Author's Note

I just felt I had to say this...



Firstly, I do own all the characters in the story.:P

Wilhelmina - Rachel Winston is dedicated to my best friend. He would never read this (I don't think any guy would, for that matter:P) and can't really explain why but I just thought about him a lot while writing Billie - Rae.


Evelynne - Doreen Winston is dedicated to the bossiest friend ever, although she's kind of a tomboy, while Lynnie - Doe is sweet and frail. But they're both Virgos and good looking (all the Winston girls are good looking, but I only insisted on Lynn's looks for now) and they both love kids.


Katherine - Leandra Winston (Katyousha) is dedicated to my one and only Katyusha and I will say no more.:)


Finally, the rebellious yet cute and caring Abigail - Susan Winston is dedicated to my cousin, Cristina. They are not alike, not at all, just that the story was intented to be about three sisters and I decided to add the fourth after a conversation with my cousin. So, she's the reason Abby - Sue exists.:)


Ellen Reid - Winston is named after actresses Ellen Parker (Maureen Reardon from Guiding Light) and Ellen Pompeo (Meredith Grey from Grey's Anatomy). Her maiden name is inspired from Scrubs. I like the name "Reid" and I think it goes well with a first name that starts with "e".

Yeah, yeah I admit it, the name "Denny" is from Grey's Anatomy, because I like the sound of it. The characters however have nothing in common (I wasn't very fond of the Grey's character), not even the first name (my character's name is actually Daniel). Oh, and there will be another Denny later but with a different first name. By the way, Daniel - Matthew Hampton was initially created after on of my ex-boyfriends.:P He's nothing like him, thou.

Remington Hampton, Denny's father, was named after Remington the maid, from The Sims 2 computer game. I thought it was funny.:P

I tried to only use real locations and events (I looked them up on Wikipedia) and I think I've succeeded.:)

Sorry for the clichees.:(

Maybe I'll look for photos of how I imagine the kids look like and post the links here. People do that on http://www.fanfiction.com/ and I like the idea.

That's all for now.

Clau

Chapter 9

Over

Kathy – Lee

1990

“Kath, it’s for you” little Amelia yelled glancing at the receiver in her hand.
“Coming!” Kathy yelled back, then skated towards the gate and extended her hand grabbing the receiver form the girl. “Hello?”
“Katherine – Leandra Winston! You are in so much trouble!” she heard Lynn’s voice.
“I missed you, too, sis” Kathy said.
“Did you really? ‘Cause it doesn’t seem like you did. Both Billie and I have been trying to reach you for three days. Where have you been?”
“Busy… skating … why? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing … um … Billie’s fine. She and Richard are getting married in a week. We’re expected to be in New York the day before. I’ll come with my boyfriend I’ve been diagnosed with anemia and I have to be resting. Oh, and if you manage to reach mom and dad before Billie or I do, let them know, please. See you next week. Bye!”
Kathy was so stunned that she didn’t even felt her skating partner approaching until he wrapped an arm around her waist.
“Good news or bad news?” he asked breathing into her hair.
“I’m not sure” she said pulling away.
Alexander Solovyiev was Katherine’s new partner, her previous one, Charles Crawford had ended their partnership two weeks before. They were still in try-out, but coach Igor thought they had potential. The reason she switched coaches was that she hated to train along with Charlie but not actually with him.
“My sister’s getting married. And my other sister has anemia… Oh, and neither of them can reach my parents and we all have to be in New York on Friday before the wedding…” she trailed off.
“Well, the fact that …” but whatever he was about to say was interrupted by their coach.
“Enough with the chatting, you too! Back to work!”
………………………………………………………………………………………..
Four hours later, Kathy and Alexander were exhausted. She stretched her hand to reach for her shoes and left out a moan when a sharp pain crossed her arm muscles.
“I guess that’s part of getting used to a new partner”, he smiled.
“Yeah … thanks for not dropping me though” she smiled back.
“Well, well, well” a voice coming form behind them said “if it isn’t America’s new dream team, Winston and Solovyiev”.
“Charlie …” Kathy felt a lump forming in her throat.
“Crawford” Alexander said standing “you need anything?”
“Nah, just wanted to warn you about that one” he pointed to Kathy “soon enough she’ll be falling for you had over heals and she can be quite annoying when she does that. So run while you still can. Friendly advice” he finished grinning.
“Crawford” Alexander said faking calm “get out”.
“Hey, I was trying to help …” Charlie said smirking.
“I said get out!” Alexander repeated taking one step towards him. He must have looked quite threatening because Charlie stopped grinning and walked hastily through the door slamming it behind him.
Alexander paced the room for a few minutes trying to calm down.
“Maybe”, he heard Kathy’s shaky voice “maybe this isn’t such a good idea … the two of us, I mean … skating together”. He looked at her and realized she had tears in her eyes.
“Kathy …”
“No. Don’t say anything. It’s a bad idea, I know it. That’s it. It’s over.” She said, gathered her things and walked to the door. But she stopped and turned around to face him without actually looking at him. “You’re a great skater. One day you’ll be a champion. And that’s why you deserve better than me” she looked up and into his brown eyes and smiled.
“Katyousha” … he said taking her hand “don’t do this to yourself …”
“Bye … Sasha” she said and walked away from him.
He didn’t move, didn’t try to stop her as she walked through the door. She looked so frail. She needed someone to protect her, she needed to feel safe … But would she let anyone do that for her? Would she let him? Not tonight, no. But … maybe tomorrow, he thought as he sat down to put his skates in his bag. He was determined to talk to her in the morning.

