AN: Now that it's canon that Shaun and Lea are going to be parents (spoiler), I'm writing more in sync with the show (such as they're pretty much already going to know the sex before birth). When I wrote my first fic related to this topic, I actually doubted that Shaun and Lea becoming parents would become an actual storyline. I'm also someone who survived a car accident years ago, so I'm basing the experience of crashing on my own experience (which I hardly remember, so forgive me for that). So, here is the first chapter of this emotional roller coaster ride, and I hope you all enjoy it, and please review :)

Lea's pregnancy was typical; morning sickness in her first trimester and fatigue in her second. Mood swings and feeling the urge to pee every five minutes were also common.

At the mark of the eighth week, Shaun and Lea heard their baby's heartbeat and saw them via sonogram for the very first time, although they could barely see the baby on the screen. Both of them shed tears.

At 12 weeks, they felt like they finally got a clear view of their baby on the ultrasound. Again, just like at their very first ultrasound, they both shed tears.

At 15 weeks, they talked about the birth plan and everything, signing up for lamaze classes. That very same week, they learned that they were having a boy via a blood test. Shaun also warned her that it might not be accurate.

At 16 weeks, Lea could feel the baby fluttering inside her. At first, she thought it was gas. Unfortunately, it was too early for Shaun to feel anything.

At 20 weeks, it was confirmed again at the ultrasound that they were having a boy, just as the results of the blood test showed. That same week, Shaun was finally able to feel some movement.

At 26 weeks, the nursery was finished and the crib was put together with the help of Dr. Glassman. It was a plain and simple nursery (although the baby was going to be sleeping in the bassinet in their room for the first three months) and it didn't have an unnecessary theme like safaris or woodlands.

Unfortunately, their world would come crashing down into the scariest moment of their lives at 28 weeks.

It began as a typical morning.

Shaun woke up in the living room earlier than he usually did this morning. Since Lea was seven months pregnant and in the beginning of her third trimester, it was getting more and more uncomfortable for her. With all the pillows taking up space on the bed so she could get comfortable, Shaun thought it would be better for him to sleep on the couch that night, and it was probably going to be his new bed for a while.

It was only 4:15 am, and his 15-hour shift didn't start until 8:00 am. This was unfortunately one of the days where he and Lea's shifts weren't concurrent, so Shaun would be taking the bus while Lea would be starting work late at 2:00 pm. At least their shifts would end at the same time that day, so they were driving home together.

Despite having plenty of time to sleep in, the young man pulled himself off the couch and walked into the bedroom to check on Lea. He took a peek inside and saw her sleeping peacefully and as comfortable as she could be (surrounded by around ten pillows), something that was going to get even more difficult as her due date approaches closer. He watched in awe as he saw Lea's belly move from a distance.

As much as he wanted to walk in and rub her belly to feel the baby kick (he has been very active lately), he thought Lea deserved some sleep. Her legs were already starting to do the thing where they cramp up, especially in the middle of the night. So, more massages for Lea from Shaun.

It was hard to believe that in 12 weeks, he and Lea were going to be parents to their baby boy, who was originally going to be named Steven Aaron Murphy, but be called "Stevie", but then they decided that their son deserved his own first name and kept Steven as a middle name. They were also going to need to start looking into childcare this week since they both planned on going back to work after taking 12 weeks off with the baby.

He then walked into nursery, which was Lea's old roomie bedroom. It looked beautiful and simple; not overdone. The walls were the same color they had always been (dark and cool). The crib they had was convertible, which meant that it could transform into a toddler bed, a day bed, and a full-size bed; it could pretty much last 18 years. There was no mobile, no crib bumper, no crib skirt, and no unnecessary accessories in or on the crib (as many of those things were classified as SIDS risks by the American Academy of Pediatrics). There was also a dresser that doubled as a changing table, a glider chair, and a diaper pail that worked well for cloth diapers.

Shaun then heard the sound of Lea's voice, so he walked out of the nursery to find her sitting on the couch and reading Olivia, which was a gift from Dr. Andrews (although the gift was Olivia's idea since she loved that book when she was six). Sometimes, both Shaun and Lea would read to or talk to their unborn child since they thought it was very important for him to hear their voices and get used to them.

"Why do we always read Olivia to him?" Shaun asked curiously before telling a joke. "He's probably getting bored from hearing the same story over and over."

"I don't know. I'm guessing that it's his favorite because I feel like he settles down a bit every time we read him this story," joshed Lea, gently rubbing her belly. "But yeah, maybe we could read him something else, like other classics such as Where the Wild Things Are or Harold and the Purple Crayon. I'm just glad to not be reading him overrated classics like Goodnight Moon or some obnoxious headache-inducing Dr. Seuss book. And who says we just have to read him children's books? We could read him some Calvin and Hobbes. I don't know, maybe I just like Olivia myself."

"Maybe we could read him more of the series about Olivia the Pig instead of just that one book, because I think I remember there being more. I think there was one about her saving the circus and another about missing her best toy," shared Shaun, sitting down next to Lea and putting his hand over her belly. "Anyway, what are you doing up early? You don't have to go to work until 2:00 pm."

