Once again, flashbacks are in italics, and let me know if you find mistakes
Chapter Two -- Two
"Dr. Wilson?" Dr. Baker knocked lightly on the half open door.
"Yes, come in." Dr. James Wilson stood behind his desk, reaching out to shake her hand. "How can I help you?"
"I'm Dr. Jennifer Baker. I"m an OB-GYN at Princeton General Hospital. One of my patients is delivering here today." Baker explained.
"Ah, nice to meet you." Wilson nodded, sitting and offering a chair to Baker. "Can I ask why you've come to me?"
"She asked me to come get you. Said you were a friend and she needed you." Baker answered.
"But I don't - oh shit." Wilson interrupted himself. "What room is she in?"
"2110." Wilson took off, leaving Dr. Baker to trail behind him. He skidded to a stop outside the room, opening the door he sighed as he took in the woman in the bed.
"Stacy." He shook his head with a smile and came to sit on the edge of her bed. "You were supposed to give me a little warning." He told her as he took her hand.
She choked out a laugh. "James. I didn't really-" She interrupted herself as a contraction hit, gasping as her grip on his hand tightened.
"Breathe Stacy." Wilson coached her, watching the machine monitoring her contractions. "It's almost over. There you go."
She relaxed back into the pillow, swiping at the hair that stuck to her forehead. "I didn't really have much of a warning myself. This whole pregnancy's been one surprise and complication after another."
Three months after leaving Princeton, Stacy was working late on her most recent case, nearly falling asleep at her desk when the phone rang.
"This is Stacy." She answered automatically, searching for a file she must have left at the office.
"Stacy, it's James Wilson."
"James." She leaned back, instantly forgetting what she looked for, resting a hand protectively over her stomach. "What's going on?"
"You sitting down?" Wilson asked softly.
"James? What's happened?" She heard him sigh.
"There was-there was a shooting."
"Who?"
"Stacy," Wilson warned weakly.
"James don't mess with me. Who's hurt?" She held her breath.
"House."
She felt like her heart stopped. "H-how bad?"
"He's in surgery." Wilson answered. "Bullets to the neck and stomach. He's got a good surgeon Stacy. He's going to be okay."
"Thanks for letting me know." She choked out. "Will you-call me when he's out of surgery?"
"Of course, Stacy-" Wilson hesitated. "Are you okay?"
"I'm - fine."
"Okay, I'll call when he's out."
"Thanks." As soon as she hung up the phone, she broke down. Crying, she placed her hands over her stomach. He had to pull through this. She had to make herself believe that he would be okay. She left her office and went to her bedroom, curling up in the fetal position on the bed, her cell phone on the pillow beside her. A few hours later her cell phone rang. She lunged for it and flipped it open quickly. "James?"
"Yeah, he's out. He's going to be okay Stacy."
"Oh, thank God." She released the hand that had been tightly grasping her crucifix, running it through her hair and squeezing the back of her neck.
"Surgery went well, he's in recovery now." Wilson added. "Listen Stacy, I'm gonna be in Short Hills in a couple of weeks. Maybe we could grab lunch and talk."
"I'd love to have lunch. But, I'm not in Short Hills anymore." Stacy told him reluctantly.
"Really? Where are you?" Wilson asked, curiosity getting the best of him.
"Back in Princeton. I'm working at Princeton General."
"Wow, well. Why don't we have lunch sooner then? Maybe this week?" He offered.
"Sure," Stacy grabbed her calendar, flipping to the current week. "I'm free tomorrow and Thursday."
"I'm free tomorrow." Both penciled the lunch into their schedules. "Where do you want to meet?" They set a meeting place at a diner halfway between the two hospitals. "Alright, I'll see you tomorrow then Stacy."
"Sounds good. And James, will you do me a favor?"
"Sure, what?"
"Don't overreact when you see me." She told him slowly.
"Why? You go blonde?" Wilson teased.
She chuckled. "Just don't overreact okay?"
"Okay, I'll see you tomorrow." He paused. "And Stacy? He's going to be fine." He assured her.
"Thanks. See you tomorrow."
