author's notes:

I've never delivered a baby before, and I don't know how hospitals function in your countries. So I got some ideas from listening to stories of how my mom and aunts gave birth at the hospital.

Please review and happy reading!

kellyh000

epilogue-chapter 4

After their latest numbers turned out to be perpetrators, Shaw and John had to fight viciously to stop them from hurting anyone. But just when they were glad it was all over, Finch called, telling them Zoe's having a preterm birth.

"How the hell did that happen? She isn't due for another 2 weeks!"

"Chill, Reese. 2 weeks early is still acceptable." Shaw said coolly, trying to calm the anxious big guy down. "Her prenatal exams showed everything's fine, she and the baby will be fine. Probably." Shaw muttered.

"Thanks, that's really reassuring." John commented dryly. "What's taking Hadley taking so long?"

John had sent Dr. Hadley to go talk to the Zoe's doctors whom she's friends with. She went in the restricted area with no trouble, as she used to work in this hospital with as a surgeon. John wanted to go with her, but she stopped him.

"You're bleeding, John." Hadley had said, looking at his white shirt which was covered in his blood.

"I'm fine." John huffed exasperatedly, and covered his injury with his jacket.

"No, you're not. At least not now, not until you get yourself cleaned up. Do you want to let Zoe see that you're bleeding? Let her worry about what happened to you? How nearly you could've died?"

John knew she was right, his dangerous job was exactly the reason why Zoe didn't want him in the picture. John sighed in defeat, and his big frame almost sunk in the couch of the waiting room, and his fingers which could hold a gun steadily now tapped anxiously against his knees.

"Hey." Upon hearing Hadley's voice, John turned to her instantly and demanded. "How is she?"

"Doctors say that she'll won't be delivering soon, we still have to wait hours before she's ready, but so far she's doing alright. No complications."

John nodded and fell silent again. Shaw and Hadley exchanged a look. They know how much John wanted a family, but now, he couldn't even go be with Zoe, to hold her hand through this. And she will raise their child alone. He'll never be a part of it.

"I think I'll go get some things for Zoe."Shaw suggested and left, clearly not wanting to endure the awkward silence and a brooding John.

John didn't even seem to hear her, but Hadley smiled slightly at her. She knows Shaw was never good at handling anxious patient families.

"John, do you want me to go back in there? Keep you in the loop?" Hadley asked as gently as possible, taking pity on John's situation. Guy's been through a hell lot.

"Yeah, yeah. Thanks." John answered in his usual soft voice, but there was a hint of sadness in it.

Hadley nodded, and put a hand on John's shoulder before making her way back. "Go take care of your wound. I'll text you if anything happens." It was the least she could do for him, anyway. Be there for Zoe when he wants but can't.

Zoe was eating fast food when Hadley came back in."He sent you to spy on me?" She watched the doctor took the seat beside her and handed her a bag of chips.

Hadley accepted the fries gratefully, though it felt kinda weird as she never pictured Zoe Morgan,the goddess of power-play in New York eating junk food."Actually, I volunteered to check up on you. Where are the doctors?"

"I won't be delivering yet, so they left. Apparently there was an accident on the highway and the E.R.'s flooded with people that needs help."

"Geez, what if you deliver early and then they don't have enough people-"

"Relax, Elizabeth. If they can't spare any doctors, you're right here, no?" Zoe was so calm as if she weren't the one who's going to deliver a baby. Even in a robe, she looked beautiful as ever.

"I'm...not really a doctor now."Hadley frowned and took her medical charts at the end of the bed to read them. " I mean my license hasn't expired yet, but I've stopped practicing."

"You were certainly practicing when you nursed John back to health." Zoe said with a knowing smile.

"Yeah, but only because Sameen called."Hadley replied half-heartedly while texting John to give him an update. When she looked up from her phone, she saw Zoe starring at her pointedly." But I suppose the birth of John's kid would also make an exception."

"Great! Nothing to worry about." Zoe smiled and started to read the fashion magazines on the table. "I still have hours before delivering, and the contraction from time to time isn't really working for me."

"I know, being a mother's not easy. Being a single mother's a whole other story, though." Hadley said.

Zoe set her magazine down abruptly. "Are you trying to convince me not to leave John out of the picture?"

"Not at all, Zoe." Hadley shifted and found a cozy spot in her seat."What you decide what's best for your child is entirely up to you. I just feel bad for John; you really should see how miserable he is now."

Zoe suddenly caught her breath and her nails dug in the sheets. She could feel her baby kicking her, wanting to get out. In a few hours, she'll finally meet the occupant living in her belly for months.

"Contraction again?"

"Yes," Zoe said between her teeth, gasping for air. "much worse this time." She tried to slow her breathing, but the pain was too overwhelming, she felt she couldn't breathe.

"I think I may have a cure for that."

"Epidural? The doctors say it's too soon, I have to wait-"

"-I'm not talking about anesthesia, Zoe." Hadley took out her phone excitedly.

Realizing what Hadley was doing on her phone, Zoe choked out a breathy protest. Despite her flawless appearances, she was panicking on the inside. She does not need John to hover over her and be overprotective yet completely useless at the same time. "No."

"Oh, yes. Yes, I am." Hadley smiled. She always knew that the two of them suck at letting people in, and are the loner wolves type who prefer to lick their wounds in private. But their insecurities made them miserable and lonely as well, though they will never admit to that. And normally, that's why they are good at their jobs. But they already have trusted each other with their lives without knowing, and that's why they will last, no matter what they think now. They simply need a very hard push to make them see that they're perfect for each other.

Suddenly, John busted through the door, holding his weapon. He glanced around the room, only to see the two women starring at him.

"Sorry, John. No kneecaps for you to shoot. However, they're a hand which you should hold."

Hadley winked and left the cute couple behind her.

John put his gun away and walked up to Zoe. There was cold sweat on her face and she was gasping painfully. He wished he could take the pain for her. He felt completely useless-all those training made him always clear-headed in the battlefield, but now he has no idea what to do to make Zoe feel better.

He sat on her bed and snaked his arm behind her neck. "I take it there were no killers in here."

"You're the most dangerous person that has walked in this room, John."

"Ouch. Here," John opened Zoe's closed fist around the sheets and laced his fingers with hers. "grab my hand-squeeze it, if you have to. It will make you feel better."

Zoe leaned back towards John and rested her head on his shoulder. His build swallowed up her frame, even when they're both sitting. She tried to focus on something else other than pain, like the way how small her hands seem in John's and the feeling of the texture of his white shirt.

John's held her silently with his strong arms around her. They didn't talk. She was in too much pain to do anything else, and John's never been talktive.

But they knew what they wanted, deep down, what they really wanted.

So they stayed embraced, and that's the moment when Zoe realized that she couldn't really push this guy away because the truth was they're in this together.

TBC