As soon as Talia woke up, she could feel that something was going on with the baby - and it frightened her.

Her stomach was aching, non stop. It felt like there were these bizarre, shooting pains in her abdomen and it was literally making her squirm every few minutes. Chase wasn't even home to comfort her. He had now been working tirelessly for House for three months and his schedule had changed back to unreliable hours, which annoyed Talia even more, so she felt even more alone than she would on any other day before he took back his job. "Ouch," Talia groaned to herself as she cradled her stomach with one arm and desperately clutched onto the sink with the other. "Ugh. Baby no, please don't start doing this to me now-" Another sudden sharp pain came bursting through her stomach and all the way into her spine, causing her to gasp.

Surely this couldn't be the time? Not now? It felt far too early.

She took a few deep breaths in as she stared at herself in the bathroom mirror, still gripping onto the sink for dear life. "Heart rate, only slightly elevated," she murmured as she measured her pulse in her neck underneath her fingertips. "No shallow breathing…and no bloodshot eyes…no bleeding or wetness between the legs - I'm f-fine…"

But Talia took yet another deep breath before grabbing her phone and calling a cab.

She still had to go to the hospital, whether she liked it or not. If not for anything else, to see Chase and let him know of her concerns before something really bad happened whilst she was all alone.

…

By the time Talia stepped into the hospital, her entire body had now started to ache. It felt like the most severe period cramps, yet so much worse. Her eyes felt droopy and heavy, and now her pulse was getting a little faster. She wasn't sure if it was a panic attack or if it was preterm labour, but at this point, they were both one in the same thing to her. If it was a panic attack it was because she thought she was going into preterm labour, and if it was preterm labour she was certainly having a panic attack.

And at this point, the only place she wanted to be was in House's office.

Surely someone in there could help?

So she stood in the lobby with her fists clenched and waited impatiently for the lift to arrive. When the doors finally opened, much to her relief, she was immediately met with her father and, to her immediate surprise, Thirteen. "Remy!" she gasped happily as she stepped into the lift to give her a hug.

"Hey," Thirteen smiled, squeezing her back. Suddenly, she felt a persistent prodding against her own abdomen, leading her to pull Talia apart from her by her shoulders and frown. "Woah! Baby Chase is pretty damn active today, huh?"

"Please, the kid's always active," Talia tried to smile - until that shooting pain came back once again and she doubled over with a loud, unexpected huff. Thirteen frowned as she quickly held onto Talia's arms to steady her, gripping onto her elbows for support.

"Woah, are you okay?" she murmured worriedly. Talia took a deep breath and nodded, trying to stand herself up again.

"I'm fine," she breathed hoarsely - but House certainly looked less than convinced.

"How long have you been having these kinda pains for?" he muttered in concern. Talia's tearful eyes darted over to him and she shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant.

"How'd you know they didn't just come out of nowehere?" Thirteen frowned to House instead.

"It's not rocket science. She's on leave but she's standing here with an increasingly worried look in her eyes. Her hair is a mess and she didn't wanna take an ambulance because she knew it would make everything too real, but she also knew deep down that something was wrong so she had to come in. She didn't drive just in case the pain got worse in the front seat, so she took a cab. She's sick, and she's here for answers or assurance. This is classic Junior 101," he answered simply, taking out his pocket torch and shining it into Talia's eyes briefly as the elevator finally began to jolt upwards. Talia clenched her jaw and dropped her gaze in embarrassment.

She hated how House could read her like a book with ease.

"Talia, if you're suffering from prenatal cramps…" Thirteen began with a frown. "I mean that could be anything! You have to-"

"THIS IS A HOSPITAL WIDE LOCKDOWN. PLEASE MAY ALL PARTICIPANTS STAY WHERE THEY ARE UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE!" suddenly came the authoritative automated voice through the crackly tannoy speakers. House rolled his eyes and leant his head against the elevator wall as Talia let out a small whimper of worry.

"So what do we do now? Disappear into a room when the elevator doors open?" she guessed as she nibbled on the pads of her thumbs.

"Wow. You ARE gettin' good at this!" House gasped. Talia rolled her eyes opened her mouth for a smart comeback - but gasped instead and clutched her stomach.

