Steve pushed through the double doors of Queens emergency department, flashing his badge at the nurse who waved him through. She could have yelled for him to stop or drawn a gun on him, for all he would have cared. It wouldn't have even slowed him down.
"Danny," he yelled, wincing in apology at the scowls from the nurses in the hall. He skidded to a stop in front of Danny. He realized that in full Navy working uniform, fresh off the Jeep he'd commandeered from the hapless private at Hickam, he was risking terrifying the patients and incurring Malia's wrath. "How bad, Danny?" he asked, quietly.
"We don't know yet," Danny said. "Malia and Julia are in there with them now - wait, Steve, don't go barging in. Jax and Kono argued to be in the same room and Malia agreed because you know Jax, she was trying to micromanage Kono's care and making everyone crazy. Hey, guys," he said, looking up, as Chin and Caviness came around the corner. They each had a bottle of water in hand, and Caviness pulled two more out of the deep pockets of his cargo pants, handing them off to Danny and Steve.
"Thanks, man," Steve said, downing half the bottle in one gulp.
"Anything, Danny?" Caviness asked anxiously, already starting to pace.
"Okay, take a breath," Chin ordered. "Kono was cursing a blue streak at the guy who hit them, and Jax was yelling instructions at the paramedics because she thought they weren't being careful enough with Kono's C-spine. Yelling and fussing, that's promising, right?"
"Where's the guy?" Steve demanded. "Why was HPD running a roadblock? Did they get the guy?"
"Grover has him in custody," Danny said. "HPD was roadblocking for a Code Silver, an Alzheimer's patient who slipped out in his daughter's minivan, and they did stop him at a roadblock - five miles from us. This other asshole had a couple of minor warrants for possession, got to our roadblock, and freaked out. He was high, so under the influence of whatever he smoked or shot up this morning, he decided that his best option was to run over the girls - sorry, over our officers - and they disagreed, by taking out all four of his tires and his back windshield as they lay on the ground - sorry." Danny broke off, wincing at Steve's stricken expression. "Grover has the guy who hit the girls. Sorry. Hit our officers."
"Grover is with him, but he's in HPD custody," Chin said. "We didn't need another incident in our interrogation room, and neither Danny nor I trusted ourselves to deal with him. Plus, we wanted to be here. We didn't know how long it would take for you and Caviness to get here."
"Not long, as it turns out," Danny said. "I thought a Pacific exercise would be, you know, in the middle of the Pacific?"
"I wasn't far off the coast, actually, and then there was a kid, and a Jeep . . ." Steve said absently.
The door opened and closed and Malia stepped out, holding her hands up immediately, anticipating the onslaught of anxious questions.
"They're both okay," she said, holding up a finger to keep them silent. "I can only talk so fast, don't interrupt." She smiled as all four men nodded submissively. This part never got old; seeing four highly trained, lethal, heavily armed men cower at her upraised index finger.
"Kono has a broken forearm, whiplash, and a nasty case of road rash on her hip," Malia said. "It's going to require significant debriding, and we're waiting for a heavy duty narcotic to kick in before we even attempt that. Thankfully she had on jeans today, so we're hopeful that with care and plenty of antibiotic cream, the scarring will be minimal. She'll be off the board for a while, and in board shorts for longer, which is going to cramp her style, but all things considered, it could have been much, much worse."
Caviness sagged against the wall in relief, and Chin squeezed his arm sympathetically.
"Jax has a broken wrist and severe contusions on her hip and shoulder; bone deep bruising that isn't critical, just incredibly painful. She's also complaining of nausea, which we're watching, but there's no indication of concussion. She thinks she may have been fighting a bug this week. Their injuries are similar, which makes sense, since they dove in opposite directions away from the oncoming vehicle and avoided all but the glancing impact of the bumper," Malia said absently.
"Holy shit," Steve breathed. "He actually hit them. With a car." He paled and leaned against the wall next to Caviness.
"Steven, I clearly said to Joe that Jax and Kono had been hit by a car at the roadblock," Danny said.
"I know," Steve said. "I guess I thought you were exaggerating."
