Surprises

Introduction: I think Surprises will end up being a fitting title for this story. We get two surprises here; the first one is how Jerry comes into the story and the second is what ends up happening between Evan and Michelle. I'm probably going to rate this one PG-13, just to air on the side of caution because of some romantic scenes and the birth scene. I also want to extend a special thank you to Angel for her most valued editing help!

Disclaimer: Borrowing a line from another story I've read; you know who you are and you know what you own, which is this show. I know who I am and I know what I own, which is this story.

---

Harvey nodded wearily towards his fellow inspectors as he walked through the SIU and stopped in front of his desk. "Morning everybody."

Evan raised an eyebrow and offered his partner a crooked smile. "You look absolutely thrilled to be alive, man."

"Whatever you say, brother."

Nash looked up in mild concern at Harvey's dejected tone of voice and realized that Inspector Leek's better half was nowhere around. "Where's Bryn?"

"Sick day." Laying his jacket across the railing next to his desk, Harvey sat down and began thumbing through the files that had accumulated for him since yesterday at quitting time.

Joe winked good-humoredly. "You look like you could use one yourself, Leek. There's not any trouble in paradise, is there?"

Harvey rolled his eyes and shook his head. "I don't know, Joseph. She either thinks I'm the greatest thing since sliced bread or I represent all that is soulless and wrong; there's been no middle ground this past month or two."

Michelle offered Harvey a cup of coffee and he gratefully accepted it. "Bryn's not usually like that; what were you guys fighting about?"

Taking a slow sip, Harvey set the cup down on his desk and yawned. "Ranch dressing, of all things. I ask her if she feels like eating breakfast, and she says she would like some toast. I asked her if she wanted butter or jelly, and Bryn says that all of a sudden ranch dressing on her toast sounds good. I made a face and told her that was kind of a weird idea, and it all went downhill from there."

Nash's mouth opened slightly as an explanation for Bryn's volatile emotions and odd food requests suddenly formed in his mind. "This has been going on for the past month or two, you say?"

"Yeah, what's your point?"

Nash risked a quick look with Joe and fought to keep the grin off of his face as he realized that his partner also knew exactly what was going on with their resident newlyweds. "Nothing, bubbba. Absolutely nothing."

---

Michelle walked through her front door and kicked her shoes off by the coffee table. She had put in a ten hour day at the SIU and was glad to finally be home. Looking around her empty house, Michelle smiled ruefully and sighed. It's way too quiet in here; sometimes I sure wish I had something to come home to.

Sitting down on the sofa, she reached for the remote and turned on the TV. Finding nothing interesting, Michelle turned the set back off and went upstairs, deciding to call it a night a few hours early.

---

Michelle stretched and blinked sleepily. Realizing that she was still on the couch, Michelle shook her head in bewilderment. I could have sworn I went upstairs before falling asleep. Shrugging, she stood up and gave a final stretch of her arms before going to finish the night's sleep in her bed.

Michelle climbed the stairs and stopped in front of her closet, grabbing a pair of lounge pants and a three-sizes-too-big T-shirt to use for pajamas. Changing in the hallway, she left the discarded outfit on the floor and decided that she would deal with it in the morning.

Staring down at her feet as she walked the last few steps into her bedroom, Michelle looked up with a start when she realized that she wasn't alone. Evan was sitting on the edge of the bed, a soft smile pulling at the corners of his mouth. "Hey, Chan."

Michelle was confused at how Evan had gotten inside without her knowing it and even more confused at why he was there in the first place, but that emotion quickly vanished. A smile matching Evan's came across Michelle's face as she crossed the room and sat down on the bed beside him, a reaction that seemed surreal and unexpected to her. "Hey, Cortez."

Saying nothing else, Evan brought his hand up to Michelle's cheek and gently caressed it. Moving his hand from her cheek to behind her neck, he pulled Michelle close and kissed her passionately. She immediately reciprocated his actions, wrapping an arm around his torso and pulling him down with her as she lay flat on the bed.

As Evan moved away from her mouth and began to place several slow, tender kisses along her midriff, every sensible voice in Michelle's conscience screamed at her that this was a huge mistake and to stop what she was doing with this man while she still could. However, Michelle happily ignored them as her lips met again with Evan's and she remembered a piece of a conversation they had shared at Harvey and Bryn's wedding almost ten months ago.

Do you care?

Not right now, I don't.

---

Without opening her eyes, Michelle reached over and slapped the shrieking alarm clock vehemently. Remembering who she had spent the night with, she rolled over to the other side of the bed to kiss him good morning.

When Michelle's lips touched nothing but the soft cotton of the pillow next to her, her eyes opened wide and confirmed the fact that the rendezvous with Evan had been imagined.

Numbly, Michelle sat up and tried to figure out what in the world had possessed her to dream about Evan Cortez like that. Bewilderment soon became overpowered by panic, though, as she tried to figure out something else - how in the world she was going to be able to look him in the eye after the things she had dreamed of them doing together; it had gone much, much farther than Evan kissing her bellybutton.

---

Nash hung up the phone and whistled to catch Harvey's attention. "Hey Harv, I think we might finally have a lead on this Henson guy, the one that's trying to move all of these weapons. The good little angel sitting on Big Barry's shoulder finally got the better of him and we have an address. You wanna go check it out?"

"Sure." Shouting for Evan, Harvey took the post-it note Nash offered him. Walking away from the group of desks, he stopped in front of Michelle's. "Why don't you go with us?"

"Huh?" Michelle hadn't been paying attention to the conversation around her; avoiding Evan at all costs had been her uppermost priority all morning long.

"Evan and I are going to check out an address for Nash. You're welcome to come along; it'll get you away from all that paperwork for a bit."

Michelle got a deer-in-the-headlights look at when Harvey mentioned his partner's name. "You want me- you want me to go with you and Ev-Evan?"

Furrowing his eyebrows in puzzlement at her reaction, Harvey nodded. "Yeah. We could use some backup and I know how much you'd rather be out in the field than behind a desk."

Michelle didn't seem to hear Harvey. "You said Evan? Evan would be coming with us?"

Harvey felt a slight twinge of annoyance at Michelle's apparent inability to understand what he was trying to tell her. He spoke slower this time, hoping she would comprehend. "Yeeess, Evan would come. He's my partner, why wouldn't he?"

Michelle's panic refreshed itself tenfold and she shook her head vigorously. "Uh-uh. I can't; this paperwork should have been finished up days ago."

"Okay, I guess we'll see you when we get back." Shooting his partner a what-in-the-world-did-you-do-to-her look, Harvey continued walking out the door. Evan shrugged in honest ignorance as he followed, at a complete loss as to why Michelle was acting so strangely.

Michelle dropped her head and returned to her work, breathing a huge sigh of relief when she finally heard their footsteps fall out of earshot. When Michelle heard footsteps approach her desk again, she swore silently, but when she looked up, it was Bryn standing there, not Evan. "I don't think I've ever been gladder to see you."

"Uh, thanks." Noticing Michelle's flustered expression, Bryn became worried. "Is everything alright?"

Michelle waved away the past few moments with a gesture of her hand as an attempt to regain her usual tough demeanor. "I- I'll have to tell you about it later. What's up?"

It was now Bryn's turn to look nervous. She looked quickly to the right and left, making sure that nobody was listening to her except Michelle. "Are you busy?"

Harvey knows me too well; I'd give anything to get out from underneath all this departmental red tape. "Sort of, but I'm pretty sure that whatever you have in mind is going to be more fun than this."

"Good." Bryn began walking towards the parking lot with Michelle not far behind her. "I told Nash I had to take my car to the mechanic and that you were coming along in your car so you could give me a ride back."

