On Tuesday morning, Ian awoke to the annoyingly incessant sound of his alarm. Still in a half-sleep haze, he reached his arm over and began blindly searching for his mobile, eager for the return of silence. After a brief moment, Ian's fingers wrapped around the device and he quickly silenced the alarm before turning onto his other side. Rose must have turned in her sleep, because now he found himself looking directly at her face. The sleep suddenly dissipated from his eyes, and Ian found himself taking in her slumbering figure. The early morning light peeked through the seams in the curtains, highlighting her delicate features. Rose inhaled deeply, allowing a few strands of blonde hair to fall across the apple of her cheek. The sun's rays illuminated her long hair that was sprawled across her shoulders, almost creating a glow around her. Ian found the air in his lungs still as he made a study of her. There was no denying it—Rose was breathtaking.

Ian felt his normally stoic features meld into a small yet warm smile. Surprisingly, he allowed it to remain. Memories of their, dare he say, flirtatious interaction filled his mind, causing the smile to widen. However, they were unceremoniously thrust aside as another set of images took their place. Images of Rose breaking her kiss, her eyes pained and longing for answers. His deflection of her questions. The soul piercing intensity of her gaze. Her walking away from him and up to their bedroom. As he'd laid his head against the pillow that night, Ian had been almost certain he could feel her. It wasn't that he didn't know she was lying next to him; this was different. He could feel her—feel her lying there awake, waiting, almost as if she was reaching out for him. As the foreign, and nearly terrifying, feeling had continued to settle into his being, Ian had forced it aside and closed his eyes, begging sleep to take him.

But now, looking at her in the early morning light, he found himself wanting that moment to never cease. That realization took Ian off guard, but he didn't find it unpleasant in the slightest. That in itself was another startling realization; he'd most certainly never felt that way before. Rose suddenly moved her body forward, unconsciously extending her hand toward him. Ian looked at the hand that was a hair away from touching his own. A multitude of thoughts washed over him at that moment as he continued to focus on her hand. Slowly, and of its own volition, his hand emerged from under the covers and gently covered hers, his thumb tracing small circles over her soft skin. A soft sigh escaped from Rose and the tiniest of smiles tugged at the corners of her mouth. Ian found himself mirroring her expression; that is, until Rose began to stir. At that action, Ian disengaged his hand from hers, fearful of Rose's reaction upon seeing his gesture. No matter what was warring within him, no matter how hard an exterior he tried to maintain, the thought of leading Rose on pained Ian to no end.

Ian hastily pulled himself away from her and off the bed. Quickly grabbing the dressing gown that was draped over the chair arm, Ian scurried into the en suite, closing the door just as Rose opened her eyes. Rose blinked a few successive times, adjusting her eyes to the sunlight. Upon hearing the en suite door close, she propped herself on her elbow and took in her surroundings, her eyes scanning the room before landing on the spot beside her. Seeing it was vacant of her husband, Rose felt a pull on her heart. She hated it when they went to bed upset with each other. Of course they had rows just like every other couple, but they made it a priority to not let things fester. After all, their past events together had made it clear how painful that made circumstances. So those infrequent times that they allowed things to remain unresolved made her heartsick.

Rose shook herself free of her self-commiserating. There was no sense in dwelling on it; all that mattered was fixing it. Ian's behavior had been unpredictable, irrational, and his former mannerisms were peeking through. It was true that this time of year was difficult for him, but Rose had not seen him this closed off from her; not since the beginning. Something was clearly going on, and she was going to get to the bottom of it. Pulling back the covers, she slid her legs off the side bed and stood stretching, attempting to ease the tension from her mind and body. She felt the baby stir within her and her hand instantly flew to her stomach, a smile lighting up her face and all anxieties leaving her for that brief moment as she focused on the life within her; a life that was evidence of the all-encompassing love she and Ian had for each other.

"Good mornin' to you, too," Rose said, looking down at her stomach and rubbing it affectionately.

The baby then began to increase its movements, kicking just a tad rough and causing Rose to faintly jerk.

"Well, I coulda done without that," she said, putting a hand on the small of her back and sighing.

