Chapter Twelve: Don't Take My Baby

A/N: crashtburn: The reason why Ellie reacted the way she did was because a part of her was still in love with Marco and he's her best friend. She was hurt that he didn't tell her about Dylan, not that she wasn't invited on the date. It obviously wasn't Marco and Dylan's first date because they were making out. I was trying to make it seem like they had been dating for almost the entire month that Sean and Ellie had.

Ellie

"Sean?" I whispered. Where was I? The room was dark and I couldn't tell.

"Ellie!" I heard him call out from the darkness. I heard him groan as he stood up and walked over to my bed. Am I in my bedroom at home? Something happened in Marco's car. Then it all came rushing back to me: Marco and Dylan, stealing the car, the accident…the baby! What happened? Sean sat down on the edge of my bed and I almost screamed.

"Sean, what happened?" I asked him. He started to cry. "I don't remember anything after the crash." Seeing him cry made me break down. "Tell me!" I yelled at him when he remained silent. I reached up to touch his cheek but he turned away.

"I broke my cheek bone," he said, pointing to the bandage across his eye. "I don't even know how that happened exactly. And the airbag burned my cheek."

"What happened to me? I don't feel hurt at all. But what about the baby, Sean?" I asked. He cried harder.

"Ellie…" he choked back some tears and finished his sentence. "The baby didn't make it." After hearing those words, I caved in. I couldn't even speak. For the past eight months, this baby has been my entire life. My whole world was now gone. "There's more." Sean said. How could there be more? My baby is dead. I never found out if it was a boy or girl. I wanted it to be a surprise. Surprise, surprise.

"How could there be more?" I asked between sobs.

"You have to give birth. They're going to induce labor El." It was the first time Sean ever called me 'El.' I don't even know why that was the first thing that came to mind.

"I have to give birth to a dead baby?" I cried.

"There's no other way. I'm so sorry." Sean held me in his arms for the next few hours, and by the time I was able to dry a few tears, the room was full of sunlight. Visiting hours were probably approaching; but who would visit me? My question was answered when Marco burst into the room.

"I cannot believe you Ellie! How could you do this to me? You stole my car and then killed our baby! An innocent life was destroyed because of YOU. You KILLED the baby Ellie, and I hate you!" he yelled in my face. Sean immediately jumped up and tried to defend me.

"Leave her alone you asshole! She's been through enough. She doesn't need you to yell at her right now!" he yelled.

"SHE'S been through enough? My child is dead because of HER! And here you are, defending her!" Marco began to cry and I saw Dylan rush in to comfort him.

"Get him out of here!" I screamed. "I don't want to see his face ever again!"

"I didn't do anything to you!" Dylan yelled. "I'm only trying to support my boyfriend!"

"Your slut of a sister slept with my father!" I yelled at him. "GET OUT!" Just then, Dr. Hartman burst into the room.

"What's going on here?" he asked.

"I want him to leave," I said, pointing at Dylan. The doctor turned to him.

"You again?" he asked. "You'll have to leave. If she doesn't want you here, then you can't stay." Dylan kissed Marco on the cheek.

"Paige would never do something like that," he whispered.

"She did," Sean said, coming to my defense. Dylan's eyes were wide with shock and he turned and left the room. A nurse came in right after he left.

"Ellie needs Pitocin in her IV. We're going to induce her labor," Dr. Hartman told the nurse. The woman obeyed and left the room for a minute. She came back with a needle and injected it into the IV. "After you have dilated a few centimeters, we'll break your water for you," he explained. "You'll give birth as if everything were normal. Do you have any questions?" he asked. Elle shook her head and cried. "I know this is a very tough time for you. Do you have anyone you would like us to call for you? An adult maybe?" he asked.

"Christine Nelson-Simpson," I whispered. "I need her here." Dr. Hartman left the room to make the phone call.

"Can I talk to you outside for a minute?" Sean asked Marco. Marco nodded his head and wiped his tears away before following Sean out of the room. "What is wrong with you?" Sean said harshly. I could hear them through the door.

"She killed my baby!"

"That's not just your baby, it's hers too! You have no idea what Ellie has been going through. You call yourself her best friend, but you couldn't even tell her that you had a boyfriend? That is the reason she wanted to take your car last night. She was upset and wanted to get revenge. If you were really her best friend, you'd stand right by her no matter what," Sean spat.

