Please title this page. (Page 3)

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March 13-14, 01.

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This is just a brief little summary type deal. Well, it's been about 5 months since Carol's miscarriage. She and Doug have been "intimate" for about 4 months or so. And they've been dating since--as you know from the first chapter--right before she had the miscarriage. Also, Carol dated Tag and Shep in the past, and everything with Tag happened, only Doug wasn't there. But Carol DID NOT try to commit suicide. Her father did die when she was younger. I just wanted to clear that up.

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Carol ran out of the master bathroom and out of her bedroom. She flew into the study where she kept all her files and documents. She saw the rocking chair in the corner that her grandmother use to own but gave to Carol when she died. Carol sat in the chair and drew her legs up to her chest, burying her face in her knees and began to cry. She squeezed her legs to her chest, pressing her face as far as she could into her knees and let out loud, numerous sobs, gulping for breath. She cried for a good few minutes.

Stop. You have to stop crying, Carol told herself. She sighed and shook her head, resisting the urge to scream and cry. She gritted her teeth and sighed, letting her head fall against her knees once more as she rocked herself gently in the chair.

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Doug used the spare key Carol had given him to get into her house. She had asked him to come over after work and since she hadn't worked that day, he was anxious to see her. He walked into the house, noticing all the lights were on. He smiled, glad she was home, even though she had said she would be.

"Carol?" He called out. He didn't hear a reply. "Carol, where are you?" He called out, his ears straining to hear her answer. When he didn't hear her call out to him, his brows scrunched in puzzlement. "Carol?" He calls out again, making his way towards her room. He looks in, his eyes sweeping the room and doesn't see her, but he notices the bathroom light on. He walks over to the doorway and another quick sweep of his eyes tells him she is not in there. He begins to head back to the living room when he sees her curled into a ball in an old rocker in the study. He stops in the doorway, looking in on her. She is looking up at him, her face red and wet from the tears she had shed. "Carol?" He asks, quickly moving into the room and dropping to his knees in front of her. "What's wrong?" He asks, reaching out to touch her cheek gently. She shudders away from him.

"Don't." She says. He looks up at her, confused and concerned.

"Okay." He says, pulling his hands away from her, leaving them resting on the arms of the chair, steadying the sway. "Do you want to tell me what is wrong?" He asks. She shakes her head, burying her face into her knees once again, fighting herself to hold the tears in. "Care?" He asks, using the nickname he affectionately called her.

"Doug...stop." She says. He becomes silent, watching her, unsure of what to do and wishing he knew what was upsetting her. She heard his knees cracking as he stood up.

"If you want to talk, I'll be out in the living room." He says. Her head comes up as she watches the back of him leaving the room.

"Doug!" She calls out. He stops and turns around. "Don't go. Please." She whispers. He walks back to her, bending down and taking her face into his hand. He wipes away the tears on her cheeks.

"Tell me what's wrong." He says. She shakes her head.

"Don't hate me." She says. He smiles softly.

"Carol..I don't..and I won't." He says. She sucks in a deep shaky breath.

"Doug....I can't..I don't know how to tell you.." She says.

"Just tell me. Just get it out." He says. She sighs and chews her bottom lip nervously.

"I'm pregnant, Doug, I'm pregnant again but with your baby." She says. She watches as his face erupts in surprise, and what she thinks is delight.

"I..I thought we were careful." Doug says. She nods and looks down at her hands.

"Me too." She says.

"Carol..how do you feel about this?" He asks. She shrugs.

"I don't know, Doug. This wasn't suppose to happen this soon, I mean. What if something happens again? I don't think I could handle it. And what if..what if something is wrong with me now because of the accident and I can't carry a child?" She asks. He smiles softly.

"Carol, I've been a doctor long enough to tell you that a miscarriage like yours wouldn't cause you to lose future children. You didn't lose the baby because of something natural, you lost it because of an accident and the baby was too young and not strong enough to fight for itself. But if it will make you feel better, we'll have Coburn check you out...Who is your OB/GYN?" Doug asks.

"MacLucas." Carol says, sniffling slightly. He smiles.

"Okay then, we'll go to MacLucas and get her opinion and have her check out just in case, alright?" He asks. She nods.

"Okay." She says and realizes he hasn't even said how he feels yet, he's been too worried about how she felt.

"Doug..there's still a chance I could lose the baby.." Carol says. He smiles.

"I know. There always is with anyone that is pregnant, Carol, not just you. But if it will make you feel better, we won't drive to work anymore, so you can't get in a car accident. We'll take the El. And I'll help you around the house as much as I can. You can eat healthy and exercise and," He grins, "stop drinking coffee again." He says. She groans.

"Aw man!" She whines, a smile on her lips. "Doug...How do you feel about it?" She asks. He smiles.

"I'm thrilled." He says, his eyes lighting up. "Here, c'mon, I have somewhere I want to show you." Doug says, standing up and pulling her out of the chair.

"Doug?" She asks.

"C'mon, get your coat and shoes." He says, walking out into the living room with her on his heels.

"Doug, where are we going?" She asks.

"You'll see when we get there." He says. She sighs but pulls on her shoes.

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"Doug, this is great!" Carol exclaims, hopping out of his jeep and looking around at the deserted park. He chuckles and gets out, watching as she wraps her arms around herself and looks around in awe.

"I found it the other day when I was just out driving around. I looked it up and it's government property, but they haven't done anything with it for over 3 years." Doug says.

"It's amazing all the places I've never been to in Chicago and I've lived here for 30 years." Carol says, with a happy sigh. Doug reaches over, entwining his fingers with hers. She smiles at him and pulls him along, wanting to look around some more. They walk around for a little while, discovering things in the park.

