Teddy held open the door to his townhouse and waited while Rayna walked in. The sun shone in across the room and he waited as Rayna set her purse down near the steps to the upstairs. He closed the door and went to sit on the black leather couch that sat facing the fireplace. Rayna paused by the couch, then sat down in the tan chair to his left.

Rayna let out a heavy sigh. "I'm betting you wish you had skipped that New Year's Eve party," she said.

Teddy looked over at her and gave a slight shake of his head. "No, I don't regret that. I don't regret any of it-I care about you, Rayna. I care about what happens to you and what happens to the baby."

"Even if it isn't yours?" she asked, her voice plaintive. "Why would you want to get in the middle of it?"

"Answer me this, "Teddy replied. "Do you see yourself raising a child with Deacon?"

Rayna was silent, then she nodded slowly, then shook her head. "I don't know. I did-I mean, I've wanted that for years, to be with him, married, raising a family. He wrote this song for us, years ago about that. And he wanted it. He wanted something different than he had growing up.

"But this Deacon-the person he's been for the past five years at least, that is not the man I want to marry and raise a family with-I can't do it," Rayna admitted.

"Do you want to have the baby?" he asked. He was pretty sure he know what she'd say, but it seemed like the question needed to be asked.

"Yes," she answered quickly. "I mean, I know everything is really confusing right now, but yes, I want this baby."

"Because you think it's Deacon's?" he asked, also feeling pretty sure he knew the answer.

Rayna didn't respond. Instead she got up and walked over to the window and looked out. He watched her for a moment, then went over to her.

"It's okay, Rayna," he said, pulling her into his arms. She began to cry. He held her until her tears slowed, then led her back to sit next to him on the couch.

"How messed up is that," she choked out. "And this is so unfair to you-cause I don't know for sure, but yes, part of the reason is that it could be his child and that might be all of him that I ever get to have."

Teddy sat and held her, not sure what to say. Could he do this? With another man's child? Or maybe his?

"What if we do this together?" he asked.

She moved back slightly away from him. "What do you mean?"

He took a deep breath. "Will you marry me, Rayna?"

She brushed her hair back and he reached up and smoothed away the tears on her cheeks.

"I mean it, Ray. Marry me. Have this baby with me," he said, now with more certainty in his voice.

"I don't know," she responded. She took his hands in hers. "I love that you would do that for me-for us, but what if it was a terrible mistake?"

Teddy turned to face her, still holding her hands. "I love you, Rayna and I think you could love me. And I want this baby to have a father, someone who could be there for him or her. I can be that father."

"Maybe we should wait until we know," Rayna suggested. "If the baby is Deacon's…"

"A baby deserves a father who will be there. Mine wasn't. Yours wasn't really either. I would be there, Rayna. I'd be there for you and for the baby. Always."

Rayna leaned in and kissed him. "It's a really good offer, Teddy. A generous one, but I don't think either one of us should make any decisions that we can't go back on right now."

"Will you think about it?" Teddy asked.

Rayna nodded.

"Okay, then," Teddy replied. "Just promise me you'll think about it."


Rayna left saying she would call him later that week, but she didn't. Teddy found himself thinking about her and the baby all the time. He didn't want to push her, but he also didn't want to give up on them.

The phone rang in his office the next Wednesday.

"This is Teddy Conrad," he answered.

"Teddy!" Rayna said, her voice sounding panicked.

"Rayna," he replied. "What's the matter?"

"I'm...I'm bleeding and it hurts and…"

"Where are you?" he asked, his voice now echoing her panic.

"I'm at home. I'm supposed to go to the studio, but I woke up and...Teddy, I think I'm losing the baby."

"Just stay there," he responded. "I'm on my way."


He raced across town, pulling up in front of her apartment building. He pulled into the loading zone in front and raced into the building.

Rayna answered the door at his first knock. She looked sick with worry. He slipped his arm around her and led her to the car, driving to the hospital as fast as he safely could.

They pulled up in front of the emergency room and he ran around to the passenger door to help Rayna out. She pulled her coat tight around the small rounding of her belly and grimaced. "Teddy!" she called out as he slid his arm around her.

"We're here, Rayna. Let's just go let the doctor look and see, okay?" he said, trying vainly to comfort her.

An orderly came out with a wheelchair and helped Rayna to the ER. Teddy stood there for a minute, then realized he had to move the car.


Teddy ran into the emergency room and went up to the counter. "My...my girlfriend just came in. She's pregnant," he said, his words rushed.

"Are you Mr. Conrad?" the woman asked.

Teddy nodded.

"Let me call someone to take you back," she responded. "It'll just be a minute."

