A/N (November 30th)- Post script added at the end (response to a guest's question.)

It rained the day Paige's water broke, making the drive to Rosewood Medical Center that much more of a challenge. In the almost two years since their first attempt at fertilization, they had prepared (if not over-prepared) for that day. And yet, with all of the preparation, all of the classes, the shopping, and the dry-runs, they still found themselves scrambling and disoriented, trying to make it to the hospital on time.

There had been no need to rush, as it turned out. Paige spent the bulk of that rainy Wednesday in bed, hooked up to monitors, waiting for Ian Fields McCullers to make his debut. But when things started moving later that evening, they moved fast. Before long, Paige was holding a healthy baby boy in her hands and insisting that Emily take him to the window to give him his first glimpses of the beauty of the rain.

From a young age, it was apparent that Ian was the musician of the family. He didn't get that talent from Paige's genes. While Paige didn't share Emily's gift for singing, she sang with an unabashed enthusiasm – something that she definitely passed down to Ian. But it was more than just an enthusiasm for music. Ian was obsessed with music and all things musical. One of the tricks of the trade that Marguerite, Emily's vocal coach, had passed on to the band was that they should video their performances, and review them later, to see what clicked with the audience, what movements looked clumsy or forced, or where they could improve. The videos were inevitably low-quality, given that they were shot in venues that where the lighting wasn't set up with video in mind. Still, given a choice, Ian always opted for those videos over any of the infant and toddler videos that Paige and Emily had put in his extensive collection. It wasn't very long after he learned the word, "Mommy," that he eagerly pointed at Emily's image in the video and shouted, "Mommy! Mommy!" over and over.

Emily had a keyboard that she used for her vocal exercises. She wasn't a pianist, but she could pick out a few notes and play scales. Ian loved sitting in Paige's lap and smashing his hands against the keys, reveling in the fact that he was creating sound. One time, Paige, fighting a headache and desperate to calm him down, plunked out a two-fingered version of "Happy Birthday." Ian was mesmerized, staring at her face with his mouth wide open, amazed that she could control the noisemaking beast with such finesse. After that experience, the piano became Paige's go-to way to calm him down whenever he was overwhelmed or upset. Little by little, Paige learned how to pick out simple melodies, and she started pressing his fingers down on the keys, letting him be the one who was playing the tunes. As soon as he was old enough to sit still for a reasonable amount of time, they started him on lessons.

It was a special treat for Ian to be able to sit in the audience when Emily's band was playing at a venue that didn't limit its audience to people 21 years old or older. When he was really young, his mother used to introduce him as a special guest musician and bring him up on stage. As he got older, he was less willing to play along.

Ian, at two and a half years old, was the first to hear the news that his mom was expecting. He was going to be a big brother. Charlotte grew to be a fearless child; a risk-taker from the start. Ian never really needed all of the childproofing and the gates that Paige and Emily had put up around the house, but, when Charlotte came along, they got their money's worth out of all of them. And yet, somehow, Charlotte always landed on her feet. For all of her daredevil leaping and diving, she had her mother's finesse and grace of movement. And, like both of her moms, she loved the water. She developed into a fearsome combination of both of them in the water: powerful and aggressive like Paige, and naturally graceful like Emily. But it wasn't just in swimming; Charlotte was a natural in every sport. Paige took credit for that, proudly reminding Emily that she was the one who spent hours playing various sports with Charlotte. Emily was willing to admit that Charlotte got her competitive, take-no-prisoners attitude from Paige, but she wan't ready to concede the point of Charlotte's athletic IQ.

Ian was not lacking in physical talent himself. This came as no surprise, given his genetic heritage and the active, competitive parents who raised him. He was usually the first person chosen in gym class when the captains were picking their teams - that is, if the coaches hadn't named him as one of the captains. But athletics never captured his heart the way that music did. It was something that he had to put up with in school. At home, he always retreated to the comfort of music.

Similarly, Charlotte was not without musical ability. She had a voice as sweet as her mother's, and she had the weird ability to pick up just about any instrument and figure out how to play it. But music wasn't something that she was interested in. Usually, the only time she put her musical ability to use was when Ian needed a background vocalis or an instrumentalist for a song that he wrote. In those instances, it wasn't about making music; it was about spending time with the older brother whom she had always looked up to.

