The End of The World: February 14, 2016

by SanJohn

The Ghostbusters are back to battle their old enemies for the end of the world is at hand. Will Professor Spengler's daughter get married? Will Ray lose his daughter and wife? Are Dana and Oscar lost to Peter forever? And what about Winston and the new Ghostbuster team, what is going to happen to them?

37. Chapter 36

Chapter 36

"Just do it Spengler!" The man hollered at Echo and walked away down the corridor of the hospital.

Echo stood in the corridor, fists clenched, fuming mad.

"How dare he order me to do something that I don't believe in," Echo muttered under her breath.

Echo felt someone come up and stop by her left side.

"I hope Nurse Facci gives you an STD!" The woman by Echo's side shouted down the corridor.

The man, who had just hollered at Echo stopped, turned around, and released the hand of the young woman named Nurse Facci, that he had been leading down the corridor, before he spoke.

"You're just jealous Nurse Stringham," the man said gesturing his hand over his body, "that you can't have this."

"When hell freezes over Doctor D'Artagnan," Grace said loudly. "Paul's a better man than you."

"Oh yeah," Doctor D'Artagnan replied back, taking Nurse Facci's hand once again.

Doctor D'Artagnan turned around and started back down the hospital corridor. Before he turned the corner with Nurse Facci he hollered back to Nurse Stringham.

"Is that why you have those five bratty kids?" Doctor D'Artagnan's voice could be heard down the hospital corridors, "Paul doesn't know how, or is that you, don't know how to use contraceptives?"

Echo shot her left hand out and grabbed Grace's right arm before the older woman could take off after Doctor D'Artagnan.

"Let budgie-brain go," Echo said under her breath so that only Grace could hear, "Someday he's going to get what's coming to him. And then he's going to blow like a frog on a hot plate."

Grace turned to Echo, "You've spent too much time around your Uncle Ray."

Echo just shrugged her shoulders and released Grace's arm, "My father likes to think that Ray spent too much time around us."

"Come on," Echo said as she turned on her high heels and headed away from where she had been standing, "I'm going to need a nurse if I have to do this."

Grace, who had been following behind her, reached out with her hand stopping Echo in her tracks.

"You don't have to do this," Grace said as she turned Echo around, "you can ask someone else."

"Who?" Echo questioned as she stared into Grace's eyes, "Paul? He doesn't like it anymore than I do."

"Besides," Echo heaved a sigh and turned away from Grace, "he's my boss during my residency. I can't ask someone else."

"He was also your boss during your internship and we all know what an 'ass' he was to you then," Grace said turning Echo around once again.

"Instead of working in the lab like you wanted to do, Doctor D'Artagnan had you working the E.R. for him, delivering babies, while he was out making babies with any nurse who would have him. He also tried to sexually seduce you," Grace said softly. "Did you ever tell your father?"

"No," Echo said sadly a tear in her eye.

"Why not!?" Grace said becoming angry, "At least you should have told Doctor Callahan."

"Mark Callahan doesn't want to hear my complaints," Echo said lowering her head to the floor, "unless I have proof. Right now it's my word against Doctor D'Artagnan."

"I wish we could catch Doctor D'Artagnan in the act," Grace said.

"So do I," Echo replied, "Come on, let's go see this patient of Doctor D'Artagnan's that he left me with."

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Echo stood in the doorway of her patient's hospital room. She watched as Grace covered the young seventeen year old girl up with a warm blanket. Echo was mad and rightly so.

Doctor D'Artagnan had left Echo to perform an abortion on what she had thought was an eighteen year old, recent high school graduate.

"There was this party," the girl told Echo, "I know that I shouldn't have been drinking, but it was my first college party that I had been invited to."

"I understand," Echo said as she examined the girl with Grace helping her.

"I meet this older guy," the girl continued as Echo drew a sample of the girl's blood, "and we hit it off well."

"What did he look like?" Grace asked as she placed a bandage on the girl's arm where Echo had taken the blood.

"He was really good looking," the girl continued as she rubbed her arm where Echo had taken the blood from, "Tall, dark hair, blue eyes. Said he was studying to be a doctor. He told me he was a senior at the college there."

"Did he give you his name?" Echo asked as she placed the used syringe and needle into the sharps container.

"His name is Brian," the girl said getting a little worried. "When I told him that I thought I might be pregnant he told me to come here. Brian said he would meet me here, but that was an hour ago. Do you know if he has shown up yet?"

"No," Grace replied, "I don't, but I can check with the front desk for you."

"I'm sorry I can't give you his last name," the girl said, "I don't remember much about that night except for waking up in his van in some park somewhere."

"Van?" Echo questioned as she got ready to leave the exam room.

"Yeah," the girl replied, "Like 'Scooby-Doo's van only his had blackout curtains, a mattress in the back, and speakers in the side doors for music."

Echo almost dropped the clipboard that she had been carrying. She clutched it tightly to her chest and turned her body towards the door so that her patient couldn't see her surprised look.

"Interesting," Echo said trying to sound casual as she walked quickly out of the room.

Grace caught up to Echo right before she was about to round the corner of the hospital's corridor.

"Echo," Grace said, "what's wrong? You act like you know who the father of this girl's child is."

"I do Grace," Echo said pulling away from Grace's grasp. "Call Paul. I'll meet you in our office in five minutes."

Grace came up to Echo in the doorway, breaking Echo out of her thoughts.

"I can't believe what we almost did," Grace said to Echo.

"I know," Echo said.

"If it wasn't for you running that blood test we might have killed that child," Grace said softly.

"I know," Echo said as she turned and walked away from her patient's room, Grace following behind.

"Why did you run that test?" Grace asked as they walked back to the nurses' station. "No one would have done that."

"Because Doctor D'Artagnan said he ran the urine test," Echo replied, "and personally I don't trust him."

"Hi Paul," Echo said coming to a stop at the nurses' station, "Did you find a video camera?"

"Yes," Paul replied as he gave his wife a quick hug. "Are you sure you want to do this? It might cost you your license."

"I know," Echo said, "but I think I can live with that. What I can't live with is Doctor D'Artagnan being a bully to everyone in this hospital including you and Grace."

"Echo, it's okay," Grace said.

"No Grace," Echo said getting mad, "it's not okay. It's not your fault that your last child was born with mental handicaps and that you and Paul have to work two jobs to cover her medical bills."

"Echo," Grace tried to interrupt, "I was too old. I shouldn't have been trying for another child at forty-six…,"

"Grace!" Echo said cutting her off, "It's not your fault. Doctor D'Artagnan has made you believe it's your fault."

Grace turned her body into her husband's chest and cried. Paul wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly. Looking over the top of Grace's head he mouthed the words 'Thank You' to Echo.

"It ends now Grace," Echo said with determination in her voice.

"What about you?" Paul asked as Grace's tears subsided. "What are you going to do when the…,"

Echo cut him off, "I'll cross that bridge when I get there."

"Right now," Echo said as she reached over the top of the nurses' station and grabbed the heavy wrench that she had placed there earlier, "I want to see the frog on the hot plate."

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Echo stood outside in the parking lot by the side door of Doctor D'Artagnan's van. The green/blue van was moving back and forth and Echo knew what was going on inside.

"If the van's a-rocking don't come a-knocking," one of the medical students had said before Echo approached the van.

Echo looked back over her shoulder. There had to be at least half of the hospital outside that night with her.

When she had walked down the hospital corridor carrying the heavy wrench, followed by Paul with the video camera, Echo had been asked where she was going.

"I have some unfinished business with Doctor D'Artagnan," she had replied back.

"Well you had better hurry," she had been told. "We have a trauma one case coming in about five minutes."

Now everyone who had ever been bullied by Doctor D'Artagnan stood before her. Echo had her proof for Executive Vice President Doctor Mark Callahan. She just had to go through with her plan that Paul, Grace, and her had agreed to.

When Echo had met Paul and Grace in the office that they all shared together, she had explained what she had planned.

"I already have a police statement from our patient. She tells how she is only seventeen years old and went out for drinks with her so-called boyfriend in the park," Echo told Paul and Grace.

"She has identified her boyfriend from the physician's photos on our website for the hospital. The police are charging him with statutory rape."

"But," Paul said, "a man can defend himself against the charges by proving that his victim was already sexually experienced prior to their encounter."

"And our patient told us she had slept with someone else before Brain," Grace said.

"True," Echo pointed out, "but she was also intoxicated, thereby creating child molestation or forcible rape charges I've been told by the police."

"But," Echo continued, "at any rate I have proof that our patient is pseudocyesis."

"While she had symptoms of true pregnancy, with morning sickness, tender breasts, weight gain, and a missed menstrual cycle, our patient isn't pregnant."

"Our patient is a senior in high school and is living a very stressful life right now. I believe this effected her hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis."

"What?" Grace asked Paul.

"The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis or HPA is a complex set of direct influences and feedback interactions among three endocrine glands. The hypothalamus, the pituitary gland, and the adrenal gland," Paul told Grace.

"So," Grace replied, "our patient actually believes she is pregnant when she is not?"

"Correct," Echo stated, "cases of pseudocyesis have been documented since Hippocrates first gave written account about it around 300 B.C."

"That's why I had you run the ultrasound while our patient watched the monitor," Echo stated to Grace, "The best treatment is to demonstrate to our patient that she is not pregnant by showing her the proof."

"I am still going to recommend that she see a psychotherapist for treatment," Echo finished.

"Charlie?" Paul asked.

Echo nodded her head yes, "Doctor Charlie Levine is still the best in his field even if he is Chief Psychiatrist and running Parkview Medical Hospital from behind his desk these days."

"I also have the blood and urine test results," Echo finished, "One proving our patient is pregnant and one proving she isn't."

"It will come down to your word against his again," Grace replied.

"I know," Echo said, "but I'm hoping to get the whole hospital behind me if I stand up to him. He is trying to get me fired because I wouldn't 'Tango' with him and this patient has proven it to me."

"Echo," Paul said quietly, "do you know what this will mean for your career?"

Echo nodded her head, "I do, but I can't live this way anymore. It's not doing my health any good. For me or the…,"

Echo trailed off and sighed. Grace came over to her and placed her arms around her old roommates daughter hugging her gently because of Echo's broken ribs.

"Have you told anyone yet?" Grace asked.

"No," Echo replied. "The only ones who know are you two."

"Well," Paul said as he came over and stood by Echo's side, "he is pretty lucky to still be here with us. After everything you've been through. The car crash, three broken ribs, the emergency surgery to repair your torn femoral vein, and he's still kicking."

"What are you at now?" Paul asked, "Four months?"

"Five," Echo said as Grace released her.

Echo looked away from the crowd that had gathered and placed her left hand on her belly. She could feel her growing child moving and wondered if he would forgive her for what she was about to do.

Echo had been just as surprised that her baby had survived the car crash as Paul had been when he had found her in their office with a portable ultrasound machine one day.

"What are you trying to do?" Paul had asked her.

"Nothing," Echo had replied trying to hide the probe in her hand and pull down her blouse at the same time.

Paul had walked over to her and had taken the ultrasound probe out of Echo's hand.

"Spill it," Paul had said, "What are you doing ultrasounding yourself?"

Echo clenched the heavy wrench tighter in her right hand.

"I'm doing nothing Paul," Echo had said back. "Just practicing."

"You don't practice on yourself Echo and you know it," Paul had replied.

"Sorry," Echo had tried to lie, "I just didn't want to bother anyone."

Paul had looked at Echo as she tried to wipe away a tear in her eye. Why was Echo trying to hide this from him? Was she worried about her broken ribs? But Echo had been ultasounding her belly not her chest. Then suddenly Paul knew.

Echo took a breath and called out loudly.

"Doctor D'Artagnan!" Echo shouted at the rocking van, "I need your assistance. We have a trauma one coming in!"

"Go away Spengler!" Doctor D'Artagnan's voice could be heard inside, "I'm busy. When I'm done I'll think about coming to help you."

"Echo," Paul had asked, "are you pregnant?"

Echo summoned up her courage and lifted the heavy wrench. She brought it down with all her strength and broke the darkened passenger side window.

Echo had bowed her head to the floor, "I think so," she answered softly.

Echo ignored the screaming and cursing inside the van as she cleared away the glass from the bottom of the window with the wrench, like she had been taught during her paramedic training.

"Well," Paul had said as he sat down next to Echo on the couch, "let's find out together."

When Echo was done she reached inside the van with her left hand and released the lock to open the door.

"Look," Paul had said excitedly, "it's a boy!"

As Echo withdrew her hand and opened the side door she could hear everyone behind her cheering.

"That's great news!" Grace had said when she had come into the office when Paul was performing the ultrasound on Echo.

When the door opened Echo could see Nurse Facci naked with Doctor D'Artagnan on top of her, also naked.

"What do you mean you don't want us to tell anyone?" Paul had said to Echo.

"Daniel doesn't remember," Echo had said sadly.

Echo could see both parties scrambling to find their clothes among the broken glass.

Echo tried to keep her composure as she thought back to that July night in Washington D.C. As she watched the two people in the van she remembered how Daniel had been gentle to her. Not like Doctor D'Artagnan was now with Nurse Facci. Doctor D'Artagnan was being rough and Echo didn't like it.

Behind Echo she heard that the cheering had turned into cat calls. No one should be treated this way Echo thought.

Fuming mad Echo shouted at Doctor D'Artagnan, "Get your pencil out of the sharpener and come inside now!"

Echo felt her baby moving inside her and wondered if he was proud of what his mother had just done.

"I need your help with the trauma one coming in!" Echo shouted at Doctor D'Artagnan before she dropped the heavy wrench onto the floorboard of the van and walked away.

"You're dead meat Spengler!" Doctor D'Artagnan shouted as he tried to pull on his pants attempting to follow Echo.

"You're going to pay for what you've done!" Doctor D'Artagnan shouted as he stepped out of the van his hands hanging onto his pants, "You're fired!"

Echo stopped in her tracks and turned back to the van.

"You can't terminate me," Echo said calmly, "only Doctor Callahan can do that."

"That's right!" Came a loud voice Echo knew.

Echo saw Doctor D'Artagnan's face light up into a smile. Slowly she turned around to face the voice. Doctor Mark Callahan had his hands on his hips and his mouth was turned down into a frown. Echo knew that this was going to happen, but she still wasn't prepared for it to have happened so soon. She had expected this to happen the next day, which was Sunday.

"My office now Doctor Spengler!" Doctor Callahan hissed at Echo pointing a finger towards the hospital's doors.

Echo walked, head held high, shoulders back as the crowd hissed and booed at Doctor Callahan. She heard Doctor D'Artagnan's crude remarks before she entered the hospital.

"Now you're going to get screwed Spengler!" Doctor D'Artagnan shouted at her, "I would have been the best you ever had!"

Echo didn't hear the words that Doctor Callahan had with Doctor D'Artagnan as she walked through the hospital's doors. What she had done was right whether Doctor Callahan approved or not. Echo knew that approval was an inside job. She didn't need the approval of anyone else there. It began with her and her alone and yet Doctor D'Artagnan's crude remarks had caused her to become upset.

Doctor Callahan followed Echo as they both made their way to his office on the fourth floor.

There should have been many things going through Echo's mind as she walked, but only one thing came to her mind and kept repeating itself.

"This above all: to thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to anyman."

The saying was Polonius's last piece of advice to his son Laertes from William Shakespeare's play Hamlet.

"Be yourself," Echo said silently to herself, "you don't need to follow in someone else's footsteps. You have complete control over your own life."

While Echo couldn't control her environment or the actions of the people around her, she could control herself. Before she could be of service to others, she had to empower her own life. She had set an example for others to follow. She had generated happiness to the world. She had set boundaries and said no to additional requests that took her away from Daniel and her father. She had made her own choices giving her the opportunity to aspire to a career that she loved.

Echo sighed and dropped her head just a little. Now her career as a doctor was in jeopardy. This was the consequence of her choice, but there was no way she would have gone back and changed anything that she had done that night. Someone needed to stand up to Doctor D'Artagnan and in the end Echo knew she was the only person who could.

Echo had seen the abuse that Doctor D'Artagnan had given out over the last year. And not just directed at her either. Grace Stringham had been on the receiving end of Doctor D'Artagnan's crude remarks about her children, especially Suzie.

Suzie had been born with Down Syndrome and Doctor D'Artagnan had constantly told Grace that she should have aborted her child the moment that Grace knew she was deformed. Echo knew that Grace wanted a little girl and when Grace had become pregnant at forty-six Paul and Grace knew that this was their last chance.

The Stringham's had four boys already and this pregnancy was considered high risk for Grace. For the last trimester Grace had been placed on bed rest, leaving the running of the family up to Paul.

Echo knew that neither Paul nor Grace would have been able to live should one or the other lose their day job. Grace still played her viola for the New York Philharmonics, but that wouldn't have made ends meet.

Even the other residents and interns would be in the same situation. They had student loans to pay off and rents to pay. She and she alone was in the best position to confront Doctor D'Artagnan and Echo knew it. If she lost her job at the hospital it wasn't going to affect anything but her savings account. Her schooling was paid for and she had her job at Columbia University to fall back on. Echo lived with her father and therefore she didn't have to pay rent. In fact the house that Egon owned was paid for. It had been since her parents had moved in from day one.

"No debt," Egon had told his daughter long ago. "Pay with cash only."

"What about credit cards?" Echo had asked.

"Only if you can pay off the credit card bill when it comes due" Eden had told her daughter, "If you can't you end up paying twice as much."

"I understand," Echo had replied, "I have just one more question left."

"What is it sweetheart?" Eden had asked.

"What about college?" Echo had asked her parents.

"Try and get a scholarship if you can," her father had said to her, "it helped me. But if you can't we have saved up some money for you to go."

Echo stopped outside Doctor Callahan's office door and waited for the man to open it up.

"Sit," Doctor Callahan ordered Echo as he followed her through the door and turned on the lights.

Closing the door behind him Doctor Callahan crossed to his desk and pulled out his chair. As he sat down and looked across the desk at Echo he thought about what he was going to say to her.

Sitting before him in a white lab coat, with a cream colored blouse, and long black pencil skirt, was the most skilled doctor he had ever met in his career. Doctor Echo Spengler had graduated early from her post-graduate studies at Columbia University while teaching there part-time too.

Her college entrance test scores had been impressive too.

Echo's Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Assessment Test (PSAT/NMSAT) had landed Echo a score of 79, 80 being a perfect score. Most high school students achieved a 49. This score qualified Echo for the National Merit Scholarship Program which she had used to fund her schooling at Juilliard. Even though Juilliard didn't require Echo to take the ACT or SAT tests she had done so for her entrance into Columbia's biology program.

Those test scores were equally as impressive. Echo's SAT score was 2390 while her ACT score was 35, slightly under her father's perfect scores. Echo was indeed a child prodigy and to Doctor Callahan that led to a characteristic problem that many gifted children face: what to do.

There was so much that these gifted children could do Doctor Callahan knew and many of them resolved the issue by doing each of them serially throughout their life. All Echo had to do was look at her father Professor Spengler.

