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Kevin stood outside Brianna’s hospital room door almost paralyzed with fear. He was afraid to go in; afraid of what the doctor might come in and tell them. Kevin could tell that Brianna was crying softly on the other side of the door. Swallowing hard to hold back the lump in his own throat, he pushed the door open.

Brianna was lying on her back staring out the eighth story window into the night sky. Her diamond engagement ring caught beams of moon-light and reflected off the wall as she rubbed her stomach. She wasn't paying any attention to the world outside her room or to Kevin's entrance. She was lost deep in thoughts that were troubling to her. Tears had left tracks in her make-up and Kevin could follow the lines from her eyes to her chin. The long, simple black gown she had been wearing earlier at the awards ceremony was draped across the chair.

Kevin slid up next to her on the narrow bed and put his hand over hers. He kissed the side of her head and spoke quietly in his slow, soft voice. "Hey, baby. How do you feel?"

Brianna looked into his emerald green gaze. "They gave me a shot of something. I was hurting so bad. Baby, I'm sorry I ruined your night."

"You didn't ruin anything, darlin'. Those awards shows are too stuffy for me anyway. Just please tell me what happened."

"I was just cramping. I didn't think it was a very big deal. I started hurting worse and went to the bathroom. I guess my water broke but I was bleeding, too. I got up to go find somebody, but after that I don't remember much, except feeling like my legs were on fire." Kevin was running his free hand through her long, dark hair splayed across the pillow. "Baby, I'm scared," she whispered.

"Me, too," Kevin said, "but everything's gonna be okay." But Kevin didn't believe his own words. Talking to Brianna had made Kevin even more afraid. She wasn't acting right. She was too woozy, almost lethargic, and her skin was burning up. Her voice was raspy and hoarse and her speech was slow, draggy, and deliberate. While Kevin watched, her eyes closed slowly and she passed out.

Kevin leapt from the bed and ran for the door; Dr. Bellows was standing right outside. Kevin explained what had happened quickly and the doctor disappeared down the hallway. From inside her room, Kevin could hear Brianna's heart monitor beeping quickly and he knew that wasn't supposed to be happening.

"Brianna, baby, wake up!" Kevin called in a forced cheerful voice when he went back through the door. He wet a rag with cold, soapy water and started rubbing the make-up from her face. "Get up, Boo. Please wake up. Bree, please, baby, come on..." Finally she looked over at him and let out a low groan.

Dr. Bellows came through the door with three other nurses and set to work talking to the nurses in words Kevin didn't understand.

"What's going on?" he managed to say over the commotion. Kevin squeezed Brianna's hand as they wheeled the bed down the hallway.

"Brianna's been having contractions all along. Physically, she's ready to have this baby, but the baby's not responding to anything and that's not a good sign. When we get her to delivery we can tell more."

Kevin looked down at Brianna who was wide awake now. "I love you, baby," he choked as they hooked her up to more machines. He looked out of the way and watched as his while world lay in the hands of a man he didn't know. 'God, he promised he'd do everything he could. Now you have to help him.'

****************

A.J. paced anxiously through the waiting room, back and forth in front of everyone. "Kevin could at least let us know something!"

"A.J., he's kinda busy right now, you know," Bianca shot back. The tension in the waiting room was thick and everyone felt it.

"Well, we want to know what's going on, too!"

"Damn, A.J. The way you're stressin' you'd think that was your baby in there." Bianca was quickly losing her temper with him.

"Well it would probably be a whole hell of a lot better off!" The words were out of his mouth and hanging in the air before he realized it and he stammered, trying to correct his mistake. "All I mean is that Kevin has a lot of growing up to do. He's not ready for a family."

"And you are?! I'm sure Kevin would love to know that those words came from your mouth. You’re the one that drank and got laid by a different whore every night after your sorry ass girl-friend left you!"

A.J.'s face flushed and he turned away. Angry tears stung his eyelids and threatened to spill over onto his cheeks. He wanted to tell Bianca that he knew things about Kevin that she didn't know. And that he hadn't done anything more than Kevin did while Brianna was gone. But he bit his tongue; he didn't reply with anything.

Over his shoulder, he heard Brian tell Nick that he, Nicole, Howie, and Ivy were going back to the hotel because they were only in the way. Nick walked them down to the lobby. A.J. glanced back at Bianca and she glared at him. It was just him and her now.

