The sight of them struggling to revive Rosy is burned into my mind. I shrug out of the hands restraining me as I turn to stumble back along the sunroom, the smell of her blood unbearable. Even out here the smell is thick in the air and I remember Doc's warning, if Rosy had the kitt naturally chances were she would bleed out before or during the birth.

"Micah," I stop and turn at my sister's soft call. Inside I am numb and filled with stunned disbelief that the unthinkable has happened. Jazzy is in my old bedroom and Mitchell is with her, he holds Cameron in his arms and my sister holds Cameron's bunny rug in both of her hands.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," Jazzy sobs.

I look at my sister, then at Mitchell holding their kitt. It dawns on me that while he has his wife and kitt, my wife is fighting for her life. I stumble back towards the room where all the commotion is, tears burning my eyes and blurring my sight. The fear of loosing Rosy again causing pain as raw as when I had believed her dead, if not worse.

Someone grabs me from behind and I am allowed no closer than the doorway. There is frantic activity around the bed, muffled crying coming from Lydia and Sasha while Lily is handing things from the medical bags to Frank Inness. Seconds tick by stretching into a minute, then two, five ... the activity seems to slow and I realise both Frank and Lily are squeezing bags of liquid that are attached to tubes that run down to the bed.

My vision blurs and my head spins from the smell of Rosy's blood, I find myself swaying and I grasp the doorframe to steady myself. The sight of Chris and Doc still working on her motionless body wavers in front of my eyes.

"Damn you Rosy! Fight! Don't you dare give up!" The angry words tumble from my lips. More words bubble up from deep inside me and I find myself begging her to come back to us, to fight to live. I find myself guided to the bedside as words continue to tumble from me. I find one of her hands with mine and hold it as I plead with her. Her hand is almost colourless in mine and cold, I rub it between my hands then lower my head and press my lips to the back of her hand. I can taste salt on my lips and realise tears are running down my face. I turn her hand over and press a kiss to the palm of her hand. I look at her ashen face but look away hurriedly as I catch a glimpse of the cut near her collarbone and the tubing going into that cut.

I can smell the human blood, thick and cloying in the back of my throat. I can hear the whoosh of air each time Doc breathes into the mask covering her nose and mouth. The rhythmic grunts that come from Chris as he keeps up the steady rhythm of heart compressions. I loose track of time as I talk to Rosy until my throat starts to become sore, my voice hoarse. I tell her how much we need her, how much we love her. I cling to her hand as I beg her to come back to me.

I start as a hand grasps my left shoulder tightly and I look up to see Doc watching me with concern. I dart a panicked look towards Rosy's face.

"You can't stop ..."my voice breaks as I realise Chris has moved to stand on the other side of the bed. I glance wildly at Frank and Lily and am shocked to find them still holding bags of blood but are no longer squeezing them to force the liquid into Rosy's veins.

"Micah! Her heart is beating and she is breathing on her own again," Doc says thickly and I glance at him a second or two before the tears come thick and fast.

"She's not out of the woods yet but she has a fighting chance thanks to Chris here," Frank says and motions to the tube feeding blood into her body near her collarbone. "He got a central line in as soon as she collapsed."

"Do the operation to take it as soon as you think Rosy will survive the operation," I say hardening myself to the loss of the kitt.

"Jazzy and I delivered the poor little mite so we could try to slow or stop the bleeding until Doc and Frank returned," Lydia says hoarsely.

"Why weren't you here?" I demand of Doc. He has a pained look on his face as he looks down at Rosy.

"Marissa took a fall and broke several ribs," Doc says quietly. "I left Justin and Edwin looking after her when ..."

"Micah it won't change anything," Mitchell says firmly from the doorway.

I glance his way with a frown before turning back to Rosy. Mitchell is right of course but I can't completely smother the cold anger caused by the fact they weren't there when Rosy had needed them.

"Doc," I tune out Mitchell's voice as I turn my attention back to Rosy. Frank has passed his plastic bag of blood to Lilly to hold as he moves Rosy onto her side in the recovery position. I sit on the edge of the bed and hold one of her hands between mine. I play with her fingers as I try to think of something to say to her.

Does she know the kitt is gone? Pain burns in my chest at the thought. Dimly I am aware of the quiet murmur of voices and soft shuffling as the room slowly empties. Frank sits in a chair on the other side of the bed but I ignore him as the light slowly fades in the room.

"What is this I hear about you refusing to come out and get your breakfast?" Lilly demands tightly. I turn my head from watching Rosy to look at her. Lilly is standing just inside the doorway with her hands on her hips as she looks at me with an angry glare. I have spent all night sitting with Rosy, waiting for her to show some sign of coming around, of improving, of anything other than this near lifelessness.

