"The babies getting to you, huh?"

"You have no idea. But it's not so much them, even. It's Stacey. For a long time I thought she was so cool and hip, but she's a nag. She nags Dad every second he's around and then she nags me. I don't have a clue what Dad was thinking."

Danielle simply agreed. "We better get back to your sister."

Shannon was prepped, and then Danielle prepped. Cassie waited in the waiting room, and a few minutes later, the anesthesiologist, Shannon's doctor, and Mark came in. Mark explained the procedure to them both again.

"Mom?"

"Yes, babe?"

Shannon stretched out her free arm and wiggled her hand. Danielle took it and stroked her hair. "I'm proud of you. I am so, so proud of you," she said, and she meant it. Maybe having this baby would not have been her choice for Shannon, but her daughter had convictions and she'd stuck by them, allowing her faith to lead the way.

She smiled at her.

"Incision has been made," Mark reported.

Danielle didn't want to see the cut on her child. Standing at her head and holding her hand was the best place for her. A few minutes later, Shannon's doctor lifted out a seven-pound baby boy. He held him up. "Here he is."

Mark looked at Danielle. "Do you want to cut the cord?"

"Yes." Danielle did so, and then the baby was quickly examined and wrapped up. Vitals were being taken on Shannon as the baby was handed to Danielle.

He was truly beautiful. Not all red and purple like so many newborns. His little eyes were closed tight, and Danielle smiled when a little squawk came from him. She ran her finger over his perfect tiny feet and hands and she instantly fell head over heels, totally in love.

"Can I see him?" Shannon asked.

"In a minute," a nurse replied.

"Doc. I got a drop on the pressure here," another nurse said.

Mark took a look.

"I feel dizzy," Shannon muttered.

Beeps and whistles started going off, and orders were shouted at the staff quickly.

"What's going on? What's going on?" Danielle asked.

A nurse took the baby and put him into the incubator. "Let's get him to the nursery."

"What is happening?" Danielle demanded again, not able to keep the panic out of her voice.

Mark looked up from where he stood over Shannon, working frantically on her. "Danielle, go with the baby."

"She's coding!" the anesthesiologist said.

"Code blue, code blue, 121, code blue 121," went out over the hospital speakers.

Danielle was pushed out of the way as more hospital staff rifled into the room, each of them doing something to help save her daughter's life.

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE.

Alyssa Alyssa stood over Ian's hospital bed. It would be four weeks before the actual transplant could take place. She'd be traveling back and forth between L.A. and Napa during that time. She knew she was eating up a large chunk from her grandmother's inheritance, but she couldn't think of a better way to use it. She was staying at a residential hotel within walking distance of Cedar's Sinai and, for now, everything in her life besides seeing her son through this was on hold.

His first chemo treatment had been administered that morning and despite it, he seemed in good spirits.

"Thank you for being here with me," he said.

"I wouldn't be anywhere else," she replied.

"My mom was like that, too. I mean my other mom."

"I know what you mean." It was the first time that Ian had made an acknowledgment that she was also his mother. "I bet you really miss her. Everyone must miss her." Alyssa thought about the copy of the photo of Louise and Ian that she kept in her purse. She'd taken to looking at it daily and saying a silent prayer of gratitude to the woman who'd raised Ian, and also asking her to help heal him. She felt a kinship with this woman she'd never known.

"We do. My dad especially. He's married to his work now, and us kids."

"Do you have a favorite commercial he's made over the years?" Alyssa had learned from Charlie that he wrote commercial jingles and Darren produced commercials. They owned their own lucrative business and were not only brothers, but partners, too.

Ian smiled. "Yeah. I like the one where the kid is in the bathtub singing 'Rubber Ducky.' You know, the bubble bath commercial, but the kid can't say rubber ducky. Instead he says wubber yucky."

"I love that one, too." They both started laughing and before long it turned into belly laughter. When they'd stopped and Alyssa wiped the tears away, she said, "I would think it'll really help you out that your dad and uncle are already in the business. With connections and everything."

