A/N: Jet, betty-boop, takerlover21, leslienicolespeaks, Dani, Torquebabe, Amarantha, dogreign, tallyz and Fi - thankyou all for reviewing the last chapter and to all those who read but didn't review as well.

It was summer now and the heat was almost stifling around her as she rolled awkwardly into an upright position, one hand propping her up off the bed, the other resting gently over her substantial bump. She exhaled slowly, rubbing soothing circles over her belly as she shuffled forward and to her feet, wincing as her weight pressed down on her sore ankles. She felt horrible, she couldn't get comfortable and most of all, she felt huge. Her boss assured her that wasn't the case but she was having difficulty adjusting to her belly's new size.

She was working in Las Vegas now, at one of the health spa's owned by her previous employer in one of the high class hotels. She worked four days a week, giving her the remaining three to herself – well, herself and the baby that is.

No sooner had she left Miami and settled in Vegas did she blow up. Within the course of a week or so she'd become huge. None of her clothes fit her, four out of five days her feet were swollen and she felt ill, nothing tasted good to her any more except strangely enough, mashed potato and lemonade. It was something she'd observed Leon making for himself on more than one occasion in the early hours of the morning – he'd prepare it all then go and sit on the grass in the back yard and eat as he looked up at the stars, just sitting quietly by himself.

Snagging a scrunchy off the vanity in the bathroom, Ruby tugged her hair up into a messy bun and rubbed at her face tiredly. Looking at her reflection in the darkened mirror, she felt the tears start to well in her eyes again. Her belly protruded far in front of her now and she was only just seven months along. Her face held a healthy glow, though she hated it when people told her so. A glow implied she was happy when in reality, she was far from it.

She missed Cade. She missed the way he would crawl onto the bed in the middle of the night and worm his way beneath the blankets and use her as a pillow. The way he'd press his little hands over her eyes and claim he was hiding so she couldn't see him – she missed his laughter as Leon blew raspberries on his tummy. She stifled a sob.

Despite all that he'd said and the way he reacted – she missed Leon. She was miserable without him. Cecile had called her on more than one occasion to tell her that he'd been in to try and find out where she was, if he could get in touch with her any way. Each time he'd been turned away and apparently each time he'd near crumbled at the word 'no'. Cecile told her he looked a mess, a woman matching Angie's description always with him to hold him together. He was a complete and utter wreck. According to Cecile he'd lost weight, looked like death warmed up and that cheeky glint that was always in his eye when he was with her had faded away, leaving his beautiful green eyes dull and lifeless.

Next time Cecile calls – next time, I'll tell her she can give him my new number. He deserves to know about his baby.

That was another thing that had surprised her – whenever he'd gone into her old workplace to ask about her – and he did so on a frequent basis – he'd also asked about the baby. When she'd been told that she'd almost fallen down in shock. For someone who had been so against her pregnancy, he'd been inquiring about their health – both hers and the baby's. She'd almost gone running back to Miami as soon as she'd heard that, but had forced herself to stay strong and stay put. Despite his interest now – if it was genuine – he'd still hurt her and he'd still scared her that night. She wasn't forgiving him so easily.

Tugging the sheet off the bed as she shuffled past it, she opened the French doors out onto the terrace of her eighth story apartment and stood in the doorway letting the breeze slide over her heated skin. It was nearly three in the morning and although the night still held a little heat, the cool breeze chased the discomfort she felt away and it was with heavy limbs that she lowered herself into one of the deck chairs and threw the sheet over herself, dozing off again.

"You're an energetic little thing, aren't you." Ruby cooed to her belly, rubbing her hands over her bump lovingly. It was a warm day out, not too hot but not cool either, just a comfortable temperature for her to sit out on the balcony and get a little bit of sun. The breeze ruffled her hair across her face as she smoothed some more suntan lotion across her belly and arms, still chattering softly to her baby.

She smiled down at her belly as she watched the skin ripple as the baby moved, kicking and such. She'd found that when she played certain music it seemed to unsettle the baby, whereas other music seemed to calm it, so she was listening to some mellow music, Sarah McLachlan just softly.

"Your big brother likes this song," she told her bump as 'building a mystery' started playing, "- if he was here he'd jump up and demand I dance with him, bump and all. Though I'm not sure he knows about you, sweetie." Her hands stroked over the largest part of her belly, rubbing circles over it. "See, I don't know if your Daddy told him yet. I don't know if Daddy told anyone." She added quietly, blinking back tears.

