**Fire & Ice (The Sequel)**

"How is she?" David demanded of his mother as he stood on the opposite side of his little sister's bed with a panting Lauren by his side.

"Still unconscious as you can see." She replied with the young woman's hand held tightly in her own. "She has huge lump on the back of her head but no other injuries."

"I thought you said she was in a coma." David stated, looking around the bed and looking puzzled when he found that Katelyn wasn't connected to any equipment."

"No David." His mother shook her head and huffed a quick laugh. "What I actually said was that she has a grade three concussion, some nasty bruies and there was a chance she could fall into a coma. A chance David. She hasn't really come round since it happened and they're keeping a very close eye on her."

"Oh." David nodded slowly then laughed as he looked at Lauren and blushed bright red. "Sorry." He mouthed at her then shrugged as he grimmaced.

"It's ok." Lauren shook her head and smiled as she remembered how close the two siblings were.

Had it been Dale lying in the bed, she would probably have dragged him through the airport and hospital at lightening speed to have him breathless by the time they arrived too.

"Where's dad? Do you know what happened yet?" David asked while perching himself on the bed, allowing Lauren to take the chair that was placed there.

"Your father's picking Summer up from airport. The police have a rough idea. Seems someone followed her home from the store and forced their way into the apartment behind her. She was seen making her way into the building with someone, not sure who though."

"What for? They didn't ra....." David asked angrilly.

"No." His mother cut him off quickly and shook her head. "There's no evidence of that. No, it seems all they were after was money. Her purse was missing when Tara found her."

David nodded then blew out the breath he'd been holding as he took hold of Katelyn's hand and gently stroked the back of it. He spotted the finger bruises on her wrists and quickly figured out that she had probably put up one hell of a fight. Two of her manicured nails were broken quite far down the nailbed and they looked very sore. The remainder had been cut in a ragged fashion and he wondered if forensics officers had cut them for evidence, she certainly wouldn't have gone out with them looking like that.

She had a small bruise just below her left eye that his mother informed might have been caused by a ring her attacker wore, because the forensics people had taken a mould of some indentions in the skin and what looked like a pair of wings could be seen.

A moan from the top end of the bed grabbed everyone's and they waited with baited breath as a pair of eyes as blue as David's slowly flickered open.

"Ooooh, what did I.......?" Katelyn began as she raised her left hand to the back of her head. "What a hangover I've got."

"It's no hangover." David growled at her.

"David! Why am I......? Oh I remember. I think." She informed as she eased herself up in the bed a little. "Some of it at least." She shrugged and smiled at her mother and brother.

"What did happen?" David demanded.

"You remember Rory?" She grimmaced.

"Your ex-boyfriend?" Her mother questioned with a furrowed brow and a slow nod.

"Uh-huh. I bumped him outside the paint store and invited him back to the apartment for coffee. We got chatting as we walked and he told me that he hadn't worked since we broke up, that he'd lost his place and needed a somewhere to crash for a while. I told him he might be able stay with Tara and me. I would have to check it was ok with her first 'cos she never did like him. I'd just unlocked the door and stepped over the threshold when he pushed me in and made a move for my purse. We got into a tussle and he backhanded me." Her eyes narrowed as she touched the sore cheek. "Then he grabbed my wrists and I think we ended up in the lounge 'cos that's where I collided with the ladder as I tripped backwards and the last thing I remember is falling to the ground."

"Well that explains a lot." David nodded. "Tara thought you'd fallen off the ladder 'cos she found it on top of you when she got home." He informed as she looked at him quizically. "Rory must have took your purse with him as he left."

"Won't do him much good if he did." Katelyn laughed and shook her head slowly. "I had no cash on me, my charge card expired today and my credit card is maxed." She informed as her doctor entered the room and politely requested everyone to leave so that he could examine her.

Once the doctor had finished he allowed everyone back in and told them he would like to keep his patient in for three days so that they would be able to keep a close eye on her. After that she would be allowed to go home, but he would prefer it if she went somewhere where someone could watch her for about a week.

A lot of grumbling, placating and persuading followed before she agreed, that once discharged, she would return to Colorado with her mother.

David laughed as he gave her hug and listened to her grumbling a little more before he left the room to call Carlos to update him on his sister's condition and to let him know that he and Lauren would be staying in New York until she left the hospital. He smiled as he and Lauren had a quick word with Stephanie to make sure she was all right and that she was behaving.

His face darkened as he hung up and he started striding down the long corridor.

"Where are you going?" Lauren demanded, somehow managing to get in front of him and stop him walking.

"To find the sonofabitch, where do you think?"

"No you're not." David heard his mother stating from behind him. "Or isn't seeing one of my children hurt, enough for me to worry about?" She questioned with a hard swallow as he turned to face.

He lowered his chin to his chest and sighed heavily as he walked over to her and apologised for acting without thinking of the consequences. He wrapped his right arm around her shoulders and held her tight while she cried. He looked at Lauren with tear filled eyes and allowed a few to make their escape when she moved to his left side, took hold of his hand and gave it a comforting squeeze.

_________________

TISSUE WARNING FOR THE NEXT FEW CHAPTERS!!!


Mid-August

David and Lauren are back from New York, happy that Rory has been found, arrested and charged with the assault on Katelyn who recovered very well from her injuries and returned to her New York apartment just ten days after being hospitalised.

Sébastien and Emma are expecting Gigi for a visit within a few days and Brett is anxiously awaiting her arrival.

Carlos and Karen and Urs and Franky are making preparations for the arrival of the babies and have kept themselves occupied with choosing furniture and deciding how to decorate the nurseries.

The guys are due back in the recording studio today to begin work on a new Christmas album and to think about what they want to record for the new album and to hopefully do a little planning for a new tour.

Franky has had an uncomfortable night with bad backache and has woken early but doesn't want to get out of bed. Urs is giving her back a gentle massage while she watches a DVD on her laptop.

"Got my own back a few months later though didn't I?" Urs questioned with a kiss on Franky's left shoulder, feeling her finally relax. He smiled and wrapped his arms around her from behind, his hands resting gently, one above the other, on her swollen stomach.

Franky sat between Urs's legs with her back resting comfortably against his chest, her laptop balanced precariously on her seven month pregnant abdomen while they watched the DVD a member of the arena staff had made of their Zurich performance and his proposal at the rink come to an end. Both of them laughing quietly, watching Urs head off stage, leaving a giggling and head shaking David, Carlos and Sebastien trailing far behind him.

"You sure did." Franky nodded. "You still haven't told me how you found the time to learn the routine and who you practiced the lifts with?"

"What do you think I was doing while you were at all those dress fittings?" Urs asked, dropping another kiss on her shoulder.

Franky nodded knowingly. "And your partner was?"

"Ron's girlfriend." Urs shrugged. "She was roughly your height and weight, but it took her a while to trust me."

"I wondered what the hell was happening when I couldn't feel Ron behind me."

"I know." Urs laughed. "I can still remember the look on your face when you saw me there instead." He continued, pulling his face into an astonished look. "And what you said, I've never heard such bad language." He smirked then laughed.

"Liar." Franky wrinkled her nose and quickly stuck her tongue out at him as she removed that DVD and offered another choice. "Which one next? The Christmas show or our wedding?"

"Chistmas show." Urs groaned and adjusted his position slightly. "You know what seeing you in that dress does to me. The thought alone is bad enough."

"Are you ok honey?" Franky asked on seeing the pained expression on his face.

"Yeah. I just pulled a muscle in the gym." He insisted with a smile while he rubbed his stomach just above his navel.

"You're sure?"

"Yes." Urs smiled again. "Now stop fussing and play the damned thing." He laughed as he tapped the tip of her nose.

Franky grunted a laugh while she inserted the DVD and skipped forward to the part where he joined her in the middle of the rink. Franky stood dressed in a sequin encrusted black halter-necked fringe skirted ice dance dress and a matching trilby. Urs was dressed in a black shirt and trousers. She stuck her tongue out at him again when he told her to watch her face as the music to Tom Jones and Cerys Matthews' version of 'Baby, It's Cold Outside' started to play and saw the shocked expression she wore. Her eyes flying wide as he pressed a gentle kiss on her cheek just before they assumed the starting position.

Franky skated backwards away from a closely following Urs as they heard.

'I really can't stay (baby it's cold outside)
I've got to go away (baby it's cold outside)'

Franky used her facial expressions to their full advantage as she moved her hands up in front of her chest holding off a hotly pursuing Urs, coyly shaking her head as the song continued.

'I wish I knew how (your eyes are like starlight now)
To break this spell (I'll take your hat, your hair looks swell)'

Franky pretended to struggle in his arms as Urs removed the trilby and skimmed it off into the audience while they waltzed around the rink held tightly in each others arms.

'Oh but it's cold outside.'

Urs lifted Franky expertly into the air, held her in a split lift while he turned figures of eight during the instrumental bridge then carefully lowered her to the ice again, which earned him a massive round of applause from the audience. They followed this with some daring spins and a complicated manouver where Urs held her left wrist and turned her through three hundred and sixty degrees twice while Franky leaned backwards and gracefully allowed herself to fall so that her body and the back of her head were just millimetres from the ice as they performed a beautiful death spiral.

'I simply must go (baby it's cold outside)
The answer is no (you know it's cold outside)

Franky held him off and shook her head once more as he pursued her again whilst reaching for her waist.

'Your welcome has been (so lucky that you dropped in)
So nice and warm (look out the window at that storm)'

Urs caught hold of her, wrapped his arms around her and held her tight while they rocked from side-to-side down the ice. She closed her eyes and smiled dreamly as though finally under his spell.

'I've got to get home(but baby you'd freeze out there)
Say lend me a comb (It's up to your knees out there)

Franky shook her head and feigned regaining her senses with a quick shake and wriggled from his arms while Urs pleaded with his arms open to her as she skated away again.

'But don't you see? (how can you do this thing to me?)
There's bound to be talk tomorrow (making my lifelong sorrow)
At least there will be plenty implied (if you got pneumonia and died)

Urs stopped skating and turned so that she would run into him. He narrowed his eyes and wrapped his arms around her waist while Franky shook her head and held him off her again.

'Baby it's cold, Baby it's cold outside.'

She turned to look at the audience and narrowed her eyes as she turned the tables on a shocked looking Urs who stopped and skated backwards away from Franky as the song drew to a close.

Urs's eyes flew wide as he raised his hands to hold a lustful looking Franky off. A mock push from her seemingly sent him sliding across the ice on his backside. With his legs spread wide and his eyes raised towards the lights Franky bent over him and brushed his lips with her own then pushed him in the chest with one finger, leaving him spread-eagled on his back while she swayed her hips sexilly as she danced towards the exit of the rink and the lights went out as she gave them one last bump.

Urs laughed behind Franky then looked at his watch and gently pushed her forward so that he could stand up.

"I'd better get dressed. The guys will be here to pick me up soon."

He sucked air through his teeth and his right hand flew to his stomach as he did so.

"Urs!" Franky exclaimed loudly while moving towards him.

"I'm ok." Urs shook his head and held her off with his left hand. "Just stop fussing Franky! I'm fine." He breathed deep as he finally straightend up.

"At least put my mind at rest. Please Urs, just let the doctor check you out."

"No! How many more times do I have to say it? I'm fine!!" He snapped as he turned round to face her and saw that she knelt on bed and was knocking tears from her eyes. "I'm sorry angel. Really there's nothing to worry about. I'm sure it's just a pulled muscle. I was probably a bit lazy in the gym yesterday and didn't warm up or cool down properly. A few days rest is all it needs." He informed as he wiped her eyes then dropped a quick kiss on her lips.

Urs moved a little slower than usual towards the shower and winced as the pain gripped his stomach again.

"She worries too much." He laughed to himself and shook his head as he stepped under the extra large showerhead and washed himself thoroughly.

By the time he'd finished and dressed for a day at the recording studio, Franky was downstairs eating her breakfast. He stood in the kitchen doorway and smiled as he watched her. He found it hard to believe how fast the past few months had gone. In just eight short weeks she would be cradling their child in her arms. A soft smile tugged at the corners of his mouth as he recalled the last scan they had been to. He'd wanted to know the sex of the baby where she hadn't.

She'd also got her way about the decoration of the nursery and was currently working on painting an underwater scene with Lauren. He smiled and his head shook a little, knowing how careful the two of them were being to make sure the dolphins, whales and numerous species of fish, corals and plants looked good. His eyes rolled backwards, thanking God that it was nearly finished.

Emma spent what little spare time she had, helping Karen with the painting of the spare room she would be using as a nursery with characters from old nursery rhymes. Both she and Carlos knew what they were having but weren't letting on to anyone. He suspected that the nursery has been decorated that way was so that no-one could guess, the theme would certainly suit either sex.

Choosing the fish themed crib and matching furniture for the room he'd left to her, but she had still checked that he liked it before she placed the order. That now sat, fully assembled, in one of the other bedrooms waiting for the nursery to be finished.

"No breakfast?" Franky still looked concerned but attempted a smile as she raised her eyes to meet his.

"Not hungry at the minute. I'll get something later." Urs shook his head and returned the smile.

The sound of the back door being opened distracted both of them and they watched and listened as the other three men made their way in.

"The adoption still not going well?" Franky asked David as he leaned against the counter with his arms tightly folded across his chest.

"No. I'm starting to get pissed off with it." David shook his head and sighed heavily. "All we're waiting for is a criminal records check to come through then we can take the next step then it should be a breeze from there. Apparantly the delay's being caused by some sort of computer problem in the States. I'm beginning to wonder if it's ever going to happen." He huffed then rubbed his hands hard over his face. "Maybe being back in the studio will provide a distraction." He shrugged and attempted a smile. "You ok Franky?"

"Fine." She nodded and smiled in reply, though the smile didn't reach her eyes the way it usually did and she looked at Urs rather than the man she'd answered.

"Talking of which we need to go." Urs huffed and checked his watch again, walked over to Franky and cupped her face while he kissed her goodbye. "Stop worrying. I'm fine." He whispered, pressing his forehead to hers.

"Ok." Franky nodded.

He still moved a little slower than usual as he walked by Sébastien's side towards the vehicle that would take them to the recording studio.

"You ok Urs?" Sébastien questioned on spotting the pained expression on the Swissmman's face.

"Don't you start. I've had enough of Franky asking me that this morning." Urs sniped. "It's just a pulled muscle. I don't need all the fuss." He shook his head and took his seat.

"Fine, I won't ask again." Sébastien huffed as he dropped into his seat. "Sorry for showing some concern."

"Just shut up!" Urs snapped back. "What?!" He snapped again when Carlos and David looked at him questioningly and held their hands up.

After securing his seatbelt, Urs shook his head, closed his eyes and rested his forehead against the dark glass of the vehicle's windows. He zoned out and paid no attention whatsoever to the whispered conversation Carlos, David and Sébastien had while they were driven to the recording studios.

__________________

"Stop! Stop! Stop!" Urs shook his head and waved his hands in front of himself while he stood in the recording booth. "That sounded bloody awful." He grimmaced through the glass. "I'll....I'll..."

His left hand flew to his mouth, realising that he was going to be sick any minute and he started to move quickly towards the door. His cheeks puffed out again as he turned left and tried to run passed the concerned faces of his brothers and the technicians, ignoring the shouts of his name as he stumbled down the hallway. Knowing which way the bathrooms were helped and without having to think what he was doing, he soon found an empty cubicle and proceeded to throw up twice.

He felt hot as he stood upright again so he moved over to the sinks and started splashing cold water over his face. He still felt sick, but didn't think there was anything left he could bring up, especially since he hadn't eaten anything since the previous evening. His stomach proved him wrong a few seconds later and he made it back into the cubicle just in time.

"Urs!" He heard Sébastien's raised voice behind him and turned to face him, using the walls of the cubicle to stop himself from falling.

"I'm fine now." He smiled wryly and shrugged his right shoulder as he weakly staggered forward.

"Non you're not." Sébastien informed, his hands moving to Urs's shoulders to help hold him upright. "You've looked like you've been in pain all morning. Now, you're deathly pale and you feel cold but look sweaty. Let us get you to a doctor."

Urs shook his head and smiled again as he pushed the Frenchman off him. "Really I'm fine Seb. Upset stomach that's all. It'll....Urgh!"

His eyes suddenly flew wide, he swallowed hard and placed his hand against his stomach when he felt the pain he'd been experiencing since early that morning became more intense and move to his lower right side.

"Argh man!! Jesus!" He blinked rapidly and groaned loudly at the agony his stomach was causing

"Urs! You ok in there?" He heard Carlos and David questioning as he kept hold of his stomach and bent double.

"N...N...No. Mein Gott it hurts." He informed with his eyes screwed tight and a violent shake of his head. "Urgh! Guys! I...I think I do need to go....." He gasped as he dropped to his knees, threw his head back and allowed another long agonised scream to escape.

"Urs! What's wrong?" Sébastien questioned, kneeling to the side of his fallen friend.

"Don't know. I don't know." Urs gasped and shook his head then fell onto his left side, his head landing in Sébastien's lap . "It just really hurts.....Feels like I'm being torn apart......Oh Gott.......Right here." He panted and pointed to an area between his right hip and his navel.

"Oh ****! No!" David yelled as he left the bathroom and sprinted off somewhere

"Get me up." Urs asked, looking from Sébastien to Carlos and attempting to move himself.

"I think you had better stay exactly where you are amigo." Carlos nodded as he held him down lightly and watched another wave of pain hit his friend.

The door opened once more and everyone looked up at David's concerned face as he returned from wherever he'd gone.

"What's wrong with you?"

Urs looked from man to man to man and noticed that they all seemed very concerned. Sébastien was almost in tears, Carlos blinked rapidly while David stood shaking his head.

"David?" Urs gasped just as another wave of pain gripped his stomach. "Do you.... Argh!......Do you know what's wrong with me?" He asked quickly.

"I'm not sure." David closed his eyes, shook his head and crouched down by his side. "But whatever it is Urs, it's more than a pulled muscle."

"Tell me!" Urs demanded with another groan, grasping hold of David's t-shirt at the chest.

David shook his head and sniffed loudly, grabbed Urs's hand, pulled it away and held it firmly as he spoke.

"I'm no doctor but I think it might be appendicitis Urs. You look just like someone I knew at college did when he had it. I've called an ambulance to get you to hospital. Just in case that's what it is. Do you know how serious that can be?"

"I know. Fra.....Argh!....Get Fra...." Urs groaned and bit his bottom lip hard as another intense burst of pain hit.

"Franky?" Carlos questioned.

Urs nodded rapidly and a quick whine escaped from his throat as paramedics entered the bathroom and started to attend to him.

"I'll go and call her."

"No." Urs whined, feeling pressure against his abdomen, his head nodding quickly in reply to the paramedic questioning if that was where it hurt.

"You want me to go to the house and bring her to the hospital?" Carlos asked as he stood and watched Urs nod quickly before he ran from the room.

David and Sébastien stepped back and could only watch as Urs passed out.

When he regained consciousness Urs found himself securely strapped to a stretcher with Sébastien and David trotting at his side as he was rushed to the waiting ambulance.

"You go with him." David insisted, giving Sébastien a gentle push in the back. "I won't be far behind and try to stay calm."

Sébastien nodded and quickly sat himself as close as he could to a pain wracked Urs.

David could only stand and watch wide-eyed as the ambulance doors were closed. He heard the sirens blare and saw blue lights flashing but neither of them seemed to register as the vehicle sped from the underground car park. He quickly knocked the tears from his eyes as he recalled what had happened to his classmate.

How the young man had been missed two lessons the following morning after saying that he too had an upset stomach the night before, probably due to the fact he'd been to a seafood restaurant the previous evening and he thought he'd eaten something that was off. That by the time they found him collapsed in his room, got him to hospital and figured that his appendix had ruptured, he was already fighting a severe infection. He'd been on life support and strong anitbiotics for almost two days before sepsis took his life.

David closed his eyes and whispered a silent prayer that Urs would make it through ok.

He turned on his heels, ran to a car that stood waiting to go and tried to think of who he should call first as the car sped from the car park passed a crowd of waiting fans.

"Crap!" He hissed as he searched his pockets and remembered that he'd left his mobile in the recording studio.

_______________


"Hey, stop that." Franky giggled, pushing back on her ribs then returned to cleaning her paint brushes at the kitchen sink.

She had jusst finished painting the characters Karen had drawn on the nursery walls for her and was very happy with the way it was looking. She sighed heavily and closed her eyes for a moment while she recalled the pained expression she'd seen on Urs's face that morning and promised herself that as soon as he returned, she would nag at him until he agreed to see a doctor. She wasn't going to give up this time.

"I'll drag him there kicking and screaming if I have to." She muttered, nodding her head at the solitary Blackbird she could see sitting on top of the arbour in the garden.

She looked up, smiled broadly when she saw that the sky was clear and decided to go and do the little bit of weeding that needed doing in the large flower bed that ran across the top of the garden. She hummed nursery ryhmes as she made her way to the large wooden shed where the equipment was kept, quickly retrieved what she needed and made her way to her one of her favourite places in the garden.

Still humming to herself, she set to work and had removed about fifteen weeds when she heard a familar voice shouting her name loudly down near the house.

"Carlos, Up here." She smiled as she waved. "Did you forget your mobile again?" She questioned with a laugh as he came running up to her. "I didn't.......Carlos! Is there something wrong?" She shook her head on seeing the grave look on his face.

"Si." He nodded quickly. "Please try to stay calm Franky. I need you to come with me right now. Erm......" He paused to cough and sniff quickly. "Urs has been taken ill."

"Why hasn't he come home with you then?" Franky shrugged and huffed a quick laugh.

"No. He can't." Carlos shook his head quickly.

"Don't be silly, of course he can." Franky smiled and shook her head.

"I am not making myself of the very clear. I mean of the hospital ill." Carlos shrugged. "He collapsed at the studio."

"Oh God!" Franky exclaimed as her right hand flew to her mouth. "What...... What's wrong with him?" She asked as they started to move quickly back towards the house.

"I don't know of the certain." Carlos shook his head. "He said was in mucho, mucho......dolor..... Pain?" He informed with a questioning look to Franky who nodded with tear filled eyes. "Here." He continued as he indicated where Urs had said it hurt.

"That's the location for appendicitis." Franky sniffed and nodded as they entered the house so that she could change out of her gardening boots and to allow her to grab her mobile and purse.

"Is what David said." Carlos nodded as he pulled the back door closed behind them and locked it.

He offered a shaky Franky his arm and spoke in a soothing tone as they walked to the vehicle. After making sure she was comfortable he instructed their driver to get them to the hospital as quickly as he could, preferably without breaking the speed limit. He covered his eyes with his right hand and muttered several Spanish curse words under his breath as they moved quickly through the town.

As soon as they arrived at the hospital they were taken to a room where David and Sébastien sat waiting.

"How is he?" Franky asked as both men stood to face her.

"Erm......." Sébastien sniffed as David took Franky's hand, guided her to a seat and started to tell her what Sébastien couldn't.

"We know you don't like to be lied to Franky, so I'm not going to even try to do that. He's not in a good way." David sniffed and shook his head as he squatted in front of her. "Did Carlos tell you what I suspected?"

Franky closed her eyes and nodded quickly, biting her bottom lip hard.

"The doctors think the same. They've taken him straight to an operating theatre because they......." David paused to swallow hard and close his eyes. ".....they suspect the appedix has ruptured."

"Oh No!" Franky shook her head in disbelief as tears started to stream down her face. "No, No, No."

Franky turned her head slighty to left when she felt a right arm slip across her shoulders. She nodded when she heard Sébastien asking if it was okay for him to try and comfort her that way while giving her a questioning look. A left arm slipped over her shoulders from the right and she raised her head to see Carlos perching on the chair arm next to her with tears moistening his eyes. David remained on his haunches in front of her, their foreheads almost touching as he spoke in a comforting tone, trying to reassure her that Urs would be all right.

Franky managed to compose herself a little and asked if anyone had called Urs's parents. She nodded when David informed her that Sébastien had done so, that plans had already been made to fly them over and they should arrive within the next couple of hours.

The door suddenly opened and a tearful Karen and Lauren were shown in. They immediately gave Franky a long hug and spoke a few words of comfort to her before turning to their husbands. Sébastien was hoping that Emma would be able to get back from Belgium where she'd gone with the football team, but he didn't hold out much hope of her making it back before nightfall.

Refreshments were quietly brought into the room and grateful smiles and nods were exchanged but nothing was touched.

By the time a doctor entered the room Franky and Sébastien were sitting close together, attempting to comfort each other by holding hands, both lost in their own thoughts.

"Oh! Desole." Sébastien startled as David tapped them both on the shoulder and indicated the man who stood amongst them dressed in green scrubs.

Franky watched as the surgeon moved to sit beside her and breathed deep before he started to speak.

"Mrs Buhler, your husband made it through the surgery well enough. However, when we went in, we did find that his appendix was severely inflamed and had ruptured. We've removed it and he's being given high strength antibiotics to fight any infection but I have to warn you, the next few hours are going to be touch and go. He's in the recovery room but still very drowsy. Do you wish to see him?"

Franky nodded then stood, took the crooked arm the surgeon offered and walked quietly by his side as he led her to a recovery room. She sat in the chair that stood near the head of the bed and touched the back of her right hand against Urs's left cheek.

"Urs. Can you hear me honey?" She sniffed

A very sleepy Urs opened his eyes a little and immediately closed them again when he saw her tear-streaked face.

"I'm......sorry....angel." He whispered.

"It's ok. I'm here and I'm not going anywhere. You're going to be fine now. You're going to be just fine."

Franky dried her eyes, took hold of his right hand and lifted it to her lips where she placed a gentle kiss on the back of it. She wrapped his hand in both of hers and held them against her forehead listening to his breathing, knowing that he was asleep again and whispering quiet prayers until a porter arrived to take Urs up to a private room. As she walked out of the recovery room, she spotted Urs's parents heading towards the waiting room and made her way over to them.

Her tears started to fall again as she was given a warm embrace by each of them and she told them how Urs was. David spotted the group as he opened the waiting room door and made his way over to them. Franky informed him that they were just getting ready to move Urs to a private room then watched as he went back into the waiting room to inform the others. A brief smile crossed her lips when she saw that Lauren and Karen had arrived and a small sob escaped when they gave her a reassuring hug. Everyone paired off again, leaving Franky and Sebastien alone. He offered her his arm and gave her hand a squeeze once she'd taken it and everyone took a deep breath at the same time when the recovery room door opened and a still pale-looking Urs was wheeled out.

The group of four men and four women followed after the stretcher in silence, took a separate lift to the floor where he would be placed to recover completely. They stood outside the room, speaking quietly, trying to reassure Franky and themselves that Urs would be back to himself in a few hours while he was settled into a comfortable bed, the usual checks were made and noted down on his record.

While this was being done, Franky made her way to the bathroom to attend to her needs. She stood after she'd finished and her eyes flew wide when her underwear suddenly felt wet.

Having read her information book thoroughly she had an idea what might be happening and immediately sat back down.

"Oh No! Not now little one. Please not now." She sobbed, laying her left hand on her stomach while her right hand pulled an emergency cord.

TISSUE WARNING!!!


"Franky, I'm......" Urs began as he slowly opened his eyes and saw the shadowy form seated on his right side.

"It's not Franky." He heard his father's voice informing harshly in Swiss-German as he tried to focus.

