"I've got an idea," Jeremy said as he and Annie washed the few dishes they had used for dinner.
"What is it?"
He smiled at her mischievously. "I'll tell you at bedtime..."
She lifted a brow. "Why not tell me now?
"I'd consider it...for a price..."
"Oh? You can be bribed now? Are you sure your coworkers will like that?"
He caught her around the waist with his wet hands and pulled her close. "Kiss me and I'll tell you."
"That's mighty pricey, don't you think?"
"I happen to think it's awful cheap..."
She smirked. "You would..." But she planted a light kiss on his lips.
"Hmm....that wasn't so painful, was it?"
"I never said it was painful. Just expensive. Now tell."
He laughed. "I don't think I will..."
"Hey! No fair!"
He stole a kiss and walked into the living room.
"Hey! Tell me!"
He smirked at her. "Make me, Miss Annie."
"I kissed you. So tell me."
He laughed. "You're so cute when you're mad."
She stuck out her tongue. He caught her around the waist again, and sat down, pulling her into his lap. She yelped in surprise. He laughed and pulled her closer.
"What do you want?"
"Should a man need a reason to hold his wife?"
"Yes."
He tilted her head so that she was looking at him.
She blushed faintly and looked down. "Don't look at me like that."
He led her head to rest on his shoulder. "Relax...I won't bite..." he said when he felt her stiffen.
"I am relaxed."
He smiled a bit. "Ann, if you're relaxed, then I'm the Queen of England."
"Please let me go," she whispered a hint of fright in her voice.
"No...just relax."
"Jeremy..."
"I'm not going to hurt you, I promise..."
"Please," she begged, tears running down her cheeks.
"Ann... what is wrong? Why are you so scared of me?"
"Just let me go..." she said, her voice small.
"Ann, please tell me..."
"I can't," she whispered, as her whole body shook.
"Why not? Is it me?"
"It's not you...I just can't talk about it...I'm not ready..."
He frowned and finally released her. "All right..."
She quickly moved to the corner of the room and sat down, pulling up knees against her chest.
He sighed. "Ann... I wish you would trust me..." And then he turned and left.
-----
Jeremy woke in the middle of the night to the sound of Annie's screams. He quickly rolled out of the bed and rushed into the living room where she was asleep on the couch. Sitting beside her, he tried to wake her. "Wake up! Come on, wake up Annie..." When she wouldn't wake up, he leaned down and kissed her.
She jerked awake.
"I'm sorry...but you were having a nightmare...and I couldn't get you to wake up..."
She just stared at him for a moment, gasping for breath.
"I'm not gonna let anything hurt you, remember?" he asked, pushing the hair from her face.
She turned from him.
He picked her up and carried her into the bedroom.
"Put me down."
He set her down on the bed and lay down next to her, wrapping his arms around her. "Just go back to sleep and let me chase away the bad dreams, alright?"
She looked at him and then closed her eyes with a sniffle.
He gently stroked her hair. "Just relax and go back to sleep. I won't harm you in any way, Annie."
She nodded slowly. "I hate fire," she whispered after a few minutes.
Gently, he stroked her hair without saying a word. If she wanted to continue talking, he would let her. If not, he wouldn't pressure her.
She sighed. "It will be better for you if you don't fall in love with me, Jerry."
"Why?"
"Because I can't have children and you deserve them."
"You can't have children?"
"No...I can't..."
"And you think this is the reason I shouldn't fall in love with you?"
"Yes...I'm worthless Jeremy. I can't dance anymore...I can't give you children...and I'm no longer beautiful...."
"You are beautiful...so incredibly beautiful."
"You've seen the scars...there's no need to lie..."
"Scars are scars are scars. Everyone has them. And don't you dare accuse me of lying. I'm telling you the truth."
She sighed and rolled away from him.
"Think about your parents, Annie...your mother loves your father, scars and all...and he's stuck by her all these years that she's been sick..."
"That's different."
"How?"
She sighed. "It just is."
"I can't accept that as an answer."
She stood up. "I'm going back to the couch."
"Ann..."
"I'm sorry, Jeremy," she whispered, leaving the room.
Jeremy flopped his head back on his pillow and stared up at the dark ceiling. He could hear her softly crying in the other room. "Ann... why won't you let me help you?" he murmured to himself.
