The months passed by quickly, and Vanessa was nearing her due date. The baby had not turned inside the womb and was still breach. The doctor had set a date for the C-Section and Vanessa was starting to come to terms with the idea. She didn't like it, but knew it was the only way to have the baby healthy.

She'd been ordered on bed rest for the last three weeks of her pregnancy. For someone who liked to go constantly, it was pure torture. She worked from home part-time, so she could rest. Her boss was being very understanding and didn't want Vanessa to jeopardize her health or the health of the baby. Still, Vanessa was pushing herself too much physically. She was on her feet more than she should.

Lin got home from work one evening to find her on her hands and knees cleaning the kitchen floor. "Vanessa, what are you doing?" He asked her in frustration.

"The floor is filthy," she told him as she scrubbed. Francisco had spilled juice all over it earlier. Lin walked over to her and grasped her upper arm.

"Up," he told her firmly. Vanessa sighed and allowed her husband to help her up. She was forgetting how difficult it was to get up once she was down. Lin held onto her for several long moments to make sure she was steady on her feet. "Bed. Now," he told her.

Vanessa sighed. "Lin, I'm fine, I-"

She was cut off. "Go," he told her, finding he was having to be quite firm with her. Vanessa turned her head to give him a glare in response. Lin then got to work getting dinner ready for the family for the evening.

Lexi arrived home after school in high spirits. It was finally opening night for Moana. She was so excited, along with the rest of the cast. She'd asked her parents again and again if they were coming to opening night, and they had assured her they would be there. The tickets were ready on the fridge, held by a magnet, ready to go. Lexi excitedly packed a bag of necessities for the play – make up, deodorant, her lucky bracelet. She kissed her parents goodbye and caught the subway back to school to get ready.

When dinner was ready, Lin walked back to his bedroom to get Vanessa. She laid on their bed reading a book, obviously bored out of her mind.

He sat down on the edge of the bed, putting his hands on either side of her body. "You need to stop overdoing it, V," he told her softly.

"I know," she told him. "I just get so bored. I'm going stir crazy."

Lin nodded, feeling for her. He leaned down to kiss her for a few moments, then heard Vanessa breath in sharply. Vanessa looked down and saw that the bedspread around her was wet. Her water had broken.

"Shit, Lin!" She cursed, sitting up. Lin got up and immediately went into emergency mode. They had planned for this, knowing babies didn't follow schedules. There was already an overnight bag packed. He hurried over to the closet and tossed Vanessa a clean pair of pants and underwear to change into.

"I'll go tell the girls," he said, rushing out of the room. Lin knocked on Lexi and Emma's doors, and they opened up immediately, hearing the urgency in his voice. "Girls, Vanessa's water just broke. We need to go to the hospital."

Lexi jumped up and down in excitement. She was going to have a sister sooner rather than later. They had already discussed their plans in great length. If Lin and Vanessa had to rush to the hospital, Emma was responsible for calling Lin's parents to come over. Luis and Luz would come stay with the kids while Vanessa and Lin were at the hospital.

Lin went back to the bedroom and picked up Vanessa's overnight bag, then helped his wife walk down the hallway. Her face was slightly pained and anyone could tell she was uncomfortable.

"Good luck, Vanessa!" Emma told her mother, grinning. Lexi gave her mother a big hug, and then Vanessa kissed and hugged both the boys goodbye. Sebastian was especially upset to have his mother and father suddenly leaving without warning. Vanessa tried her best not to show the pain she was in so she didn't upset the boys. And the girls for that matter.

Lin hailed a cab – this was not an occasion when the subway was appropriate. They arrived at the hospital about ten minutes later and were immediately admitted. Lin helped his wife change into a hospital gown and the nurses began to hook her up to different machines. The baby heart monitor showed the baby was fine, much to their relief.

