Nathan was worried about Elizabeth. In the three weeks since they'd returned to Kauai from New York, she had entered a depression he'd never seen in her before. While it wasn't extreme, it was enough to impact her day to day life. She was sad a lot, prone to finding the bad in a situation instead of the good. She worried about him at his job more than normal. Oftentimes he would wake up in the middle of the night to her crying softly. He held her every time, trying to comfort her as best he could. She would always fall asleep in his arms, shaking from her tears and utterly exhausted.

Now, as they sat together in their living room watching a movie, he eyed her surreptitiously. She was holding Cecilia close to her chest, leaning back against Nathan heavily. Arianna was asleep in her bassinet beside them. Nathan peeked over her shoulder. Cecilia was now asleep as well.

"Elizabeth," he said softly. "Why don't you put Cecilia in the bassinet with Arianna?"

He received no response. Frowning, Nathan sat up a little. "Elizabeth?"

"Hmm?" she said, blinking back at him. "Did you say something?"

Nathan took the baby from her, placing their daughter tenderly in the bassinet next to her sister. He sat next to Elizabeth once more, pulling her into his arms. Choking up, he had to take several deep breaths before he could speak. "Sweetheart, talk to me. I want to know what's going on inside of you. But I can't if you don't tell me."

Elizabeth started sobbing. She turned her face into Nathan's neck, her hot tears spilling onto his skin. Nathan's arms surrounded her, holding her tightly as she cried. His heart hurt for her, but he didn't try to say anything. He let her cry and feel her emotions, as he knew she needed to.

Eventually, Elizabeth's tears stopped. She slumped against Nathan, her hands reaching into his hair. "What's wrong with me?" she whispered, her face still buried in his neck. "This isn't me, Nathan."

He pressed a kiss to her cheek. "You've been through a lot in the last few months, sweetheart. Giving birth to twins, learning to be a mom, what happened with your parents."

Elizabeth gave a little wail at the mention of her parents. "They...turned us...away," she cried. "Their own flesh and blood. They wouldn't even meet the babies!" She cried again for several minutes before calming. Sniffling, she looked up at Nathan. "What if I become my parents, Nathan? What if I become like them with Cecilia and Arianna?"

Nathan's arms tightened around her. "Elizabeth, that will never happen," he said fervently. "You love your children with all your heart. You've been involved with them from the very beginning, unlike your parents. You are incredibly present to our daughters and you are the best mother in the world."

"You have to say that," Elizabeth said with another sniffle, though a small smile broke through. "You think I'm a good mother?"

Nathan lifted her chin. "I know you're a good mother. And I feel so blessed that my children get to have you as their mom. He kissed her gently. "Arianna and Cecilia are blessed."

Elizabeth clung to him. "Thank you, Nathan," she said softly. "I needed that."

Over the next few weeks, Elizabeth gradually returned to herself. Nathan watched as the clouds slowly slipped away and the sun returned to her life. She laughed freely again, seeing the joy in everyday moments. Nathan could tell she still thought about her parents from time to time, but she refused to let them steal her happiness.

They continued to spend time with their friends. Faith and Carson excitedly announced at a game night that they were having a baby. Everyone was thrilled, with lots of congratulations going around. Jesse emphatically stated he wanted the baby to be a boy, and Lucas echoed his big brother's claim. Clara sweetly said she wanted another girl in their group.

Lee smiled, tucking Clara under one arm and Jesse under the other. "The baby will be what the baby will be," he said, chuckling. "And we're going to love the baby whether it's a boy or a girl, right?"

Clara nodded while Jesse wrinkled his nose. "I'd like it a lot better if the baby is a boy," he stated.

Nathan laughed, shuffling Arianna in his arms. "Girls are wonderful too, Jesse," he said.

"Yes!" Rosemary said, making a face at the little girl. "We have plenty of beautiful girls around for you to consider as a wife one day, son."

"Ew!" Jesse hollered at the top of his lungs. "No!" He covered his ears and ran into the other room, where Carson and Steve were chatting.

Faith grinned. "I'd be happy with a boy or a girl," she said, a dreamy look in her eyes as she covered her stomach. "I'm just glad that we'll be able to welcome this one down the road." Her smile softened. "Hope doesn't quite understand the concept of a sibling, but she talks to my stomach every so often. It's the cutest thing."

Elizabeth came over, sitting next to Nathan. "You realize you're going to have to have a third child, right? Simply so you and I can be pregnant at the same time! That's been a dream of ours for so long."

Faith smiled impishly. "Oh darn." She winked. "Three kids sounds perfect."

Elizabeth nodded. "Wouldn't that be something? If you, me, and Rosie all had three?"

"That would be funny," Rosemary said with a chuckle. "Or maybe the two of you will have five kids each."

Nathan laughed as both Faith and Elizabeth's brows rose. "Let's take this one child at a time, shall we?" he said, grinning at the women. "Though I wouldn't mind five kids," he breathed, leaned over to Elizabeth with a sly smile.

She swatted his arm. "We'll talk about that once the twins are a year or so old," she said.

Nathan leaned back, his smile languid. "Works for me."

"I can't believe they're five months old," Elizabeth said, staring down at her girls in awe as they slept.

Nathan slid an arm around her. "Neither can I. Our sweet babies are growing up so fast."

The girls had begun to show their personalities. Arianna was slightly more feisty and strong, cooing up a storm and already pushing herself up on her hands and knees. Cecilia was content to lie on her back for long periods of time, smiling at anyone who looked her way and loving to be held. Both girls were a joy.

