A/N: Hope everyone is well and if you're anywhere near those nasty hurricanes that you and your loved ones stay safe and dry. :( My thoughts and prayers (and a little bit of my $) go out to all of you!

I've been gone so long I think I've forgotten where I really live. LOL! I needed a little break from this honestly – because what's coming next is really the reason I began writing this story in the first place. :( Some of you might have guessed that it was really Ethan and Lynnie's story all along. But of course – being me - I got sidetracked in Rali land.

Heehee. No matter how hard I try that somehow, someway always happens. But,I don't hear any complaints.

We'll get back to the big bat and his antics soon enough – but there's some other stuff to deal with right now. I've written myself into a bit of a corner, so that's why things I'd planned to happen earlier are now a bit on hold (Quinn and Billie primarily. I want their wedding to be happy and this next part would taint that too much). Grab the Kleenex. :'( and I promise it'll all come together in the end.

Oh. I almost forgot. Now dear readers, I have a serious question for all of you. In the past few weeks I've been working on a little story for Ella – sort of finding a happy ending at last for all of Rali's little kiddies. It's coming so fast that I'm nearly done with it. My darling, pseudo beta reading Katie and Melody are in on it already and have gotten their sneak peeks but here's the thing…

It's a story w/ very little Rali – no Calivia –it's pretty much an original character fest. That being said – I feel weird posting it here. And though I adore reviews I'm not one to beg for them so please click my name for my email address and let me know what you think. Once it's done I can send it out to anyone who's interested OR if you'd rather I post here – I'll do that. Majority will rule. :) However you choose to - please do let me know. The most important thing is that I want to make sure that I don't leave anyone out.

Until 43! xox-G

Chapter Forty-two

The summer flew by. In the months that followed, things were back to normal – or as normal as they could be under Port Charles standards. It was a very busy time for everyone.

The date of Quinn and Billie's wedding came and went. The house they'd wanted to buy seemed tied up in red tape. It would be a few more months before it was all sorted out. Billie got completely wrapped up in her courses. Most of all, they had decided to wait until Ty's adoption was finalized before they officially became a family. If all went well, they'd all have the same name by Christmas.

Knowing that her children were all safe and happy, Alison devoted most of her time to keeping an eye on her husband. Rafe seemed fine but it was clear that the latest trip to Romania had taken a lot out of him. There were many times, more than she could count actually, where she'd find him sitting quietly alone. Sometimes she'd nudge him, sometimes she'd leave him be. Every time, it broke her heart to know he was obviously hurting. She was at a loss as to what to do.

Abby tried to keep busy, tried to keep her mind off the inevitable. All the suffering she saw in the future for the ones that she loved. She did her best to enjoy the last few months awaiting the birth of her grandchildren. Suddenly, as she sat in her living room reading a book she realized that it looked like they were getting impatient.

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"DAANNYY!"

Seriously. Danny thought to himself with a sigh. How much longer can this go on?

"Coming!" He called back to her.

Ever since Michelle had put Lia on complete bed rest Danny hadn't gotten a moment of rest himself.

As he entered the bedroom, Lia beamed at him.

"Did you get the good pizza?" She asked hopefully as he placed the tray he had carried on her lap.

What's the good pizza? Danny thought desperately. She had said pizza so he got pizza. It was nine o'clock in the morning. He was lucky he found any kind of pizza. As had been usual in the past four months, he had no idea what she was talking about.

"Mmmmm." Lia's eyes were shut tight in ecstasy. "I love you Danny." She said with a smile as she opened them again.

Breathing a sigh of relief he carefully crawled into bed beside her. "I love you too."

Lia rubbed her hand over her stomach as she started her second piece. "Do you have enough room?" She asked, her voice full of genuine worry. "I'm getting so huge…"

"Shh." He whispered back as he placed his hand over her. "You're beautiful, Lia."

He was so sweet she had to laugh at him. "No. I'm ginormous."

"Ginormously beautiful." He replied as he leaned close to kiss her.

"You're really trying to stay out of trouble aren't you?" She giggled.

Knowing he was caught he smiled at her. "Is it working?"

"Absolutely." She replied as she wiped her hands with a napkin. Danny noticed then that her plate was clean.

"Still hungry?" He asked.

"Yes." Lia said with a roll of her eyes. "But I don't need anything else."

"You need sleep." Danny whispered.

"I'm not tired." She insisted.

"The babies are exhausted." He tried again.

