Neil slowly rubbed over the baby bump as he leaned in to kiss JJ. She frowned when she pulled away, glancing over at the empty plate on the table. Audrey walked in and smiled at them both before she cleared the table, hearing JJ mumble thanks. 

"I'm scared," she whispered. Neil gave her another kiss before standing up. 

"I know, cara. But I promise I won't let her repeat what happened last time." With a sigh, JJ slowly stood up, feeling a throbbing pain in her back. Before she could complain, Neil had already started to rub the area. It didn't help much but she appreciated the thought. She looked down at her feet as they walked towards the living room. When they walked in, they found Andre and Lara mumbling to each other. 

Andre stood up to leave but Lara stopped him, asking him to stay. Neil nodded his head and watched his father walk back and sit down beside Lara again. 

"So...I heard you wanted to talk to us." 

Lara played with the broken skin around her thumb. When she tried to open her mouth to speak, no words escaped the lump in her throat. The more she thought about what she wanted to say, he more she felt her body start to shake as if she was shivering. 

"I...I-it's not fair." 

"What's not fair?" JJ asked softly. 

Lara buried her head in her lap. "I don't want to talk to you." JJ nodded her head and blinked the tears away. She felt Neil hold onto her hand. 

"Lara, they won't know how you feel unless you tell them," Andre said. 

"I don't want to do it anymore." 

"Lara, nothing will be resolved unless-" 

"I don't want a sister. I don't want another sibling." 

"This is happening whether you want it or not, Lara," Neil said softly. He reached a hand out to her. "You know you can tell me, tesero. I don't like seeing you like this." 

"What do you want me to say papa?" she exclaimed as she straightened up in her seat. "You want me to tell you how jealous I am that she's going to love this baby more than me? That this baby is going to be her real baby? I was just part of the package deal, papa. She didn't want me. She didn't give birth to me and I will never be hers for real. Not after this baby." 

"Monkey," JJ whispered. "You may have been a package deal but a damn good one. I have loved you from the beginning and I will always love you because you're my little girl. No one and I mean no one can replace you." JJ wiped the tears from her eyes. "You're my little girl. We may not share the same blood but that will never stop me from loving you." 

"You're just saying that because-" 

"No, no, no. Sweetheart, I love you from the bottom of my heart. I fell in love with you before I loved your father. I love you so much. I will never treat you different just because we have another baby." Neil leaned down to kiss the top of JJ's head. She quickly wiped her tears away before standing up and sitting down beside Lara. "I promise you now that no one can ever replace you. You hold a very speacial space in my heart." 

Lara shook her head as she felt the tears run down her cheeks. "It's not fair." 

"What's not fair?" JJ gently placed a hand on Lara's knee and she shook her head before standing up. 

"Lara-" 

"It's not fair! It's not fair!" 

"What isn't fair, Lara?" Neil asked softly. 

"I didn't have a mum when I was younger. I didn't have you when I was a baby. This baby will. When she's older and looks back at photos, you will be holding her, you will have videos of you laughing with her and I don't have that." Lara felt Neil wrap his arms around her and buried her head into his chest. "It's not fair, papa. I didn't have her when I took my first steps. I didn't have her when I started school or said my first word. I don't have any pictures of her and I when I was a baby. And this baby gets everything I couldn't have." 

"Oh tesero, I am so, so sorry. I am so sorry." He wrapped his arms around her tighter when he heard her sob. He felt his own tears escape his eyes as he closed his eyes. 

"It's not fair, papa." 

"I know, tesero. I know." 

JJ slowly stood up, walking to the both of them beside the door. "I'm sorry I didn't come into your life any earlier. I really wish we met so much earlier so I could have seen you grow up into that seven year old girl I fell in love with. I wish I could have been at your first day of school, feeling so proud of you getting bigger. But we have made so many memories since I met you. I know it's not fair that this baby will get things I couldn't give to you but-" 

"I'm sorry, mama." JJ paused as she looked over at Lara who had her hands by her side. She opened her arms and Lara walked in to hug her. "I missed you," she whispered. 

"Not as much as I missed you my little girl." JJ kissed the top of her head before turning her head to Neil who still had silent tears running down his face. He hated seeing his daughter cry and it pained him to know it was because she never had a mum when she was younger. JJ lifted a hand and pulled him into their hug. 

* * * 

By the time JJ walked back into the bedroom, she found Neil and Lara staring up at the ceiling in silence. When they heard her come into the room, they smiled. 

"I promise this is the last time I sleep between you both." 

"I don't believe you," Neil said with a laugh. "You're welcome anytime though." 

