Walter couldn't see.

Well. That wasn't entirely accurate. He could make out…light…and shapes. Dim light, distorted shapes, muffled sounds. Like he was underwater. Or in one of those fun houses that his sister would drag him to, with those mirrors that distorted your proportions. He should have been fascinated by those mirrors, but they always made him sick to his stomach. Gave him a headache. But oh, how Megan would laugh at their giant oval shaped heads, skinny necks, and hips three times their normal width. Then she would tickle him so he would laugh, too. "Walter, Walter, Walter," she would say, an amused smile on her face when he'd attempt to dart away. "You know you want to laugh. We both know it, little bro."

He could hear his name now. "Walter, Walter, Walter." He could see the mirrors, twisted and shifting. But it wasn't Megan's voice. The sight before him, slowly growing clearer, wasn't the reflections in the fun house. The voices in the background didn't have Irish accents.

Twenty years of memories, temporarily muffled and muted, rushed back to him. Walter sat up, groaning loudly from physical and emotional pain, holding his head. Megan, Megan, Megan.

"Stay still!" The voice was Paige's. He thought it was hers that had been saying his name just moments ago. "Walter, our plane went down. You've hit your head."

"It could have been much worse," Toby was saying. "Paige kept you shielded from what probably would have been a deadly impact. As is we're at a bit of a concussion risk, but compared to what this head of yours has endured before…"

"Ohhh." Walter pressed his fingers into his forehead. "My head."

"Just breathe, Love," Paige said. "Why don't you lay back? I'd tucked my jacket under your head while you were unconscious."

Walter did as she suggested, easing back slowly. "How are the others?"

"Happy's fine. A little banged up. She'll bruise nicely," Toby said. "I checked Florence over and she seems to have come out unscathed, ditto for Sly though they'll probably be pretty sore. We all will be."

"Simon?"

"He didn't come back with us, remember?" Paige said, brushing her hand over his forehead.

"Oh. Right."

"Is he awake?"

That was Florence's voice. Walter's neck ached when he turned it. She was walking from the rear of the plane, stepping over some of the debris. Walter realized that the plane was torn along the sides and up top, with natural light streaming in – along with branches full of leaves and needles.

"He is." Toby looked at her with raised eyebrows. "You were in the bathroom?"

"Yeah. Nothing's out of the ordinary."

"Good." Toby nodded. He looked back at Walter. "Happy is checking the extent of the damage outside. She should be in any minute."

"That I should be." Happy appeared, crawling through the plane's door. It was only opening about three quarters of the way. "It appears there's a water source about a half mile away. There's an open area – a field – a little farther off in the opposite direction." She frowned and rubbed her neck.

"We could split up," Florence said, giving a similar frown as Happy as she placed a hand on her lower back. "Some of us go get water, some head to the clearing to try and get together materials for a signal fire."

"We have some flares," Happy said, "but the fire would be better, as long as we can contain it with the wind."

"We can gather wood for it," Paige said, "and then wait to light it until it's safer."

"Good idea," Sylvester said. "Then we should probably gather stuff from around here, too, so we can heat ourselves at night. It gets cold in the mountains."

"You know that from your backpacking days, huh?" Florence teased. Sylvester gave a mock glare.

"Well, Walter should stay here," Toby said. "I don't want him even leaving what's left of this plane until we know the extent of his head injury. Paige, you stay with him?"

Paige nodded. "I was going to insist."

"I thought you might."

"I don't think I should go to get water," Florence said. "Chances are I'd slip. And with my back being sore already, it's only going to get worse."

"It seems a bit rocky around the pond," Happy said. "Sly and I should go."

"So that leaves me and Toby to go to the clearing," Florence said. "Good thing I'm wearing my walking shoes."

"Um, no," Toby said. "We're going to check out the immediate area around the plane. I don't want to be far from Walter and I don't want you hoofing it nearly two miles after the accident we just had."

"Probably smart, sweetie," Sylvester said.

Florence nodded. "Yeah, you're right." She smoothed her shirt down. "I've just been feeling so good I get ambitious."

"It's easy to overdo it and not realize until you get in bed and want to sleep for days, only to realize you can't because baby is trying to separate your ribs," Paige said with a laugh.

Walter tried to look at her, wincing at the movement necessary to do so.

"Yeah, Walt," Toby said. "That's going to hurt for a while."

"I didn't break anything?"

"No. Not that I can tell."

"Well, hey," Toby said with a small smile. "I'm going to tell you what a coworker at my first legitimate job said to me once, when I was complaining about losing a large bet: at least you're not ugly or dead."


"Imagine how many calories we'll be burning hiking all this way only to fill up these few containers we managed to scrounge up from the plane." Sylvester shifted his weight, bending down to scoop the pond water into a rubber hot water bottle. "We will waste away to nothing."

"If we had to stay here, yeah," Happy said. "But you know we won't be. People will be looking for us. The Gallos, when we don't land at the airfield. They love our kids but they sure as heck don't want to raise them. And we couldn't have gone much off the flight path. We'll get spotted." She handed him a half gallon jug full of water.

"You're right. Of course you're right." Sylvester took the jug and set it next to the other full containers. "I just worry. You know how I worry."

