Bobby walked down the hall carrying two cups of water. He wanted Lindsay to try to relax, which he knew wasn't likely to happen. He'd figured that things had gotten bad again between Lindsay and Chris when Lindsay started sleeping on his couch. He hadn't said anything, but he'd made sure that there was always a pillow and blanket there for her and he'd brought in an old t-shirt and boxer shorts for her to sleep in. He was hoping that after the trial, he could start trying to convince Lindsay that she was better off without Kelton.

Bobby turned into the room and looked around for Lindsay, wondering where she'd gone. He walked around the table and stopped dead, his heart and stomach jumping into his throat. Lindsay was laying crumpled on the floor, bruised, bleeding, and unconscious.

"Lindsay!" he yelled, dropping to the ground next to her. He gently pressed two fingers to her neck and was relieved to find a pulse. "Lindsay, honey wake up. Please Linds." When she didn't move, Bobby jumped up and ran for the door. He saw a guard across the hall and wanted to scream where the HELL had he been when Lindsay was being attacked. Instead he yelled for the guard to call an ambulance. He rushed back to Lindsay's side and gently brushed her hair back from her face. "Come on, baby. Open your eyes for me. I know you can do it. Let me see your beautiful blue eyes. I'm right here Linds, I'm right here."

Bobby kept begging her until the paramedics showed up. They strapped Lindsay to a back board and lifted her onto the stretcher. Bobby stood as they lifted her, still holding her hand and didn't let go as they wheeled her into the ambulance.

Helen had been in her office when the wave of whispers swept past, growing louder as people found out who it was. She stuck her head out of the door just in time to hear a clerk say, "Lindsay Dole, you know she's defending that woman who killed her husband? Donnell found her unconscious..."

Helen didn't need to hear anymore. She raced out of her office and down the stairs at top speed. She caught up with them as they carefully loaded Lindsay into the ambulance and she jumped in across from Bobby on Lindsay's other side next to a paramedic.

"Ma'am," the paramedic said, obviously annoyed.

"I'm her sister," Helen snapped, gently patting Lindsay's leg. She looked up at Bobby then and saw her own fear reflected in his eyes. "What the hell happened," she asked softly.

"I don't know," Bobby answered in a tear choked voice. "I went to get a drink and when I came back, I found her." A single tear escaped and trailed down Bobby's cheek as he looked up at the paramedic. "She's pregnant," he said. "Will the baby be okay?"

"It's too early to say," the paramedic answered. They rode the rest of the way to St. Anne's in silence. At the hospital, Lindsay was rushed into a trauma room. Bobby and Helen were held back and told to wait. Three hours later Detective Mike Maguire walked into the ER and found Bobby and Helen waiting impatiently.

Helen saw Mike first and rushed over. "What have you found?"

Mike sighed. "A clerk said that he was waiting across the hall and the only person who went into the room was Chris Kelton."

Bobby's eyes clouded over with fury. "Bastard," he growled. "Have you arrested him?"

"We're trying to find him now," Mike answered. "How's she doing?"

"It's been three hours and they haven't told us anything," Helen said worriedly.

Mike nodded. "I have to go back to the station and keep an eye on the investigation, I just wanted you to know what's going on."

"Thank you," Helen said, then added, "If you have to get a little rough with him, I'll look the other way."

Mike nodded again. "Let me know how she is."

As Mike left, Bobby paced back and forth nervously. He wanted to know what was going on, why weren't they telling them anything? He leaned against the wall and prayed that both Lindsay and the baby were okay. He'd seen Lindsay several times while working on the case pause and rest a hand on her stomach and when he'd come back to the office late at night to check on her, he'd often found her asleep, hands covering her stomach protectively. He knew that she loved the baby and feared that losing the baby would be a dangerous blow to her.

Bobby sighed. He was certain that if he hadn't gone to get water, Lindsay would be okay right now. She'd be doing her closing that she'd worked so hard on. If only he'd protected her...if she was alright, Bobby promised himself that he wouldn't make that mistake again. He'd protect and take care of her and the baby.

He didn't notice Helen next to him until she squeezed his hand. Bobby looked at her face which was white with fear. Helen glanced at the trauma room and Bobby followed her gaze, seeing the doctor emerge. He approached Bobby and Helen while removing his mask.

"She has a dislocated shoulder, her left," he said. "She has several bumps and bruises and a slight concussion. There were a couple of cuts on her face and one needed stitches. But she should make a full recovery."

"And the baby," Bobby asked nervously.

"The baby has a good strong heartbeat and is perfectly fine. I want to keep her here overnight for observation, but she should be able to go home tomorrow. She'll need help for the next few days."

Bobby nodded. "I'll stay with her. Is she awake?"

"She was still unconscious when I left, but I expect her to wake up at any time. They're moving her to a private room."

Bobby smiled gratefully. "Thank you." He and Helen hurried upstairs to Lindsay's room. She lay, still unconscious, bruised and swollen, with her good hand resting on her stomach. Tears filled both Bobby and Helen's eyes as they sat down on either side of her. Bobby carefully took her right hand in his, while Helen stroked her hair gently.

"Hi honey," Bobby whispered. "Helen and I are here. We're going to stay right here until you wake up." He brought her fingers to his lips and kissed them gently.

Helen continued to stroke her hair, knowing that it had comforted her in school when she was upset. "You're going to be fine, babe. We're going to take good care of you."

They sat there for nearly an hour, talking softly to Lindsay, assuring her that she was safe. Finally, Lindsay moaned softly and opened her eyes. "Bobby," she asked softly, her throat hurt.

