Liz rolled over, expecting her arm to drape over a warm body but instead it rested on one of his pillows.

She frowned, opening her eyes only to be greeted by the sunlight that shone through the windows. She looked at the clock on the wall that read 6:22AM. JC's alarm on his phone wasn't set to go off till 7AM so, why was he awake and out of bed now?

She lay in bed for a minute before to see how her stomach was feeling before she cautiously threw off the covers and got up.

Not bothering to put on her robe, she opened the door and wandered out into the living area.

"Josh?" she called out, not seeing any sign of him on the couch. "Babe?"

Still no sign of him.

She went into the kitchen area and saw a silver tray.

"That wasn't there when I fell asleep last night," Liz murmured to herself. She noticed there was a folded note next to a bowl that was on the tray with her name on it. Picking it up, she read what it said.

If you're reading this, then you probably realized I already left early. The guys wanted to get an early breakfast and go for a walk around the city so I went with them. (Rob and Lonnie are with us so, don't worry.) We're heading to the press conference straight after and then we're coming back to the hotel to get ready for the meet and greet. That won't be till around 3 so call me if you need anything before then. I ordered you some dry toast and some oatmeal from room service because I thought it might make your stomach feel better. There's fruit and some orange juice that I put in the fridge for you too. If you want something different, order it if you like. Take it easy before we get back. I know you probably need some rest. Lynn and Melinda should be around the hotel somewhere. Feel better baby. I'll call if I get a free minute. I love you.

-Josh

Liz giggled at the heart he drew after signing his name.

"How sweet," she smiled to herself, ripping off a piece of the dry toast and chewing it slowly.

She looked around the empty hotel room and popped another piece of the bread into her mouth.

Liz sighed. "I'm already awake. Now what am I supposed to do all day?"

*~*~*~*

"I still can't believe you guys told him everything," Lance said to Chris and Justin.

With both Lonnie right behind them and Rob right in front of them as they walked along the pavement, the paparazzi that they knew were taking pictures of them stood in the streets and behind poles at a distance that was out of earshot. All five of the guys were able to talk about what they wanted without an unwanted person hearing them.

"You told him how we all found out?" Joey asked.

Chris nodded.

"You told him that Liz doesn't know we know, right?"

"Yes Joe," Chris sighed.

"And you told him that she's lying to him about flying back to Orlando on Wednesday?"

"They told me everything," JC mumbled. "I know about everything."

"So how'd you feel daddy?" Joey asked cheerfully, patting JC on the shoulder.

A small smile actually crept up on JC's face but he just shrugged. "I don't know. I'm still trying to understand everything."

"You should have seen him last night when we told him!" Justin laughed. "The dude turned white!"

"Only for a minute," JC defended himself. "And I was in shock. What'd you expect?"

"What're you gonna do now though?" Lance asked. "What's going through your mind?"

"I'm still kinda upset that Lizzie didn't tell me herself. I'm upset with myself for not noticing the signs and not looking more into the situation. I'm overwhelmed with the fact that a life I helped create is going to be here in a few months and then I'm going to be a father to someone for the rest of my life. It's scary. But then..." JC sighed. "The more I think about it, in a way, I just want to go back to the hotel and hold her and kiss her and tell her I know so that we can celebrate together. I want us to be excited together and while it's soon, we did this together and I'm happy about something like this happening for us. What better way than to express our love for each other than having a baby together? I'm happy and I don't know why she thinks I wouldn't be."

"And that right there is the mushy part of JC gentlemen," Justin snickered.

JC rolled his eyes. "I'm confused. I don't know what I'm thinking, far less for what I'm saying."

"And now Lonnie and Rob know about it," Justin said, looking up at their two body guards that wore knowing smiles.

JC looked up at them and then shrugged. "They won't say anything so it's cool."

"So what're you gonna do when she flies back to Orlando and still doesn't tell you?" Lance asked as they turned a corner and continued to walk.

