A/N: Okay, just a little randomness courtesy of my twin and myself! Twin wrote all the medical stuff… Matt and Emily-plus one! Let us know what you think! It's a one-shot- there will NOT be any additional chapters or any sequels!—Hehe. At least that's what I thought. I wrote this so long ago, and now I'm trying desperately to write a sequel. Or something!

>

It had been four days since Emily had been admitted to the hospital. Four days she'd been stuck in same bed bored out of her mind. But today was the day. Today was that special day that she would remember forever.

They brought Emily in on Monday, her due date, to be induced. Upon her exam, the doctor found that baby Flannery was being difficult. She'd turned and was now breech. Instead of letting her go home, Emily's OB/GYN decided to keep in the hospital in hopes that the baby would turn, avoiding a C-section. Finally, four days later and countless attempts at getting the baby to move, she did.

Matt, however, wasn't here-and Emily refused to start without him.

"I hate being fat!" Emily groaned struggling to sit up. Cheryl laughed as she and Lia assisted Emily.

"Emily…" Lia started.

"I can't even sit up on my own!" Emily put her hands on her swollen belly and sighed. "I just- I want to be able to walk down the street instead of waddling… I want to get up from a chair on my own! Hell, I want to stand up and be able to see my feet!"

"But... You're so cute!" Lia squealed.

Emily rolled her eyes, "Yeah, right…" After a second, a smile spread across the negotiator's face, "I swear… She's either going to be a soccer player or a Rockette!"

Lia squealed again and started to reach for Emily, "Can I?"

"Yeah," Emily grabbed Lia's hand and placed it on her stomach. After a minute, the baby kicked again, causing another round of squeals from the tech girl. "Why are you more excited about this than I am?" Emily asked.

"I dunno," Lia grinned, "This is so exciting!"

"It would be more exciting if it were happening sometime soon! You know, the last time I was in a bed for four days straight was my honeymoon!"

"I didn't need to know that," Cheryl laughed. Then she looked at Emily in disbelief, "Four days?"

"Uh huh."

"How are you doing?" Cheryl asked, "Really?"

"I'm okay… just…"

"Terrified?" Cheryl asked.

"That works," Emily admitted, "It's just- This is so much…it's different… I mean, what if I screw up?"

"You will," Cheryl said with a knowing smile.

Emily laughed, "Something tells me that didn't sound as reassuring as it was supposed to."

"Emily," Cheryl sat on the hospital bed, "Don't worry… All parents screw up at some point. That's not what's important, it's what you do afterwards… You'll move on a little older, a little wiser."

"Thanks… So…why aren't you here?" Emily gestured to the bed.

"Oh… God help any child who has me as a mother!" Cheryl exclaimed, "You and Matt should know that by now!"

The door opened and Emily turned, expecting Matt. Instead, Frank peeked in. "Hey, Em!"

"Hi," Emily said softly.

"You okay?" Frank asked, still standing by the door, "You really look like you're going to pop!" he teased.

"Yeah… Well, tell her that!" Emily said, pointing to her stomach, "I've been ready for the past four days!"

"Figures!" Frank laughed as the door opened once more.

"What figures?" Matt asked as he finally walked in.

"That your kid would be difficult!"

"And late!" Emily exclaimed. "Where have you been? They've been waiting for you!"

"Sorry, Hon…" Matt kissed Emily's forehead, "I'm yours for the rest of the week!"

"Good. Now go get the doctor," Emily ordered.

"No need for that. I saw him walk in. Hello, Matt," the doctor exclaimed walking into the room.

"Sorry doc, bad day at the office. I came as soon as I could," Matt said somewhat defensively. Of course, the baby would pick the one day that Matt was stuck in court to decide it was time to come out.

The doctor hung a bag of clear solution from the IV pole next to the bed. "This is Pitocin, it's going to start causing you to have contractions. It could take one hour, it could take 10, that all depends on how your body reacts to it."

"10 hours?" Emily asked, starting to panic.

"Relax, it hardly ever takes that long. Let me know when the contractions start to increase so we can decide on weather or not you want an epidural."

"I do! I mean, yes, I want the epidural."

"Ok. Just let me know when," she said, exiting the room.

"Good luck, Em… We'll be outside," Cheryl said, noticing that Frank had already left.

"Thanks," Matt watched Lia and Cheryl leave and then shut the door behind them.