"The glancing impact of the bumper damn near stopped my heart," Chin said. "I could hear it - the thud . . . I'm pretty sure I have gray hair now."
"You'll look distinguished with gray hair, darling," Malia said, standing on tiptoe to kiss his cheek. "Julia is getting the girls cleaned up and into gowns, and then you can go see them. Kono is going to be pretty groggy. Jax should be, by all rights, but as usual she's being extremely conservative in her consent for pain medication."
"Conservative," Danny snorted. "Stubborn, more like."
"She's made a lot of progress in therapy the last couple of weeks," Steve said quietly. "I can understand why she doesn't want to risk being doped up. What about the protocol that doesn't seem to trigger the worst of it?"
"I suggested that right away," Malia said, "but I think she just doesn't want to be put so far under. Maybe now that you're here, she'll consider it tonight. We'll alternate cold and warm packs for her, and any other non-narcotic pain relief options we can think of in the meantime."
Julia came out of the room quietly. "Okay guys, you can go in, but don't overwhelm my patients. I'm going to get ice for both of them. No coffee for Jax, I don't care who she bats her eyelashes at. She's puking and her ribs are already getting tender." She glared pointedly at Steve as she walked by.
"I'm going to go double check their routine labs," Malia said. "You boys behave."
They all came out with some variation of a mumbled 'yes, ma'am' - or, in Chin's case, 'yes, sweetheart' - and nodded politely as they filed into the room.
"Hey, guuuuyyyssss," Kono slurred. "How'zit?"
"Hey, Kono," Steve chuckled. He slapped Caviness on the back. "Don't ask her any questions you don't want to know the answers to right now, man."
Caviness grinned and sat down on the small stool next to Kono's bed, taking her uninjured hand in his, as Chin gave Jax's foot a gentle squeeze and then also went to stand on the other side of Kono.
"How did you get here? I thought you were in the Pacific on maneuvers," Jax said, looking up at Steve in confusion.
"I was in the Pacific; just offshore from Pearl," Steve said, smiling down at her. "Danny called my CO, he called . . . someone. I don't know. He called Joe, Joe called Danny, reported back to me. I heard the words 'Kono', 'Jax', and 'hit by a car' and then there was a helicopter for me, and then I'm snarling at some poor private at Hickam and he drove me here like a bat out of hell. You scared me to death, ku'uipo." He bent and kissed her carefully on the forehead.
"What kind of ship?" she asked, blinking up at him innocently. "What were you doing?"
"Nice try," he said, grinning broadly and sighing in relief. If she was goading him into trying to spill what he was doing in reserves training, he would take it as a good sign.
She chuckled and then winced. "Ow," she said.
"Ow," Danny groused. "I watched you get hit by a freaking car, and you say 'ow'. You gonna let them give you something for the ow, babe?"
"Thank you for calling Steve, Danny," she said, in her sweetest voice.
"I'll take that as a no," Danny sighed. "But I get it. You want ice for your shoulder and hip?"
"Yeah, thanks, Danny," Jax said.
Danny slipped out into the hall as Steve checked Jax over for himself. "Left wrist and shoulder, right hip?"
She nodded. "Impact on my right hip, I dove, broke the fall with my wrist, bounced down onto my shoulder," she said. "Didn't hit my head," she added proudly. "No concussion. Kono took a harder hit, and a harder fall. Are they giving her the good stuff?" she asked anxiously. "Debridement is going to be a bitch. Go look at her IV, tell me what she's getting. Please?"
Steve rolled his eyes but did as she asked.
"Heyyyyyy Steve," Kono drawled, gesturing at the IV bag as he looked at the label. "You want some of this stuff? Iss frickin' amazing, brah. Like, totally. Isss like . . . like the stuff they gave me when I blew out my knee."
"Fentanyl," Steve reported back to Jax, easing his hip down carefully onto the bed on her left side. "This okay?"
"Good; good stuff," Jax said, smiling tensely and glancing at Kono. "And yeah, this is definitely okay. I'm sorry you cut your reserve time short. I'm fine, really and truly. Oh shit," she said, suddenly paling. Steve's lightning fast reflexes had an emesis basin in place in plenty of time, as she leaned forward and retched weakly, spitting a small amount of yellowish fluid into the basin. He supported her good shoulder and helped ease her back against the pillows.
