Billy struggled to stretch his legs out in front of him. His body ached from being in the same position for hours, but he hadn't dared move. The room was so still and quiet. With the door closed, the noise of the hospital hallway was barely discernible and, save the dripping of the IV, there was calm.

This wasn't a perfect circumstance, and certainly not one he would have chosen, but he couldn't deny having enjoyed these hours with her. The simple pleasure of sitting beside her, comforting her, holding her hand, listening to her breathe.

A quick rap on the door interrupted the serenity of the moment and Billy turned in the direction of the doorway as he felt Phyllis stir.

Stitch stood just inside the room, chart in hand. "Phyllis, I have the rest of your test results back and there's something I'd like to discuss with you." His gaze moved over to Billy.

"I'm afraid you're going to need to step outside."

Billy opened his mouth to speak but stopped when he felt her hand on his arm.

"Why?" Phyllis asked, her voice shaking. "Why does he have to leave. You said this was nothing serious. You said it was stress related."

Stitch cleared his throat and glanced over at Billy again. "Actually, what I said was that I thought it was likely stress related but that we needed to do some additional tests to rule out any other causes. That's what we did and that's what I need to speak with you about."

He turned to Billy, this time speaking directly to him, "If you'll just step outside for a moment, I'll let you know as soon as I'm..."

She gripped his arm tighter, her voice breaking now as she spoke, "No. He can stay...whatever you need to tell me, he can hear. I want him to stay."

She forced herself to breathe, feeling it necessary to remind her body to things that should be voluntary. Her throat felt tight and small as if an invisible pair of hands had been wrapped around her neck. She looked over at Billy, her eyes betraying her fear and his hand instantly found her. The warmth of his skin soothed her and she squeezed his fingers tight.

Looking back at Stitch, she took a breath, "Just tell me. What is it? What's wrong with me?"

Stitch shook his head. "I think I may have given you the wrong impression," he said quietly. "I just wasn't sure this was something you would want to share with others."

"I don't understand," Phyllis muttered, "you're saying I'm not sick?"

"No..you're not sick-Phyllis, you're pregnant."

"Pregnant?" The word fell from her mouth and hung in the air for a moment.

"Are..Are you sure?" she managed, her mind still spinning.

Stitch smiled. "Blood tests don't miss and we checked and double checked the results." He paused for a moment. "I'm guessing by your reaction this isn't something you and Jack were expecting?"

Billy stood and walked over to the table. He poured water into a small cup and stepped over, offering it to her. He'd like a drink of a much stronger variety.

"No..no it's not." She reached out, taking the cup from his hands. Her eyes met his for a moment. She saw the question, but didn't know how to answer.

He forced himself to look away, realizing it had been too long since he'd spoken.

"If.." His voice betrayed him, the heightened emotion restricting his throat to the point that he felt hoarse. He cleared his throat and swallowed hard, willing himself to continue, "If she's pregnant then these problems she's having...they're normal or not?"

Stitch glanced back down at the chart. "Low blood pressure is somewhat common in early pregnancy and low blood sugar can happen easily especially if you aren't on a good meal schedule. It's impossible to know the stage of pregnancy without a sonogram, but judging by your levels, I'd say you're probably somewhere between six to nine weeks. Given that, the symptoms you're experiencing could be perfectly normal, however, I see in your records that you've had some issues in the past, so I'd feel better if I called in an OB consult to check things out before we send you on your way."

"Yes," Phyllis replied, "I'd appreciate that." Even as she spoke, her voice sounded so far away. This couldn't be happening.

Stitch made a note on the chart. "I'll get that set up right away. Is there anything you need? Anything I can get for you? Have you called Jack...I can have someone at the nurse's desk contact him for you if you'd like..."

"No!" She took a sharp breath in, silently cursing herself. "I'm sorry," she said sheepishly, "it's just that Jack can be such a worrywart and I wouldn't want to upset him when everything is probably fine. I'd just like to give him the news under happier circumstances." She felt sick, both at the addition of yet another lie and at the ease in which she now told them.

"Of course," Stitch smiled, waving slightly as he walked from the door.

Billy stood, his back to her. He waited to hear the click of the door before turning, his eyes staring into hers. He pulled the chair back over to the bed, sitting down and closing his eyes before offering his hand.

He felt her hand in his and he opened his eyes to look at her. Her eyes shone with tears.

"Hey," he said gently, reaching up to touch her face. "I know this is a shock. It's not what you expected, but we'll figure this out. Regardless of whose baby this is..."

"Wait...Wait, Billy.."

He stopped, the look in her eyes telling him not to argue but to listen.

"Billy," she continued, "Jack and I...until recently..." She glanced away for a moment never remembering a more uncomfortable moment. "Until recently, Jack and I weren't together. If Stitch is anywhere close with his dates..."

His breath caught and for a moment he was sure his heart stopped beating. The entire world slowed to a crawl as he waited for her to finish-for the sentence to be complete...

She felt her eyes sting as she said the words. "This is your baby, Billy."