Title: The Voices

Rated: M (Mature)

Genre(s): Romance/Angst

Pair(s): Randy/Adam, Phil/Jeff, etc.

Summary: Randy has been keeping a secret from Adam, and it is threatening to destroy their relationship. What is that secret? And when all is out in the open, will their love survive?

Disclaimer: I don't own anyone, besides my OCs.

Warning: Slash, Violence, Mpreg

Part: 19/20 – The Birth of Lauren

OOOO

TWENTY-FOUR HOURS LATER

"Mr. Brooks?" A small, dark-haired nurse asked. Phil rose to his feet and started to shift from side to side nervously. "Mr. Hardy was in labor when you found him. The blood stain that you found was from when his water broke."

Phil nodded. This was a lot to take in all at once. Jeff was barely even six months. "What about the baby? Did it survive?"

The nurse smiled at him. "Yes, the baby survived. She's a healthy six pounds, three ounces. She's in the nursery now. You can come and see her if you want."

Phil followed the nurse to the elevator. Finally, he turned to her and asked, "What about Jeff? He was unconscious when he came in, and he wasn't responsive. Is he okay?"

The nurse's smile faltered a little bit. "Mr. Brooks, were you aware that Mr. Hardy suffers from a severe infection in his brain?" From the way the color drained out of Phil's face, she knew that he hadn't. "It's not terminal. It can be treated."

"Why?" Phil forced out after a minute. "Why wouldn't he tell me?"

"I'm not sure why he wouldn't tell you. You said that he had been acting irrationally lately, and that's the reason. He couldn't think clearly and he couldn't take his medication because it was potentially harmful to the baby." The nurse said.

"But… but he will be okay? The infection hasn't gotten too far out of hand?" Phil asked, worried about the older man.

The nurse smiled and nodded. "He'll be fine. He'll need to stay in the hospital for a few days, however."

Finally, they arrived at the nursery. A sea of sweet, innocent little babies slumbered in their little cribs. The nurse slid a mask over her face and put on a special protective gown and gloves, before she handed the same equipment to Phil. Once Phil had all of it on, they went inside and the nurse led him to a peaceful little girl in the far corner. She had a full head of thin, blond hair that looked a lot like Jeff's before he dyed it and calm, sea foam eyes. Carefully, the nurse lifted the little body out of the crib and handed her over to Phil. Phil and Jeff's little miracle stared back at him with wonder in her eyes.

Phil smiled down at her and she cooed loudly, before she reached out for his face with one of her chubby little hands. She was flawless, every inch of her perfection. Phil couldn't have asked for a better baby. And it was all thanks to Jeff. Absently, Phil wondered if Jeff had even been awake to see the baby. But he doubted it – all of the medication that they had to have him on for his fever and the brain infection most likely knocked him out. But that was okay, because he had all of eternity to look at their little one in wonder. At the moment, his number one priority was healing.

"What would you like to name her, Mr. Brooks?" The nurse asked sweetly. Phil chuckled a little at that. While 'Little Miracle' sounded nice, he doubted she would want to be called that forever.

"I want to name her…" Phil was silent for a moment. He and Jeff had talked about baby names, but none of them really suited the little wonder in his arms. "I want to name her Lauren. Lauren Marie Brooks-Hardy."

OOOO

Jay sat at his husband's bedside, so still that he could be compared to a statue. Heath had been pronounced 'Dead on Arrival'. The doctors hadn't even tried to revive him. But they had allowed Jay all the time that he needed to say his last words to the man that had, and would always have, his heart. However, all Jay could do was sit and stare at him. It was like, if he came any closer, all of this would become real and he would have to face the stone-cold truth that Heath was dead. How was he to live with the fact that he hadn't done all that he could to help Heath? He couldn't help but feel like it was his fault that Heath was dead.

Adam entered the room, a bottle of water from the cafeteria downstairs in hand. From the look on Jay's face, he hadn't eaten or had anything to drink in the last twenty-four hours. Adam shook his head softly. His kids needed him at his best. They would have so many questions, not all of which Jay was ready to answer. But, more importantly, they needed Jay to be there for them in their time of need. Carefully, Adam slid the water bottle into Jay's hand and wrapped his arms around the smaller man's shoulders. When he looked down at Jay's face, he saw tears slowly streak down the reddened skin.

"It's not your fault, Jay." Adam said finally. "I know that that's what it feels like. At first, you only want to blame yourself. Now, my situation is a little bit different than yours, I'll admit. I have someone to blame. But, here is what you have to realize."

"What's that?" Jay asked. His voice trembled involuntarily.

"Two days ago, God realized that he was missing one of his angels, so he recruited one of the best. But he didn't want little Isabelle to be lonely, so he took Heath with her. They're in God's hands now, Jay-Jay. They're taken care of."

Jay nodded slowly. "He's in better hands now, I know that. But I never thought that I would have to say goodbye to him. I'm nine years older than him, damn it! I should have died first!"

Adam shook his head, softly running his hands over Jay's shoulders. "Heath wouldn't want you to think like that. Isabelle wouldn't want you to think like that. They loved you and would want what's best for you."

"What's best for me is to have them here." Jay mumbled.

"You know what the first thing that I thought of when I heard that Randy jumped off a bridge?" Jay shook his head. "I wanted to jump off of the bridge with him. I wanted to be with him." Adam said softly. "But then I remembered that I had a beautiful, six-month-old baby that needed me. Just like Jason and Derek need you."

Jay looked down at Heath for the last time. His face seemed so totally serene, and Jay knew at once that he wasn't scared as he died. Taking the lifeless hand in his, he raised it to his lips and kissed the icy cold skin. It wasn't fair that Heath had been taken from him so brutally, but he knew that what Adam had said was entirely true. He continued to stare down at Heath's lifeless face, heartbroken. His heart hammered away in his chest as he rose from his seat and walked over to the door. The impression of the pocket knife could be seen in his front pocket.

OOOO

Randy had been released from the hospital and Adam drove him down to the airport. The sheared brunette insisted that he drop him off outside of the airport and not see him inside. It hurt Adam to hear the brokenness in Randy's voice, but he knew that this clinic would make him better. Randy vanished inside of the airport. And Adam couldn't help but feel as if this was the last time that he would ever see his boyfriend…

OOOO

A/N: Please Review!