She nodded, agreeing with him.
"It's a symptom. You need to talk about what happened to you, and Janie and Sam, hell, probably Sloan and Don, too."
She didn't reply. "Do you want me to find you someone to talk to today?"
She shook her head and said, "no."
"Will you talk about it with me?" he asked.
"I can't."
"Yes, you can," he encouraged.
"No," she said swiping at the tears on her cheeks. "I mean I can't just talk about it. I don't know what to say."
Will had an idea. "Would it be easier if I interviewed you? You can talk about it more abstractly…put a professional distance, would that help, me asking you questions?"
She nodded and pulled her knees up close to her chest. All he wanted to do was take her in his arms and make it better.
"Do you want me to hold you while we do this, or stay over here?" he asked.
"Stay over there for now, please."
"Okay. You ready?"
She nodded her head. He thought for a minute and decided on a strategy to get her talking. His first question was, "Why were you in the cafeteria?"
"Jane and I were getting food, I was hungry."
"What happened next?" he asked.
"There were gunshots and people screaming and running out the doors. A hospital is a place where you get help, no one was expecting gunshots."
"Tell me about the gunman," he said.
"Sam Ellison, 45, white male, surgeon, pediatric cardiologist. I don't know how he knew we were there." She was losing the thought and he brought her back around.
"Did Jane know Sam owned a gun?"
"I don't think so. She wouldn't be comfortable in a house with a gun. Sam aimed the gun at us and was yelling for people to leave, he wanted only the two of us."
"Did he want you there, or were you in the wrong place?"
"I have no reason to believe he wanted to do me harm."
"So he aimed his gun at you?"
"No, at Jane. He shot her, in the chest. I put my hand over the wound but it wouldn't stop bleeding, there was so much blood."
"Did you talk to Sam?"
"I did. I wanted to know how to help Jane and the baby."
"Did he appear to be in control and rational?"
"No, he did not. He was yelling and scattering food. He said his life was over."
"Did he say why?" Will asked.
"Because of the baby. He said everything would have been fine if Jane had aborted, they could play the doting aunt and uncle."
It gave Will pause to think about this man around his children. He pushed that thought out of his head and went back to the interview. "Did Sam try to help Jane at all?"
"He told me to keep pressure on her wound and he checked her pulse to see if she was still alive."
"Was she still alive?"
"Yes."
"What happened after he checked her pulse?"
"Sam shot her in the stomach. It could have been a symbolic gesture, or doing what Jane wouldn't, getting rid of the baby."
"What did you do?" he asked.
"I started to put my hand on that wound and he put the gun in my face and told me not to touch that wound."
"And you complied, Mac?"
She nodded. "I did what he told me to do."
"He had a gun and he was threatening you, Mac?"
"Yes."
"You didn't have a choice. You were still trying to help Jane, too, remember? You couldn't help her if he shot you. What did he do next?"
"It was as if he lost touch with reality, or he realized what he'd done and couldn't live with himself. He threw a crisp stand, screamed and put the gun to his head and shot himself. I screamed and the police stormed in and pulled me out. I don't know how Jane got out?"
"People from the hospital took her to be checked out. Is this the first hostage situation you've been involved with, Mac?"
She shook her head. He wasn't sure what other situation she'd been in but he was going to find out. "Will you tell me about this other situation?"
"It was in Iraq. Jim and I were embedded with a group of soldiers who really became like family. We were out one day, way outside the green zone, and Jim and I were talking with a group of women. The soldiers were up ahead of us and a man came out and blew himself up next to the soldiers. Two of them were killed. The soldiers tried to talk the man out of hurting himself and them, but he was committed and ready and they didn't have time to escape, or even call for back up."
"Were you injured at all?" he asked.
"We were knocked down by the blast and I was hit with shrapnel."
"Where were you hit?" he had no idea this had even happened.
She pulled up the leg of her sweatpants to show him a scar, just below her knee. "Right here. It's still in there. Give me your hand, you can feel it."
He moved closer to her and gave her his hand. She placed his fingers on the shrapnel and he could feel it move. "Does it hurt?"
"No, not at all. It's not metal, I'm actually not even sure what it is, but it's there. My guess is that it's plastic shrapnel."
Will leaned down and kissed the injured spot and pulled her pant leg back down. He reached over and wiped the tears from her cheeks. "Did this help any?"
She reached for him and settled in his lap, her arms around his neck. "I think so. I feel better. I'm not sure I'll ever get the picture of Sam shooting himself out of my head, but I think I can deal with it, you know."
