Okay, I have decided to finish up this story here but I'm going to write a new one that's a continuation of this one, filling in the blanks I leave at the end.

Thank you everyone who reviewed, and here's the final chapter…

The phone and doorbell rang simultaneously. Knowing it would be Hailey at the door Ryan gestured to take the phone, but Seth held onto it adamantly. Ryan reluctantly got up to answer the door, anxious as to what sort of news Seth might be getting.

"Hey," Ryan muttered opening the door, as Hailey attempted to put on a brave face.

"Any news?" Hailey asked, walking into the house setting her bag down. After getting Sandy's phone call yesterday, she had packed her bags and booked the first flight available.

"We got a call this morning saying that they thought they'd tracked down Jimmy's address," Ryan begun. "A couple of people saw someone fitting his description walk into the house in the past few days and someone identified two people who matched Kirsten and Richard's descriptions walking in the day she went…you know-missing."

"So Sandy's gone to check that out?" Hailey asked.

Ryan nodded as she sank onto the couch, holding her head in her hands.

"God…Jimmy Cooper," Hailey muttered quietly. "I don't believe it."

It was the same speech Ryan had gone through in his head a million times. He hadn't spoken to Marissa-or pretty much anyone-since Kirsten had gone missing. He knew it would cause complications in his relationship with Marissa, but the question plaguing him was whether or not they'd be able to have any relationship now.

Seth walked in, interrupting Hailey and Ryan's daydreams, Ryan looking up expectantly.

"They found Mom," Seth declared. "That was Dad. He's on the way to the hospital."

"Well, how is she?" Hailey asked impatiently, jumping up, answered by a shrug from Seth.

"He said she was alive, so that's a start," Seth informed her. On the inside, Seth was torn between fear and hope, and relief: hope and relief because his mom had been found alive, but fear because he didn't know how critical her condition was.

"What did he say about Charlotte?" Ryan asked, his eyes looking somewhat more alive knowing Kirsten had been found and wasn't dead.

"To take her along to the hospital," Seth said. "He needs to talk to her. You guys go to the car, but can you save a spot next to me for Charlotte? I haven't finished questioning her yet."

Sandy's head lay on the hospital bed, his hand holding Kirsten's securely. Sandy shut his eyes, his mind no longer filled with the sound of the phone ringing, but reassuring thoughts that Kirsten was safe; she was alive and she'd be okay. His mood was dampened by the loss of the babies but he was the happiest he'd been in days.

If Kirsten had been found any later, Sandy had been told, she wouldn't have been so lucky. She might not even be alive. The doctors had told Sandy she'd suffered excessive blood loss from the miscarriage-more than was normal-and this coupled with her dehydration had made her more vulnerable. Kirsten had had to have an operation as the miscarriage had been complicated and she was currently hooked up to a blood transfusion and adrip. Her breathing was still somewhat shallow, so she had been put on a low dose of oxygen and was being monitored, but despite all this Sandy had been assured she should be home in a few days.

Because of her operation and physical state, the doctors had said not to expect Kirsten to awake before morning. Sandy had ushered Hailey and the boys back home, seeing no point in them hanging around, and had sent Charlotte on a plane back to Canada. Charlotte was probably not the best person to have around when Kirsten woke up.

Sandy, however, refused to leave Kirsten's side. Pushing back her hair, he gave her a gentle kiss on her forehead as she slept peacefully. He had to know she was there, that he was okay.

Kirsten was probably far from okay, though, Sandy admitted to himself, tightening his grip on her hand. Of course, he didn't know the details of what she had been through but he was pretty sure it would have been horrific. Sandy had a feeling therapy would be needed, but he was determined to make sure she got through this and got her life back on track.

A door in the distance slammed shut, causing Sandy to jump, remembering the shot Jimmy had fired just hours ago that had taken his own life. It wasn't a memory that would escape him anytime soon-nor was the memory of seeing Kirsten hurried out of the house on a stretcher.