As the wind picked up again for a moment the music was temporarily drowned out by the wind chimes she had hanging in the doorway and almost instantly, Bub started kicking in protest. She grimaced at a particularly hard kick and exhaled deeply, giving her belly a light swat.

"None of that now – the music is still there.." she looked up at the wind chime, considering taking it down. "You know, your Daddy hated that thing too. Every time he'd walk to close to it he'd manage to bump his head on it. He took it down eventually and hid it from me, claimed it got stolen and bought me a sun catcher instead."

She smiled to herself as the baby calmed once more, able to hear the music again and carefully manoeuvred herself onto her knees, then walked herself upright with great difficulty. Huffing and puffing once she was on her feet, she rubbed at her lower back slowly and waddled toward the doorframe so she could take the chimes down. She liked them because they made a pretty sound, but much like daddy, Bub wasn't overly fond of them. She couldn't have her baby getting upset every time the wind blew so she had no other choice. Her fingertips skimmed over the ends once or twice before grabbing hold and she gave a sharp tug, breaking the string they were hanging from.

"There," she mumbled, slowly starting inside, "-happy now you little blob? No more pretties for mommy." She lifted a brow when the baby settled completely, almost as if it'd gone off to sleep and she grunted, annoyed. "Little snot. You're already like your father. Not happy until you get your own way."

Dropping the chimes onto the bed, she moved to change the cd, taking Sarah out and putting Tim McGraw in. She was feeling rather mellow at the moment and listening to his music always calmed her or kept her calm – not to mention Bub seemed to like it too.

She jumped, startled when her phone rang and knew it would only be one of two people. Her work, or Cecile.

Picking up the phone, she carefully lowered herself into a chair by the table before answering.

"Hello?"

There was a sigh of relief on the end on the phone. "Had me worried for a minute there, little miss!" It was Cecile. Ruby smiled, remembering her decision the night before. This time she'd tell her friend to let Leon have her cell number. Try as she might, she missed him horribly and couldn't wait to hear his voice on the other end of the phone.

Her first question, almost immediately, "Has Le been in today?" From what she understood, he would go in every second day, occasionally more frequent. She only hoped she'd not missed his visit.

There was an awkward silence for a moment, then she heard Cecile sigh softly.

"Baby girl, your boy's not been in here since early last week."

Ruby's stomach felt like it dropped through the floor. He didn't care any more. She'd pushed him so far away that he couldn't be bothered trying to get in touch with her any more.

Her voice was quiet and shaky when she spoke. "O– oh." She felt the first tears prick at her eyes and her fingers came up to wipe them away, shaking. "Last week you said?"

Cecile's voice was full of compassion. "No, honey – not since last Tuesday. He could just be sick or somethin though – he didn't look well last time he was in. Was chewin' on that toothpick like it was his life line or somethin."

Ruby knew she was trying to help, reassure her in some way, but as soon as she mentioned the possibility of Leon being ill the pit in her stomach grew. The mere thought of him being unwell and her not there to take care of him frightened her something horrible.

"Well," she struggled to sound neutral, rubbing her belly as Bub started shifting around, sensing Ruby's discomfort, "-if he comes in again, could you give him my number? So he can call me."

So many times she had tried to call him but each time she picked up the phone she'd found herself unable to dial the numbers, afraid of his reaction. At least she knew that if he contacted her first, that he was genuine.

"You sure you want that, honey?" Cecile's voice was softer now, questioning.

Ruby nodded to herself, her eyes closed as the tears fell down her face. She was tired of being so lonely all the time. Maybe talking to Leon if he called would help assuage it somewhat.

"Yes," she hated how she didn't sound confident when she spoke, "-he deserves to know what's happening with the baby." She knew that it was more likely that it was the baby he was interested in hearing about.

"Alright sweetheart – I'll tell the boy." There was a sigh, "Look baby girl, you sound tired so why don't you take you and the little one to bed for a little while."

"Alright – thankyou for calling, Cecile." Ruby gently set the phone down, looking down at her very swollen belly. The longer she looked the more miserable she felt.

Leon didn't want them any more.

That being said, she carefully climbed to her feet and slowly made her way into her room, crawling onto the bed and burying her face in the pillows. Once there and as comfortable as she got, she dissolved into tears and pulled the sheet up over her head.