"That's the 3rd time in ten minutes you've looked at your watch."

Startled, Rick brought his chair upright.

"A.J, you're counting how many times I check the time, yeesh!" He groused.

"Rick, I know you're nervous about Robin and Ramona going into labor any time now, but they'll be fine." A.J. grinned.

His brother drew a deep breath, maybe he should tell A.J. he was nervous also about being away from Laurie.

She had been very lucky, no aftereffects of the truth serum or knockout drugs Wright had used on her. Rudy had told them the scarring on her back would fade in time, and that she could go back to her usual routine soon.

After two weeks of rest at home, she had persuaded Rick she was all right with him going back to work part time.

"Tell you what, Dad and Rudy are going to have lunch with me, then I'll drive into town and meet you at A.J.'s; how's that?" Laurie had proposed.

He wasn't all right with it though, a terrifying nightmare had woken him up that morning. He hadn't told his wife about it, but now he knew he had to find out if she was okay.

"Rick, is it Laurie?" Rick looked up to see his brother's worried gaze.

"A.J., I had a really bad nightmare last night. I just can't seem to get it out of my head." There, he said it.

"Rick, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have teased you. Do you want to talk about it?" A.J.'s eyes were concerned.

He managed a smile. "Nah. It was just a dream, little brother. I just can't help, well, when I saw Laurie with that whip around her, I was so angry ….that's what I dreamt. I shot Wright, then he moved and I accidentally hit Laurie. She was crying as she fell, A.J., it was so bad. I woke up and didn't see her this morning, I think that was why it bothered me so much. Poor thing, she had only gone to the kitchen to get me a cup of coffee, too."

"Rick, it's only natural to have nightmares after what we saw, I'm just glad she's not afraid to come here today." A.J. assured him.

Abruptly the phone rang, and A.J. picked it up. "Simon and Simon."

"Linny, hi, I was just about to call you." Rick watched him listening, then saw A.J. frown.

"It's okay, honey, she probably will be back any minute." Rick didn't wait for his brother to get off the phone, he said hurriedly, "I'll see you back at the house." then hightailed it downstairs.

As he got into his truck, all sorts of things that could have happened to his wife raced through his mind, and he started imagining the worst. Just then he heard a knock on his window. Startled, he saw A.J. standing there.

"A.J., what…?"

"Linda ran out of bread and Laurie volunteered to run to the corner. Linda didn't even think about it until just now, then she, well, panicked. But Laurie just called her. " His brother added, smiling, "she's at the grocery store in line, why don't we meet her?"

Relieved, Rick grinned. "Sure, little brother. Race you!"

As both Simons peeled into the shopping center parking lot, Rick saw Laurie's Jeep, then pulled alongside it.

"I'll see if she's inside, why don't we meet you at home?" he suggested, as A.J. drove up next to him.

"Okay, Speed Guy!" he teased, then drove off.

Going into the store, Rick spotted Laurie sitting in the snack bar area, then his heart plummeted.

She was pale and shaky-looking, then she looked up to see Rick, and a look of relief crossed her face.

"Rick…" she said, then he rushed over to her and pulled Laurie into his arms.

"It's okay, sweetheart, I'm here."

"Rick, love, thank you." She whispered, then hugged him tightly.

"Come on, darlin', let's go to A.J.'s, we can talk on the way." He told her soothingly, picking up her bag of groceries.

On the way to his brother's, Rick put his arm around Laurie. "Angel, what happened, did something scare you?"

He felt her nod against him. "Rick, I really was okay, I was having such a good time with the kids, then I saw Linda was out of bread, and I wanted to get stuff to make a salad for dinner, so I told her I'd be right back.

"But…." Rick felt her shudder against him. "I saw a couple of Marines in fatigues, and, Rick, I was so afraid, all of a sudden it was like I had a flash back to the base and those men with Wright. I managed to get myself under control and pay for the groceries, but then, I thought I was going to be sick."

"Laurie." Rick had tears in his eyes and he found it hard put to drive. Quickly he pulled into A.J's driveway, then turned off the motor and gathered his wife in his arms.

"My brave girl, it's okay. I was worried when you didn't come, then Linda called and…well, A.J. thought you'd be all right, but I was scared…." He told her, and she took a deep breath.

"I'm sorry I worried you, love. I just forgot, and it felt so good to drive around and go someplace." Laurie paused, then smiled up at her husband.

"I love you, you always look after me. I know we can get through this." She beamed at him.

"I love our "we", Rick snickered, then kissed Laurie. "Come on, princess. Let's feed our hungry family."

As Rick and Laurie entered the house, Linda ran to meet them. "Sis, Robin just called, Ian's taking her to Phoenix General, her water burst. Mom's going to meet you there."