Since their little girl had decided to come early, their regular doctor wasn't available, which made Vanessa a little nervous. Their delivery doctor was someone she had never met before. Lin reassured her that they were in good hands. It wasn't an emergency situation, so the nurses took their time prepping Vanessa for her surgery.

Finally, about an hour after they'd arrived, Vanessa was wheeled into the surgery room. Lin was allowed to stay, but had to stand by his wife's head, away from the surgical curtain. He wouldn't want to see what was going on anyway. Lin thought he was probably faint.

The doctor administered the anesthesia that would numb Vanessa from the ribs down. He began talking to the nervous parents as he made the incision in her low abdomen. He gave a moment by moment commentary on what he was doing.

Vanessa felt some tugging and pulling but felt no pain. She squeezed Lin's hand hard.

"Alright, I see the head," the doctor reported. He carefully worked the child's head out through the surgical opening, and soon the baby was out. Lin and Vanessa were relieved to hear the sound of crying. "And she's out."

The baby wasn't immediately handed over since it was a C-section. Because she was in the middle of surgery, Lin wasn't able to cut the cord like he'd done with the boys, but that was minor. A couple minutes later, Vanessa was handed her daughter, bundled up in a white blanket with a little hat on her head. Lin knelt down next to his wife as they both gazed at their newborn daughter.

"Hi, baby," Vanessa whispered softly as she gently stroked her daughter's cheek with her finger. The baby had stopped crying, feeling secure wrapped up tight in the blanket. Her eyes were open, and they were a beautiful chocolate brown color. Lin reached out and gently stroked his newborn's head.

The two parents just looked at their daughter and gently spoke to her as the surgeons stitched Vanessa up and cleaned up after the surgery. Soon, they were being wheeled into a recovery room. The baby never left her mother's arms.

Finally, back in the room, Vanessa handed her daughter over to her husband. Lin very carefully took her from his wife, cradling her tiny head. The nurse had announced she was 6 pounds, 13 ounces, a healthy weight. Lin slowly paced the floor, moving the baby back and forth gently as he gazed at her perfect little face. One of her tiny hands moved out of her blanket, grasping at the air. Lin set his pointer finger in her palm and she gripped it firmly. She tucked her pinky underneath, just like her father gripped a mic. He chuckled a little as she closed her eyes and slipped into dreamland.

Vanessa recovered quietly for the next few hours as nurses came in to monitor her and the baby's health and check on her surgical opening. She was hooked up to an IV so she could receive pain medication. The anesthesia was wearing off and she was relieved to feel her legs again. Lin texted his parents to let them know Vanessa was up to visitors.

About 45 minutes later, the large crew arrived. Luz held Sebastian's hand and Emma held Francisco in her arms. Luz was the first to Vanessa's bed, and the mother handed the newborn over to be doted upon. Luz began speaking to her granddaughter in Spanish, rocking her back and forth. As everyone waited their turn, Luis began to ask Lin and Vanessa about how the delivery had gone. Everything had gone smoothly, and now they just needed Vanessa to take it easy and let herself recover.

Luz finally passed the baby on to Luis. After that, it was Emma, then Alexis's turn. Sebastian took a seat in a hospital chair and the nurse found an extra pillow. Lin knelt down in front of him and carefully set the baby in Sebastian's arms. Sebastian decided she was pretty cool.

Francisco was too young to hold his sister, of course, and he was actually falling asleep in Luis's arms now. It was way past Sebastian and Francisco's bedtimes. They would have liked to stay longer, but it was time to get the kids home to bed.

"Lexi, I'm sorry we missed your play," Vanessa said. She knew Lexi had been so excited. The teenager shrugged her shoulders, trying to act like she wasn't bothered, but she was. She knew the situation couldn't be helped, but it was important to her that her parents be at opening night. "I don't know if I'll be able to go, but maybe Lin can come another night."

"Did you decide on a name?" Emma asked as they were packing up to leave. Lin was perched on the side of his wife's bed. They looked down at their sleeping daughter together.

