It was late and he knew he should take the girl's home.

Or at the very least take them to Rafe and Evelyn's because a hospital was no place for Annie and Shelby, even if their mama was having their little brother or sister.

Barbara had been in a couple of hours earlier to tell him that Sandra was still in labor but that it looked like the baby was about to be born. But he lost track of how long it had been since then and Danny still didn't know if Sandra had had the baby or how they were doing.

Rafe had joined him about an hour after he'd arrived with Sandra and the girls and Red joined the group after the Winkle's received a telephone call from Evelyn to give them the news. And at the moment he was getting more milk for the girls and coffee for Danny, Rafe and himself.

Danny walked around the room with Shelby in his arms because she was getting fussy while Rafe finished reading to Ann from her very favorite book, as she told him. His Annie was a shy one like her mama, but Rafe always managed to bring her out of her shell and get her to talking.

Red returned with a cafeteria tray loaded down with the beverages, three corned beef sandwiches for the men and two bologna sandwiches for the girls. They sat down at the one of the larger tables in the room and it was then that Danny discovered that Shelby had fallen asleep.

They really should be with Evelyn.

He watched as Rafe quartered Ann's sandwich. "Why don't you let me call Evelyn so she can come get the girls and take them back to our house." Rafe suggested. "We don't know how much longer it might be and this ain't no place for your girls to be sleepin'."

Danny nodded. "I've been thinkin' about that too and I think maybe you should. They know your house almost as well as ours and I think they'd be all right."

"Let me do that Danny." Red volunteered as he stood up. "That way after I call Evelyn, I can call Amy and let her know how things are going. She's been on pins and needles since Evelyn called and I can tell her we're still waiting."

"Thanks Red, I'd sure appreciate that." Danny told him before Red turned and walked out of the room.

Rafe started to laugh and Danny looked over at him and couldn't help but grin. "What's so funny?"

"I was just thinkin' about how many times we've been here. You were with me when Evelyn had two of ours and we were here for Red and Amy. I just wish we could have been here for your girls."

"I know you do Rafe. And I know how much you wanted to be here when Evelyn had Danny, but we can't always be where we want to be. I understood that when Sandra had Annie and Shelby and she did too. But Red was with me so it wasn't like I sat in here all by myself."

"And don't think it didn't ease my mind knowin' that." He smiled.

"It was real hard after you took Evelyn and the kids back to Tennessee. I didn't realize how much time the four of us had spent together until you were gone but Red was here and that helped a lot."

"I'm glad to know that Danny. And now Evelyn and I get to be here to see this one come into the world."

As they ate and talked while Rafe helped Ann, Danny heard the door open and when he turned to see who it was, he saw Barbara. She had a smile on her face and he knew it was good news.

He stood up carefully with his sleeping daughter still in his arms and tried to remember how to breathe. "How is she?" He asked her quietly.

"She came through it just fine Danny. She's really tired and the doctor gave her something to help her sleep, but she's fine."

He nodded.

"She wants to see you before she goes to sleep."

"What did she have?" He felt like a heel for asking.

"Your wife would like to talk to you about that. So if you'll follow me, you can meet your new baby." She told him and without another word left the room.

Rafe stood up and carefully took Shelby out of his arms and Danny checked to make sure she was still asleep. She hadn't stirred, so he walked to the door to catch up with Barbara and the door opened before he got there.

"I called Evelyn and she's on her way." Red told them.

"Thanks Red." Danny replied. "But I don't think I'll need her to take the girls. As soon as I see Sandra and the baby I'll be takin' them home." And he looked for Barbara, who waited for him half way down the hallway.

He caught up to her. "She's really all right?"

She smiled at him as she touched his arm. "They're both fine Danny. I wouldn't have told you that if it weren't true, so just take a deep breath and relax."

Danny smiled at her. "I don't know why I'm actin' like a first time daddy because we've been through this before, twice."

"It's only natural. You and Sandra brought another life into the world tonight."

"She did all the work." His smile got wider. "What about you and Dennis? Are you plannin' on havin' kids?"

She flushed and it surprised him. "We figure that if it's meant to be we'll have kids, but if we don't then we would be just as happy with each other."

"We're all real happy for the two of you. He's a hell of a nice guy."

"Yes he is." Was all she said as they approached the double doors of the maternity ward. "You know the drill Captain."

"Yes, Ma'am." He answered as Barbara opened one of the doors and waited for him to walk inside. It was as he remembered when Sandra was there after Shelby was born. The large room was dimly lit and curtains were drawn around the occupied beds. He heard the soft voices of husbands talking to their exhausted wives as he waited for Barbara to take him to his wife.

She stopped suddenly and Danny nearly ran into her. She indicated the partitioned bed and touched his arm again. "Don't let her talk too much because she's had a long night. I'll go get the baby."

He was suddenly filled with panic. "I thought you said she was all right."

"She is, but having a baby is an exhausting process. You should know that by now Danny." She admonished him gently.

"I do know that. But she's my whole life and if anythin' were to happen to her..." His voice trailed off.

"Go see for yourself that she's all right. I'll be back." And she turned and left him at the foot of Sandra's bed. He walked to the side and drew back the curtain. There was a small light on over the head of her bed and she looked pale.

He pulled the curtain closed behind him and took her hand in his. It was cool to the touch and he leaned over to kiss her palm.

"I was wondering when Barbara would bring you back here." The soft voice of his wife made him smile and he kissed her palm again before he placed her hand back on the bed. "Sit down Danny, it's all right."

He nodded as he sat down gingerly on the edge of the bed. "You've had a long night."

She smiled weakly. "I kept thinking how lucky Amy was to have her baby so quickly and here I am taking half the night."

"Red says she was on pins and needles after Evelyn called them."

"She's a really sweet girl Danny. Red couldn't have done any better than her."

"She's been a blessin' for him that's for sure." He smiled before he looked up as the curtain was slowly drawn back and Barbara was standing there with a small bundle in his arms. He saw her glance at Sandra and his wife smiled. She handed the baby to him and without another word stepped back and closed the curtain.

He saw a tear slip out from the corner of her eye. "Danny, meet your son."

He sat there, stunned and looked at the small face.

"We never really thought about names for this little one did we?" She said.

"Come to think of it, we didn't." He replied.

"After the doctor told me I'd had a boy I thought that we could name him after his grandfathers. What do you think?"

He wasn't sure that he wanted his son to bear the name of the man who mistreated him so badly when he was a boy, even though he understood why. "I like that idea but who's name would he have? Your daddy's or mine?"

She seemed to hesitate for a moment. "I was actually thinking of Tom McCawley if that's all right."

"That's fine honey. I don't like sayin' it, but I wouldn't have been too keen on givin' him the name Cole."

"I know and that's why I thought about Tom. So what would you think of naming him Thomas James?"

"You don't want to name him after your daddy?" He frowned.

"I know how close you are to Tom and I know Dad would understand. And I expect that we'll be calling him Thomas James quite a lot while he's growing up." Sandra smiled at him.

"Just like Rafe does with his boys." He smiled back. "We can call him James Thomas if you want."

She shook her head. "It doesn't have quite the same ring to it."

Danny nodded in agreement. "All right Mama. Thomas James Walker it is."

Sandra closed her eyes and smiled. "It's a fine name Dad." And she fell asleep.

He sat there with his new son in his arms and smiled at him. "You're Mama is a wonder."