"How is she, Leigh?" Nick asked, concerned. "I mean, will she want--"

"I know what you're going to say, and yes, she'll want to see you. She needs all of us to be there for her now," Leighanne said, rubbing her hand down Nick's arm and winking at him knowingly. "She's in the bathroom right now. She'll be out in a minute." Exchanging one more smile with Nick, Leighanne walked out of the room, closing the door. Nick locked it behind her before sitting down to wait to see Laura. He bounced his knee nervously as he twiddled his thumbs.

Although only two minutes had passed, it had seemed more like two hours, when Laura emerged from the room's bathroom. Looking up, her eyes met Nick's. Seeing him, she started crying. Damn, I knew I shouldn't have come, he thought, his heart aching at the thought that Laura was hurting so badly. She looked away from him, not wanting for him to see her cry, although she knew it was already too late. Nick sighed heavily as he stood up. "I'm sorry, Laura. I'll talk to you later. I--I didn't mean to upset you." Laura didn't turn to face him as he spoke, so he assumed that she wanted him to leave. Sighing again, he reached out and put his hand on Laura's shoulder, squeezing it gently before turning to leave her room. Right before he reached the door, Laura turned toward him.

"Nick, wait!" Laura said, forcing Nick to turn around in his tracks. His eyes met hers as she approached him. "It's OK. I--I want you here. I don't want to be alone right now." Nick's heart soared as she spoke her need for him to be there.

"I'm here, Laura. Whatever you need from me, I'm here for you."

Laura took Nick's hand and led him over to her bed. They sat down next to each other, and she turned to face him, sitting with her legs crossed Indian-style in front of her. Still holding his hand, she took a deep breath as she looked into his eyes. Nick was the first to break the silence.

"Tell me what happened. Tell me everything, Laura. I want to help. Let me help," Nick urged. Laura once again sighed as she began to tell Nick everything. Everything from the very first time she saw Derek until today.

"...So, yeah, that's pretty much it. Oh, and I got pregnant over Thanksgiving, I figure. That was the last time Derek and I..." Laura's voice trailed off as she averted her eyes and blushed. "Well, y'know. And I'm about three months along already, so I dunno, you do the math," she added with a strained laugh.

"For what it's worth, I think you'll be a great mother," Nick said, trying his best to reassure Laura.

Laura was stunned. She smiled at Nick. "You really think so?" she asked befuddled.

"Of course I do, Laura. I wouldn't say it if I didn't mean it."

Laura laughed. "Yeah, this coming from a guy who, nine months ago, couldn't stand to be in the same room with me. A guy that ridiculed me every chance he got. Not that I was any better. And now look at us. We've come a long way, haven't we, Carter??" she asked, giving his chin a light knock with the knuckles of her hand.

Nick sighed as he thought about the first time he saw Laura. God, I couldn't stand her, that's for sure, Nick thought amused. "Yeah, a long way," he echoed, smiling at her. She smiled back, and he knew it was the right time to tell her what he came to tell her.

"Laura, I want--"
"I've come to--"

Both Nick and Laura laughed as they interrupted each other. "Ladies first," Nick said, urging Laura to go on with what she wanted to say.

"You sure?"

"Yeah," Nick said, convincing Laura to speak first. He smiled at her as she continued.

"Well, as I was going to say, I've come to a decision, Nick. I--I've decided to leave."

Nick was confused. "Leave?" he asked. "What do you mean, 'leave?'"

"I mean, leave. Go. Quit."

Either Nick didn't understand Laura, or he didn't want to. Probably the latter. "What do you mean, 'quit?' Quit what?" He felt queasy, almost knowing what Laura was about to say before she actually said it.

Laura sighed heavily as she answered him. "I'm quitting. I'm leaving the tour."

"Leaving the tour!? She can't do that!!" AJ said in an outrage.

"Leaving to be with him??" Howie asked, also finding it difficult to hide his anger at the situation.

"Unfortunately, she can and she will," Kevin said, rubbing his eyes with his hand, then moving it back to rub the back of his neck. "Whether we like it or not, we've got to respect her decision. This is her life, after all."

"True, but like you said, we don't have to like it," Cherie said, hugging Howie.

