Had a few reviews asking if, after the last chapter, the fic was done. I can't answer questions submitted anonymously, but as evidence by the existence of this chapter, nope, not done yet!


Amber was tiny and red and the lanugo covering her body was thicker than Walter expected. It seemed no matter how much he gently wiped her eyes, they still were gooey and closed except for very brief instances. Paige had told him she wouldn't be smiling in response to them or laughing or cooing for weeks. In a way, Walter couldn't wait for all that. But another part of him loved the way she was right now. Simple.

Paige was sleeping; the toll the pregnancy took on her showing now in a way it hadn't when Amber was still growing within her. She was laying on her side, a pillow between her legs and a heating pad tucked in place along her abdomen. She was wearing a pad – and from what she said, not the most comfortable feeling one – and there was also an ice pack between her underwear and the pillow. Her breasts, which had filled prior to the birth and were yet to be relieved by the tiny amount Amber had taken earlier, were leaking into her gown. Walter had read that that didn't usually happen until two or three days after. There were bags under her eyes. She was paler than usual.

Everyone talked about how pregnancy was a beautiful thing. Walter didn't deny its potential to be that, in certain moments. But looking at her now, sleeping for the first time in days, he was glad that she had assured him, time and time again, that despite her doubts early on, she wanted to go through with this pregnancy one hundred percent. He couldn't fathom trying to guilt or force her into going through this. If she ever looked the way she did now solely because of him, he would never be able to forgive himself.

Amber moved her arm, and her hands being curled into fists made it look like she was protesting something. He hoped she would grow up to be as strong willed as the women that would be in her life were. Do no harm, Happy had said once, but take no shit. He lifted her up, lowering his head at the same time to put his lips gently to her forehead. Right now it was difficult to figure out which of them she looked more like. She had his dark hair, thick and curly, and from what he could tell of her complexion, she seemed to take after her mother. If he was honest with himself, though, the person she resembled the most, overall, was…

The one Aunt that Amber would never know was her only biological one. And even though Scorpion had if nothing else taught them all that blood didn't make family, that knowledge still hurt.

Amber opened her mouth, then closed it again. Walter wondered if that had been a yawn. He had expected her to have fallen asleep already. She seemed content, though, shifting only slightly and only occasionally in his arms.

The others hadn't met her yet. Ralph was out with them. Paige's energy had crashed very shortly after the first feeding and they decided to let her nap before there were any visitors. Walter wished he could just take Amber out into the waiting area and show them all, even the people he didn't know, look, here she is, this is our daughter, and she's perfect, even though that's scientifically impossible.

But protocol. And germs. And he really didn't want to get up right now. Shifting so he was leaning backward, his feet extended in front of him and the weight of his legs on his heels, he nestled Amber against his chest. She made a squeaking noise, then went almost completely still, her breathing coming in a slow, regular tempo. Walter rocked her gently, slowly rubbing her back.


Ellie was passed out asleep on one of the benches, using her father's bag for a pillow. Toby sat near her, using sleight – of – hand to perform 'magic' for a little girl who was waiting with her grandparents for word on how her mother's emergency c – section had gone. He was no Penn or Teller; Ralph could clearly see how he performed every trick, but the girl kept giggling and clapping and he had lost count of how many times one of the grandparents had shot Toby a grateful look.

Cabe and Allie had gone to the cafeteria – Allie was feeling a little light headed – and Toby and Sylvester were down on the floor below, watching Tad as he played in the little area that was sectioned off for kids. Florence sat two seats down from where Ralph was, near an outlet for her phone and for the heating pad that was wrapped around her middle.

He realized when someone went up to the desk to complain about the wait that he had been staring blankly at the wall for nearly an hour now. He reached for his phone to check the time and noticed he had a text from…well, the number wasn't in his address book, but it used to be, and he recognized it as Mina's. Still almost no progress. Doctors are monitoring. She may need a ceezarian.

Ceezarian.

Ralph closed the message, noticing at the same time that he had a voicemail. He went to his call log. Missed call, YoSaffBridge. A Firefly villain who used people. His recent nickname for his ex.

Ralph opened his voicemail and put the phone to his ear. "Ralph, please come back," came Bri's voice, sounding weak. "I really want you to be here. I know I've been terrible…" there was a pause, and he heard her take in a slow, deep breath, "but you always made me feel safe and I'm really, really scared. Please come back here. If only for a few minutes."

Ralph set his jaw.

"What's the matter?" Florence asked, glancing over. "That was quite the face."

"It's Brianna. She's still in labor and she wants me to come back to her room and be with her."

"Oh, no."

"Yeeeah."