"Vater! What are you doing here? Where's Franky? I need......."

"You need!!" His father yelled loudly still using his native tongue as he launched himself at him, his face ending up very close to Urs's. "You need Urs. You need. What about what Franky needs right now? Urgh!! You know if you hadn't had surgery two days ago I would kick your ass round this hospital room."

"Two days ago?!" Urs shook his head while his father nodded his. "You mean two hours don't you?"

"No I don't Urs, your appendix ruptured two days ago." His father shook his head. "You were taken straight to an operating theatre to have it removed almost as soon as you arrived and you've been fighting a serious infection ever since. We thought you were going to........"

"Thought I was going to what?" Urs shrugged when he saw tears flooding his father's eyes as he resumed his seat.

"We thought you were going to die. You were this close Urs. This close." His father indicated by holding his right hand up with the thumb and index finger spaced a little apart. "Your heartbeat was racing and your temperature was so high, you were delerious. Your doctor was even considering sedating you, putting you on life support and moving you up the corridor to the Intensive Care Unit a few hours ago, luckily your fever broke, they changed their minds and you've been sleeping peacefully ever since. You constantly called Franky's name while you were ill but she couldn't be with you. Lars and your sisters have been calling every few hours for news and your friends didn't know what to do for the best, so they just decided to wait it out. They've each spent some time with you, encouraging you to fight. They haven't been home since you came in, though I tried to persuade them to, especially Carlos and Karen.

"Hold on. What do you mean Franky couldn't be with me? Why not? What's happened to her? Where is she?" Urs questioned again, looking into his father's furious eyes.

"Right now. Franky is down in the Labour and Delivery Unit. Where she's been since just after your operation."

"What? No! No! No! She can't be in labour. She can't. The baby isn't due for eight weeks." Urs's eyes widened and he shook his head vigorously in disbelief. "No."

"I KNOW THAT!! The doctors are doing everything they can to stop the baby coming but it didn't look good the last time I spoke to your mother."

"No." Urs shook his head again. "Mami is with her?" He questioned as tears started to roll down his face.

His father nodded and closed his eyes. "That's where she's been since just after your fever broke a few hours ago. So is Lauren. Your friends are waiting in a room down the corridor."

"What happened? W....Why did it.....?"

"The stress she was under they think, worrying about you. We'd all just come up with you after your operation. While they were settling you into this bed and doing the usual checks, Franky decided to go to the bathroom. A few moments later the alarm cord was pulled and Lauren and Karen went in to find Franky sitting on one of the toilets, saying that her waters had broken and she'd felt some pain. She was taken straight down and they've been working hard to try and stop her going into full labour, but, like I just said, your mother says it doesn't look good. She was having really strong contractions the last time I spoke to her and that was a few hours ago. I haven't heard anything since."

Urs turned his face away from his father, screwed his eyes tight together and buried his face into the pillow. "It's my fault. It's all my fault." He sobbed.

"Urs. Why didn't you get yourself checked out earlier? You did know it wasn't just a pulled muscle didn't you?"

"Ja. Well I had an idea." Urs nodded. "I always make sure I warm up and cool down properly when I exercise."

"You stupid boy. Why didn't you do something about it sooner?"

"I just......I just didn't think it would be anything that serious. Something I'd eaten. I...I...I was going to see my doctor after we'd finished at the studio. I...I...I...I just thought Franky was making a big fuss about nothing. Oh Gott I'm so stupid!"

Urs spent the next few moments crying into the pillow while his father tried to comfort him by gently rubbing up and down his left arm.

"I shouldn't be here. I shou......I should be with her. I'll never forgive myself if something goes wrong." Urs sniffed as he wiped his eyes with the heel of his hand. "Get me down there. Please Vater."

Urs watched his father leave the room then slowly sat himself up. He didn't care that he only wore a rather unflattering hospital gown and his underwear, the only thing that bothered him right now was getting to Franky, hopefully before the baby arrived.

He started to turn on the bed and hissed when something stung the back of his left hand. He turned his head over his shoulder and sighed heavily when he saw the half filled bag of fluid connected to a long tube that he followed to his hand. His leg caught against something that hung on the side of the bed and he looked down then lifted the gown to see another tube connected to a more initimate area of his anatomy.

The door opened again and Urs nodded as a wheelchair was brought in. With the help of his father and a nurse he made his into it and waited rather impatiently as tubes and bags were sorted out. His father pushed him from the room just as Sébastien was returning to the waiting room. He closed his eyes and lowered his head ashamedly when the dishelleved Frenchman looked at him and pursed his lip tightly while shaking his head slowly.

He kept his head lowered and apologised to his father in his mother tongue as he was wheeled into a lift and taken three floors down and through to labour and deliver suite. He finished speaking to the receptionist just in time to see his mother leaving one of the delivery rooms and swallowed hard when her eyes locked with his.

"Has Franky had the baby?"

Urs watched as his mother nodded, swallowed hard and closed her eyes. "About thirty minutes ago."

"How are they both?" Urs questioned as she moved to stand in front of him.

He watched as tears welled in her eyes and her lips moved but nothing came out. He reached for her hand only to startle when she snatched it away.

"Why don't you go and find out for yourself?" She nodded slowly while she searched his features. "I just hope she'll forgive you, because right now, after what I've seen that poor girl go through since I arrived, I don't know if I can."

"I'm sorry Mami."

"You probably are, but I don't want to hear it. You're my son and I love you Urs, but I can hardly bring myself to look at you right now." Lorella sniffed as she stepped around the wheelchair, gave her husband a half-hearted smile and walked away.

Urs reached out and called for his mother while he listened to his father say that he would be with her once he'd wheeled Urs to Franky's room. Tears rolled slowly down his face again and he wiped them away quickly as the door opened. He saw Franky lying on her left side facing away from him. He swallowed hard when he saw Lauren's angry and tired-looking face appear over Franky's shoulder and listened to her tell Franky that he was there.

"Tell him to go away Lauren." He heard Franky sob. "I never want to see him again."

_________________

"How's Franky?" Karen demanded as soon as Urs's parents crossed the threshold of the room where they'd been put to wait.

"Exhausted. Upset. Angry." Lorella, his mother shrugged as she dropped down on to one of the four light blue couches that stood in the room.

"She has every right to be." Karen huffed from her standing position near the window with her arms folded across her chest. "Oh don't look at me like that you three." She snapped at Carlos, David and Sébastien who stood looking at her each with a shocked expression on their faces. "She asked him to see a doctor because she thought he was ill and he just brushed her off. Do any of you even begin to understand the hell he's put her through by doing that?"

All three men sighed heavily and shook their heads sadly. Neither of them had a clue what Franky had been through in the past couple of days and didn't even want to begin to contemplate it.

"Erm......What did she have?" Sébastien asked quietly.

"A boy." Lorella sniffed. "A beautiful little boy. He looks so much like his father."

"Is he ok?" David asked solemnly.

"Not really. He's so tiny and he's having trouble breathing for himself. They had to take him straight to the neonatal intensive care unit. She hasn't even seen him, never mind been given the chance to hold him."

Everyone sighed heavily and sat in silence until the door opened once more and Lauren stepped into the room. She quickly spotted that Karen was close to tears and gave a distracted Carlos's foot a quick kick to clue him up on the situation. She watched and huffed a quick sigh as he stood, quickly moved over to her, pulled her into his arms and held her tight while she cried quietly.

"Has she let Urs in?" Emma questioned, raising her tear filled eyes from the floor.

"Yeah." Lauren nodded. "She didn't want to at first but I managed to talk her round."

"How was she with him?" Urs's father questioned with a sigh.

"I didn't hang around to find out, Jordi. Furious I should imagine." Lauren shook her head. "She's so upset right now, scared to death that the baby might not make it. I'm not sure if she's going to be able to forgive Urs if he doesn't."

"She blames him?" Carlos questioned wide-eyed. "Hmmm. I suppose if he had done what she asked in the first place things would not be as they are being now." He nodded in understanding as he recalled how upset she'd been when he told her what had happened. "Maybe I should not have said anything until.........."

"Maybe this. Maybe that. Whatever happens it's not your fault Carlos." Lauren shook her head and threw her hands up in the air as she interupted him. "I don't think it would have made much difference when she was told, I'm sorry to say at the end of the day the blame for Franky's stress rests squarely on Urs's shoulders. She asked him several times if he was ok as did you Seb....." She paused to look at the nodding Frenchman.

"Oui. We all did, so did a few of the studio staff."

"......and he just waved everyone's concerns off. If she can't forgive him, then......." Lauren stopped speaking and closed her eyes.

"Then their relationship will end?" Sébastien questioned, reaching for Emma's hand and attempting a smile as he held it tight.

"Afraid so." Lauren nodded then stepped into David's open arms, rested her forehead against his chest and cried quietly.

"And I will have to watch his heart break once more." Lorella sniffed. "Never to mend again. Ohhh! He has been such a fool." She shook her head and sniffed audibly as her husband wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close.

All four couples spent almost an hour and a half lost in their own thoughts before the door opened again and a nurse entered the room to tell them that Urs had been brought back up but didn't wish to see anyone at the moment. Everyone's head snatched up when they heard a long, loud scream coming from the direction of Urs's room. His parents sprang from their seats and ran from the waiting room to see what was going on.

David, Carlos and Sébastien looked at each other and all three lowered their heads while they prayed that they were wrong about was happening between their brother and sister.


______________


Urs swallowed hard and blinked rapidly when he realised that Lauren had finally persuaded Franky to see him. He whispered his thanks to Lauren as she left then wheeled himself around the bed so that he could talk to Franky. He sniffed loudly when he saw her flattened stomach and closed his eyes when he saw her tear streaked face. He raised his left hand to wipe Franky's eyes but startled when she snatched her face away.

"Don't you dare! Don't you bloody dare touch me!" She hissed through her tears.

"Franky I........"

"You're what Urs? Sorry again." Franky snapped. "Don't you dare give me that word. I hate that word."

"I.....I didn't realise it was....."

"That's the trouble with you Urs, you never do realise. You think you're impervious to everything. I asked you to see a doctor just to put my mind at rest that you were okay but ohhhhhh no. All I was doing was making a big fuss about nothing. Well what a funny nothing it turned out to be huh? God forbid there should actually be something so seriously wrong with Mr Muscle and Fitness that he has to take a few minutes out of his life just to see doctor, to put the woman he's supposed to love at ease about his wellbeing."

"That's not fair Franky." Urs sniffed and shook his head.

"Not fair! Not fair!!" Franky yelled, her eyes wide, a never before seen wild look in them, almost as if she could kill him if she had the energy. "What's not fair Urs, is the fact that it was worrying about you that got me so stressed out that I went into labour and gave birth to our son two months early. Not to mention what you've put everyone else through. You selfish bastard!!" She finished with a hard slap to his face, sending his head whipping to the right.

Urs felt his breath catch in his chest as he returned his head to face forward and raised a hand to his burning cheek. Rare though their arguments were and knowing that she hated physical violence, he couldn't blame her for lashing out, though he couldn't remember her ever striking him hard enough that he was sure he could feel the skin rising where her hand had connected with his face.

"A boy. We have a son? Where is he?" Urs queried, speaking in little more than a whisper.

"He's two months premature Urs, where the bloody hell do you think he is?!!" Franky yelled then turned as quickly as she could onto her right side. "He's struggling to breath unaided, they took him to the NICU as soon as he was delivered. I haven't even seen him yet, let alone had a chance to hold him and all you can say is that I'm not being fair to you."

"He......He's going be......He's going to be ok isn't he?"

"I don't know. No-one's told me anything yet. He so small and fragile. He only weighs about three and half pounds. That's all I know."

Urs rested his right elbow on the bed and covered his face with his right hand while he cried. His left hand raised and reached for the one Franky had resting on her thigh. He startled once more when that was snatched away.

"Franky please. I'm so very, very so........"

"I don't care what you are. Just shut up! Shut the hell up!!" Franky snapped and shook her head. "You promised you would be there for me and you weren't. I could have understood if you were performing but this......I had to give birth to our child without you there and you.......you almost died because you just couldn't be bothered to do what I asked. What.......What if you had died Urs? What was I supposed to tell our little boy? Just don't talk me to for while, I can't even bear to look at you right now, never mind listen to anything you have to say."

A knock at the door made Urs lower his head and turn it to the right so that whoever had entered couldn't see his tear streaked face. He listened carefully as a nurse entered the room and spoke soothingly to Franky while she handed over a polaroid photograph of their son.

Once the nurse had left, Urs raised his head to see Franky lying on her back with tears running down her face while she looked lovingly at the photograph she held in her hand.

"Here." She sniffed as she handed the picture to Urs without looking at him. "Take a good look at what you've done to your son."

"Oh Gott." Urs swallowed hard as he took hold of the photograph and blinked rapidly when he saw the curly haired little boy lying on his back with his eyes covered by a blue blindfold, a tube in his mouth which was obviously connected to a ventilator, another tube ran up into his nose and two wires led from his chest.

Tears rolled down his cheeks once more as he raised his free hand to the photograph and lightly touched the shaking image of his son while he whispered an apology.

The door opened again and Urs watched as Franky eased herself into the wheelchair that had been brought in so that she could be taken to see their child.

"Are you coming to see him or are you just going to sit there feeling sorry for yourself?" Franky questioned as she looked at him with cold, empty eyes.

Eyes that he'd never had to face before glared at him and he knew it that one look that her heart was close to breaking. A huge knot formed in his stomach, he hadn't meant to cause her so much pain, he felt so ashamed. There wasn't much more she could do to make him hate himself as much as he did right now.

"I'm coming." Urs whispered as he lowered his eyes from hers.

He pushed himself around the bed until he was behind her, then allowed a porter to take over as they were pushed side by side to where their little boy was being cared for.

He knew Franky was absolutely livid with him and he couldn't blame her. Not only had he put his own life at risk by refusing to see a doctor when she'd asked, their son's life now hung in the balance because of his actions. He could understand her anger at him but hoped that she would be able to forgive him. Not right away perhaps, because he knew he'd hurt her really deeply this time, but at some point he was sure she would accept his apology. He couldn't imagine and didn't want to think about what would happen if she didn't.

He looked at her as they were wheeled through the door and were placed on either side of the incubator unit where the baby lay. They both listened carefully while they were told about the equipment he was connected to. The tube in his mouth was connected to a ventilator, the one up his nose provided access for feeding him. Urs looked at Franky when she allowed a small sob to escape. He swallowed hard, knowing that she'd said that she wanted to breastfeed and now it looked like he'd taken that opportunity away from her.

An oxygen saturation monitor had been connected to the right foot while one of two IV pumps had been secured to his left calf. A lead fixed into his umbilical cord divided into two and one end led to the second IV pump while the other end trailed its way to an ECG and blood pressure monitor. One lead that divided into three others led from that and these were attached to the two tiny sensors on his chest and the one on his stomach. A final lead from the overhead warmer would monitor his temperature.

Urs listened and watched carefully as the caregiver assigned to his son instructed them both on how to touch him. Following Franky's lead he pushed his left hand into the incubator and gently laid his little finger into the tiny palm. He heard Franky gasp for breath and did the same as four tiny fingers and a thumb curled around it. He glanced at Franky and closed his eyes lightly when he saw a soft smile play across her lips. Someone touched his right shoulder and he opened his eyes to see a middle-aged nurse smiling gently at him while she held a box of tissues out to him. He thanked her as he took a few and quickly wiped his eyes.

"Does he have a name yet?" The caregiver asked quietly.

Urs looked to Franky and swallowed hard, waiting for a reply.

"Francis." Franky sniffed and nodded. "Francis Toni Buhler." She informed with a deep breath. "Or Little Frank." She finished, looking at Urs as if daring him to contradict her.

Urs closed his eyes and nodded his head quickly. She'd swapped the names they'd agreed upon around but he didn't care. He'd caused her enough distress he wasn't about to cause her more by having an argument with her about it.

Franky was taken to another room a few moments later and he wondered why when she was brought back. He had an inkling when Little Frank's caregiver came over minutes later and started feeding him with a milk filled syringe while she smiled and nodded at Franky.

He opened his mouth several times to say something to Franky once they were left alone, but everything he wanted to say seemed to get stuck in his throat and tears continually threatened to make their escape. Eventually he took plenty of deep breaths and managed to compose himself somewhat. After an hour and a half he spotted that Franky was starting to doze off and quietly called a nurse over to make sure she was ok.

Franky reluctantly agreed to be taken to her room and barely glanced at Urs as she was wheeled away. Feeling exhausted himself, he closed his eyes and whispered one more apology to Little Frank as he gently eased his finger from his grip. He sat almost expressionless while he was taken back to his room to be made comfortable in his bed again.

He shook his head and said that he didn't want to see anyone while his nurse went through the motions of sorting the bags and doing her checks then watched as she left. It was then and only then that he noticed all the flowers that filled the room. He threw the sheets back, unhooked the bags, held both in his left hand as he stood up and read a few of the cards that accompanied the blooms, all of them wishing him to get well soon.

Tears threatened again and he struggled to hold them back. With one sweep of his right arm and a loud scream, he sent several large bouquets and displays crashing to floor from the long narrow table that stood on the left side of his bed, scattering Roses, Irises, Chrysanthemums and a multitude of other flowers around him. He slowly stepped away from the table, only stopping when his back hit the wall where he slipped slowly down to the floor, curled his legs up to his chest, wrapped his arms around them and closed his eyes as he started to sob.

A gentle touch on his left shoulder made him open his eyes to see who was there. He closed them quickly and sobbed several 'I'm sorries' when he saw his parents's faces looking at him and cried even harder when he felt each of them wrapping a comforting arm around his shoulders.

He stayed in that position for almost half an hour before he managed to compose himself enough to stand and stumble back to the bed. He lay on his right side and curled himself into a feotal position, buried his face into the pillow, not hearing his parents returning the bags to their hooks. Somehow, he managed to compose himself a little and shook his head when he felt his mother's hand stroking his face.

"Please don't Mami." He sniffed loudly and shook his head as he reached up and took hold of her hand. "I don't deserve to be comforted, not after what I've caused." He informed, pulling the hand down from his face to hold it tightly on the bed while he continued to shake his head and quietly cried himself to sleep.

_______________

Franky had spent the last two hours trying to get back to sleep but it refused to take hold again. She threw back the covers of her bed, slowly stood upright, wrapped her bathrobe around her and moved to stand at the window looking out into the blackness of night. Clouds covered the sky tonight and not one star could be seen, the moon was just about visible to her right and she sighed heavily.

The night felt just like her soul did right now, dark, cold and empty.

She glanced down to the chair and spotted a folded tabloid newspaper that had been left behind by the previous occupant of the room and missed by the cleaners. She picked it up and swallowed hard as she read the headline and looked at the picture below.

IL DIVO STAR AT DEATH'S DOOR.

She flipped the paper open and read the statement that a representative of the group's management company had made. Almost every word of it was true. He had been fighting for his life as the newspaper went to print, all of his friends and family had been gravely concerned for his health. The only part that was wrong was the piece at the end, where it said she was by his side.

"How could you?" She sniffed and shook her head. "How could you have put me through that hell?" She questioned the photograph and slowly ran a finger down his features.

'Don't you think you're being too hard on him? Hasn't he been punished enough, after seeing the baby like that?' The thoughts popped into her head, seemingly from nowhere.

"Oh maybe I am, maybe he has. I don't know, and right now I don't really care." She replied to her reflection in the glass.

She kept a tight hold of the paper as her right arm dropped to her side and she returned to looking out of the window. A gentle knock came at the door and she turned her head to see Lauren, Karen and Emma standing in the doorway.

"Hey you." Lauren smiled as she walked over to her best friend and wrapped her arms around her.

"Hey yourself." Franky sniffed in reply. "Erm......How......How is he? How's Urs?"

"Distraught." Emma shrugged.

"So he should be." Karen snapped.

"Don't Karen." Franky shook her head.

"Don't?!" Karen exclaimed loudly, her eyes flying wide. "After what he's put you through? Not to mention the rest of us. Do you have any idea what I would like to do to him?"

"Some." Franky nodded. "Probably something similar to what I wanted to do him earlier. I wanted to pummel the crap out of him, but he.....maybe he's been through enough, seeing the baby like that." She sniffed loudly and shook her head as she walked back to the bed. "You didn't see how upset he was."

"How is the baby?" Lauren asked, perching herself next to Franky, quickly found a tissue and wiped her eyes.

"Francis? Stable when I left him." Franky nodded then looked to her right, found the polaroid and showed it to her friends.

"Oh he's beautiful Franky." Emma sniffed while Karen and Lauren nodded. "Just look at the amount of hair he's got."

"Has Urs apologised?" Karen questioned with a gentle smile as she handed the photograph back.

Franky nodded and screwed her eyes tight together. "But I don't know.......I don't know if I can forgive him. I don't think I can take any more. When I'm ill, he has me to the doctor so fast it makes my head spin, but when he's ill I just have to sit and worry about him because he just brushes everything off."

"What are you going to do?" Lauren ventured gently.

"I don't know." Franky shook her head. "I need time to think. Right now I can't think about anything else but getting Little Frank well enough to go home."

"Do you still love Urs?" Emma queried with a heavy sigh and closed eyes.

"No. No, I'm not sure if I do." Franky shrugged then buried her face into her cupped hands and started to sob as her friend's wrapped their arms around her and rocked her gently.

Only two heads snapped up when they heard the loud sob that came through the slightly open door after Franky spoke.

______________


Urs sat up suddenly breathing hard as tears streamed down his face. It was dark and there wasn't enough light to see by. He fumbled around on his left side trying to find his bedside lamp, his hand finding nothing but air.

"Where is it?!" He yelled angrilly as he wiped his eyes.

"Urs, What's wrong?" He heard his mother's voice questioning as a light came on above his head.

"No!" He gasped. "It....It....It was a dream. A bad dream. You're not really here." He nodded, reaching out to touch his mother's face. "Franky, she's......she's still pregnant?" He questioned with a nod.

"No my boy. It wasn't a dream." Lorella shook her head and wiped his face. "I wish it was."

Urs looked at the back of his hand and saw a sticking plaster where the catheter had been. He lifted the sheet and quickly realised that that one had been removed as well, though he couldn't remember it being done. He threw the sheet back, swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood up.

"Where are you going? You're still pretty weak Urs."

"I know but I need to.....to find Franky." Urs replied to his mother's question as he walked toward the door. "I erm.....We erm.....I just need to find her. Do you know what room she's in?"

"221. Four floors up on the seventh floor."

Urs turned to face his mother and tried to give her a smile. He shook his head when she moved to follow him then slowly pulled the door open. As he stepped into the deserted corridor he looked around and soon found a sign that pointed him in the direction of the lifts. He passed several doors as he walked and a quick smile crossed his lips when he heard the sound of someone's familiar snoring coming from behind one of them. A few yards passed that he found the lift and pushed the call button. He felt a cold breeze across the back of his legs and he reached around with his left hand to hold the hospital gown closed.

The lift pinged its arrival and he blew out the breath he'd been holding when the doors opened and he found it empty. After stepping in, he located the appropriate button and pushed it as he tried to relax. He felt the lift come to a stop and slipped his body between the doors before they were completely open. The door opposite the lift had the number 236 above it. The one on the right had 237 so he quickly figured out that he had to turn left and counted down the numbers as he walked.

He heard female voices heading towards him just as he reached a door that would give access to a male toilet. Not wanting to be recognised or questioned about where he was going, he slinked through door and held it open slightly while he stood with his face pressed against it. Once he was sure the coast was clear again he left the toilet and continued his walk down the corridor. He soon found room 221 and almost laid his hand on the handle but something stopped him.

'What are you doing? Being selfish again, that's what. She needs her rest and you want to.......'

The sound of familiar voices coming through the door stopped his thought process and he looked down to see that the door hadn't closed fully. He held his breath and pushed the door open just enough to be able to hear better.

Emma's familiar tones drifted towards him and he closed his eyes when he heard her asking Franky if she still loved him. Her reply seemed slow in coming. He took a deep breath, bit his bottom lip hard and swallowed audibly while he waited for her to speak. Tears that had pricked his eyes from the moment he left his room began to roll slowly over his cheeks and a loud sob escaped from the back of his throat when she finally gave her reply. He let go of the door and turned away from the room.

A pain that he thought he would never feel again suddenly gripped his chest and he hunched over. He was sure he'd felt his heart shatter into each of a million pieces this time and he paid no attention to his surroundings as he started to walk very quickly this time.

Not caring where he was heading, he passed through several sets of automatic doors before he reached the end of the corridor and found that he had a choice to make. If he turned to the left he would have another long corridor ahead of him. A turn to the right would lead him in the direction of the fire exit.

"I'm sorry." He whispered as he turned right.

He gasped out loud and screwed his eyes tight when he felt a hand grab his right wrist and stopped him from walking.

"Where are you going Urs?" A familiar voice enquired gently.

__________________


"Shhhh. Did you hear that?" Franky questioned on hearing what sounded like a whined sob of 'No' at the door of her room.

"No. I didn't hear anything." Karen and Emma replied almost together while looking toward the door.

"I did." Lauren nodded. "It sounded like there was someone out there, crying." She informed with a questioning glance to Franky. "You don't think it could have been Urs do you?"

"I think it was." Franky nodded. "I think he caught the end of our conversation. Could you go and check Lauren? Make sure he's all right."

Lauren nodded and stood to leave the room. She smiled as Emma followed after her and said she would check one way while Lauren checked the other. Lauren turned left out of the door while Emma turned right.

Emma looked carefully down the corridor and immediately recognised the figure who was almost running away from her. She shouted Lauren as loud as she dared over her shoulder as she started to follow after him. Lauren was soon walking quickly at her side and both women looked at each other and sighed heavily when he stopped at the end of the corridor and looked both ways. They'd almost caught up to him when he decided to take the right turn.

Lauren reached him first and grabbed for his right wrist as she stopped walking.

"Where are you going Urs?" She asked gently as he stopped in his tracks.

Lauren and Emma watched Urs shrug and heard him sniff loudly while the three of them stood together in the corridor.

"Urs, did you hear the end of our conversation with Franky?"

"Yeah Emma." Urs nodded sadly. "I...I...I came up to...Oh I don't know what I came up for." He shook his head vigorously. "Being selfish again I guess, hoping that I could.....Oh I don't know. I don't know." His head shook and he sniffed again.

"Come on Urs, you don't think she really meant what she said?" Lauren questoned with an audible sniff.

Urs sniffed and nodded, still with his back to both women. "And I don't blame her."

"I don't think she did." Emma informed as she swallowed hard. "She's tired, scared and emotional. You both are Urs. You're both hurting too. Neither of you know which way is up at the minute and you don't have the first clue how to handle everything that's happened. You both need to rest, then you need to talk. Honestly Urs, I don't believe for one minute Franky meant those words. I don't think she would have sent us after you otherwise."

"Come on, come back to Franky's room with us. You two need each other." Lauren insisted as she gave him a gentle tug.

"Franky sent you?" Urs questioned but stubbornly refused to move.

"Yes she did. It was her that heard you at the door." Lauren sighed then looked to Emma. "Come on."

"No." Urs shook his head again then snatched it up when heard a familiar accent speaking to him.

"Come mon ami." Sébastien requested with a gentle sigh as he stepped to Urs's right side and slipped his left arm across his shoulders. "Even if she can't see it right now, Franky needs you and you need her."