"You are not doing Rosy any good wearing yourself out like this!" Lilly snaps. "When she comes around she is going to need you to be there for her! How are you going to do that if you make yourself sick?"

"I need to be here when she wakes up," I say stubbornly.

"I keep telling you Rosy is sedated to keep her asleep," Doc says from the other side of the bed. "Her body needs time to recover. The human blood enabled us to keep her alive but she isn't showing signs of stabilising her blood pressure and her pulse is still weak and thready. There is no blood left to give her to help raise her blood pressure,"

"You said she is holding her own," I growl at Doc.

"Rosy all but bled out, by rights we shouldn't have been able to bring her back." Doc says flatly.

"Your choice Micah," Lilly says lightly. "Either you go eat, shower and then have some sleep or I come back in here with a rolled up newspaper and a water spray bottle and treat you like the miss behaving cat you are!"

I growl low in my throat but get to my feet to do as she ordered. I know she will do as she threatened also she will have the back up of several of the warriors. I head to the kitchen to be immediately handed a plate of food. The smell makes my stomach growl reminding me I have not eaten for over twenty-four hours. I take a place at the table and start to eat hungrily.

"We'll go help Doc move Rosy to your room so there is room for you to get some sleep without leaving her," Dwayne says. I look up from my food but he is already leaving the room with Steven, Justin and Donovan. Edwin sits across the table from me and I glance across at him to find him watching me closely.

"You need to go see Jazzy," Edwin states firmly.

"Mitchell or Jazzy can come over here," I say flatly. " I am not leaving Rosy. Shouldn't you and your partner be headed home?"

Edwin sits staring at me for a few moments and I shovel a half a sausage and an entire egg into my mouth. I load my fork up as I chew, glancing up to look at Edwin once again.

"They haven't told you? The kitt is alive. It is as bad off as Rosy but it's alive and Jacob and Ken won't leave until they know if it stands a chance of making it or not," Edwin says. I feel my heart stand still for a moment then start racing, I choke down my mouthful of food and look around for a drink.

" Grab me a drink," I manage to choke out. Edwin passes me his cup of coffee before getting to his feet to go to the fridge. I put the cup down and eagerly take the large bottle of juice he has uncapped as he carried it to the table. I drink straight from the bottle without hesitation as I wash the half chewed food down.

"Did you just say ..." I let my words trail off as Edwin nods his head. Excitement and dread war inside me as I look down at the food on my plate, I hesitate a few seconds then set to eating with renewed purpose. I don't look up as Edwin gets to his feet, he moves away and when he returns to the table I hear him pouring juice into a large glass.

"Thanks," I mutter as I chase food down with several swallows of liquid. I don't even taste it in my hurry, my mind is too full of worrying about what to decide about Dorrington's bastard. Send him home with his uncles?

"Apparently Jazzy saw it had a heartbeat and got it breathing," Edwin says quietly. I glance at him as I take another huge mouthful of food and he shakes his head at me.

"That's the way," Edwin scoffs, "choke yourself with your breakfast so there's another patient."

"Hungry," I grunt at him but take the hint and finish my meal in more reasonable bites. I leave the plate on the table, someone else can clean it up. I hesitate at the doorway between the lounge room and the hallway as I look along the room towards where I can hear activity in my room.

"I'll let them know where you're headed," Edwin says. He catches me by the upper arm before I can leave and I look at him with narrowed eyes.

"Forget who the father is," Edwin says softly. "It's her kitt."

I regard him silently for several moments before giving a curt nod, not surprisingly he has told me exactly what I needed to hear. The caring and intelligent side that had come out in Edwin the last few years impressed me every time I saw him. I hesitate a second then throw my arms around my brother and give him a hug of appreciation. I feel his arms tighten around me before he pats me on the back firmly.

"Whatever you decide I'm with you one hundred percent," Edwin tells me gruffly.

"Thanks," I say as we draw apart. "Hope it doesn't put you at odds with your partner."

I head outside and break into a jog as I head for the main house. I slow to a walk as I approach the house, I see Ken and Jacob Dorrington standing in the morning sunshine by the fence that encircles the house. They both look my way but say nothing as I walk the last few metres to the front door. I give a loud knock but walk straight in not waiting for a response. The kitchen is busy with morning activity, Lydia is at the stove cooking while Sasha sits at the table picking at a plate of food. Timny is dishing up two plates of food but glances towards me before resuming.

"How is Rosy?" Timny asks.

"Doc says critical but holding her own," I say tightly.

"She's a fighter," Timny says quietly.