"I couldn't sleep," sighed Lea, rubbing her forehead. "He won't stop kicking. So, I decided to read to him so he could go to sleep or at least settle down. Anyway, why are you up so early? Your shift isn't until 8:00 am and you still have plenty of time to do your exercises and daily routine."

"I don't know," replied Shaun. "I guess I just woke up earlier than I usually do this morning. Anyway, we should probably talk about baby names tonight. We need to come up with a first name since we decided against Steven Aaron."

"Okay, we can do that tonight as soon as we get home," concurred Lea, rubbing Shaun's arm. "You write down your list of names, I'll write down a list of mine, and then we'll see if we agree on one."

"Okay."

After a soothing back and foot massage from Shaun, Lea settled back into the pillows of the bed and went back to sleep at 5:00 am.

At 6:00 am, Shaun made a breakfast of tomatoes and scrambled eggs for him and Lea (saving some for Lea in the fridge). Then, he began his daily routine at 6:15 am - doing his push-ups and jumping jacks, brushing his teeth, taking a shower, and getting dressed.

Before he left the apartment to catch the bus at 7:10 am, he grabbed a Granny Smith apple and then walked into the bedroom to give Lea (and her belly) a kiss and bid them goodbye.

It was now 10:05 in the evening and Lea and Shaun were headed back to their apartment from the hospital. Their shifts had ended five minutes earlier. Instead of Lea driving, it was Shaun who was the one driving this time as he thought it was important for him to practice since he was going to be the one driving Lea to St. Bonaventure when she goes into labor.

Lea's work day was typical, but not hectic. She had to provide Diego, her colleague that she promoted as assistant when she was four months pregnant, all of the important information about being IT director since he was getting promoted as temporary IT director when she goes on her maternity leave.

Shaun's day also went on as usual. He, Jordan, and Dr. Lim all performed the final skin graft operation on Rowan Khatri, their 41-year-old patient who survived getting burned over 60% of her body in a house fire. The last surgery was successful and she was able to go home in two days to her mother and daughter.

Although they both had the day off tomorrow, Lea did have a doctor's appointment at 9:00 am tomorrow, so they were both going to need to wake up early tomorrow. She was now going to start having weekly prenatal visits instead of having them once a month. This appointment was also a very significant one because both she and Shaun were receiving their Tdap boosters, which was a good way of preventing themselves from transmitting whooping cough to the baby.

Another thing that was happening tomorrow was that they were also having lunch with Theresa, their doula. At first, Shaun thought that they wouldn't need a doula because he thought that he could provide Lea with everything she needed all himself. He wanted to try very hard to be the perfect labor coach, but then he and Lea eventually agreed that they would both benefit from a doula. He also knew that it was going to be Lea's birth experience, so it was primarily up to her. His job was to support her, and that's what he was going to do.

And besides taking some pressure off of him as a birth partner, there were many benefits to having a doula when he read some studies and other articles. For instance, many studies have shown that doulas can help cut back on time spent in labor, reduce a mother's anxiety (and Shaun definitely felt that it was important for Lea to be relaxed when she gives birth, not heightened with anxiety), and lower the rate of medical interventions that might be unnecessary. And so far, Theresa seemed to be the perfect person for them because not only did she go through childbirth twice, but she also had a partner, a child, and a sister on the spectrum. She was also going to stick around after the birth to help Lea with breastfeeding as she was also a certified lactation consultant.

"Did you write down a list of baby names?" Shaun asked, keeping his eyes on the road. "I thought all of mine up and wrote them down while I was in the breakout room."

"I wrote all of mine down while I was in my office," added Lea, smiling. "As soon as we get home, or maybe tomorrow after we're done having lunch with Theresa, we'll talk about it. Also, this suggestion might sound crazy, but…what if we give our baby three middle names all combined into one? Steven Aaron Neil!"

"No, no," pleaded Shaun, chuckling a little bit. "That's too long."

"Yeah, you're right," chortled Lea. "Let's just stick with Steven as the middle name."

"Yes, I agree with that."

There was a long pause before Lea decided to start talking again, although she decided to then keep quiet because she thought it would be better for silence for Shaun to concentrate. He was doing good so far despite the fact that it's been more than a year since he had driven a car. The radio was off, just like he preferred.

However, that silence was broken when Lea let out a terrified yell.

"Shaun, look out!"

When Lea shouted those three words at Shaun, all Shaun and Lea could see was an indigo Honda spinning towards them and then in less than five seconds, the vehicle rammed into the striped tomato, causing them to spin left and right out of control and then off the road and into a tree - on the driver's side where Shaun was sitting.

The only thing that Shaun and Lea felt during those five seconds were panic as they screamed in terror thinking that they were going to crash and die, and then it wasn't long before everything went black.

AN: I hope you all enjoyed this despite all the whump. Stick around if you want to see the next chapter.