Chapter 8

Personal Nurse

Two days later Lynn was anxious to go home. Hospitals were so boring. Denny came in and her face lit up when she saw him.
“Hey” he greeted her, “ready to get out of here?”
“Oh, yeah”, she answered smiling widely.
“I’m glad to hear that. By the way, someone is here to see you” he said and motioned for the people behind him to come in.
“Serena, hi!” Lynn greeted her friend and extended her arms to hug her. “Hi, Mark!”
“Hey, you”, Serena said hugging her.
“I’ll be outside with Mark in case you need me, ok?” Denny called from the door.
“’k”, she answered “thanks”.
“Pleasure’s all mine” he said back smiling.
“So … how are you?” Serena asked.
“I’m ok, eager to go home”
“Speaking of which, I heard Denny’s taking you to his place?” Serena asked again.
“Yeah. My doctor put me on bed rest and he promised he’ll see that I do that. I think he feels guilty, you know.”
“He should, he’s got you pregnant”, Serena stated simply.
“Serena” Lynn smiled, “it takes two for that. And let me tell you something, I’ve been in this as much as he has”. Even more, she thought to herself.
“Lynn, you’re fooling yourself, he doesn’t want this baby … I’m sorry, honey, but it’s the truth. You know it too …” Serena stopped when she saw the tears in her friend’s eyes.
“I … I don’t want … a baby either. But just for a while I’m going to pretend. Pretend that we’re both happy to start a family, that we want these babies. Oh, it’s ‘babies’ by the way. Twins” she said while a new wave of emotion struck her and she started sobbing again.
Outside, Denny and Mark were having a similar conversation.
“Mark, just say it. I know you want to, so say it!”
“What are you doing, man?” Mark spoke “you’re taking her to your place, you promise everything is going to be fine? You’re going to a family reunion? What’s next teddy bears, roses and a ring? Because if that’s what you want, I’ll be there, stand by your side as your best man. But this isn’t what you want. So, what are you doing?”
Denny sighed and ran a hand through his hair.
“All I know is that I want her to be ok… And if that means being her personal nurse for the next two weeks, I’m ready to do it.”

