It was a moments like this when Ryan was exceedingly glad that his sister didn't have the ability to talk. Though he was sure if looks could kill his wife would already be a widow. "It's just for a couple of days," he responded to her look. "I need to get Kelsi back." Sharpay put her hands on her hips. "She left because she thinks she's been getting in the way." He didn't even bother to look up from his packing. "Don't give me that look, Shar. I feel like a real ass for making her think that in the first place."

Damnit, Sharpay thought. This isn't turning out the way it was supposed to. He's supposed to realize that I need him more and let Kelsi fend for herself.

"Stop looking at me like that. You're going to need to get used to life without me eventually. I can't stay here forever." She gave him a pouty look. "Shar, c'mon," he said with a slight chuckle. "Kelsi's going to have the baby any day. We bought a house, for heaven's sake." At her confused look he explained, "Dad's been after me for years to take over at Lava Springs. With the new baby and everything, Kels and I decided that moving back to Albuquerque, at least for a little while, wouldn't be such a bad idea. You're the only one who knows right now. The movers are already on their way to the new house – it's just outside Old Town." At her arched brow he laughed. "Yes, Kelsi and I can absolutely afford a house out there so stop being a snob."

The doorbell rang and her eyes widened. Who in the hell is that? When Ryan didn't bother to acknowledge the sound, she huffed and stomped out of the room. This had better be some kind of special present he ordered because he's deserting me, she petulantly thought before flinging the door open. Zeke, she thought as her eyes widened and her mouth formed his name, though no sound was coming out.

"Hey, beautiful," he said softly, sadly, as he held out his left hand, which was holding a plate of cookies. His right hand was holding his duffle bag.

She promptly slammed the door in his face and stomped back to Ryan's room. With her hands on her hips, she simply stared at him.

"I take it Zeke's here," he said with a smile as he stood up and flung his bag over his shoulder. "Better be nice to him, Shar, because he came all the way out here to make sure you were okay. Between you and me, I think he's still in love with you. And I don't care," he continued, completely disregarding the warning on her face, "whether you'll admit it or not, but I know you still love him. So maybe you should take these couple of days and work out whatever it is between you." She haughtily cocked her hip and pointed to her throat. "Oh, Shar," he chuckled, "since when do you need words to convey what you're feeling to Zeke?" She opened her mouth in indignation but he simply kissed her on the forehead and exited the bedroom.

When she followed him she saw that Zeke was already on the couch. He'd put on a replay of the Celtic/Clippers game and was cheering for Chad.

He's come a long way since high school, she thought as she watched Zeke completely at home in an Evans-centric environment. He used to be so intimidated. What changed?

"Okay. I assume you have Troy and Gabriella's number. That's where I'll be. As you know, Kelsi's there now. I'm going to go assure my wife I love her, woo her and bring her back. Unless she goes into labor while we're up there. Then I'm calling Taylor so she can tell me what to do," Ryan told his friend.

Zeke laughed and stood up. "No problem, Ry. If you need anything, call. I'll do the same." He shot a look at Sharpay before turning back to her brother. "Anything I should know?"

"She started getting flashbacks last night," Ryan told him despite his sister waving her arms trying to dissuade him. "I would stay in the room with her – she has a chaise in there – and just make sure she's okay. She can't talk – no sound at all. The doctors are supposed to be calling either today or tomorrow to let us know whether or not she needs surgery or if her voice will come back on its own. The last prognosis was that the voice box was healing itself."

Ryan shook Zeke's hand before kissing his sister on the forehead. "Don't forget to feed Roscoe." At her look he sighed and turned to Zeke. "Roscoe is Kelsi's dog." He heard the dog whine a bit from his perch on one of Sharpay's chairs. "Fine. Roscoe is our dog. He'll let you know when he wants to go out. Make sure you put a chain on him. He'll try to negotiate but don't give in."

"Uh, Ryan …?" Zeke questioned confusedly and Sharpay just gave him another of her looks. "Right. I'll keep that in mind."

"Okay. I have to go. Flight leaves in forty five minutes." And then he was out the door.

Off to play white knight, Sharpay thought bitterly. Abandoning me when I need him most. God, I wish Kelsi never took him away. I hope she doesn't even want him back. Her eyes grew wide as she tried to think of ways to get Kelsi to not want to be married to her brother anymore.

