Disclaimer: I don't own anyone, other than Brielle.
Rated: M
Warning(s): Slash, Het, Stripping, Exotic Dancing, Domestic Violence, etc.

Two days later, John Morrison was hit with his first contraction. It came in the middle of the night, when he was curled around Mike's exhausted body. A round of nausea hit him full-force and he squeezed his eyes shut, his hands tightening around Mike's night-shirt. He let out a little moan and found that his breath came out in short, labored spurts. He knew that he shouldn't be, but he was scared. And his terror didn't ease the pain at all.

Slowly, the pain started to fade away. John counted back from ten and by then, it had dissipated entirely. He let his head fall down onto the pillow and he blinked a few times, not surprised to find that a few tears had collected on his dark lashes. It was amazing how fast his body forgot that pain. However, he understood that it would be back sooner rather than later. It was best to wake Mike now, rather than wait until it was too late. Gently, he shook his fiancée.

"Mike?" He whispered. His body trembled as the ice-cold air hit his naked skin for the first time. "Mike, you have to wake up. It's time." He shook him a little harder when this didn't seem to faze him.

"Hmm? Five more minutes, Mommy." Mike mumbled incoherently, before he rolled over so that his back as to John and cuddled further into the mattress. John rolled his eyes.

"Michael Mizanin, your son wants to be born now. It would be most appreciated if you would get off of your lazy ass and help me drive to the hospital!" He finished with a scream as another contraction hit.

Mike nearly fell off of the bed in shock. "Holy hell, John! What the fuck was that for?" Once he composed himself, he realized what was about to happen. "The baby… oh, shit John! Why didn't you wake me sooner?"

John's chocolate brown eyes blew wide. "Baby, I've been trying to wake you for ten minutes!"

"Never mind that. I have to… And the bag isn't packed… And you're not dressed… And… Oh shit!"

John barely contained a chuckle as Mike face-planted on the wooden floor, his bottom half still cocooned within the blankets. "Calm down, baby. This is nothing to get so worked up about."

"You're about to have a baby! Of course this is something to get worked up about!"

Once the contraction passed, John took a deep breath and rolled out of bed. He located the bag, which was indeed packed, and set it on the bed so that Mike could easily reach it. He also pointed out that he didn't mind going in his pajamas. After all, he would have to change into a robe once he arrived anyhow. And when Mike started to complain about the fact that he couldn't find his keys, John located those as well and tossed them at Mike's chest.

Deciding that anything else could wait until they reached the hospital, Mike hurried out to the car and started it, turning the heat on full blast so that John wouldn't be too cold. And then, rushing back to their front door, he took John by the hand and led him to the car. Easing him inside, he buckled him in and reclined the chair a bit more to make him more comfortable. And then, sliding into the driver's seat, he sped off in the direction of the hospital.

Jeff stretched out beside Phil, the smaller raven curled into his arms. He traced his hand over Phil's slightly distended abdomen. The gentle, almost loving touch reminded him that he hadn't been intimate with the raven for almost a month and a half now. It was hard for him and Phil understood that. Jeff was such a dominate creature, so to be taken in such a cruel way couldn't have been easy on him mentally or physically.

However, that didn't mean that it was fair to Phil for him to hold out on him entirely. Phil needed love to, even if he swore that he could wait until Jeff was ready for them to take it to the next level. And even if he couldn't go all the way, he could at least pleasure him, couldn't he? He could at least remind Phil that he was wanted, that he was needed, and loved, couldn't he? But it was so much easier said than done.

"Phil?" Jeff murmured softly. "Phil… if I was never able to… to make love to you again… would you still love me? Would you still want to be with me? I can understand if you said no, but…"

Phil looked at him tiredly, his eyes hazed over. "What are you talking about, Jeff? Of course I would still love you. I didn't think that our relationship was based entirely off of sex. Was I wrong about that?"

Hurriedly, Jeff shook his head. "No! No, baby. I love you so much, Phil." Jeff amended the way that he had worded his sentence. "I feel as if I'm cheating you out of something that you deserve. I should be able to do this for you."

Phil blinked a few times to wake himself up, before he propped his pillows up on the headboard and sat up. "Jeff, it's not your fault that some jackass attacked you."

"I let him attack me, Phil. That's why it was my fault. I should have tried harder to -,"

Phil cut him off. "Don't talk like that, Jeff. You're making me want to track that bastard down and strangle him."

Jeff smiled ruefully and started to play with Phil's hair. "Oh, trust me. I want to do that too."

"Jeff, don't worry about it. I am willing to wait until you're ready to take it to the next level. Don't force it."

Jeff just shook his head and continued to stroke Phil's raven locks. "I'm sorry, baby. It's late and I shouldn't be bothering you with all of this at this hour. We can talk about it tomorrow."

But Phil didn't believe a word that came out of his mouth. "No, Jeff, I don't think so. I think that this has been bothering you for a long time and I think that we needed to talk about this now."

Jeff didn't know what to do. He was scared, truth be told. He was scared to lay his heart on the line like this, knowing that, at any moment, Phil could snatch it in his hands and crush it. Phil was the only man in the world that he had bore his heart to entirely and Phil could easily kill him, if only in a mental/emotional sense. Jeff forced air into his lungs and closed his eyes, burying his face in Phil's chest and inhaling the comforting scent.

Phil shifted around a little bit and kissed him softly. It was supposed to be a sign of reassurance, showing him that he would love him no matter what, but it only made Jeff tense. Finally, Phil pulled back and sighed. He rolled out of Jeff's arms and wandered into the bathroom, where he closed the door behind him. A few minutes later, the water started to run. Jeff could hear it, but only distantly. Mainly, he focused in on the tingling in his lips.

This was what love was supposed to feel like. It wasn't forced, it wasn't frantic. It was loving someone so much that you would put their needs before your own. It was being other-centered instead of self-centered. And Phil had just displayed that in that one little kiss. He loved Jeff more than words could ever tell. And because he had pulled away before that kiss could become more, Jeff knew that he could try. It may not work, but he could try. For Phil.

"Adam Copeland? My name is Jason Reso. I will be the lawyer that will be handling your custody battle against Mr. Chris Irvine." Jay said as he took a seat in his office chair. Adam raised one blond eyebrow.

"I don't understand." Adam said slowly. "I talked with a woman from your office and told her that I couldn't afford your prices. Even though I am extremely thankful for your help, I can't afford it."

This time, it was Jay's turn to raise an eyebrow. "Oh, you don't have to worry about that. My services have been paid for in full. And the donor has also put a down-payment on the success of the case as well."

All of the color drained out of Adam's face. It seemed like he had been accepting too many handouts lately. "And who was this 'donor'?"

"His name was Randy Orton. He works for a modeling company. I was reluctant to accept the payment, but he said that it was important to him that you got the help you needed for your child. That she's in danger."

A flood of relief and something stronger washed over Adam. Could it have been love? No. Adam had never been 'in love' before, so he didn't know what it would feel like. "Oh." Was all that he could say. But nevertheless, he smiled.