"Definitely. I'm super excited about school and writing. I can't wait to get back. I have to get rid of the crap in my body, but then I'm full speed ahead."

Alyssa inwardly hoped that would happen for him. He was bright, talented, and so deserving. Why was it that someone like Ian had to be so sick? In the past few weeks, she'd learned a lot about leukemia and bone marrow transplant. The good news was that Ian seemed to be an excellent candidate because his overall health was good and he was a strong young man, but there were also some possible negatives that worried Alyssa, including the cancer coming back or the donation not working.

"I'm writing a script now, you know."

"You are?"

"It's a comedy. A caper type. Kind of like The Pink Panther. Love those movies."

"With Peter Sellers. Yeah, me too. How funny. Those are great. I would have thought you too young for those."

"No way. My mom loved them, which meant we all had to love them." He laughed. "You and me have a lot in common. It's that biology thing, I guess. I wonder if I would have a lot in common with my biological dad."

Alyssa didn't say anything.

"I'm sorry. I know you don't know where he is and what his life is all about. It's too bad you only knew his first name."

Alyssa nodded. How could she tell him the truth? How could she not? He had a right to know. Maybe he didn't have to know the details around how he was conceived? But James had no right to be in Ian's life. None. Or was she being selfish by not telling Ian? She'd already learned that secrets and skeletons come back to haunt in due time. But shouldn't Ian know that his sister was the donor? And that in addition to her, he had five other biological siblings? She needed to take a walk, clear her mind, but she didn't want to alert him that something was wrong.

"Do you like to paint?" she asked.

"No. I'm not much of an artist. Oh wait, I did do some impressive finger-painting back in Kindergarten." He laughed. "Why?"

"You know I'm into art and I have some paintings that I want you to see when you get out of here."

"What are they of?"

"You'll have to wait and see."

"Oh, you gonna be like that. Okay, then, you gonna have to wait to read my script."

"Deal."

"What's a deal?" Darren walked into the room. "Your dad will be by in a bit. He says give him a call if you need anything. So, what's a deal?" He looked from Alyssa to Ian.

"Alyssa has some special paintings she's going to show me when I get out of here, but she won't tell me what they're of, so I told her she'll have to wait until then to read my script."

"Sounds like a good deal to me." Darren smiled at her. "How are you, kid?"

"Kind of tired now. They give you some of those feel-good drugs along with the chemo, so you don't start puking right away."

"Kid has a way with words. What you trying to tell us then, you too tired for a visit?" Darren laughed.

"No way."

Darren handed him a Target bag. "What's this?" Darren shrugged.

"Oh, man, thanks." Ian took out the set of Bourne Identity DVDs. "I love these."

"I know," Darren replied. "That's why I got 'em."

"You the man."

"I know. Want to watch one?"

Ian nodded and Darren walked over and put one of the DVDs into the player. A few minutes later Matt Damon's face flashed across the screen. They all watched the opening scene. Alyssa glanced over from her chair and noticed Ian closing his eyes. She walked over to Ian and placed a hand on his shoulder. His eyes fluttered. "You want to rest?" she asked.

"Maybe."

Darren stood. "We can come back later and finish watching this with you. You should probably rest up for your dad's visit. And I'm sure your brothers and sisters will be by throughout the day."

"Okay. I am kind of tired."

Darren gave him a hug and Alyssa kissed him on the cheek. They left his hospital room both with a sigh and unspoken emotion between them. "You hanging around or would you like to go grab a bite to eat with me? I finished a big account's project this morning, so I'm thinking I can take the day off," he said. "Let him get some rest and we can drive up the coast for some lunch."

She checked her watch and realized that she hadn't eaten much that day and it was already after one o'clock.

"Sure. Sounds good."

Thirty minutes later they were seated at a surf shack-type restaurant up in Malibu, having fish tacos and beer. They small-talked about the beauty of the ocean, the grey, blue waves hitting the sand and crashing against them. They talked about her art and his work, and, of course, they talked about Ian and the family-a family she was beginning to think of as her own.

