Sheridan flinched as the doctor began to apply pressure to her abdomen. From what Luis had told her, she had been in and out of consciousness for the last hour, and the doctor was only now getting a chance to check on the baby. What if something had happened to him . . . had happened to her son?
She didn't remember much about what had happened after she'd ran out of the reception, but she knew this much: If something had happened to her baby because of that, it would be all her fault. Just like everything that had happened to Martin.
God, how could Luis even stand to look at her?
"See that, Sher?" Luis squeezed her fingers and nudged her head toward the monitor. "I can't believe how much our baby has grown."
Sheridan fixed her eyes on the screen, a blurry image coming into focus as the doctor maneuvered the transducer over the swell of her belly. "Oh God, Luis, our baby!" Sheridan's eyes shot over to her husband's, her brain suddenly alert. "Luis, is he okay?"
"She's doing beautifully," the doctor answered quietly.
"She?" Sheridan's heart skipped a beat.
"Yes, she," the doctor smiled. "Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Lopez-Fitzgerald—you're having a baby girl."
"I'm having a daughter?" Sheridan massaged her temples. "Gwen, this can't be happening."
Gwen furrowed her brow. "What's the matter, Sheridan? I thought you'd be thrilled about that."
"Gwen, I don't know how to raise a child. At least if this baby were a boy, he'd have Luis." Sheridan cupped her belly, her eyes falling to the small mound where her daughter lay. "This baby . . . this little girl . . . she's going to learn how to be a woman from me."
"And that's bad because . . . ?"
"Gwen, I'm not fit to raise a child, especially not a daughter . . ."
Gwen rubbed her friend's back. "Sheridan, honey, you need to relax, take it easy. Any little girl would be lucky to have you as a mother." Gwen curled one hand over Sheridan's. "Especially this one right here."
"How do you know that, Gwen?" Sheridan looked up. "How do you know I won't screw her up from the very second she's born?"
"You're one of the kindest, most compassionate people I know, Sheridan," Gwen insisted. "How could you ever be anything less than a wonderful mother?"
Sheridan bit down on her lip. "I didn't exactly have the best role models."
"No," Gwen conceded. "But you had Pilar, and now you have Luis. You're not going to be raising this baby by yourself."
"I know," Sheridan frowned. "I just hate that I'm such a burden to Luis."
"Will you stop with this 'burden' talk, Sheridan?" Gwen squeezed Sheridan's hand. "We're all lucky to have you—especially this little girl."
"How can you be so sure, Gwen?"
"Because you're my best friend, Sheridan." Gwen smiled softly. "I know how big your heart is."
"Luis! ¡Mijo!" Pilar rushed into the waiting room. "Where is Sheridan?"
"She's right in there, Mama." Luis nodded toward Sheridan's cubicle.
Luis grabbed his mother's hands, his eyes glistening at hers. "We're having a little girl, Mama—you're going to have a granddaughter."
"Oh, mijo, that's wonderful." Pilar grabbed him in a hug. "I'm so happy for you and Sheridan."
Luis glanced back at Sheridan's cubicle; his face fell. "Mama, before you go in, there's something you should know." Luis took a deep breath in and turned back to face his mother. "Sheridan has somehow gotten it in her head that everything that has happened to Papa is all her fault. Him disappearing in the first place, his getting shot . . ."
"But, mijo, neither of those things were her fault." Pilar smiled sadly. "Sheridan was just a little girl when Katherine asked for your father's help. And what was he supposed to do when Alistair grabbed her back in Mexico—just leave her at his mercy?"
"I know that, and you know that, but, Sheridan—she's having a hard time with it." Luis hung his head. "When the DJ mixed up his playlists tonight and announced the father-daughter dance, I think she completely lost it. She blames herself for your pain, for mine—for that of our entire family."
Luis looked back up at his mother, his eyes filling with desperation. "I've been trying everything I can to get through to her, but nothing seems to be working. I feel like no matter what I do, she keeps slipping through my fingers."
"Oh, mijo," Pilar breathed, taking him back into her arms.
"I love her, Mama." Luis's voice quieted. "I just wish I could get through to her about this."
"I know you do, Luis." Pilar's forehead creased. "Unfortunately, I think the only person who can get Sheridan through this is Sheridan herself."
