Sorry, sorry, sorry. I know it took me long this time. But I had stress at work and Christmas-time isn't really my favorite time of the year, too. But I'm almost through with the next chapter already, so the update won't take long… I hope. Thanks again for all the nice reviews and ideas. I'll consider them for the future. Here's chappie 18. Have fun and enjoy!

Tammy was told to stay the night and the next day to make sure she and the baby were going to be okay.

Cody proved himself a good friend, barely leaving her side. It was almost 10 pm by now; they have actually talked for almost 5 hours, only being interrupted a few times by a nurse or a doctor checking in. They have talked about sports, about movies, about music, his job and her jobs; they have pretty much talked about god and the world, getting to know each other better. Unbeknownst to Tammy, Cody fell for her even more, second by second. He was fascinated to have found a beautiful, smart girl who shared his passion for Our Lady Peace, who loved comics as much as he did and who knew everything about video games. Visitation-time was almost over and neither of them had heard anything from Randy. Though both did not want to say it aloud, they thought he would not show up anymore.

"You better go home now. I'm sure you must be tired. I'm fine anyways. No need to stay."

Cody smiled warmly at her; actually, the smile had not left his lips ever since they have started to talk.

He grabbed her hand, squeezing it gently.

"I'm not tired. Don't worry! I promised to stay AND besides this, I'm really enjoying the time with you."

Tammy smiled and shook her head.

"That's really nice, Codes. I also enjoy the time with you…" His heart made a small skip. "…but they'll kick you out son anyways."

He sighed, looking over at the clock, before lowering his head and mumbling.

"Yeah, true."

She squeezed his hand in return, making him look back up into that bright and beautiful smile of hers, almost melting.

"If you want to, you can come back tomorrow morning. If it makes you feel any better… or makes you feel at ease a bit more."

Cody blushed slightly, tucking in his bottom lip, chewing on it.

"I guess I could do that, huh?"

With a chuckle and a nod, she agreed to him, making him slowly rise out of the chair. He leant down, gently kissing her cheek, whispering in her ear.

"You get some rest. I'll be back bright and early."

Someone clearing his throat made them both jump: Tammy placing a hand over her heart, staring at the door; Cody pulling his hand out of hers and standing up straight in an instant, blush creeping on his face.

In the door stood none other than Randy, leaning against the frame, his arms crossed over his chest, chuckling in amusement about their reaction.

"Well, well, that's a sight for sore eyes. My best buddy and my woman, hand in hand, him kissing her cheek and whispering sweet nothings into her ear."

Cody lowered his head, ashamed -maybe even guilty- while Tammy just smiled at Randy, too glad that he made it back in time to even recognize Cody anymore.

Randy laughed, shaking his head, striding over to them, patting Cody's shoulder first.

"No need to get all shy and ashamed, Codes. I knew you couldn't resist her once you get to know her… no one could."

That made the younger man even more uncomfortable. He knew, Randy was only playing, joking around, but thanks god, Randy had no idea how true his words have really been.

Turning his eyes on Tammy, Randy released Cody's shoulder to lean down, kissing her on the corner of her lips, soft and slow, whispering.

"I'm sorry."

He let his big, strong hand slowly run up and down her covered belly, small smile on his lips, looking into her eyes.

"It's gonna be okay, right?"

Tammy bit her lips, tears forming in her eyes, tears of happiness to see that he cared, not only for her but also for the baby. She slowly nodded her head, voice shaking.

"It's gonna be okay. We're gonna be okay."

The smile on his face faded as soon as the words reached his ears, lowering his head. Cody was still standing only a mere inch away from them, being completely ignored, taking in the whole scene as Randy shook his head.

"She's still there, Tammy. She's still hot on my heals. I can't see you for a while, not unless I want to lose Alana."

Cody watched her smile drop as fast as it had appeared. She swallowed hard, trying to hold back the tears, shaking her head in disbelief.

"Then why did you come back? Only to tell me that?"

Randy bit his upper lip, looking at her face, full of anger and disappointment.

"To make sure that you're fine… that the baby is fine."

"I'm sick of it. I'm tired of it, of all the secrets and the hiding, Randy. I can't…" She took a deep breath, calming herself. "… I don't want it anymore. I'm not strong enough to do this without you. I…"

Cody inhaled deeply, taking a step closer, clearing his throat.

"Sorry… I… but…"

They both looked at him in confusion as he took another deep breath.

"How about she plays my girlfriend?"

Randy looked at him as if he had lost his mind. Hell, the boy obviously HAD lost his mind.

"What the fuck?"

Cody bit his lip, holding both his hands up in defense, eyes wandering to take a quick look at Tammy who just sat on her bed, eyebrow arched, and arms crossed.

"Not like that. I mean, if Tammy plays my girl, the two of you could go out to restaurants, clubs; she could even visit you at the events, everything without having to worry about Sam finding out. She could be with you almost 24/7. Only disadvantage is that you'd have to drag me along when you're in public and we'd have to tell everyone who wants to know that she is mine. Whenever you're at the hotel or at her house or anything, I'll disappear again to leave the two of you alone."

Tammy blinked, obviously trying to take everything in, while Randy tilted his head, furrowing his brows in concentration.

Somehow, Cody expected Randy to just raise his hand and slap him hard for even thinking about something as ridiculous as that. Randy was well known to get a temper at times and more often than once he or one of his other friends were on the short end of it, having accepted a slap or a punch, nothing too bad or painful, but enough that it stung. He'd never seen him snap in front of Tammy though and he'd been taking anger management lessons for two months now, if it was for Tammy or for Alana, or even for his own sake, Cody didn't know, but he also didn't care as long as Randy just got his temper under control.

It was absolutely quiet for a while until Randy's lips curled up into a small smile.

"Why haven't we thought of that earlier? That's brilliant, Codes."

Cody let out a breath he didn't even know he was holding, a sigh of relief, looking over at Tammy, unsure of what her opinion would be. She looked back and forth between them until her eyes narrowed on Cody and a smile appeared on her lips.

"I like that idea."

Have some nice Holidays! :)