Tom stared at her. Her peaceful expression on her face made her more gorgeous than he had already thought. She was his wife, the one that made him want to be a better person, a better father. The one that he would wake up next to, just like now, for the rest of their lives.

She opened her eyes and squinted. "Did you hear something?"

"No. Just the waves. What did you hear?"

"I thought I heard Lane, but he's not here. I must have been dreaming."

"Come here, babe." He gently moved her closer so that she was in his arms, her head on his chest just below his chin. "There, that's better."

They lay quietly for another ten minutes and then his stomach growled. "You hungry too, Julie? I can order some food."

"Sure as long as we can eat it right here."

A bit later they ate their French toast and fresh fruit while they chatted.

"Are you excited to start your new job at the pharmacy, babe?"

"Yeah, I am. To finally do what I went to school for and be able to do it part time… that's a great thing." They had decided to put everything she made in a savings to build up a down payment for a house. The working three days a week helped because Lane only needed to be watched by someone else those days. "I miss Lane," she said quietly.

"Me too. We should Face Time him later."

"Yes, let's do that."

….

Beth put Lane in his high chair and gave him a couple crackers and some scrambled eggs. He grinned up at her.

She sat down and ate her toast and sunny side up egg, dipping the bread in the yolk. She was grateful she could stomach eggs now.

"Ba ba," Lane said, holding up a cracker for her to share.

"Thanks, buddy."

Beth was shocked at how good Lane had been overnight. He had only woken up once and as soon as she rocked him for a couple minutes, he fell back to sleep.

After he decided to play with his food more than eat it, she made him a bottle of formula and snuggled with him on the couch. "You're such a good boy, Lane. Did you know that?"

He reached up and touched her mouth, giggling when she kissed his fingers.

Jack stood and watched her and Lane from the doorway. She was a wonderful aunt and he knew she would be an even better mom to their baby. Beth looked up, thinking someone was watching. "Hey, handsome."

He came over and bent down to kiss her. "I love you, Beth."

"I love you, too." Lane pointed at him and then dropped his bottle and reached up for Jack.

Jack picked him up and kissed his cheek. "Hi, Lane. Are you going to be good for Aunt Beth today?"

Lane put his head down and snuggled in to Jack's shoulder. "I bet he misses his D-a-d," Beth told him.

"Probably does. Tom is a great d-a-d."

"You will be too, Jack."

"I'm gonna give it my best."

….

A few days later…

Julie strolled barefoot along the beach at sunset with Tom, holding his hand, convinced she'd never loved him more than she did at that moment. He was wonderful and she was very thankful that at the age of twenty, they had taken the huge step of getting married.

A lot of people she knew, didn't bother with marriage, they just did what they wanted with whomever they wanted. After the fiasco with Richie, she had wanted to find the right man who would love her and her son. She hadn't thought it would happen so quickly and she had no idea it was going to be her best friend, the brother of her brother-in-law though.

"What are you thinking about?" he asked.

She stopped and faced him. "Just how grateful I am that you love me and my son. I'm so glad you are the one I'm supposed to be with."

"I loved him when he was still inside you. I just knew he was supposed to be mine too. I don't know how but I just did." He pulled her against his chest and sighed. "And you, my beautiful wife, it feels like I've loved you forever."

She smiled up at him. "Thank you, honey. I love you too."

"Race you back to the room?" She laughed as he started running and realized she was still standing there. "You coming?"

"Yeah, I'm coming."

….

Beth watched as her mom played with Lane, teaching him pattycake and other games that a toddler found amusing. "I'll be right back, Mom. I need to use the bathroom."

"Ok, Beth."

A few moments later, Grace heard her scream. "MOM!"

Grace put Lane in his play yard and ran in to find Beth. "Honey, where are you?"

"Bathroom. Mom, I'm bleeding. Oh my God. Please, I can't lose this baby girl."

Grace let the slip of gender go. "I'm calling an ambulance."

"No, just take me to the hospital, please."

On the way, Grace called Jack and after he calmed down, he said he would meet them there. She also called Charlotte to come get Lane.

Beth rubbed her belly as the baby fluttered inside, tears rolling down her cheek.

"Sweetheart, whatever happens, it will be ok."

"No, it won't. If I lose her…"

Grace took her hand and held it, grateful the hospital was only a few miles away. Jack waited by the door as Grace pulled up to the emergency room entrance.

He wiped his cheeks and opened Beth's door. He leaned in and kissed her. "Its going to be ok." He gently scooped her into his arms as if she weighed only a feather, and walked in through the doors.

There was a wheelchair and a nurse waiting to take her in. He set her down in the chair and held her hand as they walked into triage to be evaluated.

"Elizabeth, my name is Andrea. How are you feeling?"

"I'm so scared. Please save her."

"Oh, a girl? Alright. Let's see what's going on. How much pain are you in?"

"I'm not in any pain."

"But you're bleeding, correct?"

"Yeah. There wasn't any cramping or anything. Just blood."

"How many weeks are you?"

"Almost twenty two."

"Have you felt the baby move at all today?"

"Yes, on the way here. That's a good sign, right? I mean, she's still alive."

"Elizabeth, let's do some tests and we will get to the bottom of this." The nurse took a blood sample and her pressure. "Ok, sweetie. Let's get you into a gown, maybe your husband can help you and then we will get you in to get an ultrasound."

