She'd avoided it as long as she could, but after another hour Evelyn McCawley knew it was time to go. The newest McCawley was making it very clear to their mother that they wanted to be born, now!

It had been such a nice day, being able to share their anniversary with most of their friends and Evelyn didn't want to see it end, but the baby had other ideas. She looked at Rafe just as a contraction came and without her saying anything, he knew it was time to go.

He felt remarkably calm about the whole thing, maybe because he'd been through it already and he knew the baby wouldn't come for awhile. "You ready?" He asked her and she nodded. "I'll go get the car." He added, being fairly certain she would object and they would walk back to the house. When she nodded again without so much as an argument, Rafe suddenly realized that they did not have the luxury of time.

That calmness that he'd been feeling evaporated and he tried not to panic. "Is everything all right honey?"

"This little one is in a bigger hurry than their brother and sister." She told him with a calmness she wasn't feeling, but with her children right there she didn't want to frighten them.

Barbara looked at Evelyn. "Ev, are you having the baby now?"

She looked at her friend and nodded. "The baby's finished turning."

She glanced at the kids before she said quietly. "Evelyn McCawley you should have left for the hospital already and you know that!"

Evelyn knew it was true, but believed they'd had more time. "I know."

Rafe stood up and checked for his keys. They were in his pocket and he closed his hand over them to reassure himself that they were really there. "I'll be back as soon as I can." And he kissed Evelyn before he jogged up the beach toward the house.

As they waited for him to come back, Evelyn asked Danny and Sandra to take the kids because the contractions were increasing and she didn't want them to see her have to deal with that. "They're still too young to understand about this and I won't have time to keep them calm." She explained as she kissed each of her children.

"Sure Ev." Sandra said as Danny picked up his godson and she picked up his sister. "We'll meet you at the hospital." And they headed up the beach to Danny's car.

Barbara, Martha and Red stayed with Evelyn until they saw Rafe come back down the beach. They'd packed up the picnic lunch and had put everything in Red's car while they waited. Rafe was breathing hard from running and helped his wife up off the blanket. "How you doin' honey?"

"I'd feel a lot better if we could go now." And he put his arm around her.

"We'll meet you there Rafe." Red said as the McCawley's walked slowly up the beach.

Rafe helped her into the car and made sure she was as comfortable as possible before he walked around to the drivers side and got in. He glanced over at her as he put the key in the ignition and started the car. She looked tired already and that worried him. "I called the hospital when I got home, so they know we're comin'." He reassured her as they headed up the road.

There was nothing he could have said at that point to help the situation. Evelyn realized that they were out of time because her water suddenly broke. "Rafe, I'm not going to make it to the hospital." She told him. "I'm having the baby now."

That was something he didn't want to hear. "You can't be havin' it now, when was the last contraction?"

"Fifteen minutes ago, but I've been through this twice already and Danny and Sarah let me know when they were ready. Rafe, this baby is ready."

Oh my God. Rafe thought. "It's only ten more minutes, Evelyn."

"Take me home." She said.

Like hell he was takin' her home. "Evelyn..."

"Rafe, we're closer to home than the hospital, so take me home." She insisted.

He argued with himself over that because his wife belonged in a hospital and arguing with her would be useless. She was as stubborn as a mule and when she made up her mind, she wouldn't change it. "Evelyn, are you sure about this?"

"I don't have a say in the matter anymore. This baby is coming now and I'd rather have it at home than here."

He was going to have to deliver his own baby, the realization hit him. "Evelyn, I've never delivered a baby before."

"I'll help you as much as I can."

Danny and Sandra had arrived at the hospital with the children and while they waited for Rafe and Evelyn, tried to keep them occupied. Danny was more than a little worried because Evelyn didn't look very good when he and Sandra had taken the children. He worried about Rafe, too because the miscarriage had been on his mind all through this pregnancy.

He looked at his watch and wondered where in the hell they were. He knew Rafe had called the hospital to tell them he was bringing Evelyn because he'd checked at the admissions desk.

He kept glancing toward the front door, waiting. Doctors and nurses came and went, while patients were admitted and released. He looked at his watch again. Damn!

When he saw Barbara, Martha and Red come through the door he knew something was really wrong. "Where in the hell are they?" He asked as his godson sat on his lap.

Barbara looked at him and frowned. "They're not here?"

Sandra had Sarah on her lap and shook her head. "We've been here waiting for them the whole time."

Where could they be?

"I can see the head!" Rafe couldn't believe it.

Evelyn couldn't talk as the baby's head crowned and it took all she had not to cry out. This was always the hardest part and she didn't want to scare her husband any more than he already was.

When that was done, she knew it would only be a moment before their baby was born and she could relax.

"Evelyn, what do I do now?" He asked.

"One shoulder has to come out first, then the other."

He followed her instruction and the next thing he knew his son was in his hands screaming his little lungs out. He looked at his wife and she was lying quietly, with a smile on her face. "With lungs like that, I think he's goin' to be a drill sergeant." He joked. "It's a boy." He told her as an unnecessary afterthought.

"How is he Rafe?"

"He looks fine honey. He's got ten fingers and ten toes and we know he's got a strong pair of lungs." He said as he cleaned up the baby as best he could, cut the cord and handed the newest McCawley to his mother. "You did a nice job Mrs. McCawley." And he leaned over and kissed her.

The baby had fallen asleep and Evelyn closed her eyes. "You didn't do such a bad job yourself Captain." She smiled and he kissed her again.

"Rafe, Evelyn are you here?" He heard Barbara's panicked voice.

Rafe walked into the living room with a smile on his face, drying his hands after having washed up in the bathroom. "It's a boy." He told her. "And they're both fine."

Barbara hugged him and laughed. "That's great news! There's an ambulance coming to take Evelyn to the hospital."

"That's good because this doctorin' stuff ain't for me." He grinned. "You want to see them?"

"Of course I do, what a question!" She said as he walked her back to see Evelyn and she looked exhausted. She noticed that Evelyn was pushing again and knew she hadn't finished. Rafe noticed it too and sighed, "Twins?"

Barbara shook her head and handed the baby to Rafe. "Go finish cleaning him up and let me take care of Evelyn."

"Is she all right?"

"I'm fine Rafe. It's just all a part of having a baby." She reassured him. "Go take care of our son."

He took the baby into their bathroom and Barbara closed the door behind him. He tried to listen to what was happening, but all he heard were the muffled voices of his wife and her friend so he turned his attention to his new son. Rafe looked at him and shook his head. He'd help bring this life into the world and nothing that he would ever do for the rest of his life would ever be better than that.