Change of Plans

By

Nicole

Disclaimer: I don’t own the Power Rangers. I’m just borrowing them for this story. I just own the plot and the characters that don’t exist.

Summary: After a night of passion. Connor and Kira get news that will change their lives forever. Rated M for adult scenes and sensitive readers should be aware.

Change of Plans

Chapter 1: Perfect Night

Connor drove up to Kira’s house and shut his car off. It was their last year of high school. A year they were going to remember forever. This last year was going to tell them if they were going to graduate high school or not. He got out and walked up to the front door. He knocked and Mrs. Ford answered. “Connor, hello, come in,” she greeted. Connor nodded and came in. “Kira upstairs, she should be down in a moment,” she informed.

“She can take her time,” he assured her.

Mrs. Ford smiled and walked away. Connor then looked up to see Kira standing there. “I hope I didn’t keep you waiting,” she commented. Connor shrugged his shoulders.

“Not that long,” he replied.

Kira smiled and then she held onto his hand. “Mom, dad, I’m leaving,” she announced.

“Have fun,” Mrs. Ford insisted.

“Bring her back by 11,” Mr. Ford instructed.

“Will do,” Connor acknowledged.

Then they left.

As Connor drove, he looked over at Kira. “Your dad doesn’t trust me much,” he commented. She looked at her boyfriend confused.

“What makes you think that?” She asked.

“Because of the way he looks at me when I take you out,” he replied.

“Dad’s always like that,” she assured him.

She reached over and grabbed his hand. “He likes you, Connor,” she assured him.

“Sure he likes me, just because he likes me doesn’t mean he trusts me,” he commented.

“Why are you so worried about this?” She asked.

“Because, just incase I want to ask his beautiful daughter to marry me.”

Kira swatted his shoulder. “Be serious, Connor,” she insisted.

“I am being serious, Kira,” he assured her.

“You’re seriously thinking about marrying me after high school?”

“Maybe if you’ll have me.”

Kira smiled and had him stop the car. He turned to look at her and she pulled him into a kiss. Connor ran his fingers through her hair and had the kiss become deeper. Connor pulled back and looked at her. “Where did that come from?” He asked.

“Just to show how much I love you,” she replied.

“Man, you should do that more often,” he teased.

Kira smiled before sitting back in her seat. “So, where do you plan on taking me tonight?” She asked.

“I was thinking dinner and a movie,” he replied.

“We do that every night,” she whined.

“Okay, how about this dance club right here?”

“Sure.”

They parked and got out of the car. They walked over to the dance club and the guy at the door let them in.

Connor set his jacket on the back of a chair before taking Kira out to the dance floor. They started dancing to ‘Are You Ready For This?’ by 3 Days Grace.

After a few more rush songs, finally a slow song came. They started dancing to ‘How do I live’ by LeAnn Rimes. Kira placed her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. She had her arms wrapped around his neck. Connor’s arms were wrapped around her waist and he was holding her close. “I love you,” he whispered. He placed a kiss on the top of her head.

“I love you too,” she answered.

Connor lifted her chin up and kissed her.

When they came back to his house after eating dinner, Kira noticed that everything was dark. “Where are your parents?” She asked.

“Mom and dad went to Vegas for the weekend,” he replied.

“So it’ll just be us?” She asked.

“Just us.”

He then got out of the car, went to her side of the car, and opened the door. Then they walked inside.

They were making out on the couch when Kira pulled back. “What’s wrong?” He asked. She sighed as she held onto his hands.

“Connor, remember when we talked about the ‘right’ time to take our relationship to the next step?” She asked.

“Yep, as soon as you’re ready I’ll be there,” he replied.

“Connor.”

“Hmmm.”

“I’m ready.”

They kissed and he picked her up off the couch. He carried her to his room and closed the door with his foot.

Connor placed Kira on the bed and took his shirt off. “Are you sure you’re ready fort his?” He asked. Kira nodded and pulled him down for a kiss.

(Two Hours Later)

Connor drove Kira home and saw that she was fast asleep in her side of the car. He couldn’t believe of how amazing it would feel being with her. It felt like his first time all over again. Of course this time wasn’t his first time. His first time was with Krista after prom. However, being with Kira it was ten times as amazing as it was when he was with Krista. He stopped in front of her house and carried her out of the car. He knocked on the door and Mrs. Ford answered. “What happened?” She asked.

“We had a busy night. We had dinner and went dancing for awhile. She was so tired she fell asleep on the way home,” he lied.

“Here, take her upstairs,” Mrs. Ford instructed.

“Will do.”

He carried Kira up to her room and placed her on her bed. He took off her shoes and pulled the blankets around her. He then kissed her forehead. “Sweet dreams, Kira, I love you,” he whispered. Then he left.

When Connor went to bed that night, it didn’t take him long to go to sleep. All night he dreamed of his perfect night with Kira Ford, the woman of his dreams.

WARNING: This story gets darker than any other story I have ever written. It does get a little graphicin later chapters. I have to thank KAOliver for her help. Please review.

Chapter 2: Two Weeks Later

Kira woke up with a groan. She felt very ill. She got up from bed and went into the bathroom. She had to make sure her mother wouldn’t come in, so she locked the door.

A few minutes later, Kira came out of the bathroom and searched to see if her mother was anywhere in sight. She was glad to find that she was home alone. “Thank God it’s Saturday,” she whispered. She then grabbed her keys and went to the pharmacy.

Kira went down the aisle hoping that she was seen as she took a pregnancy test off the shelf. She then bought the test and quickly left the store.

When she got up, she went straight to the bathroom. She read the box. “E. P. T., 99 percent accurate,” she read. She took a deep breath and took the test. “Please don’t let it be so,” she whispered. She sat on the edge of her bathtub waiting for the result.

Fifteen minutes later, Kira got up and read the tab. Tears sprung in her eyes at what she saw. “Pregnant,” she whispered. She leaned back against the wall. She remembered that night she shared with Connor. The one night that changed her life in many ways than one. This was one of them. She realized that she had to tell Connor. She looked at her watch. Soccer practice was going to be ending soon. She hurried out of the house. Not knowing that she had left the pregnancy test box on the sink.

When Kira arrived at the soccer field, soccer practice just ended. She saw Connor walk towards his car with his duffle bag in hand. She jumped out of the car. “CONNOR!” She called. She ran up to him. He looked up from his and Derrick’s conversation. She ran up to him. “Connor, can I talk to you?” She asked.

“Sure,” he replied.

He followed her away from the rest of the team. “What’s going on?” He asked.

“Connor, remembered what happened two weeks ago?” She asked.

“Yeah,” he replied.

“I just got results from that night.”

He looked at her confused and saw the fear in her eyes. “Connor, I’m pregnant,” she informed. His eyes widened in disbelief.

“Are you sure?” He asked.

“Yes, I took one of those home pregnancy tests,” she replied.

“Those could be wrong.”

“Not this one. I used the 99 percent accurate test.”

She then looked at the ground and looked at him. “What are we going to do?” She asked. Connor pulled her into his arms and tucked her head under his chin and let her cry against him.

“Everything’s going to be okay, Kira. I’ll take care of you and the baby,” he replied.

She felt her heart pounding against her chest as Connor held her. “I’m scared, Connor, this is scarier than Mesogog,” she murmured. Connor siged as he held her to him.

“Everything’s going to be okay, Kira,” he whispered.

Connor had her sit down and looked over at the team. Probably to them, something went wrong and Connor was comforting her. During the past year, they were keeping their relationship a secret. “Connor, what about my parents? What about your parents?” She asked.

“Kira, we can’t worry about that right now. We need to think about us and the baby,” he replied.

She sighed sadly and looked at him. She could see a questioning look in his eye. “Yes, I’m going to carry it. However, actually keeping it, that’s the question,” she answered before he could ask. Connor sighed as he held her hand. “What about our dreams, Connor? We dreamed of being something once we get out of here,” she reminded.

“I know we had plans. But can’t we still raise a baby while trying to fulfill those dreams?” He asked.

“Connor, it might not be possible,” she replied.

He sighed and touched her face. “We’re going to go through this together. The whole nine months we’ll do this,” he assured her.

“How are we going to tell our parents?” She asked.

“We’ll tell them the truth,” he replied.

Just then, a truck pulled up and Kira stood up. Mr. Ford then came out of the truck and slammed the door shut. “KIRA ANN FORD!” He shouted. He walked over with Mrs. Ford hurrying behind him. Connor stood in front of Kira as Mr. Ford came storming at her. “Get in that truck young lady now. You’ve got a lot of explaining to do,” he snapped.

“Greg, wait,” Mrs. Ford insisted.

“Shut it, Irene, I’m not going to listen to your soothing words this time. Our daughter has made a dreadful mistake and I will see to it personally that it will be dealt with,” Greg snapped.

“What are you talking about?” Kira asked.

Greg held up the box. “What is this doing in your bathroom?” He demanded. Irene looked at Kira heartbroken.

“I was taking the test,” she replied.

“Why?” He asked.

“I was seeing if I was pregnant,” Kira replied.

“Well, what did the test say?”

Kira lowered her head and Connor placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. “It was positive,” she replied. Greg’s face got as red as Connor’s uniformed. He then grabbed Kira’s arm.

“You’re coming home now, young lady,” he ordered.

Connor ripped Greg’s hand off her shoulder. “Get your hands off of her,” Connor ordered. Kira placed her hand on Connor’s chest.

“It’s okay, Connor,” she assured him.

She gave him a kiss on the cheek before following her father to the car. Irene sighed and looked at the boy. “You should be ashamed of yourself,” she whispered. She then walked to the truck and Connor was watching Kira get into her car and drive home.

When they got home, Kira sat down on the couch and had her head lowered while her parents stared at her. “How could you, Kira? After all the things we told you do and not do and yet you go out and have sex,” Greg snapped.

“Just so you know, father, I don’t go sleeping around with every man I see. Connor was my first,” she insisted.

“How long have you been sleeping with him?” Irene asked.

“It was once. That was two weeks ago,” Kira replied.

“That’s it, you’re not going to see that boy again and you’re getting an abortion,” Greg instructed.

“NO!” Kira shouted.

Greg turned and looked at her. “No?” He asked.

“No, I’m not going to kill an innocent being. The baby doesn’t deserve to die. It deserves to live and I’m going to let it live. I’ll carry it up to term and Connor and I will decide whether or not if we want to keep him or her,” Kira explained.

“Nonsense sweetie, you’ll give the baby up to a family that can’t have a baby,” Irene insisted.

“That’s not your choice to make, mom. That’s mine and Connor’s choice,” Kira informed.

She got up and grabbed her keys. “Where are you going?” Irene asked. Kira stopped at the front door.

“I’m going to go see Connor. The father of my baby. Deal with it,” Kira replied.

Greg watched his daughter leave and sighed.

Connor was kicking soccer balls into the net when Kira came back over. "Connor," she called. Connor looked up and walked over to her. "What happened?" He asked.

"My parents wanted me to get an abortion," she replied.

"What?" He asked.

"Yeah, they wanted me to kill our baby. They then suggested I put the baby up for adoption."

Connor held her hand and looked at her. "Are you going to?" He asked.

"I don't know yet, I'll think about it," she replied.

Connor pulled her into a gentle kiss and then he touched her face once he pulled back. "Once you decide, whatever you decide, I'll be there to back you up," he assured her.

"Thank you," she whispered.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tight. "I'd do anything for you, Kira. I love you," he whispered.

"I love you too," she answered.

Then they stayed like that for a long time. Before they had to go home.

Chapter 3: Kira’s Nightmare

Kira sighed as she went to school that day. Connor walked over to her. “Kira, how are you feeling?” He asked.

“I’m feeling better,” she replied.

He hugged her tight and sighed. She finally broke down in his arms. “It’s not fair, Connor. My parents are treating my like garbage,” she sobbed. He tried to calm her down and ran circles on her back.

“It’s okay, Kira, I’ll be here for you,” he assured her.

He then led her outside.

Connor sat her down and held her hands. “Connor, I’ve made a difficult decision,” she informed. He looked at her and felt his heart pounding against his chest.

“What choice did you make?” He asked.

“Connor, I want to keep the baby,” she replied.

“I’ll be there for you. I’ll help you take care of the baby.”

She looked at him with tears in her eyes. “Really?” She asked. He touched her face with a smile.

“Kira, I love you and I want to be there for you while you’re going through this pregnancy and during the birth,” he assured her.

“I’m so glad,” she whispered.

Kira smiled and hugged him tight. “I promise, Kira, we’re going to get through this,” he assured her.

“I’m so scared,” she whispered.

He sighed as he held her. “I’m scared too, Kira, I am too,” he assured her. They had no idea that their words were heard.

Later that day, Kira was walking towards her locker when she heard whispering. “I heard that her parents are forcing her to give the baby up for adoption,” one kid whispered.

“I hear that she’s going to get rid of the kid,” another kid whispered.

“Who’s the father?” A girl asked.

“I heard it was Dr. Oliver’s baby.”

“Nah, I hear it was Trent’s kid.”

Kira quickly walked past the other kids to get to her locker. She opened her locker and pulled out her books. She felt their eyes digging into her back as she tried to get to her next class.

As Kira sat down, Connor looked at her with a concerned look on his face. He reached across the table and held her hand and she felt something being placed into her hand. She quietly opened it and started to read it.

Kira,

Meet me by the lake after school. We have some things to talk about.

Love Always,

Connor

Kira nodded to Connor and hid the note as the teacher walked by.

That day after school, Kira was sitting by the lake when Connor walked over to her. “Kira,” he called. Kira stood up.

“What’s wrong?” She asked.

“Kira, I spoke to my parents last night,” he replied.

“Did you tell them?”

“Yeah, I told them.”

“What did they say?”

Connor sat her down. “They were shocked, but they’re supportive,” he replied. She sighed and held onto his hand.

“So, I’m actually going to raise this baby?” She asked.

“You’re not going to be alone, I’ll be there to help you raise the baby.”

“Thanks.”

“For what?”

“For being so great.”

Connor smiled as she leaned against his shoulder. He held her to him for awhile before he had to leave for soccer practice. Kira got up and left.

When Kira got home, Irene was sitting on the couch when Greg came out of the kitchen. “Oh, Kira, you’re home,” he observed. Kira nodded and Irene sat her down.

“Sweetie, we need to talk about this whole baby business,” she informed.

“I’m not going to kill my baby,” Kira insisted.

“Then at least give it to a family that wants a baby,” Greg insisted.

“No! I don’t want to give my baby up. I want the baby. I want to watch this baby grow up and make a difference in the world,” Kira objected.

“You can’t keep going to school and raise a baby at the same time,” Irene commented.

“Yes I can, Dr. O and Kimberly will be there to help me,” Kira assured them.

Greg walked over grabbed Kira’s arm rather tightly. “Don’t you ever, mention that slut of a cousin ever again,” he snapped. Kira looked at her with eyes widened in disbelief. “You’re taking right after her. You got pregnant before you got out of high school,” he snapped. Kira tried pulling her arm away. “You’re going to give this baby up, you’re going to forget that you even had this kid, and you’ll never see Connor again,” he ordered.

“I’m not five-years-old anymore, dad. I’M NOT GIVING UP MY BABY!” Kira shouted.

“YOU WILL GIVE UP THIS BABY!” Greg shouted back.
“NO I WON’T AND YOU CAN'T MAKE ME! THIS IS MY BABY AND I INTEND TO KEEP IT!”

“FINE!”

He stormed upstairs with Irene following him with anger showing on her face. Kira stood in her room in disbelief as her parents started packing her bags. “If you won’t give this baby up, we don’t want anything to do with the baby or you,” Irene informed.

“You can’t kick me out, I’m your daughter,” Kira insisted.

“You should have thought of that before wanting to keep this thing,” Greg snapped.

They finished packing her stuff and threw it in her car. Kira stood by her car in disbelief as her parents went back inside, closed, and locked the door behind them. Tears pressed against her eyes, but she wasn’t going to cry. She got into her car and drove to the cyber café.

Irene stood in the window and watched as Kira disappeared out of sight and she started to cry. Greg took Irene into his arms and felt tears well up in his eyes. They actually did it, they kicked their daughter out of the house.

Kira was sitting at the cyber café trying to study when she felt tears well up in her eyes. Hayley pointed towards the table and Trent walked over to her.

“You okay?” He asked.

“I’ll be fine, just let me calm down for a second,” she replied.

She placed her head on the table and caught her breath while feeling Trent run circles on her back. “Everything’s going to be okay, Kira,” he assured her.

“No, it’s not, Trent,” she replied.

She sat up with tears falling down her face. “Look what I got myself into,” she sobbed. Trent didn’t know how to comfort her. He just pulled her into his arms and let her cry on his shoulder.

“Come on, let me take you to Kim’s,” he murmured.

He got her up from the chair and led the sobbing girl out of the café. Hayley watched as people whispered about what just happened.

When they arrived at Kim’s place, Kim opened the door and let the two teens in. “What happened?” She asked.

“She had a little bit of a breakdown at the cyber café,” Trent informed.

Then he also brought in her stuff. “What’s going on here?” Kimberly asked. Kira sat down with tears falling down her face.

“My parents threw me out of the house,” she replied.

Kimberly sat next to her cousin and pulled Kira into a sisterly embrace. Kira cried against her and Kimberly gestured towards the phone and Trent called Connor.

As Connor got finished with soccer practice, his cell-phone went off. “Connor,” He answered.

“Connor, it’s Trent,” the caller informed.

