Chapter 10: Not goodbye after all

Holding her in his arms he looked down at her chest… she was bleeding. "SHE'S BEEN SHOT!" Flack shouted

"The paramedics should be here now" replied mac. Flack looked down at her, he wasn't losing her, and he wasn't letting Hayden win. If she died in front of him Hayden got what he wanted and Flack wasn't letting that happen. Not in a million years. He lifted her into his arms and rose to his feet. He couldn't lose her, not now. Not after everything. It couldn't end this way. He ran with her in his arms out to the front of the building where he was met by paramedics. He laid her on the trolley and they lifted her into the ambulance. He climbed in after and pulled the doors shut behind him. He sat down opposite the trolley while the paramedic pulled an oxygen mask over mouth and linked her up to a machine to monitor her heart rate. She slowly turned her head to look at him, tears rolling gently down her cheeks. She slowly and shakily she reached her hand out to him. He slipped his fingers between hers and squeezed her hand tightly. "It's gonna be ok" he whispered "Just keep looking at me" and she did. She kept her eyes on him and her hand firmly in his.

Soon they arrived at the hospital and they rushed her into the emergency room. As they pushed her inside their hands slipped apart. "You need to wait out here" said a nurse. She reached her hand out to him but the doors closed and he watched helplessly through them. He watched through the window as they worked on her.

After what seemed like hours they wheeled her out. Flack stood up as the doctor came over to speak to him. "We've stabilised her and we're sending her up to the OR now. We've sedated her too but it she should make it through surgery. Also the twins are fine. The bullets didn't affect them at all"

"Thank you" Flack nodded

"You can wait in the reception area and a nurse will let you know how she got on" said the doctor. Flack nodded again before heading off to find somewhere to sit and wait. While he was waiting Mac called him to let him know Hayden was in custody with four officers watching him until he could be transferred to Pennsylvania state prison. Which was a relief, there was no way he could escape under the guard of four police officers.

After what seemed like days, long painfully drawn out days, a nurse came over to him with news of the surgery. "You'll be glad to hear the operation was a complete success. She has been taken to ICU, so if you'd like to follow me I'll show you where she is"

"Ok" said Flack rising to his feet and following her. The corridors were endless and he felt like they were lost. Eventually they reached ICU. "She is in there" smiled the nurse pushing the door open. Flack walked inside, his heart lurched and shattered. He felt so guilty. She was lying there because of him. All because he had killed someone in the line of duty when she had shot at them. He knew she could still die but he tried not to think about it. Silently he sat down in the chair beside her and took her hand in his. "I love you so much. I fell for you the moment we met. I knew then you when the one and now I'm certain of it. Things have been tough lately and we've been pushing each other away because neither of us know how to deal with the situation. But it's over now, he's gone to prison and he won't be getting out. This whole thing was my fault because I made the wrong decision based on poor judgement of the situation and you've paid the price for it and I'm so sorry. I never meant for you to get hurt. And I swear I'm never going to let someone hurt you ever again. I'm going to protect you and the twins till the day I die and that I promise you." He took the engagement ring from his pocket "And when this is all done and dusted will you marry me?" he slipped it onto her finger.

He just felt so guilty because he had started this whole thing by shooting Layla Harrison. If he'd just not reached for Danny's gun and fired it she'd still be alive and Hayden wouldn't have developed a psychotic rage against him and started stalking him. He wouldn't have trashed their flat, he wouldn't have killed those three girls and he wouldn't have shot Jamie. He just wished he could reverse time and redo that fateful night over again. But he couldn't and he was going to have to live with the devastating consequences of his actions.

Over the course of the next day Danny, Lindsay, mac, Hawkes, Adam and Jo all visited Jamie, who improving. They were all worried she wouldn't pull through but Jamie was a feisty girl who never let things drag her down. That night while Flack was sitting with her a gentle whistle sounded. "What was that?" asked Flack

"She tripped the ventilator" explained the doctor "She's breathing by herself. That's good, it means we can take her off the ventilator"

"So she's going to pull through?" asked flack

"Yes. I tell you she's a fighter. She nearly died on the table when she went into cardiac arrest but she came back to us" said the doctor. The doctor carefully removed the tube from Jamie's mouth and she started to breathe by herself "She'll probably come round soon" he smiled before leaving.

