Freddie raced into the hospital waiting room, trying to catch his breath. He looked around, trying to see if there was anybody that could help him. He was just about to start to the front desk when he spotted a familiar head of red hair sitting far off in the corner.

"Lauren…" Freddie said breathlessly.

Lauren looked up and stared at her father.

"Lauren," Freddie said, stepping towards her. He was almost ready for her to back away from him again, but he was pleased to see she at least stayed where she was. "Lauren I-I'm so sorry, honey."

"I'm sorry too," Lauren whispered, looking back down. "This is all my fault…Sam went into labor because of me…because I ran away."

"No, Lauren, it-it's not-" Freddie started, but just then, a nurse poked her head out into the waiting room.

"Mr. Benson?"
"Yes, that's-that's me," Freddie nodded. "Is everything okay with my wife? The baby? Is Sam-"

"You can come back and see your wife now," the nurse nodded.

"Um," Freddie started, looking back over at Lauren. "Can she-"

"I'm sorry, but I'm unable to permit more than one person in the room at a time right now," the nurse said apologetically.

"It's okay," Lauren said softly. "I-I'll be waiting out here…Go see Sam."

Freddie still looked unsure.

She gave him a small smile. "Go on…dad."

Hearing that simple word suddenly brought back some of the feeling in his legs, and Freddie returned her smile before turning and running towards the nurse.

"Is Sam okay?" he asked again as he began to follow her down the hospital hallway. "And the baby? I-I know she was six weeks early, but in the pregnancy books I've ready, they all say the baby's fully developed by this point and can survive-"

"Your wife is fine," the nurse assured him as she stopped in front of room 107. "She's sore from the emergency C-section we had to perform, but with a little bit of rest, she'll be good as new."
"And the baby?" Freddie asked desperately.

The nurse gave him a kind smile. "I'll leave that for you to see."
Freddie slowly opened the hospital door, where his eyes instantly landed on Sam. She looked exhausted, but absolutely radiant. She was holding a small bundle of blankets in her arms.

"Sam!" Freddie exclaimed, rushing over to her bedside. "Oh my God, I-I'm so sorry I wasn't here for you! I got here as soon as I could! Are you okay? What about-"

"Shh," Sam said, looking up at him. "You're going to wake her."

"Her?" Freddie said, his eyes widening. "You-You mean-"

"Want to hold your new, perfectly healthy daughter?" Sam beamed.

"Yes!" Freddie nodded at once, holding out his hands as Sam carefully transferred the sleeping infant. "Yes! You-She's-She's really okay?"
"She's small," Sam told him. "About four and-a-half pounds, but she's just fine."

"Wow…" Freddie breathed, looking down at his sleeping child. "She's-She's perfect. Sam, this is amazing…I-I don't even know what to-Wow."

"I know," Sam said. "But…there is one more thing."
"What?" Freddie asked.

"Alright, Mrs. Benson, he's all cleaned up now," a nurse said, walking over to Sam with another blanket. "Would you like to hold your new son?"

"Son?" Freddie repeated. "Did-Did she just say-"

Sam held out her arms and the nurse gently laid down the sleeping newborn boy in her arms.

"That's right," Sam nodded, a tear falling from her eyes as she smiled up at him. "We had twins. Two healthy babies…It's unbelievable."

Freddie craned his neck to get a good look at his new son. "A daughter and a son? That's so-I can't-I don't-How-"

"I know," Sam nodded, kissing the top of the child's head. "I know."

….

Several hours later, the entire Benson family was sitting in Sam's hospital room. Once Sam had gotten a little more rest, the nurse had finally allowed Lauren to join, and Freddie had ran to Mrs. Fielding's home to pick up Heather.

"Pretty neat, huh?" Sam said to Heather as the toddler stared down into the plastic cribs at her bedside. "You get a baby brother and baby sister."

"They really little," Heather observed.

"I know," Sam chuckled. "But they're going to grow up to be big just like you soon."

"What there names?" Heather asked.

"Er, we haven't quite gotten there, yet," Sam admitted. "We're still deciding. But daddy and I are definitely going to have their names picked out by the time they come home in two days, right Freddie?"

"That's right," Freddie nodded, smiling down at his newborn children. He still couldn't believe they were both healthy and alright.

I have twins, Freddie thought to himself. Sam's going to be alright…It's really been one heck of a day.

And then he glanced across the room at Lauren, who was watching Sam and Heather admiring the twins, a guilty and confused look still etched on her face.

Freddie glanced at Sam who seemed to at once get what he was trying to communicate to her. She gave him a small nod.

Freddie took a deep breath and walked over to Lauren.

"Okay Lauren," he said heavily. "I think the two of us need to have a little talk."
Lauren didn't reply.

"Come on," Freddie said gently.

"Alright," Lauren agreed, slowly getting to her feet.