Chapter 7

Ultrasound

Denny was pacing the hospital waiting area. Mark stood up from his chair and approached him. “Pregnant?” he asked.
“Yeah …” Denny answered. She told me this morning. “
“What is she going to do about it? I mean it would be crazy to keep it. For both of you. You’re no father material. You’re dreaming to be a surgeon, cut people open, kick ass in the O.R. Hello?! ‘Surgeon of The Year’ not ‘Father of The Year”. And …”
“Mark!” Denny almost shouted “shut up!”
Before any of them could say anything else a young woman doctor approached them.
“Hi, I’m Dr. Sarah Crane. Mr. Hampton, right?”
“That’s me” Denny said “How is she?”
“Miss Winston is fine which means she isn’t sick. However, as you are already aware since you were the one who told the paramedics, she’s pregnant. Her body undergoes a lot of changes and she is exhausted. She seems to not have been eating properly and she is also dehydrated.”
“May I see her?” Denny asked.
“Yes. Come with me. I wanted to talk to both of you anyway.”
They entered Lynn’s room and Denny was shocked at how pale she was.
“Hey” he greeted her and sat in a chair next to her bed.
“Hi” she answered forcing a smile.
“How are you feeling, Evelynne?” Dr. Crane asked.
“Better, I guess and please, call me Lynn” she said.
“Ok, Lynn, listen, what happened to you today is your body telling you to slow down. You are pregnant and your body suffers some changes. I need you to eat, rest and avoid stress, if you want a healthy baby. Now, I would like to do an ultrasound. You’ll be able to see your baby on this monitor” she told them pointing to the monitor next to the bed.
“We know” Lynn said with a smile “we’re both med students.”
“Yeah, I forgot” Dr. Crane smiled back.
She was looking at the monitor when she let out a gasp and moved her gaze to Lynn.
“What?” Lynn asked panicked “what is it?”
“Is everything ok?” Denny asked trying to hide his own concern so that he won’t scare Lynn.
She turned the monitor so that they both could see and spoke
“This is your baby” she said pointing at a small moving spot on the screen “and this” she continued “is its twin”, she smiled “you’re having twins. Congratulations!”
When she finished the test she told Lynn
“Ok, I’m keeping you here for observation for a couple of days and then you can go home. But I want you on bed rest for the next two weeks.”
“But” Lynn started “I can’t. I live in a dorm and I have classes and my sister’s getting married in two weeks…” she paused and then added “I can’t do this.”
Denny gave her another squeeze and tried to comfort her
“Shhh, of course you can. We’ll do it together.” Then he turned to the doctor “About the wedding, if I make sure she rests and eats and stays calm can we go? It is really important to her …”
“Ok” she agreed “but no dancing, no shopping not even standing if she can avoid it. Are we clear?”
“But” Lynn started again,
“We are clear” Denny assured.
“Ok then” Dr. Crane said with a smile. “I’ll see you tomorrow” and then she turned to Denny “Make her get some rest.”
As soon as she closed the door behind her, Lynn took a deep breath and let the tears she had struggled to control till then fall freely down her cheeks.
“Hey … no crying. You have to stay calm, remember? For the …” he took a deep breath and continued “babies”.
“I’m sorry” she whispered through sobs “I’m so sorry. I … I have to make a decision. Maybe set a date for … oh my God!”
“Shhh … Lynn, come on …” Denny tried again. When his second attempt to calm her seemed to fail, he climbed in bed next to her, wrapped his arms around her and planted a soft kiss on her cheek.
“We don’t have to make a decision right now. There’s still time. You’re only six weeks along.”
“But …”
“No buts. I tell you what: why don’t we talk about this after Billie’s wedding?”
“I …” she wanted to protest some more but she changed her mind “Well, ok …” but she still had tears in her eyes.
“Everything is going to be alright. You’re going to be just fine. We both are. I promise you that” he said and his words seemed to be able to calm her a bit. He kept whispering soothing words while he caressed her arm with one hand and held her close with the other.