Flack sat beside her waiting anxiously for her to come round. He had started to drift off to sleep when he felt something touch his hand waking him again. He looked down and saw Jamie's hand resting on top of his making him look up at her. Her eyes were open and she was watching him, a small smile on her face. "Yes"

"Yes what?" he frowned

"Yes I will marry you" she smiled.

"You heard that?" asked Flack

"Yes" she nodded "And I don't blame you. It's not your fault he's a psycho. Most people don't develop a psychotic rage which leads them to stalk, beat and murder someone."

Everyone was thrilled to hear Jamie had woken up and was going to be ok. It was like the cherry on top of the cake, they had arrested a psychotic killer, put him behind bars and now his latest victim was awake and talking as if he hadn't just shot her.

Jamie was kept in hospital to be monitored because of her injuries and because she was heavily pregnant. While she was in their kitchen was repaired which took two days, but it meant once she was out they could go straight back and live there. Then after a week their lives changed forever… "Owww!" cried Jamie clutching her stomach

"Are you ok?" asked the nurse

"NO! I'm in agony!" cried Jamie clinging to her stomach

"I'll get a doctor" said the nurse before hurrying off. Jamie scrunched up in pain then let out a blood curdling scream. She needed a hand to told, someone to lean on yet she was alone. She needed flack and today he wasn't there. She couldn't get comfortable on the bed so she lifted the covers off her legs and pushed out of the bed. As she did pain tore through her and she doubled over clutching her stomach. "I mean you've really picked your timing!" she hissed "AWW SHIT!" another pain tore through her. She reached for her mobile, rested her arms on the bed and took several deep breaths. She switched her mobile and hurriedly scroll through her contacts. "Don… call." She held the phone to her ear, she could hear it ringing, "Come on pick up!" it kept ringing. As it rung she heard a massive splash. She looked down, there was a massive puddle by her feet. "SHIT!" this was it, no more waiting, praying she would reach the end of her pregnancy without being murdered. It was happening and she was alone. "You've reached Don Flack please leave a message". Jamie closed her eyes and gritted her teeth. "I NEED YOU! MY WATERS HAVE BROKEN. GET YOUR ARSE HERE NOW!" She screamed down the phone before calling off.

Moments later the nurse came back in with a doctor. "Her waters have broken" said the nurse observantly. "You need to get back on the bed and the doctor will take a look… and you need to put that away" she gestured to Jamie's phone.

"I was calling my partner!" exclaimed Jamie sitting back down on the bed "He has a right to know he's about to become a dad!

"You need to calm down" said the doctor "It's not good for you or the babies if you're stressed out… if you could just lie down for me and I'll check how dilated you are"

Jamie complied but couldn't help scowling. Of course she was stressed, she had been shot a week ago, now she was in labour, she was in agony and it looked like she was going to go through it alone. The doctor soon looked at her "Well you'll be pleased to know it will be over soon because you're fully dilated"

"What?!" she gulped pushing herself back into the sitting position.

The doctor was wrong, very wrong. It was taking what felt like to Jamie, absolutely hours. It hadn't been that long. But it had been almost two hours. "You need to push!" said the doctor exasperatedly

"I AM!" She yelled. What did he think she was just standing there with her legs crossed, not trying, not pushing? Of course she was trying, she wanted this over with, she was in excruciating pain, the worse pain she had ever been in! "How about we swap positions and you do this and I'll shout orders at you while you're in pain!"

"I think we need to look at other options" sighed the doctor running his fingers through his hair. "She's getting too stressed, Jenny get the OR on the phone see if they've got a free space. I think we're going to have to do a C-section"

"Will do" Nurse Jenny left the room while Jamie sat back on the bed. She took a couple of deep breaths and put her head in her hands. The doctor looked at her and said "I need to do a scan. I think something might be wrong"

"Wrong?" she gulped, pain rippled through her. Neither of them spoke again. Emotions whirled in Jamie's head, what was wrong? Suddenly she felt terrified and more alone than ever. The doctor moved the probe over her swollen stomach and his expression screamed concern. Soon he was done and she sat up again. He stood up and started to explain "One of the babies is foetal distress. And as you're very distressed we need to act so you're going to need a C-section"

"What?" she trembled, she felt her hands start to shake.