"Jax, if you don't have a concussion, why are you puking?" he asked, alarmed. "I'm going to get Malia."
Danny came back in the room with Julia, helping her carry trays of ice and several cold packs.
"What's happening?" Julia asked kindly, taking in Steve's concerned expression. He pointed to the emesis basin.
"Again?" Julia asked, peering in to see the contents of the basin. She made a note in the chart and then efficiently emptied and cleaned the basin, while Danny handed Steve and Caviness each a cup of ice and a spoon.
"Is'kay, Steve," Jax mumbled around a mouthful of ice. "I think I got some bad shrimp or something on Wednesday. I've been a little green around the gills; didn't start today."
"Still, it's aggravating your shoulder," Julia said. "I'll go see if we can get an antiemetic for you."
"Thanks, Julia," Jax said tiredly. The fact that she wasn't claiming to be fine or arguing alarmed Steve, and he pressed his hand to her forehead anxiously.
"I don't have the flu, Steve," she said.
"Yeah, well, you don't have a spleen, either," he reminded her. "So I don't want you to get the flu."
"Flu's a virus; what you don't want me to get is an infection," she said, grinning.
Malia came into the room, followed by Julia, pushing a cart with ultrasound equipment on it.
"Whoa," Danny said. "This because of the vomiting?"
"Yes," Malia said hesitantly. She glanced over at Chin and Caviness. "Gentlemen, could you give us just a minute?"
They looked at her in confusion, and she tilted her head toward the door. Chin's eyebrows shot up in question, but he said nothing as he left the room. Caviness looked down fondly at Kono, who had drifted off to sleep, and pulled the curtain between the two beds before he stepped out.
"Thank you," Malia nodded at him.
"What's going on, Malia?" Jax asked, her eyes narrowing in suspicion.
"Well, before I could order an antiemetic for you, I had to check your labs," Malia said slowly. "Something's come up. You want Danny and Steve to step out?"
"No," Jax said, "I want you to tell me what the hell is going on. Is it my stupid missing spleen? Do I have some sort of infection lingering around?"
Malia smiled at her and shook her head, then handed her the lab report. Jax grabbed it with her good hand and scanned down the page.
"Holy shit," she said, looking up at Malia. She looked back at the paper in her hand. "Holy shit," she said again. "You're sure?" she whispered.
"Double checked. Myself," Malia said, beaming at her.
A slow grin started to spread across Danny's face, and he covered his mouth with his hand.
"Someone wanna tell me what the hell is happening here?" Steve hissed.
Jax held up the lab report to him.
"Jax," he said slowly, "I'm good with field medic stuff, and chemistry. I'm afraid lab results don't mean much to me. Is it bad? Whatever it is, ku'uipo, we'll figure it out, I promise."
Please, don't let it be anything bad, he sent up in silent prayer to whatever deity was handy.
"We'll have a little while to figure it out," Jax said, looking at him, her eyes stunned and wide.
"A little while?" Steve choked out. "Oh, God, Malia . . ." he turned to Malia helplessly.
She was smiling. Really smiling. And Danny was smiling. Even Julia was smiling.
He looked back at Jax, who was still looking completely stunned.
"They're all smiling," Steve said slowly.
"Because we're really happy," Malia said. "Congratulations, Steven."
"Congrat - holy shit," Steve said, looking down at Jax.
"That seems to be the sentiment of the day," Julia said, plugging in the ultrasound machine.
"Seriously?" Steve whispered, grabbing the paper out of Jax's hand. "Seriously? Holy shit. Where? Which one says?"
Jax pointed to a line marked hcg. "There," she whispered, looking up at Steve. "This is good, right?" she asked anxiously. "I know we didn't plan . . ."
"This is good," Steve breathed, shoving the paper absently at Danny and bending to kiss Jax slowly, reverently. "Oh, my God, Jax, this is so good." He looked up at Malia suddenly. "Malia, she just got hit by a car. She just got hit by a car . . ."