Chapter 6

Cafeteria Commotion

Denny Hampton sat with his friends in the campus main cafeteria not hearing anything they were saying. His eyes were fixed on the chatty group by the window table where the “psych chicks” sat. He couldn’t help not noticing how pale Lynn looked and he wondered weather the morning sickness let ate anything that day.
“Hey, man, snap out of it!” his best friend Mark Devine said. “You can be all lovey-dovey later. I don’t think the girl is in the mood for flirting right now. She doesn’t look to well by the way.”
“She’s … fine” Denny sighed. He’ll talk to her later, tell her she should really see that doctor, although now she knew what the problem was, she still needed a consult … He heard a few gasps and saw people moving and he raised his head from his glass of soda only to see Lynn fainting. He rushed to her side knocking down a few chairs and he yelled kneeling beside her “Someone call 911! Lynn can you hear me? Please open your eyes … Lynn, please, don’t do this, baby …”
Her eyelids trembled slightly and she opened her eyes. She tried to say something but her eyes filled with tears instead.
“Shhhh, don’t try to talk, I’m here, we’re taking you to the hospital” he said trying to stay calm for her sake. She swallowed hard and then managed to whisper
“Tell them … the doctors … tell them about …”
“I know” he shushed her “I’ll tell them.”
He held her close until the paramedics arrived, while the others took a few steps back to make room for the doctors except for Mark and Serena, Lynn and Denny’s friends.
“She’s pregnant” Denny told the paramedics“ and she experienced nausea and dizziness, probably hasn’t eaten anything all day. Can I go with her?”
“Are you her …”
“Boyfriend. I’m her boyfriend” Denny answered not taking his gaze away from Lynn’s pale face.

Chapter 5

How?

Denny held her in his arms and hoped that would make her feel better. This is not just sleeping together it suddenly occurred to him, but before he had the chance to look closer into the matter, he felt her shaking and sobbing uncontrollably.
“Hey” he said “no crying. It’s ok” and he tightened his grip around her.
“No, it’s not.” she whispered “I’m pregnant” she said and held her breath waiting for him to say something. He swallowed hard and then decided to talk.
“How?”
She pulled away and turned to face him.
“You didn’t just ask me that!” she spat.
“No… I don’t mean that. I know how. I’m going to be a doctor for God’s sake, I do know that. I mean how … do you know?”
“Oh”, she said not looking at him anymore, “you know I didn’t feel so well lately, the exhaustion, the upset stomach … You suggested I’d see a doctor and I was going to, but Serena said I should do a pregnancy test …” her voice trailed off. He didn’t say anything and she continued “this is the part where you tell me this things can be wrong and that I might not be pregnant after all, but with al the symptoms … I wish the test was wrong but I don’t think it is …” she finished still not looking at him. She wished the test was wrong, he thought. She wished. She didn’t want to be pregnant …
“Why did you tell me?” he asked surprised by the coldness in his own voice. “It’s your decision.”
Lynn felt as being slapped. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath and said calmly:
“You’re right. Why the hell did I even tell you?” and with that she stood up searching for her clothes, but she stopped as dizziness hit her.
“Oh, God!” she whispered leaning against the wall.
Denny stood up and reached her.
“Are you ok?”
Was that concern in his voice? Lynn asked herself. It couldn’t be. “I’m fine” she said. “I have to go. Classes”, she continued.
“Lynn, we need to talk…” he tried.
“Classes” she said again putting on her blouse and heading to the door.

