Misty was reading the newspaper as she and AJ sat eating breakfast. Her cellphone rang and startled her. Reaching into her purse, which was hanging on the back of her chair, she dug it out. "Who in the hell is calling me this early, and on my cell??" AJ looked up at her and saw Misty's expression turn from annoyed to excited as she looked at the caller ID display on her phone.

"Well?" AJ urged. "Who is it??" Misty smiled at him as she answered her phone.

"Laura, sweetie!" Misty said enthusiastically, and AJ's face brightened up. He smiled as she continued to speak. "What's up? What's going on?" AJ looked intensely at Misty as she continued to speak. "Uh-huh... yeah, OK... Memorial Hospital, room 418...." Misty said, tossing a pen at AJ and he wrote it down on the back of his hand. Misty giggled at AJ as she continued talking to Laura. "OK, we'll be there in a while. Keep us posted if anything changes... Love you too, girl! Bye!" Misty clicked the phone off as she smiled widely at AJ.

"Laura had the baby??" AJ asked, just as excited as Misty was.

"No, but she's in the early stages of labor, so it looks like it's going to be pretty damn soon!"

AJ stood up eagerly. "Well, what are we waiting for?? Let's call the others and go to the hospital!"

"...come on, Laura honey, push, you can do it, sweetie!" Derek urged as Laura suddenly cried in intense pain.

"Doctor!" Laura screamed, unable to control herself. "It's hurting really bad! Why am I feeling this much pain???? It's bad, it's so bad!!" she said, still yelling hysterically. Tears were streaming from her eyes, and the color flushed from her face. Before anyone could answer her, Laura had passed out, her pulse weak and barely breathing.

"Oh SHIT," the doctor yelled, as one of the nurses flipped the emergency switch.

Out in the waiting room, Kevin, Teresa, Howie, Cherie, Misty, AJ, Brian, Leighanne and Nick had heard Laura's screaming, and then also heard it stop very suddenly. They anxiously looked down the hallway toward Laura's room, and were distracted as several other orderlies and doctors rushed down to Laura's room. Nick stood up, his mouth open, for he knew something was terribly wrong. Teresa took hold of Nick's hand, and pulled him back down into his seat, squeezing his hand tightly as they waited to find out what had happened.

Back in Laura's room, the doctors worked quickly to revive Laura and the nurses and orderlies prepared instruments for an emergency c-section delivery. Derek was frantic. "Doctor, doctor... what's going on?? Why did she pass out?? What's going to happen now?? What about the baby???" he yelled.

The doctor was thoroughly annoyed by the questions being fired at him. "Janet, please escort the father out of the room," he said to one of the nurses, focused on Laura and her baby's needs, unwilling to deal with him. Reluctantly, Derek left as the nurse approached him, storming out of the room down to the waiting room. He saw everyone waiting there, his eyes lingering on Nick as he told everyone what was going on.

Nick's eyes watered as he thought of Laura, and he shook as he thought of the impending danger that she and her baby were in. Laura, no... he thought, shivering as he rocked in his seat, fighting back his tears.

It wasn't more than five minutes after Derek had left Laura's room that everyone saw most of the nurses and orderlies walk out of her room, much slower than they had originally entered, solemn looks upon their faces. One of the other doctors was the last to emerge, and his head was heavy as he approached the waiting room, looking to Laura's friends and loved ones as they eagerly watched him walking toward them. He shivered as he dreaded having to tell them the news.

The doctor cleared his throat as he began to speak. "Derek... everyone..." his voice trailed off as he found himself almost ready to cry. "We were able to revive Laura, so that she was able to finish delivering naturally. No c-section was needed. But... the baby... well..."

Derek flew up out of his seat. "Noo!! My son!!" he yelled, running down to Laura's room. Everyone cried as they watched him disappear into her room, hearing both of them sobbing as they mourned the loss of their baby, their son. Everyone in the waiting room embraced and cried as well, unable to believe what had just happened. Unwilling to believe what had just happened. Nick cried hard, wanting so badly to go to Laura and comfort her, but knowing that it wasn't his place. That was Derek's job right now...

Nick was still sitting in the same spot that he had been all day. Looking down the hallway to Laura's room, he decided to go in and see her. He had to. He needed to let her know that if she needed him, he'd be there. Standing up and stretching, Nick sighed as he slowly walked down to Laura's room. As he got closer, he overheard Derek and Laura's conversation. Stopping outside of the doorway, he waited, not wanting to interrupt them.