"Whoa, partner," Danny said, shoving a stool under Steve as his knees went out from under him. Danny's strong hand rested on his shoulder.
"That's why we're going to check and make sure everything is okay," Malia said. "You still okay with the guys in here, Jax?" she asked.
Jax nodded emphatically, clutching Steve's hand. "Yes, definitely."
"Okay, let's get your wrist propped over here, out of the way," Julia said, carefully adjusting Jax's injured arm on a pillow.
"This is going to be a little cold," Julia warned, as she carefully pulled up Jax's gown, exposing her lower belly and applying the ultrasound gel. Steve looked on in amazement. Was it his imagination, or had he possibly overlooked the hint of a gentle curve that seemed obvious now?
"Do you have any idea how far along you might be?" Malia asked gently, as she started to watch the screen.
"I didn't even think this could happen," Jax said. "I take the three month pill . . you know, most women in law enforcement and EMS do . . . so we don't have to deal with monthly cycles. Is that bad? Will that hurt . . . anything?"
"Did you get crazy busy, miss a few days?" Malia asked. "And you remembered to use back-up, right, after the IV antibiotics, after the scare with the infection? You were on antibiotics for weeks afterward. You know, every woman knows, that antibiotics render the pill ineffective."
"Um . . .," Jax said, glancing sheepishly at Steve.
Steve smirked. "I was really, really glad to get her home from the hospital. I proposed, sort of, and she said yes, and I was glad."
"Really glad," Jax grinned wickedly.
"I've never been one to worry about back-up," Steve said, grinning back at her.
"Oh dear Lord," Danny muttered.
Julia laughed quietly, and grabbed Jax's thick medical chart from the foot of the bed. "That was about twelve weeks ago."
"Yep," Malia said, adjusting a dial. She pressed the end of the ultrasound wand below Jax's bellybutton. "So that means we should be able . . ."
Danny held his breath. They'd heard Gracie's heartbeat at twelve weeks and Charles' at eleven. He grabbed Steve's shoulder.
Thwhoosh-thwhoosh-thwhoosh . . . the sound seemed to fill the quiet room.
"Able to hear a heartbeat," Malia whispered, smiling at Jax.
"That's -" Steve whispered, looking between Jax and Malia.
"That's your baby's heartbeat, Steve," Malia said softly, her eyes filling with tears. "Congratulations."
"Is everything okay?" Jax asked anxiously, her eyes fixed on the ultrasound screen and her hand in a deathgrip, bruising Steve's knuckles.
Malia checked everything carefully as the steady whoosh-thump sound continued to fill the room.
"Jax," she said, "everything looks perfect. I'd say are indeed right about twelve weeks, and this is a really strong heartbeat for that. The anatomy looks good, your bloodwork is perfect . . . your pulse-ox is dropping, though, so you need to relax, and breathe."
Jax looked at her, eyes wide still.
"Jax, you and the baby are absolutely fine," Malia said, pointing to the screen. "You have a healthy, perfectly viable pregnancy. Breathe, Jax. This is good. Everything is good."
"Yeah?" Jax breathed, looking from the screen to Malia once more. "Good?"
Malia nodded again, and pressed a few buttons. A strip of printed ultrasound photos started to scroll out the side of the machine as Jax finally turned to look at Steve.
"Everything is good," she whispered.
"Everything is amazing," Steve whispered back, stroking her cheek.
"How about we give you two a few minutes," Malia suggested, putting away the equipment.
"This is gonna be hard to keep to myself," Danny said, beaming.
"Show 'em the pictures, Danno," Jax said. She looked at Steve. "If that's okay?"
"Hell yeah," Steve said. "It's not like I'm gonna be able to stop smiling like an idiot for . . for ever."
Danny laughed and accepted the strip of pictures from Julia, and stepped out of the room with a spring in his step, holding the door open for Julia to push the equipment through. Malia kissed Steve on the cheek on her way out the door.
"Holy shit," Jax whispered again, a slow smile spreading across her face.
"Yeah," Steve said. "Hey, what's this -" he brushed away a few tears spilling over onto her cheeks. "You okay?"
