Chapter 11: New Beginnings
ALMOST DONE! AUGHHH!
:cries:
Well anyway, have fun with this one. I liked it. :D
They made it down the stairs in record time.
Shawn's lungs were on fire and his legs were burning from the workout he'd put them through in the last few minutes but he couldn't stop yet. He had to get away from the building. Far, far away from the building.
Putting on a burst of speed, he passed Lassiter and McNabb who were both dragging Fieldstone along and went through the door first, running bent for leather into the open parking lot ahead of him.
Not thirty seconds after clearing the door the bomb went off, engulfing the whole building and knocking the five of them down with a wall of heat and pressure.
Shawn managed to roll so he wouldn't crush Jaime, then kept it going so he stopped over his son, shielding him from any debris or shrapnel that was headed their way.
A few hot embers hit him and he winced at each, but their momentum had them bouncing away before they could catch his shirt on fire.
When the deadly rain stopped and it seemed the worst of it was over, he cautiously lifted his head and looked around.
Lassiter was off to his right, pushing himself up onto his knees and coughing from the thick smoke that was rolling over them now. Fieldstone lay on his side nearby, coughing but otherwise just laying there, despair etched into his features. Buzz was to Shawn's left and he too was getting up, though he looked a little dazed. All three of them were covered in cuts and scrapes and burns.
Last Shawn looked down at Jaime, a litany of prayers going through his head.
His son was curled up in a ball, his head tucked down under his arms and his knees pulled up tight. Miraculously he didn't appear to have anything worse than a scrape or two, though Shawn was sure he'd have bruises. They just hadn't shown up yet.
"Jaime?" he said and then coughed.
It took shaking his shoulder, but finally Jaime relaxed enough to raise his head and lower his arms.
"Dad?"
"How're you feeling? Anything hurt?"
Jaime nodded and uncurled further, sitting up with Shawn's help. He pointed out a list of bumps and scrapes and Shawn noted them all, but it seemed his first assessment was correct and the injuries were superficial.
So Jaime was treated to another bear hug. He didn't complain.
Lassiter appeared then, putting a hand on Shawn's shoulder.
"You two okay?" he asked.
Shawn nodded and Lassiter left him to rock his crying son while he went to check on McNabb. The junior detective had dropped back down to the ground and from the looks of it he'd managed to knock his head on the ground when he went flying and now had a concussion.
Lassiter figured emergency crews were already on the way but just in case they needed help locating them he pulled out his cell phone—and found it was broken, most likely crushed when he'd landed after the blast.
A quick survey showed that both McNabb's and Shawn's cell phones had suffered similar fates.
He debated going in search of his car and the police scanner inside it, but then recalled it had been parked close to the building on the other side where they'd entered. Based on how far out the flames had come on this side his car was so much melted slag now.
A real shame. He'd liked that car.
With nothing else to do for the moment he sat down between Shawn and Fieldstone and put his head in his hands and hoped that when the paramedics came they had the good drugs with them.
His head was killing him.
o.o
Juliet was prepped and transferred and all set to deliver her baby—except for one small problem.
Shawn wasn't there.
Gus—who was now regretting agreeing to switch places with Henry—was trying to tell her that Karen was looking into it herself and would let them know as soon as there was news, but that wasn't good enough for Juliet.
She was not bringing this child into the world until she knew where his or her father and older brother were.
Gus was pretty sure he was going to have to learn to use his other hand to write from the amount of pressure Juliet was putting into squeezing it. Then again if she kept screaming like that he was going to have the bigger problem of trying to do sign language with only one functional hand.
Just when he was sure his body was going to pass out as a means of self preservation, the doors to the delivery room burst open and Shawn entered, filthy, covered in scrapes and cuts and blood, but alive nonetheless.
"Jules! You weren't going to wait for me?"
"Shawn?" she said. He went to her side and helped Gus pry his hand free. As soon as the last finger was uncurled Gus bolted for the door.
"Shawn, is that really you?" she asked.
"In the flesh," he said with a grin.
She whipped her other hand across her body and before Shawn knew what was happening he was on the floor staring at the ceiling with blood pouring from his nose.
A nurse helped him up and handed him some gauze for the blood.
He looked at Juliet as he tried to comprehend what had just happened, but didn't get any closer.
