A/N: Finally got this chapter done, thought it would never happen. I think my muse got lost. But it's back now, hopefully to stay! So here go.

"What?" Jackson screamed loud enough to wake up the entire neighborhood, bolting upright in bed.

"I said the baby is COMING!" Lilly screamed back just as she was hit with another contraction. Holding on to her stomach she doubled over in pain. Jackson was by her side in a flash. Holding her close he tried to do what he could to help her through it.

As the contraction began to ease up, Robbie Ray and Miley came barging into the room. It only took one look at Lilly for Robbie Ray to know instantly what was going on. Miley on the other hand was a little slower. "What's going on? Is the baby coming?"

"No, I just scream like this everyday for the fun of it. Yes, the baby is coming, ya moron." The ton of voice at which it was said was down right scary, they had never heard her talk like that. Both afraid of her now they took a step back.

Robbie Ray looked at his children, then at Lilly, then back again and just bust out laughing. All three teenagers glared at him. "I'm sorry, but if you think she's scary you should have seen your mom after ten hours of labor. It gets worse before it gets better."

Here I thought parents were supposed to reassure their children, not scare them further, Jackson thought to himself. However, he went back to Lilly's side to help her up. Miley soon followed and the two managed to get her on her feet. "You two get her to the car. I'll go wake your Mamaw."

Rushing into the hospital the group headed straight for obstetrics. Leaving Robbie Ray and Miley to assist Lilly, Jackson raced up to the front desk. "My girlfriend is in labor."

The nurse behind the counter handed him a clipboard. "Fill these out and we'll get her checked in as quickly as possible."

"No, you don't understand. You need to get her in now. The baby is early, she's only 34 weeks along."

Feeling a hand on his shoulder, Jackson turned to look at his father. "Son, calm down. They are just doing their job."

The two walked back to where the women were sitting. Miley was trying to help Lilly through another contraction as Jackson went to sit on the other side of her. They quickly got the forms filled out as best as they could. Robbie Ray took them from his son and went back to the desk.

"Look I know you are just doing your job. My kids, are just that, they're kids and they're scared. Could ya help us out a little?"

"They are getting a room ready for her now. It should just be a minute or two."

"Thank you."

Fifteen minutes later they had just got Lilly settled into the room and relaxing comfortably for the moment when a nurse entered. She began taking vitals and hooked her up to monitor to track the contractions and the baby's heart rate. Filling out her file she asked them what time her water broke and how often the contractions were occurring. Just before she left she showed them how to read the monitor to know when they were coming and going.

"Alright then, that's all I needed. The doctor should be by shortly." With that said she left the room.

Squeezing her grip on the hand gently placed inside hers, pulling his attention to her. "Jackson I'm scared. This baby is coming way too early."

Giving her a look of reassurance the couple stared at each other deeply, getting lost in each other's eyes. "It'll be okay. No matter what happens, we'll get through it, together." Sitting on the edge of the bed, he leaned down and placed a kiss on her forehead. Leaning back the two snuggled together, holding on to each other as if sharing their strength.

Lilly turned to look at Miley as she grabbed her other hand. "I'll be here, every step of the way too. Legally or not, your one of us now, you're a Stewart." Robbie Ray and Mamaw both voiced similar thoughts.

The two adults stepped out while the teenagers continued to chat comfortably. Mamaw went off to get the lay of the land, knowing they'd be there for a while she went to find the cafeteria and other places they might need to know about in the next few hours.

Robbie Ray went off to make some calls. He started by calling Aunt Dolly so she'd know where to find them since she'd be flying in later. After that he called various other family members who would want to know about this turn of events.

Saving Lilly's parents for last he finally was left with only them to call. The call went off about as well as he expected. While they appreciated his call, they would not be coming to the hospital. The only thing they bothered to mention was asking if he knew how much the hospital bill would be. Throwing in several choice words he told them not to worry about that, he'd pay all the expenses. After all he always took care of his children in time of need. He hung up the phone wondering how any parent could be so cold.

Meanwhile back in the room, Miley and Lilly started discussing who was the hotter pirate Jack Sparrow or Will Turner, when the doctor entered the room. Lilly was glad to see that it was the same guy from her earlier hospital visits.

He greeted all three of them, followed by asking Miley and Jackson to leave so he could do a quick exam. Trying to keep her relaxed he started talking, "I see this baby had a different idea than me about when it should be born."

"Is the baby gonna be okay being this early?"

"It's hard to say for sure. I don't want to give you false hope." Finishing the exam he invited everyone back in. The two adults had joined the siblings a minute before and so all four entered to hear what the doctor had to say.

"I've examined Lilly and it seems as if her labor is progressing fairly quickly, especially considering it's her first pregnancy. This along with how premature this baby will be has got me a little concerned. It won't be long now before this baby is born. I'll be back to check on you regularly, until we get to that point."

For the next few hours, the family was mostly left on their own. Every so often a nurse or the doctor would come to check and see how things were progressing. They'd only be in a minute or so and everyone would return to the conversation as if they'd never been interrupted.

They spent most of the time discussing trivial things. Every now and then someone would mention something about the baby, but then the conversation would quickly change. Everyone was silently afraid that this baby wouldn't make it.

It was killing Lilly inside to think that way. While she hadn't laid eyes on her child yet, she could not express the love she felt for him or her. She'd never given much thought to having kids before. Now that this had happened she was becoming increasingly more excited to be a mother.

How could you not be totally attached to something that had spent so much time under your heart? Having spent all that time on bed rest watching TV she couldn't believe the things people did to their children. She'd never hit her child or ignore it. Most importantly she would NEVER kick her child out because they made a mistake.

Another hour came and went as the waiting continued. Every once in a while, someone would head to the vending machine to get something to eat. Oliver finally arrived after remembering to check his phone and found the message waiting for him. He tried to make Lilly laugh, remembering old times from when they were just little kids. He could see through his best friend and knew she was scared out of her mind. He just wanted to take her mind off of everything.

A shrill beeping sound disturbed their laughter. Everyone realized at that moment that something wasn't right. A nurse rushed in checking the monitors. She went to grab the doctor. When she returned several people beside the doctor followed.

"The baby's heart rate is dropping. We need to get it out of there now."