AN: Here's that promised Part II

Chapter Title "Walking On Water" by NEEDTOBREATHE

DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the Chicago PD, Fire or Med characters, only my OCs!

Will already heard the three man, before he saw them. No matter how busy the ED was, he'd make these familiar voices out anytime. Also he'd expected especially one of them to appear at one point today. After all he'd seen the associated woman being brought in a little while ago.

"I need to see my wife!" Called out a breathless voice, and it almost sounded like a threat.

"Your Wife?" That incredulous snort definitely belonged to none other than Will's little brother.

But he had to admit that this was news to him too, so his ears pricked up even more.

"Oh yeah, Kim and I went to the courthouse last week to make things official before the baby's born. Didn't I tell you?"

"No, you didn't!"

"Yeah, we did. I want this kid to grow up as a Ruzek from the start."

"Good gracious!" Will could have sworn that his brother was rolling his eyes with reckless abandon.

"Okay, so hey: Ethan, we're looking for Kim Burgess… Or is it Kim Ruzek now? God, this is so confusing…" That had to be Kelly Severide's voice, also sounding a little out of breath.

Will shook his head in amusement and decided to end these guys' misery and thereby let everyone else down here get back to their work. He excused himself to the patient he'd been treating and was immediately faced with three rather rough looking creatures at the reception area of the emergency room. Although every one of them had to maintain a rather high level of fitness due to their physically demanding jobs, Adam, Jay and Kelly looked like they had just finished the Chicago Marathon. Flushed and not quite so clean faces, sweaty foreheads, pit-stains on shirts and an overall air of venturesomeness around them. Will couldn't wait until he'd get that full story. But he guessed this had to wait. There were other, literally more pressing, matters to attend to:

"Hey, guys! Maybe turn it down a notch?"

"Will… thank God! Have you seen…" Adam rushed towards him, dark brown eyes dancing with a mixture of anxiety, impatience and lack of direction.

"They're up in the maternity ward. Where babies are usually born!" Will couldn't help but tease the father to be a little, which was not very well received of course:

"Smartass!"

"You're welcome, Adam!"

Ruzek already sprinted towards the elevators, whereas Jay stopped in front of Will and threw him a questioning look that he of course knew how to read:

"She's there, too!"

Jay didn't say anything, but slapped his shoulder in a thankful manner, before he and Severide followed Adam.

"Good luck!"

When Kim had watched these scenes in films of women giving birth, crying, howling, sweating, screaming, arguing with their husbands or the midwives, fighting, almost giving up, re-entering the fight, she had never ever thought this would be her! She'd go at it differently! But here she was! Kim had lost track of time. It seemed like she had been crying and sweating all over Rianne and the midwives forever.

Lying down hadn't worked out so good, so she'd mostly been wandering through the room, trying to move things further along. Only one part of her didn't want this child to come so soon, because, although she didn't know what she'd do to him once he arrived, if he ever did, she hadn't given up hope that Adam could be part of this.

On the other hand she couldn't have wished for a better birthing partner right now: Rianne was, in contrast to Kim, the absolute calm and not once did Kim think that the other woman was focused on anything else than her and this journey they were on together, bound by fate as it seemed. Whenever the contractions weren't quite as bad and she had a second to think about anything else than having to give birth to this child without its father by her side, Kim felt bad about having drawn someone into this, who in all objectivity, had every good reason of wanting to stay as far away from this labor room as possible:

"I'm sure you wish you hadn't been the one to find me. I'm so, so sorry!"

But Rianne would have none of it:

"Stop apologizing Kim. I've decided to stay and it's fine. Besides, I believe in fate. So maybe this is some sort of a higher plan? I don't know. We'll know what good it will do, but that doesn't matter now, because your baby's impatient to meet you and I'm not letting you do it alone!"

It was just one of the things today that would forever increase Kim's deep respect for the power and strength of women, their ability to rise above themselves in a sometimes so unpretentious and unobtrusive manner. Still she could have gone without the pain.