Urs turned to look at him then closed his tear-filled eyes, nodded slowly, allowed Sébastien to turn him around and swallowed hard several times as they walked back to Franky's room. His head still hung low as they reached the door and he stalled for a moment as he considered whether he should walk through it or not.

The decision was taken away from him as the door was opened by a gently smiling Carlos and Sébastien eased him just over the threshold. From his position just inside the doorway he could see Franky sitting on her bed and quickly noticed that an empty one had been placed right beside hers.

"You want me to stay?" Urs questioned Franky as he watched tears roll down her face.

"Just don't say anything for now. We'll talk tomorrow." Franky closed her eyes and swallowed hard as she nodded.

Urs moved further into the room but waited for everyone to leave before he climbed into the empty bed and made himself comfortable. He watched Franky settle herself down on her left side so that they laid face-to-face. He wanted to be in the same bed so that he could hold her tight and kiss her tears away but somehow he knew she didn't want him to do that.

'What have I done to you?' He questioned himself before taking a deep breath and watching Franky slowly close her tired eyes. 'I wish I could make you see how much I do love you and make you understand how very guilty I feel.' He sighed then slowly moved his left hand to cover her right and closed his own eyes as Franky opened her fingers so that his fell between them. A small sob escaped from the back of his throat when she curled her fingers towards her palm and squeezed his hand tightly.

Within in minutes the couple had allowed sleep to overcome them.

__________________

The next morning

"You must really hate me now." Urs stated while he and Franky stood side-by-side, not touching, at the window watching hospital staff leaving or hurriedly making their way into work.

"Hate you?! No." Franky closed her eyes lightly and shook her head. "No, I don't hate you. I'm absolutely furious with you because of what's happened, but I don't hate you Urs."

"You should." Urs swallowed hard and closed his eyes as he nodded. "I hate myself."

"Well don't." Franky instructed with a quick smile. "Just don't push my concerns aside in future."

Urs closed his eyes and nodded as he drew in deep breath then slowly let it out, feeling a little optimistic that her final two words signified that there was hope for them coming through this experience still together.

The couple remained at the window standing in silence, still not touching and barely looking at each other until Franky took a deep breath then turned to her left and headed back towards her bed.

"I really have put you through hell haven't I?" Urs questioned clearly though he could feel the tears as they started to roll over his cheeks while he stayed at the window.

He heard a loud sniff and a whispered 'yeah' from Franky and hung his head once more.

"Scared you too, of that I have no doubt." He stated, looking to the sky and noticing that it had begun to rain heavily. He raised a finger to the window and followed a raindrop as it ran down the glass.

"Yeah. ****less if you want to know the truth." Franky informed from behind him. "And I still am. I've never been so scared in my life as I am right now." She finished with an audible sob.

Urs turned on hearing the sob escape and saw her standing beside the bed with her head turning in all the directions while her shoulders shook with every sob. He crossed over to her quickly and raised his hands to the tops of her arms but couldn't bring himself to touch her. He was too scared to. No matter how much he wanted to turn her around, take her in his arms and hold her tight, he couldn't bear the thought of being rejected again or to have to see the anguish in her eyes. The anguish he'd caused her. He took a deep breath, slowly lowered his hands and tried not to sniff as he turned away from her.

"I don't know what to do for you Franky. Erm......Last night was hard enough for me, seeing our child like that, hooked up to all that machinery......I......I can't even begin to imagine what it's been like for you. I've hurt you so badly I know that and I am sorry. You'll never know how sorry I am." Urs nodded. "I erm......The only thing I do know is that I want to take you in my arms, to hold you and try comfort you, but I'm scared too. Scared that Frank might not make it, scared of my support being rejected, scared that you won't ever forgive me, not that I would blame you if you didn't. It is a lot to ask."

"Urs, turn around and look at me." Franky demanded clearly.

He turned slowly, raised his eyes to meet hers and struggled to swallow as he looked at her. He watched as she walked over to him and bit down hard on his bottom lip to stop it trembling as Franky raised a shaking hand to his face and gently wiped his tears away. He closed his eyes briefly, breathed deep and struggled to hold back further tears as she touched him. Feeling that everything that was happening was the wrong way around. He should be the one comforting her.

"You're right." She nodded with a gentle smile on her pale and drawn face. "It is a lot to ask and, to tell you the truth, I'm not completely sure if I can forgive you at the moment. I don't want to say I'll forgive you because I need someone to comfort me, only to change my mind at later. That wouldn't be fair on either of us. Little Frank is going to need both of us, not just me, to get well."

"I know and I'll do everything that I can. I know it's not going to be easy, I just want to be here for the both of you."

"I need time to sort myself out Urs, so I'm not going to reject any comfort or support you want to give. That's all I can offer you for now, if that's not good enough then I'm so......"

"No. No. It's more than good enough. Much more than I deserve." Urs nodded as he reached for Franky's waist, pulled her quickly into his arms and rocked her gently while she cried.

He closed his eyes, raised them skyward and took some deep breaths while he thought about what had happened.

So, maybe she couldn't forgive him at the minute, perhaps she never would and this experience would tear them apart. Perhaps she would even ask him for a divorce. That would hurt more than anything else he had ever been through, but he would understand. Would she stop him seeing Frank if they did go their separate ways? No, if there was thing he was almost positive of, he didn't think she would do that.

If she couldn't ever forgive him he wasn't sure what he would do, he didn't think he deserved her forgiveness anyway. But he had made that promise several weeks ago to be there for her when she needed him. He'd let her down once through his own stupidity. He didn't care what he had to do he would not, ever, let her down again.

He kept a tight hold of her waist with his left arm while his right hand moved to cup the back of her head, to hold her tight to him and they stayed that way until someone knocked on the door and a young nurse popped her head around the door to say that Little Frank was ready for a feed.

Urs and Franky followed the nurse then listened and watched carefully as their son was fed through what his caregiver had referred to as a gavage tube. Urs heard as small sob escape from Franky's throat and immediately wrapped his arms around her shoulders. He hadn't really realised how small his son was the previous evening. How he could weigh as much as he did Urs couldn't fathom, he looked so very thin and was only about forty centimetres long. The characteristic chubby, cute appearance of a full-term baby just wasn't there, but he was just as beautiful in Urs's eyes.

He finally took some notice of the name on the caregiver's badge and gave Iris a quick smile when she stood, insisted Franky sat in her place and gently handed the baby over so that she could instruct her on how to feed him. He sat by Franky's side, wiped away the tears that had escaped as she held their child for the first time, rested his forehead against hers and smiled softly as he watched his son's chest rise and fall.

Wanting to look at his face properly, Franky asked if the blindfold could be removed and she smiled when it was pulled back for a moment to allow them to study his features.

Urs sniffed and swallowed hard when deep blue eyes the same shape as his own blinked at him. He turned his face to look at Franky's and just managed to return the smile she gave him before he screwed his eyes tight together again and felt his breath catch in his chest. He felt a soothing hand rubbing up and down his left arm and opened his eyes to see Iris smiling at him with a tissue held in her hand.

Once the feeding was over, Franky was told she needed to go to the little room again, at which she nodded and allowed the baby to be taken from her while Urs sat back in his chair.

"Don't you want to hold him?" He heard Franky questioning and snapped his head up to see her smiling slightly at him.

Urs returned the smile and bit his bottom lip lightly as his son was laid gently in his arms for the first time. He watched Franky leave then turned his attention to the delicate little bundle he cradled. Little Frank started to grizzle, gripe and wriggle. Urs thought quickly and started singing a German lullaby he'd once heard his mother sing to one of his nephews. Keeping his voice low and rocking slowly he smiled as he stumbled over the first few words but the lyrics soon came flooding back.

"Schlafe, schlafe, holder, süßer Knabe,
Leise wiegt dich deiner Mutter Hand;
Sanfte Ruhe, milde Labe
Bringt dir schwebend dieses Wiegenband.

Schlafe, schlafe, in dem süßen Grabe,
Noch beschützt dich deiner Mutter Arm,
Alle Wünsche, alle Habe
Faßt sie liebend, Allen liebewarm.

Schlafe, schlafe, in der Flaumen Schoße,
Noch umtönt dich lauter Liebeston,
Eine Lilie, eine Rose,
Nach dem Schlafe werd' sie dir zum Lohn."

He raised his head once he'd finished and slowly turned it to look around the room. Nurses, caregivers and parents stood quietly, most of them with tears welling in their eyes. Two other babies that had been crying had quietened. He did notice that a large man who stood near an incubator on the opposite side of the room seemed to be coughing a lot and avoiding everyone's gaze.

He huffed a quiet laugh and smiled when he heard one father exclaim that he hadn't understood a word he'd just sang, that it had been very nice just the same and had he ever thought of singing professionally, which earned a few quiet laughs from some of the female occupants of the room.

Franky returned a few moments later and listened to one of the nurses explain why it was suddenly so quiet in the room. She smiled at Urs then sighed as she watched Iris return Little Frank to his incubator. She nodded when Iris told her to go back to her room and get some rest, she would probably have to repeat the whole process in less than three hours. As she walked by Urs's side she had a sense that there was something bothering him and asked him what it was. She listened to what he said then explained that they kept taking her to the little room so that they could take some breastmilk from her.

Urs closed his eyes and nodded slowly as they entered her room. Both of them stopped in their tracks as they looked around and saw the vast amount of flowers that had arrived while they'd been gone.

Franky sniffed and looked at a couple of the cards before making her way back into the bed then decided she would look at the rest later.

Having been informed about where he was and obviously feeling a little put out, Urs's doctor made his way into the room, gave him a thorough examination, said he was well enough, he would discharge him and he could go home so long as there would someone there to keep an eye on him for a day or two.

________________

Home.

The word hit him like a bullet to the heart.

Their house would be just that, a house. Bricks, mortar, metal, wood and glass. It wouldn't be a home again until Franky was there beside him at least, preferably with Little Frank in her arms.

He knew he had to go there at some point, there were things that needed to be done. He turned his head to look at Franky already asleep on the bed, quickly walked over to her, dropped a gentle kiss on her temple before he left the room and placed a phone call to Sébastien to ask him to bring some clothes in for him.

Sébastien turned up shortly after, nodded and allowed Urs to give him a tight thank you hug.

Urs left the hospital very quietly by following Sébastien out through the staff entry at the back of hospital. He smiled when he saw David and Carlos sitting in the vehicle waiting for him and gave them a quick hug and thank you before he assumed his usual seat. He started to ask about what had happened only to be stopped by Sébastien who said they would talk later, what he had to do now was more important.

He looked back to the main entrance and huffed a quick laugh when he saw the gathered members of the press waiting. A pang of guilt hit him when he saw a fairly large group of fans also obviously waiting for news or in the hope of seeing him emerge. He shook his head and sighed heavily, much as he appreciated their concerns, he had other things to worry about right now.

Once he'd arrived home and let himself in, he insisted that David, Carlos and Sébastien stayed citing that he was hungry and he needed someone to make lunch while smiling at Sébastien and David.

While his brothers occupied themselves in the kitchen, he called their management company and arranged for another statement to be made saying that he had recovered well from his illness and to say thank you for the good wishes, flowers, cards and gifts he'd received. He stalled for a second or two when the person he was speaking to asked about Franky and the baby, then said that he would have to talk to Franky before he made any statement about them.

He located his laptop, drummed his fingers on Franky's glass computer desk while he waited for it to start up then logged in to check his private emails. He gulped when he saw how many there were and decided to leave replying to any of them until the offical statement about his health had been released. He logged out and switched the laptop off as Sébastien set a sandwich down in front him.

Urs smiled as he lifted the top slice of crusty white bread to see what he'd put on it. Butter, cold roast beef slices, iceberg lettuce, mayonnaise, horse radish. He took the first bite and nodded that it tasted good to the anxiously waiting Frenchman then watched as he left the office where he'd located himself.

Once he'd finished eating, he ran upstairs, shaved with his electric shaver, took a quick shower and put some more clean clothes on. He then looked in the bottom of Franky's wardrobe, found the bag she'd packed just days before. Then he found her CD player, looked in his underwear drawer and smiled when he located the CD he'd recorded and marked for her ears only. He shoved both items into the bag then ran downstairs with it to find his parents and brothers waiting for him in the music/dance room. Lorella and Jordi having spent the morning moving the furniture into the nursery, setting it out just the way Franky and he had planned.

Remembering that he hadn't seen the room completed, Urs made his way back upstairs and placed himself in the middle to look around. His head shaking and a quick laugh escaping when he recalled the hours he and Franky had spent painting the multitude of bubbles that flowed up the walls and across the ceiling. Neither of them prepared to give up until they all looked exactly like Karen's drawing. A loud sigh escaping after looking around the walls and suddenly feeling like he was standing on the floor of the ocean, the whole room looking better than he had imagined it ever would.

"Ok. I got that one completely wrong." He huffed another laugh, looking at the painted wardrobes and drawers.

All of those had been painted in the same fashion as the, so that their stark whiteness wouldn't stand out in the room. A look inside revealed that all the clothing they had bought for the baby was neatly arranged, all of still wrapped in its plastic bags. Urs swallowed hard after looking at a couple of labels, quickly realising that none of it would be used for several weeks because most of it fitted a six pound baby at the smallest and making a mental note to talk to Franky about buying some premature clothing.

"Who did all this?" He heard his mother questioning behind him and quickly turned round to face her. "It's wonderful."

Urs nodded then explained that Karen had drawn the images on the walls, but that he, Franky and Lauren had done all the painting while his parents took a closer look at the finer details.

The three of them made their way back downstairs to find David, Carlos and Sebastien looking at what was displayed on one of the longest walls. Urs watched his parents shake their heads as they looked to the same place to see a wall that had been filled with all the discs and awards that had been presented to the group. He smiled and nodded when his father asked if it had been Franky's idea then made a mental note to display her achievements in the office.

He smiled when Sébastien informed that they had left the kitchen as they had found it, neat and tidy, and asked if everyone was ready to return to the hospital.

They were driven back to the hospital and made their way back in the same way they had left and everyone moved quickly up to the seventh floor. Urs smiled as he stepped into Franky's room then stood at the threshold wide-eyed and confused when he found it bereft of any signs of human habitation.

The bed, empty and devoid of its coverings.

"Urs, calm down." His father asked as calmly as he could while he watched his son searching the bathroom that led off Franky's private room. "She could be off feeding the baby and perhaps they're in the middle of changing the bed."

"No. It's too soon to be feeding him again and they only changed the bed this morning." Urs shook his head, looking at his watch. "Where is she?"

They heard the door open behind them and watched as a young doctor walked in, his eyes wide and swallowing hard.

"Where's my wife?" Urs demanded loudly, almost launching himself at the nervous man.

"Please sir, calm down. She's in good hands."

"What do you mean she's in good hands? Where is she? What's happened to her?"

Urs breathed rapidly while he allowed himself to be guided to sit in an easy chair that now stood at the side of Franky's bed. He watched as the doctor closed his eyes before speaking again.

"She's fine. Her blood test this morning showed that she's anaemic and while the doctor was examining her a few moments ago she bled a fair bit, he found a tear on her cervix, one that even the most experienced obsterican could have missed . Hence the bed being in the state it's in. We've just this minute taken her down to surgery to fix it before anything serious happened. I'm sorry if what you saw made you panic, I was instructed to be here waiting for you, unfortunately I got delayed because I was dealing with another patient. We did try to contact you but no-one answered on any of the numbers we have. Every mobile number we tried turned out to be switched off."

"We turned them off just before we re-entered the hospital." Sébastien informed with heavy sigh.

"How long is she going to be in theatre?" Urs heard his mother questioning.

"It's hard to say. She could be a while and when she comes back up she'll probably be receiving a blood transfusion." The doctor informed before he stood. "I'm sorry, but there's not much you can do for now but sit and wait."

Urs nodded then lowered his head once more and covered the top half of his face with his right hand as he started rocking back and forth, knowing from what he'd read that if the tear hadn't been found, Franky could have bled to death.

"How much more?" He questioned suddenly, speaking to no-one in particular. "How much more have we got to go through?" He asked again as he raised his head, picked up the nearest flower display and launched it with all the force he could muster across the room.

"I'm sorry." He sighed as he stood and looked at everyone in the room before he headed for the door.

"Where are you going?" David queried.

"Hospitals here have chapels, right?" Urs questioned with his back to everyone, holding the door open.

"Somewhere." David confirmed with a nod that Urs didn't see.

"Then that's where I'm going. I need to think and I want to be alone for a while. I shouldn't be long. Come and find me if she's back before I am please."

"Of course." Carlos sighed heavily.

Urs nodded as he crossed the threshold and allowed the door to close behind him.

After making his way to the nurses station and asking for directions, Urs made his way to the chapel and breathed a sigh of relief when he found it empty. He moved slowly down the aisle and sat down on the front pew with his arms folded and his eyes downcast.

He breathed deep several times then raised his eyes to look at the stained glass window that depicted Jesus on the the cross. He startled slightly when he heard a voice questioning him from his right side. He turned his head to see an identity badge hanging around someone's neck and read that the man who had sat beside him was the hospital chaplain.

"Do you wish to talk or to be left alone?" He asked with a gentle smile.

"I'm not sure now." Urs shrugged in response. "There are so many questions running through my head. I don't know where to begin. There's one question above all the others that keeps repeating itself though."

"And that is?"

"How many more hard times my wife and I are going to have to go through? " Urs sniffed and swallowed hard. "We've been through so much crap already and now, because of my stupidity, I almost died, our son was born two months early and she's having an emergency operation. I don't know if either of us can take much more." He sniffed once more and closed his eyes.

The chaplain looked at him quizically and listened intently while Urs gave him a very condensed history of his and Franky's relationship.

"You obviously love this woman as much as she loves you. She seems like a very strong woman." The chaplain stated whilst nodding, still with a soft smile on his face.

"She is very strong. She's been through some things that would have tipped a weaker woman over into insanity I think." Urs nodded and closed his eyes. "I love her more than I did any of those before her. She's the first thing I think about when I wake, the last thing I think about before I go to sleep and every moment in between. I can't even begin to imagine my what my life would be like without her now. I just don't know if we're going to come through this last experience still together as a couple. I've let her down so badly this time."

"She won't forgive you?"

"I don't know." Urs closed eyes and shook his head sadly.

"Have you ever shown or told how much you love her?"

"No. I don't know why. Erm.....I find it hard to do that. Maybe it's because of the way other......I don't know. I don't know." Urs shook his head. "I usually just tell her I love her and that seems to be enough."

"Then show her, the two of you have come through so much together, you've endured things that would probably destroy other couples?"

"I know. I couldn't have made it through them with any other woman. That's one thing I am sure off." Urs nodded.

"Then I think I should leave you with something to think about. I believe the nineteenth century philospher Friedrich Nietzsche may have put it best when he wrote. 'That which does not destroy us, makes us stronger.' I believe you will both come through this difficult time and you will probably face many more. Your relationship is obviously strong enough to keep you together, of that I have no doubt. Just remember to tell her how you really feel about her once in a while too." He smiled then stood and walked away through a small side door.

Urs sat for a few moments while he thought about what the chaplain had said. He was right, Urs decided as he stood. He and Franky would get through this and whatever else life was going to throw at them, together. A wave of relief washed over him as he left the chapel and made his way back to Franky's room.

A gentle smile played across his lips when he entered and saw that Lauren, Karen and Emma had arrived. He nodded and smiled a little broader when everyone said they weren't going anywhere until Franky returned from her operation.

The door opened a few moments later and he watched as she was settled into the bed once more. She was still receiving a blood transfusion and Urs shook his head when he saw the thick intravenous line in her arm and the bag of blood it led from. She was still a little drowsy as he took hold of her right hand, linked their fingers together and perched himself beside her.

"Hey you. What are you are trying to do, scare me to death?" Urs smiled through tear-filled eyes as she slowly opened her own.

"Hey yourself. Kinda know how it feels now then huh? " Franky whispered.

"Ja. Ja I do."

"Sucks doesn't it?"

"Ja it does and it hu........it hurts so bad." Urs bit his bottom lip hard and screwed his eyes tight as he nodded. "Franky, I have something I want to tell you." He whipsered, kissing her cheek.

"What?"

"First of all, I do love you and I really am so very sorry for brushing off your concerns about my health, for making you worry and scaring you like that. It wasn't fair and it wasn't right. I won't ever do it again. And secondly, well I want you to listen to something before I say any more. It was supposed to be a gift for your birthday but I think it's more appropriate that you hear it now. Just listen to the words."

He nodded as he lifted the bag onto the bed, removed the CD player and disc, gently placed the earphones over her ears and watched her face as he started to play his version of Leann Rimes's 'How Do I Live' then took hold of her hands and held them lightly against his chest.

How do I get through one night without you
If I had to live without you
What kind of life would that be
Oh I, I need you in my arms
Need you to hold
You're my world, my heart, my soul

If you ever leave
Baby you would take away everything good in my life
And tell me now

How do I live without you
I want to know
How do I breathe without you
If you ever go
How do I ever, ever survive
How do I
How do I
Oh, how do I live

Without you, there'd be no sun in my sky
There would be no love in my life
There'd be no world left for me
And I, oh Baby, I don't know what I would do
I'd be lost if I lost you
If you ever leave
Baby you would take away everything real in my life
And tell me now

How do I live without you
I want to know
How do I breathe without you
If you ever go
How do I ever, ever survive
How do I
How do I
Oh, how do I live

Please tell me baby
How do I go on

If you ever leave
Baby you would take away everything
Need you with me
Baby don't you know that you're everything good in my life
And tell me now

How do I live without you
I want to know
How do I breathe without you
If you ever go
How do I ever, ever survive
How do I
How do I
Oh, how do I live

How do I live without you
How do I live without you baby
How do I live....

"I mean it this time. I know I'm not perfect, but I am never going to let you down again Franky." Urs tried to smile as he held her hands tighter. "We've been through too much together to let this tear us apart and I hope, in time, you will be able to forgive me. I don't care how long it takes or what I have to do. We can and will make it through this together. 'That which does not destroy us, makes us stronger'." He smiled as he repeated the quote the chaplain had given him.

He pulled his head back from her ear to look at her face and sniffed when he saw the tears running down her cheeks.

"I'm so very, very sorry." He repeated with a barely stifled sob as he looked deep into her eyes and wiped her tears away.

"I never can stay mad at you for very long can I?" Franky sniffed, watched Urs slowly shake his head and heard him whisper a quiet 'No'. "I don't want perfection. I don't want to hear 'Yes dear or no dear' to everything I ask of you. Don't say you'll never let me down again Urs, because you probably will. It's just something I'm going to have to learn to live with I guess because I love you too much to give up on you that easily. My father was just the same and you're like him in a lot of ways. My mother never gave up on him so I'm not going to give up on you. I accept your apology Urs. I love you, despite your faults you big dumb, dummyhead." Franky nodded, hearing Urs huff a quick laugh as she closed her eyes .

She took a deep breath then reached her free hand around to the back of his head where she curled her fingers in his hair making him close his own eyes and sniff loudly. She pulled his head down to her shoulder then rested her cheek against his head while he told her that he loved her.

Neither of them heard the door open or paid any attention to the loud sniffs that came from the eight people as they quietly left the room.

One week later

Urs stripped down to his underwear then made himself comfortable in their bed and held a similarly clad Franky close. He wasn't keen on the idea that they weren't naked but understood that this was how things would be for the next six weeks at least.

He smiled softly and watched her sleeping while he recalled what had happened in the last few days. He really should have spent the day in the studio, but being by her side today was more important to him than anything he had to do there. As it had been for the last seven days.

'Screw the schedule.' He thought to himself.

Three days after Franky's surgery, he had turned up at the studios, much to Sébastien, David and Carlos's surprise, pulled all of them into one of the lounge rooms and asked them to tell him exactly what happened to him after explaining that Franky had badgered him into going by saying she wasn't the only one he owed an apology to..

He had listened carefully and watched Sébastien blanch as he told him that he had continued to moan about the pain he was in as the ambulance left the car park. The ambulance had been about half a mile away from the hospital when he had suddenly stopped moaning and Sébastien had assumed that David had jumped the gun and made a big fuss and got everyone worried over nothing. He said the paramedic soon changed his mind when he'd told the driver to get to the hospital as quickly as he could as things were not looking good.

Once they had arrived, Sébastien had accompanied Urs and listened carefully while the paramedic explained to a doctor what was wrong with Urs and what had happened in the ambulance. The doctor on duty had nodded and quickly realised what was wrong and had got Urs to an operating theatre within half an hour of his arrival. The slowest hour Sébastien could ever remember, had past before they had all found out his appendix had ruptured and his life was on the line.

Stirring up those memories had obviously upset Sébastien and he had stepped out of the lounge for a few moments so that he could compose himself. When he returned, he still looked a little distressed and allowed Carlos to continue the story.

Urs had watched his Spanish friend curling the magazine he held in his hand into a very tight tube as he explained how they had taken it in turns to sit by his bedside to try and comfort him while they watched him battle the infection.

His father had already told him about how high his heart rate had gone, the hyperventilation, the high body temperatures he'd endured and the low white blood count a blood test had revealed. He'd also been told that if he hadn't been as fit as he was he probably wouldn't have made it.

An apology to each man as he gave them a longer than usual brotherly hug and a promise not to be so stupid in future had resulted in him being forgiven after a swift clip round the back of his head and the threat of worse from David if he ever did.

He'd left the lounge for a while afterwards only to be found crying quietly in the same bathroom where he had collapsed by Sébastien. A mere shameful lowering of his head had satisfied the Frenchman that he had realised that he hadn't just frightened Franky and put her through hell, he'd petrified the three of them as well. Understanding their anger towards him when he realised that three lives could have been lost. Thanking them for their support and exchanging more hugs before he left to return the hospital

He took a deep breath as memories of what had happened to Franky came to the fore and he held her a little tighter. He closed his eyes and swallowed hard as he remembered how he'd thought he'd lost her love and sniffed quickly. That had been hard, as had the back and forth trips to the hospital and spending the past few nights without Franky sleeping beside him. The thought of her dying he couldn't even begin to contemplate. That would have been unbearable.

A louder sniff escaped when he recalled the conversation he'd had with his mother and Lauren. Tears brimming in their eyes when Lauren told him that Franky had been almost one centimetre dialated by the time they'd got her down to the labour and delivery suite, but her waters had gone completely. Just a small tear, that could have sealed over again. Doctors administering drugs in the hope of preventing her labour advancing, all of which had failed. Other drugs being given to strengthen Frank's lungs once they positive nothing more could be done to stop his arrival. Another apology and thank you given, Lauren nodding that she'd accepted while drying her eyes.

His mother shaking her head, telling him how hard Franky had cried while she pushed, crying harder when Frank arrived, looking blue and how he'd been whisked away without her having the chance to hold him. Nothing more than a brief glance had been the only thing either of them had seen of him until the medical staff had him stablised and everyone had been allowed to pay a brief visit over the past few days. A teary-eyed apology, thank you and very tight hug had been accepted, Lorella crying silent tears and nodding, holding her son's face in her hands. Jordi, coughing and shaking his head following a quick embrace.

A gentle smile played across his face as he recalled entering the NICU, both of them holding their little boy for the first time, Franky shaking worse than he'd ever felt. He too, had been a little more than nervous about doing it with the wires and tubes attached to him, but, like Franky, once Little Frank was in his arms all his worries seemed to melt away.

