Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Characters...the Lovely Mrs Charliane Harris does...I just can't help but to play with her babies...

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Thanks to miss Sassyvampmama for the edited changes...you rock! Readers, if you haven't yet, I suggest you check out her stories...it is filled with lemony goodness and a hunky Eric...

Warning...this chapter may cause some tears...so have a box of tissues nearby...

Chapter Two

Sookie POV

Two weeks later

I always find washing the dishes to be peaceful, calming even, so that is what I am doing while I wait for Eric to get home. I had had the day off from work, so I used the extra time to get some things done around the house.

Fangtasia is blooming, business-wise, and is getting even more popular. I love working there and working behind the bar. Sam has taken some shifts behind the bar, but his mind has been preoccupied with his newborn daughter Claudine, and who can blame him. She beautiful and precious, and she barely cries, which makes her nearly perfect. I adore her and I love being her godmother.

Day after day, I could feel my own tiny baby inside me growing. Although I am only 3 ½ months, I am enjoying every bit of my pregnancy, even the morning sickness (okay, maybe not the morning sickness so much). Pregnancy is a blast and I feel honoured to have this baby growing inside me. Eric is getting more excited every day too. Already, he has set up the nursery, painting the walls a mixture of blue, pink and yellow, to cover all of the possibilities. He wants to know the sex, but we have decided to wait until he or she is born, besides it's still a little too early in the pregnancy to know the sex yet.

Aside from all of the excitement over the bar, Claudine, and our own little bundle of joy, we have a wedding to plan. Eric and I have decided to get married after the baby is born, that way I can lose all of the baby weight and find the perfect dress. We have already booked the church for the ceremony, the reception hall, and the bakery that will make our wedding cake, figuring that a year from now should give me enough time. All we will need by that time is our clothing for the event.

I know it's selfish, but I am so glad that our family moved here to be closer to us. I can't imagine life here without them. Eric loves his job as a teacher. Jason and Sam have found jobs that are good for them, while Pam and Mia stay home with their babies, and we're all happy that we live here on the Gold Coast. In a way, I still miss Townsville but I enjoy Gold Coast more. I also adore my nephew, Hoyt, who is a handsome little devil. Pam and Mia keep joking that one day Claudine and Hoyt will get together. It's unlikely that that will happen, but who knows? I mean, Claudine is only two weeks old and Hoyt is nearly 5 months. To early to start planning a love match.

I finish washing the dishes and sit down at the table to take a break. I pour myself a glass of iced tea and take a drink. I am so thirsty I finish my drink quickly and push myself up out of the chair to put my glass in the sink, but as I do, a sharp pain in my stomach causes me to fall back down into the chair in shock.

"What's happening?" I cry out as I clutch my hands protectively on my tummy. Having any type of abdominal pains this early in the pregnancy is considered bad, and as I try to get up again, another sharp pain hits me.

"Oh no, please no!" I yell. I keep my hand on my stomach, scared almost to the point of panic, as I try to rest for bit in the chair. When I try to get up a few moments later, I move as slowly as I possibly can, and I am happy that there is no pain. I grab the phone and call my doctor, Dr Cage, to arrange a time to see him this afternoon. I explain to his nurse, Arlene all about the pains and she agreed that I needed to be seen immediately. After I hung up with the nurse, I tried to call Eric, but his phone went right to voicemail. I write a note for Eric and leave it on the table for him to find. I grab my bag and keys and take off to the doctors in my car, wishing that Eric was beside me for this.

Arriving at the doctor's office, I find that I am so worried about the baby, that I am having trouble even filling out the walk-in forms. I have no idea why my stomach experienced such pain. It takes me several minutes to fill the forms in and return them to the front desk. While I am sitting in my chair, waiting to be seen, my mind is racing through the possibilities, and most of them are not very good. I am getting more and more panicky by minute, wondering if this baby is going to live long enough to be born. Oh Eric, I wish you were here, I think to myself as I wait.

Finally it's my turn, and when the nurse calls my name, I am a bundle of nervous energy. I follow her to an empty exam room, and she indicates that the doctor will be in shortly. I sit on the chair, waiting, and Dr Cage walks into the room within seconds and smiles reassuringly at me.