In the end he'd really been walking back to Chicago. Well, kind of.
Indeed he had been running the last miles to the hospital! They all had, because unbelievably so, that cursed van had given up again, shortly after they'd left the Expressway! They'd unceremoniously pushed it to the curb and Adam had run as fast as he could, Kelly and Jay on his heels. Thank God for those jobs that kept them all in good shape.
They just made three stops: One in the emergency room and at the elevators and when they found Stella in the waiting area, pacing in front of some double doors that supposedly led to the labor rooms. He didn't hear any baby-cries yet, so that was a good thing wasn't it?

"Finally! What took you guys so long?" Kidd exclaimed, dark curls wilder than usually, and walked towards them.

"Where are they? Where's Rianne?"

"She's… with Kim!"

Adam didn't care about their conversation and Jay's incredulous: "What? Why?", after Stella's answer.

He just stormed off. He needed to get to the love of his life asap and he wasn't waisting any more time by asking around, he just followed his instincts.
Again he was running through another foreign, winding corridor, when he heard a woman arguing. That was definitely Kim! His warrioress, his fighting woman, his literal partner in crime! He needed to be there for her, he had promised her to be there!

After finally storming into the birthing room, Adam abruptly stopped in his tracks. He had made it, he was actually there, but this was a sight he'd not been preparing himself for. There hadn't been time for any thoughts other than that he couldn't miss the birth of his son! But all he felt now was a mental overload and like he was somehow intruding.

"Shit… here comes another…" Kim cursed through gritted teeth and Adam felt his heart in his throat.

She was practically squatting in the middle of the room, her hospital gown drenched in sweat, clinging to her upper body. Her arms were draped around Rianne's neck, who was holding her up and whispering silent words of encouragement. The women's sweat glistening foreheads were almost touching. It looked like an arduous process. They were all so dedicated to it, that no one had even heard him walk in.

"You're doing so well Kim, just a little more!" That gentle voice belonged to a woman who was almost on the floor reaching between Kim's legs.

Was that already a little head she was touching there? Oh God! Adam suddenly felt a little queasy and as if his legs were about to give way.

Kim's angry scream went right through him: "I don't want to do this anymore! Where the fuck is Adam?"

That finally shook him out of his stupor: "Kim, baby, I'm here!"

With three long strides he crossed the room and was by her side.

"About damn time!" she growled at him, one hand reaching for his chest.

First he thought she wanted to shove him, but instead she clang to the fabric of his shirt. Between other things there was definitely fear in her beautiful doe-eyes.

"I'm so sorry… this… what do I do, what do I do?"

They had practiced everything in prenatal classes, they had worked on a birthing plan, but right now his brain just went blank. Kim looked so pale and distressed. What if something happened to her, what if something went wrong?

"Take my place," Rianne offered and guided him into her former position, so that Kim was now hanging on to his shoulders.

In the meantime Stella found herself opposite a pretty grim looking and stressed CPD detective:

"Why'd you let her go in there? Why aren't you with Kim instead?"

"Hey man, calm down!" Although Kelly surely had to still be upset about their morning's argument, he immediately got between her and Jay.

It was kind of sweet to see, that Kelly always got her back, no matter what, but Stella could fend for herself. After all she was used to dealing with hot-headed men:

"Don't yell at me! It was her own choice!"

Not that she wasn't a teeny-tiny bit anxious too, but Jay was acting like she had sent her best friend on a suicide mission.
For a second Stella was caught in a staring match with her best friend's man, but then Jay's features softened and he ran his fingers through his already messed up hair:

"Sorry… sorry, I didn't mean to. I'm… I'm just worried about what this will do to her!"

"Jay, don't act like she's made out of glass and stop projecting."

Maybe this was harder on him than he wanted to admit to anyone, least of all to himself?