"Nice one. But you couldn't be more wrong." She winced and shifted. "The babies are playing soccer." She continued to squirm and try to get comfortable. She settled back on the pillows and tried to stifle a cry of pain.

Danny's eyes widened as she did. "What was that? A contraction?"

"No." Lia shook her head.

"Julia…" His voice held a warning.

"It's fine." She insisted. At least she thought it was. In the past few weeks she'd been getting increasingly more nervous. She knew Danny would bring her to the hospital if she told him that she wasn't completely sure. She blinked a bit and bit her lip when she felt another pain.

Danny noticed immediately. "Julia." He said again. When she didn't answer he jumped up and took the tray from her lap. "I'm going to go get the car ready."

"Danny…don't." She protested weakly.

"Sit tight. I'll be right back." He promised as he raced to the door.

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Lynnie sat at her desk, her thoughts scattered. For the last two days it seemed she couldn't concentrate. Usually at this time of day the baby was kicking up a storm but that wasn't what was distracting her.

She flipped through her book again and saw that in the seventh month the baby should be having a kick fest, but she was sure she hadn't felt anything in hours. Not since last night if she really stopped to think about it.

She sighed as she closed the book and continued to stare off into space.

"You ready to go?" Ethan called out from the doorway.

"Huh?" She said softly.

"Your appointment. With Michelle. It's at 10 right?" He said with a smile.

"Yeah. That's right. I'll be right there." She whispered as she moved to stand.

"You OK, Lynn? You look tired." Ethan said softly as she approached. He ran a hand gently over her cheek.

"I didn't sleep well last night." She explained with a small smile.

"I know I was not sleeping right next to you." He nodded as he ran a hand over her hair. "You sure you're OK?"

Lynnie took a deep breath as she leaned up and gave him a kiss. "I'm sure. C'mon. Let's go. I don't want to be late."

Assured for the time being that she'd be alright, he smiled as he took her hand and led her out the door.

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"Might I remind you, Dr. Thornhart that you are her husband not her doctor." Michelle said with a grin.

"I understand that." Danny sighed in frustration as she snatched the chart from his hands.

"And that means that you have to let me do my job. I've got five mothers in labor as we speak." She gazed up at him and smirked. "Unless you want to revisit your OB rotation? Because I could really use a hand." She giggled.

He gave her an exasperated look. "Point taken. I got it."

"Good." Michelle said with a nod. "Now go sit with her. I need to monitor her for a bit. See if things calm down some."

"Is this going to happen today?" Danny asked as he moved towards the door to her room.

"Maybe…" Michelle laughed at the look on his face. "Maybe not…"

She was still smiling as she made her way to through the waiting area. She picked up a chart and moved to an exam room. Her grin grew wider as she saw Lynnie sitting there.

"I knew that if your sister was here I'd find you too." She said with a laugh.

"Lia's here?" Behind her glasses, Lynnie's eyes were huge. She couldn't believe she hadn't seen it for herself. "Is she in labor? Is she OK?"

"She's fine. We're watching her. I'm not sure where we're at just yet. How are you?"

"I'm alright." Lynnie replied, her voice soft.

Michelle's eyes filled with concern. "Just alright?"

Nerves made Lynnie's voice shake a bit as she answered. "I've felt kinda weird since yesterday. I don't know what it is exactly, but I feel like the baby's been quiet."

Michelle's head shot up at Lynnie's words. "Quiet how?"

"Like not kicking so much. And that's weird isn't it? Because I know I read that in the seventh month babies are kicking machines." Lynnie's voice was edged with fear.

"They are, usually." Michelle nodded not concerned much at the moment. She was used to women getting more nervous as their pregnancies progressed. "But we'll take a look just in case."

Michelle wheeled over the sonogram equipment as Lynnie settled on the exam table. As usual, she shivered a bit when Michelle squirted the gel over her belly.

"OK kiddo. What have you been up to? Let's see what's going on in there…" Michelle trailed off. In an instant her spine stiffened. Oh God. She thought desperately as she ran the sensor over Lynnie's taut skin again, hoping to prove her initial thought was wrong.

She blinked back tears as she fought to steady herself. She cleared her throat and whispered softly. "Lynnie, sweetie. Where's Ethan?"

Lynnie lay back on the table and yawned. "He was parking the car. Why?" She asked, suddenly sitting up straight as an arrow. "Michelle? Is something wrong?"

