"I'm oxygen and he's dying to breathe."
― Tahereh Mafi, Shatter Me
Emily groaned as she pulled a sweater on and tried to flatten it out as best she could. Derek was off in North Carolina on a case, and while she had cut back on her hours, JJ had called her in to do a consult. Slipping on her shoes, she grabbed her bag and headed out. For the past few hours her back had been bothering her, but she was almost 32 weeks pregnant. Every part of her body was bothering her by this point.
Sitting in her office, she tried to focus on the file in front of her, and tried to ignore the looks from Tara and JJ. "I'd say that it's a family annihilator." She said, wincing as her back tensed again.
Tara looked at her watch and back at JJ. The blonde got to her feet and walked over to Emily. "Alright Mama, we need to head to the hospital."
Frowning, Emily shook her head. "Why?"
"Em, you're in labour." She said flanking on Emily's side, Tara heading to the other side.
"I am not." Emily winced and exhaled softly. "I'm only at 31 weeks, and Derek isn't here."
Shaking her head, JJ helped Emily to her feet. "Better to be safe than sorry, we'll go to the hospital and if it's Braxton Hicks, then at least we know." She said, meeting Tara's eyes over Emily's head. They both knew better.
JJ grabbed Emily's keys as Tara helped their friend into the SUV and carefully buckled her in. The taller agent climbed into the back and gave JJ a smile. "Let's go."
Another painful cramp ran through Emily's body and she groaned softly. JJ's hand rested softly on her knee and she gave her a smile. "You're okay Mama."
Emily opened her mouth to say something when she felt pressure between her legs release and she felt a gush of warm liquid flood her feet. "Holy shit balls." She mumbled looking at her best friend, a panicked look on her face.
"Honey, you are 100% in labour." JJ said with a smile as she sped up slightly.
"You have to call Derek." Emily's voice held an uncharacteristic waver to it.
Tara waved her hand. "Matt is on his way to meet him."
Nodding, Emily pressed her hands to her belly. "This can't be happening." She whispered softly. "I'm not ready. I'm only at 31 weeks. Derek isn't here. I can't be having the babies now." She bit her lower lip and exhaled loudly. "And now my vehicle is full of amniotic fluid!"
JJ made her way through traffic and pulled into the parking lot. Dr. Montgomery and a nurse met them in the parking lot, the redhead with a gentle smile on her face. "Let's go have some babies, Emily." She said as they helped her down into the wheelchair.
"My bag."
Tara came up behind them and nodded. "Fran is on her way. We've got it all under control, you just need to worry about bringing these babies into the world safely."
"Derek?" Emily's voice caught in her throat and tears welled in the corners of her eyes.
"He's on his way, sweetheart." JJ said softly. "Let's go get you checked in.
Derek stood in the middle of a crime scene in North Carolina when his phone rang. "Morgan."
"Derek, Emily is in labour."
He froze, his phone tumbling to the ground. This wasn't happening. Emily was only 31 weeks. He was stuck in the godforsaken state of North Carolina at a crime scene. His phone rang again and he picked it up, brushing off the dirt.
"Morgan."
"Derek, it's Rossi. Matt is on the way to meet you at Roanke Rapids. It's about half way from here." He said as one of the FBI SUV's pulled up. "One of your team members is going to drive you so you don't kill yourself on the way."
Derek climbed into the passenger side, his phone still in his hand. "Emily?"
"She's fine. The girls are with her right now." Rossi said, his voice strong and calm. "I'm going to pick up your mom and Emily's bags and I'm going to head to the hospital."
Leaning against the seat, Derek exhaled loudly. "Can you tell Emily I'm coming?"
"She knows, Derek. You just focus on getting here safely." Rossi said softly. "I'll keep you updated."
"Thanks, Rossi." Derek said, hanging up the phone. Looking at Agent Vasquez, he nodded. "Turn on the lights, Susan."
The younger woman nodded and flicked the lights on the top of the SUV as they hit the main freeway.
About an hour later, they pulled into Roanke Rapids and Derek hopped out and rushed to the SUV where Matt was waiting. The younger man gave his friend a grin. "Let's go. Your wife is about to make you a Daddy."
Derek ran his hands over his face and exhaled loudly. "Let's just go." He said as Matt flicked on the lights.
Emily walked slowly around the birthing room, JJ on one side and Tara on the other side. The contractions weren't strong yet, but Dr. Montgomery wanted to keep here in the hospital to keep an eye on her. Rossi and Fran walked in, the latter with a large duffle bag on her shoulder. She put it down on the bed before walking over to her daughter in law. "How are you doing, beautiful?" She asked softly, giving Emily a gentle smile.
"Okay." Emily whispered. She was okay so far. The pain was bearable, the contractions far apart and not overly strong. The biggest thing she was fighting was the fear. A contraction hit her and Emily slowed her gait, inhaling sharply. Her eyes closed and she exhaled slowly.
"You okay?" Rossi asked, rocking back on the balls of his feet. He remembered being in the delivery room with Caroline, but that was 30 years ago and she was not a high risk pregnancy.
Opening her eyes, Emily gave Rossi a small smile. "Yeah." She said softly. "Not too bad yet." She looked over at JJ and then at Fran and Rossi. "Have you heard from Derek?"