Egon had started college at fifteen and had seventeen doctorate degrees when he had graduated from Columbia University at the age of twenty-three. He had gotten his eighteenth doctorate after his wife had died. Every time Egon had learned about something that he liked, he had pursued it.

Now, it seemed to Doctor Callahan, that Echo was following in her father's footsteps. Echo already had three doctorate degrees from Juilliard and two from Columbia. One in reproductive endocrinology and another in infertility medicine. Was Echo trying to be like her father? Doctor Callahan wondered as he studied her.

He had been worried about Echo when she had first come to St. Luke's to do her internship. He was concerned that Echo was being exploited to earn money to support her family, but he had found out that wasn't the case.

Doctor Callahan was also concerned that Echo had been given responsibilities far beyond her years. Echo was unusually focused, determined, and highly motivated to reach the highest level in her field. But while other child prodigies were marked by great confidence in their abilities they had a naïve sense of those abilities in relation to others around them. This wasn't the case with Echo Spengler.

Yes, Echo had been given responsibilities but only ones that her father knew she could handle for her age. It didn't come as a surprise to Echo that other people didn't have the same talent as her. And her parents had never had the problems with the local school system like other child prodigy parents had, of not accommodating the needs of the child to allow time off of school for travel to tournaments and competitions. The Spengler's had home schooled Echo through high school.

All of Doctor Callahan's concerns that he had had for Echo were now put to rest, since Echo had first come to him. Doctor Spengler had changed St. Luke's Hospital staff for the better. Not by her opinion, but by her example.

It had started with a small quote that she had taped to the door of her office that she shared with Doctor Paul Stringham, head of the Radiology Department, and his wife Grace who was the Nursing Director. The quote said:

Everything you do is based on the choices you make.

It's not your parents,

your past relationships,

your job, the economy, the weather,

an argument, or your age that is to blame.

You and only you are responsible for every decision and choice you make.

Period.

Doctor Spengler was a great asset to the hospital and Doctor Callahan didn't want to lose her, so whatever it took he was going to work it out so that she could stay.

"Doctor Spengler," Doctor Callahan finally said to her, "what you did tonight was inexcusable."

Echo went to open up her mouth, but Doctor Callahan raised his right hand up and cut her off before she could speak.

"I know why you did what you did," Doctor Callahan continued dropping his hand back to his desk, "but that is no excuse for the damage that you did to Doctor D'Artagnan's van."

"But…," Echo tried to speak before she was cut off again.

"Look Spengler," Doctor Callahan said, "the police have already visited me and are on their way to arrest Doctor D'Artagnan for statutory rape, don't make me have them arrest you too for destruction of private property."

Echo sat back in her chair, folded her arms across her chest and frowned at Doctor Callahan. It was of no use to try and argue with him. His mind was made up, Echo thought. He believed Doctor D'Artagnan's stories every time.

"You know," Echo said sarcastically to Doctor Callahan, "I wake up with a good attitude everyday, then idiots happen."

Doctor Callahan stifled a laugh. He knew how she felt. Doctor D'Artagnan had been the complaint of nearly everyone on staff at the hospital. That is everyone who hadn't slept with the man. But be that as it may, the problem Doctor Callahan had was that it was Doctor D'Artagnan's word against the people who didn't like him. Proof was needed and tonight Echo had dropped that proof right into his lap; hook, line, and sinker.

"There will be an inquiry about tonight," Doctor Callahan said to Echo, "and until that time you will be relieved of your duties here without pay."

"I understand," Echo said under her breath as she rose from her chair.

"Sit!" Doctor Callahan said sternly to her, "we aren't through."

Slowly Echo sat back down into her chair. She wanted out of Doctor Callahan's office. What more could he do to her that he already had done?

When Echo sat back down Doctor Callahan continued.

"What I'm about to say to you never happened, do you understand?"

"Yes," Echo said wondering what was going on.

"There is something you don't know about me Doctor Spengler. I've been called rebellious, wrong, a black sheep, different…," Doctor Callahan paused for a moment.

He sighed before he continued, "because I refused to be what everyone else is. I stand by my beliefs as do you."

"If I were in your place tonight I think I would have broken more than Doctor D'Artagnan's van's window."

"The reason Brian D'Artagnan is not married is because he is never going to be a real man like your fiancé Daniel."

"Excuse me?" Echo said not understanding.

"Daniel came to see me when he caught Doctor D'Artagnan and you in the storage room."

Echo's cheeks turned red and she dropped her face to the floor. She hadn't told anyone about Doctor D'Artagnan's advances on her except Grace. He had cornered Echo in the storage room and had run his hand up the inside of her skirt before she had kicked him in the family jewels with her knee.

"Daniel told me what happened and I told him I would look into the matter," Doctor Callahan stated.

"Don't worry Doctor Spengler," Doctor Callahan said, "Daniel isn't like Doctor D'Artagnan. Real men stay faithful. They don't have time to look for other women because they're too busy looking for new ways to love their own."

Echo looked up to see Doctor Callahan smiling at her.

"Whatever the outcome of the inquiry know this Spengler," he said proudly, "I will fight for you. You can go now."

As Echo stood up to leave so did Doctor Callahan. He crossed to the door before her and placed a hand on the door knob.

"Echo," he said calling her by her given name for the first time since he had met her, "Each time a person stands for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, they send forth a tiny ripple of hope. And those ripples crossing each other, form a different center of energy and drawing. And those ripples, they build a current that can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance."

"Robert Kennedy said that," Echo replied.

Doctor Callahan smiled, "Sometimes you're too smart for your own good, you know that? Go home Spengler, enjoy your time off. Know that I will fight for your job when this is all over."

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"Echo," Paul said looking her way briefly before he turned back to his patient, "I'll see you Thursday night for your birthday party."

"Paul I'm so sorry…," Echo started to say.

"Sorry?" Paul questioned.

Paul called out orders to the crew around him before he came out of the trauma center's room to where Echo was standing. As the radiograph technicians got ready to take radiographs of Paul's patient, he removed his bloody exam gloves and took Echo's arm leading her away from the scene.

"Look Echo," Paul said stopping around the corner, "I'll be fine."

"But I left you with this trauma and another one's on the way," Echo said.

"I'll deal," Paul replied.

"I didn't think that Doctor Callahan would relieve me of duty so soon," Echo replied back, dropping her face to the ground.

Paul took his right hand and placed it on Echo's chin, turning her head up from the ground.

"Honey," Paul said, "I've been doing emergency room work long before you were born. It wasn't until I meet your mother that I change to a radiologist specialist."

Releasing her face Paul leaned forward and kissed Echo on her forehead, as he heard his crew calling him back into the trauma.

"You know," Paul said as he hurried towards the trauma center's room, "the best part of tonight was seeing Brian naked as a jaybird, trying to put his pants on, mad as a hornet in a jar."

"He didn't realize that he got his pants on backwards either," Paul said loudly as he went back into the trauma, "we could all see his hairy butt!"

Echo watched Paul disappear and Doctor Callahan come around the corner with the other trauma that had just come through the emergency room doors. Doctor Callahan was standing on the bottom rungs of the gurney as he preformed CPR on his patient as EMT's and paramedic's rolled the gurney down the hall towards her.

"I thought I told you to go home," Doctor Callahan said in a loud voice as Echo stepped aside to let the gurney go by her.

"I'm going," Echo said back before she turned and headed towards the hospital's front doors.

Echo smiled to herself. That was something that she hadn't seen. She had been so caught up in breaking the window of the van that she hadn't paid attention to what Doctor D'Artagnan was doing about his loss of clothes. Echo was sure that some of the other hospital personnel had taken pictures on their cell phones. Soon she would be bombarded with pictures of Doctor D'Artagnan's naked body. As if on cue Echo's cell phone rang out that she had a message.

As she exited the hospital she pulled her cell phone from her blue backpack before she slung the backpack over her shoulder. Looking at the cell phone she could see it was a message from Daniel. Echo read the message.

"Heading home from the Met. Stopping at Wal-Mart on the way home to stock up for your party. See you in the morning Lassie."

Echo quickly dialed Daniel's number. She waited for him to answer as it rang several times.

"Come on, pick up," Echo muttered as she quickened her pace across the campus of Columbia heading for the subway.

Echo knew that if she got underground before she reached Daniel she would be taking the DeCamp bus home.

"Lassie," Daniel's voice said into her ear, "You slow tonight?"

"Something like that," Echo replied, relieved that she had gotten a hold of him, "Where are you?"

"About to go into the subway," Daniel replied, "Why?"

"Wait for me," Echo said as she reached the top of the steps that went down to the subway. "I'm coming home with you."

"Are you sick?" Daniel asked concern creeping into his voice.

"No," Echo replied taking the steps quickly down underground, "I'll explain when I see you."

"Alright," Daniel replied, "I'll wait above ground by the USS Marine National Monument statute in Central Park."

"Good," Echo said pulling her Metro card from her jacket pocket as she approached the turnstile, "See you soon."

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Daniel tossed a bag of frozen french fries into the cart before he answered Echo.

"Lassie," Daniel said gently, "we'll get by."

Echo frowned and closed her eyes as her child moved inside her. He was really moving around tonight and Echo wondered if it was because of her emotional status. Gently she put a hand on her stomach to quiet her child.

"Upset stomach?" Daniel asked as he saw Echo with eyes closed, a hand on her abdomen, breathing deeply.

Echo opened her eyes, surprised that Daniel had seen her.

"I guess I'm just sick over what happened tonight," Echo lied to Daniel.

"Lassie," Daniel said as he came over to stand next to her, "like I said before, we'll get by."

Echo smiled weakly at Daniel. No one but Paul and Grace knew about her condition. Echo had kept her pregnancy hidden from everyone, but now she was at five months or twenty-four weeks. Her belly was starting to show the child that she carried and in two more months she would really be showing. Daniel needed to be told but Echo didn't know how to bring it up.

Daniel had a concussion when he had lost control of the rental car in Pennsylvania. The hospital had run a Computed Tomography (CT) scan to make sure that he was fine. Other than some lightheadedness and short term memory loss he was okay. The doctors were hoping that both of Daniel's symptoms would resolve with time.

The lightheadedness had, but not the short term memory loss. Daniel remembered nothing about the car accident which was a blessing, because Echo was sure if he had remembered he would have blamed himself for her broken ribs and the drunk driver that had been killed further down the road.

What Echo couldn't understand was the memory loss of their special night in July.

Echo knew that Daniel would never have slept with her, but that July night they had both gotten drunk. Although Echo didn't know how she could have been drinking any alcohol at all. She only drank virgin Pina Coladas, still the inevitable had happened and Daniel had loved her. Now five months later she carried the result of that love.

Echo had tried to bring up the subject when she had performed the ultrasound on herself to confirm her suspicions, but Daniel had told her that he only remembered proposing to her and the bar. He didn't remember how they had gotten back to the hotel and remembered sitting in the chair, by the bed, playing his violin for her because she was sick.

Echo took her hand off of her belly and took a hold of Daniel's left hand. She squeezed it warmly before she tried to bring up the subject again.

"I don't know if we can get by," Echo said. "What if I get my license suspended? Then what? We need the money to pay our bills."

Daniel brought her hand up to his mouth and kissed it before he answered her.

"I'm working," he said, "and you still have your teaching job."

"That I only get paid for when school is actually in session," Echo reminded Daniel.

"Lassie," Daniel said as he released her hand, "why don't you take that principal position with the Met if you are worried about the money?"

Echo knew what Daniel was talking about and yet she couldn't do what the Met was offering her in her current condition.

The Metropolitan Opera, which Echo sang with in the chorus from time to time, had offered her a principal position for the upcoming new year. She had been offered the role of Elisabeth de Valois from Don Carlo which she had turned down.

In April their child would be born. Don Carlo's dates were March 30, April 2, 6, 11, 15, 18, 22, and 25. Echo couldn't leave the Met for maternity leave in the middle of the show. And yet she would have to do just that when she neared the end of her pregnancy with Columbia University. It was just bad planning all around and still Echo wouldn't have had it any other way.

"At this point in my life," Echo said to Daniel, "I can't take the job the Met is offering me. Maybe the follow year."

"Alright," Daniel said as he grabbed the shopping cart's handles and started pushing the cart towards the front of the store, "We will work something out Echo. Let's get home before the ice cream melts."

Echo stood still for a moment watching Daniel's beautiful backside as he walked away from her. She was indeed lucky to have him in her life.

Daniel was a wonderful man who was her whole world. He wasn't perfect by any means but he was perfect for her. Daniel worked hard and would do anything she asked of him. He made her laugh, he was her best friend, and tonight Echo felt that he was her only friend.

Sighing Echo stepped forward to follow him to the cashier. Daniel was someone whom she wanted to grow old with, if she didn't kill him first for spending money they didn't have. Yet she was thankful for his presence in her life everyday.

She still had one problem and that was bringing up the topic of her being pregnant. Echo would have to tell Daniel this week. She stopped in her tracks as Daniel rounded the corner of the frozen food section in the twenty-four hour Wal-Mart that they were in. Her face became pale, her stomach upset, and she shook ever so slightly. Echo had never been afraid of her father until this moment. She had only kept one other secret from him and that was seeing the fall of the World Trade Center in person. What would he do when he found out that she was pregnant? Would he welcome a grandchild into the house? Egon had always loved children as far back as she could remember.

Winston's adoptive daughter Shelly. A beautiful smart teenage girl who was looking forward to studying Political Affairs in college.

Peter's son Oscar. Oscar who had just found out that he was adopted and had left home, avoiding contact with Dana, Peter, and her. Echo hated that the most. Oscar and her were like brother and sister and the fact that he wouldn't even bother to pick up a phone and call her bothered Echo.

Ray's niece and nephew, then Ray's own daughter. Echo frowned. Nokomis had just turned eighteen years old. Echo knew Nokomis was smart, if she would only put some discipline into school she would have graduated top of her class. But as it was Nokomis had dropped out, bored with the school system, and arguing with the teachers.

Echo shivered even more as she recalled a conversation that Aunt Melody had had with Nokomis last Christmas.

"You need to finish school," Melody had said.

"I hate school," Nokomis had replied back, "It's too slow, they repeat the same thing over and over again, and the teachers aren't smart."

"You will finish high school," Melody had retorted back raising her voice slightly.

"The hell I will," Nokomis had said back getting just as angry.

Pushing her chair away from the table Nokomis got up. "I'm dropping out of high school," Nokomis shouted at her mother, "AND just to piss you off I'll get pregnant!"

"Over my dead body!" Aunt Melody shouted back.

"Echo," Daniel's voice called, "you coming?"

"Yes," Echo called back as she started forward again.

Echo wondered if her father would be like Aunt Melody and yell at her for getting pregnant out of wedlock. Echo shook her head to clear it as she rounded the corner of the frozen food section. Whatever was going to happen was going to happen. She couldn't worry about it until the time came.

She quickened her pace and caught up to Daniel as he was placing their items onto the conveyor belt at the checkout stand. He looked up to see Echo's face. Her face was etched in pain and he knew something was clearly wrong.

"You okay Lassie?" Daniel asked as he placed a six-pack of soda onto the conveyor belt.

"Just scared," Echo replied softly.

"About your work?"

"Yes," Echo lied.

"Look Lassie," Daniel said reaching out an taking Echo's hand.

He gave it a quick squeeze before he continued, "Everything that you are going through is preparing you for what you asked for."

"And what did I ask for?" Echo questioned.

Daniel smiled and released Echo's hand.

"Someone who won't let you face your problems all alone," he replied.

Echo smiled back at Daniel. He truly was her best friend tonight.

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Softly, quietly, Echo opened the back door to her father's house. It was three o'clock in the morning and she had just finished with a call involving a drunk driver and a chain link fence.

On the way home from Wal-Mart, when Daniel who had been driving was ready to make a left hand turn down Roseland Avenue in Caldwell, New Jersey to their house, Echo had received a message on her cell phone about the accident.

"Go straight," Echo said after she had pulled her phone from her jacket pocket.

"It's almost 12:30 AM," Daniel replied. "Let someone else take the call."

"Daniel please," Echo pleaded as she placed her cell phone back into her jacket, "I have to do this."

Echo remembered Daniel looking her way briefly, before checking for traffic as he continued through the light to take her to the first aid squad building.

Echo needed to find another way to make money until she found out what was going to happen with her job at St. Luke's Hospital. Her job at school and her part-time paramedic work were her only fall back right now. Her orchestra duties were done until next year.

Hanging her coat on the hook beside the back door Echo went into the laundry room and shut the door before turning on the lights. She quickly undressed, grabbed a pair of flannel pajamas, before she turned out the lights once again.

Quietly she opened the laundry room door and hurried across the hallway to the bathroom naked. She really needed to take a shower before she headed up to her bedroom where Daniel was most likely waiting in bed for her.

As Echo closed the bathroom door she thought she heard her father call out to her. Listening carefully Echo heard nothing more and turned on the shower.

As she stepped into the hot water she thought back about the time Daniel had started sleeping in the same bed with her. What she had thought were sexual advances on his part towards her were the furthest thing on Daniel's mind.

Daniel had been waking Echo up on their tour when she had a nightmare. The nightmares had started a couple weeks after Daniel had proposed to her. As the weeks went along the nightmares had gotten worse. Daniel would play his violin for her to help her sleep but after a while it didn't help anymore.

Echo had woken up, after one disturbing nightmare to find Daniel in bed with her holding her tightly, telling her that everything was gong to be fine. After she had stopped shaking she came to find that she enjoyed his company by her side, yet her nightmares still hadn't gone away.

Echo closed her eyes and buried her face into the water's spray trying to forget. But as much as she wanted to she could not. The same reoccurring nightmare came back again and again. It didn't happen every night, but it happened enough to have her start to worry about her mental health.

"It's just hormones," Echo said out loud opening her eyes, trying to convince herself of its truth.

But deep down Echo knew something was wrong with her as she shut off the water and stepped out of the shower. Her child moved within her as she dried herself off.

"It's okay," Echo said softly as she placed a hand on her slightly swollen abdomen, "You're safe."

As Echo dressed eventually her child stopped in his movements and settled down. Echo quietly opened the bathroom door and crossed to the living room. As much as she wanted to be with Daniel at this moment she needed a few minutes alone before she went upstairs.

Stopping before the fireplace, Echo grabbed the box of matches off of the mantel and bent down. Turning on the gas Echo then lit the match and held it near the fireplace. With a soft pop the gas caught the flame from the match and roared into life. Shaking the match out, Echo closed the mesh curtain fireplace screen and stood up. She placed the burnt out match onto the mantel. She would dispose of it in the trash later.

She then walked to the nearest arm chair and carefully dragged it back to the fireplace. Turning it around, so that it faced the fire, Echo sank into its depths and pulled her legs up into the chair. Taking her unfinished book that she had been reading, out of the arm chair's pocket on her right hand side, she opened it up and started to read.

Eventually her head became heavy and started to droop forward. Echo tried to stay awake by shaking her head back and forth but eventually her head slumped forward, her hair hanging down in her face, the book that she had been reading falling onto the floor to come to rest face down. The sandman had won.

