I Dreamed A Dream
Part Sixteen - Everything Needed For The Future
By Breigh
breighbers@juno.com

Ok, this series needs explanation, and here's one:
This series starts around 6 years after "The Storm". When Doug left Carol was pregnant, and she decided to not tell him about the baby. Instead of having twin girls, she had twin boys, Ben and Joel. (You might not like the idea now, but trust me, it grows on you as the series goes along. Also, this story is one of my first, and the next ones are a lot better developed, and they're better than this one, this is just the one that explains everything and gets you into the series.) One day Doug comes back to Chicago for a conference and finds Carol and he meets the two little boys that he never knew he had, and that's where it all starts! Feedback is always appreciated, send mail to: Breighbers@juno.com

Doug and Carol find out the sex of the baby, and also name the baby.

It's a week and a half later. Doug hasn't taken Ben and Joel to get tested and see if he matches Justin yet, but he plans on taking them tomorrow after school, and Carol is also going tomorrow. Doug is going to see how everything goes with them, and if he needs to he is going to call his mother. Also he's going to ask everyone in the ER to try and see if they match, like they did with Scott Anspaugh-but first he has to tell everyone about him. He plans to do that when they announce Carol's pregnancy, which they're planning to do in the next day or two. Plus, they have an ultra sound tomorrow.

-Oh, and I'd like to thank Jenn for the title! Thanks!!!!

"What are you doing?" Doug asked as he walked into their bedroom after tucking in Ben and Joel. Carol was sitting in bed writing things down on a pad of paper, and there was an open book sitting next to her.

"Thinking of names." Carol said looking over at him.

"Already?" Doug asked walking over and climbing into bed next to her.

"Yeah. With the boys I had no clue, and it was nice, but this time I want to be more prepared. Plus I don't think I can wait 6 months to find out." She said as Doug took the pad of paper from her.

"Ok, well what do you got here?" He asked scanning the list. On one side was a list of boys names, and on the other there was a list of girls. "Mason…you want to name him Mason?" Doug asked looking over at her.

"What? I think that's a cute name!" Carol protested. "Alright, well what do you want to name him, that is IF it's a him." She said stretching the if.

"I like Luke, and Jake."

"Yeah, but if we name the baby Jake then you have three sons whose name will start with "J", just think of when they're all together."

"Yeah, that's a good point." Doug agreed. "But what about Luke for the first name and Jacob for the middle name?" Doug proposed.

"Luke Jacob Ross?" Carol asked thinking about it. When Doug first proposed the name Luke she thought of Luka, but the more she thought about it the more she liked the name. "Yeah, I like that." Carol nodded. "I like that a lot…Ben, Joel and Luke…I think that sounds nice." She said smiling. This is what she missed out on with the first pregnancy, this is what she had always wanted to do, sit in bed and figure out the name of the baby. It may have sounded corny considering all the other things they could do…but this is what meant the most to her. "Ok, but we need another one. I don't like just having one…we need a back-up." She said picking up the name and leafing through it. "What about Brent?"

"Brent Ross?" He asked making a face.

"Yeah, you're right." She said as she continued looking through the book. "Ok, ok what about Zachary?"

"I like Zachary."

"What about Zachary Owen?" Carol asked. She watched as Doug thought about the name in his head.

"Ok."

"Ok? You like it?"

"Yeah, I think that's a cute name. Zach…yeah I think that would be nice." He said nodding.

"Ok, so then we've got the boy's names squared away, it's either Luke, or Zach…but now we have the girls." She paused for a second. "Do you still want to go with Tess?" She asked.

"Um, I don't know. Maybe…what do you like?"

"I like Haley…but I would want to spell it H-a-i-l-i-e." She said spelling it out.

"I like that…I really like that." He said stressing the really.

"You do?"

"Yeah…oh, I've got it!" He said excitedly. Carol had never seen him that excited about anything like this.

"Ok, what is it?"

"Hailie Mackenzie…what do you think?"