"I wasn't sure . . . Malia said there was a good chance that I'd be able to get pregnant but I was afraid to let myself hope. I didn't even tell you that she'd sent me to a specialist, run a few tests . . . I didn't tell anyone, not even Lieutenant Allen. And then when she said I pregnant, I was so happy, for just a moment, and then . . . I was so afraid that idiot . . ." her breath hitched in a sob. "I was so afraid. And you want this, right . . . "
He leaned over her bed, kissing her soundly, and then slowly, carefully, rested his hand on her stomach. "God, Jax, yes . . . I want this so much."
"You're happy," she confirmed, resting her small hand on top of his.
"I'm ecstatic," he said. "Is it my imagination, or . . ." He rubbed his hand gently over the gentle curve of her stomach.
She looked dubiously at the movement of his hand. "I thought I'd shrunk my favorite pair of cargo pants," she admitted. "I've gained about seven pounds. I thought I was just, you know, finally recovering from the infection, and my stomach was twitchy, and I've been hungry."
"Seven pounds isn't very much," Steve fretted. "That's hardly anything. That's a pizza. Is that enough?"
"I think so," Jax said. "Oh, Rachel will know. And Danny was impossible . . . he has books. Many books."
"Good," Steve said, "because I have no idea what the hell I'm doing, Jax. I just know that I'm so happy. We'll turn the guest room into a nursery. Wait, is that bad? We can put our bedroom downstairs, too. You want a nursery at the palace? The basement . . . the basement is like, a bunker. It's totally safe. There's a generator, and everything . . ."
"Steve," Jax warned.
"I know, I'm getting all mission oriented," Steve rambled.
"No - Steve -" Jax mumbled, turning pale.
"Oh! Oh shit, sorry," he said, grabbing the emesis basin again. He rubbed her back as she gagged weakly and spit up a small amount of water. Setting aside the basin, he grabbed the ice ships and offered her some. "Is that gonna happen a lot now?" he asked anxiously.
"I think it's supposed to stop, actually, around twelve weeks," Jax said. "So all the random puking . . . it wasn't from the antibiotics. Or motion sickness. Or fish smells. Oh my God, it was morning sickness. I've had morning sickness."
"You seem really happy about it," Steve said, handing her another spoonful of ice.
"Tha's 'cause iss acshully a good sign," Jax mumbled around the mouthful.
"Guuyyyysss?" Kono slurred from the other side of the curtain.
"Oh shit, Kono," Jax giggled. "Please, check on her," she said, smiling up at Steve.
"Hey, Kono," Steve said, pulling the curtain back.
"Hey, boss," Kono said, struggling to focus. "There was a lot of cussing, and then this really weird thwooshy thumpy sound, and is Jax still puking? 'Cause, like, thasss not good."
"Jax is puking," Steve said, brushing Kono's hair away from her face fondly, "because she's pregnant."
"You knocked 'er up, boss?" Kono grinned at him loopily, holding up her good hand and fist bumping him. "Wicked awesome. Way to go. I mean, look at you, it's pretty obvious that -"
A soft knock at the door interrupted Kono's congratulations.
"Hey," Malia said, poking her head inside, "we need to take Kono to a treatment room to debride that wound, while her narcotic is at an optimal level."
"Absolutely, come on," Steve said, gesturing Malia in the room. Danny, Chin, and Caviness were close on her heels.
"Mahalo, Steve," Chin said, wrapping Steve in a bear hug.
"Yeah, congratulations, man," Caviness said, clapping him on the shoulder and shaking his hand vigorously. "I don't know who looks happier, you, or Danny," he joked.
Danny had taken a seat by Jax's bed.
"Babe," he whispered, smiling down at her, his blue eyes crinkled in a smile and filled with tears. "Oh, honey, I'm so happy for you," he said.
"Hey, send a picture with Kono," she said. "It will give her something to distract her from the debridement." Danny nodded and carefully detached one of the photos.
"Caviness," Jax said firmly. "You need to go with Kono. She's loopy and they'll give her good stuff, but this is not going to be fun. You need to hold her hand. And take one of our baby's pictures with you. Talk to her about it. Let her . . . I don't know, suggest names or something. Keep her mind off what they're doing."
