Babies

Base Hospital – Ottawa

Blaze strode quickly down the corridor to the maternity ward. He hoped he had made it here in time. The last time he spoke with Lizzy the contractions had become regular and more frequent.

He found the room the nurse said was Lizzy's and did not break his stride as he pushed open the door. Lizzy was in mid contraction and her face was screwed up in pain and her eyes tightly closed. Blaze noted that her good friend Stewart was helping her breathe through the contraction.

Blaze came alongside the bed and saw Lizzy's death grip on Stewart's hand.

Stewart looked up and smiled "Thank goodness you are here. Lizzy has about squeezed my hand off."

Blaze reached out with one hand to grasp Lizzy's hand as his other hand gently brushed Lizzy's sweaty platinum blonde locks from her face "Lizzy I made it."

Lizzy clamped onto Blaze's hand as the intensity of the contraction crested and then began to ebb. She leaned back and opened her eyes. Relief and love shone in them "I'm glad you got here. Nathan decided he could not wait any more. I'm at nine centimeters."

Blaze leaned down and kissed his beautiful wife as he said "I got here as fast as I could."

Stewart shook out his hand trying to get blood back into it as Lizzy released it. He grinned and said "I'm just gonna go wait out in the waiting room now."

Lizzy turned to Stewart and said "Thank you for staying with me Stewie."

"Anything for you Lizzy." Then he looked at Blaze "How's Sam?"

Blaze answered "Blondie is hanging in there. He's a fighter. He's not gonna let this take him away from his girls."

Lizzy nodded and then began panting as another contraction started.

Stewart stepped back as Blaze took over helping Lizzy breathe through the contraction. As he stepped out of the room he overheard Blaze telling Lizzy how much he loved her. He thought again how glad he was that Lizzy found another man to love like she had loved her first husband. Lizzy deserved happiness.

Blaze helped Lizzy through the contraction and then another five of them. The nurse and doctor came in. The doctor checked Lizzy again and then said "Fully dilated. Time to push Lizzy."

Ten minutes of agonizing pushing with groaning was ended with the sound of a strong wail as Nathan made his presence known to the world.

Blaze cut the umbilical cord and then received a wet little baby in his hands. He beam brightly as he gazed down at his son in wonder.

He held him gently as he said "Let's go meet your mommy Nathan." Blaze then took Nathan to Lizzy and laid him on Lizzy's chest.

Lizzy's stroked his head as she gazed at her newest son. "He's perfect."

Blaze leaned down and kissed Lizzy "How could he not be with a beautiful mother like you. Thank you for my fifth son Lizzy."

Her eyes shifted to Blaze and she smiled. She was so lucky to have such a caring man as her husband. He had the biggest heart and was never shy about showing his love and care for those important to him.

Lizzy asked "Any ideas for a middle name?"

Blaze watched as the nurse came to take Nathan to clean him up. He watched and then turned to Lizzy and said tentatively "How about George?"

A quizzical look crossed her face and she asked "Why George?"

Blaze looked at Lizzy and said "We gave Sammy your father's name Niklas. I'd like to give Nathan the middle name of George to honor two people. My father's name was George and Yankee's real name was George too. Nathan will have a strong name being named after three strong men."

Lizzy's eyes glistened and she nodded "Yes that would be a very strong name. I like. So the little one is now Nathan George Blain."

Blaze kissed Lizzy solidly. Then the nurse appeared with Nathan wrapped in a blue blanket with a little blue stocking cap on his head. Blaze took his son in one arm and cradled him. He gazed down at his son and grinned.

He dug out his phone and handed it to the nurse as he leaned in close to Lizzy and asked "Would you please take a picture?"

The nurse smiled and took the phone. She snapped several photos then handed the phone back to Blaze. She loved working the maternity ward. She loved watching big strong soldiers melt when they held their babies for the first time. It made her smile because by the looks of this soldier he had come directly from the field and had made it just in time for the birth. She was happy for them.

Lizzy looked at Blaze and said "Honey, you look nearly done in. Have you slept at all in the past two days?"