As he heard the monitor beeping, confirming Kirsten was alive, he gently draped his arm over her. He would put up with anything-anything-just to have her here. His mouth curled up in a smile as he heard a soft snore escape from her, and it was then he realized that Kirsten wasn't going anywhere.

Kirsten could swear she'd felt someone jump and slide an arm across her. Jimmy, she guessed, dreading to think of what would happen next.

Drowsy was the only way to describe how she felt. She was too tired to open her eyes and far too tired to fight the arm across her. She went back to sleep, soothed by the rhythmic beeping coming from somewhere.

Something soft was underneath her. Much softer than the floor, Kirsten thought, shifting contently. What had happened? Kirsten wondered, confused. The last thing she remembered was feeling like she would pass out.

The next thing Kirsten noticed to be out of place was the arm across her. Continuing to keep her eyes shut, she delicately placed a hand on the arm, praying fervently it wasn't Jimmy's.

It certainly didn't feel like Jimmy's, Kirsten thought. Her heart filled with hope as she prized her eyes open, knowing only one person whose body she knew so well.

"Sandy?" Kirsten asked quietly, afraid it was a hallucination. Her voice was croaky, and speaking was somewhat painful-from the dehydration, she guessed.

Kirsten looked across; his head was face down on the bed, but she could tell without a doubt that it was Sandy.

"Sandy?" Kirsten repeated, resting a hand on his shoulder and giving him a nudge, pausing briefly to inspect the drip in her wrist.

Sandy woke up almost instantly. He jumped as he felt a hand on his shoulder and heard a familiar voice calling out his name. He looked at Kirsten, so grateful to have her there that he wanted to hold her tight and never let her go. Fear of hurting her stopped him from doing this, so instead he settled for holding her hand and giving her a kiss.

"I was so worried I'd never see you again," Kirsten whispered tearfully, wrapping her arms around him. "I love you so much."

"Oh, me too honey," Sandy murmured. "But don't you worry now-it's all over. I love you."

"Sandy…," Kirsten trailed off, looking pleadingly in his eyes. Maybe there was a chance, a slight chance, that both-or even one of-the babies had survived.

Sandy's words caught in his throat, and he watched her face crumple as he shook his head.

"I'm sorry, Sandy, I'm so sorry," Kirsten cried. "If only-"

"Sh, don't talk like that," Sandy told Kirsten, taking her in his arms. "None of this was your fault, okay?"

Kirsten shook her head helplessly, racked with guilt. If only she'd altered a few things, perhaps it would have all turned out differently.

"The doctor said there's nothing stopping us from having another baby," Sandy told her, hoping it would be of some consolation.

As Kirsten remained in his arms crying, Sandy allowed a tear to fall for the two lives that were lost, and the life that was soimportant to him that had very nearly beenlost.

Eight months later…

"That was a kick," Sandy protested, resting a hand on Kirsten's stomach. "That was definitely a kick."

Kirsten smiled. Sandy had been claiming that for the last couple of months falsely, but today he was right.

"It was," Kirsten confirmed, as the baby kicked yet again.

"She kicked again!" Sandy exclaimed. "Six months of nothing and now she finally starts communicating with me."

Kirsten snuggled into Sandy, placing her hand on top of his that was still resting on her stomach. It was moments like these that convinced Kirsten life was perfect. They convinced her that the months of therapy had worked, that she was truly getting over what had happened and that she and Sandy together had brought life back under control.

Sandy prodded her stomach in an attempt to get the baby to kick again and Kirsten rolled her eyes as their daughter kicked back on queue. She was caught in the middle and a punching bag but it was worth it. Everything was worth being where she was today.

That's the end! The new story will deal with that eight-month gap, so it will probably be dark to begin with but then get lighter and lighter.

A big thank you to everyone who has reviewed my first fanfic-THANK YOU! And please let me know what you thought of this chapter and if there are any improvements I can make in my next story.

The new story probably won't be up for awhile because I haven't started it or really planned it yet. And let me know if you think I shouldn't write a carry-on story, I don't want to write something people will not read and get bored of. I don't want to overdo this story.