Rubbing the remaining sleep from her eyes, Rose left the bedroom and walked the hall to Livy's room. As she approached the door, a wave of dizziness washed over her, and Rose put her hand on the wall, bracing herself. Her other hand protectively rushed to her stomach. She closed her eyes and took several long steadying breaths.

C'mon, get it together… This'll pass, this'll pass…

And it did. Her head began to clear and her bearings came back to her. Letting out another breath, this time of relief, Rose opened the door and poked her head into the room. Olivia was sleeping peacefully in her crib, not even stirring. A soft smile played on Rose's lips, and she gently closed the door. She made her way down the stairs and into the kitchen, putting on the kettle. After a minute or two, the kettle began to whistle, and she went about preparing her tea. Due to her pregnancy, Rose had temporarily given up caffeine. It had been brutal when she'd given it up the first time while pregnant with Olivia, but fortunately, this time around was not as difficult; something for which her family and friends were very grateful, especially since they'd been the recipients of her tetchy morning moods.

Her tea finally ready, Rose walked into the living room and curled up on the sofa, flipping on the telly as she did so. She aimlessly changed the channels, searching for nothing in particular, simply desiring something to serve as a distraction from her current worries. Rose was unsure how much time had passed before she heard footsteps on the stairs. Muting the telly, she waited to hear Ian's voice or have him come find her. When he did neither, Rose stood up and walked towards the foyer. But before she could reach him, she heard the front door open and close. He'd left without saying goodbye. Rose felt her throat tighten as she reigned in her emotions. It was true she was hurting, but she would not let that or her increasing anger and frustration distort her focus or take control.

Climbing the stairs, Rose entered their bedroom, and after grabbing some clothes, she went into the en suite to get ready for the day. By the time she was showered and dressed, Livy was awake and demanding attention. Rose quickly changed and dressed the little one, before going downstairs to prepare breakfast for the both of them. After both were fed and full, Rose grabbed their jackets and bundled both of them up, before locking up the house and getting into the car.

About fifteen minutes later, Rose parked the car in front of Vitex Systems. She unstrapped Olivia from her car seat, and grabbing the diaper bag, entered the building. Giving a warm smile and quick greeting to the receptionist, Rose passed the various offices before reaching her destination, a corner executive office. The man at the desk was clearly engrossed in the images on the screen in front of him, and did not hear her approach.

Rose rapped her knuckles against the opened door. "Hey, Dad."

Pete looked up from his computer and smiled brightly at her. "Sweetheart!" he said, rising and walking over to her. Livy let out a series of excited squeals and reached her arms out to her grandfather. He eagerly took his granddaughter into his arms, before placing a quick kiss to Rose's cheek. "What brings you here, love?"

Rose shrugged her shoulders and put on a straight face. "Didn't have anythin' planned today. Just thought it'd be nice to come by an' see ya," she finished with a small smile.

Pete made an appraisal of his daughter. He could tell something was troubling her, and that this visit wasn't purely a social call. Pete's protective instincts came to the forefront and he pulled his daughter in close. Rose may have been all grown up, but she would always be his little girl; and right now, his little girl was hurting.

Pete looked down at her, his warm eyes meeting her troubled ones. "What's going on, Rose? Somethin's botherin' you."

Removing herself from his hold, Rose walked over to the small sofa and sat down. She attempted to rest her elbows on her knees, but her growing belly prevented the gesture. Instead, she leaned back onto the sofa and released a tired sigh, running a hand through her hair. At her continued silence, Pete put Olivia on the floor and placed a few of hers and Tony's toys in front of her. With Livy sufficiently occupied, Pete joined Rose on the sofa. He put his arm around her, and she leaned into him, placing her head on his shoulder.

"C'mon, Rose. Tell me what's bothering you, sweetheart."

Rose could feel tears stinging her eyes, demanding release. She sniffed and wiped at her eyes; she was not going to lose it.

Bloody hormones…

"S'just… Somethin's goin' on with Ian, and I-I…I don't know what it is," she answered, the last few words said with frustration.