"Yes," Vanessa looked at her husband. "Emilia. Emilia Luz Miranda."

Luz teared up a bit, knowing they'd given her granddaughter her name. She walked back over and gave Vanessa and Lin a big kiss on the cheek.

"That was one of the names I suggested," she reminded them.

"Yeah, that's totally why we chose it, Mom," Lin teased her.

Luz and Luis took the other four children home, leaving Lin and Vanessa alone at the hospital with little Emilia. Lin decided he would stay the night at least this first night. His parents were in his bed anyway. Vanessa was pretty exhausted from her surgery, but she was in and out of sleep as nurses checked on her throughout the night. They also woke her up when it was time to breast feed Emilia.

Emilia was having problems taking to breast feeding. She would not latch on and was getting rather fussy, probably because she was hungry. Lin tried to reassure his wife, who was getting a bit upset. Sebastian and Francisco had no issues with breastfeeding. It seemed this third pregnancy was full of complications.

The nurse on duty called in a lactation expert to consult with Vanessa. She had Vanessa try breastfeeding, so she could observe the problem. They were told it could possibly be a side effect of the medication Vanessa was given for her C-section. The lactation specialist recommended more skin to skin contact so Vanessa stripped off her gown and Lin helped her pull her sheet up to her shoulders. She placed Emilia under the sheet, so they were cuddling skin to skin. The specialist left for a while and would come back later to check in.

When Emilia started fussing again, the lactation specialist was called back in. She showed Vanessa a different technique involving the baby laying tummy to tummy with her mother. Finally, Emilia began a steady sucking. Vanessa settled back, relieved that her daughter seemed to finally be getting the hang of it. They thanked the specialist and she promised to return the next day to make sure all was well.

Lin stroked Emilia's head as she fed for a minute, then headed to the lobby to give Vanessa some privacy. He made a few phone calls, the last being to his father to see how the kids were doing. Lexi and Emma were both at school, so they were both hanging out with the boys at home. They were in good spirits and Sebastian kept asking when his parents and sister were coming home.

It had been decided to move Francisco into Sebastian's room, since they were both still so little. The nursery had been transformed into a girl's paradise. All the furniture was white, and her crib covers were an adorable light yellow. It was ready and waiting for the tiny occupant to arrive.

Finally, two days later, Vanessa was cleared to come home. They still needed to keep a close eye on her surgical wound and couldn't lift more than 20 pounds for 6 weeks. That would make caring for Francisco especially difficult. Her mother would be coming to help out frequently, and Luz would be close by as well.

They arrived home, Lin carrying a sleeping Emilia in her newborn carrier. Lin and Vanessa sat on the couch and he carefully extracted her from her seat. Everyone wanted another turn holding the newest Miranda. After everyone had their fill, Lin took Emilia to the nursery for a nap. She squirmed a little, but settled down quickly.

The next half hour was spent catching up on all the happenings in the kids' lives. Lexi talked about the play and the cast party on Saturday night. Lin's heart dropped, realizing he had missed all her performances. He'd been so focused on the baby and Vanessa's recovery that it had slipped his mind. He felt awful.

As everyone started to go about their business, Lexi headed to her bedroom and Lin followed behind her.

"Lex, can I talk to you?" He asked his daughter. Lexi plopped down on her bed and nodded. Lin pulled out her desk chair and set it down next to her bed. "I'm really sorry Vanessa and I missed your play. The last few days have been really crazy. I know how much it meant to you."

Lexi didn't look at him, examining her fingernails. Lin knew it was bothering her.

"Did someone record it?" He asked.

"Yeah," she said. "It's on Youtube already."

"Want to watch it together later?" He suggested.

That seemed to please her at least a little bit. Lin thought he saw a smile from her. He leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead. "Thanks for being so understanding. You're a great big sister."

Lexi sighed out and curled over onto her side. It hurt that they hadn't been there, but it had been for a very good reason. She took a little nap.