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Egon felt Eden slide up to his side and he lifted his arm up to drape around her body bringing his wife closer to him.

He was still half asleep as Eden played with his shoulder length hair, wrapping her fingers through his locks. Eventually Eden's hand released his hair and slid under the covers and inside his pajama bottoms.

Egon moaned with pleasure as Eden slid under the covers and pulled down his pajama bottoms.

Egon sat straight up in bed.

"Eden?" He called out quietly, but heard nothing in return but the water in the bathroom next door being turned on.

Egon surmised that he must have been dreaming as he laid back down in bed and turned to lay on his right side. The clock on his night stand read three in the morning and he wondered who was up.

"Probably Daniel," Egon muttered as he closed his eyes once again.

This was Egon's first time back at the house since Verdie had been released from the hospital. He had stayed with her until today, but being as Echo's birthday and Christmas were this coming week he needed to be home.

"Don't worry Verdie," Egon had told her before he left, "In January when I get the house ready I'll have you move in."

Before Egon had left he knew that Daniel had been out late every night that he could get away. Daniel was planning something for Echo's birthday, that much Egon knew, but he still had not been told exactly what it was yet.

"It's a surprise," Daniel had told the older man when Egon had asked.

Egon wondered what it was as sleep once again enfolded its arms around Egon's body.

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Echo was enjoying herself as Daniel ran his hands down her naked body. He stopped and leaned forward to gently kiss and caress her beautiful breasts.

Echo loved the way that Daniel was gentle with her as he wrapped his arms around her waist to pull her closer to him. He used a gentle rocking motion in his love making to her.

Echo closed her eyes. She could feel Daniel gently laying her onto the bed on her back. She could feel him on top of her, his body moving against hers. She could hear him moaning and taste his lips as he leaned forward to french kiss her.

Echo's senses were heightened as Daniel carefully rolled her over, onto her stomach, and slightly parted her legs. Daniel laid on top of her, kissing the back of her neck, as he took his right arm and raised her bottom up.

Echo moaned with pleasure as Daniel worked his magic upon her. She could feel him move his head towards hers and she raised herself up on her hands as Daniel rested a hand on her stomach.

Echo turned her head slightly back and opened up her eyes to look at Daniel. But his face wasn't what she saw.

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Egon fought to keep from falling asleep as he lay next to his wife. Eden had her head on his left shoulder, her arms wrapped around his upper body, her left leg draped over his lower half.

They had just finished loving each other and Egon knew that Eden wanted to cuddle afterwards. Sometimes he found it hard to stay awake after their session was over and tonight was no different.

Egon's eyes started to close. Suddenly he felt something kick his left thigh as he opened his eyes up, wide awake now.

"Sorry," Eden giggled as she withdrew her leg from off of her husband and pulled her arms away.

"It's fine," Egon replied as he rolled onto his left side to face his wife.

Tenderly Egon reached out and placed his right hand on Eden's abdomen. He was greeted to another small kick from the child within. Eden placed her hand over her husband's hand and smiled at him.

"He's going to be trouble you know," Eden stated.

"He must get it from your side of the family," Egon teased, "I was a perfect child."

"That's not what your mother told me," Eden replied. "Burning down part of your room and the garage when you were ten, because you discovered nitroglycerine. Obtaining acids for your chemistry set by using a mail order chemical company before your father stopped you. Building your first combustion engine at six years old, but you still don't know how to drive to this day. You also built a sonic gun that set off soft-drink cans at 100 yards away."

"And your mother even said that while you were in high school you observed your fellow high school students making out in the park. You then applied a variety of scientific principles and managed to precisely forecast the exact number of VD cases in Ohio state for that year."

"Yeah," Egon replied sadly, "and as a result most of my fellow high school students parents wouldn't let me associate with their children."

"Katherine never told me that," Eden said softly, "I'm so sorry my love."

"It didn't matter," Egon replied as he took his hand away from her abdomen and rolled onto his back.

Placing his hands behind his head Egon once again spoke to Eden, "I had my hobbies to keep me busy."

Eden sat up on her right elbow, "That wouldn't be spores, molds, and fungus would it?" She asked.

"I believe that they are going to be the food of the future," Egon replied mater-of-factly.

"Remind me never to have lunch with you," Eden teased.

Egon stifled a laugh and turned his head back towards Eden. He smiled at her beautiful glowing face and reached out his left hand to touch her. Before he could touch Eden she grabbed his hand and locked her fingers through his.

"Promise me something," Eden said very seriously.

"What?" Egon asked noticing the change in his wife's demeanor.

"That you will go and get your professor title," she said.

Egon rolled his eyes and looked back up at the ceiling of their bedroom.

"Eden," Egon said as annoyance crept into his voice, "not this again."

"There's no time to do that," Egon said, "The baby is coming the first of next year. We haven't finished the attic to turn it into the baby's room yet. Echo's birthday is coming up before then in December too. She's going to be turning into the double digits. And we still haven't even agreed upon a name yet."

"Edison," Eden said, "after your father."

"I like Edgar," Egon replied.

"Edgar is too old-fashion sounding," Eden said.

Egon pulled his hand away from Eden's grasp. He didn't want to fight with her tonight.

"I'm sorry," Eden replied seeing she had hit a sore spot with her husband, "we can talk about baby names later."

"But," Eden said as she reached her hand out to turn Egon's face towards her, "please promise me you will think about your professor title."

"Eden…," Egon started to say, but Eden cut him off by leaning forward and kissing him.

"Just promise me," Eden said as she withdrew her face from his.

"I promise," Egon said smiling and kissing her back, ready for another round of love making.

"Hold on tiger," Eden said pulling gently away, "I need to use the bathroom first."

Eden pushed back the covers and grabbed a bathrobe from off of the end of the bed. Egon watched as she covered her naked body up with it before she started towards the bedroom door. She looked beautiful pregnant and he wanted her even more.

"The only down side about being five months pregnant is that I have to use the facilities more often," Eden said as she opened the bedroom door. "I'll be right back."

Egon watched as Eden disappeared through the bedroom door and closed it behind her. Trying to keep his eyes open Egon found he couldn't and shut them knowing that Eden would wake him up when she came back.

Eventually Egon opened his eyes. His clock on the nightstand read four in the morning. Soon Eden would have to be up to catch the DeCamp bus into the city with Echo. They usually left together as a family, but today Eden needed to drop Echo off at Peter's apartment. She had an interview with CBS at the Windows of the World Restaurant this morning.

"Maybe you shouldn't go," Egon muttered as he rolled over to wake his wife up.

Eden wasn't next to him, only the empty pillow met him. Tossing the covers aside he figured that Eden must be awake already and trying to get Echo up. The least that he could do was help his wife wake their daughter up and he crossed to the bedroom door and opened it.

In front of him the fireplace was going and the arm chair was turned around facing the fire. Eden's right arm hung down by the chair's side and her unread book rested face down beside her. Smiling Egon walked forward and stopped in front of her. He wondered when she had come out to the living room.

Eden had her legs pulled up in the chair and her head was bowed, with her hair falling in her face. She looked beautiful and Egon heard her moan slightly in pain. He kneeled down to see their child moving inside her womb. The child was really shifting around today and Egon reached out an put a hand on her belly, trying to quiet their child.

At the same time Egon took his other hand and reached out to push Eden's hair back behind her left ear as Eden moaned once again and opened her eyes.

Fear filled both parties as Egon quickly withdrew his hands and fell backwards onto the floor. The face staring back at him wasn't Eden's.

"Father!" Echo nearly shouted trying to pull her legs up more into the chair, "I'm so sorry. I was going to tell you sooner, but…," she trailed off, a loss of what to say.

Overcoming his initial fright Egon pushed himself back up onto his knees. Gently he reached forward, between Echo's legs, and placed his hand once again on her abdomen. He wanted to make sure that what he had felt before was real. He smiled as the child inside pushed a small hand against his. He looked up to see tears in Echo's eyes.

"Father…," Echo started to say but Egon cut her off.

"How far along are you?" He asked keeping his hand on her abdomen.

"Twenty-four weeks," Echo replied.

"Five months," Egon stated softly looking back at Echo's slightly swollen belly. "So, you and Daniel had your own set of fireworks on the fourth of July."

"Yeah," Echo replied, slowly dropping her feet to the ground, "something like that."

Echo had been afraid that her father would be angry with her when she told him that she was pregnant. She was sure that he would have screamed at her or thrown her out of the house, but he hadn't. Here he was sitting in front of her, a hand on her belly, smiling every time her baby moved inside her.

"What have Daniel and you picked out for a name?" Egon asked drawing Echo out of her thoughts.

"Emrick," she replied.

"A boy!" Egon's shocked voice rang out around the living room.

But just as soon his voice fell, a little bit of sadness to it, as he spoke again.

"Emrick McQuarrie."

"No," Echo replied leaning forward, "Emrick Spengler."

"I don't understand," Egon said turning his face to look at his daughter, "This is Daniel's child correct?"

"Emrick is Daniel's child," Echo replied, "I just haven't told him yet."

"You can't keep this hidden any longer," Egon pointed out patting her belly lightly. "In February when you are supposed to be walking down the aisle in Scotland you are going to be heavy with child."

"I'm amazed Daniel hasn't figured it out by now," Egon said removing his hand from Echo's abdomen. "He's sleeping with you after all."

"Emrick hasn't been moving around until today," Echo replied, "I guess it's because I'm upset."

"About telling Daniel?" Egon asked as he slid his knees out from under him to sit on his buttocks, "Are you afraid he's going to say something to you? Do you want me to talk to him first?"

"Yes and no," Echo replied, "I would love it if you would speak to Daniel about having children and the joy they will bring into our lives. Every time I've tried to bring it up Daniel says he doesn't remember us celebrating or he changes the subject. I thought he wanted children since he came from a large family."

"Maybe that's the problem," Egon replied, "Coming from a large family and being the last child in line has its downside too."

"Remember the time when Daniel told us his father had lost his job for a year. If it wasn't for Daniel playing his violin for the Royal Scottish National Orchestra the family would have been homeless."

"Maybe that was too great a responsibility for a child under the age of ten," Egon finished.

"Maybe you're right," Echo replied, "If Daniel doesn't want any more children after this one then that is something that we will have to talk about as a couple. Right now though Daniel's a father and he doesn't even know it, but that's not the reason I'm upset."

"Then why are you upset?" Egon asked, "Are you worried about what other people are going to say when they find out you're pregnant out of wedlock?"

"No," Echo replied, "Now-a-days people get pregnant all the time, whether married or not. I'm sort of worried about Daniel's reputation being ruined."

"I'm sure if you told Daniel he would drag you down to the courthouse and marry you right away," Egon pointed out.

"True," Echo said.

"So," Egon said, "we've covered two sources of why you could be upset. What's the third?"

Echo bit her lip and pulled her legs back up onto the chair. She wrapped her arms around them and looked into her father's eyes. How could she tell him about what had happened at the hospital? He had been so proud of her when she had gotten her medical degree.

"Now we have a 'Real' doctor in the family," Egon had told her when she had graduated from Columbia University.

"I'm upset about work," Echo finally said.

"Which one?" Egon asked.

Echo chastised herself. She had many jobs. Besides teaching at Columbia University and working at St. Luke's Hospital, which were her main jobs, she also did paramedic work with the town that she lived in. There was also the two orchestras that she played in and the occasional Metropolitan Opera production that she sang in the chorus for.

"Sorry," Echo said, "St. Luke's."

"Come to think about it you are home a bit early," Egon stated.

"Doctor Callahan relieved me of my duties without pay," Echo said softly.

"Malpractice?" Egon questioned, "I'm sure we can get a good lawyer for you."

"No," Echo replied, "I…," she trailed off.

"What?" Egon questioned.

He could see the worried look in his daughter's eyes. Something had happened tonight. Something bad enough to be sent home for. Reaching out he took her hand into his.

"Please tell me," he said quietly.

"I…," Echo started to say, trailed off, took a deep breath and rushed to get the words out at last, "I broke Doctor D'Artagnan's van's window."

"There was a trauma one case coming in and Doctor D'Artagnan was having intercourse with Nurse Facci in the parking lot."

"I needed his help and he told me to go away when I yelled at him inside his van. So I broke the window, opened the door on him, and told him to get his pencil out of the sharpener."

"About time," Egon replied smiling at his daughter.

"What?!" Echo questioned, taken back by her father's reply.

"Is this the same doctor that had you cornered in the storage room and ran his hand up the inside of your skirt?" Egon asked.

"Yes," Echo said with surprise in her voice, "How did you know?"

"Daniel told me," Egon said, "and I called Doctor Callahan to confirm it. I don't understand why you didn't come and tell me about it. Anyways, what did you do?"

"I ran my knee into his precious family jewels," Echo said bitterly.

"So the deed is done," Egon said as he squeezed Echo's hand, "and this 'lovely' doctor is your residency doctor right now, correct?"

"Yes," Echo replied.

"And he was your internship doctor too?"

"Yes," Echo said wondering where this conversation was going.

"Is this what you wanted to talk to me about back in June before Kane interrupted us?"

"How did you know?" Echo asked.

"Father's intuition," Egon said smiling wider.

Echo laughed softly, "There's no such thing."

"Oh yeah," Egon teased back, "How about the time as a teenager you borrowed the car and came home late. When I asked you what time you came in you told me not too late."

"And you told me that you would have to talk to the paperboy about putting the newspaper under the front wheel of the car," Echo finished.

"You remembered!" Egon said surprised.

"Of course I remembered."

"Come on then," Egon said as he stood up, "time for bed."

Echo frowned, "I don't want to disturb Daniel," Echo said as she watched her father turn off the gas to the fireplace.

"Do you want to sleep in your old room?" Egon asked as he came back over to help her up from the arm chair.

"Not unless I want to die," Echo said starting to walk away from the chair, "Have you been inside lately?"

"Not since July," Egon replied. "Come, you can sleep in my bed."

Echo stopped in her tracks. "I haven't done that since Mother died," she said.

"Then it's long overdue," Egon said as he gently pulled Echo to start her walking again.

Pausing at his bedroom door, Egon opened the door and helped Echo through. He led her over to the right hand side of the bed and pulled back the covers. Releasing Echo's hands he watched her sit down on the side of the bed, where Eden used to sleep, and slid her legs under the covers. Egon covered her up, moved around the bed to his place, but not before he noticed Echo lying on her right side.

"You do know it's better to lay on your left side when you are pregnant?" Egon stated.

"Yes I know," Echo replied sleepily, "but my ribs still hurt."

"I forgot about that," Egon said, "Hold on, I might have something that will work."

Egon crossed to the closet and opened the side that still contained Eden's clothes. Rummaging around in the back of the closet he eventually pulled out a long black body pillow. He crossed back over to Echo's side as he took off the plastic wrap. Stopping by his daughter Egon handed the pillow to her.

"Try this," Egon said as Echo maneuvered the pillow into position, "I bought it for Eden the day she died."

"Thank you," Echo said trying to hold back her tears.

"In the morning we'll go through your mother's clothes," Egon said as he walked over to his side of the bed and slid under the covers. "I'm sure yours are starting to get a bit too tight."

"They are," Echo said softly, "how would you know."

"I told you," Egon said smiling in the dark, "Father's intuition."

Echo snorted back.

"Look Echo," Egon said before he drifted back to sleep, "When someone is nasty or treats you poorly, don't take it personally. It says nothing about you but a lot about them."

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Daniel rolled over to his left to kiss Echo good morning, but when he opened his eyes she wasn't there.

"Probably still on call," he muttered as he pushed back the covers and got out of bed, "Or in the basement practicing."

The window over Echo's bed had frost around the edges and as Daniel looked outside he could see white snow in the branches of the trees. He smiled as he made the bed. He liked snow. Where he had grown up along the west coast of Scotland, the Island of Mull was brushed with the Gulf Stream. This meant that winters tended to be milder than the rest of the UK. Soon he heard a scraping sound outside. Wondering if it was Echo he looked outside the window again. It was their next door neighbor shoveling the snow from her driveway.

"Egon really needs to install that underground heater for her," Daniel muttered as he took the stairs two at a time down to the hallway.

When he reached the hallway he quickly went into his room and changed into some warm clothes. He knew his room was a mess but he hadn't had a chance to clean it since he had been working on Echo's birthday gift. When he was done he exited his room and opened the door to the basement.

"Echo," Daniel called out, "you down there?"

Daniel heard a door being opened down the hallway. As he closed the basement door he could see he had woken Egon up.

"I'm sorry," Daniel said, "I didn't mean to wake you up."

"It's okay," Egon replied as he quietly closed the door to his bedroom, "Echo's sleeping in my bed. What's the mater?"

Daniel narrowed his eyes at Egon. "Why was Echo in her father's bed?" He wondered.

Egon seemed to sense what Daniel was thinking as he spoke once again to the young man.

"I found Echo asleep in the armchair in the living room early this morning," Egon said as he crossed to the kitchen, Daniel following him.

"She didn't want to disturb you or to sleep in her old room, so I suggested she sleep in my bed," Egon finished as he started a pot of coffee.

"Which reminds me," Egon said, "Any chance of you cleaning your room before next year?"

"I really need to get on that don't I," Daniel replied, "Next week, after Christmas, I promise I'll clean it. I've been busy."

"Yeah I know," Egon said a thin smile on his face, but Daniel didn't catch it.

"Say," Daniel said changing the subject, "when are you going to install an underground heater for Mrs. Thompson? You know she's out there shoving snow right now?"

"It snowed?" Egon said surprised as he crossed to the kitchen window and looked outside.

Sure enough a few inches of snow covered the ground and Egon could see their left-hand neighbor out shoveling snow.

"She really needs to ask for help," Egon muttered under his breath as he turned away from the window.

"Give me a minute to change and I'll join you outside," Egon said to Daniel as he went back into his bedroom.

Fifteen minutes later both men were almost done with Mrs. Thompson's house. Egon's own house had an underground heater in place under the driveway and walkway. All he had to do was flip a switch, much like a light switch, and the heater would go to work; warming up the concrete of the sidewalk and driveway thereby melting the snow.

Egon stopped shoveling when Daniel told him what he had been working on for Echo's birthday.

"You're serious!" Egon said shocked at what Daniel had just said to him.

"Dead serious," Daniel replied tossing a shovel full of snow onto the snow-covered grass.

"Why now?" Egon said as fear crept into his body.

"Because Verdie is going to be coming the first of January and I think it's time," Daniel replied.

"Second of January," Egon corrected, "but you know you both can…,"

Daniel cut him off, "No Egon we can't. I'm sorry, but I need to start a new life with Echo. I can't keep relying on you to support us both."

"But Daniel…," Egon started to say before he was cut off again.

"Egon," Daniel said as he stopped shoveling snow, "you knew this was going to happen one day."

"Yes I did," Egon replied, "I just didn't expect it to happen this week."

"I've been courting Echo since she was twenty years old," Daniel said, "During that time we practiced the merging of two separate lives into one."

"There are enough disruptions in families, divergent life-styles, and differences in society that I was afraid I would not meet someone with a similar background as my own," Daniel continued.