Pete took a breath and turned his gaze forward in thought. When he'd first met Ian six years ago, Pete had found him somewhat cold and standoffish. But Pete hadn't been blind; he could tell there was something between his daughter and Ian. Something more than just attraction. It took several meetings before Pete had even begun to think the man could be in the vicinity of acceptable for his daughter. But the more he learned about Ian, about his past, the more he'd begun to admire and accept the man. It took some time, but they'd become quite close. And ever since that Saturday morning, Pete knew that something was different about his son-in-law. Now, hearing Rose's words and seeing her anxiety was confirmation of the fact.

Squeezing her a little tighter towards him, Pete turned his focus back to her. "Go on," he encouraged gently.

Rose sniffed again. "He's just…just not himself. I can't figure it. It's like…it's like before, when we first started out…He's not lettin' me in."

Pete faintly nodded his head as he took in Rose's words. He was very tempted to prod further, but he respected the fact that this was between Rose and Ian. He wasn't going to push her for more than she was willing to divulge. Pete was formulating his next words when Rose spoke again.

"It just hurts, Daddy," she whispered, almost childlike. She buried herself further into him, wishing, for just a moment, that she was a little girl once again and that her daddy would make it all better. But Rose wasn't a child anymore, and she knew that this would require action on her part.

Pete placed a kiss to her crown. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. I really am... Y'want me to rough 'im up? I know some people," he ended teasingly.

A soft chuckle came from Rose, and she shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe…" Rose turned her head upward, as if in thought, before shaking her head. "Nah, he's too pretty to do that; plus, ya can tell I kinda fancy 'im," she said, pointing to her to her stomach and grinning up at Pete.

Pete snorted and returned her smile. He was pleased to see her playful manner begin to return, but Pete knew that until she and Ian cleared things up, it would not last. "In all seriousness though, I am sorry that you're hurting. Have you talked to him? It's not like you two to be like this."

Rose sat up and ran both of her hands over her head, allowing them to rest around her neck. "I tried last night. He just acted like I was…," she trailed off.

Like I was a stranger…

Pete looked at her expectantly. She decided against finishing that thought, and continued, "Anyway, I tried. But nothin'…He's just bein' a complete tosser and I don't know whether to cry, snog 'im, or beat the livin' daylights outta 'im," she finished with a slight growl.

Pete chuckled as the fiery nature of his daughter came out. Rose focused her eyes forward but not at anything specific. Livy began to squeal with delight as she continued to play; causing Rose's eyes to divert to her little girl and a brilliant smile to overtake her face. Livy turned and started crawling to her mother, attempting to drag the toy with her. It was a decision that impeded her greatly. When she finally reached her mother, Rose picked up Livy and began bouncing her on her knee.

Before Rose or Pete could continue their discussion, the sound of two male voices arguing caught their attention. As the voices grew closer, Rose and Pete were able to make out their owners—Jake and Mickey.

"It's not my fault y'don't know how wire a bleedin' panel," Mickey grumbled.

"Oi! It's not me. You're the bloody programmer on this one. It's your code that's muckin' up the whole system. Never happens when I do it," he retorted, before mumbling, "tin dog," under his breath.

Mickey heard him and glared daggers at Jake. "Hedgehog."

"Least I've got hair."

The two of them entered Pete's office as they continued snapping at each other. Upon seeing Rose and Livy, they paused their argument long enough to greet her.

Sensing an opportunity, Rose smirked and cocked an eyebrow. "You two boys want a juice box? Seems to calm Livy down when she's havin' a tantrum."

Both men furrowed their brows at her statement, with Mickey being the first to yelp, "Oi!" Jake just rolled his eyes and sarcastically said, "Hilarious."

"What's going on, you two?" Pete asked. His voice was now more authoritative as he attempted to reign in his bickering employees.

Jake jumped in first. "The bloke from the rail yard rang and said the wastewater plant is down. Says it's all shutting on and off at random intervals. Mickey here thinks it's the way I wired the panel. He's too thick to think it might be his friggin' code that's the problem."

"Oh yeah? Well, when I wire the panels, we never have this issue."

"That's 'cause I'm writing the code," Jake countered.

"All right. Enough, you two!" Pete said, raising his voice. Both men came to attention and ended their bickering.

Pete stood and crossed his arms. "Have either of you gone down to the plant and actually done a diagnostic?"