"Whad wad thad for?" he demanded as he pinched his nose and worked his jaw to see if she'd broken anything.
"I thought you were dead!" she screamed. Any further complaints were cut off by another contraction, her attention focused on breathing as the nurse informed her that she was dilated to nine centimeters.
"One more and we'll be ready to push!" she said cheerily. Juliet leveled a death glare at her but she ignored it and went about her work getting ready to welcome the new little one into the world.
"I'm dorry," he apologized.
"Jaime?" she asked as the pain subsided once more. She glanced down in surprise when she realized that another nurse was inspecting her hand. She'd split some skin but nothing too serious. A few butterfly bandages and some antiseptic and she was given her hand back and told that she wouldn't need stitches—but if she did that again it might change.
"He'd okay. My dad id with him." He gave her a wary look, then said, "If I come cloder will you putch me again?"
"No. I'm sorr-ahhhh!"
The next contraction hit and he jumped over to her side, taking her uninjured hand and lacing his fingers with hers. He gave his nose one last swipe then dropped the gauze pad to the floor.
"You're doing great," he said. She panted and hissed and tried not to think about the pain.
"Shawn, I love you," she gritted out.
"I love you too, Jules." He kissed her forehead.
"But if you ever make me do this again without drugs I'm going to kill you."
He laughed and she shook her head.
"I wasn't joking."
He just chuckled and kissed her forehead again.
"Okay we're there!" the chipper nurse said brightly. "Ready to push?"
"I'VE BEEN READY!" Juliet shot back.
"And push!"
Juliet's back arched off the bed as she did her best to push. Shawn maintained his grip on her hand and ignored the tingling from blood loss. The feeling would return eventually.
"Push!" the nurse ordered.
"I'm pushing!" she snarled.
"Just a little more, Jules," Shawn said soothingly. "Almost there."
"Not close enough," she whimpered but it turned into a cry of pain.
"PUSH!" the nurse said once more and Juliet gave it everything she had, her scream making Shawn's ears ring.
Then suddenly the pressure was gone and Juliet went limp on the bed and a moment of eternal silence filled the room.
It was broken by the sound of a baby's furious wail at the rude entrance to the world.
"It's a girl!" the nurse said and Shawn couldn't help the strained laugh that bubbled out.
"A girl?" he repeated dumbly. "Jules! It's a girl!"
She smiled weakly. "I heard."
He kissed her full on the mouth and she returned it as much as she was able, then he pulled back so they could both breathe.
"Dad, you want to help over here?" the nurse that had taken the newest Spencer asked.
"Oh. Yeah. Sure!" he said and gave Juliet's hand one last squeeze before hurrying off to help bathe, weigh, measure, and dress his daughter. That actually mostly consisted of him watching as the nurse did everything, but she did hand him the little pink beanie and step aside.
"Hi there," he said as he carefully tugged it down over her head. A soft sheen of dark hair disappeared under the pink knit fabric and then the nurse helped him wrap her up in the blanket she was lying on and pick her up.
He carefully cradled her as he returned to Juliet's side. She had finished off the necessary after birth process and now the nurse was raising the head of the bed so she would be more comfortable as she fed her daughter for the first time.
Shawn carefully handed her over, then watched with the kind of joy that only came from such a special moment.
"What were our choices for girl names?" Juliet asked as she traced the little ear with a gentle fingertip.
"Um . . . Haylie . . . Anna . . . Eve . . . and Garth."
Juliet smacked him on the arm. "We did not discuss 'Garth' as a girl's name. We didn't even discuss it as a boy's name."
"We could have," he said but she just shook her head and smiled down at her daughter.
"I think she looks like an Anna," Juliet decided.
"Anna Banana Spencer?" he said and she rolled her eyes.
"What?" he demanded.
"We are not giving her the middle name of 'Banana'." Then she said thoughtfully, "Anna Eve Spencer. That has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?"
"Yeah. Anna Eve Spencer," he said seriously and brushed a knuckle down her cheek. "I like it."
"Well then," Juliet pronounced, "Anna Eve Spencer you shall be."
YAYZ! BABIES! BLOOD! SHAWN GOT WHUMPED MORE! WOOT!
:D
Review, please and thanks.