"Then I met your daughter. She was kind, generous, loyal, and fun to be with. Like me," Daniel said.

"Echo is also logical, has a good sense of humor, is honest, and trustworthy. Everything I was looking for in a wife."

"My father told me that he simply wasn't caring for his children until they left home, he was training infinitely precious children to someday be worthy to receive a wonderful companion."

"Egon," Daniel said as he reached out a gloved hand and placed it on the older man's shoulder, "You have raised a wonderful daughter. Now it's my turn to raise a wonderful wife."

"I don't think Echo is going to be pleased," Egon replied.

Daniel smiled, removed his hand off of Egon's shoulder, and went back to shoveling the last of the snow, "That's Echo's only bad habit that I have seen, her short temper."

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Echo placed the hard white plastic case that contained her Otto Benjamin cello into the backseat of the car and closed the door. She needed to pay for her parking before she exited the parking garage but knew she had fifteen minutes to do so before the parking facility would charge her a penalty.

Right now all Echo wanted to do was curl up into a ball and cry her eyes out. She opened the front door of the car and slid behind the wheel. The car was facing the block wall of the parking garage and Echo knew that no one would see her as she pulled the door shut.

Echo thought she had control of her life, but right now it was out of control. She felt she was spiraling down an endless hole. A sad, endless hole that sat at the bottom of her heart.

It had all started on her birthday two days ago. Daniel had started with making her breakfast which he had brought upstairs on a tray. Lightly buttered toast, orange juice, and crepes greeted her when Daniel had called out her name as he walked up the stairs with her breakfast.

After breakfast Daniel and her had gone for a walk around Grover Cleveland Park. The backyard of Egon's house faced the park. All Daniel and Echo had to do was hike down the hill from off of the landing where the in ground pool sat. That afternoon was spent getting ready for her birthday party, that also corresponded with Egon's Christmas Party the next day. As Echo helped her father she noticed that he wasn't himself.

"What's wrong?" Echo asked.

"I wasn't able to talk to Daniel about the baby," Egon whispered back, "you are going to have to tell him tonight."

Echo frowned, "After the party."

Egon nodded his head in understanding, placed a hand on her cheek, and went back to work. As the day wore on Echo even noticed that Daniel was starting to act nervous.

"You okay?" Echo asked taking Daniel's hand, stopping him before he went into his room.

"Yeah," Daniel replied squeezing her hand, "I'm just nervous that you will not like your birthday gift."

"If it's from you I'll love it," Echo replied as the doorbell rang signifying that their first guest had arrived.

Echo opened up and rummaged through the glove box for the parking ticket.

Her birthday had gone off splendidly even though they were missing Oscar, Iris, and Nokomis. Janine and Louis' twins had made up for the missing trio in waves.

The boys had decided to go swimming. Not that swimming in the middle of December was bad. Egon had enclosed the swimming pool and it was heated too so that anyone could swim year-round. Only the boys had decided that they were not going to change out of their wet suits in the changing rooms attached to the enclosed pool.

Both boys had run dripping wet, up to the house, through the back door, to appear in the kitchen, frozen with snow on their heads.

As Echo and Egon quickly wrapped each twin up in a hot towel from the dryer, Louis went to find dry clothes for his sons.

"You know," Janine said an hour later after her boys were warmed up, "being a mom to a set of twins is like living in the eye of a hurricane. Things might seem peaceful right now, but you're always on the brink of insanity."

As if on cue Sandy and Harry ran out the backdoor together slamming it loudly.

"That may be true," Peter said to Janine, "but right now raising those teenage boys is like trying to nail jello to a tree."

Echo produced the parking ticket and closed the glove box back up. She heaved a large sigh as a single tear fell from her face.

"Happy Birthday Lassie," Daniel said as he handed her a large box.

He was the last one to give Echo her present that night.

"Thank you," Echo replied taking the box from him.

Echo wondered what was inside as she tore the wrapping paper from the box and lifted the lid. Inside was a wool garment. A simple red and green pattern Echo immediately recognized as the tartan pattern of the McQuarrie clan. The tartan was very similar to the MacDonald of the Isles tartan and illustrated the McQuarrie's ties with the MacDonald clan.

Echo pulled the garment from the box to see that is was a long blanket-like wrap with an attached hood.

"It's called a serape," Daniel said as Echo stood up and he draped the wrap across her shoulders.

Daniel let the left side of the serape hang down to her knees and brought the right hand side of the wrap up and over Echo's left shoulder. He then took a brooch and fastened the ends of the wrap together.

"This is our clan's crest," Daniel said as he finished pinning the brooch to her.

Echo looked down. This was different from the pin that Daniel wore on his Scottish kilt. His was a sword and in the center was the design that was on her left shoulder. The brooch was round in the design of a belt. The buckle was on the left side and the end of the belt, hung down in the center towards the bottom. An arm was coming up out of a crown, grasping a dagger in the center.

Echo knew the Scottish Gaelic engraved on the inside of the belt. An t'arm breac dearg translated to "the red tartaned army" and she smiled at Daniel.

Daniel was trying his hardest to introduce her to his family and traditions little by little. When they had gotten engaged he had given her a luchenbooth brooch, besides her mother's engagement ring. The brooch had once belonged to Daniel's grandmother and then had been passed down to his mother, who in turn gave it to Daniel.

The silver Scottish love token symbolized the couples promise to marry. The brooch had two hearts intertwined with a crown on top and got its name from the luchenbooth's near St. Giles Church in Edinburgh where silversmiths and jewelers had their booths.

After Daniel had fastened his clan's crest onto her new serape he had placed the hood on her head, taken her hand, and led her out the backdoor.

"I have one more birthday gift for you," Daniel said as he opened the passenger door to his sports car.

Still upset about Daniel buying his new car Echo replied back rather sarcastically.

"I hope it's not another car," Echo said as she slid into the passenger side seat.

"No," Daniel said, "It's not another Ferrari."

Echo wiped away her tears from her eyes. No, Daniel's gift hadn't been another car, but right now she wished it would have been.

Daniel had driven Echo north on 23, past the 287 highway, to County Highway 695 also known as Echo Lake Road. Here he had turned off and followed the winding two lane road up to Echo Lake. Passing the dam, they passed over the Macopin River and then Matthews Brook before Daniel turned off into a small paved parking lot. A gravel road with a metal gate sat in front of them. Daniel got out to open the gate, to allow them access, but not before Echo noticed a sign that read no trespassing/private property on the front of the gate.

"Daniel," Echo asked when he returned to the car, "do you know where you're going? The sign said no trespassing."

"I know the owner," Daniel replied as he concentrated on staying on the gravel road.

After about a mile or so Echo could see faint lights in the distance. As they got closer she could see that the lights belonged to a beautiful log house that sat back from the shore of Echo Lake.

The log home had a peaked central roof with a wing off to each side. The post and beam of the center of the log home reminded Echo of the log cabins that they had seen while driving through Colorado. The top floor had a wrap around wooden porch, while the bottom was comprised of large stones. Echo saw the back of the house as they drove around. Wood piles were stacked up next to the house, between the windows, all across the back. When she looked to her right she could see a large fenced-in corral in the dark. Daniel turned the car to the left. The garage door was open on the right hand side of the two car garage as Daniel drove into the garage and shut off the engine.

"You must really know the owners pretty well for them to let you park in their garage," Echo said as Daniel came around and opened up the door for her.

"I do," Daniel replied offering Echo his hand.

It was then, as Echo stepped out of the Ferrari, that she noticed the truck parked next to Daniel's car. She recognized the yellow Dodge Ram as belonging to Daniel's drinking buddy Owen Fitzpatrick. Owen and Daniel had been hanging out together late into the night drinking lately.

"You never told me Owen lived this far away," Echo said as Daniel closed the door to the sports car.

"He doesn't," Daniel smiled as he led the way to the door that went into the log home, Echo following behind.

"Who lives here then?" Echo questioned as Daniel reached up and shut the door to the garage with the remote that hung on the wall next to the door.

"You do," Daniel said as he opened the door to the log home, bowed slightly, and gestured his left hand in front of him.

Echo walked into the beautiful interior of a framed log home, completely decorated for Christmas. To her left was a wooden log staircase that went up and to her right was a large stone fireplace with a fire roaring inside. It wasn't a gas fireplace like the one at her house either. This was a real log fireplace. Who had lit the fire and left it unattended?

Beyond the fireplace were four large picture windows looking out to the lake. She could see a lighted pathway, with white paper bags lining the way, down to a dock at the lake's edge. To her left was a pool table. Echo felt that she knew this pool table and carefully walked up to it. She let her right hand run along the green velvet covering. Her hand knew the feel of the table right away and she stopped at the far end.

She was sure that this was the pool table from the firehouse. Echo looked carefully down at the legs to confirm her theory. There was a four inch gash in the pool tables leg where she stood. She had accidentally placed that gash there when she was first learning how Newton's second law worked.

"Sorry Uncle Ray," young Echo had said as she tried to keep the long pool cue on the table.

"It's fine little lady," Ray had replied, "The tables old to begin with. Maybe a children's pool cue would work better for you."

Echo turned to her right. Hanging on the wall was a cherry wood wall mounted billiard storage rack. Five pool cue's were stored inside the eight holders of the rack and she saw that one was shorter than the others.

Walking over to the rack, she saw a 52 inch junior pool cue that was blue marble in color with silver rings. There was a custom engraving wrapped on the horizontally butt cap of the pool cue. Echo stopped and placed her right hand on the name.

For my niece

Echo

Echo knew this was the children's pool cue that her Uncle Ray had gotten for her. Why were these items here? She looked up to find Daniel by her side.

"Come," he said as he took her hand in his and led her away from the recreation room.

Across the way was a closet built into the ascending staircase, with a utility room off from that. Daniel next showed her a laundry room and then took Echo down a small hallway. There were four doors, two on each side, and Daniel opened up the first one on her left.

Inside was a bathroom with a double sink, toilet, and shower/tub combination. Across from the bathroom a door led to a bedroom. A queen size bed sat to her right with two night stands on either side. The closet sat to her left. This room had a sliding glass door that looked out onto the lake.

"Come," Daniel said taking her by the hand once again.

Daniel led Echo out of the guestroom and down the hall to the next door. Opening the door to his right Echo saw that this room was the reverse of the guestroom.

The closet sat to her right but instead of the queen size bed on her left, next to two end tables, there were a pair of bunk beds. This room also had a sliding glass door to the outside.

"This is the boys bedroom," Daniel told her closing the door.

Across the hall from the boys bedroom was another bedroom. The same sliding glass door led to the outside, only this one faced away from the lake. Two bunk beds were to Echo's right with another set of end tables. The closet in this room sat back, behind Echo, in the space left by the end of the hallway.

"Girls bedroom," Daniel said as he led her though the room to exit out the sliding glass door.

"I want you to see the rest of the house the proper way," Daniel said as he closed the sliding glass door and led Echo to his left, across the back of the log house, to a set of wooden stairs.

It was now lightly snowing as Echo climbed the stairs behind Daniel to see Owen at the front door. As they past two darken windows to her right she looked at Owen quizzically. He held the door open for her and Daniel, much like a butler would do.

Once inside the entryway Daniel took Echo by the hand and showed her the rest of the log house, talking excitedly about each room.

To her right was a closed door but Daniel didn't show that to Echo first. He proudly led her around the wooden log stairs, that went down, as Owen closed the front door and left the two alone.

Echo stopped as she entered the great room. Four ceiling to floor windows looked out over Echo Lake and Daniel had to pull her slightly to get her to move again.

The view had been breathtaking! An almost full moon, it would be full tomorrow, shown down on a cold blue lake, with bare snow covered trees in the distance. The white paper bags lighting the way down to the dock were beautiful against the lightly falling snow.

Echo almost bumped into the L-shaped log couch in front of her because she wasn't watching where she was going.

"Echo?" Daniel questioned, concerned for her.

"I'm fine," Echo said quietly, but really she wasn't.

To Echo's right was a large stone fireplace, like in the recreation room below, with a roaring fire inside too. She surmised that Owen must have been the one to light the fires before they had arrived.

Before the fire, next to the log couch, were a set of arm chairs both made out of logs. They faced away from the windows, which Echo just noticed that the two in the middle, by the log house's peak, were not really windows at all. They were sliding glass doors like the one in the bedrooms below. A log coffee table sat in front of the chairs and couch to complete the room.

A tall, seven foot, Christmas tree sat between the sliding doors decorated with plain white lights and ribbon. The simple tartan ribbons were made into bows and tied to the branches of the tree. The tree, with its wonderful aroma of fresh pine against the warmth of the roaring fire was a delightful change from Echo's imitation tree, fiber-optic lights, and gas fireplace.

Echo noticed that the tree also had a strand of holly, with berries, wrapped as a garland around it. The holly garland was also decorating the stairs and both fireplace mantles.

Over this fireplace's mantle hung a large oil painting. Echo recognized the picture of her mother and father, standing next to each other, around a chair in the center, but the girl who was supposed to be in the chair was gone.

The family had had the photograph professionally taken when they had moved into their new home in New Jersey. Echo had been seven at the time. But that's not how she appeared in the oil painting before her now. Before her sat a beautiful young woman, her hair pulled over her right shoulder, her right hand resting in her mother's gasp on the top of Echo's left shoulder.

"Do you like it?" Daniel asked softly, as Echo released his hand to walk over to the painting.

"Where did you find this picture?" Echo asked stopping before the fireplace.

"In Egon's workroom," Daniel replied stepping up to her left side.

"Father thought he lost this picture," Echo told Daniel, "after Mother died."

"In a way he did," Daniel replied as he watched Echo stretch out her right hand towards the oil painting.

"I had dropped my mug of coffee onto the floor while I was on the computer one day," Daniel continued.

"As I was cleaning it up I noticed something behind the desk's drawers and wall. It was just a corner of a piece of long forgotten paper I thought at first, but curiosity got the better of me."

"I pulled the desk away from the wall and this picture fell out. As you can see I've had the artist repaint you as you are now," Daniel finished.

"And Father has his grey hair," Echo said sadly withdrawing her outstretched hand.

"I miss you," Echo said to the painting.

Daniel smiled sadly and turned Echo gently around to hug her.

"I wanted the oil painting to make you happy," Daniel said into Echo's ear, "I'm sorry."

"Daniel," Echo said as she broke the embrace, "I can't go back and fix something that has happened, although sometimes I wish I could," she stated looking up at the picture of her mother.

"I love the painting Daniel," Echo said bringing her eyes to face Daniel and taking his hands into hers.

"Daniel know this. I am a strong person, but every now and then I also need someone to take my hand and say everything will be okay."

Daniel squeezed Echo's hands, "Then I'll be that person till the veil that parts us eternally doth fall, and God delivers up the spirits of the righteous, to be restored and become immortal."

Echo smiled at Daniel. He had been talking to her grandfather Kane. Kane believed in a life after death and in a living, breathing God, but Echo had her doubts.

"Have you seen the piano yet?" Daniel asked as he released one of Echo's hands to walk her across the room.

In front of Echo was an upright Cable Nelsen piano. The fainted brown stain was starting to come off of the legs and yet she knew that this piano had once belonged to her mother. A piano that Echo had spent many years in front of its ivory keys learning how to play. A piano that had belonged to her mother's Aunt Beth. Beth was her grandmother, Lizzie's, older sister, and yet Echo didn't know the story of where the piano came from before Beth. Was the piano the Mathew's girls piano growing up? Echo had never asked and now she would never know.

Echo hooked her arm into Daniel's as he showed her the open family room with dining area off to her right. There was another sliding glass door here and the kitchen was beyond the beautiful log hued table for eight.

An island sat in a semi-circle in the kitchen, with an eating area and six bar stools on the far side of the island. There was a simple back door off of the kitchen, to the outside, and another door to her left. This opened up into another laundry room with a half bath beyond that. Echo was starting to wonder what was going on. Everything in the log house was designed around wood. Something that Daniel knew she loved.

Daniel led Echo back through the kitchen, family room, dining room, great room, to a hallway with two closed doors. One to her right and one straight ahead. As Daniel opened the door to her right she thought back about what Daniel had been saying to her.

"Who lives here then?" Echo had questioned Daniel in the garage as he showed off his office to her, complete with a large flat screen television on the wall to her right.

"You do," Daniel had replied as he opened another door out into the entryway.

"What does he mean by that?" Echo wondered to herself as the pair went back through Daniel's office and back out into the hallway.

Daniel stopped at the last door, gently grabbed Echo's hand in his, and opened the door.

"I saved the best for last," he said leading Echo into the master bedroom.

Although set up differently the room was an exact copy in color and furniture as her room back home.

A small walk in closet sat to her right, while a larger one, for her Daniel said, was on her left. Beyond this was a white oak sleigh bed like hers, that sat in the right hand side of the room. The same two end tables sat on either side, but from here her bedroom changed in shape.

In front of the bed were empty glass shelves that went from floor to ceiling. "For your models," Daniel told her and then continued on with the tour.

A simple door led outside, to Echo's right, as the rest of the room was taken up as a sitting area facing the lake. In the corner was a Franklin stove with a fire crackling inside. Beside the stove was a love seat and coffee table in front of it. The wall before the loveseat sat empty and Daniel explained it was for her antique dresser from home.

Home. It suddenly hit Echo that Daniel was showing her 'her' new home. She leaned onto Daniel as he showed her the master bath off of the sitting room. It had double sinks in front of her, a toilet, and shower to her left, and a whirlpool tub in the far left hand corner across from her.

This wasn't her home, Echo pondered as Daniel led her back to the sitting room and out the double French doors to the porch.

Her home was at her father's house. "But you're getting married," Echo's conscious said as Daniel led her over to an enclosed gazebo.

"What were you thinking," Echo said to herself as Daniel opened the door to the hot tub inside the gazebo.

"Were you going to get married and live at home for the rest of your life," Echo's conscious said as the heat from inside the enclosed gazebo hit her in the face. It was a shock to her body, from just being out in the freezing cold, and she felt herself starting to get tired.

"What had this cost Daniel?" Echo wondered as she felt her head becoming light.

"Well, what do you think Lassie?" Daniel asked her smiling happily up at her.

Echo's mind was swimming with questions as she felt herself start to falter.

"How many acres?" She asked trying to stay upright.

"I purchased ten acres at first but have recently added ten more," Daniel told her. "The rule in New Jersey is an acre per horse."

"There's horses here?" Echo questioned.

The heat was becoming overbearing and she reached up, pushed back her hood, and tried to remove her brooch to take her serape wrap off.

"Only two right now," Daniel replied helping Echo, seeing that she was having trouble, "Owen's staying in the bunk house to take care of them."

"Bunk house?" Echo said, her head was really spinning now as she took off her wool wrap.

"It's behind the stable," Daniel replied seeing Echo's face turn white, "I'll show it to you in the morning Lassie. Come into the house you don't look so good right now."

Echo nodded her head in agreement and took Daniel's proffered hand following him to the closed door of the gazebo. She reached out a hand and stopped him before he could open the door.