"We should probably call someone about towing the VW, while we wait," Kelly interrupted, easing the tension a little by bringing up a totally different issue.

Even better: He put an arm around Stella's shoulder and kissed her temple for a split-second. Maybe he had already forgiven her?

"I'll… wait outside!"

"You sure you wanna leave now?" The midwife, a woman her own age, addressed Rianne, sounding a little incredulous, but kind.

Rianne didn't know what to say. It felt like her work here was done and she didn't want to intrude on Kim and Adam's moment.

"Now comes the good part. I think you'll find it kind of rewarding," the woman winked, before she made Kim go to the bed, obviously sensing Burgess' strength fading and the final phase of this birth beginning.

So she stayed and not five minutes later, a new life was brought into the world:
Red-faced and wrinkled, immediately screaming bloody murder, covered in blood and vernix, there was a little boy. It was honestly the most powerful thing she had ever seen. And the tears suddenly streaming down Rianne's face, along with the tears of the new parents, were those of pure joy to be witnessing this absolute miracle. Nothing more! Those weren't tears for Matteo or the other baby, these were for this overpowering moment. For a second it was like Rianne was watching herself stand there in the middle of the room, where relieved laughter, tears and the cries of a new-born faded into a soundtrack she'd only ever heard in films before, and wasn't able to believe it.

Still she decided to sneak out shortly after that.
Adam and Kim were totally wrapped up in their new baby-bubble, welcoming their child. So Rianne told the midwife, that she'd give the others an update. This was solely their moment, she didn't belong there with them.

When Rianne had left the labor room, she stopped in her tracks. She noticed her shaky hands and that she was feeling a little dizzy. The adrenaline that had been pumping through her for hours slowly began to wear off, but other than that she felt surprisingly calm.
She was waiting for the sadness to arrive. The fear that what she had just been a witness to, would maybe never happen to herself. But either those feelings were a little late to the party or had no intention to attend at all. It was a little strange.
There was only a rush of excitement and surreality. A flicker of her old optimism flared up, because suddenly this felt like a circle closing. Thinking about it, this Burzek baby had pushed Jay and her closer together from the get-go, it seemed to be entangled with their relationship-history. Supposedly this little man had been conceived the night of Jay's and her first kiss. When Rianne had come to know about Kim's pregnancy, she'd spent her first real night at Jay's. They had shared some important stories about their past then. And that time when Kim had almost lost the baby, Rianne had opened up even more to Jay… Maybe this was a stupid thought, but she didn't care as long as it gave her some peace of mind.

At some point Jay thought he heard a baby crying. He seemed not to be the only one, because Stella grabbed on to Kelly's arm with force and walked closer to the corridor to the labor rooms.
The next minutes were even more excruciating than all the waiting before.
Rianne was still in there. Why did she have to be in there to see this baby born up close? This couldn't be good for her!
So Jay was pacing the waiting area, hands holding on to his belt loops, agitated like he was the father to be.

When the double doors swung open and his girlfriend finally made an appearance, he felt nothing but relief that from what he could see, she seemed okay. Her eyes were glistening and her face flushed, some mascara smudged around her eyes, but she wore a genuine smile. Or rather an expression that told him she had just witnessed something magical, possibly otherworldly, something she couldn't quite explain. Jay was itching to sweep her off her feet and clasp her in his arms, but Stella was quicker and ran towards her:

"Tell me, tell me, tell me! How was it? How's Kim, how's the baby?"

"They had a healthy boy and he's the sweetest thing I've ever seen!"

Stella squealed and whirled Rianne around for a second, before putting her back down.

Still engulfed in her friend's hug, Rianne then gave Kelly and Jay a very stern look over Stella's shoulder, a critical frown dominant on her forehead:

"Where the hell have you two been all day?"

Whereas Kelly started to mumble something, Jay was close to personally prying Rianne away from Stella, needing personal contact before anything else.
Thankfully she decided to let her friend go without waiting for an answer, and literally jumped into his arms, almost making him loose his balance.

