A/N: Really sorry for the wait, guys. I intended on getting this up a lot sooner, but I've had tons of papers to write for school (English major)- which meant it was really hard for me to get into the mood to write anything else. I just needed a break from typing, lol. But I'm finally back! And I worked on this chapter at the same time I was working on the first chapter of this story's sequel, so I'm happy to inform you that it's almost done and should be up sometime over my Thanksgiving break.

Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed last chapter: Joshaya, Guest, Alwaystoolate, Guest, Jen2000, Whenitsover, Grace, Amy, MilesAndMilesToGo, Laugh instead, Megan, Joshaya, Guest, It's Allie, MorganReadsAlot, Sara, Guest, Guest, Ohfc11, Guest, PaintingMusic14, ShannonCrystal, Guest, Anonymous, cool coast, Guest, Guest, Guest, Chelsea, Stormy Rose (lol, cute), jen218, Guest and Guest. I'm so glad you guys enjoyed the baby's birth! I worked very hard to make that part memorable. Hence the elevator instead of your typical hospital room, and the daddy delivering the baby instead of a doctor, lol. I'm sorry that a few of you weren't crazy about the baby's name. Stormy has just been in the back of my head since early on in the story and seemed perfect for Joshaya's daughter.

Okay, so a few things about my next story that will soon be posted...for those of you who are guests or who won't get the notification, the sequel's title will be "From the Ground Up." It will cover a lot more time than the 8-9 months that Sweet Child O' Mine covered. I have ideas that could stretch it through Maya's college years and Stormy's early childhood, but there will be a few significant time jumps so that doesn't necessarily mean that it'll be a lot longer than this story was. (But that's certainly possible.) Here are a few very vague spoilers for the early chapters of From the Ground Up (in random order):

Two birthdays, two reveals.

Overloaded schedules equals stress.

An ex re-enters the picture.

Precious family moments.

Maya gets a new sibling.

Some relationships strengthen, others splinter.

Sorry those are so vague, but I don't want to give too much away. I know there's one in particular you guys probably didn't want to see, but allow me to calm your triangle-weary hearts, lol. I'm sticking with Joshaya. Promise.

But now back to this story. I really can't believe I finally get to switch it from in-progress to complete. I've put the past year and a half of my life plus my entire heart and soul into this, and while there are parts that I feel like could've been better, I'm proud of how this story turned out and of how much I've grown as a writer because of it. A million thank you's go out to all of you who have been with me through this process, giving me encouragement and support. I love you all so much! So without further delay, here's the final fluffy chapter of Sweet Child O' Mine. :)

Two Weeks Later

Christmas Morning

"You don't believe in sleeping in, do you?" Maya asked as she carefully lifted her crying daughter out of her crib and cradled the baby to her chest. The sun wasn't even close to making its appearance yet, but Stormy seemed to prefer starting her days early. The good news was that she was at least sleeping through most of the night now, which meant that Maya had gotten a chance to begin recovering from the unrelenting state of exhaustion she'd been in the entire first week her baby was home. But even then, the happiness she felt about being a new mom never faded. She loved every single moment that she got to spend with her little girl.

Maya gently stroked Stormy's soft, dark hair while the infant's cries died down now that she was snuggled securely in her mother's arms and being shown the attention she wanted. Maya smiled and kissed her daughter's cheek. "Merry Christmas, pretty girl," she said, lovingly.

"How is it that you always get in here first?"

She turned to the source of the teasing question just as Josh was approaching her and the baby, looking slightly sleepy with messy, disheveled hair that he pulled off with such ease that it made her a little jealous. She didn't pull off the bedhead, T-shirt and sweatpants look nearly as well.

"My room is a lot closer than the couch is," Maya reminded him. "Plus I usually wake up before she even starts crying. I think we have this special, psychic mother-daughter connection that tells me when she needs me."

"That doesn't seem fair," Josh noted. "You get a psychic connection, and all I get is a baby monitor."

Maya smirked. "Hey, a psychic connection is the least I deserve after I carried her for over eight months and gave birth to her in the most painful way possible," she pointed out. "But if it makes you feel better, I'll purposely stay in bed tomorrow so her daddy can tell her good morning first."