Connor hid from his friends and fear about Kira and the baby welled up in his heart. “Is it Kira, is she okay? What about the baby?” He asked.

“They’re both fine, but Connor, she needs you,” Trent replied.

“What happened?” Connor asked.

“Her parents went ballistic on her, packed her bags up, and threw her out of the house. She came to the cyber café in tears.”

“Where are you?”

“We’re at her cousin’s house.”

“What’s the address.”

Trent gave him the address and Connor got into his car and drove to Kimberly’s house.

Trent opened the door and had Connor come in. “Where is she?” He asked. He saw Kimberly holding Kira. Connor walked over and sat next to her. “Kira,” he murmured. Kira let Kimberly go and looked at Connor. She then embraced him with tears falling down her face and onto his uniform. “It’s okay, Kira, I’m here,” he whispered. He stroked her hair and looked at Kimberly.

“They wanted her to give the baby up for adoption. They didn’t want either of you two to see each other again. Kira wouldn’t have it so they threw her out,” she explained.

“Man, this pregnancy is really taking it’s toll,” Connor commented.

“What are you gong to do?” Trent asked.

“I’m going to help her through this. We’re going to raise this baby together,” Connor replied.

Inside another bedroom, a little boy was playing with his toys, not paying attention to what was going on out in his mother’s living room.

Chapter 4: More Harmful Rumors

Connor came home after a few hours. Kira had fallen asleep on Kimberly’s couch and Kimberly assured him that she was going to be okay and sent him and Trent home. Connor pulled up to his house and sat there for a second. His heart broke when he saw how upset Kira was. When he heard that it was Kira’s parents that did it, he wanted to go over and knock both of their lights out. They hurt the one girl her truly loved. Krista was just a high school crush, but he was deeply in love with Kira. He could tell when he had a crush or when he was in love. He could tell just by being with her that he was in love with her.

(Two Months Later)

One day at school, he could hear the whispers of kids talking about Kira as she walked by. “Hey, Kira,” he called. Kira stopped and looked at him. “How are you feeling?” He asked.

“I’m fine,” she replied.

He wanted to hold her in his arms so badly to show her that everything was okay, but that would blow their cover. Ever since they started dating, from avoiding everyone at school, they kept their relationship a secret. As Connor and Kira walked to their first class, they could hear the kids. “Why would McKnight be helping her?” A kid asked.

“Pity,” another kid replied.

As class went on, Dr. O would look over at Connor, Kira, Trent, and Ethan. Then Connor could hear more whispers. “Did you see the look he gave her?” A kid whisper.

“Do you think that he’s the father?” Another kid asked.

“Maybe, I think she had a crush on him last year,” a third kid answered.

“Excuse me, is there something going on here?” Tommy asked.

The kids hurried up and stayed quiet. Kira got up to hand Tommy her report when she suddenly felt really dizzy. Tommy hurried over to steady her. “Oh yeah, we just figured out the father,” a kid announced a little too loudly. Tommy had Kira sit down and looked up.

“Who said that?” He demanded.

The kids quickly hushed when they saw the look on Tommy’s face. “Come on, Kira, Ethan, you’re in charge,” Tommy informed. Ethan nodded and then Tommy led Kira out of the room.

Kira sighed as she sat down in the hall. Her eyes widened when Tommy kicked and hit a locker. “Dr. O?” She asked. Tommy started pacing and then Kimberly came. “Kimberly!” She gasped. She stood up and embraced her cousin. Kimberly saw her husband pacing back and forth angry as ever.

“What happened?” She asked.

“Kids are spreading rumors that Dr. O is the father of my baby,” Kira replied.

Kimberly walked over and grabbed Tommy’s arm. “Tommy,” she murmured. Tommy stopped and looked at her. “Tommy, calm down,” she insisted.

“Calm down, Kim, are you listening to what they’re saying about me? They’re thinking that I took an innocent girl like Kira and got her pregnant,” Tommy explained.

She grabbed both of his hands and looked him in the eye. “Tommy, get angry about it would only prove to the kids that you are,” she informed. Tommy finally calmed down and nodded.

“Kira’s all set she’s ready for her appointment. Should I get Connor?” He asked.

“No, Chad and Beth wouldn’t want Connor to cut school,” Kim replied.

Tommy nodded and then Kim led Kira out of the school.

Kim sat in a chair while Kira sat on the table. Then Dr. Johnson came in with portfolios in her arms. “Okay, Kira how are you doing today?” She asked.

“I had a dizzy spell, but I’m okay,” Kira replied.

Dr. Johnson checked her over and then she brought the portfolios over. “Okay, Kira, I have a list of families that would love to take your baby in,” she started.

“What are you talking about?” Kira asked.

“Your parents told me that you wanted to put your baby up for adoption,” she replied.

Kim stood up and held onto Kira’s hand. “Dr. Johnson. I became Kira’s legal guardian. She and the father both want the baby,” Kimberly informed.

“I’m sorry, I had no idea,” Dr. Johnson apologized.

“That’s okay, doc. Kim, I need to go back to school now,” Kira informed.

Kimberly nodded and then she drove Kira back to school.

(At the Ford's)

Kimberly drove up to Greg and Irene’s and got out. She walked over and knocked on the door. Irene opened it and her face dropped when she saw Kimberly standing there. “Kimberly, what a surprise,” she mumbled.

“Hello, Irene, may I come in?” She asked.

Irene let her in and Kimberly sat down. Greg came downstairs and then they both sat in front of her. “What the hell were you trying to pull?” She demanded.

“What in the world are you talking about?” Irene asked innocently.

“You told the doctor that Kira wants to put the baby up for adoption?” Kimberly asked.

“It’s for her own good. She doesn’t need to carry a little bastard child like Connor’s,” Greg informed.

“Connor and Kira want to keep the baby. They both want to have it. They love each other so much and yet you refuse to see it,” Kimberly insisted.

“Our daughter is not going where you went after you got pregnant with Dr. Tommy Oliver’s child,” Irene snapped.

“I was alone, I was desperate. I needed the money to support my baby and to go to nursing school. I wouldn’t have taken that job if I didn’t have a good reason,” Kimberly explained.

“Our daughter won’t become a whore. She will not turn out like you. Even if we would have to pry that child out of her arms the day it is born, but she will not keep it and she will defiantly not be seeing Connor again,” Greg snapped.

“Just so you know, you have no rights over Kira anymore. The courts granted me custody. I am able to let Kira make her own choices. She wants to keep the baby, I’m going to let her. She wants to be with Connor. I’m going to let her and there’s nothing you can do to stop me from letting her do what her heart desires. Kira wants to raise her baby. She wants to be with Connor. She loves Connor more than anything else in this whole world,” Kimberly explained.

“Just like you. You were so deeply in love with Tommy when he knocked you up. You kept the baby and yet you had to go into terrible line of work in order to keep your baby. That has to be the lamest excuse I have ever heard in my life,” Irene observed.

Greg stood up and grabbed Kimberly’s arm. “You will have Kira give that baby up and forbid her from seeing the boy that ruined her future,” he snapped. Kimberly jerked her arm away and slapped him hard across the face.

“Don’t you tell me what to do. I know what I am doing. I am letting Kira do what her heart wants her to do. She is my cousin and your daughter. You have known her before she was even born. Yet you still don’t see what she wants. You only want to give her what you want,” Kimberly explained.

“Of course we do, she wanted to go to medical school to become a doctor,” Irene informed.

“No, don’t you know Kira at all? She loves to write songs, she loves to play her guitar, she loves to sing. Don’t you see, Kira’s dream was to sing. Yet you insisted that she’d go to medical school. I have watched the way you treated Kira since she was a little girl. Wanting what you never had,” Kimberly snapped.

She grabbed Greg’s hand before he could slap her. “Don’t you dare touch me. I’ll call the police and have your ass thrown in jail,” she snapped. She let his arm go and then she left.

(Somewhere on the other side of Reefside)

Trent sat in his car and looked at the house in front of him. He took a deep breath and turned the car off. He walked over and knocked on the door. “Yes?” A woman asked.

“Is Cassidy Cornell here?” He asked.

“Yes she is, are you a friend of hers?” She asked.

“Yes,” Trent replied.

The woman let her in and then Cassidy came downstairs. “Trent, what’s going on?” She asked. She stood in front of him.

“Cassidy, I need your help,” he informed.

“What’s going on?” She asked.

“I need your gossip report. I want you to help me get the story straight about Kira’s baby,” Trent replied.

“You know who the father is?” She asked.

“Yes, I do.”

“Then who is it?”

“Connor McKnight.”

Cassidy kind of figured that. She had Trent sit down and they started talking about what they were going to do to get the record straight that Trent wasn’t the father, but Connor was.

WARNING: This deals with some adult themes here. KAOliver’s idea, I just wrote the chapter. Please review.

Chapter 5: Setting the Record Straight and the Fight

Connor came to school one morning and saw Trent waiting outside for him. “Trent, what’s going on?” He asked. Then Cassidy and Devin came out. “Okay, now I defiantly want to know what’s going on,” Connor informed.

“Connor, we want to stop the rumors about who the father of Kira’s baby is. Only few of us know the truth. Trent, you, Dr. Oliver, Ethan, Devin, and me,” Cassidy informed.

“Yeah, so what does this have to do with Kira or me?” Connor asked.

“We want you to help us get the record straight,” Trent replied.

“How do you propose I do that?” Connor asked.

“You make an appearance on the school news this morning,” Devin replied.

Connor looked at the three of them as if they were nuts. But then again, he wanted to get the record straight. Even if it meant that he had to reveal that he was Kira’s boyfriend and that he had been her boyfriend during the past year. “What do I have to do?” He asked.

“Follow us,” Trent instructed.

Kira was sitting down in her seat when she noticed that Connor and Trent couldn’t be seen. As Tommy started class, the High School news came on. Cassidy then appeared. “Good morning students and staff. Today we have a special report. We have all heard the rumors about Kira Ford and her baby. Those rumors surround who the father of that baby is. We have one person that was apart of those rumors that would like to set the record straight and the actual father is standing here today,” Cassidy informed. Kira watched as Trent appeared on the screen.

“Good morning everyone. I am apart of those rumors. I am not the father of Kira’s baby. I will always, always love Kira as a sister. I will care for her like that. Now, I would like to introduce you to the real father,” Trent informed.

Then Connor appeared on the screen. Kira’s heart stopped and then she passed out. “Kira!” Tommy gasped. He hurried over and had Ethan get her to sit up. “Kira, Kira, wake up,” Tommy insisted. Kira wouldn’t answer and as Tommy pulled out his cell to call Kim, she stirred and woke up.

“Dr. O?” She asked.

“Kira, what happened?” He asked.

“I don’t know, after seeing that Connor revealed everything, I guess I was too shocked to handle it,” she replied.

“Can you stand?” Ethan asked.

“Yeah,” she replied.

They helped her stand up and then Connor came into the room. “Connor,” she whispered. She walked over and hugged him. Connor hugged her back and closed his eyes. He did it, he revealed his and Kira’s secret and he got the record straight.

However, the girl that heard Connor and Kira talking stormed out into the hallway. She kicked the locker and pressed her forehead against it. “How could this happen? How could the rock star freak like Kira get such a hottie like Connor?” She pondered. She was very angry and she wanted revenge.

“I can see that you’re just as upset with this as I am,” a voice commented.
“Go away, Andy,” she groaned.

The girl had shoulder-length curly dirty-blonde hair, hazel eyes, she was wearing black high heels, a black skirt, a violet colored blouse, and a purple headband.

The guy she called Andy had black hair cropped short, brown eyes, sneakers, blue jeans, and a black t-shirt.

“I have an idea,” he commented. Julia looked at him.

“Really, and what idea would that be?” She asked.

“A way we can separate them,” she informed.

“How can we? Newsflash Andy, she’s pregnant with Connor’s baby.”

“I want Kira and you want Connor.”

“Yes.”

“We have to separate them in order to get what we want.”

Julia grinned and nodded.

After school that day, Connor was going to drive Kira back to Kim’s when Andy stood there. “Good afternoon, beautiful,” he greeted. Connor stood in front of Kira.

“Stay away from her,” Connor ordered.

“CONNOR!” Julia called.

Kira glared at her and stood in front of her before she could get close to Connor. “Stay away from him,” she hissed. Connor and Kira were having a stare down with Julia and Andy.

“What did you do, McKnight? Out of all the girls in this school you had to pick the most beautiful girl,” Andy snapped.

“Listen, Andy, Kira’s my girlfriend, stay away from her.”

“Sure, like I now want to go out with a knocked up whore.”

Connor reeled his fist back and got him in the jaw. “FIGHT!” A kid shouted. Kira watched in disbelief as Connor went at it.

“Too bad he had to fight for that thing inside you,” Julia sighed.

Kira looked at her with a glare. “What does that mean?” She demanded. Trent knew what was going to happen.

“Isn’t it obvious? If Connor had gotten me pregnant, the baby would be beautiful, now that he knocked you up, it’s just a bastard child that has the face of a monster,” Julia replied.

“Don’t you dare insult my baby,” Kira snapped.

“It looks like I just did babe.”

“That’s it.”

Kira went to leap at Julia when Trent pulled her back. “KIRA DON’T!” He shouted. Kira tried to fight against him while glaring at Julia who was also being held back. Kira spun to look at Connor.

“CONNOR STOP!” She shouted.

“He insulted me and our baby,” he insisted.

“Connor, please. I love you more than anything. I love this baby. Please don’t get into fights over it.”

Connor finally let Andy drop and went to go over to her when Andy stood up and charged at Connor. “CONNOR!” Kira screamed. Connor was fighting back, but Andy was able to get a few punches in.

“THAT’S ENOUGH!” A voice shouted.

Derrick ran over and pulled Andy off of Connor and helped Connor stand. “Go, Connor, get to Dr. Oliver’s,” he insisted. Trent then nudged Kira to go after Connor.

“Get to Dr. Oliver’s,” he agreed.

Kira nodded before she and Connor went off to Tommy’s house.

When they arrived ath is house, Kimberly looked at Connor’s face to see a bruise starting and his lip was swollen. The bleeding stopped on his lip, and he was lucky he could drive with his swollen eye. Kira then helped him out of the car. When Kira knocked on the door and saw that Kimberly was there. “Connor!” She gasped. She then let them inside. “Tommy, it’s Kira and Connor,” she informed. Tommy came out and his eyes widened at Connor’s appearance.

“What happened?” He asked.

“There was a fight at school,” Kira replied.

Kimberly came out with an icepack. “Better put this on that eye,” she instructed. Connor put the icepack on his eye and then Kimberly looked at Tommy. “Tommy, I’ll take Kira, you take Connor,” she instructed. Tommy nodded and then led Connor down the newly fixed lab. Kimberly sat Kira down. “What happened?” She asked.

“Some guy that had a crush on my since my freshman year was trying to get with me. Then when Connor got in the way, he insulted him and the baby. Connor threw the first punch. Then, Julia, who was obsessed with Connor since our sophomore year tried to go to him when I got in the way. She insulted me and the baby. I was about to charge at her when Trent held me back,” she explained.

Kimberly grabbed onto her cousin’s hands. “Kira, you can’t fight in your condition,” she pointed out.

“I know, Kim, with my hormones and everything, it’s gone crazy. Kim, why do you fight with my parents so much? You used to be so close with them,” Kira commented.

Kimberly then sat back against the couch. “Kira, I’m going to let you on a little secret of mine,” she sighed. Kira sat there. “Something that your parents were afraid that was going to happen to you,” she added.

“What is it?” Kira asked.

“I’ll tell you,” Kimberly replied.

(Flashback)

Kimberly walked out of the gym heartbroken, she couldn’t get a job as a coach. She needed money for her baby. She looked into the baby carrier by her side and looked at her son. She bent down and held his tiny hand. “Don’t worry, JT, mommy will find a job,” she assured him. Then Kim stood up and then she saw a ‘Help Wanted’ sign on a club. She took a deep breath as she took her son home before going to see if she could be in service.

As she walked in, a woman sat at her desk. “Name?” The woman asked. Kimberly took a deep breath.

“Kimberly Hart,” Kimberly replied.

The woman stood up. “Have an dancing experience?” She asked.

“Does gymnastics help?” Kimberly asked.

“A sport’s girl. That’s the first. Guys will like that,” the woman replied.

She then looked at Kimberly. “Turn around,” she instructed. Kimberly turned around feeling like she was being interrogated. “Okay, why do you want this job?” The woman asked.

“I need to support my baby,” Kimberly replied.

“Okay then, you start Friday,” the woman informed.

Kimberly sighed sadly as she walked out the door. She then looked up at the sign. “Dark Moonlight,” she read. She had just applied for a job at a strip club.

(A Week later)

The caramel haired woman danced onto the stage to hoots and hollers from the patrons. Her brown hair was done up in a lose bun that fell down after a few twirls. The clothes were easily shed and money was thrown at her feet. Kim took a deep breath as she kept going always conscious of the money and not the eyes or people in the bar. They didn’t matter only the money did. She needed the money and she would do what she had to in order to get it.

(Two Months Later)

After work one night, Kimberly had finished her shift and went to leave when she felt someone grab her arm. “Hey, cutie, how about you come back to my place?” The guy asked. Kimberly could smell the beer on his breath. She then kicked the guy in the shin then the stomach. She watched as he fell to his knees.

“To be frank, sir, I’m not to be messed with,” she snapped.

She picked up her purse and left.