Florence hesitated a moment, and then got up, placed the heating pad on the table next to her seat, and came over to sit beside him, nodding slowly. "It's a tough spot. She was horrible to you. I never said this, you know, it wasn't really my place, but I was – am proud of you for getting out. And for staying out."

Ralph gave her a small smile. "Thanks."

"Do you, uh, remember when I first join…when I first moved in next door?"

Ralph nodded. "What about it?"

"The whole thing about everyone hating me."

Ah. "Yes."

"And you remembered that I almost died that one time, right? I mean, obviously I've almost died a couple of times. But the garbage island mission on Thanksgiving. I would have died if it wasn't for Walter and Toby."

Ralph nodded.

"Neither of them cared for me. And I had just finished a huge fight with your mom. But they saved my life, and there may have been points along the way where they might have regretted that…" A corner of her mouth turned up slightly, "but in that moment, I needed help, and they provided it. Because they were able, and because they are good people." She reached over and patted his shoulder. "You are good people, Ralph. And if you can't go to her, I don't blame you. No one should, no one who knows what you've been through with her. But if you can go to her, someone who is scared and in pain and not at all sure where her life is headed…I think it would be a good idea."

Ralph looked at her, slowly rolling his lower lip under. "You're right."


Ralph knew that Brianna's labor had come fast and hard and with the frustration that came out of a slow progression, but he didn't quite realize until he laid eyes on her again, drenched in sweat and curled on her side bellowing in pain, just how different her experience was from his mother's. He obviously didn't remember his own birth, but his mother had told him that the worst part about it was the length of time. "I'm not saying it wasn't painful, because it obviously was," she had said, "but based on my memory of it and from what I've read and heard from other people, on that level I think it was pretty average. You were a really good baby in all senses. Not that you had any control over any of that. But I like to think it was because you were a good baby. Just took your time arriving, just like you did with walking and talking."

"Where are the nurses?" Ralph asked Mina. "There should be someone in here with her."

"She demanded they leave and only are in here for checks or if one of us calls them," Mina said quietly. "She's super self – conscious of how she's responding to all this."

"Please tell me her water has broken."

"No."

"Ralph," Brianna gasped, seeming to just now notice that he was there. "Ralph, it hurts so much. It doesn't stop."

Ralph took her hand. "I know it does. But it will be over soon. Just focus on that."

"I can't," she whispered. "It's not almost over. It's still so far away." The last word came out sounding strained, and Ralph saw Brianna set her jaw, sliding a hand behind her back and grunting.

"Breathe, Bri Bri. Breathe," Mina said in a low, gentle voice."

Brianna's moan grew louder; she squeezed her eyes shut and turned her head down against the plastic back of the bed chair. She said something Ralph couldn't make out before moaning again, impossibly louder. She was laying on her right side, and she bent her left leg, reaching down with her free hand to hook it around the leg below the knee. Ralph counted the time in his head, five seconds, six, seven, and he got to nineteen before she gasped for air and her body relaxed. "Should we call the nurses?" He asked. He knew the teams here worked to put the mother and baby in as less stress as possible, and they were as hands off as they could be for the people that wanted that. But…

"No," Bri said. "Don't call them. They'll just tell me my vitals are fine."

"I'm sure with this kind of pain you can get a c – section."

"I don't want one," Bri said firmly. "I don't want that ugly scar."

It was a valid reason, but when Bri said it, Ralph just wanted to roll his eyes.

"You did so good, Bri," Mina said. "You're doing amazing. Isn't she, Ralph?"

"Uh…uh huh." He glanced at the time.

"Oh God, I can't do this," Bri whimpered, and with the tightening of her hand around his Ralph realized she was already riding another wave. "Somebody make it stop," she said, her voice high – pitched. "Somebody…"

"You can make it stop," Mina said. "And you will. Your baby will be here soon, Bri Bri, how cool is that?"

Bri muttered something under her breath before moaning again.

This time, when it was over, she told them that she wanted to move around. Ralph and Mina helped haul her to her feet, and within a second Ralph felt something splash against his calves. He and Mina looked down in unison.

"My water broke," Bri said quietly.

Ralph and Mina made eye contact, making a silent promise not to tell Bri that it had gotten on them. "Good," Mina said, patting Bri on the arm. "Good, more steps. More steps until the end."

"Oh," Bri said, half a groan and half in surprise. "It's lower now, I can feel it."

"Good," Mina said. "Good. You'll be through this before you know it."

Ralph was unprepared for the amount of downward force he and Mina had to counteract seconds later when Bri's knees buckled and her whole body tensed. "Easy!" Ralph said, nearly going off balance. He caught himself, keeping an iron grip on Bri's arm as she stayed low, making a sound that sounded more animal than human.