Bobby grinned down at her, thrilled. "Hey honey. How do you feel?"

"I hurt," she answered, then remembering what had happened, Lindsay jerked her hand out of Bobby's and rested it on her stomach, panicked. "The baby! Is the baby okay?"

Bobby nodded and pointed to one of the screens. "The baby's perfect. See this line?" Lindsay nodded. "That's the baby's heartbeat."

Lindsay smiled and relaxed slightly against the bed. "Thank God." She turned her head slowly as she felt someone stroke her hair and smiled at Helen. "Hey."

Helen smiled. "Hey babe. Do you want to tell us what happened?"

Lindsay's brow furrowed. She remembered the end, the darkness pulling at her and giving in, and she remembered drifting in a warm dark place, the pain occasionally drawing her up, but she always managed to sink back in. Then she'd heard Bobby's voice and Helen's, but hadn't been able to open her eyes. "Um...Bobby went to get water," she said slowly as the pieces began to come back to her. She looked at Bobby and when he nodded, she continued. "I was nervous about the closing." She paused again. "Chris came in. He wanted me to blow the case. I couldn't do that, she doesn't deserve to be in jail." Lindsay's eyes filled with tears which started rolling down her cheeks. "He kept hitting me. He wouldn't stop. He just kept hitting me. And I was so afraid that he'd hurt the baby."

Lindsay was sobbing and hiccuping with tears pouring down her cheeks. Bobby felt like his heart was being ripped out of his chest. He moved to the edge of the bed, careful not to jar her too much, and wrapped his arms around her. He made sure not to hold her too tightly for fear of making her hurt more, but he held her, rubbing her back and trying to comfort her. "Sh," he whispered softly. "You're safe now, he can't hurt you. We won't let him hurt you or the baby again."

Tears continued to roll down Lindsay's face as she clutched at Bobby's shirt with her good arm. Crying hurt her throat, reminding her what Chris had done. "He tried to strangle me," she sobbed. "He put his hands around my neck and he kept squeezing and everything went black. I thought he was going to kill me and the baby."

"He didn't," Helen tried to soothe her best friend. "The baby's fine, it's perfect. You're carrying a perfectly healthy little baby. And the doctor says that you're going to heal and be good as new in a few weeks."

"What if he comes back," Lindsay asked softly, still nestled in Bobby's arms. "What if he wants to be part of the baby's life?"

"We won't let him," Bobby answered. "He'll never come near either of you again, I promise."

"I'll make sure he goes to jail for a long time," Helen promised. "And he doesn't know about the baby, does he?" Lindsay shook her head. "He doesn't have to. Don't put his name on the birth certificate and he'll never know. He'll have no claim to your baby."

Lindsay nodded and pulled away from Bobby, carefully laying down. "Can I go home now," she asked softly.

"Tomorrow," Bobby answered. "The doctors want to be completely sure that you're okay before you go home." Bobby paused. "You're going to stay with me for a little while, okay? We're going to take care of you, but you can't stay in the apartment you shared with Kelton, it won't be good for you. And you're going to need some help until your shoulder heals."

Lindsay nodded, exhausted. "Okay. I'll stay with you." Lindsay's eyes started to drift closed and one hand reached out for Bobby's and she held on tightly. Bobby glanced at Helen.

"Can you go call Mike and tell him that she's awake? And the office?"

Helen nodded and kissed Lindsay's forehead, promising to be back soon. She went to the phone bank and called Mike who said that they were making progress in finding Chris and he'd come by Bobby's the next day to get Lindsay's statement along with Bobby's. Helen then called the office. She gave Rebecca all the information she had and Rebecca said that she'd page Ellenor and Eugene who were in court and she and Jimmy would come down right away. After hanging up, Helen went to the gift shop and bought Lindsay a violet and a brown floppy stuffed dog. When she arrived back at the room, Lindsay was still sound asleep and Bobby was still holding her hand. Helen placed the plant on Lindsay's bedside table and held the dog in her lap. She updated Bobby on the case and that the firm would be down soon.

Lindsay felt a dull pain pulling at her again, trying to make her wake up. She moaned, unwilling to surface and face that pain full on. But it kept tugging at her and she reluctantly opened her eyes. Helen smiled at her and handed her a stuffed dog. "I thought he looked like he needed a friend," she explained.

Lindsay smiled weakly and looked up as Bec and Jimmy rushed through the door, followed five minutes later by Ellenor and Eugene. They spoke quickly in ever increasing tones until Lindsay thought that her head would split open. Seeing her reach up to massage her temples, Bobby glared at them all until they quieted down. They didn't stay long since Lindsay was already beginning to sleep again. They were almost out the door when Ellenor glanced back, her eyes landing on the fetal monitor.

"What's that," she asked suspiciously.

Lindsay looked at it, then blushed. She knew from Ellenor's tone of voice that she knew exactly what it was. The other members of the firm had stopped also and were now looking at her for an answer. Lindsay smiled weakly and said. "It's a fetal monitor. I'm having a baby."

The firm stared at her in shock for a couple of seconds before Bec walked forward and hugged Lindsay gently. "That's great, congratulations."

"Yeah Linds, that's wonderful," Eugene said, kissing her cheek.

"You'll be a great mom," Ellenor added as she too hugged Lindsay.

Jimmy nodded. "You have to take care of yourself," he warned as he too hugged her. They left then and Lindsay smiled as she laid against the pillows.

"They took that really well," she said.

"And why wouldn't they," Helen asked. "Having a baby is a great thing."

"And you *will* be a great mom," Bobby added.

Lindsay fell asleep, smiling as she thought of her baby.