"Sheridan, I need you to breathe for me," Eve said. "Everything's going to be fine. I examined you thoroughly, and I didn't see any bleeding. The cramps you were feeling were probably just from your uterus stretching. It's completely normal to feel this type of pain early in your pregnancy. In this case, it just timed out badly."

Luis cradled Sheridan against him and kissed the top of her head. "Did you hear what Eve said?" he whispered, his voice thick with emotion. "We're not losing our baby."

"I . . . I couldn't bear that, Luis." Sheridan hiccupped and cried.

"Luis?" Eve asked softly. "Will you go see if you can find the bottle of water buried at the bottom of my purse? I'd like Sheridan to stay as hydrated as possible."

Luis threw a worried glance at Sheridan.

"I'm promise you, Luis," Eve said, "I will not leave her side. We just need to calm her down and get some water into her—and the sooner we do that, the better."

"Thank you, Eve." Luis swallowed a lump in his throat, rose to his feet, and murmured his thanks to Gwen and Hank, as well, who were holding up a sheet to give Sheridan some privacy.

"Whatever you need, Luis," Hank said. "We're here for you, buddy."

Nodding his head in thanks, Luis crossed the room to where his father was standing and began to dig through Eve's purse.


Martin patted Luis's back. "I know you're worried about her, son."

Luis glanced back at Sheridan as he stood up, Eve's water bottle in his hand. "You have no idea how many times I've almost lost her, Papa—and now we might be losing our child."

"I thought Dr. Russell said that she thinks everything is all right?"

"She did." Luis looked at his father. "Eve's an excellent doctor, and I know she knows what she's doing. Still, I'm not going to feel completely better until I get Sheridan to a hospital and see an ultrasound of our baby."

Martin squeezed Luis's shoulder. "It's going to be okay, Luis."

"How do you know that?" Luis shook his head. "All of my life, the people I love have been ripped away from me . . ."

"Including me, I'm afraid." Martin removed his hand from Luis's shoulder and hung his head.

Luis bit down on his lip; his eyes averted to the floor.

Martin's voice cracked. "I never would have made that choice willingly, Luis."

Luis looked up at his father. "Part of me is terrified that if I blink, you'll disappear—that this will all turn out to be a dream."

"Let's call this what it is, son," Martin said. "This is a nightmare."

Luis pressed the tips of his fingers together and sighed. "Courtesy of Alistair Crane, as usual."

Martin raised one brow and clamped his hand down on Luis's shoulder. "Yes, but this time he's underestimated the power of one very important thing: As soon as we get out of here, he'll be facing not just one—but two—Lopez-Fitzgeralds."


Julian bit down on his lip as he watched Eve comfort Sheridan. From the looks of it, Eve was holding it together, but how much was it costing her?

He was grateful that she could be here for his sister; still, he shouldn't have let Eve come along. Now, not only had he put her life in danger again, but he was forcing her to relive their past.

If only he could go back and change things. If only he could have saved their son—if only he had protected Eve's heart.

Julian's eyes wandered over to Luis and Martin.

Despite all of the years they had spent apart, they still had a real connection. A father-and-son bond he had never had—well, not a real one anyway.

He had thought he'd had one with Ethan, but, damn it, Ethan wasn't even his son. The light of his life had been ripped away from him, and he had done nothing to stop it.

Just like the son he'd had years ago—the boy he'd had with Eve. He'd missed out on the chance to hold his firstborn son. What the hell had he been thinking?

He'd been a coward, like he'd been with Ethan, and now, he had nothing to show for it.

Had chasing his father's love been worth it? Had it been worth everything he'd lost?


Sheridan closed her eyes and took another deep breath in.

It was okay. Her baby was going to be okay.

Releasing the breath she was holding, she inched her eyes open and focused her gaze on Eve.

"Feeling any better?" Eve asked softly.

"Yes, much better, thanks." Sheridan studied Eve for a moment. "This must be so hard for you, Eve."

Eve swallowed a lump in her throat and squeezed Sheridan's hand. "It is, but I'm still glad I could be here for you right now—that I could help you watch out for your own child."

Sheridan blinked back tears and squeezed Eve's hand back. "I wish you hadn't lost yours."

"Thank you, Sheridan . . ." Eve started.

A beam above them groaned.

"Watch out!" Julian rushed toward both of them and shoved them aside as the beam came crashing to the floor.