The nurse came back in. "They can take her straight away" said Jenny.

"Ok prep her and we'll get her up there straightaway and hopefully put her mind at rest" said the doctor. Jenny nodded and the doctor left.

Jamie was scared now, really scared. She had been scared when she had been kidnapped, held at gunpoint and shot at but this was a different kind of fear. She really didn't want to go through this alone but she was going to have to because Flack showed no signs of making an appearance. "Can I try Don again?" she asked "I can't do this on my own"

"Once I've done this I'll call him again" replied jenny opening the back Jamie's hospital gown. Jamie took a deep breath and felt the needle go into her back. It was ice cold and made her shiver. Jenny then left her alone for a moment while the anaesthetic kicked in. she returned a few minutes later. "I'm afraid he didn't pick up"

"Oh" Jamie looked down, she felt so disappointed. So let down and so very alone. This was a big moment in her life and she wanted him there yet he wasn't there and he wasn't answering her calls.

"The porters will be here to take you up in a minute" said Jenny softly before leaving again.

Meanwhile Flack was on his way back to the precinct with Danny and a suspect. He took his phone out of his pocket and switched it back on. "Two missed calls". He opened the voicemails up and nearly went deaf when he heard Jamie screaming down the phone at him. He ended the voicemail and turned to Danny. "Drop me off at the hospital… Jamie's gone into labour!"

Danny put his foot down as they raced through traffic towards the hospital. The call had been made nearly two hours ago; had he missed it? Flack's mind was running round in circles and he felt guilty for turning his phone off. He was kicking himself internally for it.

Back at the hospital the porters had arrived to take Jamie to the OR. As they wheeled her through the doors she took a deep breath and closed her eyes. So Flack wasn't going to be there but at least they were going to put her out of her agonising misery. They wheeled her through the halls of the hospital as they did she felt like a bag of nerves.

Downstairs flack had arrived and was racing up the stairs like a rocket. He soon reached ward she had been in where Jenny told him "She's been taken to the OR on the fourteenth floor" flack raced up there as fast as he could. As he came through the doors at the top of the stairs he saw the porters pushing Jamie out of the elevator. He sighed with relief and ran over as fast as he could.

Jamie nervous as anything, opened her eyes and turned her head to the side. To her surprise Flack was running towards her, he had made it after all. "Don!" she cried with relief as he reached and their hands fell together. "What's going on?" he asked

"I've got to have a C-section" she replied "Things went wrong. So they decided this was the only option"

He nodded trying to understand, still kicking himself for not getting there sooner and for having his mobile switched off. They gave him a gown and he was allowed to come in with her. She didn't let go out of his hand out nervousness. Fifteen minutes in their lives changed forever with the heart-warming yet ear shattering cry of their first baby. "It's a boy" said the doctor placing him a towel a nurse was holding. She took him over to be checked over briefly before wrapping him up in a tight bundle. Then she walked over and carefully placed him in Flack's arms. Flack felt a surge of overwhelming love and his heart burst with pride. This was their son and he was perfect. He was a little survivor. Then he placed him on Jamie's chest who subsequently burst into tears of happiness. "Hello" she whispered stroking his forehead with her finger. Her heart had exploded for an overwhelming surge of love for her newborn son and she knew she would go to any lengths to protect him. They both would.

Their happiness was only doubled by a second heart-warming yet ear shattering cry and the doctor saying "It's a girl". The nurse checked her over then wrapped her in a tight bundle before handing her to Flack while the doctor stitched Jamie up. Flack looked down at the beautiful baby girl in his arms, she was the spit of her mom. His heart just melted with love for her, a love that would make him go to any length to protect her. They both would. Jamie looked up at the newborn baby girl in Flacks arms and smiled. She was perfect. They were both perfect. Then Flack looked over to Jamie at the handsome little chap on Jamie's chest. He smiled, they had made it, all of them. Someone had tried to drag them down, tried to ruin them and yet here they were, the whole thing was over and now they had two babies to love and to cherish. It was just a beautiful symbol of how far they had come. They smiled to each other as they each held a baby. Flack reached over to her and gently kissed her on the lips.