Blaze took a close up photo of Nathan as he said "Sleep is overrated. But once you and Nathan are settled in a room I'll take a nap with you."

"So that means no" Lizzy translated.

Lifting his eyes to Lizzy, Blaze said softly "I couldn't sleep until my first son was rescued. Blondie needed me. We got to him just in time. Just like I got here in time."

Lizzy reached out for Blaze's hand and said "Okay. I understand but I'm holding you to taking that nap. Then in the morning you go home and shower, change and then pick up Ryan and Sammy so they can come meet their little brother."

Blaze nodded "Wilco." He then laid Nathan in Lizzy's arms and snapped another photo.

He then pulled up his text message and attached the close up of Nathan and added 'Introducing Nathan George Blain, healthy and as loud as his namesake. Lizzy doing well too. I'll call with details later in the morning'. Blaze sent the text off to Winds, Mason, Jim, Daphy and Jules.

St. Simon Hospital – Toronto

Wordy was met at the airport by Dean and Clark. Dean was holding a steaming cup of Timmy's coffee for him and Clark said they had a change of clothes for him in the car. They drove him straight to hospital and on the way told him that Allie, Holly, and Lilly were staying with Marina and that Winnie and Sophie were with Shel.

Dean and Clark peppered him with questions about Sam. Wordy told them some but not all of what happened. They were both eighteen and attending the Police Academy so he knew they were not little boys. But he felt it was not his place to tell Clark about his father's injury and he had no update on Sam to provide them.

As the car pulled up to the hospital entrance Wordy said "Thanks for picking me up, for the coffee and for the change of clothes. I'm sure your dads will call you with updates as soon as they know anything."

He slid out of the back seat grabbing the bag with the change of clothes as Clark said "If you need anything just call. Mom said Shel is in room 305."

Wordy nodded and then jogged into the hospital and directly to the elevators. He punched the number three button and then leaned back on the wall of the elevator. He was completely exhausted. The coffee the boys brought had helped a bit.

He shoved his hands in his pocket when he felt them shake a bit. Exhaustion was not good for his Parkinson's but he would go after Sam again in a heartbeat. Wordy squeezed his eyes shut and sent up a silent prayer that Sam would pull through.

The elevator dinged and the door opened. Wordy was about to step out when he realized it was the second floor. He was about to blow out a breath in frustration when he recognized who was getting on. He smiled "Heather."

Heather looked up from her clipboard. She recognized the voice before she recognized the person. Wordy was disheveled, covered in dried mud and he had dark circles under his eyes.

She stepped towards him and placed a hand on his arm "Wordy are you alright. You look like you are about to fall down. Heck you look like you fell down in mud."

Wordy realized then that no one had probably contacted Jim. He closed his eyes and said "Long story."

Then the door dinged again and it was the third floor. He held the door a moment as he said "I would tell you all about it but Shel is in labor. I just got here. Have Jim call Winds or Mason. One of them will tell Jim what happened."

Heather watched Wordy jog off down the hall. Her heart lurched. It had to do with Sam if Wordy said to call Winds or Mason. Then she wondered why not Blaze. Her destination forgotten, she stepped out of the elevator and followed Wordy as she pulled her phone out to call Jim.

Room 305 appeared and Wordy opened it slowly. He saw Shel on the bed with Sophie and Winnie seated in the chairs next to the bed.

Shel turned when she heard the door open. Her face lit with a smile "You made it."

Wordy came into the room and went directly to Shel as he asked "How are you doing?"

Shel quipped "Apparently better than you. Goodness Kev you look terrible."

"Yeah, I feel about how I look but that doesn't matter. You and the baby are what matters. How far along are you?" Wordy responded.

Taking Kevin's hand, Shel answered "I'm only five centimeters. There is a shower in the bathroom. You have time to take one and clean up a bit if you want. Clark brought the extra clothes for you didn't he?"

Wordy nodded "Yes he did."

Shel lightly chuckled "I'm not quite sure what they packed. They took Lilly with them to get your things."

