Luke stopped where he was and didn't turn around. "Damian."
"I like your house."
"What are you doing here?" Luke asked as he tried to figure out how long it would take him to run to the door.
"Aren't you going to turn around and face me?"
"I was just going out," Luke said. "I need to get to class."
Luke saw his backpack was at his feet and reached down to grab it. He could hear Damian coming closer. He wasn't sure where he had gotten the strength from but he took the backpack and swung it around. He hit Damian in the face and dropped the backpack. He ran as fast as he could holding his hand under his stomach. He made it out the front door as the patrol car pulled into the driveway. "Damian Grimaldi is in my house!" Luke shouted as the officers ran into the house.
Luke leaned against the patrol car and tried to catch his breath as Jack pulled up. Jack ran over to the younger man. "Luke, are you all right?"
Luke just nodded as he heard gunshots come from his house. Jack looked from him to the house. "Damian's in there," Luke said as Jack pulled out his gun.
"Go get in my car and stay there," Jack told him. "Make sure the doors are locked."
Luke nodded as he headed to the car. He got in and made sure the doors were locked and the windows were up. He also tried not to panic as he felt a contraction. It felt like an eternity before Jack came back out of the house. He had a grim look on his face as he approached his car. Luke unlocked the doors just as Jack got there. Jack opened the door and looked at Luke. "Damian's dead. He made it as far as your backyard before my officers caught up with him."
Luke just nodded then gasped. "Luke? What's wrong?"
"I'm having contractions," Luke said as he tried not to sound as scared as he felt. He was only seven and a half months pregnant. He knew if he gave birth now, his babies would be in trouble.
The look on Jack's face told him that the older man felt the same way. "Okay, I'll get an ambulance here and get you to the hospital. It's going to be all right Luke, I promise."
Luke just nodded as Jack called for the ambulance and for the coroner. He wanted Jack to go with him to the hospital but he wasn't sure the detective would be able to get away from what was now a crime scene. As the ambulance arrived, Luke looked at Jack. "Can you go with me?"
Jack looked up and saw that Margo had arrived. "Yeah, okay. Let me tell Margo what's going on. That will give the paramedics time to get you ready to go to the hospital. Have you had any more contractions?"
Luke just nodded and Jack bent down in front of him. "We're going to get you to the hospital in time. Those babies aren't going anywhere for a long time. And when we get there, I'll make sure Reid gets to you and I'll call your mom and dad."
"Yeah, sure," Luke said as the paramedics and Margo got to them.
Jack stepped aside and filled Margo in on the situation. He told her that Luke wanted Jack to go with him to the hospital and she agreed that it was a good idea. She would talk to the officers at the scene and come and get his and Luke's statements at the hospital. She silently hoped that Luke and his twins would be all right.
Jack continued to try and reassure Luke as the ambulance raced to the hospital. The paramedics were optimistic because the contractions were sporadic but he still needed to get to the hospital and get checked out. Dr. Kane was waiting for them when they arrived and rushed Luke to an exam room. Jack went over to a nurse. "Can you find Dr. Oliver for me? That's his partner they just took into the exam room. He needs to be informed."
"Yes sir," she said as she stepped away from Jack.
Jack pulled his phone out and dialed Holden's number. "Holden, you and Lily need to get to the hospital right away."
"What's wrong?" Holden asked.
"Damian showed up at Luke's house. Luke got away, Damian didn't hurt him, but Luke started having contractions."
"Is he going to be all right?"
"The paramedics were optimistic. I just sent a nurse to get Reid. Is Faith here today?"
"I think she is."
"All right, I'll make sure she hears what's going on from me," Jack said as he saw Reid come off the elevator.
"Jack what the hell happened?" Reid asked as he approached the older man. "Some nurse just called me and told me that my partner had been brought into the ER."
Jack sighed. "Luke called me and told me someone was in the house. I told him to get out and I was sending the patrol car back to the house. They had just made their sweep. I don't know what happened in the house, but Damian was in there. Luke somehow managed to get out of the house. When I got there he was leaning against the patrol car and the officers were chasing Damian. I told Luke to get in my car and lock the doors. Damian's dead, Reid."
"I don't care about Damian. Why has Luke been brought to the ER?"
"He started having contractions."
That was all Jack got out before Reid took off for the exam room. Jack had the nurse who had called Reid track down Faith for him as he waited for Holden and Lily.
Reid opened the door to the exam room and saw Luke lying on the table. He went over to Luke and took his hand. "Are you okay?"
"I think so," Luke said as he tried to smile. "Dr. Kane gave me something to stop the contractions."
Reid looked at the doctor. Dr. Kane looked at the Chief of Staff. "I'm keeping an eye on the twins' heartbeats. They are strong. There are no signs of distress. The contractions have stopped. I'd like to keep him here overnight for observation."
Reid nodded and pulled a stool up beside the bed. "You see, everything's going to be all right."
Luke nodded. "Damian's dead."
"I know, Jack told me. Don't worry about him right now. Just rest."
"Yeah, okay," Luke said as he closed his eyes.
Reid looked at the doctor. "How long before you get him admitted into a room?"