(End Flashback)

“Your parents are afraid that you’re going to follow in my line of work. Unlike me, you are still going to school. I couldn’t afford to go to school. I joined this club to raise my baby. I got into nursing school and I got where I am today,” she informed. Kira was in shock. She wasn’t going to do something like that. She was going to continue on with school. “Also, you have Connor’s support, I had broken my relationship off with Tommy,” Kimberly added.

“Now you’re both married and both raising JT together,” Kira concluded.

Kimberly nodded and sighed. “Do you love, Connor, Kira?” She asked.

“Yes,” Kira replied.

“Then hold onto him as tight as you can and never let go,” Kimberly instructed.

Kira nodded and then she embraced Kimberly.

(In the Lab)

Connor was holding the icepack to his eye as he sat down. “Dr. O, look what I got myself into. I just got into this huge fight at school,” he stated.

“Yeah, and you threw the first punch,” Tommy added.

Connor nodded. “Connor, you know you’re not supposed to fight unless it’s in self-defense,” Tommy reminded.

“I know, I just go so upset. He insulted Kira and my baby,” Connor sighed.

Tommy then sat down. “I don’t know what to do,” Connor mumbled.

“Connor, you know what you got yourself into when you had sex with Kira. You have to live with the consequences without protection,” Tommy stated.

Connor nodded and then he sighed again. “I love her, Dr. O, I love her so much that it kills me to see her cry,” he stated.

“There’s another thing we have in common. I love Kim more than anything in this world. Seeing her hurt breaks my heart. Now, unlike me, you’re able to be there for Kira while she’s pregnant. You need to be there for her, Connor. Never leave her,” Tommy instructed.

“I won’t,” Connor assured him.

Tommy then patted his back. “I know you won’t,” Tommy assured him.

Chapter 6: A Perfect Gift

Three months later, Connor and Kira went through a rough time during the beginning of the school year. They started to pull through. Now that Kira was settled in with Kimberly, Connor decided that it was time to take the next step with his relationship with Kira. Connor took a deep breath when he came into the mall. He saw Trent there meeting him. “Hey,” Trent greeted. Connor nodded to him before they entered the jewelry store in the mall. “So, you’re actually going to ask Kira to marry you?” He asked.

“Yes, why do you have a problem with it?” Connor answered with another question.

“No, just trying to wish you luck, man,” Trent replied.

“Thanks,” Connor mumbled.

Connor looked at the display of rings in front of him. He was trying to find that perfect right for her. He knew that Kira wouldn’t care, but he still wanted it to be perfect. Kira’s everything to him and he’d do anything for her. He helped Kira a lot during the next few months at school. Even though she still looked tiny. A bump had formed on her stomach. She kept it hidden with baggy shirts. The hard part was when Kira got tired easily and when she had food cravings during the day. The teachers would understand when Kira got emotional, hungry, or tired. Connor was there for her all those times.

Twenty minutes passed and Connor picked up a ring. “What do you think Trent?” He asked. Trent walked over and nodded.

“It’s perfect,” he replied.

The were two diamonds sitting on each side of a yellow diamond and those three diamonds sat on a golden band.

Connor went up to the counter to buy the ring and the woman behind the counter gave Connor a slight look because she could tell that he was sill in high school. She put the ring in a box and handed it to him. “Have a nice day, sir,” she stated. Connor nodded and left the store with Trent.

As both men went to reach the doors, Connor’s eyes widened when he saw Kira walking over to them. “Trent, hide this,” he whispered. He passed the ring to Kira and Trent placed it into his small bag.

“Hey,” Kira greeted.

“Hi,” Trent and Connor answered.

“What are you guys up to?” She asked.

“Nothing,” Trent replied calmly.

He opened his bag and pulled out a CD. “We just came to grab this,” Trent replied. Kira looked at the boys a little confused and then she pushed the thought away.

“What are you doing here?” Connor asked.

“Oh, Kim decided to take me a little shopping. We’re trying to get the nursery ready for the baby,” she replied.

“The nursery?” He asked.

Kira looked at him as if he had grown another head. “Oh! That’s right, I forgot. We were supposed to fix the nursery today. I’m sorry, Kira,” Connor apologized.

“It’s fine. Kim and I are just grabbing the things we need,” Kira assured him.

Kira then turned to Trent. “You’re welcome to join us,” she commented. Trent chuckled and handed the bag to Connor.

“I don’t think so, thanks for the invite,” Trent answered.

He then left the mall and Connor made sure the ring was hidden away.

Later that afternoon, they had just finished painting the nursery and Kira was taking a nap while Connor was trying to think of a way to ask Kimberly if he could marry Kira. “Hey, Connor,” Kimberly greeted. Connor quickly stood up when she came in. “Is there something wrong?” She asked.

“Kim, I have a question to ask you,” he replied.

“Okay.”

They sat down and Connor took a deep breath. “You know how much I love Kira,” he started. Kimberly nodded. “And you know that I love this baby too. I’d do anything for both of them. I want to know if I can marry your cousin,” he added.

“Connor, you never had to ask,” she assured him.

She then placed a hand on his shoulder. “Good luck, Connor, and if you do hurt her or that baby, I will see to it personally that I throw you out of this town,” she teased even though she sounded serious. Connor nodded and then Kimberly left to get the surprise birthday/baby shower ready. “Connor, when Kira wakes up from her nap, could you like take her out somewhere while I’m trying to get the party ready?” She asked.

“Sure,” Connor replied.

Later that day, Connor was taking Kira a walk around the park. He had his arm wrapped around her and she had her head on his shoulder. “I’m still scared, Connor,” she told him. He sighed as he held her. He knew that Kira was still scared. She was afraid that her parents were going to come and take her away from him and the baby once the baby was born. Connor always vowed that he would protect her from being taken from him. They were both going to raise their baby and the Fords weren’t going to do anything about it. He then kissed the top of her head.

“I love you, Kira,” he whispered.

She smiled every time she heard those words come out of his mouth she loved him so much and she knew that he would be there for her no matter what. She was so happy to have a guy like Connor by her side. “I love you too,” she answered. Connor smiled as he held his hopefully soon-to-be fiancé close to him.

“Come on, we better head back,” he insisted.

Kira nodded before following him back to Kim’s house.

When they got home, Kira gasped to see everyone standing there. “Happy birthday, Kira,” they announced. Kira gasped as she embraced Kimberly. Kimberly laughed as she embraced Kira.

“Thank you, Kim, this is so great,” Kira told her.

Kimberly could see the emtions playing on her face. Hormones were raging at that moment. “Kim, I can’t believe it. You guys planned all of this?” She asked. Connor nodded.

“It’s not only a birthday party, it’s also a baby shower for the newest member of the family,” Kimberly replied.

Kira smiled as she embraced all of her friends. There was a knock on the door and Kira’s heart stopped. “Who could that be?” She asked.

“I have no idea,” Kimberly replied.

She walked over and opened the door. “May I help you?” She asked.

“Yeah, I’m looking for Connor and Kira,” the person replied.

Connor grinned as he walked over. “Eric, come in,” Connor invited. For the first time, everyone was meeting Eric McKnight. “Eric, this is Dr. Tommy Oliver, Kimberly Oliver, Trent Fernandez, and Ethan James,” Connor informed.

“And what am I, Connor, chopped liver?” Kira teased.

“Yeah, who is this beautiful girl?” Eric asked.

“Back off, Eric. This is Kira Ford, my girlfriend,” Connor replied.

“Ah! So you’re the girl that my brother won’t stop talking about.”

Kira smiled as she shook his hand. “And look, I’m having a little niece or nephew on the way,” he commented. Connor wrapped his arms around Kira before getting the party started.

Along with gifts for the baby, there were gifts for Kira. Trent nodded to Connor and then Connor sat next to Kira. “I’ve got something for you,” he announced. Everyone watched as Kira opened the box to reveal another box. She opened that box to reveal another box.

“Is this some kind of joke?” She asked.

“Just keep opening,” he replied.

Kira opened about three more boxes before revealing the tiny jewelry box. “Connor,” she whispered. She opened it to find a ring. Connor grinned as he took the box, got down on one knee, held her hand in his, and looked up into her beautiful face.

“Kira Ford, will you marry me?” He asked.

Kira couldn’t say anything. She was too choked up to say anything. Tears fell down her face and she nodded. “Yes,” she replied. Connor slipped the ring onto her finger and then she hugged him tight. Everyone then congratulated them.

Dedication: This chapter is dedicated to my good friend, KAOliver's little brother. God bless your family, KAOliver. :D

Chapter 7: Kira’s Pain

Kira sighed as she sat in her last class. It was getting harder and harder for her to go to school. Her belly was growing, her hormones were raging, and her new doctor, Dr. Grayson, was telling her to try and keep the stress off the best she could. Kira was a bit stressed out and she couldn’t be stressed because of the baby. She learned from Dr. Grayson that too much stress could cause premature labor and Kira didn’t want that.

As Kira sat through class, she felt her baby move. She placed a hand on her stomach and looked up as the teacher gave them their homework assignment. Besides having the baby, Kira wanted to be a normal teenager still. Besides being a soon-to-be mother and a fiancé, she was still able to sing at the cyber café. Even though she had to sit on a stool than stand up like she used to. To her surprise, people still listened to her sing.

After school, Kira was at the cyber café and gasped when she felt someone wrap their arms around her waist. “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you,” Connor apologized. Kira leaned back against him and placed her hands on his. “How are you doing?” He asked.

“We’re both doing just fine,” she replied.

“That’s good to hear,” he told her.

He kissed the side of her head before they sat down. “So, have any names for the baby picked out yet?” He asked.

“A couple. I like the name Kirsten for a girl,” she commented.

Connor thought about it and nodded. “I like that, Kirsten. We’re like not naming our kid after a movie star are we?” He teased.

“Nope, not after Kirsten Storms, just name our baby Kirsten,” Kira replied.

“How about Connor Junior for a boy?” He suggested.

“I don’t think so,” she replied.

“Aw come on, Kira, why not?”

“Because, I’m not going to be calling two Connors for dinner.”

“Fine. What do you want to name it if it’s a boy?”

Kira was about to answer when they saw Trent and Ethan come over to them. “What’s going on guys?” Connor asked.

“Connor, Dr. O’s calling for us,” he informed.

Kira was about to get up when Trent had her sit down. “Doctor told you no stress, this is as stressful as it can get. Stay here and relax,” Trent informed. Kira nodded before sitting back down with a sigh.

Connor and them came to Tommy’s and went downstairs into their newly fixed lab. “What’s going on, Dr. O?” Connor asked.

“I’m not quite sure yet. According to these ratings, there is an evil energy source growing,” Tommy replied.

“Do we know where it’s coming from?” Trent asked.

“It’s hard to say. According to our maps, it isn’t big enough to worry about. I just called you guys to warn you to stay on your guard,” Tommy replied.

“You got it, Dr. O,” Ethan assured him.

Tommy then looked around. “Where’s Kira?” He asked.

“She’s at the cyber café. The doctor ordered for her a stress free time until the time comes for the baby to be born,” Connor replied.

“Go back to her, Connor, her parents might take advantage to this,” Tommy ordered.

“Right.”

Just then, Connor’s cell-phone went off. “Hello?” Connor asked.

“Connor, it’s Eric,” the caller answered.

“Eric, what’s wrong you sound worried?” Connor asked.

“I was at the cyber café and her parents were in there arguing with Kira. The next thing I know, Kira is gasping in pain and there’s blood.”

“Where are you?”

“I’m at the hospital, Dr. Grayson just took her in now.”

“I’m on my way.”

Connor looked over at his friends. “Kira’s in the hospital,” he informed.

“Come on, Connor, I’ll drive you there,” Tommy suggested.

“Thanks, Dr. O,” Connor told him.

Then they left.

Connor was already burning mad when he came into the emergency room. He found Eric sitting there. “What happened, is she okay?” He asked.

“Dr. Grayson explained that Kira has gone into premature labor,” Eric replied.

“Oh dear God, no,” Connor whispered.

Just then, Greg and Irene was walking towards them and Connor’s face had grown as red as his old uniform. “How dare you to come into our lives. After everything went so perfect you had to go and ruin it,” Connor snapped.

“You are not worthy of having my daughter’s hand,” Greg snapped.

“If that thing dies, we’ll have no sympathy,” Irene informed.

“HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT? THAT’S YOUR GRANDCHILD IN THERE!” Connor shouted.

“That child is a bastard child and our daughter was taken advantage of,” Greg informed.

“THAT’S IT!”

Connor was about to charge at them when Eric, Tommy, Trent, and Ethan held him back. “You sons of bitches, you might’ve killed my baby but you might’ve killed Kira too,” Connor snapped.

“How could we kill Kira?” Irene asked.

“BY BREAKING HER HEART!” Connor yelled.

“That child doesn’t deserve to live,” Greg commented.

“Dr. O, guys let me go, let me at them and pound their asses to the floor.”

“CONNOR!” Tommy shouted.

Connor wasn’t paying attention to their shouts of calming down. He wanted to get at the people that hurt him and Kira.

(In the Delivery Room)

Kira gasped in pain and Kimberly was holding her hand. “It’s okay, Kira, I’m here,” she assured her. Tears were falling down Kira’s face.

“It hurts, Kim,” she whimpered.

“I know, I know it hurts,” Kimberly soothed.

Dr. Dana Grayson sighed when she looked at the machine that was keeping track of the baby’s heartbeat. “We have to deliver this baby, nurse. This baby isn’t waiting,” she informed.

“Okay, Kira, I’ll be right here, I have to help Dr. Grayson, but I’m right here,” Kimberly assured her.

Kira had a death grip on Kimberly’s hand, but knew that they were trying to help her. “The baby’s lungs aren’t yet developed,” she informed.

“What are we going to do?” Kimberly asked.

“We’re going to have to give Kira’s stomach a shot, that will help develop the baby’s lungs.” (AN: I should no becausemy mom had to get those shots done when I was born.)

Kimberly then got the shots read and then she gave it to Dana, who put the shot into Kira’s stomach. After a few minutes, the baby was ready. “Okay, Kira, when I say push, you have to push as hard as you can, sweetie,” Dana informed. Kira nodded and then with Kimberly’s help, she sat up. “Push, Kira,” Dana instructed.

(Out in the Waiting Room)

Connor was finally calming down, but Tommy had the Fords to stay away from Connor unless they both want Connor to rip their hearts out, if they had any. About an hour later, Dana came out. Connor jumped up and hurried over to her. “Is Kira okay? What about our baby?” He asked. Ethan placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Kira’s sleeping now. I gave her a sedative after she had given birth,” Dana replied.

“Our baby?” He asked.

“Kira gave birth to a boy. He’s 1 pound and 7 and a half ounces. And he’s eleven inches long,” she replied.

“Will he be okay?” He asked.

“I give your son a fifty/fifty.”

“Oh, God.”

Tears welled up in Connor’s eyes and then he punched and kicked the nearest wall to him. Once he calmed down, he looked at her. “Can I see my son?” He asked. She nodded and led him towards the nursery.

As Connor came to the nursery, a tear fell down his face when he saw his son. He reached into the incubator that held his child and held his tiny hand. He knelt down to look at the infant. “I’m here son, I’m here,” he whispered. He then stood up as he looked at his child.

“Hey, how are you holding up?” Tommy asked.

“I don’t know, Dr. O. I fought monsters, dinosaur creatures, evil women, and Darth Vader posers. Out of all those. This is the scariest moment in my life,” Connor replied.

Tommy placed a hand on his shoulder. Dana then came in. “Connor, Kira’s awake,” she informed. Connor left his son to see his fiancé.

Kira was sitting up with fear plastered on her face and then she practically threw herself into Connor’s arms once he sat down. “What did she say about our son?” She asked. Connor looked at her with a sad look on his face.

“Kira, our son has a fifty/fifty,” he replied.

Tears fell down Kira’s face as she cried against Connor. “Our baby, our baby,” she sobbed. She cried as has as she could against him.

(At the Soccer Field: 7: 30 pm)

Connor was trying to kick soccer balls into the net, but was missing. He finally fell to the ground looking at the one soccer ball in front of him. Chad McKnight walked over and sat next to him. “I know how you’re feeling right now, son,” he informed. Connor looked at his father confused.

“How would you know?” He asked.

Chad sighed as he tossed the soccer ball back and forth between his hands. “Before Eric and you were born. Your mother and I were expecting another baby. It was going to be a girl. However, a few months before your sister was born, your mom was involved in a tragic car accident. Your mother made it of course. Your sister didn’t. We were miserable for months. Then we had you two,” Chad explained. Connor couldn’t believe his ears. His parents were expecting another baby before him and Eric. Chad then stood up. “Don’t give up hope, son. That fifty percent chance of living will be very effective,” Chad informed. Connor watched as his dad kicked the soccer ball into the net. “Just keep praying that your son will pull through,” he added. Connor nodded and then he went back to the hospital to see Kira.

Chapter 8: All we can do is Hope

Connor walked into Kira’s room to see her looking out the window. “Hey,” he greeted. She looked at him and sat up.

“Hey,” she greeted back.

He sat on the edge of her bed and hugged her. Kira hugged him back and sighed. “How’s the baby doing?” He asked.

“Dr. Grayson told me that he survived the night. We just hope that he survives the week,” Kira replied.

Connor held onto her hands and ran circles on the back of her hand. “Kira, yesterday when we were talking about baby names, what did you want to name our son?” He asked. Kira smiled as she leaned back against the pillow.

“I was going to name him Christopher,” she replied.

Connor smiled at her and held her hand. “Christopher Kyle McKnight,” she finished. Connor nodded in agreement.