"I was actually thinking about that last night before I fell asleep and that's another thing that upset me. She's going to Orlando to see the gynecologist to get everything checked out and she's not telling me about it? She wants me to miss our first doctor's appointment? I just... I don't want to let that happen. I'll figure out a way to be there."

"Damn," Joey commented. "First doctor's appointment and everything. He's really getting into this."

"He might as well," Lance responded.

"But, if you're gonna be there with her in Orlando, then what's you excuse for going with her?" Chris asked. "As far as she wants you to know, she's going back home for work."

"There's no excuse," JC shook his head. "I'm going to have to tell her I know and-"

"You can't tell her!" Justin cried out, but immediately lowering his voice almost forgetting paparazzi was still following.

"Why can't I?"

"She'd kill me for letting you find out!"

"He has to tell her Jus," Lance insisted. "It's better that way. I'm sure Lizzie wanted to tell JC herself but it's too late for that now."

*~*~*~*~*~

3:15PM

JC walked into the quiet hotel room and looked around, not seeing Liz. He went over to the kitchen area and smiled when he saw that the toast he had put on the silver tray was no longer there and that the bowl that had contained the oatmeal was clean. He opened the fridge, noticing that there was still some orange juice but most of the fruit was gone.

JC took out the jug with the orange juice and poured the remainder into a glass for himself.

Sipping on the juice, JC walked into the hotel bedroom and peered inside.

He was about to call out to say ‘Hi' to her but stopped himself when he saw that she was cuddled under the comforter, asleep. There was an open novel on her stomach, headphones to JC's ipod in her ear and the TV remote was next to her, thought the TV wasn't on.

JC chuckled, setting down the glass of juice on the bedside table and taking up the novel and setting it at the foot of the bed. He took the remote and set it on top the TV before attempting to remove the headphones from her ears without waking her.

He did, however, fail at the task.

Liz opened her eyes sleepily just as JC was trying to get the left headphone out.

"Hey there," JC smiled, setting the ipod on the next side of the bed and moving to sit next to her. "How was your day?"

"Boring," Liz yawned, stretching her legs. "What time is it?"

"A little after three."

"Crap, I slept through the entire day, didn't I?"

"Not the entire day," JC told her. "The meet and greet is in an hour and then we have the concert afterwards."

"I should probably go get ready to go with you," Liz said, getting up but JC shook his head, stopping her.

"Hold on, lie down," he told her. "Let's stay here for a minute."

"Can you at least get under here with me then if we're going to be relaxing?" Liz asked with a smile, patting the space beside her.

JC chuckled, kicking off his sneakers and crawling on top of her and kissing her lovingly on the lips before coming off and getting under the comforter with her.

"Get over here," he said, sitting up.

She smiled and moved closer to him and draped an arm over his torso while he put an arm around her back.

"Thanks for leaving breakfast for me this morning," Liz said, raising her head to look at him.

"You're welcome," JC kissed her head. "Did it help your stomach at all?"

"Yea, it did, I think. I only threw up once for the entire day and I think that's only because of the turkey sandwich I got for lunch."

"You seem to be throwing up a lot these days, babe," JC said softly. "Is it because of anything in particular?"

"Like what?"

"Have you been eating foods that taste weird or maybe something's up with your body or-"

"I just don't think New York foods agree with me," Liz muttered, cutting him off.

"You sure?"

"Mhm."

"Alright."

They lied there in silence for a minute before JC spoke up again.

"Baby?"

"Hm?"

"You'd never lie to me, right?"

"Why'd you ask?" Liz frowned, looking up at him.

JC shrugged. "I don't know. I just... Whatever happens to me, or you, happens to us, okay? We go through everything together. That's why we're married."

"We're married so that whatever happens to you or me happens to us?"

"We're married because I love you and you love me and therefore, we never go through anything alone. We go through everything together. That's why we're married."

"I thought we were married because you were tired of waiting to get in my pants?" Liz teased.

"Don't be a smartass," JC warned her. "I'm being serious here."