"How much?" She asked scared about hearing the answer.

"For the land?" He asked in return.

"For everything," she whispered, the heat unbearable now.

Echo opened up the door to the car and stepped outside. The right side of her head, shoulder, and hip still hurt her as she walked across the parking garage to pay for her parking.

Daniel opened the door to the gazebo as he told Echo the cost of the house and land. The price he had told her, combined with the blast of winter air, had caused Echo to faint. She hit her head on the doorpost on the way to the hard log hued flooring of the outside deck. Her right shoulder and hip took the majority of the blow that night.

Echo inserted the parking ticket into the machine. Her price came up on the screen as $37.50, but Echo only saw more zero's behind that.

"Three hundred seventy," Daniel told Echo as he opened the gazebo's door.

"Thousand?" Echo had questioned hoping it was so.

"No," Daniel had replied, "The total cost for the land and building the house is three hundred seventy million."

That's when Echo had fainted.

Echo carefully put the money to pay for the parking into the machine. Money that she would never see again. Like the money Daniel had borrowed for the land and house. "What was Daniel thinking?" Echo fumed to herself as the machine gave her back her ticket and a receipt. "What was he trying to do?" Echo thought to herself as she walked back to the car. "Was he trying to buy her love?"

Echo opened up the car door and then suddenly grabbed the roof for support as a round of Braxton Hicks seized her body.

"Breathe," Echo said out loud trying to relax.

Eventually the Braxton Hicks subsided and Echo got into the car. Daniel didn't need to buy her love. She was carrying that love right now.

After Echo had fainted at the house Daniel had screamed for Owen's help, she had been told.

"Thank God Owen was here," Paul had said when Echo had regained conciseness.

Daniel had called Egon and in return Paul and him had driven out to the new house. Grace had stayed behind with their daughter at Egon's house.

Daniel and Owen had placed Echo in the master bedroom's bed while they waited for her father. Paul had declared Echo fine, other than a couple of bruises to her head, shoulder, and hip area. He recommended that she rest at the house and not travel back home for Christmas.

Shutting the car's door Echo turned over the engine.

"It's settled then," Egon had told his daughter, "We'll have Christmas here."

Echo put the car into gear and carefully backed out of the parking space.

After a few phone calls, that Egon placed that night, the next day had been a whirlwind of activity for Echo. Everyone had arrived with presents, food, and excitement for her new home. She had been confined to the great room's arm chair until she couldn't take sitting down anymore.

Echo carefully put the car into drive and slowly followed the signs for the parking garage's exit.

"What are you doing here?" Egon had questioned his daughter as she came into the kitchen to help.

"I'm tired of sitting," Echo said, stopping before her father and Verdie.

"I want to help…," Echo trailed off as a pain hit her abdomen.

Stopping at the parking garage's booth Echo placed the ticket into the machine and waited for the parking gate's arm to go up.

Egon and Verdie had taken Echo out of the kitchen door and closed it before a new round of pain hit Echo again and she cried out in anguish.

The parking gate's arm raised up and Echo gave the car some gas and exited the parking garage.

"Sounds like Braxton Hicks," Verdie had said when Echo described the pain to her father, "Echo are you pregnant?"

Echo followed the winding two lane, raised road, down to the Lincoln Tunnel entrance. She stopped at a stop sign, allowing a Greyhound and then a DeCamp bus in the lane next to her to go first.

Echo had nodded her head at Verdie as Egon picked her up and carried her across the outside deck to the backdoor leading to the master bedroom.

Echo looked to her right to make sure that there was no more busses coming from the Port Authority before she eased the car forward.

"Now since you didn't listen to me the first time," Paul had told her taking his stethoscope away from her abdomen, "you're on bed rest for the rest of today."

"What about dinner?" Echo had asked.

"We'll see," Egon had told his daughter as Daniel had come rushing into the room.

Echo remembered how Daniel had smelled of hay as he climbed in bed next to her, to lie on top of the covers.

"I love you Lassie," Daniel had told her as Egon and Paul had left the master bedroom.

"What happened?" Daniel had asked.

"I'm worried about how we are going to ever pay this house off," Echo had lied to Daniel.

"Will you quit worrying about the money," Daniel had told her. "As soon as I get some more horses we are going to offer riding lessons and summer camps. That will pay off the house soon enough."

Echo stopped at the end of the ramp. The Lincoln Tunnel was busy tonight and she could see the Greyhound and DeCamp busses jimmying for position into the left hand lane of the north tunnel. Echo sat and watched as she thought back to Christmas night after everyone had left.

Daniel slid into bed beside Echo and pulled her to him.

"You scared me today Lassie," he said as he kissed the back of her head, "Why were you up so soon after your fall? Doctor Stringham told you to take it easy and you didn't and became light-headed. I'm glad Egon was there for you."

Echo smiled in the dark, "I'm sorry," she said.

Echo turned around to face Daniel. As she lie on her left side she knew she had to tell him the truth.

"Daniel I wasn't light-headed this afternoon," she finally said.

"You weren't?" Daniel questioned.

"No," Echo said choosing her words very carefully, "I had pain in my abdomen."

Daniel sat straight up in bed, "Echo I totally forgot about your menstrual cycle. I don't have anything for you here."

"It's fine Daniel," Echo said seeing the relieved look on his face, "I'm not due for awhile."

Daniel heaved a sigh of relief and lay back down in bed.

"What's wrong then?" Daniel asked.

Echo thought about how to tell Daniel and decided to start back at the beginning again.

"Daniel," Echo said, "when do you want to start our family?"

"I was thinking when we come back from Scotland after the wedding," Daniel replied.

"Not before?" Echo questioned.

"No," Daniel said, "There's still too much to do before the wedding. Children will just be another thing to add into our already hectic lives."

"Babies come before children," Echo pointed out.

"We don't have time for infants," Daniel replied. "Maybe you can take three months off of work but I can't. And then there is the child care that we will have to pay for. I'm sorry Lassie, it's going to have to be children ages eight and up."

Echo laughed softly at Daniel, "Who are you to dictate how old 'our' children are going to be when they come to us," she teased him.

"You make love, you get pregnant, and you end up nine months later having a baby," Echo said, "End of story."

"Echo," Daniel said softly reaching out a hand to touch the right side of her face, "I thought you knew."

"Know what?" Echo questioned, "How babies are made?"

"Please," Echo said rolling her eyes, "I found out about that when I was five years old."

"There's your tradition way, as Uncle Peter likes to call it 'Hot Mama', then there is your IVF also known as in vitro fertilisation…," Daniel cut Echo off.

"No Lassie," Daniel said as a tear came to his eye. "The night we became engaged you said you saw me naked."

"Yes, I did," Echo replied, "we made…"

Daniel cut her off again, "You said that we made love, but I don't remember. Echo I'm so sorry, I thought that you would have remembered."

"Remembered what?" Echo questioned.

"How I looked naked," Daniel replied.

"You were good looking," Echo said smiling as Daniel withdrew his hand from her face, "Why?"

"Because Echo," Daniel started to say…

The car behind Echo blew its horn at her rousting her from her thoughts. She pulled the car forward into the small space provided by the Greyhound bus.

"New York driver," Echo muttered under her breath, "Where does he want me to go?"

As if in answer the driver behind Echo laid on his horn even more. Echo ignored the driver as she watched the DeCamp bus to her right trying to cut off the Greyhound bus in front of her.

"There's trouble," Echo muttered to herself as she suddenly felt something hit the back of her car.

Later on Echo would be told that the driver behind her had tried to squeeze through a hole to Echo's right. But all Echo remembered was being hit from behind, her car in turn hitting the back of the Greyhound bus, and a car gunning its engines to go directly by her and between the two busses.

It was too late for the driver of the car as he plowed head-on into the left side of the DeCamp bus, trying to squeeze through the spot made by the two busses. When the Greyhound bus saw the small car coming quickly towards him, he turned sharply to his left only to hit the concrete wall right inside the Lincoln tunnel.

Echo watched as the momentum of the bus sent the front left wheel slightly up the wall inside the tunnel. As if in slow motion the Greyhound bus tilted to its right, stopped, and then fell sideways onto the pavement. This caused the DeCamp bus to skid sideways as well, but at least the Decamp bus stayed upright.

Both busses blocked the Lincoln tunnel and there was nowhere to go as Echo placed the car into park and turned off the engine. Stepping out of the car and closing the door she could hear screams of people trapped inside and went to the trunk, grabbing her med kit.

All thoughts of Daniel and the new house were pushed to the back of her mind as she smelt gas and looked for a way into the overturned Greyhound bus. Hurrying towards a work van to her right, with a ladder on top, Echo knew what she needed to do.

"I have to borrow this," Echo said undoing the bungee cords to the ladder.

"How can we help?" The two men inside asked as they exited the van to help Echo remove the ladder.

"Get these cars out of here," Echo said waving her hand behind her, "I want that area clear for ambulances."

"Will do," the men said handing Echo the ladder and turning away.

Echo half dragged, half carried the ladder over to the overturned Greyhound bus. She could see the passengers from the DeCamp bus using the emergency exit windows to get out. She wasn't needed there right now. The overturned bus was where she was needed first.

"Hey," said a voice as Echo went to place the ladder up against the side of the bus, "You can't go inside. Wait for the emergency people."

"I'm a doctor," Echo said as she turned towards the voice.

A young teenager's scared face greeted hers. It reminded her of Daniel's face in Colorado.

"Want to be a hero?" Echo asked knowing she would need some help.

"What do I have to do?"

"Help me put this ladder up against the side of the bus and hold it for me okay."

The young teenager and Echo placed the ladder up against the side of the bus as more people came over to help.

The young teenager held the ladder while Echo climbed up to the side of the bus. She looked into the Greyhound's windows. There were people inside and some of them were hurt. She pulled on the windows but couldn't get them to open.

"I need something to break the window open with," Echo shouted over the side of the bus.

A man appeared on the top rung of the ladder with a heavy wrench.

"Thanks," Echo said as she took the wrench from the man as he stepped off of the ladder onto the bus to help.

"Seems like Saturdays are the days for me to be breaking windows with wrenches," Echo said to herself as she turned her head away from the bus' window.

"Sorry?" The man asked as Echo brought down the wrench and broke open the window.

"Give me a hand down?" Echo asked as she cleared away the broken glass from the edges of the window.

Echo tossed the wrench to the side and hung onto the man's hands as he carefully helped lower her inside the bus. She stopped herself on the far seat and released the man's hand.

"I'm a medical doctor," Echo called out as she reached over into the seat in front of her to access her first two victims. "Is anybody hurt?"

A mother lay with a child into the side of the bus. The mother was moving, but not the child.

"Jimmy!" The mother called out trying to lift her weight from off of the child under her.

"Here," came a voice from under the seat.

Echo turned her body carefully and looked under the seat. There were two children there most likely from the other seat.

"Let me help your children first," Echo said as she reached for Jimmy's hand.

"They're not my children," the mother said as she maneuvered her body off of the child under her. "We're on a class trip. I'm a teacher's aid."

"We came to see the Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center," Jimmy said as he grabbed Echo's hand.

"How many?" Echo said becoming worried as she helped Jimmy to stand on the end of the seat.

"Forty-five," the teacher's aid said, "and five adults."

"Fifty," Echo thought in her head as she showed Jimmy where he was going to go.

Echo was going to need help and lots of it she knew as she lifted Jimmy up to the man that had brought her the wrench. She turned to the teacher's aid next.

"You're next," Echo said as she helped the aid up out of the seat.

"I'm responsible for some of these children," she cried.

"I know," Echo replied as she all but shoved the aid towards the window, "and now you're going to be doing it outside the bus."

"But…," the aid protested before a set of hands grabbed her and pulled her out of the bus.

"Two down," Echo muttered, "forty-eight more to go."

Carefully working her hands over the limp child in the seat, where the aid had been, she checked to see if he had any broken bones. As she turned to get help to pass the child out of the window she was greeted to a police officer coming inside the bus.

"You hurt?" He asked.

"No," she replied, "I'm Doctor Spengler."

"Officer Freehold."

"Then let's get to work Officer Freehold," Echo said.

Working as a team Officer Freehold and Echo carefully passed the unconscious child to the waiting hands outside the bus. They helped the other two children near them before they then worked their way down the bus. Some children came up to them after the initial shock wore off and they sought help. Most of the children were fine, a couple of cuts here a bruise there, Echo noticed as she looked them over, bandaged them up, and sent them to Officer Freehold.

Throughout the whole ordeal all Echo could hear were shouts, cries, sirens, and panic. Everything was trying to fall apart around her, like her life right now, and she fought to keep from giving in and crying. Echo loved children and it took every ounce of mental blocking she had to tune out the cries. She almost lost it when she came upon her first casualty.

A young girl lay under the seat about halfway down the bus. Echo lay over the side of the seat and leaned into the hole under one of the seats. She could see right away that the girl's neck was broken, probably from the fall, but Echo went to touch her neck to feel for a pulse just incase. She knew that she wasn't going to find one, but she placed the ear pieces of her stethoscope into her ears and listened for a nonexistence heart beat.

Taking only a moment to let a tear fall from her eye Echo pushed herself back up onto the seat.

"Ah!" Echo cried out as she sat up from lying down on the edge of the seat.

"Doctor Spengler?" Officer Freehold's voice called to her from the back of the bus, "you okay?"

"Fine," Echo hollered back even though she knew that she wasn't.

Another Braxton Hicks contraction had found its way to her body. Echo knew that something was wrong with her now.

At the log house she only had the two making her uncomfortable. Resting had eased the contraction then, but tonight they had returned.

Echo had come into the city, alone, to face President Gae Rodke of St. Luke's Hospital for her interview inquire. The inquire had gone well and the medical board was going to let her know within the next couple of weeks if she had her position back.

Walking across the college walk, of Columbia University, Echo had let herself into the Dodge Miller Theatre where she taught orchestra with Jeffrey Milarsky.

Echo had always found peace and solitude in sitting on a stage, an instrument in her hands, playing to an empty audience. Tonight was no different. She had left her Otto Benjamin cello in the office that she shared with Doctor Milarsky for her to use during private lessons with some of her students. At the end of the year Echo would take her cello home for the summer.

Home. That word that comprised itself of so many possibilities and meanings.

Looking for peace Echo had taken her cello from the office to the theater, turned on a single light, found herself a chair, and unpacking her instrument had started playing.

Her home was with her father, but Daniel wanted a new home for her. Both places were a place of refuge and yet sometimes Echo could see in Daniel's eyes something else. Was he longing for his home? His native land where he was born and where his ancestors still dwelled.

The ache for home lived in all of us Echo knew as she played in the darkened theater. Home was a safe place where one could go as themselves and not be questioned why they came. And yet as she played she longed to find which home she really belonged to. Her father's simple house with a beautiful backyard built into the side of a mountain, or Daniel's extravagant log home with more land than she knew what to do with.

That was when for the first time tonight she had felt another Braxton Hicks contraction. Usually the contractions were irregular and painless until the last few weeks of pregnancy. Echo wasn't due to start feeling them for another four months.

She had stopped playing her cello, put it away, turned out the light, and walked out of the theater. Walking to the subway station had helped to some degree, that was until she had reached Port Authority and had paid for her parking.

Echo was now at three Braxton Hicks contractions and counting.

"Make that four," Echo said to herself as she felt another one.

Echo closed her eyes and tried to breathe slowly, but the cries from the children were not helping her. "False labor," Echo told herself trying to convince herself it was true. "Or," the back of her brain said, "preterm labor. You are of the linage of Parnell women you know," her brain said. "I'm also part…," Echo went to say.

"Doctor Spengler!"

Officer Freehold's voice and touch on her shoulder drew her back to the present. Opening her eyes she saw two other men behind Officer Freehold.

"The cavalries arrived," said the man that Echo knew only too well.

"Sal!" Echo cried out.

Wanting to hug him, but unable to maneuver her way there, Echo reached out a hand to her old mentor. Salvador Candella II had been her teacher, her mentor, since she was twelve years old.

After her mother had died Echo felt that she needed to save her, somehow, somewhere. But not knowing just how, she had turned to the local EMT's and paramedics for guidance. She had been paired with Sal who had taught her everything he knew and had taken her under his wing as a young teenager. He had proven to her that by saving others she would make her mother proud.

Now it looked like Sal had another young teenager in training behind him as he grabbed Echo's outstretched hand and squeezed it tightly.

"Good to see you Echo," Sal said releasing her hand and going to work. "What have you got?"

"Class trip of forty-five children and five adults," Echo replied. "I've sent twenty children and two adults with minor injuries topside."

"Good to hear," Sal replied, "Where are you at now?"

"DOA," Echo said sadly pointing to the young girl.

"I'll take her," Officer Freehold said as he reached down for the dead child.

Sal, the young teenager, and Echo helped place the girl into Officer Freehold's arms. As the officer turned and crawled away from them Echo turned her attention towards the front of the bus. Somehow she knew that she was going to find more injured children there. "Because," Echo said to herself, "what child doesn't want to sit up front."

"What's your name?" Echo asked the teenager as she worked her way to the next row of seats.

"Everyone calls me Percy," the teenager replied.

"He hates his real name," Sal replied, "like me."

Echo knew that Sal hated his given name of Salvador, even though he loved his father for whom he was named after. As Echo reached the next row of seats with children in them she thought about what Percy stood for. She reached down to help a child, with glasses, clutching a book about knights to his chest. He reminded Echo of her father when he was little and then it hit her.

"Percy stands for Percival," Echo said as she handed the young 'Egon' look-a-like to Sal.

"Percival was the name invented by Chretien de Troyes for his knight-hero of his epic about the Grail," Echo finished.

"You told me she was good," Percy said to Sal, "but what you didn't tell me was that she was brilliant."

"What?" Echo asked Sal as she leaned over the seat to help another child.

"I've been telling Percy all about you," Sal replied as Echo passed him another child.

"Thanks," Echo replied sitting up and watching the last child with Percy carefully working their way along the seats to the back of the bus, "I think."

"Only good things," Sal said with a smile on his face as he turned back to the two children under the seat.

After Sal, Percy, and Echo were done with the current area they were in, the trio split up. Sure enough as Echo past Percy, who was helping an adult, she came upon a child with severe injuries. The boy was sitting in the seat like normal, but laying up against the side of the bus because of its sideways position. Echo could see that the boy's left arm was broken as well as his right leg. The leg was a compound fracture of the femur. She saw the bone sticking out of the boy's blue jeans right above his knee. She knew how he felt, having broken her own right leg's tibia when she was nineteen.

"At least the arm is a closed fracture," Echo thought as she saw the odd shaped angle of the boy's arm. But what she needed to do before anything else was to get the boy to calm down.

"I'm going to die!" The boy screamed at Echo as she sat on the edge of the seat, facing him, and hung her feet down the backside of the seat in front of her.

"Nonsense," Echo said, "I've broken that same leg that you have and I'm still here."

"No," the boy cried, "you're lying. I'm going to die!"

"Look," Echo said to the boy as she lifted the hem of her blue denim skirt to show off her long scar.