Chapter 4

The phone woke her up. She reached out for it and answered in a sleepy voice:
“Hello? … Neah, you didn’t wake me. I was just … um … reading. Uh-uh … Yeah, I’m fine … No, I haven’t spoken to them this week … Nope, her either … So, how are you? … Really? You’re not kidding, are you? ‘Couse April Fools Day is in six months, you know … So you’re not kidding … Then congratulations, I guess. I’m happy for you … Of course, I’m coming. Yeah, ok … I’ll see you … Bye!” She hung up and put her head back on the pillow.
“Where are you going?” the guy laying next to her asked.
“What? When?”
“You told someone you were coming”, he continued just for the sake of it as he wasn’t really interested. He was sleeping with her because she was a beautiful young woman and because neither of them had a boyfriend or girlfriend. He liked her, even cared about her, but not to the point of having a relationship with her. He was a rich, smart and handsome guy, he could have dated any girl. And he did. Till he met her. It hadn’t been love at first sight. It hadn’t been love at all. They met at a campus party, talked for a while, drank a lot and ended up in bed, waking up next to each other the next morning. He was busy studying to become a doctor, he didn’t have time for dating. She became his “cover”. As long as girls thought he had a girlfriend he was somewhat safe and could study without being distracted. It was the same with her. She was studying medicine too, as she wanted to be a psychiatrist, and hated dating (or at least she used to say so). Officially they were the most beautiful, well – matched couple in campus. Practically they were only sleeping together.
“I was?”
“Uh-uh”
“Oh, yeah … my sister … she’s getting married … her wedding … that’s were I’m going …“ she finally answered.
“Kind of incoherent for someone who plans to psychoanalyze”, he mocked her.
His words seemed to have drawn her attention. She looked at him in a manner that made him wonder what he had said to upset her. Though they were only together for one thing (or two, if he counted the keeping other girls/boys at a distance), he knew Evelynne – Doreen Winston was not someone to mess with.
“Did I say something wrong? I was only joking …“ he tried.
“Denny, this is not the right time to joke, ok? In fact I should be going home” she said and tried to get out of bed.
“Would you like to (he paused) … talk?”
“We don’t talk. We sleep together” she stated simply trying to find her slippers.
“Of course we talk”, he said “Why don’t you tell me what’s bothering you and you’ll see that we do talk. Under the bed” he continued.
“Excuse me?”
“Your left slipper is under the bed”
“Oh … thanks” she gave him the hint of a smile. “Nothing’s wrong”.
Before she could do anything, he grabbed her by the hand and pulled her back.
“Denny, please”, she tried, but her will was already weakening, “I have to go … “.
He placed her arms around her and whispered: “Five more minutes”.
“What kind of parents would name their child ‘Lynnie – Doe’?”
“What?” he asked trying hard not to laugh.
“I mean they could have named me Annie, Minnie, Beannie … but Lynnie? Is that even a name? And Doe? Are you kidding me? Do I look like a doe?”
Denny had giving up trying and was already laughing like mad.
“Beannie? Beannie? I could call you Beannie … If you say it’s better than Lynnie …”
“I’m serious!” she almost yelled.
“Ok, Lynn”, he said, emphasizing on her name “first of all, they didn’t name you Lynnie – Doe, they named you Evelynne – Doreen, very nice names if you ask me. And second, I think calling you Lynnie – Doe, calling not naming, was very original”.
“Pffff …“ was her answer. And after a pause she continued: “Look at her, she has a nice, classy name and a cute nickname, she attended med school, she had the chance of being a mother offered to her on a silver platter and now she’s getting married to the guy she dreamed of for years, the love of her life!”
“That’s it?”
“That’s what?” she retorted.
“Jealous of your sister?” he asked calmly.
She didn’t answer. Envy? Was it envy? She had never envied her sister, she loved her sister. All her sisters. What was wrong with her?