He pulled her tight against him and held her. She rubbed his back, trying to comfort him. He'd not heard the whole story of Sam and he'd not known about Iraq and the shrapnel. They stayed there wrapped around one another until they heard the elevator.
"Kate's home," she said quietly. He nodded against her and pulled back some. "Are you all right?"
"Yes, are you?"
"Yes," she said and kissed him. "Let's go see the boys," she said getting off of his lap.
They spent the rest of the day close to one another, not really letting the other too far away. If Kate noticed anything she wasn't mentioning it to them. Late in the day Will got a call from Jane, she was being discharged in the morning. Will made arrangements to pick her up and they made sure her room was ready.
Will and Lonny went to pick Jane up and brought her back to the apartment. She was getting around fairly well, but she still got tired very easily. They took the elevator up to the second floor of the apartment where Mac, Kate and the boys were waiting for her.
"Welcome," Mac said, hugging her carefully. "How are you feeling?"
"Pretty good. I think I'm going to need a nap soon, but other than that, doing okay."
"Good. We've got your room ready and make yourself at home."
Kate hugged her sister and walked her back to the bedroom.
Will went down to the kitchen to make them all some lunch. He had Cooper with him in the kitchen. Will had set up the bouncy seat for Cooper and he was currently entertaining himself, bouncing.
Mac went to check on Jane. She knocked on the door and heard Jane say, "come in."
"How are you doing?" She asked as she sat on the side of the bed and took Jane's hand in hers.
"Glad to be out of the hospital, but the ride exhausted me."
"I'll let you sleep," Mac said and started to get up, but Jane stopped her.
"You seem better."
"I am. I lost it yesterday. I was folding baby clothes and got to the socks and everything was fine until I had an unmatched sock and I just lost it."
"Did you talk to someone?"
"Billy."
"Good."
"How's Marc?" Mac asked.
Jane smiled. "He's fine."
"I'm sure he'll be by to check on you, too, won't he?"
"I don't know what you're talking about."
Mac laughed. "Okay, I'll leave you alone. You get some sleep and I'll bring you some lunch in a bit."
"Thanks, Mac."
Kate, Mac and Will had just finished up lunch and the boys had eaten earlier when the phone rang and when Will picked it up it was the doorman letting him know he had a visitor, Marc was downstairs. Will asked that they send him up.
"Marc's here," Will said. Kate and Mac looked at one another.
"What? What am I missing? He's her doctor, he's coming to check on her."
Mac took pity on him and said, "when was the last time your doctor came here to see you?"
Will still wasn't seeing what Kate and Mac were. "They're friends, too."
"Yes, they are," Kate said smiling at him.
"Mac?"
"Marc is in love with her," Mac explained to him.
Will looked shocked. He had no idea. "He's what?"
"Easy. She really likes him, too," Mac added.
They heard the elevator and Will walked over to greet Marc.
Will shook Marc's hand and said, "come in. May I get you a drink?"
"No thank you. How's Jane doing?"
"She's sleeping, or at least she was," Mac said. "The drive used all of her energy. I can take you up, if you'd like," Mac offered.
"Please."
Mac showed him to Jane's bedroom while Will and Kate were waiting in the living room. Once Marc was out of earshot Will said, "is he really in love with Jane?"
Kate smiled at him. "It looks that way to both Mac and me."
Will shook his head and started cleaning up the kitchen. Mac came back downstairs and sat at the new kitchen island. This one was larger than the previous island. "He still upstairs?" Will asked.
"Yes," Mac said.
He was cleaning the counter that he'd cleaned earlier.
"I know you want to protect her, but she's an adult and makes her own choices, Will."
"I know," he said quietly. "I can still worry."
She smiled at him and got off her stood and pulled him into her arms. "I love you, Billy."
"I love you, too, Mac."
They heard the boys via the baby monitor and went up to check on them. Will, Mac and the boys were in the sitting area upstairs when Marc exited Jane's room.
"How is she doing?" Will asked.
"Good. Now she needs to rest and regain her strength and that will take a while," he said. "I've heard a lot about these guys. Cooper and David, right?"
"That's right. I have David and Will has Cooper," Mac said.
Marc sat down next to Mac and was saying hello to David. "Would you like to hold him?" Mac asked.
"You don't mind? I'd love to," Marc said smiling as Mac handed David to him. Marc was a natural with David.
"Do you have kids?" Will asked.
"No, but I've got lots of nieces and nephews. Medicine always came first."
"And now?" Will asked.
"Now someone else matters. Jane matters," Marc said looking at Will.
"Does she feel the same?" Mac asked trying to keep the peace.
Marc smiled and said, "she does."