"Oh Doug, that's a great name!" She said as Doug smiled proudly.

"So then do we need two names for a girl too?"

"No baby, that's it, that's the name."

"Alright then…" He said setting down the pad of paper and leaning over top of Carol's stomach. He pulled up her shirt just enough to reveal her stomach and ran his hands gently over it. "Alright baby, if you're a girl, I want you to kick." Doug instructed.

"Doug, the baby hasn't kicked yet, what makes you think…" Carol didn't get to finish before she felt a tiny movement in her stomach. Her eyes immediately met Doug's and the two broke into immediate smiles.

"That…that was a kick, right?" Doug asked.

"Yeah, that was a kick." She said as tears of joy started coming down her cheeks. Doug moved up to Carol and gently kissed away her tears.

"It must be a girl." Doug said happily as he tucked a curl behind her ear.

"Wouldn't that be great?" Carol asked thinking about it.

"Do you want to try to find out tomorrow, or do you want to wait?" Doug asked. Carol smiled and ran her fingers over her stomach.

"I waited with the boys, and it killed me…I think it would be nice to know if they could see something, but if you want to wait then that's fine."

"No, I think it would be nice to know. That way we can start buying clothes and everything, and we know how to decorate the nursery."

"Alright, then tomorrow we'll find out." Carol said smiling. Doug returned the smile and leaned over and kissed her passionately.

"I love you." He said settling under the covers.

"I love you too." Carol said reaching over and turning off the light.

"Do you find out if the baby is a boy or a girl today?" Joel asked Carol as she handed him a waffle.

"Yeah, if they can see." Carol said. "What do you think it's going to be a brother, or a sister?" She asked as she picked up his backpack and slipped it on his back.

"I don't care…but I hope it's a girl because I know you want it to be a girl." To this Carol smiled.

"Well, thank you honey." She said kissing his cheek. "Be good today, ok?" She asked grabbing his chin.

"Ok."

"Alright, and look for Dad's car, he's picking you up and then bringing you over to the hospital. You're not taking the bus home."

"Ok…Is today the day we have to get the needle?"

"Yeah, but it'll be quick, and Dad will do it, and I won't let him hurt you." She said letting go of his chin.

"Alright." Joel said as Carol fixed his hair quickly.

"Ok buddy, give me a kiss and then you can go sit on the front step and wait for the bus." Carol and Doug had been driving the boys for the first week, but the boys then argued that they wanted to take the bus like most of the other kids. Doug didn't like the idea at first, and neither did Carol, but they realized that it would probably be easier for them, especially when the baby was born, and the boys really wanted to do it, so they gave in. Joel gave her a kiss and then walked outside and joined Ben who was already sitting on the front step. He left the door open so that Carol could hear and see them. Carol went in and cleaned up the kitchen until she heard the bus stop outside the house. She quickly ran over to the door and saw just as both the boys ran onto the bus. As soon as the bus turned the corner she went back inside and closed the door.

Doug and Carol sat in the room waiting for Dr. McLucas. She wasn't as nervous this time because they had felt the baby kick last night, and for the most part that eased her mind. Doug was walking around looking at all the posters of fetal and child development.

"You're going to breast feed, right?" He asked as he finished inspecting the posters and walked over and sat down next to her.

"Uh-huh." She said with a nod just before Dr. McLucas walked in.

"Hey guys." She said with a smile and then she walked over and sat down herself. "How are you feeling Carol?" She asked.

"Pretty good. The morning sickness has stopped. I've still been pretty tired though." Dr. McLucas nodded.

"Well, I think that that's just going to get worse as time goes on. But you've basically been taking it easy, right?"

"Yeah, Doug would kill me if I wasn't." She said smiling over at Doug.

"Um, yeah, I've been trying to let her rest as much as possible."

"Well, that's good." She paused and looked through Carol's chart. "Alright, I want to check your blood pressure, and then we can do the ultra sound…do you guys want to see if we can tell the sex?" She asked.

"Um…yeah, we want to know." Carol confirmed.