"Then stop being so serious," Liz said obviously, getting up and turning around. She moved over him so that now she was straddling him in his lap and she rested her hands against his chest.

"I just want to make sure that you know that I'm always here for you," JC said. "I vowed to be."

"I know you did. And I did too."

"So you promise that nothing's going on with you that I should know about?"

"I promise that there is nothing going on with me that you should know about right now."

JC looked into her eyes. "What about the things that I shouldn't know about?"

"Then there's a reason that you shouldn't know about those things."

"Lizzie..."

"Let's get off this topic now, huh? And let's just focus on the fact that I'm feeling okay today. And that I'm on top of you. We didn't get to do anything last night. I can make up for that now."

JC shook his head. "I don't want to risk almost coming and then you throwing up all over me," he joked, chuckling.

Liz punched him on the arm playfully. "Don't be mean. If you were in my situation you wouldn't find that funny."

"Which is why I'm going to pass on the sex today and maybe leave it for later after the concert or tomorrow or... Some other time."

"So what am I supposed to do about these?" Liz brought JC hands to slide up under her shirt and over her breasts. She hadn't bothered to put on a bra this morning, considering she'd be lounging around the hotel room all day.

His thumbs rubbed over her nipples that were almost rock hard and perked.

"Your breasts got bigger," JC murmured, cupping them each.

Liz immediately pulled away from him and got off the bed. "Fine, no sex. I get it."

"Wait, no, baby, I was just-"

"You said you didn't want to have sex, I get it," Liz snapped. "What, are you turned off now because my boobs got bigger?"

JC shook his head. "Wha-No! No, of course not. God, just, what the hell is wrong with you now? I'm just trying to be considerate to your not feeling well for the past couple days and I don't think intense, body movement is what your body needs!"

"Whatever," Liz mumbled, turning around and walking into the connected bathroom. "I'm taking a shower."

"Want me to join you?" JC suggested weakly.

"No," Liz muttered.

JC rolled his eyes, getting off the bed and taking off his shirt. "Talk about a frickin' mood swing."

"I'm having a frickin' mood swing because you're frickin' pissing me off!" Liz shouted from the bathroom.

"How am I pissing you off?!" JC shouted back, walking toward the bathroom.

Liz looked at him, her pants off so that now she only stood in her underwear and shirt. "I'm here, trying to do to you what I couldn't do last night and you're resisting me because you're afraid I'll throw up on you."

"I'm concerned about you baby," JC told her calmly.

"Okay, Jace."

"So you understand where I'm coming from?"

"Yes," she practically gritted out. "Now can you please leave the bathroom so I can take off my clothes and take my shower?"

"So what? Why do I have to leave just because you're taking your clothes off?"

"Fine, I'll take ‘em off in the shower."

 "What for?"

"I want some privacy, please."

"Why?"

"Why are you even in here Jace?" she groaned. "Can't you just wait outside or something?"

"It's just a shower. I've taken showers with you lotsa times."

Liz sighed, shaking her head. "Now I'm just feeling nauseous again," she stated quietly.

"I knew you were gonna get sick again at some point," JC told her.

"Just shut up Josh," Liz mumbled, opening the shower door.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," JC said, taking her hand. "You are not throwing up in the shower."

"I'm nauseous. That doesn't guarantee I'll throw up."

"Come here," JC lifted her up in one swift motion and turned around, setting her down on the bathroom counter. He widened her legs some more so that he could stand in between them and put his hands on her thighs.

"We have your meet and greet in less than an hour Jace. You're wasting time."

"We can start getting ready in a minute. But you are going to start talking to me, now."

"What'd you want to talk about."

JC looked at her. "Your nausea. Do you need me to call you a doctor or something? I'm sure he can probably prescribe you something that might help."

"I'll be okay baby, really," Liz insisted.

"But when are you gonna be okay Liz?"

She rolled her eyes. "When do you think I'm gonna be okay?"

JC looked at her, moving his hands from her thighs to holding both her hands together. He shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe in the next eight or nine months, maybe? Six or seven depending on if we do a proper calculation?"