"What?" he asked, his patience wearing thin under her hateful glare.

"Why are you so damn worried A.J.? Everybody here's worried about Bri and you act like you're the only one that matters."

"I care about her as much as anyone. Even YOU, Bianca."

"I never said you didn't care, A.J. I'm just saying you're acting like none of us give a shit."

"Damn it, Bianca just drop it, okay? Your bitchin' isn't gettin' us anywhere."

You're an asshole, A.J.," she said and walked away, leaving him staring out the window. He heard her grumble, "You need to get over your fucking attitude."

"I'm not the one with the fucking attitude. If you weren't bein' such a bitch we wouldn't have a problem."

"Alright, I'm sick of you." She started toward him when the elevator doors opened and Nick walked out.

"Bean," he said as he caught her hand, "why don't we go down to the lounge and get something to drink." He knew by the looks on their faces that they needed to be separated. "A.J., you want anything?"

"Nah, man, you got it covered," he said cutting his eyes at Bianca. When Nick wasn't looking she shot him the middle finger.

****************

"Brianna, I need you to push a little harder for me, okay?" Dr. Bellows begged.

Brianna just nodded in a semi-conscious state. The clock on the wall had read 9:22 when Brianna had been admitted. Now, at 3:17 a.m. and after over 5 hours of hard labor, she was exhausted and in more pain than she had felt in her entire life.

Kevin was scared and had been watching the doctor until he had picked up a sharp pair of surgical scissors. Deciding that right then that he didn't have the stomach to watch Dr. Bellows open Brianna up any more, he walked back to her bedside. Kevin brushed her wet hair from her forehead and looked down at her. "How ya doin', Boo?" He flinched as she squeezed his hand with a force that felt inhuman.

"This hurts so much, Kevin," she said trailing off to bear down and push with all her might.

"That's good, Brianna. The head's almost out. After that, it's all downhill. This is the hardest part of the whole process."

Brianna gave one more big push and the sound of an infants screams pierced the chaotic noise in the room. After that, the baby slipped out easily. She barely had time to catch her breath when the contractions started again.

Kevin looked at the doctor expectantly but couldn't see his face between Brianna's knees. "Doc, what's going on?"

"Well, Kevin," the doctor said chuckling, "it looks like the other one wants out, too."

"Other one?" Kevin choked. He looked down at Brianna with her eyes jammed shut and her teeth clenched together. Amazed, he held back tears; she had just brought two of his children into the world and he had been fortunate enough to watch both little people come out of the one woman he loved more than anyone in his life.

Exhausted, Brianna fell back onto her pillows sobbing from a strong mixture of joy, pain, and relief. Kevin kissed her deeply and helped her cry.

Through tears, Kevin took in everything about his new babies--the look on their faces as they met mommy for the first time on the outside, every prune-like wrinkle on their tiny, slippery bodies, the smell of the brand new skin and hair, and the way their little fingers curled around his big ones.

Kevin and Brianna only had their newborns--one boy and one girl-- for a brief second before nurses took them to small incubators on the other side of the room and hooked them to machines similar to Brianna's. They had been a month early and needed help breathing.

Kyra Sheyanne Richardson had made her grand entrance at 3:49 a.m. that hot June morning weighing in at 5 pounds and 2 ounces. Ten minutes later Christian Bailey Richardson followed his "big" sister weighing 4 pounds and 15 ounces.

Shrill beeping filled the room and Dr. Bellows snapped to attention. Brianna's grip went limp in his hand and a nurse studied the papers coming from her heart monitor carefully. The doctor was busy with the babies.

Kevin surveyed the scene desperate to help, but unwilling to leave Brianna. Still and silent, he looked back over at the crib-like machine across the room. Brianna lay motionless and eerily still in front of him; the babies were quiet in their crib. Aside from the bustle of the doctors and nurses, the room was too calm. Brianna, Kyra, and Christian--his FAMILY who meant everything to him--were all silent and Kevin could feel his heart pounding in his throat. A feeling of impending dread gripped his stomach and all of a sudden he felt like throwing up. The room swam in front of his eyes and Kevin could hardly catch his breath. It was almost as if he knew...

In the course of the next two hours Kevin's world would start to crumble and the joy that he felt at that moment would slowly diminish. He would lose part of his heart...soul...life: a member of the family he had fought so hard to build and waited forever to gain...