A/N: This is another version of my first story "A friend can change everything". I know that for those of you that have already read the original story will see an outrageous similarity that will only last for the first nine chapters or so. Now while I love my original story I had to take a hiatus due to being an actor and having alot on my plate. During my hiatus i had a lot of time to think about my story and how it was progressing. I found that the pairings as well as a few other decisions that i had made were not sitting well with me. And i must say that i currently only know of one of the pairings i will actually be using in this story. Harry's pairing is at this point undecided. I have narrowed it down to three choices but am leaning towards two of the choices in particular. I will be going through the chapters to fix any problems that I find as well. I would recommend any of you who have read my previous story to reread the chapters as there might be some changes here and there. I will of course let you know when there is the big changes start. I am quite new to writing. Please leave reviews with your views on the story. Please no flames. Constructive criticism is welcome. Enjoy the story.

Chapter One

It was a cold stormy night in September as John and Maria Ashwood were driving down the lonely country road. John gave his wife a half smile. "Well this has got to be the worst driving weather ever." John said trying to lighten the mood. Maria had her eyes shut and her hands over her ears. Not that she would have been able to see much if she had her eyes open with how hard the rain was coming down. She was deathly afraid of storms like this. It had always been this way since she was a child. John knew he could never understand the fear but he would do whatever he could for his wife. A frown came over his face as he was looking over at her knowing he could do nothing now. He would just try to get home as soon as possible. The look of pure terror that came with every clash of thunder and bolt of lightning ate at John.

John let out a sigh and turned back to the road just as another lightning bolt lit up everything. Maria screamed. John immediately swerved to miss what was right in front of him. The car began to spin out on the muddy road. And went right into a ditch. "John! Did we hit it!?" Maria still screaming in panic and looking at the window toward the object lying in the road. Lightning lit up the area once again. That is when John and Maria saw what was in the middle of the road. It was a child's body.

"Oh My God! Maria it's a child! Stay here! I'll go get him!" John shouted over Maria's cries of surprise. John didn't even bother with the umbrella he just ran out. "Hey! Kid! Can you hear me?" John shouted in the raging storm. No one would be able to hear him but he just kept trying as he ran towards the kid. Trying his best to block the wind and pelting rain with his arms he started to think that this storm was purposefully trying to keep him away from this child. Well he would show the storm. Step by step inch by inch he got closer.

Back in the car Maria was in shock until she felt the rock of the car and noticed that her husband was no longer in the drivers seat. Normally the only thing in her mind would be to get away from all this noise but the thought of the child they almost hit drove that thought straight out of her mind and she dove into the back seat of the car to find the blankets that they had used earlier.

John had done it. He had finally reached the boy. God this rain sucked. John could only see a few feet in front of his face. John reached down and picked him up. 'God how much worse can this storm get' John thought as he reached down to pick the boy up. As soon as he picked him up John ran back to the car and handed the boy to Maria. Maria quickly took the boy and pulled him onto her lap. The moment she laid eyes on him she gasped. This boy could only be six or seven at the most. And what the hell was he doing out in this storm naked. She quickly started to dry the boy off with one of the blankets when she got a better look. The boy was turning blue. Maria immediately grabbed the boys neck looking for a pulse. It was there but faint. They needed to warm this boy up and fast and a blanket was most definitely not going to cut it. She started to take off her top. She looked at her husband who had just finished tossing his drenched coat into the backseat. "Keep drying him. As soon as I'm done taking this off hand him back to me. He is too cold we need to warm him up quick."

John understood and knew that his wife knew what she was doing. She was a police woman after all. So he started to dry off the boy as quick as he could. He wasn't quite done by the time his wife had finished undressing but warmth came before dryness. He quickly passed the boy to Maria and turned the heater on full. "Is he going to be alright?"

"I don't know. I just don't know." Maria said through sobs. " I think so but... he's so cold Jonathan." Maria was so scared for the boy. Johns eyes widened his wife rarely ever called him Jonathan and when she did it never was good. All he could do was watch as his wife wrapped her arms around the boy to try to bring him back from the cusp of hypothermia. After a few minutes John saw that his wife's breathing had slowed and her eyes had closed. She had been so frightened and then jumped into action to help that boy he was surprised she lasted as long as she had. He quietly turned off the interior lights and leaned his chair back and just watched the two in the passenger seat. Eventually he too succumbed to sleep.

The morning light shining through the window is what woke John up. He just looked around a little confused before the events of the previous evening came rushing back causing him to jolt upright. He got a loud hush for his trouble though. "He is still sleeping." Maria whispered to him. He couldn't help but notice the joyful smile that crept onto her face as she gazed back at the child in her lap.

"Here. You should put this back on." John said as he handed his wife her blouse. She gave him an amused look but accepted the blouse. It took her a little time to put it on without disturbing the boy. She then took the blanket and wrapped the boy in it being careful not to disturb him. John noticed that her smile just kept on getting brighter. John just couldn't help giving his wife a knowing smile. "I know that look." John said just a little bit sadly. Maria looked up at him with a questioning look that held a little bit too much innocence. "We can't keep him."