Liz frowned, pulling her hands away slowly and leaning back away from JC. Before she opened her mouth to say something to him, she put a hand over her mouth and from the look on her face, JC knew the nausea was about to come up again.

He immediately lifted her off the counter top and helped her over to the toilet just in time for her to throw up what was left of whatever was in her stomach.

"Damn hun, this baby's got your body turning inside out," JC commented, trying to keep her hair from falling to the sides of her face as he rubbed her back with his other hand.

The most Liz could do at that point was shake her head. She couldn't even get the words that she wanted to say out. She spent the next few moments waiting to see if anything else would come up before she nodded when JC asked if she was alright.

He took her hands and helped her up from the floor, leading her over to the sink. She washed her hands and her mouth before lifting her head too look at him through the mirror.

She shook her head. "Jace... I-I..."

"The guys told me," JC said, wrapping his arms around her and resting his chin on her shoulder. Their eyes met in the mirror. "I know... About everything."

"Everything?" Liz asked, her voice just barely above a whisper.

JC nodded, turning her around to look at him. "I just don't know why you didn't tell me. My friends told me, but not my wife?"

Liz looked into his eyes that reflected shimmers of hurt.

"Josh, I'm sorry," she shook her head at him. "I'm so sorry."

"Baby, I don't want an apology. I want to know why you knew all this time and didn't say anything to me. And then, you're lying to me about going to Orlando when you have your doctor's appointment and... You were really gonna let me miss that?"

"I swear to you Josh, I tried to tell you. It's just... How do you expect me to tell you something like this when there's always something going on around you? You're tired, you're at a concert, you're at a photo shoot, you gotta get up early, you got to come home late... All the alone time we have together was never long enough for me to bring it up. And then... With everything on your plate, I just couldn't find the heart to tell you."

"Why not?"

"I didn't think you'd be happy about it..."

JC shook his head. "You didn't think I'd be happy that we created something together?"

"I don't know," she mumbled.

JC chuckled. "Lizzie, you have no idea how happy I am about this! Yea, it was a lot to handle when I found out but babe, did you honestly think that I was gonna think of this to be a mistake?"

"Kind of?"

"Well I don't! And it's not."

"We just... didn't plan on having kids this soon."

"Everything happens for a reason, right? I don't know what this reason is but I'm sure as hell up for figuring it out."

"So you really know?" Liz asked. "And Justin told you?"

"I know. And actually, not only Justin. All the guys know, too."

Liz's eyes widened. "ALL?"

"And Emma."

"Emma knows?!"

"How?"

"Long story," JC shrugged. "Nobody's mad so don't worry." He kissed her cheek. "Not even me."

"I'm sorry this was how we shared this moment Josh," Liz said, regretfully. "You're my husband. I should have told you when I found out in the first place."

"Yea, well... You are my wife now. I should have picked up on the signs so I guess we're both to blame."

"Maybe the next time something like this happens, we'll share the moment better."

"Next time?" JC laughed. "How about we get through this first pregnancy before planning any others?"

Liz laughed, wiping the corner of her eye and nodding. "Okay, deal."

JC smiled. "What up with that big grin on your face?"

Liz shrugged. "I'm excited now!"

JC chuckled, picking her up and squeezing her tightly. Liz giggled, dipping her head to kiss him.

"I'm excited too," JC nodded.

"Are we ready to take this one?"

"Even if we're not... We'll figure something out."

Liz nodded. "Okay."

"Now," JC said, resting her down. "Tell me."

She looked at him oddly. "Tell you what?"

"I want to hear it from you. You still haven't told me anything."

Liz giggled. "Josh, we're having a baby!"

JC grinned, kissing her sweetly. "Thank you."

~*~*~*~*~

Wednesday morning- Orlando

"Look what I got," JC smiled, walking up to her next to the luggage belt. He took out a small stuffed bear from the plastic bag in his hand and handed it to her.

