"Look," Jill sighed, for what felt like the hundredth time. "I'm not going to yell at you anymore, but you need to tell me what's going on."

In the next bed, Kelly, still sniffling softly, maintained her brooding silence.

"Okay, you hear me?" Jill called to her. She gave her best friend a few moments to answer and then what little bit of patience she was still holding onto quickly unraveled. "Dammit, Kelly!" Jill yelled at her, breaking her short lived promise. "You can't sit there and say nothing forever! You already screwed up, I get it. But, you need to start talking to me."

Finally, for the first time in nearly half an hour, Kelly turned her head, revealing red rimmed eyes and an expression that was the most miserable Jill had ever seen her. "About what?" she answered wearily. "Can't you just let it go? What do you want me to say?"

"Let it go?" Jill snapped back, suddenly furious. "Because you lied to us! Because if you hadn't run into Alan, you never would have told us or him the truth, that's why!"

Kelly flinched, but didn't turn away this time. Instead, she shut her eyes, as if trying to hide. "And I'm sorry," she muttered softly. "I didn't know what to do."

Jill took a deep, slow breath. If she wanted any answers, now was the time to get them before Kelly clammed up again and yelling at her would send her right back into her shell. It was time to change her tune.

"Kell, we would have supported you if you'd told us the truth right when you found out." Jill began gently. "And we still will. You know that, right?"

She watched Kelly roll over and give her her back. A defense mechanism, like always. She was trying very hard not to cry again and Jill felt herself welling up with anger yet again. But, if playing nice cop would get her more answers than beating Kelly over the head with the brown plastic pitcher on the nightstand between their beds like she wanted so badly to, then nice cop she would be.

"Kelly, who is the father if it's not Alan?" she continued, keeping her voice from sounding too eager.

Kelly groaned. "I don't know."

"Yes, you do." Jill chided. "Kelly, you don't sleep around, I know you! You know damn well who the fa-" she stopped herself and took a deep breath, seeming to calm herself. "You know what? You wanna play games? That's fine. If you won't tell me, then we have all day, Kelly. You've played twenty questions with me. You know I can guess."

Kelly buried her face in her pillow, wishing in vain that someone would come in and save her.

"So… let's see." Jill said to herself. "What are you... not even two months yet? Hmm. Who were you with last? That had to be mid-February, right? Did you have a Valentine's Day date?"

"No. I told you I don't remember."

"I know you did and you're still lying to me." Came Jill's heated response. She looked away and busied herself flipping through random memories of last month. "My birthday party was in February. There were a lot of guys over that night."

She saw Kelly stiffen. "I don't re-"

"Yeah, yeah, shut up. Question two. Did you hook up at my party, Kelly?"

"No, Jill. Please stop."

But, Kelly's tone and body language was getting desperate. She was either getting very close to the answer or pushing her friend too far. Whichever it was, Jill wasn't about to let up. The panicked tone of her friend only made her press harder than before. "We're not done. Question three. Who did you hook up with at my party?" Suddenly Jill remembered a very important detail about said night. "You had a lot to drink, didn't you?"

"Jill, stop. Please, stop." It almost sounded like begging, but Kelly didn't beg. She took control, and was usually in control of every situation she involved herself in. But this had been released from her clutches, and she was frantically searching for her hold. "I'm not doing this!"

The blonde paid no mind to her. "You talked to that guy Daniel for awhile, didn't you?"

There was no response, but Jill wasn't looking for one. She looked thoughtful for a moment before shaking her head. "No… he wasn't your type, I remember now. He went home with that slutty redhead who works with my neighbor. So, who does that leave me with..."

Kelly groaned, sounding almost as if she was in pain. In any other situation, Jill would have been concerned. Now though, Kelly's obvious discomfort was a sign that she was getting closer. "Okay, so not Daniel." She said to herself. "You had some punch when you got there, and then we did a few shots, and then Bri made us all some of her special drinks and God knows it only takes a few of those to loosen a girls' panties."

