Rosemary could barely walk. She stumbled along the snow-covered ground and she would have missed the cabin, but she turned to the left to check on her horse and she saw the outline of it. As well as she could, she headed for it fast. She nearly collapsed on the front porch, and in a daze, she didn't even think to tie up her horse. She just opened the door and almost fell inside. Rosemary closed the door, then slipped down onto the floor, clutching her side. She cried out to the night and darkness and suddenly felt a rush. Something was definitely wrong and she was so cold…

Lee jumped out of the car, and he was surprised to see that the lights in the house were off. That was unlike Rosemary; usually she waited up for him. Maybe she was mad. He hurried inside. "Rosie?" He called into the dark house.
No answer.
He turned on a lamp and brought it upstairs, expecting to see his wife asleep. "Rosie?" He asked, a little quieter, as he peered into the bedroom. But she wasn't there either. He turned and dashed down the stairs. Maybe she had gone to Elizabeth's.

He impatiently knocked on Elizabeth's door. Elizabeth answered right away. "Lee, what is it?"

"Is Rosie here?" Lee asked.

"No, she's not. Isn't she at home?" Elizabeth asked, confused.

"No. Something's wrong, Elizabeth!" Suddenly, Lee turned and tore back to his car.

"Where are you going?" Elizabeth called after him.

"I have to find Rosie!" He yelled back, going into town as fast as he could safely.

Elizabeth didn't waste a second as she hurried over to Nathan's. She pounded on the door, and Nathan opened it immediately. "What is it?" He asked, noting her concerned look.

"Rosemary's gone and Lee went to find her. He needs your help, can Allie watch Jack?"

"Of course." Nathan turned. "Allie!" He called, and the girl came running. "Mrs. Thornton and I have to go search for Mrs. Coulter and we need you to watch Jack until we're back."

"I will." Allie nodded.

"Don't leave the house." Nathan warned.

"I won't." She shook her head. "What happened?"

"I have no idea." Elizabeth answered worriedly.

Lee drove down Main Street. Where would Rosemary have gone? Most of the town had already gone to sleep; the lights were off in the Café, the saloon, and the Mercantile. Wherever Rosemary had gone, she had to have left a while ago. Hmm…if he had taken the car, she would have had to take a horse. He screeched to a halt in front of the livery and dashed towards the doors, pounding on them. Mr. Hold, the owner of the livery, opened the door. "What is it?" He asked slightly irritably.

By this time, Nathan and Elizabeth had caught up to Lee and they came running too.

"Did my wife take a horse earlier today?" Lee asked.

"Yes, around five o'clock. She hasn't come back yet, either." Mr. Hold said.

Lee didn't wait, but ran back to his car.

"Do you know where she was going?" Nathan asked.

"To the north of town, I think."

"Thank you!" Nathan turned and sprinted over to Lee. "She's on the north side of town." He yelled. Elizabeth was right behind him with a lantern.

Lee nodded and hopped in the car. He had already cranked it. Elizabeth and Nathan got in beside him. It was pointless to go on horseback at night. Lee drove like a maniac along the snow-covered road. His only thoughts were directed at Rosie, out there somewhere in the cold, moonless night. Where was she?

Rosemary tried to uncurl herself from her sitting position, but it hurt too much. It was pitch black in the cabin and she couldn't see anything. She did her best not to start crying, but it hurt so much and so she couldn't resist letting out a pain-filled cry. She pushed herself, despite the pain, to her knees and she slowly crawled along the floor, feeling for something to sit on. The cabin was small, but in the farthest back corner there was a chair. She ran her hands over it. Can I even get up that far? She wondered. There was only one way to find out.

Lee, Nathan, and Elizabeth had finally reached the edge of the forest and Lee was forced to slow down a lot. It had stopped snowing now, but there was a good four or five inches on the ground which was enough to slow the car down. Finally, Lee stopped the car. "We'll have to go on foot." He said.

"I have a lantern." Elizabeth pulled out her possession.

"I have one in the back of the car for emergencies." Lee said, walking around the car and pulling it out.

"It's dark, so this is going to be hard. We'll both head the same direction, but we'll spread out." Nathan said. "There's a cabin that's maybe half a kilometer from here." He furrowed his eyebrows. "I really don't know in the dark. But we can start heading there."

