Chapter One

Todd-

Todd Manning had always wondered about the baby. Somewhere out there in the world there was the potential for a little child with possibly his eyes and his daughter Starr's adorable smile. Maybe he or she also had his son Jack's laugh. Everywhere he went, he looked at babies longingly, wondering if the child he may have helped to create was right there in plain sight. Was he missing out on getting to know his little one?

He had donated his sperm to a fertility clinic after the birth of his second child. He loved his kids so much. They were the light of his life, so he wanted someone else to know the joy he had experienced with parenthood - someone else who had been struggling to reach their dream of having a precious baby.

At first he didn't think about it much - the baby, but after his ex-wife sued for custody, Todd had been devastated. He hardly ever got to see his kids even though he loved them very much. The visits with Starr and Jack had been few and far between. Then one day, the unthinkable happened. Blair had a car wreck. She and the children had not survived. Todd was traumatized. He struggled like hell to survive after the loss of his little son and daughter. Everyday he was haunted by their sweet smiles and their adorable voices. He wanted to rewind time to the last moment he saw them, just so he could hug them a little tighter and assure them of how much he loved them, but he couldn't, his children were forever gone.

Todd became desperate to discover the truth. His desperation grew so intense, he broke into the fertility clinic. He browsed through the numerous files in search of what he just had to know. Was there a baby? Out there in the big, wide world, did some unknown woman bear his child? He could feel it. Somewhere out there - he had another child.

Finally he found HIS file among all the others. He had only been known as sperm donor 7727. He had been reduced to just a number. Then he found the answers he sought. His sperm had been used in an attempt to create embryos. Six healthy embryos had resulted from that particular endeavor. A woman had been implanted with two of the six embryos. The result had been a healthy child - a precious little girl. To Todd's horror, the woman was known in his file as patient 724. It would appear that she had a number as well.

Todd had to find her. And he had to find his daughter! If he had to tear the whole damn clinic apart to uncover the information, he would! After searching through many more files, he found patient 724. He stole her file, because he had to leave the clinic ASAP. He didn't want to be caught by the cops, then sent to jail for breaking and entering.

The clinic was ransacked and in the process, Todd had accidently compromised one of the storage units which held some of the frozen embryos. As a result, the temperature of the storage unit was slowly rising which meant the frozen embryos it contained were unlikely survive. He set off an alarm at the moment he bumped against the storage unit in an attempt to escape. He made it out just in time before the police showed up to cart him off to jail. Even though it was a close escape, Todd had patient 724's file in his hand. As he sped away from the Baby Bunny Fertility Clinic, he vowed he would find her!

Marty-

Marty Saybrooke's identical twin sister and her husband had longed for many years to have a child. Marty had been blessed with a son named Cole. Unfortunately, Marty's sister was unable to get pregnant. Her husband had suffered with cancer. The chemo treatments had left him sterile. Artificial insemination with donor sperm had not been a success for Marty's sister, so the fertility doctor suggested in vitro fertilization. Sadly, none of Marty's sister's eggs had been viable. Since Marty and Michelle were identical twins and shared the exact same DNA, Marty had agreed to donating her own eggs so that Michelle could get pregnant. Time was running out because Michelle's husband was incredibly ill. His cancer had returned with a vengeance. Six healthy embryos had been created in the laboratory using donor sperm and Marty's healthy eggs. Thankfully, the IVF went well and Marty became pregnant on the very first attempt. Michelle was ecstatic.

Unfortunately, her joy was short-lived as her husband Chris passed away a few months before the baby's birth. Marty knew that her sister had lost so much, so she prayed with all her heart that a healthy child would result from the pregnancy. She wanted to give Michelle the gift of a precious child. Michelle was with Marty on the night Marty gave birth. Kynleigh was born beautiful and healthy. Marty was crying as they placed the newborn in her sister's arms. "She's everything I have ever dreamed of. I love her so much," Michelle said to her sister. Kynleigh Michelle was absolutely perfect.

