A/N: Here is the newest chapter; sorry it took me a little while to get it posted. Like so many of my past chapters in this story, I had a plan for it, but the chapter just started to write itself. I actually think that it turned out better than how I originally planned it. I hope you all think so too. Like always, read and enjoy:)
Chapter 10- Little Angel
As time closely approached the hour and a half mark since she had first begun the physical portion of the delivery Beth collapsed back against her pillows, her hair and forehead drenched with sweat. Her chest heaving at a rapid pace Beth worked to refill her lungs with much needed air. Having positioned herself on Beth's left side just before she started pushing Garcia gave Beth's hand an encouraging squeeze as she said,
"Come on sweetie, don't stop now, you're doing so great, keeping going."
Her mind and body already in the process of being consumed with exhaustion Beth slowly shook her head,
"I can't, I'm too tired to push anymore."
Despite the true extent of Beth's exhaustion already evident in Beth's words, Dr. Bloom said,
"Beth I know that you are tired but you have to keep going. Believe it or not the baby's head is nearly out; all you need to do is give me one more big push and it will finally be out. Come on one more big push."
Her face consumed with exhaustion induced exasperation Beth quickly countered,
"One more big push, that's exactly what you said a few minutes ago?"
Taking Beth's partially accusatory words in stride Dr. Bloom simply nodded her head,
"I know I did Beth, and I apologize for making you believe that this would all be over at that time. However, this time I am telling you the truth. By you giving me one last big push the baby's head will finally be delivered and you will be one giant step closer to finishing the delivery, and be able to hold your baby in your arms."
As if Dr. Bloom's words had renewed her strength Beth repositioned herself before resuming her physically exhausting actions. Down at the end of the bed, greatly impressed by Beth's renewed vigor Dr. Bloom energetically encouraged,
"Good Beth good; the baby's head is now completely out. Keep pushing Beth, only less forcefully, ok? With the help of your gentle pushing the rest of the baby will deliver itself much faster, I promise."
Overwhelmed by the need to get the delivery over and done with and completely out of the way Beth willingly complied with Dr. Bloom's wishes. Then after just a short amount of time the rest of the baby's body was delivered as well. Her job complete Beth collapsed back into her pillow once again as she strained to hear what was going on. A fresh sense of joy filled Beth as from the end of the bed she caught the faint whimper of an upset baby overlapped by the sound of a suction ball being used as Dr. Bloom cleared the baby's airways. As soon as the suction was completed the air was filled with the sound of the newborn's loud cries.
Hearing the wondrous sound tears of immense joy slid down Beth's cheeks. Looking up at the third time new mother Dr. Bloom lifted the crying newborn up for Beth, and all to see as she said,
"Congratulations Beth, you have a healthy, beautiful baby girl."
Beholding the magnificent sight of her newborn daughter Beth could no longer contain her emotions as even more tears cascaded down her already red cheeks. After quickly severing the umbilical cord Dr. Bloom handed the baby over to Nurse Stephanie and her towel covered arms. Her eyes as sharp as a hawk's eyes Beth watched Nurse Stephanie as she took her baby girl over to the warming station. Still seated on her stool at the end of the bed Dr. Bloom regained Beth's attention as she said,
"Alright Beth, we still have a little bit of work to do, we still need to deliver the placenta. Now, I'm going to tug on the umbilical cord so you may feel a little discomfort, but besides that just try and relax. If you feel that you need to push then please do so, but if not just lie back and allow me to do all the work."
A little discouraged that they still had some work to do Beth let it pass over her, and tried to relax as Dr. Bloom had asked. Thankfully for Beth Dr. Bloom didn't require any of her assistance; the placenta slid effortlessly down Beth's birth canal and was delivered without any problems. Her attention now officially free to do as she pleased Beth couldn't help but be curious about what was going on with her daughter. Unable to get a clear view of what was going on over at the warming table Beth gave a hopeful glance over to Gina and asked,
"Gina, can you tell what they're doing over there? I can't see anything."
Placing a reassuring hand on Beth's shoulder Gina glanced over at the warming table to try and see what she could see. Finding out that everything over at the warming table was as it should be Gina returned her gaze to Beth and smiled as she said,
"Everything is fine over there Beth don't worry. As soon as they've cleaned her and wrapped her up tight they'll bring her over here. You know that."