Both Jake and Mickey fidgeted under Pete's direct gaze. Unlike before, neither of them wanted to be the first to speak.

Finally, Mickey spoke up. "Not yet, Boss. We were…uh, troubleshootin' from here which sorta led to our, uh, discussion."

Pete continued to eye his two lead engineers. "Well, how about instead of bickering like a couple of teenage girls, you two actually go down there and figure out the actual problem?"

Both men bristled at the "teenage girl" remark, but they knew that Pete had a valid point. Bickering had never done them any good. The two of them were the best engineers at Vitex, and basically part of the Tyler family. As such, Pete knew their talents and expected the best out of them.

"Yes'sir," Jake replied with a nod as he and Mickey turned to leave.

"Who'd ya talk to over there?" Mickey asked Jake.

"Jim Carrigan."

"Jim's an idiot," Mickey scoffed and rolled his eyes. "He's probably the one that screwed it all up. I once had to show him where the Enter key was."

The two of them walked off, now blaming poor Jim for whatever unknown error was occurring, and leaving the original three alone again. Rose let out a tired breath and once again ran her hand through her hair, pulling it out of her face. She handed Olivia to Pete and slid to the floor and began picking up the various toys and putting them into the diaper bag. Standing up and sliding the strap onto her shoulder, Rose then reached out her hands to take Olivia. Pete gave the little one a peck on the forehead before handing her back to Rose. Balancing Olivia on her hip, Rose gave her dad a quick hug. When they pulled away, Pete placed a quick kiss to her forehead and then smiled at her.

"It'll be alright, love. That man is ridiculously in love with you. If he's acting strange, there must be a good reason for it.

"Thanks, Dad. Love ya." Giving him another quick hug, she looked down at her little girl and said, "Say bye to Granddad, Livy." Livy looked in Pete's direction and waved her little hand.

Pete smiled brightly at them both. "Bye, loves."

Ian was sitting behind his desk, glasses on, and examining the Webber file. Mrs. Webber was due to arrive soon and he was doing his best to familiarize himself with the case beforehand. What he saw did not overly impress him. Trish Webber, formerly married to Nathan Webber. One child, Chloe. Allegations of neglect by Nathan against Trish, along with allegations of drug abuse. Those claims seemed to be validated by a hospital drug test from an A&E visit after a car accident. Though he'd only gone through one file, he stopped his perusal. After reading those facts, Ian had no idea what had possessed "him" to take this case. Based on what he'd read, Trish Webber was not fit to keep Chloe; at least, not permanently.

His thoughts were interrupted by Suki's knock at his door.

"Ms. Webber's here, Mr. Smith. She's waiting in the conference room. Mr. Harkness is there, as well."

Ian felt a knot in his stomach at the mention of Jack, but he forced himself to ignore it. Ian had already resolved to do his best in this life, and he needed to stick to his decision. Pushing back from his desk, Ian gathered the files on his desk and made his way to the conference room.

As he approached the room, he saw a young girl waiting in one of the chairs outside the room, quietly sketching. She looked up at his approach. Ian offered her a small smile, but she made no effort to reciprocate, instead turning her focus back to her drawing. Something about the young girl struck him as peculiar, though he couldn't pinpoint what it was exactly. Brushing it off, Ian entered the room. Ms. Webber and Jack were sitting next to each other at the end of the table closest to him. Both turned their attention to him, and Ian joined them at the table. He leaned forward and placed his folded hands on the table. Taking a deep breath, Ian decided to just tell it like it was—no sense in not being straight with her.

"Ms. Webber, I've reviewed your case again and in all honesty, I think the best thing for you is to settle, allowing your ex-husband to have primary custody, with arranged visitation and alternating weekends. I think given your history, this is the most favorable arrangement you'll be able to obtain."

Both Ms. Webber and Jack stared at him—shock and fear written all over her face, while Jack stared at him incredulously, his jaw going slack. Ms. Webber opened and closed her mouth several times before words were able to come forth.

"Excuse me? I don't understand. After everythin' Nate's done. After…," she trailed off and turned her worried gaze from Ian to Jack, silently pleading for an explanation.

