Alexandra rarely bothered her husband while he was at work so when his secretary tapped on the door and pushed it open to announce it was his wife on the phone, Hamilton Burger knew it was time. He took the call long enough to reassure his wife he was heading home and then hurried into the neighboring office to let attorney Kyle Cole know to take his place as the prosecutor in the next few days' court cases.
"I'll bring him up to speed, Hamilton," Lieutenant Tragg said, clapping Burger on the shoulder in a fatherly way. "You just get going now and I'll look in on you later tonight."
Nodding gratefully, Burger snapped up his hat and rushed out the door.
W^^^W^^^W
They found Burger sitting alone in the waiting area. He couldn't believe he was the only one waiting on a baby. He felt both relief and great boredom at that situation. Alone, he didn't have to worry about bothering others with his incessant pacing and smoking, but he lacked the welcome distraction of conversation. It had been a while since the nurse had last updated him and he was impatient to know if his baby would arrive soon. His hat and coat were hung up nearby and a couple of empty packs of cigarettes sat on the table next to him. Having tired of the pacing he had sat down a little while ago and was leaning forward with his elbows resting on his knees and his face buried in his hands. Consumed by his own thoughts, he hadn't heard his visitors approach.
Suddenly he felt the space around him disturbed as Tragg quietly dropped himself into the chair to Burger's left. He looked up and found Mason and Paul do the same across from him and Tragg. His eyebrows lifted in surprise and confusion.
"What are you guys doing here? Not that I'm not thrilled to see you. A man could go crazy waiting alone like this."
Mason tried to appear relaxed, but he wasn't sure he was doing a good job. With just two months to go before he'd be in Burger's shoes, it was surreal to see the emotional and physical toll this wait was taking on his courtroom adversary. And Burger had the benefit of knowing that his wife had gone through four uncomplicated deliveries previous. Mason could only imagine the stress he'd feel waiting for his first child to join the world. He swallowed hard, noticing how every time one of the nurses came into sight, Burger's blue eyes would widen with hope of news only to dim in disappointment as she carried on about her business. Hours upon hours of that, Mason would have to look forward to soon enough.
For Paul it was also an odd feeling to be sitting in a waiting room just to keep another man company, but he also had to admit to being curious about the experience of an expectant father. He and Helen had agreed they both wanted children so Paul anticipated the day would come when he'd have his turn in such a waiting room.
"So how long has it been?" Paul asked, sniping his cigarette pack from his pocket and offering one to everyone.
"Thanks, Paul," Burger said gratefully as he took one and passed the pack over to Tragg. "About ten hours. Since just before lunch. I'm grateful she erred on the side of caution and called me before I went to court. Her contractions were consistent even if they weren't yet two minutes apart."
He let out a deep sigh. "This waiting drives me crazy. Did all four times before. I'd almost rather be at work doing something productive since I can't be with Alex to comfort her anyway, but I need to be here in case they need me to consent to anything involving her care or the baby's. I hate not knowing what is going on with Alexandra."
Looking up, Burger fixed Paul with a teasing look and jerked his thumb toward the labor and delivery unit. "If Helen ever ends up back there because of you, Paul… Tragg is going to have to help me hide your body."
"Um…," Paul looked around guiltily. "I'll let my attorney handle this one. I'm sure he knows a good place I can hide."
"You better be joking, Paul! That's my little girl!"
"Better put your own detective to work then because I refuse to say anything that might incriminate me."
"Unbelievable," Burger muttered, unsure whether to believe Paul was serious or not. He certainly hoped not. He wasn't ready to endure the thought of his daughters becoming mothers yet.
Tragg, who had been silent this whole time, finally chuckled. The normally sarcastic homicide detective was unusually solemn. He and Burger had known each other and worked together a long time and they nearly considered each other family. It lifted Tragg's spirits to see that Burger hadn't become so downtrodden from the waiting that he couldn't find it in himself to rib Paul a little bit.
"Have you eaten, Hamilton?" Mason asked.
Burger simply shook his head and Paul rose from his chair. "I'm on it, Perry. I'll bring back something for everyone."
Burger looked around the waiting room. "Just wait until it's your turn, Perry. The waiting. The silence. It gets to you. It really gets to you. I never thought I'd be sitting here for a fifth time. If anything happens to Alex because of her age, I'll never forgive myself. If only we'd been one of those couples that couldn't stand to look at each other after all these years," he joked.
"That you haven't is admirable, Hamilton. And inspiring," Mason said sincerely.
"Listen to Mason on that one, Hamilton," Tragg nodded.
They sat in silence for a few moments when finally one of the nurses approached with a bright smile on her face. He didn't recognize her so she must have just recently come on shift. Anticipatory relief flooded Burger as he rose slowly from his chair.
"Mr. Burger?" She had seen him waiting there alone earlier so she expected that he was the husband she needed to see.
"That's right," Burger said, eager for news. "My wife…"
"Just had a healthy baby boy. They're both doing well. Your son is in the nursery whenever you're ready to see him. We'll let you know when Alexandra is awake enough for you to see her. Congratulations!"
Relief and joy flooded Burger at once and he felt tears sting his eyes.
"A boy?! I have a son?!"
The nurse simply nodded with an amused smile and excused herself to continue on with her duties, leaving Burger to digest the happy news.
"I can't believe it… I have a son and Alex is alright."
Shakily he dropped himself back into the chair he'd just risen from. He felt all the stress and anxiety just lift from his shoulders. He ran his hand through his strawberry blonde hair and let out a deep breath, but the joyous, elated smile never left his face.
Tragg and Mason took turns offering their friend their congratulations and the obligatory handshakes. Paul had the cigars though so that would have to wait.
Tragg clapped Burger on the shoulder. "Go look at your boy, Hamilton. We'll wait for Drake to return and then we'll eat. I suspect your appetite should come back soon now that everything is alright."
W^^^W^^^W
Paul returned with take out about half and hour later and he immediately noticed the lighter atmosphere in the waiting area. Burger, who had returned from the nursery, and couldn't stop smiling gave away the first clue.
"I missed it, didn't I?" Paul groused. He set the food down on one of the coffee tables and yanked out the pack of cigars, passing them around. "I need to go call Helen and tell her then."
"She has a brother, Paul." Burger said, proudly.
"Well, the good news is he's not big enough to beat me up," Paul remarked with amusement.
As they finished their cigars and sat down to eat, Mason had to admit that with friends gathered around, perhaps the waiting wouldn't be so bad.