The two left Sam's room and headed down the hallway, not saying a word to each other. Freddie stopped outside what looked to be an empty conference room. Hoping nobody would need to use it for a while, he pushed open the door.

"In here," he told Lauren.

The teen stepped into the room and sat down at the mahogany table. Freddie sat down next to he.

For a moment, neither said anything. Then Freddie reached into his pocket and pulled out a slip of paper. He handed it to Lauren.

Frowning, Lauren unfolded the slip.

"Mitchel Stellings?" Lauren read. "What's this?"

"That," Freddie said. "Is the name of your biological father."
Lauren's eyes widened.

"That's all I know about him, though," Freddie said. "Just his name."
Lauren looked up at him. "Why are you giving me this?"

"Just in case you decide you-you ever want to meet him," Freddie said. "Look…I-I can understand you wanting to know where you came from. And-And if you want to find this guy, I-I can try and help you find him. You can maybe call your mom…she used to work with him; she might know where he wound up."
Lauren glanced back down at the name.

"You-You also probably have a lot of questions to ask me," Freddie said.

"Yeah," Lauren nodded. "I-I do."
"Well let's hear them."
"How long have you known?" Lauren asked.

"Not for-Not for the whole time," Freddie said. "I found out when you were around five. I-I did the same thing you did…I had two samples of our hair matched against each other."

"So mom had an affair?"

"Yes," Freddie said. "Yes, um, she did."

"And…you found out right around the time you guys got divorced," Lauren said slowly. "Was-Was it because-"

"That-That played a big part in it, yes," Freddie nodded. "But it wasn't the only thing. Your mom and I just didn't love each other…it would've ended between us eventually no matter what."

Lauren nodded.

"Anything else?" Freddie asked.

"Why-Why did you never tell me?" Lauren asked. "If you knew for ten years…why didn't you tell me sooner?"

Freddie sighed. "Because I was stupid enough to think if I just ignored that fact…it would just go away. Lauren, you don't realize how much it killed me when I found out. From the second your mom told me she was pregnant with you, I-I loved you more than anything. I-I was so excited and overwhelmed when I found out I was going to be a father and that I was going to have a daughter. And then, to find out that I had been living a lie for so many years…well, you saw today. It-It hurts, doesn't it?"

"Yeah," Lauren said softly. "It does."

"I always knew that I'd have to tell you sooner or later," Freddie sighed. "But-But it was just so much easier to keep pushing it off. It was wrong of me, I know, but…I couldn't help myself. I was afraid of what you'd think."

Lauren didn't reply.

"But listen to me," Freddie said. "No matter what genetics says, I love you. I've loved you as my daughter since the second you came into this world, and I'll keep loving you as my daughter until the end of time. You'll always be just as much my child as Heather and the twins. I just need you to know that, Lauren. Please."

"I-I do know that," Lauren told him. "And-And you-you've done so much for me…you've always been there. That-That's more than mom or-or this Mitchel Stellings guy can say. You-You'll always be my dad, daddy, whether you're biologically related to me or not."

Freddie's face broke out into the biggest grin Lauren had ever seen. "That feels so good to hear you say, sweetie."

He held out his arms for her and he quickly pulled her into a warm embrace.

"I'm sorry I ran off," Lauren whispered, and Freddie could feel her tears sliding onto his shoulder. "I'm sorry I said those things to you…I didn't mean them. I love you."

"I know," Freddie told her gently. "I know. You were in shock…I get it."

"And I'm sorry I caused all of this," Lauren continued. "It's all my fault we're here in this hospital. I'm the one who caused Sam to go into labor so early."
"Oh honey, you-you can't worry about that now," Freddie said. "Sam's fine and the babies are fine and-"

"But it's still my fault!" Lauren cried.

"Sweetie, I don't blame you at all for this," Freddie said. "And neither does Sam. In fact, before you came into her hospital room, she was telling me if you hadn't called for the ambulance, she probably would've had to deliver in the middle of our living room, and then there could've been trouble. She said she wouldn't have been get to her phone on her own, she was in so much pain."

"She wouldn't have needed me to call the ambulance if I didn't-"

"Lauren, it's okay," Freddie said firmly. "You had just gotten some really intense news…Any kid would've done what you did. But unlike most kids, you came back home. I-I was so sure you were going to go out to your mom."

"I thought about it," Lauren admitted. "But-But in the end…I realized I couldn't leave you and Sam and Heather. Not for someone who, well, um, you know…"

Freddie gave her one last hug. "I'm glad you came back. I don't know what I'd do without you."

Lauren smiled up at him. "I don't know what I'd do without you either."

The two pulled apart.

"So," Freddie asked, staring at the paper in Lauren's hand. "Are-Are you going to try to find him then? Your-Your real father?"
Lauren shook her head. "Why would I have to do that? I already know where he is. Right here."