"What are you doing to yourself babe?" he mumbled into her ear, as he clutched her tighter than tight, one arm around her shoulders, his other hand holding up her right thigh.

Rianne had wrapped her legs around his waist and held on to him, as if her life depended on it. Jay couldn't remember the last time they had been this close.

"Seems life had this particular plan…" She still didn't let go and buried her face in his neck. Jay enjoyed every second of this seemingly ecstatic state of hers, it was kind of infectious.

When Rianne looked at him again, she had that incredulous expression from earlier:

"It's a boy!" she breathed, as if somehow she didn't believe it.

"So you keep saying…" Jay laughed a little unsure. He really hadn't expected this.

"It was something else! Different from anything I ever imagined it to be. Kim was so brave! You should have seen her…"

"I think it's better I didn't, but I'm proud of you too!" He kissed her cheek one more time before putting her down.

"I was so worried about you!" he whispered with his forehead against hers. Saying it out loud only made him realize just how much he had been worried indeed.

"I wasn't the one giving birth, dummy," Rianne chuckled and tenderly nipped his side.

"Still, you know why!"

"I'm good Jay, honestly! You're here now, so I'm okay!" She touched his face and ran her fingers over his ears and neck, before she kissed him on the mouth full force.

Whereas Jay was a little blown away by the passion behind that kiss and didn't want it to end, Rianne suddenly pulled back and wrinkled her nose:

"Uh, you smell a little…"

It was just then that she seemed to take in his appearance: The dirt on his arms, hands and face, dirt that had already rubbed off on her cheeks too, sweat and grease and dust. Her eyes then wandered to Kelly, who looked somewhat the same.

"What happened to you?" she laughed.

"You don't wanna know!" Jay sighed and exchanged a knowing look with Kelly, who winked at him and pulled Stella back into his side.

The day they'd had…
Before they could decide which parts of their story to tell and which better to keep to themselves, there was some commotion behind them:

"Hey guys! I want you all to meet someone!"

While Kim was getting checked out and resting, Adam had snuck out to proudly present his son to them. He was positively glowing with pride:

"This is 'Little Ruzek' for now…. I think he looks just like me!"

"Oh, I really hope he does not!" Kelly joked, but then the men were all over that little bundle in Adam's arms as well.

Congratulations were exchanged and then a silence fell over them. Well, apart from the typical hospital sounds all around, but between them all eyes were on the newest member of their Chicago family. The smallest one had all their attention. For a while they didn't even dare to breathe.

"He's so gorgeous!" Stella couldn't stop staring at that peaceful, sleepy face and almost went a little hysteric, as the little one scrunched up his nose and sighed an adoring baby-sigh.

"You wanna hold him?" Adam had caught on to Stella's immediate head-over-heels crush on his son and passed him on.

Kidd's smile couldn't have been broader, when her and Kelly coed over the little man.

"Rianne?"

Her mind must have wandered off to somewhere else, far away, because when Adam suddenly said her name, Rianne jumped a little.

"Hm?" She blinked a few times to see things more clearly and found herself looking up into glistening deep brown orbs.

Ruzek's big hands landed on her shoulders, squeezing them tight: "This meant everything, really! Thank you, so much! Especially on behalf of Kim!"

His voice wobbled a little and because Rianne didn't want to get all emotional too, she quickly put her arms around him and gave him a big hug.

"You're so welcome! I'm glad it all worked out!" She released him with a nod and while Adam quickly wiped his eyes on his upper arm, before walking over to Jay.

Rianne took a deep breath and joined Kelly and Stella with the little Ruzek.
They other two were acting like they had been on some kind of secret mission. Rianne only heard some words of their exchange and caught Jay looking at her funnily one time.

"Hey, I'm sorry 'bout before! I know I was acting all crazy!"

"It's all good Adam, I'm happy for you and Burgess!"