Although Paige and Emily had both envisioned a larger family, life threw them a curve ball. They didn't waste time being disappointed over that; but, instead, they celebrated the family they had been given and mad the most of every opportunity. And it wasn't as if there home was ever empty. Squirty was the first to come along; a rescue dog that they adopted to keep Joey company. Ian chose his name, based on the dog's behavior before she was housebroken. The Fields-McCullers household also boasted a collection of hamsters, hermit crabs, and other small domestics that came and went, including the occasional bullfrog the kids tracked down in the back yard.

As the years passed, members of Emily's band also came and went, as changes in their families, jobs, or just their goals moved them in different directions. It was always hard to see them go, but the band – and the friendships that they had forged – survived. They never made it big, but that had never been the point. Emily was content to play with them on the weekends and still have the time to be a mom during the rest of the week. She realized that she was truly blessed to be able to do what she loved, rather than having to learn to love the thing that she was forced to do to make a living.

Ian went to Temple University as a music major, adding a minor in business at his moms' insistence.

Rosewood High's swim team became a regional powerhouse again, and was a fixture at the state championships. Paige's swimmers became some of the most highly recruited in the northeast region. Paige had the privilege - and the challenge - of watching Charlotte progress through the program. She had to exercise restraint and trust Charlotte's coaches to guide her, striking a balance between motherly advice and parental meddling. No one was surprised when Stanford came calling, but Charlotte was hesitant. It was a great opportunity for her to pursue her passion, but she wasn't sure that she was ready to move so far from family. She and Ian had always been close. Truth be told, part of the reason that Ian chose Temple was that he didn't want to leave his little sister by herself.

Ian came home the weekend after Charlotte's recruiting trip to Stanford and took her out to lunch. They talked about everything, the way they always did. It felt good to laugh with him, as she used to in the good old days, but she knew where the conversation was leading.

Ian tapped his index finger against Charlotte's hand, and gestured with his chin towards the windows behind her. She turned her head to look and saw that it had started raining.

"You know what Mum's doing right now," he said as a statement.

Charlotte smiled knowingly. "And Mom's right behind her, with her head on her shoulder."

Ian shifted in his seat and folded his hands in front of him, hunching over the table to be closer to his sister. "You know what Mum always says about the rain."

"Yeah," Charlotte said with a bemused look. "New beginnings. New roads. Facing up to something that you really want but are just too afraid to go after." She had heard the speech so often that she could almost recite it verbatim.

"Yeah," Ian said, half-smiling at his coffee cup. "That's what she told me before my first recital, when I begged her to not to make me go out in front of all of those people." He took a sip from the cup and added, "I'm really glad that she talked me into it."

Charlotte nodded. "And I'm glad she talked me out of quitting before my first football game."

Ian laughed. "The time you separated that guy's shoulder."

"Hey," Charlotte said, mock-defensively. "Punters aren't just in there to kick the ball! Sometimes, they're the last line of defense between the kick-returner and the end zone!"

"And I suppose there was nothing personal behind the hit you laid on him?"

Charlotte shrugged, dipping her head to stare at her coffee cup. So what if the other team had made taunting remarks about a girl playing football with the guys? It was a clean hit, and she didn't regret it.

"As I recall," Ian added, "that was also your last football game."

"Yeah, but that was my decision."

It was true. Paige and Emily sat Charlotte down after the game and talked with her. They told her that they were proud of her performance, but they were concerned about the full-out way she played the game. They knew that swimming was her first love, and they didn't want her to do anything that might jeopardize that. Emily, after all, had had to give up swimming after a shoulder injury. Paige reminded Charlotte that she could just have easily been the one who left the game with a separated shoulder after that tackle.

"And this is your decision, too," Ian said softly. "No matter what they want, you know they're going to support you, whatever you decide to do."

Charlotte took a deep breath. She lifted her cup to her lips with both hands, smirking after she took a long sip. "So," she said sarcastically, "do you think it's a sign – the fact that it's raining, now?"

Ian tilted his head onto his shoulder. "Well, I don't know about that," he said, smiling. "But you know what Mum would say."

Charlotte nodded. She stood and gave her brother a hug. She couldn't wait to get home and let her parents know: She was going to Stanford.

Paige stood at the glass doors that led out to the deck behind their house, watching the rain come down and thinking about things. All in all, she'd had a great life. They had had a great life; she and Emily. She included Ian and Charlotte in that group as well.