The next day, Dr. Wilson arrived at the restaurant before Stacy, putting their names in before walking outside to wait for her. He found himself wondering what to expect. Her order against his reaction was cryptic, and he didn't know if he should be worried. He smiled as he spotted her car pulling into the lot, and pushed his concerns aside. As she parked, he made his way to her car, opening the door for her.
"Well, you're not blonde." He joked in greeting, offering his hand to pull her from the car. She laughed and hugged him, feeling him tense in her arms. He pulled back slowly, giving her a strange look. Moving quickly, he flipped open the button of the suit jacket she wore. His eyes widened as the curve of her stomach was revealed. She ran a hand through her hair and sighed.
"Let's go inside. I'll explain." She took his hand, leading him inside the restaurant and following the hostess to their table. When the woman gave them their menus and left he leaned forward.
"How far along are you?" He asked, voice low.
"Three months." She gave him a half smile.
"Wow, uh." Wilson ran a hand through his hair. "Congratulations I guess."
"Thanks."
"I had no idea you and Mark wanted kids."
"We didn't." She said shortly, cutting herself off when the waitress came and took their orders. When she'd gone, Stacy changed the subject. "So how is everything at the hospital?"
Wilson sighed. "Good. Getting back to normal." He raised an eyebrow when she tensed.
"How's -"
"House?"
Stacy looked down at her water glass. "Yeah."
"He's recovering well. One was just a surface wound, the other went into his stomach and lodged in his ribs." He watched as Stacy covered her mouth with one hand, the other drifting down to rest over her stomach. "He's recovering from the surgery well, amazingly actually."
"What do you mean?"
"He had Cuddy give him Ketamine instead of anesthesia." Wilson leaned forward as he explained. "It's been used as a treatment for pain like his. In a way it reboots the brain, making it forget about the nerves that were there, and the pain."
"So Greg's pain free?"
"In his leg at least, yeah." Wilson smiled.
"That's incredible."
"There's a fifty percent chance that the pain will come back, of course that means-"
"There's a good chance it won't." She finished for him and he nodded. Their conversation turned to more generic topics as their food arrived. Wilson laughed at her odd combinations of food. After lunch, he walked her to her car.
"Promise me you'll call me if you need anything okay?" Wilson told her as they hugged goodbye.
"I will. Keep me updated okay?"
"Of course." Wilson watched as she backed out of the parking spot and pulled away.
---
A month later, Wilson was on his way to the cafeteria with House when his cell phone rang. They kept walking as he flipped it open and answered in his customary manner. "Dr. Wilson."
"James? It's Stacy." He heard tears in her voice and stopped in his tracks. House continued ahead of him a few moments before realizing that Wilson was no longer beside him.
"Hey, are you okay?" Wilson asked, his concern evident, House turned around watching his friend with interest.
"I don't know- yeah, I'm- can you come here?" She mumbled.
"Of course, where are you?"
"Princeton General."
"Okay, I'm on my way." He flipped the phone shut and turned down the hall, the opposite of where they'd been heading.
"Hey Jimmy, caf's this way." House joked, heading after him.
"You go on. I've got something - a patient." They were back in his office as he removed his white coat and pulled on his jacket, grabbing his keys as he headed back outside.
"You have to go out for a patient?" House asked in a voice that clearly did not believe him.
"Yeah, look - I gotta go." Wilson ducked around the corner, hurrying out to his car and away from the hospital before House could get the idea to follow him. He arrived at Princeton General in record time, rushing into the ER. "I'm looking for a patient-I think- Stacy Warner." He told the receptionist at the desk in a rush.
"We don't have a patient here by-" She started to say, but was interrupted by a doctor coming into the lobby.
"Dr. Wilson?" The woman asked.
"Yeah, I'm James Wilson."
"I'm Dr. Jennifer Baker, Stacy's OB-GYN." She introduced herself, shaking his hand.
"Oh, hi. Stacy called me? She seemed upset." He said as he followed the doctor down the hallway.
"She's okay. A little overwhelmed, but fine health-wise." Baker advised him, pointing him towards a room. "She's right in there, you can see her."
"Thanks." Wilson pushed open the door warily. "Stacy."
She looked up from fiddling with the hem of her maternity shirt. "James, thanks for coming. I didn't know who else to call."
"Of course." He sat down beside her. "What happened?"
"Nothing really, I just- we did an ultrasound today."