"We're about to take him up now," Dr. Kane told him as Reid stood up.
"Okay. I'm going to go see if his parents are here then I'll meet you upstairs."
Reid leaned over and kissed Luke's forehead before he left the room. He found not only Lily and Holden waiting for him, but Faith, Jack and Emma. "Okay, they're admitting Luke overnight for observation, but the contractions have stopped and the babies aren't in distress. I would imagine if Luke can get through the next 24 hours without having any more contractions, we're out of the woods. I'm not sure if Dr. Kane will put him on bed rest, but I wouldn't be surprised."
"When can we see him?" Lily asked.
"Let them get him settled in a room and let me make sure he's not going to get upset. He's going to ask about Damian. Could someone do me a favor and call Chris? He can get in touch with the labs and get those test results. I know finding out will take some of the stress off of Luke and the rest of us. Let's go upstairs."
They followed Reid to the elevator. As he went in to check on Luke, Holden called Chris and gave him Reid's request. Chris promised to get in touch with the labs and come see them as soon as he got the results. The Snyders had been waiting about ten minutes before Reid came out and motioned them in the room.
Luke had two monitors attached to him keeping an eye on the babies' heartbeats. He still had an IV in his arm. But he didn't look like he was in any pain and he didn't seem to be having any contractions. He smiled when he saw his family. "Hi guys. I'm sorry I caused all this drama."
"Oh, Luke, you have nothing to be sorry for," Lily said as she went over to her son and took his hand. "The only thing that matters is that you and those precious babies are going to be all right."
Jack stepped closer to the bed. "Luke, I hate to ask you this, but what happened after you got off the phone with me."
Luke took a deep breath and told what happened as he tried to leave the house. By the time he had finished, Lily had tears in her eyes. "Mom, I'm okay."
"I know, Baby," Lily said as she wiped her eyes. "I just feel like this is all my fault. If I had never gone to Malta in the first place, I would have never met Damian and this would have never happened."
"Mom, if you hadn't gone to Malta, I might not be here," Luke said as he avoided Holden's eyes.
Reid shook his head before Faith could say anything. He knew she believed the test results would say that Holden was Luke's father just as much as Reid did, but he didn't want her to upset her brother by starting an argument now. There was a knock on the door and Chris poked his head in. "Chris, come on in," Luke said as he smiled at his friend.
"How are you feeling?" Chris asked.
"Better than I was," Luke admitted. "Sorry that I scared everyone."
Chris just shrugged. "Let's just call it a practice run."
"Yeah, sure."
Chris looked at Reid. "I got those test results you wanted."
"And?" Reid asked.
Everyone turned their attention to Chris. "Both labs concur with near 100% certainty. Luke's father is without a doubt Holden Snyder."
"I knew it!" Faith said as she hugged her father and went over to Luke and gave him the best hug she could.
Luke looked up at Holden as Faith let him go. "Hi Dad," he grinned.
Holden smiled at him. "Hi Son."
Emma just laughed. "Somehow I knew you were really a Snyder. I just didn't know how to prove it."
Luke laughed then he yawned. Reid noticed and turned to the Snyders. "The medication to relax Luke and stop the contractions is making him tired. He'll probably fall asleep in a minute. Why don't you go and check on Ethan and Natalie and I'll call you if anything happens. We can celebrate the test results another day."
"Reid's right," Emma said as she looked at her grandson. "Luke looks exhausted and someone needs to go clean up their house. That is if your officers are through with it, Jack."
"I'll check in with Margo and find out," Jack said as he headed for the door. "I'll also let Carly know what's going on. She's probably going to stop by the house if that's okay Lily."
"I know she's going to want to check on us," Lily smiled. "Tell her I'll call her soon."
Jack nodded and looked back at Luke and Reid. "I'll try to find out how Damian got into the house."
"You do that," Reid said as he gave the older man a look.
Chris looked at Reid after Jack left. "I'll cover for you. And I'll let Katie know what's going on. You know if I don't and she finds out from someone else, there will be hell to pay."
Reid nodded as Lily and Emma both gave Luke kisses on the cheek before they left with Holden and Faith. After everyone had left the room, Reid pulled a chair up to the bed and took Luke's hand. "Get some sleep."
"I will in a minute," Luke said softly. "Reid, you have to know that if I had any clue that Damian had been in the house, I would have never have gone in the house."
"I know. Luke, none of this is your fault. If anyone's to blame, it's the officers who didn't spot someone suspicious going into our house. I thought those patrols were supposed to make sure he didn't get into the house."
"Damian was clever," Luke said as he yawned. "He probably snuck in between patrols. I should have just left the house when I thought I heard someone in the nursery. I shouldn't have said anything. If I hadn't, he might not have known that I was in the house. Then I wouldn't have put the babies at risk."
"You didn't put the babies at risk, Damian did. You did everything you could to make sure you got out of the house and away from the danger. The contractions were probably caused by the stress you were under, yes, but that wasn't your fault."
Luke just nodded as his eyes stared to close. "Sleep now," Reid said as he brushed back Luke's hair. "That's what you and the babies need the most. I'll be here when you wake up."