"What do you want me to do?"

"I want you to sit down. What part of that don't you understand Courtney? You're gonna get yourself sick."

"Really Duncan, you're just blowing this way out of proportion, just like you do with everything else."

"I can take care of myself, I don't need you hovering."

"Hovering? You think this is hovering? Oh, you haven't seen anything yet," Courtney promised. "Why don't you try to rotate your neck?"

Duncan's casual stare turned into an icy glare as Courtney smiled smugly.

"That's what I thought."

It had been five days since Duncan had been released from the hospital and ordered to "take it easy." Five excruciatingly long and miserable days. Courtney's nurturing instincts had kicked into hyper drive and she wouldn't let Duncan out of her sight for longer than a couple of seconds. Duncan insisted on wrapping his own injuries, no matter how hard it was or how much it hurt, and Courtney begrudgingly allowed him to, but only after she cleaned them and applied medication.

Over the five days since he was put in her care Duncan and Courtney had been at each others throats. Courtney's constant attention was driving him insane; he couldn't even go to the bathroom without her knocking on the door to make sure he was okay. On the flipside, Duncan couldn't seem to get Courtney to see his side of the argument: that all of her fussing over him would exhaust her and stress her out, thus possibly injuring her or the baby or both.

It turned out he was correct and Courtney had been battling what they hoped was a very bad cold that she just couldn't seem to shake. She had had it for at least a week, with no signs of getting better. She was worried, stressed, and beyond exhaustion.

The situation only brought out and showcased the stubbornness of both parties.

The juvenile detention center where Duncan worked hoped to get the disturbed, angry boy who had assaulted him, Billy Williams, tried as an adult and sent to prison where he could hopefully be straightened out. They had a strong case to present to court because the entire incident had been caught on one of the facility's many surveillance cameras. All the company had asked Duncan to do was to sign an explanation of the event to bring to court; if they played their cards right he wouldn't even have to appear in the courtroom, let alone testify. The best part of the whole terrible ordeal was that, thanks to the injuries he sustained, Duncan received one month off with pay.

Hours later, after the couple had eaten dinner, they sat on the couch trying to indulge in the mindless activity of watching television and still trying to wind down and cool off from their prior little argument.

"Have you heard anything else about the devil?"

"His name is Billy," Duncan sighed. "And no."

"I refuse to call him by a human name when he is so obviously devoid of the things that make you a human, like self-preservation, anger management, the proper emotional, physical, and mental responses to situations, and, of course, empathy for the wrongs you have done to others," Courtney ranted.

"Ugh, just stop."

Courtney looked at him, stunned.

"What do you mean?"

"Just stop bashing this kid you don't even know." Duncan put special emphasis on the word 'kid.'

"Stop bashing? He could've killed you, Duncan. At this point how can you even think of forgiving the little ingrate?"

"I didn't say I forgive him."

"Well that's what it sounded like to me."

"Were you not listening to a word I just said? Stop."

Put-off by his attitude and, although she would never admit it, hurt by his words, Courtney silently turned to the television. The two watched television in an angry silence for the span of at least two shows, until Duncan broke the unnerving quiet, his voice barely above a whisper.

"The kid made a mistake. Obviously a huge one, but still; he's going to pay for it and I just hope he's strong enough to recover and become a productive member of society."

"Why are you defending this kid?"

Sighing, he responded, "Because I could've been that kid. I could've been that kid so easily."

Silence descended on them again because Courtney, for once, didn't know what to say. Eventually, Duncan groaned and gently rubbed his neck unconsciously.

"Do you need more pain killers?"

"I'm fine, can we just watch T.V?"

"Yeah, sure, whatever."

The silence engulfed them and soon became deafening and too much for Courtney to handle. Slowly, she stood up from the couch and wiped invisible lint off of her clothing.

"Well it's certainly been a fun night," she began sarcastically, "and I hate to tear myself away from one of the most riveting conversations I've ever had in my life, but I just can't stand all of this excitement. I'm going to bed."

"Enjoy. Get some sleep; it might do you some good. You look like hell, this cold knocked you on your ass."

Huffing, Courtney waddled to the hall bathroom to get ready for bed and slammed the door shut behind her.

It was several minutes later that Duncan thought he heard a thud against the wooden bathroom door, but he ignored it when he heard the toilet flush seconds after. He didn't have to wait long before the nagging feeling in the back of his mind was confirmed.

"Duncan."

Courtney's voice was muffled through the door, but he could hear the controlled note of panic in it. Without hesitation he bolted from the couch and was standing in the bathroom in no time. He made a quick sweep of the room with his eyes, but was unsure of what he was seeing and how he was supposed to react.

There was nothing amiss with the bathroom itself except for the large puddle of, what he originally thought was water underneath Courtney, who was leaning heavily on the sink with a hand wrapped protectively around her stomach.

"Court—"

"I think my water just broke."

"What? But you can't have the baby now, you're only seven months." The anxiety in Duncan's voice was clear.

"Well it's not my choice, Duncan. Ugh, ow."

"What do we do?"

"Hospital," Courtney said through clenched teeth.

"Ambulance or car?"

"Ambu—oh, ow, ow. Car; it's faster."

Their petty fight now completely forgotten, the two quickly grabbed Courtney's overnight bag, just incase the hospital couldn't stop the impending early labor.

A/N: Over 100 reviews! *does happy dance* Thanks so much you guys! Again, you rock!