He shuddered as he remembered what had happened to the baby that had been housed in the corner of the room. Tiny, fragile, Roisin, had been born three and half months early and was so small she made Little Frank look huge in comparison. The staff had done everything they could to keep her alive but she'd passed away just four days after Frank had arrived. He could still see the look on her parents's faces as they left the unit for the last time. He didn't want to even begin to imagine the anguish his and Franky's newest friends felt, listening to Frank's heartbeat monitor slow to a dangerous level several times in the first few days had been hard enough for them both to endure. The mere thought of having to listen to that constant long beep, even for a few seconds, made him shudder.

A broader smile made its way across his face as he thought about their son and how well he was doing now. He'd been taken off the ventilator that morning and had breathed very well on his own. He still needed an oxygen hood over his head and was still being closely monitored, but otherwise he was doing fantastically well in that regard. Little Frank had fought so hard over the last nine days, the nurses and doctors had nicknamed him 'Scrapper'.

The doctor wanted him to put a little more weight on and be able to manage without the oxygen hood before he would even consider discharging him. He still needed the gavage tube for night feeds but Franky had been able to feed him herself and he kissed the top of her head as he remembered how tears had made their escape from two pairs of eyes the first time she'd done so.

He swallowed hard, recalling how angry Emma and Karen had been at him. Karen glaring at him, her face contorted in fury while she yelled at him for scaring her friend until Carlos had gently reminded her that she was pregnant too. She'd calmed down after a few moments, had accepted his apology and given him a hug, though she'd had whispered in his ear what she would do to him if he ever did anything like that again.

'I still don't understand what she meant, but the way she said it, it certainly sounded painful.' His head shook at the threat of being swung around by his short and curlys.

He mused for a few moments, touching the hair on his head then suddenly remembered that Karen had nodded towards his groin as she pulled out of the hug.

'Oh! Now I understand, I think. Ouch!'

Emma's threat of being strung up by a very delicate part of his anatomy had sounded excruciating too, though, like everyone else, she had accepted his apology and had given him a hug.

The one person he had been almost afraid to face had been Gabriel. He'd known instantly how furious Franky's 'brother' had been with him when he'd visited. Franky had warned him about the vein that rose in his forehead whenever he got extremely mad, everyone who knew him well, knew that you stayed out of his way if you saw that. For a few moments, he had been sure Gabriel had been about to give him the beating of his life, his fists had certainly been balled up to do so.

Then their eyes had met, Gabriel had obviously seen what he was feeling, had immediately relaxed his posture and turned to Franky, pulling her into a tight hug that lasted for several minutes before turning to him, giving him a quick hug. Requesting him to be there as much as possible and instructing Franky not to worry about the garage. Urs nodded, understanding now how truly close the two of them were, realising that Gabriel was prepared to hurt those that harmed Franky and sod the consequences, despite the fact that Franky disagreed with him on that point.

He sighed deeply as he recalled how hard it had been for Franky to walk out of the hospital today without Little Frank and how hard she had squeezed his hand, fighting hard to hold back her tears, but not succeeding. He flexed the fingers of his left hand and huffed a quick laugh, still unsure the full feeling had come back. He heard her sniff and looked down to find her still sleeping while he remembered how hard she'd cried throughout the drive home.

After saying a tearful goodbye and thank you to his parents and making a few phone calls when they arrived at the house, Franky had distracted herself by helping him reply to some of the emails he had received, but only with the technical stuff, never reading a single word herself. Giggling quietly while making coffee after he'd told her that he'd once sent an email to himself via their website.

He'd also shown her the statement that he'd made about Frank and watched her eyes widen when she saw how much money fans had donated to the hospital rather than sending gifts. Enough had been raised so far to provide an incubator and the staff required to take care of a premature baby for the next six months at least and money was still coming in. Her eyes flying even wider after he'd answered the phone to speak to Simon and he'd explained that he had promised to double whatever amount was sitting in the account by the end of the year.

Then he'd made Franky cry again, this time by taking her upstairs to show her the finished nursery and the few items of premature baby clothing he'd purchased. Watching her look around while he told her that he liked it and how proud he was of her work. His head nodding once she'd reminded him that it wasn't all down to her, he had contributed too. Hearing her giggle when he showed her a three piece set with 'I love 2 dance' printed on the front of the top. Both of them smiling when she said she could hardly wait to see Frank in it.

Urs looked at his watch and raised his eyebrows when he saw that it was still quite early in the evening. A glance down brought him face-to-face with a pair of sparkling green eyes.

"What time is it?" Franky asked, snuggling a little closer.

"Nine, at night. Do you want to get up for a while?"

Franky buried her head back into his shoulder and re-closed her eyes. "No. Being right here like this with you is just fine by me."

"Me too." Urs sighed, took one more deep breath, then yawned loudly before he tucked Franky's head under his chin and held her tight as they both drifted off to sleep until the early hours of the next morning.

_________________

Three weeks later

"Franky do you know anyone who can 'Jitterbug'?" Emma asked as she stood beside her and tickled the recently discharged Little Frank's chin.

"I can, but it might be a bit much at the minute. Michael can and his cousin too. Who wants to learn?" Franky shrugged in reply once she'd finished dressing the now almost six pound child.

"Gigi. Brett's taking her to 1940's night in few days. He can do it and she has the basic step down, but needs to learn some of the flips and the other moves and he hasn't got the time to teach her, what with his new job at the zoo and everything." Emma nodded then shook her head. "And don't look at me. I never learned. Brett only did because mum needed a partner."

Franky threw back head and laughed as she handed the baby over to Emma then placed a phone call to her dancepartner.

"They're on their way over. Is Gigi downstairs with Séb?"

"Making lunch." Emma nodded then smiled, reluctantly handing Frank back to his mother.

"Not feeling clucky yet?" Franky teased Emma. "Because I know someone who is." She informed with a wink.

"Not yet." Emma laughed. "We're thinking of trying after next year's tour. I've noticed the way Lauren is with Frank too. I wonder if David has, though he's just as bad."

Franky and Emma giggled back and forth as they headed downstairs where Franky handed Urs his son, leaving Emma to head for the kitchen.

"The next one's yours." She smiled as she did so then laughed when Urs wrinkled his nose and shook his head quickly.

She stood in front of Urs for a few moments, a soft smile on her face watching him fuss over Frank, pulling silly faces while she remembered how amazing Urs had been over the last few weeks. Spending every waking moment of his spare time by her side in the NICU watching over Frank, talking and singing to him while he fed Frank expressed breastmilk from a bottle, both of them laughing on hearing the huge burp he brought up on one occasion. Learning to bathe, change and dress his tiny form.

A small laugh escaped when she remembered the first time he'd changed a dirty nappy, holding his breath throughout the whole process and taking the other fathers's teasing in good humour. Despite his own fears, holding her tight and whispering words of comfort, assuring her that everything would be all right each and every time Frank's heart rate had dropped to a dangerous level. Holding her hand tight and breathing deep, each of them allowing a few tears to fall when the breathing tube had been removed and Frank had breathed on his own.

Her smile broadened a little, recalling how excited Urs had been when the doctor had said he was happy with Frank's weight gain and health and he could go home. Holding her right hand tightly in his left, beaming a huge smile carrying Frank in his car seat in his right out to the car yesterday. Another laugh escaped when she recalled the two of them practising securing the seat in the back of the car. God alone knew how many times they'd done that until they got it right. Neither of them had to think about what they were doing now, it had become second nature once they'd figured out how the seatbelt secured the seat properly.

"What?" She heard Urs questioning, looking at her slightly confused and his head shaking. "Is there something wrong angel?"

"No. Everything's perfect now." Franky returned then pressed a very firm kiss to his lips and watched him fidget slightly once she'd pulled back. "I'm very, very proud of you honey. I just want to tell you that you've been wonderful the past few weeks, my rock and a tower of strength. I don't think I could have got through everything without you by side. I love you."

"Thank you, but I'm more proud of you than you will ever be of me. I love you too. You want me to get that?" Urs coughed then nodded his head towards the front door.

Franky shook her head in reply and slowly moved away from him to answer Michael's knock. Hugs were given once he'd crossed the threshold with his cousin and after a brief pause to have a look at a yawning Frank, the pair headed for the music/dance room. Franky continued to smile as she made her way into the kitchen where she found Gigi and Sebastien conversing quickly in their mother tongue. She shook her head when she politely interupted them in French, Sébastien had forgotten to tell Gigi that she spoke the language fluently.

Continuing to speak in French, Franky asked Gigi to put the sharp knife down before she informed her that she should follow her to the music/dance room for a dance lesson.

Gigi scowled playfully at Sébastien when he informed her that he'd told Emma about the dance she wanted to learn. The young Frenchwoman followed Franky and smiled politely once she'd been introduced Michael and his female cousin, who he introduced as Rose. She watched the pair intently while they danced to Glen Miller's 'In The Mood' and applauded when they finished.

Franky and Rose sat on a piano stool watching every move Gigi made, dancing to the same music, and laughed between themselves when she pulled a funny face after landing her first flip perfectly.

"That looks like fun."

Franky jumped and batted a smiling Sébastien's arm for making her do so.

"It is." Franky and Rose informed almost together, keeping their eyes focused on Gigi while Michael put her through the same flip again and again.

"I can teach you if you like." Franky offered.

"Too much, even for me." Sébastien replied with a nervous smile and a quick shake of his head.

"Chicken?" Franky queried through a cough then laughed out loud when Sébastien made a few quick clucking noises.

"Is there any dance you can't do?"

"Not really." Franky raised her face to meet the giggling Frenchman's then shook her head and smiled while she clapped and danced in her seat to the rythmn of the music.

"Hey guys we've got to go. Sorry we can't stay for lunch." David informed as he gently pulled Lauren into the danceroom.

"What's the rush? It's almost ready." Sébastien laughed when he saw the excited smile on the American's face.

"Stephanie's adoption hearing in half an hour. Should be a breeze." David informed with a huge smile while watching Sébastien nodding his head at the reminder. "Fingers crossed." He shrugged as he led an almost crying Lauren towards the front door.

Franky moved quick and caught up with the couple just before Lauren stepped into the car.

"Hey! Stop it now." She instructed with a smile. "Nothing's going to happen to ruin this."

"It's not that Franky, I'm sure it will go our way. I'm just so happy that this day has finally arrived. It'll be nice to see David finally relax." Lauren smiled and nodded as she wiped her eyes. "I'll call you later. Let you know how it goes."

Franky nodded and allowed Lauren to get into the car. She returned inside, made her way to the kitchen to eat the fresh salmon salad Sebastien, Emma and Gigi had prepared. Michael and Rose accepting the offer of what David and Lauren should have had. That course of the meal finished, everyone headed back to the lounge to eat their dessert, chatting happily about plans for the following year. Remembering that she hadn't re-filled the coffee maker, Franky excused herself and set about that task. Hearing the kitchen door open, she whirled round and covered her face with her hand when she saw Carlos with his head buried deep in her fridge.

"Olives?" She questioned, reaching over him to the top shelf and removing a large jar of the food item Karen craved.

"Olives." Carlos nodded with a sigh.

"Maybe you should have invested in an olive grove." Franky giggled as she watched him head back to the lounge.

"That, or had orange trees planted in the conservatory." Carlos informed with a laugh and a quick raise of his eyebrows, holding the door open for Franky who'd followed after him.

Franky laughed a little louder as they walked into the lounge together then watched as Carlos handed the jar of olives to Karen. She covered her face with her hands as she watched her remove several olives only to drop them into a large bowl of chocolate ice-cream. She opened her fingers slightly and laughed even harder when Carlos turned away from his wife and heaved playfully.

'Ok, that's so gross.' She thought to herself as she turned her head slightly.

She smiled when she saw Michael and Gigi talking to each other with Sébastien acting as translator between them while Michael asked her what other moves she would like to learn. Rose was occupied with showing Emma her engagement ring and talking very enthusiastically about the man that had placed it on her finger.

She stood with her right leg casually crossed over her left, her right arm wrapped around her waist and her left hand cupping her face as she watched Urs smiling while he held Little Frank against his shoulder. She smiled when she saw the pair of them yawning at the same time, huffed a little laugh as Urs slouched further down in his seat so that his butt was on the edge of the couch and his head rested comfortably on the backrest. Her fingers moved to cover her mouth and she signalled for everyone to be quiet as father and son started to drift off.

Once she was sure they were asleep, Franky found their new digital camera and quickly took a couple of pictures of them together before she gently lifted Little Frank off his lightly snoring father and placed him in the Moses basket that stood at the side of the couch. That done, she moved a footstool in front of where Urs was seated, lifted his legs onto it and kissed him gently on the lips, watching his mouth twitch the way always did whenever she did that.

Sébastien and Emma insisted on clearing up the mess from lunch. Carlos and Karen decided to head for home so that she could get some rest. Michael, Rose, Gigi and Franky headed back to the music/dance room to continue the dance lessons.

Just before she closed the soundproof door, Franky took one last look back to the lounge and smiled once more.

"Just as it should be, everybody happy."

She stood as the door was unlocked and took one last look around her cell.

The walls now devoid of what few pictures she'd pinned up since her incarceration. Those had been removed, screwed up and thrown away. The bed stripped of its bedding leaving nothing but a bare mattress. The personal belongings she'd arrived with lay on the bed sealed in a plastic bag. She hadn't bothered with opening it because it would be going straight back into storage once she arrived at the more modern facility.

Her nose wrinkled at the mint green colour the cell walls had been painted shortly after her arrival. Green had never been her favourite colour and she'd protested loudly to the Governor who had ignored her requests to be moved a different cell. She had learned to ignore the colour after a while.

"Let's get these on you and we can be off." A young female prison guard stated, holding up a pair of handcuffs.

She held out her right wrist nonchalantly then watched as the guard fixed it round her own left one. After picking up her small bag of belongings, she walked by the guard's side and left her cell. The eeriness of the empty prison sent a shiver down her spine and for a few seconds she was almost afraid to step over the threshold to walk through the door than would allow access to the main courtyard.

Matching her companion's pace she walked towards the white Vauxhall Opel Zafira that would be her transport for the two hundred mile journey. She settled into a seat and sniffed as a seatbelt was fastened around her. She watched carefully as the handcuff key was handed to another guard who sat in the front seat and made a careful mental note of which pocket it was put in. Once everyone was securely belted in, the driver dropped the minivan into gear and drove slowly through the gates of the prison one last time.

She listened to the conversation that went on between the guards, but didn't become involved with it while they travelled. Preferring instead to examine her nails to see what work needed to be done. They hadn't had a decent manicure in months and would certainly benefit from one.

She looked out of the window and smirked when she read the roadsign that informed that her hometown wasn't that far away. Her brow furrowed slightly, watching the driver when they were stopped at a railway junction and noticed that he rubbed quite hard at the top of his left arm. A small smirk spread across her face and she wondered how long it would be until something happened.

She didn't have to wait long once they were through the town. Five miles down a quiet country road a massive heart attack struck the fit looking officer causing him to release the steering wheel to clutch at his chest. The vehicle was travelling downhill towards a wall that surrounded some sort of historical building.

She braced herself for the collision that was bound to happen because no matter how quick the guard in front moved there wouldn't be enough time to bring the vehicle under enough control to bring it to a safe stop.

Seconds later the sound of metal hitting ancient brick and the breaking of glass could be heard as the Zafira finally impacted the wall. Leaving the driver unconscious from the heart attack, the front seat passenger tossed about so much after he released his seatbelt that he ended up banging his head on the dashboard rendering him insensate. The guard next to her semi-conscious and moaning after hitting her head against the framework.

She unclipped her seatbelt and, with a little stretching, managed to find the handcuff key. She started to laugh as she released herself then re-fastened her cuff to the arm of the seat she had just vacated. After stepping from the wrecked transporter, she threw the key as far as she could away from the guards and started to walk away from them.

Feeling that she was far enough away from the accident scene, every time she heard a car approaching she stuck out her chest, pulled her features into a sad look while she thumbed a lift. Only four cars passed her before a 'Porche Carrera' stopped a few yards ahead of her. She made her way towards it and looked through the open window.

"Hi there. Need a lift." The driver smiled. "Well hop in, I can't leave a pretty lady stranded in the middle of nowhere." He nodded as he pushed the passenger side door open for her. "You going far?" He asked once she was comfortable and her seatbelt fastened.

"The next town." She nodded and beamed her teasing smile, though her mind fumed because he'd used 'pretty' to describe her looks rather than 'gorgeous', pushing the button that would close the window as he pulled off again.

"That's all right then, 'cos that's where I'm headed. My name's Zane by the way. And you are?"

"Jamie. My name is Jamie. Nice to meet you Zane." She informed as he placed his left hand on her denim covered right thigh.

________________


"Yo no puedo ganar." Carlos grumbled quietly as he dropped down on the couch and watched Karen head upstairs. "Yesterday she wanted me to hold her while she rested, today she can barely stand me near her." He complained to Minnie, who had curled herself up and made herself comfortable on his lap. "I'll be glad when this pregnancy is being over." He huffed as he began stroking the kitten then widened his eyes when he thought that Karen was probably thinking exactly the same. Knowing that her due day was tomorrow, but remembering that she could go two weeks beyond that and an induction would be offered if she did.

His eyebrows raised as memories of what his sister had been like just before she was due to give birth to her first child came to mind and he shuddered. By eight months she'd become thoroughly fed up with being pregnant and expressed it with her temper. Being around her hadn't been easy for anyone. Everyone had learned to bite their tongues so that they didn't upset her and he huffed a quick laugh when he remembered the one occasion that he'd failed in that regard. Luckily the saucepan rim that had skimmed his temple hadn't left a permanent scar. At least Karen hadn't got to the stage of throwing things at him.......yet.

Still stroking the cat, he closed his eyes and shook his head at the memory of seeing Urs and Franky's little boy in the incubator and wondered for a moment if he could have coped had he been put in that situation. He was almost sure that he could have, there was just a small amount of doubt in his mind.

Karen had seemingly taken it all in her stride when she'd seen Little Frank. She'd explained as they left the hospital that she had seen it all before when a friend in Australia had her baby two and half months early. Not wanting to upset Franky, she had managed to keep her emotions under control until the two of them got home, whereupon she'd broken down in tears as soon they had crossed the threshold. They'd fallen asleep that night holding each other tight and only a couple of tears had managed to make their escape from his own eyes.

Carlos watched as Mickey strolled sedately into the lounge and stretched himself out before placing himself at his rescuer's feet and fixing him with a stare that seemed to say 'Just so you know, I hate you.' He laughed at the neutered tomcat as he turned away with his head held high in the air and made his way over to sniff at the seat Karen usually occupied. Not finding her there, Mickey headed towards the staircase and quickly disappeared up them.

Carlos knew exactly why he always got that look from Mickey and where he would be able to find him when the time came to put them both in their beds for the night. He had been the one that had taken both cats to the vet when it came time for 'the operation' and the male animal had hated him ever since. Even though the operation had been done at Karen's insistance Mickey had focused all his attention on her on his return and could always be found curled up under their bed on Karen's side whenever he was in the house.

He laughed to himself as he remembered the havoc the brother and sister had caused a few weeks after he'd bought them home. Mickey had become especially fond of scrambling up the curtains and three pairs had been replaced once he'd been broken of the habit. Minnie, on the other hand, preferred to climb up the back of the couch and the leather now sported some wonderful scratches as part of its design. They had both learned very quickly that they weren't to be allowed on the worktops, but Minnie had developed a knack of climbing up the entire length of his body to sit on his shoulder whenever he was preparing their meals.

He drummed his fingers on the arm of the couch and tried to think of something he could do to keep himself occupied while Karen was asleep.

"The car." He ummed to himself then shook his head.

There was nothing more he could have done in that regard. It had been in for a full service the week before and it now ran as well as it had when it was brand new. All four tyres had been replaced at the same time even though the man at the garage had said he would probably have been able to get a few more miles out of them.

He thought of something else then huffed again. "No, I cleaned that out this morning."

The nursery was finished, all it needed now was an occupant, though that wouldn't be happening as soon as the baby was born. Karen wanted to have the little one in their room for a few weeks and she'd set up the opulent hand made Italian cradle bedecked with the finest lace and cotton fabrics for that purpose. It was her most extravagent purchase when it came to buying things for the baby because she wanted to be able to use it for their future children and hopefully it would become and heirloom piece.

Karen's bags for the hospital had been packed several weeks ago and double-checked more than was necessary. They now stood next to the door that gave access to the garage so that he only had to pick them up on their way to the car once she decided it was time to go to the hospital.

She'd finished the painting she planned on giving Franky for her birthday a couple of days ago. All it needed now was a little longer to dry completely and to have a frame made and fitted.

Carlos shook his head as he thought about how good an artist she was. She could work in almost any medium and produced fantastic results. He huffed a quick laugh as he remembered the small sketch pad she'd left in the lounge one day and how he'd looked at it and found it filled with drawings of only him in various natural poses.

There were several of him asleep on the wicker chaise longue they'd purchased for the conservatory. At least two showed him with the kittens curled up on his stretched out form. One on his chest, the other on his abdomen. Obviously those drawings were pre-op ones, because Mickey had never fallen asleep on him since that day. A few more showed him asleep in bed, the sheet covering his modesty. A couple showed him standing in the conservatory doorway while it poured with rain outside, one of his favourites showed him playing the piano, his eyes closed and a gentle smile on his face.

Other pages were filled with rough and detailed sketches of his hands, his mouth and his eyes. A few pages had been filled with rough and detailed drawings of him in the shower with his back facing the glass screen. He coughed quietly and was almost sure he was blushing as the last drawing came to mind. It had obviously been drawn from memory as he couldn't remember lying on the bed in that fashion since the day after they married. The thing he found rather funny about seeing that particular picture was the fact that he hadn't felt the least bit embarrassed about it even though he was naked and it was very detailed. Though not ashamed of her work in any way whatsoever, Karen had locked the pad away in a drawer to spare his blushes should someone other than the two of them find it.

"Hungry?" He heard Karen questioning as she stood in front of him. "For food I mean." She giggled when a suggestive smile played across his lips and his eyebrows flew skyward.

The couple laughed as they walked hand-in-hand to the kitchen where they washed their hands, playfully flicking water at each other before they prepared a substantial salad consisting of a few leaves of radicchio chopped finely, a shredded head of chicory, cherry tomatoes, grapes and cucumber quartered, diced celery and yellow peppers, boiled rice, a large handful of croutons, sultanas, a few slices Parma ham torn up. Karen prepared a salad dressing made of vinegar, olive oil, mayonnaise, salt and pepper, cress and finely chopped parsley.

After eating and cleaning up after themselves the couple curled up together on the couch to watch the original 1960 version of 'Psycho'. Carlos fell into a fit of laughter when Karen gripped his hand hard when they reached the shower scene.

"Why are you laughing?" Karen queried as she blew out a long breath.

"How many times have you seen that film? You react the same way every time you are seeing that scene. It's a wonder I am having any of the bones left in my right hand." Carlos smiled and shook his head.

His brow furrowed when he saw the exasperated look Karen gave him then he swallowed hard.

"Do we need to be going to the hospital?" He questioned with a broad smile.

"Maybe in a few hours or so. Just not yet, they're not very strong and they don't last that long. Let's see how I go." Karen smiled as she re-settled herself and continued watching the film.

Knowing better than to argue with her, Carlos allowed her to take hold of his hand once more and winced quietly when she squeezed a little too hard once in a while.

"Thank God that's all over with." David whispered in Lauren's ear as they stepped from the court building with Stephanie's adoption certificate firmly held in his hand.

Official papers and a new birth certificate for Stephanie would follow in a few days, but the single sheet he held now was good enough to prove she was legally his responsibility as well as Lauren's.

"Maybe for you." Lauren laughed. "I've got to make sure her name's changed on all her other records. There's school of course, then her doctor, dentist and optician will have to be informed. The social security office will have to be told too and I'm pretty sure Nick's lawyer will need to know. Oh the bank as well, probably."

"Enough!" David yelled as he clamped his hands over his ears and grimmaced playfully, shaking his head. "My head is spinning enough after the grilling I was given in there, don't need you adding to it thank you very much." He informed just before dropping a quick kiss on her lips.

"Stephanie Francesca Taylor-Miller will you please stop sticking your tongue out and quit pulling that nasty face." Lauren commanded as she caught the wrinkled nose and narrowed eyed look her daughter was giving to a girl of roughly the same age.

"She started it." Stephanie huffed with final quick poke of her tongue that the other girl didn't see.

"And I'm finishing it young lady. You stop that right now." Lauren warned.

"Sorry Mummy."

"Who is she anyway?" David asked, crouching by Stephanie's side.

"Katy Baker." Stephanie whispered then rolled her eyes. "Oh well, I won't be seeing her again after this week."

"Oh! Why not?" Lauren questioned.

"She going to live in Tronto, Canada with her mummy and step-father?"

"You mean Toronto." David corrected. "I thought her aunt took care of her."

"Oh she did." Lauren interupted. "Until Katy got offered work as a child model a couple of weeks ago. Then her mother demanded her back. " She shrugged and gave him a wry smile.

David shook his head and rolled his eyes backwards before speaking to Stephanie again. "Feel like celebrating?" He questioned her, nodding to their favourite pizza place.

"No." Stephanie shook her head.

"Ok let's.........No!" David exclaimed, looking down at her smiling face.

"No." Stephanie shook her head again then poked her head around the front of her new father to look at her mother. "Mummy has a special dinner planned for all of us."

"It's only baked potatoes with steak and a salad. Nothing special." Lauren shrugged and smiled.

Lauren had decided a few months ago that she should have another attempt at learning to cook. Living on pizza and the like was not what she wanted for her daughter or any of them for that matter. She had enrolled on a beginner's cookery course and had produced some promising results in the last few weeks.

The trio made their way back to the car and smiled happily at each other through the whole journey home. David laughed as they all stepped through the front door to hear his mobile ringing. He'd had to leave it at the house because he was in such a state about the court hearing he'd let the battery die and Lauren had left hers at work. He answered the house phone to hear his mother's voice immediately questioning him.

He smiled as he watched Lauren and Stephanie head upstairs while he told his mother that the adoption hearing had gone very well and she now had a beautiful grandaughter. He swallowed hard when he heard her sniffing at the other end of the line after which she asked him what their plans for Thanksgiving or Christmas were. After telling her he would have to check before he made any firm commitment, he said he would try and get over for Thanksgiving.

By the time they'd finished speaking, Stephanie was standing before him wanting to talk to her new grandmother. David handed the handset over then made his way into the kitchen only to be ordered out by a busy Lauren. He made his way back to the lounge and listened to the one-sided conversation with a gentle smile on his face and tears pricking his eyes as Stephanie said goodbye and Lauren shouted that dinner was ready.

Stomachs filled, David and Lauren made themselves comfortable in the lounge while Stephanie disappeared upstairs again. She wasn't gone long and stood in front of David again this time with her arms behind her back and a slightly apprehensive look on her face.

"Something wrong Stephanie?" David asked with a smile when he saw her chewing on her lip slightly while continually looking at Lauren.

"Go on sweetheart. You can do it." Lauren encouraged the young girl and smiled when David looked at her quizically.