Maria's face changed immediately. "And why not? Look at him!" She hissed. "He was naked in the middle of the street dying for heavens sake!"

"Maria we have to try to find his parents. Wouldn't you want the same?" John asked.

"Any child of mine would not have been here in the first place!" Maria almost snarled. John knew he needed to proceed with caution when his wife got like this. Although he did have to agree with her about one thing. If they had a child he most certainly would not have been there. He couldn't imagine any parent that would allow that. "John..."

John started the car. Maria looked over at him. "Well we can't very well stay here. Let's go home. We can figure out what to do then. His wife's face instantly had a triumphant grin. God did John like that look and couldn't keep his own grin off his face. He stole a short glance at the boy. He was a good looking lad. He found himself thinking that if they could have had children...no. He needed to stop that line of thinking right there. Yes they wanted children especially Maria but a stray bullet put an end to those dreams a few years ago. He can still vividly remember that night when he got the call from the station that his wife had been taken to the hospital.

He sped all the way there only to find out there was nothing the doctors could tell him other than she was still in surgery. That was the worst night of his life. There were other officers there waiting for word. One of his wife's friends, Emily, took him aside and had him sit when it became apparent he was going to wear a hole in the floor. "John! John! Look at me! She is going to be fine!" She yelled but John didn't respond. SLAP

"What the hell!" John yelled but quieted almost immediately. "Emily, when did you get here?"

"Well I have been here the entire time. I was part of the operation after all." She answered.

"What Operation?" John was still a little out of it. "What are you talking about?"

"Bloody hell. Didn't they tell you what happened?" John just shook his head. "Well we got a tip about a drug house we have been trying to track down. We were the team sent to check it out. As bad as what I am about to say sounds please understand that this is our job." John just kept looking at her. "Well we went in and we found what we were looking for. And then what we weren't. The drug dealers were waiting for us and there was a fire fight. Eventually we overtook them and they are now in custody. But two of us didn't make it out alive. Maria is very lucky." John looked like he was about to blow up but Emily cut him off. "No! Listen, she could have died. It may not seem like it but Maria is very lucky to be alive. And I am sure she will stay that way. It was a belly wound. The bullet went through her vest and into her gut and it stayed there. The vest should have stopped it but at least it slowed it down enough so it didn't go through her." John just put his head in his hands and started crying. Emily stayed by him and did her best to comfort him but she felt just as bad. Emily couldn't help but think that if she did something different maybe her best friend wouldn't be in surgery right now.

About two hours later a bloodied surgeon strode out of the operating room. "Is there a Mr. Jonathan Ashwood here?"

John jumped up immediately and almost ran to the surgeon. "I'm Jonathan Ashwood. How is she? Is my wife alright?" The doctor looked as if he was searching for the right words but his silence was taking a toll on John. "God damn it! Tell me!"

"Mr. Ashwood please calm down your wife is alive but there were some complications. Please come with me." The surgeon then led John down the hall to a room. Inside was Maria lying on a bed with tubes everywhere. "Mr. Ashwood your wife will be fine. She is currently sedated and will wake up in a few hours. Unfortunately she was shot in the lower abdomen. The bullet grazed the small intestine and her Fallopian tubes. Do you understand what I am telling you?"

John was just happy that his wife was going to be okay. " Um, yes she is going to be okay. She got hit in the small intestine but what are Fallopian tubes?" The doctor gained a rather mournful look.

"Well the Fallopian tubes are connected to the ovaries and are a vital part of a woman's reproductive system." John did not like where this was going. " And they were torn to shreds so they had to be removed." No, please no "We also had to remove the ovaries as well. So I am afraid that" No don't say it. " she will not be able to bare children. I am so sorry."

John couldn't hold it in anymore everything that happened that night all just came crashing down on him. He ignored the tears in his eyes and the wrenching pain in his gut as he ran to his sleeping wife. He picked up her hand and pressed a kiss on its back. " Don't worry love it will be okay." John said tears streaming down his face as he started running a hand through his wife's hair. " It will all be okay love. So long as we have each other we will be okay." While John was tending to his sleeping wife he didn't hear the doctor close the door behind him to give the husband and wife some privacy. After a hour John cried himself to sleep. Still sitting in his chair he slumped forward onto the bed still clutching Maria's hand.

In the wee hours in the morning Maria's eyes fluttered open. A small moan escaped her lips as she looked around trying to get her bearings. The last thing she remembered was being pulled out of the drug house by Emily. 'Shit John isn't going to like this. I need to call him and let him know what happened and that I am alright before the station does.' she tried to pull the sheets down but her hand wouldn't move. It was firmly clasped in her husbands. He was asleep but still wouldn't let go. How she loved this man. Maria couldn't bring herself to wake her husband he had obviously been crying. Maria ran the fingers of her free hand through John's hair. Maria couldn't help but chuckle at the moan her menstruations had elicited. "God I love you John. And if you keep this up I always will." She couldn't help but smile at her still sleeping husband.

