Union

Rose was without energy as she collapsed back in her hospital bed and closed her eyes. She was feeling very drowsy from the painkillers she had been given and lightheaded from blood loss. Her palm loosened its grip on Mike Dirnt's hand, as she sighed with relief.

Mike stroked her pale forehead kindly and leant in towards her, and whispered, "It's okay now."

Adrienne and Billie Joe stood up from where they had been sitting and came and stood next to Rose's bed. Adrienne smiled at her, "relieved?"

Rose managed to reopen her heavy eyelids and made eye contact with her cousins wife. "Yeah..." Rose said quietly. She wasn't sure if she'd had a boy or a girl.

The baby was grabbed up away from the bed, taken over to a table and wrapped in a blanket. Without a word spoken from the doctor, the baby was taken out of the room.

"Wait...oh my God. Where...where are they taking my baby?" Rose gasped, feeling panicky.

"Rose?! What's going on!?" Tre shouted on the other end of the line. He went unheard though, as the cordless phone remained on the floor of the delivery room.

Mike, Billie Joe and Adrienne became worried. Mike turned to look at Billie Joe, then back at Rose. "I'm sure nothing's wrong," Mike said assuringly. "They probably just need to do a routine check, because she's premature."

"Itsa...a girl?" Rose asked, talking funny from the painkillers she had been given.

"Yeah," Mike nodded with a smile on his face.

"Oh my God...I've a lil' girl?" Rose placed a hand over her mouth and started tearing again, all though she never really had stopped. "Mike...da phone."

Mike picked the phone up and passed it back to Rose. He would have liked to have talked to Tre, but he realized Tre's time was probably short. "Frank..." Rose said in a soft voice.

"Rose, are you okay?" Tre said, as he sniffled back his own tears.

"Ima..I'm..okay," Rose said assuringly. "Frank...we have a little girl. They took...umm...her away though. I wanna her to be okay...so bad."

"She'll be fine Rose. Especially if she's as tough as her mother," Tre said quietly, tears subtly running down his face. "I have to go Rose," Tre said sadly.

"Please don'..." Rose begged.

"I have to. I'm sorry I wasn't there for you. I'm really really sorry," Tre said, his tears became more unmuted to Rose's ears.

"Please don' cry Frank. I come visit you. I bring Michelle too," Rose said, with exhaustion.

"Michelle?" Tre asked.

"Our daughter. I....I hope you don' mind...I'm namin' 'er after a hero," Rose said, and she turned her gaze over to Mike Dirnt.

Tre knew who she was referring too, and he didn't object to the name decision one bit. "That's a beautiful name Rose. Bring Michelle to see me soon...I love you," Tre said, and he couldn't bear to wait on the phone any longer, while he was feeling like this. He hung up, before Rose could say anymore.

Rose let the phone fall down beside her, she was too disoriented to hang it up. She just closed her tired eyes, before almost falling into slumber.

"Bill, go ask a nurse what's going on," Mike said, and he turned back to look at Rose.

Billie Joe and Adrienne left the room without a word.

"Mike..." Rose said, eyes remaining closed.

"Yeah?"

"Thank you," Rose said.

"Hey..You don't need to thank me. Maybe you're one of my best friend's cousin, and one of my best friend's wife, but I guess this seems out of character for me to say. I love you though Rose," Mike blushed nervously.

"I love you too Mike," Rose smiled, and she reopened her emerald coloured eyes.

"Michelle... Yeah I guess that does sort of sound like Michael," Mike laughed subtly. "Thanks Rose. I really don't deserve that though."

"Yes you do. And no, thank you Mike..."

Mike turned back towards the door, just as Adrienne and Billie Joe were reentering the room. Billie Joe and Adi were all smiles. "The nurses said everything is fine as far as they can see," he said joyfully.

And everything was fine. An odd twenty minutes later, a pink blanketed bundle of joy was brought back into the delivery room. Mom was too out of it to be able to take in all the joys, brought from this little female version of Tre Cool. So instead everyone else took turns holding her.

***

Sitting home alone, two months later; Rose was cradling Michelle in her arms. She had the televison turned on, and all though finding happiness with her new daughter, Rose's mind was blank yet concentrated on her husband.

She had seen him only twice in the last two months. He didn't talk to her much about his life in prison, but it was quite obvious meeting his daughter lifted his dampened spirits.

Taking her daughter upstairs into the master bedroom; Rose placed Michelle down in a crib next to her king size bed. She lay down herself in her bed. Everytime she laid here she would think of Frank.

That bed was just way to big for her alone.

After a few minutes passing, Rose fell into spell administered slumber. It seemed it would have to be a spell. She didn't sleep very much while worrying about her husband every night, and dealing with a crying baby.

A crying baby she was. A few hours after Rose had fallen asleep, she was awaken by Michelle crying in her crib. She took her daughter up from her crib, went downstairs and found a comfortable spot on the living room couch to breastfeed her.

Looking up at the clock, Rose saw that it was almost five in the morning. Time went by slow, as her now satisfied daughter was sleeping in her arms, and all she could listen to, was the sound of the clock ticking, second by second.

Putting her daughter back in bed, Rose decided she would go on the computer for a short time. She needed something to keep her mind stress-free.

Signing into MSN, to Rose's surprise, her cousin was online at this early hour of the morning.

She messaged him, expecting him not to answer.

Rose says: Hi

Billie Joe says: oh hey, what r u doing up?

Rose says: Michelle was hungry. I can't sleep now.

Billie Joe says: oh

Rose says: Yeah.

Rose says: What are you doing up?

Billie Joe says: i dunno, just have som shit on my mind

Billie Joe says: some*

Rose says: Oh, what's wrong?

Billie Joe says: I dunno....

Billie Joe says: Tre I guess

Rose says: Yeah, besides Michelle, that's really what's making me lose so much sleep.

Billie Joe says: yeah

Billie Joe says: are you okay all alone in that house?

Rose says: Yeah, I'm fine.

Billie Joe says: r u sure?

Rose says: Yeah...want to go on webcam?

Billie Joe says: sure

Rose says: Can you see me?

Billie Joe says: it's still loading

Billie Joe says: okay, I can now

Rose says: Yeah, I can see you too.

Billie Joe says: you look really tired

Rose says: Yeah... I am.

Billie Joe says: do you need help with Michelle? i mean, i could hire you a nanny to help part time.

Rose says: I don't know if I need that.

Rose turned her head away from the camera.

Billie Joe says: what?

Rose says: Someone's knocking on the door.

Billie Joe says: at this time of the morning?

Billie Joe says: don't answer it

Without replying to Billie, Rose got up to investigate this early morning disturbance. Going out to the foyer, and looking out the window she was shocked at who was standing there, outside her front door.