Unable to contain her eagerness to meet her newborn baby girl Beth heaved a soft sigh, allowing her hands to fall into her lap as if in surrender as she replied,
"I know it just feels as if is taking them forever over there. I don't remember it taking this long after Sarah was born."
With a smirk pulling at her lips Garcia interceded,
"Oh sweetie I know exactly what your little problem is- you're overly anxious to meet and hold your baby girl…God, I still can't wrap my mind around the fact that we have another girl in our little family. At this rate the guys are going to have a hard time catching up with us." Garcia looked over to Gina, "Let's just hope my fair Gina that when you and Mick decide to expand your family a little more that you have another girl. Not that there's anything wrong with little boys of course, but we can't let the guys take away our new rein."
A sweet realization gently dropped down over Beth and Gina, as of now they outnumbered the boys by two. Faces bright with sheer glee at the simple yet genuine fact Beth and Gina erupted with triumphant giggles; neither of them had ever thought that this could happen. It seemed that Garcia's well played, triumph-filled words had actually been enough to distract Beth from the slow progress over at the warming station, for at that moment Nurse Stephanie walked over to the bed with Beth's little girl, tightly bundled in a pink and blue stripped blanket, cradled in her arms. With her own soft smile upon her face Nurse Stephanie gently placed the bundled baby into Beth's eagerly awaiting arms.
Cradling her daughter's bundled form in her arms Beth couldn't help but smile. Her newest little bundle of joy was absolutely adorable with the same head of curly black hair as her older brother and sister, and her dark blue eyes, which Beth already knew would change into deep or warm chocolate brown. On either side of her Beth could hear both Gina and Garcia awing and cooing at the bundle in her arms. Emitting a soft squeal in apparent delight Garcia said,
"Oh my God Beth she is absolutely precious."
Beaming with pride Beth didn't say anything in response as, from on her other side, Gina added,
"She is a little angel, as well as a spitting image of Sarah when she was born…So do you and Sam already have a name picked out for her?"
Concealing her pain from the fact that Sam wasn't able to be there with her Beth continued to smile as she nodded her head,
"Yes we do, we decided that if the baby happened to be a girl that we'd name her Alexis Marie Cooper, and that's still what it's going to be…"
As the three female FBI agents gazed down at the newly named newborn Nurse Stephanie, having heard Beth reveal the baby's name, quickly recorded it on the baby's records. Gently stroking Alexis's caramel colored cheek Garcia's smile grew a little bigger as she said,
"Alexis Marie Cooper, such a beautiful name for a beautiful little angel."
Agreeing completely with Garcia's words Beth nodded her head once again,
"Yes she is, and I can't wait for Sam and the rest of the guys to meet her."
At the mention of the three missing men a sudden thought popped into Gina's head. Breaking her gaze away from Alexis Gina quickly scanned the room for Dr. Bloom. Spotting the doctor beginning to make her way towards the door Gina jumped into action. Making her way over to where Dr. Bloom was currently positioned Gina gave the woman a friendly smile as she said,
"Thank you Dr. Bloom for agreeing to help out Beth with her delivery; I just have one question to ask you before you leave. Beth's husband has just recently come out of surgery from a gunshot wound; is there any way that the two of them could be roomed together so that neither of them have to apart from one another anymore, as well as so Sam can finally meet his daughter in person?"
Remaining silent for a moment to ponder over the extensiveness of Gina's question Dr. Bloom casually shrugged her shoulders as she answered,
"I don't see why the two of them can't share a room; we can even place Beth in an extra wide bed when she's transferred up to the maternity ward so that they can be in the same bed instead of two separate ones. But before I go on record and give you an official yes or no answer I'll have to talk with her husband's surgeon, and see what he has to say about the idea."
Happy about Dr. Bloom's answer, yet slightly perplexed about the last part Gina replied,
"Thank you again Dr. Bloom, Beth will be so happy if they could be in the same room together. The only thing is that I don't know the name of the surgeon who performed Sam's operation."