"Woo!" The boy exclaimed calming down a little, "When did you do that?"

"When I was a little bit older than you are right now," Echo replied. "I fell down a rabbit hole."

The boy tried to laugh but stopped short and started crying.

"What hurts?" Echo asked letting go of her skirt and leaning over to examine the boy.

"Everything!" The boy cried in anguish.

"Okay," Echo said smiling at him as she felt his right arm for his pulse. "Let's start again. Does your head hurt you?"

"Yes," the boy replied.

"Where?" Echo asked taking her hand away from the boy's arm.

"By my neck," the boy said.

Concern crossed Echo's mind. "Can you feel this?" Echo asked as she tapped lightly on the boy's left leg.

"A little bit," the boy said, "I can't feel my left arm or left leg very well."

"What about your right arm and leg?" Echo asked worried about a spinal injury or brain trauma.

"That I can feel," the boy replied with tears starting to form in his eyes.

"And I bet you wish that you couldn't, am I right?" Echo asked.

"How do you know?" The boy asked as Echo carefully felt the back of his head.

"I told you," Echo replied feeling the swelling at the base of the boy's head.

She carefully removed her hands before she caused more injury, "I fell down a rabbit hole and broke my right leg, remember. I know how that feels."

"Look I'm going to get you out of here…," Echo trailed off.

"What's your name?" Echo asked.

"My name is stupid," the boy replied, "and if I tell you, you are just going to make fun of me."

"It can't be that bad," Echo said working her hand down the boy's left leg.

"It's dumb and I'm not going to tell you."

"Well if you think so," Echo said finishing with the boy's leg, "but it can't be worse then my name."

"You?" The boy snorted, "you probably have a pretty sounding name."

"You think?" Echo replied sitting back up, "It's Echo."

"Echo," the boy said as his face wrinkled up into a scowl. "Like echo, echo, echo, off the top of a mountain."

"Yeah that's it, so don't wear it out," Echo said proudly.

"So, is your name worse than mine?" Echo asked beckoning Percy to come over to where she was.

"Yes," the boy replied.

"What's up?" Percy asked as he crawled to where Echo was.

"Our young friend here is in need of a cool ride out of this bus," Echo said hoping that Percy would catch what she was saying when he looked at the young boy.

"I have just the thing," Percy said nodding his head in understanding, "What's his name?"

"He wouldn't tell me," Echo said to Percy, "He says it's stupid."

"Worse than Percival?" Percy asked.

"And Echo," she replied.

"So," Percy asked, "do you want to join our exclusive club young man?"

The young boy's eyes moved from Echo to Percy. Echo could see that he didn't move his head at all which worried her.

"Alright," the boy replied after a while, "but don't laugh."

"We promise," Percy and Echo said together.

"It's Orion," the boy said sadly, "I'm named after a star."

"Actually it is a group of stars called a constellation," Percy stated.

"And if you read Hesiod's work Orion was likely the son of the sea-god Poseidon and as such could walk on the waves of the ocean," Echo chimed in.

"Really?!" The boy said getting excited, "I can walk on water?"

"Not today," Echo said as she went to leave, "but I can make you fly."

Echo moved towards the back of the bus leaving Percy with Orion.

"Officer Freehold," Echo called out.

The police officer saw Echo crawling along the sides of the seat towards him and hurried the best he could towards her.

"What's up?" He asked.

"We've got a young boy with two broken limbs and a possible spinal and or brain injury," Echo stated, "I'm going to need a few things and another way out."

Sal, Percy, and Echo worked together as a team and carefully lifted the backboard with Orion strapped to it into the aisle way. It had been a nerve-racking fifteen minutes of splinting two limbs after getting Orion's head into a cervical neck brace.

Echo was concerned after she put the neck brace on when Orion said that he couldn't feel his legs. After a while Orion had said that he could slowly feel a tingling sensation in his toes, but this still concerned her.

While Sal, Percy, and Echo worked on Orion, emergency personal worked on the bus' front window to remove it. The trio needed to keep Orion as level as they could when they were finally ready to move him out of the bus.

Echo watched as Orion was passed from emergency personal to emergency personal until the backboard neared the front of the bus. Carefully standing up on the edge of the seat she watched Orion being lifted through the bus' window and into an ambulance waiting in the Lincoln tunnel for him.

"That's a wrap!" Sal called out as the emergency personal gathered their belongings and started to leave the bus.

Opening the front window had allowed the rest of the children, bus driver, and the remaining adult chaperones to quickly escape out of the bus. The extra help had been a god sent so that Sal, Percy, and Echo could concentrate on Orion.

Echo saw the doors to the back of the ambulance close and the vehicle pull away. Heaving a sigh of relief Echo carefully squatted back down to sit on the seat's edge, but not before a contraction hit her body and she fell headfirst into the seat she was standing on.

"Echo!" Sal called out as he worked his way towards her, "you okay?"

"That first steps a …," Sal trailed off as he looked over into the seat where Echo had fallen.

Sal had thought that she had just lost her footing and slipped down into the seat. He was going to tease her about it until he saw her face. What greeted him was a pain ridden face, with eyes closed as Echo clutched her belly with a bloodied right hand. Carefully he reached out to her and touched her right shoulder.

"Echo?" Sal questioned worried about her hand and belly.

"Had she hit her abdomen on the edge of the seat on the way down? Did she have trauma?" Sal wondered to himself as Echo slowly opened her eyes.

"I'm fine," Echo lied trying to keep a straight face but could not.

"What hurts Echo?" Sal asked as he lay down on the edge of the seat to examine her.

"My hand," Echo said in a teasing voice lifting her bloodied right hand up from her abdomen.

"You think?" Sal said taking her hand and holding it up into the air, squeezing her wrist as he did so to stop the flow of blood.

Sal reached over and into Echo's med kit, by her right hand side, produced a white gauze square and ripped the paper off with his teeth. Letting the paper fall to the ground Sal placed the gauze square onto the palm of Echo's cut hand.

"You got any rolled gauze left?" Sal asked Echo.

"No," Echo replied reaching inside her med kit with her left hand, "How about an ace bandage?"

"You always did think outside the box," Sal said as he took the tan roll from her.

As Sal was wrapping Echo's hand up she suddenly bent over her abdomen, clutching it with her left hand, pain clearly in her face.

"Sal," Percy called from somewhere outside the bus, "You and Echo coming?"

"Give me a minute!" Sal hollered back.

"Echo," Sal said quietly releasing her hand.

"I'm fine," Echo said gasping for breath.

"Liar!" Sal said reaching over and removing her hand from her abdomen with one hand while he placed the ear pieces of his stethoscope into his ears with the other.

"Don't…," Echo started to say, but was too late as the diaphragm end of Sal's stethoscope came to rest on her abdomen.

Sal was not expecting to hear the sounds of bowls in Echo's abdomen, indicating a sign of peritonitis. His eyes lit up in surprise and he looked up into her face unable to stop listening to the wonderful little heartbeat that he heard in his ears.

"When?" Sal asked taking his stethoscope away from her abdomen at last.

"July fourth," Echo replied sadly, "but please don't tell anyone."

"Tell anyone?" Sal questioned removing the ear pieces from his ears.

"Why aren't you and Daniel shouting the good news from the rooftops?" Sal questioned helping Echo to stand up.

"Daniel doesn't remember for one," Echo said, "and two I'm worried about a miscarriage."

"Like your mother?" Sal asked helping Echo to sit up on the seat's edge.

"Yes," Echo replied watching Sal sit up and face her.

"I understand," Sal said, "so was that your first Braxton Hicks contraction today?"

"Well…," Echo trailed off and looked at her feet.

"Echo," Sal said sternly, "We've been in this bus for an hour together and you were here an hour before me. How many so called 'false' contractions have you had?"

"Tonight?'

"Stop beating around the bush!" Sal shouted at her, "Within the last two hours."

"Three," Echo said softly hoping Sal wouldn't hear her.

"And you're worried about miscarrying? How about worrying about preterm labor!" Sal scolded her.

Sal got up and stood on the side of the bus holding out a hand to Echo.

"Now it's your turn to be the patient," Sal said, "Do you want to crawl, walk, or do I have to carry you out of this bus?"

"Ah," Echo said doubling over.

"Percy!" Sal shouted catching Echo before she slid down into the seat again.

"I guess it's going to be carry," Sal said to himself as he heard someone crawling quickly towards him.

"Dad," Percy said, "what's wrong?"

"Dad?" Echo asked clutching Sal's arm trying to breathe through a contraction.

"Long story," Sal said as he looked at his watch timing Echo's contractions.

"Sal adopted me last week," Percy said as he came to stand behind Echo looking to his father for the answer to his question.

Sal saw his adoptive son's face and shook his head back and forth. Now was not the time to explain what was going on.

"Time to go Echo," Sal said as her contractions stopped.

Echo followed Sal as he led the way out of the bus, Percy following behind her. When they got to the front of the bus Sal stopped.

"Do you want me to go first through the window and help you down with Echo?" Percy asked.

"Yes son," Sal said watching Echo's face, "but hold on a moment first."

"Why…," Echo went to say before she doubled over in pain.

"That's why," Sal said under his breath looking at his watch and holding onto Echo.

Eventually Echo's contractions subsided and Sal knew what had to be done. Echo's first contraction had been for about five minutes with a break of about five minutes in between. Each of her contractions had been lasting five minutes long, but they were getting closer together time wise. He needed to get Echo to a hospital so that they could stop her contractions. If July fourth was Echo's conception date her baby was only twenty-five weeks old. Way to young to survive outside of her womb without help.

Sal motioned to Percy with his head to get in front of him. Percy skirted around his father and climbed out of the bus' window. He helped Echo down to the concrete of the roadway as Sal held onto her from above. Sal followed his son and soon all three were outside the overturned Greyhound bus.

"This way," Percy said leading them away from the bus.

"There's only two ways out. Through the tunnel," Percy gestured with his left hand, "Or around the DeCamp bus, through a small gap," he finished as he pointed with his right hand ahead of him.

Echo tried not to gag as the gas fumes from the crashed vehicles assaulted her nose. When she was inside the bus she could only smell them faintly. She looked to her right as she hung onto Sal for support. The car that had hit her was flattened by the Greyhound bus and she looked away. There was no chance that the driver had survived.

"Up and over," Percy called out as he disappeared behind the DeCamp bus through the small opening.

Echo wondered what Percy meant by 'up and over' until she came closer to where he had disappeared. In front of her was a concrete barrier and behind that the retaining wall for the Lincoln Tunnel. Between the two was a space that the emergency personnel had been using to get to the front and side of the busses without having to walk the length of the Lincoln Tunnel.

As Echo had suspected the DeCamp bus blocked the right hand lane and the overturned Greyhound bus blocked the left lane. She had thought that the only way out had been through the tunnel but the concrete barrier had stopped the DeCamp bus from going any further. A lucky break for them and the people who had been trapped inside.

"You want me to go first?" Sal asked.

"I can make…," Echo trailed off in pain.

Sal hung onto her and checked his watch. Echo's contractions were getting too close. He hoped that there was an ambulance on the other side of the bus. She needed to be lying down right now.

"Breathe," Sal said gently to her, "slowly. In. Out."

As Sal kept one eye on Echo and another one on his watch he could hear people yelling on the far side of the bus. They were yelling out orders, but Sal kept his attention fixed on Echo. He had smelt the gas when he had entered and exited the bus, but before he had entered the bus he had been told that the fire department had it under control.

Echo was starting to come out of her contraction when Sal heard a popping noise and someone yelling fire. Quickly he picked up Echo and unceremonially dumped her into the space between the wall and concrete barrier before the explosion hit. Catching Sal's backside the explosion sent him over the concrete barrier to land on top of Echo. He heard her anguished cries before part of the Decamp bus, along with the retaining wall, came crashing down on top of them.

"Dad!" Sal heard Percy scream from somewhere before he lost consciousness.

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The first thing Echo remembered upon waking up was feeling that she was being suffocated. She was balled up in a small space with something heavy on top of her. She tried to move into a better position but found she could not. Eventually she got her left shoulder free and reached up. She felt a somewhat cold torso on top of her and suddenly remembered what had happened.

"Sal!" Echo shouted trying to locate his pulse in the semi dark space.

She was greeted to a low moan and finally located his right arm. His pulse was strong and she breathed a sigh of relief. Echo knew that they needed to get out of wherever they were. Trying to move to her left to allow Sal to fall down next to her she finally heard his weak voice.

"Echo," Sal choked out, "don't move."

"Why?" Echo asked freezing.

"My right leg is trapped," Sal said in pain, "I can't feel anything below my ankle. You are the only thing holding me up right now."

"I will not be able to do so for much longer," Echo replied back, "I'm laying on my left side and I think I might have rebroken my ribs again."

"Sorry," Sal muttered out.

"Does anyone know we're here?" Echo asked trying to push her mind away from the pain in her chest.

"I heard Percy," Sal replied, "before I blacked out."

"I hope he thinks to look for us here first," Echo stated trying not to panic, "I hate tight spaces."

"Close your eyes Echo," Sal's raspy voice said to her, "Try to sleep."

"I can't," Echo said starting to panic.

Sal reached out with his right hand until he found Echo's left hand, grabbing it he squeezed with all his might.

After Echo had fallen down into a cave by Harlem Meer in Central Park she had become scared of anything of an enclosed nature. Sal had only found this out when they were staging an exercise inside the Holland Tunnel one night.

The routine drill for the paramedics was a scenario of a multi-car crash inside the tunnel. Echo had been fine until she was required to crawl inside an overturned car to rescue a child trapped inside. Thank goodness Sal had seen her pale face and not the examiner as he told her to wait outside as he went in after the child. After the drill Echo had told Sal why she couldn't go inside the car.

Sal wondered if Daniel wrecking the rental car in Pennsylvania and her being trapped inside had made it worse.

"Echo," Sal said trying to calm her, "want to hear a story?"

"No," Echo said as she started to hyperventilate.

Sal smiled in the semi dark. He could hear people outside and he knew that help was on the way if Echo could only hold out.

"Well you're going to hear it whether you want to or not!" Sal sternly told her, "Besides it's a story about Percival."

"Percy?" Echo questioned, her interest piqued. "He called you Dad."

"That's correct," Sal replied as he heard things being tossed aside.

"You're not married?" Echo asked, "Or did you get married since I saw you last."

"Nope," Sal replied as he heard his son's muffled voice outside, "still single."

"Percy in here!" Sal shouted hoping to put Echo at ease knowing that help was coming, but it didn't work.

"How?" She asked her voice starting to quake.

"Percy was hanging around all the wrong kids in high school," Sal said, "When he was a sophomore he was involved in a gang war."

"What happened?" Echo asked trying to concentrate on Sal's voice.

"The members of the gang that he was in were shot and killed," Sal continued.

"When I arrived on the scene he was trying to save them. 'They're the only family I have' Percy told me as I worked beside him to see if anything could be done, but in the end nothing could save them."

"I personally took Percy to the hospital and sat with him while the doctors checked him out. It wasn't until the police wanted to take him in for questioning that he broke down and told me about his past."

Sal felt someone touch his right foot. At least that was a good sign and he moved his right leg slightly so that whoever was there would know he was okay and needed help.

"Where were Percy's parents when all this was happening?" Echo asked.

"Dead," Sal replied. "His father when he was young, his mother right when he started high school. Percy was placed into multiple foster homes but he kept running away. If I hadn't been on call that night Percy would still be running."

"Really?" Echo asked surprised at her old mentor.

"Yep," Sal replied as a small gap opened by his face and he saw Percy's blue eyes staring back at him. "Percy was a starving, homeless wanderer before he met me."

"And," Percy's voice came through the crack to Sal's and Echo's ears, "The moment you're ready to quit is usually the moment right before the miracle happens, so don't give up."

"Dad?" Percy's worried voice said, "How are you?"

"Been better," Sal lied to his adoptive son, "How about getting Echo out of here?"

"And you too," Percy said.

Percy passed a set of cannula tubes to his father as Sal released Echo's hand, took the tubes, and placed them over Echo's head. Gently he placed the flared ends into Echo's nose and nodded his head to Percy. Sal heard the faint hiss of oxygen being turned on as Percy turned the green bottle of oxygen on by his side.

"You're next," Percy said passing another set of cannulas to his father.

"Sal," Echo said reaching for his hand again.

"Echo it's okay," Sal said feeling Echo's hand searching for his.

Grabbing her hand and holding it tight he heard her reply, "No it's not!"

Sal felt Echo's body beneath him trying to curl up into a ball. She was having another contraction and his right ankle was still trapped. If she moved anymore he would most likely fall forward tearing his ankle away from his body.

"Shit!" Sal said placing his left hand onto the concrete sidewalk under Echo to keep from falling.

"Do you need something?" Percy asked tearing at the debris around the opening he had made. "Morphine?"

"No morphine for Echo," Sal said between clenched teeth, "She's pregnant."

"Pregnant?" Percy questioned before he turned away from his father.

"Percy wait!" Sal shouted but it was too late.

"I've got a pregnant woman trapped in here," Percy shouted out, "and I think she's in labor."

"Sorry," Sal said to Echo but she didn't hear him.

Echo had felt the contraction coming on when Sal had released her hand. This one was longer, more painful, and she had searched for Sal's strength finding it when he squeezed her hand tightly.

Echo had felt a need to bear down and did all she could to relax under Sal's weight on top of her. There was no doubt in Echo's mind that she was in preterm labor, and yet if she gave birth here there was no hope in Emrick surviving.

If her baby was born now he would have a long bumpy road ahead of him. Some babies born at 25 weeks would survive, "But not all," Echo's mind told her. "Those that do will have many potential health issues."

Echo knew this to be true. There was the possibility of mental retardation, blindness, deafness, not to mention lung problems, heart problems, feeding problems, and brain bleeds.

"Stop it!" Echo scolded herself out loud.

"Echo just breathe," Sal's voice came to her unaware of what she was thinking.

Echo shut her mind off to the pain. She listened to Sal and the voices outside of her temporary prison. She took slow, small breaths, hanging on Sal's every word. Everything hurt her, but she knew that the pain would only be for a moment. Help was just outside but so far away as the earlier thoughts of tonight came back to her mind.

Echo finally gave in to her bottled emotions and let the tears fall freely from her eyes.

"It's okay Echo," Sal said gently, "The contractions are over. Percy is going to get us out of here."

But Echo wasn't listening.

She had seen the way that society had treated her parents, her mother the most. When Egon and Eden had their last stillborn child, before Eden had died, society had allowed the grieving parents only a week to mourn. They were then required to 'get on' with their lives.

When Eden had miscarried she was given no time to mourn at all. But home had been different.

Her mother's arms ached to hold a non-existent child. Eden would wake in the night hearing the cry of her infant in the distance. People who didn't know Eden would tell her things that would make her feel worse, trying to be helpful.

But Egon let Eden grieve and knew what she wanted deep down in her heart. All that Eden wanted, at the end of the day, was to be held and for someone to care.

"It's not your fault Eden," Paul had told her mother while Echo stood in the corner of the room a silent observer at the time.