Ian's music had taken him all over the country – and even to other parts of the world, on occasion. Charlotte had excelled at Stanford and gone pro afterwards. But it wasn't their children's success that Paige and Emily were proudest of. They were proud that they raised them to live their dreams, rather than their fears, and to make the most of their opportunities.

Emily's head was resting on Paige's shoulder as she hugged her from behind. Paige felt the movement of Emily's chin as she started to speak. "Well, go ahead," she prompted. "Say it."

Paige dipped her head, slightly embarrassed at how predictable she had become. "I love the rain," she whispered obligingly.

Emily kissed her neck softly. "I know you do." Paige turned around and wrapped her arms around Emily's waist, rocking her back and forth a bit. "So," Emily said with a twinkle in her eye, "what do you want to do on this rainy day?"

Paige took a deep breath. "Mmmm…. Remember that rainy Saturday, almost 30 years ago, when you asked me that same question?"

"August 26th," Emily replied. "How could I ever forget that day?" Paige wiggled her eyebrows and bit her lip. "So, that's what you want to do?" Emily rubbed Paige's arms slowly and sensually, lowering her voice to a deep, seductive growl. "You want to watch Casablanca with me?"

"No," Paige said, rolling her eyes at Emily's teasing. "After that."

"Wonder Woman?"

Paige shook her head. "After that," she said condescendingly.

"You want me to ask you to marry me?" Emily didn't know how much more of this teasing Paige would put up with. She was about to find out.

Paige gave Emily a searing kiss. "You know what I mean," she said, her voice an octave or so deeper than normal, and with a bit of urgency behind it. Without any warning, she picked Emily off the ground and carried her in her arms towards the bedroom.

Emily was freaking out, slapping Paige's shoulder as she begged her to put her down. "You're going to drop me! You're going to throw out your back!"

But Paige was undeterred. It had been too much for her - the rain and all the memories that it had brought with it. Emily stopped protesting as she felt the powerful arms underneath her. She knew that she could trust Paige to keep them safe. She giggled like a schoolgirl and kicked up her heels in anticipation when she felt herself falling onto the mattress, with Paige not far behind her. When Paige landed on top of her, Emily took a moment to revel in the soft kisses and caresses before she turned Paige over on her back and sat up, straddling her. "Hey," she said sternly. "I have to tell you something."

Paige sat up on her elbows, looking deep into Emily's eyes, comforted by the half-smile beneath them.

Emily leaned forward and gave Paige a long, passionate kiss. "I love the rain, too."

A/N - Thank you so much for sticking with this story. I know it was a lot, assigning you homework chapters every day, but I certainly appreciate the way that you stepped up to the challenge. And, of course, I owe special thanks to those of you who took the time to leave a review on every chapter. You don't know how much that means tome.

But the biggest thank-you goes to thecatfromaliceinwonderland, who provided the prompt that got me writing again. I only hope she wasn't too disappointed by the direction I took with it.

My goal is to begin and end a story with the beginning and the ending of the month, but I just couldn't make it... I think I'm better off sticking to one-shots from here on out... :)

Thanks again! I honestly love you all. 3

Post Script:

"Was the idea of rain bringing a new beginning conceived from the start or was it organically developed? I was wondering if your story changed because you were writing daily and getting the feedback from reader or was most of the story written from the start?" - Guest

Hi, Guest - I love this question! I wish I knew who you were, so I could reply directly, but, in the hopes that you'll ever see this, here goes.

The rain was an unexpected element. I originally put it in to keep Paige and Emily trapped in the cabin for the weekend, forcing the issue between them. Paige's love for the rain started out as a joke, but then I realized that it represented so much more than their passionate weekend to her; it represented putting her fears behind her and pressing on, and also trusting fate's guidance (in the form of the timing of the rain - starting and ending so that they couldn't escape the cabin - or the elephant in the room) when she was unsure.

(Had I known at the outset that rain would've played such a role, I probably would've incorporated it in the title...)

And yes, my story changed direction at a couple of points because of readers' feedback. That, to me, is the best part of writing multi-chapters - hearing readers' theories about what's going on in the story, or fixing the errors and omissions that they point out. I like to sketch out the story in my head before I start writing - at least to the point where they get together - and I like to stay a couple of chapters ahead in writing it (in case I don't have time to write on a given day), but I've found that, if I get more than one or two chapters ahead, it's hard to react to the prompts that the readers send me.

Thanks so much for reading the story as well as (I hope) this loooooong response... :)