Within ten minutes, she had been wheeled into the ultrasound room and they waited for a technician to join them. Jack sat next to her in a chair, his head bowed as he prayed hard that his daughter be spared.

"Oh! I can't believe I told you the gender, Jack. I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking."

His head popped up and he smiled through his tears. "I'm glad you told me."

They heard a knock. "Come in," Jack said.

"Hi, folks. Let's see what's going on. My name is Nicole. You're Elizabeth and Jack?"

"Yes."

They watched as Nicole turned the screen away from them. Jack assumed it was because she had been told of their situation and didn't want to give away what she saw on the screen.

Nicole squirted cool blue gel on Beth's tummy and moved the wand around, pressing gently. After a few moments of silence, Nicole turned the screen and pointed. "Elizabeth, Jack, here is your baby. Her heart is beating nice and strong."

Beth immediately started crying and Jack joined her. "Thank you. Can we hear it?"

She pushed a button and then they heard the swish swish of her heartbeat. Beth let out the breath she had been holding.

About an hour later, a doctor examined her and looked at the test results and confirmed why she had experienced bleeding.

"You have a condition called Placenta Previa. What this means is your placenta, or the source of your baby's blood supply and nourishment is lying at the bottom of your uterus and in your case is covering your cervix. This caused the bleeding. Your baby is doing fine and I'd like to monitor you overnight before sending you home. This situation though can be dangerous so you need to be on bedrest until we deliver you by C-section."

"I can't have her naturally?"

"No, the placenta is covering your cervix. You would not be able to deliver her without significant blood loss. A C-section is the only option at this point."

….

Jack stayed with her that night, sleeping in a chair by her bed even though she told him he needed to go home and sleep. There was no way he was going to leave her. He had even asked for the next day, which was Friday, off so he could be with her Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

He watched her as she slept, her arm cradling the baby. He had never been so scared before, not even when he had been shot last Christmas. That was him and now he knew how Beth had felt, worrying over losing him. He stood and walked over and kissed her forehead before stepping out to use the restroom.

When he came back, Beth was awake. "Hey."

"Hey yourself," he responded with a smile. "Why are you up?"

"I need to use the bathroom."

He picked her up and carried her into the bathroom and then back again. "Can I lay with you?"

"Please. I miss you next to me." He laid down next to her and she moved toward him. "I'm glad you stayed."

"I can't leave you, Beth. You or our daughter. I need to make sure you are ok."

"What do you think of the name Natalie Hope?" she asked, threading her fingers through his.

"I think it's perfect." Hope was a middle name that now meant so much to him. At times when things were difficult, sometimes hope and each other were all they had to cling to so they didn't get lost. "I was scared, Beth. More than I have ever been before." She wiped away a tear from his cheek.

"I was too. Feeling the fluttering when she moves…it makes me love her even more. I know she is alive and moving and okay right now. I have to hold on to that and remember that being in bed for the next four months is going to be worth it to have her with us."

He nodded and rested his hand on her belly, hoping to feel movement, even thought it would probably be another month before he could. "I love you, Beth."

"I love you too."

…..

Julie and Tom flew home the next day and drove right to Jack and Beth's, knowing Lane was with Charlotte and Tom Sr. but wanting to see Beth before heading there.

They knocked on the door and waited. A moment later Jack opened the door. "Hey, if it isn't the newlyweds."

They hugged each other and then Julie headed into the bedroom to see Beth.

"Hey, bro, how are you holding up?"

"Barely. Tom, I have never been so scared before in my life."

"I know. I remember when Julie was put on bedrest. She called me on her way home and I freaked out. It was like my stomach dropped to my toes and I couldn't breathe."

"It's a girl, Tom. I'm having a daughter. I can't even believe it."

"She told you?"

"It kind of slipped out in the ER. But I'm glad she told me. Natalie Hope. Isn't that a perfect name?"

….

Upstairs, Julie sat next to Beth on the bed. "So, you had to copy me, didn't you?" Julie teased. "Bedrest? Come on, think of something more original next time."

"Stop. Tell me about your honeymoon. I've never been to the Keys before."

"It was amazing. The water was so blue and so warm. We walked on the beach a lot and it was so romantic."

"Maybe Jack and I can go someday. That would be a nice vacation."

"Maybe."

"Jack knows the baby is a girl. I kind of slipped and mentioned it in the hospital."

"Oops. Well, you made it two weeks. That's more than I thought you would."

"What? I was planning on keeping that secret." Julie got really serious then.

"Is she ok? Are you?"

"Yeah. I can only get up to use the bathroom, but with Jack here, he insists on carrying me in there. And I have to have a C-Section."

"Oh gosh, Beth. That is so scary."

"Yeah. It is."

"Who's going to stay with you during the day?"

"Charlotte said she would and then she would just go home when Jack gets home at night."

"I can do it on my days off too."

"Thanks, Julie, but you might want to be at home sometimes too. Laundry, cleaning, taking care of Lane. You don't need to take care of me too."

"I want to help, Beth, so I will be here too."

"Ok." She saw the look in Julie's eyes and realized she was scared too. She took Julie's hand and squeezed, laying her head on Julie's shoulder. "It will be good to spend time with you too."

Jack and Tom walked in a few minutes later and both girls were sleeping so they headed back out to the kitchen deciding to let them sleep.