Chapter 3

Helping A Friend

Later that day, after Billie – Rae fed the baby and put him to sleep surrounded by large pillows, in Richard’s large double bed, the young man looked at her with a raised eyebrow and asked:
“Andy?”
“We’ve got carried away?”, she retorted.
He didn’t answer and there was silence for a few minutes.
“When Dr. Pyne told us that I’m the father, I asked you if you would help me …”, Richard said in a low voice, “Now I’m asking you again: will you?”.
“I’m trained to be a doctor, not a nanny”, she answered.
“If I had needed a nanny, I would have called a nanny agency, not my best friend”, he stated calmly. She didn’t answer and so he went on:
“I don’t want you to be his nanny. He doesn’t need one. He needs a mother, I need a mother for him. And I need you for that!”
“Richie …”
“No, let me finish! If I had any doubts, which I don’t think I had, earlier at the hospital when you let Louise believe that he is ours, I knew it for sure. What I felt when you handed Andy to me convinced me that he couldn’t get a better mom than the one he would have if you agree to help me!”
“You called him Andy … “, she said in a small voice.
“That’s how his mommy calls him”, Richie answered smiling.
“Very funny”
“Rae … seriously, I know I’m asking a great deal of you, but I don’t want his birth certificate to spell “mother unknown”. I’m saying please here… Please…”
“Ok. Let’s say I go with you and declare him my son. What are we going to be? A modern man and a modern woman that got carried away and had a baby and now share custody of him? Oh, and I assume that implies living together, too? And I’ll be one of those ‘nature’s curiosities’ who had a baby without having sex.”
“That can be arranged. The sex part, I mean,” Richie said playfully.
“I’m being serious here. You’re not.”
“Rae, will you … “
A baby’s cry interrupted him. Billie – Rae rushed to the other room. She picked the baby and talked to him.
“Hey, cutie! What is it? You’ve had a bad dream, haven’t you? And there was no one when you woke up. Shhhh… I’m here. It’s ok. Mo … “, she stopped as she felt Richie’s hand on her shoulder.
“Why don’t you say it?” he asked watching both of them tenderly.
“S-say what?” she whispered.
He came closer, his lips touching her ear, and whispered back “Mommy’s here”.
“You’re emotionally blackmailing me. You do realize that, don’t you?”
“If that’s what it takes to keep you here, yeah, I am. And I’m proud of it, too.”
“Richie?”
“Yes, sweetie pie?”
“What will people say?”
“About what?”
“Us, raising a baby together”.
He slowly turned her around so that she could face him. “Since when do you care about what people say?”.
She gave him a smile. “Do I get to name him?”
He smiled back. “Haven’t you already?”
“Andy’s just a nickname. It could be Andy for Andrew or for Alexander”.
“I like Andrew. And I was thinking of asking Damien to be his godfather. He’s my best friend after all”.
“Might help him grow-up and think more mature if he has the responsibility of a godson”, she joked.
“Yeah. And if we ask your best friend, Carolyn, to be the godmother we might actually get them to admit that they like each other”.
Billie – Rae laughed.
Damien (who had been Richard’s best friend since kinder garden) and Carolyn (who was actually one of their ex-classmates from med school) went out together a few times but Carolyn “declared” Damien highly immature and refused to see him again, although both her friends (Richard and Billie – Rae) noticed she kind of liked him and point it out to her.

Two days later, baby Zeller finally got an identity. He became Andrew – Damien Zeller, born July 27, 1990, son of Wilhelmina – Rachel Winston and Richard – Vincent Zeller.

It was autumn. Billie – Rae and Andy were taking their afternoon walk in the park. It was part of their daily routine. Billie – Rae pushed the stroller all around the lake and then she sat on a bench near a rose bush and picked Andy up. Sometimes she talked to him for almost an hour, about nature, the trees, the leaves, the lake, about how much she loved him and how grateful she was to have such a beautiful baby boy. She often told him about how much she loved his daddy, how she fell in love with him the moment she first saw him, how he became her best friend and she secretly kept loving him, for five years, although he always saw her like a little sister … Sometimes she wondered if she still loved him … But she preferred not to answer that (or was it admit?).
She only saw Richard when he was just in front of her.
“Hi!” she greeted him smiling.
“Hey! How are my favorite two people doing today?”, he asked.
“Fine. Enjoying the autumn sun. How about you?”
“Well … I remembered that this is the second week of October and that soon it would be November 1st…”
Billie – Rae smiled. “You haven’t forgotten …”
“I’ve never forgotten your birthday. Except for maybe our first med school year”.
She smiled again.
“Rae … I’ve been thinking about this for a while now, but waited for the right moment …”. He reached his pocket and handed her a little black velvet box. Then he looked into her eyes and spoke: “Will you marry me, Rae?”
Her eyes widened in disbelief while she struggled to open the box with one hand (she was still holding Andy). The ring was … perfect. She looked at him with teary eyes and spoke:
“Are you sure this is what you want?”
“You are a wonderful woman, the mother of my child, my best friend, of course it is what I want!”
“Ok, then”, she smiled, choosing not to think about the fact that he didn’t even mention love, “You think I can call my family and Carolyn to let them know they’re invited?”
“Defiantly!”, he answered her and planted a soft kiss on her lips.

