"The Karen?"

"Yes," he said flatly. Caleb's chest was tight, his fists gripping the steering wheel, his knuckles white. As much as he despised Karen, she didn't deserve to be attacked by a crazy ex of his. And if Charlotte attacked Karen, she had to have been the one to attack his other subs. Was she somehow in cahoots with Harley?

"Did she tell you anything else?"

"No, but she did sound odd, like she wanted to say more."

He had no idea what that could be, but he was putting the pedal to the metal to find out. Too much was happening and it was driving him close to the edge. What if someone else was in on it with them, like George, for example?

It did sound like the perp was caught. He couldn't wait to have a word with the bitch. There had better be a glass window between the two of them, because woman or not, he wanted to punch her in the face for taking the lives of those he cared about.

He lost track of the time it took to get to the hospital. His mind wasn't paying attention to the drive, only about what he'd find when he got to the hospital. This would be the first time he saw her in just over four years.

Parking the car, the two of them entered the emergency ward and saw Tammy sitting in a chair with a young child on her lap. The girl's eyes were red, her cheeks stained with tears. Adjusting the kid in her arms, Tammy stood up when they approached.

"Is Karen okay?" he asked.

"They have her in surgery."

"And Charlotte?"

"She's in police custody, but receiving medical attention of her own. Karen knocked her a good one."

"So it was Charlotte all this time?"

His sister nodded her head and then looked down to the child in her arms. "And Caleb," she said hesitantly, "I have something else to tell you."

"After the night I had, what else could you possibly have to tell me?"

"You might want to sit down for this."

"Just spill it, sis."

"Meet Grace. Your daughter."

"But I—she," he stammered, plopping his butt in the chair. "Say what?"

"Karen was awake long enough to tell us that she was yours and that we had to contact you."

"She can't be." Caleb shook his head violently. Karen killed their baby, had it ripped from her body at the abortion clinic. "She killed our baby," he said sourly.

"I don't know what to tell you, Caleb, other than, she believes this kid is yours, and her age does match when you guys were together. You'll have to talk to her after surgery."

Maria put her hand on his shoulder, and he squeezed it tight. He wasn't sure what to think. Glancing up at the kid, he studied her as she laid her head against Tammy's chest, sucking her thumb. She had Karen's hair and his eyes, his sister's eyes.

If what his sister was saying was true, then he'd missed four years of his kids life. Missed almost every first that she'd ever have and why? Why would Karen tell him one thing and do another? She knew how much he wanted the baby. Hell, he was going to marry her.

"Honey, this is your daddy," Tammy said, smoothing the girl's hair away from her face so she could get a good look at Caleb.

Standing up, Caleb took the girl from Tammy's arms, and she came willingly, wrapping her little arms around his neck. "Mommy said you'd come."

At her tender words, tears filled his eyes. This was his baby. She was alive after all. Karen didn't do it. She really didn't do it. "I'm a father?"

The day just didn't feel real. He was certain at any minute now time wraiths would come and pull him out of this timeline and bring him back to his real life. Was he dreaming? He couldn't tell if this was real or not. Maybe they got into an accident on the way over and this was his coma dream.

"Grace, how old are you?"

She held up four fingers on her free hand while the other hand's thumb was stuffed in her mouth. The age did fit and she did look like theirs. He'd have to do a paternity test to be sure, but something in his heart told her she was his.

"Did she witness what happened?"

"Unfortunately. Thankfully she wasn't hurt."

"Shit," Caleb muttered. "Oops, Sorry." He was going to have to remember to hold his tongue a little better if little ears were going to be around to hear him. He's never had to worry about that before. There were no kids in their immediate family.

"Karen should be out of surgery soon, and when she's moved to a room we should be able to go in and see her."

"Did they say how long?"

"A couple hours."

Grace tugged on his shirt and he looked down at her. "I wanna see mommy."

"Soon, baby. The doctors are fixing mommy up," Tammy said, placing a hand on the little girl's head.

"Where are Karen's parents?"

"They are on a cruise at the moment. They are going to catch a flight back at the next stop."

"Did Charlotte say anything about why?"

"Her and Harley were working together apparently." His sister's face twisted with disgust when she mentioned his name. He had heard that when Harley was brought in after the incident at the hotel, Tammy punched him in the face and her co-workers had to hold her back.

"I'm sorry, sis."

