Okay, so please be nice to me with this. I am basing my story off the cast recording and the Twitter performance. Constructive criticism is fine, and I always love good feedback. Although I really want to see Next to Normal, I have not yet been fortunate enough to do so. This chapter takes place a couple months after Gabe's death.

We Had Natalie, Too

"It Won't Happen Again"

When Dan Goodman stepped out of his car into his driveway, after a day at work, he was greeted with a repeated, odd, thudding noise, alternating with a desperate scream. For the last two months he had become accustomed to seeing his beloved wife break into tears, but these noises were not usual, even for their depressed state of mind.

Worried, he ran inside, not bothering to take his briefcase from the trunk or even to close and lock the car doors. The house was eerily silent for a moment once he entered, he called to his wife, "Di?" There was no answer, but the silence was broken a moment later by yet another scream. He ran from the hall to the living room to see Diana slamming herself directly into a wall. She took a few steps back, screamed and ran into the wall yet again.

"Oh, shit." He mumbled to himself. After a moment of shock when he stood paralyzed in confusion, he rushed forward catching Diana around the waist to keep her from running, once again, into the wall. She struggled against his grasp for a few seconds, before collapsing into his arms, sobbing.

He knelt down to allow her to lean on him more comfortably. She tightly clutched the front of his shirt with her right hand, as she cried into his chest, and he gently stroked her hair, whispering softly into her ear in attempt to calm her.

After maybe ten or fifteen minutes, Diana's sobbing had subsided, so she was now only quietly whimpering, still burying her face against her husband's shirt. Dan pulled away slightly to look into Diana's face. Wiping a few tears from her eyes, he softly asked, "My love, what happened?"

She broke into another sob, causing him to pull her back against him, cooing, "No, no, my love, it's okay. Everything will be just fine. Just tell me what happened."

With a sniff, Diana pulled away, looking down. He gently tilted her head to see her eyes. "Please." He coaxed.

She said nothing, but pressed something into his hand. He looked down to see something he had seen once before. With soft astonishment, he whispered, half as a statement, half as a question "You're pregnant again."

She nodded, silent tears running down her cheek.

Dan dropped the pregnancy test into his lap, allowing him to take her face into his hands, "Di, why are you upset? This is wonderful." His voice hitched slightly, as he filled with a joy that had been lost in a hospital waiting room.

"No, Dan, no." She shook her head, pulling away. "We can't...I can't..." She started crying again replacing her head against his shoulder. Understanding he could not rush her words, Dan allowed her to cry for a few more minutes.

Finally she took a deep breath and looked into his eyes, "I can't do this again: the worrying, the dread, the pain. I just can't, Dan, I just can't."

"Diana, no," he said softly and firmly, "This time it will be different."

"But what if it's not? What if this child..."

He cut her off, not wanting to hear the rest of the sentence, "It won't happen again."

She looked at him, begging the unspoken question, "How can you be sure?" He just repeated, "It won't happen again."

"But," she paused momentarily, swallowing hard, "Dan I don't want another child. I want Gabe back." She choked on her child's name and tears again began to streak her face.

Dan inhaled sharply. "I..." He had never expected her to say that, not the first part at least. With a sigh, he gripped her shoulders, as if he were trying to keep her from falling apart, and looking directly into her face, he said, "Diana, I can't tell you that this child will be Gabe. I know as well as you that nothing can bring him back, and that thought breaks my heart. All I know, is that when we found out we were going to have him, when we had him, we were both happier than ever before. I know that this child can bring back that happiness, that joy. I know it. This baby won't be Gabe, but whoever it is, he or she will be just as perfect as before."

"How can you ever guess that, Dan?" She said skeptically.

He smiled, tapping her nose with his finger, "Because you're still the kid's mother."

She grinned, an act so foreign to them both at this time, "Oh, Dan." He pulled her close, hugging her tightly.

"My God, I love you, Di."

She leaned up and kissed him. She pulled away for a moment as if to say something, but without a word she threw her arms around his neck, and kissed him once more.