The two of them walked from the room, then Nathan looked at the clock. "You need to get going, sweetheart. Aren't you supposed to meet Faith for lunch?"

The mention of food made Elizabeth's stomach suddenly turn. She swayed slightly as a wave of nausea swept over her. Nathan saw it and steadied her. He looked into her eyes, concern bright in his. "Elizabeth? Was that another spell?"

She nodded, holding onto him as the world spun around her. She had been feeling dizzy and nauseated on a regular basis for the past week. Her nose was running nearly constantly and she sometimes had a hard time taking in a full breath. Random bruises were appearing on her body in places she couldn't remember bumping. She knew Nathan was worried. If she was honest, she was starting to feel a little worried herself.

"I'm taking you to see Carson," Nathan said, pulling out his cell phone. "And I'll ask Colleen if she can watch the girls during the appointment."

"That's not necessary…" Elizabeth started, but she quieted when Nathan raised a brow. His protective side was out in full force, and she knew there was no use trying to convince him otherwise. "Okay."

Within an hour they were sitting in Carson's office. Holding his clipboard, he asked about her symptoms. Elizabeth relayed them one by one, then paused as the room began spinning again. Carson quickly took her pulse, monitoring her until the spell passed.

"You said this has become common?" he asked, writing something down.

Elizabeth nodded. "But just over the last week," she said. "I'm still able to function just fine. It's more of a nuisance than anything."

"It's more than a nuisance," Nathan said, gripping her hand tightly. "This isn't normal. We need to know what's going on."

Carson nodded, putting down his clipboard. "I agree. Something is definitely going on, and we need to get to the bottom of it. I'm going to order some bloodwork, Elizabeth. We'll need quite a few vials as I want to test for a wide variety of things." He smiled at her sympathetically. "You're a nurse. You know the drill."

Elizabeth nodded. "I know. Check every option." She smiled warily. "How many vials are we talking, Carson?"

He placed a hand on her shoulder, knowing how much she disliked needles. "At least six."

Sighing, Elizabeth held up her hands. "Alright. Let's get this done with as quickly as possible. And tell the technician that I'll have my eyes squeezed shut the whole time."

Carson chuckled. "Noted."

Elizabeth held Nathan's hand the whole time her blood was being drawn. She tried not to think about what the results could be. She tried not to think of all the illnesses that fit the symptoms she exhibited. She tried not to think of what could go wrong.

She tried not to think about the test results for the next few days. Pouring herself into caring for her girls, Elizabeth tried her best not to think of worst case scenarios. But her heart trembled on more than one occasion. What if something was seriously wrong with her? What if she wouldn't be able to watch her girls grow up? What if she left Nathan a widower with two small children?

Her fears grew as the days went by. Nathan did his best to assuage them, reminding her that Carson hadn't seemed too worried during the testing process.

"It'll be alright, Elizabeth," he said on the fifth day, holding her close. She wondered if he was trying to convince her or himself of that.

"I hope you're right," she said, clinging to him. His strength always calmed her. She was so thankful for this wonderful man in her life.

"Why don't we go to the beach?" Nathan suggested. "We haven't been in a while, and the girls love the water. What do you think? Are you feeling up for it?"

Elizabeth smiled. "I have a bit of a headache, but otherwise I'm fine. I think we should go. It'll be fun."

Though it was December, the weather was warm and perfect for playing in the water. Elizabeth sat in a few inches of water along the shoreline, dipping Arianna in and out of the water, much to the baby's delight. Cecilia was content to sit in the water on Nathan's lap, putting her hand into the gentle lapping waves.

Nathan smiled at Elizabeth. "Their first Christmas is coming up. Can you believe it?"

Elizabeth shook her head, her worries temporarily forgotten. "It's come up so quickly. I think that it's going to be a lot of fun. Rosemary already has Christmas Eve planned out, and then we'll have Christmas Day all for ourselves." She smiled at him. "Our first Christmas as a family. It will be one to remember."

"I can't wait," Nathan said, gazing into her eyes. "And it'll be our second anniversary already. Can you believe it? Two wonderful years of marriage."

"Hopefully with many more ahead of us," Elizabeth said softly.

Her words reminded them both of the uncertainty ahead. Whatever Carson found, Elizabeth knew without a doubt that Nathan would remain by her side the whole time. She just hoped and prayed it was nothing serious.

Her phone rang. Without looking at it, she knew it was Carson. She handed Arianna to Nathan, who shifted to accommodate both babies. Drying her hands quickly on a towel, she answered. "Hi, Carson."

"Hey, Elizabeth," he said. "We have your test results in. Can you and Nathan meet me at the hospital in an hour?"

Her stomach dropped, but she forced her voice to sound normal. "Yes, we'll see you then."

As she hung up, she took a deep breath. Carson hadn't sounded too serious, so it probably wasn't something life-threatening. But he had asked to see both of them. That told her it was something of a serious nature.

She looked at Nathan, who was looking back at her with a question in his eyes. She swallowed. "My test results are in. Carson wants to meet in an hour."

Nathan's throat worked, but he nodded slowly. He stood, holding a baby in each arm. "Alright," he said softly. "Let's get cleaned up and drop the girls off with Rosemary." He leaned down to kiss her cheek. "We're in this together, Elizabeth. Whatever news we get, I'll be by your side the whole time."

She smiled, the nervousness dissipating slightly. She took Cecilia from him, then pressed a kiss to his lips. "I know you will," she said, placing a hand on his cheek and squaring her shoulders. "Let's do this."