Sophie stood up and said "How about I run and get you something to eat Wordy. You look like you could use something."

"Thanks Sophie that would be nice" Wordy answered feeling very hungry and unable to remember when he last ate. It was probably at the SRU station in Montreal.

Winnie asked "Have you heard anything more on Sam?"

Shaking his head, Wordy answered with more details than what he had shared with Dean and Clark "No. All I know is that he was having a very hard time breathing. They were talking about possibly putting him on a ventilator if things did not improve. It might be the best thing for him."

Shel bent over as a contraction seized her abdomen. Wordy held her hand and rubbed her lower back until the contraction eased.

"Go get your shower Wordy. Winnie can stay with me while you do that. It might be the last opportunity to get one for quite some time" Shel stated.

Wordy hesitated until Shel forced him to go indicating he was too dirty to hold a newborn.

Fifteen minutes later, refreshed from a warm shower and dressed in clean clothes Wordy stepped out of the bathroom and found not only Sophie and Shel but Heather in the room.

Heather looked to Wordy and said "I just got off the phone with Jim. He called Mason. Mason said that Sam is now on a ventilator and they have taken him into surgery to fix his broken rib. Jules was able to see Sam just before he got too weak to breathe on his own. The doctors said it was for the best and his body can rest and heal."

Moving towards Shel as he saw a contraction start, Wordy held off asking any questions while he helped Shel through the contraction. When it was over he looked at Heather and queried "Did Mason say how long Sam would be on the ventilator or how long until he can be moved home?"

"The doctors said it depends. Could be two to three days but … it depends on how his body reacts. No one has discussed when he will be moved home" Heather stated. Then she added "Mason said they are waiting for the RCMP to arrive later today to decide what to do with those two that took Sam. It is in federal jurisdiction Ed told him because it crossed province lines."

"I figured it would. I hope they throw the book at both of them. That woman was … well not something I'm comfortable saying in front of ladies" Wordy stated.

Sophie unwrapped one of the sandwiches she had gotten for Wordy and handed it to him. She grinned as she said "Eat. The main thing is that you guys found Sam and he is in hands of competent doctors."

Wordy nodded and took a bite of the sandwich. Even hospital food tasted good at this point.

Heather then smiled and said "On the good news front, Blaze and Lizzy welcomed little Nathan George Blain into the world about an hour ago. Mason told Jim that Blaze must have barely made it there in time."

She pulled out her phone and showed the picture of little Nathan and there were oo's and aw's.

The group talked for about an hour and made plans for sending baby gifts to Blaze and Lizzy as Wordy ate all three sandwiches and helped Shel through several contractions that were getting more intense and coming quicker.

After Shel had a really intense contraction, Sophie stood up and said "Winnie, Heather and I will leave you two alone now. We will make sure your girls are taken care of. You two just focus on that little baby that is about to be born."

Winnie said "Just call if you need anything. I'm off shift tomorrow. So I mean it, call me for any reason even if you just need me to grab you some coffee."

Shel smiled "Thanks for being here for me and taking care of the girls."

At the door Sophie looked back and said "Anytime. I'll be in the waiting area with Winnie if you need anything."

The door closed and Wordy and Shel were alone. He leaned down and kissed Shel. "How are you doing? Do you want the epidural?"

"I'm okay. No epidural. You look a bit better" Shel responded.

"Feel a bit better, at least cleaner and not hungry." Then Wordy chuckled and said "At least I did not have tons of honey and other stuff stuck in my hair and I'm not covered in poison ivy."

Shel breathed through another contraction with Wordy rubbing her back and when it subsided she asked "Who did that happen too?"

Wordy then related what happened to Melpomene and the reasons behind the abduction. Shel chuckled a few times.

"Karma. She got what she deserved. I cannot believe she thought she could live the life of ease on a constable's salary. That woman is seriously delusional. Especially when she thought that Sam did not deserve to be on Team Three."

"I hope she spends the rest of her life in prison. She's gonna have to live without all those spa days and …" Shel stopped as another harder contraction hit her. She screamed in pain this time.