Lee nodded. He wasn't in a good place to listen to directions; he had to find Rosie! But he would follow the directions, because he didn't need to get lost too. The trio headed to the north, swinging their lanterns and calling Rosemary's name. They had moved a few hundred feet when Nathan saw the outline of something. He stopped, and motioned for the others to do so. Out of the darkness came a horse, just ambling along. "It must be Rosemary's." Nathan said, walking up to it. He took the reins and they kept walking. Unfortunately for the horse, it was going right back to where it had run away from.

Slowly but surely, Rosemary pulled herself up onto the chair, doing her best to ignore the pain that was coming from her midsection. She didn't know what was happening to her, but she could feel herself slipping out of consciousness. The world was already dark, so she hardly noticed when her eyelids slipped shut and she fell into another, darker, world.

Nathan and Elizabeth slowly left Lee, who kept heading towards the cabin. They spilt ways, but did their best to stay within earshot. Lee finally saw the cabin in the distance, sitting on the outskirts of his light. What happened? He wondered as he sprinted up the steps. He opened the door and swung his light into the cabin.

The lantern displayed Rosie, in a corner on a chair, unconscious. Her blonde hair was matted by her side, and her face was twisted in a painful expression. Her hand was resting against her side. Lee stopped, surprised. Then he turned and ran outside again. "Nathan! Elizabeth!" He called out loudly.

They came running from the forest. "What?" Elizabeth asked, panting.

"I found Rosie – and something's really wrong."

"Lee, you and I should go for the car and Elizabeth can stay here." Nathan suggested.

"I'm not leaving her." Lee shook his head.

"You're the only one who can drive." Elizabeth reminded him.

"Okay." He grudgingly agreed. "Come on Nathan."

Nathan paused for a moment to look at Elizabeth. "We'll be okay," she said, answering his silent question. "Hurry back." Nathan ran after Lee, and Elizabeth hurried inside with the lantern. She stopped when she saw Rosemary in the corner, but dashed over to her friend. "Rosemary," she shook her friend's shoulder. "Rosemary."

Rosemary's eyelids fluttered open. "Elizabeth?" She murmured.

"I'm here." Elizabeth said softly. "Lee and Nathan went for the car."

"Oh." Rosemary closed her eyes. Then another spasm of pain hit her, and she groaned. "I'm so cold."

Elizabeth's eyes drifted over her friend and a terrifying pit settled in her stomach. "Shh, they'll be here soon."

Nathan and Lee were back in fifteen minutes, though it felt like hours. When Elizabeth heard the car, she hurried outside to them. Together, Nathan and Lee were able to get Rosemary in the car. She hardly moved, except to groan in pain. Lee pushed his car to the limit and they were in town after another thirty minutes. Right away, Lee jumped out and jaunted over to the infirmary door. He pounded on it with all his might.

Faith opened it. "Lee, what's wrong?" She asked, noting his worried face.

"Rosie…hurt." He managed.

"Bring her right in." Faith said.

Again, Nathan and Lee transported her inside and laid her on a bed. Faith began examining her, and when she was finished, she came over to the three of them. "I'm afraid that Rosemary is losing the baby." She said quietly. "I gave her something to help with the pain, but she's going to be bleeding a lot now."

"Oh no." Elizabeth breathed. "Can I help with anything?"

"Yes, that'd be wonderful." Faith said.

Lee said nothing, but his face showed clearly the pain he was feeling. "Can I stay with her?"

"If you want, but it's going to get messy." Faith warned.

"I have to stay."

"I'll go home and check on the kids." Nathan offered.

"Thank you." Elizabeth said. They walked outside of the infirmary together. "Thanks." She said again.

"No problem."

"I have to be here with Rosemary. Did you see Lee's face?"

"I did. It's going to hurt them so much." Nathan sighed. "It's late; I'd better go. Don't worry about anything." He gently kissed her cheek. "I'll come back in the morning.

"I won't." Elizabeth promised, then turned and walked back inside.

Throughout the night, Faith, Elizabeth, and Lee helped Rosemary. With much pain, blood, and tears, the little life slipped away. Rosemary was in so much pain, she didn't really realize what was happening. As the sun slipped upwards in the sky and morning dawned, Lee was asleep on the chair next to Rosemary's bed, Faith was in a chair in the corner of the room, and Elizabeth was on a chair on the other side of the curtain.

Rosemary stirred and opened her eyes. Where am I? She wondered. She remembered the cabin, and a bumpy ride out of the forest. She looked around; she was definitely in the infirmary. She twisted her head to look over at Lee, sound asleep. She tried to sit up, but a cramp in her stomach made her think twice. She remembered lots of pain…and something was missing.