Alyssa knew something was happening between them. What that was, she couldn't be sure, but she had never, not even with Terrell, felt so comfortable and at ease with a man.

After lunch they took a walk out on the beach and he reached for her hand. She closed hers around his, and they walked in silence listening to the ocean. The night that they'd spent together had cemented a bond between them, even though they hadn't slept together.

What had happened the night Alyssa asked Darren to stay with her in her hotel suite was innocent. She'd needed a friend and he was there for her. They'd stayed up watching movies and talking. She'd fallen asleep late into the night on the couch, and he'd gently woken her and told her to go get into bed. She'd found him asleep in the morning on the couch. After waking, he'd ordered in a big breakfast for the two of them and then he'd made those phone calls, first to Terrell to get James' phone number and then to James.

In a turn of good fortune, a woman answered at Terrell's place, and Darren made up a story about being an old friend who had lost touch of James and needed the phone number. At first the woman hesitated, but after a couple of minutes of Darren charming her, she looked it up and gave it to him. Alyssa wondered who the woman was and hoped for Terrell's sake he had moved on. She was certain he had. A man like Terrell wouldn't have remained single for long.

And surprisingly a man like Darren was single. Alyssa learned he'd been married once, ten years ago, but after three years of marriage, they'd mutually agreed it wasn't working and he'd been single since. Alyssa didn't think Darren was a ladies' man, but she was pretty sure he'd had a few girlfriends over the years.

"Ian asked again about his biological father," Alyssa said.

"What did you tell him?"

"Nothing."

"You did the right thing. Ian doesn't need to know that man."

"Maybe he does, though. If not his father, doesn't he have a right to know his siblings?"

Darren stopped and let go of her hand. A breeze off the ocean blew strands of hair in her face that he brushed aside. "Ian has a family. He doesn't need any more complications in his life. He's been through hell and back, and I don't see where getting to know his bio father and siblings is a great thing. Let them be a family and let us be a family." He took both of her hands now. "Leave it alone. It's not up to us to decide anyway. It's up to Charlie and we know he doesn't want that."

Alyssa nodded. "You're right." She knew Darren was right. Ian had enough to deal with. Getting to know this other family, regardless of all the intricacies, would be too much for anyone to handle. She hoped that Ian would stop asking and things would be left alone. Only time would tell.

They started walking again and Darren put an arm around her shoulders. She leaned into him and Alyssa knew that what Darren had said about them being a family was becoming a reality for her. She never wanted to leave this safe haven, wrapped in Darren's warmth.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR.

Jamie Jamie slid the tape gun across the box that she'd loaded with dishes. She stood up and stretched. Her back ached. She'd forgotten how exhausting moving was. Dorothy sat at the kitchen table eating some lunch. Right now she was staring off into nowhere, looking forlorn, a feeling that Jamie could relate to. Since leaving the restaurant last weekend, she hadn't spoken to Kat. She'd talked with Danielle who told her that Kat felt awful about what she'd said. Kat had also left her a few messages but Jamie hadn't returned her calls. She wondered if she was angry at Kat or if she was angry because there was a part of her that knew that what Kat had said was the truth.

Jamie came over and sat down next to Dorothy. "Did you like your sandwich, Mom?"

Dorothy nodded. "We aren't going to live here anymore, are we?"

Jamie put her hands gently on Dorothy's cheeks, looking into her eyes. "No, Mom, we aren't."

"But I like it here. This is a nice place."

"I know. I like it here, too, but I can't afford it any longer. We have to move." Jamie technically could have kept the house after David signed over his mom's life insurance policy, which Jamie could cash in for her if need be. That was Dorothy's money and Jamie planned to use it in the event that she lived another decade or more, which was highly likely. Other than her failing mind, Dorothy was healthy. And with Jamie's new plan, Dorothy could live out the rest of her life in the lap of luxury that she deserved.

"Where are we going?" Dorothy asked.