anyone hold them until you get a chance to," Lucas informed her.

"I did go through an awful lot to get them here," Riley smiled.

"I think maybe we should give it some time before we try for the next one," Lucas suggested casually and Riley let out a laugh. It hurt.

"You're already planning for another child?" Riley questioned.

"I'm planning for an entire life," Lucas promised her, "In fact, I have a surprise for you, if you'll open your eyes."

"If you try to propose to me when I'm recovering from emergency surgery in a hospital, I will say no," Riley warned him.

"Really?" Lucas asked, his voice doubting her resolve.

"Well, no, but I'll never forgive you for it," Riley replied.

"That's not your surprise," Lucas assured her.

"You didn't buy us another house, did you?" Riley groaned.

"I guess you'll just have to open your eyes and see," Lucas suggested and Riley reluctantly complied, closing her eyes again when the light hit them. She blinked several times and her eyes slowly adjusted.

"You brought me a bundle of papers," Riley questioned, losing interest and turning her attention to the basinets that were positioned on the other side of her bed.

"They're pictures of the house that I bought," Lucas corrected her, handing her the bundle before he moved around the bed to grab Summer. He helped position the baby in Riley's arms and for a minute the pictures were forgotten.

"I'm sorry that I didn't include you in the decision for her name," Riley apologized, smiling down at the baby. Summer opened her eyes and Riley's smile widened as she took in the green eyes that were entirely Lucas.

"You know; I knew it was perfect the minute that I saw her. Summers have always kind of been our thing," Lucas said, looking at them with love shining in his eyes.

Riley picked up the bundle of pictures and slowly started flipping through them. The house had hardwood floors and the kitchen was updated with stainless steel appliances. The bedrooms were a good size and she found herself pausing as she took in one of the pictures.

"It has a bay window," Riley said, looking up at him in awe.

"I thought that you might appreciate that," Lucas said, grabbing a picture from the back of the bundle and showing it to her, "The yard has plenty of room for the kids to play and we could get a couple of horses. Look at the porch, Riles, can't you just see us sitting there for the rest of our lives."

Riley paused as she looked at the view of the front of the house. There was something familiar about it and it took her a minute to place it without the sprinklers running and the little girl playing in the yard.

"What do we do about the ranch?" Riley asked, looking up at him.

"We could rent it," Lucas suggested, picking up Mathew and sliding into the spot next to her, "Farkle actually offered to buy it."

"Why would he do that?" Riley questioned, looking at Lucas in confusion.

"Why does he do anything, Riley?" Lucas paused and Riley could see a number of insecurities play out across his face, "To make you happy."

Riley was relieved when she was finally released from the hospital. She had Zay smuggling her decent food, but her hospital gown was giving her a rash and her bed wasn't very comfortable. She was ready to take her babies and get them home.

"So, my parents are going to stay with Roy, Farkle's going to move into the carriage house, and we're," Riley trailed off as she tried to remember all of the plans that people had been throwing at her the last few days.

"I've gotten most of our things packed up and sent over to the house. Your father and I set up the nursery last night and Josh set up our bed," Lucas explained, glancing at her before he returned his attention to the road.

"Are Maya and Josh staying with us?" Riley questioned.

"And Zay, but they're all on air mattresses," Lucas replied.

"And did they say when they're all going home?" Riley pressed, trying not to feel overwhelmed.

"No," Lucas answered and his voice mirrored her own feelings.

"How many air mattresses did you set up, out of curiosity?" Riley pressed, glancing at their children in the back seat, so that he couldn't read what she was really asking.

"I didn't set up any of them, I have no desire to know anything about any sleeping arrangements, besides yours, mine and our children," Lucas informed her.

"Because it bothers you?"

"Because it's weird," Lucas corrected her.

"If I had died," Riley trailed off.

"I wouldn't have married Maya. I promise that I've learned my lesson when it comes to marriages of convenience," Lucas assured her, reaching out and grabbing her hand.

"We're going to say something to Josh and Maya about sleeping together in our house, right?" Riley changed the subject.

"I wasn't planning on it," Lucas said, his discomfort showing in the way his shoulders tense.

"I just don't think that anyone should sleep in our house before we do," Riley pointed out.

"How exactly do you plan on enforcing that?"

"This is weird, Riles," Maya informed her as she climbed into bed next to Riley. Riley was reading a parenting book and glanced up from the paragraph that she was highlighting.

"You have experience with taking care of a baby on your own, I want you to train me in your ways," Riley lied, glancing at the bassinets that the twins were currently sleeping in. Noah was in with Josh and Lucas, neither Maya nor Riley had thought to ask about their sleeping situation, but Riley had a feeling that someone was sleeping on the floor.

"I would think that you would want to spend your first night in your new house with your," Maya trailed off and Riley could tell she was trying to come up with what Lucas was to Riley.

"Boyfriend?" Riley suggested and Maya frowned, "Life partner?"

"I was thinking Sweetheart, but that's totally high school, isn't it?" Maya complained.

"Speaking of labels."

"Josh and I, aren't official or anything," Maya replied, instantly catching on to what Riley wanted to know, "There's no need to start calling me aunt, yet."

"But you think that things are going to work out?' Riley pressed, smiling.

"I have hope."

When Riley woke up to feed one of the babies, she was surprised to find that she was sandwiched in the middle of the bed. At some point, Lucas had ended up on one of Riley's sides and Maya was still curled up on the other. It seemed like a pretty good analogy for her life.