Rianne heard back-slapping and some more good-humored comments behind her. Men!

"And I'm sorry you missed your 'appointment'… I hope you can figure something out."

"Yeah, well, let's not talk about it…"

Rianne briefly wondered what that was all about, but then again the little man in front of her had his tiny fist wrapped tightly around her little finger and that was definitely more fascinating.

"I'm actually starving! R'you guys by chance up for burgers and fries?"

After Kelly and Jay had teased Adam some more about the fact that Kim and him still had to decide on a name for their baby, they left the hospital in quite high spirits.
Rianne's food suggestion was met with great approval, especially from the guys. She knew that Jay was especially happy about it, because he'd had to deal with her being very lackluster and picky concerning food in the past weeks. But yeah, right now Rianne felt like she could eat!

Kelly and Stella, who had very obviously buried their hatchet, got into the front of Stella's Jeep, Jay and Rianne in back, where Stella had to spread her thick CFD jacket over the seats, so that they wouldn't get their butts wet. It seemed so surreal that just a few hours ago Kim's water had broken right here and Rianne had been momentarily worried that they would have to deliver that baby all on their own, in Stella's car of all places.

Bon Iver's "AUTC" was playing on the radio as soon as Stella turned on the engine. It was kind of the perfect song for the end of this crazy day. Looking at the people in the car with her and Chicago's streets drenched in the magical light of the setting sun, another wave of happiness washed over Rianne.

She watched Jay next to her delicately wipe his dirty hands on some wet wipes that Stella had thrown at him before: He really was beautiful in every way.
Those shiny green eyes, these slightly longer than average lashes, and that immaculate hazel hair Rianne was tempted to ruffle every once in a while. Mainly because she knew he hated having to tame its natural curl again afterwards. She loved that it was so gloriously tousled now.
Jay was going nowhere! No matter how bad things got, or what the day brought, in the end she could always run back to him and he'd be there with her, for her. And it would be okay. More than okay actually.
The realization suddenly hit Rianne like a brick and filled her with such relief that her eyes got all glossy. Jay mistook that for something else of course, when he noticed her staring at him:

"Are you really okay?"

Rianne had rolled her window down a little to breathe in the fresh air and closed her eyes. Those tears that had him worried, were slowly falling from her lashes, like perfect pearls of dew. But when she looked back at him, that 100 kilowatt smile of hers was surprisingly plastered all over her rosy cheeks. She slid over into the seat next to him, reached for his hand and entwined their fingers.

"I love you!" Her eyes were swimming with emotions so momentous, that he was blown away by them too and he only knew how to deal with it by kissing her hard on the mouth and pulling her even closer:

"I love you too!" So much so, that the words alone didn't do his feelings justice.

For him she was the perfect combination of being both soft and strong.
He had gotten that accurate account on how their lives would be together: Messy, honest, real, raw. This was a real love. As practical as it was magical. All the perfections stripped off Jay still knew that this was the woman he wanted to be with, for the rest of his life. And even if his plan to tell her exactly that and 'seal the deal' had gone awry today, this didn't mean that he wouldn't get another chance, hopefully soon.

Rianne sank against his shoulder with a content sigh and looked out of the window with him. Unfortunately exactly as they passed a mint and white van being loaded onto a tow-truck at the side of the road.
Jay cringed and bit his lip, groaning inwardly. Shit! He had forgotten to tell Kidd to take a different route to spare Rianne this spectacle. In all that chaos he hadn't yet come around to tell her everything. Her head shot up and she raised an eyebrow at him:

"Ehm, Jay? Is that my van being towed?"

He saw that Kelly and Stella in the front were barely keeping it together. Obviously they thought it was quite funny to see him squirm like that. Fortunately Jay knew with the way things went in their universe, he'd get his revenge sooner or later. So he tried to propitiate Rianne by running his fingers through her curls, when he started to explain:

"Yeah… about that…It's actually a funny story…"