The mail had piled up over the last few days, so Lin got to work opening up all the envelopes. Mostly bills. He came to his bank statement and opened it up. The family had multiple accounts, including one each for Lexi and Emma. All the statements came together in one envelope. Lin took a look over the withdrawals and deposits like he usually did. He furrowed his eyebrows when he came to Emma's account. A total of $500 had been withdrawn over the last month.

Emma was on the floor playing with her younger brothers. "Em, come here a minute."

Emma walked over and stood next to her father. He passed the bank statement to her. "Why are there $500 in withdrawals from your bank account? You're not supposed to be touching that money unless we've talked about it."

Emma bit her lip. She'd forgotten that the bank statements came together. "Oh, I got a pair of shoes and some clothes earlier in the month."

"Five hundred dollars worth?" He asked her. "Em, that's really irresponsible."

"Sorry," she said meekly, hoping he'd drop it. The money was actually used to buy more Adderall from a new source. They were $8 a pop now.

"Don't let it happen again," he told her. "Or I'll take away your debit card."

Emma nodded in agreement and headed back over to play with her brothers again. She let out a breath, knowing she'd come close to being found out. Luckily, Lexi had been a huge help hiding her pills in her boots. Lin didn't search Emma's room anymore, but she didn't want to take any chances.

As the evening went on, something irked Lin about the bank charges. He got the statement out and took a closer look. The withdrawals had been made in small amounts - $20, $40, or $60. Emma had made it seem like she'd made a couple big purchases. And why would she use cash to buy things at a store when she had a debit card she could just charge it to?

Luis was making dinner – fajitas – so Lin decided he needed to question his daughter more. She was back in her bedroom now, so he knocked on her door and was told to come in. Lin shut the door behind him and sat on her desk chair, bank statement in hand.

"I wanted to ask you more about these charges," he told her. "All these withdrawals are for small amounts. Didn't you say you went on a couple shopping trips?"

"Ummm, yeah," she quickly tried to tweak her story. "Well, I didn't want to make a huge withdrawal, so I took out small amounts at a time."

Lin just looked at her for a few long moments. "That doesn't make any sense," he told her bluntly. "Why wouldn't you just charge it to your debit card?"

"I don't know," she said, turning back to her homework, trying to look busy. "I just didn't."

Lin sighed, not wanting to venture into this territory, but knew he needed to. Things just weren't adding up.

"Em, I hate to ask this, but you're not taking money out to get more Adderall, are you?"

"Lin!" She protested. "No, I don't do that anymore."

"Don't lie to me," he told her. Emma shifted around uncomfortably. How could he always tell she was lying? "Look at me and tell me what you did with that money."

God, she hated when he made her look him in the eye. She couldn't lie to his face. "I was having a hard time weaning myself off so I've bought pills a few times."

Lin closed his eyes and sighed. "How many a week?"

Emma sighed and scratched at her head. "Seven?"

Lin scrubbed a hand over her face. "Emma, I was giving you half a pill a week. Are you telling me you've been taking another pill on top of that? I thought we'd weaned you off of them months ago."

"I'm sorry!" She said. "Things have just been crazy again."

"Things will always be crazy," he told her. "You can't turn to Adderall every time you get swamped."

"It's not a big deal!" She protested. "I'm getting straight A's and I'm one of the top dancers at ABT. The Adderall seems to be working pretty well for me."

"It's really bothering me that you think there's nothing wrong with this," he told her. "Do you really believe this is harmless?"

"Yes!" She told him. "It's a booster. It's not a street drug."

"But you're addicted," he pointed out. "This is not healthy. And you've been taking money out of the bank account your parents left you in their will. That's not right, Em."

"Well, you made me quit my job so I had to get the money somewhere," she sassed.

"Don't you dare put this on me, young lady," he raised his voice slightly. "I'm so disappointed in you right now. I thought we'd gotten through this but we haven't. I told you if you didn't get your act together, I was pulling you out of ballet."