Jack leaned forward and put his hand over Ms. Webber's trembling one. "Trish, calm down. It's gonna be alright. Why don't you step out for a minute and give Ian and me a minu—"

"That won't be necessary, Ms. Webber," Ian interjected. "I'm confident that this is the best outcome, what with your past history with drugs an—"

"Drugs? There was never any drugs!" Trish insisted.

Ian eyed her skeptically. "The drug screen showed opioids and benzodiazepines. Last time I checked, th—"

Trish interrupted once again. "Y'know why those showed up! We already discussed this. They were..." Trish's breathing started to become rapid and tears shown in her eyes. "I don't understand why you're sayin' these things. Y'know that Chloe can't end up with Nate! H-he…," she attempted to continue but was too overcome with emotion to finish. Her fear and anxiety were palpable and she buried her face in her hands.

Jack shot Ian a heated look, before raising Trish to her feet. "Trish, I promise you we'll get this sorted out. We will not let Nate gain custody of Chloe," he insisted, no trace of uncertainty in his voice.

Trish mutely nodded her head. She looked back at Ian, her face showing both confusion and what almost registered to him as betrayal. Jack led her out and away from the conference room with Chloe closely following them. No longer seeing the need to remain sitting by himself, Ian gathered his documents and went back to his office. As Ian closed the door behind him, he couldn't help the feeling that he had missed something. Before Ian could even reach his desk chair, Jack threw open the door and stormed in, practically slamming it behind him. Ian whirled around and came face to face with an irate Jack.

"Just what in God's name was that about?!" Jack demanded angrily.

Ian could only recall a few times that he'd seen Jack this incensed, and it caught him properly off guard.

"What are you talking about?" he questioned, keeping his voice calm and guarded.

Jack's blue eyes bore intensely into his brother. "I'm talking about all that complete crap you just spouted off to Trish Webber! What could possibly have possessed you to go into that room and say such things? Was your brain even in your skull when you said all of that? I mean seriously, Ian! After all that those two have been through, you have the audacity to say what you did?!"

Ian quickly tapped into his reserved anger and turned it towards Jack. "I said what the facts were, Jack. What would you have me say? Tell her that everything would be fine and dandy? That she had nothing to worry about? Because that's not the case, Jack. With her past, she's not going to have much of a shot."

"Her past?" Jack asked incredulously. "Just what 'past' are you referring to? You can't seriously be talking about that drug test?!"

"You think a young child should stay with a mother that crashes her car while under the influence? You may have allowed your standards to plummet over the years but I haven't mine," Ian bit out.

Jack took several steps towards Ian, his anger radiating off him. "What are you even talking about? It's like you've forgotten everything. You know as well as I do that those medications were prescribed to Trish. She'd been taking the Xanax because the panic attacks were becoming more frequent. And the Percocet was for the broken rib. Remember? That was the nice little parting gift that Nate gave her the first time she tried to leave. So you want her to give up and just let her daughter live fulltime with that man? You think he's the best choice?"

Listening to Jack's words brought a sinking feeling to Ian's stomach. Chloe's countenance finally made sense to him. The girl was withdrawn because of her pain, her fear. The possibilities of what she had witnessed happening to her mother made Ian feel sick. The possibilities of what could happen to Chloe if she ended up with her father… Ian didn't even want to fathom them.

"Who are you?"

Ian was pulled from his thoughts by Jack's sudden and strange question, and he narrowed his gaze. "What kind of question is that?"

"A valid one," Jack said fiercely and encroached further into Ian's sphere. "Because over the past few days you've been a stranger to everyone. You're acting nothing like the man I know you are. First, you run out on Rose—a very pregnant Rose, I might add. Then, you run from me the second I show up at your house. So what is going on with you? After everything we've been through, you owe me an explanation."

Ian's eyes became dark with barely constrained emotion. "Get out of my office, Jack. I don't owe you anything. I don't have to explain myself to you or anyone. So…Get. Out," he hissed through clenched teeth.

Jack's eyes raged with so many emotions, predominately pain and anger. His nostrils flaring and his breaths ragged with rage, Jack flung the door open, allowing it to bounce against the wall and not bothering to shut it as he left. Ian could feel the carefully constructed barriers within him splinter and he sank onto his desk, his hands gripping the edge for stability.

