I slept fitfully alongside Jack on the narrow sofa. Every few hours I would venture out to ask how Moki was. And Jack would follow me. Once, they let us go in to see for ourselves that she was just fine. She was sleeping soundly in her crate, nestled into a thick blanket and snoring contentedly.

Jack and I headed back to our little office and sat side by side, my head on his shoulder, his head resting easily on mine. "It'll be morning in a few more hours," he said. "Do you think you can sleep? You should try…"

I yawned and snuggled closer to his warmth. "Thank you," I said. "For taking care of Moki… for taking care of me too… For staying here with both of us."

"It's what you do for the… It's what you do," he answered back. His hand was working its magic along my spine and I could feel my body finally giving in to its need for sleep. His voice was deep and soothing, so close to my ear. I felt myself falling to sleep as he spoke to me...

"We'll get a room nearby in the morning, sweetheart. Where we can shower and I can feed you properly. You can get the sleep you and the baby need, and I can come back for Moki when they're ready to release her." His hand kept moving. So, so slowly… "We can be back on the island by dinnertime, back home and everything will be just fine. I promise you, sweetheart… I'll always be here to keep you and the baby safe…"

* * *

I woke from a deep sleep, my head was heavy and my thoughts were so jumbled… Then I felt Moki's cold nose bumping against my face and it all started coming back.

I sat up in the silky white sheets and listened to the shower running. Jack's clothes from the night before were casually draped over the back of a chair. Leave it to him, to find a five-star hotel room on the fly and convince them to allow a puppy to share the room. But then why not, when he had a helicopter at his beck and call…

I turned and looked at the clock. He'd let me sleep until three in the afternoon? I ran my hand over the pillow beside mine. It still held the warm shape of his head. I fell back, letting Moki curl against my side. I was so incredibly grateful she was okay, but there was a gnawing feeling in my belly. So much had happened and the moment had never come for me to tell Jack about the test I'd taken. It felt wrong to keep it to myself any longer. Wrong not to have told him right away. But deep down, I was still holding on to the chance I could still be pregnant. That I'd just taken the test a little too early.

I stroked the puppy's silky ear. One had the tendency to flop down lower than the other, giving her a curious look. She rested her chin on my belly and it rumbled.

I knew we'd head back to our island by tonight. And I knew that Jack was waiting on some important papers about the Warner deal to be faxed over. My stomach rumbled uneasily again. Maybe, in a few more days, I could take another test… Even if I still wasn't pregnant, it didn't mean it couldn't work on the next try…

The sound of the water stopped and I heard Jack moving around in the bathroom. Moki lifted her head and turned expectantly. All the while my heart was beating faster and faster as I tried to push away the new and nagging fear in the back of my mind…

* * *

"My two best girls!" Jack burst through the door, a towel slung carelessly around his hips, rubbing at his hair with another. He came over to caress my hair. "Did you finally sleep? I hope you're hungry… I ordered room service before I got in the shower. The pancakes you asked for, a long time ago." He smiled and I felt my heart turn over.

"I'll keep an eye on her, if you want the shower before the food arrives." He sat down on the edge of the bed. "You're beautiful this morning," he said softly, holding my gaze.

"I… I'm… hungry," I stammered. His eyes moved slowly down my body. The white shirt I was wearing didn't leave much to the imagination. I hadn't taken the time to put on a bra… "Pancakes are good. Pancakes are great," I shifted and slipped out of bed. "I won't be long."

I didn't trust myself to watch him slip out of that towel. As it was, it was dangerously close to coming loose. He had droplets of water on his chest that I ached to lick up. All his kindness, his supportiveness had intensified every feeling I already had for him. I was hungry. But it was a hunger that food would never satisfy. I felt not only like my body was empty, needful, but that some greater, deeper place inside me was too. I felt like I'd been hungry all my life and was only just beginning to understand what that feeling meant…

I headed for the bathroom and closed the door tight. I could hear his gentle voice as he talked to Moki, I could imagine his hands on her little head. For just a second, I felt a flash of envy. That he loved Moki only for her for herself. That he loved the child who hadn't even been born yet, more than anything. I knew he cared for me too. But it was because I was going to give him a child. And he'd do anything to achieve that end.

I stepped into the flood of water and all the thoughts and feelings I'd been holding back let loose. That I had fallen for a man who only wanted me for one thing. A man I could never have any kind of future with. For god's sake, the end of us was already carved in stone…

I leaned against the cold shower wall and the fear washed over me. The thing I'd known deep down from the start, but hadn't mattered until now…

That if I failed to conceive, he was free to end our agreement at any time. It was a baby he wanted, after all. Not me.

And if I couldn't give him what he needed, there was nothing to stop him, from letting me go. And replacing me with a different surrogate.

Another woman. One who could make his dreams come true.