“Okay, okay, Christopher Kyle McKnight it is,” he agreed.

Kira’s eyes widened when the door opened. “What is it?” He asked. He turned and saw Kira’s parents standing there. “What are you guys doing here?” He demanded. He stood up and stood in front of Kira.

“We came to bring Kira home,” Greg replied.

“Forget it,” Connor objected.

“Get out of my room,” Kira ordered.

“Don’t you dare give me orders, Kira Ann, we’ll talk about this when we get home,” Greg informed.

Connor held his ground when they walked over to them. “Get out of the way, boy, if you know what’s good for you,” Greg threatened.

“You’re not touching Kira. You have no rights to her now. Kimberly does,” Connor informed.

“That whore doesn’t deserve a slab of rock,” Irene laughed.

“How could you say that? Kim’s my cousin and your niece. I just had a baby you can’t take me away from my family. No, I won’t let you take me away from my family,” Kira snapped.

“You will come home and become that doctor,” Greg informed.

“GET IT THROUGH YOUR DAMN HEAD DAD! I’m not being a doctor. I want to sing. All I ever wanted to do was sing,” Kira hissed.

Connor held onto Kira’s hand. “Ever since I was a child I’ve tried to tell you guys that. But every single time you force me to learn first aid, how to mend a broken bone, to take care of a sick baby. Newsflash, I don’t want to do that in life. I want to sing. I want to write my songs and sing. I’m going to raise my baby and sing,” Kira explained.

(Flashback)

Kira ran up to her parents with a smile. “Mommy, daddy, Mrs. Hanson says that I’m good,” she announced. Greg and Irene looked at her.

“What were you good at, sweetie?” Irene asked.

“Singing, Mrs. Hanson told me I have a future in singing,” Kira replied.

“That’s not what you want,” Greg insisted.

“It’s not?” She asked.

“No, you want to be a doctor. Remember sweetie, when you’re older you’re going to intern at the hospital,” Irene explained.

“I don’t want to be a doctor,” Kira whined.

She ran past Kimberly and ran upstairs. (AN: Anyone who is confused why Kim is in here, it's because earlier in the beginning she commented that she saw what Kira's parents did to Kira.)

(End Flashback)

Kira looked over at the door to see, Tommy, Trent, and Ethan standing there. “Get them out of my room,” she ordered.

“Gladly,” Trent answered.

They walked over and it took both Tommy and Trent to drag Greg out. Connor and Ethan took Irene out.

As they dragged him out, people were watching in disbelief. “YOU’RE GOING TO PAY FOR THIS, MCKNIGHT!” He shouted.

“I’ll be waiting,” Connor informed.

Irene got out of Connor and Ethan’s grasp and left with her husband who was still being dragged out.

Connor got back to Kira and sat next to her. “They’re gone, Kira,” he informed. Kira leaned against him with a sigh. Connor stroked her hair and then once she was asleep, he went to see his son.

Connor stood in front of the incubator that held his son. The same fear welled up inside him. The fear of losing this child. Kimberly who just happened to be the baby’s nurse, walked over to Connor. “What did you and Kira name him?” She asked. Connor glanced at her before looking at his son.

“Christopher, Christopher Kyle McKnight,” he replied.

“I’ll get on it to make him a name tag,” she informed.

“Hey, Kim,” he called.

She stopped and looked at back at him. “Yeah?” She asked.

“Thank you, for helping Kira and me during these last six months,” he told her.

“It was my pleasure, Connor,” she assured him.

Then she walked away. Connor looked back at his son and sighed. “Hang in there, buddy, hang in there,” he whispered. He reached into the incubator and held onto his newly named son, Christopher Kyle McKnight.

Chapter 9: It gets Worse

Kira woke up in Connor’s arms with a smile. She loved waking up in his arms. It felt wonderful. Soon, she was going to marry the man she never though she would marry. Connor McKnight, the star soccer player of Reefside High School. She was Kira Ford, the wannabe rock star of Reefside High School. She groaned when the alarm went off. “Connor, it’s time to get up,” she informed. Connor groaned and pulled the pillow onto his head.

“Just five more minutes, mommy,” he mumbled.

Kira giggled as she took a pillow and whacked him. “Come on, Connor, stop acting like a three-year-old and get up,” she insisted. Connor sighed as he pulled Kira to him.

“Can’t we just stay in bed and chill?” He asked.

“No, we can’t stay in bed and chill. Come on, we have that biology test today,” she replied.

Connor groaned as he got out of bed. Kira was grabbing her clothes for a shower when she looked over at the dresser to find the picture of Christopher. She sighed sadly and Connor wrapped his arms around her. “He’ll be able to come home in a few months,” he assured her.

“I know, I just can’t help but worry,” she sighed.

Connor nodded and kissed the side of her head. Then he watched as she went to shower and he went down to get something to eat while his fiancé was showering.

Kim was up and looked up to see Connor coming down the stairs. “Where’s Kira?” She asked.

“She’s taking a shower,” he replied.

She nodded before sitting on the chair while he was sitting on the couch. “Kimberly, how long have you been married to Dr. O?” He asked. Kimalmost choked on her juice and looked at him.

“How did you know?” She asked.

“Your wedding photo is sitting up on the mantle piece,” he replied.

“Oh. I should put that somewhere else.”

“Well, how long have you been married?”

“A year. We started dating after you guys defeated Mesogog.”

Just then, a little boy came running out of the room.

He had ear-length dark brown hair, blue eyes, he was wearing red sneakers, black jeans, and a green t-shirt.

“Morning, mommy,” the boy greeted. Kimberly took her son into her arms with a smile.

“Good morning, JT, did you sleep well?” She asked.

“Yeah, I dreamt I was a Power Ranger,” he replied.

Connor smiled and watched as Kimberly spoke with her son. It made him think of his son. “Go get your stuff,” she instructed. JT ran off and Connor looked at her.

“Two questions. One, what does JT stand for and two if this is Dr. O’s kid, why does he have blue eyes?” He asked.

Kim smiled as she looked to where her son just left. “JT stands for Jason Thomas and he got the blue eyes from my grandmother,” she replied. Kira then came downstairs.

“Shower’s yours,” she informed.

“Thanks,” he told her.

He grabbed his stuff and walked up the stairs and Kira sat down. “What were you guys talking about?” She asked.

“Nothing,” Kimberly replied.

While they were at school, Kimberly was keeping track of Christopher. Until she couldn’t get the baby to hush. She checked the baby’s symptoms after she took her temperature and saw that the baby had a high fever. Kimberly’s heart stopped at what the baby had.

Connor and Kira were walking towards their lockers to get ready for their next classes when Principal Mercer came over the PA system. “Could Connor McKnight and Kira Ford come to the office?” Principal Mercer asked. The students watched as Connor and Kira nearly ran over some of the kids trying to get to Principal Mercer. They gave the hospital the school’s number just in case something went wrong with Christopher.

They came to Mercer’s office and she looked at them. “Okay you two, I want you to sit down and stay calm,” she instructed.

“What’s wrong? Is it Christopher?” Kira asked.

“Well, that was your cousin on the phone, Kira. Your son has caught pneumonia,” she informed.

“Oh, God!” Kira gasped.

Connor held Kira as he looked at her. “I want you two to get through this day and then you can go see Christopher. Kimberly has instructed that you two stay in school and come to visit the baby after school. She’ll have everything under control,” she instructed. Connor and Kira nodded and then they left the school in shock.

Once they were alone, Kira almost fell and Connor held her. “Our poor baby,” she sobbed. Connor tried to sooth her sobs and tried to make her quiet so the whole school couldn’t hear them. However, Trent and Ethan saw their friend crying and hurried over to them.

“What’s going on?” Trent asked.

“Our son just got pneumonia,” Connor replied.

Trent placed his hand on Kira’s shoulder and then both boys comforted their friends.

After school, Connor and Kira ran to Connor’s car and drove to the hospital.

They quickly came to the hospital and ran to Kimberly. “How is he?” Kira asked worriedly. Kimberly placed her hands on Kira’s shoulders.

“He’s in good hands, Kira. We’re doing our best taking care of him,” she replied.

“Can we seem him?” Connor asked.

“Yeah, you know where the nursery is,” Kimberly replied.

They hurried down the hall to see their baby.

Kira felt tears fall down her face as she touched her baby’s hand. Christopher started whimpering and then Connor got on the other side to hold onto her other hand. “We’re here, sweetie, mommy and daddy are here for you,” she whispered. Their son felt very warm, knowing that he had a fever. Both young parents had tears fall down their face. Both worried about their baby. Kimberly placed a hand on Kira’s shoulder trying to comfort her cousin the best she could. she knew that Kira and Connor were going through a rough time and that they were going to need each other to get through this.

At Kimberly’s house, somebody came in and started looking around. “It looks like she did a good job after she left,” the person mumbled. The person walked over to the mantle piece to find pictures of JT when he was growing up. Then the person saw pictures of Connor and Kira. The last picture disturbed the person. It was Tommy and Kimberly’s wedding picture. Their secret marriage. An evil grin went across the person’s face. “Pretty soon, Miss Hart, your little secret will be revealed,” the person commented. Just as the person was there, the person was gone.

Chapter 10: Stranger’s Return

Kira was sitting by her son’s incubator again for the fifth time that week. They were trying to get her to do something that would keep her mind off the baby, but she couldn’t. All she would do was worry about her baby. She wanted her baby. She wanted to hold her baby. She touched the glass that surrounded the incubator. She then remembered a conversation she had with Kimberly.

(Flashback)

Kimberly and Kira were sitting on the couch. Connor was asleep in the chair. “He’s out,” Kimberly commented.

“He’s had a hard time sleeping at night. We’ve both been having a hard time sleeping,” she commented.

Kimberly understood and then she noticed that Connor had company in the chair. “Kira, look,” she whispered. Kira looked over to the spot beside Connor and saw JT fast asleep next to him. The boy had his head on Connor’s side and one of his arms on his stomach. Kimberly gestured for them to go into another room and Kira followed her.

They came into the kitchen and sat down. “When JT got mono, he was in the hospital for four weeks. He would hurt more at night for some reason. I just ran circles on his hand, that calmed him down. Sometimes he would fall asleep with his head in my lap. I would run circles on his back humming ‘You are my sunshine’, the first song I sang the day he was born,” Kimberly explained. Kira remembered that JT had mono and that the boy was lucky, very lucky. “Next time when you’re visiting Christopher, try it once when he starts to whimper. A mother’s touch will calm the child down,” she instructed.

“I’ll do that,” Kira assured her.

(End Flashback)

Christopher started to whimper and Kira put her hand into the baby’s incubator and ran circles on his arm. “You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy when skies are gray. You’ll never know dear how much I love you. So please, don’t take my sunshine away,” she sang softly. Kimberly’s advice worked. Christopher had fallen back to sleep. A smile came across Kira’s face as she held onto her baby’s hand. “Mommy’s here and she’s never going to leave you,” she whispered. She felt a hand on her shoulder.

“And daddy will be here too buddy, hang in there,” Connor insisted.

Kira placed a hand over his and sighed. Connor placed a kiss on the top of her head. “He’s going to be okay, Kira, he’s going to pull through this,” he assured her.

“I know, I just can’t help but worry,” she sighed.

“I’m here and I’m never going to leave.”

He kissed her cheek and held onto her free hand while they both looked at their precious baby boy.

Later that day, Kira was walking out of the nursery when a familiar face came up to her. “Kat?” She asked.

“Hello, Kira, I came to see if the rumors were true,” she informed.

“What rumors? And where did you hear them?” Kira asked.

“I heard from my good friend, Tanya, that you had a baby.”

“Yeah, I did. His name is Christopher and he’s a month old.”

“And how old are you?”

“I’m eighteen now.”

“And your still in high school.”

“Yes.Why does it matter?”

“You threw your life away, that’s the matter.”

Kira’s eyes widened. “I was talking to your parents. Instead of taking their instructions and staying away from Connor and give the baby to another family, you had to run to Kimberly,” she snapped. Kira was in disbelief.

“You have no right to talk to me this way,” Kira snapped back.

“Watch me. There is something called birth control and condoms. Use one or the other before you jump into Connor’s bed.”

Kira raised her fist back and was about to get Kat in the face when she felt someone grab onto her hand. She looked over her shoulder to see Connor standing there. “Don’t, Kira, she’s not worth it,” he assured her. Kat just grinned and walked away.

“Oh, and by the way, wait till everyone knows your cousin’s little secret,” she informed.

“Let me at her, Connor,” Kira insisted.

Connor held her around her waist before she could get at Kat. “Leave it, Kira, just leave it,” Connor insisted. Kira watched her go and glared at the blonde woman’s back.

“How dare she talk to me like that,” she hissed.

“She’s gone now, so forget about it.”

Kira nodded before following Connor out of the hospital. Still curious while Kat just jumped all over her like she did.

Later that evening, they were having dinner at Tommy’s house, it was a celebration for Trent before he went off to art school. Kira was going to miss Trent, but she was happy with Connor and Trent knew it. Not only that, Tommy and Kimberly’s friends, Jason, Zack, Billy, Rocky, Aisha, and Adam came to town. So they ended up celebrating a reunion for the original Rangers and for Trent in the backyard.

As they were celebrating, Kimberly looked up to see a dark pink jeep pull up to the house. “Who could that be?” Jason asked. Tommy’s eyes widened when Kat came out of the car.

“Kat?” Tommy asked.

Kira’s eyes widened when Kat came up to them. She looked angry and she looked like she was going to rip Kimberly’s head off her shoulders. “It’s nice to see you all too,” she greeted. She then looked over at Kimberly and Kimberly’s heart stopped. “I can’t stay long, I have a job interview to go to. I just came to talk to Tommy,” she informed. Kira watched as Tommy and Kat walked away and then she looked at Connor worriedly. Kimberly had everyone go back to what they were doing and went to find out what was going on. Not knowing that Kira was following too.

Tommy and Kat were in the living room talking about a lot of things. Tommy then looked at Kat. “Why are you really here?” He asked.

“I know, Tommy,” she replied.

Tommy’s heart stopped. Did she know about his secret marriage to Kimberly. “What are you talking about?” He asked.

“I know your little secret, Tommy. I saw the pictures, you married Kimberly,” she informed.

“You must be mistaken,” he insisted.

She placed a copy of the picture on the table. “Oh really, is this what you think?” She asked. Tommy saw the copy of the picture and looked at Kat. “There’s something you don’t know about your precious Kimberly. She was hiding more than just a baby,” she informed.

“How did you know about JT?” He asked.

“She told me,” she replied.

“Kat, please don’t,” Kimberly begged when she came in.

Kat glared at Kimberly. “You’re getting what you deserve. You ruined me relationship with Tommy,” she snapped. She then turned to Tommy. “You trust Kimberly with your life isn’t that right, Tommy?” She asked.

“Yes,” Tommy replied.

“Well, guess what, your precious wife broke up with you and became a stripper,” Kat announced.

“KAT!” Kimberly shouted.

Tommy looked at Kimberly in disbelief and watched as she ran out of the house. Kat watched him leave with a grin. “Now, the fun begins,” she murmured.

Everyone watched as Kimberly grabbed her keys, grabbed JT, and left. “KIMBERLY!” Tommy shouted. She was already gone.

“Tommy, what the hell was going on in there?” Jason asked.

“I told him the real truth about your precious Kimberly,” Kat replied.

Jason’s heart stopped, he knew about Kimberly’s other job. “Why would you do something like that, Kat?” Billy demanded.

“Well, her husband deserved to know the truth,” Kat replied.

“Tommy and Kimberly aren’t married,” Rocky denied.

Tommy remained quiet and that gave everyone a clue. “You are?” Zack asked. Tommy nodded and then he turned to look at Kat. Kira walked over and placed a hand on Tommy’s shoulder.

“Don’t, Dr. O, she’s not worth it,” she insisted.

Tommy nodded and then looked at Kira. “What am I going to do, Kira? She’s bound to leave,” he told her. Everyone decided to head back so they could let their friend have his space.

“Tommy, do you love my cousin?” She asked.

“Yes, with all my heart and soul,” Tommy replied.

“And you love, JT right?”

“Yes.”

“Don’t let her leave. Tell her you don’t care about what she did.”

Tommy was quiet and Kira’s heart stopped. “Dr. O, you can’t be serious,” she insisted.

“I don’t know, Kira, she kept something like that from me? How could she keep that from me?” Tommy asked.

“Maybe because she was ashamed,” Connor replied.

Tommy looked at the two young parents before him. “I knew, Dr. O, Kim told me what she had done. She came to Reefside to start over with her nursing degree. Marrying you was the next best thing that happened to her. She wanted to bury her dark past and go on with a bright future,” Kira explained. Tommy was silent and then Kira pushed him towards his jeep. “Go after her. Tell her,” she insisted. Tommy nodded and then left. Connor wrapped his arms around her waist.

“I hope everything goes okay,” he told her.

“Yeah, me too,” she answered.

Kat was watching them with a glare. “I hope it doesn’t work out. Kimberly ruined my future with Tommy,” she hissed. She then got into her car and left.

Chapter 10: Stranger’s Return

Kira was sitting by her son’s incubator again for the fifth time that week. They were trying to get her to do something that would keep her mind off the baby, but she couldn’t. All she would do was worry about her baby. She wanted her baby. She wanted to hold her baby. She touched the glass that surrounded the incubator. She then remembered a conversation she had with Kimberly.

(Flashback)

Kimberly and Kira were sitting on the couch. Connor was asleep in the chair. “He’s out,” Kimberly commented.