>

"How are you doing?" Matt asked. He took a seat on the bed and Emily leaned against him, breathing heavily. Emily nodded silently as Matt traced invisible shapes on her back. Suddenly she sat up and let out a yelp.

"Want me to get the doctor?" Matt asked, already knowing the answer.

"Y-yes… Just… Don't leave me yet," Emily begged, torn between wanting the painkillers and not wanting to be alone.

"I won't… I promise," Matt assured her. He leaned over to press the call button, and then wrapped his arms around his wife, trying to comfort her. As the contraction subsided, Emily relaxed into his arms once more. Matt sighed, he was grateful for the time between contractions, however brief it was.

"I hate you, you know that, right?" Emily asked, turning to look at him after a minute of silence.

"Yeah… I know," Matt grinned and kissed her neck, "Just relax… You're doing great!"

"If you can't say anything helpful, keep your mouth shut," Emily snapped. She almost felt bad about it, but who was he to tell her to relax? This was all his fault anyway!

"I love you," Matt murmured into her hair. Emily nodded, feeling another contraction begin.

"Matt…" Emily whined. He reached for her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Give it to me now!!!" she yelled, clutching tightly onto Matt's hand.

"It's coming, honey. The doctor is on her way back with anesthesiologist, they'll be here in just a minute," Matt said reassuringly.

"No one told me it would hurt this much!" she managed

"Well, don't call it labor for nothin'," Matt said, trying to lighten the mood.

"Is that supposed to be a joke? Now is not the time for jokes!" Emily snapped.

The contraction started to ease off and Emily took a deep breath, happy that it was over, for now. There would be another one within the next few minutes.

"Alright Mrs. Flannery, are you ready get rid of some of that pain?" The doctor asked as she entered the room, anesthesiologist in tow.

"Yes, please. Hurry, before another one comes."

Emily sat on the side of the bed hunched over while the anesthesiologist inserted the catheter into her back. It took only moments for Emily to feel her toes start to go numb.

"You'll still feel some of the pressure from the contractions, but most of the pain should subside over the next few minutes" the anesthesiologist explained as he gathered his instruments.

"Thank you," Emily said. Matt laughed, from her tone of voice, you'd think he had presented her with precious gems. Emily settled in against the pillows and closed her eyes, trying to rest before the next contraction started.

The doctor returned a little while later to check Emily again. She been having hard contractions for about an hour now and was feeling the urge to push. "You're right at 10 centimeters and about 95 percent effaced. Are you ready to start pushing?"

Emily shook her head, "No… I changed my mind…" she turned to Matt, "I don't want to do this-I'll get used to being fat…"

"Emily, honey… Just relax, everything will be fine!" Matt promised.

"Stop telling me to relax! I'm fixing to squeeze a human being out of me and you think I can relax?"

"Em, I'm sorry. Okay? I have no idea what's about to happen and I'm a little freaked out myself."

"Alright. On the count of three I want you take a deep breath and push down as hard as you can," the doctor ordered.

Not waiting for a response she started her countdown.

Emily did as she was told, pushing and breathing, pushing and breathing. After close to 20 minutes of hard pushing Emily was exhausted, but making progress. The baby girl had begun to crown and they were approaching the final stages of labor. Emily leaned into the pillows and closed her eyes.

"You're doing great, Em," Matt encouraged.

"Emily, I need you to push again, sweetie!" The doctor called.

"I-I can't…" Emily murmured weakly.

"Yes, you can, Em…" Matt started, "I know you're tired, but you can do this," he squeezed her hand.

"No… I-I can't…" she shook her head, her eyes still closed. Matt heard the shrill alarms of the heart monitor. Her hand went limp in his.

"Em? Emily?" Matt was pushed out of the way by a nurse.

"Mr. Flannery, we're going to have to ask you to leave," the doctor said, attempting to push Matt out of the room.

"No! I-can't… I won't leave her!"

"Mr. Flannery. You need to leave and let us help her. Help them," Matt took one look at the doctor and fled to the waiting room.

"Matt… Matt, tell me what's wrong," Cheryl ordered. Matt had stormed into the waiting room, nearly hysterical. He was sitting in one of the hard, plastic chairs with his head down, buried in his hands.

"They… Em… I don't know…"

Cheryl looked at Lia for help. The tech girl shook her head and joined Frank at the adjacent set of chairs, not sure what to do. "Matt, talk to me."

Matt took a deep breath and looked up at Cheryl, "They kicked me out… She was pushing… We were talking and I was holding her hand… Then she passed out-and they kicked me out."