Michelle stood patiently by the passenger door of Bryn's green sedan as she waited for her partner to unlock it. As Bryn started the engine and fastened her seat belt, she noticed the curious glance that Michelle was giving her. "Well, we aren't traveling in separate cars so I think you've gathered that we aren't going to the mechanic."

Michelle raised an eyebrow as her partner expounded on the obvious. "I knew that from the start; you're almost as bad at lying as Harvey is. But since you've brought it up, where are we going?"

Bryn started to put the car in gear, but changed her mind. Taking a deep breath, she looked down at the console and then back up at Michelle. "We're going to Inger's office."

"Why Inger's offi-" Realization suddenly washed over Michelle and she felt her jaw drop. "Bryn, are you-"

"Sort of."

"Sort of pregnant? How does that work?"

Bryn shrugged and began tapping her fingers on the steering wheel. "Well, I think I am. I mean, I took a home test this morning and it was positive. I want to make sure."

Michelle leaned forward across the console and hugged Bryn tight, incredibly happy for her partner. "That's wonderful! What did Harvey say?"

Bryn winced as Michelle mentioned her husband's name. "I haven't told Harvey yet; I don't know how."

Michelle's smile quickly faded at the tone of voice she was hearing from Bryn. "Why not? I thought you guys wanted kids. I'd think Harvey would be thrilled."

"We knew we always wanted kids, but I just- I don't know why I'm so nervous, but I am. We weren't - we're not even trying right now. You have no idea how surprised I was when those little pink lines showed up." Bryn's voice trailed off and she thought she felt tears on the near horizon, although she didn't know why.

Smiling comfortingly, Michelle gave Bryn another quick hug. "Sister, Harvey is going to be surprised; in fact, twenty bucks says he faints stone cold on the floor when you tell him. But he's going to wake up, remember what you told him - assuming there's no concussion -" Bryn laughed and Michelle continued. "And then he'll be the happiest man in the world. Everything will be fine. You'll see."

Bryn's disquiet slowly dissolved and her nervous smile became one of genuine happiness; she knew Michelle was right. "You really think so?"

"I know so."

Bryn's smile stretched even wider as she put the transmission in gear and backed out of her usual parking space. "We'd better get there and back before Nash realizes I pulled the wool over his eyes, huh?"

---

Evan tossed Harvey his truck keys before glancing over where Officer Ronnie was loading a wooden box full of assault rifles into the trunk of his cruiser. "I'll meet ya back at the SIU; Ronnie told me he needs some help logging all of Henson's weapons into evidence."

Harvey caught the keys in mid-air and wagged his eyebrows. "Don't have too much fun without me."

"Don't count on it, man." Laughing, Evan rolled his eyes and headed over to help Ronnie finish up.

Harvey shook his head and chuckled softly. Climbing into Evan's truck, he pulled away from the curb and began driving down the street. As he turned a corner, his eyes flicked up towards the rearview mirror and he saw a black Crown Vic pull in behind him. Thinking nothing of it, Harvey decided to pull into a gas station and get a soda; he could wait until he got back to the SIU, but he was tired of the vending machines eating all of his quarters.

Harvey paid for his drink and exited the store. Upon pushing the door open, he noticed the same car that had been behind him four blocks ago parked beside Evan's truck. The driver had his back to Harvey, watching the blue Dodge instead of the door to the station. Harvey started to get a bad feeling in his gut, and wanted to know exactly what this guy was doing here. "Hey man, what's going on?"

The man turned around and grinned widely when he saw Harvey. He has no idea who I am. "What are you talking about?"

Harvey set the Styrofoam cup down on the hood of the truck and shrugged philosophically. "See here's the thing. I noticed you pull in behind me a couple of blocks ago. Beside itself, that's nothing. But a couple of interesting things have happened since then."

"Like what?"

"One, you're at the exact same convenience store I am, at the exact same time. Two, you're not inside buying anything or pumping gas. Instead, you're staring at the truck I'm driving kinda like you're waiting for me to get back in. This makes me think you're following me." Harvey smiled slightly and tilted his head to the side. "Come on, tell me how close I called that one."

The man who had indeed been tailing Harvey looked at him evenly and sighed, making no effort to hide the fact that he was lying. "Like I said, I don't know what you're talking about."

Harvey grasped the badge from around his neck and held it up for the man to see. "Come on, buddy, knock it off. Let's see some ID."

Doing as he was told, the man reached into his jacket pocket for his wallet, at the same time fingering the pistol that lay beside it. Wait for the right moment, just wait.

Harvey accepted the proffered driver's license. Upon seeing the name, Harvey swallowed hard but quickly reminded himself to stay calm. Take it easy, Leek; this is only going to get bad if you let it.

Mark Coletti grinned smugly when Harvey looked back up at him. "You'd thought I'd have cooled off by now, huh? You haven't given me a second thought; you thought that scene at the courthouse and even that letter was just a posture."

Harvey nodded, his composure once again in tact. "You're right; I hadn't given you a second thought. You're not worth it. Neither was your brother; he got exactly what he deserved."

Mark's eyes narrowed menacingly at Harvey's comment. He reached into his pocket again, his fist clenching around the butt of the sidearm. "That wasn't a real smart thing to say, Inspector Leek. I'm sure you can see by now that I'm a lot more patient than you had originally counted on. I'm also a lot more dangerous. My brother is in prison for the rest of his life because of you; I said you'll pay and I meant it."

"I'm real scared, Coletti."

"You should be." He pulled the gun out of his pocket and cocked it, aiming at Harvey's chest.

Harvey drew his own weapon, at the same time ducking for the nearest cover, which happened to be Evan's Dodge. He fired at the exact same time Coletti did, but he still wasn't fast enough.

---

Bryn accepted the piece of paper Inger was offering her with shaky hands, happily watching the words blur together as tears rapidly smudged the ink. "It's official!" Bouncing up from her chair, she hugged Michelle tightly and then reached for Inger. "I'm pregnant, I really am pregnant!"

Inger laughed and gladly returned Bryn's embrace. She had seen this reaction a thousand times, but never tired of it; it was far better than seeing the other kind of tears some new mothers displayed. "Yes, dear, you are! And everything looks great!"

Michelle took the paper announcing the results from Bryn's hand, curious as to what else was written on it. Gasping in surprise at the due date, Michelle grabbed her partner's arm to catch her attention. "Bryn, did you see this?"

"See what?" Bryn came back to the chairs and looked over Michelle's shoulder at the damp piece of paper. Her eyes traveling to where Michelle was pointing, she gave a squeal of delight and pulled Michelle into another tight bear-hug. "August 16th! I'm due on Harvey's birthday!"

Michelle laughed and feigned choking noises to get Bryn to let her go. "See? That's just going to put the icing on the cake for Harvey. Let's get back there so you can tell him and I can make my twenty bucks."

"Do you think he'll be back from that Henson gig by now?"

---

Nash tilted his head to the side to hold the phone in place against his shoulder as his eyes glanced up and noticed Michelle and Bryn coming back into the SIU. Mumbling a goodbye to the voice on the other end, he hung up and raised a friendly eyebrow in Bryn's direction. "Your car okay?"

"It's alright; just a little routine maintenance." Bryn shot Michelle a mischievous grin before making eye contact with Nash. "Is Harvey back yet? There's something I need to tell him."

Nash shrugged as he glanced down at the phone. "Actually, I was just trying to call him. Evan said that they came back to the SIU separately; he thought Harv would have been back sometime ago."

Michelle noticed the fear that played over Bryn's face and she reacted quickly to calm her partner down, shaking her head unconcernedly. "He's probably got some Dead tunes cranked up and can't hear his phone ring."

"Wouldn't be the first time that's happened." Nash gave a wry smile before returning to his paperwork. "Am I right, Bryn?"