Waving her hand as if shooing away an annoying fly Dr. Bloom replied,
"Oh that'll be no problem for me dear. All I have to do is look up…Sam's?" Dr. Bloom watched as Gina gave her a quick affirmative nod, "Sam's records to find out his surgeon's name. Once I've talked with him and get a response I'll be sure to let you three ladies know right away."
With their little discussion now concluded Dr. Bloom swiftly walked from the room. Returning to her previous position beside Beth's bed Gina informed the third time new mother of what Dr. Bloom had said to the suggestion that Gina had proposed. Immediately upon hearing Gina's genius proposal Beth's face started to shine as bright as the sun along with a sunny smile on her lips to match. Feeling the need to share one of the two joyous pieces of news that they had to share Beth asked,
"That's great Gina, hey do you think you can take a picture of me and Alexis and send it to the guys? I want to share the news with them that we have yet another girl amongst our wide spread ranks of children."
Happy and overly eager to oblige Gina retrieved her cell phone from within her jean pocket, sending the precious picture along with a short informative message to Mick's phone as soon as the picture was taken. With no further use for her phone Gina returned it to her jean pocket. Not sure how long it would be before they would receive a reply from the guys Gina once again seated herself on the side of Beth's bed to wait along with Beth, Alexis, and Garcia for the guys' return response…
-CM: SB-
Back over on the other side of the hospital both Mick and Prophet was taking refuge inside Sam's recovery room, each in their own seat next to Sam's bed. The room was consumed with silence, the only sound heard came from the heart monitor positioned above Sam's bed. The lead senior agent had yet to awaken from his surgery induced slumber, but from the small movements that he been doing over the past hour both Mick and Prophet knew that it wouldn't be much longer till Sam finally opened his eyes. Then from within the confines of Mick's pocket his phone gave a loud beep, the sound echoing off the room's silence-filled walls. Not initially expecting any phone calls or messages Mick pulled out the device curious about what the sound was announcing.
Finding the newly sent message from Gina Mick quickly opened it, a broad smile spreading across his face as he examined the message's content. Turning in his seat Mick shared his smile with Prophet as he showed him the text message photo and said,
"Hey man, looks like we have another little girl added to our extended family."
His own smile breaking out across his lips Prophet gave an exaggerated sigh, slapping his thigh as he said,
"Aw man, that means that the girls now outnumber us by two; that simple fact alone kind of stinks when you think about it. And you know that Garcia has already mentioned that to Beth and Gina, and she's probably bubbling with pure joy right about now over it."
Even though he knew that what Prophet had said was true Mick couldn't help but laugh softly along with Prophet. Their laughter session was cut short however when an audible groan rose from Sam's hospital bed. Their laughter extinguished Mick and Prophet practically flew from their seats to stand beside Sam's bed. As Sam continued to moan softly feelings of immense relief washed over the two patiently waiting men- Sam was finally beginning to awaken from his deep sleep. As Sam's eyes slowly fluttered open identical smiles of pure joy spread across Mick's and Prophet's faces; gently placing his hand upon Sam's muscular shoulder Mick said,
"Hey Coop, glad to see that you're finally waking up; you've been asleep for a long time. How are you feeling buddy?"
His voice scratchy, coming from not being used for such a long period of time, Sam softly replied,
"Groggy…sore…"
Eyes still slightly glossy from the anesthesia Sam looked past Prophet and Mick as if searching for something. No not something- someone; immediately upon seeing Sam looking around the room Mick knew that he was looking for Beth, expecting her to be there waiting for him to wake. Confused Sam's mind filled with questions, all of which were swimming around each other making it hard to choose which to ask first. Turning his confused eyes back to Prophet and Mick, his chosen question now in mind, Sam asked,
"What about the case…Where's Beth?"
Facing the double bombardment of questions Mick and Prophet exchanged glances; both thinking the same questions- which question should we answer first? Who's going to tell him about Beth? Breaking eye contact with Mick, Prophet took a deep breath to fill him with courage before he replied,
"The case is over Coop, we caught the guy who shot you and the other three retired agents. It was a man named Jonah Becker; he's the son of Jerrod Becker whom you, James, Marshall, and Maxwell caught twelve years ago. He was basically getting revenge for his father by taking out the four men who arrested him all those years ago; that's just brushing the surface of the giant pile that was Jonah Becker's life. Thankfully he is now in Chief Midston's and the Henrico PD's custody, and will be going to prison for a long time, so you don't have to worry yourself over it anymore Coop."
