Author's Note: Some of you guys are some evil little bitches, lol! You'll stop at nothing to get some Naley action, even sacrifice poor Meg and her child. I am cracking up at some of these reviews. Glad you guys are still hanging on and I hope you enjoy it despite the tense and/or sad moments.

For Angela, who went over the river and through the woods and is no doubt driving her sister crazy just to get updates for my story...

Megan groaned as she slowly opened her eyes. It felt like forever before everything came in to focus. Finally she could see what was in front of her but not before the flood of pain raced through her tired body.

"Meg?"

She looked up to the concerned face over her.

"Brooke…" she whispered.

"Hey, it's okay. I'm here."

Megan nodded and struggled to sit up. Brooke helped her gently.

"Where am I?"

"We're at the hospital, kiddo."

Megan looked around. Her hands instantly gravitated towards her middle but gone was the familiar wighted budge.

"The baby", she gasped. "Brooke, oh God! My baby! Where is my baby? What happened?"

She tried in vain to get out of bed, swatting away at the various tubes and IVs attached to her.

"Megan, calm down…Luke! Nathan!" she yelled for backup.

The dark haired brother came bounding into the room seeing that his wife was awake and in a state of panic.

"Megan!"

Brooke left with Lucas, the two staying close by but still giving Nathan and Megan their privacy.

"What are you doing here? What's happening?"

She looked absolutely terrified.

"You went into labor", he almost whispered.

"What?"

"Do you remember Brooke bringing you to the hospital? You were having contractions. You were, um, bleeding pretty bad. The baby's heart rate was in distress and they uh…they did a C section."

"What?" she screamed. "Nathan! No! No, it's too early! No…"

"It's okay, it's okay", he tried to restrain her.

"Where's the baby?"

"In the NIC Unit. They have her in one of those incubator things."

Megan softened for a second.

"It…it's a her?"

Nathan smiled sadly.

"I…I went ahead and gave her the name you picked out. Yoanna Isabella Scott."

Megan grinned proudly.

"Oh my God", she said softly. "Have you seen her?"

"She's beautiful", he nodded, fighting back tears.

"I want to see her. Can we hold her? When will they let me see her?"

"Wait until you get your strength, okay? Then we'll go up and see her together."

"No. No, Nathan. I want to see her now. I want to see our daughter."

Panic, sadness, anxiety and determination were all etched on her face. He knew it would be impossible to stop her from seeing their child.

"Okay. Look, I'll get the doctor but…but there's something I have to tell you first, Meg."

"What?"

"She…Yoanna's not very strong", his voice broke. "She, um, she, she…has a few problems."

Megan felt her heart breaking. All of a sudden her arms and legs felt like jello.

"I want to see her", Megan repeated.

Nathan nodded as he called for the doctor. A few minutes later, Dr. Zierke appeared with Nathan, Lucas and Brooke.

"How are we feeling, Mrs. Scott?"

"I want my baby. What's the matter with my daughter?"

Dr. Zierke sighed.

"Your daughter was almost nine weeks early. Premature babies have not developed completely. The earlier a baby is born, the less developed its organs are. Premature babies tend to have very specific problems."

"What kind of problems, Doc?" Lucas anxiously asked.

"Your daughter isn't breathing very well on her own because her little lungs are not developed enough. Right now she is being helped with a ventilator and a breathing tube."

"Does it hurt her?" Meg asked horrified.

"No. We are doing everything possible to ensure little Yoanna is comfortable but in addition to her respiratory distress, she has a severely underdeveloped immune system. That means she is not very good at fighting infection just yet. She is more susceptible developing severe infections more easily than a normal newborn. We are giving her antibiotics right now…"

"Are they helping?" Brooke asked hopefully.

"For now, yes but there is a bit of a risk as some of the antibiotics can cause long-term problems."

Nathan bit his lip.

"Is she going to be okay?"

Dr. Zierke took another deep breath.

"It's hard to say, Mr. Scott. The hospital is doing everything we can and the best neonatologist in the state is working with Yoanna round the clock. She's in the best hands possible but I can't make any guarantees. I'm sorry. For now, we are monitoring her condition very carefully."

"Can I see her?" Megan asked tearfully.

"Of course", he complied softly.

Megan and Nathan were ushered upstairs to the wing that specifically housed premature and sickly infants. They put on surgical scrubs and masks before entering the room as to protect little Yoanna and the other babies from germs and infections.

They approached the large machine that housed their tiny daughter and Megan gasped. Her knees buckled but Nathan was there behind her like a rock, her pillar of strenghth pushing her slowly forward. They peered inside and saw the small baby.

"She's so tiny", Megan whispered.

"She's beautiful", Nathan said.

"I know. She is beautiful."

A pretty woman with in scrubs joined them.

"Mr. and Mrs. Scott?"

"Yeah", Nathan nodded.

"Hi, I'm Dr. Jenna Petrocelli. I'm the neonatologist assigned to take care of Yoanna. I am trained to handle the most complex and high risk births and I will be here with you for the duration. We are doing everything to stabilize her condition and provide her all the proper nutrients."

"Is she going to be okay?"

"We're doing everything we can."

Megan nodded tearfully.

"Can I hold her?"

"Not yet, Mrs. Scott, I'm sorry but you can touch her."

Dr. Petrocelli opened the window to the housing unit. It gave them a better look at the fragile, tiny little girl inside valiantly fighting for her life. Megan broke down.

"Oh God…"

"It's okay, Mrs. Scott. You can touch her. It's okay."

With a shaking hand, Megan reached in and stroked her daughter. She was so warm and soft and small. She guided Nathan's hand as well. He didn't speak but the tears pouring from his eyes said a thousand words.

"Dr. Petrocelli, can we just stay here for a while? Please?"

The doctor nodded.

"Of course. I'll have to close the window soon but you can stay here with her for a while. And talk to her as well. She'll recognize your voice and Mom's voice is very soothing for the baby but Mrs. Scott, you just went though major surgery. You need to concentrate on healing yourself. You and your husband can stay for a bit but you need to go downstairs and get your rest."

Megan nodded.

"Thank you."

Dr. Petrocelli smiled sympathetically before walking away. Nathan followed after her.

"Doc…"

"Yes, Mr. Scott?"

"Look, I know you're doing everything you can but just…just please. Let our baby be okay. Don't let my daughter die."

Dr. Petrocelli had seen it what too many times.

"We're doing everything humanly possible, sir. I assure you. For now go spend time with Yoanna…and take care of your wife."

Nathan looked over at Megan who was cooing at their little girl. He walked over to them, letting a protective arm drape around her waist.

"This is all my fault", she whispered.

"What?"

"I was having contractions all day. At first, I thought they were the Braxton Hicks, you know, false alarms. I thought it was nothing. Then it just got worse and worse. Oh God, Nathan. This is all my fault. Look at her. I did this to her."

Tears streamed down her cheeks as Nathan sighed and pulled her in close.

"It's not your fault. It's no one's fault, okay? Yoanna is going to be fine. She's going to be just fine…I promise."