"Alright, well we'll see if we can tell, but with the amino we'll be able to know for sure." She said getting up. She walked over and got the blood pressure cup and wrapped it around Carol's arm. "Great-it's perfect." She said with a satisfied smile.

"Good." Carol said looking over at Doug.

"Ok, well how about you lay down and we can see if this baby's going to co-operate." Dr. McLucas said with a laugh. Carol nodded and laid down on the table. Doug moved over and rubbed his fingers soothingly through her hair. She put the gel on Carol's stomach and then wheeled the machine over and started the ultra sound. "Baby's heartbeat sounds great." She said as Doug and Carol's eyes were glued to the screen. "Oh, there it is." Dr. McLucas said excitedly.

"Where? You can tell?" Carol asked, as her eyes grew wide.

"Yep, boy are you guys going to be happy." She said as she kept looking at the screen. Doug peered at the screen at all angles. He was never good at reading ultra sounds, so he couldn't make out the sex himself. "I'm almost positive that you guys are having a little girl." She said turning to them happily.

"Girl? It's a girl?" Carol asked frantically as tears started built up in her eyes.

"Yep, it's a girl." She confirmed. Doug leaned over and kissed Carol on the forehead and then reached down and took her hand.

"We have a baby girl…" Doug said as he took his other hand and gently caressed her cheek. Carol nodded and let a single tear escape her eyes, and then she turned back to the screen.

"Looks like you got what you wanted." Dr. McLucas said as she saw their reaction. Carol nodded.

"Yeah." She said with a laugh as she wiped her eyes. "Does she look ok? Does everything seem alright?" Carol asked.

"Yeah, she really does. But we'll be able to tell for sure if everything is all right once we do the amino." Carol nodded and Dr. McLucas paused the image of the baby on the screen. "I'll print you guys 4 pictures." She told them as she wiped off Carol's stomach and Doug helped her sit up.

"Look, it looks like she's waving at us." Doug said pointing to the picture on the screen as he rubbed his hands up and down Carol's back. The baby's hand was raised, and it did indeed look like she was waving at them.

"I can't believe it's a girl." Carol said putting her head on Doug's shoulder. Doug didn't say anything but he leaned over and gave Carol a quick peck on the top of her head.

"Ok, here's your pictures, and that's it." Dr. McLucas said handing them the pictures. "Keep taking you vitamins, and keep taking it easy, and I'll see you in a few weeks." She finished.

"Alright, thank you." Carol said as Doug just stared at the picture of the baby.

"Sure…and Doug, it was nice to see you again." She said as she gathered her things and headed towards the door.

"Nice to see you too." He said raising his hand and waving at her…but his eyes never left the picture of his daughter. Dr. McLucas smiled at them and then left the room. "Man, I can't wait to see her." Doug said hopping up onto the table next to Carol. "I can't wait to hold her."

"Neither can I." Carol said looking over at the pictures. She paused for a minute and took a deep breath. "And her name's going to be Hailie, right?"

"Yeah…Hailie." He said moving his hand over and setting it on top of her stomach. "We have our little girl." He said as a huge grin made it's way across his face.

Doug and Carol decided that they would go straight to the hospital to tell everyone, and plus Carol was on at 1, and it was now almost 12:30. Doug and Carol walked into the ER hand in hand, and in the other of Doug's hand was one of the ultra sound pictures.

"Hey Carol, you're here early." Connie pointed out as the two walked up to the nurses' desk.

"Yeah, well we have something to tell you guys." Carol said leaning on the desk.

"What?" Haleh asked. She had overheard the conversation and was now right next to Connie waiting for what Carol and Doug had to say.

"Ok, well…" Carol started. "Well um, Doug and I have an announcement to make." Carol said standing up as Doug squeezed her hand for encouragement. Everyone stopped what they were doing, and everyone who was walking down the hallway quickly hurried over so that they wouldn't miss what they were about to say. "We um…we're going to be having another baby." She said as she saw a smile form on every single person's face.

