Disclaimer: I don't own anyone, other than Brielle.
Rated: M
Warning(s): Slash, Het, Mpreg, Stripping, Exotic Dancing, Violence, Domestic Violence, Child Abuse, etc.


But Randy needed to be sure. He needed to be absolutely sure that Adam would never change his mind about how he felt for him. "Are you sure?"

"I don't think I've ever been more sure of anything in my life." Adam murmured. "Except, maybe, for the fact that I need to be at the hospital. Now."

Randy let out a hard sigh, not realizing that he had been holding his breath. Immediately, he reached out for his fiancé, taking hold of the tall, slender body and pulling it taught against his. Adam let out a small squeal of surprise, his hands rising to press tentatively against Randy's chest. And he kissed him. It was hard and fast and more teeth than lips, but still, it had to rate as one of the most fantastic kisses that Adam had ever had. Hands wandered over Adam's broad back and Adam's hands fisted the front of Randy's shirt - they were only brought back to reality by the gagging noises Brielle was making.

Adam broke away, turning to his daughter. With one eyebrow raised, he asked her, "You have a problem, little lady?"

"Kissing is gross." Brielle proclaimed, sticking her tongue out at her 'mother' and future father.

"One day, you're gonna meet a boy and all you're gonna wanna do is kiss him. And when that day comes, I'll remind you of how gross you used to think kissing was." Adam stuck his tongue out in return, earning a small giggle from the little girl.

"And when that day comes, we'll be chasing that boy down the driveway with a baseball bat." Randy continued. Adam turned to him, smiling, his eyes twinkling with amusement - clearly, he was thinking the exact same thing.

There was a moment of silence. Then, Adam said, "We really should hit the road. I need to be there with Jeff. I know how hard this can be."

"Are they going to try and stabilize his blood pressure before they induce labor, or just go with an emergency C-section?" Randy asked.

Adam shrugged. "I honestly don't know. Jeff wasn't really in the state of mind to tell me too much." He turned to Brielle, extending his hand out to his little lady. "You wanna come with us to the hospital and sit with Uncle Jeffy?"

Brielle might not have understood what preeclampsia was, but she knew that her Uncle Phil was hurting and understood that Uncle Jeff was worried. "Of course." A pause. "Should I bring my stuffed lion? It always comforts me when I don't feel good."

Adam smiled softly, feeling a burst of love for his daughter. "I'm sure that he'd love that."

A few minutes later, everyone was loaded into the car. Adam cast one last forlorn look at the house that he would be leaving behind - that was the house that he had once shared with Wade, the house that he had dreamed of renovating, of raising his family in. As it turned out, fate had another idea in mind. And then, a thought occurred to him. Hurriedly, he reached into his pocket and took out a circular container of pills. He opened it and took one out, handing it to Brielle. With all of the smoke and other chemicals in the air, he didn't want her heart condition to act up.

She took a bottle of water from Randy and swallowed her pill easily, just like a big girl. She smiled. She always liked it when her Mommy called her a 'big girl' or 'his little lady'. Once she had screwed the lid back onto the bottle as tightly as she could, Randy took the bottle back, sliding it into the cup holder up front. And then, starting the engine, he pulled out of the driveway and turned onto the road. Looking into the rearview mirror, he saw Brielle start to doze off. The medicine tended to have that effect on her. Returning his attention to the road, he started on his way to the hospital.


"Mr. Hardy?" A petite blonde nurse called his name.

Jeff popped out of his chair like it was a toaster, hurrying over to her. His eyes were swollen and red-rimmed, indicating that he had recently been crying. "Yes, I'm Mr. Hardy." He told her. "What can you tell me? Do you know anything about Phil's condition?"

"Yes." She smiled grimly, revealing that the news would not be pleasant. "Your boyfriend is suffering from preeclampsia, as you know. Dr. White, his attending physician, has introduced a strong blood pressure medication into his system. As of yet, it has had no effect."

Jeff swallowed hard, squeezing his eyes closed. He knew what this meant. "What can you do for him?"

"He has to be taken into surgery immediately. An emergency C-section is the only way to save both Mr. Brooks and your baby."

"I... I... I don't even know what to say." Jeff had to sit back down. The world was spinning rapidly around him and he didn't trust his feet to remain fixed to the ground. "How did this even happen? He was fine just a few days ago..."

"Has Mr. Brooks been under any extreme stress lately?" She asked kindly.

Jeff swallowed hard, thinking about how Phil had to deal with the fall-out of his being attacked. That moment where Phil had begged him not to leave played over and over in his head... "Oh my God... I did this to him! I should never have left. It's... It's all my fault."

"I'm sure that that's not the case, Mr. Hardy. Don't think of it as your fault." She tried to smile, but it looked like more of a scowl.

Jeff didn't even realize that there were tears brimming in his eyes. "Please... just take good care of him, okay?"

"We'll do our very best, sir."

Jeff watched as the nurse walked away, the automatic doors opening to allow her into the 'Authorized Personnel Only' section of the hospital, before shutting after she had cleared the sensor area. He closed his eyes, counting backward from ten, and tried to stop the onslaught of tears. It didn't work. They slowly slid down his face, dripping from his chin and falling onto his hands. He couldn't believe that he was the stressor that had caused Phil to become so sick. He couldn't believe that he was the one to risk the lives of both his boyfriend and their unborn baby.

He was so caught up within himself that he didn't even notice the sound of the emergency room doors opening - the sound of an all-too-familiar man's voice talking to a sleepy little girl that had curled herself into a ball in his arms. He didn't even notice the sound of the seat creaking as the aforementioned person claimed the seat beside him. It was only when a stuffed lion was placed in his trembling hands that he dared to look up. There was the face of his best friend, the only other man that he would give his life to protect (except, perhaps, John Morrison). He nodded to the lion.

"Brielle wanted you to have that." Adam offered him a weak smile. "She says that it always comforted her, and so she wants you to have it."

Jeff returned it with a trembling smile of his own. "Does it erase the grief of knowing that you possibly just killed your boyfriend?"

"What?" Adam's eyes widened.

Jeff stared into his eyes, unblinking. "We need to get out of that club, Adam. It's not safe anymore. Think about Hunter and Mark, what could have happened to them - to their daughter. Think about JoMo and his baby. Think about Brielle." A pause. "It's not safe, Adam, and we have to move on before it kills us all."