Chapter 2

Carried Away

Half an hour later, they arrived at the hospital where Richard worked as an intern.
“When you called and asked me to schedule a paternity test for you and a child who is supposedly yours I thought you were joking”, Dr. Thomas Pyne, Richard’s resident said. “But I see you weren’t. He’s a beautiful baby, Mrs. …”
“Miss., actually. Billie – Rae Winston.”
“Dr. Thomas Pyne.”
“It’s nice to meet to.”
“Pleasure’s all mine, Miss. Winston.”
“Billie – Rae, please”, she told him with a smile.
“Ok, Billie – Rae. Let me take this young man and get him ready for the procedure.” She let him take the baby from her, then asked:
“May I stay with him?”. Dr. Pyne looked at the young woman. On the phone, Richard mentioned that he had no idea who the mother was. And Billie – Rae didn’t seem the kind of woman who would have her child go through this just to prove his paternity. No, she would rather take her baby and be gone for good … after slapping Richard hard for doubting her, of course.
“You can stay with him.”
………………………………………………………………………………………..
“You didn’t get much of a sleep lately, did you?”, Billie asked a yawning Richie. They were in an unoccupied room, waiting for the test results.
“Not really. I did try, though”, he said with a faint smile.
“Hi, there”, Dr. Pyne said closing the door behind him. “I’ve got news”, he added, gesturing with the file in his right hand. “According to the tests, sample 17823, Richard – Vincent Zeller, matches sample 17824, baby John Doe, age three weeks, and is, by consequence compatible with paternity. He’s yours, Richard. He’s not baby John Doe, he’s baby Zeller.”
“My God! He’s mine … my son …”, Richie whispered. Then he turned to Billie – Rae, “Will you help me?”. Billie – Rae’s voice was shaking with emotion “Help you?”. “Help me raise him. That’s why I called you … I need your help,” he said. “I … we’ll talk about it when we get home … I mean … your place … I …, I should take him to the car.” She held the baby closer and walked out of the room.
“Dr. Zeller!”, Dr. Pyne said in a commanding voice, “Don’t stand there like a … Just, go after them, hold the door for her, place a hand around her shoulders, just do something, act like a father!”.
“But she’s not …”, Richie tried.
“The child’s mother, yeah, I got that one. Lucky you she isn’t, because I have a feeling if she were, with this attitude, you wouldn’t get to see that child anymore. Now, go.”
“Rae, wait!” Richie caught up with her. “Sorry, the chief wanted a word”, he gave her one of his most charming smiles. “Want me to carry him?” he offered. Billie – Rae didn’t get the chance to answer, as a tall, slender brunette approached them.
“Richie! Hi! Oh, I was so thrilled when they told me you’re doing your internship here, too!”.
“Hi … um …”, Richie was clearly struggling to remember her name, one of his many admirers from med school.
“Hello, Louise”, Billie – Rae saved him.
“Willy, hello. Nice to see you”, Louise said sounding less thrilled. “Cute baby. Is he ok? Are you here to see a doctor?”, she asked and then turned back to Richard without waiting for Billie – Rae’s answer.
“Andy, why don’t you go to daddy for a minute while I’ll go buy some formula and diapers from the hospital store?”, Billie – Rae spoke to the baby handing him to Richard. He took the baby and smiled at her.
“Oh!”, Louise said in surprise, “So he’s yours … I had no idea you’ve got married.”
“We haven’t”, Billie – Rae answered.
Richard looked at her and added:
“Yeah, we haven’t. We’ve got carried away and had … Andy first. Sweetie pie you were saying?”, he continued with a large smile.
“I have to buy some stuff”, she answered him smiling too, but through gritted teeth.