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Quote:

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Josh and Jack exchange words, eh? Will they hopefully, on Josh's part, be Hayward-esque slick words that meave Jack to bob his head up and down and his finger to wag only to have Josh bite it off like an angry bulldog?

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LMFAO...maybe just a little Hayward-esque. Hehe...I'll have it done tomorrow.

Hope you like!

Chapter 3

God she hated the cold. That bitter, bone chilling cold, the kind that made you want to be anywhere else. But no matter how far or how fast she ran, she couldn't escape. It was dark too. Pitch black, and she couldn't see a hand in front of her face. The air was dank and dry, and if evil had a smell she was pretty sure the air reeked of it. The silence around her was deafening, ear splitting, and she wanted nothing more then to be anywhere else. But she couldn't get out. No matter which direction she ran, she always ended up back in the same spot, her eyes fixed in front of her.

Then she heard it...a laugh she would know anywhere, a voice she would give her last breath to never have to hear again, taunting and torturing someone. It was slow and painful torture, and it was being inflicted carefully, as though the point was to draw information from the person rather then to kill.

She screamed, or at least that's what she thought she did, despite the lack of sound coming from her, when she felt a sharp prick in her arm. A needle? She wondered looking down at her arm, shaking her head at the absence of anything. She was gasping for a breaths a few seconds later, she could feel it, whatever it was in her body, shooting through her veins, coursing through her blood. Then she heard it again, that voice, whispering in her ear. " I want the truth, or I promise you, that baby won't live long enough to take his or her first breath."

" No, no, no...." She screamed, tossing in turning in her hospital bed, " No." She screamed one final time. Her body slammed forward, to a sitting position, and her eyes popped open. Her breathing was shallow and slow, and she couldn't get her barrings.

" Erica?" Jack said, from the doorway of her hospital room, his voiced filled with worry.

She shook her head, and closed her eyes trying to focus, trying to shake off what must have been a nightmare.

" Erica?" Jack said again, at her bedside now. He put a hand on her shoulder, and she jumped.

" Jack?" She breathed a few seconds later, shrugging out of his touch.

" Ya, you okay?" He asked, moving a strand of her out of her face.

She nodded, and again shrugged away from him, " I'm fine." She said, refusing to look at him.

" You don't look fine." He said, softly, pulling a chair up to the side of the bed.

" Yes, well most people don't look fine after they have nightmares." She said, laying back against the pillows, her head turned away from him.

" Why don't you tell me about it?" He offered, trying anything he could to get her to be respective to him. " It helps to talk."

She shook her head, " Unless you can give me back my baby, you can't help me." She spit out, her voice filled with heartbreak sadness.

" Erica..." He started, trying to find the right words, " You know that if I could do that, I would..."

" But you can't." She spit out, anger in her voice this time, " Then there is nothing you can do for me." She shook her head, " Please just leave." She murmured.

Jack opened his mouth but the words wouldn't come, " Erica, don't shut me out. We can grieve together, I think we need to." He said, reaching for her hand. But she pulled it back, and rested it across her stomach.

" I don't want to grieve." She said, " I don't want to talk about it. I don't want to think about it." She shook her head, " I just want to forget."

" I understand.' He started, " But I don't think that's the best thing to do right now. We have to..."

She shook her head more forcefully this time, " We don't have to do anything. Just leave, please."

" Honey, I have to take you home." He said shaking his head.

She turned her head slowly, and finally looked at him, tears welling in her eyes. " I can't," She shook her head and closed her eyes, " I can't go home, Jack." She breathed.

" What are you talking about Erica?" He said with a smile, " Home is the best place for you. Surrounded by your family and..."

" And memories of my baby." She said, tears welling in her eyes, " I know that all of you love me, but I can't handle the looks, the waiting to see if this is the moment I fall apart. The whispers, the caution." She locked eyes with him, and said firmly, " No. I can't do it, Jack."

He nodded, " Oh, Erica. I'm so sorry." He said, " For all of this. And I wish I could fix it for you, and I want to try. I want to be your husband and love you throw this. That was our child we need to mourn together. You can't run from this."

She winced slightly when he refered to the baby as theirs, her guilt starting to set in, but she didn't waiver, she couldn't. " I'm not running from anyone or anything, Jack." She said softly, " I need to heal my heart, heal my soul, and I need to do that on my own terms."

" Erica," He started, " I don't think its a good idea for you to go through this alone."

" I won't be alone." She smiled softly, " I spoke with Bianca last night, and I think that it would be good for me, to spend time with her and Miranda."

" Paris?" He asked, " You're going to Paris?"

She nodded, " Just for a few weeks, maybe a month. I just need to get my mind and heart back to a good place Jack. So that I can be me again, be a wife and mother."

He nodded understand, " I still think that we need to face this together, Erica, not alone."

" I need this Jack." Was all she said, done with this discussion.

Jack opened his mouth to continue, but Josh walked through the door. " Erica?" He asked, " Is everything alright?"

Erica smiled looking at him, " I'm fine. I was just telling Jack that you're going to take me to the airport, so I can go to Paris and see Bianca and Miranda."

