A/N: I'm trying to squeeze another chapter out of me to keep me alive. Grr, it must be brain allergies.

Springtime came at last. Flowers bloomed again. The snow drifts vanished. Life began to regenerate in Shermer. Allison, in the meantime, felt worse day by day, hearing Andy's words (and to a lesser extent, Liz's words) echo in the back of her mind. Andy was right. She was shutting him out because life had been going so well for awhile. Allison had finally felt secure as well. And Liz, (man, where did she keep COMING from, anyways?) well, Liz was right in her own selfish way. Allison was beginning to take security for granted. She was taking Andy for granted. She wasn't in love with him anymore, but he still wanted to do something for her…share the responsibility. And as far as life…well, no life could ever be perfect, let alone hers. By late April, her mind was just as exhausted as her body thinking on those matters. She hadn't seen Liz or Andy since. Liz had mentioned that she was giving up on chasing after Bender anyways, and Allison had trashed Andy pretty badly. She'd ruined her chance.

As for Bender, it was only by April 25th that he found the chance to move himself out of the old firehouse he lived in. He could be with Allison all the time once he packed up and moved out of his cold bomb-shelter room.

Bender, unlike Allison, was finding himself in a constant state of uncharacteristic bliss. For once, he didn't totally hate life. He had a nice job, a girl who loved him, and he loved her in return. He smoked weed and drank less, he just didn't see the need for them and their emotion-numbing magic anymore. Ernie had pointed out that he was less hostile towards others. And although he wouldn't admit it, for the first time in his life, he actually enjoyed getting up in the morning to the sun hitting his face. Bender wasn't quite used to the feeling yet, but he was still acting realistic about his new stage of life instead of melting all over it like Brian would. At any moment, it could collapse. He needed to be on his guard for Allison's sake as well as his own.

April 25th was an unseasonably warm, muggy, overcast day. Clouds loomed to the west and threatened major rain. Allison had been feeling a little more tired than usual that morning, so Bender promised that he'd come back to the apartment by dinnertime. He took a few boxes from downstairs (it was a Sunday, so the garage was closed except for the key Ernie had given Bender) and took Ernie's old pickup truck to his house to pack up as much as he could. Although, he wouldn't have been surprised if Jack and Roxanne had pawned off most of it for booze and bowling money.

Bender, upon getting downstairs into his basement room, took a deep look around the place, laced with a negative energy that made bender shiver. He'd lived 18 years of his life in this pitch-black rabbit-hole, listening to the sounds of Jack kicking the crap out of Roxanne and smashing lamps above his head. The room suddenly seemed so much smaller than it had 8 months ago. The old futon on which he slept suddenly seemed so much thinner when he laid down upon it than before. The air seemed so much colder. Bender knew he could never live another night down there again. He was too liberated now. Too late to turn back.

And he was more than ready to step into the open air once again. His room was suffocating him. After Bender sighed to himself, he went to the dresser by his futon and began shoveling clothes into the boxes. He didn't even bother to fold them up. Bender's intention was to throw a lot of his old flannel shirts out or sell them at a flea market and use the money to buy more decent clothes. After all, he was going to be raising a baby soon.

Suddenly, Bender froze. That last thought paralyzed him. He was going to be raising a baby with Allison! She was going into her 8th month. He was going to be a father. Not a biological father, but the he was going to be the closest thing to a father that kid was going to know. If he married Allison, then he could adopt the kid and then he'd even be a legal father…

...WHOA! Now he was thinking MARRIAGE? John Bender, prankster extraordinaire and criminal deluxe, was thinking of marriage and fatherhood at 18? Bender could hardly believe himself. Looking in his small mirror he kept on his dresser, bender studied his face. He always had a rounder face, but something in his eyes made him shiver. Bender looked different. Not necessarily in a bad way. The bags beneath his eyes were gone. His skin seemed brighter. His ears even seemed perkier, his lisp were redder, and they didn't pout so much. Was he afraid? What had happened to him?

Suddenly, it hit him. He'd grown up.