“He’s had a hard time sleeping at night. We’ve both been having a hard time sleeping,” she commented.

Kimberly understood and then she noticed that Connor had company in the chair. “Kira, look,” she whispered. Kira looked over to the spot beside Connor and saw JT fast asleep next to him. The boy had his head on Connor’s side and one of his arms on his stomach. Kimberly gestured for them to go into another room and Kira followed her.

They came into the kitchen and sat down. “When JT got mono, he was in the hospital for four weeks. He would hurt more at night for some reason. I just ran circles on his hand, that calmed him down. Sometimes he would fall asleep with his head in my lap. I would run circles on his back humming ‘You are my sunshine’, the first song I sang the day he was born,” Kimberly explained. Kira remembered that JT had mono and that the boy was lucky, very lucky. “Next time when you’re visiting Christopher, try it once when he starts to whimper. A mother’s touch will calm the child down,” she instructed.

“I’ll do that,” Kira assured her.

(End Flashback)

Christopher started to whimper and Kira put her hand into the baby’s incubator and ran circles on his arm. “You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy when skies are gray. You’ll never know dear how much I love you. So please, don’t take my sunshine away,” she sang softly. Kimberly’s advice worked. Christopher had fallen back to sleep. A smile came across Kira’s face as she held onto her baby’s hand. “Mommy’s here and she’s never going to leave you,” she whispered. She felt a hand on her shoulder.

“And daddy will be here too buddy, hang in there,” Connor insisted.

Kira placed a hand over his and sighed. Connor placed a kiss on the top of her head. “He’s going to be okay, Kira, he’s going to pull through this,” he assured her.

“I know, I just can’t help but worry,” she sighed.

“I’m here and I’m never going to leave.”

He kissed her cheek and held onto her free hand while they both looked at their precious baby boy.

Later that day, Kira was walking out of the nursery when a familiar face came up to her. “Kat?” She asked.

“Hello, Kira, I came to see if the rumors were true,” she informed.

“What rumors? And where did you hear them?” Kira asked.

“I heard from my good friend, Tanya, that you had a baby.”

“Yeah, I did. His name is Christopher and he’s a month old.”

“And how old are you?”

“I’m eighteen now.”

“And your still in high school.”

“Yes.Why does it matter?”

“You threw your life away, that’s the matter.”

Kira’s eyes widened. “I was talking to your parents. Instead of taking their instructions and staying away from Connor and give the baby to another family, you had to run to Kimberly,” she snapped. Kira was in disbelief.

“You have no right to talk to me this way,” Kira snapped back.

“Watch me. There is something called birth control and condoms. Use one or the other before you jump into Connor’s bed.”

Kira raised her fist back and was about to get Kat in the face when she felt someone grab onto her hand. She looked over her shoulder to see Connor standing there. “Don’t, Kira, she’s not worth it,” he assured her. Kat just grinned and walked away.

“Oh, and by the way, wait till everyone knows your cousin’s little secret,” she informed.

“Let me at her, Connor,” Kira insisted.

Connor held her around her waist before she could get at Kat. “Leave it, Kira, just leave it,” Connor insisted. Kira watched her go and glared at the blonde woman’s back.

“How dare she talk to me like that,” she hissed.

“She’s gone now, so forget about it.”

Kira nodded before following Connor out of the hospital. Still curious while Kat just jumped all over her like she did.

Later that evening, they were having dinner at Tommy’s house, it was a celebration for Trent before he went off to art school. Kira was going to miss Trent, but she was happy with Connor and Trent knew it. Not only that, Tommy and Kimberly’s friends, Jason, Zack, Billy, Rocky, Aisha, and Adam came to town. So they ended up celebrating a reunion for the original Rangers and for Trent in the backyard.

As they were celebrating, Kimberly looked up to see a dark pink jeep pull up to the house. “Who could that be?” Jason asked. Tommy’s eyes widened when Kat came out of the car.

“Kat?” Tommy asked.

Kira’s eyes widened when Kat came up to them. She looked angry and she looked like she was going to rip Kimberly’s head off her shoulders. “It’s nice to see you all too,” she greeted. She then looked over at Kimberly and Kimberly’s heart stopped. “I can’t stay long, I have a job interview to go to. I just came to talk to Tommy,” she informed. Kira watched as Tommy and Kat walked away and then she looked at Connor worriedly. Kimberly had everyone go back to what they were doing and went to find out what was going on. Not knowing that Kira was following too.

Tommy and Kat were in the living room talking about a lot of things. Tommy then looked at Kat. “Why are you really here?” He asked.

“I know, Tommy,” she replied.

Tommy’s heart stopped. Did she know about his secret marriage to Kimberly. “What are you talking about?” He asked.

“I know your little secret, Tommy. I saw the pictures, you married Kimberly,” she informed.

“You must be mistaken,” he insisted.

She placed a copy of the picture on the table. “Oh really, is this what you think?” She asked. Tommy saw the copy of the picture and looked at Kat. “There’s something you don’t know about your precious Kimberly. She was hiding more than just a baby,” she informed.

“How did you know about JT?” He asked.

“She told me,” she replied.

“Kat, please don’t,” Kimberly begged when she came in.

Kat glared at Kimberly. “You’re getting what you deserve. You ruined me relationship with Tommy,” she snapped. She then turned to Tommy. “You trust Kimberly with your life isn’t that right, Tommy?” She asked.

“Yes,” Tommy replied.

“Well, guess what, your precious wife broke up with you and became a stripper,” Kat announced.

“KAT!” Kimberly shouted.

Tommy looked at Kimberly in disbelief and watched as she ran out of the house. Kat watched him leave with a grin. “Now, the fun begins,” she murmured.

Everyone watched as Kimberly grabbed her keys, grabbed JT, and left. “KIMBERLY!” Tommy shouted. She was already gone.

“Tommy, what the hell was going on in there?” Jason asked.

“I told him the real truth about your precious Kimberly,” Kat replied.

Jason’s heart stopped, he knew about Kimberly’s other job. “Why would you do something like that, Kat?” Billy demanded.

“Well, her husband deserved to know the truth,” Kat replied.

“Tommy and Kimberly aren’t married,” Rocky denied.

Tommy remained quiet and that gave everyone a clue. “You are?” Zack asked. Tommy nodded and then he turned to look at Kat. Kira walked over and placed a hand on Tommy’s shoulder.

“Don’t, Dr. O, she’s not worth it,” she insisted.

Tommy nodded and then looked at Kira. “What am I going to do, Kira? She’s bound to leave,” he told her. Everyone decided to head back so they could let their friend have his space.

“Tommy, do you love my cousin?” She asked.

“Yes, with all my heart and soul,” Tommy replied.

“And you love, JT right?”

“Yes.”

“Don’t let her leave. Tell her you don’t care about what she did.”

Tommy was quiet and Kira’s heart stopped. “Dr. O, you can’t be serious,” she insisted.

“I don’t know, Kira, she kept something like that from me? How could she keep that from me?” Tommy asked.

“Maybe because she was ashamed,” Connor replied.

Tommy looked at the two young parents before him. “I knew, Dr. O, Kim told me what she had done. She came to Reefside to start over with her nursing degree. Marrying you was the next best thing that happened to her. She wanted to bury her dark past and go on with a bright future,” Kira explained. Tommy was silent and then Kira pushed him towards his jeep. “Go after her. Tell her,” she insisted. Tommy nodded and then left. Connor wrapped his arms around her waist.

“I hope everything goes okay,” he told her.

“Yeah, me too,” she answered.

Kat was watching them with a glare. “I hope it doesn’t work out. Kimberly ruined my future with Tommy,” she hissed. She then got into her car and left.

Chapter 11: Getting Better

Connor and Kira came home to find Tommy and Kimberly talking. They decided just to pass through, but they had to hear what was going to happen. “Why didn’t you tell me? You could’ve told me that you were pregnant and I could’ve taken care of you. I never wanted you to join a strip club,” he insisted.

“Oh, Tommy, breaking up with you was the hardest thing I ever did. I did it because of you. You were a Power Ranger and we could be used as targets. I couldn’t risk that,” she insisted.

“But working in a strip club, Kim?” He asked.

“I didn’t get the gymnastics training job at any gym in Miami, apparently you have to finish your training program down there before actually becoming a coach. I was desperate, no one would help me. They had a ‘Help Wanted’ sign and I got the job. I took that job so I could get money for nursing school and for JT.”

“How did Kat know about our son and your job?”

“She came to see what was really going on and she found me the way I was. She promised not to tell you. She knew why I did it.”

Connor placed a hand on his fiancé’s shoulder as they listened to their conversation. “I came to Reefside to start over once I got my nursing degree. I became a nurse at Reefside Hospital. Then I found and fell in love with you again,” she finished. Kira watched as Kimberly held onto Tommy’s hand. “I want to forget my dark past. I want a brighter future for us and JT,” she added. They watched as Tommy hugged Kimberly tight and she hugged him back.

“Everything’s going to be okay, Kim. I won’t let Kat tear us apart,” he assured her.

The phone rang and Kira picked it up. “Hello,” she answered.

“Is this Miss Kira Ford?” The doctor asked.

“Yes,” Kira replied.

“This is Dr. Grayson.”

“Hi, doctor, is Christopher okay?”

“That’s why I’m calling. Your son got over his fever.”

“Oh, that’s great.”

“If you’d like you can come by to see him.”

“Thanks, doctor, we’ll be there.”

Kira hung up and looked over to see all three of them staring at her. “Christopher got over the fever,” she announced. Connor walked over and embraced her. Kira hugged him back and sighed.

“Finally, fate is on our side,” he murmured.

Kira sighed happily before they went to the hospital.

Everyone was there to see the new member of their “family”. “Here he is,” Dana announced. She carefully took the baby from his incubator. “Who’ll have the honors of holding him first?” She asked. Kira smiled as she pushed Connor forward.

“How about our baby’s daddy,” she replied.

Dana smiled as she placed the infant into his arms. Connor had a hard time trying to get used the fact that he was finally holding his son. It felt amazing. He sat down with his son in his arms and looked at the infant. Kira walked over and placed her hand on Connor’s shoulder. “How does it feel to be a daddy?” She asked.

“Amazing,” he replied.

He had a hard time letting his son go when Kira held him. “Hi, precious, I’m your mommy,” she whispered. Connor walked over and wrapped his arms around Kira’s waist. He kissed the side of her head with a smile. They were finally holding their son. Dana then came in with a smile.

“Family photo,” she announced.

Kira sat down while Connor had a hand on her shoulder. Then Tommy, Kim, Trent, and Ethan. “One big happy family,” Dana announced. She then snapped the family photo.

Later that evening, Connor and Kira were walking along the beach hand in hand. “When should we get married?” He asked. Kira placed her head on his shoulder while she thought about it.

“How about in a couple of weeks?” She suggested.

“April 15?” He asked.

“Love it.”

He kissed the top of her head. “Do you want to know the greatest thing that happened today?” He asked.

“What?” She asked.

“The fact that we were finally able to hold our son,” he replied.

“It was great,” she agreed.

He placed a kiss on her lips before pulling her close. “Come on, let’s go home,” he murmured. She nodded and they went back home.

When they came in, they saw a sight they really didn’t want to see. Their science teacher making out with Kira’s cousin on the couch. “WHOA!” They shouted. Tommy and Kim pulled apart and both teens were covering their eyes.

“Dude, get a room,” Connor insisted.

“Sorry, we weren’t expecting you back so soon,” Kimberly apologized.

“What about JT? Shouldn’t he be in his room?” Kira asked.

“No, he went to visit his Uncle Jason for the night,” Kimberly replied.

Kira grabbed Kimberly’s hand and dragged her out of the room.

Kimberly looked at her cousin in disbelief as Kira dragged her into the kitchen. “What’s going on?” She asked.

“Kim, Connor and I settled on a wedding date,” Kira informed.

Kimberly gasped as she embraced her cousin. “That’s great, Kira, that’s wonderful,” she told her.

“Thank you,” Kira told her.

Kimberly pulled back. “What are you thanking me for?” She asked. Kira held onto Kimberly’s hand with a smile.

“For taking Connor and me in. For being there when I needed it especially when my baby was born,” Kira replied.

She kissed Kira’s forehead with a smile. “You are welcome, Kira, anything to help family,” she assured her. Kira smiled as she hugged Kimberly again. She was able to keep her baby and marry Connor and it was all thanks to Kimberly.

That night, Kira saw that Connor was finally sleeping easily. Now that their son was safe. She then crawled into bed and Connor pulled her close. She placed her head on his chest as she started to fall asleep. “I love you,” she whispered. Then she was asleep.

Chapter 12: I Do

Kira stood in front of the mirror with a sigh. Today was the day. Today, she was going to marry the love of her life that was also the father of her baby. Kimberly came in with a smile. “Kira, you look beautiful,” she commented. Kira turned to look at her cousin with a smile.

“Thank you, Kim, this means so much,” she told her.

Kimberly embraced her with a smile. “Anytime, Kira,” she assured her. Kira sighed as she backed up and looked in the mirror. The dress wasn’t fancy, but it was perfect.

She was wearing white buckle high heels, her anti-fancy wedding gown, the necklace Connor bought for her birthday the year before, and instead of a veil, she had a tiara on her head.

The dress was made of silk and satin, it had a belt going around her waist, spaghetti straps, a zipper in the back, and spaghetti straps.

Kimberly was wearing light pink high heels, a pink dress, a necklace Tommy bought for her for Christmas, and her hair was tied in a half-ponytail.

The dress had spaghetti straps, zipped up in the back, a slit going up to her knee, and it was made of silk.

They looked over at the clock and Kira took a deep breath. “Are you ready?” She asked.

“Yeah,” Kira replied.

She handed Kira her small bouquet of flowers before both girls left.

Connor was standing at the altar waiting for his bride to come down the aisle. Everything was going perfect. They were having their wedding at the cyber café and Hayley was glad to close her café up for her friends. For the people that came, it was just the Ninja Rangers and Connor’s family. It was his brother as his best man, Ethan, and Trent were his groomsmen. Kira’s bridesmaids were Tori, Hayley, and Kimberly, who was her maid-of-honor. Cassidy and Devin were recording the wedding.

The music started and Kira started down the aisle. Tommy was going to give her away. The minister stood on the stage waiting. Trent and Ethan had steps made specially for that day. Each young man was wearing their Ranger colors for their ties. Connor smiled as he came down the steps to greet his soon-to-be wife. “Who gives this woman to this man?” The minister asked.

“I do,” Tommy replied.

He placed a kiss on Kira’s cheek before placing her hand in Connor’s. He then held onto their hands. “Take care of each other and love each other forever,” he advised. Then he sat down as the ceremony continued on.

Then it came time for the vows. “Connor Lee McKnight, do you take Kira Ann Ford to be your wife? Will you love, honor, and cherish her from rich or for poor, in sickness and in health, forsaking all others, and until death do you part?” The minister asked.

“I do,” Connor replied.

“And do you, Kira Ann Ford, take Connor Lee McKnight to be your husband? Will you love, honor, and obey him from rich or for poor, in sickness and in health, forsaking all others, and until death do you part?” The minister repeated.

“I do,” Kira replied.

The rings were presented and Connor held Kira’s hand up as he slipped a ring onto her finger. “With this ring, I thee wed,” he vowed. Kira took the other ring and held Connor’s hand up as she slipped the ring onto his finger.

“With this ring, I thee wed,” she vowed.

They smiled at each other as he held onto her hands. “By the powers invested in me in the state of California, I now pronounce you husband and wife, you may kiss the bride,” the minister announced. Connor wrapped his arms around Kira’s waist and kissed her. Kira wrapped her arms around his neck as she kissed him back with a smile. “And to all who witnessed, I present to you Mr. and Mrs. Connor Lee McKnight,” the minister announced. Everyone clapped for them and then they congratulated them.

Later that afternoon, Tommy and Kimberly pulled the newly weds aside. “What’s going on?” Connor asked. Tommy smiled at them before revealing plane tickets. Kira took the tickets and looked at them.

“We spoke to Elsa and she agreed that you two should take a little break. Speaking that spring break officially starts tomorrow, those tickets are for your honeymoon to Miami,” Kimberly informed.

Kira gasped as she embraced Kimberly. Connor shook Tommy’s hand with a grin. “Thanks you guys, we really appreciate this,” Connor commented.

“You guys have been under a lot of stress lately. A little break is just what you need. Don’t worry, Christopher will be well taken care of,” Tommy assured them.

Kira smiled as she embraced Tommy. “Thank you,” she told him. He patted her back before letting her go.

“Anytime, Kira,” he answered.

Kira embraced Connor with a smile on her face. Connor hugged her back and kissed the side of her head.

Before the two newly weds went to go on their honeymoon, they went to see their son.

Christopher was fast asleep in his incubator when his parents went to see him. Kira reached into the incubator and held her son’s hand. “Dream sweet dreams, sweetie. Mommy and daddy will be back in a few days,” she murmured. Connor placed a hand on her shoulder and then they left, knowing that their son was safe.

Chapter 13: Honeymoon Ruined

Kira woke up in Connor’s arms and smiled as she snuggled closed to him. Being in his arms felt so great and she couldn’t wait to be spending time like this for the rest of her life. Sure they were still in high school, but high school was ending soon, which means they could actually start being a family. She looked over to see Connor still fast asleep. She got out of his embrace and got into the shower.