" Now?" Jack said, " I don't think that's a good idea."

" You think to much, Jack." Josh said, walking towards Erica's bed, " I talked with Dr. Quartermaine, she's fine to travel. If she wants to go to Paris, she can."

" Has all the paperwork been signed?" Erica asked, her attention focused soley on Josh.

" Ya, he'll be by in a few minutes to officially discharge you."

Josh said, looking over at Jack. " I'm gonna take good care of her."

" Ya, I'm sure you will." Jack said, trying to keep the anger in his voice to a minimum, " You'll call me when you get to Bianca's?" He asked.

Erica nodded, and so did Jack, placing a kiss on her forehead, and telling her he loved her before heading for the door.
Josh waited tell he was sure that Josh was out of earshot, " You okay? You still want to go through with this?"

Erica nodded, and smiled at him, bring both palms to rest of her baby. " I've never been more sure of anything in my life." She said, her voice so firm and honest that he knew that their would be no more reason to question her. They were going to do this, and it seemed, they were going to pull it off.

Perhaps there was a greater force that created this child, and was protecting her. Whatever the reason, this little girl was going to be a happily ever after for everyone.

To be continued...

Lots of D&E, and Erica and the baby this chapter. Brief Binx appereance.lol No Josh or Anna, but they'll be in the next one.

Hope you like!

Chapter 4

" You sure you're okay here by yourself?" Bianca asked, looking over her shoulder at Erica, as she headed for the door.

" I'm pregnant, sweetie, not an invalid." She said, smiling as she put a hand on the now small bulge of her stomach.

Bianca nodded, " I know, I know." She laughed, " If I've learned anything over the last month, it's that pregnancy hasn't done anything to take away you independence."

Erica smiled, " She needs me to be strong."

" She's very luck to have you." Bianca said, " Miranda doesn't usually wake up, so she shouldn't be a problem. If you need anything Maggie is just a few blocks away at a study group."

" I'll be fine, Bianca." Erica smiled, " I'm probably going to try to sleep. See if I can't get tomorrow to get here faster."

Bianca laughed, " Robin is going to do a sonogram tomorrow, right?"

Erica nodded happily, " I get to see her, again."

" It's great to see you smile. You don't do that enough anymore."

Erica nodded sadly, " Things will be much better once she gets here. Once I know she's safe with Anna."

Bianca nodded, " Ya, I know." She smiled, " If I'm not back by the time you got to bed, love you."

" I love you too sweetie, now go, so you're not late." Erica laughed, and Bianca nodded, finally leaving. " It's just you and me tonight, my love." Erica said, getting up. She smiled, a hand resting over her baby, as she walked to the window.

Paris was lite up to it's brightest. She could only see the tip of the Eiffel Tower from Bianca's tiny apartment. But it was still beautiful. There was a tiny park across the street, with swings, a slide, and a small sandbox. Her eyes drifted towards the grass, and an obviously in love young couple, enjoying the last of the evening sun, and having a picnic. She closed her eyes and smiled whist-fully, rubbing a soft palm over her stomach, her mind drifting back to a distant time and place, and a picnic she'd had in the park, and a conversation she'd had, that looking back had changed her life.

Erica: Well – In Any Case, Everyone Was Offering Condolences To Her Because She Is The Supposed Grieving Widow, Even Though I Married Him Not Once, but Twice, and For a Longer Time.
David: I'm Sure That Was Very Difficult.
Erica: it Was. But Then I Was Talking To Myrtle. And as I Looked Around The Living Room, a Feeling Came Over Me That What I Was Really Looking at Was My past and it Was Time for Me to Let Go And Look Ahead.
David: And could You?
Erica: Well, I Guess We'll Just Have to Find Out. But I Did Know Without a Doubt That I Did Not Belong There Anymore, and So I Left.
David: and You Came To My Office.
Erica: Yes. That's Where I Wanted to Be.
David: I'm Flattered.
Erica: Well, What I'm Really Trying to Say, David, Is That I Realize Now That My Circle With Dimitri Is Complete. And I'm Going to Be All Right.

She fought back tears, and looked down at ther now still hand resting over their baby, " We're going to be alright, sweetie." She said, " I promise." She vowed, " This isn't what your daddy or I would have wanted for you, but I'm gonna make the best of it." She smiled again, still lost in the way that memory made her feel. She'd forgotten what it was like in the beginning, what they were like. She'd almost forgotten the laughter, the romance, the ordinary feel of it all. She was more herself with him then she'd ever been. "Some how, you, you touch a part of me that I hardly know, and I'm different with you. I'm very different with you, in so many ways," her words echoed through her head, and she couldn't help the tears that were welling in her eyes. She took a deep breath and leaned back against the window seel. lHow she ended up here she would never know, but...despite it all, she was sure of one thing, she wouldn't change it for the wold. She was right where she needed to be, right where she was meant to be. and with each passing day, right where she wanted to be. She would be all right. And so would the baby, they were survivors, fighters, and they were each others hope. This was their new beginning.

To be continued...