She was pushing Kelly to her breaking point. The feeling consuming the atmosphere around her confirmed it.

"Jill!" Kelly admonished. "Look, just stop! I'll tell you later, I promise. Just… just let me think, please? We can talk later and I'll tell you, I swear."

Her pleading fell on deaf ears, once more. This was not a fight Kelly could win.

"Why? So you can figure out a way to blame someone else? Charlie this time ? Nope, you've had plenty time to think." Jill replied cheerfully. "Okay, what question am I on? Six? Seven? I think it's six. Alright. Question seven. My neighbor's cousin asked me if you were single. Did you sleep with him?"

"Jill, I swear." Kelly begged, her composure quickly dissolving into nothing. How was this happening to her? How could she have let this happen? "I'll tell you later, please stop."

"No," Jill continued, ignoring her. "He was with the group that went out to the beach with all the beer." She paused, finally remembering who Kelly had spent most of her time with. Deflated, she flopped back onto her pillow and shook her head. "No… well, damn. You danced a little with Peter and then Max… and then you and him went out on the balcony with Kris and Darrell and that chick Phyllis or Flavia or Felonia or whatever the hell her name is that Max works with. And you were there most of the night after that. I don't remember anyone else hitting on you. So, it wasn't at my party then."

By this time, Kelly had buried her face in her pillow, both hands pressed up against her ears as if to ward off whatever conclusion Jill was fast approaching. "Stop, stop, stop. Jill, I'll tell you, I promise! Just quit!"

"You already had your chance." Jill brushed her off. "Okay. Everyone started leaving around three. Darrell stayed to help me clean up and then you walked Max out and that was it. So, it wasn't that night. Oh! I know!"

Kelly went rigid.

She was suddenly eight years old again, seeking the structured and controlled environment of a stable home. A stable family. It was something she worked all of her teen years to achieve. When she became a young adult, she finally had rule over her life. Controlled every aspect, every detail, every relationship, every decision.

But Jill Munroe was sitting across from her, changing the remainder of her life for her.

And there was nothing she could do to stop it.

"Question eight. Did you give out your phone number to someone and meet them later?" Jill asked brightly. When Kelly wouldn't so much as move, she frowned. "No? Well, I have twelve more questions left, I'll get to it even-"

Her words cut off mid-sentence, her train of thought interrupted by another, much more urgent realization.

"Oh my God." Jill gasped, blue eyes widening in excitement. "You walked Max out. You never came back. Oh my God, you never came back!"

Life changed.

Kelly popped up to a sitting position and began frantically waving her arms to shut her up. "Jill! Shhh! Can we do this later! They're gonna hear you, please stop!"

But, Jill could not be stopped. "You never came back!" she cried loudly, pointing an accusing finger at her friend. "And Bri said your car was there when she left and then when I woke up it was gone and oh my God, you and Max!"

"Jill, shut up now!" Kelly hissed, anger and desperation pouring into her speech. "Please, shut up!"

"You and Max!" Jill went on in a shrill voice. "You and Max?! Max?! What? Kelly! Why didn't you say-"

Kelly was out of bed and grabbing at Jill in an instant. "Shhh!" she begged, clapping a hand over her friend's mouth. "You can't say anything! Promise me you won't say anything!"

Jill shoved her away. "What?!" she squealed at her. "You want me to promise?! Are you fucking kidding me, Kelly?! You and Max hooked up at my party and he got you pregnant a-a-and you want me to fucking-"

Kelly's hand shot out and clamped back over Jill's mouth. Before today Kelly had never begged. Another thing Jill had managed to change with her simple guessing game. Control. Pride. A life. "Please! Please, please, please!"

Jill squirmed out of her grip, which wasn't hard considering Kelly was still babying the injured one. "No!" she yelled at her angrily. "Get off of me! No, I don't owe you anything right now! No, no, no! He needs to-"

"I saved you in the elevator!" Kelly offered up pathetically.