"I tried talking her out of it, guys. I really did. But she's so sure that maybe fatherhood will change him. I guess anything's possible, but I highly doubt it. I just pray for her sake, and that baby's sake, that she's right," Leighanne said, taking hold of Brian's hand as he kissed her on the cheek.

"So, when is she leaving?" Misty asked, as AJ wrapped his arms around her tightly...

"...tomorrow." Laura looked up at Nick for his reaction.

"Tomorrow," he echoed numbly, unable to say anything else. "Tomorrow?"

"Yeah, tomorrow, which is why I'm not working tonight. In fact, Derek is making arrangements right now for us to fly home."

"Us..."

"Yeah."

Nick stood up and walked over to the window. He blinked hard, desperately trying not to cry, as he looked outside. In a daze, somehow he managed to speak the words. "So you're staying with Derek." It was a statement rather than a question, for he already knew the answer.

Laura walked up in back of him, raising up her hand. She hesitated before putting her hand softly on his shoulder. Rubbing him gently, she sighed. "I have to. I owe it to our child, Nick. I need to try to make this work."

Nick turned to face Laura. Her hand now on his chest, he put his hand over hers. "Then I need to go," he said, leaning down to kiss her forehead. He looked deeply into Laura's eyes, squeezing her hand as he pulled it away from himself and put it at her side. "Goodbye, Evans," Nick said, desperately wanting to take her in his arms and never letting go. He walked to the door, and once he reached it, he turned to look at Laura one more time. "Bye," he said, barely audible, as a tear fell from his eye. He turned away again and walked out of the door. Laura fell onto her bed sobbing, until she cried herself to sleep.

"Take care of you," Kevin said, the last of everyone to hug Laura goodbye. "Know you'll be missed terribly."

"Great, thannnks. As if I don't feel bad enough over leaving you guys," Laura replied, looking about the airport. Where is he? Where is he? she thought frantically as she heard the final boarding call for her and Derek's flight. "Well, I guess that's me."

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot," Brian said, pulling an envelope out of his pocket. "This is for you," he said as Laura took the envelope from him. Looking quizzically at him, he mouthed "Nick" to her. She smiled as she stuffed the envelope in her purse and gave Brian one last hug. She whispered "happy birthday" to him as they released their embrace. Grabbing her carry-on bag, she smiled at everyone before turning toward Derek. He put his arm around her as they walked to the plane, not looking back.

Kevin, Teresa, Brian, Leighanne, AJ, Misty, Howie and Cherie stood at the window, waiting and watching as the plane took off. Once out of sight, they all left to go to their next tour destination, without Laura...

Once the plane took off, Laura sighed as she looked out the window of the plane. Goodbye, everyone, she thought, as she saw that the plane was passing up through the clouds. Goodbye, Nick. She figeted in her seat. Nick... Suddenly remembering the envelope Brian gave her from Nick, she pulled it out of her purse and tore it open and read the crinkled paper, taking in each line as it flowed into the next.

Dear Laura,

By now I'm sure you've already boarded your plane. I'm so sorry I wasn't there to see you off, but it's better this way, trust me. It's better for both of us this way. But you know me, I always have to have the last word with you, and this occasion is no different ;-) There's a song that comes to mind when I think of you, and I'm sure you know it. It truly sums up what I'm feeling right now and all that I want to say to you...

Here we stand, worlds apart
Hearts broken in two
Sleepless nights, losing ground
I'm reaching for you

Feelin' that it's gone can change your mind
If we can't go on to survive the tide love divides

Someday love will find you, break those chains that bind you
One night will remind you how we touched and went our separate ways
If he ever hurts you, true love won't desert you
You know I still love you, though we touched and went our
Separate ways

Troubled times, caught between confusion and pain
Distant eyes, promises we made were in vain

If you must go, I wish you love
You'll never walk alone
Take care my love, miss you love

Someday love will find you, break those chains that bind you
One night will remind you how we touched and went our separate ways
If he ever hurts you, true love won't desert you
You know I still love you, though we touched and went our
Separate ways...

Laura crumpled the paper in her fist, holding it to her head as she cried quietly, wondering if she had, indeed, made the right choice. Only time would tell...