JJ took off her gown and Lara widened her eyes. "Wow the bump is actually a lot bigger than I thought. You really hid it well." 

"Thank god for winter, huh?" She walked to the window. "Gonna open the window a little okay?" 

They nodded their heads. With a smile, she turned off the light and let the lamp guide her way back to the bed. When she had lay down in bed,  Lara cleared her throat. 

"I'm really sorry guys. I know I let you down big time with this." 

"You don't have to be sorry, monkey. You were hurting and didn't know how to tell us. Just know that next time you ever feel like that your papa and I are always here for you." 

"I know..." Lara turned to JJ. "You'll always be my mama. Always. You say it's okay but I am so sorry for what I said to you. That's not excusable." JJ smiled as she put a hand on her cheek. 

"Hey, you don't have to apologise about that anymore. We're here now and everything is okay and the main thing is that we're a family again." 

* * *

"Do you think she's still upset with me?" Lara asked softly as she handed the spatula to Neil.

"Not exactly. I think she's just happy everything is back to normal. And if she seems angry then it's probably not you. This pregnancy has been really hard on your mama and she's in a lot of pain."

Lara nodded her head. She lifted a hand up to her chest and left the necklace. JJ had given it back to her when they got home.

"I promise I will love my little sister."

"I know you will sweetheart," he said with a laugh. He leaned down to kiss the top of her head. "I love you. Just know that whenever you're feeling like that ev-"

"I know. You and mama are always here for me."

JJ groaned as she rose from the bed. She felt a pain in her lower stomach and inhaled sharply. As she took another step, she felt the pain get worse.

"Neil!"

"Yeah baby?"

"Neil, it's important."

She heard him curse a few words before seeing him at the door. "Is everything okay?" When she tried to speak, she felt a sharp pain going down her leg. Neil glanced over at her and helped her back on the bed. When she looked up, he saw the tears in her eyes.

"I think it's the baby. Something doesn't feel right."

"Okay. Okay. You get ready and we'll go to the hospital." Before he could step away, she gripped onto his arm tightly.

"I'm really scared." He wanted to tell her everything was going to be fine but he didn't know himself. Instead, he leaned down and pulled her into a hug, letting her tears soak through his t-shirt.

* * *

Lara watched as her father closed the door behind her. She saw him close his eyes and exhale before he walked over to her.

"You got everything, sweety?"

"Is mama going to be okay?"

"I hope so." Neil sighed. "Kevin is going to be here in a minute to pick you up."

"Is it my fault?"

"What? No. Don't be silly." He gently put a hand on her shoulder, giving her a small smile.

"What if I accidentally kicked her stomach? Or hit it with my arm? Or what if it was because I stressed her out? That could be it right? Papa I'm really sorry-"

"You have nothing to be sorry for." Neil saw the worried look on her face. He then pulled her up for a hug. "Everything is fine," he whispered. "Everything is going to be fine."

They both walked out to the front just as Kevin pulled up. He rolled his windows down and waved. Once Lara got into the car, Neil turned away and closed his eyes. He felt the lump in his throat but shook his head before opening his eyes. As much as he wanted to sit in the corner and cry or pace back and forth, he knew he had to hold it together for JJ.

When he walked into the room, he saw her with the midwife. "Kevin just picked her up. How you feeling?" As soon as he was in arms reach, JJ reached for his hand. He raised it to his mouth and gave it a kiss.

"Hey, sorry you two, just another birth scare," the doctor said as he closed the door behind him. "Let's just ignore people in the corridor for now. So I've been asking sister Pam to monitor yours and the baby's blood pressure and they both seem to be high. Baby's heart beat is a lot faster than we would like too."

Neil felt the grip on his hand tighten. He didn't need to look at JJ to know she was scared. "So what does that mean then?"

"Well my first thought was an emergency C section today. But mums pressure has come down a bit although still high. We could try and induce labour and give that a go."

"Today?" JJ croaked.

"Today. Either way, your little girl is being delivered today. It's too dangerous to keep her in there."

"But...Neil, she's only 7 months."

He gave her hand another kiss before pulling her into a hug. "It's okay, cara."

"I do understand this is a difficult time for you both. And given the recent history, I am aware you're extra worried. I want to give the natural birth a try. A c Section in my eyes should be the last resort. If your blood pressure rises to the danger zone again, I will have to do the surgery." The doctor looked between them and cleared his throat. "I know 7 months is still very young and your baby is a little on the smaller side. So we will most likely have to keep her in the hospital for a while after birth. We will most definitely allow you to hold her at first if we can but please do not be disheartened if you are not able. Once again, I know this is a very difficult time for you both but I do need your decision on how to move forward."