"A little girl actually." Doug said handing the picture to Connie, who in turn showed it around to everyone.

"Oh my god you guys!" Chuny said as she looked at the picture. "So how far along are you?" She asked.

"12 weeks." Carol answered.

"Well, congratulations." Carter said with a grin.

"Thanks Carter." Doug said putting his arm around Carol's waist.

"Three kids…wow you two are going to have your hands full." Kerry stated. Doug took a deep breath and Carol looked up at him.

"Four actually, I don't know if you know it or not, but I have another son, Justin who's 14. He just moved back to Chicago…so we're going to have four kids." Astonishment was the only word that summed up the expression on everyone's faces. "Yeah." Doug said with a laugh. He decided not to tell everyone about Justin's leukemia. They would eventually find out, and Doug may even have to eventually ask them if they could try to see if they matched Justin's bone marrow. But he didn't think it would be good to follow, 'we're having a baby' with 'my son has cancer'- not to mention the fact that it would sullen the happy mode that everyone was in.

"That's great you guys! You must be so happy." Lydia said with a smile. Doug looked down at Carol, and she looked back up at him.

"Yeah, we really are." Carol said looking out over everyone.

It's now 3:30. Doug was going to take the boys to get something to eat before he brought them over to the hospital. Carol was in with a patient, and Haleh and Lydia were talking at the nurses' desk when Justin walked in. He walked up to the desk and looked around, looking for either Doug or Carol.

"Can I help you?" Haleh asked.

"Um yeah, is Doug Ross here?" He asked.

"No, but if you have a seat I can see if another doctor can see you." Haleh said gently.

"Um, what about Carol Hathaway?" He asked just as Carol came walking down the hallway.

"Justin?" She said as she saw him. "What are you doing here?"

"My mom brought me over, she's going out tonight and I was wondering if I could stay with you guys tonight, and then she could pick me up in the morning and take me to school." He stated.

"Sure. But I'm on until 8, and Doug's on at 5, so you would have to be here for those couple hours…but I could try to get off early if it's slow." Justin nodded.

"Are the twins going to be here too?"

"Yeah, they're coming over now, and getting their blood taken, and then Doug is taking them home for a little bit, then bringing them back at 5."

"Or I could watch them until you get home. I know you might not like that, but I'd keep a good eye on them." He offered. Carol played with the offer in her mind, then she smiled.

"That would be great, and I bet the boys would love not having to hang out here…Do you have bags or something? We can put them in your dad's locker."

"Oh, yeah I have to go tell my mom that you said it's ok and I'll get them out of the car." Justin said before he ran out the doors. Carol then walked over to the nurses' desk and set down the chart in her hand.

"What?" She asked as she raised her head. She felt Haleh and Lydia's eyes peering at her. They didn't say anything, they just stared. "That's Justin, he's Doug son." Both women nodded as Justin walked back in with a duffel bag over one arm and a backpack on his back.

"Ok, I've got it." Justin said as he walked up next to Carol.

"Justin, this is Haleh, and this is Lydia." Carol said introducing the them.

"Uh, hey." Justin greeted them.

"Boy, you're a picture of your dad." Haleh stated.

"You sure are." Lydia added. Justin smiled and looked over at Carol.

"Come on, I'll show you where to put your stuff." She said putting her hand on his back and guiding him into the lounge. "Guess what?" Carol asked as she opened the door to the lounge for him.

"Huh?" He asked as the two walked in.

"We're having a girl." Carol informed him as she walked over to Doug's locker.

"Really? The baby's a girl?" Justin asked with a smile.

"Yep, they told us today."

"You guys must be happy." Justin said as Carol opened the locker and Justin put his things in.

"Yeah. Now I'm not as badly out numbered."

"It's still pretty bad though, it's 4 to 2…we're still ahead by two." He said laughing. Carol joined his laughing and playfully hit him on the arm. It was weird, she had an immediate bond with Justin, and it was like he was one of her own sons, and she liked it like that. She liked how he just met her and already he felt comfortable around her.