"I can't believe this," Derek said, his voice no longer sad but full of anger. "You women are fucking built to have children, and YOU can't even do that right!!"

Laura cried. "Derek, stop it! You act like I intended on this happening. You're not the only one that lost a child here! I--I'm sorry, Derek," she said, begging him to calm down.

Derek ignored Laura's pleading. "No, I'M the one that's sorry. I'm sorry I ever met you. I'm sorry I ever fell in love with you. I'm sorry I ever thought this could work, and I'm sorry that we didn't break up sooner then 3 months ago! I should have dumped your ass a long time ago," he said coldly, as Laura sobbed harder.

Nick couldn't believe what he was hearing. He knew Derek was an asshole, but he had no idea just how bad things were. And what did he mean, three months ago? That was when Nick had seen Laura at Aaron's concert, and she assured him things couldn't have been better. Did she lie to me? Why?? Nick thought as he heard Laura speak between sobs.

"Derek, wait," Laura cried, as he ignored her, grabbing his car keys off her nightstand.

"Goodbye, Laura," Derek said harshly, storming out of her room, walking the opposite way from where Nick was standing, so he didn't even see that he was there, listening. Nick breathed a sigh of relief as he saw Derek round the corner, heading to the elevator. He couldn't believe that he was leaving her like this, when she needed him the most. Together or not, he was still that child's father, and he should have stayed with Laura during this difficult time. Bastard, he thought, looking into Laura's room, seeing her cry as she glanced out her window at the sky. Taking a deep breath, he entered her room, slowly, singing quietly as he did.

"...Baby you deserve much better... what's the use in holdin' on?" Nick began, walking slowly to Laura's bed as she turned to see him there. She smiled through her tears as Nick continued his song. "Don't you see, it's now or never... 'cuz I just can't be friends, baby, knowing in the end..." He paused as he sat down next to her bed and took her hand, kissing it softly, then continuing the song. "I will love you more than that--I won't say the words then take them back. Don't give loneliness a chance. Baby, listen to me when I say, that I will love you more than that..." Kissing her hand again, Nick smiled at her softly, using his other hand to wipe away the tears flowing from Laura's eyes.

Laura smiled at Nick, squeezing his hand. "I've never heard that song," she said, looking into his eyes.

"New album," Nick explained, kissing her hand again. "Laura..." he started, not quite knowing what to say, but speaking anyway. "Laura--I don't know what to say, but that I'm so sorry. I'm sorry you lost your baby, and I'm sorry Derek left you here like this, in so much pain."

Laura looked at Nick with an accusing look on her face. "Were you eavesdropping, Nickolas??" she asked, winking at him. Nick blushed and looked down at the floor, chuckling a bit. "Hmm, I thought so," she said, her accusation confirmed by Nick's avoidance of the question.

Nick looked up at Laura. "Laura, why didn't you tell me that things had ended between you and Derek?? Why did you tell me everything was OK??"

Laura sighed. "I had planned on it, I really had. I was so ecstatic when I saw you. But then I saw--"

"Rebecca," Nick said, completing her sentence, finally understanding.

"Uhh, yeah," Laura said, pushing herself up in her bed a bit more, wincing in pain. Nick squeezed her hand again as she moaned a bit as she moved, hoping to comfort her. Once she was settled, she took a deep breath and continued. "So anyway, you're back with Becky again, and if she's what makes you happy, then--"

Nick interrupted her again. "But I'm not with Becky. Not anymore. That was over the day after I saw you at Aaron's concert."

Laura's eyes opened widely as she looked into Nick's eyes. "You're not with her anymore?" she asked, attempting not to sound too happy that they had broken up again.

"No, we're through... for good this time," Nick said, taking his free hand to brush a piece of her brown hair out of her face. Her and her pinned-up hair, Nick thought with a smile, reflecting that she always has her hair styled the same way, ever since he met her, no matter the occasion. Just once I'd love to see her with her hair down...

Laura sighed as she grabbed Nick's hand from her face, now holding both of his hands. "I'm glad you're here, Carter." She closed her eyes, her fingers tangling with his.

"Me too, Evans," Nick replied, relieved that she wanted him there as much as he wanted to be there. There's no place I'd rather be, he thought to himself as he watched her drift off to sleep.