Caviness nodded and accepted the picture from Danny. "That okay with you?" he asked Chin quietly. "I'd like to be with her, if you don't mind."
Chin glanced at Kono, who was smiling at Caviness. "Yeah, I think it's good for you to go be with her," Chin said. "Besides, we're not going to argue with the pregnant redhead. I'll go call Kono's folks, give them an update. Take good care of her," he added softly, looking just a bit wistfully in Kono's direction. Malia smiled and nodded at him. It was time, he thought, and Malia was right - Kono hadn't settled. Not with Caviness, standing there, holding their friends' baby picture and steeling himself to sit with Kono through a painful medical treatment. "Take good care of her," he repeated.
"I will," Caviness said. "I will, Chin. I swear to you."
There was a flurry of movement, and then the room was quiet again. Julia paused at the door.
"Someone will be in to put a splint on that wrist, Officer Nolan," she said kindly. "They'll cast it tomorrow . . . you know the drill. And Malia wants to keep you overnight. Just to be safe." She stopped, waiting for the inevitable argument.
"Okay," Jax said amicably. "What floor?"
"Obstetrics," Julia grinned, and closed the door softly behind her.
"Obstetrics," Jax repeated, grinning at Danny.
"I'll get your bag out of the Camaro," Danny said, glancing down as his phone buzzed. "Hey, Grover," he said, "how's our dirtbag? I'm putting you on speaker, with Jax and Steve."
"Steve?" Grover's voice came over the speaker. "You made it back, man, that's great. How are Jax and Kono?"
"Kono's getting that hip debrided," Jax said. "Caviness is with her. You done with the idiot? Turn him over to HPD and get your ass over here to visit your partner. I'm wounded."
"You don't sound wounded, Jax, you sound bossy," Grover teased.
"Yeah, well, I have to stay overnight and I'm bored already," Jax said, winking at Steve and Danny.
"Okay, okay, I'm coming," Grover said. "Leave me to do all the work and then fuss, fuss, fuss. I'll see your skinny ass in a few minutes. Lemme guess, you want coffee?"
"Yes," Jax said emphatically.
Danny hit the end button on the phone. "You're not supposed to have coffee," he said.
"Who says?" Jax demanded.
"Julia," Steve said. "No coffee while you're puking."
"I'm not puking," Jax said, blinking innocently.
"You puked five minutes ago," Steve said incredulously.
"And so it begins," Danny said, grinning broadly at both of them.
#*#*#*#*#*#
"She's on what floor?" Grover asked the nurse at the emergency desk. "That can't be right."
"No, it says right here, Captain Grover," the nurse assured him. "Fifth floor. Obstetrics. Visitors welcome."
"Well, hot damn," Grover said, chuckling. He handed the nurse the steaming hot coffee. "Then she is not getting this four shot flat white."
"No, sir, that wouldn't be advisable," the nurse said, accepting the coffee gratefully, "but I'm pulling a double shift. Thank you."
"Renee," Grover said into his phone as he went in search of the elevator, "Woman, you are not going to believe this . . ."
#*#*#*#*#
"Brian?" Kono mumbled, groggy. Her throat was dry and her voice raspy, and she frowned.
"Hey, love," Caviness said, grabbing a spoonful of ice. "Here, ice."
She accepted the ice gratefully and struggled to focus her eyes. "Damn, that hurts," she complained. "I'm not going to be in a bikini for weeks, am I?"
"No, at least not out on the beach, I'm afraid," he said. "You can wear a bikini all you want at home, though. It will make it easier for me to keep the antibiotic cream going, so you heal without infection."
Kono studied him for a moment. "Is it really bad?" she whispered. "Will there be scarring?" She shook her head. "Sorry, that must sound so . . . for so long, my life revolved around surfing, and something like that . . ."
"It sounds like a perfectly reasonable question," Caviness said, taking her hand. "And no, as long as you're really careful with the stuff they're going to give you, and really really careful with sun exposure, there shouldn't be much scarring. And I'll help, with all of it. The cast, the neck brace . . . whatever you need."
