A/N: See? I am getting quicker ;-) Grab some tissues for this one, though...you're gonna need 'em!
"Ready?" Danny called into Shayla's bedroom. "We're gonna be late if we don't leave now…"
She appeared in the hallway moments later, fussing about her dress as she tied the end of her braid. "I'm coming."
"What's the matter?" Maddie asked, noting the unhappy expression on her foster daughter's face.
Shayla shook her head. "Nothing really. I just don't like courtrooms…I've spent too much time in them, and none of those memories are happy ones."
"I know the feeling," Danny told her, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and squeezing her affectionately. "But we'll change that today, huh?"
The girl smiled. "Yeah."
The apprehension returned for both foster father and daughter when they arrived at the courthouse.
But if we can get through that mess about our pasts, we can get though anything, Shayla thought, remembering the long night she had spent talking with her foster parents. Glancing over at Danny, she knew he was thinking the same thing.
They found the courtroom they were scheduled to appear in and entered when the judge called for a ten minute recess. Maddie sat down quickly in one of the rows, her hand resting on her abdomen.
"You okay, babe?" Danny asked.
"I'm nine months pregnant," she answered with a weary smile. "I'm huge, I'm exhausted, I'm swollen all over, I'm achy, and I haven't slept in three months…I'm miserable." Then she laughed lightly. "But it's such a good feeling."
Shayla sat down beside her and rubbed a hand over the baby. "And not too much longer now, either, before you won't be pregnant anymore."
That brought smiles to the two adults' faces, and they shared a look over their foster daughter's head. Not too much longer…
The three sat together for a few minutes before the judge returned to the bench and began the next case. Danny rested his arm along the back of the wooden bench, brushing against Shayla's shoulders, his hand finding the back of Maddie's neck. He noticed the uncomfortable look returning to Shayla's face and leaned over to her.
"You sure you want to do this?" he asked quietly.
She nodded. "Yeah."
"Even though you're going to be eighteen in a couple of months?"
She nodded again. "Yeah."
He dropped his voice even lower. "Even after everything I told you about my past?"
She looked him in the eye and replied, "Do you still want me after everything I told you about my past?'
"Of course," he responded without hesitation.
Shayla smiled. "Then we're good."
"Next case?" the judge called from the bench.
"Adoption Petition for Shayla Green," the Court Services Officer said, pulling the file and handing it to her.
The judge smiled. "It's good to see you again, Shayla, especially under happier circumstances."
"Much happier circumstances," the girl agreed with a grin as she moved toward the front of the courtroom with her foster parents.
"I see all the appropriate interviews have been conducted," the judge continued, glancing over the case file, "with family members and co-workers. The home study was completed satisfactorily, the application was granted, and all other paperwork is in order." She looked at the little family standing before her and her smile widened. "I guess that means there's only one thing left to do…"
Shayla grinned excitedly, taking the hands of Danny and Maddie as she sat between them, noticing briefly that Maddie's other hand was still gripping the baby. She must be kicking again…she's been doing that all day…
The judge pulled out a pen and signed the adoption petition with a flourish. "It is my great pleasure to approve the adoption of Shayla Green by Daniel and Madeline Messer. The adoption decree will also reflect a name change for the minor child, who will now legally be known as Shayla Janeé Messer."
Smiles permeated the courtroom, and the stenographer even wiped a tear from her eye.
"This is the best part of my job," the judge told them with a chuckle. "Congratulations!"
The three Messers rose from their seats and began to reply, but Maddie abruptly sat back down and doubled over.
"Maddie!" Danny shouted, images of Adam's miscarriage immediately flashing into his mind.
She waived him off, scrunching her face up and breathing in short gasps. "I'm okay," she insisted. "It's just a contraction."
"A contraction?" Shayla asked. "How long have you been having contractions?"
"Since this morning," Maddie replied through tight lips. "This one's just a little stronger…"
The Court Services Officer was already on the phone when the judge instructed him to call 9-1-1. "There's another contraction…tell 'em to come quick, or this baby's gonna be born right here!"
Maddie pushed as hard as she could, crying out in pain and frustration as she tried to focus on Danny and the baby.
"She's almost here," Danny told her, supporting her shoulders with his strong arm as she lay in a hospital bed in the delivery room. "You can do this…she's almost here babe…"
Maddie pushed harder, digging way down deep and finding strength she didn't even know she had. A dull groan escaped her throat as she struggled to give birth, and the beeping of the fetal heart monitor began to slow.
"Fetal heart rate is 110 beats per minute," a nurse observed.
The doctor read the fear in his patient's eyes. "Nothing to worry about…that's a little low, but she's okay…ready to push again?"
Maddie gritted her teeth and pushed with the contraction, squeezing Danny's hand in hers, drawing strength from his touch.
"Heart rate's 100, doctor," the nurse said steadily.
"Get the vacuum extractor," he told her. The words triggered a panicked look from both Maddie and Danny, and the doctor tried to be reassuring. "Your baby might need a little help being born, that's all. She's still doing okay."
Another contraction hit and Maddie pushed again, crushing Danny's hand in hers.
"Rate's down to 90," the nurse called, concern starting to creep into her voice.
"Where's the extractor?" the doctor replied, his tone quickly becoming urgent. "This baby needs to be born right now." A second nurse slapped the contraption into his hands and he quickly inserted it and attached it to the baby, flipping the switch to turn the pump on. "Here's another contraction, Maddie…this machine is going to help pull your baby out, but I need you to push one more time…give me everything you've got…"
She bore down, her face contorting with pain as she felt the baby being wrenched from her body. Taking a breath, she continued to push as hard as she could, concentrating on her husband's encouraging words.
