Sorry for the lack of update you guys. Im stuck working from 6am til 6pm til

Feb 6th, and this story will be the only one I will be attempting to update until then.

But don't worry- the others are in progress. Lol.

HUGE JUMANGO THANKS to my new beta – Jannelyn – or as you all

Know her as – softthorns. :o) She's awesome. So all you people who hate my spelling errors,

Alas, no more, and if so yell at her. Lol, just kidding. :o)

Go Read, Pester Me with long reviews, I don't mind. CHRISTINE! Where you at girl? Lol.

Enjoy,

Vamanos!

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"I love you."
"Ditto."

-Ghost.

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"Please not yet. Oh God, not yet...it's way too early..." She moaned and her color went to a more ghastly like white. As she placed her hands on her own stomach she didn't let go of Ryan's and his hand was placed along hers as well. His eyes widened at the severity of the contraction as it tore through her belly, just beneath his hands. He felt the muscles clench and writhe underneath his smooth palm, he can't even imagine what that felt like for her.

He looked up into her eyes as pain and fear scorched through them. He thought the worst was over, and it had yet to begin.

Julie's mind was racing, 'This cannot be happening…' She knew the worst had yet to come. She knew if Kirsten pushed they were in more serious trouble and that the baby might not make it.

Julie didn't know how much heartache Sandy Cohen could take, but she did know this, no one could suffer the loss of a child and a wife without a serious emotional breakdown and Julie didn't want to see that happen, no matter how heartless she truly was.

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Sandy ran up the steps taking them two at a time, his heart slamming against his chest, his mind coming up with ideas that weren't even plausible.

As he walked through the door he was completely clueless as to why his son was sitting with Summer and Marissa, looking like he had just seen a ghost. He didn't understand why Jimmy's black Benz was outside either. He couldn't even imagine why Ryan called him, but he had thousands of horrible scenarios and thoughts running through his mind. Maybe someone broke in, maybe Kirsten fell, maybe something happened to Seth, and maybe Jimmy went psycho. He didn't know.

At the moment he only saw Seth, sitting there, looking scared out of his mind. And the two girls sitting with him, whispering comforting words, looking nervous and frightened as well. It appeared that Seth may have had a panic attack and Ryan, not knowing how to handle that called him. He assumed Kirsten might have been sleeping. It seemed the most logical reason as he went to check on his pale son.

His curls were matted down to his forehead; his hair was drenched with sweat. His face was white and his eyes wide as Sandy rushed to him and Seth leaned up grateful that his father was here, sighing as his arms tightened around him in a secure but awkward hug.

"What? What's going on?" Sandy's voice held confusion as he stared at Marissa and Summer, his blue eyes demanding answers.

Both of them shrugged in unison. They didn't even have a clue as both of them had just arrived only moments earlier amongst the confusion. "I just got here, Mr. Cohen…" Marissa began but was interrupted as a loud moan came from the bathroom. Sandy caught the words, "Too early."

He looked down at Seth, his son's eyes mirroring his own and Sandy saw confusion rushing across Seth's face. "Mom had a nosebleed Dad, that …that was all…" Seth didn't understand what was happening now, why his mother was moaning the words of "Too early." What could possibly be too early?

Sandy looked up a quick fleeting glance around the room and pulling away from Seth, finally comprehending why his son was shaken.

"Are you okay?" He thought of blood. His son hated blood. That's what happened; Sandy managed to grasp the first part of the unfolding scene.

Seth nodded and Sandy stood up and rushed into the bathroom hearing her yell, "Where's Sandy?!"

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When the contraction hit, Jimmy had automatically placed his hand along side hers and Ryan's but she irritably pushed it away as if his hand made the pain hurt worse. "I want Sandy," she whispered through clenched teeth as tears started streaming down her cheeks. Her stomach clenched again as the contraction tightened. "Please," she moaned, "I need him here." Pain rippled across her lower stomach the muscles clenching and tightening slowly, preparing themselves for labor. She could feel the baby give a kick or two, as it also seemed to say, 'Nope I ain't movin'.' For a brief, fleeting moment Kirsten allowed an internal smile as her child resisted with her. But this wasn't the way things were supposed to happen.

