"I don't understand why you always fight me on this," Maya says, gesturing to the area around them. "You're so southern." He begins to protest, but is silenced with a raise of his wife's eyebrow. "You brought us to a hoedown."

"It's actually a bizarre."

"Whatever." Maya grabs hold of her daughter's hand. "The jokes are true."

"Not all of them."

"Most of them." She nods to her two-year-old sweetheart. "You even put Sadie in a cowgirl hat and boots."

Lucas laughs, taking his daughter's hand from Maya's and lifting her into his arms. "Mama is silly, isn't she?" Lucas tickles her stomach, smiling at the laughter that bubbles up in Sadie's chest. "Who picked out your clothes?" Sadie smirks, pointing a finger at Maya. "Mama. Mama!"

"Throw me under the bus, why dontcha?" Maya smiles. "She had to be dressed for the occasion. The one you planned."

"Oh, give it a rest." Lucas wraps his free arm around her shoulders, pulling her to his side. "Even you are wearing boots and plaid." He presses a kiss to her hair. "You love it," he murmurs.

"Mmm, I'll never tell," she laughs. "Let's go find some food, the baby's starving."

"Of course." At the glint in Maya's eyes, Lucas looks sheepish. "What does baby boy Friar want?"

Maya, annoyed with his snide remark, tries to remain angry, but the hunger and his pout win out. "A corn dog. And funnel cake." She closes her eyes, thinking.

"That's actually pretty normal."

"And ketchup."

"For the corn dog?"

"For the funnel cake." She gives him a look. "And don't comment. I'm going to have a push a tiny human out of me in a few weeks and it's all your fault. Don't push me."

"Noted," he says, even though all that's currently running through his head is it takes two to tango.

They start walking again, on the lookout for food, when Maya feels something different, something not right. Lucas stops a few feet ahead of her, having been distracted by a conversation with Sadie. "Is everything alright?"

Maya looks into his eyes briefly before shutting them in pain, clenching her abdomen. "These don't feel like Braxton Hicks."

Lucas is at her side in an instant, pulling her close and reminding her to breathe. In one, two, three, out four, five, six, seven, eight. "Let's get you to the hospital." They're walking back to Pappy Joe's truck within a few minutes, Maya grateful that her contractions are still relatively far apart. Maya is sitting in the front seat, buckled in, with a bottle of ice cold water as soon as he unlocks the car. Meanwhile, Lucas straps in Sadie, kissing her forehead, before joining his wife in the front of the truck.

During the entire fifteen minute drive to St. David's Medical Center, Maya is silent. She doesn't take his hand as another contraction hits. She doesn't cry out in pain-as she had done, very often, with Sadie's delivery-she doesn't even whimper. She's staring aimlessly at the road ahead, a hard, unblinking stare. Lucas doesn't know what to make of it, but he decides to use her thinking time as the perfect opportunity to call Pappy Joe. "Hey, Maya's having contractions and we're on the way to the hospital. Can you pick up Sadie?" She doesn't hear the other end of the conversation, but she's assuming he said yes because Lucas has already hung up and is driving even more recklessly than before. Breathe in one, two, three, out four, five, six, seven, eight.

Soon enough, they've arrived at the hospital and Lucas is shouting for assistance from the nurse who just brought out a discharged patient in a wheelchair. She's quick to make her way over with the now-empty chair, offering it to Maya. Maya doesn't accept any help, but graciously lowers herself down, wincing in pain. By the time the nurse is wheeling her inside, toward the maternity unit, Lucas has managed to unbuckle his little girl and is carrying her as they trail closely behind.

"Shit." Maya says, the tears in her eyes beginning to show. Lucas looks over to see Maya staring at her maternity jeans, particularly the wet spot that has since appeared. "My water broke."

The nurse communicates this to the prenatal nurses, who quickly bring her to an empty room and rush around her. Lucas is pushed out of the circle and he's terrified, answering the nurses' never-ending stream of questions. "How far along is she?"

"36 weeks."

"Has the baby been healthy up until now?"

"Yes."

"Bedrest?"

"No."

They're taking her vitals and he can see glimpses of Maya's face, disgruntled and overwhelmed by the swarm. She likes her personal space. "Okay, Mrs. Friar," the head nurse, Tracy, says, "You are definitely in labor. You're dilated four inches, still have a while more to go. We'll be in to check on you soon." Tracy ushers the other nurses out of the room, closing the door behind her to give the family some semblance of privacy.

The room is silent. It seems like no one knows what to say or how to react to this sudden change in events. The silence, however, is suddenly broken by Lucas' obnoxious Bonanza ringtone-the one Maya changed as a joke earlier in the day; now the morning seems like a lifetime ago. "Hello?" She hears him answer, her eyes trained on the sterile, white wall. "Yes, room 211. Thanks. Yeah. Okay."

"Pappy Joe is outside." Maya nods. He wants to question her distance, but right now he's still holding on to his very scared daughter and can't upset either of his girls any more.

"Mama has a boo-boo." Sadie's bottom lip is quivering and she's pointing to her mother's scrunched face. "Fix it, Daddy."

Lucas sighs. "I wish I could, Princess." He hugs her a little tighter. Sadie nuzzles into Lucas' chest and mumbles against his skin. "When it better?"