"Stop that," a strong voice said from her left. She whipped her head around to see Zeke staring at her. "Just stop. Don't even think about it." She scrunched her eyebrows and tried to make herself look innocent. "You may be able to fool others but I've been studying you since the seventh grade. Don't even attempt to think about ways to break up Kelsi and Ryan. Your brother loves her. And he loves you too," he added as she opened her mouth in indignation and place her fists on her hips. "And he'll always be there for you. But he can't always be here for you. He's got a family, Shar. He and Kelsi are having a baby for goodness sake. Do you really want him to lose everything he's worked so hard for? I mean, think about it, Shar. They broke up at the end of senior year because you told Kelsi that your brother didn't really want her and he was trying to figure out how to break up with her." He looked away for a minute before making sure his eyes connected with hers. "She spent days at my house trying to figure out what she'd done wrong. She's insecure, Sharpay, even after all this time. And despite how you've treated her in the past and, it seems, the present, she still wants what's best for you. Maybe it's time for you to want what's best for her. And I know you've been through something horrible. I know that. But you can't keep taking advantage of Ryan's love for you. One day you're going to have to let someone else become number one in your life …" he finished quietly. He gave her a peck on the forehead and headed towards the bathroom. "I'm going to shower and then we're going for a walk."

Sometimes she really wished he'd broken her arm and not her voice box.

--

As soon as the plane landed and connected to the terminal Ryan pulled out his cell phone and dialed Troy's house. When there was no answer he dialed Troy's cell phone.

"Hello? Ryan?"

"Yeah. It's me. I tried the house. No one answered. You guys out on a walk or something? That usually makes Kelsi feel better."

"Or something," Troy muttered. "Gabriella and Kelsi are at St. Mary's. It's the closest adult hospital to our house."

"Is Kelsi okay? What happened? How's the baby? How long has she been in there?" Ryan fired off rapidly, suddenly quite panicked.

"Kelsi went into labor about three hours ago. I came straight to the airport to wait for you. Kels said she landed in terminal three so that's where I am."

Ryan looked out the plane window and blissfully saw a large three on the side of the building. "Yeah. I'm there. I'm going to leave my bags – I can call the airport later to get them. How far from the airport to the hospital?"

"Less than thirty minutes if we hit the traffic right," Troy replied. "She, uh, she was asking for you."

"Did you tell her I was on my way?" he asked. "Excuse me," he said to a middle-aged man. "My wife is in labor. Is there any way …?" In a made-for-the-big-screen moment, the large man told everyone to move out of the way so the little blonde guy could get off the plane; his wife was having a baby. "Thank you!" Ryan called as he rushed off the aircraft. "Okay, Troy, what kind of car am I looking for?"

"Dark green Range Rover," the former basketball star said.

"That's an ugly car," Ryan replied before rushing out into the chilly San Francisco air. "See you!" he shouted before hanging up. "Thanks," he said when he got into the car and pulled on his seatbelt. "I'll pay for tolls and whatever else you need. Just, please, get me to Kelsi."

"Don't worry about it, Evans," Troy replied.

After a few minutes of silence on the freeway, Troy finally couldn't hold it in anymore. "I have half a mind to kick your butt right about now," he replied mildly before glancing in the rearview to make sure Hunter was still asleep.

"I don't blame you. If it were physically possible I would do it myself. I didn't … I let her down, Troy. And it's not the first time. I shouldn't … I never mean to cater to Sharpay. It's just been … I've done it for years and it seems like I don't know how not to. But I'm hoping that Zeke will be able to take the load of now."

"You brought in Zeke?" Troy asked in an astonished tone.

"Gabriella's brilliant idea," the blonde replied. "And I think he's done being Sharpay's beck and call boy. I think he's ready to step up and tell her how it is, what he wants … and I think now, more than ever, is when she needs to hear that all she needs to do is say the word and he'll be there every day, rain or shine, good or bad."

"After the … rape," he whispered the word, "you think she needs an ultimatum?"

"Not an ultimatum," Ryan quickly assured. "She just needs to know that I'm not the only one she can call. Zeke wants her to love him. If she said the word he'd leave Philly so fast they wouldn't even know he was leaving until after the wedding. But she's afraid to commit … and I don't know what else to do to make her see that it's amazing being in love and being married. You know, she wouldn't talk to Kelsi for over a month when she found out she was pregnant. At first I thought it was because Shar always assumed we would be waiting until the two of us retired from big-time show business. But as the months rolled on and Kelsi's pregnancy was more pronounced, Sharpay kept calling more. She wanted me to visit. She wanted vacations … And then it hit me. She wasn't angry at Kelsi for being pregnant, per se; she was angry at Kelsi because she was giving me another person to love and she thought that meant a little bit of my love and attention would be taken from here and given to the baby."

"That does sound an awfully lot like something Sharpay would think," Troy agreed. "And I assume that's why she was all over you when you and Kels were staying with her."

"Absolutely. She played to one of my greatest weaknesses: her fear. She never mentioned flashbacks until this morning, but she has mentioned some men look scarier than others – of course, she would cling to my arm on walks rather than actually saying anything, obviously. But I can tell these things. I should have known that what she was doing … it was all a way to try and get rid of Kelsi. And I don't know whether I should be more angry or scared that it worked."

"She's been a wreck since I picked her up this morning," Troy confided. "She kept saying she was sorry for getting in the way but she missed you and she needed you. She said she came to me and Gab because she thought we would help take care of her. Did you know she's been having back pains for two or three days?"

