[Quick note: I hate writing party scenes, I always feel lost because there are so many characters there, and I don't know what to do with them except shove them into a corner.]

Chapter Forty-Three

(Early February - Baby Countdown: Almost 5 Weeks Away!)

Chloe had made absolutely sure that she and Brady arrived early to the pub, before all of the baby shower guests showed up. When they stepped inside, they were immediately greeted by Abby who came running happily up to them. Chloe crouched down and hugged her tightly.

"Hey Abigail..."

"Hi Aunt Chloe! How are you? How is the baby?"

"I'm doing very good, and the baby is just fine."

Chloe let go of her and Abby looked up at Brady. "Uncle Brady!"

Brady scooped her up into his arms and gave her a kiss on her forehead. "Look at you, Abby. Is that a new dress?"

"Uh-huh."

"Well, I love it. You look very beautiful today."

Abby smiled and kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you, Uncle Brady. You look very nice today too. And, you too, Aunt Chloe."

Chloe couldn't help giggling girlishly. In just the month since the revelation of her paternity, Abby Devereaux had quickly taken to calling them Aunt and Uncle. The little girl had grown close to Chloe already, but took an even more immediate liking to Brady. She would have never expected it when she first met him, but there was something about Brady that drew children to him. Chloe smiled as she watched his interactions with Abby, proud that fate had chosen this man to be the father of her child.

Brady carried her off towards the table where Abby's father Jack was sitting, as Chloe headed towards the buffet being laid out by Hope and Jennifer. Chloe hugged both women quickly and then looked around for something to do.

"So... Is there anything I can to do to help?"

Jennifer stared at Chloe, her eyes wide, and shook her head vehemently. "Absolutely not. You relax and enjoy yourself. Everything is under control."

Hope nodded in agreement, surveying the table in front of her for good measure. "Really, Chloe... We're pretty much done. It's all put together and ready for your guests."

Chloe smiled in appreciation. "Listen... In case I completely forget to say it later. Thank you both for going to all this trouble for me. I can't thank you enough. Everything looks so wonderful. I really really appreciate it."

Jennifer smiled back and nodded. "Well, that's what family is for. I certainly couldn't let the upcoming birth of my nephew or niece happen without having a big party, now could I?"

"I guess not... But, thank you anyway."

"You're welcome." Jennifer paused and stole a glance towards Jack, Brady and Abigail. "I can see that my daughter wasted no time in stealing your husband away."

Chloe laughed and nodded in agreement. "You mean her best friend in the whole world?"

"You know that Brady is going to make the best father."

"Believe me, I know."

She watched her husband with a smile, but was interrupted when the door burst open and a very excited Belle ran towards her, with Shawn following closely behind. Belle hugged her tightly and practically squealed with happiness.

"Chloe! We came straight from the airport!"

"Oh Belle, I'm so glad you two could make it."

Belle let go of her and gently laid her hands on Chloe's protruding belly. "Oh my, Chloe... I swear, you get bigger and bigger every time I see you."

Chloe chuckled and rolled her eyes. "Geez, thanks. That's not exactly a compliment."

"Oh, you know what I meant. You look great, baby and all."

"Okay, okay... Thank you."

Chloe quickly hugged Shawn, who moved on to greet his mother and cousin Jennifer. It seemed as if their arrival was the signal for everyone else to show up too. The guests began filtering in quickly, and before Chloe knew it, the pub was filled with friends and family all there to celebrate the upcoming birth.

***

(Later)

Chloe and Brady sat together at a square table, just finishing up the unwrapping of the presents for their baby. The stack of presents was unbelievably huge, and Chloe was thankful that they had brought her car, so everything could fit. Brady laid the last gift box aside and Chloe rubbed her hands together with a grateful smile.

"Thank you all so much for everything. The gifts are amazing, and you all spent way too much money on us."

Brady grinned and nodded in agreement. "Really... You do all know that our apartment isn't big enough to fit all of this? Right?"