After she got out of the shower, she pulled her guitar out of it’s case and sat on the balcony of their honeymoon suite. They were able to stay in a very nice hotel thanks to Kimberly. She was going to have to personally thank them for all they did for her and Connor. They let her keep Christopher, they let her and Connor be together, and Kimberly gave her a house for them to live in. Kira strummed the strings of her guitar and smiled as she felt Connor’s arms go around her waist. “Good morning, Mrs. McKnight,” he greeted.

“Good morning, Mr. McKnight,” she greeted back.

He placed a kiss on her neck and pulled her into his lap. “Making up another song?” He asked.

“You know as well as I do that my life is revolved around music,” she replied.

“Well, now we have the responsibilities of being a husband, a wife, and parents to our baby boy,” he murmured.

“Connor, what about our dreams?” She asked.

Connor sighed, he wanted his soccer dream just as bad as she wanted her singing dream. However, they had to take care of their precious son. “We’ll work something out when Christopher gets older. Maybe we could work as teachers or something,” he replied.

“You a teacher? That’s hard to picture,” she teased.

“Well, I could be a soccer coach,” he suggested.

“That sounds more in your area. Maybe I could have a job in guitar lessons.”

“Sounds good, but for now, we have to worry about passing school.”

Kira nodded and she leaned against Connor. She was thinking about her precious baby boy that she wanted at home with her. She couldn’t wait to hold that baby in her arms again. She loved the feeling of holding her son. She held onto his hand with a sigh. “Connor, do you think my parents will ever come back into our lives?” She asked. Connor held her to him as he thought about it. Kira’s parents never kept in contact with them ever since Kira got pregnant with Christopher. They just like cut themselves out of the picture making it look like Kira had only Kimberly.

“One day, Kira, one day they’ll come back into our lives,” he replied.

“And will we be ready for them to come back?” She asked.

“I don’t think we’ll ever be ready.”

He laced her fingers with his and their wedding rings touched. Connor pulled some of her hair back and kissed her neck. Kira sighed as she leaned into his touch. The night they spent together when Christopher was conceived came back into her mind. Thinking of when they made love the first time. She was the one who said that she was ready to take that next step and they did. Yet again, they were living to what people at school and at Kira’s house as consequences. They all called Christopher a mistake. Connor and Kira calledChristopher a gift. Kira then pushed everything out of her mind and she pulled Connor into a kiss.

That evening, Connor and Kira were lying in bed enjoying their time together. They were holding on each other’s hands as they relaxed. They never felt this relaxed for a long time, ever since she got pregnant they felt like they were being watched every second of the day. Just then, the moment was ruined when the phone rang. “Christopher, Connor, Christopher,” she murmured. Connor grabbed the phone.

“Hello?” He answered.

“Connor, it’s Kimberly,” the caller informed.

“Kim, what’s wrong?” He asked.

“Kira’s parents were here.”

Connor shot up from bed. “What?” He asked.

“They had brought families to look at Christopher,” she replied.

“Nothing was signed right?” He asked.

“No, you didn’t give them permission on paper, nothing can happen to Christopher yet. But I suggest you come home and protect your baby,” Kimberly replied.

“We’re on our way.”

Connor hung up and looked at Kira. “Your parents are trying to get someone to adopt our son,” he informed. He didn’t have to say anymore, Kira was already getting dressed. He threw his clothes on, packed their bags, and then they checked out of the motel.

(Reefside)

Connor and Kira ran towards the hospital worried. Kimberly was by the nursery door when they came running down the hall. “Are they here? Is my baby still in there?” Kira asked.

“He’s still in there. Your parents are having child services look at him,” she replied.

Connor and Kira burst into the room. “MOM, DAD!” She shouted. She ran in front of the incubator that held her son. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Kira demanded.

“Cleaning out your trash,” Greg informed.

Kira looked at he child services people in tears. “I don’t want to give up my baby, whatever they told you was a lie. Please believe me. I don’t want to give up my baby,” she insisted. Connor placed his hand on his Kira’s shoulder and glared at Greg and Irene.

“I should have you two arrested,” he snarled.

“For what? For trying to clear our daughter’s path?” Irene asked.

“No, for harassing us. We told you once, we told you twice, and we’ll tell you again. Christopher is our son and we’re gong to raise him together. Mr. and Mrs. Connor McKnight,” Connor informed.

Irene’s eyes widened when she saw the wedding ring on Kira’s finger. “You married that bastard,” she whispered.

“We are sorry, Mr. and Mrs. McKnight, we had no idea,” the people informed.

“It’s okay, it’s not the first time my parents tried to get rid of my son without my permission,” Kira informed.

Child services left and then Connor and Kira glared at her parents. “Kimberly, could you escort my parents out of here?” She asked.

“Gladly,” Kimberly replied.

She led the Fords out of the room and Kira was able to hold her son. “It’s okay sweetie, mommy’s here,” she whispered.

“Daddy’s here too, buddy,” Connor put in.

Kira sat down with her son in her arms with tears in her eyes. “They are never going to give up, Connor, they are never going to give up,” she whispered. He placed his hands on her shoulders to calm her down and kissed the side of her head.

“I’ll help you protect our son, Kira, he’ll never leave our sight,” he assured her.

Chapter 14: Fond Memories of the Past

Connor and Kira had returned to school. The doctors promised to keep Kira’s parents away from Christopher while they were at school.

One day, Connor and Kira were studying for their finals when Eric came in. “Hey, bro, what’s going on?” Connor asked.

“Nothing much, how’s my little nephew doing?” He asked.

“Christopher’s getting stronger everyday. Dr. Grayson states that if this keeps up, he should be home soon,” Kira replied.

“That’s terrific and you guys are graduating soon,” Eric commented.

Connor wrapped his arm around Kira’s shoulders. “What’s going on with her parents?” Eric asked. Connor looked at Kira before answering.

“Well, apparently Kim went to the authorities about them harassing us about putting Christopher up for adoption. The court stated that they can’t come near us with any child services, adoption papers, and anything else that could have Christopher taken away from us without our consent,” Connor informed.

“That’s great. Finally they’ll be off your case,” Eric commented.

“Yeah and trust me, we needed the break,” Kira agreed.

“And yet you’re still the girl that took my brother’s breath away when he first saw you,” Eric recounted.

“We were kids. I got pushed into the mud,” Kira agreed.

Connor smiled as he remembered the day he first met Kira Ford, now Kira McKnight.

(Flashback)

“You two be careful,” Mrs. Ford instructed. The two boys nodded and ran off to go play on the jungle gym.

Connor and Eric were having a blast. Then that all changed. “LEAVE ME ALONE!” A voice shouted. The two boys looked at each other before going to see what was going on. They found a little girl trying to get away from two older boys. She spun around and glared at them. “I’m going to get my daddy,” she threatened.

“Oh, what’s you’re daddy going to do?” The first bully asked.

Before the girl could react, he pushed her and she lost balance making her fall into the mud. “Look at super diva now,” the second bully laughed. Connor could see the tears in her eyes and he ran over to the bully and pushed him.

“Leave her alone,” he ordered.

“What are you going to do, shrimp?” The first bully asked.

“This,” Connor replied.

He kicked the kid in the leg as hard as he could and watched as the boy fell to the ground in pain. Both boys watched as they ran off and laughed. Connor turned and helped the girl out of the mud. “Thanks,” she mumbled.

“You’re welcome,” he answered.

She looked at herself. “I’m a mess,” she whimpered. She then smiled at her rescuer. “Oh well, I hated this dress anyway,” she commented. Connor chuckled and then he held his hand out.

“I’m Connor, Connor McKnight,” he informed.

She placed a muddy hand into his clean one. “Kira Ford,” she answered.

(Two Years Later)

Connor was playing with his buddies in the soccer field when Kira ran up to him. “Hi, Connor,” she greeted. Connor looked over at her with a grin.

“Hi, Kira,” he greeted back.

“Oh, McKnight’s got a girlfriend,” a boy teased.

“She’s not my girlfriend,” Connor objected.

“Connor and Kira sitting in a tree K-I-S-S-I-N-G. First comes love, then comes marriage, and then comes Connor with a baby carriage,” the kids chanted.

“Shut up, she’s not my girlfriend,” Connor snapped.

Kira went to talk to him when he pushed her away. “Go away, leave me alone,” he insisted. He could see the hurt in her eyes.

“Fine, Connor McKnight, I’ll never talk to you again,” she snapped.

She then ran away and the chanting stopped once Kira was gone. Connor stood there, hurt and angry with himself for what he had just done to his best friend.

(End Flashback)

Connor sighed at the memories before looking over at Kira, the one girl he had always loved ever since he met her. Now she was his wife and he wasn’t going to let that go. He was going to treasure her and Christopher forever. “Connor, are you okay?” Kira asked. Connor snapped out of his reverie before answering.

“Yeah, I’m okay,” he replied.

“You seem out of it,” she commented.

He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and kissed the top of her head. “Everything’s fine,” he assured her. Kira placed her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. She never felt so happy in her entire life. She loved where her life was going. She was married to the greatest man in the world and she had the most beautiful baby in the universe. Maybe, one day, Connor and Kira would give Christopher a little brother or sister.

Chapter 15: Graduation and a Surprise

Everyone was sitting in their seats listening to the graduation ceremony. “And now, Dr. Thomas Oliver would like to say a few words,” Principal Mercer announced. Everyone clapped as the high school science teacher stepped up to the podium.

“We have some interesting years together. Being the first class I taught when I first came to Reefside. We had two great years together and I know that I have taught you enough that you’ll be able to go on through the world and be able to face it. Now, I’m proud to announce that Ethan James your Valid Victorian to come up now,” Tommy announced.

Kira looked over at Connor and held onto his hand. Connor smiled and gave her hand a gentle squeeze and kissed the top of it. They looked up when it came time for Ethan’s speech.

Then it came time for the diploma ceremony. “Cassidy Cornell, Devin DeValle,” Principal Mercer called. They watched as one by one their classmates stood up to receive their diplomas. “Trent Fernandez, Ethan James, Connor McKnight, and Kira McKnight,” she called. Connor and Kira stood up to receive their diplomas from their friend and mentor. Tommy smiled at them and Kira kissed his cheek.

“Thank you for everything,” she whispered.

Tommy nodded and smiled at her. This was his wife’s cousin and the girl he loved as a little sister. He and Kim did everything in their power to make Kira and Connor’s lives better. Especially when they had a baby. He then looked at the people who were once his students and his fellow Rangers. “Congratulations class of 2005,” Principal Mercer announced. Everyone threw their hats in the air and Connor wrapped his arms around Kira’s waist. Kira laughed as Connor spun her around. She had her arms wrapped around his neck and once he set her down, she pulled him into a kiss. Their friends whooped and cheered for the two of them. Once Connor and Kira pulled out of the kiss, they hugged each other tight.

“We did it,” she whispered.

“We did, we graduated,” he agreed.

She sighed as she hugged him tight. this was the best day of her life and nothing was going to ruin it.

(Oliver’s Residence)

Everyone was standing out in Tommy and Kimberly’s backyard celebrating their graduation. Kira then looked over at Tommy. “Dr. O, after that fight between Kimberly and Kat, what happened to her?” She asked. Tommy chuckled as he wrapped his arm around Kimberly’s waist.

“I escorted Kat out of the city,” he replied.

Everyone chuckled along with their former teacher now. Connor kissed the side of Kira’s head and wrapped his arm around her waist. “Connor, Kira, what are you guys going to do now?” Trent asked.

“Well, we decided to be parents to Christopher of course. I’m going to be a soccer coach,” Connor replied.

“And I’m going to give guitar lessons,” Kira replied.

“That’s great you guys,” Ethan told them.

The two of them nodded and kept talking with their friends unaware that a familiar yellow truck that had ‘Lightspeed’ printed on one side and ‘Rescue’ printed on the other side. Carter got out of the truck and walked over to them. “Connor, Kira,” he called. Everyone looked up and everyone watched as the couple walked over to Carter.

“What is it, Carter?” Connor asked.

“Is it Christopher?” Kira asked.

“Your son is fine. In fact, he’s all set and ready to come home now. You guys can come get him from the hospital anytime,” he replied.

Connor let out a sigh of relief and Kira was bouncing while laughing. She then threw her arms around Connor’s neck and he hugged her back with a smile. “We’ll be right there to get him,” Connor informed. Carter nodded and left. “Wait, how’s Dani and Carrie?” Connor asked. Carter opened up the door to the truck before looking at the two young parents.

“My daughters are doing just fine. You guys can stop by anytime to come visit us,” Carter assured them.

Then he drove off. They looked over towards their friends and walked over to them. “What’s going on?” Ethan asked.

“Guys, Christopher can come home,” Kira announced.

“ALL RIGHT!” Everyone cheered.

“What did Carter say?” Kimberly asked.

“He said that Christopher’s well and that he’s ready to come home. He said we can come get him at anytime,” Connor replied.

“Well, I for one want my baby home,” Kira informed.

Everyone nodded and then when they were about to go with them, they stopped them. “You guys stay, we’ll be back,” Connor assured them. They nodded and went back to the party while Connor and Kira went to get their son.

(Reefside Hospital)

As they came to the hospital, they went to the nursery and Dana was standing there with a smile. “Congratulations you two. On your graduation and your healthy baby boy,” she congratulated.

“Aren’t you expecting another baby Grayson?” Kira asked.

Dana placed a hand on her stomach and nodded. “I’m only four months along, so don’t worry about me,” she assured them.

“Let’s get our boy home,” Connor insisted.

Kira nodded and then a nurse came out with Christopher in her arms. The baby was making his normal gurgling sounds as she placed the baby into Kira’s arms. “He became one of the popular babies here,” Dana commented. Kira sighed as she held her boy. “Oh, you’re going to need this machine to keep track of his heart since he’s still so little,” Dana informed. Dana explained everything to them before letting them leave. Dana sighed as she watched the two young parents leave and smiled when she felt a pair of strong arms go around her waist.

“Pretty soon, we’ll be holding the newest member of our family,” he murmured.

“I know,” Dana answered.

As they drove back to Tommy and Kimberly’s house. Connor looked to his side to find Kira holding their baby with a smile on her face. The infant had fallen asleep against his mother’s chest and Connor smiled at the what looked to be a Kodak moment. He then pulled up to the Tommy’s house and got out of the car. He ran to the other side and helped Kira out of the car with Christopher’s things in his arms.

When they walked outback, everyone came over to see the baby. “He looks like his daddy,” Kimberly commented.

“Poor kid,” Ethan mourned.

Connor went to smack Ethan upside the head when Ethan ducked. Everyone laughed and then the baby started to whimper. “Come on, Kira, I have a crib made up into the living room just incase he would be fussy,” Kimberly informed. Kira followed Kimberly inside and then the guys started to talk.

“Connor, since Kimberly’s moving in with me finally, she wanted you guys to keep her apartment, since you two really need it,” Tommy informed.

“That’s great,” Connor commented.

The two men shook hands and shared a brotherly embrace. “Thanks for everything, Dr. O,” he stated.

“I’m not your teacher anymore, you married my wife’s cousin. We’re family now,” Tommy commented.

“Actually, before you even married Kimberly we were already a family,” Kira corrected.

She then wrapped her arm around Connor’s waist with a smile. “So, what’s going on?” She asked.

“Kira, I’ve got cool news,” he commented.

“I love today, today is a good day,” Kira laughed.

Everyone chuckled at her commented. “Kim’s going to give us her apartment since she’s living here,” Connor informed. Kira gasped and she embraced Kimberly.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you,” she repeated over and over.

Kimberly smiled as she hugged her cousin back.

Later that evening, Connor walked into the nursery to find Kira putting the baby down in his crib and had the machine attached to keep track of his heartbeat throughout the night like they were told. Kira walked over and stood beside him. She wrapped her arm around his waist while he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. They stared at the baby in the crib before turning off the lights and going to bed.

Author's Note: Nope, this isn't the end. Still have a few more chapters to go.

Chapter 16: What’ll Happen to Us?

Three years passed and Christopher was growing strong like his daddy. Growing to love soccer with his dad and listening to his mom sing. The boy was spoiled and the couple wanted it that way. It got better for Kira, while she was giving guitar lessons at the cyber café and a manager walked in and was captivated by her voice. The next thing Kira knew, she was achieving her dream as a singer. Conner was still working as a soccer coach at the local school, but Kira was sure that he’ll make his dream one day.

One morning, Kira woke up with the feeling of her husband’s arms wrapped around her waist and it felt great. A smile came across her face as she snuggled up against Conner’s chest. “Morning sleepyhead,” he greeted. She looked up into her husband’s face.

“Morning, handsome,” she greeted back.

He kissed her forehead and held her to him. It was the greatest feeling in the world and that was the warmth of her body against his. “We should probably get out of bed,” she murmured.

“Do we have to?” He asked.

“Yes,” she replied.

Conner sighed and was about to get out of bed when he felt a body collide into his that made him fall back against the bed. “MORNING!” Christopher shouted. Conner and Kira chuckled at their son before Conner pulled the boy down to bed.

“Morning, munchkin,” Kira greeted.

“Up, up,” Christopher urged.

“What are you telling my son?” He asked.

“Your son? I thought he was our son?”

Conner grinned before getting out of bed and taking Christopher with him. Kira stayed in bed a bit longer watching as her husband and son left the room. She looked over at the nightstand to find the family photo that was taken a couple of months after Christopher was taken off the O2. Her tiny baby had grown strong and it made Kira feel relieved. Conner assured her that he had the McKnight genes and McKnight’s are strong willed people. And Conner was right. She got out of bed and went downstairs.