"And if there is scarring?" Kono whispered.
"Then you got hit by a car, Kono, a freaking car, and you walked away with a little gnarly texture to show for it," Caviness said.
"I think I might still have some crazy drugs in me," Kono said.
"Yeah?" Caviness chuckled. "Why do you think that?"
"Well, because I'm going to say I love you, out loud, and I really didn't think I meant to do that at this point. And I don't want to scare you off, because, I think I might actually need help with the neck brace and the cast and stuff. Am I scaring you off?"
"Nope, you're not scaring me off," Caviness assured her.
"Ok good. Well, then, I love you," Kono said seriously. "Did I say it out loud?"
"Yep, you said it out loud. I love you, too," Caviness said.
"I said it first, though," Kono said. "Is that good or bad?"
"It's perfect," Caviness assured her.
"Okay," Kono said. "There was something else."
"Hmm," he murmured, handing her more ice. "What else was there?"
"I think I had a really crazy dream," Kono continued. "Like, lolo. There was . . . there was this whooshy sound, and Jax kept saying holy shit, and Danny cried. And you had a picture, of a little peanut shaped blob, and you said it was Jax and Steve's baby and that they said I could look at the picture while they messed with my hip."
"Yeah, that really happened," Caviness said.
"Holy shit," Kono said. "For realz, brah?"
"Ummhmm," he said, pulling out the picture. "Here's the picture and everything."
"I still think it looks like a peanut," Kono said dubiously. "You'd think a baby of Steve's would be way bigger."
"Well, it's Jax's baby, too," Caviness reasoned, wondering how much of this conversation she would remember later.
"Yeah, that's true," Kono agreed, nodding, and then wincing. "Ow. My neck hurts."
"Yeah, you have whiplash," Caviness reminded her.
"I'd like to have a peanut, someday," Kono said.
"Good to know."
#*#*#*#*#
"Officer Jacqueline Nolan McGarrett," Grover said, knocking on the open door as he stepped inside. "You wanna explain to me what you're doing on the fifth floor?"
Jax grinned so widely her cheeks hurt.
"Hey, partner," she said. "Look." She held up the strip of ultrasound photos.
"Well, would you look at that," Grover said. "And everything is okay?" He sat down in the chair next to her bed, and took her hand in his.
"Malia says everything is great," she said. "They're just keeping me overnight to be on the safe side, plus, I have to get my arm put in a cast in the morning."
"And you're not climbing out the window or signing out AMA?" Grover marveled.
Jax shook her head. "No," she said softly. "I thought maybe I wouldn't be able to have kids."
"I know, honey, I remember," Grover said.
"I got hit by a car today, Grover," she said. "I have - this -" she broke off, putting her hand on her stomach in wonder. "And I got hit by a car. I mean, it barely tagged me, but still. A car. And so far, everything is still okay. The baby is okay. I'm not . . . no more climbing out windows or signing out AMA, Grover. I mean it. This is . . it's our baby, Grover. I'm going to be careful. It's . . . shit, this is Steve's baby."
Grover nodded. "I get it, Jax. I understand, believe me. Speaking of Steve, where is the proud father? And Uncle Danny . . . oh dear Lord, he's going to be a basket case."
Jax laughed. "I sent Danny to get my bag out of his car, now that I'm in my room for the night, and I sent Steve to call Mary and his Aunt Deb. I . . . kinda needed a few minutes, to be honest."
"Oh, I'm sorry," Grover said, standing up. "I'll come back later -"
"No, silly," Jax said, grabbing his hand. "I had my few minutes. I'm good."
"Okay then, lemme see those pictures," Grover said. Jax grinned and handed them to him.
"It looks like a jelly bean," she said.
"Well, it's a damn cute little jelly bean," he said. "Here, let me show you what you're looking at, I have experience. . ."
#*#*#*#*#
"Danny, I don't know what I'm doing," Jax said, as he switched out her room temperature cold packs for warm packs, pressing them gently against her shoulder and hip. She sighed in relief.
"Better?" he asked.
