"Shane!" Lila sat beside Shane's bed in the ICU. "Shane darlin', you caint die! You jist caint We're gonna have a baby!"

Shane's eyelids fluttered open.

"Ah knew it!" cried Lila, "Ah knew you wouldn't leave me!"

Shane's lips moved. Lila bent over him as he struggled to speak.

"Whut is it, Darlin'? Whut are you tryin' to say?"

"Vicky!"

"I'm here!" Vicky elbowed Lila out of the way and took her place at Shane's bedside.

"Vic - I - love - you." Shane murmured, as she took his hand.

"I love you, too." she said.

Lila cast a look of malevolent hatred at her rival's back as she left the room.

"Don't - leave - me."

"I'm here." said Vicky, "I'll never leave you again."

Satisfied, Shane closed his eyes. Some instinct made Vicky look over her shoulder, towards the door. Jake was standing there.

"So - that's how it is." he said.

"I'm sorry, Jake." said Vicky, "I was confused before, but now I know --losing Shane would be like losing Ryan all over again. He's the man I love."

"I guess I always knew that, deep down inside." said Jake.

*****

At the Cory Mansion, Paulina had tossed and turned for hours, but sleep eluded her. She might as well be stretched out on the rack, as lying on a comfortable mattress. Giving up the struggle, she turned on the light. Maybe a glass of warm milk would help. She got out of bed, put on her robe and slippers, and headed down to the kitchen. Carl found her there when he came downstairs to fix a bottle for the Twins.

"Carl! I didn't know you were back!" she said, giving him a hug, "Welcome home!"

"Thank you." he said, "This is my home, contrary to the opinion of your siblings." He gave her a shrewd look. "Why the long face?"

"I kicked Joe out earlier tonight." she said.

"Ah!"

"He refuses to believe that I didn't start that fire! I can't stay married to a man who thinks I'm a liar and a junkie!"

"In that case, I don't blame you for giving him his walking papers." said Carl, as he filled two bottles with formula and put them into the microwave.

"I've been lying awake, taking a hard look at what Joe and I had together, and it was always far from perfect." said Paulina, "Where did we go wrong?"

"I'd say it was when Joe asked you to marry him, and you said 'Yes'; marriages made on the rebound seldom work. Look at Bella and myself."

"I thought Joe was so perfect!" Paulina lamented.

"So did Joe." said Carl drily.

"You never liked him, did you?"

"I like Joe exactly as much as he likes me." said Carl, "I will admit that the odour of self-righteousness is not my favorite scent."

****

"Victoria?" said Donna, as she entered Shane's room.

"Sssh! He's asleep."

Donna lowered her voice to a stage whisper. "Jake told me you were here."

"Yes." said Vicky, giving her mother a defiant look, as though daring her to object. "How's Michael?"

"He's bruised and shaken, but the doctors say he's going to be fine." said Donna, "Thank goodness his car had a airbag! I might have lost him!"

"Then you should understand how I feel." said Vicky, "I've run away from my feelings long enough. When I look at the future, all I can see is Shane and me, together."

"What about Jake? He's your husband."

"I should never have married him. I hope he'll be able to forgive me."

****

"You thank you've won, Vicky Hudson," said Lila, as she paced up and down her apartment, "Well, the game's not ovuh yet, and Ah'm holdin' the trump card!" She ran her hands over her still-flat abdomen. "Oh yes indeedy, Ah am! You jist wait til' Shane finds out Ah'm havin' his baby!"

****

The sun was shining as Paulina entered the breakfast room. She had finally managed to get a few hours sleep. "Morning." she said.

"Paulina!" said Rachel, "Carl told me you and Joe have seperated."

Though she maintained an outward calm, inside Rachel was jumping up and down and shouting 'YIPEE!'. She had despaired of her sweet, lovely stepdaughter ever realising that she was trapped in an abusive marriage with a charmless lout.

"Not just seperated." said Paulina, helping herself to juice, "I'll be filing for divorce, as soon as Cass can draw up the papers."

"I'm sorry." said Rachel, sympathetically.

"Time for the news," said Carl, turning on the tv, and picking up the coffeepot.

"Today's top story: A head-on car crash sends two men to hospital." said the anchorman, "Dr Shane Roberts is listed in critical condition after his car collided with that of Michael Hudson on a mountain road during last night's blizzard. The latter sustained only minor injuries, thanks to his car's airbag -"

"Oh my gosh!" said Paulina.

"CARL!" cried Rachel.

Distracted by the news story, Carl had filled his cup to overflowing. Coffee had pooled all over the white tablecloth. "Good gracious!" he said, as Rachel rang for the housekeeper.

"Claudia, get something to mop this up, please." As she ran to the kitchen for rags, Carl mopped ineffectually at the stain with his napkin.

"It's not like me to be so clumsy." he said.

"No harm done, Darling." said Rachel, "It's no use crying over spilt coffee."

Later on, Rachel would wonder if that hadn't been the first sign of trouble to come.

To be continued