Conner was eating cereal with their son and Kira ruffled her husband’s hair. “Aren’t you a little old to be playing the games on the back of those boxes?” She teased.

“Well, it’s better than listening to our son watching ‘Teletubbies’ when he was younger,” Conner pointed out.

Kira nodded before pouring her breakfast. “You better hurry up, you’re going to visit Grandma and Grandpa,” she informed.

“YAY!” Christopher shouted.

They smiled as the boy jumped up from his chair and ran upstairs. “To think it feels like yesterday he wasn’t any bigger than the teddy bear your brother gave him,” she commented. Conner reached across the table and held her hand. She gave his hand a gentle squeeze and then she cleaned up the breakfast dishes.

“Come on, buddy,” Conner called.

Christopher ran downstairs with his stuffed T-Rex under his arm. A gift that Conner gave him a little bit after he came home from the hospital. “Kira, we’re leaving, babe,” Conner called.

“No calling me babe and okay,” Kira called back.

Conner grinned as he walked out of the house and scooped his son up into his arms and set him into the car in his safety seat. “Are we ready to rock ‘n’ roll?” Conner asked. Christopher held his thumb up.

“Let’s go, daddy,” Christopher replied.

“All right,” Conner chuckled.

He got into the front seat and drove off.

When Conner got home, he found a note sitting on the refrigerator and read it.

Conner,

Greg called and wanted to meet me about a new song that I made. I’ll be back in a bit. Love you.

Kira

Ps. Don’t call me ‘babe’

A smile displayed across Conner’s face and then he went to surprise Kira at the studio.

(At the Studio)

Kira came in with her guitar. “Greg, I’m here,” she announced. Greg got up from his desk and smiled at her.

He was a man in his early thirties. He had brown hair, green eyes, and he was wearing a business suit.

Kira smiled as she sat down. “So, what song did you want to go through?” She asked.

“How about that song, ‘Freak You Out’ that your friends love to hear?” He suggested.

Kira picked up her guitar and started to sing. Not knowing that her manager was watching with lust in his eyes.

(Five Minutes Later)

“Thanks, Greg, for everything,” she told him. Before Kira could leave, Greg grabbed her wrist and pulled her into a kiss.

Conner was walking down the hall and turned the corner and his heart broke at the sight. His wife was kissing another man. He turned and walked away.

Kira pulled back and punched him in the jaw. “What the hell are you doing?” She demanded.

“That’s what you wanted isn’t it?” He asked.

“NO! It wasn’t,” she snapped.

She grabbed her guitar and stormed away.

When Kira got home. She walked in and found Conner sitting in the living room angry. “Sweet heart, what’s wrong?” She asked.

“How long has this been going on?” He asked.

“What?”

“Your affair with Greg. How long has that affair been going on?”

Kira’s heart stopped. Conner saw the kiss. “Conner...I can explain...” she insisted.

“Right, sure you can,” he mumbled.

He got up and stormed upstairs. “Where are you going?” She asked. She followed Conner upstairs.

Conner grabbed his red duffel and started throwing thins in it. “What are you doing?” She asked.

“Listen, Kira. I need to cool off for a few days. I’ll be over at Eric’s if you need me,” he replied.

“Conner, don’t do this,” she begged.

She hurried over and grabbed his hand. “Please,” she begged. Conner pulled her hand away and zipped his duffel up. She then followed him downstairs. “What’ll happen to us?” She asked. He sighed as he stopped before walking out the front door.

“I’m not sure, Kira. I need time to myself,” he replied.

Kira watched with tear filled eyes as Conner walked out the door and slammed it behind him. Kira fell to the chair with her hand to her face in tears.

Conner tossed his duffel into the car and got in. He looked back at the house before starting the ignition and drove off with a single tear sliding down his cheek.

Chapter 17: Returning for Another Talk

The next day, Kira woke up in an empty bed and she hated that feeling. Ever since Conner left it was hard for Kira to even think about she would do with her life without him. She was miserable without Conner and it was all because of a misunderstanding. She had mother-in-law and father-in-law were going to take care of Christopher while she and Conner were trying to get everything straightened out. She looked over at her wedding picture. Next to that was Tommy and Kimberly’s wedding photo. Kira had an idea. She grabbed her keys and left.

Conner woke up on his brother’s couch the next day. That night before, Conner would dream about that kiss he saw. So, Conner got up, got dressed, and he head over to Tommy and Kimberly’s place.

Kimberly and Tommy were snuggling up on the couch after dropping JT off and the McKnight’s house so he could play with Christopher. There was a knock on the door and Kimberly groaned. “Something or someone always seems to ruin a moment,” she whined. Tommy smiled and kissed the top of her head as he went to see who was the door.

“Conner?” Tommy asked.

“Hi, Dr. O, can I come in?” Conner asked.

Tommy let him in and he knew what he wanted to talk about. “Dr. O, I need to talk to you,” Conner informed. Tommy nodded before leading Conner down the lab.

A few minutes later, Kimberly got up to something to drink when Kira burst in. “Kim, I need to talk to you,” she informed. Before Kim could react, Kira grabbed her arm and dragged her into the living room. “Kim, I don’t know what to do. I can’t live without Conner. He doesn’t believe me that Greg kissed me. I could never hurt Conner like that after all we’ve been through,” Kira pointed out.

“Whoa! Kira, sweetie, what happened? We were only told that you two are separated,” Kimberly insisted.

Kira sat down on the couch in tears. “I went to talk to my manager, Greg, practicing a song. I was about to leave when he grabbed me and kissed me. Conner saw it and he thinks I’m having an affair,” Kira explained. Kimberly placed her hands on Kira's face trying to calm her down.

“Sweet heart, calm down, you’re going to hyperventilate,” she insisted.

Kira took a few deep breaths and tears fell down her face. “Sweet heart, what happened?” She asked.

“Kimberly, Greg called me down to the studio to practice a song. I went down and I practiced ‘Freak You Out’. Once it was over, I was about to leave when he grabbed my arm, spun me around, and he kissed me. I pulled back and I punched him. However, Conner didn’t see that part. I went home and the next thing I knew he left,” she explained in tears.

Kimberly sighed as she held her hands. “Kira, you better find him and tell him the truth. You don’t want your marriage to get ruined over a mistake. Mine and Tommy’s marriage was almost thrown out the window when he found out about my secret,” she explained. Kira nodded and then Kimberly pulled her into a sisterly embrace. She then cried against her.

“I can’t live without him,” she sobbed.

Kimberly stroked the crying girl’s hair and sighed. “I’m scared, Kim. I’ve never felt so scared in my life. Besides almost losing Christopher. This is one of the scariest moments of my life,” she murmured.

“I know, Kira. I’ll help you through this. Conner will come around. He always does,” Kim commented.

“What if he doesn’t this time? What if I lose him for good this time?” Kira asked.

“You won’t.”

Kira got up and took a deep breath. “I’ve got to get going. I’m going to the cyber café to see if I can give guitar lessons again,” Kira informed.

“What about your dream?” Kimberly asked.

Kira was about to walk out the door and she stalled. She turned and looked back at her cousin. “A dream’s not worth having if you can’t have the one person you truly love there,” Kira replied. Then she left.

(In the Lab)

Conner sat down with a sigh. “I remember the last time we came down here,” Conner commented. Tommy nodded and sat down too.

“Yeah, you just got into that fight with that Andy kid at school trying to protect your name and your family’s reputation,” Tommy agreed.

Conner grinned and then he looked at Tommy. “Dr. O, yesterday I went down to the studio to see her practice some of her songs. When I got there. I saw something. I saw my wife kissing her manager,” he informed. Tommy sighed as he looked at the young man.

“Conner, you’ve known Kira for a long time. You still don’t trust your wife? How do you know that she was actually enjoying being kissed by her manager?” Tommy asked.

Conner never thought about that and sighed. “I do trust her, Dr. O, I just don’t trust the men around her,” he replied.

“Then why are we here talking about this?” Tommy asked.

Conner stood up with a sigh. “I don’t know, Dr. O, I’m confused. I love Kira with all my heart and soul. She means the world to me. I gave up everything to make her and our son happy. I quit my dream so I can be part of my son’s life. I got the shit kicked out of me because a guy was insulting our baby,” Conner recounted. Tommy nodded as he listened to Conner go on and on.

“Conner, stop,” he insisted.

Conner stopped and looked at his friend and former mentor. “Conner you told me what you saw. What I didn’t hear was you sticking around listening to Kira’s side of the story,” Tommy pointed out.

Conner stalled. Tommy was right. He left in such a hurry he didn’t give Kira the chance to explain. Now he felt like an idiot. “I have to go talk to her,” Conner informed. He then hurried past Tommy and started up the stairs. “Thanks, Dr. O, for everything,” Conner called out.

“Anytime, Conner,” Tommy assured him.

Conner hurried past Kimberly and went out to his car. He was going to get Kira back and he was going to listen to her side of the story.

Chapter 18: Together Again

Conner went back to Eric’s place to grab his stuff. Then he got to talking to Eric and didn’t realize that it was getting late until he looked over at the clock to see that it was almost 6:30. It also started to rain. “Great,” he groaned.

“Where are you heading, bro?” Eric asked.

“I’m getting my wife back,” Conner replied with a grin.

Eric watched his twin leave with a smile. “Good luck, bro, you’ll need it,” he mumbled.

(McKnight’s Home)

Kira was making some coffee as she got ready to practice her guitar. She let Greg down easy about quitting. He took it pretty hard but then he let her leave. Now, Kira was a guitar teacher again. She jumped slightly as thunder boomed and the rain started to fall. “A good day to stay inside,” she commented. She sat down and pulled her guitar up on her knee and looked at the song she was writing. She jumped when there was a knock on her door. She got up to answer the door. She gasped to see Greg standing there. “Greg,” She whispered.

“Hello, Kira,” he greeted.

Kira let him in and felt very uncomfortable all of a sudden. “Kira, I stopped by to see if you’d reconsider your resignation,” he told her. Kira walked into her kitchen trying to get her things put away.

“Greg, I told you. I’m still in love with my husband and I’ll always be in love with my husband,” she told him.

He wrapped his arms around her waist and tried kissing her neck. “Please, let me go,” she whispered.

“Come on, Kira, you know you like it,” he insisted.

“No, I don’t like it. Please let go.”

She pulled out of his arms and she tried to get away from him. Kira gasped when she felt the shoulder of her shirt rip when he went to grab at her. Some of her yellow bra underneath the shirt could be seen. “Get out, get out of my house,” she ordered.

“I’m here to get something and I won’t leave until I get it,” he told her.

“GET AWAY FROM ME!”

Conner pulled up to the house and saw Greg’s car in the driveway. “What the hell?” He whispered. All of a sudden he heard a crashing sound. “KIRA!” He shouted. He jumped out of the car and ran into the house.

Kira looked at the unconscious Greg with tears falling down her face. She gasped when someone burst through the door and saw a soaking wet Conner standing there. “Conner,” she whispered.

“Kira, I heard something break and came running,” he told her.

She ran over and jumped into his arms with tears flowing down her face and relief in her heart. “Should we call the cops?” He asked.

“Already did. I dialed the number when he was trying to attack me,” she replied.

“That’s my Kira,” he murmured.

Kira sighed as she hugged him. She felt so much safer in Conner’s arms.

After Greg was arrested, Conner and Kira were on the couch enjoying their time that they were back together again. "Kira, could you tell me what really happened that day?" He asked. Kira sighed as she placed her head on his shoulder.

"Greg called me down to the studio like I told you in that note that he did. I went down there, practiced 'Freak You Out' and when I was about to leave, he grabbed me and kissed me," she explained.

Conner felt a pang of guilt hit him. He wrapped his arms tightly around her. "I'm so sorry that I wasn't listening to you before," he apologized. She placed her head on his chest with a sigh.

"You're forgiven, right now, I'm just glad to have you back," she told him.

He kissed the top of her head with a smile.“I should get Chris,” Conner commented. Kira grabbed his arm and pulled him down to the couch again. “Kira what are you...” she cut him off. She pulled him into a kiss and pinned him to the couch. She him into a kiss and pinned him to the couch. She pulled back and he looked at her in disbelief. “Wow! The last time you kissed me like that was when we decided to take our relationship to the next level,” he recalled.

“I missed you,” she told him.

He stroked her face with a smile. “I missed you too,” he answered. He placed his hand on the back of her neck and kissed her. She ran her hands through his hair as she deepened the kiss. He sat up, picked her up, and carried her into their room. Kira pulled out of the kiss and started to kiss his neck. He groaned as he set her down on their bed. “I love you, Kira,” he murmured.

“I love you too,” she answered.

Then he kissed her again as they started to make-love.

When they both reached their climaxes, Conner collapsed on his arms so she wouldn’t have to deal with his weight. “Whoa! That was powerful,” she commented.

“Don’t have to tell me that,” he agreed.

He rolled off her and lied down on his side looking at her. She looked back at him with a smile. “So, we’ve finally made up?” She asked teasingly. He leaned forward and kissed her. She laced her fingers through his as she kissed him back. she placed her head on his chest and fell asleep with a smile on her face. Conner held her to him and smiled as he fell asleep while holding his wife to him. Everything was going to be just fine.

Chapter 19: Returning for Forgiveness

Conner and Kira were snuggling up on the couch. Enjoying their time together as much as they could before the baby was born. Kira had her head on Conner’s chest and jumped when she felt the baby kick. “Conner,” she murmured.

“Kira, are you okay? Is it the baby?” He asked.

“We’re fine, Conner, here,” she replied.

She took his hand and placed it on her stomach. Conner smiled when he felt the baby kick against his hand. “What do you think?” She asked. Conner kissed the side of her head and wrapped his arms around her with a sigh.

“The greatest feeling in the world,” he replied.

“It is,” she agreed.

Conner kissed the top of her head and ran circles on her back. “Do you regret anything that had happened during the past three years?” He asked. Kira wrapped her arms tightly around her husband before answering.

“No, I don’t. I wouldn’t trade any of my memories for anything in the world,” she replied.

She then looked up at him. “Do you have any regrets?” She asked.

“Me? Nah, I’ve enjoyed the past three years,” he replied.

He pushed some of her hair away and kissed her neck. “I’ve enjoyed raising our son together, I’ve enjoyed our marriage, I’m enjoying waiting for our new bundle of joy, and I’m looking forward to spending forever with you,” he explained while kissing her neck. Kira lolled her head back with a smile. That was best feeling in the world. His lips were like trailing trails of fire down her neck. The doctor assured them that as long as they don’t have sex too close to the due date it was okay. She was five months pregnant, so they were still able to have moments like these. She wrapped her arms around his neck and sighed.

“I love you,” she whispered.

“I love you too,” he answered.

He dropped down to kiss her stomach and placed his hands on the side of her slightly swollen tummy. Conner smiled at the thought of the new life he and Kira created was nestled safely in his wife’s stomach. Kira leaned back against the couch enjoying it. “Conner, remember that we have a three-year-old fast asleep upstairs,” she reminded. He went back up to her face and kissed her again.

“Then, how about we take this upstairs,” he murmured.

Kira smiled as he helped her up off the couch then there was a knock on the door. “I’ll be right back,” he informed.

“Okay, don’t be too long,” she insisted.

“I won’t,” he assured her.

He placed a kiss on her lips before going over to answer the door. Kira saw her husband stand very still once the door was open. She walked over to see what was going on and she was just as shocked as Conner. “Mom, dad,” she whispered. Greg and Irene Ford stood there.

“Conner, Kira,” Greg greeted.

“May we come in?” Irene asked.

“Of course, come in,” Conner replied.

Kira walked over to sit down and Irene looked at the bump on Kira’s stomach. “So, you’re pregnant again?” She asked. Kira sighed and rubbed her forehead, suddenly getting a headache.

“Is it his?” Greg asked.

“No, dad, I dragged the mailman inside one day and had my way with him while my husband was working and my child was at daycare,” Kira replied sarcastically.

“Of course it’s mine,” Conner put in.

“Look, mom, dad, if you’re here to insult my family some more, I suggest you go back to your car and drive home now,” Kira informed.

Just then, Christopher came downstairs with his stuffed T-Rex clutched to his chest and his red blanket held in his other hand. “Christopher, baby, what are you doing up?” Kira asked.

“I had a scary dream. I had a dream that scary monsters were attacking me,” Christopher replied.

Kira was about to get up when Conner got up. “I’ll get him, Kira,” he assured her.

“Thanks,” she sighed.

He gave her a kiss before picking Christopher up. Christopher then looked over at Greg and Irene. “Who are they?” He asked.

“They’re just visitors sweetie. Daddy will get you back to sleep and he’ll make sure now scary monsters will get you,” Kira replied

“Night mommy,” he yawned.

“Night baby,” Kira answered.

Conner took the boy upstairs and her parents looked at the boy in disbelief. They were both surprised to see that the boy was just fine. “He’s gotten big,” Irene commented. Kira nodded and stood up.

“When will this one be due?” Greg asked.

“Four more months,” Kira replied.

She walked over and looked at the family photograph. It had everyone but her parents in it. “Why are you here?” She asked.

“It’s simple, we came to say we’re sorry,” Greg replied.

“For what part? The part where you wanted to get rid of my son? The part where you threw me out of the house because I didn’t do what you wanted me to? The part where you tried to break my marriage? When you tried to put my son up for adoption without my say so?” She asked.

Greg and Irene looked at each other before answering her. “We want to apologize for everything that we did to you and Conner,” Irene replied. Kira was picking up Christopher’s toys and put them in the toy box in the corner. “Kira, sweet heart, you have you understand that we were just as scared as you were. We just didn’t want you to give up your life for a baby,” Irene insisted.