Bryn smiled widely in agreement and nodded, having been provided with a completely feasible explanation as to the whereabouts of her husband. "Yep, you're right." She sat down at her desk, her eyes catching the framed picture of them on their wedding day. Smiling again when she let her gaze linger over the armband Harvey was wearing, she shook her head and chuckled softly. That man when it comes to the Grateful Dead.

---

Running his hand across his face, Joe prayed that the paramedic that had recently been on the other end of the line was talking about some other blue Dodge and some other police inspector. Taking a deep breath, he looked over at Evan. "Hey, Cortez, where's your truck at?"

"I let Harv drive it back." Looking towards Harvey's desk and realizing his partner was still MIA, he looked back over at Joe. "You mean he's still gone?"

"That C-store on the corner of Flornoy and Carpenter. Your truck or a truck looking very much like yours was there, and so was a shooting involving a plainclothes inspector and some low-rent named Coletti. Critical injuries-"

Evan sat bolt upright, Joe immediately having gained one hundred percent of his attention. "One of them is Harvey, isn't it?"

"Yeah. They called here asking for a next of kin to meet them at St. Vivianna's." Joe worriedly looked in Bryn's direction; she apparently hadn't noticed their conversation yet. "You'd better take Bryn and get over there."

Evan had already leapt from his chair before the words had left Joe's mouth. Running out of the station with a confused Bryn in tow, he shouted back over his shoulder that he would let them know what was going on as soon as he could.

---

Michelle was pacing back and forth on the fantail and stopped when she saw Nash and Joe appear in the doorway. "How's Harvey doing? Have you heard anything?"

Joe closed his eyes and shook his head before reopening them. "Nothing."

Seeing Michelle's face as she resumed her pacing, Nash tried to sound encouraging. "But Ev and Bryn have only been gone half an hour; they probably just now got to St. Viv's."

"I just wish they'd call; we don't even know if Harvey's alive. He could have died on the way to the hospital for all we know!"

Nash laid a comforting hand on Michelle's shoulder, causing her to stop her pacing again and stand still. "What's got you talking like that, sister?"

"He's my friend; can't I be worried about him?"

Nash removed his hand from Michelle's shoulder and gestured towards Joe and then himself defensively. "We are too, Chan. He's practically our brother."

"I know, Nash, I know. I'm sorry." Michelle was near tears, a fact that she was slightly surprised by; Michelle rarely regarded herself as an emotional woman. Harvey can't die, not now; he can't leave Bryn like this, he just can't.

Joe admitted to himself that these were exceptional circumstances, but he was a little baffled just the same; he had never seen her this worked up before and was willing to bet that not knowing Harvey's condition wasn't the whole story. Joe arched an eyebrow in her direction and spoke softly. "Michelle, is there something you aren't telling us?"

Michelle looked Joe in the eye then just as quickly looked away, questioning whether or not she should tell them what was going on. At length, the debate between keeping Bryn's secret until she was ready for everyone to know and whether or not Michelle should be honest with a friend who was genuinely concerned about her was settled. "We weren't at the mechanic this morning."

"Where were you?"

"We were with Inger."

Joe's forehead was furrowed in confusion. "Inger? My wife Inger?"

Michelle nodded slightly as a few tears finally escaped her restraints. "Yeah. Bryn's pregnant."

---

Bryn set Harvey's jacket down across the arm of the sofa before helping Harvey himself down onto the soft cushions, careful not to disturb the shoulder bandage. "Is there anything you need, sweetheart?"

Closing his eyes, Harvey sighed and thought for a moment. "A beer would sound great right about now."

"Nope, not with the morphine. Got anything else in mind?"

"How about you then?" Harvey pulled Bryn onto his lap and kissed her sweetly. "You're all I really need anyway."

Bryn smiled sweetly and traced Harvey's cheek with her forefinger. "You're all I need, too." Reminded how close she came to losing Harvey that morning, Bryn began concentrating on the buttons near Harvey's shirt collar as she attempted to control her shaking voice. "When Evan told me what had happened - I was just so scared." The exact moments replayed again in her mind, and she could no longer stop herself from crying. "Harvey - oh, Harvey, I was so scared that you were really gone. I couldn't live without you."

Harvey held Bryn close and kissed the top of her head, smoothing her hair with his hand. Critically injured my foot; what did the medic think he was doing, scaring everybody like that? "Shh. Princess, it's okay. I'm okay. I'm here; I won't ever leave you. Don't cry, princess, don't cry."

After a few moments Bryn took a deep breath and dried her tears. "Sweetheart, can I ask you something?"

"Sure. Ask me anything."

Bryn placed her hands flat against Harvey's chest and stood up suddenly. "Why did you never tell me about this?"

Harvey's mouth dropped open in shock at Bryn's sudden change of mood. "What? What are you talking about?"

"What do you think I'm talking about? Mark Coletti! Why did Evan have to explain to me in the waiting room who this guy was?" Bryn's voice rose as her level of anger did. "Why couldn't I have heard from my own husband that there had been somebody with their eye on you like this for over a year?!"

Harvey winced and swore silently. Carefully, he stood up and came over to Bryn, who was now over by the door leading into the Dead Room. "The courthouse, that letter when we got back from Scotland. Princess, look. I know that you love me. If you knew about Coletti, you would have gone after him, and I knew that." He placed a hand underneath her chin and tilted her face so that she was looking him in the eye. "Bryn, I swore to your parents, to everybody in that church, I swore to God that I would keep you from getting hurt. That's all I was trying to do; I was just protecting you."

Normally, the silky-smooth tone of voice Bryn was hearing now would have had her agreeing to anything, but not this time. Shooting him a dirty glare, she left Harvey's side and flopped down onto the sofa where he had been sitting only moments ago. "What protection, Harvey? You had no idea how Coletti was going to take his revenge! What if he had come after me? Shouldn't I have known about that?" Narrowing her eyes and crossing her arms, Bryn waited for Harvey's answer.

Harvey was beginning to lose his apologetic demeanor. "Bryn, what are you saying? Are you saying that I couldn't have protected you? I lay my life on the line every single day for scumbags and strangers that nine times out of ten I don't even know the names of." Spreading his hands out in disbelief, Harvey continued. "Why wouldn't I be able to do the same thing for my wife? Why wouldn't I gladly do it?"

Bryn stood up again and stalked over to the window looking out into their street. "Harvey, I never said that!" Turning around and coming back over to where he was standing, she pointed a finger at his chest, infuriated at how he seemed to be missing her point. "But let me tell you what I am saying. You can't follow me around twenty-four hours a day, and when the baby gets here, you can't follow it around all the time either. Protection works better when there are two people involved, Harvey! We're married, we're a team, and we're supposed to be working in this together!"

Whatever angry words Harvey had ready for Bryn suddenly flew straight out the window. "Whoa, Bryn. What baby?"

Bryn realized what she had said and her hand flew to her mouth. "Oh my word."

Harvey suddenly felt dizzy and his voice sounded far away to him. "Bryn, are you pregnant?"

Her lower jaw trembling with emotion, Bryn nodded. "Mm-hmm. Harvey, I'm sorry-"

"Princess, why are you sorry?" Harvey came up to his wife and held her tightly, their argument completely forgotten. "Do you have any idea how happy you just made me?"

Wiping a tear away from her eye, Bryn stepped back. "I'm sorry, Harvey. I was just so mad at you a minute ago, I- I just blurted it out." Smiling sheepishly, Bryn looked off to the side for a brief minute. "I know that wasn't the most romantic way to tell you that you were going to be father. I kinda wanted it to be special, you know?"

"Oh, princess, that doesn't matter to me." Harvey placed one hand on either side of Bryn's face and kissed her deeply. Looking into her eyes questioningly, Harvey still felt an odd sense of disbelief at the situation. "Are you really pregnant? How are you feeling? Are we really going to have a baby?"