Yeah, yeah, humans were animals, don't pick this fight now.

Great, now his brain was narrating an argument with itself.

"I…" Bri grunted. "Oh God."

"Just keep breathing, girl," Mina said.

"I need to push," Bri said.

"No," Mina said. "No, Bri, not yet."

"I have to, Mina. I have to." She made a grunting sound that got away from her, ending in a sharp cry. "I have to. It's so bad."

"The pressure?" Ralph asked. Bri nodded, her eyes squeezed shut.

Mina looked alarmed. "You can't push yet, Bri. You're only at eight. You have to wait until ten."

"Actually," Ralph said. "Not to, uh, not to mansplain or anything here, but I've read that it's usually best to follow what your body is telling you. Women who were directed to resist the urge were more likely to end up with surgery or an epidural. So I think if she wants to…"

"Do not tell me what to do," Bri snapped.

"You literally just asked me…" he trailed off. Not the time, Genius. He looked at Mina. "I'm gonna go find the doctor."

She nodded. "Good idea." Dropping down beside Bri, who was now seated on the floor, rocking and moaning while clutching her belly, she ran a hand through her friend's hair. "Pant, Mina. Just wait for the doctor to okay it, okay?"

"I can't, Mins."

"Yes, you can. I'll do it with you, okay?"

Ralph darted out the door, waving down the closest nurse. "Brianna Shultz needs the doctor. She wants to push. What is that look on your face for?" He demanded.

"Uh, well," the nurse said, "her doctor was called into emergency surgery. The second doctor we have is with him. It's a c – section and there are complications. The other doctor we have had a seizure ten minutes ago and is now hospitalized himself so he isn't in any condition to – "

Ralph fought down the urge to scream at her. California law said that the doctor to patient ratio in Labor and Delivery had to be one doctor for every two patients. There were only four people in labor at the moment, and they had had three doctors. Even with the one doctor's collapse, that had still been two doctors for four patience – maintaining the ratio – until whatever had happened that had required two doctors in an operating room. "What am I supposed to do? Help her myself?"

"Goodness, no," the nurse said, starting to move down the hall. "I'll go in there. As long as nothing goes wrong, I'm more than capable of handling it myself."

"She's in a lot of pain," Ralph said, staring to follow her down the hall.

"That is common. Her vitals and the vitals of the baby have been excellent considering." The nurse was walking briskly. "But we'll make sure everything is a – okay. Hello, Brianna!" she said cheerfully as she entered the room, Ralph right behind her. "I don't know if you remember me from earlier, but I'm Kathy. Call me Kat if you'd like, since I'm not a seventy year old woman who shares inaccurate memes on Facebook just because it's text on a picture. Sounds like you're ready to have this baby?"

Brianna nodded. Her hand was tightly gripping Mina's, their knuckles white.

"Okay. Can we get you up on this table, please? There we go." Ralph moved away from Brianna's feet as Nurse Kat did an examination. "Okay. You're just about nine centimeters, but if you feel the urge to push, you can start. What's important is following your instincts and listening to your body. I'm not gonna tell you when to bear down or for how long. You do what feels right, okay?" She reattached the monitors as she talked, moving with surprising efficiency.

"Okay," Bri groaned.

"Now, this part could take a while. I want you to remember not to be frustrated, okay?" Kat patted her arm. "I know this seems impossible, but everything is going normally so far. Trust me, nothing you can say or do will shock us. The first labor I attended, I got shit on and puked on within five minutes of one another. And then puked on again. Though the second puking was from the husband. Not sure if that makes it better or worse."

In spite of herself, Bri gave a little laugh.

"Then there was one woman who told her husband, oh gosh, I probably shouldn't even say this, but he told her to just try to focus on the gift that is the reason for all of this. She completely missed that he was talking about the baby and said 'you may think your dick is a gift, but trust me, it's not.'"

Ralph and Bri both burst out laughing. Mina chuckled to. "I love Bo Burnham."

Kat looked at her in confusion. "Who?"

"God, what do I do?" Bri asked, her body tensing up again.

"Whatever you want to do, hon," Kat said. "Just remember to breathe."


When Ralph emerged back into the waiting room, everyone was present except for Cabe. He shook his head when they all stood up, looking at him expectantly. "No," he said. "Nothing yet. I need…does anyone have…"

"Here," Allie said, fishing through her purse and holding out a five – hour energy. "Are you going back in there? Are they operating?"

"Not operating," Ralph said. "They're down a doctor and another one is stuck in traffic trying to get here."

"Traffic?" Toby asked. He and Happy had sat back down, and her head was on his shoulder. Tad and Ellie were both asleep, cuddled up close to one another. "It's almost midnight."