The pub full of guests laughed softly at Brady's joke, and Chloe looked gratefully upon all of them.

"I guess Brady and I don't really have much more to get for the baby. It's like you all took care of everything we could possibly need."

John Black cleared his throat from another table and winked at his son. "Except for a baby bed."

Brady frowned and pointed a finger at his father sternly. "Hey now... I will have you know that the baby bed is completely put together."

John replied with a grin and a raised eyebrow. "Is that a fact, son?"

"Oh yeah, dad. That's a fact."

Chloe laughed and rolled her eyes at their father-son banter. "Yeah, but only because *I* put it together."

Everyone laughed again and Chloe was about to stand up when Hope's eyes widened and she threw her hands up excitedly. "Oh no, I almost forgot. We got two presents in the mail for you yesterday. Hold on, let me grab them."

Chloe and Brady looked at each other in confusion, and Chloe watched as Hope ran around the bar. She quickly grabbed something sitting underneath and came back around holding two different boxes in her hands.

Chloe's eyes were wide with surprise and Hope laid the first box in front of her. "Two different gifts from people out of town? Who could it be from?"

Jennifer laughed and motioned for her to open the first present. "Well, don't just sit there. Open it and find out."

There was an envelope taped to the top, and Chloe carefully slid the note inside out and unfolded it. She paused for a moment and then began to read it out loud.

"Chloe and Brady,

I'm so sorry that Carrie and I are unable to be there for your shower and for the birth of my niece or nephew. Things are quite busy down here, and we're just not able to make it back to Salem right now. We hope to make it home soon though, as I am very eager to meet my sister and her baby. Until then, please accept a small token of our love and best wishes and send our love to the rest of the family as well.

Best wishes,
Mike and Carrie"

Chloe smiled happily at her husband, touched that they would take the time to send her something all the way from Israel. She had spoken to her brother on the phone several times, and was very anxious to meet him and her nephew Jeremy.

She lifted the lid on the box and pulled out a beautiful white satin blanket, and a tiny bonnet that matched. Her guests all seemed to 'ooh' and 'ahh' at it's beauty and Chloe sighed softly as she turned it over in her fingers.

"Wow... It's a christening blanket with a little bonnet to match. It's so beautiful."

Brady nodded in agreement and took them from her to gently place them with the rest of the gifts. "That was very thoughtful of them to do that. Really beautiful..."

Hope still had the second box in her hands and laid it in front of Chloe. This one also had an envelope taped to it, and Chloe quickly opened it, nearly dying from curiosity. She grinned as soon as she saw the stationery and nudged Brady so he would look at it too. Chloe read out loud from the note written in Greta's neat, curvy script.

"Brady and Chloe,

My heart just aches because I can't be there with you today, and because I will miss the birth of your child. But, don't forget, you promised me that you would come visit as soon as you are able to, and I will hold you to that.

Most of all, I wanted to tell you how grateful I am for the friendship that we have formed over the past months. I love both of you dearly, and you are in my heart every single day.

I found this gift in a tiny shop the last time I was in Venice, and thought you would love it. It's my little way of sending angels to watch over your baby, because I can't be there myself to do it.

All my love,
Greta"

Chloe clutched the note to her chest and felt tears welling up in her eyes. Brady rubbed her arm gently and smiled, also visibly touched by Greta's words. They had never known anyone quite like Greta, and Chloe wondered if the princess knew how much her friendship meant to them as well.

She opened the box slowly, delicately removing the tissue paper that was stuffed inside. Her breath caught in her throat when she saw it. Chloe gently lifted it out of the box so that everyone else could see. It was a mobile that they could hang over the baby's bed, but it was unlike any mobile Chloe had ever seen. Floating in a circle were thin pieces of glass shaped like angels, some were clear, and some had a bluish or pinkish tint to them that shone brightly when the light hit it.

