Chapter 14
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Dave sighed as he sat in his office. He was trying to work on the pile of files that JJ had so kindly dropped on his desk that morning, but it wasn't working. All he could think about was Derek and their unborn child. Instinctively he reached for the phone, but stopped as his hand touched the receiver. He'd called so much since he'd gotten to the office only two hours before that his husband had threatened to cut him off for the first six months after the baby was born if he called again. A knock on his door made him look up from the file he wasn't actually reading.
"Come in," he called as he closed the file and pushed it away. The door opened and Hotch walked in.
"Is there something I can do for you, Aaron?" Dave asked his best friend.
"No, I just wanted to check in, see how you're doing," Hotch answered.
"I'm not sure what you mean, but I'm fine," Dave replied.
"I mean that Morgan called me and practically begged me to come in here and give you something to do so you'd stop calling him," the unit chief explained.
"Is it so wrong for me to want to check on my husband and our unborn child?" Dave defended. Hotch shook his head.
"No it isn't, but didn't one of the girls remind you about what a bad idea hovering was?" the unit chief checked.
"Yes they did," Dave responded. "It's just hard, Derek doesn't know when to take it easy and I worry about him," Dave explained.
"And you do?" Hotch asked in disbelief. Dave shook his head in answer. He knew the other man was right. "You'll make a great dad; just ease up on Morgan a bit, okay?" Hotch suggested.
"Yeah, okay," Dave agreed. Patting his best friend on the shoulder, Hotch took his leave. Sighing, Dave picked up his pen and began working on the file he'd pushed away when Hotch had walked in.
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Fran was making her and Derek some lunch when she heard a cry from the living room.
"Aaaaah!" came her son's pained voice. Dropping the knife she was cutting the tomato with, Fran rushed into the living room to find Derek doubled over clutching at his stomach.
"Derek, what is it?" she asked worriedly "I think it's time, oh god, it hurts," he whimpered.
"First babies can take a while is this the first contraction you've had?" his mother questioned.
"No, but the others weren't as bad."
"Okay, let's get you up and head to the hospital," Fran instructed putting an arm around the expectant father she helped him to his feet and guided him over to the front door. "Can you stay here while I go grab your bag?" she asked softly.
"Yeah," Derek said through gritted teeth. Nodding, Fran rushed off to grab her son's hospital bag as well as his wallet, and her cell phone.
"Oh my," Derek gasped as his mother reappeared in the living room.
"What happened, sweetheart?" Fran wondered.
"I think my water just broke," Derek said shakily. Glancing at the puddle forming on the floor, Fran nodded in agreement. Quickly as they could, they got Derek into the car and they headed off to the hospital. Pulling out her cell at a stop light, Fran scrolled through her contacts until she found Dave's number then hit send.
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"Rossi," came his clipped response. He'd finally managed to push his worries out of his mind enough to work on the stack of files.
"Dave, its Fran. Derek's gone into labor. We're on our way to the hospital right now," she informed him.
"I'll be there as soon as I can. Tell Derek I love him and to hang in there," Dave requested.
"Will do, drive safe and we'll see you there," Fran said hanging up. Grabbing his belongings, Dave ran out of his office and down the stairs.
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"What's the hurry, Rossi?" Reid asked as he ran by his desk.
"Derek's in labor. Will you tell Hotch for me?" the nervous father-to-be requested
"Yeah, go on. We'll all stop by as soon as we can," the genius told him. Nodding in acknowledgement, Dave continued his fast pace out of the bullpen and towards the stairs. The elevator would be way too slow right now.
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Arriving at the hospital Fran jumped out of the car and ran for a nurse and a wheelchair. When she got out to the car she found Derek hunched over in pain trying to breathe.
"C'mon, son take a deep breath for me," she coached.
"I can't, it hurts too much," he panted.
"Yes you can," his mother encouraged. Slowly Derek breathed in then let it out. He continued this until the contraction ended. Once it ended he allowed the nurse and his mom to help him into the wheelchair and into the hospital.
"Why didn't you tell me this would hurt so much, Mom?" he asked through gritted teeth.
"Even if I'd told you you wouldn't have believed me. Unfortunately this was one lesson you had to learn on your own," she explained patting his hand in comfort. Derek just glared at her and moaned in pain as another contraction hit. Shortly after arriving he was settled in a room and Dr. Palmer was checking his progress.