"That was yesterday!"

"Jill, my God, I'm begging you! Please!"

Still in shock, Jill stared hard at her friend, taking in her distress and desperation before finally settling herself down. She let out a long breath and grabbed firm hold of Kelly's arm. "Okay, we need to calm down. You need to calm down." She said, forcing herself to relax. "Okay, first things first. He needs to know. I won't let you do this to him. Max is a good guy."

Kelly's head drooped. "I know… I know that, I just… that's why he can't know. He doesn't need-"

"Oh, don't you start." Jill warned angrily. "No. You're telling him. And if you don't, I will. Either way he's gonna have to know."

"Jesus Christ." Kelly moaned. "Jill..."

"Question nine. What happened that night?" Jill replied calmly. "And don't lie to me, Kelly."

Kelly buried her face in both hands. "God, Jill…I…I-I was drunk. We were both drunk. He asked me about Alan. I told him we had broken up. I was... I don't know. I don't know how it happened."

Jill rolled her eyes. "You don't? Then missing your next period must have been a bigger surprise than you thought, huh?"

"Would you stop?" Kelly sighed. "I don't know. We were dancing. He kissed me. I don't know what I was thinking. We went back to his car."

Jill made a disapproving face. "Oh, Kelly."

Kelly jerked her head back up and fixed her best friend with a glare. "You hooked up in a restroom at a bar once, remember? You're one to talk!"

"Yes. Yes, I am one to talk. And part of that talking was making sure he used a goddamn condom."

Kelly opened her mouth to respond and came up sadly short. "Shut up, Jill." She muttered, dropping her head into a hand. "Well, now you know everything. Are we done now?"

Jill made a noise in the back of her throat. "No, we're not done! How could you be so stupid?" she scolded angrily. "And you didn't even think to use a condom, Kelly?"

"No, I wasn't thinking about condoms!" Kelly shot back. "That should be pretty obvious by now, shouldn't it, Columbo?"

Jill took a deep controlling breath and decided that, angry as she was with Kelly, berating her friend was getting them nowhere. "So, why didn't either of you say anything?"

"Because… because, we fell asleep in his car and then in the morning… it was awkward, okay? I regretted it. I felt stupid for letting him and he was really nice about it and he wanted to keep seeing me and I just couldn't. He asked me what I wanted to do and said he would go along with whatever I decided."

Jill shook her head. "And let's see. Question ten. Did you decide to pretend it never happened?"

Kelly hung her head in shame. "Yes. And then… well, you were there when I found out I was pregnant and I knew it had to be Max's. But, I didn't want to say anything and Bri was the one who assumed it was Alan's and I didn't mean to use him like that but… I didn't know what to tell her and I had no intention on ever seeing him again and… God, it's just a mess now. I made a big mess and Max can't know because he doesn't deserve to get tied down to someone like me. I think Alan would agree with him."

Making a needless mess was something she could agree on. Kelly was reckless but she usually had a reasoning behind it. Kelly made her own choices. Getting pregnant during a one night stand, paternity drama... it was so far out of character that Jill couldn't quite wrap her mind around it. "What are you on about? Doesn't deserve you? Kelly, he's the father! That is... do you know how good he would be to you and that baby? I've known this man since I was in 8th grade, I will not lie to him for you."

There was a quiet sigh. "If you care about him then, you wouldn't want him with someone like me."

Jill sat back, staring at her defeated friend for a moment before it dawned on her. "This... this is still about you, isn't it? You and your non-existent self esteem? You think he's too good for you?"

"He is!" Kelly cried, snapping her green eyes over at Jill. "Who the hell would want a fuck up like me? I've only just learned how to function on my own, now I have to figure out how to raise a baby and... and having him... complicate everything. He'll want to do right by us, he'll want to be involved in everything and he deserves that, but with someone who is more stable!"