Wordy pressed the call button. Shel's contractions were coming closer together and she was in a lot of pain. He asked again "Epidural?"

Shel's face was contorted in pain and she nodded yes.

The nurse came in and did a quick check then hurried out for the doctor.

Dr. Busch, Shelley OB/GYN, came in and did a quick check then he looked at Shelly and said "I'm sorry, too late for an epidural. You've gone from five to ten centimeters very quickly. This little one must know that Daddy is here now and wants to come out."

Over the course of the next thirty minutes Shel screamed as Wordy spoke comforting words trying to help anyway he could. He helped hold her up as she bore down with each contraction. This part of bringing a life into the world always was the worst for Wordy because he could not stand seeing Shel in pain. He wished she had taken the epidural earlier.

Wordy heard the soft cry as his baby was born. He looked at Shel and then kissed her as he said "You did great. Absolutely great sweetheart."

Dr. Busch sniped the umbilical cord and cleaned out the baby's mouth and nose then handed the baby to the nurse to clean up. He did all that because he knew that Shelley and Kevin wanted to see their baby at the same time and find out the gender together.

He stated "The baby is healthy."

The nurse did the PKU test and gently washed the little one off and wrapped the baby up in a blanket.

Shel took Kevin's hand and said "Which do you think it is, boy or girl?"

Wordy just smiled "Which ever it is, I have to tell you I'm ecstatic. I love you so much Shelley. You are my rock and the best Mother in all the world. Girl or boy it does not matter because he or she is already loved."

The nurse turned and Shel and Wordy both looked with anticipation. The baby was wrapped in a white blanket with a yellow and green paisley design. She placed the baby in Wordy's arms and smiled.

Shel and Wordy stared at their baby. The blanket was beautiful but gave them no clue as to the gender of their little one.

Wordy asked "Boy or girl?" as gently ran his thumb across his baby's cheek. He placed the bundle into Shelly's arms and then looked at the nurse expectantly.

The nurse grinned and she took a small pink knit cap and put it on the baby "It's a girl."

Wordy's face broke into a huge grin "A girl. She is so beautiful just like her mother and sisters. I'm a lucky, lucky man."

Shel smiled she knew not to bother asking if he was disappointed that it was not a boy. Kevin would never be disappointed. But she did ask "So what do we name her?"

Wordy said "I'd like to stay with a name that ends in ly sound, like your name and like we did for Lilly, Holly and Allie."

They made several suggestions to each other as the nurses assisted Shel in getting cleaned up and dressed in a fresh gown. None of the names were quite right. Shel drifted off to sleep after she was cleaned up and the bed changed with fresh sheets. Wordy liked the birthing suites because they did not need to move Shel to another room and the baby stayed with them in the room.

As Wordy held his fourth daughter and gazed into her blue eyes he smoothed down the blanket. He had called Sophie and told her that it was a girl and that Shel was sleeping. Sophie said she would go get the other girls in an hour because they should be awake by then.

Winnie and Sophie stopped in the room for a quick peek before they headed out to get the girls. Winnie brought Wordy coffee and a breakfast sandwich from the café. They offered a few names with ly sounds at the end and then headed out.

An hour and a half later three little girls bounded happily into the room ready to meet the baby. No one told them if it was a brother or sister. Each one hugged their mommy and then gathered around Daddy who was holding the baby.

Lilly asked "Can I hold the baby?"

Wordy nodded and said "Sit on the little couch."

Lilly sat down and Holly and Allie climbed up on either side of Lilly. Wordy carefully put the baby in Lilly's arms. He watched as his girls all greeted the baby.

Holly turned to her dad and asked "Is it a brother or a sister?"

Shel answered "You have a sister."

The girls all giggled with glee and Allie asked "What did you name her?"

Wordy crouched down in front of them and said "We haven't decided yet. We want a name that ends like your names end. Do you have any suggestions?"

The girls all started offering suggestions. Allie was toying with the blanket and said "Daddy I like this blanket it has a pretty, swirly, flowery pattern. Will the baby get to take it home?"