Suki approached the door. "Everythin' alright, Mr. Smith?" she asked nervously.

He mutely nodded his head and Suki left, albeit reluctantly. But despite what he'd implied, Ian knew that nothing was remotely close to being alright.

Rose once again found herself curled up on the sofa, quietly reading as she waited for Ian to return home. But no matter how hard she tried, she could not focus on the words before her. After her morning visit with her dad, Rose had decided that talking with Ian couldn't and shouldn't wait. For some reason, she found herself unusually nervous about what was to come. She had a terrible sense of foreboding and she could feel it mentally and physically manifest within her.

A click of the lock grabbed Rose's attention, and she hurried off the couch as best as she could and went to foyer. She found Ian there, standing wearily. He looked up at her and she saw something in his eyes that she hadn't seen in years. It pained her to the core, just as it had back then. Rose took several slow steps towards him.

"Hello."

"Hello," she replied softly.

He threw his keys onto the table against the wall and hung up his coat. He turned back around, loosening his tie as he did so. Rose noticed he was avoiding eye contact with her and it just further added to her resolve to settle things between them.

He cleared his throat and attempted to make small talk. "How's Olivia?"

Rose smiled softly at the affectionate tone with which he said their daughter's name. "She's fine. She's at Mum and Dad's. I asked them to watch her this evenin'."

At that last statement, his eyes flashed with worry and he furrowed his brow.

Taking another step closer to him, she said, "We really need to talk."

Ian sighed. This was the last thing that he wanted to do. "There's nothing to talk about," he said decidedly as he sidestepped her and headed to the living room.

Rose was hot on his heels. "S'cuse me? Nothin' to talk about?"

He turned and looked at her hotly. "Yes. Nothing to talk about. Did I stutter?"

Ian's tone made Rose see red. "Don't you dare talk to me like that! I don't care how angry you are, I don't deserve that!"

His shoulders slouched slightly. "What do you want, Rose?"

"What do I want?" she asked, her eyes wide. "What I want is for you to talk to me! All you've done the past four days is shut me out! You don't answer your mobile when I call. Ya don't kiss me. Ya don't even touch me… not even hold my hand. You barely even look at me. You act like I'm nothin' to you. Why…," she took a deep breath as the room started to become fuzzy, "why won't you just tell me what's goin' on?"

"What am I supposed to say?" he growled as he began to pace. "Why is it so important to you? Why do you even care?"

Rose was in shock. She open and closed her mouth several time before saying, "Are ya seriously askin' me that? It's important to me because you're important to me! I care because you're my husband. Because I love you! Why do ya think I'm standin' here begging you to talk to me?" She took several breaths to calm herself. The room continued to become hazy and she wiped at her eyes to clear her tears. However, there were no tears and the haziness remained.

Ian tugged on his hair angrily. Her words were practically pounding against him and he could feel himself cracking. She loved him? How could she possibly love him? If she truly knew him, she wouldn't love him.

"Well, stop begging. Because you shouldn't care! Stop trying to fix this, to fix me…because you can't! This is me, Rose…This is what you get," he spat. He didn't even know why the words were coming out of his mouth. He didn't know the 'why' to anything anymore.

Rose began to pale. She closed her eyes briefly and ran her hand through her hair. "But this isn't you!" she shouted. "I know you… the real you. The one that's worth fightin' for…the one that's worth everythin'…th-," she stopped, because she could no longer make out his figure and the words felt heavy on her tongue. She sluggishly put a hand on her stomach.

Ian's eyes honed in on her. He instantly sensed something was wrong and he felt panic rise in his chest. He took a step towards her, but still remained a slight distance away, in case he was wrong.

Her eyes locked with his, but Ian could see they were out of focus. "Cillian…," she whispered before her eyes rolled back in her head and she began to slump to the floor.

Ian ran to her, catching her before she hit the ground. He had her cradled in his arms and desperately felt for a pulse. He let out a ragged breath when he felt it beneath his fingers.

