XxX

Jordan was bundled up, wearing three layers plus a blanket, as she tried to fight back the coldest night of the year. She muttered as she shifted, trying to get comfortable. She was more than ready for Eilís to be out in the world instead of napping on her bladder.

It had been a long, weird week between the random mishaps around the morgue and the serial killer they had just apprehended, but, somehow, that wasn't even the weirdest part of all.

No, that win went to Nigel, who kept going on and on about Mercury in retrograde and blue moons. It wasn't that the last few days hadn't lived up to their astrological-assigned craziness, but the fact that her husband – who had scoffed at the notion of Saturn Effect a few years ago, God the year before, and her crystals and smudge bundle a couple months back – was giving any credibility to the stars for their misfortunates had them all a bit concerned.

Jordan chalked it up to nerves. Her due date was fast approaching and with each day she felt like they were less and less prepared. Neither one of them had cracked open any of the books she'd bought over the months, and she was pretty sure they'd end up winging it like they did everything else.

The "nursery", if one could call it that, consisted of an old crib and a half-built rocking chair stuffed into a corner of their apartment. They had a baby blanket gifted to them by her grandmother, a couple toys her dad had scavenged from the attic, and some hand-me-downs from Lily.

Of course, Lily had wanted to go all out and throw a baby shower for them but Jordan being Jordan had insisted that they had it all under control. Because she was so small, Jordan's bump appeared even more gargantuan than it really was, and the constant gawking was getting a bit old. The last thing she needed to deal with was a party where she would be forced to wear a sash with Mom-To-Be embroidered on it and a pink, fluffy tiara while they played mind-numbing games.

The elevators opened and Jordan lazily rolled her head to the side to see who was stopping by at this hour. She smiled when a familiar face came into view.

"Evening, Barry." Jordan smirked, "Bit late to be dropping off a package?"

The delivery man had become almost a stapple around the morgue, a thing Emmy had no complaints about. He seemed to be dropping off something every other day, sometimes multiple times a day.

"This one was a rush." Barry grinned his toothy smile and held out the clipboard to her.

Jordan rose a skeptical brow as she signed off, flourishing the T on Townsend, "That is the fifth package he's gotten this week. What, did he buy stock in UPS?" Her thoughts turned, wondering what Nigel was up to.

Barry just shrugged and after some polite chat he was off to his next stop. Jordan traced shapes onto her stomach as she leaned back. It was really strange that Nigel hadn't jumped headfirst into all the information he could get his hands on concerning pregnancies and childrearing, since his usual MO was to know anything and everything he could. Her pulse raised, wondering why this time things were so different.

She would have given it further thought if a shooting pain didn't seize her back, another following right on its heels.

But neither of those were as bad as when her water broke.

XxX

Nigel quickly tapped on the pad as he and Bug finished the shift's body checklist.

"Jordan is going to murder me, I promised her we'd be out of here an hour ago." Nigel muttered as he rushed back to his desk, "At least her anger is probably keeping her warm. How long does it take to fix a bloody furnace?" Bug just chuckled as the intercom crackled to life.

Nigel sighed, his shoulders falling, "Now what?"

"Paging Nigel Townsend."

Nigel wrinkled his nose as he turned to Bug, "Is that Jordan?" Bug just shrugged.

"Get your ass to the front desk, I'm in labor."

Nigel froze, his eyes wide. It took all Bug had to snap him out of it, and even then, he had to steer him down the right hall after he got lost twice. They were the last to get to the front entrance, Lily and Kate were already helping Jordan breathe as she fought back tears.

"Garret went to get the car." Lily hurried to explain, "Her contractions are really close together."

"We might need to deliver her here." Kate warned.

Jordan's laugh was dark, "We need to change the Conference Room to Labor and Delivery—ahhhh—" She took a tight hold on Nigel's hand, squeezing the life out of it as she squelched a scream.

Nigel didn't notice the lack of circulation as he brushed back her sweaty hair with his free one, "It's a bit of tradition at this point, luv." He grinned at Lily as he said it.

"I'd take here over the car!"

The small group headed for the Conference Room where Kate gave her a quick check, noting that she was already dilated to 8 and a half centimeters. After the events with Madeline's delivery, Kate seemed much more confident in her skills as she took charge of the room.

"Bug, will you hold up her left leg. Lily, her right. Sidney, I need you get towels and a medical kit, grab everything just like we did for Lily. Alright?" Everyone rushed to follow orders.

"What do you want me to do?" Nigel stood in the middle of the room, completely lost. Even Jordan spared a small chuckle for the sheer terror playing across his naïve face. Lily giving birth was one thing. Jordan, his Jordan, was another.

