The last few weeks had passed without much fan fare. Work had been incredibly busy with Cane taking time off to spend with his family. Victoria had been picking up some of the slack, but with two small children at home, she also had other priorities. This left Billy to shoulder much of the burden and he felt obligated, especially knowing he'd need time off in the very near future with the baby coming.

In truth, he didn't mind the work. He enjoyed the pace and the work itself was challenging. The only thing that bothered him was being away from Phyllis—especially knowing that she could use the emotional support. For the most part, she was doing better. She was excited about the baby and she'd even started talking over names with him a bit, but there were other times he could see the faraway look in her eyes.

Most recently, when he'd met her for lunch, he'd caught her watching a little girl with her grandparents and he could see the pain on her face. She felt responsible for denying her child that family connection and no matter how many times he tried to convince her otherwise, nothing could erase that kind of guilt.

"Billy?"

The familiar voice startled him and he looked up from his laptop quickly. He stood, his long legs making lengthy strides across the room. "Lauren. It's so nice to see you." He leaned in to place a polite kiss on her cheek before pulling back to study her expression. "What brings you by?"

Lauren smiled as she stepped into the office. "If you have a moment, I'd like to run an idea by you."

"Of course." Billy stepped back behind his desk. Lauren wasn't one to make impromptu visits and, as he searched the archives of his mind, he couldn't recall a single conversation they'd ever had. This was completely out of the ordinary.

"I know you're probably wondering why I'm here. I mean you and I have never really talked, but I wanted to run something by you before I went any further with it." She watched as Billy nodded. "I'd like to throw a baby shower for Phyllis."

Billy leaned back in the chair, his mind immediately filling with worries. He knew the intention was good, but a baby shower was only fun if people would come. At the moment the guest list was sitting in the room with him with the possible addition of Summer.

"Lauren," he began, "That's a really nice idea, but I'm just not sure.."

"I know what you're thinking…you're not sure anyone would show up."

"Well, I mean…my family isn't exactly fond of the idea and given that Phyllis doesn't have a whole lot of friends…I just don't know that we could pull together a guest list."

Lauren smiled at him. "That's why I'm here. I was thinking maybe you could speak to your family…see if some of them might consider coming. I'm not looking to do anything big….just a few people, some food—just something to let her know we care and that we're here for her."

"It's a really nice gesture and I'm sure Phyllis would be really touched, Lauren, but…"

"Start with the easier sells," she smiled. "Maybe Abby, Ashley, I'm sure Summer could get Mariah…"

"Have you met Phyllis?" Billy grinned as he drew in a deep breath. He knew Lauren was right. He had to try. Nothing made Phyllis happier than a party and nothing made him happier than making the woman he loved happy.

"I know she'll love this…and she'll love you for doing this. You make your rounds and I'll start pulling the details together. I'll expect a call tomorrow with a headcount. Sound good?" Lauren stood, her face fixed with a broad smile.

"You know, it's no wonder you've done so well in business," he muttered as he nodded in agreement.

The paper napkin now sat shredded on the tablecloth in front of him as he glanced at his watch. Abby was late, which wasn't a surprise, but Ashley was running behind as well which could mean she was stuck at a meeting or- He stopped, taking another small sip of scotch and trying to banish the negative thoughts. "Stop it," he whispered out loud. "She said she'd come and she'll be here."

"Talking to yourself, little brother? I told you a relationship with Phyllis was sure to drive you crazy."

He turned around as he heard her voice behind him. "Hey," he said softly, "I didn't know you were here."

"I gathered." She took a seat across from him, as she glanced around the room. "Abby's not here yet?"

"Not yet, but that's actually ok. I can go ahead and talk to you…that actually might work best anyway."

Her eyes narrowed as she stared at him. "This looks kind of serious. I had hopes that maybe you'd called me here to tell me you'd finally come to your senses, but I'm getting a very different vibe now."

He sighed, already feeling defeated. The sarcastic comments and little jabs at Phyllis weren't exactly positive indications of how this conversation would go. "I need to ask you something—a favor kind of."

"You need a favor from me?"

"From you and Abby and Traci too…if she can make it." He took a breath, already dreading the reaction. "Lauren wants to throw Phyllis a baby shower and.."

"You have got to be kidding me." The look on her face was pure disbelief mixed with disgust. "You don't honestly think I'm going to go to a baby shower to celebrate you being forever tied to that…"

"Ashley."

She was on her feet in front of him before he knew it, her voice hushed and angry as she leaned down towards him and whispered, "I cannot believe you actually have the nerve to ask me something like this. The answer is no…and don't worry, I'll call Abby and tell her not to waste her time coming here. You made your choice. You chose Phyllis over your family. You have to live with it now."

Billy sat in stunned silence for a moment before slowly picking up the phone.

"Lauren," he said, his voice quiet, "The shower—it's just not going to be possible. I can't convince my family to reconsider and to be perfectly honest—I wouldn't even want them there." He paused to listen to her response. "Yeah, a dinner would be fine. I think Phyllis would like that. You and Michael just let us know what night's good—and Lauren—thank you for trying. I'm sure Phyllis would really appreciate it."

He listened to the call disconnect as he pulled the phone away from his ear. His eyes fell on the red alert showing the unanswered voicemail. Quickly he brought the phone back to his ear, his eyes brightening as he listed intently. He'd have good news to share with Phyllis today after all.