"Rose…Rose?! C'mon, Rose. Don't do this to me. Wake up!" he pleaded, stroking her head frantically. "Rose, I need you to wake up!"

She remained limp in his arms. Knowing he could waste no more time, Ian gathered her up and rushed out the door. He knew he could get her to hospital quicker than any ambulance could. He carefully laid her into the seat, and after getting in himself, he threw the car into gear.

He was there in a matter of minutes. Not even bothering to turn off the engine, Ian flew out of his seat and gathered Rose to him once again, clutching her desperately to his body as he practically ran through the sliding doors and into the A&E. The personnel only took a moment to register his presence before they were at his side. They tried to pry Rose away from him, but Ian's arms wouldn't give way.

"You have to let go of her, now!" one of the men said firmly.

Ian knew he was glaring at the man, but he also knew he had to let her go. Finally loosening his grip, the staff put her on the gurney and rushed her to an available room, firing questions at him the entire way there.

"What 'appened?" a ginger in a white coat asked.

"I don't know," Ian said frantically, rubbing the back of his neck raw. "She was standing there and then, her eyes rolled back and…and… why isn't she waking up?!" he shouted.

They ignored that question. "What's her name?"

"Rose…Her name's Rose."

"And she's your…?"

"Wife," he replied hurriedly and without thought.

One of the nurses turned to him and gently put her hand on his arm. "We need you to wait outside while we take care of her."

Ian's eyes became stone cold. "I'm not going anywhere."

Her features became tight. "Sir, you don't understand—"

"No, you don't understand," he said hotly, "I am not leaving her. So don't ask again." His tone brooked no further questions.

The nurse pointed to station outside the room. "You wait there. No arguments," she said with finality and entered the organized chaos surrounding Rose.

Ian obeyed and walked over to where she'd pointed and watched them work on Rose. He took in every minute detail as best he could. They'd started an IV on her and hung some sort of fluid. He could see various numbers displayed on the screen above her head and could see some sort of waveform, which he supposed was her heart rhythm. They also began attaching things to her to monitor the baby. What felt like an eternity passed before their activity began to slow, and the ginger from earlier approached him.

Ian pushed off of the counter he'd been leaning against. "How's Rose?"

"Mister…?" the ginger inquired.

"Smith. Ian Smith. Now, tell me what's going on with Rose," he demanded.

"Mr. Smith, I'm Dr. Collins. Your wife is going to be okay, but she's not awake yet, so I'm admitting her to Obstetrics. She and the baby need to be monitored carefully. Can you tell me if your wife has been treated for preeclampsia?"

"I don't know," Ian said wearily.

Dr. Collins frowned at his answer, obviously displeased at his lack of knowledge. "Well, that's what I'm admitting her with. The nurses are getting ready to move her upstairs. You can go with them."

Ian nodded before quickly joining Rose and the nurses as they transported her into the elevator. There was a nurse on both sides of Rose, blocking Ian's access to her. The exited onto the Obstetrics floor and Ian quietly but agitatedly waited while they set Rose up in the room, hooking her and the baby up to the necessary monitors. The second they were finished, Ian hurried into the room. He was instantly arrested by the sight of Rose, pale, eyes closed, and her body still except for the rise and fall of her chest. Ian felt a sinking feeling in his stomach the longer he looked at her. It was a stark contrast to the image of her from that morning, and it was painful to observe.

He pulled a chair over to the side of her bed and sat down. Ian sat there staring at her for a moment before he reached over and took her hand, lacing his fingers with hers. He continued to sit there silently, the only noise in the room coming from the beeping of the monitors. He continued to hold her hand, but as the hours passed, he felt his eyes become heavy. He fought for as long as possible, but in the end it was fruitless, and he fell asleep.

Faded images of Rose plagued his subconscious. Images of her smile. Images of her face. But each time, they morphed into ones of her falling, with him never being able to reach her. He was suddenly jarred from such visions by his familiar incessant alarm. Ian shot upright and became frantic as he saw his surroundings. He was no longer sitting with Rose, but instead, he was back in his flat. Ian looked down at his empty hand and his heart began to ache at the absence. In that moment, Ian threw back the covers and rushed to get changed. He had somewhere he needed to be.