Ben didn't get very far after walking out, only to the front porch. He was too unsteady to try and get any further. He tried to take a few deep, calming breaths but discovered that wasn't going to help all that much. his next action was to pull a cigar out from his inside pocket in the hopes that would help settle him some. It was when he tried to light the thing the tremors in his hands became known, and Ben irritably curled his hands into fists to hide the shaking.

Feeling like his legs wouldn't hold him up any longer, Ben fell into one of the rockers on the porch and was about half-done with his cigar when his brother joined him.

Without a word Beau sat down in the rocker beside his brother. It was a long minute before Beau finally spoke. "You all right?"

"Nope." Another long pause then, "I wasn't expectin' this."

"Nobody did. Doc knows what he's doin', though."

Up until today, Ben would have believed that without any trouble. It was a little different now that it was his wife's health in question. The patient didn't change Doc's knowledge, just Ben's faith in it. It was probably ridiculous, but Ben couldn't help thinking that way.

A heavy sigh came from the younger Maverick. "How's Belle," he asked. He'd seen the look of shock that had crossed her face right before he'd walked out and he was now feeling a little guilty about it.

Beau was in the process of lighting a cigar of his own and shrugged in reply. "Upset," he said after the stogie was lit. "She wasn't expectin' you to walk out like that."

Ben really hadn't expected it either. He didn't remember making a conscious decision to walk out, it had just happened. He'd needed some time think about the news he'd just received, and he hadn't felt like he could do that inside with Beau and Belle and the baby. He wasn't sure what to say so he settled for "I'm sorry I upset her."

"I told her you needed a minute."

"Thanks."

"You ready to go back in?"

"Doc down yet?"

"I doubt it. I'm sure he'd have told us if he was, but you still ain't met your boy."

Ben jumped up. "I'd rather not," he said tensely, gripping the porch railings.

Another drawn out silence came, broken at long last by Beau's sigh. "The baby wasn't planned was he, Ben?"

Ben stared out into the yard, his jaw tight. What did Beau want him to say? He was sure Beau already knew the answer. It wasn't very hard to come to that conclusion. "Are things like this ever planned?" he said trying to keep his tone light. "Was Bret?"

"That's not what I meant and you know it."

"No, I don't," Ben replied hotly somehow managing to grip the rail in front of him tighter.

"All right, if you wanna play dumb allow me to spell it out for you. That baby wasn't the result of your marriage he was the cause of it. Wasn't he?"

Surprisingly, Beau didn't sound as judgmental as Ben had expected him to. Maybe that would come later but right now Beau was just his brother, the man Ben had always turned to when he needed help. Ben faced his brother again. "What if he was?"

"This isn't his fault, Ben."

Ben decided to ignore that for now. "I didn't want this, Beau. Any of it. But I do love that woman. I don't want to lose her."

"Gettin' a little ahead of yourself ain't you? Nobody's said you was goin' to."

Groaning, Ben flopped back down into the rocker. "No, but somebody did say Doc was hopin' she would be okay."

Beau scoffed. "You know Doc's got somethin' against givin' folks good news. He always plays his cards close to his chest. Look, Ben, I haven't known that woman of yours long, but I don't think she's the kind to quit. She can't be if she's willin' to put up with you. She must be pretty tough too, so don't assume the worst until you can talk to Doc."

Ben warily closed his eyes. Maybe Beau had a point and he was getting ahead of himself. It had been a long night, and the long night had been the end of six long, stressful months. He probably should talk to the doctor before jumping to conclusions. "Maybe you're right," he conceded.

Beau slapped his arm. "I am. Now come on, you got yourself a mighty fine looking boy in there. Why don't you go see him?"

Ben thought about that a minute before he shook his head. "No. I meant that part; I don't want to see him."

"Bentley . . . "

"No," Ben repeated firmly. "Not until I can see Doc."

Ben focused all his attention back on the yard. He knew Beau wouldn't be happy with his answer so he was expecting the sound of the door slamming just a second later. He released a ragged breath; he didn't care if his brother liked it or not. He had no interest in that child if he lost Abby because of him.

XXXXXXX

It was nearly an hour later that Beau came out to tell him Doc had come down. Ben pushed himself to his feet and went inside ignoring the subtle glare Beau sent his way. He wasn't going to let Beau bully him into anything this time. If Ben wanted to see the baby he would, but he wasn't going to do it just because he was coerced into it by his brother.

Doc was in the kitchen pouring himself a cup of coffee and offered Ben a half smile when the Mavericks joined him. "Sit down, Ben," the older man said.

Ben sat and Beau gave him a cup of coffee too, before pouring one for himself and leaning against the wall. Doc took the seat opposite Ben and seemed to be thinking about what he needed to say. Ben looked between the doctor and his brother before he let his eyes settle on the medical man.