Giggling happily at Harvey's barrage of questions, Bryn left his embrace and retrieved the official paper that Inger had given her that morning and also the home test. "Yes, great, and yes."

Feeling like he was having an out of body experience, Harvey took the proffered items and stared down at them. I'm a dad. As his eyes skimmed over the typewritten letters, he gave a shout of delight and pumped his fist in the air. "My birthday! Our baby's due on my birthday!" Regaining his composure and calming down considerably when Bryn started laughing at him, he took her in his arms and kissed her again as tears of happiness began to slide down his cheeks. "Bryn, I love you so much."

"I love you, too." Leaning her head against Harvey's neck, Bryn kissed it softly as she whispered into his ear. "Harvey, we're a family."

Harvey had never, ever been so happy or so proud. Not knowing what else to do with himself, he kissed Bryn again passionately. "Princess, I love you. I don't know what else to say except that I love you. I love you for making me a father and for being the mother of our baby. Bryn, I love you."

Bryn reciprocated her husband's affection, and stepped back so that she could look him in the eye. Playfully, she smiled at him. "I know what else you could say."

"What's that?"

"Come to bed with me."

"With a bullet hole in my shoulder?" His protestations were stopped from progressing any further when Bryn kissed his lips soundly. Immediately swayed, Harvey placed an arm around Bryn's waist - I want to carry her, but I just can't - as they both walked upstairs. "We'll make it work."

---

Harvey looked around the SIU break room and then cast a humorous sideways glance toward his partner. "A we're-glad-you're-not-dead party?"

Evan shrugged and then, grinning, explained the blunt words on the streamers. "Well, at least we're honest. That mix-up had us scared for a minute."

"Ah, whatever, man." Laughing and shaking his head, Harvey walked hand-in- hand with Bryn further into the throng of friends and co-workers who had come to tell Harvey that they were glad he wasn't dead.

Leaving Harvey's side, Evan walked up to Michelle, who had apparently placed herself in charge of the cake, drinks and other snacks. "Hey, Chan, need help with anything?"

For about the eightieth time in three days, Michelle's mind had not been on her surroundings. She jumped at the sound of Evan's voice - Every time I think about him, he's always right there! - and nearly dropped Harvey's cake on the floor. Evan rushed to her side to help her steady it and Michelle felt herself blush hotly when his arm brushed against hers. "Th- thanks. Thanks, Cortez."

"It's my fault; I shouldn't have scared you like that. Sorry."

Michelle ignored his apology and busied herself with the napkins, silently praying that Evan would go away and talk to Nash or Ronnie or somebody. I don't care who, Evan, just go away. Please!

Evan's eyebrows furrowed in concern at Michelle's busywork; the napkins were already in a perfectly geometrical arrangement. "Do you need help with anything else?" He hoped that she had caught what he meant when he said anything else; Michelle had been on an incredible edge lately and he knew that she had to be nearing the breaking point.

Without meaning to, Michelle looked Evan in the eye when she turned to give him a response. Her breath was taken away by his striking orbs and Michelle became instantly certain that brown was now her favorite color. "Uhh." Gulping, Michelle realized that he was looking down on her with the same tenderness and caring that she had dreamed of three days ago. Panicking again, she fled, not even bothering to offer Evan an excuse for her sudden need to depart his company.

This time, Evan couldn't keep the confusion or the hurt off of his face. What did I do to her? Why won't she talk to me lately? Shaking his head sadly, Evan sighed and reached for a slice of cake, even though he wasn't really hungry.

Unbeknownst to the two younger SIU inspectors, Bryn had witnessed the recent exchange between them. Just as in the dark as Evan was, Bryn handed her drink to Harvey and gave chase to her partner, determined to find out what in the world was going on.

Seeing Michelle, face in her hands, go sit down at her desk, Bryn sat on the corner of it and waited until Michelle was looking up at her. "You feel like telling me what in the world that was all about?"

"No, not really."

"Do it anyway. Evan didn't deserve you running out on him like that and I think you know it." She knew that she probably wasn't taking the most delicate approach to the situation, but it appeared to get through to Michelle, so Bryn decided to stick with it. "At least you would have if you'd stuck around long enough to see the look on his face."

Michelle closed her eyes and took a deep breath, knowing that telling Bryn the truth would be a whole lot easier than telling it to Evan. "Umm, I kinda had a dream about Evan the other night. I'm pretty sure it would put to shame anything he could ever come up with, too."

Bryn raised her eyebrows and mouthed the word oh as her partner's actions were explained in those brief sentences. "Well, I guess that would explain it." Glancing in Evan's direction, Bryn then looked at Michelle. "What are you going to do?"

Michelle put her head in her hands again and shook her head. "I don't have a clue, Bryn."

"Sister, it'll be okay." Bryn patted Michelle's shoulder comfortingly, deciding to soften her demeanor just a little after all. "You're really hurting his feelings acting like this, though. You've got to tell him something."

Michelle sighed heavily. "Yeah, but what? I don't even know why I had the dream."

Bryn shrugged her shoulders questioningly, trying to help her think of something. "Well, that dance at our wedding. Was that just a one time thing, or is there something else?"

Swallowing hard, Michelle realized that her partner was closer to the truth than she would have cared to admit. "Yeah, I gues- I just can't tell him - Bryn, Evan and I just would never work out."

"Why not?"

Michelle gestured her hand around the room. "The SIU. I don't want it turning into a soap opera."

"Soap opera? What are you talking about?"

"Like ER, where every doctor is paired up with one of the nurses. Look, you and Harvey are together, everybody thinks Nash and Joe are together-"

Bryn started laughing at that part, inadvertently interrupting Michelle. Swallowing the rest of the giggles, she shook her head. "So? You and Evan are over before you ever get started because of your partners? What do we have to do with anything?"

"It's just that I've worked too hard to make the SIU what it is, and I know the rest of you have too. I don't want anything to trivialize that, to cheapen it."

"What Harvey and I have isn't trivial or cheap, that much I can promise you, sister. That doesn't mean what you and Evan have is cheap or trivial either. Some things are just meant to be."

Michelle looked up at Bryn, wishing that she was as sure about Evan as Bryn was about Harvey. "But I don't - I don't know if we have anything at all. He could have forgotten all about that kiss for all I know."

Bryn stood up to go back to the party, waiting for Michelle to join her, a knowing grin spreading across her face. "Then ask him if he remembers."

Michelle shook her head, chuckling ruefully. "I hate it when you're right."

"So does Harvey." Bryn leaned her head back and laughed out loud and walked back into the party, Michelle following.

---

Harvey pushed back from his desk and rubbed his sore neck with a free hand. Maybe I should get pregnant too so I can have sick days all the time. Turning his head to pop the kinks out of his neck, his eyes fell across a picture on Nash's desk. Deciding this was a good time for a break from all the paperwork, Harvey stood up and went over to take a better look at the photo.

Nash's snapshot was clearly several years old. His hair was much longer, and he was wearing a white suit with a blue shirt peeking out from underneath the jacket. Like something from Miami Vice. His arm was around Lisa, who was obviously not very far from bringing Cassidy into the world. Both of their grins were stretched wide, and Harvey smiled, knowing exactly how happy they must be.

As Nash and Joe came back from the holding cells towards their respective desks, they noticed Harvey standing there; he was still staring at the picture on Nash's desk and obviously in la-la land. The two senior inspectors shared a look with each other before Nash began waving a hand in front of Inspector Leek's face to catch his attention. "Earth to bubba!"

Harvey startled slightly and then laughed. "Sorry, boss. What's up?"

Joe glanced at Nash, then back at Harvey. "Just wondering why a picture of Nashman and Lisa would have you so zoned out."

