A/N: I am SO sorry it has taken so long to get this chapter up! The next one shouldn't take nearly so long, as it looks like "real" life is finally calming down a little. As a head's up, we're almost at the end here for this story...I believe there will be one more chapter, and then an epilogue.
Sheila gripped her husband's hand tightly as Amy walked into the waiting room.
"They won't less us in to see her, Amy," she said anxiously. "I need to see her."
Amy nodded. "I understand, but she's still in recovery, Sheila. Once she's back in her room, you can see her."
"But she's alright?" Don asked.
"She will be," Amy assured them. "I promise, she's going to be fine. We're pretty well past the dangerous part."
"I just don't understand what caused this," Sheila said. "She was fine when we left a few hours ago."
Amy sighed and shook her head. "She wasn't fine, Sheila. She and the baby weren't in immediate danger, but they were definitely not fine. That's why we were planning to deliver this morning…we knew her condition would only get worse. It just progressed faster than I'd hoped it would."
"But what caused the problem in the first place?" Sheila pressed.
"There's no way to know," Amy said. "It's a relatively rare condition, and we don't fully understand what causes in it otherwise healthy women. It was nothing she could have prevented, but I can't say what caused it."
"Will it happen again?" Don asked. "Can she have more children if she wants to?"
Amy smiled. "Physically, there's no reason to think she'd have any trouble getting pregnant again. She'd need to be monitored by a high-risk pregnancy specialist to make sure another tear doesn't develop…but that's all something I can discuss with her if and when she's ready."
"Are you already planning for more grandchildren?" Sheila asked. "Abby and John aren't even engaged."
"Not yet."
"Not yet? Do you know something I don't know?" Sheila asked suspiciously.
"Well…" Don hesitated for a moment. "Richie told me when he went looking for Brody yesterday, he found him at his dad's place…which is somewhat unusual, because according to Richie, Brody rarely speaks to his father these days. Apparently he went to collect his grandmother's diamond wedding band."
Sheila gasped in surprise. "Oh, how wonderful. Then they'll really be a family, all three of them."
"Three?" Amy asked in confusion.
Sheila nodded. "John, Abby and the baby." She paused for a moment and frowned. "Oh Don, the baby. We were so focused on Abby, we haven't asked about the baby yet."
"He's very small, but he's doing well," Amy said.
"He?" Don asked. "It's a boy?"
Amy smiled. "Why don't you come see for yourself?"
Brody smiled as the baby twisted slightly in his arms. "You comfortable, buddy? I know, that fluorescent light isn't nice, is it? Don't worry, we don't have any of those at home. You'll like your room, but we'll have to do some set-up before it's ready. See, we weren't quite expecting you so soon. We've already got the paint, though, so I'll make sure it's ready for you to come too. I had to fight your mom on the color, so someday I hope you appreciate that it's not blue and orange."
Brody shook his head and laughed quietly. "Yeah, you're not going to have much choice, little man. Your mom loves you so much, but don't test that by not being a Bears fan…you might cause more of a scandal than when your mom joined Internal Affairs. You can just take my word for it, that one was bad."
Brody smiled as he ran a finger along the baby's cheek. The baby was barely bigger than his two palms cupped together, and he'd never imagined something so small could have such a tight hold on his heart. "You look a lot like your mom, Michael," Brody whispered softly. "Your mom is one of the strongest women I've ever met, so you're got a pretty good role model there. And you're named for one of the bravest men I've ever known, so really, that's a double good start for you. Just remember, no matter what your uncles tell you, you can do anything you want in life, okay? You don't have to be a cop, and don't believe Uncle Richie if he tries to tell you otherwise. Your mom and I, we love you no matter what.
"And someday…" Brody sighed and glanced away from the baby for just a moment. "Someday, you'll probably know that I'm not your biological dad. Just don't get confused about that, buddy, because I promise, it doesn't matter…I'm going to do everything I can to be your real dad. I love you so much, little man…and in a few days, we'll get all that paperwork sorted out, and you, your mom and I will all go home as a family."
