09/03/81 - 09/07/81 (Los Angeles)

Therese woke up to shooting pains in her stomach, acheing and cramping through the night. She reached out with her arm and pushed the figure besides her. "Carlos, wake up. She's coming." Another pain ripped through her abdomen, as the man besides her shot upright.

"Now? As in now now. Right now?" He repeated, pulling on his jeans and t-shirt whilst hopping around their bedroom. Carlos carefully helped his pregnant fiancee out of bed, and into a oversized t-shirt. He picked up the hospital bag in one hand, and held her arm in the other.

Slowly the young couple shuffled to their car, the roads silent and empty at one in the morning. As he sped down the roads towards the hospital, the woman he loved screamed out in agony, repeatedly. "It's okay baby. We're almost there." Carlos tried to soothe his crying fiancee, rubbing her arm up and down.

"Oh is it? Is it okay, Carlos? Cause the last time I checked, a watermelon sized baby isn't trying to push it's way out of your lady parts!" Terri screamed, irrational anger bubbling over the surface and onto him.

Fifteen minutes later and they pulled up to the hospital. "I need some help, my fiancee's in labour." The Spanish man called out, carefully helping her out of the car, supporting her in his arms and into the wheelchair a nurse had brought outside.

Quickly, she was in a room in the labour and delivery suite, Carlos by her side, a midwife checking how everything was progressing. "It looks like you're already eight centimetres dilated. Not too long now." She patted Terri's thigh and left the room, leaving the blonde to collapse into the chest of Carlos.

Over the space of an hour, the contractions became more frequent and longer, soon she was in active labour. "On the count of three Therese, I want you to give one big push. One, two, three." The midwife instructed as her screams filled the room. "And again."

Carlos's hand was turning red and white from the tight grip the labouring woman had had a hold of him. Soft cries erupted into the room, as the midwife bundled the baby in a blanket and handed her over to the parents.

"Hey little one. We're going to love you so so much, Julianna." The two parents snuggling the baby between them, pressing soft, loving kisses onto her forehead repeatedly.

________________________________________________________________________________

Four days later and the family were being sent home, Carlos holding their newborn baby girl in his arms whilst helping his fiancee into the car. Carefully, he strapped the baby into her rear-facing car seat, re-checking the straps twice.

"Let's take our girl home." An exhausted Terri sighed, Carlos starting to pull out of the car park and onto the roads towards their home. Terri's eyes slid shut as the exhaustion and pain took over, the roads' were slightly busier than the few days prior as he navigated their way home.

Four minutes into the journey, loud car horns sounded around the car, a speeding car swerving in and out of the lanes. Carlos turned the wheel sharply to the left to avoid being hit, as his fiancee and daughter woke to the loud noises.

Terri turned in her seat to try and soothe her baby girl, her heart hurting at the sad sound leaving her lips. "Terri, sit down!" Carlos shouted as the speeding car came closer and knocked into the side of their car.

Repeatedly, the car was hit by the other, eventually spinning out of control and into another car and rolling into the bank down the side.

Blood dripped down Terri's forehead as her neck faced an unnatural angle, laying across the middle, inbetween the front and the back seats. Carlos' head was covered in bloody cuts, shattered glass littering his dark hair. Baby Julianna was bleeding and bruised, but still crying loudly.

Within five minutes people were surrounding the car, on the phone to the emergency service and trying to pry open the doors from the upside down vehicle. "I need an ambulance, there's been a car accident. This car was speeding and it hit another multiple times, sending the other car spinning across the road and into the embankment. I can hear a baby crying and the woman, she looks dead."

Twenty minutes later and sirens flooded the scene, paramedics, firefighters and police officers surrounded the overturned car.

A paramedic leant through the open, shattered window and pressed two fingers to the neck of Carlos. "Thready pulse, shallow breathing." She listed as the firefighters worked on popping the backdoor and front door off the car.

After a while the doors were off and the paramedics were at work, Carlos was laid on a gurney, covered in a black sheet and placed into an ambulance and Therese was on the road, covered in a black sheet as a paramedic held and checked over a crying Julia.

Police officers found the phone numbers for Carlos' parents, their emergency contacts. "Hello, is this the mother of Carlos Rodriguez? My name is PC Andy Cole, we were called to respond to a motorvehicle accident in LA this morning, I regret to inform you that Therese and Carlos have been declared deceased. Your granddaughter has been transported to hospital with suspected internal bleeding. I am so sorry for your losses."

Cries could be heard over the line as the sound of shouts and keys rattling were made, before the call was cut off.

________________________________________________________________________________

(New York)

Fernando and Henrietta Rodriguez never thought that the first time they would meet their granddaughter would be when their son and future daughter-in-law had died.

They waited in the airport for the next flight to Los Angeles, California, grieving and apprehensive to meet their daughter.