Echo had seen Grace take the covered stainless steel tray that held her stillborn sister in it from the room as Egon gathered Eden into his arms.

Paul had slipped off his sterile bloodied gloves and had come over to her.

"Come," Paul had told her leading Echo out of the room.

Echo had never once seen her father tell her mother that she was okay. He never gave her puppy dog eyes either and he always remembered the day of each of their miscarried children. Echo knew that there were deep, lasting emotional scars that they still carried in their hearts, even to this day. Egon was Eden's rock, her soul mate. Egon was someone who understood Eden like no other, loved her like no other, and was always there for her, no matter what. But who did Echo have in her life right now? Where was her soul mate?

"You know Echo," Paul had said to her, holding her close to his side as they walked down the hospital corridor that day, "A good father is one of the most unsung, unpraised, unnoticed, and yet one of the most valuable assets in our society."

"Father!" Echo cried out loud in pain.

"He's not here Echo," Sal's voice called out to her, not knowing the turmoil that was going through her mind.

Where was her father? Echo thought to herself continuing to cry. She was going to have her first child soon and she wanted someone to be there with her.

Suddenly Echo saw a young man sitting by her bedside when she opened her eyes up that one day in September so many years ago. A light brown haired, pale blue eyed man with a smile on his face holding her hand tightly in his.

A gentleman who opened doors for her, pulled out chairs for her, and carried her cello for her on numerous occasions. Not because Echo was helpless or unable to do so herself, but because the young man wanted to show her that she was valuable and worthy of respect.

In a world full of people who couldn't care less, he was someone who couldn't care more about her. He had become her best friend over the years she had known him. And as a friend he had mastered the art of timing. Knowing when to stay silent, knowing when to speak, knowing when to let Echo hurl herself into her own destiny, and most importantly knowing when to pick up the pieces of Echo's heart when it was all over.

Daniel wasn't perfect, but he was loyal to her each and every day.

Whenever Echo was unable to find tranquility within herself she sought out Daniel's company. A gentle hand here, a tender kiss there, then suddenly it hit her like the contraction that now racked her body. Daniel needed to be here when she delivered her first born, whether he remembered or not. It wasn't her father's responsibility or Verdie's to help her through this ordeal. It was Daniel's responsibility, as a father, to get Echo through this. That unsung, unpraised young man that inspired Echo everyday.

"Sal," Echo cried out opening her eyes up to see light above her.

"Right here," Sal replied as emergency personnel stepped over the concrete barrier to help them both.

"I need Daniel," she cried.

"You have his number?" Sal asked as the emergency personnel lifted him off of her.

"In my bag," Echo gasped relieved of some of her pain, "In the car."

"Percy!" Sal cried out.

"I'm on it!" Percy's voice called back.

Echo felt alone for the first time in her life as the emergency personnel broke her grasp that she had with Sal's hand.

"Sal!" Echo cried out trying to find her mentor in the turmoil of activity.

"Hold up a minute," Sal told the workers as he reached down and touched Echo's face.

"Be brave, I'll see you at the hospital soon," Sal said taking his hand away from her face.

"It's been nice working with you Doctor Spengler," Sal's voice called back to her as he was taken away from her view.

Echo felt broken in more ways than one. Her heart ached for a familiar face among the emergency workers, but her eyes found none. She watched in silence, not saying a word, as the emergency personnel carefully got a board under her and lifted her up and out of her prison.

As she was carried around the corner of the DeCamp bus to a waiting gurney Echo could see that the Greyhound bus was a smoldering, burnt mess. Firefighters were working on putting out the last of the flames and she felt grateful that Sal, Percy, and her had gotten out in time. That was until she saw what remained of the car that she had been driving.

"Oh shit!" Echo said under her breath as the gurney that she had just been placed on was maneuvered around the work van from earlier.

She tried to sit up on her left elbow as she passed the burnt out hull of the car, "My father's going to kill me!"

"For what?" Asked an EMT by her side, "He's going to be happy you're alive."

"For that," Echo replied pointing with her right hand to the remains of the light green car behind the Greyhound bus.

The EMT turned his head briefly surveyed the damage, and then turned his attention back to her.

"Things can be replaced," he replied as he helped the other emergency workers place the gurney with Echo on it into the back of the ambulance, "lives can't."

And with that being said the EMT closed the doors to the ambulance and Echo felt the ambulance pulling away.

Somewhere in the back of Echo's mind she had heard that saying before. She couldn't place it as her tired mind welcomed the sleep that she was craving.

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Echo was fuming as Grace helped her out of the lavatory.

"I'm highly capably of going to the bathroom myself," Echo sarcastically told Grace, "Have been since I was eighteen months old."

"That maybe true," Grace replied, "but I bet you were not hooked up to two IV's and a fetal monitor at the time."

Echo nodded her head in agreement as she let Grace lead her back to her hospital bed. She carefully sat down on its side before she prepared to lift her legs up and under the covers. Echo was not looking forward to the bed rest that Paul had just suggested to her, although her sore, tired, body was looking forward to it. How was she going to cope? She couldn't stay still for two minutes doing nothing let alone twelve hours of nothing.

"You can watch television," Paul had suggested as he finished his exam on her.

"I've only watched a couple hours of television in my life," Echo snorted, "Why would I start now?"

"How about reading?" Grace suggested as she helped Echo out of her torn, dirty, clothes.

"I guess that will keep me busy for a day or two," Echo replied.

"Just like your father," Paul replied shaking his head, "You are going to have to get used to the idea of bed rest understand."

"Yes," Echo replied not liking the situation one bit.

"Has anyone called your father or Daniel?" Paul asked handing Echo a hospital gown.

"I don't think so," Echo said slipping into the hospital gown, "my cell phone was in the car I was driving, along with my cello. The car caught fire and burnt to a crisp."

"Then I'll go call them for you," Paul said leaving Grace to attend to Echo.

"I'm sure the insurance company will replace your lost items," Paul called out as he rounded the corner of the trauma room Echo had been in.

Grace straightened the two IV sets, one in each of Echo's arms, before she helped lift Echo's feet up and onto the hospital bed. Echo had just been moved upstairs, away from the spying eyes of the press trying to get inside the hospital.

"Next time call me," Grace said as Echo laid down.

"Yeah," Echo said softly, wondering if there was a way out of the mess that she was in.

"Is that a 'yeah' maybe reply," Grace asked, "or a 'yeah' not on your life reply."

"The latter," Echo said with a sigh.

"Look Echo," Grace said sitting down on the side of the hospital bed facing her, "I went through this with Suzie. If I can do it so can you."

"Wasn't it lonely during the day with no one home?"

"Sometimes," Grace replied, "but the boys sure made up for it when they got home from school. Each one in turn would jump into bed beside me to tell me about their day."

"I also had the nurses aid that came in three days a week to help me out. You'll get through this Echo."

Echo shook her head at Grace, "I don't think I'm going to get through this. What if I start having contractions again? What if…,"

Grace cut her off, "Echo, first off stop thinking that way. Try thinking positive thoughts."

"The longer we can keep Daniel's and your baby inside will increase his chances when he's finally born."

Echo frowned. Daniel. She hadn't thought about how to tell him about the baby. Now here she was in the hospital, in preterm labor, and Daniel wasn't by her side. Grace changing the subject brought her back to the present.

"That was beautiful birthday gift that Daniel gave to you," Grace said.

"But I didn't ask for it," Echo replied getting angry, "That house belongs to Daniel."

"Stop right there," Grace said, "First off the house isn't Daniel's, it's your house Echo. A gift from his heart."

"I don't care!" Echo spat out. "We can't afford it."

Grace held her tongue and counted to ten before she answered Echo back. It didn't matter in her eyes if Echo had asked for the house or not. Or if the couple could afford it or not. It was a gift from Daniel's heart and if Echo didn't treat it as such there were going to be problems down the road with her and Daniel.

"Echo," Grace finally said, "I'm going to tell you something that my mother told me one day when Paul had bought me a gift that I didn't want."

"What's that?" Echo asked.

"There are two things that cannot stand. Make that three things that will fall in the end," my mother said.

"A husband who is never wrong. A wife who thinks her husband is never right. And the Gates of Hell if these two are married to each other."

Echo started to laugh before she had to stop and hold her left side.

"Don't make me laugh," Echo said to Grace, "my ribs hurt."

"I won't," Grace replied as she got up from off of the hospital bed, "if you will stop putting Daniel down for spending money."

"But we…," Echo was cut off.

"STOP!" Grace said sternly, "don't put Daniel down again. It is his responsibility to provide for his family. Shelter, clothing, food, and whatever else is necessary for the physical comfort of his family."

"I talked to Daniel on Christmas," Grace continued, "I was just as concerned about the house as you are now, but he does have a plan. Has he told you that?"

"Yes," Echo said, "but…,"

"No buts," Grace said cutting Echo off, "your responsibility right now is to sacrifice your own comfort to give life to another. To give life to Daniel's offspring. This is the strongest bond that exists between a mother and child."

"It's your job to take care of the family, to work with Daniel, but not to earn the living."

"But you work," Echo pointed out, "and my mother worked."

"That's not what I'm saying," Grace stated. "I'm saying that your main job is to your family."

"So," Echo replied getting mad again, "you're telling me to be a stay at home mom!"

"In this day and age no," Grace replied, "but you are the primary breadwinner between you and Daniel."

"So was my mother," Echo said becoming defensive as her fetal monitor increased in rhythm.

Grace walked over to the monitor and adjusted the volume. She then turned her attention back to Echo. Grace knew that Echo wasn't going to be able to deliver this baby safely if she kept getting upset. In response to Echo's outburst Grace saw her bend over her abdomen with a Braxton Hicks contraction.

"Breathe," Grace said as she adjusted one of Echo's IV drips.

Quickly coming over to the side of the hospital bed Grace grabbed Echo's hand and offered support until the contraction subsided.

"I'm sorry about making you upset," Grace said helping Echo to lie back down, "but you are going to have a long road ahead of you and plenty of time to think about things."

Grace covered Echo up with a blanket before she spoke again, "Echo, I have one full time job and one part time job outside of my unpaid job at home raising my children."

"You on the other hand have two full time jobs and four part time jobs. You practice with Daniel very early in the morning or super late at night for your tours. You take paramedic calls for your town when you are home, you play in two orchestras, and sing at the Met. Not to mention teaching at Columbia and working here."

"Hell!" Grace said releasing Echo's hand and placing her own hands on her hips, "When do you ever sleep?"

Echo laughed softly because of her ribs as Grace continued.

"Like I said, 'you're' the primary breadwinner right now. Why not take a chance and let Daniel pull some of the weight this time around. He does have a plan and it's a good plan. Just give him a chance to prove it to you."

"And what if it fails?" Echo asked.

"Then," Grace replied, "you'll be there to pick up the pieces of his broken dream, just like he's been for you."

Echo felt as if Grace had suddenly slapped her in the face. Her words were true. Daniel was by Echo's side, always, no matter what. And what had she done about it these past couple of days? Complained about everything. Echo needed to apologize to Daniel and soon.

Paul's voice outside the room that she was in brought Echo out of her musing.

"We placed Echo in here, in a private room, away from the press," Paul was saying as the door to her room opened.

"Sweetheart!" Egon's voice called out as he quickly rushed to Echo's bedside.

Grace moved out of the way so that Egon could sit on the side of the hospital bed next to his daughter.

"Paul said that you were in an accident," Egon said sitting down on the side of the bed and taking Echo's hands into his.

"Only if you call Sal tossing me onto the concrete and covering me with his body an accident," Echo replied squeezing her father's hands.

Egon's face turned into a frown. "Echo," he said, "I'm afraid that the press knows about what happened between you and Daniel."

"How?" Echo asked becoming scared that Daniel was going to hear about the baby before she could tell him personally.

"Someone working at the accident site mentioned it and a reporter who was there covering the story overheard it," Paul told Echo.

"You knew about this?" Echo asked Paul her voice rising in pitch.

"Yes," Paul replied.

"And you didn't think to tell me about it!" Echo shouted at Paul. "Daniel doesn't know yet!"

"Did you contact Daniel?" She asked her father.

"No," Paul and Egon said together.

"Why not!" Echo shouted at the top of her lungs at Paul before she regretted doing so.

"That's why," Paul said as Echo bent over her abdomen in pain.

Egon held his daughter's left hand in his right one as he gently rubbed her back with his left hand. Even though he didn't personally know what Braxton Hicks contractions felt like he could sympathize with Echo.

"Easy," Egon's voice said somewhere inside Echo's head.

This was the worst pain Echo had ever had in her life and the only thing holding back the scream forming inside of her throat was her father's clear, calm, voice. Soon the pain was over and Echo lay back down onto the hospital bed exhausted.

"Sorry," Echo muttered weakly.

"Sorry?" Egon questioned back, "There's no reason to be sorry sweetheart."

"No," Echo quietly said closing her eyes, "I'm sorry for raising my voice to you Paul."

"Apology accepted Echo," Paul said giving Grace a piece of paper and sending her from the room.

"Now are you going to listen to me about the bed rest?" Paul asked her.

"Yes," Echo replied the tight lines in her face starting to subside now that the contraction was over.

Paul motioned for Egon to come and join him. Egon carefully helped Echo onto her left side and propped her back up with some pillows that Paul handed to him. Seeing that she was as comfortable as she could get, he crossed the room to join Paul by the door to Echo's room.

"How bad?" Egon whispered softly so that only Paul could hear.

Paul glanced to where Echo looked to be sleeping before he answered Egon's question.

"Echo was four centimeters dilated when she fist came in and I checked her," Paul said softly looking back to Egon, "That was an hour ago. Every time she gets upset she's going to dilate more and have another contraction."

Egon nodded his head. "What have you done for her so far?" He asked his voice barely above a whisper.

"Morphine for her ribs," Paul replied, "She rebroke them when Sal landed on her."

"Doesn't that have the potential to cause neonatal respiratory depression when used during labor?" Egon asked.

"Yes," Paul replied keeping his voice down, "that's why I sent Grace for neonatal resuscitation equipment among other things."

"Look Egon," Paul said placing a hand on the man's shoulder, "I'm hoping the morphine will prolong Echo's labor."

"By how long?"

"A few days at the most," Paul said releasing the man's shoulder, "I'm hoping to get some steroids and magnesium sulfate on board before she goes into full term labor."

Egon didn't answer Paul and just nodded his head in agreement. He knew that no matter how hard Paul tried once a woman was already showing signs of preterm labor he could only delay the birth for a day or two.

The major goal that Paul wanted was for the steroids to speed up fetal lung development, thereby making a healthier preemie that required a shorter stay in the NICU unit. The magnesium sulfate was to help reduce the incidence of cerebral palsy and other brain disorders.

"What if she delivers now?" Egon asked becoming scared for his daughter.

Paul shook his head back and forth.

"Emrick will require anywhere from a few days to a few months in the NICU unit depending upon his condition when he's born, along with what other health problems exist," Paul told Egon.

Egon nodded his head. "And the longer Emrick stays in the womb the greater his chances will be for survival correct?" Egon asked Paul.

"Yes," Paul replied, "At 25 weeks up to 85% of babies will survive given the dramatic changes that have occurred in medicine since the 1980's."

"So," Egon asked looking over to where Echo lie sleeping, "what can I do?"

"Be there for her," Paul said, "Keep her calm. Keep her mind off of anything that will stress her out. Echo knows this."

"Can I take her home?" Egon asked looking back to Paul.

"Sorry Egon," Paul said shaking his head, "Emrick will need a level three neonatal intensive care unit if he's going to have any chance of survival."

"St. Luke's just happens to be one. That's why Sal told the emergency personnel working on Echo to bring her here."

"How is Sal?" Egon asked.

"Shattered talus, lateral and medial malleolus breaks, along with the lower part of his tibia and fibula."

Egon sucked in a breath, "That bad?" He questioned.

"Yeah," Paul replied, "Surgery is Sal's only option if he's ever going to put weight on his right foot again."

"It's going to take at least six weeks for the broken bones to heal. Longer for the ligaments and tendons to heal. He's out for a good three to four months maybe even a year or two."

"Been there," Egon said pointing a thumb over at Echo's sleeping form, "done that and I don't wish it on anyone else."

Paul nodded his head in agreement before he heard people outside in the corridor arguing with each other.

"You can't barge in there," Grace's voice could be heard.

"Grace," Daniel's voice could be heard now, "let me see her."

"You can't upset Echo," Grace's voice replied.

"Upset Echo," Daniel's voice said, "Hell Grace I'm the one upset. Now haud yer wheesht and gettae!"

"What did he say?" Paul asked Egon as the door to Echo's room opened up on them.

"He said to be quiet and go away," Egon replied as he caught a hold of Daniel's arm before the young man could storm into the room.

"Nae," Egon said to Daniel in Scottish trying to push him back out the door, "You're going to see me first."

"Like hell I am," Daniel replied breaking the grip that Egon had on his arm.

"Echo!" Daniel shouted as he entered the hospital room, Grace following him.

Echo was already awake and sitting up in her bed. Daniel's voice outside in the corridor had woken her up.

"What's this shite about you being up th'duff?" He stormed at her stopping by her bedside.

"I just got gobsmacked by the press outside!" Daniel roared on, waving an arm back towards the door he had just come through.

"I'm sorry Daniel," Echo said.

"Sorry!" Daniel stormed on.

"You better be sorry you hingin," Daniel said pointing a finger at Echo.

"Daniel!" Egon said grabbing the young man's arm, "That's uncalled for!"

"This is your child," Egon said nodding his head towards Echo, "We're sorry you didn't hear it from us first."

"Us?" Daniel questioned turning his attention away from Echo, "You knew about this?"

"Yes," said Paul, "We all know about Echo's pregnancy."

Daniel's eyes glanced Paul's way for only a moment before he pulled away from Egon's grasp and totally lost his composure.

"Yer talking pish," he shouted placing his hands on his head and turning away from the people in the room.

Taking a moment to himself Daniel finally turned around and took his hands off of his head.

"Whose bairn is it?" Daniel asked Echo, "Whae ye sleept wi'? Doctor D'Artagnan, ye sleekit wee basturt."

"This is your child Daniel," Echo said on the verge of tears.

"Wise i dial!" Daniel shouted at her, "I told you what happened to me. I'm not responsible for this child in any kind of way."

"Echo," Egon asked, "What's Daniel talking about?"

Echo bit the bottom of her lip. Yes Daniel had told her about his 'accident' when he was sixteen years old that night after Christmas, but she also knew that she hadn't slept with anyone else but him.

"Daniel had an accident when he was a teenager Father," Echo said, "The doctor's told him he couldn't have children."

"But your sitting right there with his child inside you," Egon pointed out.

Egon's face fell as he remembered back to when Echo had told him that she was naming the baby Emrick Spengler and narrowed his eyes at her. "Unless you're lying to me."

"I'm not lying Father," Echo said raising her voice.

"Daniel was riding in a Grand Prix in Edinburgh," Echo continued.

"There was a 'joker' fence that his warmblood horse, he was riding on, came upon."

"Joker?" Paul asked.