"Not again!" she groaned as those beads of sweat slowly started to trickle down her forehead once more. House's eyes narrowed in her direction and he tipped her face up by her chin.

"How often have you been having those?" he repeated slowly.

"H-House…it…ARGHHHHH!" Talia suddenly screeched, before sliding down the elevator wall and onto the floor. The pain was now ripping through her entire body, it was so sharp that it borderline took her breath away. Thirteen immediately crouched down by her side with wide eyes. "House, House I th-th-think—"

"Don't talk, just breathe - why the hell hasn't the damn elevator opened yet?!" Thirteen shouted out to House as she propped Talia up against the wall whilst she left out loud groans.

"It's jammed," House murmured with genuine horror in his eyes as he practically punched the emergency button. "The lockdown system must've done something to the damn mechanics-"

"My babyyyy…" Talia wailed helplessly as the tears sprung into her eyes. "House, th-there's s-something going on with my baby!"

"Talia just keep taking deep breaths, okay? Let's keep the oxygen circulating. You're gonna be okay, you're gonna be fine," Thirteen hushed her - although she was finding it hard to believe herself. "How far along are-"

"37 weeks," Talia sobbed, clinging onto Thirteen's hand. "I knew s-s-something bad would happen, I knew i-i-it-"

"Hello, elevator assistance?"

"Ya hi, we've got someone going into preterm labour here! We need assistance now!" House barked down the speaker urgently.

"Sir, we are working on sending someone down there to help get you out as quickly as we can," came a smooth female voice on the other line.

"Yeah well, work faster!" House shouted before turning around and bending down too. His face grew pale once he saw what he was dealing with. "Oh god. Talia, your…your waters-"

"They broke, I know I…I can feel them," Talia rushed to nod in a panic. She looked like a scared kid. Her eyes were streaming with tears and she couldn't stop her hands from shaking, no matter which breathing exercises she practiced in an attempt to calm down. This was everything she was worried about, now coming into fruition in front of her very eyes, and the only thing that she wanted was for Chase to be there with her. "O-ohhh House I can't lose another b-baby-"

"You're not gonna lose another baby, Talia! House, you stay head side and I'll stay down there so it isn't completely weird," Thirteen muttered quickly as she pulled off her doctor's coat and bundled it up to hand over to him. She gingerly positioned Talia's trembling legs correctly, aware that her entire body was probably feeling extremely tender; whilst House shuffled off his own jacket and propped it behind Talia's head so that she could be comfortable, desperately trying to ignore her piercing cries. But it was hard, because he could hear the devastation already lingering in her voice.

It was as if she had already braced herself for the worst, and pre-accepted her baby's fate.

"House, I'm s-s-so scared," she breathed as she clutched onto his hand in a panic. House looked down at her and nodded slowly.

"I know. It's…it's gonna be fine, it's gonna be okay," he assured her quietly, causing Thirteen's head to nudge up from where she was swiftly easing off Talia's jogging bottoms. Talia's fearful eyes wobbled at her father's words but she nodded.

She was thankful for his assurance, because she knew how rare it was, but my goodness - she just wanted her husband.

…

Cuddy was stressed enough about the bizarre case of the baby that had somehow gone missing in the hospital as it was. So after receiving an emergency page from the maintenance man stating that something had gone wrong with the lift and House was trapped with a heavily pregnant woman in early labour - she became so stressed out that she could barely breathe. She rushed from her office alongside the maintenance man, through the silent locked down hallways and over towards where the emergency receiver for the elevator was. "Hello? HOUSE?" Cuddy spoke clearly down the line, as the maintenance man got straight back to work. Within seconds, she was faced with the crackling screeches of a pained woman, who she swiftly recognised as Talia - and then her heart really did drop.

"Cuddy, she's giving birth now!" House spoke loudly as Thirteen shone her torch between Talia's legs to see how dilated the head was. "This baby is on its way out, early and fast."

"Oh god," Cuddy murmured in horror. "We've put a call out for Chase, but we don't know whereabouts in the hospital he's been locked down-"

"Yeah probably isn't the best time to say that!" Thirteen called over her shoulder in annoyance. She looked back up at House and nodded. "Baby's head is crowning, I can see the full head of blonde hair pretty damn clearly."