"Well maybe we'll even the score out later." She said with a smile as the door to the lounge swung open and Joel ran in. Ben was dragging behind playing his gameboy and Doug was right behind him pushing him along. He glanced up quickly, and saw Justin and quickly ran over to him.

"Justin, can you get past this level for me?" He asked handing him the gameboy.

"Yeah, I can try." He said as they walked over to the couch and sat down. Ben leaned over Justin's shoulder, and Joel joined him to try to see the tiny screen of the gameboy.

"Uh, Justin, what are you doing here?" Doug asked looking over at Carol and then over at the three boys.

"Oh, my mom had to go out and Carol said I could stay over at your house, and then my mom is going to pick me up in the morning and take me to school."

"But we have work…" Doug said looking over at Carol.

"Well, you're not on until 5, and I'm off at 8, so Justin said he'd watch them for a few hours." Carol informed him.

"Oh, well that works out good." Doug said walking over to his locker and hanging up his coat.

"Well, I've got to get going, are you going to test the boys?" Carol asked.

"Yeah, I'll do it now…you want to sit with them don't you?"

"Yeah."

"Ok…guys, come on." Doug called to them.

"Is this gonna hurt?" Joel asked looking over at him, but Ben still peered over Justin's shoulder.

"A little, but we have to do it." Justin heard Doug talking with Joel and he couldn't help but feel guilty. He handed Ben his gameboy and stood up.

"Dad, they don't have to do it." He said.

"Justin, they'll be fine…now come on Ben." Carol said calling to Ben.

"No, if they don't want to I don't want them to. If it gets worse, then they can try, but…"

"It's alright Justin." Ben said walking over and patting Justin on the arm. Justin looked down at Ben, then over at Joel and Doug, and then over to Carol. He loved being with them, because this is what he had always dreamed of a family being. He loved his mom, he loved her a lot, but he had always wanted a mom and a dad and maybe a brother and, or a sister. And now, now he had his mom, and Carol, and he had a dad, two little brothers, and soon a little sister. He felt like everything was as close to perfect as it could be- and the best thing is-it wasn't a dream, it was really happening.

"Ben, I just…" Justin began.

"Justin, don't worry, they'll be fine, they've been through things much worse." Carol said walking over to Ben and rubbing her hands through his hair. Justin nodded and went back and plopped down on the couch.

Doug and Carol took the boys to be tested, and Carol tried also, and then Doug took Justin, Joel and Ben home.

"Alright Justin, I have to go. Carol should be home by 8." Doug told Justin, who was getting a soda out of the refrigerator.

"Ok."

"Alright, all the emergency numbers are by the phone, including the number to the hospital, and my pager number."

"I got it Dad."

"I know…I just worry." Doug said with a smile. "Now, I don't want the boys having any soda after 6, or they won't be able to get to sleep, and I forgot to ask them if they had any homework…"

"Dad, I know, I'll take care of it all. I'll check their homework, I won't let them have soda, and I'll make sandwiches for dinner."

"Ok." Doug said walking over and kissing him quickly on top of the head. Then he walked into the living room, and Justin followed him. Justin walked over and sat down, and Doug leaned over the back of the couch and kissed each of the twins on their cheek. "You two be good for Justin, I want you to listen to him, and do what he tells you, or else he's going to tell me and you guys are going to be in big trouble."

"Ok Dad." Joel said.

"We will Dad." Ben finished.

"Alright guys, see you later." Doug said before leaving. He walked down the porch steps and then went over and got into his car. As he pulled out of the driveway he stopped outside the house and looked in the window. He saw the three boys sitting in the living room, and he thought about his daughter that would be there in 6 months, and he thought about Carol, and all she had risked by giving him another chance, and how thankful he was that she did. And he couldn't imagine it any better than that. All he could do now was hope that the outcome for Justin was good. That someone would match, and he would beat the leukemia. He knew he could do it, and he knew he wanted to, he only hoped that he could. And he had come to the startling realization that that was all he could do-he could only hope.