A/N: I hope that you're not all wanting to kill me for having Mary cheat on Carlos, but like I said, this story kind of just started writing itself. That was not in my original plans for this story at all! If you're reading this chapter, then evidently you're not too mad...and for all of you Wilson/Mary fans, even though they're not in this chapter, you will definitely see more of them in the coming chapters! Please R & R!


The ringing of her cell phone awakened Lucy from her sleep. As much as she wanted to roll back over and ignore it, she knew that she had to answer it. After all, it could be a parishioner calling with a problem. She groped around on her bedside table till she found the phone, then answered it without looking at the caller id. "Hello?" she mumbled.

"Lucy? It's Chandler. I'm at the hospital with Roxanne; she's in labor."

"Seriously?" squealed Lucy, now wide awake. "That's great! Ben's off tonight, so he can stay with the girls. I'll be there as soon as I can!" She hung up the phone and rolled over to face Ben. She shook hi shoulder to wake him up. He'd become used to early morning phone calls and had learned to sleep through them. "Ben, wake up! Roxanne's in labor. I'm going to the hospital to be with her and Chandler."

"Okay. Tell them congratulations," Ben mumbled before going back to sleep. One of the perks of being a firefighter is that he'd learned how to fall asleep quickly.

Lucy rushed around getting ready, and then drove to the hospital. When she arrived, Chandler met her in the waiting room. "Luce, I'm glad you could come. She's been asking when you would get here. She wants you to be in the room with us when she has the baby."

"Seriously?" Lucy squeeled. "I would love to be in the room! I'm so excited for you two! How far along is she?"

"She's dilated to eight centimeters already. The doctors think that she's actually been in labor for awhile and didn't realize, because she was dilated to almost six when we got here," Chandler explained as they walked to the room.

"Has she had an epidural yet?" Lucy asked.

Chandler shook his head. "The doctors said things are moving too fast; there's not enough time for her to get an epidural." He pushed open the door to his wife's room. "Roxanne? Lucy's here," he called softly as he walked into the room, Lucy following him.

"Lucy," Roxanne panted as she breathed through a contraction. When it passed, she said, "I don't know how you've done this three times without an epidural!"

Lucy laughed. "Well, when you have your babies in an elevator, a church, and at home, you really don't have much choice. At least you're having yours in a hospital."

Roxanne laughed, then stopped abruptly as another contraction hit, her face contorted in pain. "Just breathe through it, Roxanne," Lucy coached, moving to the side of the bed. "Don't fight it. It's easier that way, believe me." Roxanne nodded.

"Chandler, I think it's time to push! Go get the doctor!" Roxanne insisted, panic evident in her voice.

"Are you sure?" Chandler asked. "They just checked you a few minutes ago and said you were only at eight."

"Go ahead and get the doctor, Chandler. It won't hurt for them to check her again, and a woman's instincts are usually right when it comes to these things," Lucy said.

Chandler nodded, and then hurried out of the room. He came back a few minutes later with Matt in tow.

"I hear you think it's time to push," Matt said, moving to the bed. Roxanne nodded, unable to speak because of another contraction. "Okay, then, when this contraction is over, I'll check you again, and we'll go from there."

"I have to push," grunted out Roxanne. "It hurts! Let me push!" she screamed as the contraction ended.

"Roxanne, if you push too soon, you're going to get tired, and you could tear. I know it's hard, but you have to fight that feeling until they're sure you're dilated enough," Lucy soothed.

Matt finished checking Roxanne, and then turned to Chandler. "This baby's coming out now whether we're ready for it or not. She's fully dilated and with a coupe more contraction, that head is going to crown whether she's pushing or not."

Chandler nodded and moved up by Roxanne's head. "You hear that, sweetheart? Our baby's coming!" Roxanne nodded, relieved that it was almost over.

"Okay, Roxanne, on the next contraction, I want you to push," Matt instructed. "It's going to hurt, and it's going to burn, but your baby will be here soon!"

Roxanne nodded. When the next contraction hit, she took a deep breath, grabbed Chandler's hand on one side and Lucy's on the other, and pushed. Just four pushes later, the baby was out.

"Is she okay?" Roxanne asked over all the squalling the baby was making.

Matt smiled. "Your baby is perfectly healthy. There is one thing, though." Roxanne and Chandler grasped, and Roxanne held tightly to Chandler's hand. Lucy, who had moved down by Matt to see the baby, just smiled. "You baby's not a her; it's a him."

"What?" Roxanne gasped in disbelief. "But the ultrasound-"

"Can sometimes be wrong," Matt explained. "It's rare, but not unheard of."

Chandler laughed. "A son! I have a son!" he exclaimed.

"So, any idea what you're going to name him?" Lucy asked as the nurses worked to clean up the baby. "I mean, after all, you've been thinking it was a girl all along."

Chandler and Roxanne looked at each other and smiled. "Yes, we actually have a name picked out already," Chandler said. "We're going to name him Kevin Michael Hampton. We knew that if we had a boy we wanted to name him after Kevin."

Lucy put her hand to her mouth, her eyes brimming with tears. "Thank you so much. You have no idea how much this means to me," she whispered. Tears slid down her cheeks unnoticed as she hugged first Chandler, and then Roxanne.

