Lila walked painfully slowly down the pitch-black hallway. She was terrified as she moved about uncertainly. The only sound she heard was that of her own footsteps as they echoed against the floor. The sound pulsated loudly in her ears. Lila groped about the darkness desperately searching for a wall or anything to help keep her balance. Her mind was a haze of confusion as she moved, terrified. Why was she so confused? She continued down the hallway, controlled as if by some unseen force. She soon became exhausted and her legs began to ache terribly. The hallway seemed so long and there was no end in sight.

Lila shivered as she walked timidly. She was suddenly feeling very cold. She stopped walking and began rubbing her arms for warmth.

As she stood, she peered about the darkness, very confused. She wasn�t sure what she was doing there or how she had ended up there in the first place. Tears of confusion and terror began to form in her eyes and soon began to slip down her face. How do I get out of here? she wondered. Hopelessly scared, she suddenly heard a voice. The voice was soft and comforting. It called out her name, cutting through the cold darkness. Lila recognized the familiar voice immediately.

�Brian?� she called hoarsely into the darkness. �Where are you?� she asked meekly.

�I�m here,� he called back to her.

�Where? She searched the hallway for him, but couldn�t see him anywhere. I can�t see you,� she told him tearfully �Where are you?� she called again, her voice coming out like a frightened child.

�I�m right here Lila,� he replied again.

Lila stumbled through the black hallway following the sound of his gentle voice. As she moved, she suddenly noticed a light at the end of the hallway. The light seemed to get brighter as she approached it. Her feet became heavy as she lumbered tiredly towards it. She was so tired, but she refused to give up.

Suddenly, she saw him. He appeared as if by magic amidst the bright light. It shone around him, shielding his face. His hand was outstretched towards her as he stood patiently waiting. She extended her arm out towards him, stepping closer. She could see his eyes now. His blue eyes twinkled at her lovingly and she could feel herself becoming enraptured with them slowly. Her hand was extremely heavy and uncooperative as she desperately tried to grasp his. She tried several times, but for some reason she couldn�t reach him. It was as if something was holding her back.

Tears of frustration coursed down her cheeks. �Brian,� she whispered. �I can�t reach,� she told him.

�Yes you can Lila. I know you can,� he replied confidently.

Renewed by his confident words and the sincerity in his voice, she gazed into his eyes. His blue eyes gazed back at her never wavering, never straying from her face. His eyes seemed to instil strength and courage in her. They were warm and kind as they stared at her lovingly.

With every ounce of strength that her tired body possessed, she reached towards him. She stretched her aching limbs as much as she could. Her fingers trembled furiously, now mere inches away from Brian�s.

Suddenly, a warm sensation enveloped her and she felt herself being pushed towards him. As their hands finally connected, Lila felt a tingle course throughout her body�.

Her eyelashes fluttered to life as she attempted to open her eyes. They opened and closed a few times uncooperatively. A low moan escaped her raw dry throat as she tried in desperation to make a sound. She felt woozy all over but persisted anyway. �Brian?� she finally managed. �I did it,� she whispered softly to the empty room.

A familiar sad sensation came over Mya as AJ�s words rang clear as day throughout her mind. Without a moment�s hesitation or reason, she stepped towards him. She wrapped her arms around him, encompassing his body in her embrace.

For some unexplainable reason, hot tears sprung forth from Mya�s eyes. She had never actually met Lila before, but she had learned a lot about her from AJ. It wasn�t so much the fact that Lila had been in an accident it was just the whole situation, which brought tears to her eyes. It was all too familiar to her.

They stood silently together for a few minutes. A lone tear slipped down Mya�s cheek. If only she had had someone to be there for her like this during her time of need, maybe things wouldn�t hurt as much.

She felt AJ�s grip loosen and she pulled away willingly. She was suddenly overcome with embarrassment as she realized that she had acted quite impulsively.

She was still incredibly hurt and angered by AJ�s actions. He needed a friend right now though and she wasn�t going to turn her back on him. She still cared about him a great deal and knew how much it hurt to go through something like this alone.

She swatted at her own tears anxiously hoping AJ wouldn�t notice she was crying. AJ however took notice of her tears immediately. He reached up to brush them from her face. As his soft gentle hand touched her face, Mya flinched, averting her eyes to the ground.