"Please, I want Sandy!" she howled in pain, as her body wanted her to push and start the labor. Sandy could make this go away, she needed him to be here, to comfort her and take away this miserable pain. She needed him. At least when he was here he could whisper all sorts of nonsense that would take her mind off of what was happening, he was always so good at doing both, whispering nonsense and taking her mind off of things.

'God, this fucking hurts!' she didn't remember her labor with Seth hurting so much in the beginning. Her arms tightened around her stomach, holding herself and giving herself a slight reassurance against the pain.

Ryan's eyes rose to Julie's a total and newfound fear coursing through his nervous blue eyes and again they looked for Julie to take charge. They screamed at her to take charge.

She took his hint.

"Ryan, move! Go upstairs, pack her a bag, take Seth, Marissa and Summer with you. Jimmy, go get the Range Rover and bring it close, call the hospital too and tell them what's going on. You're in charge of the kids."

'You got it, General Julie,' Jimmy mused rising to his feet. "Find SANDY!" She yelled.

Ryan scrambled for the door as Sandy appeared, running into him head on but he was ready for him. Sandy had heard Julie's directions loud and clear but he pulled Ryan to him briefly, running a hand along the back of his neck, and ruffling his hair, before he whispered "Go," and letting him pass. Ryan's eyes met his briefly and they looked accusingly with wonder as if to say, 'Where have you been?'

Jimmy stood, rushing past Sandy to get to the immaculate Rover.

Julie moved in front of Kirsten, "Kirsten, focus here, focus on me, DO NOT PUSH! Whatever you do, you cannot push!"

Kirsten couldn't focus on anything as another contraction dominated her thoughts and body, but she heard the words 'Do not push, Do not push, Do not Push,' running through her head. Her body was begging her to push, her conscious screamed, PUSH DAMNIT! Her heart simply pounded in her chest and a great sweat had broken out on her body. This was nature, and it took everything in her willpower to follow Julie's directions.

"Julie," she whispered again clenching her teeth, "Julie, I just want you to know something."

Julie looked amused as Kirsten's grip crushed her hand and then she winced when she felt another contraction with the other that had been placed upon her stomach.

"What's that?" She figured maybe if she kept her talking that she wouldn't focus so much on the pain and she would follow her directions. The muscles tightened and then relaxed against slowly. She shivered.

"I'm really sick and tired of being in pain, one way or another," she sighed the contraction finally past her. Her body relaxed for a moment and she felt so incredibly exhausted. Tired, she was so tired suddenly. Exhaustion was setting in and she knew she didn't have the willpower to fight much longer. She groaned out loud as another contraction came and went; she so wanted to pull her knees up to her chest and curl into a ball, forgetting all this was happening. Her back was starting to ache and she wasn't exactly sure which pain would escalate more.

Sandy squeezed past Julie and sat down next to his wife. "I'm so sorry I wasn't here, so sorry…" he whispered leaning up and kissing her temple.

Julie's eyes met Sandy's briefly and he could see Julie was running on adrenaline only. She was frightened as much as Seth was, she was just better at hiding it. She mouthed the words to him 'Keep her calm!' while raising a beautifully shaped eyebrow in exasperation that he follow her plan. He nodded in agreement and shifted so that he too was in front with Julie.

"Hey honey, someone's anxious to get into the world aren't they?" He grinned and she smiled faintly at him, closing her eyes and leaning her head back against the bathtub.

As Julie barked the orders of "DON'T PUSH!", both Jimmy and Ryan skidded to a stop in front of the bathroom each looking exasperated in their own way. Ryan held the anxious look of childlike wonderment, not fully understanding how the adults could take charge and be so calm. He kept looking at Sandy, wanting him to say that it would be okay. He felt slightly ashamed at the fact that he wanted reassurance. He, Ryan Atwood, wanted someone's comfort. He wanted Sandy to do his job as the father that Ryan regarded him as. He wanted him to do what he did best and tell them that it would be okay. Because that's what Sandy did, he made things okay.