"Wow... It's..."

Brady gingerly held one of the angels in his fingers and then shared a glance of amazement with his father. "Dad, this is..."

John nodded knowingly and finished his son's thought. "From the same place that your mother used to get all of her collection from."

Chloe shook her head in shock, in disbelief over Greta's gift. "But... there's no way she could have known that."

Brady nodded and smiled sweetly, leaning forward to kiss his wife on the forehead. "Greta didn't know, but maybe she had a little divine intervention. Right?"

"Right... Maybe." She smiled back at Brady and laid the mobile back in the bed of tissue.

The room had fallen quiet, everyone seemingly in awe at the beauty of the sparkling glass angels. Jennifer decided that somebody had to break the silence so she motioned towards the buffet table and smiled happily.

"Alright... I think it's time we start cutting into that cake. Come on everybody."

The party guests began moving about heading to get a piece of the cake that was set up on the other side of the room. Chloe kept her eyes on the angels though, lightly running her fingers over them. Brady was looking at her as she admired the gifts, and he leaned forward with a raised eyebrow.

"You okay there, Diva?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just... astounded."

"You're not the only one. I've never seen these people be this quiet." Brady grinned and moved to stand up. "You want me to get you a piece of cake?"

Chloe nodded slightly and Brady kissed her quickly before walking towards the cake, leaving her alone at the table. She turned her gaze back to the delicate angels resting inside the box, and sighed softly. Chloe almost felt silly, being so enthralled by just this one gift, but she just couldn't peel her eyes away from it until Brady returned with a plate full of cake for her.

***

(Later)

Chloe attempted to adjust her position in the hard wooden chair. Her back had been aching for the past 30 minutes. It was nothing new this far into her pregnancy, but it seemed to be hurting a bit more than usual. She was sitting in between Brady and Mimi, and her husband turned to look at her with concern.

"Your back hurting again?"

Chloe nodded slightly and sighed. "Yep..."

Brady's forehead wrinkled up with worry and he laid his hand on her arm "Can I get you something? Anything?"

"Just some more water, please. I feel like I'm dying of thirst."

Brady nodded and kissed her on the cheek, grabbing her water glass off the table as he stood up. "I'll be right back, Diva."

Mimi slid her own water glass across the table and motioned for Chloe to take it. "Here, you can have some of mine until he gets back."

Chloe smiled gratefully and took a sip from Mimi's glass. "Thanks Meems..."

With Belle and Shawn absent most of the time, Mimi and Chloe had grown closer than ever. They filled a void in each other's lives with their other friends away in New York, and had found out they had a lot more reasons to be friends than they ever had to be enemies.

"You know, Mimi... It feels like a million years ago that we used to be at each other's throats all the times."

Mimi nodded in agreement and grinned at her. "I know. And, I'm so sorry for the way that I used to behave."

Chloe smiled and nodded in understanding. "I'm sorry too. Neither of us ever gave the other one a fair chance. I'm just glad we've had some time to make up for all of the bad times."

Brady returned with a full glass of ice water for her and took his seat. Chloe took her glass and slid Mimi's back towards her, drinking it halfway down quickly.

Brady's eyes widened in surprise. "Wow... You *are* thirsty."

Chloe shrugged innocently and took another sip. "I guess so."

Mimi's cell phone began ringing and she quickly answered it, excusing herself to find a quiet place to have a conversation. Brady laid his hand over Chloe's and kissed her on the forehead.

"Are you sure you're feeling alright?"

Chloe paused, she was thirsty, tired and her back was aching, but otherwise she felt normal. "I'm as good as a very pregnant woman could be, I guess. Just really feeling tired all of a sudden."

Brady nodded in understanding. "Well, we'll go home soon and you can get some rest."

Chloe was about to reply but was interrupted by the voice of Alice Horton. "Sounds like a good idea to me."

Chloe turned and smiled happily at her, Alice looked like she was headed out the door. "Gran... Are you leaving?"

