Chapter Eight:

Tony had been pacing in his living room for about an hour now. Roger was almost half an hour late! He had tried all the romantic places he'd taken her previously, the beach, again, the park, and any place he could think of, with no such luck. He'd only hoped that Roger had found her.

Right when he was about to lose all hope, the front door opened. Tony's face fell when only Roger walked in, however, it quickly lit back up when Jeannie soon followed behind him.

'Jeannie!' He exclaimed, running towards her, and engulfing her in a big, but gentle hug.

'I've been so worried about you! I'm so sorry for what I did, but I was desperate and I love you so much, I-'

'Anthony, it's ok.' Jeannie gently interrupted him, hugging him back tightly.

'I'll, uh, leave you two kids to talk.' Roger said, heading towards the door with a smile, really happy to see them back together.

'Thanks, Roge.'

Roger nodded, and then left without another word, while Tony and Jeannie continued to hold onto each other.

Finally, after about a minute, they let go.

'Look, Jeannie. We really do need to talk.'

Jeannie nodded; her eyes cast downwards, 'I know.'

Tony took her hand and led her to the couch, and quickly got straight to the point.

'I need to know how you're feeling, because as much you try to pretend otherwise, you're not fine, and I don't expect you to be.'

Tony waited patiently for her to gather her thoughts. He knew she was scared and nervous about this conversation by the way she wouldn't meet his eyes, and kept fidgeting with a tassel on one of the cushions.

'Do you blame me for what happened?' She asked, quieter than he'd ever heard her before. He almost fell off the couch when she asked. Whatever she was about to say, that was the last thing expected.

'Wh-what? Why would you think I'd blame you?'

'Because I blame myself.'

'I want you to listen to me, Jeannie. Nothing that happened was your fault. I don't care that you think you could have done to prevent it. If anything, it was my fault. And I'm sorry for that, Jeannie.'

'Why would you think it's your fault? You weren't even there, Anthony.'

'Exactly, I should have been. If I was any kind of decent husband, I would have left early and taken you home. I wish I could change that night, Jeannie, I really do, but I can't, and for that I am truly sorry.'

'Anthony, there was nothing you could have done, so stop blaming yourself!'

'I don't think I can, Jeannie. Just like I know you can't.'

Jeannie said nothing, as she knew he was right. No matter what anyone else said, she would always blame herself for losing the baby.

Jeannie hadn't cried once about the loss of their baby, but suddenly, her body decided it was time she did. Tears started to slip down her cheeks slowly, and then her whole body started shaking, wracked with sobs.

'Oh, Jeannie.' Tony couldn't stand seeing her like this, but as much as it sounded horrible, he was glad she was finally letting it all out. He put his arms around her and pulled her in for a comforting hug, and she just all but collapsed into them.

Jeannie was always so very affectionate, and was also usually the one to initiate it (though since they had been married, he had become more affectionate), but this was the closest they had been since the accident, and that broke his heart to admit that. She had been so distant and withdrawn, that any attempt he had made to get close to her had been futile. He didn't think they had even shared a kiss in the three weeks since it had happened, and that told Tony just how much she was hurting. Since they had met, Jeannie hadn't gone a day (except for those times they had been separated) without placing those sweet, soft lips on his own.

Tony had been so lost in thought, he hadn't realised that the sound of Jeannie's sobs had ceased, she had fallen asleep.

Cautiously, Tony managed to get out of Jeannie's grasp without waking her, gently picked her up, and carried her to their bedroom. He wish he could have stayed in the position on the couch with her so close to him, but the couch was no where near comfortable, and he knew Jeannie hadn't been sleeping properly, if at all. She needed her rest.

Tony slowly lowered her onto the bed, and covered her with a blanket.

'Sweet dreams, Jeannie. I love you.' He whispered, placing a loving kiss on her forehead.

It was now late into the night, so Tony got himself ready for bed, and then lay down beside Jeannie, joining her in sleep.

Tony suddenly woke up, confused as to what could have woken him as it was still dark outside. The reason soon became apparent.

Beside him, Jeannie was mumbling, obviously still asleep, and her head was thrashing about. All of a sudden, she let out an ear piercing scream. She was having a nightmare.

Tony sat up quickly, and tried to wake her up. It hadn't seemed to work until Jeannie suddenly sat up quickly in bed, straight in Tony's arms.

Again, Jeannie's body was shaking with sobs. He couldn't remember her having had any nightmares after the crash, but he could be a deep sleeper sometimes, and if she had been having these nightmares regularly, this would explain why she hadn't been sleeping properly.

'Having you been having these nightmares regularly since the accident, Jeannie?' He asked, once she had calmed down. She nodded against his chest.

'Do you want to talk about it?'

She suddenly pulled back, 'No! Please don't make me relive it! She started crying again.

'Hey, it's ok, Jeannie. You don't have to talk about it if you don't want too.' He assured her.

'Anthony?'

'Yes, Darling?'

'I never asked you how you were dealing with losing our baby. You must think I'm a terrible wife.' She cast her eyes downwards, looking ashamed of herself.

'No, Jeannie, not at all! To be honest, I haven't thought about it too much, or I guess I just didn't want to. I was much too concerned about you. We've both said we'd one day have children together, and we will. We can try again, and I know it won't take away the pain of losing this one. I feel heartbroken that we lost our baby, even more so that we didn't even know. We didn't get to experience the joys of finding out your pregnant, telling our friends and family, picking out names, buying all the things a baby would need. I didn't get to feel your tummy when the baby kicked for the first time, or see you glow with happiness. We'll never forget our baby, but as long as we have each other, I think we can grieve with the loss together, and start to pick up the pieces.'

Neither could sleep after that, so they spent the rest of the morning, before the sun had even risen, in each others arms, silently comforting the other, and hoping their lives would once again turn around and be filled with happiness.

A/N: I am absolutely flattered with all these nice reviews I've been receiving! Thank you SO much! It has inspired me to try and finish this story! I hate it when I'm reading a great story and the story just doesn't get finished, but as those who write ff will know and understand, life just gets in the way sometimes. And I'm sorry to say, but the next chapter will be the last! But I am very happy with how this story has turned out (and I hope you all are too), and that I was able to finish it. So again, thank you, and I hope you IDOJ fans out there will write your own stories, coz lets face it, there's just not enough out there!