"Ohhh god please, w-whatever - happens - just - save - my - baby," Talia wailed desperately, panting harshly between each word. "I…I have t-t-to push now-"

"You can push in a second," House encouraged her. "Junior, listen, the baby's gonna be small and-"

"Talia sweetie, we should have you out of there in about five minutes! Just stay with us!" Cuddy told her comfortingly through the speaker. "Can you wait that long?"

"Probably not!" Thirteen shouted back with an added roll of her eyes.

"C-c-can I push? Please?" Talia practically begged as the sweat continued to drench her forehead. Now she felt as if she was entering a state of delirium. The elevator walls were warping in front of her and her entire body felt as if it was on fire.

"Go ahead," Thirteen nodded, shooting House a look. Talia knew what to do - she had to do it before and that was hard enough. But she was trying not to think of her first baby. She was desperately trying not to compare the situations, because she had to be strong for this baby, who, as far as she knew, was still very much alive.

So she pushed.

Her eyes were squeezed shut. Somewhere in the distance she could overhear, House's quiet words of comfort, and felt him push her hair away from sticking to her face as she pushed as hard as she could. And then she breathed in, almost making herself dizzy with the force of trying, before breathing out, and pushing again. She took some more time to compose herself, before huffing in and out and pushing once again. And again. And then she cried out from the pain and the insufferable pressure building in her lower belly. Her tears were streaming to the point where she felt as if she was drowning in them, her head was pounding straight out of her skull, and her abdomen felt as if it was being torn apart from the inside-

Then came Thirteen's gasp.

Talia almost passed out as the building pressure finally released, and her stiffly bent legs finally went limp.

"It's a boy!" Thirteen whispered - just before those beautiful cries filled the elevator, ringing off of the walls with pride. Talia let out the biggest wail of relief and leaned her sweaty head against the wall, as Thirteen hurriedly passed the tiny baby over to her so that they could do skin to skin under her top - leaving House in a state of silent shock.

Talia couldn't believe what she was shakily holding in her hands at that moment. Her heart was still racing and it all felt like a bizarre dream, but as soon as she took that tiny squirming, wailing newborn boy in her hands, it suddenly went from dreamlike - to very, very real.

"Hiii my sweet angel," she sobbed to her son quietly as both Thirteen and House quickly helped her pull down her top so that they could place him on her bare chest. She was so stunned and exhausted that she could barely formulate real sentences that weren't just phrases of surprise drenched in awe. "Ohhh my beautiful baby boy! Hiiii! You are so beautiful-"

She looked up at House with tearful eyes, still unable to comprehend what had just happened.

"Congratulations," House nodded quietly with a small smile, as Thirteen held back her tears of both shock and relief. Before Talia could respond, though - the elevator doors suddenly opened to reveal an apprehensive looking Cuddy, with two nurses on either side of her.

For a good split second, the sight in front of them rendered them to a shocking silence.

"Oh…my…god…" Cuddy murmured as the nurses immediately went to cut the umbilical chord and take the tiny baby from Talia's hands, despite how reluctant she was to actually let him go.

"Where…where are you taking him? H-he's crying, his airways are clear and his lungs are developed i-i-it's okay-" she tried to splutter as one of them gently prised him from her.

"We need to go and check everything, then we need to get you checked out too, mama! We'll be right back with him I promise - you get yourself on this stretcher, okay?" the second nurse whispered comfortingly.

But as much as Talia would've been ready to argue and demand that she wanted to stay with her baby - she'd suddenly passed out, right then and there on the elevator floor.

…

Once Talia came back around again, she briefly forgot where she was. It was only when her droopy eyes fell on House sitting beside her and the plastic hospital cot beside him, that she remembered what had happened - then her immediate reaction was to panic. "House," she croaked out, causing his pensive blue eyes to fly up into her direction. "Wh- where's-"

"Shhh. Relax, Junior. He's here, and he's fine," House murmured calmly. He slowly rose to his feet and reached his hands into the plastic cot to lift out a small white bundle, and carefully handed him over to Talia before she started to freak out. "You passed out, but I woke you back up because I knew you'd be mad at missing out on any time with him. They checked him out - he's small, but healthy. He's a fighter," House informed her quietly. Talia couldn't think of words to say - she simply took her son in her arms and looked at him in awe, gulping down every single one of his perfect features. He had the sweetest little body, but with large round eyes, although they were peacefully shut for now; he had a tiny button nose and his lips were just the most beautiful, poutiest things Talia had ever easily could've come from her, but could equally have come from her husband - but Talia didn't care to figure it out right now, she was already in love. Not to mention his full head of blonde curles, some strands flat against his soft scalp, some gently curling up, the colour far too fair to see from a distance.