Brody glanced up at the sound of footsteps and smiled as Amy led the Kowalskis across the room.
"Oh my goodness," Sheila gasped, tears welling up in her eyes at the sight of the baby. "He's so small."
"Four pounds, seven ounces," Brody said. "But he's strong, Mrs. K. All the nurses have been saying so."
Sheila nodded and leaned back against Don's chest as he wrapped his arm around her waist. "Our third grandson," he said proudly. "Does he have a name yet?"
Brody nodded. "Michael. I, uh, don't know if Abby had a middle name picked out too, she just said Michael."
"Michael Brody," Sheila repeated softly. "It has a nice ring to it."
"It sure does," Don agreed.
"What do you mean, she's not here?" Richie asked impatiently, staring at the nurse in the hallway outside Abby's room.
"She's in recovery," the nurse said.
"Who's in recovery?" Steve asked, walking up behind Richie.
"Abby, apparently."
Steve frowned and turned to the nurse. "That's not right. She's not supposed to have her surgery until eleven. It's only eight o'clock."
"All I know is she's in recovery," the nurse repeated. "They'll be moving her back to her room later."
"Hey guys," Donnie said, walking up behind them with a cardboard tray of coffees in his hand. "What's going on?"
"Abby's in recovery," Richie said.
"What?" Donnie frowned in confusion. "I thought her surgery wasn't until eleven?"
The nurse sighed. "Look, I just came on shift thirty minutes ago. All I was told was that the patient in 217 was in recovery and would be back in the room around nine."
"I think you need to call your ex," Richie said, turning to Donnie and grabbing one of the coffees from the tray. Taking a sip, he grimaced almost immediately. "Good God, what is that?"
Donnie almost laughed at his younger brother's expression. "A grande non-fat, sugar-free hazelnut latte with an extra shot and six Splendas."
"Why the hell would buy something like that?" Richie asked in disgust.
"Because it's delicious," Amy said, walking up to Richie and taking the coffee out of his hand. "I'm assuming this is for me? Or have you found someone else with an obsessive taste for Splenda?"
Donnie shook his head. "I hope you're unique in that respect, Amy."
"In that case, thank you." Amy raised the cup in a tiny salute before taking an appreciative sip. "You guys should probably be in the waiting room. Abby won't be out of recovery for another hour or so."
"Why is she there in the first place?" Steve asked.
"You haven't talked to your parents yet?" Amy asked in confusion.
All three Kowalski brothers shook their heads.
"Oh. Right. Okay then." Amy took a nervous breath. "There were complications overnight. We had to deliver the baby earlier than expected."
"Is Abby alright?" Donnie asked anxiously.
Amy nodded. "She's going to be just fine."
"And the baby?" Richie asked.
"He's doing extremely well," Amy said. "Brody and your parents are up in the NICU with him right now."
"Him? It's a boy?" Steve asked.
Amy nodded. "They've named him Michael."
Steve smirked and held out a hand to his brothers. "Pay up, boys. Both of you."
Amy stared incredulously as Richie and Donnie pulled out their wallets. "You bet on your sister's baby?"
"Of course we did," Steve said, slipping the money into his own wallet. "I had fifty with Richie on it being a boy, and fifty with Donnie on them naming it after Brody. I win on both accounts."
"Unbelievable," Amy muttered, shaking her head as she took another sip of her coffee. "Wait…you all weren't betting on my kids when I was pregnant, were you?"
"I, uh…I think I'm gonna call Gail…let her know the baby's here…" Steve stammered nervously.
"Um…yeah…that's a good idea, I'll call Laura…" Richie eagerly pulled out his cell phone and followed Steve down the hall, leaving Amy glaring at Donnie.
"Hey, don't look at me. I wasn't involved," Donnie said innocently. "The rule is, you can't bet on your own kids."