Erin, Pam and Holly had went to Kelly's house the night before she got out of the hospital in order to sort through baby things and to pack away the crib. They all knew that seeing any reminder of her loss would devastate Kelly, and they all loved her too much to allow that to happen. There really wasn't much anyone could say, but as they waited for Ryan's car to pull up, they all looked at each other.

Pam was folding onsies, when she heard a small cry. She looked up to see tears filling Erin's eyes. "Oh, Erin, sweetie, it will be okay."

Holly said nothing; instead she averted her eyes as she continued to fold baby clothes.

"How can it? Kelly was supposed to be a mother, but now..." Erin wiped her tears as her voice trailed off.

Pam looked at Holly, then back at Erin. Too bad Jim wasn't there, she thought. He would know what to say. He always knew what to say. "I don't know why this happened; sometimes some things in life just occur without any rhyme or reason. All we can do is be here to support Kelly. I know she loves you; you've always been a good friend to her. I'm sure she will appreciate that."

"I don't know what to do. I just thought that everyone deserved a happy ending. All Kelly ever wanted was a fairy tale ending to her life. To fall in love, get married, have babies...and now..."Erin sighed.

"It's not too late for her," Holly spoke up. "After all, she did fall in love. Ryan loves her and is committed to her. Maybe true love can help her through this. I don't know what I'd do if something like this ever happened to Michael and I..."

"You see, Erin," Pam lit up. "Just like Michael loves Holly, Ryan loves Kelly. He'll pull through for her. He's going to turn around and surprise everyone. Why who knows? Maybe they'll even get married after all."

Erin smiled a small smile, then went back to folding clothes. Pretty soon they were finished, and the clothes were all packed. Pam and Holly took the crib to the storage shed, and Erin grabbed a box.

When they returned, they were shocked to see clothes strung everywhere. They all looked up and saw a tearful Kelly rampaging through the hours of work they'd just done, and Ryan just watched her helplessly.

"We just thought..."Pam started.

"It's okay. I know what you guys were trying to do. Thank you. But if you don't mind, I just think I need to go to bed now. I'm really, really tired. I'll take care of this tomorrow."

Without another word, Kelly headed off to her bedroom, without even bothering to change out of her clothes. She crawled up into a small ball on the bed, and pulled the covers over her head.

"Go in," Pam ordered Ryan. He looked around one more time, then decided to take Pam's advice.

"Kel?"

"Go away."

He crawled up next to her and wrapped his arms around her. "I'm not going anywhere."

"I just want to be alone."

"I can't let you do that. Don't you see, I need you too."

"You've never needed me. Now you're free to go about your way. Just leave me alone. I'll be fine."

"I'm not leaving you alone. I love you, Kelly. Don't you know this is hurting me too? Don't you think I loved her too?"

She dried her eyes and looked up at him. "You did?"

"Yeah. I did. Maybe I don't show it enough but I loved her. I knew she would be part of you, and hopefully the better part of me. I started to dream about her, what she'd look like."

Kelly turned around to face him. "And?"

"And she'd have your smile, your amazing eyes. And your laugh...she would definitely have your laugh."

For the first time since everything happened, Kelly actually let herself smile. And to Ryan, she had never looked so beautiful.

He kissed the top of her head. "I love you, Kel," he whispered as he pulled her close to him.

"I love you, too."

And with that, they both fell into a deep, deep sleep.

tbc