"I buyeded this......" Stephanie sniffed as she pulled her right arm from behind her back and held a cube-shaped black box in front David's face. ".......for my birth daddy, but he only got chance to wear it once. You're my daddy now and I want you to have it and wear it always."

David raised his right hand and watched Stephanie knock tears from her cheek as he took the box from her hand. A smile lit up her face as he opened it, removed the ring and slipped it onto the little finger of his right hand, the only finger it would fit.

"I'll be proud to wear it." David nodded as Stephanie flung her arms around his neck and gave him her customary tight squeeze.

"I love you..........Daddy." She informed from where she'd buried her face into his shoulder.

Tears that had been threatening to make their escape finally did so and rolled slowly down David's face as he gave her the gentlest of hugs.

"I love you too Stephanie." He replied with closed eyes and long sigh.

Once everyone had regained their composure, they settled down to watch 'The Incredibles' on satellite tv.

"So when are you going start work on my baby sister?" Stephanie questioned from her position between Lauren and David.

David and Lauren looked at each other and quickly broke down into hysterical laughter.

"What's so funny?" Stephanie shrugged before rolling her eyes into her head and returning her attention to the tv.

"Parents!" She tutted.

_______________


"So what were you doing walking down that long lonely road on your own?" Zane questioned as he stopped the Porche at the first set of traffic lights.

"Running away." Jamie shrugged without looking at him, preferring instead to look through the dark tinted glass of the car's windows at the display window of a soon to be opening, larger branch of 'Angelique's'.

"From?"

"Huh? Oh....Err...." Jamie stumbled. "Abusive boyfriend." She replied quickly and showed him the bruising the handcuff had caused to her right wrist.

"That looks nasty. You should get a doctor to look at that. I'll take you to the hospital." Zane nodded and flashed a friendly smile.

"No!" Jamie's head shook as she shouted. "I've had worse. I can take care of it myself."

"Ok." The professional footballer nodded. "Did you see that accident?"

"Accident? Is that what all that noise was?"

"Uh-huh. A people carrier smashed into the wall at the bottom of a hill. By the time I stopped to offer my help there were already more than enough people helping the three passengers. Funny thing though, they did seem to be having trouble getting the woman out of the back."

"Oh." Jamie nodded, doing her level best to sound interested.

"Sorry, you're probably more worried about the boyfriend coming after you than a bunch of strangers."

Jamie nodded and sniffed behind her right hand as the lights turned green. "I don't know where I'm going to go now. I gave up my home to move in with him." She informed through her crocodile tears. "I left everything at the house and I have no money or credit cards so I can't get a room at a hotel."

"No-one you know in town?"

"Only my brother but erm.......he's away at the moment." Jamie's head shook once more and she sniffed loudly.

"Then you'll just have to stay at my place for a while." Zane nodded while accelerating a little as the next set of lights began to turn red.

"Oh I couldn't!"

"There's plenty of room. Three bedrooms and I promise I'll behave like a gentleman." Zane laughed.

"Won't your erm.....girlfriend or wife have something to say about you bringing a total stanger home?"

"Don't have either of those." Zane informed with a shrug and shake of his head. "The girlfriend left last week. Couldn't cope with the attention I get from female fans."

"You're a singer?"

"Footballer." Zane corrected with a laugh and another shake of his head. "Professional, premiership footballer."

Jamie's face broadened into a huge smile and she giggled quietly to herself, not quiet believing how lucky she had been to be picked up by the man on her right.

"Oh. Ok." Jamie nodded. "But I'm going to need a few things." She shrugged. "Erm......Ladies things."

Zane nodded that he understood what she meant then found a parking place outside a chemist shop that had recently opened. He removed his seatbelt so that he could pull his wallet from the back pocket of his jeans and handed over a fifty pound note. He stayed in the car while Jamie left to do her shopping and told her to keep the change when she offered him two twenty pound notes on her return.

After she'd made herself comfortable in the passenger seat again, Zane eased the car into traffic and drove the two miles to his home.

"Don't know why I bought such a big place." He sighed as they left the car and he pushed a button that would close and lock the garage door. "I feel lost in here sometimes." He shrugged, leading Jamie through a door into the main house.

Before taking her any further, he indicated a small cloakroom on his left, a laundry area and a door that gave access to the back of the house. Walking up the corridor a little bought them to the office/den where all of his medals and trophies were displayed. A turn to the left and another walk brought them passed the dining-room with its folding doors. Just beyond that was the entry way and the lounge.

Zane smiled as he turned Jamie back around and started to head back up the corridor. He thought she looked a little over-whelmed with what she was seeing judging by the wide-eyed look she had on her face.

As they passed the stairs, Zane indicated the door to the cellar where he'd set up his very own gym and he smiled again when Jamie said she would like to see that. She loved working out she said and nodded when he said he would show her once they'd finished the tour of the main house.

The final door downstairs led them into a large kitchen that didn't look like it got much use judging by how neat and tidy it was. Just beyond that was the entertainment room where the largest widescreen tv available had been set up together with a top of the range stereo system and dvd recorder.

Doors from every room gave access to the block paved patio area and the extensive gardens at the back of the house.

Paying close attention as they walked back through the kitchen to the bottom of the stairs, Jamie's smile dropped when she took a close look at one of the pictures on the wall. It showed the full team he played for and standing on one end of the middle row was Emma.

"You know her?" Zane questioned when he spotted where Jamie was looking.

"Oh! No. No." Jamie startled and re-fixed the smile on her face whilst shaking her head.

"She's the team physio and she's a great girl. Her husband sure is a lucky fella, they make a great couple. He's a singer, big star with a group called Il Divo. You heard of them?"

"Can't say that I have"

"They're fantastic. They've both been very helpful to his bandmate recently, Franky and her husband, Urs must have been so scared when their son arrived two months early." Zane nodded as he sprinted up the two flights of stairs to the second-floor with Jamie walking gracefully after him.

A right turn took them down to the master suite with it's see-through fireplace, large en-suite bathroom, walk-in closet and porch surrounded by retractable glass doors. Turning and making their way to the end of the corridor led them to the other two bedrooms and the bathroom that serviced those. Jamie left the bag of things she'd bought from the chemist in the largest of these.

Another run down the stairs by Zane left him waiting for Jamie at the entrance to the cellar. He smiled up at her as he watched her walk and wondered what she did for a living. She certainly had the looks and moved like a model.

"Yeah." Zane nodded as the word sighed out of him. "She's got to be a model, especially with those legs."

"See something you like?" Jamie teased in her old manner on reaching the bottom of the stairs.

Zane grabbed her hand and blushed as he pulled it away from his chest. He liked to get to know a girl before moving on to the 'touchy feely thing'. He swallowed hard as he remembered how he'd touched her leg when she'd first climbed into the car. Where the hell he'd got the nerve to do that from he didn't know. For all his bravado, Zane Bartlett was, in reality, quite shy especially where women were concerned.

"The gym." He coughed as he opened the door and reached for the lightswitch.

Zane heard the loud groan escape from his mouth when something hard and heavy struck the right side of the back of his head. He tried to grab hold of the rope bannister as he fell forward, but his hand missed and he bounced down the concrete stairs with a loud bang and a crash, finally coming to rest in a heap at the very bottom.

"Wha.....What happened?" Zane moaned when saw Jamie's face in front of him.

"Awww, what's the matter? Did the big, clumsy footballer take a tumble?"

He heard her questioning before she laughed malevolently, the room started spinning and everything turned black.

"Still wish you were coming with me don't you?" Emma questioned, continuing to check the contents of the bag she used carry the bandages and other equipment required for her job.

"Not really." Sébastien shrugged as he handed her the funny looking piece of electronic equipment she'd pointed to. "I have been to Stockholm before you know." He pouted.

"I know, but you arrived at nightime, spent most of the day asleep in the hotel and left immediately after the concert." Emma teased with a giggle. "At least I'll get three hours to have a look round and a nice bunch of very handsome men to keep me company. What will you do without me?"

"Well I was thinking of asking Melissa if she'd like to go to dinner at 'Ramone's'."

"She'd never go." Emma smiled as she shook her head at his tease about taking the football club's new receptionist out. "You forget that's she's one hundred per cent Uber." She reminded with a quick kiss on her husband's lips.

"Spoilsport." Sébastien pouted again as he wrapped his arms round her and pulled her close to give her one of those kisses that left her breathless and her brain on another planet as they pulled apart . "I suppose I should just be glad you are only going to be gone for twenty-four hours huh?"

Emma nodded then laughed as her stomach growled loudly.

"Greek, Italian, English or Tai?" Sébastien chuckled as he ran through the list of takeaway menus he knew were in the kitchen.

"Ooooh Tai I think. The one that does the twin lobsters sauteed with ginger and scallions." She smiled and nodded as she remembered the last time they'd ordered something from that establishment.

Two appetites had been well sated that night in more ways than one and Emma felt herself blush at the memory she'd invoked. A glance at Sébastien's red face told her that he was remembering those events too.

She listened intently when he whispered something that sounded rather risque as he headed towards the bedroom door. She knew, without having to look in the mirror, that she'd flushed a few shades redder. If she could have reached him she would have given him one hell of a swat on the arm for what he'd just said, despite the fact that she hadn't understood a word. She didn't need to, one look at Sebastien's face told her it had been something very naughty.

She returned her attention to her packing and remembered the last time she'd been away from him and the distressed voice message she'd heard on her mobile once the match was over. She'd been able to pick up the little nuances in his voice that indicated how upset he was by what had happened to Urs and, of course by the time she had arrived at the hospital, Franky had gone into labour.

Almost as soon as she'd stepped into that waiting room, Sébastien had leapt to his feet, dragged her back out after allowing her to say a quick hello to everyone. Then they'd gone for a walk and found a secluded spot where he'd immediately told her how angry he was with his best friend for putting them all through what he had, but Franky had been Sebastien had talked about most.

She knew the two of them shared a special bond because Franky had saved Sebastien's life and she wasn't jealous in the least, there had never been even the slightest hint that the two of them were physically attracted to each other, they were and would always be close friends. Emma had no problem with that, she felt exactly the same about Franky and often found herself wondering if there was anything that could or would break her seeming inexhaustable spirit . As usual, Sebastien's fit of anger had resulted in him ending up with his arms wrapped tightly around her while he fought to regain control of himself. He'd cried quite hard over Urs nearly dying and having to sit by his bedside while he was so ill had proved quite an ordeal for him.

Neither David or Carlos had said anything about how red his eyes had been when they returned to the room after spending over an hour just walking and talking. Just a brotherly hug and an understanding nod had told him they both knew exactly how he felt but were expressing how they felt in different ways. Carlos by remaining unusually quiet though one look in his eyes would have told you how angry he was. David by clenching his jaw tight, fidgetting in his seat and drumming rather loudly on the wooden arm of the chair he sat in.

After that had come the news that Urs was finally awake which cheered everyone up until his parents had entered the room and told them about the baby. She could still recall the shame-faced look they had both seen on Urs's face when she and Sébastien had been allowed to pay a brief visit. She hadn't ever vocalised it, but had thought that Urs should consider himself very lucky that Franky had forgiven him so easily. Had they been put in that position she wasn't absolutely sure she would have been able to forgive Sébastien so easily. Ninety-nine per cent of her was sure she would, there was just that tiny one per cent of doubt.

Then again there was nothing to concern her about their relationship in that regard. Sébastien hid absolutely nothing from her nowadays.

A huffed laugh and a smile graced her face as she recalled what he'd done after her mother had died. She swallowed hard as she remembered how she had tried to push him away and how a virtual butt-kicking from Franky had made her see what she was throwing away. She felt as though she should repay him for that and resolved to think of a way to do so.

"Emma! Where's that bottle of red I left on the counter last night?" She heard Sébastien shouting from the bottom of the stairs.

"Erm.......In the fridge." She grimmaced as she shouted her response. Her face screwed up tight as she waited for him to tell her off once more.

"Emma! How many times do have to tell you? Red wine never goes in the fridge."

"Sorry." She giggled while shouting her reply.

Her giggle became a little louder when she heard something about Carlos knowing better than to do that with a good red.

"I heard that." She yelled playfully.

"You were meant to."

She continued to giggle as she zipped up her equipment bag then she sat on the edge of the bed and lifted her handbag onto her lap. She double-checked that she had everything ready for the trip the next day then pulled out her diary to check what events were coming up. She hummed quietly to herself while checking through the notes she had made. A funny little squiggle caught her eye on one particular date and she flicked three pages forward. When she saw the date her shoulders dropped and the smile instantly became a bit lip when she realised she her period was two days late.

"Don't go jumping to conclusions." She sighed to herself. "You've never been as regular as clockwork anyway. Leave it a day or two."

"Emma, dinner's here." She heard Sébastien shouting again.

"Coming." She replied cheerfully as she stood, took a deep breath and headed downstairs.

"Are you all right Emma?" Sébastien asked after she'd placed a quick kiss on his cheeks.

"Me? I'm fine. Just hungry." Emma shrugged as she picked up her plate and headed for the dining-room.

"I have Pfish Food for dessert." She heard Sébastien informing in her right ear.

"Oh. Erm......" She smiled and gave a solitary nod after a few seconds of saying nothing. "Sorry Seb not tonight hun, I have got to get up really early tomorrow."

A quiet 'Ok' and a disappointed looking smile crossed his lips as they began to eat. The lobsters were soon demolished and the Pfish Food ice-cream was left in the freezer as the couple made their way up to bed. Sébastien was asleep and snoring softly within half an hour while Emma was just starting to nod off an hour after him.

_________________


Jamie smiled broadly while she admired her handiwork. The now bound and gagged footballer was starting to come around and she couldn't help but giggle, watching him try to move several times. However, the bandage she'd used to tie him up with was very tight around his elbows, wrists, knees and ankles she knew he wouldn't be able to get himself free easily.

A quick push on his right shoulder with her right foot rolled him on to his stomach revealing the pocket where he kept his wallet. Jamie's eyes lit up when she saw how thick it was. With the quickest of movements, she'd bent and snatched it from his possession.

Muffled sounds could be heard as she started to make her way out of the cellar counting ten fifty pound notes as she went. A little more fishing in the wallet revealed two platinum credit cards that she knew Anthony would have been able a lot of fun with but for the fact he was still incarcerated.

She reached the top of the stairs and turned her head over her shoulder just in time to see Zane rolling over onto his back again. She laughed out loud when she saw the questioning look on his face then made her way out of the cellar, locked the door behind her and headed up to the bedroom where she'd left the other things she'd bought from the chemist shop.

From there, Jamie made her way to the master bedroom and into the en-suite bathroom. Taking the scissors she'd purchased in hand she snipped away at her hair until it was roughly two inches long all over. She sighed heavily when she looked down at the pile of auburn locks that lay at her feet. After picking most of the hair up, she turned her attention to the hair dye she'd purchased. She'd used the brand several times before so there was no need for her do the skin test the instructions recommended. Working quickly, she soon had her head covered in a rich cream that would change her hair colour to the colour of ravens.

While she was waiting for the colour to take, she decided to go and take a look in the walk-in wardrobe. The left side was filled with suits by Armani, Gucci and other top designers. Zane obviously had good taste when it came to his clothes. The right side of the wardrobe was virtually empty. Only a pair of size eight black Gucci jeans and a red Prada top remained, both with their price tags still attached.

"She was probably too fat for them." Jamie huffed to herself as she removed the items and carried them over to the bed.

A quick rummage through the drawers found a small carrier bag that contained some sexy silk shorts and matching bras. All of them were obviously brand new as the tags hadn't been removed from those either. At a 36B, the bras were a couple of sizes to big for her so she tossed those to one side after deciding to go without one.

"Seems it's my lucky day." Jamie laughed, holding a pale pink pair of shorts up to admire the silk. "Ah! Shoes." She exclaimed as she looked down at the ugly black boots she currently wore.

A search of the shelving just above her head bought a solitary box to her attention. She had to stand on her tiptoes and stretch to her full extent but she did manage to reach it and pull it down. A pair of red and white traditional style Nike trainers in her size met her gaze and her nose wrinkled slightly. No wonder they'd been left by their owner. They weren't the most up-to-date design but at least they were better than Jamie's boots.

All of these items were added to the jeans and the top as she made her way to the top end of the bed and pulled back the covers. She smiled when she saw cream silk sheets stretched across the luxurious, deeply quilted mattress. Sleeping on this would be like sleeping on a cloud compared to the cheap bed she'd been forced to endure at Westholme.

A second glance at the alarm clock that stood on Zane's side of the bed told her that the time for her hair was almost up. She made her way back to the en-suite where she rinsed the cream off thoroughly then stood back to admire the results. As before, the colour had taken very well. She looked like a completely different woman now.

After taking a long hot shower, Jamie slipped into a lilac pair of the silk shorts and Zane's white bathrobe then made her way back downstairs and into the kitchen. A search through the cupboards enabled her to find several things to eat. Various flavours of crackers took her fancy and she knew they would go well with the smoked salmon and fancy cheeses she'd spotted in the fridge. She hummed to herself as she placed her selected items on a tray and carried them through to the entertainment room.

A quick flick through the tv channels gave her nothing to watch but the late night news. A lot of huffing and one loud grunt at one touching story left her feeling bored. Her interest was suddenly grabbed by the story of her escape and she leaned forward with her elbows on her knees. The reporter told of how the driver of the vehicle had died of a massive heart attack, the front seat passenger had sustained some serious bruising while the guard in the back seat was suffering from a mild concussion. Her prison photograph appeared on the screen while the reporter said that if anyone had seen her they should call the number that appeared on screen.

She stopped to think for a moment and quickly realised that no-one had seen her, bar Zane and the people that owned the chemist shop. There wasn't much to worry about in that regard. Zane was securely bound in the cellar and she'd overheard the man who'd served her saying that he was looking forward to the meal he and his wife were going for that night. He hadn't paid any attention to her or the purchases she'd made while he talked and had only given her the briefest of glances when he handed her the change.

She polished off the last of the salmon and brushed cracker crumbs off the robe as she stood. A look over toward the coffee table brought a black diary into view and she decided to take a quick look. The following day's block had been filled with......

"Cup match in Stockholm. Be at ground for 7am at the latest."

"Team physio. Hmmn. That means she'll be going with them, just in case a player gets injured or some of them are carrying niggling little injuries. Good." Jamie smiled then threw her head back, a plan forming very quickly in her mind after she'd assimilated the information and she laughed out loud at the idea.

She stretched herself out, headed back to the cellar door and took a quick look down the steps. Still tightly bound and lying on his back fast asleep and snoring loudly lay Zane Bartlett. She re-locked the door and headed up to the master bedroom where she set the alarm for six o'clock. She still hated getting up early, though she was just about getting used the early starts the prison system ran by. She dropped the robe and shorts to the floor then settled her naked form under the covers.

All tolled, today had been a very good day indeed for Jamie Strawson.

Tomorrow would be her day for revenge.

"Urs!" Franky's shouted as she made her way back into the lounge.

He wasn't lying on the sofa where she'd left him so that she could take Frank upstairs to give him a bath and a feed before putting him to bed.

"Urs!" She shouted again as she turned to head for the music room.

A piece of paper taped to the floor caught her attention and her brow furrowed when she read the writing that instructed her to go into the music room and look for a parcel on top of the piano. She did what had been requested and bit her lower lip lightly when she saw a black cube-shaped box with a note taped to it asking her to open it.

After carefully removing the lid, she removed a pair of new motorcycle boots that bore a fire design over the toe and the top of the foot. The remainder of the boots were black leather with an inch wide steel tipped strap around the ankle that passed through a stainless steel buckle. Inside the right boot was another note in Urs's familiar hand telling her that there was another parcel waiting for her on the kitchen table.

Another black box awaited her attention. This one long, wide and only about four inches high. Inside a new pair of leather trousers that bore a flame design from the hem to fade into black just above her knee. She smiled and nodded approvingly as she ran an admiring hand over the tie front fastenings of the leather. Her head snapped round when she heard a small whine from the location of the open back door and she knew in that moment he was watching her. She found another note stuck to the inside lid of this box that informed another gift awaited her on the outside of the garage door.

She started to make her way to the back door but stopped in her tracks when she heard Frank grizzling over the baby monitor she wore on the waistband of her jeans. She listened for a moment or two then continued to walk when he settled back down again. She spied a similar shaped box to the one she'd opened in the kitchen and squatted in front of it once she'd reached it. Inside was a new black leather jacket with a heavy satin lining in a fire design. Three flames adorned each arm and she found a new pair of motorcyclist's gloves underneath the jacket as she removed it from the box. These were picked up as well and she startled slightly when a keyring with a red heart and solitary key on it dropped to the ground. The garage door started to roll upwards while she moved to stand upright again.

Her eyes widened when she saw the new red and silver Harley Davidson 'Screamin' Eagle' that she and Urs had had the bet on.

"It's all ready to go." Urs informed as he stepped behind her, wrapped his arms around her waist and nuzzled the left side of her neck.

"But you said it wouldn't be here for another..........Oooh you!" Franky stated as she turned to face him.

She immediately noticed the look on his face and laughed when she realised he'd been fibbing. The wide eyes and slightly twitching mouth were the signals that told her so.

"The dealer pulled a few strings when he realised who was ordering it." Urs informed after Franky had released him from the very enthusiastic kiss she'd just given him.

Another small whine escaped from the back of his throat and he wriggled uncomfortably in his jeans when he felt the familiar tightening at the front. Had he been able to do so, he would have carried her to the workbench and had his wicked way with her right then and there. He knew he couldn't do that right now and the next two weeks were going to be more torturous than the past four. Franky certainly seemed to be wanting to get back into the swing of things, then again she did have a very high sex drive. She had before her pregnancy and it had become even higher throughout it. Sometimes he wondered how on earth he kept up with her especially whenever they were reunited after spending even a few days apart. No wonder they hadn't emerged for those three days when she'd pulled her surprise during the last tour.

"Just take her out for a spin Franky." Urs begged as he held her at arms length and closed his eyes. "Perhaps by the time you come back I will have regained my erm.......... composure." He stated with a wry smile and quick **** of his head to the right.

Franky nodded and smiled as she returned inside. Within minutes she was back in the garage dressed in the new leathers with her black helmet hooked on her right arm while she pulled her gloves on.

"You erm....You're sure you'll be all right on your own for a while?" Franky asked with a smirk as she looked at his groin just before she straddled the bike.

"Just go!" Urs yelled playfully while he blushed bright red.

Franky nodded, dropped the helmet's visor and turned the key. Two faces smiled broadly as the machine roared to life and Franky listened to the engine purr with her eyes closed for a moment or two before she dropped it into gear and screeched from the garage. She stopped a little way down the drive and turned her head over her shoulder to see Urs standing in the garage doorway with a look of longing on his face. She giggled behind the visor as she turned her head forward again and revved the engine hard. She popped a small wheely as she did so then whooped with delight as she drove down to the main road.

The roads were quiet now and she could manouver the bike easily through the town centre. She returned the admiring smiles she received though no-one would be able to see them through the tinted visor. Once through the town and onto the country roads she knew so well, she whipped the throttle down and relished in the burst of speed she received in return.

'Urs would love to be where I am right now.' She thought to herself with a wry smile on her lips.

She hadn't really paid that much attention to where she was riding but she couldn't help but chuckle to herself when she realised she'd pulled over in the exact spot where Urs had watched her accident from. She sat for a few moments and allowed the memories of their first meeting to wash over her. After a long, deeply contented sigh, she fired the Harley up again and returned home.

After a quick shower and a check on Little Frank, she slipped under the covers beside Urs and cuddled close to him.

"Well? How was it?" He questioned while they looked at each other.

"Wonderful. Just like you." Franky beamed a huge smile as the fingers of her right hand teased the hair on his chest. "I love the bike and the way you got me to the garage and the new leathers are fantastic. But most of all, I love you Urs. Thank you." She sighed before placing another enthusiastic kiss on his lips while her right hand moved a lot lower down his body.

"No Franky." Urs shook his head while he seized hold of her hand and pulled it away from the now painful erection he'd sported since she left for her ride. "I can wait."

"Really?" Franky asked after kissing him firmly. "You can hold out for another two weeks?"

"Actually..........No I can't. I know I can't yet, but I want to be inside you so, so bad." Urs groaned, released her hand and allowed her to return it to his aching manhood.

"So shut up and let me do what I to do then."

Biting gently on his bottom lip, Urs shuddered violently while her watched her lips skim over his chest and abdomen, her teeth nipping at his nipples, making them rise into small, hard peaks while she continued to stroke him. A long, moan escaping when she slipped further down the bed and slowly took his length into her mouth. A slightly louder groan escaping when she swirled her tongue around the head, her hand lazilly ministering to his want.

Unable to hold back after what felt like an eternity of being caressed and feeling his balls so painfully full, Urs moaned her name, allowed himself to cum in Franky's mouth and licked his lips while he watched her swallow. His eyes widening slightly when she dipped her head again and continued to suckle him until he had no more to give.

Wishing that he could do the same for her, but knowing that he couldn't at the moment. Urs closed his eyes, relaxed and curled his fingers deep in Franky's hair once she was back in her usual position. Sighing softly while he returned the kisses she gave him, tasting himself and the chocolate she'd eaten on her return while he plundered her mouth. All of it making him painfully hard again in what seemed like seconds.

"Gott I love you too Franky." Urs informed with a breathless kiss on her forehead once she'd brought him to another body-shuddering release.

One happy female and a sated male quickly fell asleep wrapped tightly in each other's arms.

­­­­_________________

Early the next morning

"Seb! Please stop messing about and re-start the car." Emma demanded with a loud huff and her arms folded over her chest.

"Non!" Sébastien shook his head and copied his wife's actions after he'd pushed the keycard for his new silver left-hand drive Hyundai 'Tiburon' into the left hand pocket of his jeans. "Not until you tell me what's bothering you. I don't care if you're late for the coach, I know they won't leave without you. We don't move until you tell me."

They were parked in lay by that ran off the dual carriageway Sébastien needed to drive down to get to the football stadium. He knew there was something niggling Emma and he'd already asked her once that morning what it was while she showered and he shaved. She'd replied that there was nothing the matter.

"I've told you, I'm fine, there's nothing wrong. I'm just nervous about the match and........ What?"

"You're fibbing." Sébastien informed. "You're sucking on the tip of your right thumb and you only ever do that when you're not telling me the truth."

Emma glanced down to her chest, saw what she was doing and immediately placed her right arm into a folded position. She looked at her watch and realised that she had just over twenty minutes to get to the stadium which was four miles from their current situation. There was no way she could walk it, calling a taxi was no good because they would take longer than the time she had left to get to her, calling one of the guys to pick her up would be a waste of time because they all had sports cars with their miniscule boots which would mean she wouldn't be able to get all of her equipment in.

She groaned when she saw two familiar cars drive passed them and knew she would be in for a ribbing from their drivers if she arrived late. She usually arrived well ahead of those two particular men. She turned her head to look at her husband and knew he wouldn't move the car until she told him.

"All right. There is something bothering me." Emma began with her head bowed and her eyes closed. "I don't want you to get too excited Seb, but there's erm..........there's a chance I could be pregnant." She finished then turned her head to see Sébastien staring at her in stunned silence.

"But I thought we weren't going to try for a baby until after the tour next year?" Sébastien questioned with a happy smile.

"I know and I did say there's a chance. I told you I've never been regular, but I've never gone more than twenty-five days between finishing a period and starting the next one. I'm three days late now and I was going to wait a couple more but I made an appointment with my doctor for Tuesday morning to put my mind at rest one way or the other."