Liz smiled, taking the bear and laughing at the *NSYNC logo that was printed on the white shirt the bear wore.

"You guys are literally everywhere, aren't you?"

"Except on toilet paper," JC chuckled. "Maybe when the baby gets here we can take it off the bear and give it to him or her to wear."

"That's why you bought this thing, didn't you? Because it made you think of the baby."

JC smiled. "I thought it was cute. Babies are cute - most of them, anyways."

"It is cute," Liz admitted. "Here," she gave it back to him. "Put it back in the bag. We'll put it in our room when we get home."

"You got your suitcases?"

"Yea. You ready?"

"Yea," JC answered, taking the heavier suitcase, leaving her with her hand luggage. JC didn't have any suitcases, seeing that he was flying back to New York in less than twelve hours.

"Are we going home first or do you want to get an early lunch and then go straight to the doctor's office?"

"We have to go home first."

"We have to?"

"I got a surprise for you."

~*~*~*

"What kind of surprise?" Liz asked for the ninth time as JC lead her up the staircase, leaving the suitcases at the bottom of the stairs.

"You'll see in less than fifteen seconds."

Liz sighed. Only JC knew why he did the kind of things he did.

"You know where we are?" he asked her.

She looked at the door in front of them. "The first guestroom?"

"Nope," JC smiled, taking her hand and putting his hand on the door handle. "Close your eyes."

She did as she was told and JC opened the door to the room. "Open them," he said.

Liz opened her eyes and frowned, looking around the now completely painted white room. It was empty except for a painting canvas set up in the middle of the room.

"Where did all our furniture go from here?" she asked, looking around. "What'd you do?"

"Relax," JC chuckled. "Our picture frames, the sheets, books, candles, all that are in various parts of the house. Stuff like the mattress, the bed, the cupboard, all that is in storage. This, I thought could be the nursery in a few months."

Liz's face lit up. "The nursery?"

"Yea, for the baby. It's the room closest to ours and I figured it's a good size. Plus, we still have four spare bedrooms."

Liz was speechless and JC decided to use it to his advantage. He pulled out a marker and walked over to the piece of paper stuck on the canvas.

"This is what I was thinking." He started making rough drawings on the page. "Maybe over here could be the crib and then we can have the changing table against this wall. There's a window here so maybe we can get like a rocking chair or a glider or something to put next to that. I think it'll be nice if you were breastfeeding or something and then have a window to look out. Or we could put it next to like, a small bookshelf or something where we can have baby books or whatever it is people put in those bookshelves because babies can't read but ayways..." JC took a breath and kept talking. "Then we have to choose a rug and curtains that'll match with the theme of the room if you want to do one. They can be pink or blue or whichever depending on what the sex is. And then we just get the usual, like a hamper and toys and diaper disposal, and clocks, and a dimmer or a nightlight and stuff. Oh! And drawers for his or her clothes. You can decide what else you want to have in here. These are just my ideas."

"Well I think you have it all planned out Chasez," Liz smiled, looking at the sketch and then around the empty room.

JC grinned, obviously proud of himself. "You think so?"

Liz giggled, nodding her head. "Yea, I do. Man, if we have a boy I hope he gets his smile from you. And I hope he gets your eyes. Getting your hair wouldn't be too bad either."

JC chuckled. "What about my body?"

"You do have a hot body," Liz winked.

JC laughed out. "Yea, you think so now. If this kid gets to be anything like me when I was a teenager, his mind is just not going to catch up with his body!"

Liz smiled. "It caught up with you, don't worry."

"I guess having a boy might be easier than having a girl."

"Why'd you say that?"

"Because if she gets any of her looks from her momma, then I'm going to be put in a position where I'm going to be spending my late thirties and early forties chasing away those horny teenage boys!"

"But then she'd have the pleasure of saying, ‘You guys better not touch me! My dad's in a boyband!'"

JC scowled. "MALE VOCAL GROUP," he corrected her.

Liz giggled, rolling her eyes. She placed a kiss on his cheek. "Yea, yea, yea."

