"How're you feeling?"

"Not good."

"Well hopefully time is on our side, we got here quickly."

"Dr. McGuire should be back soon with some news. She's been gone for so long."

"Be patient."

The couple had arrived at the hospital at what Courtney believed must've been record speed. An ER doctor did a quick examination before deeming her okay to be checked into a room. Almost immediately after being checked into a room, Dr. McGuire entered. She hooked Courtney up to IVs and drew some blood to run some quick tests to figure out what her mystery illness was. Dr. McGuire had taken one look at Courtney and her utter exhaustion and knew she didn't have a cold. She entered the room devoid of her usually sunny disposition.

"Courtney. Duncan. I have some bad news," she turned to Courtney. "You don't have a cold, although that's probably how it started off, you have the flu. You obviously haven't been resting properly which has led to your exhaustion and you mentioned you've been extremely stressed recently. The exhaustion has made it completely impossible for your body, for your immune system, to fight it off."

Dr. McGuire paused as she looked at the confused couple in front of her. They obviously were scared and had no idea where this was leading.

"So keeping in mind your near lack of immunity, total exhaustion, and illness, I don't want to risk you trying to deliver the baby naturally."

"Wait," Courtney interrupted. "I have to have my baby tonight? I'm only seven months. An early seven months at that."

"I'm sorry Courtney."

"So where do we go from here?" Duncan questioned solemnly.

"Well, because you are sick there is a very high possibility your baby is sick too."

Courtney and Duncan audibly gasped.

"Keeping in mind your problems and the anticipated problems of having a sick, premature baby, I've ordered an emergency C-section. We're going to take you in to surgery in about ten minutes, okay?"

Courtney nodded, tears shining in her eyes.

"Can I go in with her?"

Dr. McGuire smiled at Duncan before responding, "Of course. I figured you'd want to, so we have scrubs set up for you before you enter the operating room. I'll be back in bit."

Once she left the room, Courtney let out a choked sob that she had been holding back.

"Court, don't cry. This is all going to pass and we'll have a beautiful baby, okay?"

"But you don't know that. You heard her; it's very likely our baby is sick on top of being premature. I've read the statistics that's not good at all. And it's entirely my fault again. I'm so sorry, so sorry."

"No, don't apologize because you have nothing to be sorry for," Duncan encouraged, holding her face between his hands and wiping her tears away. "Things like this happen and you can't do anything, you just have to accept it and pray."

Courtney nodded half-heartedly.

"Baby, it's our time. Everything will be fine."

"Duncan," Courtney whispered, looking like a lost little girl, "I'm so scared."

"Of what, honey?"

"Everything. The unknown, the possibility of loosing our baby, the surgery…you have to be prepared to make a decision, baby."

"What are you talking about?" He knew exactly what she was insinuating, but didn't want to think about it.

"If something were to go wrong the surgeon or Dr. McGuire is going to ask you," she took a shaky breath, "who you want to save. I want you to pick the baby."

"No. I refuse to live without you."

"Duncan please!"

"No, God forbid something happens to the baby, Courtney we'll try again or adopt. We'll figure something out, but I am not losing you."

"Duncan, I don't know if I can handle another…"

"Don't even think like that. Stay positive."

The door opened then, revealing Dr. McGuire.

"We're ready for you Courtney."

They began to wheel Courtney out and down the hall, Duncan's hand clutching hers like a lifeline. When they reached the door Duncan leaned down and kissed her, trying to put everything he felt for her and everything he had left unsaid into it.

"Stay strong. I'm gonna be with you the whole time and when you wake up we're gonna have a beautiful baby."

"Okay honey. Always remember no matter what, I love you, Ogre."

Duncan smiled through his tears. "I love you too my Princess."

He was able to kiss her one last time before they wheeled her into the operating room. The first set of double doors hadn't even closed before Duncan ran in to put on his scrubs.

Hours later, the Evers were blessed with a beautiful, albeit very sick, baby girl. She was fourteen inches and weighed just two pounds and one ounce. Her home would be an incubator and the doctor's, and Duncan and Courtney, were praying that she survived the night.

The little girl was very ill with most of her problems stemming from the heart. She had a murmur and three holes in her heart, along with bronchopulmonary dysplasia, and a hernia.

It hurt Courtney, who was still dazed from the surgery, and Duncan that neither of them could hold their new baby, that she had to be trapped in the incubator in an effort to keep her alive. They were permitted to go to the neonatal wing of the hospital to visit, but the most they could do was stick a finger through a small slot on the incubator and have their baby girl ever so weakly hold their finger.

They prayed hard for their baby girl to survive and tried to send her their love.

1:36 a.m. on November 23 would be a moment in time Duncan and Courtney would forever have engrained in their memories. It was the day they became parents to their amazing, beautiful daughter, Ella Rose Evers.

A/N: Fun Fact about me, all of the health problems, weight, size, etc. of Court and Duncan's new baby were what I was born with, so yes they are all real problems. Stay tuned for more and keep up the reviews!