Shel answered "Probably not. But we can see if we can find a paisley blanket for her at the store."

Wordy looked at Shel and Shel looked at Wordy and they smiled at the same thought.

Allie pipped up and spoke exactly what Wordy and Shel were thinking "Can we call her Paisley? It pretty just like the blanket and it ends in ly."

Shel and Wordy nodded.

Wordy turned back to his four daughters and said "That is a grand idea Allie. How about you three give me some nice big smiles so I can take a picture?"

Then Wordy said "Say cheese."

Lilly shook her head and said "Say Paisley."

All three of them said Paisley as Wordy took several pictures. Then he selected one and sent a text message to everyone that said 'Our newest precious daughter, Paisley Wordsworth with our equally precious daughters Lilly, Holly and Allie. Mom and baby doing well. Details to follow later'.

Then Wordy sat next to his daughters as everyone oo'd and aw'd over Paisley. Wordy thought he could not be luckier than he was right now.

La Dore Hospital – Sam's Room

Sam had been moved from the recovery to his room just a short while ago. Everyone agreed that Jules would go in first and then if she thought it was okay she would take Sadie in. Jules did not want Sadie being frightened by the way Sam looked.

William, Scott, Spike, Ed and Greg all waited in the hall with Sadie as Jules entered the room. They were the first group designated to come up and see Sam. They were all chomping at the bit to see him but agreed that Jules and Sadie should be first.

Sam's room was darkened with the window blinds closed blocking out most of the early morning sun and only one light was on. The whir and hiss of the ventilator was steady. In a strange way it comforted Jules because she knew it was helping Sam.

Dr. Chasseur said he came through the operation well even though they kept Sam in recovery a really long time. The doctor told her that there was no problem in attaching the plate. Jules had asked what that would mean to his recovery time knowing that Sam would want to get back to SRU as quick as possible. She was happy to hear that it would cut weeks off of light duty for Sam.

Jules was keeping her thinking positive. She did not allow her mind to go to the dark places of potential goodbyes. Sam had given everything he had to stay alive and now it was her turn to fight for him. And fight she would, starting with the thoughts that he would soon be back at what he loved doing.

Dr. Larsson indicated the nerve block would last for several days and if he had excessive pain when he woke they could repeat the procedure. But she felt that would not be the case given the repair made to the rib. The nerve block would make it so they did not have to give him opiates that could depress his respiration.

Eva thought that Sam's biggest challenge would be the pneumonia. But they were pumping him full of antibiotics after getting the results of his sputum culture and identifying it was bacterial instead of viral. Dr. Larsson told her that they had managed to lower his fever too.

So things were looking better.

Jules took up Sam's hand and gently squeezed as she said "Hey soldier. You did so good. You came through that operation with flying colors."

She felt her phone vibrate and she pulled it out. Opening the text message she smiled "Blaze just sent another picture of little Nathan. He is one proud papa. You are now an uncle to another boy. Our shopping list just keeps growing but that is great isn't it. They named him Nathan George Blain. Nice name."

Jules quickly texted 'He is so cute. We are so happy for you both'. Then she sent it. Jules knew that Winds or Mason would update Blaze on Sam's condition so she did not include that.

As she sent the text she received another one. This one from Wordy. She smiled and said "Wordy and Shel had a little girl. Wordy is completely immersed in girls and I bet he loves every single minute of it. They named her Paisley. There's one more for our shopping list."

The thought of shopping list brought back memories of the day they shopped for souvenirs in Scotland. She had thoroughly enjoyed being a certified kilt inspector that day. They had a love so deep and they expressed it openly when they were not at work. This man held her heart and she held his.

Jules looked lovingly at Sam and whispered "You need to get better so I can inspect your kilt again."

Leaning over the bed Jules gave Sam a kiss on the cheek then said "I'm going to bring Sadie in here. I'm going to chance that all this does not scare her. She is so little that she won't know what it all means so it should be okay. Be right back."

She headed for the door and opened it a bit. Sadie was happily babbling in Spike's arms. Jules could not keep Spike away even if she wanted too, which she didn't.