Harvey shook his head and walked back to his own desk, sitting down and propping his feet up. "Those grins on your faces, it just had me thinking about how happy I was when Bryn told me I was a father."

Nash laughed before sitting down himself, his fingers absentmindedly brushing across Lisa's swollen belly. "I may have been smiling bubba, but I was shaking like a leaf when Nick took that picture. I was scared to death about being a dad."

Harvey watched Joe nod in agreement and then he did the same. "I'm scared out of my mind, too. Happy, but scared. I've worked with kids before, but I have no clue how to take care of one of my own."

Joe snorted good-humoredly and gestured towards Nash as he pulled the file he needed out of the proper cabinet. "How do you think we found out?"

Nash grinned at the blank look Harvey was displaying before answering Joe's question himself. "We asked our friends for help, bubba."

At that moment, Evan also walked in from the holding cells. "Help with what? What did I miss?"

Harvey nodded towards the picture. "Being a dad. It's really kind of cool, Ev. You need to find out what's it like someday."

Evan chuckled and shook his head. "One thing at a time, Harv. One thing at a time."

---

Evan rubbed his eyes, sore from the glare of the computer screen, and sighed. Nash, Joe, Harvey and Michelle had all gone home several hours ago and Bryn hadn't had to come into work at all. Maybe I should have followed the philosophy Harv thought of this afternoon, getting pregnant myself so I can have more sick days. Closing his eyes tightly for a moment, he hoped to gain a better focus on the words that were beginning to blur together when he reopened them.

However, when he opened his eyes, he saw Michelle plopping an armful of manila folders on Nash's desk. "Chan? What are you still doing here? It's almost nine o'clock."

Michelle glanced in Evan's direction when he spoke to her and swallowed quickly, trying to suppress the memories of the dream that were now nearly a week old. "I- I was just dropping these off f-for Nash; I was supposed to bring them with me this mor- morning and I forgot."

Noticing how Michelle was stuttering and could barely look him in the eye, Evan decided that he just couldn't take it anymore. I've got to find out what I did to her. "Hey, Michelle, can I ask you something?"

Michelle dropped her eyes and tried to steady her nerves when she saw him stand up and come over to where she was. "Sure. What do you need to know?" Yeah right, you know exactly what, sister.

Evan spoke softly but matter-of-factly. "Why you've been treating me like I'm eleven of the ten plagues of Egypt. Michelle, whatever I screwed up, I'm sorry. But you've got to tell me what it is so I can fix it."

"EvanIhadadreamthatyouandImadelove." Michelle blurted the words out in a rush, afraid that if she stopped for a breath, she would never be able to finish. Wincing, she looked up at Evan to see what his reaction would be. At least I've said it, at least it's over.

Holy cow.Evan's eyes widened and he looked off to the side as he tried to think of something to say. The macho facet of his personality would normally have been strutting and proud, but the terrified look on Michelle's face pushed his ego aside for the moment. "It's just a dream, Michelle. What's to be so embarrassed about?"

Michelle tried to speak, but her throat was dry and her mouth felt like it was full of cotton. "I- uh, I." She searched for an answer in her mind and shook her head when she couldn't find one. "Evan, I don't know."

Evan saw two uniformed officers coming into the SIU and he led Michelle by the arm out to the fantail so their conversation could remain private. "Why not?"

When Michelle only leaned against the railing and stared at the water below them, Evan knew why not and he felt his heart jump into his throat. I'd have thought Bettina would make chief before Michelle ever had feelings for me.

Gently touching Michelle's elbow, he caught her attention and she stood up straight, looking him in the eye. "Look. Michelle, that conversation I had about you, the one on your DAT recorder, the one you found out about- I know I phrased it pretty crude. I was a jerk and I'm sorry."

"What does that have to do with my dream, Evan?"

Evan took a deep breath, hoping that if he made his confession first, it would make it easier for Michelle to make hers. "Maybe your looks were what caught my attention, but that's not everything. Michelle, you're tough. I've never seen anybody fight so hard to get what they want. You care so much about your job; you lay your life down for people that you don't even know. There's just this-this fire in you, this life. Michelle, you're beautiful. In every single way that there is."

Michelle felt tears prick at the back of her eyes; she had never before received a compliment with so much sincerity behind it. "Thank you." Thank you?!?! How about the truth, genius? How about telling him that you're in love with him?

"You're welcome." Michelle seemed to be making no other moves towards her own admission of romantic feelings, so Evan tried again. "I meant every word of it, you know."

"I know you did."

The moment, as they say, was perfect. Evan placed a hand on the small of Michelle's back and pulled, causing them to come together until their torsos were touching. Ever so slowly, he leaned his head towards Michelle's and lightly pressed his mouth to hers.

In that one motion, Michelle forgot everything, everything except Evan and how he smelled, how he felt, how he tasted. Michelle had never expected every single emotion that she had experienced in her dream to resurface, but they did. She could only think of one word to describe how Evan's kiss felt - electric. Her hands started to run up his back as the kiss intensified, and then she pulled away suddenly.

"Wha-what's wrong?" Evan was slightly breathless from the kiss, but very disappointed that it was over so soon.

"I can't."

"Can't what? Michelle, whatever's wrong, I want to help you- us. I want to help us get past it." Evan tenderly brushed away a strand of hair that the breeze was blowing in front of Michelle's eyes. "What I felt in that kiss was real and I know that you felt it too."

Michelle felt the battle between her head and her heart rage fiercer than ever. She wanted so much to let go of her reservations; Michelle hated being afraid of Evan like this. "You said yourself what was wrong."

Evan furrowed his eyebrows, puzzled. "I did?"

Michelle nodded. "You said I'm tough. You said that you've never seen anybody fight for anything harder than me. Evan, I've never had to admit that I need anybody." She looked back into Evan's eyes and felt tears on the horizon once more. "I don't know if I can."

"I think you just did."

Michelle shook her head, knowing that it wasn't good enough. "No, Evan. I need to say it. I have to hear myself say it."

"I'll wait until you can. I promise."

Michelle turned and left, leaving Evan out on the fantail alone as the tears flowed freely down her cheeks.

---

Bryn signed the clipboard Ronnie offered her and then handed back to him. "There you go."

Ronnie smiled his thanks. "See you later, Inspector. Have a nice morning."

Bryn refocused her attention on the large pile of folders in the middle of her desk. As she began sorting them into smaller piles around the perimeter of her desk blotter, Bryn felt a hard cramp grip her stomach. Gasping loudly, she clutched her hand to her swollen abdomen and shut her eyes, waiting for the discomfort to pass.

Walking back into the SIU from the holding cells, Nash saw what had just happened to Bryn, and he rushed to Bryn's desk. "Sister, are you alright? What happened?"

Bryn dismissed the incident for Nash's sake as much as for hers. "I'm okay. Baby just kicked harder than usual. No big deal." Harvey and Evan were helping the US Marshall's Service with a transpo to the Q and the last thing she wanted to do was think about going into labor without Harvey there beside her.

"Are you sure it wasn't a contraction?"

"Nash, I'm not due for almost another four weeks. Of course it wasn't a contraction."

"Are you sure you're sure?"

Bryn laughed. "Believe me, Nash, if I go into labor, I'll be the first to know about it."

Nash shook his head and laughed; he knew Bryn was trying to reassure him. "Alright, sister. Whatever you say."

---

Harvey pulled at the edge of his bulletproof vest and watched as another bus pulled into the compound. Adopting a corny game show host's voice, he looked over at Evan. "Contestants, round two has now begun! Only three more to go, and theeennn the exciting bonus round of drown-your-local- inspectors-in-paperwork-because-you're-a-too-lazy-to-do-it-yourself-inept- federal-agent!"