Ryan took a deep breath and tried to suppress the tears that were threatening to fall. "No," he whispered. "I-I had no idea. Damnit," he muttered as he smacked the dash and angrily wiped at his eyes. "God, I don't deserve her, do I?"

Troy wanted to tell him no, that he didn't deserve her. He wanted to make absolutely sure that Ryan understood that no one deserved Kelsi. The small girl – woman – was in a league of her own and, at least in Troy's mind, was too good for everyone. He sighed and looked over at the broken and dejected Ryan. But if anyone came even remotely close … "It's not about being deserving," he said finally. "She loves you and I know, aside from your brief lapse in Man Disease, as Taylor would call it, you love her more than anything. You've proven it time and time again." He sighed again before chewing on his lip and admitting, "Gabriella left me to go to her mom's house right before she went into labor. I was working on a big design and she felt like she was breaking my concentration. It took me a hell of a lot longer than five hours to realize she wasn't at home anymore." He paused. "She took me back when she had every reason not to. Kelsi's been crying since she got here this morning." He paused again and took another deep breath. "It's not about being deserving, Ryan. Because neither of us deserve those women. But we both will do everything within our power to make sure they love us as much as we love them."

Ryan nodded solemnly before sliding down further into his seat. He'd been a completely shitty husband lately and he had no idea how to make it up to Kelsi.

--

"Oh, I don't like this at all," Kelsi said as she bit back a scream at the pain rippling through her lower body.

"I know, Kels," Gabriella said softly as she placed a wet rag against the smaller girl's forehead. She then turned and whispered to the nurse, "Seems like she's in a lot more pain than she should be."

"The doctor will be in shortly, Mrs. Bolton," the older woman replied. "But I know what it sounds like …"

"Gah!" Kelsi cried as she gripped her taut stomach. "It hurts!"

"I know, honey," Gabriella whispered as she held onto Kelsi's hand. "But it'll be better soon. And you'll find out the pain is worth it when you get to hold your little girl in your arms."

Kelsi took deep breaths, trying to calm down and get the pain to ebb away. When it lessened enough for her to be slightly more comfortable, she turned to Gabriella with a slight smile. "I'm thinking of naming her Sharpay because she's just as much of a pain in the …"

"Good evening, Mrs. Evans," a young doctor said as he walked into the room. "It appears that you're experiencing a bit more pain than normal. Why don't we have a look and see what's going on?"

"Just tell me where my wife is!" a man yelled from in the hallway.

"Ryan!" she called out. "Ryan, I'm in here!"

"Kelsi," he said breathlessly as he skidded into the room. "Thank God," he continued in a whisper as he went to the bed, took her hand and kissed her fully on the mouth. "I'm so sorry. It'll never happen again. I swear. I love you. I know I don't deserve you but I love you more than anything in the world. Please, please don't ever leave me again."

"I won't," she whispered. "I'm so …" but she trailed off as the pain hit her again. She couldn't help but cry out as she gripped her stomach with one hand and Ryan with the other. "Gah!" she whispered loudly. "Oh, God, it hurts …"

Ryan looked in his wife's eyes and was instantly scared to death. He looked down to the doctor who was disappearing into a place no man but him should ever be allowed to go.

Within seconds the doctor was back out and pulling off her gloves. "Okay, Nurse Helen. Time to go. Get her ready."

"Ready for what?" Ryan asked as Troy walked into the room.

"We're going to go ahead and deliver the baby," the doctor replied. "You must be Mr. Evans. I'm Charlie Hunt. I'll be delivering your daughter."

"She's still three weeks away," Ryan said nervously. "Is that okay?"

"Mr. Evans, I really don't have time to argue with you right now. Your wife and baby will be fine if you allow me to do my job and deliver her. Now."

"What's wrong with her?" Ryan asked. When the Dr. Hunt didn't answer, Ryan took an aggressive step towards him. Troy gripped his shoulder hard enough to immobilize him. "Tell me."

"There's a lot of blood and it looks like the baby's got the cord wrapped around her throat. We're going to do an emergency C-Section just to be sure. Now please, Mr. Evans, let me do my job or there will be bigger issues than your wife's pain."

"Ryan …" Kelsi whispered.

"I'm right here," he said as he turned back to his wife.

"Helen, please go get for 231 B," Dr. Hunt said quietly.

"Why do you need that?" Gabriella asked. "There should be no need …"

"Precautions, Mrs. Bolton," the doctor said as the nurse fled the room.

"We're going to be giving you papers to sign before we can give you the pain killers," Dr. Hunt told Kelsi. "I need you and your husband to make a decision. Now, we don't anticipate any further complications, but these papers basically ask who you'd prefer to take precedent – you, Mrs. Evans, or the baby."

"Precedent?" Ryan asked in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"He means if something happens," Gabriella said hotly, "who do you want them to save: Kelsi or the baby?"

It's an odd feeling, Ryan thought, when your heart stops beating.