�Breathe, sweetheart,� he told her calmly. �Just breathe.� She moaned in pain.

�I am breathing,� she replied when the contraction had passed. �But it�s not helping.� She was already sweating, and had been for the passed few hours. They were waiting for Dr. Aldrich to come in and check on her; and almost on cue, she came in.

�Hi Rebecca,� the woman said.

�Ohhh God, not again�� she squeezed Zachary�s hand tightly as the contraction hit.

�I bet you�re ready to get this over with, aren�t you?� Dr. Aldrich asked, a nurse helping her put on a blue gown over her scrubs, and putting on a pair of latex gloves. She waited until the contraction had passed and Rebecca had relaxed.

�I�m gonna have a look, okay?�

�Do you really think I�m going to say no?� Rebecca asked in return; the woman doctor smiled. She sat down in front of Rebecca�s feet, at the end of the small bed.

�Okay, Rebecca, pick your legs up for me.� She did as told and pulled her knees up, and Dr. Aldrich lifted the sheet. She put one gloved hand beneath it, and looked. Zachary was glad he didn�t know what in God�s name she was feeling for. �Ok. You�re fully dilated, and everything else looks good. I say we move you to a delivery room and get this baby out.�

�I second that motion.� Rebecca replied. Both Dr. Aldrich and Zac smiled; they moved to delivery room seven.

Rebecca�s feet were in the metal stirrups connected to the delivery bed she was in, the sheet folded up over her knees. She held Zac�s hand; he wasn�t leaving that room anyway.

�Ok, Rebecca. We�re ready for you to start pushing. Are you ready?� She nodded silently, sitting in an upright position with Zac and another nurse�s help. �Deep breaths. On the count of three. One, two, three, push,� she told her. Becca did as told. The doctor counted to ten, and Becca relaxed. Dr. Aldrich told her to breathe and told her to push again. She squeezed Zachary�s hand as tight as she could, but he didn�t complain � not once. She pushed over and over again for a long time.

�All right, one more push, Rebecca. Just one more big push; you just have to get out those little shoulders and it�s over. Are you ready?�

�No,� Becca answered. She was sweating, and exhausted, and in tears. �I can�t. I can�t do it.� She cried to Zac.

�Yes, yes you can.� He told her, smoothing her sweat dampened hair back. �You can do it, Bec, I know you can.�

�I can�t,� she cried. �I can�t��

�You can. You can do anything,� he said seriously. She continued to look at him, still crying. He nodded once, and kissed her hand; she nodded.

�I�m going to count to three, and then I want a big push, Ok?� She nodded. �Ready?� She nodded again. Dr. Aldrich counted to three and told her to push, and she pushed as hard as she could. �Push, Rebecca, come one, push; you�re almost there.�

�It�s almost over, Bec,� Zac said comfortingly.

�All� right.� Dr. Aldrich said, smiling. �You have a new baby girl.� Rebecca fell back onto her pillows, exhausted and crying. Zac never let go of her hand. He bent over the side of the bed and kissed her lips.

�I�m so proud of you,� he said to her. �I love you so much.�

At 7:06 p.m. Dawn Marie Hanson was born. Zac rested his forehead against his wife�s sweaty one while she cried, and their daughter was cleaned up. They placed the tiny bundle wrapped in pink on her chest; she had a tiny pink hat on her little head. Zac had tears in his eyes.

�Welcome to the world, baby�� he said softly to their newborn daughter, and kissed her gently on the forehead. She grasped his finger tightly.

His parents had set up the old crib in Mackenzie�s old room, where he and his wife were staying; little Taylor was now staying in Zo�s old room, and Amanda was staying for a few days in Jessica�s old room. Rebecca gently lay Dawn Marie in the old crib, covering her up to her waist with the baby blanket from the hospital. She and Zac stood over the baby girl for a few minutes, just watching her sleep.

�She�s beautiful,� Zac whispered. �Just like her mother.� She looked at him; she stood on her tiptoes and kissed his lips softly.