Evan laughed out loud at his partner's remark and decided to play along as they walked towards their assigned position. "Alright, Alex! Umm, psychotic rapists and murderers for $1200."

"Ding, ding, ding! Congratulations, Mr. Cortez! You've chosen the Daaaiilllyyy Double!"

---

Bryn sat down at the chair Joe had pulled out for her and took a drink of water. Waiting until Nash had seated Michelle and Joe and Nash had seated themselves, Bryn picked up the menu and began looking at it. "I've never been here, Chan, what's good to eat?"

Michelle thought for a minute before pointing to a particular selection. "I really like the crab legs. But the chicken and shrimp is pretty good, too."

Bryn smiled as she envisioned the delicious-sounding entrees. "Mmm, chicken. That means I can get ranch dressing to go with it."

Michelle made a face and laughed along with Nash and Joe. "Harvey was right. You put ranch dressing on everything."

Bryn rose to her self-defense, although she was laughing right along with them. "Hey, at least I've only craved one thing. My emotions certainly aren't predictable; I've got to compromise with Harvey just a little-"

At that moment, another hard cramp gripped Bryn's stomach, and she yelped in surprise but quickly stifled it when she noticed all three of her co- workers/friends reach into their pockets for their cell-phones. "Oh come on, what are you guys doing?" Bryn was trying to play this one off as well, but she was grimacing inwardly; the pain didn't seem to be wearing off quite as fast this time.

Joe, Nash and Michelle answered simultaneously. "Calling Inger." "Calling Harvey." "Calling Evan to tell him to get Harvey back here now."

Nash began to push his chair away from the table. "Bryn, let me take you to the hospital. Or at least take you home. This happened this morning and you shouldn't be working-"

"Sit down, Nash." Bryn barked at him a little harder than she meant to, and shooting him an apologetic glance, she continued. "Guys, I'm fine. The baby just kicked harder than normal. Little thing's been pretty active today." She took a large drink of water and busied herself with her menu again to prove how fine she was, but after a moment, she noticed Joe, Michelle and Nash still watching her with concern. Clearly they hadn't fallen for it.

Sighing with mild exasperation, Bryn compromised, pointing at each of her friends, respective to who they had been planning to telephone. "I tell you what. If it happens again, I'll let you call Inger, I'll let you call Harvey, and I'll let you call Evan. Deal?"

Nash pursed his lips together, not wanting to let Bryn act like she wasn't in labor if she really was. Sharing looks with Joe and Michelle, it was clear that they agreed with him, but he decided to compromise with Bryn anyway. "Deal. But it happens again, and you're gonna to be in that hospital so fast you won't know what hit you, sister."

Bryn chuckled, grateful for how her concerned her friends were, despite how annoying it might be. "Yes, sir!"

---

Coming back into the SIU, Bryn departed from Nash, Joe and Michelle and waddled away from the desks. Pushing open the door to the ladies' room, she chose a stall and shut the door. Bryn lifted up her shirttail and had grasped the waistband of her maternity slacks, when another cramp, harder than the first two combined, hit.

Bryn doubled over as far as a pregnant lady could and slammed her hand against the stall door. Clenching her teeth and groaning, Bryn was determined not to scream for fear of attracting the attention of the entire station, forget Nash, Joe and Michelle. I'll tell them it happened, just make it stop. God, just make it stop, please.

After what seemed like an eternity, the burning pain subsided, and Bryn stood up again, ready to finish what she had come in here to start. Grasping her waistband once again, Bryn looked down at her now-darkened slacks and realized that the latest cramp had apparently been a contraction, just like the two before it.

---

Michelle was clacking away at her keyboard unconcernedly when she heard her cell phone chirping. Reaching into the pocket of her vest, she flipped open the mouthpiece and pulled out the antenna. "Chan."

"Michelle, this is Bryn."

Michelle looked around the SIU quickly, wondering where in the building her partner was at and why she couldn't talk to her in person. "Bryn? Where are you at?"

"I'm in the bathroom. I need you to do something for me."

"Yeah?" Michelle wrinkled her eyebrows, wondering what in the world Bryn would need help in the bathroom with.

"Umm, one, I need you to tell Nash or Joe to find Harvey. Second, I need you to find me a blanket or something." Bryn's voice lowered to a whisper out of embarrassment, even though she was the only one in the ladies' room. "My water broke and I- I don't want to come out with my pants looking like this."

Michelle immediately felt adrenaline pump through her veins as she jogged off towards the holding cells to look for a blanket, her cell phone still in hand. "I'll find you a blanket, hang on. And don't worry about Harvey, I'll call Nash and let him know what happened."

"Thanks." Bryn leaned her head against the wall and started to shake. She couldn't be in labor, not now, not almost a month early, and certainly not without Harvey. Please God, let Harvey have his phone turned on.

---

Michelle hung up the handset belonging to the payphone in the hospital hallway and let out a loud breath. Turning around and coming back into Bryn's room, Michelle gently touched her partner's forehead. "How ya doing, sister?"

Bryn shot Michelle a baleful look. "Oh, just peachy. I think I'll go take a ten mile jog after this is all over." Glancing quickly towards the open doorway, Bryn met Michelle's eyes again nervously. "Did you have any luck?"

"Kind of. I called your cousin's house in Los Angeles and your parents and your sister are on their way. They won't be able to get a flight until tomorrow morning, though, which means they probably won't make it here in time." Michelle grabbed a tissue off of the table beside Bryn's bed and wiped away the tears that had begun to show themselves.

"What about Harvey? Is he coming?"

Michelle gave her friend's hand a comforting squeeze. "He'll be here. Harvey would torch his Dead Room before he'd miss this."

Bryn groaned and rolled onto her side, curling her legs as far up underneath her as she could. "He's got to be here. I can't do this without him, Michelle."

"I know, I know." Michelle looked around the room, as if an answer for how she could help her partner through this might jump out from the wallpaper of the labor and delivery room.

Michelle drew in a sharp breath of surprise and jumped back when another contraction hit Bryn hard. Grimacing, she let her partner crush her hand to a bloody pulp and gently rubbed Bryn's back, trying to help her through it. "Come on, sister, I'll help you, just breathe. Breathe deep, in and-"

Each contraction seemed to be worse than the one before it. Bryn had never felt such a blinding, intense pain in her life, and she lashed out at the nearest thing, which happened to be her partner. "I know how to breathe! If you want to be such a big help, why don't you go find the friggin' anesthesiologist? Or better yet, switch me places and deliver this baby yourself!"

Michelle's eyes opened wide in alarm as the laboring woman in front of her began shouting in Italian; she couldn't understand what Bryn was saying, and she was pretty sure that was a good thing. After about a minute, Bryn's contraction passed, and she released Michelle's hand. Bryn looked at the telling white marks and smiled guiltily. "Sorry bout that."

Michelle chuckled and patted Bryn's back. "Don't worry about it. I've heard this labor thing kinda smarts."

Just then, Inger came back into the room. "That was a good contraction, dear! I heard you all the way down the hall!"

Michelle laughed as she massaged her sore hand. "See? You should be proud of that, sister!"

Bryn chuckled and then quickly stopped. "Don't make laugh; it hurts too much." Reminded of the pain, Bryn raised her head up at Inger beseechingly. "Pleeeeease, can you go get the anesthesiologist now?"

Inger shook her head and smiled sympathetically. "No, dear, not until you're at four. I haven't checked you in about an hour, though, so let's take a look."

Michelle gave her partner's hand a final squeeze before moving towards the doorway. "Nash and Joe are in the waiting room, I'll go see if they've found Harv and Evan yet."

Walking down the hallway and into the waiting room, Michelle regarded Nash and Joe with a raised eyebrow. "You guys found Harvey yet?"