After a couple of minutes, a nurse appeared to take him back into the treatment area. He followed her down the hall and into a small room where Rayna lay on a gurney, her clothes replaced by a hospital gown. He walked to the head of the gurney and took her hand.

"Have they said anything?" he asked.

She shook her head. "The doctor is coming." She looked up at him. "I'm scared."

He tightened his hand around hers. "I know. I am too."

The door opened and a tall woman with gray streaked hair walked in. "Rayna, I didn't except to see you here." She walked over and pulled the chart from the end of the bed. "I'm Dr. Evans," she said to Teddy.

"This is Teddy...my...my boyfriend," Rayna explained.

The doctor looked down at the chart. "When did the pain start?" she asked.

"This morning," Rayna said. "When I woke up and then...there was blood."

"Bright red? Dark?" the doctor asked.

"Bright," Rayna answered. "The pain was like a cramp, but stronger."

The doctor pulled over the cart next to the gurney. "Okay, let's take a look and see what's going on, okay?"

Rayna nodded as the doctor pushed up Rayna's gown and turned on the ultrasound machine. She squeezed gel on Rayna's abdomen, then began moving the wand over Rayna's body. She looked at the screen, then moved the wand again, then paused.

"Okay, see this?" She pointed to a shadow on the screen.

"What is it?" Teddy asked as he and Rayna leaned forward.

"That's your baby," Dr. Evans said. "And she's looking very healthy."

"She?" Rayna asked.

Dr. Evans smiled. "Sorry, just force of habit-we won't be able to discern the sex for a few more weeks."

Rayna laughed. "But she's okay?"

The doctor stood up and reached over for a towel. She carefully wiped the gel from Rayna's abdomen and then pulled her gown back down.

"There's a strong heartbeat and the amniotic fluid looks good. But I would like to keep you tonight and then if everything looks okay, then let's try two weeks of bedrest. If we don't have a recurrence of symptoms, then we'll reevaluate. Sound good?"

Rayna nodded and Teddy leaned down to kiss her forehead.

"But things look okay? The baby's healthy?" Teddy asked.

"Baby's a little fighter, that's for sure," the doctor replied as she handed him a print out of the ultrasound. "Must have parents who are fighters," she said, smiling at them. "I'll have them get a room for you and hopefully they'll get you moved out of here before too long. I'll check back with you in the morning, okay?"

Rayna agreed and the doctor left.

"That's amazing," Teddy said, quietly as he looked down at the picture of the baby.

Rayna looked at him, a gentle smile crossing her face. "Sorry I didn't call you until now," she apologized. "I've just been so confused."

"It's okay," Teddy replied. "I'm really glad you're okay. That both of you are okay."

Rayna looked like she was going to say something else when the orderly came in, saying they were moving her up to the OB floor for observation.


Teddy waited in the hallway until they got Rayna settled in her bed. After the nurse came out, he headed walked into the room, stopping a few feet short of the bed.

"I called Tandy and let her know what happened," he said. "She's going to bring you a bag of things from your apartment."

"Thanks," Rayna replied. She sighed and rolled on her side.

"Do you want me to wait until she gets here?" Teddy asked. He wasn't really sure what the protocol was at this point.

"Will you stay?" she asked as she moved back to laying flat on the bed.

"Until Tandy gets here?" he asked, trying to clarify just what she meant.

Rayna shook her head. "Stay here. With me. With us." She patted the bed next to her.

Teddy stood for a moment, then slipped off his shoes and coat and went over and lay down on the bed, next to her. He rolled on his side and pulled her to him, his body wrapped around her, his hand slipping down over the swelling place where the baby was.

"I think part of why this has been so hard for me is I don't really have a good picture of what a mom and dad are like," Rayna said quietly as his hand moved slowly over her abdomen. "My mom died when I was young, still a girl and my daddy-well, he just wasn't there for us in the same way."

"Me either," Teddy replied. "My dad actually wasn't around all that much, which is probably a good thing, but it made my mom so sad. She...got old so fast. She's living in assisted living now. She has Alzheimer's disease."

Rayna's hands joined him over the the baby.

"I've been so worried about making the right decision, doing the right thing," Rayna continued. "But I realized something, when I was waiting for you to come," She shifted so that she was facing him now, reached for his hand and took it in hers. "I want you here, with me-with us. For this. And all the other stuff."

"Are you sure?" Teddy asked.

Rayna nodded. "I am. Let's be a family."

TBC

Thank you to piratewench78 and Beth Pryor for their helpful feedback during the editing of this chapter and thank you to everyone who has been reading and reviewing! I deeply appreciate you taking a moment to share your thoughts on the story.