After she'd had her fair share of turns to hold the baby, Lucy left the new parents and their son to sleep. On her way home, on an impulse, she stopped at a drugstore and bought a pregnancy test. When she got home, Ben and the children were still sleeping, so she slipped quietly into the bathroom, opened the box, and took the test. She left it sitting on the edge of the sink without looking at it, too scared of knowing the results.

Lucy was in the kitchen beginning breakfast preparations when Ben came bounding into the room. "Lucy?" he asked, trying to remain calm. "Is this-?" he asked, not finishing his question, but instead holding up the pregnancy test.

Lucy glanced at it, and then went back to her preparations. "It's a pregnancy test, Ben," she replied.

"Do you know what it says?" Ben asked, moving to stand behind his wife.

Lucy's hands stilled and she slowly shook her head. Turning to look at Ben, she confessed, "I was too scared to know what it said."

Ben took Lucy's hand and led her to the living room. He motioned for her to sit on the couch, and then sat down beside her. "Lucy, too scared that you were pregnant, or too scared that you weren't pregnant?" he prodded gently.

"Both," Lucy whispered. She looked up at Ben, and he saw that there were tears in her eyes. "I want to have a baby with you, I really do, but I'm scared. After all the troubles I've had with my previous pregnancies, and then the idea of having five kids, or six, if I have twins again…"

Ben pulled Lucy over to sit in his lap. "Luce, you heard what Matt said. He said it's fine for you to have more kids, as long as your careful and don't push yourself too hard during the pregnancy. As for having five kids, or possibly more, if you feel you need help, we can hire someone to help you with the kids. A mother's helper, or something. Anyways, Savannah's almost eleven. That's more than old enough to help you with the other kids."

Lucy nodded. "So does this mean-"

"Yes! You're pregnant!" Ben said excitedly.

Lucy laughed. "Ben, quiet down or your going to wake the kids up!" Ben immediately looked contrite, causing Lucy to laugh again.

"Are you happy?" Ben asked, unable to read Lucy's face.

Lucy nodded. "Yes, I'm happy. I'm so happy, Ben."

Ben gave Lucy a kiss. "Good. So am I," he said.

x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x

"Sam? Are you okay?" asked Amy, Sam's girlfriend of almost a year. They were on a date at the promenade, yet to Amy it felt as if she were alone. Ever since David's death over five months ago, Sam had been distant and quiet, which was not at all like him. Of the twins, Sam had been the party boy, always out looking for a good time, while David had been the more quiet and studious one, rarely joining his brother at the parties.

"Hmm? Yeah, I'm fine," responded Sam, rather absentmindedly.

"No you're not, Sam!" Amy insisted. "You haven't been yourself since David and Leah died. I swear, when we go on dates, it sometimes feels like I'm all alone! You're always so distant, even with me! Sam, I'm your girlfriend! Can't you at least be honest with me? What's going on with you, Sam?"

Sam sighed. "Look, Amy, I'm sorry. I'm really not in the mood to talk right now, okay?"

"No! That's not okay, Sam!" Amy yelled, drawing the attention of everyone nearby. "You asked me out on this date! You need to stop feeling sorry for yourself! I know you just lost your brother, but Sam, you need to stop feeling sorry for yourself! There's other people in this world who are hurting besides you! Your mom, you brothers and sisters, Leah's mom, brother, and nephew, and I could go on and list even more people! I know that you miss your brother, but you can't spend the rest of your life moping around! David wouldn't have wanted that, Sam!" Amy's voice softened. "He'd want you to go on with your life. Isn't that what Leah told you? Didn't she tell you to live your life for her and David? Sam, please, stop living in this constant pity party for yourself." Amy stood up, gave Sam a kiss on his cheek, and then walked away, leaving Sam alone to think over what she had just said.

After awhile, Sam stood up and began walking with no real destination in mind. Eventually he ended up in front of Captain Ryan Stevens' house without really knowing how he got there. He debated from a moment, then went up and knocked on the door. A moment later it was opened by Ryan.

"Sam," Ryan greeted, surprised. Sam had never really accepted the fact that his mother was dating, and made it very clear that he did not care for Ryan. "What can I do for you?"

"I'm not really sure, sir. I just needed someone to talk to, and this is where I ended up," Sam explained nervously.

"Well, I'm pretty good at listening, I've been told. Come in," Ryan invited. Once Sam was inside, Ryan led him to the living room, and he took a seat in an armchair while Sam sat on the couch. "Now, what was it you wanted to talk about, Sam?"

"Well, sir-" Sam began, but Ryan stopped him.

"Sam, you don't have to call me sir. Please, call me Ryan. We're both adults, and I'm dating your mother. I see no need for the formality of 'sir.' All it does is make me feel old," joked Ryan.

Sam smiled. "Okay. Like I said, I'm not really sure how or why I ended up here, but I need someone to talk to. I can't talk to Mom or any of my siblings because they're hurting, too, and I would talk to Amy, but, well, let's just say she's a little upset with me right now and I'm not even sure that she hasn't broken up with me. I guess you're the only person I could think of."