~*~*~*~*

3 weeks later

"Did Josh say what time his flight was getting in?" Karen asked from across the couch.

Liz nodded, looking at the digital clock above the flat screen. "The plane was supposed to come in at two AM and the car is dropping him off so, he supposed to be home in a few minutes. It's minutes to three."

While the plan was initially for Liz to spend a week or two at home sorting things out on how to deal with the first and second trimesters of pregnancy and then go back out on tour, JC had decided that he didn't want to have her in a restless and hustling environment 24/7. With approval from Johnny, each time JC didn't have a concert or an important interview where his presence was really, really, really needed, he'd fly back to Orlando even if it was for twenty four hours.

This time, with Heather in her second year of college and Tyler off on a two day class trip, Liz and JC invited Roy and Karen to fly in for a few days since they hadn't seen each other for a good few months. Liz didn't mind the company. Actually, she loved how close her relationship was with her in-laws and she knew JC was happy that they'd get to spend some time together despite the fact that *NSYNC had an appearances to make the following day in Los Angeles. This basically meant that JC had to get his butt back on his private, scheduled flight when 11PM came around that night.

"You want something else to eat Karen?" Liz asked, getting up from the couch to go into the kitchen. "I think the baby's taking every chance they get when they know I'm awake so they can get to get more and more food."

Karen smiled. "No thanks hunny, I'm fine. You just make sure and keep feeding my grandchild."

Liz smiled. "Is there any more of that cheesecake you made yesterday?"

"Yea, there's a couple pieces in the-"

"The lights are on so I know someone's awake," JC's voice sounded, and they heard the front door close.

Karen's face lit up and Liz giggled, nodding her head as a way to tell her ‘never mind' about the food.

"Hello?" JC's voice sounded again. He was getting closer to the living room. "Is anybody h- Mom!"

Karen grinned at the sight of her son in the archway. He had a small carry-on bag that he held but he dropped it when he saw his mother.

He grinned, greeting her with a tight hug and a kiss on the cheek.

"I missed you mom," JC told her.

"I missed you too Josh," Karen smiled. "You okay?"

"Just jetlagged but I'm cool. Where's dad?"

"Ah, he's asleep upstairs. I'll go wake him up!"

JC chuckled. "No, mom, if he's asleep then you don't have to wake him up just because I got her."

"He told me that when Josh gets home, make sure he gets up. I'll be right back," she kissed her son on his cheek once more.

She disappeared up the stairs and JC couldn't help but laugh silently to himself at his mother's enthusiasm of him simply coming home.

"Hey, she misses her son," Liz smiled. "Give her a break."

JC turned his head to look at her and his face broke out in a wide grin.

"Hey you."

Liz smiled, speed walking over to him and letting him envelope her in his arms. She kissed him deeply, and JC tried to pull her body closer to his but the bump in between them prevented it.

He pulled away, letting his arms hold her by the waist. "Oh my God babe, you're showing!"

Liz nodded. "Crazy, right?"

JC fell to his knees so that now he was at eye level with her stomach. He lifted her t shirt and ran his hands over her skin. She wasn't showing much, but it was more than just a visible bump.

"It's amazing how much a difference three weeks make," JC murmured. "Can you feel kicking yet?"

"It's still too early for that, I think. I was feeling some fluttering the other night and when I asked the doctor about it, he said that it was the baby moving. It's normal for sixteen weeks."

JC kissed her stomach and then got off the floor, letting his lips meet hers.

"I promise, I'm just gonna spend an hour or two with my mom down here and then it's you and me till sun up. Until then, you can get some rest or you can stay with us."

"The woman stayed up until almost three AM for her son to come home. I think I'll give you guys some time together and head to bed."

JC pouted but it made Liz smile.

"I only stayed up so I could get a good night kiss from you and plus, I didn't want to leave your mom alone down here. We some pretty good conversations though. I'm glad she's here. Oh, and she made cheesecake yesterday so I'm going to take a piece of cheesecake and drag my butt to bed."