And his heart hadn't died.

Bender smiled to himself in the mirror like a big cornball. Not a wide smile. He didn't even show any teeth. But Bender suddenly felt a wave of self-actualization flow through him. He wouldn't end up like his dad. Allison wouldn't end up like Roxanne. Her son wouldn't end up like him. Everything suddenly fell into place, and Bender knew that in the end, everything would work out. He'd never felt this optimistic before. It was an odd feeling. It made him feel awkward.

"Where the hell have you been, boy?"

Bender shot to his feet and turned around. Jack Bender, who stood 7 inches above Bender and was twice ad big around, was standing in the doorway. He held an empty Corona bottle in his hand and a weird look on his face. "I ain't seen you in weeks," Jack remarked. Bender took a step forward and avoided looking Jack in the eye.

"I'm moving out, Dad," Bender said.

"For Chissakes!" Jack moaned. "You're gonna end up on welfare!"

"Well, it's not like I'm much fun around here, Pop!" Bender said. Jack took a step forward.

"You watch your trap, Johnny, or I'll wipe it off your face so fast you won't have time to holler!"

Bender felt another wave of bravery rise up in him, and he couldn't control it. "I'm moving in with my girlfriend, Dad."

Jack looked like Bender had just flipped him the bird. "What did you say, boy?"

"She's having a baby and she needs me," Bender said blankly. "I'm not your burden anymore."

"You knocked her up?!" Jack suddenly yelled. He took a swing with his beer bottle at Bender, who reflexively ducked. Bender, finding a hole, drove behind Jack and bolted upstairs. Jack followed him up into the den. Roxanne wasn't home from Hooters yet, so she wasn't going to get in the middle of it.

"I'm gonna teach you a lesson, boy!" Jack screamed, going for the attack again, this time only narrowly missing Bender, who fell behind the TV and tried to keep his balance by grabbing a lamp.

He knew this could turn ugly if he didn't scram, and fast.

Meanwhile, outside, Ms. Talula Burke was walking her Chihuahua down the street when she heard a crash from the old refurbished firehouse she was just walking past. She whipped her head around quickly. In the window, the silhouette of two men…one much heavier than the other, fighting, hitting, and running noisily around the house. The situation didn't look good. Ms. Burke didn't know who lived there, but it sounded like someone could get VERY hurt in there. Luckily, there was a pay phone across the street. Mr. Burke picked up her Chihuahua and ran to the payphone, dialing 911 with incredible speed.

"Hello, operator? There's something going on in a house…it looks like domestic violence…yes, that's right, at 32484 Virgo Terrace…it looks pretty bad…please hurry…"

Wanting to walk off some of the odd feelings she was having, Allison decided to take a walk despite the threat of rain. No one was on the streets that day, so she walked down the road by herself. She had a lot of time to think. The baby felt like it was just going to rip through her skin any minute because it was getting so big, and as a result, Allison had to resort to more of a waddle rather than a straight-backed walk.

She stopped as she saw a coincidental sight from further down the sidewalk. Andy, who still hadn't gathered up the nerve to leave Shermer and return to Kenosha, was looking into a thrift-shop window at a display of vintage baby carriages and highchairs. Allison sighed and walked up next to Andy.

"That one, that highchair looks like its 70 years old," she said softly. Andy was unresponsive. "Wouldn't it break under a baby's weight?" Allison asked.

Andy nodded. "No," he said unemotionally. "That wood's really sturdy. A three year old could probably sit in it."

Allison nodded. "John made one himself a few weeks ago to save some money. It's great. He'd got a good hand at woodwork."

Andy nodded again. "I bet you two are really happy together."

Allison sighed gently. "Andy, look, you were right. I wasn't being fair to you. I am having your son, and you legally share his life with me, so I can't shut you out. If you want to stay and Shermer and raise him with me, then that makes things all the better."

"Can't Bender adopt him once he's born?"

Allison softly touched Andy's shoulder. "Only if we get married, and I don't think either of us want that right now," Allison replied. "He's just sticking around to see that my baby and I are safe and happy."

