Megan spent a very uncomfortable night. The rest she had sought didn't come. Emotionally drained, she tossed and turned. The baby seemed to be out of sorts to, kicking Megan a lot, keeping her up. All in all, she didn't feel like going to work and got a very late start. Called in for the case of a young woman found in a dumpster, she was glad she didn't have to be alone with Zach. He stood with a crime scene tech, by a dumpster.

Megan apologized for being late, and almost took Zach's head off when he said it was understandable. Yeah, it wasn't the pregnancy that had made her late. It was the stupid argument with him, the kiss, the tossing and turning all night. She almost hit him for saying it was understandable. When he'd asked her what she smelled in the dumpster, it was too much for her. After she threw up, she wanted to kill him more than ever.

Already Zach was engrossed in the latest case. What had happened last night didn't seem to have affected him like it had her. Megan was in severe discomfort, more so than any other time in her pregnancy. She felt the baby shift, and when they went to Ross' office, the two men arguing the merits of what a "Major Case" was, she didn't feel good, not at all. As she stood there watching the two men pick at one another, she felt the baby shift again, and her water broke. Still, the two men yammered on, and all Megan wanted to do was tell the two men to shut up. The only time they stopped talking was when Eames waltzed in with a message from Goren. Alex noticed Megan's discomfort immediately, the puddle on the floor and they left the two men standing there, staring after them. Megan didn't even want Zach to be there as backup, she just needed to be away from him a bit. Labor was going to be bad enough, she didn't want to deal with him anymore. Given that, she didn't know why she felt a twinge deep inside when he didn't come after them.

"Call your sister, I'll get you to St. Vincent's, okay, Megan?" Alex said to her.

"I'm on it. Thanks, Alex. I appreciate this."

"I would have thought your partner would take over. He does seem to be overly involved in things lately."

"Well, Nichols and I aren't exactly getting along right now. As you can see, he didn't even jump to take me to the hospital. And I really don't feel like being around him right now." Megan let out a hiss of air as another contraction came on. Once it passed, she phoned her sister to meet her at the hospital.

"We're almost there, Megan. How are you holding up?"

"Well, I'm doing as well as can be expected, Alex. Just get me there so I can have something for the pain. The contractions are about as bad as I expected them to be." Megan grabbed the door handle as another contraction hit her.

"Do you mind if I ask what Nichols did to set you off? What happened between you two?" Alex asked,

"Well, he used his sympathy techniques on me first, perfecting them before using them on a suspect. Now he's got a complaint filed against him for being overly familiar with a suspect. Oh, and he kissed me to shut me up. That's about it."

"He kissed you? When? Where? And why would he want to shut you up?"

"I was telling him that when I came back from maternity leave I was considering quitting Major Case or finding a new partner. He thought shutting me up would make me change my mind."

"Don't do anything rash, Megan. Wait til things calm down. Don't walk away from a job you love because of your partner. You're good at what you do."

"Thanks Alex. I'll remember that. Now, get me in there!" Megan said as they pulled up in front of the hospital.

Alex helped her in and stayed with her until Sarah arrived. After some quick introductions, and orders from Alex to keep her informed, Alex went to make her departure. Before she did so, however, Megan gave her one last piece of advice between screams "Just remember Alex, Nichols needs adult supervision. Good luck." With a quick hug, Alex left Megan and headed back to One Police Plaza.

When she got back to One Police Plaza, Nichols remained oddly quiet. He didn't ask after Megan, which was odd for him. Alex thought it odd, but chose to remain silent. It really wasn't any of her business, so she concentrated on the case. When they got called out to interview the mother, her phone rang on the way. It was Sarah with an update on Megan. No baby yet, Megan was doing quite well, except she was asking for Zach, wondering if he might be coming to the hospital. Alex didn't know what to say, cause it didn't appear he was going anywhere near there, even after all the training he'd done to be there. Sarah promised to phone again soon.

"Megan's doing fine, by the way."

"Okay, that's good. Did she say anything about me?"

"Well, in between screams, she did say you require adult supervision. But I already knew that."

Zach simply smiled. That was Megan, always with the snark, even while giving birth.

The rest of the afternoon passed quickly. The interview with the mother wasn't really helpful, but did provide a name, however flaky the mom appeared. Alex ran it down and came up with a suspect. Just as she was about to let the Captain and Zach know, her phone rang again. It was Sarah. Megan had given birth to a beautiful baby girl. She promised she'd be there as soon as shift was over, eagerly looking forward to seeing the baby.

Alex got up and went into the captain's office with her lead.

"By the way, it's a girl."

Both men stared at her blankly. "You know, Megan, the one who went into labor here at work? Your partner?" Alex looked at Zach.

"Oh, yeah, oh, that's good." Zach said, in his own little world.

Exasperated by both men, Alex got onto the elevator with Zach, and they headed off. Zach still refused to talk about anything but the case, which was his right. But he could at least show some concern for his partner whom he'd been so close to the last few months. That pissed her off more than anything.

They plodded through the rest of the case, the suspect trying to actually kill Zach. At this point, Alex thought she should be put on the list of people who wanted to do that. The situation with Megan and him was driving her nuts. Men are idiots was all she could think. Poor Megan, she really doesn't know what she's getting into with him. No wonder she's not talking to him. He doesn't even care she went into labor.

Finally the case was solved, and hearing that Ross had sent roses to Megan in Zach's name, Alex had had enough. Waiting til they were alone, Alex laid into him.

"Look, Nichols, I don't know all that happened between you and Megan, but you need to get your head out of your ass. You became just as close to her as anyone these last few months, so get your ass over to that hospital. And this time, bring her something, instead of having Ross send flowers in your name."

"I don't think she wants to see me, Alex. She was quite upset with me last night, and wasn't talking to me much this morning."

"Well, you kissed her to shut her up, you idiot. And told her that. What did you think she was going to be like? Plus, if she was really angry with you, would she have been asking if you were coming to the hospital while she was in labor? Did you really use her like she thinks you did? Because that is the most selfish, stupid thing I've ever heard.!" Alex continued to rake him over the coals.

"I know, I know. I'll go there after I go and find something nice for her. Wait, what, she told you I kissed her? Really? You aren't going to tell Ross are you? You don't know how hard things have been for me, Alex. Megan has been so skittish, and I always feel like I'm doing the wrong thing."

"Well, you certainly didn't do yourself any favors with this latest stunt. Get your ass to the hospital as soon as you can. Crawl in there on your hands and knees if you have to get her to forgive you. Do something, or you are both going to regret this. And don't worry about me telling Ross. You have nothing to worry about that there."

"You're right, I know you're right. It doesn't make it any easier. Do you know for months I've been trying to get her to see that I'm not like the others? That we almost went forward with each other, and she got scared?"

"None of that matters now. She thinks you betrayed her like Colin did, that you used her as a way of getting to your goal. I don't know how you are going to fix it, but you are." Alex finished, her anger starting to ebb somewhat.

"So what do you propose I do? I'm good at screwing up, making up is not my forte. Or so my ex tells me. That's why she's my ex."

"God, you men really are a piece of work. Do you need to be handheld through everything? Start with flowers. Lots of them. And gifts for the baby. Do you remember I told you she was named Margot? Try remembering that. And the biggest thing you can do is apologize, and not make excuses. Whether you believe it or not, her emotions will be even more intense than before. Don't screw it up anymore. Now, quit talking to me, and go to see her."

"Yes, boss, whatever you say." Zach said with a touch of sarcasm.

"Damn right you better listen to what I say. If you don't, it's going to be a very long six weeks, Nichols. Not even Bobby will be able to save you."