"It's also L.A.," Sylvester pointed out.

"With first babies I guess they try to let the mother push for three hours at least before going to a c – section."

"Harder to recover from those," Happy said.

"That's what Kat told me." Ralph nodded. "She's been pushing an hour only."

"Any progress?" Allie asked.

Ralph shook his head and shrugged. "Not really, no. But the nurse says she's still having a fairly common time of it, if not perhaps a little more painful than average, but then again pain is subjective and everyone has different tolerances."

"That's a true story," Happy said. "Toby here could not have handled the labor I had with Ellie."

"I absolutely could have," Toby protested. When Happy looked away, he glanced at the others, frantically shaking his head and mouthing no freaking way.

Ralph opened the energy bottle and tipped it back, wrinkling his nose at the taste. This wasn't a flavor he cared for, but he wanted an energy burst more than anything else. "Thanks," he said to Allie. "Where's Cabe?"

"Your mom is up for visitors," she responded. "They wanted Cabe to go first. You know…Grandpa, and all." There was a hint of pride in her voice and in her smile. "I was still not feeling the best so I waited out here."

"Are you feeling better now?"

"Oh, yes."

"Then go on back!" Ralph said, gesturing toward the hallway. "You're Grandma, you know."

"Oh, Ralph," she said, waving her hand. "I'm not even close to what Cabe is to them. And that's okay."

"Allison," he said, not even knowing if that was her actual full name. "If Amber grows up knowing Cabe as Grandpa, she's gonna know you as Grandma no matter how much longer my parents have known Cabe. Go on back."

"Well…"

"Go!" The others chorused.

Allie stood, blushing, and headed down the hall.

"And it's midnight!" Sylvester said, lifting his hand to show his watch despite their being three clocks in the waiting area.

Florence was laying on the bench, her head on a pillow in his lap. She stirred slightly at his declaration. "Yippee," she deadpanned.

"Is there some particular significance to midnight?" Toby asked.

Happy nudged him. "Bri's baby is officially, legally younger than Amber."


Sylvester was unprepared for how he was going to feel when he saw Walter and Paige with their daughter. The way they looked at her. The way they looked at each other. It gave him the warmest, fuzziest feeling.

When his wife took the baby into her arms and cradled her close, he thought his brain was going to short – circuit from the intensity of the feelings rushing from it.

"Sly," Florence said, rocking the newborn gently. "We need one."

"We need one, huh?"

"Yes. Babies are so tiny and cute. I mean, look at this little bastard."

"Hey," protested Paige and Walter.

Florence either didn't hear or ignored them. "Sylvester, seriously."

"We already agreed we wanted kids," he said.

"I know, but like…she's so small and warm and don't you just want to cuddle her forever?"

"This is definitely not the Florence Tipton we knew years ago," Walter said quietly to Paige.

"We would not have named our child after the Florence Tipton we knew years ago," she pointed out.

Florence looked away from Sylvester. "You named her after me? I thought her name was Amber."

"It is," Paige said. "Amber Florence O'Brien. Well, that last part is up for debate. Ralph is pushing hard for Dineen. We're basically just considering it to humor him."

"But…?"

"You don't approve," Walter said, "do you?"

"No, I mean…" she glanced at Sylvester, then back at the couple. "Why?"

"Because you're our friend. Because we want her to be as strong as you are. Because you risked everything to save the company. Because none of us would be the same if we didn't know you." Paige rattled off each reason so quickly, so easily.

Florence looked quickly at Sylvester, and he could tell how touched she was. "Here," she said quietly, holding Amber out. He gathered her up, pulling her close to him, watching as his wife approached the bed on the same side as Walter. "I'm honored," she said, biting her lip before continuing. "I love you both."

Walter reached out and put a hand on her back. "We love you, too." Paige nodded, reaching out, and Florence took her hand. Sylvester saw the slight pressure as Paige squeezed it.

If someone had told him five years ago that this would one day play out in front of him, Sylvester wouldn't have believed it. And yet in the here and now, he couldn't think of anything that made more sense.


Fic is still not over, as we clearly have some loose ends to tie up. Initially this was going to be 50 chapters, but it will be a bit over that since earlier on in the fic I broke some chapters up in different places than outlined. Expect 52 to 55 chapters in total. Remember, authors love reviews (and if you're reading this going "I updated the other day and you haven't reviewed mine yet" trust me, I am eagerly awaiting when I'm able to just sit down and read with no distractions and savor your delightful fic.) And to the fics I haven't started yet – I still can't do angst right now, I can't handle "Walter dates Florence" or "Tim comes back" or anything like that. It's nothing personal, not at all. And one day I know I will get to a place where I will love those fics. I'm just not there yet.