He actually resembled Ezra, which made Talia's heart both swell and ache. She couldn't wait to tell him all about his older brother when he was old enough to understand.

"He's so…so beautiful," she breathed as she pulled the blanket down slightly with one finger so that she could see every inch of his snoozing face.

"You got a name lined up yet?" House asked, leading Talia to look up at him as if she had just remembered that he was there.

"Oh. I have a few but…I have a feeling I should discuss that wit- oh my god, where's Rob?" she suddenly frowned in a panic.

And then, as if on cue…

"Talia! I- oh, my god," Chase panted as he skidded into the ward. His eyes were wild and he looked an absolute mess - and if Talia wasn't so overwhelmed about going from being pregnant to being a mother in the past hour, she would've started laughing at the sheer state of him.

Chase slowly edged over to the bed with his hands hooked at the back of his head in wonder.

"Is that…is that our…? I mean, is-"

"Oh god. Yes," House sighed dramatically. "Yes, yes it is. Keep up."

"This is our baby boy," Talia nodded with an amazed smile. "Look at him. He's perfect." Chase did as he was told, unable to stop his eyes filling with tears as he rested his gaze on the sleeping newborn in Talia's arms.

"It's a boy," he choked out in surprise, still not full understanding the speed in which this all happened. "We have…we have a son?"

"We have a son," Talia breathed up at him. She lifted the bundle slightly. "You wanna hold him?"

"I…I guess I should, right?" Chase blinked nervously, making Talia giggle.

"You have held hundreds of babies over the span of your career - so I'd say that yeah, you should probably hold your firstborn child," she pointed out lightly. Chase gulped but nodded, and Talia carefully handed him over.

His face broke out into an amazed smile.

"Wowww. Heyyy buddy," he chuckled quietly. The softness and tenderness of his voice alone made Talia's heart swell. "So you're the one who's been causing ruckus in your mum's tummy and decided to surprise us weeks early in a lift of all places, huh? We've been waiting for you for a while now." He pressed a light kiss onto his son's forehead. "I love you so much," he murmured. Then he looked up to Talia. "And I love you, my strong warrior mama." Talia smiled and pulled his face towards her by his jaw so that she could give him a proper kiss back.

"And I love you. My precious boys," she murmured dreamily as she leant her head back on the pillow. "Speaking of - we actually don't have a name for him yet, you do know that, right?"

"Oh," Chase frowned, diverting his eyes back onto his son again. "Um…how about Elijah? I still kinda like that one out of all the ones we looked at."

"Elijah Rowan Chase?" Talia clarified quietly, causing Chase to let out a little sniff mixed with a laugh. "Ah, your dad would definitely be proud."

They looked at each other with matching looks of adoration in their eyes, the two of them as blissfully happy in that quiet moment as each other - and then House spoke and snapped them out of it.

"I'll, uh…leave you guys to it," he muttered, quickly reminding them both that he was even in the room yet again.

"Thank you for everything, House," Chase nodded up at him sincerely before he could leave. But House froze and shook his head.

"It wasn't me. It was all your wife. She did good, got him out in minutes…and totally unmedicated," he informed him quietly. He gave one final nod in Talia's direction and hobbled out of the room, leaving the couple staring at the door that he'd closed behind him.

"Take it he hasn't held him properly yet?" Chase guessed with a small sigh.

"Other than to hand him over? I…don't think so."

"You think he's gonna even try and bond with his grandchild?" Chase asked curiously, taking a seat on the bed by Talia's thighs.

"I hope so, but you can never tell with House, huh?" Talia whispered back. "At this point, though, I'm too happy to even worry about it." She smiled over at him again, but this time whilst trying to stifle a yawn.

"You're tired, bub. Sleep," Chase encouraged her before kissing her forehead tenderly. "I've got him, it's okay."

"You sure?" Talia yawned again, although her eyes were already starting to close.

"Of course I'm sure. I'll always have him, without fail."