"My child is dead!" Marco yelled a little too loudly. A few people stared at him before returning to their business. "How can you talk to me about what she's been going through? I'm sixteen years old. I found out that my best friend was pregnant with my baby and that I was gay this year. I finally found someone who I could share my life with, and then my baby dies. And it's her fault."

"You think that your problems are worse than hers, don't you?" Sean asked. "You haven't been around enough to even know what has happened to her. Ellie and I have barely known each other for a year and I know more about her than you do! What do you know about what has happened to her?" Sean said harshly.

"I know a lot about Ellie. I love her," Marco whispered.

"Apparently you don't know or love her enough. You know that she used to cut because her father went to the war and her mother was an alcoholic. You also know that her brother Matthias was murdered, and that's the reason her parents fell apart. You also know that her mom died just after she found out she was pregnant with your baby. She was still in love with you and just that broke her. You know that Paige slept with her father at her party. That's all you know." Sean fell silent.

"What else is there to know?" he asked. Sean laughed in his face.

"Let's see," he said, pretending to think. "She found out that her dad killed her mom. He's in prison now. She also found out that he killed her because he wanted to live with a new woman. He was never in the army. He was off with some girl who is only a few years older than her and they have a son together. Then she found out that her best friend wasn't even being honest with her, and now she has to give birth to a child who is already dead. I'm ashamed of you Marco. She needs you to be there for her." Sean came back into the room and left Marco standing there, shocked.

"You didn't have to do that," I told him.

"Yes I did. I love you Ellie, and I can't stand to see you hurt like this," he said to me. I threw my arms around him and hugged him. Then I felt the pain in my stomach and fell back.

"Ahhh!" I yelled.

"What is it?" Sean asked frantically.

"I'm having contractions," I told him. "This is it Sean," I started to cry again. "I love you too."

Those were two of the hardest hours of my entire life. I still can't believe it's all over. I don't want to even remember any of the details, and if I try hard enough, I won't. It all happened yesterday. I'm packing up my stuff and going home now. There's nothing more that I need to do. My baby is dead.

-Flashback-

"One more push Ellie," Dr. Hartman said. Sean was counting in my ear.

"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten," he finished. I let out a huge sigh.

"That's it, you're done. You did great," the doctor said. I was hoping that maybe, with some kind of miracle, my baby would cry. But that never happened.

"What is it?" I asked the doctor. "I want to know."

"It's a boy," Marco said softly, tears filling his eyes. I looked over to him and he was holding our son. The tears spilled out and I couldn't stop. I motioned for Marco to come to me and let me see him. He was the most beautiful baby I had ever seen.

"Marco," I cried. "I'm so sorry. I want him back; I want him back right now!" I screamed.

"Ellie, he can't come back," Sean whispered to me.

"Can you take a picture of him?" I asked. "I don't ever want to forget him." Everyone stared at me like I was crazy. "Just do it!" I yelled at them. I pointed to my purse. Sean walked over to it and pulled my camera out of it. He was crying as he took the picture. I felt bad; I should have done it. I just wanted to have at least one picture of my son, whether he was dead or alive.

"We're going to take him now," a man from the morgue said. I hadn't even noticed that he walked in. I took my son from Marco and held him close.

"I love you baby. I'm so sorry. Mommy is sorry. I have to say goodbye," I whispered and kissed him on the cheek. He was so cold. I wanted to wake up from this nightmare. The man took him and I got one last look at my son forever. "Don't take him! No, I want my baby!" I started screaming. I felt Spike's arms around me.

"Shh Ellie. It'll all be okay. Shh," she said to me. I cried in her arms over the tragedy that lay before me.

-End Of Flashback-

"Can you sign this please?" a nurse asked me. I looked as she held two pieces of paper in front of me. A birth certificate and a death certificate. I stared at the name that I chose for my son. 'Zane Matthias Nash-Del Rossi.' Tears filled my eyes as I signed the papers and then I turned away and walked out of the room. I met Marco outside. Sean was at home waiting for me. When we got there I ran to him and threw my arms around him. We hugged and cried for a few minutes and Marco left.

"I got your camera developed at the one-hour photo last night," he said, handing the packet to me. I grabbed it from him and flipped through the pictures, throwing each one on the ground. The floor was littered with photos of Sean and I, a few pictures of Marco, and the last one was the one I was looking for.

There he was. My precious baby boy. The tears came pouring out once again. I took the picture into my bedroom and slammed the door, locking it behind me. I left Sean standing there. He was probably cleaning the pictures off of the living room floor.