After that Marc became a regular fixture in the apartment while Jane was there. Will made sure to get to know him very well and in the end he really liked Marc and Marc liked all of them. It was as if he was a natural fit.
Mac's Pregnancy Month 9
Will was on the air and Mac was in the control room. He thought he'd heard something from his earpiece but he wasn't sure, so he carried on with the broadcast. Meanwhile in the control room Mac was having a contraction, trying to be quiet so she didn't freak everyone out and they could finish out the show as they only had a few minutes left and this was her first contraction. She knew from experience that it would be a while before the baby was born.
Jim was keeping a close eye on her and came to sit next to her and asked quietly, "are you all right?"
She nodded and patted his hand. He knew he was being dismissed. Mac heard him throw to Terry in Washington and when Herb said they were out she took off her headphones and went out to the anchor desk. "Take your mic off," she said and he complied.
"What's up?"
"I'm in labor."
"What? How long," he asked reaching for his phone to call Lonny.
"First contraction just a few minutes ago. We've got a while to go."
"Have you called the doctor?"
She shook her head and he could see the pain on her face. He quickly took her hand and reached around her back and asked, "here?" when he touched her lower back. She nodded.
He massaged the area until he saw her relax.
"Good show," Sloan said walking by. She stopped when she didn't get a response. "What's going on?"
"Mac's in labor," he said quietly.
"We've got to get her to the hospital. What can I do?"
"Lonny is on his way," Will said calmly and Mac was resting her head against his shoulder now. "Go tell Charlie, quietly, Sloan," Will warned.
Sloan kissed Mac's cheek and said, "you'll do great, I'll see you in a little while. I can't wait to meet the new addition," and left to find Charlie.
Will checked his phone as a text had come in, "Lonny's downstairs, you ready to go down?"
"I need my purse and briefcase, but yes, I am." They walked to her office and Mac called the doctor to let her know that she was in labor and that they were leaving for the hospital now. The doctor said that she would see her very soon.
Luckily the elevator was empty except for Will and Mac. She had another contraction as they were going downstairs. Lonny met them at the elevators and took their things for them while Will helped Mac to the car. She was holding onto his hand very tightly.
He got her in the SUV and Lonny drove them to the hospital, getting them there very quickly. Will got Mac inside and checked in and a nurse took them upstairs. Mac changed and had all the monitors attached to her. While the nurses were getting her settled he texted Jane, Kate and Michael to let them know that Mac was in labor. Michael texted back that he would be there soon, as did Jane; Kate's text said that she and the boys were fine and excited to meet the new addition and that they would see them later.
Mac's doctor arrived and checked her out. "You are a hundred percent effaced and dilated to nine. You're almost there, Mac. I'm going to go change and make sure we've got a room ready so we can meet this baby. Let me know if you need anything."
"Thank you," Mac said as another contraction began.
"You're doing great," he said tucking her hair behind her ear.
"It's faster this time."
"We'll finally get to find out the sex," he said smiling. "Have we decided on names?"
"I think so. Boy is Ian McHale McAvoy. Girl is Gabrielle Madison McAvoy. Are you good with those?"
"I am."
They were moved to a birthing suite a little while later and the doctor was there waiting on them. "Are we ready to meet the baby? Tell me the names again," the doctor asked.
"Ian for a boy and Gabrielle for a girl," Will said.
"What do you think, Mac, boy or girl?" the doctor asked.
"Boy."
"Will?" the doctor said.
"Boy."
"All right let's see if you guys are right," the doctor said, checking Mac. "You're at ten, Mac. Let's start pushing with the next contraction."
Mac pushed and screamed with Will by her side encouraging her.
"I can see the head crowning, Mac, we're almost there."
Mac was looking exhausted and Will whispered something in her ear, helping her to focus again. She began pushing in earnest.
"The head's out, Mac. One more big push and you're done," the doctor said suctioning out the mouth and nose.
Mac pushed hard and they heard the baby cry. Mac collapsed back and the doctor said, "meet Ian," and placed the baby on her chest. Mac was crying and holding the baby close. Will kissed Mac and then his new son's head. "Let's get him cleaned up and we'll bring him right back, okay?"
Mac nodded and let the nurse take Ian while the doctor delivered the placenta and stitched her up from a small tear.
"You're amazing," Will said.
Mac was crying and smiling at the same time. "I love you," she said hugging Will.
"I love you, Mac."
The nurse brought Ian back to Mac and Will all wrapped up and clean. "Hey buddy," Will said kissing his son.
"He's got your eyes, look how blue," Mac said.
They were taken back to their room to settle in and get to know their new baby boy.
The End