Danny had stopped by the McCawley house earlier in the day to wish Rafe and Evelyn a happy anniversary and to remind them that they were all going to meet at the beach for a picnic.

Barbara and Martha had come back from New York on emergency leave a week earlier when Evelyn had gone into labor. Though as it turned out, the labor was false and they continued to wait. So in the meantime, they had all gathered together to celebrate with their friends.

The celebration was cut short, however when Evelyn admitted that she had finally gone into labor and all hell broke loose. Danny remembered when she had had Sarah and was so calm but this time he could see she tried not to panic. Rafe was the one who remained fairly calm.

He'd gone back to the house to get the car and Evelyn had asked Danny and Sandra to take the kids. They were still too little to understand what was going on and she didn't want to frighten them with what was going to happen.

"Sure Ev." Sandra said as Danny picked up his godson and she picked up his sister. "We'll meet you at the hospital."

They held the kids as they walked up the beach to his car.

"She didn't look very good." He observed.

"She's having a baby Danny."

He looked at her with a frown. "That's not what I meant. When she had Sarah she didn't look, oh hell I don't know, the way she looks."

Sandra seemed to understand what he tried to tell her and she nodded. "I know what you mean. I think because of what happened to her and Rafe with her miscarrying, she's afraid for this one."

Danny smiled then. "You do always have a way of bein' able to understand what I'm tryin' to say, even when I don't."

"That's because after being together for such a long time, I can read your mind." She smiled back.

"Don't I know it." He grinned as they reached his car. He opened the passenger door and pulled the seat forward so Sandra could get in back. She put Sarah on her feet before she got in and sat down, then Danny handed her the kids. He made sure they were settled before he pushed the seat back and closed the door. He went around to the driver's side and got in and before he started the engine, looked back. "All ready?"

"Let's go." She answered.

The drive to the hospital was quiet. The children seemed to understand that there was something serious going on because there was not a peep out of them the whole way over. He could hear Sandra talk to them while she tried to explain everything in a way they could understand. He couldn't help but smile to himself because he knew she was going to be a wonderful mother when it came time for them to have a baby. The thought of that always gave him goose pimples because there was only one way for that to happen.

When they reached the hospital, he found a place to park and shut down the engine. He got out and pulled back the drivers seat so he could get his godson from the back seat. Danny put him on his feet for a moment while he picked up Sarah and helped Sandra out of the back seat. He handed Sarah to her and picked up Danny.

"Do you think they're on their way?" Sandra asked him.

"They shouldn't be too far behind us." Danny told her as they walked into the hospital and he approached the admissions desk.

"Yes, sir?" The on duty nurse asked him.

"Would you please tell me if Rafe and Evelyn McCawley have checked in yet?" He asked. "She's in labor and he was supposed to call."

She found a chart and looked at it. "Captain McCawley did call about twenty minutes ago but they haven't checked in yet." She told him.

Danny nodded. "I didn't think they had gotten here yet but I thought I'd ask. Thank you."

He and Sandra found seats by the front door because he wanted to be there when they came in. The baby was finally on its way and Danny worried for his best friend. Rafe and Evelyn had been cautious through the whole nine months and had not been as happy as they could have been. He understood their reasons and felt badly for the both of them that they could not have enjoyed the time more. Rafe was home for the first time without being worried that he'd be sent out on a mission. He'd been able to be with his wife and he'd joked with Danny that it was a mixed blessing. He'd seen Evelyn at her best and her worst and loved her more than ever.

He didn't know how long it had been until he looked at his watch and began to worry. They should have arrived already and he wondered what the holdup was. He glanced at the door and willed them to show up before he looked at his watch again, damn!

He looked up when he heard the front door open and he saw Barbara, Martha and Red. "Where in the hell are they?" He asked them as his godson slept in his lap.

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

Sandra shook her head as Sarah slept in her lap. "We've been here waiting for them the whole time."

The friends looked at each other and they worried that something might have happened. "I'll go drive around and see if I can find them." Red volunteered.

"You don't think something could have happened to them, do you?" Martha said quietly.

He shook his head. "I don't mean that. But maybe they ran out of gas or the car broke down."

"Where would you look?" Barbara asked him.

"I'll back track to the beach and go in the other direction." He answered.

It suddenly seemed to dawn on Barbara where they may have gone. "Red, give me your keys and get an ambulance to Rafe and Evelyn's."

Sandra looked at her and it dawned on her too what Barbara meant. "You don't really think..." She couldn't voice what she thought.

"That's exactly what I think. The labor came on so fast and the house is closer to the beach than the hospital."

Danny heard that and went cold. "That means Rafe has to deliver the baby."

That's all it took for Red to rush to the admissions desk after he handed his car keys over to Barbara and without another word she was out the front door. Red came back to the group a minute later and told them an ambulance had been dispatched to the house.

Sandra looked at Danny and she sighed. "I hope they're going to be all right."

Danny took her hand and tried to smile. "I know honey, me too."

"Do you think we should head over to the house?" Martha suggested as she sat down next to Sandra.

Danny shook his head. "They'll be comin' here pretty soon, so we'd just have to come back."

Red sat down next to Danny and sighed. "What if we're wrong and they aren't there?"

"One problem at a time Red." Danny tried to joke but he worried about that same thing. But all they could do was wait and find out for sure.