"And you didn't want to say anything to me until you were sure did you?"

"No. I know how much you want children Seb. I do to, you know that. I just didn't want to build your hopes up only to have them dashed that's why I didn't say anything."

"And if you are, you are going to keep it aren't you?" Sébastien questioned with a hard swallow.

"Oh Seb of course I am." Emma sighed as she quickly reached over to his side of the car, grabbed his right hand and held it tight when she saw the worried look on his face. "I wouldn't even consider having an abortion, you know that. But let's find out for sure first before we go getting ourselves all fired up. We don't say anything to anyone until we know for sure. Ok?"

"Ok." Sébastien nodded then reached over and kissed her in his usual manner. The way that left her breathless, red faced and weak at the knees.

"Thank God I'm sitting down." Emma giggled as she blew out a long breath and Sébastien re-started the car and eased the vehicle back onto the road.

They drove the remainder of the journey glancing at each other occassionally and smiling. They arrived at the stadium with five minutes to spare to see most of the team mingling around the executive coach the club had hired for the journey to the airport. Emma took a deep breath and left the car to walk over to the group while Sébastien retrieved her bags from the boot of the Hyundai.

"Where's Zane?" She shouted to Fabian who stood near the door of the coach.

"Still in his car, probably on his mobile talking to Maia." Fabian replied with a smile as he nodded back over Emma's shoulder to where the Porche was parked.

Emma turned to look where Fabian indicated. Her brow immediately furrowed when she heard the loud screech of rubber against ashphalt and the Porche screamed from its spot. Quickly realising that it was heading straight for Sébastien who was still occupied with removing Emma's bags.

After that everything moved in slow motion and Emma's voice seemed to drag through the air as she shouted at Sebastien to look out.

Sébastien only just heard her and his eyes flew wide as Zane's vehicle whizzed passed him, missing his legs by centimetres. He watched where the car went then snapped his head round to see where Emma was. Her bags were dropped to the ground when he saw that she was running back towards him. He yelled her name and started to run in her direction as the Porche sped towards her.

A long shout of 'No' came from Sébastien's throat when he realised that she wasn't going to make it and he was still running as the right side of the speeding car struck Emma's legs. The force of the impact sent her up on to the bonnet, across the driver's side of the windscreen and further up onto the top of the car before she was dumped back to the ground.

Shocked at what they had just witnessed the entire team stood dumbfounded and watched the car head towards the exit at high speed while a distraught Sébastien knelt by his wife's crumpled form.

Unsure what to do, but knowing that she shouldn't be moved, Sébastien raised his right hand to her face and carefully pushed away the hair that had come to rest over her eyes. A very quick smile crossing his lips when he heard that she was still breathing.

"Emma. C...C...Can you hear me?" He asked through his sobs and fast blinking eyes as he gently took hold of her hand. "Emma please. Please answer me. Emma!" He yelled when no response was forthcoming.

"Emmmmmaaaaaaaa!"

_____________


"Crap! Crap! Crap!" Jamie huffed as she threw three CDs onto the passenger seat. "This man needs to get some updated music. Elvis is dead for God's sake. Ah, that's more like it." She smiled as she pushed the eject button on the Porche's stereo system and tossed 'Ancora' onto the pile with the others. "God what rubbish!"

She inserted Anastacia's 'Not That Kind' album and turned it up loud so that the beat thumped around the whole car. The driver's door was pulled closed with a firm thud, the engine started with a load purr and reverse was selected on the automatic gearbox. Jamie reversed out of the garage at speed and didn't pay any attention whatsoever when the back end made contact with a large terracotta planter. She dropped the car into 'Drive' and roared off down the drive. A right turn brought her onto the main road that led to the dual carriageway that would take her to the football stadium.

The alarm clock had startled her when it had gone off and for a few seconds she'd been a little disorientated. She soon remembered the events of the previous day and where she was and left the bed quickly to take a refreshing shower before she dressed in the clothes she'd found the previous evening. Her hair had been almost dry by the time she made her way down to the cellar for a quick check on Zane. He lay still tightly bound at the bottom of the steps, snoring his head off. He hadn't stirred that much when she'd rummaged around in his trouser pockets looking for the car keys. He just giggled a little when the tips of her fingers caught something she didn't expect to and she'd been disgusted to discover he wore no underwear.

Now she was driving down the road behind a red Porche 911 whose licence plate showed it to be a year younger than the one she drove. Not wanting to draw any attention to herself, she kept within the speed limit and drove properly. She jumped slightly when she heard the sound of a horn and she saw the driver in front raise his left hand through the sunroof in some sort of acknowledgement of her. She wondered for a moment if he was a team-mate of the man she had won over so easily yesterday.

She glanced to the left and a wry smile crossed her lips when she saw the woman who sat in the passenger seat of the car parked in the lay by.

A few more miles of easy driving bought her to the entrance of the team car park. The guard who sat in the little booth waved both the 911 and her through the checkpoint without bothering to ask for any form of identification. She laughed as he gave her a small salute as she drove through then followed the other Porche to the car park where she parked not too far away from the other cars. She dropped the car into neutral, engaged the handbrake and kept the engine running while she waited for her quarry to arrive.

She watched the man that had stepped from the red Porche and nodded when she saw how well he was dressed. He filled what she suspected was one of this season's Gucci suits very well. The cut, style and fitting were unmistakable. She turned the stereo off and lowered the window just enough to be able to hear what his teamates were shouting.

"Fabian." She nodded once she heard it correctly. "Nice name, a lot better than Sébastien." She huffed a laugh to herself then turned her head to watch how different members of the team joshed around and teased each other.

A flash of silver across her line of vision grabbed her attention and she watched intently where Sébastien parked and waited for a few moments to see what would happen.

She dropped the car into 'Drive' once more and her hand hovered over the handbrake while her foot moved to the accelerator. In one swift move she dropped the handbrake and screeched the car from its spot. She laughed to herself as the car sped directly towards her former boyfriend. She kept her nerve steady as she drove close to him but avoided hitting him. She wanted him on his feet so that he would have to witness what she was about to do.

A sharp right turn bought her directly in line with Emma. She took a deep breath before she floored the accelerator and aimed the car at her. The burst of speed she received in response threw her head back slightly but she didn't for one second tear her eyes away from the windscreen. Even when Emma's body impacted the windscreen and went tumbling over the top of the Porche she didn't stop, she just carried on driving, heading for the exit with a glance in the rearview mirror to laugh at the pandomonium she'd left in her wake.

The windscreen was cracked quite badly but held together as she left the stadium and turned right. A few yards down the road she realised that the she'd turned the wrong way but there was nothing she could do. The right side of the road was currently out of use as it was being repaired so turning the car around was out of the question. She had to keep going and knew of another way to get to where she wanted. The roads were still relatively quiet so she slowed her speed a little and just relaxed into driving.

She had just reached the edge of her hometown when she heard the sirens behind her. A glance in the rearview mirror brought blue flashing lights into view and the sound of earpiercing sirens filled her ears. Flashing headlights obviously meant she was supposed to pull over.

"Come on then boys let's see what you've got." She laughed as she floored the accelerator again.

She pulled away from the following vehicles quickly and laughed when she seemingly left them standing. A mile down the road she spotted more police vehicles heading towards her. She turned sharply to the right and almost lost control, narrowly missing a parked Rolls Royce as she straightened up again.

Four police cars were now on her tail and she could see another blocking the road she wanted to take.

"****!" Jamie hissed as she turned left into a road that would take her down passed the side of the hospital.

An almost clear road met her glare and she knew that a left turn at the end of this road would put her on the main road through town to take her to where she really wanted to be. She slowed a little but didn't stop as she reached the junction and hit the front passenger side of a black Mercedes Benz CLS 500, sending it spinning across the road in driver's direction while her vehicle careened across the road, smashed through a brick wall finally coming to rest against the bay window of one of the houses that stood opposite the hospital.

"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!" Jamie yelled as she dropped the Porche into reverse. Thankful that the airbag hadn't gone off, she floored the accelerator again.

The car backtracked as far as the road, its back end ramming into the police vehicle that had pulled up behind her. She moved the gear to the drive position again and tried to move forward once more. Another police car approached at a fair rate of speed as she did so. The two collided hard causing the airbag to finally inflate and the engine to cut out .

"It's not fair!!" Jamie screeched while her feet stamped vigorously in the footwell when the car refused to re-start.

She screamed long and loud when it finally registered that she was not going to be able to get to where she so desparately wanted to go. The Porche was now surrounded by police officers and at least two had dogs. Trying to make a run for it was not an option. She sat with a scowl on her face and her arms folded over her chest when she realised she had no choice but to surrender.

A loud command of 'Don't move' made her pound her hands on the airbag once a police officer had approached carefully and threw the door open. She listened as he asked if she was seriously injured then bellowed his instructions and told her how he wanted her to leave the car when she replied that, apart from a graze on her forehead from the airbag going off, she was fine.

Once she was out she was held against the car while handcuffs were fastened around her wrists behind her back. From there she was escorted by two large male officers towards a waiting car.

Looking towards the vehicle she'd hit, she could see a man she knew well attempting to comfort to his passenger. The woman he'd married a few months ago and a woman Jamie knew well too. The driver looked through the windscreen as his wife pointed and Jamie chuckled to herself when their eyes met in a questioning stare. He didn't seem to realise who she was at first, but after a lightening quick wipe of his eyes, his vision seemed to clear and his anger started to rage once recognition hit.

As she was forced into the back of the police car Jamie thought that the only reason that he hadn't left his wife's side was that she looked to be in a very bad condition and needed him there with her. She certainly held onto his black t-shirt as though she was in agony.

"Four out of eight." She laughed to herself then scowled, still wishing she had been able to get to her other destination

By the time she was driven away, an ambulance was turning into the hospital grounds and heading for accident and emergency.

"We need to go now." Karen smiled down at him as Carlos slowly opened his eyes.

"Go whe... Oh the hospital." He nodded, looking at her through still sleepy eyes, launching himself from the bed and dressing quickly.

He smiled as he watched her breathe through the contraction the way she had learned to at the private birthday classes she and Franky had arranged to take together. He laughed slightly as he remembered how embarrassed all of them had been during the first lesson and how red Urs's face had gone. He sighed heavily as he recalled how deeply Urs had regretted not being there for Franky and he'd promised himself that, barring any serious problems with Karen's labour, he would be there for her.

Once the contraction had waned he took Karen's hand and the couple smiled at each other as they walked towards the car. He took a quick look at his watch and made note of the time. Almost seven in the morning he nodded as he picked up the bag that had been waiting for several days.

After making sure Karen was comfortable in the front passenger and that she could tolerate wearing the seatbelt, he placed the bag in the boot and ran round to the driver's seat. He noticed his right hand shaking a little as he started the car and dropped the gears into drive.

"Calm down." Karen requested with a giggle while she placed her on his shaking left leg. "There's nothing to be nervous about."

"I'm not nervous." Carlos denied with a smile and a quick shake of his head as he drove from the garage down the short driveway to the road. "Well, perhaps just a little." He shrugged when he saw Karen giving him a knowing look.

She knew he was more than a little nervous about what was going to happen but she never teased him about it. She just found little ways of touching him to assure him that everything was all right. It might be a quick squeeze of his hand or a rub of his thigh, just like she was doing now.

Carlos snapped his head up when he heard sirens not too far away and a quick check of the speedometer told him he was driving the Mercedes a little over the speed limit. He eased up on the accelerator then indicated that he needed to take a right turn on to the road that ran outside the main entrance to hospital. Several choice Spanish cursewords escaped from his lips when a set of traffic lights turned red and he had to stop.

The sound of sirens seemed to be getting closer and while they waited, Carlos quickly checked his rearview mirror and wing mirrors and even took a quick look around to see if he could see anything approaching. On seeing nothing, Carlos pulled off carefully when the lights turned green and smiled at Karen when she said they were almost there.

The words were barely out of her mouth when they felt the impact and the car span to the right. Carlos swore once more while he fought to keep control of the vehicle and by the time it came to a stop he was breathing rapidly and sweating a fair bit.

"Karen! Are you all right?." He asked after removing his seatbelt and turning quickly to face her.

"Don't move me honey." Karen shook her head quickly as she spoke and grabbed hold of the tops of Carlos's arms to stop him. "I think I'm all right, we're both all right. Just wait for an ambulance to arrive and let them handle it. Ok?"

"Ok." Carlos nodded quickly then dropped a quick kiss on her forehead before he turned back into his seat to look out of the windscreen to see what had happened.

A long breath escaped when he saw the wreckage of the wall. He watched as several police vehicles surrounded the corner of the street and furrowed his brow when he heard the roar of a high powered engine and metal hit metal again.

"What's going on?" Karen questioned after breathing through another contraction.

"Looks like they're arresting someone. A woman I think." Carlos informed.

Karen turned her head to look out of the car and her eyes instantly flew wide when she recognised the woman the police had in handcuffs.

"Oh my God! Jamie! It's Jamie." She whined as another contraction began to build.

"She looks nothing Jamie." Carlos shook his head, stroking Karen's face in an attempt to comfort her.

"Look a little closer." Karen sniffed then watched Carlos quickly wipe his eyes.

Refocusing his attention on the woman who grinned at him from just a few yards away, he suddenly realised that Karen was right. Those souless eyes and that evil smirk could only belong to one woman. It was indeed Jamie.

"How has this happened?! Who let her out?! Why were we not told she was free?!" Carlos began to fume and started to move to leave the car.

"No Carlos! I need you here." Karen pleaded, grabbing at the black t-shirt he wore. "There's nothing you can do, let the police deal with her."

Though he was extremely angry, Carlos agreed to her request and stayed by her side until help arrived. Then he left the car but remained close by and watched as a doctor started examining Karen. His eyes flew wide and he leapt forward when he heard a cry of 'No' come from her mouth. He was pulled back by a police officer and held firmly as the doctor left the car and came to tell him what was going on with his wife while a fire crew began work on cutting her out as quickly as they could.

"Your wife has suffered a placental abruption as a result of the crash. She's all right at the moment but we have to get her out and into an operating theatre as soon as possible."

"Operating theatre?" Carlos questioned with a loud swallow.

The doctor nodded then informed him that Karen would require an emergency ceasarian section if they were save the mother and child. Carlos nodded that he understood when asked but sighed heavily when the doctor told him he wouldn't be allowed in the theatre with her. He would be allowed to wait in a nearby waiting room.

The fire crew worked with great speed and proficiency. They had Karen out of the car and onto a stretcher in next to no time. Carlos was allowed close to her once she was placed in the ambulance and did his best to comfort her as they were driven from the scene of the accident up to the hospital. He didn't really pay any attention to what the doctor was doing to prepare her for surgery during the short ride, he just kept his attention focused on her tear-streaked face while he told her that everything would be all right and wiped her tears away. His head shaking slightly when he saw how quickly each one was replaced.

Carlos stayed by Karen's side as long as he could and sniffed audibly when they reached the outer doors of the operating theatre. Unsure what to do next and with shock beginning to finally set in, he dropped down into a nearby chair and sat staring at the floor disbelieving how quickly things had gone so horribly wrong.

A serious of 'If I hads' and 'I should haves' raced through his mind as he buried his face into hands. Only the odd shake of his shoulders gave indication that he was crying. He kept his head hung low and simply nodded when a nurse touched his arm gently and told him to follow her to the waiting room. He shook his head and waved her off when she noticed the large bruise that was beginning to bloom at the top of his right arm.

He sat in the chair nearest to the window and placed his hands near the top of his thighs. He felt his mobile and pulled it out. A sign on the wall informed him that he could use his mobile in this part of the hospital and he swallowed hard as he called Karen's mother to let her know what had happened. He nodded when she said she was on her way, then hung up and dialled another number.

He heard Franky speaking and started telling her what had happened in Spanish only to realise after a few seconds that he was speaking over the answering machine message. He hung up when it registered that no-one was home. He scrolled a little further through his numbers and dialled once more. No-one answered there either. There was one more avenue open to him and he closed his eyes as he dialled that number.

"There had better be a good reason for you calling at this time in a morning buddy."

"D...David. H...How quick can you get to the hospital?" Carlos asked with an audible swallow.

"Is there something wrong Carlos?"

"Much." Carlos nodded and sniffed loudly. "Please just get to the hospital as quick as you. Karen is in an operating theatre and I....I don't be knowing wha..."

"I'm on my way." Were the last words Carlos heard before he closed the phone and covered the top half of his face with his left hand as tears made their escape once more.

__________________

"Ah-ah. Dark Walnut would look better." Franky shook her head and dropped a quick kiss on Urs's lips.

She was lying on her stomach chest-to-chest with Urs, her legs stretched out between his slightly parted ones.

"And I think English Chestnut would look better." He frowned, looking at the wood stain sample leaflet he held in his hands.

The two of them were trying to decide what colour to stain the new decking they'd had installed at the back of the house.

"Look honey, those colours are going to clash." Franky informed after she'd snatched the leaflet from him hand and held the colour he liked against the frame of their bedroom window which was a dark brown mahogany. "See that looks much better." She smiled and gave a quick shrug.

"Hmmm. Maybe your right." Urs nodded once he'd seen the choices together.

"No wonder you need a wardrobe lady to help you dress, God knows what you would go out looking like." Franky teased. "Mind you any colour goes with jeans doesn't it?" She asked as the house phone began to ring.

Urs quickly stuck his tongue out at her then answered the call.

"She's fine Gabe. She's right here. Do you want to talk to her?" Urs shrugged, handing the handset to Franky.

"Woah Gabe, slow down." Franky asked after she'd said hello.

"Franky! Thank God you're ok."

"Gabe for goodness sake what are you prattling on about?" She questioned with a giggle.

"Didn't you see the news last night or this morning? Jamie is out of prison."

"What? No!" Franky asked quietly as she dropped back down on the edge of the bed.

"What's going on?" Urs questioned when he saw the shocked expression on Franky's face.

"Gabe said Jamie's out of prison." Franky swallowed hard after repeating what she'd been told. "How? Why?" She asked into the handset then pressed the loudspeaker button so that Urs could hear as well.

"They were transferring her to that new prison a few miles away. The driver of the vehicle she was being transported in suffered a massive heart attack while he was driving. He died and the other two guards were knocked out. Somehow she managed to get free and disappeared. Last I heard they were able to follow her trail so far then nothing. The police think she managed to hitch a lift with someone."

A loud shout of several swear words in English and Swiss-German followed. Franky and Urs swallowed hard as they looked at each other and remembered how Jamie had sworn that someday she would get her revenge on all of them. Especially on Sébastien and Franky.

"Thanks for letting me know Gabe. I'll try giving the police a call to find out what's going on." Franky nodded before she hung up.

She'd barely returned the handset to its charging cradle when a loud knock echoed through the house and found its way upstairs. Franky nodded again as Urs said he would go while he fastened the jeans he'd slipped into then quickly disappeared to answer the door. She dressed quickly in a navy tracksuit that had lighter blue panels running from the armpit to the waist, the trouser part had a light blue strip running from the waist to the ankle. A t-shirt in the same light blue and pair of navy trainers completed her look. She'd just started brushing through her hair when she heard Urs shouting as he made his way back upstairs.

"What's wrong honey?" Franky asked when she saw the distressed look on his face.

"Erm.....Something's happened to Emma at the football stadium. The police said Zane ran her down, right in front of Sébastien and the team then drove off."

"What? No way. Zane wouldn't ever do that. They get on really well." Franky shook her head in disbelief. "Did they say how bad she's hurt?"

"No." Urs shook his head as he pulled any old t-shirt from his wardrobe and slipped it on. "They've just said that Seb is really distraught and they can't understand him because he's talking in French. They need someone to translate." He informed, ramming his bare feet into his favourite trainers. "How long will it take you to get Frank dressed and ready to go?"

"Five minutes tops if you can pack his bag, nappies, clean clothes the usual stuff. You know." Franky nodded.

Urs nodded quickly and set to work on packing everything Franky would need for the baby. He ran downstairs and shoved the changing bag at the male officer before he sprinted into the lounge to find the car seat. This was firmly secured into the back of the police car just as Franky came downstairs with Little Frank in her arms.

In an automatic motion, she set the answering machine as she passed it on her way out of the front door. While she busied herself with strapping her son into the car seat, Urs set the burglar alarm then locked the door. Not caring how uncomfortable they were, Urs and Franky held each tight while they rode squashed together in the back of the police car.

The car had just turned into a little used back entrance to the hospital when the officers's radios crackled and the news came across the airwaves that Jamie had been recaptured but she'd caused an accident while trying to make her escape. Details were not yet available as to how many people, if any, had been hurt.

"Thank God." Franky sighed, her left hand flying to her mouth and her eyes closing lightly.

They arrived at the Accident and Emergency Department just in time to see Sébastien coming through the doors his mobile phone held tightly in his hand.

Urs left the police car quickly, gently took hold of his French friend and guided him to somewhere quiet.

"I erm.....I erm.....I'm...." Sébastien faltered while he showed Urs his mobile.

"Supposed to be calling Albert, Erin and Brett?" Urs questioned gently.

Sébastien nodded then shook his head while he tried to stop himself from crying.

"It's ok Seb, I'll do it in a minute." Urs nodded, reaching for the back of Sébastien's neck and gently pulling his head down so that his forehead rested on his shoulder. "How is she?"

"Erm......Both her lower legs are broken, a few grazes and bruises. They've just taken her for x-rays to....to see how badly." Sébastien informed through his sobs. "I wanted to go with her, but she insisted I call her family. They said it could have been much worse. Why Urs? Why did Zane do it? She's never....."

"I don't know." Urs sniffed and shook his head as Sébastien broke down again.

Unable to reach Emma's father and deciding that Brett would probably be able handle the news better than Erin, Urs called him first and took great care to be as gentle as possible while he informed him of what had happened to Emma. A solitary tear made its way down Urs's cheek when he heard Brett crying on the other end of the line and he nodded when the large man said he would call Erin and Albert.

Sébastien nodded when Urs asked if he wanted to call his mother and tentatively took the phone back. He looked at Urs and swallowed hard while he dialled his Marie's number. Tears streamed down his face as he told his mother about the hit and run.

Urs closed his eyes and swallowed hard when he heard Sébastien inform his mother that a blood test had confirmed that Emma had been pregnant but she'd started bleeding and miscarried just before they took her for her leg x-rays. Urs offered his condolences as Sébastien hung up and told him that Franky and the baby were with him. Sébastien nodded and listened carefully while Urs told him he would go and let Franky know what had happened once he'd given David a call. Their house phone went unanswered as did David's mobile. Lauren's rang but he couldn't hear her speaking when she answered.

"Damn!" He spat when he recalled Lauren saying that she must get a mobile that picked up a better signal.

He tried the same thing with Carlos and Karen. Again the house phone went unanswered while the mobiles just rang for a few moments before switching to voicemail.

The two men walked back into the hospital together and only split in order to go to their respective partners. Urs found Franky in a private waiting room and held her tight after he'd told her about Emma losing the baby. Thinking how she would feel about having a baby around if she'd just lost one, Franky asked Urs to look after Little Frank while she went to see if she could find someone willing to babysit. She got the same response as Urs did from Lauren's phone but thought she would probably want to be at the hospital anyway.

Then she remembered how Christie had made a great fuss of Little Frank and offered her services as a babysitter should she ever be needed. She gave Gabriel a call and quickly ran through what had happened and that she needed his help.

Arrangements were quickly made for Little Frank to be picked up and taken back home with Gabriel and Christie. As she handed her son over she informed the couple that there was a plentiful supply of breastmilk in the fridge and anything else they would need was in the bag. By the time everything was sorted Emma had returned from having her x-rays and she was ready to go up to theatre. Brett and Erin arrived just in time to see her for a moment and told her that their father was on his way back from Ireland where he'd gone to visit an old friend.

Only Sébastien was allowed in the lift to accompany Emma to the operating theatre. The rest had to take a separate lift to the fifth floor. As they stepped from the lift, they could see Sébastien standing at the entrance unsure what to do next. He attempted a smile when Urs touched his right shoulder but it was plain to see how distressed he still was as a nurse stepped forward and asked them to follow her to the waiting room that had been set aside for them.

Everyone startled when they heard David's voice behind them asking them to wait for him.

"Carlos managed to get in contact with you all then?" David questioned quietly once he and Lauren reached them. "What?" He questioned when two heads shook at him.

David looked at Urs and Franky with a confused expression when they shook their heads and swallowed hard when he saw the distressed state Sébastien was in.

Urs quickly explained about Emma, heard David cursing quietly then listened intently while David told him that Carlos had called and asked him to get to the hospital as soon as he could but that he wasn't exactly sure why. Everyone agreed that they should all find out where he was and what was happening.

They were shown to the waiting room Carlos had been put and entered quietly to see him pacing furiously back and forth. David looked at Urs and Urs looked at David while Sébastien flopped down on the couch and allowed his eyes to watch Carlos through his eyelashes.

They had all seen Carlos furious before but there was something different about the way he was now. Furious didn't come close to describing how he looked. It was obvious, even to a casual observer, that he was livid. His fists were balled up very tight, his eyes were wide open and seemingly saw nothing, his shoulders were hunched, his lips were tightly pursed together while he kept his lower jaw clenched. He breathed in deeply through his nose and huffed it out quickly through his mouth. He sounded like a bull snorting in the bullring with the way he breathed. His face had turned to a mask of red. He looked like he was ready to explode and God help anyone who got in the way.

David stepped forward, laid his hands on Carlos's shoulders and stopped him from walking.

"What's wrong buddy?" He questioned gently. "Why is Karen in surgery?"

"I will tell you........" Carlos nodded then quickly shrugged David off and moved to stand in front of Franky.

Carlos shook visibly as he brought himself face-to-face with his friend's wife.

"I will tell you why Karen is in surgery, when SHE leaves." He huffed loudly at Franky.

"What do you mean you'll tell us when Franky leaves?" Urs asked, easing himself between his fuming friend and his wife. "Why should Franky leave?"

"Because it's her fault Karen is where she is." Carlos huffed nastily and flicked his chin towards Franky.

"Sorry buddy. I'm not following your line of thinking." David shook his head as he moved to stand beside Urs.

"Not following my........" Carlos began. "Think about it. If Urs hadn't come to her aid after she crashed her bike, he wouldn't have fallen for her. We wouldn't have gone to that nightclub, Sebastien wouldn't have dumped Jamie and she wouldn't have got her revenge as she did. I would not have met Karen and she would not be in the operating theatre having our child by...... by emergency ceasarian instead of giving birth naturally as we planned." He finished with a quick nod then turned sharply away from the group to place himself at the window with his back to them, his head lowered and his arms folded across his chest.

Carlos had spoken so quickly that Urs and David had to go over it twice to make sure they understood what he'd said.

"You can't blame Franky for what's happened." Urs shook his head and had to cover the quick laugh that tried to make its escape with a cough. "You're being ridiculous and just lashing out at the closest person to Jamie." He huffed which earned him a piercing glare in response.

"No I'm not!" Carlos hissed in reply. "Maybe things would be better if you'd never......."

"I don't recall anyone forcing you into dating Karen." Urs snapped back before Carlos could finish. He had an idea where Carlos was going with his argument and he wasn't going to stand for it. "I realise you're upset Carlos but you can think again if you think I'm going to let you blame Franky for Jamie's problems."

