In Her Eyes (Season 5, Episode 2) - REVISED

by bionic4ever

(Season 5, Episode 2 - REVISED) Is the baby Steve's...or Michael's - and if she's Michael's, what will this do to the Austins' marriage? Can Mark pull Jaime back from the abyss? (***PLEASE NOTE: While this episode was already posted, the wrong content was loaded and the previous story duplicated. My apologies to the readers! This is the CORRECT episode!)

1. Prologue

In Her Eyes - Season 5, Episode 2

Prologue

The siren wailed as the ambulance rushed Jaime, the newly-born Austin and Steve (who of course had to ride along) to National Medical. ''How is she?'' Steve asked. His heart pounded with emotion as he realized that question now covered both of them - his family

''Your daughter is breathing well; Apgar of 8 at five minutes,'' the medic told him.

''That's...good?'' Steve wondered.

''That's excellent.''

''And...Jaime? How's my wife? Is she alright?''

''We're working on her now; we'll be at the hospital soon.''

The enormity of what he'd just done suddenly hit Steve like a lead balloon and he began to hyperventilate. A minute later, when one of the medics noticed him, he was out cold. They quickly affixed an oxygen mask to Steve's face and continued working on Jaime. Her blood pressure was dangerously high and she'd lost a considerable amount of blood - and they relayed this information to Rudy so the appropriate medications and transfusion materials could be waiting when they arrived.

Steve came around quickly, thanks to the oxygen, and as he sat up on the gurney and leaned back against the wall of the ambulance, one of the medics offered him a tiny, blanket-wrapped bundle. ''You did excellent work out there, Colonel,'' the man told him with a smile. ''We wondered if you could hold your daughter for us until we get to National.'' (It was as much for Steve's benefit as for the baby's.)

Steve took the proffered little bundle and held his daughter gingerly out in front of him with both hands, as if unsure of quite what to do with her. ''Hold her right up to your chest, so she gets some of your body heat,'' the medic instructed.

Tenderly, with more love in his heart than he'd ever believed possible, Steve cradled his tiny daughter in his arms and pulled her in, close to his chest. He couldn't count her fingers and toes just yet so his eyes began taking in every detail of her face: her perfect miniature bow of a mouth, a nose that looked so much like Jaime's...and the deepest brown eyes he'd ever seen.

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