Arachel

Written by Alekat

Disclaimer: I don't own these characters but I did borrow them for just a little while.

Rating: T

Pairing: Martin/Samantha

Spoilers: N/A

Summary: A new addition.

Hospitals had never been one of Martin Fitzgerald's favorite places and today was no exception. He literally ran across the parking lot after using his FBI credentials to secure a relatively decent parking place. The guard had let him leave his FBI issued sedan in the parking place held for security personnel with a promise from Martin that the car would be moved as soon as possible. Martin knew Danny would come down and move it for him once everything was situated.

A nurse at the front of the emergency room looked at his creds as he flashed them in her face and requested the number for Samantha Spade's room. She was not impressed that he was flashing a badge in her face and demanding the room number. The nurse took her sweet time finding the name in the computer and looked up at the harried looking man and said, "Room 223."

Martin thanked her and took off down the hallway in a fast trot, the wind blowing his hair as his steps took him closer and closer. When he reached the elevator, he stood for a moment then left opting for the stairs instead.

Elena was standing a few feet away when he stepped through the stairwell door into the bright white hallway. She turned to see what the noise was when he looked down at her. He could see she had been wiping her eyes and it scared him even more than he already was. His heart was pounding in his chest and a lump formed in his throat immediately constricting his voice. He opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out.

She watched and put a gentle hand on his arm as Martin tried to speak. Elena took the opportunity to fill him in. "Martin, Danny is sitting with her now. Sam is okay and the baby is fine. Her doctor had to do an emergency C-Section." He nodded to her and mentally berating himself for not being here with Sam when this happened. His father's politics had pulled him to DC to help solve a case that his father thought only he was capable of solving. Martin hated that his father had been so heartless as to pull him away from his family at this late stage in Sam's pregnancy.

"Martin." Elena shook his arm gently to gain his attention; "Do you want to see with them?"

"Them…uh.. yeah." She motioned for him to follow her to Samantha's room. Elena eased the door open and Danny looked up. He had been sitting quietly reading to Sam and the baby, who was sleeping in the bassinet near the bed, from the book that Martin and she had chosen to read this week. They had begun with Alice in Wonderland and moved on to Moby Dick. Over the course of the past eight months they had read a different book each week. Martin did most of the reading so the baby would become familiar with his voice the same as she would her mother's. A girl's name had been chosen and they had all been calling her Arachel from the Hebrew language meaning strong and protected. Martin had chosen the name as a reminder of the struggles the little one had already been through just coming to be.

Sitting there with Sam, Danny remembered the struggles his friends had already gone through beginning when they first began dating. They had only lasted a few months as a couple that first time. Most of their early problems stemmed from Jack's disapproval of the relationship. Of course, Martin getting shot had brought them closer only to have his addition to the pain pills pull them apart again. Sam's attempts to help him were unwelcome. Danny had been the one to reach out to him then and rattle him enough to get Martin to change his ways.

Closing the book and looking at the beautiful sandy haired baby tucked in blankets, Danny thought back to when Martin began Narcotics Anonymous how things began looking up for the couple then more problems arose. An accidental pregnancy before they were married ended abruptly when Samantha was shot during a case. The loss was too much for the troubled couple and they stopped seeing each other again for months.

Again Danny remembered stepping in this time with help from Elena in the form of a wedding. Theirs. Danny and Elena had been together six years before but work had separated them at a crucial time in their relationship. They had finally realized their true feelings when a felon that he and Elena had apprehended a few years back kidnapped Elena's daughter in retaliation for the time they had caused him to spend in jail. A smile crossed his face when Danny remembered the night Elena told him that her daughter belonged to him.

Elena opened the door and Danny looked back over his shoulder. Martin walked into the room and took the seat that Danny vacated. He slid his hand around Sam's and squeezed. Elena motioned for Danny to follow her leaving the couple alone with their new daughter.

Martin pressed his lips to Sam's warm hand and her eyes fluttered open. He pulled the chair closer to the bed and held her hand close to his face. She smiled over at him. "I'm sorry."

"What for?" He kissed her hand and stood leaning over her to kiss her softly on the cheek. "I'm sorry I wasn't here." He sighed, "I should have been here for you."

She reached up and caressed his cheek with the palm of her hand. "It's okay, we're okay."

The baby chose that moment to greet her daddy with a soft whimper. Sam nodded at his concerned look and he stepped around the hospital bed to the glass-encased bassinet and touched the baby's pink cheek. Her mouth began moving in a sucking fashion. Wonderment filled his voice and he smiled, "She's hungry."

Sam smiled as she watched Martin pick their daughter up into his arms. For the past eight months, he had told her his fears of becoming a father. Would he be like his own father? Could he take care of a baby? How would he know what to do? She watched all those fears diminish as he took their daughter into his arms. She pressed a button and the nurse came quickly with a bottle of formula.

Martin sat down as the nurse instructed him in the rocking chair next to Samantha's bedside. The nurse showed him how to hold the baby and how much formula to let her have at each feeding.

Danny and Elena checked in one last time before they left to see Martin sitting on the side of the bed holding Arachel and smiling down at Samantha.

The End.