"That's it, babe, you can do this…you're the strongest person I know…she's almost here, our little girl is almost here…"
"Okay, stop pushing," the doctor told her. "Stop pushing…I've got her now…"
Maddie stopped as instructed and held her breath in tense anticipation. Her blue eyes found Danny's and together they waited, not knowing if they were about to experience the joys of parenthood or the grief of losing another child.
Danny shifted his gaze to watch as his daughter was delivered, his eyes now trained on the tiny baby in search of a sign—any sign—that would let him know if she was okay. The doctor removed the vacuum extractor, cutting the umbilical cord quickly and handed the child off to a waiting nurse, who wrapped her in a towel and whisked her away to the other side of the delivery room.
"Danny?" Maddie asked, begging to know what was happening.
He shook his head a little, his eyes wide and still unknowing, watching a second doctor join the nurses as they worked on the baby, his lips pressed together as he, too, held his breath.
Then little Carrie cried.
The sound filled the delivery room, loud and energetic, making the hospital staff grin cheerfully. They finished cleaning her up and brought her over to her anxious parents swathed in a bright pink blanket, complete with matching knit cap.
"Here she is," the lead nurse smiled happily. "Her oxygen level is a little low, so we'll get a mask on her for a while, but she's gonna be just fine. Congratulations." She laid the baby on Maddie's chest and moved away so the family could celebrate together, her smile widening at the happiness written on the new parents' faces.
The tears were already running down Danny's cheeks as he leaned down to kiss his little girl. "You made it darlin'," he whispered. "You made it."
Upon hearing his words, Maddie finally began to breathe again, sucking air into her lungs and letting it out in harsh gasps, her emotions overtaking her. Tears matching Danny's poured from her eyes and she wept with all the fear and anguish and heartache she had been carrying around with her for the duration of the pregnancy. She buried her face in his chest and sobbed as she held their baby girl, who had arrived safely in the world at last.
When things had calmed down and the doctor was sure that both Maddie and Carrie were okay, he gave permission for visitors to enter the room. Shayla led Mac, Stella, Don, Sheldon, Sarah, and Dantrell through the door, making a beeline for Maddie and throwing her arms around her mother.
"You're okay?" the girl asked, having heard about the dramatic delivery. "You're both really okay?"
Maddie smiled as she returned the hug. "We're fine," she promised. "Wanna see her?"
Danny picked little Carrie up so carefully from her incubator, his large hand supporting her head as he maneuvered her into his arms and cradled her gently.
"Here she is," he called, echoing the nurse's earlier words as he grinned proudly.
The boys all looked at Danny, then the baby, and back to Danny again, trying to comprehend the fact that one of their own—and, before he met Maddie, the least responsible of the bunch—actually had a child. Stella and Sarah noticed, exchanging glanced and giggling.
"She's beautiful, Danny," Stella told him. "And the low oxygen level isn't a problem?"
He shook his head, the relief he had felt just after the delivery flooding back. "She's needs to go back on the oxygen mask in a few minutes, but that won't be a long-term thing. Other than that, she's perfect."
"Can I hold her?" she asked eagerly.
"Of course," he smiled. "But not until Shayla gets to." He made his way over to his oldest daughter and pulled the blanket back a little further away from the baby's face. "Shayla Messer, I'd like you to meet Carrie Messer."
Shayla settled herself in the rocking chair near Maddie's bed and happily took little Carrie from her father. "Hey there sweetie," she whispered, "I'm your big sister."
A collective "awww" rose from the CSIs, and Shayla could see Don pulling out his cell phone to snap a picture.
"Smile big for Auntie Aiden," he chuckled, lining up the shot.
Carrie's little pink tongue poked out of her mouth at that moment and Maddie laughed. "That's one trait of Danny's she inherited already…licking her lips all the time."
Don snorted. "Aiden's gonna love that."
Shayla sat with her sister for a few minutes more, then reluctantly passed her off to Stella, whose smile brightened instantly.
"Hi sweetheart," she cooed. "Aren't you just darling?"
Mac gazed at her, trying not to be too obvious even after a year of dating, trying to hide his emotions the way he always did. Stella's going to make a wonderful mother, he thought, watching her bouncy curls sway with every shake of her head. She's so comfortable with children…I'll have to work on that.
Not ten seconds later, Stella was handing Carrie to him, helping him settle her in his arms. His eyes widened and he immediately became nervous, more nervous than he had been even as a young Marine before he saw his first combat action. Then it was only himself he had to worry about, but now there was a whole other life in his hands.
"Wow," he breathed. "I feel so…"
"Trilled?" Sheldon filled in.
"Excited?" Don added.
"Happy?" Sarah chimed in.
Mac shook his head. "Responsible," he finished. Then, looking over at Danny, he asked, "How are you going to do this fatherhood thing? This is a big deal!"
Danny laughed. "Yes it is. And I have a wonderful wife and daughter who will make sure I don't screw up too badly."
Little Carrie made the rounds of the rest of the group before Don relented and brought her back over to Maddie. He kissed the baby softly on the forehead before handing her back to her mother with a smile. "Congratulations," he told her, planting a kiss on Maddie's cheek, too.
She brushed a hand affectionately over his face, returning his smile. "Thanks Don."
The Messers bid their friends good-bye and grudgingly placed Carrie back in the incubator, putting the little oxygen tubes in her nose the way the nurses had showed them. Shayla moved her chair next to her sister, allowing Danny room to sit on the bed beside Maddie.
"What a day!" the new mother exclaimed tiredly.
Shayla grinned. "Two kids in one day…you guys were busy," she teased.
"And extraordinarily lucky," Danny decided.
"Blessed," Maddie agreed, laying her head against her husband's chest as she watched her two daughters together. "Very blessed."