JJ pulled out her phone. "Matt was on his way to get him, but I'll call Penelope and ask her what she knows."
Emily sat down on the birthing ball and nodded. She didn't want to show her fear, but everyone in the room could see it in her eyes. This wasn't the way she was supposed to give birth. She wasn't supposed to be here alone, without her husband.
Stepping away, JJ dialed Penelope's number. "Do you know where Matt and Derek are?" JJ asked in a way of a greeting.
"They aren't there yet?" Penelope growled and JJ could hear mad typing. "I'll call you back, tell Emily that they're on their way." She quickly hung up and dialed Matt's number, swearing under her breath. When the phone picked up, Penelope didn't care who was on the other end. "WHERE ARE YOU TWO?"
Matt looked at Derek who sighed heavily. "On our way babygirl. We're about half an hour from the hospital. We've hit a traffic jam…"
"Don't babygirl me, Derek Morgan." Penelope cut him off. "Your wife is giving birth to your twins. She's scared and she needs her husband...and this is Emily we're talking about. She's not scared of anything and she's SCARED."
Rubbing his temples, Derek took the phone off hands free and brought it to his ear. "I know, we're coming."
"You better be, Derek Morgan. Because I will help your wife raise your little babies if you don't. Now hurry the hell up." Closing the call, Penelope sighed and got to her feet. She had a bag of gifts for the baby as well as some for Emily and the least she could do was go give some moral support.
Derek hung up and looked at Matt. "Can we go any faster?"
Nodding, Matt did a quick shoulder check and flipped on the lights again and increased the pressure on the pedal.
Emily rolled on the ball, trying to keep her breathing steady and her facial expressions neutral. When JJ walked back into the room, she gave her a look and the blonde nodded.
"On their way. They should be here in about half an hour." She gave her friend a gentle smile. Emily nodded and kept rolling on the ball, keeping her gaze downcast. The four others in the room exchanged silent glances.
"I'm going to get a coffee." Rossi announced. "And wait for Matt and Derek downstairs." He silently left the room.
Fran stood in front of Emily and took her hands and squeezed them gently. "He's going to get here." She said softly. "You're doing so amazing, Emily. You've DONE so amazing keeping those babies safe. Now you focus on bringing them into the world safely, not about my dumbass son arriving. He'll be here, I'll make sure of it."
A small smile appeared on the younger woman's face and she nodded. Rolling back on the ball, Emily exhaled softly. Fran pressed a soft kiss on the top of her head and nodded to Tara and JJ, following Rossi out of the room.
Emily had been prepared for the pain of childbirth and if she was being quite honest, it wasn't unbearable yet. But she hadn't been prepared for the loneliness of it. Another contraction rolled over her and she rocked on the ball. Her friends were there, and she knew that they weren't going to leave her, but she also knew that this was something that she had to do herself. JJ's hands rubbed her shoulder softly and she heard Tara counting slowly. Breathing through the contraction, Emily opened her eyes once it was over and gave her friends a weak smile. Tara looked at her phone then back at Emily.
"I'm going to go down to the cafeteria and meet Garcia, okay? We'll bring up some crackers, broth, and some gatorade."
Nodding, Emily slowly got to her feet and looked at JJ. She slid on a pair of slippers and started to shuffle as best she could around the room. They were in a birthing suite, and normally it would have had an option for a birthing pool, but with the high risk pregnancy and twins, the birthing pool wasn't an option. JJ's arm looped around her waist as they walked around the room slowly. Emily couldn't help but think of how things had come full circle, because it was only a handful of years ago that she was walking JJ around her own hospital room with Henry. The walk was slow, but JJ's arm never moved, strong and steady. They had made two laps when the door opened and Dr. Montgomery walked in. She gave the two women a gentle smile.
"So how are things going, Emily?" She looked around the room for Derek before looking back at the brunette. "Derek?"
"On his way." JJ said quickly as she helped Emily onto the bed.
The doctor nodded and gave Emily a smile. "So how are things going, Emily?"
"My back hurts."
Dr. Montgomery nodded and moved closer. "It's more than likely the way the babies are sitting." she said honestly. "Let's check how far you are along and then we can look at options."
Sighing, Emily put her feet up and allowed the doctor to check her cervix. She shifted uncomfortably before sitting up once the doctor removed her hand. "You're at about 2 centimeters dilated." Pulling the ultrasound machine over, the doctor gently slid her gown up and moved the wand around before nodding. "And here is the cause of your back labour." She said with a smile. "Baby B is face down for now and is pressing on your spine." She put the wand back and gave her a tight lipped smile. "We can do an epidural…"
Emily shook her head and pulled herself up to a sitting position. "No. No drugs. Derek and I talked about it," She said softly. "Are there any positions that can help?"
The doctor nodded and helped Emily to her feet. "On your hands and knees will help to take some of the pressure off your spine. You can use the ball as well. Also, when Derek comes, you can get him to press on your back, or use the shower and the hand held to massage your back."
"Alright." Emily exhaled softly and looked at JJ. "Can you check to see where Derek is?"
The blonde nodded and pressed a kiss on the top of Emily's hair. "Course. You stick tight." She whispered softly.
Her breath shook as she exhaled slowly. "Damn it Derek, just show up." She whispered, a tear rolled down her cheek as she lowered herself to the floor on her hands and knees. "Just show UP."