Blonde locks shook back and forth. "Are you being serious?"

Kelly huffed. "How could I be more clear? Alan was the same way, he wanted things I couldn't give him. So I left him because he deserved more than me. I know Max cares about me, and I won't lie to you about this, but that night... I cared about him too. I don't let men touch me, you know that. But he held my hand and I felt special, and when he kissed me, I liked it. I didn't have that urge to run away like I always do. Then in the morning, my God, he was so polite and even apologized for how it happened when I was the one who instigated the whole thing."

"You did?"

"I did." Kelly admitted. "He made me feel good about myself. He made me feel things I haven't felt before... emotionally, I mean." She quickly clarified. "So no, Jill. That kind of man deserves someone who isn't going to lie to his face because she's scared, and will always be fucking up his life in some way because she doesn't know how to have a family or care for someone else. He can do better. Let him do better, Jill."

Seconds ticked by like hours, and Kelly thought maybe, just maybe, Jill understood her. The other woman stayed laid back, soaking in the speech she was just given.

"Kelly," Jill spoke tentatively, her voice low. She brought her body forward, looking more direct. "I love you, do you know that? You are like my sister."

"I know." Kelly answered back.

"But that is the biggest load of bullshit I've ever heard in my life."

Kelly irritably sunk her head and let out a groan. "Of course you'd say that."

"I mean it, you are some special kind of fucking moron to think all that. He's crazy about you, and apparently you are just as crazy about him, and guess what? You two made a baby together! But you here are all stuck in the past and not thinking about your baby or what's good for them! Jesus, Kelly it's like a pity party, table for one with you."

She didn't say anything else, but the way she yanked herself away from the bed to return to her own, Jill could tell she was seething.

"You got shit you have to work out, yeah I agree with you. But I'm not lying to Max or Sabrina for you. When Sabrina finds out, she'll flip out and I'm not going to say you don't deserve it."

"Fine, keep taking her side-"

"Oh, don't you even! You know whose side I'm on? That baby's! Because apparently its mother doesn't care."

Kelly opened her mouth to argue, to hurl back an insult and say just how wrong she was, but Jill grew silent and looked away from her. Kelly's facial expression slid from furious to contemplation as she laid back down on her pillow. She moved her fingers of her fractured hand through the bandaging, wincing just a bit and then gently placed it over her stomach.

She was pregnant.

Life changed.

Sabrina rushed down the hospital hallway breathing hard now from the rapid pace she'd been taking since leaving her car in the parking lot. Her legs burned, but she was too excited to slow her pace and, without checking her speed, rushed down the hall, blew right through a small crowd of chatting people and pushed her way through the door that led to wing where Jill and Kelly had been staying all day. There was so much to fill them in on. So much more than she ever anticipated. Just thinking about it turned her stomach into knots. How had this gone from a simple case to exposing a nightmarish Nazi experiment taking place in the present?

Hopefully what she was about to tell her friends made more sense to them than it did to her.

Right away she could see that the area was much busier than it had been when she'd left. The front desk was swarmed and every nurse she could see was engaged in conversation with someone. So much hustle and bustle, so many unfamiliar faces. The chaotic atmosphere put her immediately on edge.

Anyone could walk in here and the distracted hospital staff would hardly notice.

She turned the corner and started heading for her friends' room. It was after six. Most people were out of work by now, Sabrina rationalized nervously as she strode through the hall, able to visit their loved ones before going home. Of course it was busy. After awhile, things would calm back down.

And besides, she told herself, Bill's men were stationed at the door. They had orders to keep any unauthorized people out of their room and there was no way anyone could sneak in with those two sitting there.

It was a comforting thought, so Sabrina was all the more confused and alarmed when the two men that she'd noticed approaching her in the hallway turned out to be Carter and Kessler, Bill's two men, away from their post and looking as if they were headed towards the exit.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Sabrina cried, breaking into a jog. The two men had been sharing laugh between them when Sabrina caught their attention. She skittered to a stop in front of them and grabbed at both men's arms.