“Oh, please, you didn’t want me to have my son at all. Hell, you tried to get me not to see Conner again. The one man that stood by my side throughout my entire pregnancy. He helped me put up with all the shit we went through in high school. What did you two have to show for it? You threw me out of the house. You ruined my life. I’d be damned if I lost my son because of your foolishness. I almost lost my son and my husband because of you two,” she snapped.

Conner came in as if on cue and tried to get his wife to relax. “The baby,” he whispered. Kira nodded and glared at her parents.

“Why? Why all of a sudden are you crawling back here asking for forgiveness?” She asked.

“We had a lot of time to think about it. We were embarrassed because you got pregnant. We didn’t want you to ruin your life. We had spoken to our friends about it. We’re the ones damned for pushing you out of our lives,” Greg replied.

“I still don’t hear why you want back into our lives,” Conner pointed out.

“We want to be part of Christopher’s life, if you let us. Let us start over,” Irene stated.

Kira sighed and Conner placed his hands on her shoulders. “It’s up to you, Kira,” he murmured. Kira sighed as she walked over to her parents.

“Do you really want to be part of my babies’ lives?” She asked.

They nodded slowly. “No more pushing us to a direction we don’t want to go?” She asked. They shook their heads. “Then, I’ll be able to let you into our lives as long as you keep your promise,” she informed. Greg and Irene nodded then Irene jumped up to embrace Kira in tears. Kira hugged her mother back with a sigh. Conner smiled and then Greg shook Conner’s hand. Irene pulled back and touched Kira’s stomach.

“Hi, there, sweetie pie, I’m your grandma,” she murmured.

Kira looked over at her husband and Conner walked over to wrap his arms around Kira’s waist. He kissed the side of her head and smiled. They were starting over with her parents.

Chapter 20: Kirsten Ann McKnight

Nine months had passed and Kira was late, she was three days late. The hard part was for Connor to get used to his hormonal wife.

One evening, they were getting ready for a party when Conner was getting impatient that his wife was taking so long. “Kira, we’re going to be late,” he cautioned.

“You try getting dressed with a human being sleeping in your stomach,” she told him.

“Sheesh, no need to bite my head off,” he insisted.

Conner looked into his wife’s face and his eyes widened. He could see the hormoes kicking in. She was going to cry. “Kira, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it,” he told her.

“You make me sound like I’m this horrible person. Now I’m going to this party where are the girls will be so skinny and so pretty and I’m fat and ugly,” she babbled.

Conner got down on his knees in front of his wife and held her hands. “Kira, look at me,” he insisted. He lifted her chin and smiled at her. “You are the most beautiful girl in the universe,” he assured her. She shook her head.

“You’re just saying that to make me feel better,” she insisted.

“No, Kira, you were beautiful before you got pregnant, you’re beautiful while you’re pregnant, and you’re beautiful after you’re pregnant,” he assured her.

He placed his hands on her face with a smile. “I love you,” he murmured.

“I love you too,” she answered.

He pulled her into a kiss and then they left for the party.

When they arrived, Kira sat down and all the girl Rangers came up to her to talk to her.

Conner was standing with the guys watching his wife with a smile. He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked over to see Ambassador Andros of KO-35 standing there. “I see something familiar,” he commented.

“Really, and what’s that?” Conner asked.

“Staring at your wife like there’s no tomorrow,” he replied.

Conner smiled as he leaned back against the table. “Kira means the world to me. She’s so emotional right now. Especially since the baby’s three days late,” Conner commented.

“Wow! Three days, you really need to be by her,” he stated.

“I am. Kira, Christopher, and this baby mean everything to me,” Conner told him.

“You have another kid?” He asked.

“Yeah, Christopher, he’s three. Long story.”

“Ah! I see. I fell in love with my wife, Ashley when I was seventeen. I gave up my home planet to be with her. After high school, I was elected Ambassador and she wanted to be with me. So, she traveled back to KO-35 with me. Now, we have our twins, Aden and Alexa. Then our youngest Asta.”

“Wow! Three kids, I think Kira and I are going to stop after this one.”

Andros chuckled and nodded to him. “Ashley wanted to stop after Aden and Alexa, but those unplanned pregnancies just pop up,” he commented.

“Don’t have to tell me that,” Conner pondered.

Conner’s eyes widened when Kira went to stand up and she gasped in pain. “Kira!” He gasped. He hurried over and took her into his arms. “Kira, what’s wrong?” He asked.

“Conner, it’s time,” she replied.

“We’ll come with you,” Leo suggested.

“No, you guys stay at the party, we’ll call if anything happens,” Conner replied.

They nodded and Conner hurried Kira to the hospital.

(Angel Grove Hospital)

Kira was lying in her hospital bed with a sigh and winced when a contraction hit. Conner came in with a cup of ice chips. “Here you go,” he told her. She took the chips and started flicking them at the wall. “Is that what I got them for?” He asked.

“I actually liked it better when I was late,” she replied.

Conner smiled as he sat on the edge of her bed and kissed the side of her head. She put the ice chips on the table by her bed and curled up against him. He wrapped his arms around her with a sigh. “Where’s our doctor?” She asked.

“She’s on her way,” he replied.

She snuggled up against him and her hands were on his arm.

Throughout the long hours, Conner just held his wife and would go through the part of her nails going into his skin.

(November 13, 2008: 12:30 am)

Kira suddenly sat up. “Conner, this is it,” she informed. Conner nodded and went to get the doctor. Dr. Grayson came in and Kira was whimpering in pain. Conner was by her side and winced in pain feeling the grip on his hand tightening.

(November 13, 2008: 1:02 am)

“It’s a girl,” Dr. Grayson announced. Kira sat up with a smile on her face. Conner helped her lean back against the bed as he went over to get their daughter. She was cleaned up and wrapped in a warm blanket. Dana placed the baby into his arms and she watched as Conner walked over with the baby in his arms.

“Here she is, Kira,” he murmured.

He placed the baby into her arms and sat next to her while trying to get the blood flowing through his hand again. “Conner, look at her,” she whispered. Conner wrapped his arm around her as they both admired their daughter. Conner left her side for just a minute to make a call.

Conner dialed Tommy’s cell-phone.

Everyone was up all night to hear the announcement. Tommy’s cell-phone finally rang. “Quiet everyone, hey, Conner, how is she?” Tommy asked.

“She’s great, Dr. O,” Conner replied.

“And the baby?” Kimberly asked.

“The baby’s fine. It’s a girl,” Conner announced.

“It’s a girl,” Kimberly announced.

Conner pulled the phone from his ear as everyone cheered. “Congratulations Conner, give Kira our love. We’ll see you guys later,” Kimberly told him.

“Sure thing, Kim,” Conner agreed.

Conner then dialed Kira’s parents number. “Hello?” A little voice asked.

“Hey, buddy, what are you doing up so late?” Conner asked.

“Not sleepy,” Christopher replied.

“Hey, are Grandma and Grandpa with you?”

“Uh-huh.”

“May I speak with them.”

The phone switched to Irene. “What’s going on, Conner? You guys should’ve been back by now,” Irene commented.

“Sorry, mom, uh, Kira went into labor at the party,” Conner informed.

“She did, is she okay? What about the baby?” She asked.

“They’re fine,” Conner replied with a grin.

“Do we have a grandson or a granddaughter?” Greg asked.

“A granddaughter,” Conner replied.

“Christopher, you’ve got a little sister,” Irene announced.

“Aw man,” Christopher whined.

Conner chuckled at his son’s response. “We’ll come visit you guys tomorrow. Give Kira our love,” Greg informed.

“I’ll be sure to do that,” Conner assured him.

He hung up then he called his parents who were just as thrilled as Kira’s parents.

When Conner went back into the room and smiled to see Kira asleep with the baby in her arms. “She named the baby Kirsten while you were away,” Dana informed. Conner nodded, knowing that Kirsten was Kira’s favorite name. He then got into bed with Kira, held his two favorite girls close to him, and fell asleep.

Chapter 21: Job Opportunity almost Ruined

Three months later, Conner and Kira were enjoying their time with their children. They had just celebrated their son’s birthday and their fourth wedding anniversary. Kira was surprised to hear that Conner spoke to Ambassador Andros of KO-35 at the party. They were both happy to have their two children and what Conner had told Andros at the party was right, Kirsten was their last kid. Even though they were going to love the next step of their lives.

Conner was practicing soccer by himself when he accidentally kicked the ball out of the field and Kira was standing there holding the ball. “I never though I’d see the day Conner McKnight would miss the goal,” she teased. Conner smiled as he reached for the ball, but she put it behind her back so he couldn’t get it.

“You tease,” he quipped.

“I might be, but that’s all the fun in the game,” she assured him.

She yelped when he grabbed her waist and pulled her close. “Well, I aim to please, how about we get back to the house?” He suggested.

“Sorry, but I’m a married woman,” she replied.

“Really? I can probably kick him to the future,” he commented.

“Oh please.”

He then pulled Kira into a kiss and she dropped the soccer ball to wrap her arms around Conner’s neck. “Excuse me, Conner McKnight?” A voice asked. Conner pulled out of the kiss to look over to see someone like a scout standing there.

“Yes, I’m Conner McKnight,” Conner replied.

“Hello, I’m Hank Morrison,” the man informed.

“Nice to meet you, this is my wife, Kira,” Conner informed.

Kira shook Hank’s hand with a smile. “I’ve see you practice, McKnight, nice moves. Can probably need someone like you. I’m the new coach for the Reefside Wave,” he informed. Conner’s eyes widened when he heard this. “I’ll give you a chance to play on our team, nothing permanent, but just to see what you can do for the team,” Hank informed.

“Thank you, Mr. Morrison, you have no idea how important this is to us,” Conner commented.

“I think I can imagine. Come to the field Friday at 6:30 pm. at 7:00, our game starts,” Hank informed.

Conner shook his hand with a smile. Hank walked away and Conner looked over at his wife. Kira wrapped her arms around his neck as she hugged him tight. “This is really great, Conner,” she told him. Conner nodded and hugged her back with a sigh. He gets a second chance on being on the Reefside Wave. All he has to do was prove to Hank than he can do it.

(Friday Evening)

Conner arrived for the team on time, but when he came to the locker rooms, he felt someone glaring at him. Before Conner could react, he was pinned up against the wall. “Look here, rookie, just because you played soccer all your life doesn’t prove anything that you’re good enough to be on our team,” the guy snapped.

“Dude, calm down, just let go of my shirt,” Conner insisted.

“He’s right, Justin, let him go,” Hank instructed.

The guy let him go, glared at Conner, and walked away. “Don’t worry about him, he’s always been trying to keep anyone else away from his spot on the soccer team,” Hank assured him. Conner nodded before going to get ready for the game.

(Game Time)

Conner was doing his best on the field, pulling all his best moves to make a goal, and he wasn’t even aware that something was going to happen, something that was going to destroy his soccer career forever.

Kira and Christopher were watching Conner with big smiles on their faces. “GO CONNER!” Kira shouted. She picked Christopher up and had him sitting on her side. She watched her husband pull everything he knew out on that field and she was happy to see that he got the chance.

On the other side of the field, Justin had pulled one of the opposing team members. “Mack, I just need you to do this one thing for me. I don’t want this young kid on the team,” he insisted.

“What do you want me to do?” Mack asked.

“Simple, just make it look like a gang,” Justin replied.

Justin then passed money to Mack. “There’s more where that came from,” he informed. Mack nodded and then he went to do what he was paid to do.

Kira cheered as the Reefside Wave won the game. “Daddy, one, sweetie,” she announced. Christopher was jumping up and down with excitement.

“GO DADDY!” He shouted.

Kira smiled as she kissed her son’s forehead.

In the locker room, Conner was getting ready to leave when he saw his wedding ring on the bottom of his duffel. He picked the ring up and memories of time he spent with Kira went through his head. He sat down on the bench and placed the ring back onto his finger. He took it off in the first place, not wanting something to happen to it during the game. “You did great, McKnight,” Hank commented. Conner jumped up and nodded to Hank.

“Thanks, Mr. Morrison,” he told him.

“Well, from now on you can call me Coach Morrison, you’re in, McKnight,” Hank informed.

“Really? I mean thanks, thanks coach.”

Hank shook his hand with a smile. “Better go tell that girl of yours,” he commented. Conner nodded and grabbed his duffel.

As Conner came out of the locker rooms, he didn’t know he was being followed. As he stopped, Conner wasn’t expecting to see a hooded figure standing behind him. All Mack had to do was take Conner’s knee out and his soccer career would be over. Conner turned around to see the hooded figure.

Kira and Christopher were searching for Conner and when they turned the corner, Kira’s eyes widened in horror. “Conner!” She gasped. She ran over to Conner in disbelief. He was on the ground in pain. “Conner, what happened? What’s wrong?” She asked.

“I have no idea, Kira. I was coming around the corner and then I was attacked. It all happened to fast for me to even react. My knee, it hurts,” Conner replied.

Kira looked up when Hank came out. “What’s going on here?” Hank demanded.

“Conner’s been attacked,” Kira replied.

She grabbed her cell-phone and called an ambulance.

(Reefside Hospital)

Conner’s knee was dislocated and thanks to surgery they were able to put the knee back into place. Conner knew who hired the guy to try and take him off the team. Hank came in. “McKnight, I’m really sorry that Justin did this,” he apologized.

“Don’t make his apologies for him,” Conner insisted.

“Justin’s a disgrace to the team,” he commented.

“Whoa! Coach, settle down.”

Kira was sitting besides Conner’s bed and held onto her husband’s hand. Jus then, Dr. Grayson came in the room. “Dana, will Conner be able to play soccer still?” She asked.

“Well, everything else checks out okay. That knee should be propped up for now until it heals. He’ll be going through a lot of physical therapy, but I think that Conner McKnight would be going back on that field again,” she explained.

Conner and Kira sighed in relief before hugging each other. “My career isn’t over,” he murmured. Kira kissed his cheek and held him tight. “At least, I don’t think it is, is it coach?” Conner asked.

“Well, your doctor said that you’ll be back in the game. I don’t see why we can’t have you on the team,” he informed.

Conner nodded and once Hank was gone, he hugged Kira again, so glad that he could still keep on with his dream.

Justin was kicked off the team, but he was planning revenge on Conner. He had the perfect plan to do it too.

Chapter 22: Conner’s Fear

Days passed and Conner was waiting for his leg to heal. Hank assured Conner that he had to take as much leave as he could to get his leg back into shape. At the moment, Conner was enjoying his time with Kira and his kids.

One day, Conner was sitting in his chair with his leg propped up when Kira came downstairs with Kirsten in her arms. “Somebody missed her daddy,” she informed. Conner smiled as she placed the baby into his arms. “Here, you feed her,” she instructed. Conner took the bottle and placed it into Kirsten’s mouth.

“Okay, if you spit any of this back up, daddy won’t be happy,” he informed.

Kira smiled as she sat next to him and placed a hand on her shoulder. “You’re a great dad, Conner,” she told him. Conner smiled as he kissed her head.

“I love my wife and my kids, nothing can change that,” he told her.

“And we love you too,” she told him.

Kira smiled as she wrapped her arms around him and they both looked at their daughter. “Where’s Chris?” He asked.

“Chris is with your parents,” she replied.

“So, we’ve got just baby Kirsten?” He asked.

“Yeah, you mom commented that you always wanted to be able to spend time with Kirsten, especially when you’re at work. You just want to be with your daughter,” she replied.

“And she’s right.”

He looked at his daughter with a sigh. “When Chris was born, we didn’t have anything. All we had was my family, Dr. O, Kim, and each other. We had no money and I worked late after my coaching job,” he agreed.

“Conner, you’ve done a great job. You’re a great dad,” she told him.

Conner sighed as he pulled the now empty bottle from his daughter’s mouth. “Yeah, but I missed out on some things in life. Watching my son grow up. I just want us to have some money, so we can be with the kids,” he explained. She kissed him before taking Kirsten upstairs for her nap.

(Three Weeks Later)

Conner was on his crutches going out to the field to see what he was missing on the practice. Hank walked up to him and Kira went to the side to get Kirsten to stop screaming. “McKnight, so far you haven’t missed much. Just going over some new plays that I came up with,” he informed.

“When will I learn these plays?” Conner asked.

“As soon as you’re back up on your feet,” he replied.

Kira was trying to hush the screaming baby, not knowing that Justin was coming up to her. “What a cute baby,” he commented.

“Thanks, I can’t get her to stop crying though,” she told him.

Kira sat down and started rocking the baby back and forth. “Justin Cain,” he informed.

“I know who you are,” Kira told him.

“Oh! Cold shoulder and I don’t know what I did wrong,” he commented.

“Yeah, right. Conner knows you sent that guy after him after the game,” she told him.

“How do you know Conner?”

“Sorry, I’m Kira McKnight, his wife.”

Justin was shocked, this beautiful woman with a baby was Conner’s wife. “How did McKnight snag a beautiful thing like you?” He asked.

“Simple, he’s not you,” Kira replied.

She got up to walk away and Justin just watched as Kira walked away and was checking her out at the same time. “Whoa! That’s the first time I saw a girl give Justin Cain the cold shoulder,” one of his buddies commented.

“Well, either way, McKnight’s going to be leaving our team soon enough,” he commented.

Conner looked over to see Justin looking at his wife. He wrapped his free arm around her shoulders, hoping that Justin wasn’t planning what he thought he was planning.