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Prologue

He sits in the waiting room, bouncing his knee up and down. He's nervous, more than nervous. He quickly rises and starts to pace the small room. He really can't sit still. He hasn't been able to sit still since he entered this tiny room. He hasn't been able to sit still since he entered this stupid hospital. He's been here for the past two hours and still no news. He needs to know what is happening. He can't sit still, he can't even think properly until he hears some type of news. He has to know what is happening back there. He needs to know.

She called him about two, maybe three hours ago. He had been at work when he had gotten the call. He rushed to get her immediately. It took him a total of an hour to get her and drive to the hospital. For the first hour, he was in the room with her, he was even in the delivery room with her, just as she was starting to push, but then something went wrong. He's not even sure what wrong, he didn't even get a chance to ask, he was instantly pushed out of the room and he was able to get a quick glimpse of what was happening in the room. He watched as they placed an oxygen mask over her face. That's all he saw. He has been in this waiting room ever since.

He once again sits down and once again starts bouncing his knee up and down. He runs a hand over his face. He is more tired than he has ever been. He had been working the night shift, again, it had been some time past midnight when she called him. It's now some time past two in the morning. He is the only one, the only one here. No other family, just the two of them. This is the way they wanted it. No family, just the two of them when it happened, when she gave birth to their child, to their daughter. They had decided and discussed it when they had first found out that she was pregnant. No other family members period, just him and her. And it is not like anyone else would come to the hospital, the two of them aren't stopping them from coming. It would just be difficult for them to come because none of their family members actually know that they are having a baby.

Yep, that's right. Neither one of them has told their family members that they were expecting a baby. It's not like that didn't want to them, they really wanted to them, her more than him. They couldn't. They couldn't tell them because they don't plan on keeping the baby. The hardest decision the pair has ever had to make. Literally the hardest. They didn't want to give up the baby, god, that was, is the last thing they want to do. But at the moment, neither one of them are in the situation to raise a baby. They couldn't if they tried. So, in the end, they painfully decided to give their little girl up for adoption.

He is brought out of his thoughts the moment he sees the doctor coming directly towards him. He quickly stands, waiting for the doctor to come and tell him the news. Whatever that news may be. He hopes that it's not bad news, anything but bad news. He is really unsure of what to expect. The fact that the doctor, who was delivering his daughter, has blood on his scrubs is not a good sign, not a good sign at all. He can feel the breath inside of him slowly fading. No bad signs. Please, no bad signs.

"So, what, um," He stutters. "What is? What is?"

"They are both fine," The doctor quickly confirms. "It was a touch and go for a while, but I can tell you that they are going to be absolutely fine."

He can't even manage to get the words out of his mouth. All he can do is let out a shaky, deep breath as he collapses into the chair he was previously sitting in. He is relieved that they are both okay. He honestly doesn't what he would have done is something happened to them. He didn't even want to think about if something went wrong, but that has all he has been able to think about for the past hour. He isn't even aware that the doctor has sat down next to him until he feels a hand on his shoulder.

"Listen, son," The Doctor says. "I know how nerve racking this can be for both you and your girlfriend and especially for young parents but you have a healthy baby girl waiting for you."

"You don't understand, Doc," He pauses, taking a chance to look at the doctor. "We aren't keeping her. We can't keep her."

"It's not too late to change your minds," The Doctor says.

"As much as I would love for that to happen, it just can't," He sighs. "It can't. Neither one of us is in the potion to raise a child. We can't put a child in the type of environment that either one of us is in right now. It's… It's just not an ideal situation for any child to be raised in. I wish we could, I really wish we could keep her. I mean she's, she's our daughter, my daughter, my ba…"

He can't even finish his sentence. He promised himself that he wouldn't get emotional, but how could he not. This is his daughter, his little girl, his baby girl. He is giving up his daughter. He doesn't have a choice. He wishes that they could keep her. That things didn't have to be like this. Neither one of them is ready to be parents that much is clear. He has told himself so many times throughout the pregnancy, what they are doing is the right thing. It is the right thing, right?

"Son, I know this is a hard decision, I know what you are going through" The Doctor pauses. "Believe it or not, I was once in your position. Nothing is harder than giving up your child for adoption. You prepare yourself for months, but when that time finally comes, all that preparing was for nothing. Go be with your girlfriend, son, she is going to be hurting too. Right now, she's still asleep for the medicine we gave her, but in a few hours she's going to be awake and she's going to need a shoulder to cry on. Go be that shoulder."

He doesn't need to be told twice. He quickly says thank to the doctor before making his way to the room where she is. Of course, just like the doctor said, she is asleep. He gently positions himself on the edge of her hospital bed. Oh, God, she looks so peaceful, so beautiful. He gently runs his hand over her cheek and places a gentle kiss on her forehead. He can see that she is starting to slowly wake up. He waits a few minutes and watches as she opens her eyes.

"Hi, gorgeous," He smiles. "How ya feeling?"

"Where is she?" She asks, completely ignoring her question. "Is she okay?"

"The doctor told me that she was fine, perfectly healthy," He smiles. "She is with all the other babies in the nursery. How are you feeling?"

"When can I see her?" She asks, once again ignoring his questions.

"Baby, we talked about this, we have talked about this for months, ever since we found out that you were pregnant," He sighs, letting out a shaky breath. "It's not going to be a good idea if we see her. It would just make it so much harder when we have to say goodbye."

"I want to see her," She cries. "I want to see my baby girl, our daughter."

"I know you do, baby, I know you do," He sighs, running his hands gently through her hair. "Believe me, I want to see her too, but if I see her it just going to make it so much harder to let her go."

"I can't just let her go," She continues to cry. "She has been inside my body… I have been carrying her for nine months. I am already attached to her, it's already too hard to let her go. Just let me see her. Just let me see my daughter."

"Okay, Okay, shh, shh," He says as he gently and carefully pulls her into his arms and continues to run his hand through her hair. "I will take you to see her, but right now you need to get some rest, okay. Once you have slept some more, I will have the doctor arrange for us to see the baby."

"Her name is," She pauses, leaning back a little bit to look at him straight in the eyes. "Her name is Lorelei Gilmore-Mariano."

"I know, baby, I know."

He once again pulls her close, wrapping one of his arms around her while the other, while his hand runs through her hair. He leaves kisses on top of her head as he rocks her back and forth. He doesn't have the heart to tell her that their daughter won't be named Lorelei. He doesn't have the heart to tell her that they can't name their own daughter.