DISCLAIMER: All characters belong to Mark VII and NBC Universal. I own Julianna.

Johnny and Julianna held a celebration for the crew that Saturday at their house. Everyone came by to ride the horses and play horseshoes in the yard. Julianna and Johnny had recently added a pool into their backyard.

When Julianna mentioned it to Johnny, he'd wondered why she wanted a pool. "Mike has one at his house. Can't we use that one," he asked.
"We could, but I love swimming. You know that. Besides, I don't think Mike and Barb would welcome us being over there all the time. And it will give us something else to entertain our friends with during our parties," Julianna said.
"You drive a convincing offer, Dr. Gage. I'll call around and get some bids. I might enjoy getting a swim in after working the horses. That sounds like a great idea, now that I think about it," Johnny said.

Johnny had taken on the project and, just in time for the spring, they had a new pool in their backyard. Johnny, Mike and Roy had built a patio/deck around the new in ground pool. Julianna had purchased new patio furniture and told Johnny the only thing they were missing was the beach.

Anyone coming to the Gage home would think their house was full of kids. They had a swing set with a slide and a clubhouse in the backyard along with a sandbox. Johnny had purchased the equipment in anticipation of them having children, but also so Roy, Marco and Hank's kids could have something to do besides ride the horses. He knew Mike's kids would enjoy it, when Barb and Mike began having children.

It was past midnight before Julianna had put away the extra food and turned off the downstairs lights. Johnny had finished in the yard and had come inside to shower, change and go to bed.
Julianna figured her husband would be asleep when she came up for bed, so she quickly showered herself and changed for bed.
As she crawled under the covers, she was surprised to find her husband wide awake and waiting for her. "Hey, thought you'd be sleeping. If I'd known you were still awake, I'd have asked you to come and help me clean up those dishes," she said.

"I was waiting for you. Thought you might want to celebrate my promotion, just the two of us," he said, kissing her neck.

Like any time before, Julianna was putty in his hands. They held their own private celebration until nearly dawn before falling asleep and spend much of the next day in bed.

The next three weeks were busy. Johnny and Roy were preparing for their move to their new stations and Mike was slowly learning how to take over for Hank. Julianna and Joanne met several times for coffee at Julianna's house, since the DeSoto's were finally getting the remodeling done to their house. Julianna was excited to see the changes.

Julianna, Barb and Joanne sat at Julianna's kitchen table, listening to the men talking about baseball. Their conversation became a bit loud and they went out to the back porch.

"Men," Joanne said, shaking her head.

Julianna merely nodded. She wasn't feeling well that day and chalked it up to fatigue from working so many shifts in the last few days.
The hospital was short staffed since Kel and Dixie had gotten married two weeks prior and weren't expected back for another week.
The wedding had caught everyone by surprise. Apparently, Kel had proposed to Dixie shortly before Mike and Barb had gotten married. After seeing the huge production everyone made over her and Johnny and then Mike and Barb getting married, Dixie had asked for a quiet civil service in the courthouse. Dixie had called Julianna to be her matron of honor. Julianna had jumped at the chance and, along with Joanne, had stood up with Dixie to witness the wedding. Joe Early had come to lend his support, but Kel surprised Johnny by asking him to be the best man.

Julianna had picked up a lot of extra shifts so they could have coverage in the ER. They were also short staffed because Mike Morton had been injured in an altercation with a patient and needed surgery to repair the fractured arm he had received. He would make a full recovery, but was out of work completely for two weeks and away from clinical work for another four. Julianna was eager for a reprieve from the hectic pace she was keeping. She was thinking about everything she had to do because she was due back at the hospital in 28 hours.

"Juli? Juli, you OK," Barb asked her sister-in-law.
"Huh, what? Sorry, I must have been daydreaming. That was rude of me," Julianna said.
"Julianna are you, OK," Joanne asked.

"Yeah, why," Julianna asked.
"You look pale, tired and not your usual self," Joanne said.
"We're just really short at the hospital since Dixie and Kel are on their honeymoon. I have so much to do before I head back to work," Julianna said.
"Are you sure it's just work? You look awfully run down," Joanne said.
"Positive, Jo. Thanks for caring, though. Johnny's started taking some of the household chores for me while I've been working so much, so that's been a huge help. I made him promise he'd take me to the beach for a long weekend when all this was over," Julianna said.
"I'll badger him and make sure he does," Joanne said.

Julianna smiled at her friends. She was grateful for them in her life and considered herself to be fortunate to consider them family.

An hour later, Joanne and Barb gathered their husbands and headed to their homes. Julianna knew Joanne and Barb were trying to give her some private time with her husband and get some rest.

Julianna was putting the glasses into the dish drainer when Johnny came inside.
"Hey, babe," he said, kissing her cheek.
"Hi, honey," Julianna replied, turning her attention back to the dish water.

"You feeling OK," Johnny asked. He'd noticed the change in his wife's appearance and was worried about her.

"Yeah. Just tired. I've been working a lot lately," she said, taking the dirty dish towel to the laundry room.

"I know, but I noticed you didn't eat much during dinner. Just wondered if you were feeling OK," Johnny asked.
"Not much of an appetite with these crazy hours. Flipping back and forth between shifts has my appetite all confused. I don't really have a taste for food," Julianna said.

"Are you sure there's nothing bothering you or it's not more serious," Johnny asked, tipping his wife's chin so he could look into her eyes.
"Positive," she said, kissing him.