"Is it about David, Sam?" Ryan asked gently. When Sam nodded, he continued, "Sam, I'm going to tell you something that I haven't told anyone, except for your mother, of course. When I was nineteen, my younger brother died. He and I were less than a year apart, so we were very close. We did pretty much everything together growing up. He had just graduated from high school, and I had just finished my freshman year of college. He was on his way to a friend's house, where a group of our friends and I were throwing a surprise party for him, when another driver ran a red light and t-boned him. He died instantly. For several months afterwards, I retreated from life. I no longer went to parties, or hung out with friends, or did any of the things that we used to do together. I felt that since his life was cut short and he would never get to do any of the things he'd planned to do, or enjoy any of the things that he used to enjoy, than neither should I. For nearly six months I made myself miserably because I felt that was the best and quickest way for me to get over his death. He had been planning on majoring in pre-med in college, and had had a sweet, beautiful girlfriend who he was deeply in love with. I felt that the wrong brother had died. I kept thinking that it should have been me who was killed instead of me. After all, he was the serious one, always studying and planning, and I was more of the wild one, going to parties, barely passing my classes, and caring more about having fun than anything else."

Ryan paused, and then continued. "Sam, those six months were the worst months of my life. I was miserable. It wasn't until I finally started living again that I finally came to terms with my brother's death. I realized then that hiding myself away and staying in a constant state of mourning would never bring my brother back. Rather, living my life the way he would want me to did the most to honor his memory. Don't take as long as I did to realize that, Sam. You have so many people who love you and care for you, and are worried about you. Your mother, your brothers, sisters, friends, and yes, even me. Live your life for David, Sam."

"I had no idea, Ryan. Mom never told me about your brother, even after David's death," Sam said, still shocked at what he had just heard.

"Yes, I know;," Ryan replied. that's because I asked her not to. I knew that you weren't ready to hear it just then, but that when the time was right, I would tell you. Today, when you showed up on my doorstep, I have to admit, I was shocked. You've made it quite clear how opposed you are to your mom and I dating, and you've been quite adamant that you do not care to have me around. So, I figured that you needed to hear my story."

"Thanks, Ryan. I did need to hear that. It kind of made me wake up and realize that I couldn't go on the way I have been when Amy left me at the promenade today. I know that I haven't always been most accepting of you, but I guess I've been scared that you would take Dad's place; that Mom would date you, and maybe even eventually marry you, and forget all about Dad. I realize now that's never going to happen. There's room for both you and the memory of Dad in all of our lives. Mom deserves to be happy again, and, if you're what makes her happy, then I'm okay with that.

x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x0x

"Mommy? You okay?" Daniel, Peter and Ruthie's three year old son, climbed up onto the couch beside where his mom was sitting. Just a few minutes earlier, she had gasped and bent over. When she'd straightened up, she had gone to the couch and sat down.

Ruthie managed a shaky smile. "Yes, Daniel, Mommy's okay. Your baby sister is just giving Mommy a hard time. Why don't you go watch out the window for Daddy? He should be home soon."

Daniel scrambled down off the couch and ran to the window. He loved watching for Daddy to pull into the driveway. Every afternoon, he stood at the window until he saw his dad's car pull in the driveway. He would then run to the front door and wait until it opened so that he could be the first to greet Daddy.

Once she was sure Daniel was occupied, Ruthie got up and went into her bedroom. She grabbed her cell phone from where it was sitting on her nightstand and dialed.

"Hello?"

"Lucy? It's Ruthie. Could you come over please?" Ruthie's voice trembled as another wave of pain hit her.

"Ruthie? Are you okay? Is the baby okay?" Lucy asked, concerned.

"I don't know, Luce. Just please, come over?"

"I'm on my way. Do you want me to call Matt? Is Peter there?"

"Peter's not home from work yet. Don't call Matt!" Ruthie insisted, a note of panic in her voice. "It might be nothing."

"Okay, Ruthie. Hold on. I'll be there in a few minutes. I'll bring Savannah so that she can keep Daniel occupied."

Five minutes later, the doorbell sounded. "Mommy! Aunt Wucy and Vannah are here!" Daniel yelled excitedly.

"Daniel? I need you to let them in for me, sweetie, okay? Open the door for them," Ruthie called from the bedroom. She was feeling quite nauseous and was afraid that if she moved, she would puke. A moment later, she heard the front door open and Daniel's voice telling Lucy where Ruthie was.

"Ruthie?" Lucy asked, appearing in the doorway to Ruthie's bedroom. "Are you okay?"

"I don't know, Luce. I don't feel well at all. I keep having these pains every once in awhile, and I feel like I'm gonna be sick. I'm dizzy, too"

"Okay, it's okay Ruthie. How long have you been feeling like this?" Lucy already had her cell phone out and was dialing Matt's number. She could tell just by looking at Ruthie that she was not in good shape. "Matt, I'm at Ruthie's. Something's wrong with her. She says she's been having pains and that she feels nauseous and dizzy. Her feet and ankles are really swollen, too."

"Get her to the hospital now!" Matt ordered firmly. "I'll meet you there."