-----
Spot anxiously paced the upstairs hallway. Trent had shown up the morning before out of the blue and it was a good thing, because Rae had gone into labor just before noon. It was now nearing dawn the next day and no one had left the room to give him any word. Marty and Jackson waited with him. Marty was worrying the hem of her dress and Jackson kept sighing and looking at his watch. Robert and James had gone to bed as usual with promises that Rae would be fine. Sam and Joey had stayed for a while, but Sam was too antsy to sit still, so he they had gone for a walk.
Trent finally came out of the room, his head down. "Spot...we need to talk..."
Spot nodded slowly and walked over to the door.
"The baby's not coming on its own..." Trent said.
"What does that mean?"
"Rae is fading fast...we have two options..."
"What are they?"
Trent sighed. "We can do nothing and lose them both...or we can operate and try to save them both."
"Well, I would want to save them both, of course."
"We may have to make a choice..."
"Of who to save?"
"Yes."
He sighed. "Rae said..." His voice wavered. "Rae said she wanted the baby saved."
"What do you want?"
"I want both... But I promised Rae we would save the baby first... Besides, she would kill me if I said otherwise, you know?"
Trent sighed and nodded. "You can come in if you'd like..."
Spot nodded and followed him in.
Ginny stood near Rae, bathing her face. Despite her weak state, Rae held Ginny's free hand in a death grip.
Trent nudged Spot. "Go trade places with Ginny. I need her hands."
He nodded and moved forward. "Hi, sweetheart," he said softly, taking her hand from Ginny's.
"Hey," she whispered, weakly.
He squeezed her hand gently.
"I love you."
"I love you too."
She whimpered and closed her eyes.
He held her hand in both of his own and kissed it softly.
"Don't leave me..."
"I won't. I promise," he told her.
-----
Ginny placed the tiny baby girl in Spot's arms. Spot looked down at her and stroked the fine hair on the top of her head.
"Let me see," Rae whispered.
He sat next to her and gave the baby to Rae. She looked at the baby with tears in her eyes. "She's beautiful, isn't she?"
She nodded. "So beautiful..."
He smiled a bit. "Just like her mother."
"Take good care of her, Spot..."
He looked at her and took her hand, automatically fighting back tears. "Rae..."
She sighed deeply.
He squeezed her hand. "Don't go..."
"Don't have the energy to keep fighting..."
"Rae..." he said again, as tears started to trickle down his cheeks.
She was crying as well. "I'm so sorry..."
"I love you... so very much."
"I love you too..."
Slowly, she gave the newborn back to Spot. She kissed the baby's head and leaned back weakly.
"What do you want to name her?"
"Any ideas?" she whispered, closing her eyes.
"Ashleigh?"
She nodded.
"All right. Ashleigh it is then."
She didn't answer. He glanced at her. Trent moved to the other side of the bed and picked up her wrist. Spot looked up at Trent fearfully.
"Not yet..." Trent said, shaking his head.
He breathed a sigh of relief and looked down at Rae again.
Marty and Jackson knocked softly on the door.
"Come in."
"The boys are all out in the hall," Jackson said as Marty moved across the room.
"May I?" she asked, reaching for the baby.
Spot nodded.
"What's her name?" Marty asked, holding the baby close.
Spot smiled a bit. "It's Ashleigh."
She placed her hand on Spot's shoulder. "The boys are anxious to hear about Rae..."
He stood and nodded. "I'll let them know." She cast a glance at Rae before following him from the room, baby Ashleigh tucked in her arms. He entered the living room, where the boys were anxiously awaiting the news.
Sam stood. "How are they?"
"For now they are both fine."
"Is Momma gonna be alright?"
"I don't know... Probably not..."
All four boys looked down.
"But keep praying. Miracles can happen."
Trent paused on his way down the stairs and took a deep breath. Everyone looked up at him. "She's gone," he whispered, not looking at them.
Spot stood up. "What? But she was fine just a few minutes ago..."
"I'm sorry..."
"She can't... she was just...she was fine!"
"She was in a coma, Spot..."
"But...." He sank back down onto the couch.
Marty held Ashleigh close and buried her face in Jackson's shirt.
A pair of tears trickled down Spot's cheeks.
The front door opened and Lizzy walked in with Sippi. "Why the long faces?" Sippi asked.
Sam moved over and wrapped his arms around Lizzy. "It's Momma," he said.
Lizzy's face fell. "Did she...?"
"She's gone, Liz," Sam told her through his tears.
"No... not Momma!" She wailed, burying her face in her older brother's shirt and sobbing.