Chapter 2

A/N: I know that in reality, births aren't as short as this, but I don't want to be rambling on about it.

Mac pulled Stella to her feet and out of his office. Around them, people were getting to their feet, some with bleeding wounds, others cradling broken arms. Normally, Mac would have made sure that each and every person was seen to and treated, but, for now at least, there were only two people in the world that mattered to him. As they ran down the stairs, Stella stopped and collapsed onto the floor, clutching her stomach in pain. "Please don't make me go on," she moaned, her eyes full of tears. "Please, Mac…"

Mac kneeled down beside her and looked into her eyes. "I have to go and get Hawkes, Stella, okay? I'll only be a minute, I promise."

Mac felt like he'd just kicked a puppy. He knew that it was wrong to leave Stella, but without Hawkes, anything could happen. As he pushed open the door leading into the lab, he saw Hawkes and Sid, along with others from the morgue, treating the wounded with resources salvaged from the wreckage of the medicine cabinet.

"Hawkes!"

He looked up at the sound of his name, his dark eyes alert. Peeling off his latex gloves, he ran towards Mac.

"What is it?" he asked. The concern was clear in his usually calm voice.

"it's Stella. Her waters broke and the baby's not waiting. Please, you have to help." Mac's voice broke slightly as tears attempted to force their way out. He wasn't going to lose the one he loved again.

Hawkes followed Mac down the stairs and to the landing where Stella kneeled, her cheeks stained with tears. Hawkes knelt down beside her and pulled a fresh pair of gloves from his pocket.

"Stella, I need you to lie back and open your legs." Something about his quiet, reassuring voice seemed to calm Stella down. Her sobs subsided slightly, as she lay back and open her legs.

Mac tried not to concentrate as Stella's screams pierced the air, her pain going through him like a knife. All of a sudden, Stella's screams were silenced by something else - the crying of a newborn baby. He looked down and saw, in Hawkes' arms, a tiny baby, screaming at the top of her little lungs.

Stella burst into tears, but of happiness, rather than sadness. She hugged Mac as Hawkes pulled of his shirt and gently wrapped it around the little girl. Mac felt a tear run down his cheek as Stella cradled their daughter.

"She's beautiful," breathed Stella. "What should we call her?"

Mac thought hard; picking names wasn't something they had spent a lot of time on. It had to be something special.

"How about Star"

Stella looked into her daughter's eyes. "What do you think? Is your name going to be Star?"

She turned to Mac and smiled. "She's definitely a Star."