Kate smirked, "Breathe and make sure your hand is ready, we're close now."

XxX

Nigel rubbed Jordan's shoulder as Kate finished cleaning Eilís off and snuggled her onto her mom's chest. He rested his head against Jordan's, in awe of the little head and its dark, wispy curls that lay in the crook of her neck.

"She's beautiful."

Jordan leaned back and nosed him, "Of course she is, she takes after her mom." Nigel chuckled and held them both close.

The ambulance arrived a few minutes later and whisked the little family off for a checkup, where they determined an overnight observation was in order just to be safe. Nigel took up the couch as Jordan snuggled in for the night, her hand resting on the bassinet.

Nigel got up only when he heard the nurse come in to help Eilís feed and patiently assisted with whatever Jordan needed. As dawn broke, he sat by the window, admiring his girls. He was still eagerly waiting for Eilís to really open her little eyes. It did seem that she took mostly after Jordan, from her heart face to her dark curls, and of course he couldn't be happier that she had Jordan's beauty instead of his quirkiness, but a part of him was hoping Eilís had some small piece of him in there too.

A soft knock sounded at the door and Lily appeared with Garret in tow, "How're they doing?" She whispered.

"Finally sleeping." Nigel wiped at his tired face, "We might need to switch to formula, which Jordan isn't a big fan of. She'll give it another go in an hour, and we'll decide from there." He looked to Lily, "I was…I was actually wondering if you could sit with her for a while? I have an errand I need to run."

Surprise drew across Lily's face, but she nodded, "Of course, as long as you need. Bug has Mad."

Nigel retrieved his jacket and gently kissed Jordan's forehead, savoring her sweet sigh, "I'll be back soon, luv."

XxX

Jordan was given a clean bill of health and released to go home that afternoon. She still wasn't too happy that she had woken up to Nigel having left to run some mysterious errand, but she was so caught up in Eilís and being home that her anger was a secondary thought.

Nigel hopped in front of her before she could get to the red door, his smile cheeky.

Jordan stopped; her expression suspicious, "What did you do?"

"Nothing, I just want to savor this moment." Nigel's eyes twinkled mischievously, "The first time we come home, the three of us." Unlocking the door, he pushed it open and stepped aside, "Welcome home, Dr. Townsend."

Jordan's face grew in wonder as she stepped into their small apartment. The corner that had once boasted nothing more than the pathetic crib and rocker had been completely redone, with the old pieces replaced by a new, dark wooden crib and matching chair. Purple sheets were fitted to the mattress with her grandmother's blanket draped over the side and there was a fully stocked changing table with hand-painted whimsical trees adorning the base and drawers. Beside it sat an overflowing basket of toys. Soft twinkle lights were strung up, giving the corner a gentle, welcoming glow.

"It's not much but…" Nigel watched carefully as Jordan ventured in, wondering what she was thinking.

She ran a hand across the chair, "Is this what you were doing this morning?" He nodded.

Jordan grinned, "Looks like I wasted a lot of money on those parenting books, you figured it all out just fine on your own." She thought back to how many packages he had been receiving over the months. This had been his plan all along, to surprise her on their home coming.

"Oh, I read most of them twice." Nigel confessed, futzing with his hair, "Countless blogs and forums too. I lent them to Bug, if that's alright."

She rose an impressed brow, waiting for him to explain. Never once had she seen him with one of those books in hand.

"I…well, you seemed sort of overwhelmed between the surgery and work and Eilís impending arrival. Whenever I brought anything up, you'd quickly change the subject like you do with a lot of things, so I just figured I'd not stress you out about it." Nigel looked around, burrowing his hands in his pockets, "Did I do alright?"

Jordan set down the car seat with great care before walk towards her husband and capturing his face gently between her hands, "It's perfect, Nige." She kissed him and nestled close, "Thank you."

He wrapped his arms tightly around her and, as if on cue, Eilís let off a muffled cry.

Nigel brushed back his hair as they parted, "I'll take her, why don't you go shower, eh?"

"Have I ever mentioned that I'm the luckiest person alive?" Jordan sighed, squeezing his hand.

He held onto her hand as long as he could until she was too far from his reach, "I think you might come in second, luv."

With a parting smile she carefully made her way towards the bathroom, ready to wash the hospital from her. She lingered at the door, watching Nigel tenderly pick up Eilís and begin rocking her back and forth just as Lily had showed him. Eilís gave a small yawn and settled in, completely content in the arms of her father.

XxX