Brian Haner Jr

"Good morning," Nicole said as she walked into Corina's room. "How are you feeling?"

The teenager smiled wanly. "Better. I slept most of the night."

"The nurses gave you high marks for cooperating," Nicole tol dher, then pulled up a chair. She would check vital signs in a minute, first she owed her patient an apology.

"Thank you for saving my life," Corina said before Nicole could start talking. " I know it got back."

Nicole touched the teenager's hand. "I'm glad I was here for you this time, Corina. Because I know I wasn't the last time I saw you, and I'm sorry about that."

Corina raised her bed a few inchew. Her braided dark hair spread out on her pillow. Her big eyes widened slightly. "You got paged to the hospital. It was an emergency."

Nicole shook her head. "You're letting me off the hook, and it's not necessary. Yes, I was paged and I had to go then, but you needed to talk. I should have made time later." She squeezed the girl's fingers, then released her hand.

"The reason's are complicated," Nicold said slowly, meeting her gaze. "Your situation reminded me too much of something that happened in my life. Something that I was afraid to face. I got uncomfortable and it seemed so much easier to hide. So that's what I did."

"I don't understand."

"I know. So I'm going to explain." Nicole quickly recounted the events of her own senior year in high school.

Corina stared in shock. "You gave up a baby for adoption when you were my age?"

"Yes. A little girl. Her name is Jenna Rose and she'll be nine this summer. I've kept in touch with her family through her grandparents. For a long time I thought I'd been selfish in giving up my duaghter. I thoguth if I just tried hard enough it wouldn't have been difficult for me to make it work. But I was worng. I had an opportunity to do something with my life. Something that would make a difference. Something that I desperately wanted. I'm not saying that giving up Jenna was easy. I will have to live with the consequences of htat decision for the rest of my life. But I don't regret the decision. Knowing what I know now, I would do it all again."

Corina's eye widened. "You wouldn't change anyting?"

"Well, I'd forgive myself a little sooner. But aside from that, I wouldn't change a thing."

Nicole drew in a deep breath and probed her heart. The sense of peace filling her told her that she spoke the absolute truth. She wouldn't change a thing about her life. Knowing what she knew now, she would even still have beome an OB-GYN, because that was where her talent lay. Her need to be around children would be filled by having a half-dozen kids of her own.

"You have to do what's right for you," Nicole told the teenager. "The other girls in the neighborhood aren't going to live your life. They don't have your scholorship or your drive. Think long and hard before you turn your back on the opportunity. What do you really want for yourself and your child?"

Corina began to cry. Nicole rose and hugged the girl. "It'sokay. You don't have to decide now."

"I feel so guilty," Corina said. "But I want to go to college. I spoke to the adoption lady a couple of days ago. She said that there are lots of really great families who want my baby. She'll help me pick the best one." Corina raised her head. Tears spilled out of her eyes. "Am I doing the right thing? Am I being selfish?"

"Not for one second. You are making a tough choice, but it's the right choice for you. I believe in you. If you want, I'll be with you when you choose the family. And I want to stay in touch while you're in college."

She brushed away the teenager's tears. "I even want to help financially. I'll cover whatever expenses the scholarship doesn't. In return, you're going ot have to bust your butt to maintain your grades. The only thing I want from you is two promises. The first is that you'll always do your best and the sedond is that you'll forgive yourself instead of feeling guilty, that you'll spend your time counting your blessings."

"No problem."

For minutes later Nicole left a much relieved Corina watching a morning talk show. The teenager would have to stay in the hospital for another night, then she would be moving into Nicole's tiny apartment. The teenager never wanted to go back to her tenement neighborhood again. Life would be complicated until August, when Corina left for college, but Nicole knew hey would figure it out.

She felt as if the weight of the world had been lifted off her shoulders. She was filled with a sense of calm and completeness she'd never experienced before, and her first thought was she share it with Brian.

Shepaused in the hallway. Who would have thought that Brian could have become a part of her life so very quickly? Two months ago she'd barely known the man existed- and what did she know she didn't like. Now she couldn't imagine her life without him. If she'd ever made a list of what she was looking for, Brian would be everything she'd ever wanted.

She loved him

Nicoel didn't know when that had first happened, but it was true now. She hadn't just bonded with Sky, she'd also bonded wiht Brian. The time they spent together, the confessions they'd shared, the lovemaking had brought her to him with a connection that was strong enough to last a lifetime. She wanted to be with him, have children with him, grow old with him.

A quck glance at her watch told her that she would probably catch him in his office right now. Should she go find him and tell him all she'd learned, or should she wait? Then she reminded herself that she'd waited long enough already. She'd wasted nine years waiting to be good enough, when the answer had been inside her all along. She was done waiting. It was time to act.