Emma's face contorted into a deeply hurt expression – one Lin had never seen. It almost made him back down, but he knew he couldn't. This was far more serious than he first realized. "You can't do that, Lin."

"You're not leaving me a choice, Em," he told her, standing up. "Monday morning, I'll call ABT and tell them you're taking a hiatus. Instead of ballet after school, you'll be going to an addiction specialist."

Lin saw that Emma was starting to become very emotional. He hated doing this, but nothing else was getting through to her.

"Lin, please!" She begged him as he walked over to her desk. He opened the top drawer where she'd kept her pills before but didn't find any. "I'll stop! I'll quit cold turkey."

"It's too late for that, Em," he told her gently. "You can't handle this by yourself. Now where are your pills?"

She sighed and crossed her arms, a couple tears running down her face. "Lexi's room," she whispered. Lin raised his eyebrows in surprise. He stormed over to the door and flung it open, heading next door to Lexi's bedroom. He pushed the door open without opening. Lexi sat up on her bed immediately.

"Where are they?" Lin asked her again. Emma glanced at her sister, and Lexi knew it was all over. In a way, she was relieved. She didn't have to hide it any more. Emma went to her sister's closet and pulled her stash out of Lexi's boot. She handed them to Lin, glaring at him.

"You used your sister to hide your pills?" He asked, his voice showing his anger.

"You were searching my room! I had no privacy."

"I cannot believe you would sink to that level, to manipulative your twelve year old sister into hiding your drug addiction," he spat as he shoved the bag into his pocket. He flung the door open and stormed out to the kitchen. Emma followed behind him, equally angry.

"Lin, please don't pull me out," she continued to beg, her voice showing desperation. Luis and Luz were in the living room playing with the boys. They looked over at the noise and were surprised to see both Lin and Emma upset.

"Emma, I've already told you my decision," he said. "Go to your room."

"No!" She refused. Lin spun around, hands on his hips.

"Excuse me?" He challenged her.

"Woah, woah," Luis stepped in, putting his hand on his son's shoulder. He wasn't sure what exactly was going on, but obviously there was something very heated going on between his son and granddaughter. "Let's everybody calm down. What's going on?"

"He's trying to pull me out of ballet!" Emma spat, tears in her eyes. Luis wasn't sure what she'd done, but it had to be something pretty major for Lin to do that.

"Lower your voice," Lin said through gritted teeth. "You are not going to disturb Vanessa."

"I don't give a fuck right now!" Emma growled.

"Emma!" Luis admonished his granddaughter, something he didn't often do. "Now I'm not sure what's going on, but Lin is your father, so you need to listen to him. Emma, go to your room to calm down."

Emma was about to break down so she stormed off to her room, slamming her door behind her. Emilia began to cry.

"I'll go get her," Luz said quietly, pushing herself up from the couch.

Lin began pacing the room and Luis crossed his arms. "Lin, calm down."

"I'm fine, dad," he said, rubbing his fingers on his forehead. "We just have a situation going on with Emma. I thought it was done, but it's not."

"What's going on?" He asked his son.

"She's been taking Adderall as an upper," he explained as he continued to pace. "We found out a couple months ago and thought she'd stopped, but I just found out she's still been using them the last couple months. And she used her parents' will money to buy them."

Luis whistled, surprised at what Emma had been doing. She was an incredibly driven kid, so he guessed it kind of made sense. Not that it was right. A few moments later, Emma's door flew open and she stormed out with her overnight bag.

"Where are you going?" Lin demanded.

"Sara's," she said, not bothering to ask permission. Lin decided to let her go, knowing fighting with her wasn't going to solve anything. The front door slammed.

"Let's go sit down," Luis suggested, patting his son on the back. Lin nodded and walked over, realizing his heart was beating incredibly fast. As they sat down, he let out a long breath. "Have you thought about getting her professional help?"