"Oh, Matt… I'm sorry," Cheryl wrapped her arms around her former partner. Matt gratefully accepted the act of comfort; glad that he didn't have to be the strong one right now.

"Mr. Flannery, Can I speak with you?" the Doctor seemed to have appeared out of nowhere.

"Yeah… Yeah, is Emily…"

"Let's talk over here," the doctor gestured to a spot away from the group.

"Are they ok? Wh-what happened? They were fine and then…" Matt trailed off, afraid to say what he was thinking.

"Mr. Flannery, I need you to listen to me for minute, your wife has an amniotic fluid embolism. That means that she's developed a blood clot that has caused her to go into heart failure.

We have a very small window here and I need you to make a decision. We're going to do our best to save both of them, but if it comes down to it I need to know who has to come first."

"What? No-I can't… I can't choose between my wife and my child…" Matt said, struggling to get the words out.

"You have to. Now."

Matt knew what he wanted-he wanted his wife. The woman who cheered him up after a bad day. The woman who could put a smile on his face, simply by walking into the room. The woman who made his life whole, simply by being a part of it. The woman that he loved. The woman who could make him short of breath and that could make his heart skip a beat with only the sound of her voice.

But, Matt also knew what Emily would tell him to do. She would tell him to save their daughter. She would tell him that the baby was the most important thing right now, that she deserved to have a full and happy life. She would tell him to let her go.

"My daughter…" he answered, almost ashamed with his decision.

"Ok. I'll be back to let you know how everything goes" the doctor replied unaffected by his choice. She turned and headed back towards the delivery room leaving Matt to question the decision he'd made.

Stunned, Matt watched the doctor hurry down the hall. Afraid his legs wouldn't support him, he leaned against the wall. He bent his knees and slowly slid into a sitting position. He rested his elbows on his knees and buried his face in his hands.

Cheryl took the cue and slowly walked over to him, " Wanna talk?" she asked softly.

"No," Matt managed, shaking his head.

Cheryl nodded even though he couldn't see. "Wanna be alone?" she asked.

"No," Matt repeated. Cheryl nodded again and sat down next to her former partner, silently offering all the support she could.

>

Matt walked into the hospital room, quickly but quietly. As soon as his wife came into view he paused, grinning. Emily was lying on the bed, almost on her side, her head resting on her arm, eyes closed. Sleeping next to her was his daughter. Their daughter. Emily had one arm draped protectively across the baby and Matt wasn't sure if she was asleep as well. He reached out and gently ran a finger across the baby's tiny hand, brushing Emily's arm in the process. Instinctively, her eyes flew open and the loose grip she had on the baby grew tighter, sheltering her from the unknown intrusion.

"Matt…" Emily smiled upon seeing the familiar face.

"Hey honey… How do you feel?" Matt reached out and caressed her cheek and then leaned over, kissing her gently.

Emily let out a little laugh, "Like I've had my insides ripped out by the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."

Matt laughed, "Glad to see you haven't lost your sense of humor. Um, Can-can I hold her?"

Emily nodded, "Of course." She moved aside and Matt gently scooped up the little bundle.

"She's perfect!" he exclaimed, kissing one of her little hands.

"She is. Except…"

"Except what?"

"She's nameless," Emily said with a grin. "As cute as it is, 'baby Flannery' isn't working for me."

"Do you have something in mind?" Matt asked.

"Sorta," Emily gave him a sly smile. "I like Alexis."

"Alexis," Matt tried it out, hoping to hide his disappointment. It wasn't that he didn't like the name, but… He had been hoping to name her after his mother.

"Yeah… Alexis Lynn."

Matt finally smiled, "Lynn was my mom's name…"

"I know," Emily said, "Are you okay with it?"

"Yes! I mean, yeah… I was kind of hoping… God, she's beautiful!" Matt said, still staring at the sleeping baby in his arms. He sat on the edge of the bed and Emily reached out, gently holding onto Alexis' hand. "Just like her mother," Matt added.

"She's got her father's eyes."

Matt Laughed and gave Emily a little grin, "Aww, Is that your way of telling me I'm beautiful?"

"No, it's my way of telling you I love you."

"I love you too. You know, I was afraid I wouldn't get the chance to tell you that again," Matt admitted, "I should have known you wouldn't give up that easily."

Emily grinned, "You're stuck with me now!"

Matt leaned in and kissed her gently, "I wouldn't want it any other way."