"So much better, thank you, Danny," she said.
"You'll figure it out, as you go along," Danny said. "There are books . . ."
Jax laughed. "I told Steve you would have books. Do you still have the books?"
"We even have new books," Danny said, "because Rachel didn't bring the old ones with her. And stuff changes, you know."
"What stuff changes?" Jax asked, furrowing her brow in confusion.
"Like, they go back and forth on whether babies should sleep on the stomachs, or their backs," Danny said.
"Why?"
"Well, one theory is that if a baby sleeps on its stomach, it could smoosh its little face into the mattress . . . you know what, never mind," Danny said hastily. "You are going to be an amazing mom."
"Danny," Jax said anxiously.
"What, babe?" Danny asked, smiling at her. Think before you speak, jackass, he chided himself.
"I don't know if I know how to be a good mom," she said seriously. "I didn't . . ."
Danny sighed. Here it comes, he thought. "You didn't have a very good role model," he stated quietly. It wasn't a question, not in his mind. Her parents left town while she was in the hospital, recovering from a splenectomy, recovering from losing her brother, from almost dying. Danny had never harbored the idea that her parents had been especially good ones.
She shook her head.
"You know what," Danny said, taking her good hand in his, "Rachel is an amazing mom. I mean, look at Gracie and Charlie, right?"
Jax nodded. "They're awesome, and Rachel . . . well, aside from being a complete idiot for leaving you, Rachel is fantastic."
"Rachel wasn't the only idiot," Danny said, "and regardless, she's a wonderful mother. And she loves you, Jax. She's going to be so, so happy for you. And she will be happy to help you. You have questions about being a good mom? You ask Rachel. And trust your instincts."
"Okay, Danny," she said. "My instincts tell me that if I drank coffee now, I wouldn't throw up."
"You are hopeless," Danny said. "Lemme see what I can do."
"I love you, Danny," Jax said.
"Is that the angling for coffee or the hormones talking?" Danny teased, grinning at her.
"Probably," Jax said, "but it's true all the same. I love you, Danny, and I'm really, really glad that I came here, to see you."
"Me too, babe," Danny said, kissing her forehead. "Me, too."
#*#*#*#*#
"Wow," Steve said, sinking into the recliner that had been pushed next to Jax's bed, and taking her hand in his. The room was finally quiet, and the sun was setting outside.
"It's been a big day," Jax said, smiling at him.
"The biggest," he agreed. "Wow."
"Yeah. Shit. Steve."
"What, ku'uipo?"
"We're having a baby," she whispered.
"I can't believe it," he whispered back. "You feel okay?"
"Yeah. Are you gonna ask me that every five minutes?"
"Probably," he admitted.
"Okay." She was silent for a moment. "I think," she said, "if I scooch over really carefully, you could fit on the bed."
"I don't want to hurt you," he said, but he was already standing up. "Here, let me scooch you over." He lifted her carefully and moved her a few inches further, easing himself into the bed, laying on his side next to her. She sighed and nestled her head against his shoulder. "Comfy?" he asked.
"Much better," she said.
He tucked her curls back away from her face and then his hand drifted back down to her stomach, resting over it protectively.
"I'm gonna get fat," she said, wrinkling her nose.
"I know," he said, grinning, "it's gonna be awesome."
"I won't be able to see my feet," she said. "What if my boots don't fit?"
"Wear slippahs," Steve reasoned. "You can wear my basketball shorts, too. They stretch."
"Stop, this is weirding me out," Jax said, looking mildly panicked.
"It's okay," Steve soothed, rubbing his hand in gentle circles. "It doesn't happen all at once. Right?"
"I don't think so," Jax said. "Should I know this stuff?"
"I don't think so," he said. "You didn't have to know this stuff to pass paramedic, right?"
"No. Field medic training?" she asked.
"Technically, I can deliver a baby, if I need to," Steve said proudly.
"Me, too," she replied.
"Okay, so we should be fine," he reasoned. "You mind if I close my eyes, just for a few minutes? I don't think I've slept for about thirty-six hours."
"Yeah, I'll close my eyes for a few minutes, too," she said, yawning.
