"He has an concussion," the emergency room physician told Natalie. "It's only a mild one, but we'll need to keep him overnight for observation."

Natalie looked at her husband, who was lying back in bed in a hospital gown with his hands behind his head and a bemused expression on his face. "I guess I can live with that," he said.

"I'm just relieved it's not more serious." Natalie was disappointed that Ralph wouldn't be able to go home that day.

"You're the one I'm worried about," said Ralph. "Do you feel all right? You know you're supposed to go home and rest. I'll be OK here. Don't worry about me."

"I'll go home in a bit," Natalie replied. "I just want to make sure you're gonna be all right first."

Ralph smiled. Although he was concerned for the health of his wife and unborn child, he was happy at the prospect of enjoying Natalie's company for a couple of hours. She stayed at his side for a good part of the afternoon, then went home to rest. She debated whether or not to call any of his family members to tell them what had happened and then decided to leave it up to him.

The following morning she was alarmed to see that she'd bled into her panties overnight. She called Dr. Barber's office and spoke to his nurse. "It's nothing to worry about," the nurse assured her. "Sometimes that happens when the needle goes through the placenta."

Relieved, Natalie drove to the hospital to collect Ralph. "Does your head still hurt?" she asked him.

"Not at all. I'm good as new." He placed his hand on her abdomen. "Is everything all right with you and the little one?"

"We're fine."

"I say we blow this joint, then."

Ralph returned to his dry cleaning business, Natalie to her job, and everything was fine for several days, until one evening when Natalie heard the doorbell ring. She looked through the peep hole and saw that, to her dismay, her visitor was Claudia Petronski.

"Thanks for a wonderful time," Blair told Travis as they kissed good-bye at the airport.

"Thank you very much for coming," he replied. "I enjoyed our visit very much."

"See you soon," said Blair as she reluctantly let go of him. Flying back home alone, she wondered what Adam and Alyssa's reaction would be to the news that they would be moving to California. She remembered the dismay they'd expressed upon the move to Oklahoma City and had attributed it to, at least in part, their parents' divorce and the loss of the original family unit. Although they'd both adjusted reasonably well to the slower pace of life in the mid west, she'd been able to tell that neither one of them was really happy, and she knew that if she was honest with herself, neither was she. The souring of the relationship with Joe Hanadarko had been the last straw. Meeting and falling in love with Travis had been just the impetus she'd needed to make another major change in her life.

"I don't believe it!" Jo exclaimed. "But you only just got here barely a year ago!"

"I know, but Oklahoma City just isn't for me," Blair replied. "I know you enjoy things like fishing and camping yourself, and that's fine for you, but the pace here is just too slow for me, and after seeing Hollywood, I know I could never go back to it. I'm really sorry, but this is just something I have to do."

"But I'm gonna miss you so much!" Jo was near tears.

"I know, and I'm gonna miss you too. At least there's the internet, huh?"

"Yeah," Jo muttered. Depressed, she hung the telephone up. Doug, who was playing the little piggies with Bethany, glanced at her. "Blair's moving to California," she told him.

"That was sure fast! She met him less than six months ago, and already she's moving to be with him."

"She says the pace of life around here's too slow for her. I've always been able to tell she's not really happy here."

"Aw." Doug scooted closer to his wife on the sofa and gave her a comforting hug. "I know you're gonna miss her."

"Yeah. It was great having her here for awhile, though."

"Well, at least you've still got your friends here, and you'll make more."

"I know. Grace and Rhetta and the others are all nice, but they just can't quite take the place of the girls I went to high school with."

"I know the feelin'. I'm still pretty close to a couple of my old high school buddies, too." Doug wished that he could think of a way to cheer his wife up, but he just couldn't.

"If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself," Claudia declared as she barged into the living room. "I can't have my son lying in the hospital with a concussion if there's anything I can do about it, can I? Never mind, darling, I'm here now, so nothing like that will ever happen again. Not to mention I have to make sure my grandson gets here safely, don't I?" She patted Natalie's belly for emphasis.

"But Natalie wasn't even driving when it happened!" Ralph spluttered. "And besides, it was the other driver's fault. She stepped on the accelerator instead of the brake by mistake. There was nothing I could have done."

"Never mind about all that. I'm here now, and I'm staying until my grandson gets here safe and sound." Ralph and Natalie exchanged incredulous looks, and Ralph saw that there were tears in his wife's eyes.