"Just stop it the pair of you." Franky requested with a loud huff.

"Explain how Karen being in surgery has got anything to do with Jamie." David requested with a shake of his head.

"She was the one driving the car that hit mine outside the hospital. She rammed into the passenger side and something........ Karen started bleeding and the next thing I know she is.......she is......."

David and Urs gasped slightly when they heard Carlos's voice crack with emotion and started to step towards him. They stopped when they heard Sébastien speaking.

"You're talking bull**** Carlos!!" Sébastien yelled. "It's not Franky's fault that Jamie is.....est fou et appartient dans une maison de fous. Cela est beaucoup plus clair, tout comme il a été à son procès. Urs is right, you're just lashing out at Franky simply because she is related to Jamie. I'm sure she wishes she wasn't."
"Am I?!" Carlos snapped. "What do you know about what I have been through today?! Nada. You know the nada."

"Oh don't I!" Sébastien yelled back and tapped hard at his chest. "I know more than you think."

"Pfft! Creo que no!!" Carlos huffed loudly just before a knock was heard on the door.

While Urs moved himself between the angry Carlos and a riled up Sébastien, David moved quickly and held the door open while two police officers stepped into the room. Everyone listened carefully while the taller of the two men spoke to Sébastien.

"Mr Izambard there you are. We've just stopped by to reassure you that Mr Bartlett was not the one driving his car when your wife was run down. We found him at his home just over half an hour ago, concussed, bound and gagged at the bottom of his cellar stairs. He has a rather nasty bump on the back of his head and is more than a little confused. From what he has been able to tell us so far, it appears a Miss Jamie Strawson attacked him last night after he'd picked her up not far from the scene of the van crash. He certainly recognised her picture when we showed it to him. It seems she spun him quite a tale to gain his trust and assistance."

"Pfft! Well there's shock of the century." David huffed quietly and rolled his eyes into the back of his head while Sébastien gritted his teeth, closed his eyes, nodded and clenched his fists so tight his knuckles turned white.

David shrugged and pulled his lips into a quick straight-lipped smile when Lauren indicated for him to shush by quickly placing her index finger on her lips.

"Miss Strawson is in custody at headquarters." The officer continued. "We're waiting for her to have a psychiatric evaluation before we decide what to do with her."

"And what if they do decide there's something mentally wrong with her?" Franky asked. "Does that mean she goes to psychiatric hospital rather than jail?"

"No." The officer shook his head. "Whatever happens she'll be going to Dalkeith Prison. They have a secure psychiatric wing and there's no way she'll get out of there. It's the most secure prison in the country now."

"Will she be charged with what she's done while she been loose?" Lauren questioned.

"It's hard to say. It will depend on what evidence we find at Mr Barlett's home and the psychiatrist's report of course. We'll be in touch when we know more." The officer nodded and shook every hand except for the distant Carlos's as he stood to leave with his partner.

"So it seems you are not the only one to suffer at Jamie's hands today." Sébastien stated to the unusually quiet Spaniard who had returned to stand at the window, but listened to every word that was spoken.

Carlos turned to face Sébastien and took a deep breath before he asked what had happened. He closed his eyes and swallowed hard while he listened to what his French friend had endured. After apologising to almost everyone and giving each other a brotherly hug, he stood and thought for a few moments and realised that what had happened to Karen had been an accident. Nothing more. Jamie hadn't purposefully rammed his car, they just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

He shouldn't be lashing out and blaming Franky for Jamie's actions anyway. Sebastien certainly wasn't and he thought the French man was experiencing much more distress than he was. His mind questioning how hard it must have been to witness Jamie driving the car at Emma, knowing that he could do nothing to stop her. No. Franky couldn't be held responsible, no matter which way he looked at it. He knew he owed her an apology and hoped she would accept as he prepared himself to do it.

He relaxed his posture, took a deep breath and made his way over to her. He felt Urs's eyes on him as he approached. He sighed heavily when he saw him wrap a protective arm around her waist and swallowed hard on seeing the warning glare he received. He swallowed hard when he saw the tears glistening in Franky's eyes as he stood in front of her.

"Franky I erm......I am......" He began, then paused to very quickly wipe his eyes. "Lo siento por lo que he dicho antes. Yo no deberia culpado a usted por los acciones de Jamie. Se equivoca de mi. Estoy preocu......."

"Yo se. Es de todos los derechos. Entiendo." Franky shook her head quickly and closed her eyes as she turned away from him to bury her face against Urs's shoulder.

"It's ok." Urs nodded at Carlos when he turned to look at him questioningly.

Unsure that Franky had forgiven him, Carlos sighed heavily and secretively bit his bottom lip

"She's just as worried about Karen as you are." Urs informed with a slight shrug while he rocked a crying Franky gently from side to side.

Carlos nodded then dropped down onto the couch next to Sébastien and rubbed his face hard with his hands. The two looked at each other quickly then both looked at their watches.

Sébastien sat back and rubbed his face hard when he realised he had quite a wait still ahead of him. Emma's legs required pins, screws and plates to be inserted to repair them. The surgeon had said it would take quite a while to do the job, especially as both legs needed to be worked on.

Carlos looked towards the door expecting it to open any minute. Karen's surgeon had said that they shouldn't be more that forty-five minutes and when he checked his watch again almost twice that length of time had gone by. He turned his head to the left as Urs insisted that Franky sat down next to him. He slowly reached for her right hand with his left and attempted a smile when she gave his a firm but gentle squeeze. He took a few deep breaths and let them out slowly and squeezed her hand lightly in return.

For the next ten minutes that was how things remained. Apart from the odd sniff or quick cough silence reigned in the room. Watches were checked often, mobile batteries were checked to make sure they had full power and magazines were flicked through in a disinterested fashion. Franky and Lauren did speak but only to ask who was taking care of the children. Franky nodded when Lauren said Dale was looking after Stephanie. Lauren smiled and rolled her eyes into her head after Franky told her that Gabriel and Christie were caring for Little Frank.

Heads snapped up and round when the door opened and an exhausted looking but smiling surgeon stepped in, found a chair and placed it directly in front of Carlos. Franky hissed when her hand was squeezed a little too tightly. She shook her head at the quickly offered apology.

"I'm sorry to keep you waiting so long, but the operation took a little longer than we anticipated."

"Karen and the baby are ok though?" Carlos questioned quietly.

"They're fine. You have a very healthy seven pound eight ounce little girl." The doctor nodded then paused while quick congratulations were offered and Karen's shocked-looking mother entered the room, quickly taking the seat David had vacated as soon as he'd seen her.

"We ran into a complication after the ceasarian." The doctor continued. "It seems your wife suffered a ruptured spleen in the accident and we've had to remove it. It's nothing major to worry about, it just means that she'll have to take antibiotics for the rest of her life. Once she's recovered, there's nothing to stop her leading the life she did before."

Carlos let go of the breath he'd been holding in one long sigh and wiped his face before shaking the surgeon's hand vigorously.

"We've had to give her a blood transfusion because of what's happened and she's being moved to a private room as I speak. A nurse will be in shortly to take you to see them both once they have her settled. I have to get back to theatre. Goodbye and good luck." The surgeon smiled as he stood. He gave everyone a quick nod then left the room.

"Dios gracias." Carlos sighed as he flopped back against the back of the couch and took several deep cleansing breaths with his face buried in his hands.

Several other sighs of relief were heard around the room before a young nurse knocked on the door and slowly opened it. A smile lit up her face as she stepped into the room and indicated for Carlos to follow her. Though she remained professional it wasn't hard to see the awe struck look on her face when she saw all four members of her favourite group in that room.

Carlos stood and quickly straightened his rumpled clothing before he left the room with the nurse to be reunited with his wife and to say hello to his daughter, Carina Jayde.

__________________

"What time is it?" Emma asked, her eyes flickering to adjust to the dim light before she opened them fully.

"Hey you." Sébastien smiled then stood from the chair where he spent the last two hours waiting for her to wake up properly instead of drowsily and perched himself on the edge of the bed after giving Emma a gentle kiss. "It's almost five in the evening." He informed after checking his watch.

"Saturday evening?"

"Oui." Sébastien nodded. "Are you in a lot of pain chérie?" He asked when he saw Emma screw her face up a little.

"Some." Emma nodded. "Did they catch him Seb? Did they get Zane?"

"It wasn't Zane that ran you down Emmy."

"Don't be ridiculous Seb. I'd know that car anywhere. With that registration it sticks out like a sore thumb."

"I know." Sébastien smiled, nodded a little quicker. "It was Zane's car, but he wasn't driving. He wasn't even in the vehicle."

"You're confusing me." Emma sighed as she rubbed at her temples. "He doesn't let anyone else drive that car. Remember he wouldn't even let you have go when he first bought it? That Porche is Zane's baby."

"I remember."

"So if Zane wasn't driving, who was?" Emma questioned.

Sébastien swallowed hard and tried to avoid making eye contact with his wife. "Erm..."

"Seb? If you know who was driving you'd better tell me."

"Jamie." He informed with closed eyes and a heavy sigh, his hands holding hers. "It was Jamie that was driving. It was Jamie that ran you down right in front of me and left you for dead. It was Jamie that caused you to lose........."

"To lose the baby." Emma's eyes closed as she finished the statement for Sébastien. "I'm sorry Seb, I should have said something sooner. I should have stayed put near the coach, not run over to you like I did."

"Non. Don't you talk like that." Sébastien shook his head and attempted a smile as he wiped Emma's tears away. "There's only one person responsible for what happened and we all know who that is." He sniffed back his own tears then told Emma of how Jamie had gained possession of the Porche and what had happened after she had run her down.

"They're ok aren't they? Karen, the baby and Carlos I mean."

"They're fine. Though there was almost a falling out between Carlos and Urs and Franky."

Once again Sébastien explained what had happened, then he reassured her that everything was fine between them now. He then explained what the police had said was going to happen with Jamie and he watched as Emma closed her eyes and nodded.

"Pins, screws and plates I imagine?" Emma questioned with a nod down to her legs.

"And one external fixator they said. But I haven't taken a look yet." Sébastien nodded after a quick glance down the bed.

"No time like the present." Emma shrugged.

Sébastien stood and helped Emma move the sheet off her legs. Both legs were bandaged from just above the knee all the way down to her ankles. The external fixator stuck out from the outer edge of her left leg.

"Seven to eight weeks?" Emma questioned again while she looked at the pieces of metal sticking out of her leg.

"Oui. That's what they said." Sébastien nodded as Emma re-covered herself.

"I hope you told them I'll be organising my own physio-therapy plan."

"Didn't need to. One of the surgeons recognised you. He knew there would be no point asking one of the team to sort you out." Sébastien giggled and resumed his seat.

Emma smiled and nodded in response. "Talking of a team. Did the guys get away ok after what happened?"

"They didn't go. They flat out refused to. Said they didn't care how important the match was, you were more important." Sébastien shrugged. "They've re-arranged for two weeks' time."

Emma shook her head in disbelief. She couldn't believe that the group of men she had known for only a few months loved her that much already that they would postpone a European Cup match until they were sure she was all right. The news dumbfounded her a little and tears began to roll slowly down her cheeks. Every man in the team had become like brothers to her, most older, a couple the same age as herself and three or four quite a few years younger. The manager and the coaches had become favourite uncles. Going to work every day felt like a family reunion and a big one. Emma loved this job and no matter what it took she was determined to return to it.

"Brett and Erin?" She questioned when she suddenly remembered that they'd arrived just before her operation.

"They stayed until they knew you were going to be ok." Sébastien nodded. "Brett wasn't feeling too good so Erin took him home. Your father will be here soon. "

Emma nodded. She remembered Brett saying that he didn't feel well the day before and he had looked a little flushed when she'd paid him a visit. She assumed he must be suffering from a cold and settled herself back down into the pillows.

"So are you staying or going home?" Emma questioned with a smile as she eased herself over to the left to make room for Sébastien to lay beside her.

"I'm staying." He nodded as he kicked off his shoes before settling himself down. "But no snoring." He instructed with a wave of his finger.

"Ok." Emma agreed through a long, loud yawn.

She lifted her head to allow Sébastien's left arm to wrap around her shoulders, then laid her left arm across his abdomen and closed her eyes. She sighed heavily when she felt Sébastien's right hand rubbing the top of her left arm gently while she cried quietly about what had happened to her, her sister and their child. She barely felt the kiss Sébastien placed on top of her head as she drifted off to sleep nor did she hear the loud sniff and the quick sob he allowed to escape when he held her just a little tighter before falling asleep himself.

Two hours later moderately loud snoring could be heard coming from the room, but it didn't eminate from Emma who somehow managed to stay asleep through the cocophany.

____________________


"Hey! Franky, you home?." She heard Urs's voice and saw the wave of his palm close to her eyes.

"Oh! Sorry honey. Got lost in a little world of my own for a moment or two didn't I?"

"Yeah." Urs smiled as he pushed a lock of fire red hair back off her face.

He sighed and looked into her jade green eyes while he wondered where her forgiving nature had come from.

During the confrontation with Carlos he'd balled up his fist ready to strike if the Spaniard went too far. He knew David had seen his clenched fist because the American had shaken his head and mouthed 'Don't' to him. A plea he'd ignored. Sébastien had been too wrapped up with his concerns about Emma to notice and Carlos was too angry to care. Franky had noticed though and, as she'd turned into his arms, she'd grabbed hold of his left wrist and quickly pulled it up between them so that she could cover his fist with her hand.

Through her tears she'd managed to tell him not to even think of hitting his friend. Carlos was only behaving that way because he was worried, angry and scared she had informed him in an almost inaudible whisper. The final word had stunned him, he'd never known Carlos to be scared of anything. One quick look into those honey brown depths had revealed how scared Carlos really was. He had listened to Franky when she'd asked him to put himself in Carlos's shoes, to try and begin to imagine how much turmoil he must be in. Karen's injuries were serious she'd informed, life-threateningly so and what Carlos needed was comfort, support and understanding not a punch in the mouth. Right then she couldn't have given a damn what Carlos said to her, she knew he didn't mean one single word of whatever he said.

"What did that police officer want with you?" Urs questioned as he took hold of her hand and started to lead her to the restaurant.

Both of their stomachs had rumbled loudly in protest at not being filled since breakfast while they waited for news about Emma. He smiled as the vision of Sébastien running from the waiting room to Emma's room came to the fore and quickly realised that Carlos had probably done the same once he'd crossed the threshold.

It was after five and Urs knew how important it was for Franky to eat well. He remembered reading in her pregnancy information book that breastfeeding burned up lots of calories. He smiled as he looked her up and down. She'd only put a small amount of weight on while pregnant and that was rapidly dropping off her. She was back into her jeans within days of leaving the hospital.

"Oh. Erm....Jamie's screeching in her cell, demanding to see me." Franky informed with a roll of her eyes.

"You're not going are you?"

"When Hell freezes over ok with you?!"

Urs laughed quietly and nodded as he moved his arm around her waist and held her tight until they found the restaurant. He brushed off Franky's protestations when she said it wouldn't be too much bother for her to cook something from the freezer at home.

"We've already had a long day and by the time we get home and get round to eating it's going be getting late. So come on Mrs Buhler, in." Urs instructed with a laugh as he held the restaurant door open for her and gently pushed her into the almost empty area.

Franky giggled and shook her head but didn't protest any more as they made their way over to the counter and quickly ordered a lasagne each to be served with a large Italian salad and garlic bread. She smiled when she spotted a Mississippi Mud Pie then huffed loudly when she read that it contained nuts and opted for a slice of fudge cake instead.

"You'll get fat." Urs teased as they sat down to eat.

"Yeah but you'll still love me." Franky teased in response.

Urs couldn't resist and kept his face stern as he responded. "Will I?" He questioned with a raised eyebrow that he thought would have done Carlos proud.

Franky looked at him and swallowed hard when she saw the serious look on his face. She looked at the fudge cake and sighed heavily as she pushed the plate away.

"Ooooooh! You'll pay for that." Franky scowled when she heard him laughing loudly.

"You could get as big as a house, I would still love you Franky." Urs smiled broadly, reaching over the table and gently stroked the right side of her face. "How are you are going to make me pay?"

"Forgotten last night already have you?" Franky teased him this time and smiled seductively while she looked into his eyes.

Urs almost choked on the bite of garlic bread he'd taken as the words tumbled from her mouth. He coughed loudly and lowered his reddening face to his plate though his eyes remained focused on Franky's face as he watched her smile broaden.

"No." Urs whined quietly. "How could I forget? Just hurry up. Finish your meal and get me home."

'Oh Hell!' He thought to himself when he felt his jeans tighten uncomfortably and watched Franky's face flush redder than ever as she picked up the tiniest piece of lasagne she could and giggled while she raised it teasingly to her mouth.

"You noticed too?" David questioned Lauren as they stood side by side in the kitchen opening up the takeaway Indian meal they'd stopped for on the way home.

"Of course I did." Lauren nodded. "Do you really think he would have hit him?"

"If Franky hadn't been there? I think maybe he would have." David nodded and then started to move into the dining-room with the onion bhajis, kofta kebabs and meat somosa set out on a plate. Lauren followed behind with two portions of Bengal prawn curry for herself and David. A Punjabi beef saag curry had been purchased for a hungry Stephanie.

"When can I go see the baby?" Stephanie asked after taking a bite of onion bhaji.

"Steph don't talk with your mouth full." Lauren requested with a giggle and a shake of her head.

"Humph! Why do I always get told off? Daddy talks with his mouth full all the time and you never say anything to him." Stephanie huffed at Lauren.

"I do not." David protested with his mouth full of meat samosa.

"Do too. You just did." Stephanie giggled after swallowing.

"Don't." David denied again, pushing what remained of the samosa into his mouth.

He quickly showed Stephanie his full mouth then snapped his jaw shut before Lauren saw what he was doing.

"Ewwwwwwww! That's so gross." Stephanie shuddered but kept on eating.

"You know I think I might change my mind about having children with you." Lauren teased her husband but kept a serious look on her face.

"You wouldn't?!" David exclaimed after a loud swallow, speaking with an empty mouth for the first time during the meal.

"Well you're big enough to make three kids........." Lauren began.

"Two." David indicated by holding up the first and second finger of his right hand then started to eat his curry.

"All right. Two. You're big enough to make two kids and you behave like a child half the time. Add Stephanie into the mix and I already have the perfect family. I don't see the need to add any more." Lauren finished through a grunted laugh when she saw that David was sticking his bottom lip out and looking at her with pleading eyes.

Lauren kept giggling as Stephanie asked her question again then informed that she would have to wait a couple of days.

"Who do you think she looks like?" Lauren asked, wiping curry off a protesting Stephanie's chin.

"Little Carina you mean?" David questioned with a look towards Lauren who nodded. "Hard to say. Carlos's mother?"

"That's what I was thinking." Lauren nodded and smiled. "When do Carlos's parents arrive?"

"Going to be Monday morning now." David laughed. "Carlos said his mother had a feeling she shouldn't have gone on that holiday to New Zealand."

"They're going to spoil her rotten you know." Lauren rolled her eyes backwards and tutted while David nodded in agreement.

She smiled as she leaned around the end of the table and whispered something in David's ear. She watched his smile broaden as she pulled back and laughed out loud when his face went very red.

Their meal finished, Lauren cleared away the rubbish while Stephanie sat on David's lap and read outloud from 'Charlotte's Web'. Lauren's brow furrowed slightly when she heard how fluidly could Stephanie read. Pausing for effect in what sounded like the right places and even giving each character a voice that seemed to match. She wondered if she should do what Karen had suggested and get her IQ tested. Stephanie had only been at school for a short while, but she was already top of her class and had the highest recorded SAT score for the county her teacher had informed after one test.

Feeling tired from the fun she'd had with her uncle, Stephanie decided of her own accord to go to bed a little earlier than she normally did. She went and got herself ready then came back downstairs to give her mother a kiss. She smiled when David swung her up onto his back to carry her up to bed and laughed out loud when he swung her into the bed with loud whoosh! She quickly slipped under the covers and almost immediately fell asleep.

As he left Stephanie's bedroom and clicked off the light, David spotted Lauren heading for the bathroom and followed silently after her. He stood at the door and listened for a moment or two then smiled when he heard the shower running. He stepped into the bathroom and listened to Lauren humming to herself while he quickly removed his clothing, leaving them in an untidy pile on the floor.

"David! What are you doing?" Lauren asked with sniff when she felt him standing behind her, his hands on the tops of her arms, attempting to turn her around.

"Exactly what you said earlier." David sighed, softly kissing the left side of her neck, his hands moving slowly down her arms until his fingers linked with hers.
"Putting the theory of baby-making into practice or trying to at least."

"Sorry. I have......." Lauren shook her head and sniffed again, taking a step away from him.

Feeling confused, because Lauren had seemed happy earlier and now she seemed down, David watched her for a moment or two. Standing between the powerful jets always made her body shake a little, but now it was shaking violently and he could faultering breaths being taken. Knowing that she was crying, he stepped forward and turned her around before she could protest.

"Lauren! What's wrong?" He asked, holding her close with his left arm, using his right hand to gently stroke her face. "Karen and Emma are all right. Jamie's back behind bars. Why do you look so frightened?"

"Because I don't think Jamie is ever going to give up David. I don't think she'll be satisfied until she'd ripped each and every one of us apart. You know what she's like, she can be very manipulative, someone always falls for that sweet, innocent act of hers."

"I know." David nodded, still stroking Lauren's face. "But I, for one, am not going to let her do that to us. I know you're scared about what she might do in the future, I am too and so are Carlos, Seb and Urs. This is one time she's not going to get her own way Lauren. We've all agreed on that." He sighed then placed a gentle kiss to her lips and pressed his forehead against hers when he stopped. "I would rather die than lose you because of something that bitch did. Let her be that pathetic, that vindictive, that vengeful. I'm not going to leave you whatever she does. Our love is strong enough to get us through anything, you know that. I'll always be there for you and Steph."

"I know, you could so easily have walked away after Steph's little strop about us getting married, but you didn't. You helped me push her through that and I know you love her. Let's just keep our fingers crossed that they lock Jamie up in that phsych ward and throw away the key this time, hey?"

"Yeah, but enough about her." David nodded then shook his head after kissing Lauren gently. "I don't want to hear her name anymore tonight, preferably never, ever again. The only names I want to hear tonight are mine and yours while we make love."

Lauren wiped tears and water off her face to spend a few moments looking at David's face, a soft smile finding its way across her features when she saw that now familiar amorous smile, his eyes darkening a little, the nervous little habit he had of licking his lips before he kissed her again. Feeling his need of her nudging against her stomach, his fingers slowly tracing the path of her spine. His tongue pleading for entry into her mouth. Her mind knowing that she didn't want to anything to stop him, if anything she wanted him more than he wanted her. Her eyes closing and her hands sliding up his body to link around his neck.

His nearness alone more than enough to prepare her to take him inside her, his hands cupping her rear, slowly carressing her before lifted her, waiting for her legs to lock around his hips. A long, ethereal whine escaping from the back of her throat, feeling him slip inside unhastilly. His gentle kisses and slow but purposeful thrusts pushing the events of the day out to the deepest reccesses of her mind.

Soft, short, repetative whimpers of his name finding their way out of her as he drove her to first climax. Her entire body shuddering and her muscles clenching tightly around him when he drove into her one last time, moaning her name into her mouth as he peaked.

The two of them remaining locked together until they'd regained their breaths, then showering, drying each off with warm towels and heading to the bedroom where they settled down quickly with Lauren being tenderly, feeling safe within David's arms as they drifted of to sleep.

____________________


Everywhere seemed to ache as Karen slowly cranked her eyes open. Her stomach, her left side just below her breast, her neck and even her head ached a little.

She kept quiet while she looked around the dimly lit room and smiled when she saw Carlos standing over near the window with their newborn daughter held against the left side of his chest. She thought it would make a beautiful drawing as she watched him adjust the position of his head so that his left cheek rested gently against Carina's head and wished she had a sketch pad with her. The baby was fast asleep while Carlos had his eyes lightly closed and a soft smile played across his lips as she watched him take a few deep breaths.

"When do I get a proper cuddle then?" Karen asked, inching herself up a little in the bed.

Carlos startled slightly on hearing her voice then smiled broadly as he walked over to the bed and laid Carina in her mother's arms.

"Oh Cherub that's a big yawn from such a little thing." Karen smiled when Carina's mouth gaped wide.

Karen held the little girl close and placed a few gentle kisses on her cheeks and forehead while Carlos told her what time their daughter had been delivered and how much she weighed. She frowned a little when Carlos told her that he'd had to give Carina her first bottle because she had still been under the effects of the anaesthetic at the time. The smile returned to her face as she ran her fingers through the fairly thick jet black hair on Carina's head, glad to feel that it had the same curly texture as her father's. She shook her head when Carlos asked if she could remember her mother paying a visit or any of the others dropping in for a few moments when she'd woken briefly earlier in the evening.

"She looks like your mother a little don't you think?" She asked with a wince as the stitches on the left side of her ribs pulled a little.

"Si, she does, a little." Carlos confirmed, sitting down beside Karen on the bed, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and kissing her cheek. "Pero ella es tan hermosa como su madre. Karen, can you be remembering what the doctor is telling you when you woke for those few moments a couple of hours ago?" He asked, touching Carina's cheek.

"It's hazy. Something about two operations I think." Karen nodded her head and winced again after thinking for a moment or two.

Carlos nodded then proceeded to tell her that she had had two operations, the ceasarian followed immediately by a splenectomy. The doctor had been a little worried about her because of the length of time it was taking her to come round to full consciousness, but a check of her notes had revealed she had reacted the exact same way after having her tonsils removed. It seemed to take her forever to wake up. It was just one of her little quirks but arrangements had been put in place to keep a close eye on her level of consciousness.

Just as Carlos finished speaking a nurse entered the room and smiled when she saw that Karen was finally fully awake.

"How are you feeling?" The nurse asked while running through the usual observations.

"Sore and a little banged up from the crash, but otherwise I'm fine." Karen nodded as she handed Carina back to her father so that her wounds could be checked. "What time is it?" She asked.

"Almost midnight." Carlos informed after checking his watch. "Are you ok Karen? You look like you're going to throw up."

"Possibly because I haven't eaten for a long while." Karen nodded.

The nurse offered to get her something to eat and said it shouldn't take her long to arrange something as she disappeared through the door.

"So Jamie. What did she do?" Karen asked as Carlos handed Carina back.

Carlos took a deep breath and told her everything he knew. His head hung in shame when she told him off for what had happened between himself, Franky and Urs. He shrugged and nodded vigorously when she asked if he'd apologised. He swallowed hard when he told her he'd been expecting Urs to punch him, he'd certainly balled up his fist to do so. A heavy sigh escaped as he told her what had happened to Emma and he wiped her tears away while he told her that she was going to be just fine.

"Oooooh I hate anaesthetics." Karen groaned, rubbing at her temples with the thumb and middle finger of her right hand. "They always give me such headaches. Take her. I think I should go back to sleep." She instructed, handing the baby off again.

Carlos did as she requested then laid the still sleeping child in the crib that stood near Karen's bed. He smiled when she yawned as he covered her over then returned his attention to Karen. He tutted as he watched her flex her neck the way she usually did when it felt a little stiff.