A few minutes later John arched his back and stretched finally letting go of his wife's hand. "I needed that." John's eyes popped open the moment he heard a giggling sound coming from the bed. " You're awake!" John nearly shouted before pulling his wife into a hug.

"I would quite agree that you did need that little nap of yours." Maria said through tears of joy. " I am so happy your here." It's true she needed him and here he was. 'He was always here for me and that is one of the many reasons I love him' she thought as a brilliant smile crossed over her face. Unfortunately John chose that time to move to pull her closer and aggravating her wound causing Maria to gasp in pain.

John quickly pulled away. "Oh my! I'm sorry love! Are you okay?" Maria gingerly laid back down and slowly nodded her head. "Should I get the doctor?"

"Oh no please don't. You know how I feel about doctors." John just gave her a knowing look. "Fine, go fetch your precious doctor. They will be in soon anyway now that I am awake." She grumbled as John just smiled at her. "Oh go on lets get this over with."

John got up and gave his wife an amused grin as he left her hospital room. He went right to the nurses station "Ah, excuse me but my wife has just woken up. If you could please send in the doctor it would be much appreciated." His wife might have something against doctors but he always got uneasy around nurses. They just never seemed to have a decent bedside manner. A shrift answer from the floor nurse later and he went back to the room. "Well your nurses seem... pleasant." Now he was receiving the knowing look. "Well they are no worse than any others. How is your stomach?"

"My stomach is empty." Maria grinned. "Care to find something to fill it?"

"Ha Ha" John said sarcastically I was talking about the hole in your belly."

"So was I." Maria just couldn't help herself. John finally gave in. If she felt good enough to screw with him she wasn't in pain. At least not a lot and the doctor was on the way anyhow.

"Maria um before the doctor gets here there is something I need to tell you." John paused as he looked into her eye's. God he didn't want to tell her. Hell he didn't want it to be true but the sooner she knew the better. "The bullet...well it" just then the doctor walked in.

"Hello Mr. and Mrs. Ashwood I am Dr. Longfellow. How are you feeling this morning?"

"I'm rather hungry actually." Maria said then she noticed the dumbfounded look on her husbands face. "What? I told you I was hungry." John just rolled his eyes with a chuckle.

The doctor joined in with a chuckle of his own. Maria even started thinking this doctor might be alright. "Well that is certainly good to hear. Sometimes the sedative causes nausea, obviously not the case this time." Longfellow said with a smile. "Your breakfast should be up soon. I do have some things to talk to you both about though." He then turned to John "Did you happen to tell your wife about what we talked about last night?"

"I was actually about to when you walked in."

"I see. Well Mrs. Ashwood I have some good news and some bad news. The good news is that you will make a healthy recovery."

"And the bad news?" Maria asked in a quavering voice. John immediately went to her side and grabbed her hand. He wrapped his other arm around his wife giving her his support.

"The bullet did some serious damage while inside you. Now you will recover even recover enough to go back on duty if you so wished. However the bullet did some serious damage to your Fallopian tubes."

Maria's eyes flew wide "No" She barely made any noise. "Please no." Maria couldn't believe what was happening. She loved her job and her husband but the one thing she wanted more than anything was a family and children of her own. Now she couldn't. Both her and Jonathan had always wanted a family but they had decided to wait until she retired in a few years. Now that family would never happen.

"I am afraid so. I am so sorry."

Maria was done. She just broke down and held onto John crying into his shoulder.

That was assuredly the worst day of his life. To see his wife so lost. John pulled himself out of his thoughts just as they pulled into the driveway. "Here we are. I can't believe he is still asleep. Why don't take him upstairs and put him in bed. I'll see if I can borrow some clothes from the Thompsons. I will start breakfast when I get back." Getting a nod from Maria he started to back out of the driveway again. Most of the time it is convenient living in the country this just isn't one of them.

Maria had just put the boy in bed and was heading downstairs. "Back already?"

John was in the kitchen cooking. " It is only about a minutes drive." He replied with a grin. "You know I was thinking maybe we could help out the police by fostering him here until his parents are found." Seeing the appalled look on his wife's face he quickly headed her off. "Now listen we can't keep him here. You used to be a police officer you know the law. We have to try to find his parents or guardians as the case maybe."

"But" Maria started looking quite distraught but she was once again cut off.

"But nothing Maria. You know the law." John took a deep breath before continuing. " However once they are found there is nothing saying we cannot press charges against them for obvious negligence and probable abuse. Once charges are established we can ask the courts for temporary custody on the grounds that you are an ex-cop and we did take him in. And then perhaps if things go well, which they will with your testimony against them, we can pursue adoption." John finished with a sly smile just before he bit into a slice of bacon. Maria on the other hand couldn't stop the brilliant smile on her face she just ran and tackled him to the ground and gave him the most amazing kiss that showed him exactly how she felt about the plan.

"You are such a sneaky bastard and I love you for it!" Maria kisses him again and again.

"Well it is my job. I am a magician after all." laughed John. "Now how about some breakfast."

A/N: Hope you liked it. I will be updating about once a week. But who knows maybe more. Feel free to pm me.