"Rick, I knew she'd be early!" Laurie said, astonished. "Laurie, call me as soon as the baby comes." Linda handed Laurie her purse.

"I will, Linny. Thanks." Laurie hugged her, then Rick took her arm. "Come on, sweetheart. Let's go welcome our grandchild."

Minutes later, Rick dropped his wife off at the ER entrance then went to hunt for a parking place. When he finally came in, a small group of family and friends were already in place.

"There you are, Rick." Ron and Abby were sitting with Oscar, who added, "You brought Laurie just in time, I thought Ian was going to faint, he was so nervous."

"Rick, are you sure Laurie's strong enough for this?" Cecilia had a worried look on her face. Rick nodded.

"I think she is, Mom. She actually went to the store by herself today, and, well, I think she can handle it." Rick said, hoping his confidence wasn't misplaced.

Abby laughed. "Cecilia, just try to get my pal out of there! You know she does her best work under pressure!"

Rick chuckled, then took turns pacing with Oscar. Soon Chief Joseph and Robbie and Ramona came in, then a loud wail broke the tension. Rudy came out of the birthing room, a big smile on his face.

"Well, congratulations, Grandpa." He teased Rick. "You have a very loud granddaughter."

Rick hugged the doctor, then his mother, tears in his eyes. "Thank you, Rudy, is Robin all right?"

"Yes, son, she's fine. She had a very short labor, somebody wanted out bad!" Rudy assured him.

The door opened behind them, then Laurie came out, her smile belying her fatigue. "Come in, darling, our children have someone for you to meet."

Rick took her arm, then went into the room to find his radiant daughter, hair plastered against her forehead but with a look of happiness on her face.

"Honey, you're okay?" Rick asked worriedly, seeing the little pink face in Ian's arms.

"Yes, Pop. Thank you for getting Mom here when you did." Robin gave him a kiss, then Ian stepped forward, his daughter yawning in his arms.

"Dad, we'd like to name her Katherine Christine. After Great-grandmother, is that okay?"

Rick grinned. "I think that's a great name, she can be KC if you like. Or Katie."

Robin smiled even broader. "Pop, that's a great name. I did also want to call her Wendy, but I don't want kids to make fun of her, you know, Peter and Wendy, all that."

"Oh, Bird, that's a cute name, you can call this little one Katherine Christine Wendy Whitecloud. What do you think, Katie?" Rick asked his granddaughter. They all laughed as she yawned.

"Darling, I think she likes her name." Laurie giggled, then Rudy's nurse came to check on Robin.

"Honey, your father and I will be back, okay?" Laurie embraced her daughter and Ian.

"I love you, Mom. I always can depend on you." Robin emotionally told her, "Yes, thank you, Mom. I couldn't have seen Katie into the world without you." Ian added, hugging Laurie. Choking back tears, she and Rick embraced them, then made way for the nurse.

As Rick led Laurie into the waiting room, he felt her trembling, and he knew she'd reached her limit. As soon as everyone was done celebrating "Katie", Rick took his wife's hand.

"Come on, sweetheart. I'm taking you home to rest" He told her with a kiss.

"Yes, my love." Laurie sighed wearily, adding, "and we need to talk about your nightmares. Remember I'm safe, love, nothing's going to hurt me like that again." Overcome with emotion, Rick held her tightly in his arms, then made her squeal with delight when he scooped her up and carried her to the truck.

"Rick, you know how to sweep me off my feet every time." She gazed up at him happily, then kissed Rick as he leaned over to buckle her in.

Taken by surprise, Rick snickered. "My fresh girl." Climbing in, he began kissing her all over.

Only the honking of his mother's horn and a loud "Ewww" caused them to come up for air.

"Darlin', remind me Mom gets coal in her stocking at Christmas." Rick pretended to growl as his mother drove by, laughing with Andy.

Laurie smirked. "Oh, but she makes being naughty so much fun." She kissed him again, then settled her head against his shoulder as he put an arm around her.

Just as they pulled out of the parking lot,his watch lit up, and Rick saw his son's frequency as he hit the receive button.

"Hey, Robbie, what's up?"

"Pop, uh, Ramona's having contractions, can you and Mom come back to the hospital?" A slight worry edged his son's voice.

"Sure, Robbie, we were justcomingout on the street. Be right in." Rick clicked off, then saw the excitement in his wife's face.

"Darling, our children have good timing." She smiled, then gave him a quick kiss.

"So do our grandchildren, sweetheart." Rick grinned, as he wheeled into a parking place, then took Laurie's hand and helped her out of the truck.

As they walked back to the hospital, Rick turned on his transmitter. "A.J.? Listen, you're not going to believe this……"

Fin.