"Sookie, how are you feeling now? Arlene tells me that you have some severe abdominal pain earlier. Are you still experiencing the pain?" he asks, looking at me very intensely.

"No...not as much." I tell him.

He sighs. "Well, I am not sure what it could be, and we won't know anything without running a few tests. I am going to order some blood tests and I want you to have an ultrasound right away, to see what is going on inside that womb of yours. Would you mind?" He then asks me to stand up and I do. He places his hands on my stomach, feeling my tummy and near my abdomen. "Everything feels alright from here, but I still want to get a peek inside, just to make sure there is nothing to worry about. Aches and pains are fairly normal during a pregnancy, but sharp pains can be an indication that something is wrong. Let me fill out these test forms and someone will be right with you. I'll see you again when I have seen your ultrasound results, alright?"

I nod and he leaves the room. In what seemed like seconds, a young man in scrubs walks into the room and gets a needle out from a drawer. He tells me he's here to take my blood sample, and then he'll escort me to the ultrasound room. He swabs my arm with an alcohol wipe and sticks the needle in. I flinch at the pain of the needle jabbing into my skin. It is only there for a second and then it is gone.

Then he takes me to the ultrasound room. On the way, he leaves the blood tube at the testing counter. We arrive at the room and he hands me a paper sheet and tells me to take off my pants then lay down on the table, and that the technician will be there in a minute. I remove my pants and unfold the sheet, and then I lay down on the table to wait. I'm glad I am wearing a buttoned shirt, so I unbutton some buttons to bare my belly just as someone knocks and enters the room. The technician is a perky woman who introduces herself too quickly for me to catch her name before she squirts some gel onto my tummy. She then grabs the ultra-sound nozzle and presses into my tummy, moving it around to try to find the baby. (Secretly, I think they are trained to spread that crap all over just to see how sticky they can get you before you start cussing at them. I mean it, seriously, have you ever tried to wipe it off? You can't ever get it all until you get in the shower.)

I smile at the image of my baby as it pops up on the screen. She moves the nozzle all around my tummy, her face frowning more and more. I look at her, worried. She then takes the nozzle, cleans it, hands me a wipe to clean my tummy, without saying anything about my baby. She then tells me that after I have cleaned up, I should put my pants back on and to go back to the exam room to wait for Dr. Cage. I nod and leave the room, my mind filled with worry, wondering why the tech was frowning the whole time.

After waiting for what it seems like hours, when really only a half-an-hour has passed, Dr Cage walks back into the room with a concerned look on his face. I take a deep breath as I wait anxiously to hear the results of the tests.

"Sookie, has anyone in your family had trouble giving birth?" he asks without preamble.

I shake my head, really worried now. "No...Not that I know of. My mother died before she could tell me anything about her giving birth to my brother and I, and my grandmother never said anything about it either. Why?"

"I'm afraid that it's not all good news, but it's not all bad either. The baby is fine, but from what I can see in the ultrasound and from the results of the blood tests, I am fairly certain that you have a condition called placenta previa, which is where your placenta is on the bottom of your uterus, covering your cervix. In other words, the vaginal entrance, where the baby will come out, is blocked, so your baby cannot be delivered naturally." He tells me.

"Oh...but I can still have my baby, right?" I ask uncertainly.

"It will be a great risk. You see, as your baby grows, your uterus spreads and thins, so that it can accommodate the baby's growth. However, with your condition, since the placenta is on the bottom, this thinning can cause the placenta to bleed, thus creating haemorrhaging inside the womb, which is very dangerous." He explains to me.

"So, what are my options here?" I whisper.

"That depends on your choice. There are some recommendations, but if you chose to keep the baby, there will be risks." He assures me

"Such as?" I ask.