Josh smiled at the implication that she expected him to spend the night again. He'd practically been living there since Stormy came home. Shawn and Katy had told him that he could crash on the couch any time- as it meant that Maya would have help taking care of the baby, and plus they understood how special these first few weeks were and thought the new parents should experience it all together. Josh's only concern with this was that he'd grow too accustomed to the arrangement. He loved being able to watch his daughter fall asleep at night and being there when she woke up in the morning. And he also loved being able to spend that extra time with Maya. They hadn't actually gotten to go on a second date yet, but they did get to make breakfast together and cuddle on the couch during movies and share countless other little moments that were just as wonderful as an official date could've been.

"Can you believe this is our daughter's first Christmas?" Maya inquired with a smile, after passing the baby to Josh so he could give her a good morning kiss too.

"Is that what today is?" Josh asked Stormy, feigning a look of surprise. "Maybe we should go see what all Santa left under the tree last night. I'm thinking there might be a present or two for a very special little girl. What do you think, mommy?"

Maya's smile grew. "I think there's a good chance of that," she answered, rubbing Stormy's back. "But we should probably wait until everybody else gets here to open them."

Josh gave her an imploring look. "What if we just opened one?" he suggested, looking so cute with Stormy cradled against his chest that she couldn't possibly say no.

"I guess one wouldn't hurt," she relented. Josh grinned, and they proceeded to make their way into the living room. It was currently a little messy with the fold-out couch bed still opened up and the coffee table moved out of its usual location to make room for it, but the space still looked nice as Katy had put a lot of effort into decorating since they were hosting Christmas dinner. Seasonal knick-knacks were scattered all over the place; a large, lit-up Christmas tree stood majestically in front of the windows with loads of gifts now piled beneath it.

"Wow. Looks like somebody around here is on Santa's nice list," Maya commented, leaning down to pick up one of the several gifts that were addressed to Stormy. She then sat down next to Josh on the side of the couch bed. "Okay, let's see what we got here."

Maya unwrapped the present on her daughter's behalf, revealing a cardboard box. She looked at it in confusion, because she thought she knew just about everything Stormy was getting- but this looked unfamiliar. "That one's from me. You can open it," Josh encouraged. Maya began to smile and opened the package to pull out a small, round, light pink trinket box that had an antique look to it. It also had very intricate designs etched into it and was absolutely gorgeous. She just couldn't quite decide what its purpose was, since Stormy wasn't going to be storing jewelry any time soon.

"Josh, it's beautiful," Maya breathed. "I just..."

"Don't see what it's for?" Josh offered, knowingly. "I know. Just open it."

Maya lifted the trinket box's lid and was surprised by the two small figurines that revealed themselves- a man and woman dressed in fine evening attire- and the tune that started to play as they began to slowly spin around in a circle- or dance- with their arms holding tightly to each other and gazes locked as if they were completely lost in the moment.

Of course. It was a music box. Maya could feel her heart melting at the sweet gift that she'd never even thought of. She looked up to see Stormy's stare fixed on the dancing figurines, her blue eyes wide with wonder. A smile formed on Maya's lips, and before she realized it- she was singing softly to the tune that was playing. "I don't want to run away, but I can't take it- I don't understand. If I'm not made for you, then why does my heart tell me that I am? Is there any way that I can stay..."

She suddenly stopped when she realized that this was the Daniel Bedingfield song that she and Josh had danced to on their first date. And then she took a better look at the figurines...a brunette and a blonde, a tux and a turquoise dress, the bulge in the female figurine's midsection...

Tears filled Maya's eyes as her gaze met Josh's. "They're us," she realized, her voice cracking with emotion.

He smiled and gave a slight nod, before glancing down briefly at Stormy- who was still captivated by the dancing figurines. "I know we haven't talked about whether we want to tell her one day- about us, about everything that happened before she was born." He looked back at Maya. "But if she never finds out all the details- or even realizes that these figurines are us- she'll still get a peek into the best night of her dad's life."

Maya took one hand off of the music box to wipe at her eyes. She felt like she'd cried more in the past nine months than she had in her whole life before her pregnancy, but she couldn't stop herself from getting emotional when she thought about this journey.

"It was the best night of her mom's life too," she agreed. "At least the part where we were on our date and when Stormy was born. We can leave out the part where I was in labor." As Josh laughed softly, Maya smiled and laced her free hand's fingers with his. "I think this gift is perfect. Just like I think our family is perfect. Which reminds me of something that I was going to show you last night, but the Eagles game kind of had you in a bad mood so I thought I'd wait."