"Where are the boys?" I ask not hearing them in the house.

"Visiting Grandma Marissa along with over half of the warriors," Mitchell replies from the where he has come to the kitchen from the bedrooms. I head his way and he leads the way back to the room he and Jazzy share. He pauses with his hand on the doorknob and looks at me, for a moment I think he is about to speak but he turns away and opens the door without a word. I follow him in but stay by the door while he closes it then goes to sit on the edge of the bed beside where Jazzy is sitting up resting back against pillows against the headboard.

"How's Rosy?" Jazzy asks. Her voice is husky, her eyes red rimmed and shadowed with tiredness. Mitchell lifts Cameron from her right arm to cradle him in his arms before looking at me.

"Doc says critical but holding her own," I answer. "Can I see it?"

Jazzy watches me silently for several moments before giving a slight nod, she reaches inside her dressing gown with her right hand where her left arm is held against her body. I realise she must be keeping the kitt warm with her own body heat and I look away as she rearranges her clothing.

"Micah,"

I approach the bed slowly at her softly spoken word. The bundle she holds in her hands is impossibly small, I eye the soft white baby blanket that is usually wrapped around Cameron. As I stop by the side of the bed I see silky black curls in the fold of the blanket. I glance at my sister's face and see tears in her eyes.

"I didn't realise at first," Jazzy whispers shakily as she places the blanket on the bed.

I look away from my sister to the small bundle. I reach out and uncover the tiny face, black hair curls against the head. The features are well formed, the lips pursed as if just fed. Reluctantly I reach out and unfold the blank from the small form, skinny little arms lift hands towards the face and a thumb pops into its mouth. The skin is opaque, I can see the muscles beneath it, see the blood pulsing in the veins. A scrap of cloth wrapped around the little bottom to act as a nappy, skinny legs and tiny feet each with five toes. I stroke a small foot as I count the toes, it kicks out at my hand and whimpers. The little thumb is removed from its mouth and a faint cry comes from it as arms and legs begin to wave. It's so tiny, so frail.

It goes silent for a moment, the little face screwed up in concentration. The smell of urine reaches me and I look up as Jazzy passes me a fresh piece of cloth. I reach down to remove the soiled piece and a small hand touches my pinkie finger then wraps around it. My heart lodges itself in my throat and I swallow hard. I hesitate a moment and that little hand pulls at my finger. I feel that little tug down to my stomach, it even pulls at my heart. The warmth wraps around my heart and I feel love for this tiny scrap of life blossom. I lift the wet cloth away and freeze as I look at what should have been my daughter. I carefully replace the new cloth and wrap up the small body one handed. I let her hold my finger as I lift her into the crook of my arm and glance at my sister. Jazzy is watching me with a worried frown and I feel the warmth of the smile that rises from my heart to my face.

"I'm calling my daughter Kalika Rose Williamson. Kali," I say firmly.

"We haven't said anything," Mitchell says quietly. "Doc knows but that's it."

I can't control my smile as I lower my face close to that precious little bundle and inhale deeply to memorise her personal smell. My fingertip is put to Kali's mouth and I feel her try to suck, I lift my head to look at Jazzy.

"Where's her bottle?"

"I had her against me trying to keep her warm and next thing I knew she was trying to feed through my bra," Jazzy says holding her hands out. I look down at Kali then glance at Jazzy.

"Doc said there was no way Rosy would be able to feed her," Jazzy says sadly. "At least not for a few days, a week or even longer. If at all,"

I look down at Kali, for the time being she needed Jazzy. Reluctant to hand her to my sister I gaze down at the little miracle in my arms.

"I have to ask," Mitchell says sternly and I look at him. "How will you feel about her if Rosy can give you a kitt of your own? Maybe even a daughter?"

I smile at the hard tone in his voice and there is no doubt in my mind as I look down at Kali who is starting to whimper.

"Exactly the same way you will feel about Cameron when my sister gives you your next kitt," I say as I watch Kali open her mouth as she tries to latch onto my finger. I step in against the side of the bed as I let Jazzy take Kali from my arms.

"I want to come and see her as much as I can," I tell Jazzy. "Ummm feeding her won't interfere with feeding Cameron?"

I have to ask the question as it comes to me making me uneasy. Jazzy shakes her head with a smile as she glances at me before giving Kali her attention once again.

"Doc said my body will respond to the new demand," Jazzy says in a croon as she adjusts Kali within her clothing, "I just have to eat more."

"I have to go tell Rosy about our daughter," I say as I step back from the bed.

"Give her my love and tell her I will keep her baby safe until she can look after her," Jazzy says warmly.