He sighs, clearly wishing he didn't have to give me this information. "Such as major blood loss, shock from the lack of blood, your baby might not get enough oxygen...and in some cases...death of the baby. Let me refer you to a specialist, a Doctor Ludwig. Here is her card. She specializes in high risk pregnancies and births, and she is very good at dealing with this particular diagnosis. She has a very high successful birth rate, whereas other doctors don't. It's almost as if she has some sort of 'magical' ability to deliver health babies, even under the worst circumstances. She's the best there is, and I've already called her for you. She has agreed to see you throughout the rest of your pregnancy. I wish you the best of luck, and I know that you will be in good hands with her. Take care Sookie."

And with that, I know that he has done all he can for me, so I tell him that I really appreciate all of his care. He shakes my hand and then hands me a business card with the Dr. Ludwig's name and phone number on it. I take it, saying goodbye to Dr Cage.

I leave his office in a sort of fog and get into my car. Once I am in, I begin to cry, fearing my baby's life and thinking about how to tell Eric about this. I take a few deep breaths to calm myself before I talk to Eric and grab my mobile. I dial his number and Eric answers right away, clearly waiting for my call.

"Hello?"

"Can you meet me at the park near home?" I ask.

"Sure Sookie...what's wrong?" he asks.

"I tell you when you get there." I say and hang up quickly, before the tears resume and alert him to my distress. I then pull out of the parking lot and head off to the park, a children's park, which is near our house.

When I arrive, Eric is already waiting near the swing set. He's sitting down on a bench, eating an apple, and he smiles as I approach. I give him a hug and sit down next to him, and he can tell by the look on my face that something is wrong.

"Okay, Sookie, what's wrong?" he asks, the worry making his face scrunch up.

I break down, crying as I tell him the events leading to my unexpected doctor's appointment and my new-found condition. He holds me as I tell him my entire story and when I finish, he takes a deep breath.

"Sookie, why didn't you ring me when you were at home?" he asks, pulling me onto his lap and holding me tightly to his chest.

"I tried, but it went right to voicemail, and I couldn't remember the number for the school's main office. I was in too much of a hurry to look it up, because I was more worried about the baby...Oh Eric what are we going to do?" I cry into his shoulder.

"I don't know... But I do think that we should call this specialist Dr. Cage recommended you to. I think if he trusts her, then we should too. Come on, let's go home." He says, picking me up and carrying me to the car. He places me gently into the passenger seat, and buckles me in. As he walks around the front of the car, and before he climbs into the driver's seat, I can plainly see the worry written across his beautiful face. Once inside, he reaches over and takes my hand and squeezes it firmly, silently letting me know that, together, we will get through this.

Eric starts cooking dinner as soon as we arrive home. I walk into the bedroom before calling Dr. Ludwig's office and make an appointment for the following day. As I hang up, I smile as I hear Eric singing at the top of his lungs in the kitchen. Eric always sings when he's worried about something, as he says it helps him calm down and takes his mind off of things so he can think more clearly. I walk into the kitchen and see him stirring something in a big metal pot, something that already smells delicious. I look over his shoulder and see he is making chicken curry, one of my favourite meals.

"Have you got the rice started yet?" I ask as I sit down at the table.

"Yes...it's simmering now. Have you made the phone call yet?" he asks me as he sits down next to me and takes my hand once more.

"Yes, the appointment is tomorrow at 3. I tried to make it late enough so that you could be there too." I tell him.

"Everything will be okay, Sookie." he says to reassure me.

I shake my head slowly, feeling the tears well up for the umpteenth time this afternoon. "I hope so, but what if it isn't?"

He sighs. "It will be...I can't explain it, but I just know it will be."

"What if we lose the baby or something?" I can feel myself beginning to panic.

Eric carefully pulls me onto his lap and holds me tight. "We will see the specialist tomorrow and find out our options there. But everything will be alright. It has to be."

"What will we tell the others? Sam, Mia, Jason and Pam...what will we tell them?" I ask.

"Nothing yet; we won't have anything to tell them until we know something more. We'll go to the specialist, hear what she has to say about this, and see what happens. You'll see... everything will be just fine."

He kisses me and holds me tight, and I can feel his own silent tears falling on my shoulders. I can't help hoping that he's right, but what if he's wrong, what will we do then?

I leave you hanging...

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Cheers from Australia