"Let's go," Jimmy's relaxed voice rang out amongst Julie's controlling and Sandy's soothing voices. It broke his train of thought and Ryan looked at him curiously not understanding how he could be so calm, how any of them could be so calm. His heart was pounding so loudly in his chest he thought he might collapse.

Sandy, not wasting a second, scooped his wife in his arms and she reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck, wincing as another new pain rushed through her.

Julie walked briskly in front of them opening the front door and then the door of the Rover, while Sandy followed and Jimmy took up the rear. As Sandy crawled inside Julie turned to Jimmy. "Did you call the hospital?"

He rolled his eyes and waved the cell phone in his hand, mumbling sarcastically, "Yes Jules."

"Good," she called and she jogged quickly back into the house.

"Ryan?" She called, startled as he appeared out of no where and handed her the bag.

"Thank you. Now listen, Kirsten's gone into labor and we have to go to the hospital. Either Summer or Marissa drives, you got that?"

Summer went white. Seth had recently stood up and felt over powered as things were so far out of his control. His knees wanted to buckle but Summer's grip around his arm brought him back to his senses. Ryan stared, simply in shock, and Marissa took charge from there, dangling her keys. "Got it."

Julie nodded and sprinted back to the Rover, climbing in the front seat, turning around so she could face Kirsten, who was yelling at Sandy about the pain.

"Never again. I swear to God, this is the last child we will ever have!" Sandy bobbed his head up and down in agreement. Even on his greatest day, the lawyer in him would nerve argue with a pregnant woman.

Inwardly Julie grimaced, but kept her face straight. Kirsten may not have known what she was saying, but Julie knew how it registered in her own mind.

In the fleeting glimpse she cast to Sandy, she saw what he was thinking too.

It may very well be her last child, on this earth.

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The way Sandy drove home was the way Jimmy drove to the hospital, dodging in and out of cars, like a bad Cop's episode. Jimmy was amazed that there were no cops and no helicopters deeming him as the latest OJ Simpson.

"Everything okay back there?" He asked tersely his eyes flicking to Sandy's in the rearview mirror. If Sandy had a voice, he didn't use it.

"Shut up and drive Jimmy," Julie snapped not missing a beat.

Kirsten groaned again as the other two tried to keep her preoccupied. Mostly it was Julie who was doing the talking, making snide remarks about a new hire at the Newport Group, and Kirsten's father.

Sandy was numb; he couldn't understand how this could be happening. He suspected Kirsten was in her own little world too, because most of her responses were yes, no, and okay. Not the classiest version of vocabulary but he couldn't blame her. He knew she dreaded going to the hospital because deep down she was thinking the same thing he was.

What if this is it? What if she doesn't leave this time?

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Arriving at the hospital Kirsten was met with a gurney and a team of nurses and doctors, as well as with several needles needed for an IV drip and a preterm labor drug that would hopefully stop the labor as quickly as it came about.

Making quick lefts and rights through brightly-lit corridors Julie was eventually held back by a nurse and so was Sandy, which left him utterly confused and angry. He should be allowed to go he wanted to be there. Not even, he NEEDED to be there.

"I'm her husband!" He protested as he shrugged his arm away from other man who stood his ground.

"Sorry sir," the large football player-build black man shook his head, holding his ground.

He hung his head in defeat, his world was slowly crashing down around him.

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As the nurses busied themselves about Kirsten she glanced around for Sandy, imagining he would be here with her. She wanted his comfort instead of being surrounded by strangers. He was no where to be seen.

"My husband? Can you get him?" She asked a nurse and she scurried from the room.

"Hey there gorgeous!" The doctor grinned at her and she recognized him from the first time she had been brought to the hospital, those painful months ago. It seemed like forever since then.

She smiled at him slightly before closing her eyes as a tremor of pain washed up her back.

"Feeling pain other than a labor pain?" He asked her and she nodded her head. He must have been a mind reader, and later he became a saint when he gave her pain medication.

"Let's see what I can do about that," he smiled and injected a small needle into her IV and within moments later the dull throb in her back subsided. She wasn't exactly sure which pain was worse, the back pain or the labor pain.