�Sorry,� he whispered immediately dropping his hand. He bowed his head in shame, realizing he had overstepped the line. AJ watched as she shifted her weight uncomfortably. He should have been more considerate. He should have known that sharing this news with Mya of all people would bring back old memories. He parted his lips, poised to apologize but was interrupted by Mya instead.

�Why did you come here?� she blurted her words coming out in a rush. When she saw the hurt look that crossed AJ�s face, she immediately wished she could take her words back. �I mean,� she paused �did you come here just to share this with me?�

�I guess I just needed someone to talk to. You were the first and only person that came to mind,� he told her looking into her eyes. �Was that so wrong of me?� he questioned imploringly.

Mya looked back at him but didn�t say a word. She remained silent fearing that if she opened her mouth a whole slew of emotions would pour out. Now wasn�t the time to discuss how she was feeling.

AJ noted her silence, but continued. �In answer to your question, no, I didn�t come here just to share this with you. I also came to apologize,� he said softly.

�AJ don�t. Now isn�t the right time,� Mya said. Emotions were running wild right now and Mya didn�t want to end up saying something she would later regret. Even if she heard an apology, she wasn�t sure that it would make any difference to her.

�Please just listen,� AJ begged her.

Mya opened her mouth a few times as if in protest, but couldn�t make a sound. For some strange self-gratifying reason, she found herself wanting to hear AJ�s apology despite how wrong his timing was. She wanted to hear his words. It wouldn�t make any of this hurt any less, but perhaps it would allow her to understand. Understand why everyone always felt they had to pretend with her. Pretend that they cared or that she was important to them.

AJ stood watching her quietly, trying to anticipate her thoughts. He couldn�t though. It hurt too much to think of the sadness that she was going through.

�Mya,� he began, focusing his eyes on hers. Their gaze seemed to lock almost instantaneously and as it did, AJ felt an unfamiliar feeling surge throughout his body.

As the unsettling feeling finally settled, everything suddenly became very clear to him. He understood his urgency to see her, to be with her and to hear her voice. These feelings could only be attributable to one thing: love.

The culmination of all these feelings at once was slightly intimidating and suddenly AJ was at a loss for words. Everything he was feeling was so powerful he wasn�t sure how to go about expressing it.

Mya stood before him, waiting patiently for an apology that she was now doubting she would ever receive.

�I want to apologize,� he began simply �for Elizabeth�s behavior. Nothing she said had any truth to it. That�s not how I feel about you at all,� he told her quietly. �I care so much about you. I love you,� he added in a whisper.

Mya stood silently before him, her face remaining blank. �No you don�t,� she whispered, her voice cracking.

She turned away from him, tears in her eyes but too proud to allow him to see them. She wouldn�t let him know how much she wished his words were true. She moved away from him and towards the door.

Suddenly, she felt his arm on her shoulder gently holding her back. Slowly, he placed his other hand on her shoulder and turned her towards him.

His face was mere inches away from hers as he spoke. �If I�m not in love with you then why do I feel this way?� he questioned quietly. �Why is it that all I ever think about is you? This world is so full of confusion Mya, but you�re one of the only things that�s clear to me,� he told her sincerely. �If I�m not in love with you then why is it that the only thing I ever want to do is hold you in my arms forever?� he whispered in her ear.

Mya remained speechless as she held her breath. No one had ever spoken to her this way before. Her knees were weak as they began to tremble. She looked into his eyes and was slightly taken aback at what she saw. Standing before her, AJ gazed at her with more honesty and love than she had ever even imagined possible. All it took was that one glance at him for her to realize just how sincere her really was. Everything was obvious in his eyes.

AJ moved forwards and as he slowly began to kiss away the tears which stained her face, she didn�t even flinch. His touch felt more right than anything ever had in her life. She knew from his words now that he really did care. He was different from all the others because unlike them, AJ Mclean wasn�t pretending.

Elizabeth stared forlornly through the glass window of the hospital door at Lila�s pale figure. Lying there looking so frail and helpless, it almost seemed as though it wasn�t Lila she was looking at. For as long as she could remember, Lila has been on of her closest friends, the sister she�d always wanted and her sounding board. Looking at her now, Elizabeth realized just how unjust and cruel this world could be at times. Lila didn�t deserve this.