"I'm telling you, those refs were Cowboys fans," Josh insisted, causing Maya to chuckle as she closed the music box and set it on a side table before rummaging around under the Christmas tree and pulling out a small gift bag that was addressed to herself, Josh, and Stormy. She then sat back down on the thin, couch-bed mattress with it.

Josh gave her a questioning look. "It's for all of us?"

"Yes," Maya affirmed. "It's not exactly a gift though, and it's definitely not as cool as a music box. It's just a little something that reminded me of us." She held out her arms to take Stormy. "Come here, my little stocking stuffer," she beckoned as Josh transferred the baby over to her. He then turned his attention to the gift bag, reaching into the layers of tissue paper and pulling out a small, hard object that seemed to have an odd shape to it. His eyes then widened in surprise as soon as he saw it. Because he'd seen those three smiling penguins before, standing above the words 'Our Family's First Christmas.' Of all the Christmas ornaments in the world...

"How did you know?" Josh breathed, lifting his gaze back up to Maya.

She raised an eyebrow, a little puzzled. "How did I know what?"

"Nothing. It doesn't matter." His glance dropped down to the ornament as his thumb brushed across the surface of it. He couldn't believe the irony, as he hadn't thought about this object in a long time. He stared into Maya's eyes. "I love it," he told her, with the utmost sincerity. And just as she smiled at him, one of his fingers came into contact with a tiny slip of paper attached to the ornament. Josh looked down at it again, for the first time noticing the paper that was hanging on the backside of the ornament from the same hook. He moved it to the front and read the words printed on it. "A ship in harbor is safe, but that's not why ships are built..."

"I found that a few months ago," Maya explained. "Or, actually, it found me. I didn't really think much of it, but I held onto it for some reason. I didn't realize until way later how much it applied to me...how much it applied to us. It took me so long to acknowledge the fact that I had feelings for you because I was so afraid of those feelings- what they would mean for me. I think I just wanted to feel safe and know that I wouldn't be hurt..."

"Maya, the last thing I'd ever want to do is hurt you," Josh assured her.

She managed a hint of a smile. "I know." She freed the arm that wasn't required for holding Stormy and reached out her hand to take the slip of paper between her fingers. "This is to remind me that we only get one life, and if we're lucky enough to find happiness in it- we have to be brave enough to go after it. Even if it means putting our hearts on the line. But this..." She moved her fingers to the ornament itself, her eyes resting on the three penguins. "...This is exactly why it's worth it to take those chances. Because family's worth everything. I don't know what'll happen down the road, but I know that I love you and Stormy, and I want..."

Maya's voice tapered off and her cheeks started to heat up when she realized what she'd just blurted out. The rational side of her knew that it was way too soon to be throwing around the 'L' word; she certainly didn't want to ruin what they were building by rushing things. At the same time though, it didn't feel rushed at all. It felt like something that had been in the works over a course of months. Still, she wasn't sure how to take Josh's shocked expression.

He hadn't seen her declaration coming at all. Mostly because he'd been certain that he would be the one to say it first. It was a sentiment that he'd felt for a while, and it had been especially difficult for him to rein those three words in during all that time that Maya was in labor with their daughter. He just hadn't wanted her to feel any kind of pressure to say it back before she was ready. But hearing her say it first made his heart soar like he couldn't have even imagined.

"I didn't mean that," Maya stated, nervously. "I mean, I did. But I didn't mean to say it. You don't have to..."

Josh leaned in and pressed his lips to hers, cutting off her rambling attempt at an explanation. The kiss lasted a few seconds before he drew back just enough for their lips to separate again. "I love you too," he then whispered, causing more tears to pool in Maya's eyes and begin to stream down her cheeks as she smiled at him. Though the moment only lasted about half a second longer until Stormy started to fuss, capturing her parents' attention.

"Don't worry, we didn't forget about you," Josh promised with a smile, his fingers stroking the infant's hair. "Mommy and daddy love you more than you'll ever know."

Maya nodded in agreement, looking down at the precious baby cradled in her arms. There were no words to describe how happy and blessed she felt at that moment. Because what she was experiencing wasn't a picture-perfect, fairytale ending, but something so much better than that. It was only the starting point of a beautiful new adventure. One that might just last a lifetime.

The End