Listening intently to every word that Prophet had said Sam allowed the meanings of each word to sink in. But while he did this, in the back of his mind Sam couldn't help but think, 'but what about Beth? Why didn't they say anything about her?' Wanting desperately to know how Beth was coping with everything Sam turned and stared expectantly at Mick. Knowing that he was the one stuck with the grand job of informing Sam about Beth Mick heaved a light sigh before he answered,
"I know that look you're giving me Coop, you want to know about Beth and how she's doing…" Mick Saw Sam give him a small nod of his head, "Well the truth of the matter is that when we told her about what happened, she freaked out just like you said she would, but she wasn't all that emotional, at least not like we had expected. She must have gotten her emotional response to the news out of the way while she and Garcia were still back at the station. She actually, along with Prophet, helped persuade me that you getting shot weren't my fault, and that I couldn't have prevented it; but that's something for a later date. But that's not all that happened Sam, there's more. Beth's water broke and she went into labor while you were in surgery when we were all sitting in the surgical waiting room waiting to hear something…"
Hearing this particular piece of information Sam's eyes practically bugged out of his head, the heart monitor beeping loudly overhead as he exclaimed,
"WHAT! She went into labor? Oh man I knew something like this would happen when she found out…Is she ok, have you heard anything? Are Gina and Garcia with her?"
Wanting nothing more than to stop Sam's panicked rambling and to silence the monitor's rapid beeping, Mick squeezed Sam's shoulder in reassurance as he interceded,
"Hey, hey Coop, calm down, just calm down man. Beth is absolutely fine; Gina and Garcia accompanied her to labor and delivery to help her through everything. As for your second question of have I heard anything about her status recently? Well I am happy to say that I have…" Mick raised his cell phone, still opened to Gina's message, and showed Sam the recently sent photo, "Congratulations man, you are the third time proud father of a beautiful baby girl."
Gazing at the slightly pixilated image on the phone's screen a smile worthy of the chessaur cat spread across Sam's face while tears of both joy and sadness slid down his cheeks as he said,
"Little Alexis, she sure is a little angel if I ever saw one, just like her sister when she was born. It's just too bad that I couldn't have been there to see her when she was born, to help Beth through it all. Instead I was in a medically induced sleep, having a bullet removed from my chest; the result of which hurts like hell by the way."
Despite the slight twinge of despair resonating in Sam's voice his true feelings still shone brightly upon his face; crystal clear for everyone to see. Right then, just as Mick returned his now closed phone back to its pocket, there came a soft knock on the hospital room's wooden door. With no utter idea of who else could be knocking on Sam's recovery room door Prophet swiftly strode over to the closed door, and pulled it open. There, standing outside the doorway with his usual calm demeanor, and a smile to match was the doctor who performed Sam's surgery. While still unsure of why the doctor was there Prophet returned the smile, stepping aside to allow him entrance into the still dimly light room.
Stepping into the room past Prophet's still as stone stance the surgeon was greeted by two additional looks of confusion from Sam and Mick. All three teammates were seated together firmly in the boat of uncertainty. Taking the triplet expression in fair strides the doctor walked over to the end of Sam's bed. Giving his now awake patient the same smile that he had given Prophet just moments ago the doctor said,
"Hello Mr. Cooper, I'm Dr. Malvern, I'm the one who performed your surgery and removed the bullet from your chest. I must say that I'm happy to see you awake and back with us here in the real world. I don't know if your two colleagues here have had a chance to tell you or not, but you are a very lucky man Mr. Cooper; your surgery went perfectly but if the bullet had been just four centimeters over to the right it would have pierced your heart. If I didn't know any better, I'd say that you must have a guardian angel watching over you."
Noticing the hint of surprise on Sam's face of how far the bullet was from his heart Dr. Malvern gave him a minute to process before he continued,
"Now I didn't come here just to check up on you, I'm actually here for an entirely different reason. Not ten minutes ago I received a phone call from a Dr. Bloom; she explained to me that she was the fill-in OBGYN for your wife. Now, Dr. Bloom told me everything that was going on with your wife going into labor during your surgery, and she asked me for my approval for you to be transferred to your wife's room up in the maternity ward, that is if I felt you're capable of the transfer. So before I say yes or no I want to ask you a couple of questions."