With a sigh, Elizabeth opened the door slowly. She stepped into the silent room carefully, so as not to disturb Lila. As she moved towards the bed, she took a deep consoling breath to calm herself down. Lila need her support right now. She had to be strong for her sake if not her own.

Elizabeth stood silently next to Lila�s bed. Her eyes began to mist over as she stood there. Next, Elizabeth did the only thing she could think of doing in circumstances like these. She clasped her hands together and bowed her head and prayed. She prayed with everything she had in her for not just Lila, but also the baby that her friend had lost.

�Brian?� a groggy voice cut through the silence which enveloped the room as Elizabeth prayed. Elizabeth�s eyes immediately snapped open and her hands dropped to her sides.

�Lila? It�s me Liz,� she told her, tears in her eyes. She watched as Lila licked her dry cracked lips. �Lila, honey, can you hear me?� Elizabeth asked, worry in her voice.

�Brian?� Lila repeated again, seemingly oblivious to Elizabeth�s presence. �I did it,� she said softly.

�I�ll get the doctor,� Elizabeth whispered. She turned on her heel and fled quickly from Lila�s room. As she exited the room in an excited rush. An anxious Nick and Jessica rose to their feet.

�What�s wrong?� Jessica asked worriedly. �Is she alright?�

�She�s fine,� Elizabeth assured her. �She�s awake now and asking for Brian,� Elizabeth let out in a rush.

�Thank god,� Jessica said squeezing Nick�s hand. Jessica and Elizabeth hugged and presently Elizabeth took off to the nurse�s stand in search of the doctor.

�Where�s Brian? I think he should be the first to see her.�

Jessica gazed around hoping to see Brian�s familiar sandy blonde head amidst the confusion and bustle of the lounge, but didn�t see him anywhere in sight.

�That�s strange. I could have sworn he was here a minute ago,� she replied.

Brian roamed the hallway mindlessly, thoughts and images swimming throughout his mind. Once the initial shock of Lila�s pregnancy had worn off, the confusion and devastation had set in. If only he�d known sooner, the woman he loved wouldn�t be lying helplessly in a hospital bed right now. I would have taken care of you. I would have made sure both of you were alright, he said silently.

In the past, he and Lila had never kept anything from each other. They were always very open about their emotions and feelings with one another.

He blamed himself partly for Lila�s misfortune. I should have known. He had sensed the tension and Lila�s often terse behavior, but ignored it. Lila and he had experienced problems in the past. They�d surpassed each one of those obstacles successfully though, which had led him to believe they would be fine eventually this time too. How wrong he�d been. If only he�d acted upon his instincts then maybe none of this would have ever happened. Instead, his own naivete and faith had landed Lila in the hospital and taken the life of their child.

Brian stopped mid-step as he began thinking of the child they could have had together. A boy with his strong features and comedic tendencies or a girl with Lila�s sparkling green eyes and angelic voice. Maybe a cross between the two of them. Boy or girl, their child would have been special. A part of him and a part of her.

He shook his head as if to clear his thoughts. There was no sense in dwelling on the past. Nothing could be changed now. He looked up and was surprised to find himself in front of Lila�s room once again. He peered into the window. His eyes fell upon her figure and he felt a familiar tugging at his heart.

�Brian,� a hand startled him as it clamped down on his shoulder. He turned around quickly and came face to face with Nick.

Nick gazed at him eagerly as he spoke. �Where�ve you been Bri?� he asked with concern. �Lila woke up almost an hour ago. She asked for you a few times before she fell back asleep. The doctor checked her out and everything looks good. She seems to be coming around. He thinks she�ll be fine Brian,� Nick explained excitedly.

Brian stared at Nick elated to hear the news. Lila was going to be fine. His elation was soon sedated however, as he realized how different things would be from this point on. Obviously the coming weeks would be traumatic for her dealing with the loss of the baby. Brian wanted and hoped that he would be able to be there for her. She meant so much to him. He wasn�t sure though that he�d be able to be of any support. Maybe if he could get over the hurt that he was feeling then he�d been of some help.

Things would have been so much easier if she�d just told him in the first place. This was going to be just as difficult and upsetting for him as it would be for Lila. The only difference was that unlike Lila, he wouldn�t have anyone to comfort him through this. No one could possibly understand how he was feeling right now.

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