"Is everything okay with the baby? Are there abnormalities?" He took her hand comfortingly.
She laughed wryly. "Depends on whether you call two abnormal."
"Two? As in twins?" His eyebrows shot up.
"Yep. I'm forty-six, pregnant and alone, and if that wasn't enough..." She trailed off.
"What do you mean alone? Where's Mark?" She looked down at her bare ring finger and he followed her eyes.
"He left me." She said softly.
"He what?" Wilson asked increduously. "How could he leave you when you're pregnant?"
She refused to meet his eyes. "He knew the baby wasn't his." She whispered.
"Not his? Who else could-" He broke off, the answer dawning on him. "Oh Stacy...House?"
"It only happened once-" She said defensively, "One night."
"Then how does Mark know it's not his?" Wilson asked, and as he asked the question he wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer.
"Mark and I hadn't slept together since we came to Princeton-Plainsboro." She said softly.
"Oh." He watched her carefully. "I'm assuming you haven't told House..."
"No." She said immediatly, looking up to catch his eyes. "I'm not going to."
"But Stacy, he deserves to know he's going to be a father," he gestured at her stomach, "twice."
"He's the one who told me to leave. I was willing to stay in Princeton to be with him." She stood slowly and began pacing. "He told me not to, that it wasn't worth it because nothing would change."
"Well, if he'd known you were pregnant-" Wilson began.
She interrupted him. "He would have done the same thing, or asked me to stay...and I'm not sure which is worse." She said bitterly. "I'd rather do this alone than have him resent me and them by extension."
"Stacy, he wouldn't-"
"You don't know that. It's Greg, there's a chance that he would, and I won't expose myself or my babies to that."
"Okay, stop pacing." He caught her hand as she paced by him, tugging her to sit down. "Stressing yourself out over this isn't good for them either."
"I know." She sighed, tilting her head back and closing her eyes. "I'm scared James."
"Well that's natural."
"They say I'm high risk, because of my age, and now that it's twins..." She trailed off, looking back at him tearfully. "I still could lose them, and that terrifies me."
He wrapped a friendly arm around her shoulders and she leaned her head on his arm. "You're going to be okay Stacy. You take care of yourself, you work at a hospital, the doctors can keep a close eye on them and you. You'll do everything in your power to be sure you carry to term."
"What if I can't do this? Be a mom I mean. I'm forty-six, I should be worried about when menopause will hit, not setting up a nursery."
"You will be fine. You don't have to do this alone, you know."
"I'm not tell-"
"I'm not talking about him. I mean your friends. At work, and me, and Cuddy if you need her. Don't be afraid to ask for help."
"Thanks James. I appreciate it."
"If you give me a little warning, I'll try to be there with you when you deliver." He squeezed her shoulder. "No one should have to do that alone."
"Thanks."
"No problem, it's what friends are for Stacy." They stood up and he grabbed her purse from the floor for her. "You gonna be okay for now?"
"Yeah, sorry to have dragged you away from work."
"Don't apologize. I told you to call me if you needed anything, and I meant it."
"Thanks then. I really appreciate it."
"You're welcome." He hugged her. "I'm gonna head back to work if you're okay. Keep me updated on the three of you okay?"
She laughed, "Of course."
"Well I'm here now." He laughed. "So how has everything been until now?" He asked to take her mind off it.
"Good. I told you I found out the sexes right?"
"Yep, one of each?"
She smiled. "I picked out names," she paused, gritting her teeth and squeezing Wilson's hand as another contraction hit. He coached her through it, grabbing a cool washcloth from the table by the bed and wiping her forehead as the contraction passed. "Thanks."
"So what did you decide on? Last time we talked you had three possible names for each one."
"Nicholas Gregory and Danielle Marie." She told him with a smile.
"Beautiful names." He told her sincerely. "Have you decided what their last names will be?"
"Well, I dropped Warner after the divorce finalized, so I'm back to my maiden name, they'll be Barretts." She told him, pointedly ignoring the look of slight disapproval. "I won't give them his last name," she chuckled almost humorlessly, "can you imagin Greg finding out that way?" She looked up, freezing upon seeing the person standing in the doorway of her room.
"Stacy?!"
Who could that be:) Please Review!