His face calm with his eyes filled with hope Sam nodded his head. Walking along the opposite and unoccupied side of the bed Dr. Malvern came to stand beside Sam. Unsnapping the three buttons on the shoulder of Sam's gown Dr. Malvern pulled the garment down the reveal the small wad of gauze taped to Sam's chest. After closely examining the area for a moment Dr. Malvern asked,
"On a scale from one to ten, what's your pain like?"
Sam considered the question for a moment,
"About a seven I guess, but I also have a pretty fair tolerance for pain."
Making a mental note of Sam's pain rating Dr. Malvern nodded his head,
"Well that's good. I'll let the nurses up in the maternity ward know to give you Tylenol or any other pain reliever if the pain gets too much for you to handle, as well as to change the bandage at specific intervals. Other than that I don't see why you can't be transferred to your wife's room. I'll just disconnect you from the heart monitor and then I'll help you reattach your sleeve before going to inform a few aids of your transfer and the exact location. All in all, you'll be on your way in about five, ten minutes. And let me also add my congratulations to the new addition to your family Mr. Cooper."
Unable to find his voice from the sudden and unexpected onslaught of shock Sam simply nodded his head at Dr. Malvern as he turned and walked out of the room. Mick and Prophet must have been as shocked as Sam because no words escaped their mouths either for a few minutes. The meanings of Dr. Malvern's words were taking an extended amount of time to sink into each of the three gentlemen's brains. The idea of being transferred up to Beth's room, to be able to see Beth and baby Alexis, as well as share a room with them was surreal to Sam; like a dream that he would soon wake up from. Erasing the horrid thought from his mind the true realization of what was unfolding finally sunk in, causing a blissful smile to fill Sam's lips.
While watching the blissful smile continue to spread over Sam's face Mick couldn't help but smile as well; he knew that not many doctors would have tried as hard as Dr. Malvern and Dr. Bloom had to get a husband and wife together in the same hospital room, especially when one of them had just had surgery to remove a bullet from his chest while the other had just given birth to their third child. Without a doubt this was definitely a once in a lifetime opportunity for both Beth and Sam; they both deserved it too. Beside him Prophet, as if he and Mick had been on the same wavelength, said,
"Man Coop, you sure are one lucky son of a gun. This transfer that you're getting is great; it's an opportunity of a lifetime for you and Beth. Not only that by all three of us get to see and officially meet Alexis. I swear man, I can hardly wait I'm so excited."
Seeing the truth of Prophet's words practically filling every crevice of his face Mick and Sam couldn't help but laugh at how much Prophet resembled a child in a freshly stocked candy store; the expression painted on his face was a priceless additive. As both men's soft but heavy laughter died down there came a gentle knock on the door just before it was slowly cracked open. Through the medium size crack of the now open door they saw a young man's face apprehensively peering into the room. As if sensing no real immediate threat from the three men in the room the young man opened the door the rest of the way, revealing a second young man standing beside him. After taking a few deep breaths, as if he had been building up his courage to enter the room occupied by the three FBI agents, the young man and his friend stepped into the room and said,
"Mr. Cooper, I'm Diego and this is my friend Mark. Dr. Malvern asked us to transfer you from this room up to room 472, your wife's room, in the maternity ward. If the three of you are all ready to go we can get going now."
Nervous as a guilty criminal seated beneath a bright interrogation light Diego, while shuffling his feet, anxiously awaited Sam's response. Even though he had been working as an aid for two years it was a little nerve wracking to be standing in a hospital room with three FBI agents, even if one was recovering from surgery, waiting for a response to begin the transfer. Finally, after time seemed to drag by, relief filled Diego as Sam nodded his head in agreement. An affirmative response given, Diego and Mark immediately started to prepare Sam for transport while Prophet and Mick watched from the sidelines. With both side rails locked in their upright positions, and the wheels unlocked the two young aids began wheeling Sam out of the recovery room with Mick and Prophet following right behind them; heading out on their newest journey…