"Te quiero." Karen whispered as she eased herself back down under the covers and smiled when Carlos sat down in a chair close to her bed. He held her hand tightly and kissed the back of it lightly and often as he watched her fall asleep.

Assured that she was resting comfortably, Carlos laid his head on top of their entwined hands and began to slow his breathing.

"I love you too, querida." He whispered, his eyes blinking slower and slower until they remained closed and he finally allowed himself some respite.

The sound of the nurse returning with food for Karen would not be the noise that ripped him from his pleasant but very brief slumber.

___________________



__________________

WARNING

'What the hell is happening?' Carlos questioned himself, his eyes flying open on hearing a strange noise.

The most awful sound he'd ever heard was blaring around Karen's room. It sounded like the horn of some old-fashioned motor vehicle. A loud grinding honking sound.

He'd been roughly pushed out of the way as he leapt from the chair and was now busying trying to see what was happening. Karen's bed had been lowered from its partially sat-up postion to a completely flat one and the headboard had been removed. A doctor now stood where his chair had been and he was busy rubbing the heel of his right hand hard between her breasts while he spoke to the nurse that had examined Karen earlier.

"How long has she been like this?"

"Ten minutes at the most. She was fine when I did her obs ten minutes ago."

"Karen can you hear me?" The doctor questioned while the nurse felt for a pulse on her neck.

"No output."

"What's going on?" Carlos questioned through the mayhem, his eyes wide on seeing how deathly pale Karen's face was. "Karen!"

"Get him and the baby out of here." The doctor instructed as a cart with an important looking piece of machine sitting atop it crashed into the room followed closely by lots more medical staff.

Carlos's head snatched round as he watched Carina's crib whizz passed him. His head snapped back to the bed and his face turned to one of horror as he watched one nurse pushing on Karen's chest while another squeezed on some sort of bag that covered her nose and mouth. The doctor was occupied with calling for what sounded like drugs and these were quickly injected into her.

"Tell me what's happening!" Carlos demanded from his new position at the bottom of the bed.

"Please someone get him out of here." The doctor yelled again.

Carlos felt someone grab the top of his left arm but quickly shrugged them off without looking at them.

"No! I stay!"

The hand was quickly returned and immediately followed by another hand seizing hold of his right arm. This time he turned his head to see who had hold of him but still struggled to get free of the burly male nurse. He put up as much resistance as he could while he fought to stay in the room, but slowly, inch by inch, he was pulled out and led to a small waiting room.

"What's going on? What's happening with my wife? Why won't anyone talk to me?" Carlos yelled, pacing up and down the room looking at the man who'd dragged him there.

The male nurse could do nothing but stop Carlos leaving by placing himself in the doorway. He grabbed hold of Carlos's wrist in a firm but gentle hold and shook his head when he reached around him and tried to yank the door open. A few seconds later a soft knock was heard on the door and Carlos looked around the nurse to see an older-looking female nurse making her way in.

"What's happening with my wife?" Carlos asked once more.

The nurse smiled though there was a hint of sadness in her eyes.

"Let's sit down shall we?" She asked, indicating a large cream coloured couch and gently pushed him that direction. She coughed to clear her throat before speaking and used a gentle tone as she did so.

"Your wife is not breathing on her own at the moment and her heart's stopped beating. I assure we're doing our very best for her and someone should be here soon to tell you how she's doing."

Carlos looked from the nurse to floor and back again several times, trying to digest the information he'd just been given. His face quickly became a mask of confusion and fear. Mere seconds had past since the nurse had spoken to him but they felt like hours as he jumped to his feet and started pacing once more, this time muttering to himself in his native tongue. Every few seconds he glanced at the clock that ticked loudly above the door. One minute past oh so slowly. Then five totorously so, ten, fifteen, twenty.

Suddenly another gentle knock was heard at the door. The male nurse stood back and allowed a now exhausted-looking doctor entry.

The doctor glanced at the nurse sadly then closed his eyes and swallowed hard before speaking to an expectant Carlos.

"I'm sorry. We did everything we could but.........I erm.....I declared your wife dead two minutes ago."

"Que! No!" Carlos yelled as he launched himself at the physician, pushed him back against the wall and pinned him there with his forearm across his throat. "You get back in there and you bring her back." He instructed, shrugging the male nurse off him again. "I don't care how long it takes or what you have to do, you get back in there and bring her back. Traiga su espalda. Ella no puede estar muerta. Ella no puede!"

"I'm sorry. There's nothing more I can do." The doctor coughed once Carlos had been pulled off him.

"There must be more. Drugs....Por favor.......Do something more. I cannot lose her."

"I really am sorry. I wish I could do something more, I just can't. She's gone."

"How?" Carlos sniffed loudly after a few moments and swallowed the sobs that attempted to make their escape while he looked at the doctor.. "How could she have died? The...The...The surgeon said she would be fine."

"I don't know. We'll have to do a post mortem to find out."

"No!" Carlos shook his head angrilly and slowly backed away from everyone else in the room. "No, No, No. You are not doing that to her. You are not. No. I will not allow it."

"I'm sorry sir, but you have no say in the matter." The doctor informed with a heavy sigh. "It's a legal requirement following such a death."

"No. Dios No." Carlos murmured quietly as his legs hit the front of the couch and he dropped down into it.

Though he fought to keep his tears from falling, they streamed down his face and by the time the female nurse sat by his side, his face was buried into his hands and he cried like he never had before. He just managed to shake his head and turn away from the nurse when she asked if there was anyone she could call to be with him. He shuddered under her touch as she attempted to comfort him by lightly stroking his back.

"No. No queiro que nadie......nadie, pero Karen."

The sound of a baby crying woke him and he blinked his eyes open slowly to see his own sad face reflected back at him.

He knew immediately that this wasn't right, there were no mirrored wardrobes in their home. He slowly eased himself to a sitting position, swung his legs over the side of the bed and rubbed his face hard with his hands. He looked at the way he was dressed and frowned when he saw that he was still wearing the clothes he'd had on the day before. Minus his shoes he realised as he looked down at his feet. They'd been placed underneath a blue wooden chair that stood a few feet from the bed.

Unsure where he was, he quickly scanned the room and nodded when he spotted a black king-sized cast-iron sleigh bed covered in white linen. A navy blue comforter lay in heap on the other side of the bed. Immediately recognising one of the guest rooms in Urs and Franky's home.

Bright sunshine streamed through a small gap where the white curtains met and he turned his head away from the light as the bedroom door opened.

"Oh. You're awake." Urs stated quietly as he stepped into the room.

"Am I?" Carlos mumbled his response. "It wasn't a dre.....nightmare was it?"

"Karen?" Urs asked solemnly while he took a seat next to his friend.

Carlos nodded then sniffed loudly and quickly turned his head away when Urs shook his head and whispered a very quiet 'No' in reply to his question.

"I wish I could say that it was." Urs sighed and closed his eyes against the tears that were attempting to make there escape. "I'm so sorry." He informed as his right arm raised to give Carlos's left shoulder a comforting squeeze.

"Karen's mother? Franky? Lauren?" Carlos looked questioningly at Urs with tears brimming in his eyes.

"Almost everyone that was close to Karen knows, except Emma." Urs nodded. "Seb couldn't wake her to tell her because of the drugs she's on. Oh Christopher, your parents and your sister don't know yet either. I've left messages for them to call here as soon as possible. We're all devastated my friend."

Carlos allowed a heavy sigh to escape and he swallowed audibly as he nodded.

"Carina?"

"Still at the hospital. They wouldn't allow us to bring her out."

Carlos nodded once more.

"How did I get here?" Carlos asked after he'd stood and made his way to stand at the window.

"You don't remember?" Urs replied, watching Carlos subconsciously turning his wedding ring around his finger and wondering what was going through his head while he waited for a reply.

He knew for a fact that, if positions were reversed, he would be climbing the walls in his grief and couldn't quiet get his head around the fact that Carlos wasn't. Then he thought for a moment and realised that everyone handles their grief in different ways. Some go quiet as Carlos had done, others scream, shout and get angry at the unfairness of it all. And God forbid that Carlos should do what some do and turn to alcohol or drugs for comfort. No, he was confident Carlos wouldn't go down that route, but he was preparing himself for the Spaniard's anger to explode sooner or later.

"I remember nothing after they told me what happened to Karen and took me to see her." Carlos sniffed loudly while he shook his head.

"Ah. Do you want to know?"

"Everything. All of it." Carlos nodded then rested his head on the wall near the window as Urs took a deep breath and started to speak.

"The hospital called Karen's mother and broke the news to her when she arrived. She came in to sit with you for a while afterwards but you were so distraught, you didn't even realise she was there. She left after an hour or so to call Franky and me because she was worried about you. She thought at least one of us should be there for you."

Carlos turned his head briefly and Urs noticed a solitary tear make its escape and sighed as it was quickly knocked away. Carlos nodded once more and gave Urs the weakest smile he'd ever seen cross his lips.

"I called David and Lauren, gave them the news once I'd managed to get Franky to calm down enough. She came in to see you once we'd arrived at the hospital and that's when you finally realised there was someone else in the room. She said you looked at her and spoke to her in Spanish as she sat down opposite you. 'Ella está muerta Franky, Karen está muerto'."

Another nod accompanied by a small sob came from Carlos's direction as Urs paused and he thought about stopping until he saw the rolling hand gesture Carlos made, requesting him to continue.

"You grabbed hold of Franky's hand and held it quite tight for a few moments while you....... well you know......you cried quietly."

"I didn't hurt her did I?" Carlos asked quickly after he'd taken a faultering breath.

"No. No. She's fine." Urs confirmed with a smile and shake of his head. "Seb came in for a while after that and you did give him an acknowledgement as you did David when he came in. Lauren made David come on his own because she didn't want to disturb Stephanie. Neither Seb or David knew what to say or do and only spent a few minutes with you. I left Franky with them while I came in to pay my respects. I'd been with you about fifteen minutes when a nurse entered and told me they needed to get Karen's body down to the morgue. You heard what she said, became quite angry and tried to prevent them taking her away."

Urs paused to wipe his eyes and take breath before continuing.

"It took both me and David to pull you away from the bed and keep you away while they took her out of the room and when she'd gone you broke down again. I'm sorry we had to do that, but there was nothing else we could do. You were incoherent when you finally left the room with me. We didn't think you should be left on your own so Franky and I brought you back here instead of taking you home and got you settled on the bed. I don't know how long you just laid there staring out of the window before you allowed yourself to go to sleep, but by the time Franky and I got back to bed it was almost 4:00am."

"What time is it now?" Carlos asked quietly.

"Just after seven." Urs shrugged and gave a weak smile after he'd reached over to the nightstand to look at Carlos's watch. "I'd erm...I'd better get back to Franky."

Carlos's eyes blinked rapidly while he thanked Urs for everything that he'd done then watched him shake his head and stand to walk to the door.

"What do I do now Urs? What do I do without her?" Carlos asked with a long look at Urs as he reached the threshold.

Urs turned to face him and started to walk back towards him. He stopped abruptly when a left hand was raised quickly and a shake of a head was given.

"I don't know Carlos. I honestly don't know my friend. I wouldn't even know where to begin." Was all that Urs could say as he watched Carlos make his way back over to the bed to drop back down on it. He sighed heavily when Carlos batted his hand at him indicating that he wanted him to go and with reluctance that was what he did.

Carlos sat for a few moments and tried to remember what day it was. It took him a while to figure out that it was Sunday and there would be nothing he could do today, except get Carina out of the hospital.

"No. I don't have the ....... No puedo volver la cara ahí, no la derecha. Dios me perdone. Yo sólo no puede."

He couldn't register Karen's death because the post-mortem wasn't scheduled until Monday morning. How did he do that anyway? He didn't have a clue. Because he couldn't do that, planning her funeral was out of the question. What happened there? He'd never attended an English one and didn't know where to begin with arrangements. Should it be a burial or a cremation? It wasn't a subject they'd ever talked about. Perhaps they should have. There were lots of other things that had to be considered as well he knew that, but his mind was blank as to what they were for the moment. Music was one of them he was sure of that, but what sort he didn't know and didn't think about that right now.

His thoughts turned to Carina and what he needed to do for her. Register her birth of course, that was the first thing. Then what? Would he be able to take care of her himself? No, because he barely had an idea where to begin and babies do not come with handbooks no matter how much he wished they did. He was pretty sure his mother and Karen's would help out for a while but he couldn't expect them to do it forever. That would be asking too much, even if they volunteered their services. An au pair or nanny would probably be the best solution to that problem. She would have to have good references and prepared to travel of course. There was no way he would leave his daughter behind while he went on tour.

The tour.

They were supposed to start a new world tour in the new year. Would he be able to do it? Would he be able to get up on that stage and sing those songs again?

Yes. He was pretty sure he could do that. It would be hard at first perhaps,
but..........

Everything became a muddle in his head and it started to ache from just thinking about what needed to be done. Never mind the fact that his inner voice was trying to lay the blame at Jamie's feet. He didn't want to even think her name right now and shook that thought from his head. He startled slightly when he heard a voice at the door and turned his head to see Franky standing in the doorway, hugging a fluffy lilac bathrobe around her, her face tear-streaked from crying, but attempting a smile.

"Do you want to go and fetch Carina later?" She asked gently.

"Si, Franky. Acabo de hacer frente no puede ir al hospital en el momento. Tal vez cuando mis padres llegan."

"It's ok. I understand. That's your decision, not mine. Are you going to be all right arranging things after tomorrow?"

Carlos looked at her for a few seconds longer then turned his head away and hung it low while he shook it.

"I erm..... No sé por dónde empezar." He informed sadly.

"Usted necesita ayuda?" Franky offered from the doorway.

Carlos thought for a moment or two then swallowed hard and sniffed as he nodded quickly, knowing that she was only offering her help in case he needed something he didn't understand translating, not to interfere in the arrangements in any way. He heard the door close and turned his head slowly to see that Franky had moved away from the entrance and quietly pulled the door shut behind her.

"Gracias Franky. Gracias." He whispered very quietly before he laid himself back down on the bed and waited for sleep to possess him once more.

It would take a long time to come and would not last for as long as he needed when it did.

Monday

No matter what he'd done throughout Sunday, he hadn't been able to sleep for much more than an hour and it wasn't because he was somewhere unfamiliar. He'd gotten used to sleeping in different beds in different rooms since he'd joined the group. No that was not the reason he hadn't been able to sleep properly at all. He felt that this was where he needed to be, their home and perhaps, now he was back, sleep would outdo wakefulness tonight.

It wasn't that he wasn't grateful for everything that Urs and Franky had done for him, he was. Very much so. He was just having a little difficulty showing it at the moment. A lightning quick smile flashed across his lips as he recalled how Franky had shaken her head at him when he tried to verbalise his thanks just before she and Urs left to pick his parents up from the airport. They had called between changing planes and he'd almost broken down again while he told his mother what had happened to Karen. The one thing that normally brought him to tears was hearing his mother cry, now there would be two reasons.

He had thought of going to pick his parents up himself but he couldn't face the idea of standing in an airport and perhaps being spotted by papperazzi, fans and God knew who else. From the state of him their fans would have known straightaway that there was something wrong with him. A dark pair of sunglasses was in no way, shape or form going disguise anything but the dark circles that ringed his eyes and he was obviously in no mood for signing autographs or giving photo opportunities. No, allowing Urs and Franky to fetch them had been the better choice to make.

He yawned and his reflection yawned back before he turned his head back towards the bedroom and spotted Mickey making his way in. There was something different about the male cat today, almost as if he sensed there was something not quite right, something was missing, something had gone and was never going to return. For the first time in a long time he entered the bathroom and snaked his way around Carlos's still slightly damp ankles.

Carlos put the shaver down on the countertop before he bent and picked the animal up. Honey brown eyes stared into amber ones for a moment or two wondering what was going through the feline's head.

"Probably similar to what's going through mine hey amigo?" He vocalised quietly, rubbing Mickey under the chin in much the same way Karen used to when he wanted a little fussing over.

A short, grunted laugh made its escape as the cat closed his eyes, tilted his head back and started purring louder than he ever had for Karen. Carlos was allowed to do it for quite while before Mickey decided he'd had enough, as was his usual for him, and he leapt to floor with an elegant bound. Carlos watched him as he walked through the door. His brow furrowed slightly when Mickey stopped walking, turned his head over his shoulder and seemed to wink at him before continuing his journey to assume his usual hiding place under the bed.

He turned the radio on but didn't really pay it much attention while he shaved until an Elvis number started playing. One he knew quite well. He reached to turn the radio off but something seemed to stay his hand and he stood frozen in position while The King emoted his way through 'I Miss You'.

'Still I recall all the good times together
The love we shared, the fun and the laughter
How I wish you could feel what my heart says tonight dear
I miss you and I wish you were here

Dreams that I had they lay broken in sorrow
The plans I made the hopes for tomorrow
If I could I would tell you I'm lonesome tonight dear
Oh I miss you and I wish you were here

All through the night I will see memories passing
The way you looked the sound of your laughing
How I long for the touch of your hand holding mine dear
Oh I miss you and I wish you were here

Lord, I miss you and I wish you were here.'

He expected to find tears glistening in his eyes again when he returned to looking in the mirror and did a small double-take when he saw that a soft smile had found its way across his lips. Then he remembered how he had once played the CD he had with that particular song on and how Karen had said that was the best song she'd ever heard Elvis sing. She had loved hearing the perfect emotion in his vocals.

"Maybe we should........" He thought out loud then shook his head. "Don't mess with perfection."

He raked his fingers through his hair while he checked that his face was presentable then made his way into the bedroom. A flash of bright yellow caught his eye as he crossed the threshold. He made his way over to Karen's wardrobe and pushed the fringing of the new salsa dress back behind the sliding door. That was a job he knew had to be done, but not one he was looking forward to. Perhaps it was something that Karen's mother could help with.

He pulled a pair of jeans and a navy polo shirt from his own wardrobe. He put them on while yawning again, then took a quick look under the bed to see Mickey curled up at the top end but awake. Amber eyes blinked once at brown then closed and remained that way as Carlos stood and left the bedroom.

It was far too quiet for Carlos's liking as he made his way into the lounge and he quickly made his way over to stereo system where he selected the Elvis CD he'd been thinking about earlier. He put the disc into the machine and turned the volume up, just loud enough for it to be heard before he headed for the conservatory.

Another pair of amber eyes met his and he smiled softly as Minnie stretched herself out from her curled up postion on the chaise longue before she jumped up onto his shoulders and wrapped herself around his neck. He raised his left hand and gently tickled her at the back of her head, just the way she liked, while he walked over to Karen's art area. With Minnie still in place he perched himself on the stool she used and flipped back the fabric that covered the portrait she'd done of Franky and her parents. He felt the sting of tears again when he remembered how Karen had said she couldn't wait to see her reaction when she presented it to her on her birthday. Her voice excited and a huge smile on her face.

"Perhaps Franky's birthday should come a little earlier this year." He nodded as he vocalised the thought.

He knew what frame Karen had chosen for the artwork and where to get it done.

A glance down to his left bought a newly acquired sketch book to his attention and he recalled Karen beginning work on something but she hadn't allowed him to see it. He tentatively picked it up and flicked the cover back. He gasped loudly when he saw the drawing of the four men's faces facing their respective wives, looks of love of each one. One couple occupied each of the four corners and a playful looking Stephanie had been drawn in the very centre. On closer inspection he realised that the pictures were taken from Karen's memories of the weddings. It was an exquisit piece of work, worthy of being framed and displayed. He pondered for a moment if he should have copies made for the other couples and thought Karen would like that. He would need help to get that done.

The remainder of the pad was unused so he dropped the cover back and stored it somewhere safe.

The sound of his front door opening grabbed his attention and after returning Minnie to the chaise he made his way back to the lounge to see his tearful mother making her way over to him. He looked at his father and gave him a weak smile while he watched him quickly wipe his eyes. He allowed his tears to fall once more and closed his eyes when he felt his mother's arms wrap around his shoulders while his arms flew around her waist. He buried his face into the side of her neck and nodded when he felt his father rubbing the top of his right arm gentle. A few moments of quiet crying followed then everyone slowly eased apart.

Carlos wiped his eyes while he listened to his mother ask if he was ok.

"I'm fine." He nodded, replying in Spanish.

A slight turn of his head bought him face-to-face with Urs and Franky and he managed a slightly bigger smile as he spoke.

"Gracias." He nodded as he thanked them.

"No es nada." The couple replied together before heading upstairs with suitcases and carry-on luggage.

"How is she this morning?" David asked with a nod towards Stephanie's clubhouse, stretching himself out, after recently getting up.

"Quiet. Very, very quiet." Lauren sighed as she leaned back against David's chest and allowed him to wrap his arms around her for a few moments. "I had hoped having Little Frank here would provide a distraction for her but she's taken herself off to the clubhouse again."

"It's hit her really hard hasn't it?"

"Yeah. Like it has all of us." Lauren nodded then sighed again when she saw flash of dark hair across one of the clubhouse windows.

"You know I didn't realise how close she'd got to Karen in such a short time." David shook his head then turned it quickly when they heard Frank crying. "You sort him, I'll go talk to Steph."

Lauren nodded then stood on her tiptoes to place a quick kiss on David's cheek before she made her way into the lounge where the Frank was informing her that he was hungry.

David watched her for a few moments and a smile played across his lips when he saw how patient and gentle she was with their friends' child. He knew as he watched her that she would make a wonderful mother to their children. She'd already proved how good she was with Stephanie.

Though they had the money to give the little girl almost anything her heart desired, it didn't mean she got it. Lauren always made little deals with her. If she wanted something small, Stephanie would have to keep her room tidy for a week. Bigger items required Stephanie to help with other tasks.

His eyebrows raised slightly as he recalled the slight disagreement they'd had about Lauren making her help with small chores around the house. How she'd stood with her hands fisted on her hips while she told him that she was teaching Stephanie to be thankful for what she had and how to look after it. Then she'd reminded him that he'd been made to do chores when he was her age and he'd grimmaced at the memory of some of the things he used to find under his bed.

After pushing those memories back into the recesses of his mind, he stepped through the back door and started to walk down to the clubhouse. He was barefooted he soon realised when a small stone embedded itself in his heel. The stone was brushed away with one quick sweep of his hand and he was soon taking the journey to the end of the garden again.

He smiled while he thought about how quickly Stephanie had connected with him and the others of course. She seemed to have something in common with all of them. With him it was the Playstation and he hung his head as he recalled how she left him standing on some of the racing games. Her little fingers flew over the controls much quicker that his would ever be able to.

With Sébastien it seemed to be that fact that they were both only children, for now at least, and that they both loved to eat of course. He smiled as he remembered the time he and Emma had turned up at the house with a chocolate cake that he'd made, using his mother's recipe as usual.

Everyone had giggled at the look Stephanie had had on her face after she'd enjoyed something homemade rather than mass produced. That one look had convinced Lauren she should take a few lessons in the art of baking. His stomach rumbled loudly as he recalled the last cake she'd made. That carrot cake had been devoured quicker than you could snap your fingers. Mainly by himself and Stephanie and he huffed a small laugh at the memory of the two of them sneaking down for a midnight snack and how Lauren had shaken her head and laughed at them when she'd caught them. Nothing Lauren made after that seemed to last long with two of them around. Visits to the gym would soon become a necessity if he kept up that particular habit.

Chocolate had given Stephanie her connection to Urs and he laughed while remembered the first time she'd tasted 'proper chocolate' as Urs had called it. The real Swiss chocolate his mother had sent over for his birthday. Chocolate and a love of reading was what those two had in common. If you couldn't find Stephanie in front of the tv playing a game, you could guarantee that she was sitting somewhere in the house with her nose buried deep into a book. Even though they sounded too scary and were just a little on the difficult side, her favourites at the moment were JK Rowling's 'Harry Potter' series. She was already a quarter of the way through 'The Philosopher's Stone' and she'd only had the book for just over a fortnight.

He sighed as he remembered the connection she had made to Carlos and Karen. From the moment she'd seen them dancing together at Franky and Urs's wedding, then at their own, Stephanie had become interested in learning to dance. He swallowed hard as memories of watching Karen teach her the basic salsa step came to the fore. The memory of coming back from New York to find Stephanie practising what she'd learned with Carlos as her partner was pushed aside and he heard an audible sniff as he recalled pulling the Spaniard away from Karen's bed while her body was wheeled away.

It had taken every ounce of strength he and Urs possessed to drag him away and keep him back. He swallowed hard again as he relived seeing the distant look in the Spaniard's eyes when they'd left the hospital. It had seemed like he wasn't there. The body present and moving slowly through the corridors, mind off somewhere else entirely. He couldn't even bear the thought of being in his shoes right now. David sighed then smiled as he recalled that Carlos had looked a little better yesterday morning. Very tired and quiet, but with a little sparkle back in his previously empty eyes.

After Urs had dropped him off he'd walked into their home to find a still distraught Lauren sitting in the darkness of the lounge crying harder than he'd ever heard. Not a word had passed between them as he lifted her into his arms, carried her back to their bed and held her tight while she cried herself back to sleep. He'd only allowed himself to shed his own tears once he knew she was asleep and he couldn't recall crying for that long since he was.....Well, God alone knew the answer to that one.

The following morning they'd been faced with the difficult task of giving Stephanie the news. They'd been as gentle as they could and she seemed to take it in her stride at first, at least that's how it appeared as she made her way back up stairs to have a wash and get dressed. Lauren had gone looking for her when she failed to come down for breakfast ten minutes later, it didn't normally take Stephanie longer than five minutes to get herself ready for the day. She'd found Stephanie curled up on her side underneath her bed crying her little heart out and it had taken her a long time to calm down. She'd spent the remainder of the day in quiet solitude only really speaking to say 'please', 'thank you', 'yes' or 'no'.

It seemed like hours had past when he realised that he'd reached the clubhouse, but in reality it was only a few moments. He took a deep breath and quickly wiped his eyes before he fixed a gentle smile on his face and poked his head through the door. He thanked God that the clubhouse was pretty high up as he did so then spoke to Stephanie.

"Hey there Missy. What are you doing down here all on your lonesome?"

"Thinking about Carina." Stephanie sniffed without raising her head.

"Thinking what about Carina?"

"That it's not FAIR!" Stephanie yelled. "Babies are not supposed to grow up without their mummies. It's just not fair on Carina or Uncle Carlos." She huffed as she finally raised her tear-streaked face to meet David's.

"I know. Come here." David resisted the urge to shout along with her and held his open arms out to her instead. He sniffed loudly as she moved herself into them and held him tight around the neck.

"Daddy?" David smiled as he heard Stephanie's questioning tone while he carried her back towards the house.

"Mmmm. What sweetheart?"

"I know not now." Stephanie shook her head. "But do you think one day Carina will get a lovely new mummy, like I got you?"

"Maybe. Someday she might." David nodded . "Just don't say anything like that to Uncle Carlos at the minute, ok?"

"I know that." Stephanie laughed through her sniffles. "Does mummy want my help with Frank?" She asked as she dried her eyes and gave him a smile.

"Yeah. Mummy wants your help." David nodded, lowered her to the ground then watched her run back into the house.

He followed not far behind and was soon standing in the lounge doorway watching Stephanie give her mother the tighest hug she possibly could while she told her she loved her very much.

A solitary tear made its way down his face and he smiled when Lauren turned to face him and mouthed 'Thank you' to him then blew him a gentle kiss.