But the joy of that night died before the morning. On the way back home from the hospital, Michelle was killed in a freak accident on the highway. She never had a chance to raise sweet, little Kynleigh. Marty was confused and heartbroken. Biologically Kynleigh was hers, although the plan had always been that Michelle was going to raise her. Marty was going to be the devoted aunt, but suddenly and without warning, she was cast into the role of Kynleigh's mother.

Marty took baby Kynleigh home from the hospital, cradling her gently in her loving arms. On that day she made a promise to her niece. "She was to be your mommy; my sister Michelle, and I promised her I would try again using the other four embryos. Someday, little Kynleigh, you're going to have a little brother or a sister. Since Michelle's gone now, I will be your mommy. I will love you forever, my precious girl." She kissed Kynleigh's baby-soft cheek and lay her down in the bassinet so the little one could sleep. She had a funeral to arrange and sadly it just a few short months after the funeral of Michelle's beloved husband.

From that day forward, Marty took excellent care of little Kynleigh. The bond between them marveled no other. Marty's son Cole had passed away at age seven (also in a car accident), so baby Kynleigh was all Marty had left in the world.

Marty hired a nanny to stay with Kynleigh while she worked at a local hospital. Everything was going great. Kynleigh was growing swiftly. As her first birthday approached, the little darling was just beginning to walk. Marty loved every moment with her sweet little girl. Kynleigh's smiles and giggles were like a breath of fresh air.

Marty had been thinking about going to the fertility clinic and asking about another IVF procedure so that she could bear a little brother or sister for Kynleigh. She never would have imagined what would happen when she called to set up an appointment.

"We're very sorry, Ms. Saybrooke, but there's been a crisis at the clinic. I am afraid that many of the embryos that were frozen in storage are no longer viable," explained the receptionist.

Marty lost it when she heard the news. "WHAT?! But... but I was ready to try for another baby." After all, Marty's biological clock was ticking steadily. She didn't have a lot of time left to bear another child.

"The lab was broken into last night. Everything is in a state of disarray. Personal information was taken as the files were breached. Worst of all however, one of the storage units that houses a great deal of the frozen embryos was comprised and -."

Marty didn't listen to another word. She hung up the phone. She sunk down in the nearest chair and cried. The embryos were gone - all FOUR of them - Kynleigh's potential little brothers and sisters.

As she was quietly sobbing, the phone rang. It happened to be Kynleigh's nanny, Mrs. Mendenhall. "I am so sorry, Ms. Saybrooke, but I can't take care of Kynleigh any longer. My daughter is incredibly sick. I have to fly across the U.S. to stay with her while she's in the hospital."

"I am so sorry about your daughter. Do you know when you will be back?" Marty asked.

"It may be a few months. I just don't know."

"Thank you for letting me know," Marty responded. "I wish you and your daughter the best... and please keep in contact as much as you can."

"I promise that I will," stated Mrs. Mendenhall.

Marty went into the nursery to stand over Kynleigh's crib. Her little blonde-haired, blue eyed angel was sleeping soundly, her tiny thumb in her rosebud mouth.

"What are we gonna do now, Kynleigh? No babysitter... and no more babies; not even one..." Marty murmured.

Going out and finding some random guy just to get pregnant turned Marty's stomach. She had been without a man in her life for so long now. She hadn't dated much since she had broken up with Cole's father. Besides, she wanted Kynleigh's biological father to be the exact same man who would help her in the creation of her future child. Kynleigh was perfection and Marty was sure that her little brother or sister would be also. The problem was - how would she ever find the guy?! His sperm donation had been anonymous. She knew nothing about the man who had made the donation.

With so much going through her mind, Marty almost didn't hear the doorbell as it was ringing. She rushed to answer it, as she didn't want it's persistent buzzing to wake up her sleeping daughter. "Hello?" she said when she saw a gorgeous man standing at her door.

"Are you Marty Saybrooke?" he questioned.

"Yes, I am. Who are you?"

"I am Todd Manning, the father of your child."

Marty stood there with her mouth wide-open; speechless.