Jules reached for Sadie and said "Sadie girl let's go see Daddy. Daddy is sleeping but we can see him for a little bit. You want to see Daddy."

Sadie babbled "da dada da da da dadada."

Ed said "I think that means yes."

Jules headed back into the room as the door closed giving them some privacy. She moved slowly to the bed with Sadie letting Sadie get used to the sounds and lighting.

She said "See Daddy is sleeping. When Daddy wakes up he can tell you stories. You two are gonna get to spend a lot of time together for a few weeks. That will be nice won't it Sadie."

Sadie reached out towards Sam and said "dada da da dada da da da da" as she squirmed trying to get to her daddy.

A huge sigh of relief expelled from Jules. Sadie did not seem fazed by the machines and sounds or the tube coming out of Sam's mouth. All Sadie saw was her daddy.

Jules moved closer to the bed and Sadie wiggled more and more trying desperately to get to her daddy. The more Jules held her back the more Sadie struggled. Her happy babbling changed to a frustrated whimper.

Making a decision, Jules reached out and positioned Sam's arm a little away from his body on the side without the broken rib. Then she set Sadie down as she said "Careful, Sadie girl, you have to be still. Daddy has owies."

Sadie laid her head in the crook of her daddy's shoulder and smiled sweetly as her happy babbling returned "da da dada dada dada dada da dada dada."

It made Jules smile as she said "Yes dada. Such a daddy's girl you are Sadie."

Sadie clutched her yellow bunny as she snuggled her head closer to her daddy.

What happened next stunned Jules.

Sam moved his arm and wrapped it around Sadie pulling her closer into a hug of sorts.

Jules just stared. Sam was fully sedated. How the heck did he move his arm to hug Sadie?

After staring for some time Jules decided to chalk it up to all the miraculous things that happened to Sam. She leaned down and kissed Sam as she said "I see it goes both ways Sam. Sadie had you wrapped around her little finger the moment she was born."

She watched for a long time and saw Sadie's eyes grow heavy and then close in sleep. Sadie had this little smile on her face. It made Jules think that Sadie knew for a fact she was held by the man who would always do what was necessary to keep her safe and ensure Sadie knew she was loved very deeply.

Jules pulled a chair close to the bed and sat down. She placed her hand over Sam's hand which was around Sadie. Then Jules laid her weary head on the side of the bed. Jules drifted off to sleep.

Spike opened the door a crack. He had waited so long to see Sam and he could not wait anymore. What he saw brought a smile to his face. He waved to the others but put his finger to his lips indicating to be quiet.

He tiptoed into the room and pulled out his phone. Spike had to get a picture of this.

William, Scott, Ed and Greg all filed into the room quietly and grinned. The little family was all together again. They all had a surge of positive feeling that Sam would make it now. Sam was a hard man to kill. He was truly Samtastic.

Spike sent the photo to everyone that was in the rescue party and to Greg.

Greg indicated the blanket at the end of the bed and asked "Spike can you cover Jules?"

Spike went to get the blanket and covered Jules' shoulders carefully so he did not wake her.

William pulled two chairs close and said "Greg, Ed have a seat."

Greg sat down and just rested. Keeping Jules calm and somewhat distracted for the past hours had been difficult. He was very tired.

Ed shook his head and quipped "You take the other chair. Age before beauty." Ed then leaned on the wall. He knew if he sat down he would fall asleep and that would not be good right now. He looked at Sam and whispered "Samo you will make it back to SRU. We will all help."

William chuckled and sat down. He would rest a moment and then go make a call to Yvonne. It was good to see that Samuel had come through the surgery so well. He had no doubt that his son would make a full recovery now.

Scott pulled out a little blanket from Sadie's diaper bag and covered Sadie. He looked at the little lopsided smile on Sadie's face and it made him think of Sam. Sadie took after her mother in so many ways but there was some Sam in there. That lopsided smile was definitely Sam.

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AN: Second chapter in the same day as promised. Hope you enjoyed all the good vibes and feelings.