When We Were Young.

Twenty-Three.

I did intend to have this up last night but I felt really ill so I went to bed instead, sorry. Tomorrow my 12 days of Christmas starts so this won't be updated as regular because I've still got a lot of them to write but I will try to update this whenever I can.

______

'Is she okay?' Joe asks and the nurses face falls slightly.

'Miss Lovato had to have emergency surgery done to try repair damage done to her left Fallopian tube caused by an ectopic pregnancy unfortunately the damage was too severe so we weren't able to repair the tube; we're not sure why the fertility clinic didn't pick the ectopic pregnancy up but we have contacted them.' The nurse says.

'But she's okay?' Joe asks.

'Your girlfriend is has been moved up to a private room from recovery. Understandably she's still a little sleepy from the anaesthetic and she is quite overwhelmed; she has been asking for you though.' The nurse replies and Joe glances at Dianna.

'You should go first; you're her mom.' He says and Dianna shakes her head.

'She's asking for you, Joe. We can wait.' She replies and Joe smiles slightly.

'Thank you.' He says quietly. Standing up he follows the nurse who leads him from the family room to the room where Demi is lying in the bed.

'Hey, beautiful...' He says softly as he makes his way into the room and over to the bed.

'Joe.' She whispers and he gently runs his finger down his cheek.

'Do you want some water?' He asks and she nods her head. Carefully he lifts the cup off the table and holds it to her lips.

'D-Did they tell you what happened?' She asks after taking a drink.

'Yeah... How are you feeling?' He asks and she shrugs her shoulders.

'It's strange. I mean we didn't know I was pregnant but I feel like we've lost something? How can I feel so empty when I didn't know what was happening?' She asks, her eyes filling with tears as she stares down at the covers.

'Hey, look at me... Whether we knew or not, that was still our chance of having a baby. It is perfectly reasonable and understandable that you feel upset.' He replies taking her hand into his own.

'I can't believe the fertility clinic didn't pick up on it...' She says.

'Don't you worry yourself about that. You just need to rest and recover from this?' He replies and she nods her head.

_______

'Are you in pain?' Dallas asks sitting by Demi's bed.

'A bit...' Demi admits.

'Do you need me to get a doctor?' Dallas asks and Demi shakes her head.

'Where's Joe?' She asks.

'He's just gone to get a coffee. He thought you'd be sleeping for a while longer.' Dallas replies and Demi nods her head.

'I-I know you don't like him, Dal.' Demi says and Dallas sighs.

'He cares for you. Don't get me wrong I'm still very cautious about him but I can see he cares about you.' Dallas replies as the door creaks open and Joe makes his way inside.

'Oh babe, I though you would've still have been sleeping or I never would've left.' He says and Demi smiles slightly.

'It's fine.' She replies quietly.

'How are you feeling?' He asks and she shrugs her shoulders.

'Sore.' She replies patting the space beside her on the bed.

'Sit with me?' She asks. Nodding his head he sits down on the edge of the bed and moves his arm so she can rest her head on his chest.

'Do you two want me to leave you alone for a bit?' Dallas asks and Joe shakes his head.

'Don't be silly... What are you doing for Christmas?' Joe asks.

'Just my mom's... What about you two? Are you spending Christmas together?' Dallas asks.

'I don't know; I'm sure Joe wants to spend Christmas with his family.' Demi replies shrugging his shoulders.

'You are my family. I've not arranged anything yet.' Joe says causing Demi to smile slightly.

'We can talk about it another day.' She replies quietly.

______

'Do you have any questions, Miss Lovato?' Dr Gray asks standing at the bottom of Demi's bed.

'W-Will this affect our chances of having children?' Demi asks quietly as she grips Joe's hand.

'Well as you know we had to remove your left Fallopian tube but fortunately your other Fallopian tube is healthy meaning that you do still have a good chance at conceiving. I know you have your other issues but I don't see why you won't be able to have your own little family if that's what you want.' Dr Gray replies smiling.

'How long is the recovery? When will she start feeling better?' Joe asks and Dr Gray smiles at the look of concern on his face.

'Recovery can be anything from six weeks to eight weeks. We'll keep you in for a week just to monitor you and then we'll go from there.' Dr Gray replies.

'Okay.' Demi says quietly glancing up at Joe who smiles.

'I'll leave you two alone.' Dr Gray says. She leaves the room and Demi bites her bottom lip.

'You okay?' He asks.

'Mmm... You're going to need to go back to LA; you've got that performance this week.' She replies and he shakes his head.

'I'll cancel. I'm not leaving you, Dems... Not this time.' He says and she sighs.

'You're not leaving me, Joe. I'm okay, well I'm not but I will be. Go do your show and come back? I'll still be here.' She replies.

'I-I can't. That'll just be proving your entire family right, I leave when things get tough and I'm not going to do that.' He says and she reaches her hand up to touch his cheek.

'You're not leaving because things are tough though. You're leaving because you had a job to do and fans who are waiting to see you.' She says causing him to sigh.

'I'll think about it.' He replies kissing the top of her head.