Author's Note: I know, I know. It's been forever since my last update. I apologize. I hope this chapter makes up for it.

It had been 2 weeks, and Courtney and Jason were due at the hospital in 5 minutes.

Jason was tapping his foot at the bottom of the stairs, waiting for his wife, who was taking forever to decide what to wear.

"Courtney, we're only going to the hospital. Just throw on some sweats or something. We're going to be late," Jason said pointedly as Courtney came rushing down the stairs wearing a khaki skirt and a light blue collared shirt.

"Jason, it's not just going to the hospital, they're going to perform the procedure! I want to look nice," Courtney explained as she struggled trying to put her black pointed shoe on.

"Whatever you want. Come on, let's go," Jason said as he took her jacket out of the closet and held it out for her to slip into.

"I know it's silly, but I felt like looking important would… I don't know, help in some way," Courtney trailed off as Jason opened the door and let her walk in front of him.

"You deserve this more than anyone. If it's meant to be, it'll happen," Jason said as he took her hand and squeezed it. She looked up at him and offered him a nervous smile. And she had a feeling that things were going to work out this time.

"Good afternoon, Courtney, Jason," Dr. Meadows said as she entered the exam room that they were waiting in.

"Nice to see you again Dr. Meadows," Courtney said as she got up and shook the doctor's hand.

"I have some good news for the both of you," Dr. Meadows said as she smiled and closed the door.

"We could really use some of that," Courtney breathed a sigh of relief.

"We have 4 fertilized eggs. We need to do the procedure today though, because they're strong right now. We want to increase the chance that they'll begin to develop," the doctor explained as Jason looked at Courtney, who was smiling enough for the both of them.

"Great, I'm ready," Courtney said as she made to follow Dr. Meadows out of the room, Jason following closely behind. He knew that if this didn't work, that if Courtney didn't get pregnant, she would be heartbroken. He was afraid that she would be so hurt and sad that he wouldn't be able to reach her. A long time ago, Jason had promised himself to always be there for her, no matter what. This time was no different.

Courtney was lying in the uncomfortable hospital bed, waiting for Dr. Meadows and her staff to perform the procedure. Soon she would have four fertilized eggs in her, all they needed to do now was see if they could survive. Courtney promised herself that she would do everything right.

"Are you sure you want this? I don't want you to get hurt by this Courtney," Jason told his wife as she turned her head to look at him.

"I have a feeling Jason, a really good feeling about this. It's going to work. We're climbing the first step on the ladder," Courtney smiled at the analogy she had made and put her hand to her husband's face.

"Okay, I love you, you know that?" Jason told her as he covered her hand with his.

"I know. And I love you, more than anything," Courtney said as Jason leaned over and kissed her, only stopping when Dr. Meadows cleared her throat and announced her presence.

"Are we ready?" she asked.

Courtney looked to Jason, who nodded, his eyes never leaving hers.

"Yes," Courtney whispered as the team of nurses began to come in with instruments and everything that Dr. Meadows would need. She wasn't to excited for the anesthetic, it always made her feel sort of, well…. uppity. She was grateful for it though.

Jason was stroking the side of her face as the nurse injected the anesthesia into her arm. Courtney had a chronic fear of needles, and he hated to see her have to have one. She cringed and then smiled, because Jason was next to her. And when he was by her side, she could do anything.

Jason couldn't believe how brave she was, how brave she had been throughout this whole ordeal. If you could call it that. Courtney had lost a child, and it took her a long time to get over it. And Jason still wasn't convinced that she was over it. He knew he wasn't. That's something you never get over. Courtney would miss that baby, everyday for the rest of her life. Jason, on some level, would too. He kissed her eyes shut as the anesthetic worked its magic and put her to sleep.

Courtney's procedure had been a success, they had told Jason that. But that didn't explain why it had been done for three hours and she still hadn't woken up. Jason got worried after the first hour passed. He had been sitting with her, expecting her to wake up soon, but she never moved.

"Why hasn't my wife woken up yet?" Jason demanded as Dr. Meadows walked in with her clipboard.

"We can't be sure Mr. Morgan, it may be for a number of reasons. She may just me tired, and need the rest. Or the anesthetic may just have a lasting effect on her. Either way, I'm not worried. She'll wake up soon enough," she said as she walked to the beeping monitors and made some notes on her clipboard.

"Nothing went wrong during the procedure? She's okay right?" Jason asked as he looked from the doctor to his motionless wife.

"The procedure went wonderfully. Courtney will wake up when she wants to," Dr. Meadows said, and then she left.

Jason sighed and pulled a chair over to the edge of her bed. Her head was resting on her shoulder. He thought that her neck must hurt so he gently adjusted the pillow so that her head was on that instead.

God, she was so beautiful. Jason couldn't help but think about how lucky he was to have her in his life. He enclosed her small hand in his larger one as he put his head down on her bed. He was tired himself and about to slip off to sleep when he felt a little squeeze.

"Hey," Jason said as he lifted his head up immediately, not at all disappointed that he couldn't get to sleep.

"Hi," Courtney replied, a thousand questions on her face. Jason thought that he'd be nice, and answer them.

"Your procedure went great. I already talked to Dr. Meadows. She told me that once you woke up, I could take you home. You're on bed rest for 48 hours," Jason smiled at her look of shock.

"48? Could we make it just 8?" Courtney tried as Jason shook his head.

"You have to do everything Dr. Meadows says. You agreed to this remember? I get to make sure that you're okay… hover and all that," Jason said as he pushed some stray hair out of her face.

"I forgot about that…" Courtney said as she sat up, immediately realizing how sore she was. Jason noticed her wince, although she had tried to hide it.

"Come on, let's get you out of here," Jason said as he lifted his wife easily into his arms and walked out of her hospital room.

"I'm not an invalid. I can walk you know," Courtney stated as she kissed his cheek and snuggled up against his shoulder.

"Let me take care of you okay?" Jason murmured as he pushed the button for the elevator.

"I guess I can let you do that, only for a little while though," Courtney whispered as she closed her eyes.

"I plan on taking care of you forever," Jason said as he noticed her dozing off.

"Okay," Courtney replied easily as Jason tilted his head down and kissed the top of her head.

"I love you," he smiled at her lack of argument and decided that it was because she was still a little drugged up, and very tired. They got onto the elevator and as the doors closed, a man emerged from the corner where he had been watching them. He flipped open his cell phone.

"Yeah, he just carried her out. They're heading home. I eavesdropped on a conversation that Morgan had with the doctor. They're here all the time because she's trying to get pregnant. Apparently they did some kind of procedure today. Yeah, I'll keep you posted." the man said as he clicked his phone off and walked toward the other set of elevators.