"Thank you," she whispered gratefully, tensing as the nurse lifted her shirt and placed the cold sonogram nose to her stomach. She wished they would warm those things up before placing it upon her skin. She shifted on the bed a little, her body aching from being put through so much.

"Oh wow," the nurse breathed.

The doctor raised an eyebrow from his chart and Kirsten looked at the nurse blankly. Her dark blue eyes flashed quickly, her motherly instinct kicking into a protective overdrive, "Oh wow? What are you oh wowing about?" She looked at her and blinked, suddenly feeling disoriented. If something was going on with her baby, she wanted to know what it was. She swallowed her throat dry.

She shook her head, the blond hair coming to play upon her shoulders. 'Sandy should be here,' she thought drowsily.

The nurse broke into a grin and the doctor did too as he eyed the monitor.

Kirsten's vision blurred slightly and the edges of the room suddenly blacked as she started to go from conscious to unconscious.

"Twins, Mrs. Cohen. You're going to have twins."

Kirsten heard the words before succumbing to darkness.

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The doctor came out and introduced himself to Sandy, and then to Caleb who had just recently arrived. Sandy barely heard what he was saying. He was in a fog, his thoughts blurry with the confusion and shock.

Seth, in his good-natured way, called his grandfather when everyone else had forgotten in his or her blinding panic to get to the hospital. Seth himself would have forgotten too but he remembered his mother would appreciate it if he was there and he knew his dad would make him call him anyway at some point in time.

Sandy didn't like the way the doctor looked. His mind did flashbacks to the last time she had been pregnant and at the hospital. The doctor held that same look; the pity look, with his tired gray eyes and the messy dark hair. The doctor looked like he had just been through a war or hadn't slept in five days. He had raccoon eyes and Sandy was suddenly reminded of Kirsten when she was at her low days and the cancer and the pain flared into high gear.

"Mr. Cohen. I have good news for you and please remember I'm trying, for your wife and your children."

Sandy raised an eyebrow and his hand rushed through his dark hair, sprawling it about.

He looked at him expectantly.

"You're going to have twins, Mr. Cohen. Congratulations, and if things don't slow down they'll be here before you know it, both healthy," he smiled in honesty. Caleb had come up and put his hand on Sandy's shoulder, squeezing his own silent congratulations for Sandy. His past anger about Kirsten keeping Sandy's child had left. Being a father himself, Caleb knew how it felt, the joy of holding that little person in your arms for the first time, the surge of happiness that followed when they first cried or gurgled. Caleb couldn't deny Sandy that, no matter what.

Sandy's blue eyes danced at the thought and he allowed himself to grin. But his grin stopped short when he saw the look on the doctor's face as to what came next.

"I have a whole team of doctors Mr. Cohen. I'm doing my best, but both your wife and the babies are in distress. I need you to make a decision."

Sandy took a step back, stumbling over his stepfather's foot looking on in shock. "What decision," his voice deadpanned and he felt like doubling over or running from the room. He wanted to go back in time to when he first danced with his wife at her father's party and all he had to worry about was Jimmy Cooper.

"Like I said, I have two teams in there, but if something arises I need to know where I should concentrate my efforts on. Your wife. Or your twins. I know its harsh and I know you're asking me why, but sometimes it comes down to a decision as to who to put first."

Sandy went white. He shook his head. "You're asking me to? I can't…. What the hell is that, you're a doctor," he rambled, his cheeks flushing with redness and his eyes glistened with unshed tears.

"Sanford!" Caleb called but Sandy found a wall and slumped against it. He shook his head at Caleb. "I can't, I can't make that kind of decision," he stated, shaking his head. He ran his hand through his hair again, his thoughts desperate for hope. 'This is it, this is the end.' He never felt so helpless before, so useless. He wanted nothing more than to be with her.

Caleb shook his head. "The twins. If something happens, it's them you save."

The doctor nodded and turned to leave, as Julie and Ryan rounded the corner.

"Oh God, what have I done?" Caleb whispered.

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