"Lucas, you need to go get the baby" Riley said, smacking his chest as she listened to one of their children talk to themselves.

"Morning, Riles," Farkle greeted her, entering the bedroom with a tray of food. He set it on a pile of boxes and went to go retrieve the baby from the bassinet.

"How did you even get in here?" Riley questioned, sitting up and taking Mathew from Farkle. It seemed that Summer liked sleeping almost as much as her father.

"I have a key," Farkle shrugged, tossing Riley her breastfeeding cover and moving the food over to the bed.

"I don't even have a key," Riley complained, situating the baby and grabbing a piece of sliced apple off of the plate.

"That's because you left it at the carriage house," Farkle replied, setting the key onto her tray.

"You should keep it," Riley decided, "This wouldn't be home, without you."

"You probably shouldn't tell Maya, but I may have caught Josh looking at local real-estate," Farkle informed her, lowering his voice as they both glanced at the sleeping blonde.

"Life's kind of amazing, isn't it?" Riley smiled.

Riley spent a week in the house before she knew that she needed to go and visit her office. Her dreams were filled with Blake and she knew that it was time to get the bloodstains out of the hardwood. She'd armed herself with a number of cleaners and assured Lucas that she would be back in time to feed the babies. There were enough people at the house that she was pretty confident they could handle anything that came up, anyway.

"Hi," someone greeted her, as she moved over to unlock the practice door.

"Our office hours are over for the day, is everything okay?" Riley questioned. The girl looked young, maybe a few years older than Hailey. She had long, red hair and blue eyes that were brought out by the blue shirt that she was wearing.

"I'm actually here to apply for the job," the woman informed her, looking uncertain.

"I think there's an application inside," Riley offered, flipping on the lights and leaving the door open so that the girl could follow along behind her, "I'm Doctor Riley Mathews."

"Jennifer Barlow," the girl introduced herself, following Riley to the reception desk.

"Do you have any experience with this kind of job?" Riley asked, flipping through the drawers as she tried to figure out what Roy had done with the applications.

"I'm a medical assistant, I thought I was going to go into nursing for a while, but life had some other ideas," Jennifer said, biting her lip.

"I'm so sorry, I can't actually find what they've done with the applications. I'm currently on maternity leave, but if you want to come back in the next few days," Riley suggested, giving up.

"I can do that," Jennifer agreed, smiling.

"Things have been crazy since we lost our previous receptionist. I can't even find the order forms," Riley admitted, leaning against the desk.

"These wouldn't happen to be them?" Jennifer asked, pulling a stack of papers from one of the wire baskets that were sitting on the desk.

"They are; how did you even find them?" Riley questioned, looking at her incredulously.

"You know, it's the weirdest thing, but this place looks exactly like the place that I've been dreaming about. That sounds completely crazy, doesn't it?" Jennifer looked at Riley apprehensively.

"We like crazy and unexplainable here."

Riley set down the bucket of cleaning solution and sunk down onto her knees. She moved the carpet out of the entry to her office and dipped her sponge in the solution before she ran it over the floor. The blood slowly came out of the hardwood, but Riley could still feel Blake.

"I got the hint about Jennifer. It was a little blunt, wasn't it? Aren't angels supposed to be subtle," Riley pointed out, laughing as she moved on to the next section of flooring.

Riley's parents were the first to head home and while Riley had enjoyed spending time with them and seeing their relationship improve with Lucas, she was also ready for her life to go back to some degree of normal. Zay had moved into the carriage house with Farkle, claiming that he was tired of being surrounded by couples and Roy's mood drastically improved when he got the house to himself. Enough so, that he approved Riley's decision for a new receptionist.

"She's too young for you," Riley commented, as she leaned against the hood of the purple hearse with Maya and Farkle. The babies were at home with Josh and Lucas.

"What is too young, Riles?" Maya pointed out, "She's cute and she keeps looking at him, too."

"She's twenty-five," Farkle offered, "And neither of us is looking at the other."

"Whatever you say," Maya snorted, taking another bite of her shake.

"I haven't said anything about Josh or Lucas," Farkle pointed out, glancing between the two of them.

"That's because Josh and I are taking things slow," Maya offered, loftily.

"You have a baby together," Riley snorted and Maya shot her a glare.

"You're one to talk," Maya retorted, "What's going on with you and your life partner."

"We're sleep deprived and we have these houseguests, who make it really difficult to talk about the future," Riley replied.

"I could say something," Farkle suggested.

"I've already said multiple things, but Huckleberry refuses to talk. You would think that being Riley's best friend would, at least, be good enough so that he would show me the ring," Maya complained.

"I've seen the ring," Farkle informed them.

"And?" Maya pressed, looking at him expectantly.

"I've been sworn to secrecy," Farkle replied, looking uncomfortable under their gazes.

"Doesn't matter, we already have the most important rings, anyway," Maya shrugged, holding hers up in the sunlight.

"Peaches, if Lucas never proposes to me, will you be my platonic life partner," Riley asked, holding hers up, as well.

"Always," Maya promised.

We just have the epilogue left! Thanks to everyone who has read, reviewed, and been a part of this journey with me! I've gotten a better response to this story then what I even thought possible.

In other news, Part 2 was really good. I'm excited to see what happens next and I would love to hear what you think. Thanks again!