"No more morning sickness?"

"It's still there, just not as bad as before. I was getting some backaches today but I guess that's just because of my body getting bigger."

"You look so beautiful though baby," JC said sincerely. "Pregnancy agrees with you."

"Good because we still have five months to go."

"I'll be up soon to rub your back if you think it'll help."

She smiled. "Just wake me when you get into bed and if you're not tired. We have unfinished business to get done."

"We have all morning and all of the afternoon later today baby."

*~*~*~*~*~

Liz groaned softly at the light ache in her lower stomach that awoke her. She opened her eyes and saw that JC's side of their bed was already made up and she could hear voices downstairs.

Obviously, she was the only one that was still in bed. She probably would have gotten up earlier if JC hadn't woke her up at 5AM when he was just getting in to bed and then causing them to have an entire hour long conversation before JC had rid them both of their clothes. Of course, one thing turned into another and they didn't end up going to bed till 6:30 that morning and it was only 11:00AM now.

Liz used the sheet to cover her while she got her robe from her and JC's bathroom. She slipped it on, brushed her teeth and took a quick shower before changing into a pair of loose pants and a nice blouse. Despite the smile on her face, she couldn't shake the weird feeling that was in her system. One minute she felt nauseous and another minute there was a sudden ache over her body.

Shrugging it off, she went downstairs and joined JC and his parents at the kitchen table laughing about whatever they were talking about. Oh, how she loved to see that big smile on his face.

"Good morning beautiful," JC smiled, seeing her appear.

"That's how you know you've raised your boy well," Roy said. "When he greets his wife by telling her she's beautiful in the morning."

Liz giggled, going over and kissing JC lightly on the lips. "Good morning to you guys too."

"You want some breakfast hun?" Karen offered. "We tried to get JC to make pancakes earlier but he didn't know that you were supposed to flip the thing after a couple minutes so half of it is burned."

Liz laughed whole heartedly, going over to pour herself some apple juice. "I think I'll settle with some cereal for now. What're you guys doing today?"

Roy and Karen looked at JC.

"Well, mom and dad wanted to go see Universal and then I was thinking the four of us can go to lunch somewhere nice and then maybe a drive after that. Just to chill before I leave tonight."

"Speaking of Universal, I should probably make sure that camera is charged up," Karen said, getting up from the table and walking over to put her plate in the sink. "Roy, you got the backup charger, right?"

"Check in my red suitcase. I'll help you so we can give these two guys their morning privacy."

JC and Liz smiled.

"I'll see you in a few minutes," Karen kissed Liz's cheek and patted her stomach before she and Roy retreated back to their guest room.

JC got up from the table and went over to where Liz stood by the island. "Speaking of our morning privacy," he started, standing behind her and kissing her shoulder. "This morning was amazing."

Liz smiled. "Yea, it was."

"I didn't know making love felt that good when you were pregnant."

She giggled. "I'm surprised at how quiet we were too."

"You up for Universal today, right?"

Liz frowned. "I don't know. I didn't want to say anything in front of your parents but I don't think I'm up for anything today."

JC's face fell. "Babe, why not?"

"I don't know," she shook her head. "I didn't wake up at my best this morning. I don't know. I just feel weird."

"Is it the baby?" JC asked, rubbing her stomach. "Do you want me to get you some saltines or some ginger ale that might help?"

Liz shook her head. "No, thanks I'm okay. I just... Universal and those rides. Not today for me..."

"You're coming to lunch, right?"

She smiled and nodded. "Yea, okay. And besides, I know how happy your parents are that they're here home with you. They deserve a day out with the son they almost never see. You and I got time in for us this morning."

"And tonight before I leave? If you're feeling better?"

"We'll get some time in before then, too."

"Can't wait," JC smiled, kissing her sweetly.