"Where are you going? You're supposed to be guarding the door!"

The men gave each other a quick, guilty look before one of them drew his arm away from Sabrina's grip.

"Sorry, Ms. Duncan-" the man, Carter or Kessler, Sabrina had forgotten which one he was, explained uneasily. "Lieutenant Duncan called the front desk and asked us to meet his at the station. They need us down there-" He looked almost apologetic for a moment. "He…he hasn't talked to you yet?"

Sabrina stared at him dumbfounded. "No, he hasn't talked to me!" she cried angrily. "Why do they need you at the station, you were supposed to be here to make sure that nothing happened to my friends! Bill said that he could spare two guys!"

Their conversation was drawing a scene. The other man answered quietly after a beat. "That was this morning. He said that you had never called."

Carter or Kessler, probably Carter shrugged. "Something must have come up."

"Something must have..." Sabrina echoed incredulously. Damn that Bill Duncan. Why she'd expected him to keep his word was a mystery to her.

She suddenly dug into her purse, flipped open her pocketbook and quickly fished out all the cash she had. "Okay, well, something else just came up." She said, fanning out the bills in her hand. "Look, stay here with them and-"

Probably Carter groaned and gently pushed her hand away. "You know we can't do that."

"Yes, you can!" Sabrina sighed, irritated. "Look, just stay here. I'll call Bill right now and explain to him what's going on."

"Sorry, Ms. Duncan." Probably Kessler said, running a hand through his close cropped dark hair. "We have a job to do."

"Fine." Sabrina huffed. She grabbed at Probably Carter's arm. "What about you? How about one of you goes and the other one-"

But he pulled away too. "I'm sorry, Ms. Duncan. I really am." he said quietly and by the look on his face, he probably meant it, not that it was much consolation. "But, we have to go. If it makes you feel any better, there hasn't been one shady character around here all day." He offered hopefully.

"Well, aside from that Bosley guy." Probably Kessler chimed in.

Both his partner and Sabrina ignored him.

"It'll be fine." Probably Carter said. He gestured to his partner and both men resumed their walk toward the same doors Sabrina had just come through. "And if everything gets taken care of at the station, maybe we can come back." He smiled and then gave Sabrina his back, denying her of any further chances to persuade him otherwise. "Have a good night, miss."

They left without looking back, leaving Sabrina standing in disbelief in the hallway, her $37 dollar bribe still fanned out in her hand. The people who'd stopped to eavesdrop grudgingly returned to their business.

Sabrina let her hand flop wearily to her side. "Thanks for nothing, Bill." she grumbled to herself. Muttering curses, she snapped open her purse and began to return the money.

"You still offering?" A passing young man in a leather jacket asked her playfully. "Cause I could use some bread to-"

"Fuck off." Sabrina snapped and, startled, the young man immediately lowered his head and continued on his way.

The people around her shot her disapproving looks that Sabrina didn't even notice. Instead, she took a deep breath, and anxiously rubbed her temples, trying to figure out what to do next.

So Jill and Kelly didn't have anyone guarding the door. Fine. They'd only been gone for less than five minutes. Everything was fine so far. Maybe Max and Kris could watch the door. Or maybe she would just stay in the room with them tonight. That would keep everyone out of trouble. And if something did happen, she would call the police, to hell with what Kelly wanted.

Besides, she thought to herself as she resumed her jog toward her friend's room, there was the night security guards whose sole jobs were to keep all the patients safe. Surely, Jill and Kelly couldn't be the only patients who's attacker was on the loose? Taking comfort from the fact that she was unable to recall any recent hospital attacks, Sabrina made her way to Jill and Kelly's door, having already decided not to tell Kelly that Bill's men had gone. There was no need to upset her again.

As long as she stayed in the room with Jill and Kelly, what could go wrong?