�I love you,� she whispered. He put his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close, and kissed the top of her head.

�I love you too.� He whispered back.

�Let�s just stay like this forever,� she whispered into his chest, as he wrapped his arms fully around her. He kissed the top of her head again.

�I know you�re exhausted. Let�s just go to bed.� He said quietly. She nodded.

�Shh,� he hushed. �Shh, Dawn Marie; Mommy�s sleeping.� But she continued to cry. �Ok; ok. Daddy�s gonna get you a bottle.� He picked up the tiny pacifier from in the crib, and put it in her mouth. She quieted immediately, but he knew it was only temporary. When he got down to the kitchen, and opened the refrigerator, he was glad that Rebecca had insisted on pre-making all of the baby�s bottles. He took out a small four-ounce bottle containing her formula, and put it in the microwave for a minute. He held her to his chest, bouncing her gently as he waited. He opened the microwave door before it had the chance to beep rudely and wake anyone else. He held an arm around the baby, and with his free hand squirted some of the formula out of the bottle, onto his arm to make sure it wasn�t too hot for her.

�Perfect,� he said quietly. He walked into the living room and turned on the lamp on one of the end tables. He sat in the rocking chair his mother brought up from the basement � there was another one in his and his wife�s room. He pulled the pacifier from her mouth gently; almost immediately she began to start to cry.

�Ok,� he said, placing the nipple of the bottle in her mouth. She quieted again. He rocked gently as she drank with her eyes closed. She was drinking it fast.

�Whoa, slow down, sweetheart,� he said, pulling the bottle from her mouth for a moment. She didn�t like that very much and started to cry again. �Sorry; sorry�� He placed it back in her mouth, and she began drinking greedily again. �You�re gonna make yourself sick,� he warned softly, not that she could really understand. He gave her a few more minutes, and when she slowed her drinking and her eyes were closed, he took the bottle out of her mouth. He realized he forgot a burping cloth; he shrugged and put her on his shoulder, and began patting her back gently. It took a few minutes, but she burped quietly, and spit-up all over the shoulder of his tee shirt.

�Thank you,� he whispered. �I love you, too.� He smiled softly in spite of the spit-up on his shirt. He took her from his shoulder and cradled her in his arms again; her eyes were closed, and she breathed softly. He took the bottle and gently placed it at her lips, but she made no move, and didn�t open her mouth. She was sound asleep. He tipped the bottle upright and read how many ounces she drank: two out of four. He slowly and carefully stood up, not wanting to wake the baby girl in his arms. He turned off the lamp, holding her with one arm, and the bottle in the same hand. He walked into the kitchen and placed the small bottle on the counter top. He made his way quietly up the stairs, and to the bedroom he was staying in with his wife and daughter.

He got to the crib and leaned over, gently placing her down on her back. He stood watching her for a few moments, and then bent over and kissed her forehead softly. He brought the rail of the crib up, and turned away. He pulled his baby-puke tee shirt off and tossed it on the floor; he climbed into the bed, pulling the comforter over his now bare upper half. His wife turned over to face him.

�How much did she take?� Becca asked, very quietly.

�Two ounces,� he answered, putting an arm over her waist.

�That�s good.� She said, and yawned.

�I�m sorry, honey. I tried not to wake you.� He said, removing his arm from her waist and placing his hand on her face, gently stroking her cheek with his thumb.

�I�ve been up since she started crying,� she said. �But, you obviously wanted to get up at three in the morning, so I wasn�t going to stop you.� She smiled.

�Oh yes,� he grinned. �I especially love being puked on.� She laughed this time, quietly, as did he. He put his arm back over her waist, gently pulling her closer. He kissed the end of her nose lightly, and then he kissed her lips softly.

�Zac�� she said quietly. �It�s not that I don�t want to� We have to wait six weeks.�

�Sorry� I forgot. Last kid we had was five years ago.� He smiled softly. �Go to sleep.� He said quietly, holding her. A few minutes of silence went by. �I love you, baby,� he whispered.