"Yes, dear. You're not the only one that's a bit tired. Your Uncle Mickey is going to drive me home. I just wanted to come over and say goodbye."

Chloe stood from her chair, with a helping hand from Brady. She hugged Alice tightly and kissed her on the cheek. "Thank you so much for being here, and for the beautiful presents. I love them all."

"You're welcome, angel." Alice smiled sweetly at her and looked towards Brady. "You make sure my granddaughter gets home and rests up."

Brady stood and leaned over to hug Mrs. Horton. "You know I'll take good care of her, Mrs. H."

"I know you will, Brady."

Alice quickly said her good-byes to the rest of the family and left with Mickey and Maggie. Chloe had remained standing, hoping that being away from the chair would help the pain in her back ease off. Brady rested his hand on her arm and she walked away from the table with him, wondering if some movement would help her.

They walked towards the buffet table together and Chloe rested her hand on the edge of the table with a sigh, leaning forward slightly. The pain was starting to ease off, but now she was beginning to feel a little lightheaded. She was hardly paying attention when she heard Marlena call out to Brady from across the room.

"Brady! Come over here, your dad needs to ask you something!"

Brady looked at Chloe with worry. "Are you alright?"

Chloe stood up straight and let go of the table. "Yeah, go on, talk to your dad."

Brady walked away, leaving Chloe alone as the noise of the party seemed to grow quieter. She suddenly wondered if she had just made a huge mistake by letting Brady walk away from her. Her hand gripped the end of the table again and she took a deep breath in, closing her eyes for just a second.

When she opened her eyes, she realized that the room around her had started to spin, and the noises around her became even more muffled. She tried to focus her eyes on something, but everything became blurry to her.

Her hand gripped the tablecloth as she felt a sharp stabbing pain in her abdomen. In less than two seconds, she had become more scared than she had ever been in her life. She tried to cry out loud, but she could hardly breath, much less yell. Her other hand clutched her stomach, as the pain began increasing quickly. Her mind was screaming at her, "It's too soon. Something isn't right. This isn't supposed to be happening."

The pain became unbearable, like a fire eating her up inside and she finally pushed out a scream that shook the walls around her. Everything seemed to move in slow motion around her, as the pub full of people turned in fear to look at the woman screaming in pain. Brady practically leapt over the chairs in his way to be at her side.

He pulled her into his arms and led her to the closest seat. She slid down into the chair, and the pain worsened as hot tears began rolling down her cheeks.

"Oh my God, Chloe... What happened?"

Chloe kept her hand on her stomach as she leaned into him and cried. "I don't know... It hurts so bad, Brady."

She held on to her husband tightly, the fear shaking her to her soul, knowing that this couldn't possibly be normal labor. She hadn't noticed it, but Craig was in front of her, trying to assess her condition.

She felt something warm trickle down the inside of her leg and she stared at Craig with worry. "Dad... Did my water break?"

Craig looked downward and then back up at her. He shook his head and frowned at his daughter. "Chloe... You're bleeding."

Craig shouted to the crowd that had gathered around them. "Somebody call 911 right now. We need an ambulance here now. Marlena, call the hospital and tell them to get Dr. McCormack to meet us in the emergency room."

"What's wrong? Tell me what's wrong, Craig."

"I don't know, sweetie..."

Chloe looked up at Brady, her entire body trembling as she felt her world come crashing down around her. "Brady... This can't be happening."

Brady stroked her hair gently and kissed her tears away, clutching on to her tightly. "You're going to be just fine, Diva. I'm not going to let anything happen to you or our baby. Just hold on."

Chloe shut her eyes tightly and nodded. Another pain shot through her, and she nearly passed out from the feeling tearing up her insides. She sobbed loudly, and let Brady's words echo in her head.

"Just hold on..."

***

And, if you could see what Greta's glass angels look like in my head, you'd be amazed too. :)