~*~*~*~

3 hours later

The dull aches Liz had woken up with had seemed to get gradually worse as the day went on after JC had left with his parents so she decided to take a walk around the outside of the house- from the backyard out by the dock and the pool to the front yard and driveway where she and JC had little potted plants and flowers that made the outside of the house look decorative.

She stopped walking for a moment and leant against jeep when an ache spread from her lower back to her lower stomach to her pelvic area.

"Dammit," she whispered, trying to breathe through the pain. She was far too early for labor, even premature labor, so what kind of pregnancy sickness was taking its toll on her now.

Just when she thought she was ready to head back into the house to lie down and sleep ‘it' off, another sharp pain took her that almost made her fall to her knees. If it wasn't for the jeep being right there next to her, she would have been on the ground.

By the way the pain was intensifying, and never had she ever had cramps like that even when she was on her period, Liz knew something was wrong. She just didn't know what.

The front door was too far. Her phones were inside.

"God," she gritted out, when another pain came over her lower body.

Looking around, she knew she had no choice than the only one in front of her.

JC wouldn't be picking her up for another hour and with no means of contact nearby since there were no phones and not even the nearest neighbor could hear to come over and help her because of how gated JC kept the house.

If the pain wasn't so severe and scaring her as much as it was, Liz would never have done what she knew she would end up doing. She needed a hospital. And she needed one now.

Biting her lip and saying a quick prayer in her mind, Liz opened the door to the Jeep and got in. She closed the door and took a moment to breathe through whatever was happening to her on the inside.

"We're gonna be okay baby," Liz touched her stomach. Reaching for the spare car key JC kept taped behind the steering wheel, Liz put it in the ignition and for the first time in almost five years, she put the car in Drive and pressed down lightly on the pedals.

For about five minutes of the drive, Liz had kept up the praying and the breathing and she seemed to be doing good keeping herself together on her way to the hospital.

Stopping at a red light on the freeway route to get to the hospital she and JC preferred, she leaned back, thankful that at least the driving skills she had thought were forgotten were still there- when she needed them the most. Seeing that the light had turned green, Liz drove up.

Coming into free road, a sharp pain hit that almost caused her to cry out but she bit down on her lip inside. Suddenly, she felt something between her legs. Something... wet.

Liz looked down quickly for a glance as to see what was going on and she realized that the crotch of her light blue pants were quickly turning a dark red.

"Oh my God," she whimpered, looking at the road then back to her body. One more pain hit as the blood continued to spread and Liz had to take both hands off the wheel.

Hearing a loud horn blare, Liz looked up and realized the car had drifted into the wrong lane.

"Oh my-" Liz grabbed the wheel and swerved the car to the left.

She gasped loudly when she-

*~*~*

JC laughed, getting into his Mercedes in the Universal parking lot.

"I'm sure Heather and Tyler would appreciate you guys 10X more than they already do if you acted like how you acted here, back home."

Roy and Karen laughed, getting into the passenger seat and the backseat of the car.

"Lunch now?" Roy asked.

JC nodded, closing the door. "Yea, we just got to pick Lizzie up from home and then we can eat."

His parents nodded.

Before JC could start the car, his phone had started ringing.

"Hold on a sec," he murmured, getting his cell from out of his pocket.

"Hello?" he answered.

"JoshIneedyoutogettothehosptialrightnowIt'sanemeregencySomething'swrong!"

JC frowned. "Emma? That you?"

"Yes!" she practically screeched into the phone.

"You're talking to fast, I don't know what you're saying. Slow down."

He could hear sobbing on the other end and started getting alarmed.

"Em? Are you crying? What's wrong?"

Roy and Karen exchanged concerned looks.

"J-J-Josh," Emma blubbered into the phone.

"What's wrong Emma?" JC asked.

"Lizzie..."

JC's heart rate tripled. "W-What's wrong? Is she okay?"

"T-T-There was a car accident," she said, trying to catch her breath. "L-Lizzie was driving."

"What?!" JC exclaimed into the phone. "Emma, where is she?!" JC demanded.

"You need t-t-to get down to the h-hospital," she said quickly. "Now!"