�I love you too,� she whispered back, settling into his embrace. She rested her forehead against his neck, and after a few minutes, fell asleep. He lay next to her for a while, just listening to her and their baby breathing softly. After a little while, he fell asleep himself.

�Ike�� Zac started quietly, looking up from the turkey sandwich he was making. Isaac lifted his eyes to his younger brother; Zac could see that he�d hurt him with his words two days earlier. �I�m� I�m sorry about what I said. I just� I got so� mad.� Isaac nodded. �Ike, I�m really sorry.�

�I�m not gonna say it�s Ok, Zac. What you said was wrong, and it hurt. But if you�re asking me to put this behind us��

�I am.� He said. �Please?�

�Done.� He said, looking at his food. �Let�s not talk about it anymore, Ok?�

�Fine with me.� Zac agreed.

�You asshole!� Zo� screamed, coming into the kitchen. Isaac and Zachary turned around, looking at her. She was glaring at Zac.

�What?�

�You f*cking told! You told Mom and Dad!� She screamed at him.

�Number one, watch your mouth; my son is out in the living room.� He said sternly. �And number two, you shouldn�t be getting drunk!�

�What f*cking business is it of yours?!�

�Watch your mouth.� He replied, becoming angry. �You should be in college, getting an education, not getting drunk.�

�Guess what, Zachary? I�m not an angel! I stopped being a good girl a long time ago! I drink; I smoke,� she yelled. Taylor was standing in the doorway of the kitchen now. Thank God Rebecca and Dawn were upstairs. �I do whatever f*cking drugs I want, and I even have sex!�

�Zo�!� Isaac yelled this time. She turned and stormed out of the room, leaving Zachary fuming.

�Who they hell does she think she is?� He yelled out loud. �She treats people like sh*t and she doesn�t care about anybody but herself!�

�Dad?� Taylor said meekly from the doorway. Zac looked at his son; he knew he hated it when he yelled.

�I�m sorry, buddy,� he said quietly.

�Does Aunt Zo� really do drugs?� He asked. Zachary put his arm around his son�s shoulders, and pulled him close. He looked at Isaac, but he never did answer the question.

�She loves you, just as much as I do,� she said softly, looking into his brown eyes. He had an arm over the baby�s back, and one hand on the back of Rebecca�s neck; he pulled her down to rest her forehead against his own.

�I�m just trying to stop history from repeating itself,� he said quietly with his eyes closed. It was as if Dawn sensed his mood, and started to get fussy; he rubbed her back gently. He only wanted to save his sister, was that so much to ask?

After he and Rebecca put Dawn and Taylor down for the night (Taylor being the only one who would sleep through the night) he decided he needed to get out for a while and clear his head. She didn�t want him to leave, not the way he was feeling, the mood he was in.

�Zac, honey, just stay here. I�ll give you a back rub, and you can get some sleep.� He shook his head.

�I�m Ok, Bec. I will be anyway.� He replied.

�I don�t like it when you�re like this,� she told him.

�I�m not going to do anything stupid, if that�s what you�re worried about.�

�Zachary, when you were twenty-one, do you remember what happened?�

�I don�t wanna talk about this, Rebecca.�

�You went so long, feeling guilty about your brother�s death, the way you still do, without talking to anyone ��

�Rebecca��

�You got so depressed, Zachary, that you tried to kill yourself.� He closed his eyes for a moment, trying to block out the memory.

�I�m not like that anymore, Rebecca, and you know it. I have you; I talk to you. I have Taylor, and now I have Dawn,� he said, taking her hands. �I�m not like that anymore, Becky. I promise you.� She was quiet for a few moments.

�Don�t be gone too long, please?� She said quietly.

�I just need to clear my head,� he told her. �I�ll be back later. Unharmed.� He smiled now, and then kissed her lips.

�I love you, Zachary Walker.� She said quietly.

�I love you too, Rebecca Lynn.� He kissed her again, and turned and left.