"You tried to warn me, but I didn't listen. I'm done with dating."

Caleb smirked. She's said that before but it's never lasted for very long. Someone always caught his sis's attention. He was actually surprised she wasn't married yet with how many suitors there have been.

He glanced at Maria who had been quietly sitting by his side, holding Grace's hand. She has hardly said a word since the discovery, and he could see the gears rolling in her mind.

"You okay?" he asked.

Was she okay? She wasn't even sure how to answer his question. In just a short amount of time, the life she was sure about was suddenly crumbling at her feet. He had a kid. That changed everything. He was going to need to sort things out with the mother. Find out what kind of a relationship he had with Karen, and having her around would just complicate matters.

"Just tired," she responded, giving him a small smile. She could only begin to imagine the tumultuous emotions running through him at the moment and didn't want to add to his stress by telling him her thoughts. The last thing she wanted to do was leave him, but she could see very little recourse. He'd need space to truly find his future.

"If you want, you can head home," he said to her. "I'm going to be here a while."

Well, that was enough of a dismissal for her. It was plain to see that he didn't want her there. Standing up, Maria numbly walked out of the emergency room and called a taxi to take her back to her own house. Despite both her and Becky living in other places, they still had their own apartment to go back to.

As the taxi drove her home, she called Becky.

"Hello," her roomie answered, her voice light and bubbly. Nathan must be working more of his charm on her.

"Hi Becky."

"Oh, hey, Maria, how's everything?" she asked, and then she giggled again, mumbling something in the background that Maria couldn't hear.

"Good and not good." Maria grunted, that's been the story of her life lately.

"Is that anything like the best and worst orgasm comment?"

"I'm really not sure how I feel about this one. I just wanted to let you know I'm going back to our apartment."

"I'll have Nathan drop me off there shortly."

"Okay."

Hanging up the phone, Maria stared out the window as the cab drove by the usual familiar buildings. The one upside, she'd have her own car back again. It's been parked in her garage ever since it all started. And she could dive into her writing and her books again, lose herself like she did before.

But the moment that she walked into her place, she was struck by an overwhelming feeling of loneliness. All her recent thoughts have been about spending time with Caleb, getting ready to plan their double wedding. She and Becky even had plans to go gown shopping tomorrow, but that was a little pointless now.

Maria sighed as she tossed her jacket and purse on the new couch they'd purchased. She couldn't stand the thought of sitting on the one that had a dead person stretched out across the back. With her body heavy, she wandered down to her room and flopped on her bed, face down.

And that's where she stayed, half awake and half asleep, when Becky walked into her room, sitting down on the bed beside her. "What's up, girl? You guys were doing so good."

"You remember Karen?"

"Ya, the bitch that aborted his kid."

"Turns out, she didn't."

"Oh god." Becky laid down on the bed beside her. "How'd you guys find out?"

"His ex got attacked by another ex of his, and his sister, Tammy, was the cop on scene."

"Why aren't you at the hospital?"

"He told me to go."

"Seriously?"

"Oh Becky," she cried, rolling onto her side, her chin trembling. "I don't know what I'm going to do."

"We'll figure this out, hun. We always do," Becky pulled Maria into her arms and they laid there, lost in the new revelation.

What was she supposed to do? She didn't want to leave him, didn't want their relationship to be over. She loved him. But his life was with them. She was certain that once he spoke with Karen, he was going to want her back since she didn't do what he thought she did. And Maria knew she wasn't any competition for a baby mama.

The only thing she could really do now was bow out gracefully. But she had no idea what she was going to do if she was pregnant, too. She didn't even want to think about that. It would make everything all the more complicated.

"Just please don't suggest another bar hop," Maria said, attempting to add a little humor to an otherwise stressful. "My body wouldn't be able to handle another night like that."

"We'll stay in and watch a movie, one of those rowdy Jackie Chan one's that you like so much."

"I don't want to keep you from Nathan."

"I'll give him a quick call. He'll understand that you need me, so don't fret."

On one hand, she felt numb, unsure of what she should feel; on the other, her heart felt like it was ripping in two. Why couldn't she have used her head? But no, she went and fell for a man that was never destined to be hers.

"Should we get ice cream, too?" Becky asked.

Her stomach churned at the mention of food and it reminded her of what happened earlier. "There's something else I need to get, too."

"What?"

"A pregnancy test."