Long Road to Recovery

Chapter 7

Amy was 8 months pregnant when she finally left hospital and she was unbelievably excited about it. Her right leg was still a little sluggish but she was able to move around without crutches and on her own, which was good enough for the specialists so it was good enough for her. The only problem was that now she was back in bed on bed rest until the babies were born, the doctors wanted to keep a close eye on her but she was adamant she wanted to be at home. However she could only cope with being in her house for so long, and after being in hospital for over 4 months she wanted to get out and see the city so she hopped into a cab and headed to the 1-6.

She had hoped the team would be pleased to see her, they were but Cragen was furious with her for being out of bed. He wanted her back but was willing to wait until she'd returned from maternity leave ready to show pictures of her kids to everyone at the drop of a hat, he didn't want her putting her recovery at risk by coming to work. However his opinion soon changed when within half an hour she managed to help provide them with a break in the case by recognising one of the witnesses to a murder as one of her 'contacts' from the street what was notoriously unreliable. As Eliot and Olivia went off to bring the contact in for questioning Maddie sat down to read notes on the rest of the case, a pair of high school boys had been attacked and sexually assaulted on their way home from school. The nature of the case was one that struck a chord with Amy given her own past, which was one of the reasons why Cragen had wanted to keep her away from it.

"Let's get the sicko." Amy said closing the case file and finding Munch stood next to her and offering her a lift home. "No, I'm fed up of my house, my parent's house and the drive between them – and I'm not even allowed to drive there which sucks because my mother is the world's slowest driver." Amy complained making Munch laugh, he knew what to expect when the young woman was in a mood. "And I want to hear what Matkins has to say for himself." Amy added referring to her contact as Olivia and Eliot returned with Mr Matkins.

Amy wanted to go into the interview room as she knew what buttons to press with Matkins to get what she needed from him. However Munch relayed instructions to the two detectives questioning him and with Amy's guidance got the information they needed from him in under an hour. During the hour Amy received 6 phone calls from her husband and parents wondering where she was, each time she sent it to voicemail and was counting down the minutes until Casey arrived looking for her worried that something had happened.

"Amy you ok?" Munch asked as the young woman winced in pain. She brushed it off as one of the babies kicking but it happened again a few minutes later.

"I think I need to go to the hospital." Amy announced to him looking around the squad room for Olivia and Eliot but they'd gone to follow up on information given by Matkins. When she bent over in pain Munch shot up and ran to her side shouting for Cragen to come help. They went to help get her to the car but she struggled to move as the pain was coming much quicker and starting to hurt more and more. "Oh god, help me please." She cried having never experienced anything that bad before. As she cried Casey came running into the squad room looking for her baby sister stopping in her tracks when she saw the look on Amy's face.

"Amy?" Casey questioned and Amy reached out to take hold of her hand squeezing it.

"I think I'm having a baby." Amy said in shock and Casey sprang into action shouting orders to people, 1. Get a squad car waiting downstairs now – with lights, 2. Call the hospital to let them know they were on their way, 3. Call Jack to let him know what was happening. 4. Help get Amy downstairs to the car.

Jack was there pacing when the squad car arrived and Munch helped lift Amy out with Cragen and Casey helping. Jack went outside and scooped his wife up in his arms carrying her inside to the amazement of everyone else; he appeared very calm given the situation which only served to panic Amy even more.

"I can't do this, I'm not ready, they're not ready, we can't have kids yet, the house isn't finished, my mum isn't here – I want my mummy." Amy worried as she was placed into a wheelchair and led into a room to be examined, she was in a gown and hooked up to a monitor by the time Casey came in smiling.

"Mum and Dad are on their way, you are ready, the house is fine and you're going to be an amazing mother." Casey said deliberately trying to quell all her sister's fears, and she was about to leave when Amy took hold of her hand and asked her to stay. Casey looked at Jack who nodded wanting to keep his wife calm and happy.

Amy had never been in so much pain in her life, her blood pressure was starting to drop as was the babies. When she lost consciousness Jack had to sit and wait with Casey and both sets of parents while she went for an emergency caesarean. After 20 minutes he was panicking worried that the worst had happened and he'd be leaving without a wife, ten minutes after that the doctor emerged.

"Mr McAllister," He said and Jack stood up anxiously, his father placed a hand on his shoulder. "Wife and babies are doing fine and waiting for you." He smiled and Jack hurried the way he'd come.

"What do we have?" Casey asked smiling with relief.

"Babies." The doctor replied following Jack through the doors.

Amy looked completely exhausted as she sat in the bed with the cribs at the side of it, Jack was at her side, each had hold of a baby as Casey and both sets of grandparents came in.

"Babies say hello to Aunt Casey, Pop, Grams, Nana and Grandpa." Jack beamed standing up with the small child in his arms. "Everyone meet my son Ethan Miles." Jack showed the baby to the assembled family members. Both grandfathers were touched that their own fathers had been remembered in the tiny boy's name.

"And?" Casey asked impatiently wanting to know the name of the other baby.

"Ellen Casey." Amy smiled, "We wanted her to share a name with her godmother." Casey was visibly moved as she took hold of her new niece taking in every inch of the baby girls features.

"They're beautiful." Casey smiled looking at her nephew and niece, "I can't believe how tiny they are."

"Every bit of bed rest was worth it." Amy smiled looking at how happy her husband was surrounded by their close family, all the pain she'd experienced since she'd left the squad room that day paled in comparison to how she felt then. She had 2 new reasons to keep on going, 2 reasons to protect the world, and 2 reasons to put her past firmly behind her. It had been a long road but now she knew she'd be able to make a full recovery.

THE END!