Michelle put down the sensor and took Lynnie's hand in hers. "Lynn? Listen to me. You just sit still for a moment. I want to talk to both of you together." When she caught the look of terror in Lynnie's eyes she struggled to keep herself strong. "It'll be alright, Lynnie. OK?" She promised as she made her way towards the door. "You just stay still. I'll be right back."

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Ethan whistled as he waited for the elevator to take him up to Michelle's office. He was so happy he nearly bounced as he walked. Every time they came for a visit, all he could think of was the day the baby would be born.

He was almost finished with all the furniture for the nursery. The cradle had been easy, he'd made dozens of them before but this one was special and completely unique. He spent some extra time carving the headboard and he thought it had come out perfectly.

The rocking chair for Lynnie was the next thing he'd finished, and just remembering the look on her face when she'd first seen it had his heart beating faster. The changing table came next. Gleaming and polished, they all sat waiting in the freshly painted room, the cheerful yellow walls glowing brightly and the soft blue ceiling full of fluffy clouds. Now all he had left was to put the finishing touches on the crib. He'd spent the last few months making sure he had followed all the safety guidelines. There was no way he'd take a chance with his son or daughter.

He could clearly see Lynnie sitting near the window rocking the baby in her arms. It wouldn't be too much longer now. He could hardly wait. Ethan smiled widely as he boarded the elevator, jingling the keys in his hand as he did.

There was a ding as the elevator doors opened. His head had been so full of wonderful dreams it took him a moment to realize something was wrong. Abby and Cam stood to one side, Cam's face full of grief as he held an inconsolable Abby in his arms. How had they gotten here? Ethan thought completely confused.

He turned towards Michelle, who held a hand out to him and pulled him aside.

"Michelle? What's the matter?" He asked, desperately. "What happened to Lynnie? I only left her for five minutes. What could have happened to her?"

"Lynnie's OK Ethan..." She said softly as she held his hands in hers. "Listen to me. It's the baby…"

"What do you mean?" Ethan gazed down at her, confused. "We're here for a checkup. It's just a checkup…"

"I know." Michelle whispered with a nod. "Please. Let me explain it to you. She was telling me that she's not felt much movement in the past few days and when I examined her I couldn't find a heartbeat. I'm so sorry, Ethan…"

Her words barely registered as he stood there and shook his head at her. To him there was no other explanation. "You must be wrong. Maybe the machine is broken or something. I mean, it's almost time. We only have two months left."

Michelle tugged on his hands and made him focus on what she was saying. "Ethan. I know this is going to be very hard for you to understand, but even with all the advances we have now sometimes things like this just happen. From what I can see, in the course of the baby moving the cord somehow got caught and it cut off all the nutrients and oxygen. I'm so sorry. There was no way to predict this, there was nothing we could have done."

"No." Ethan gasped as what she'd said began to sink in. "NO." He insisted as he finally gazed into her eyes.

Michelle knew that this was only the start of the rough road the two of them had ahead of them. She stared at him and whispered. "Ethan. I need to tell Lynnie now. She needs to have you with her when she hears the news. Can you do that?" She asked, choking back tears. "Can you come with me?"

"Oh my God. She doesn't know yet?" He said on a sob. Ethan's head began to spin. How could he look at her when she learned of all this?

"No." Michelle shook her head. "She doesn't know yet. I'm so sorry." She said again, knowing that her words were not nearly enough to take the pain from his eyes. "I know how excited and happy you both were. It's going to get much harder before it gets easier." She took a deep breath as she continued with the worst of all. "We need her to deliver the baby, Ethan."

"No." Ethan replied, his voice shocked. "You can't make her do that."

On a usual day Michelle loved her job. She got to watch the faces of all of these families light up with joy. But for the hundreds of healthy babies she delivered every so often there was something like this. Having to tell people, particularly those you cared about such news devastated her. But even with that, she knew that part of her job was to help them get through it.

"Ethan. Listen to me." She demanded, her voice gaining strength. "My main concern is for Lynnie right now, and the safest thing for her is to induce and deliver the baby naturally. You don't want to risk her life as well do you?"

"NO." He replied, his voice broken as he hung his head. "Please. No. Not Lynnie. I can't lose her too." He looked up at her with tears streaming down his cheeks. "OK. OK. Whatever you think is best."

"I'm going to do everything I can to make sure comes through this. But we need to start now OK? Ethan look at me." She said waiting for him to meet her eyes before she went on. Her voice softened as she took his hand and gave him a tug. "I've left her alone for too long. We should go to her now, Ethan. OK?"

"OK." He replied with a nod as he blindly followed behind.