"I know you two are in love," Andy said. "I appreciate how you replaced me so soon," Andy said back. Allison knitted her eyebrows.

"Andy, that's not fair!" Allison moaned. "You moved on pretty quickly too, from what your brother Adam told me," she said.

"What does that clown know?" Andy hissed. "Don't trust that moron and what he says!"

"Why shouldn't I?' asked Allison. "He's a lot like you."

That immediately shut Andy up. Andy gave Allison a look of hurt and shock, spun on his heel and walked away from her. Allison groaned. There was no getting through to that man!

Allison felt something inside her drop into her abdomen. Figuring she was feeling depressed or downhearted, she decided she needed to get inside before the rain started.

But because she was mentally full to bursting, Allison quickly lost track of time and place. She wandered aimlessly throughout the deserted Shermer streets (cars weren't even passing by) for at least another hour.

When, with absolutely no warning, something inside her suddenly immobilized Allison's legs. A bolt of fire traveled up her spine. It wasn't strong, but whatever it was, it startled Allison so much that she gave a little 'yelp' as she grabbed hold of the nearest wall. She felt an urge to cry out. Her thighs were aching. Allison couldn't believe it. It was too soon for her to give birth, and wasn't the water supposed to break first or something? It had to be something else. Allison sat down on the pavement and clutched her swollen belly.

Allison felt the pain go away after 30 seconds, and she could walk again. But looking up, she realized she wasn't anywhere near the garage, or anyplace familiar to her. AND, to top it all off, it was beginning to rain a little bit. As Allison got to her feet, she looked down at the ground and stared at the puddle of water marking where she'd just been sitting. It wasn't raining hard enough for there to be puddles yet.

That wasn't a good sign.

Liz, having just emerged from her house after enduring another confrontation with her father, was also walking down Main Street that day. She tussled her blonde hair behind her and kicked a rock she'd found sitting on the sidewalk. Maybe she needed to move out on her own. Every day her father was pushing her harder and harder to be someone she wasn't. Her father thought she was a happy, popular, smart, funny girl. Liz, however, had succumbed to the pressure and began to fall into a downward spiral. Most people thought Liz was a heartless bitch who just appeared in random places to butt in to peoples' lives. The only reasons she butted in was because she had nowhere else to go. After her mother abandoned her and her father began depending more on her to be her own mother, Liz grew more and more arrogant on the outside. No one was to know about her less-than-perfect home life. No one cared anyways.

It began raining heavily after a few minutes, but she was wearing a raincoat, so she didn't bother running inside. Instead, she heard a peculiar sound. It sounded like a cross between a moan and a shout. Liz jumped backwards in surprise. What WAS that?

"Hello?" she called out cautiously. She reached for her backpack, which held a small switchblade she carried around with her for defense purposes. "Who's there?"

Li heard the noise again. The rain began pouring harder. Liz decided to follow the noise. It sounded pretty pathetic. Whatever or whoever it was, it wasn't going to hurt her.

"Hey! Who is it?" Liz shouted to be heard above the rain. She saw a big black heap about 20 feet in front of her. She knew that heap, too.

"Who's there?" asked Allison. Liz ran up beside her. "I can't get inside, it hurts too much!"

"What does?" asked Liz. Not that she gave a damn.

"I think I'm going into labor early," Allison said. "I can't walk, and I can't get inside," she explained.

Liz nodded and didn't say another word. She turned on her heel and ran down the street. One of those businesses had to leave their doors unlocked on Sundays…

Liz began yanking on doors on the block. Finally, she found success. A small pizzeria door was unlock, even though it was closed. Liz ran quickly back to Allison and started heaving her to her feet.

"Common, contractions don't hurt ALL the time!" Liz grumbled. "WORK with me!"

Allison did the best she could in getting to her feet and moving with Liz until Liz got Allison out of the rain and into the pizza shop. Liz went behind the desk and looked for a phone. "I'll call an ambulance—"

"—NO!" said Allison. "Give me the phone, I need to call John first!"