"Soon. Hopefully soon." Lucas rubs her back. "Mama's going to be okay. It's okay." He walks over to Maya, trying to give her his hand, but she shakes him off. He's worried now. None of this is like her. The distance between them isn't normal; they're usually always touching in some way or another.

"Luke." Pappy Joe is standing at the door, making his presence known. Lucas nods for him to enter, handing Sadie to her grandfather after a quick kiss to her cheek. "Pappy Joe is going to take you out for a while."

"You stay?" Sadie asks.

Lucas nods. "I'll see you soon. Mommy and Daddy love you."

"I love you," Sadie says, blowing a kiss. "Bye-bye."

"Good luck," Pappy Joe says. "I'll take good care of her, Maya." Maya grimaces, but he knows that she heard him. Pappy Joe is quick to distract Sadie, bringing her out of the room and promising her some ice cream, and before long Lucas and Maya are alone.

"Can I get you anything?" Lucas asks, scoping the room for an ice cup.

Maya shakes her head, choosing to remain silent. "You sure? I can get some ice. I can get some water or run to the cafeteria to pick up something light?" Maya shakes her head again. She's still focused on the wall.

Deciding that this is definitely not normal, Lucas pulls a worn chair over to her bedside, sits down, and grabs her hands. She tries to pull away but he holds them, firmly but gently, smoothing his thumbs over her fists. "Talk to me. Please." He hears her sniffle and lets out a sigh. "I thought you were trying to be strong for Sadie, but it's something else. I know you Maya. Something isn't right. Please talk to me."

She lets out a heavy, wavering breath. "You're right. Something isn't right." She turns to face him. "We're not supposed to be here. This wasn't supposed to happen." He can see that she's on the verge of tears-she's holding them back, though.

"You're right," he soothes. "We didn't plan to be here." She turns her head back to the wall, her body shaking from nervous energy. "But our little boy is going to be okay. The nurse said that you are both going to be okay."

Her voice cracks as she whispers, "But it's too soon. What if he's not okay?"

"You're far enough along that he'll most likely be fine. And if he's not, we will cross that bridge when we come to it." He lets go of one of her hands and uses it to gently guide her eyes to his. "Together."

"Promise?"

"Always," he says. "Now can I get you anything?"

Maya laughs at the exasperation in Lucas' voice. "Maybe some water. And ice. I'm not really hungry anymore."

"Okay, I'll be right back." He's leaving the room as Tracy returns and he feels a little better about leaving Maya with someone else there. The ice machine is only down the hall, but Lucas walks quickly and with a mission in sight. The sooner he gets this, the sooner he can get back to Maya.

He returns in less than five minutes, the pitcher and ice cup in his hand, only to be met with a "She's ready!" and "We're bringing you to the delivery room." He's shocked at how fast this delivery is progressing-Sadie took a grueling twelve hours-but he hides his surprise and nerves for the sake of Maya. Dr. Catal is with them shortly, instructing Maya to push when she feels the urge and to breathe in between. Maya is screaming, crushing Lucas' hand in a death grip, no care for the tears that now cascade down her face. "You're doing great," Lucas murmurs. He moves to pull her hair into a ponytail, getting it out of her eyes, without her even asking. "Almost there."

"Lucas, it hurts," Maya whimpers, pulling Lucas closer to her.

"I'm so sorry you're going through this." He kisses her forehead. "I'm sorry I can't make it better."

The doctor looks up, an encouraging smile on her face. "He's crowning. Let's give three more good pushes, Maya."

He prepares for her grip, which tightens considerably in the next twenty minutes. However, it somehow doesn't feel so long when he's hearing "The shoulders are out!" and "He's almost here," being shouted. And with one final push, the baby has made his grand entrance into the world, the first thing he hears being Maya's shout of "Oh, fuck!" But, somehow, neither parent seems to care. The nurses take the baby over to the scale and they wait in anticipation for his cry, Maya blubbering as she hears her son's shrill wail.

"Congratulations! You two have a healthy baby boy, born on July 12th, six pounds one ounce, 18 inches." The doctor nods to the nurse, who places the little boy on his mother's chest.

"He's perfect," Maya cries, rubbing her fingers along the tuft of blonde hair on his head.

"He is," Lucas nods, entranced.

"You were in quite the rush, Little Man."

"Didn't want to miss out on the fun, isn't that right?" Lucas coos.

"Hoedown," Maya chuckles, still loopy with pain. Lucas shakes his head, a loving grin on his face. "Let's name him Austin."

"What?"

"Austin. I think his name should be Austin."

"Are you sure? I mean, that wasn't on our list of names and you're a little out of it and I know how you feel about-"

"Do you not like it?" She looks nervous, vulnerable even, and he doesn't want her to ever feel that way. In truth, he's always loved the name, but never thought she'd go for it.

"I love it." Looking at two of his three favorite people in the world, Lucas adds, "Austin Hunter Friar."

Maya looks up in shock, a watery grin on her face. "Really?"

"Definitely."

She carefully shifts Austin into his father's arms. "I love you, Huckleberry."

"I love you, too." He reaches for her hand. "You and me?"

"You and me."

So...this story was begging to be written. Thanks for reading :) Please let me know what you think.