"We'd thought about it, but we thought she was fine," Lin explained. "But that's the next step now. I'll contact an addiction center tomorrow."

"That's good," Luis nodded. "Is it inpatient or outpatient?"

"I think it'll have to be inpatient."

"Listen," Luis began. "How about Emma stays with us for a while? It seems like you guys are down each other's throats. Maybe being away from each other would be good."

"I don't know, dad," he said honestly. "She needs to be kept on a tight leash. She's not trustworthy right now."

"Your mother and I are retired," he pointed out. "All our attention would be focused on her. And do you think your mother would go easy on her?"

Lin chuckled a little, remembering how his mother ran a pretty tight ship with him and his sister when they were kids. Emma wouldn't get away with anything.

"Let me talk with Vanessa," he said.

"Okay," Luis said. "It wouldn't be any trouble at all. Then you could concentrate more on Emilia."

Lin nodded. "Thanks, dad."

"Of course," he said, looking back at the kitchen. "The fajitas are about ready. Why don't you go get Vanessa?"

Lin walked back to their bedroom where Vanessa was resting in bed. As he sat down on the bed, her eyes fluttered open and she smiled slightly.

"Hey," Lin greeted her.

"Hey," she whispered.

"Dinner's ready. You hungry?"

Vanessa nodded and began to push herself up. She winced in pain as the movement bothered her incision.

"Go slow," Lin reminded her. He held her arm as she swung her legs over the bed. He then helped her stand and began to walk with her down the hallway. Luis and Luz got the boys to the table and got them set up with food. Luz held baby Emilia in her arms. Vanessa smiled and looked around at her family.

"Where's Emma?" She asked. Lin and Luis shared a look.

"She went to Sara's," Lin said. "I'll fill you in later."

The family enjoyed the meal together, and Luis and Luz took care of the dishes, wanting to give Lin and Vanessa as much of a hand as possible. Lexi disappeared to her room and then Luz got the boys ready for their bath. Vanessa was exhausted, and took Emilia back to her bedroom. They had the bassinet by the bed so they would be nearby during the night.

Vanessa pulled up her shirt on one side and positioned Emilia to start breast feeding. She was again having a hard time latching on. Lin walked in to check on her and saw that Vanessa was getting frustrated. Trying to move the baby around was painful.

"Let me help," Lin told her as he walked around and sat down on the edge of the bed. He gently picked Emilia up and positioned her so she was tummy to tummy with his wife. Vanessa then guided her to the right place, and she finally latched on. Vanessa let her head rest against the pillow. As Emilia began to suckle, Lin pushed himself back towards the headboard so he was next to his wife.

"So what's up with Emma?"

Lin knew his wife was in a delicate position. He didn't want her to get upset, but there wasn't really any avoiding the truth. Lin told her how he'd found the bank statement and then questioned her about the withdrawals. Vanessa was livid, but took deep breaths to hold herself together.

"She's been using this whole time?" She clarified. "And she was hiding them in Lexi's room?"

Lin nodded reluctantly.

"What are we going to do?"

"Well, I think the next step is an addiction center," Lin said. "Obviously she's past the point where she can take care of this herself."

She nodded in agreement. "I don't think insurance covers that, does it?"

"No, not likely," Lin said. "But that doesn't matter. I told her we're pulling her out of ballet."

"And how'd she take that?"

"She was devastated," he said. "But nothing else seems to be getting through to her."

"I agree," Vanessa said. "Something needs to shake her."

"My dad offered to take Emma for a while," he went on. "I think it's a good idea. I think we all need a break."

They talked a bit about logistics and agreed that was the best solution. Since they were retired, they could easily take her to the addiction center and keep a very close eye on her. Once Vanessa had gone to bed, Lin hung out on the couch with his parents and said they'd like to take them up on their offer. They decided that as soon as Emma got home tomorrow, they'd go.

Lin wasn't sure he was doing the right thing, but they needed to try something different. His daughter's health and life depended on it.