After a few minutes two nurses took the newborn twins to be properly checked over by a pediatric doctor. Jamie was taken to another ward to recover, flack right beside her. The nurses got her comfortable and offered her some food which she gratefully accepted for she was starving. After she'd eaten two nurses brought the twins to them in separate incubators. "I think they're ready for their first feed" smiled one of the nurses.

Jamie was far too exhausted to do it the natural way, which was understanding given the circumstances so the nurses prepared bottles and helped them get the babies in the correct positions. Jamie feed their daughter while flack fed their son. All the troubles of the last five months just disappeared from their minds and they thrived for the 'here and now'. After they had finished feeding them it was time for the most important thing; naming them. "We need to name them" said Jamie "Any ideas?"

"Jordan" said Flack "and Danni"

"I was thinking Mikayla" replied "But I like Jordan"

"Mikayla and Jordan then?" he asked, smiling

"Welcome to New York Mikayla and Jordan" smiled Jamie

Mikayla was the spitting image of Jamie right down to her eyes, nose and mouth. She had Jamie's big brown eyes and her heart shaped mouth. She had masses of tiny dark brown curls on top of her head too. Jordan took after his dad, taking Flacks facial shape, nose and mouth but taking Jamie's brown eyes. He had tuffs of dark on his head in slightly uneven patches. There was a fair size difference between them too. While Jordan was 50cm long and nearly eight pounds Mikayla was barely 42cm long and a much lighter six pounds. This was obvious when they were laid next to each other on the bed for a picture.

Jamie was so happy that Flack made it there in time, right when she probably had needed him most. She couldn't have done that without there. She had been nervous as anything and scared as hell. He had gotten there, he had seen them born and that was all that mattered to her, to both of them.

Danny had spread the news at the lab which had excited everyone. So later than night they all flurried to the hospital to meet the proud new parents. The all flooded into the room, all smiling at Jamie who was now holding Jordan and flack who was holding Mikayla. "Hey!" smiled Danny, first into the room followed by Lindsay, Mac, Hawkes, Jo and Adam.

"Hey" replied Jamie smiling

"Aww they're gorgeous!" Jo gushed

"What have you named them?" asked Adam

"Mikayla" replied Jamie

"And Jordan" said Flack

"Look at all that hair!" grinned Danny "She is like Jamie's doppelganger!" everyone laughed in agreement.

"So how you feeling?" asked Lindsay

"Exhausted!" laughed Jamie "But better"

After everyone had, had a cuddle and coo and had taken a few pictures they started to leave. Jamie and Flack asked mac to be their godfather, to which he had replied "It would be my pleasure". Eventually they had left and they were alone once more. Mikayla and Jordan were now sound asleep in their cots. "I didn't think you would make it in time" admitted Jamie

"I'm sorry" he replied "I should never have switched my mobile off. I will kick myself for it for the rest of my life because I wasn't there when you needed me"

"I'm just pleased that you were when they were finally born" she smiled "I couldn't have gone through that alone. I was just terrified. I didn't really understand what was going on."

"You could have because you're so strong" he smiled squeezing her hand.

Three days later Jamie, Mikayla and Jordan were given the all clear and were all discharged from hospital. Each carrying a baby in a carrier they left the hospital together hand in hand. They strapped the seats into their new car and Jamie sat in the back with them to make sure they were ok while they drove home. Twenty minutes later they parked in the underground car park of their apartment building and unstrapped the seats. Once again each of them carrying a baby and hand in hand they headed up to their floor. Flack let them in then shut the door once they were all in. Jamie unstrapped Jordan while Flack unstrapped Mikayla. Standing in the middle of the room Jamie said "Welcome home Jordan and Mikayla".

They were all home from hospital and their lives had changed. Things were finally looking up again and they all looked forward to some good laughs and many good times to come. There was so much to live for and look forward to. Now home from hospital they didn't haven't the nurses to help them but it wasn't hard. The first night was tough, neither of them slept very well but that was to be expected. And from there life went on. Hayden was locked away where he could not hurt anyone, they were safe at last. Things had changed for the better and it looked like their stalking hell was over… Or was it?