Just then, Lee woke up too. When he saw Rosemary was awake, he immediately leaned forward and took her hand. "You're awake." He said softly, so as not to wake up Faith.

She nodded. "What happened to me?"

Lee gulped. "What do you remember?" He didn't know how to tell her.

"It was dark, and I was walking. I tripped, and – and fell onto a log. It really hurt. Then it was snowing a lot, and finally I came to a cabin. My side hurt a lot; I think I might have fallen unconscious. I remember that Elizabeth was there, and I kind of remember coming into town. But the rest is blurry."

"Nathan, Elizabeth, and I found you and brought you back here to Faith." Lee replied. He looked away for a moment. How would he tell her?

"Lee," she took his hand. "Something's wrong. What is it? You can tell me."

He stood up and sat by her side on the bed, still holding her hand. "Sweetheart," he began, then faltered. "I – we – the baby…"

"I lost the baby, didn't I." It was a statement, not a question.

Lee just nodded. He was trying so hard to be brave for Rosemary.

Rosemary gulped. She made a resolution not to cry, but it was broken in seconds as tears came running down her face. Lee put his arms around her, and they sat there for a while, crying in each other's arms. Their baby! Their much-loved baby was gone…what were they going to do now?

Faith stirred in the chair, but neither Lee nor Rosemary noticed and she slipped out of the room to wake up Elizabeth. "Are they awake?" Elizabeth asked quietly. Faith nodded. "Does Rosemary…know?" Faith nodded again.

Meanwhile, Rosemary and Lee had separated. Both were trying to wipe away their tears and gather strength from the other. Rosemary gave Lee a tear-washed smile and he squeezed her hand again. Just then, Faith came back. "Morning." She said.

"Morning." Lee replied.

"How are you feeling?" Faith asked.

"Okay." Rosemary replied. "When can I go home?"

"In a couple of hours, I'm sure." Faith responded. "I just need to check you."

Elizabeth entered the room and went right to Rosemary. "Rosemary, I'm so sorry." She gave her friend a huge hug.

"Thanks." Rosemary smiled sadly back.

"We'll talk later." Elizabeth promised, and Rosemary nodded.

True to her word, Faith let Rosemary go a couple of hours later. Lee helped her up into the car, then drove her home. They didn't say a word on the way, or when Lee helped her back into the house. He helped her to the couch. "Are you okay? Do you need something?" He asked softly, sitting beside her.

"I'm fine."

"I have to go to the office to talk to Jesse, but I'll be back in a little bit. Are you sure you'll be fine?"

"I'll be fine."

"Okay." He kissed the top of her head, then turned to leave.

"Lee?" She spoke just as he opened the door.

"What?" He turned around.

"Can you not tell anyone about…what happened? I'm not ready for people to know yet."

"I won't." He promised. "I love you."

"I love you too."

Then he turned back, opened the door, and left. Rosemary heard the car drive away, and then the house was silent. She tried so hard, but before she knew it, she was crying again. Crying for her loss, crying for her future, and crying for something she wanted so badly but couldn't have.

When Lee got back, he found Rosemary asleep on the settee. He carefully covered her with a blanket, kissed her forehead, and then sat back in his chair to read the newspaper. Before he knew it, his head was nodding and his eyes were closing as he too gave in and fell asleep. It had been a long night.

They both woke up at nearly the same time. Lee checked his pocket watch, which gave the time as quarter after two. "Afternoon." He said with a slight smile.

"Afternoon." Rosemary replied. "I'm starving. Do you want something to eat?"

He looked at her, slightly surprised. "Don't you want to rest?"

"I need to do something." She sounded a little irritated.

Oops. He'd gone a little too far. "Sure." He nodded.

She nodded back, then got up and walked over to the kitchen to prepare them a snack. Lee sat there, watching her for a few moments. She was tired, he could tell. Faith had prepared him that she might be overly emotional for the next few days. He smiled as he watched her moving around in the kitchen, but his smile turned to sadness as he saw her face fall too. They needed to talk, and soon. His smile returned again when Rosemary brought food over to him. "Thank you, Rosie." He said sincerely as he took it from her.

"No problem." She answered.

And so there they sat, eating food and resting in companionable silence. Lee supposed they could talk later. Right now, they just needed each other, and that was okay.