"OK. Why don't you go to bed early. I know you have to work tomorrow night and maybe, this way, you can get some much needed sleep," Johnny suggested.
"OK," Julianna said.
They shared a kiss before Julianna went upstairs. She didn't even change out of her clothes. She fell down on the bed and was asleep within minutes.
Johnny found her on the bed, still clothed and felt bad for his wife. He knew she was exhausted, but wouldn't admit it because she knew the hospital needed help. He knew Kel and Dixie were due back at the end of the week and Johnny knew it couldn't come soon enough for either of them. He pulled a quilt out of the hope chest and covered up his wife. He went back downstairs and finished cleaning the kitchen and folded the laundry before going up to bed.

Two weeks later, she was sitting in Mark's office. Mark was a physician on staff at Rampart and Julianna had gone to medical school with him. Her fatigue had gotten worse and she noticed a slight weight loss. She was barely eating and was concerned something was wrong. However, the diagnosis Mark delivered to her explain everything, left Julianna with a feeling of dread.

"Juli, I know you've probably figured out why you're having these symptoms," Mark said.
Julianna took a deep breath and swallowed, her palms becoming slicker by the minute. "Are you going to tell me I'm pregnant," she said, a tremble in her voice.
"Yes. Julianna you're going to have a baby," Mark said.
Julianna burst into tears. She knew Mark might think she was overjoyed at hearing the news, but she wasn't. She was devastated. The last thing she expected was that she was pregnant. She believed she couldn't have children because of her previous miscarriages and the trauma to her abdomen during the car accident. Now, her friend was telling her, once again, she was pregnant. Julianna couldn't imagine telling her husband the news. She sat in the chair in Mark's office and couldn't think.

"You don't have to mention any of this to my husband, do you," Julianna asked.
"No. It's doctor patient confidentiality. But I urge you to talk to him. He is your husband," the doctor asked.
"I know and I will, but when I'm ready. Thanks for helping me, Mark. I appreciate it," Julianna said.
She picked up her lab coat and put it back on as she walked out of the office and into the hallway. She headed for the elevator and headed back to the ER.

As she exited the elevator, Dixie came toward her.

"Everything good upstairs," she asked Julianna.

"Yeah. Everything is fine," Julianna said.

And that's why she was crying in her office. She sat in her chair, not moving, just staring at the wall. Then it hit her what she needed to do.

She picked up the phone and asked Kel if she could come to his office.
She grabbed her lab coat and headed down the hallway to Kel's office.

"Everything OK, Julianna," Kel asked.
"Yes and no. Kel, I need to take a leave or get out of my contract," she said.
"Why," he asked.
"It's personal. I need to know what will work for you the best," she asked.
"I don't want you to go anywhere," he said.
"Kel, please, don't ask me any more questions. I have my reasons for doing this and I need you to keep quiet about this conversation. Will you help me," she asked, her voice telling Kel the seriousness of the situation.

Kel nodded and told Julianna she was released from her contract, but that she would always have a position at Rampart.
Julianna thanked him and headed out the door before she started crying and changed her mind. She quickly gathered her personal items from her office and went out to the nurses station.

"Julianna, what's going on," Dixie asked.
"I have something personal that needs my attention," Julianna said.
"Will you come back," she asked.
Julianna shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know, Dix," Julianna said before hugging her friend and heading out to her car.

Johnny was working overtime at 10s that night and wouldn't be back until midnight. She rushed home and picked up the phone.

"Hey! Can I come and stay with you for a while? I'll explain everything when I get there," Julianna said.
"Sure. Is everything OK," he asked.
"I'll tell you when I get there," Julianna said.
She hung up the phone and went upstairs. She pulled the luggage out of the closet in one of the guest rooms and started putting her clothing into the cases. She grabbed her toiletries from the bathroom.

She headed back down the stairs with her luggage and stopped in the kitchen. She pulled the pad of paper off the wall by the phone and wrote her husband a note.
"Johnny, I love you more than I ever thought possible. Our second chance was a miracle and I treasure everyday I've had with you. I'm just sorry it took us so long to get our stuff together. I want you to know that I love you and this has nothing to do with you. It has everything to do with me. I can't do this. I'm sorry.

Love, Jules"

She put the note on the fridge where Johnny was sure to see it and headed out to her car. She tossed the luggage in the trunk and headed for San Francisco. She fled LA like she had the devil on her tail and, in a way, she did.

Johnny came home after his overtime shift and found Julianna's car was missing. He figured she'd gone to Mike's or hanging out at her parents place, since he had been gone for 48 hours. He walked to the fridge, fully expecting to find a note telling him where she'd gone and all that.

He found a note, but it didn't give him any information. He read the note several times and the only thing he'd gathered was his wife had left. She'd walked out on him...again.
Johnny had truly believed Julianna would stay. They had been happy and she was happy. He couldn't imagine what had happened to make her leave. He picked up the phone and called her brother and his wife, but they didn't know where she was. Mike was worried and told Johnny to call him if none of her friends knew where she was.

He called Bob and Beth in San Francisco, but Beth told Johnny that, while she'd spoken with Julianna recently, she didn't know where she had gone.

Johnny put down the phone and ran upstairs. He saw her clothes were missing. He glanced at the dresser and found Julianna's engagement ring, but not her wedding band. It hit him. Julianna had really left him and he didn't have the slightest notion why.

And that was what found him at the DeSoto home, devastated and watching out the window, hoping to find a clue to his wife's location.

~Last part of the series will contain the ending. Hope you like the story so far and thanks for sticking with me and reading. It's been fun to write. ~Kaiti