"It's a tricky fence in show jumping," Daniel replied his voice coming down a notch. "It comprises of a rustic or unpainted rail and two wings. There is no filler, the part below the fence like flowers, boxes, or roll tops, making it difficult for the horse to judge their proximity to the fence as well as the fence's height itself."

"What happened?" Egon asked.

"My horse misjudged the jump," Daniel said looking down to the floor, "I was tossed over his head but my right foot caught in the stirrup and my horse spooked."

Daniel stopped talking and didn't offer up any more information as Egon turned to his daughter for the conclusion of the story.

"Daniel's horse stepped on his groin area," Echo said softly seeing Daniel wasn't going to finish what he had started. "The horse damaged Daniel's left testicle so badly that the doctors had to remove it."

"But that doesn't mean you can't have any children," Paul said to Daniel.

"The doctor's told me I couldn't and I believed them," Daniel said becoming defensive.

"No Daniel," Paul said, "they were wrong. There might be a reduction of semen production as a result that's true, but fertility is in no way affected."

"That's what I told him!" Echo chimed in, "Look Daniel you were sixteen at the time. You probably heard the doctors wrong. It only takes one sperm to fertilize an egg. And if that fails there's always assisted technology."

"Be grateful you're marrying someone with a degree in reproductive endocrinology and infertility medicine," Grace said.

Daniel looked up from the floor. The look that he gave Grace was choleric. Paul saw it and quickly pushed Grace behind him. He knew that Daniel had reached his breaking point and Paul wanted Grace safe.

"You think I'm going to marry that glaikit hoore!" Daniel roared at Grace pointing a finger at Echo, "Up yer erse wi' it Grace."

"I'm NOT marrying that knocked up street meat!"

"Your mother!" Egon shouted making a fist and pulling it back.

Daniel never saw Egon's fist come at his face until it connected with his nose.

Echo threw back the covers and tried to get out of bed to stop the fight, but her two IV's and fetal monitor prevented her from doing so and she ended up in a heap on the floor.

"STOP IT!" She yelled at the top of her lungs at the three men who were fighting in front of her unable to help.

Paul had join in with Egon to push and punch Daniel away from her hospital bed. The only one who came to help Echo was Grace.

"Let's get you out of this," Grace said as she quickly pulled the needle out of one of Echo's catheters in her arm.

As Echo pulled the other needle out Grace tore off the fetal monitor and roughly pulled Echo to her feet.

"Hurry," Grace said trying to get away from the men as they worked their way back towards the two women.

"I have to stop them," Echo said tears starting to flow from her eyes as she pointed her finger towards Daniel and her father.

"You can't without getting hurt yourself," Grace said, "I called security. They'll be here any minute. I need to get you somewhere safe."

"But…," Echo went to say before she doubled over in pain.

Grace knew that this was the last straw. She couldn't deliver this baby by herself in a war zone. She ducked out of the way of a flying metal tray, grabbed Echo's waist, and hauled the young girl out of the room and into the corridor.

"AH!" Echo cried out as her amniotic sac ruptured and Grace carefully sat her down in the corridor.

"I need help!" Grace shouted down the corridor as she saw four security guards run by her and into the room.

Grace paid no attention to them as she pulled Echo's underwear off. She could see the babies small head and knew that there wasn't much time left. Grace quickly took off her white lab coat and placed it between Echo's legs on the ground.

"Grace!" Echo cried out.

"Easy Echo," Grace said placing a hand on the young girl's shoulder. "One more push and he should be out."

"It hurts!" Echo gasped out clenching her hands into two fists.

"I know," Grace said trying to keep her voice calm as Paul was dragged from the room.

Grace looked up to see her husband. He had a bruise above his left eye and blood was coming out of the corner of his mouth. His white lab coat was ripped and spotted with blood. There was nothing that she could do for him and her heart went out to the man she loved.

Paul got a quick glance at his wife before he was pulled away from her. He saw Echo sitting in a pile of water, her legs apart, being attended to by his wife and surmised what had happened.

"Call Doctor Shahrivar Grace," Paul shouted as he was hauled around the corner of the hospital.

"I love you!" Paul's voice rang out from around the corner.

"I love you too," Grace said under her breath as she turned her attention back to Echo.

"Grace!" Echo said between clenched teeth.

"Breathe," Grace said stroking Echo's arm as she saw Emrick's head advance further.

"Nurse Stringham?" A voice called from down the corridor.

Grace turned her head towards the sound. A doctor and nurse were coming to her rescue.

"What's going on?" The doctor asked stopping before Grace and kneeling down to her level.

"Preterm labor at twenty-five weeks," Grace stated, "We need Doctor Shahrivar."

"I agree," said the doctor, "but we also need to get your patient back into her room."

"Not in there," Grace said nodding her head towards the door, "World War III is going on inside."

As soon as Grace got done talking the door to Echo's room opened up and Egon was manhandled through by two security officers.

"Echo!" Egon shouted trying to get away but he could not.

Echo looked up to see her father's face. His hair was hanging down around his shoulders, undone from his ponytail. His left eye was bruised, the corner of his mouth torn and bleeding. The right sleeve of his suit was torn away at the shoulder seam. It hung down around his elbow. His tie was out of place and his white dress shirt had been torn open, covered in blood.

"Father!" Echo cried as the tears fell down her face and onto the floor.

She wasn't allowed anytime with him as the security guards dragged Egon away from her. Echo's eyes followed her father as he was pulled around the corner never to be seen again. "Echo!" was the last thing she heard before another contraction hit her.

"Shit!" Echo cursed closing her eyes, not caring who heard her at this point in her life.

"Easy," Grace's voice said to her as she felt a hand rubbing her arm.

Echo, heard the door open up to her right and felt Grace's hand pull away from her. Echo desperately wanted someone by her side and opened up her eyes.

Grace stood in front of her, fists clenched tight. Behind her stood Daniel being held by his left arm by a burly security guard.

"Hold up a minute," Grace said to the security guard.

Echo could see Daniel's face was covered in blood, it was pouring out of his crocked nose and both corners of his mouth. The blood covered his torn shirt and leather jacket. It had not been a fair fight of two men against one and Echo's heart went out to him even after all that he had said to her earlier.

"Daniel," Echo called to him wiping the tears away from her eyes, "I'm so sorry."

"Sorry…," Daniel went to shout before Grace cut him off.

"Daniel take it down a notch please," Grace said, "I think an apology is in order first."

"Fine," Daniel said in a huffy voice, "I apologize for my words I had with you Grace."

"Apology accepted," Grace replied.

"And as for you Echo," Daniel said raising his voice a notch, "I want a paternity test done."

Grace heard Echo gasp behind her and stepped forward to face Daniel.

"Done," she replied.

"I also want a lie detector test done to prove I'm not the father of that bratty kid and that Doctor D'Artagnan is!" Daniel shouted at Echo.

Grace heard Echo crying openly and stood up taller to Daniel.

"Done," she replied again. "Anything else?"

"Yes," Daniel spat at Grace, "I don't want to see that ya bas ever again in my life. I will be suing her father for my broken nose and that scaffy for slander," Daniel pointed his finger at Echo, "Understood."

"Loud and clear," Grace said never backing down from Daniel's gaze.

"But Daniel," Echo cried out, "how can you say that? You told me that you wouldn't let me face my problems all alone. You told me that you would be that person to hold my hand and tell me that everything would be okay. I need you."

Daniel dropped his hand down to his side and looked around Grace to stare at Echo, hatred in his eyes.

"You know I'm not upset that you didn't tell me that you were pregnant," Daniel said menacingly.

"I should have seen it when we were on tour together," Daniel continued. "The vomiting, the restless nights, the nightmares you were having."

"Were you regretting the time you slept with Doctor D'Artagnan?" Daniel questioned Echo. "Were you hoping that I would think that the child was mine after you drugged me and slept with me?"

Echo couldn't take it anymore. She had done nothing wrong. She hadn't slept with anyone but him, nor did she drug him either. There wasn't anything that she could say to make Daniel believe her now so she just bit her lip, letting the tears fall down her face, as Daniel finished his angry words to her.

"You know," Daniel stated, "I'm upset that from now on I can't trust you."

Daniel turned away from Echo to walk down the corridor.

"Daniel bide!" Echo cried out in his native language.

"Gabh mo leisguel?" He asked her stopping and turning around to face her.

"Nae Echo," Daniel said, "Hell slap it intae ye for whit's happened th'day."

Echo's tears rolled freely down her face as Daniel walked up to her. Reaching under his torn shirt he pulled out a gold chain with a single ring attached to it. Stopping at her feet Daniel opened up his hand and let the chain drop to the floor and into Echo's lap. She looked down to see her mother's wedding band of four pink roses, intertwined with vines, that ran around the length of the band. Looking back up she saw Daniel turn and walk away from her.

Her heart couldn't take the loss and she cried out one last time in his native language.

"Tha gaol agam ort!"

Daniel stopped in his tracks but never turned around to face her.

"Cheerio the nou Doctor Spengler," he said and then walked away from her.

Echo watched the man that she loved walk away down the corridor never looking back at her crumpled body sitting in the same corridor about to give birth to his son. It was hard for her to watch, waiting for him to turn around, willing him to turn around. To rush to her side. To enfold his arms around her broken soul. To take back her mother's ring and sacredly place it under his shirt again to keep it safe. But Daniel only kept walking, shoulders back, head held high. How could Echo give up everything that she ever wanted?

She watched as Daniel rounded the corner of the corridor and disappeared out of her life. She felt as if a sword had just pierced through her heart. Her world collapsed around her leaving her totally alone, beaten, bruised, ripped apart and thrown away like used trash.

"Daniel!" Echo screamed out as she delivered their fist child in the corridor of the hospital, alone.

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Echo refused to get out of the hospital bed. She was afraid of the reality that awaited her. She had cried herself to sleep every night for the past week. A tear fell down her cheek as she slowly opened her eyes.

On the hospital wall hung 'get well' cards in every shape and size. Grace had taped them to the wall next to Echo's twin bed. After Echo had given birth Emrick had been rushed to the NICU on the 12th floor of the hospital. She, herself, had been examined and had stayed overnight in the room that her father, Daniel, and Paul had almost destroyed. After that Echo had been released from the hospital, but she had stayed to be near her son.

Emrick was under the care of Doctor Farrokh Shahrivar the director of Neonatology at St. Luke's. Doctor Shahrivar had forty-five years of experience in his field. He was the only thing standing between life and death for Emrick at this point in his life.

Emrick had been born with a patent ductur arteriosus, a blood vessel that normally closed at birth. He had been monitored for the first two days until Doctor Shahrivar could perform surgery. Echo had watched as Doctor Shahrivar had inserted a catheter in Emrick's femoral vein. He had then run a platinum coil up into Emrick's heart, permanently closing the opening without the need for open heart surgery.

Her son's apnea had cleaned up after Doctor Shahrivar had perform the surgery. For the first two days every time Emrick had an irregular breathing problem his monitors would go off, scaring Echo half to death.

Echo had felt uncomfortable in the NICU even though she knew what all the equipment was for. She had never had to use some of it herself and the highly qualified staff had shown her what to do.

She felt guilty that she had done this to her son, but she knew that he needed her love and affection. Yet there wasn't anything that she could physically do beside stroke Emrick's small hand through the opening in the side of his incubator.

Emrick had been through a lot this past week. She couldn't list all the complications that he had on one hand. She needed two. Right from the moment he was born he had been diagnosed with two. Patent ductus arteriosus and apnea. Emrick also had low blood pressure that was treated with increased fluids and medication. Luckily he didn't need a blood transfusion. Her son had an infection most likely coming from the intestines. Doctor Shahrivar was going to ultrasound Emrick today to see if he had necrotizing enterocolitis. Necrotizing enterocolitis was poor blood flow to the baby's intestines thereby causing an infection.

Emrick already had incomplete growth of the vessels in the retina of his eyes known as Terry syndrome. This had been caused by oxygen therapy due to the premature development of his lungs. Terry syndrome could be mild and may resolve with time, or it could lead to blindness in serious cases.

"Well," Echo said to Doctor Shahrivar when he had told her the unpleasant news, "I have an uncle that is blind. I can deal with that."

Day in and day out Echo had sat by her son's side, watching him struggle for his tiny life. There wasn't anything that Echo looked forward to these days, now that Daniel was gone.

Daniel had been treated at St. Luke's Hospital and then had been released. The emergency room could not relocate his fractured nose until the swelling had gone down. He had been sent home on pain medication and was instructed to see an ENT for surgery. Echo had tried to see him, but was only greeted to a bitter young man who turned his body away from her when she tried to talk to him. In the end Grace had dragged Echo away and back up to her room.

The small room with a twin bed, end table, and bathroom had been her private sanctuary for the week. Grace had brought her the 'get well' cards as they came into the hospital each day. It seemed everyone was wishing her son a safe recovery. Everyone was looking forward to the day that Emrick would be released, but not her.

She would be thrust into being a single mother, much like her father, and that was something she wasn't looking forward to.

There was only one thing that Echo looked forward to and that was the music therapy in the NICU. The service was provided by expertly trained members of The Louis and Lucille Armstrong Music Therapy Group. The group utilized live sound and music to replicate the auditory environment found in the womb.

Echo had found this extremely helpful for her and her son. The music had helped with Emrick's breathing and heart rate, not to mention hers.

Today Emrick would be removed from his phototherapy. He had developed jaundice, a common occurrence in preemies where the baby's skin turns yellow from the build-up of bilirubin in the blood, Echo sighed and sat up in bed. She wanted to be there when that happened, but didn't know if she had the strength to do so.

Her father wasn't going to be around today. After her first day had passed and she hadn't heard from him, Echo had broken down and called Verdie, her soon to be new mother. Echo didn't like the idea of her father getting married again, but she had kept her opinions to herself. Everyone else was happy for Egon, but her.

Verdie had found her father after many hours of searching. Egon was in a jail cell in NYC and could be released on bail, but Verdie didn't have the money to do so. Echo had the money but she was in no position to go to the bank and get the money that her father needed. Her wallet, along with her drivers license, had been burnt in the car fire. She needed to get back to New Jersey to get a new one at the DMV so that she could go to a bank in NYC and withdraw the money needed. Verdie had decided that she was going to borrow the money, but Egon wouldn't let her.

"Forget it!" Egon said to Verdie when she had gone down to the jail to see Egon. "I'll be let out on my own recognizance soon."

"How?" Verdie asked.

"I'm employed, have been residing in the community for many years. I have children living in the community, and have little if any past criminal records," Egon told her.

"The police officer says I can get a bond," Verdie told Egon. "I could have you out in a few hours."

"Forget it Verdie," Egon replied, "It may sound like a good deal compared to posting cash, but buying a bond may cost more in the long run. Not to mention that the bond seller may require 'collateral'. I don't want to see my property given away because of my stupid mistake."

Egon was most likely getting out of jail today or tomorrow Verdie had told her. Echo had been alone with only Grace and occasionally Verdie for company since she had given birth.

"Deal with it later," Echo told herself as she pushed the covers aside and got out of bed.

Taking a quick shower, Echo slowly walked down the familiar corridor to the door leading into the NICU. As she walked by the open window she could see a scurry of activity at Emrick's incubator. Quickly entering the room and crossing to where the yellow gowns were kept she looked out to Emrick's area. Donning her yellow gown and placing a surgery mask on her face Echo entered the NICU.

"I need the MRI cleared now!" Doctor Shahrivar shouted at one of the nurses.

Echo watched as the nurse turned on her heels and headed off to the nearest phone. She knew that Paul wouldn't be the one to perform Emrick's MRI. Paul had been relieved of his duties until he could have an inquire of what had happened. Something that Echo was all to familiar with.

"Doctor Shahrivar," Echo said coming to Emrick's side, "What's wrong now?"

"Doctor Spengler," Doctor Shahrivar said looking up at her, "I believe Emrick's got hydrophilic."

Echo sucked in a breath and bit the bottom of her lip.

"The MRI is in use," the nurse called back to the doctor, a hand held over the receiver end, "They can't clear it for an hour."

"Because Paul's not there," Echo thought to herself.

"This child doesn't have an hour," Doctor Shahrivar pointed out.

Echo knew what had to be done, whether they had confirmation from the MRI or not. She calmly reached over the incubator and placed her hand on Doctor Shahrivar's arm. He looked up at her when he felt her touch.

"Where are the ventricular catheters kept?" She asked him.

"Over there," he answered, "but I can't have you doing a cerebral shunt on your own child."

"Then I give you verbal permission to do so," Echo responded.

Echo glanced down at her baby. His fontanel, or soft spot, appeared to be bulging making his head appear larger than normal. Emrick had a peripheral IV in his right foot already. Her son was also on a continuous positive airway pressure, or CPAP, mask. This mask was placed firmly on his nose and blew constant air to open Emrick's airways and remind him to breathe.

Emrick had a feeding tube from his mouth to his stomach so that he could be fed. There wasn't any part of Emrick's body that didn't have something coming from it. And now even his precious head wasn't going to be safe.

Echo watched her baby as Doctor Shahrivar hurried to gather the supplies that he needed for the procedure. She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked towards a nurse who pulled up a chair for Echo to sit in. She sat down in the chair and pulled open the round door to the incubator. Although the room around her was bustling with activity she tuned it out. She was strangely calm today and stroked Emrick's small hand as Doctor Shahrivar started to make an incision in her son's scalp.

"Echo," a voice called from behind her.

Echo slowly turned her head to see her mother standing behind her, dressed in a white empire gown with long sleeves. Echo just stared at Eden before something caught her index finger and wrapped itself around it tightly. She glanced back to see Emrick's tiny hand wrapped around her index finger. His head was turned towards her, eyes wide open, looking her way.

Since Emrick's birth he had never once opened his eyes. Echo saw the deepest color of blue eyes looking back at her. He was trying to tell her something, but what.

"Echo," Eden said, "it's time."

Echo heard her mother's voice, but she didn't look back. Doctor Shahrivar had just finished making a small hole in Emrick's skull when his heart stopped working. Doctor Shahrivar desperately tried to get Emrick's heart to start working again as she stared into his eyes.

Emrick was fervently, yet gently, telling Echo that he was ready to turn his fierce fight for life into a conscious surrender to death. Echo couldn't allow that. Not after everything that they had both been through. Emrick was the only thing that she had of Daniel left. She wasn't about to give that up.

"Sweetheart," Eden said placing a hand on her daughter's shoulder, "His time is up."

"No!" Echo wailed as tears started to form in the corners of her eyes.

Eden placed her arms around her daughter and hugged her from behind. Echo could feel her mother's strength radiating out to her soul. From somewhere inside Echo found the strength to speak the words she had never wanted to say.

"Doctor Shahrivar," Echo said calmly taking her eyes of off Emrick for a moment, "Please let him go in peace."

"Are you sure Doctor Spengler?" He asked.

Echo smiled weakly and nodded her head yes. Suddenly the fingers of Emrick's hand, that had been around her index finger, relaxed and slid off. When Echo looked down Emrick's eyes were closed. He was gone.