"You should go back to bed," Derek murmured softly as his wife leaned against him, almost as if she didn't even have the energy to stand on her own. He wrapped his arms around her gently, stroking her hair – now, more than ever, she needed the comfort of having him close.

"I can't," she whispered, "I'm scared, Derek...God, I'm so afraid. I'm scared that things won't get better, that Lux is going to be upset with us forever, that she's going to resent us, hate us... What if she can't get past this? What if she doesn't want to be a part of our family anymore?" She tried to choke back a sob. "Every time I close my eyes, I see her walking out, her empty room... I'm afraid to sleep, afraid that I won't wake up from this nightmare."

'Barely hanging on' didn't even begin to cover it...she was falling apart at the seams right before his eyes. And he could do nothing but watch, trying desperately to pick up the pieces as she fell apart. He didn't even care anymore that he never got the chance to be upset over the situation – he knew it was nothing compared to the desperation with which she was trying to cling to her family...

They'd had to wait so long to have their family and, back then, he could tell that every day they had to wait for their baby was that much harder on her, that she was that much closer to breaking down. Lux had changed all that, she'd made their entire lives better, but right now, there was no telling how much longer that might last. And little by little, Emily was remembering all that pain, how much it had hurt to be so close to having a family and then to lose it all...it was all coming back and it was killing her from the inside out.

"Shh," he soothed quietly, "Everything's gonna be okay."

"You don't really believe that."

"I do. I have to...because it's the only thing that keeps me going on." He could see in her eyes that she didn't really believe him. "We can't do this here," he whispered, gently sweeping her off her feet and into his arms, "Jodi shouldn't see us like this."

She buried her face in his chest, nodding in silent agreement. Derek carried her towards their room and made sure he locked the door before he set her down on the bed. As he settled down next to her, Emily covered her face with her hands, murmuring, "It's all my fault."

"Don't," he shook his head, "Don't do that. It's not your fault. It was never your fault." She opened her mouth to protest, but he cut her off before she could get a word out. "No," he said firmly. "You don't get to blame yourself for this. Look at me, baby," he whispered, cupping her cheeks gently, "Lux is our baby. We told her that her genes don't matter, you need to believe that too. What she needs right now, is time to process this drama. I'll do everything I can to make sure she knows that we love her unconditionally."

"I don't think there's anything we can do, Derek. She doesn't even believe us anymore. We lied to her," she sighed, defeated.

"We didn't lie to her. She is our baby and we've never thought otherwise," he insisted, "We love her just as much as we love Jodi. We agreed that not telling her the truth until she turns eighteen would be best for her. We didn't want her to grow up thinking she wasn't wanted, remember?"

"Yeah."

"Baby, I know you're scared, so am I. But I know Lux wouldn't walk away from us – she loves us. She just doesn't know how to face us yet," he whispered soothingly, wrapping his arms firmly around his wife.

"I want to believe you, Derek," she breathed, "But I'm so afraid..."

"It's okay," he murmured softly, "You're not alone. I'll be with you every step of the way." He leaned in to kiss Emily softly, silently urging her to believe that everything would be okay, that he would do everything to make sure that their family stayed together. "I love you."

"I love you too, honey," she whispered against his lips.

...

Just as Emily had finally fallen asleep, there came a gentle knock at their bedroom door. At the noise, Derek glanced worriedly at his sleeping wife's form; she hadn't fallen asleep easily even then and he'd been worried she would end up crying once again.

But she didn't even stir at the noise – a testament to just how exhausted she was, seeing as she'd always been a light sleeper, especially after the girls had come along.

He took great care as he stood up from the bed so he wouldn't wake her, and tiptoed to the door, opening it to reveal Jodi. "What's up, sweetheart?" he whispered.

"Nothing," she said, biting her lip lightly as she glanced past him to where her mother was fast asleep. He knew that look on her face, the look he'd seen on Emily's face a thousand times when she was worried, but trying not to let it show. "Is Mommy okay?"

"She's fine, just a little tired" he assured, but it sounded weak, even to his ears.

The young girl shot him another look he recognized, the one he got when his lies fell flat the second they fell from his lips. But Jodi said nothing. Her gaze travelled between her parents for a moment before she quietly asked, "Can I take a nap with you and Mommy?"

For the first time that day, he heard the desperate need of a little girl who just needed a hug from her parents. Sometimes, it was easy to forget she was only ten years old, but in that moment, he saw his baby girl standing there.

"Of course you can, princess," he said gently, leaning down to hug her and lightly kiss her forehead. He smiled tenderly as he watched their youngest daughter climb into bed, snuggling close to Emily's sleeping form.

He climbed into bed as well, spooning his wife from behind, taking care not to wake her. It had been a long and hard month for them, especially for Emily, and this was the first time in a long time that she'd slept so soundly.

He reached out and tenderly tucked a stray lock of Jodi's hair behind her ear, whispering, "I love you, Jodi."

Sleepily, the young girl mumbled, "Love you too, Daddy."

"I love you, Emily," he whispered gently into his wife's ear.

Wrapping his arms firmly around his girls, he sighed softly and slowly let himself fall into dreamscape.

...

Emily slowly regained consciousness, trying to get her sleep-addled mind figure out why she felt so warm. She knew it was early summer, but it didn't explain the overwhelming warmth surrounding her. Reluctantly, she opened her eyes and found saw the most pleasant sight before her.

She remained motionless for several moments, quietly watching her daughter sleep. It brought her back to when Jodi was born, when she refused to sleep unless she was curled up against the chest of one of her parents. She couldn't believe that ten years had gone by so quickly... The little girl had changed so much since she was baby. When Jodi was little, they couldn't figure out who she looked like – every day she looked a little different, some days she looked more like Derek, some days she looked more like Emily, and some days she just looked like herself.

Now, at the age of ten, Jodi looked like a miniature Emily, much to Derek's delight. He'd always said he wanted their girls to be just as beautiful as their mother. As she gently traced her fingers over the little girl's features, she felt bad, knowing she'd been neglecting her younger daughter since the whole drama began nearly a month ago.

"You're awake," Derek whispered quietly, not wanting to wake the ten year old sleeping soundly in her mother's arms. "Sleep well?" he asked, kissing her neck gently.

"Yeah. Not much, but well," she smiled lightly. Turning her head, she leaned forward to kiss him gently. "Thank you. I needed that."

"You're very welcome," he smiled, leaning in to steal another kiss. "Look, I don't care what people say, Lux and Jodi are both our babies and that is never going to change."

"I know."

"You know what else will never change?"

"What?"

"I'll always be here for you. Jodi too. That will never change, no matter what happens."

Tears welled up in her eyes as she hugged their sleeping daughter a little tighter while Derek gently kissed her temple. "Thank you," she whispered quietly, to both Jodi and her husband.