Joe massaged the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger and sighed with frustration. "No. As nervous as he's been throughout this pregnancy, I can't believe he's got his phone turned off."

Nash put the magazine he had been distractedly thumbing through down on the table. Deciding to change the subject for a minute, he looked up at Michelle. "How's Bryn doing?"

Michelle leaned against the wall and laughed. "Well, she's saying things that I don't think you're old enough to repeat, but other than that."

Nash laughed and shook his head. "Just like Lisa-"

Inger came out into the waiting room and interrupted Nash. "Michelle, dear, you'd better get back in there." Watching as Michelle hurried back down the hall to be with Bryn, she then turned and looked at Joe, her Swedish accent clearer than ever as she spoke to him. "Joseph, you've got to find him. She needs Harvey. Even if you have to go get him yourself, find him."

---

Bryn temporarily gave up on screaming when the contractions hit and was now just crying. "Michelle, I don't want the baby anymore. I didn't know it would hurt this much, I just want it to stop."

"Come on, sister, don't talk like that." Michelle offered her partner a Styrofoam cup full of ice chips, and when she declined them, gently rubbed the back of Bryn's neck. "This will be over before you know it."

Bryn had never wanted Harvey by her side so bad in her entire life and she began crying harder. "I can't do this without Harvey, I want him here, I need him to help me."

"He's on his way." Nash was standing in the doorway, a smile on his face. "Joe finally got Evan to answer his phone, and he told Harvey. I'm willing to bet that the Ranchero is breaking just about every traffic law in the state right now."

Michelle closed her eyes and breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks, Joe."

Joe smiled too, and shrugged. "It's no problem. We're family, remember?"

---

Harvey stamped his foot impatiently as he waited for the elevator to reach the tenth floor. When the door finally chimed and slid open, he tore into the waiting room, nearly falling over a row of chairs in the waiting room. "Where is she? Where's Bryn? Is she okay? Where is she?"

Joe helped Harvey steady himself, and then laid a hand on Harvey's shoulder. "She's okay. She's hurting right now, but Inger said everything's on schedule."

Nash swallowed the last of his Pepsi and tossed the can into the wastebasket by the nurse's station. "Where's Evan?"

Harvey shook his head and rubbed his sore kneecap. "He's parking the Ranchero. Ev wouldn't let me drive."

Nash rolled his eyes and mouthed I-wonder-why to Joe. "Come on, bubba, let's take you back there."

Knocking softly on Bryn's door, Nash pushed it open and smiled at Bryn. "Hey, look who we found, sis-"

Nash's timing, however, was rotten. At that same moment, Bryn was having a contraction and when she saw Harvey, nobody got the response they were expecting out of her. "Harvey Michael Leek, look what you did to me, you son of a bit-"

Nash grabbed the doorknob again and pulled the door shut quickly as the pitcher full of ice cubes hit the other side and clattered to the floor. Overcoming his initial surprise at Bryn's outburst, he began laughing uncontrollably and it wasn't long before Joe joined him. Seeing the absolutely terrified look on Harvey's face, Nash took a deep breath and tried to control the laughter, but he wasn't having much luck, and Joe wasn't helping. "Let's, uh, let's give her just a minute, bubba." Putting an arm around Harvey, he led him back to the waiting room.

A few minutes later, Inger peeked her head around the corner. She obviously had been laughing recently as well, and it showed on her face. "Harvey, it's okay to come back now. Bryn finally got to four centimeters, and I can go talk to the anesthesiologist."

Smiling nervously, Harvey stood up and walked, with shaky legs, down the hall to Bryn's room. Pushing the door open, he scooted a stray ice cube out of the way with his foot and stepped inside. "Hi, princess."

Bryn reached her hand for Harvey's and squeezed it tightly. "Sweetheart, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to throw that pitcher at you."

Harvey shrugged it off and squeezed his wife's hand in return. "Don't worry about it. You missed, so it doesn't even count."

Michelle chuckled and stood up, letting Harvey have the stool she had been sitting on. Smiling at the two, she closed the door behind her and went back into the waiting room, deciding to give them some time alone.

---

Joe hung up the payphone and walked back to where Nash and Evan were sitting, and where Michelle had just joined. "Good news, guys."

"What's that?" Nash arched an eyebrow questioningly, wondering what his partner had to say.

Joe sat back down in the chair next to Michelle and grinned. "I called in a couple of favors with Narco. We shouldn't get called into the station for anything, not until tomorrow morning."

Michelle pumped a fist into the air, happy to hear what Joe had just said. In the back of her mind, she had been waiting all day for some murder or robbery to go down, and now that she knew she would able to stay with her partner, Michelle felt like a huge weight had been lifted off of her shoulders. "That is good news, Dominguez."

The four sat in silence for several minutes, waiting for something to happen. Evan pursed his lips in thought, looked over at Michelle, and then came to a decision. "Hey, Chan, let's go for a walk. I'll buy you a cup of coffee."

"Okay." Standing up, she left her seat and followed Evan into the elevator, happy to do something besides just sit there.

Joe looked over towards Nash, who had watched the departing inspectors with a wry grin on his face. "What are you smiling for, Nashman?"

"Chan and Cortez. Maybe we're two for two in the SIU now."

Joe snorted in disbelief. "Evan and Michelle?"

Nash shrugged and leaned towards the coffee table to pick out another magazine that he wasn't really interested in reading. "Why? What's so hard to believe about Ev and Michelle?"

"Well, for one thing, she hates him, doesn't she?"

Nash thought for a minute and shook his head. "Bubba, I don't think she hates him. I think she's so used to be being tough and independent that she doesn't know how to stop." Joe's question answered, Nash began to flip through an issue of Sports Illustrated, unaware of how close he had nailed the situation between Evan and Michelle.

---

Michelle reached across the table in the cafeteria and picked up a pink sugar packet out of the cheap wicker basket. Shaking it, she tore the top off and sprinkled the contents into her coffee. "So what's up?"

"I wanted to ask you something."

"What?"

Evan reached for a packet of sugar himself, but then changed his mind, deciding to drink his coffee black. "Have I waited long enough?"

"For what?" Michelle's forehead creased as she tried to figure what Evan was waiting for, and then she remembered. "Oh."

Evan's eyes never left Michelle's. "Have I?"

When Michelle couldn't answer him, Evan dropped his eyes sadly, more than a little disappointed. "So I'm just supposed to give up, aren't I?"

Michelle looked up quickly, not wanting Evan to see it like that at all. "Ev, no, I didn't say that."

"Then what are you saying?" Evan held his hands palm up and looked at them briefly. "Michelle, you're gonna have to help me out here; I'm a little confused."

Michelle reached across the table for Evan's hand, but hesitated and drew it back. "It's just that if we ever started something, we'd-"

"-have to finish it, like Harv and Bryn did." For the first time in Evan couldn't remember how long, he felt a lump in his throat and tears in his eyes. We're not even together, and she's already breaking up with me. I haven't cried over a woman since high school.

Michelle chuckled at how Evan had finished her sentence, but remembering the gravity of the situation, quickly became serious again. "Yeah. And then we'd be at the barge together all day. If something happened, I would have to leave." Michelle thought about what she had said for a minute, and shook her head. "I don't want to leave."

Pushing aside his disappointment, Evan forced himself to smile just a little. Knowing that he should at least be grateful that Michelle was doing this to save their friendship, Evan shook his head. "I don't want you to leave, either."

Michelle saw the broken-hearted look on Evan's face and felt like her own heart was tied down with lead weights. "It's just that- we've got our whole lives before we start something serious, Evan."

Evan quit rubbing his index finger along the rim of his coffee cup and looked up at Michelle, some of his sadness washed away for just a minute. Talk about bittersweet moments. "You think starting something with me is starting something serious?"