"How is she?" he asked, almost afraid to hear the answer. He could tell he wasn't going to like what Doc had to say.

Doc took a deep breath. "I wish I could tell you everything's fine, Ben, but the truth is she's not in a good place right now."

Ben started to feel sick. "What's wrong?" he forced out.

Doc sighed and leaned back in his chair. "There's not a simple answer to that. He was turned wrong, for one thing. That's not always bad, but it does always make it a little harder. It also took a long time. Between the two, and her small size, she's exhausted. Givin' birth is hard work under the best of circumstances; these weren't the best."

"Is that all?"

"Unfortunately, no. Like I said, she's worn out, but some rest would fix that. There was a lot of bleeding, though, more than I'm comfortable with. It's under control for now, but to be frank, if it were to start up again, I don't know that it could be stopped. The most concerning thing right now, however, is the fever."

"Fever? Why does she have a fever?"

"I don't know. That's part of the problem."

"Part of the problem. What is that supposed to mean?" Ben could hear the edge in his voice, but he was getting impatient and wanted to know what was wrong.

"Let the man talk, Ben," Beau said softly.

"It's all right, Beau," Doc said. His next comment was directed at Ben. "I told you it wasn't a simple answer. With some bedrest, I think the first two issues would resolve themselves without too much of a problem, but that's why I'm concerned about the fever. As hard as this has been for her I'm not very surprised this has happened, but as worn out as she is, I'm not sure she can easily fight it off. I wouldn't be particularly concerned about any one of these by itself, but together . . . together they can be a big problem."

Ben propped his elbows on the table and tried to process everything the doctor had just told him. "So what do we do?" he asked after a moment.

"That's the hard part. There's not much we can do. We wait, pray, hope for best. I wish I could tell you more but at this point, the only thing I can say is wait and hope for the best."

Ben scoffed. He'd been hoping for something a little more helpful.

"She needs rest more than anything," Doc continued as though Ben hadn't made a sound. "And she'll need someone with her. She's sleeping right now and that's the best thing for her. If she should wake up this evening sometime, get some water in her, broth if she feels like it, but nothing heavy tonight." He paused and regarded Ben with a sympathetic look. "Any more questions?"

Ben silently shook his head then changed his mind. "Yeah, can I see her?"

"Of course, like I said, she'll need someone with her and it would probably do her good to see her husband."

"Now?"

Doc nodded. "Go ahead. Beauregard and Belle can hear anything else I have to say."

"Thanks, Doc." Ben got to his feet and found his legs still felt unsteady. He took a moment to brace himself against the table.

"Ben," Doc said.

Ben focused on the doctor again.

"Women have been having babies for thousands of years, and the majority of them come through it just fine. There's more than enough physical evidence of that. It's an amazing feat in itself, and if I've learned anything in the years I've been practicing medicine it's this, women are a lot stronger than most of us give them credit for. I don't think your wife is an exception. It wasn't easy on her, that's for sure, but don't give up on her yet."

Ben nodded mutely before starting upstairs. When he got to the master bedroom, he found the room darkened. The drapes had been drawn to keep out the late morning sun and only two lamps were lit; one by the bed and another on the bureau. Belle sat by the bed, a child in each arm. She looked up and smiled when she saw him.

Ben approached the bed. "How is she?" he asked trying not to pay attention to the smallest child his sister-in-law held.

"Sleeping. It's what she needs." She told him rising from her seat with grace Ben found hard to believe given that her arms were full of small Mavericks. "Sit down."

Ben took her place at Abby's bedside and saw his wife for the first time in almost twenty-four hours. She was pale, dark circles were around her eyes, and a fine sheen of perspiration covered her forehead. She looked small and vulnerable and Ben had to swallow the lump that unexpectedly rose in his throat. "She looks . . . . "

"I know," Belle said softly. "But she's worked hard today. I'm sure she'll be a lot better tomorrow."

Ben smiled slightly. He appreciated what Belle was trying to do, but he wasn't sure he believed her.

"Ben?"

He looked at Belle.

"Would you like to see him now?"

Ben's eyes went to the bundle cradled in Belle's left arm. He wished he could explain things to her, but he didn't think she would ever understand his thoughts on the matter. "No," he said at last.

"Ben, he's . . . . "

"Belle." He met her eyes when she stopped speaking. "Not now. Please."

Belle nodded and forced a small smile. "All right." She then quietly exited leaving him alone with his wife. Once it was just him and Abby, Ben reached out and took her hand, holding it in both of his. It was small, soft, delicate, and too warm. He brought it to his lips and kissed it gently. "Stay with me, Abby," he pleaded. "Don't lea . . . ." The words were cut off by a sob. Ben managed to compose himself but not before two or three tears dropped from his eyes and ran down his cheeks. He kissed Abby's hand again. "Please, don't leave me."