Disclaimer: I do not own Strong Medicine or the characters. They belong to Whoopi Goldberg, and Tammy Ader, and Lifetime TV. Special thanks to my proofreaders and my new editor for correcting all my mistakes and putting up with me! 'grin'

This is a short chapter, mainly to get things set in order. Longer chapters to come!

Thirty Minutes Later

Andy and Milo sat on his office couch where they had been talking for the past half hour.

"Are you sure it's safe for you?" Milo asked, concerned for his wife.

"Umm humm," Andy replied with a smile. "I've never had any trouble carrying a pregnancy to term."

With his worries alleviated a little bit, Milo frowned slightly. "But how are you gonna feel about having to give the child up after birth?"

"Honey," Andy laughed. "It's not like I'll be giving up OUR baby. It will be completely Lu and Nick's baby... Lu's egg and Nick's sperm. I'll just be the incubator so to speak."

"I know that!" Milo couldn't help but laugh at his wife's description before continuing. "I mean, you'll bond with the baby after carrying it for nine months."

"Well, Lu and Nick have said that when they have a baby, they want us to be the godparents. We'll still play a major role in the child's life," Andy reasoned rationally.

"True." A smile spread across Milo's face, "if you want to do it, I support you one hundred percent."

"They're our best friends... I can't stand to see them hurting so badly. I've got to do something for them... anything. Lu can't take much more of this." Andy wiped away a few stray tears.

"Right," Milo agreed as he leaned over and kissed Andy's forehead. "That's one thing I love about you... your beautiful heart."

Later That Night

Lu and Nick sat on the living room couch, watching a movie. Lu rested her hand on her stomach. "I feel so empty," she said quietly.

"I know sweetheart," Nick answered as he kissed the top of her head.

Lu sighed and leaned back against Nick, enjoying the feeling of being safely tucked into her husband's embrace.

"Don't worry darling, things are going to be okay," Nick spoke softly as he held Lu close.

"How can you be so sure? We've been trying for so long." Lu's voice caught in her throat as she struggled to hold back the tears.

"Because I love you and that's all that matters," he murmured into his wife's long dark hair as he leaned forward and kissed the back of her head.

"Noooo..." Lu groaned at the sound of the doorbell. "Tell them to go away."

Nick sighed and slowly stood, he ran his fingers through his hair before crossing the room and opening the door. "Hi guys. Come on in." He stepped back and held the door open.

"Hi," Andy replied as she stepped inside and patted Nick's arm.

Stepping in behind his wife, Milo extended his hand, "hey man."

Nick nodded and shook Milo's hand. "Come... sit down." He closed the door and motioned toward the living room.

Andy hurried over to Lu. "How're you holding up honey?" she asked as she hugged her best friend.

"Ok... I guess," Lu responded, her voice still somewhat flat.

"Hey. How're you doing?" Milo walked over and lightly kissed the top of Lu's head.

"Okay," Lu repeated.

Milo glanced at Andy in concern as he noticed the dullness in Lu's eyes, the normal sparkle obviously missing.

"We... uh... we want to talk to you." Andy sat down on the love seat, facing the couch.

"Something wrong?" Nick asked as he sat down and put his arm around Lu again.

"No... no... nothing like that." Milo responded before joining Andy on the love seat.

Lu leaned against Nick and stared blankly across the coffee table at her friends.

"Milo and I have been talking most of the day..." Andy began. "We know how much you guys want a baby." She paused for a moment, choosing her next words carefully. "I know nothing can take away your pain and your loss... but maybe I can help alleviate some of it." She watched for a reaction from the other couple.

"Ands... what are you saying?" Lu asked, her voice thick as she tried to control her emotions.

"I want... we want... to help fulfill that dream for you. I'll carry the baby for you, I want to be your surrogate." Andy smiled, tears glistening in her eyes.

Unable to hold them back any longer, tears streamed down Lu's cheeks. "I can't ask you to do that."

Andy reached across the coffee table and took Lu's hand. "You're not asking. I'm offering... willingly. I want to do this for you."

Lu looked from Andy to Milo, the question obvious in her eyes. "Milo?"

A smile brightened Milo's face as he laid a hand on Andy's back and nodded. "We want to."

Lu sat back on the couch and looked up at Nick, her eyes silently holding a conversation with her husband. She tilted her head up and kissed him as they silently agreed.

Nick took Lu's hand and together they faced their best friends.

"When do we start?" Lu asked, smiling through her tears.

"Well...," Andy smiled broadly. "Why don't we..."