Michelle chuckled softly again, wondering how Evan had managed to read her mind twice in the past five minutes. "Yep. I know it is."

Evan chugged the last of his coffee like it was a shot of tequila and stood up. "Come on, we'd better get back up there before this kid arrives without us." As he began walking towards the elevator, Evan smiled at Michelle ruefully. "Guess I'll just have to wait some more, huh?"

"If you want to."

---

Stepping off the elevator with Michelle and back into the waiting room on the maternity floor, Evan answered Joe and Nash's questions before they could ask them. "Everything's okay, guys."

---

Inger scooted back from her position in front of Bryn, and pulled her plastic glove off, smiling in triumph. "Congratulations, dear! You're ready to push!"

Bryn rolled her eyes. "Finally!" Taking a deep breath, she tucked her chin to her chest and gave a determined heave. Holding it for a count of ten, she gasped for breath at the end and did it again.

This time, when she finished, Nash whistled lowly from his position across the room with Joe and Evan. "Careful, sister, you don't want to shoot the kid all the way across the room."

Bryn laughed, despite how painful laughing was at the moment, and took a moment to catch her breath. "I just want to get this over with, boss. I've been laying in the same bed for almost eleven hours."

Inger agreed with Nash. "He's right, though. You're moving a lot faster now; those two pushes have gained you quite a bit of ground. You don't want to tear."

Bryn grimaced as another contraction gripped her abdomen. "Hey, Inger, can you do something to this IV again? The dope's wearing off."

Inger shook her head apologetically. "There isn't time, Bryn. I'm sorry."

---

Bryn screamed bloody-murder as she tried to keep pushing until Harvey counted to ten for her. "Inger, I'm begging you! Demerol, anything! I'll take anything!"

Inger patted Bryn's thigh and smiled, completely at ease; the exact opposite of how Bryn was feeling. "Bryn, come on. As hard as you're pushing, this'll be over in just another two or three pushes. That's ten minutes at the absolute most, dear. You can last that long."

The contraction over, Bryn fell back against the pillows, sweating. "I can't, Inger. I can't; I'm too tired."

Harvey looked around at their friends as they all offered encouragement to Bryn. Taking his index finger, he placed it underneath his wife's chin and tilted it so she was looking at him. "They're right, princess. This is almost over."

Bryn watched Harvey's hand wipe a bead of sweat away from the tip of her nose. "I can't do it. I'm so tired, Harvey. I don't have anything left."

Harvey bent over and touched his forehead to Bryn's, forgetting about everybody else in the room except Bryn as he whispered his own encouragements. "Yes, you do. You're my princess, Bryn. You can do anything; you're the strongest woman I know. Just be strong for one more minute. That's all I need from you."

Optimistic again, Bryn took a deep breath and calmed herself. With Harvey pushing one leg back up against her pelvis and Michelle pushing against her other leg, Bryn waited for the next contraction and with a brief scream, pushed as hard as she could. Letting out the breath she had been holding, Bryn tucked her head to her chest and strained mightily again.

"Whoa! Dear, stop pushing for a second." Without looking, Inger reached behind her and grabbed a bulb off of the little instrument table in the room with her. "I need to suction the mouth."

"Good girl, Bryn. Nash and I can see the head. The head's out, sister!" Joe grinned excitedly, wondering if the head belonged to a Harvey or a Harveyette.

Nash stepped a little closer, excited as well, but not wanting to get in the way. "Bryn, the little kid's not even all the way out yet and it's trying to cry!"

Inger set the bulb back on the instrument table and looked up at Harvey. "Dad, would you like to help me finish things up here?"

Evan thrust a gown and gloves into his arms before Harvey could protest. "He'd love to, Inger. Wouldn't ya, buddy?"

Shaking with a mixture of fear and happy anticipation, Harvey left Bryn's side and stood beside Inger. As Harvey placed one hand underneath his baby's neck, tears began to slide down his face one by one. "Ok-okay, princess. I'm here. Come on, ju-just one more push, and we've g-got it." Harvey had never felt so light-headed in all of his life and was glad Inger was there to make sure that he didn't drop his new charge when he fainted, as he knew he would.

Another round of encouragements were shouted to Bryn, and mustering every last bit of strength she had, Bryn gritted her teeth and gave one last determined effort. Pushing until she thought her eyes would pop out of their sockets, Bryn felt the baby leave her body. Exhausted, she flopped back against the pillows and gasped for air, knowing that she couldn't have pushed for one more second if the fate of western civilization depended on it.

With Harvey's help, Inger laid the baby on Bryn's chest and grinned from ear to ear. "It's a boy! Congratulations, mom!"

Bryn lifted her head up and laid eyes on her new baby, instantly forgetting all the pain and fatigue she was experiencing. Holding her new son close, Bryn kissed his forehead and began praising and thanking God for her child as she sobbed with happiness. "My little boy. Thank you God for my little boy. Thank you Jesus for my little boy. He's so perfect, thank you."

Cheers erupted throughout the labor and delivery room, and Evan stepped back so his partner could get to his wife and new son. "Congratulations, Harv!" Evan felt tears on the horizon for the second time that day, but this time they were tears of a much happier sort. "He looks great, man, real strong."

Michelle nodded as she wiped tears away from her own face. "He's the most beautiful baby in the world, Bryn." Out of sheer happiness, she turned around and hugged Nash and Joe tightly, knowing that she would have hugged Evan too if he wasn't on the other side of the bed.

Harvey placed a tender hand against Bryn's forehead and wiped away the remaining drops of sweat. "It's over, princess. I'm so proud of you." Crying unabashedly, Harvey kissed Bryn tenderly and then kissed his new son after Bryn had placed him in his arms.

Beautiful blue eyes looked up at Harvey, and he instantly felt his heart melt as a tiny hand grasped at thin air. This kid's gonna be able to get away with murder. "Oh, wow."

Nash grinned and clapped Harvey on the back. "Pretty neat feeling, huh, dad?"

Harvey shook his head in wonderment; he still couldn't believe that he had helped to create this perfect little life before him. "Nash, it's the best."

Joe was the first to break the happy trance Harvey and Bryn were in at the moment. "So, uh, who are we going to be singing Happy Birthday to tonight?"

Bryn shared a look with Harvey and smiled. "Do you want to tell him?"

Harvey placed his son back in Bryn's arms, dried his tears and turned to face Evan. "With your blessing, we'd like to name our new son Evan Gerald."

Evan's mouth dropped open. Nobody had ever named anything after him, let alone an actual person. "H-Harvey, I'd be honored. You- you both have my blessing." Closing his eyes tightly in a failed effort to stop the tears, he embraced his partner tightly, having never, ever been so happy for him.

Bryn watched the exchange happily, and when the two men pulled away, she smiled up at Evan and winked. "We're only going to call him Evan Gerald when he's in trouble, though. Harvey kinda wants to call him Jerry."

Joe laughed and looked around at Nash, Michelle and Inger. "Like we couldn't have seen that one coming."

Harvey shook his head in feigned naivety and laughed too. "I have no idea, man." Looking down again at his wife and child, he wondered how he would ever be any happier than he was now. I am the luckiest man in the world. I know I a lot of guys say that they are, but I know it's really me.

********************

Okay, pals, phew! Sorry it took so long to get out to you, but here you go! I will be taking a break from NB fanfic for a while (it's a break, I'm not quitting!), I've really enjoyed it, but I need to take a breather for a minute before I burn out on it forever. ( I do have plans for my next NB story though, and it will also be my first attempt at a crossover. It will probably be a month or two (or three), but stay tuned to the DR for further updates! Again, borrowing a phrase I saw on another story, feedback is a girl's best friend! Thanks again to all of my readers, I love you dearly!