"Ahh, I love it here." She says, swinging around to face him. He chuckles and pulls her closer to him.

"I have some things I want to tell you." He says. She nods.

"Okay." She says. He grins and takes both of her hands into his own.

"I want you to know that I want this baby.." He grins, placing one set of their hands on her stomach. She smiles. "I want it so much. You know how I talked about my son? Well..I love him. I regret not knowing him. But there isn't really any ache inside me for him. I don't wish I could see him everyday...I..I don't really...want him to know me." Doug says. "But..the difference between him..and this little one," Doug smiles, "is I love the mother. And I loved you when it was conceived. I've loved you since I laid my eyes on you in the alley way." Carol looks at him, her eyes wide in surprise. "I'm in love with you Carol Anne Hathaway and I want to be with you and our child." He says. She looks at him, her eyes beginning to water as she stares at him in disbelief. He untangles on of his hands from hers and brings it up to her face, cupping her cheek in his hand.

"Oh.." She says, a tear slipping out of her eye and racing down her cheek. He kisses it away. "What did I do to deserve you?" She asks. He grins.

"You were a beautiful, unique, loving person. You were you and I fell for you and I keep falling every second of every day. I ache when I'm not with you." He says. She grins, tears spilling down her cheeks before she reaches up with both of her hands, gripping his face and kissing him deeply and passionately.

"I love you." She kisses him again. "I love you, I love you, I love you!" She exclaims, burying herself into his arms. He grins and holds her close to him and buries his face in her hair. They stood in each other's embrace for the longest time, happy to have found each other.

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Doug walked into his and Carol's house after work a few days after he had found out she was pregnant. He smiled at her when he saw her curled up on the couch, asleep. She had asked him to move in later that night after they had come home from the park and he had readily agreed. According to him, he was the luckiest man alive, just to have her.

He moved to the couch, gently taking the television remote from her hand. He turned the TV off and looked back at her. He crouched down in front of her, smiling softly. He pulled the blanket back and noticed she had her hand spread across her stomach. He knew it wasn't coincidental. He reached up, brushing her hair away from her face and stroking her cheeks gently. She stirred, turning her face towards his hand. He smiled and bent down, placing a kiss on the corner of her mouth. She sighed softly. Doug held in his chuckle as he bent down, kissing the other corner of her mouth. She turned her lips toward his in her sleep. He chuckled softly and pressed his mouth to hers, feeling her begin to respond.

"Doug?" Carol murmured softly. He pulled away, smiling slightly as she opened her eyes to look up into his face.

"Hey beautiful." He whispered. She grinned softly.

"Mmm...how long have you been home?" She asks, stretching beneath him.

"Just got home a few seconds ago." He replies. She nods and brings her arms back to his side.

"How was work?" She asks. He smiles.

"Fine. I missed you all day." He said. She grinned.

"Did you?" She asked. He nodded.

"Yup, and I went and bought you something after work." Doug says. Her eyes widen.

"You bought me something? Like a present?" She asks. He grins.

"Sort of like a present, yeah." He says. She smiles.

"Where is it?" She asks. He grins and pats his pocket.

"Right here." He says. She squinted, trying to figure out what was in his pocket, but she couldn't pick out any specific shape.

"What is it?" She asks. He grins and sits back on his heels as she sits up. He smiles.

"You'll have to wait a minute." He says and gets up on the couch beside her. She is rumpled up from her sleep and he has the urge to bring her to him and kiss her tenderly, but knows that won't get him anywhere but to bed. He wants to wait before they go there.

"Doug?" She asks. He smiles and brings his hand up to her lips.

"Shh..Just let me talk." He says. She nods her head in agreement, tucking her hair behind her ear. He reached into his pocket and took out a ring. She gasped.

"Doug.." She exclaims.

"Wait Carol." He says. She looks up at him. "I'm not proposing." He says, grinning. She looks at him, waiting for him to speak. "I love you, Carol. I want to marry you some day, but I don't think we are ready. Do you think we are?" He asks. She shakes her head slightly, knowing he is right. "Well, I know I want to marry you some day. I want to spend the rest of my life with you and our child...children, but I know we're not ready. And..I don't want to get engaged or married if we're not ready. I don't want to push you. I'll tell you when I'm ready and then I'll wait for you to be ready if you're aren't when I am." He says, grinning slightly. She smiles before looking down at the ring in his hand. It's gold with three tiny emeralds on the top. "But....I want this to be a promise ring." He says as she looks up at him again. "I want to know that you'll always be mine and I'll always be yours, until we decide to make it legal. I don't want anyone else to have you ever and I don't want anyone else to be with me either. I want you to wear this ring if you promise to keep this promise." He says. She nods, swallowing the lump her in throat as her eyes well up with tears.

"I promise." She says, looking up at him. He smiles and nods, before taking her right hand into his own hands. He brings her fingers up to his face and kisses them gently before sliding the gold band onto her ring finger. She sighs happily as she looks down at it.

"See those three emeralds?" He asks. She nods.

"Yeah.." She says, looking up at him.

"Well, they stand for you, me, and the baby." He says. She looks back down at it, before looking up at him, a tear slipping out of her eye and streaking down her cheek.

"Doug.." She whispers. He smiles at her, before leaning over and kissing her wet cheek.

"I love you, Carol." He whispers against her skin. She takes his face into his hands and he feels the cool metal against his cheek as she moves her mouth to his.

"I love you, too, Doug." She murmurs against his lips and buries her face into his neck. He pulls her as close to him as possible and holds her tightly. "Doug..I..I never knew I could feel this way. I thought..I thought I loved Tag and Shep, but, but this is just so much more." She says. He smiles and nods his head.

"I know, baby, I know." He says.

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