"That I do." Happy smiled. "It'll be fine, Sly. We all came out of this relatively unscathed – except for Walter, that is. It's just a waiting game now. The worst part of it will be trying to get comfortable to sleep with all our bumps and bruises."

"I think there's a bone bruise on my ass."

"Unfortunate." Happy bent and scooped water into one of the plastic bottles that had been in their bags. "All of these are Dasani. You'd think it was product placement or something."

Sylvester laughed.


"We could just use this field, couldn't we?" Florence asked.

Toby shook his head. "I don't think it's big enough to be able to keep the fire away from everything else. Happy says there's rocks in that field that we can use to build something of a pit."

"Oh, true," she said. She got quiet. "Do you think Walter will be okay?"

Toby sighed. "He's had several bad head injuries since I've known him. But he's responding the way we want him to. He should be okay."

"Good." She nodded. "When I saw him out like that…it gave me flashbacks."

"Thankfully, not nearly as serious this time."

"Do you think we'll be here long enough to have to eat bugs like Simba the lion?" Florence asked. Her foot kicked at a downed tree. "There's probably some grubs in here."

"I hope not, though they would certainly attend to our protein needs." Toby handed her the armful of twigs he was gathering. "You carry the lighter stuff. I'll drag the branches." He noticed a large downed tree a few yards ahead. Jogging to it, he spotted a branch, an inch or two thick, that he thought had been weakened enough to take it off. The tree was old enough it probably wouldn't be green wood. He could break that.

"Toby?"

He turned. Florence was sitting on the log, staring between her knees at the ground, where the twigs lay in a semi discombobulated pile. Toby cocked his head. "…yeah?"

"Um…" she raised her head to look at him. "I don't know what a contraction feels like. But something just happened and it hurt."

Toby abandoned all thoughts of the downed tree. At Florence's side in a second, he dropped to his knees in front of her. "Where did it hurt? What happened?"

She let out a long breath. "My back was hurting earlier. And it was like that, but this time…" she placed a finger on her belly and made a circle motion. "Everywhere. All around."

"Where was your back hurting? Specifically?"

"Like…my tailbone? In there?"

Toby let out a breath. "Okay. I think we shouldn't panic, but let's start walking back to the plane, yeah?"

"Okay."

Toby shifted his weight until he could slide his arm under her shoulders to help her to her feet. He wished he could assure her nothing was happening, that she was mistaken. But as she shuffled along with him, a tense look on her face, he doubted she'd believe him even if he felt confident enough to provide such reassurance.

They were a little farther from the plane than he'd thought – maybe an eighth of a mile. That wasn't far, but…

"Toby," Florence said, stopping and hunching over slightly.

"Does it hurt again?" He asked, keeping his arm where it was to support her.

Florence was breathing heavily, her hand on her stomach. "It does," she wheezed. "Oh God, no."

"Breathe," Toby said. He looked toward the plane. "Paige!" He shouted. "Paige!"


"I really am starting to feel better," Walter said. "I mean, I have the headache. But I know what the bad signs are when it comes to head injuries, and I've had so much worse ones."

Paige was sitting in the chair beside him, her legs over his lap as she held the makeshift ice pack to his head. Bless the freezer holding the ice for staying closed in the crash. "Good," she said. "But I'll feel better when you're looked over in a hospital. This wreckage is not an ideal spot to have a medical emergency."

"Paige!"

Paige and Walter both jumped as Toby hopped through the door. "Paige. Have you gone deaf?"

"What?"

"I've been calling you."

"…why?"

"Florence is in labor. I can't get her in here by myself. Can you come out and help, please?"

"Oh no." Paige jumped up, making sure Walter had a hold on the ice pack. "I thought she was okay!"

"I thought so, too. She spotted a little after the crash, but she's been spotting very lightly and very occasionally through the whole pregnancy. No one has ever been concerned."

"Are we sure…"

"I'm a doctor," Toby snapped. "And you knew it when you were having contractions, didn't you?"

"Fair enough," Paige said, following him out the door.

Florence was kneeling on the ground about twenty yards from the plane, hands pressed on either side of her belly, her cheeks puffing out as she exhaled. "It's so uncomfortable," she said as they reached her. "God, this is the most uncomfortable I've ever been."

"Come on," Paige said, taking one of her arms while Toby took the other. "Let's get you inside."

"We have a first aid kit," Florence said. "There should be something in there."

"Not that's safe pain medication for someone in labor," Paige said. "But don't worry. We've all done this before."

They shuffled toward the plane, and upon reaching it Paige hopped up through the door, reaching out to help guide Florence through it. If she'd been nine months pregnant, or if she wasn't so small, it might have been difficult getting her through it. Thankfully, she managed to re-enter the plane with limited difficulty.

"Okay," Toby said, "this spot is cleanest, and we already have the sheet and padding for your head down here from when we were working on Walter. Florence, lay down right here. Paige? Come support her upper body." Toby was businesslike, but Paige could sense the urgency in his voice, and she knew that that meant Florence could too. "Baby is on their way. Try to stay as relaxed as you can."

"No. No. I'm not even twenty – four weeks," Florence said. "She can't come. You have to put a stop to this."

"We have no betamimetics in the first aid kit," Toby said. "And you've had three contractions in less than ten minutes, meaning your labor is precipitous. There isn't any stopping this, Florence, I'm sorry."

"It's too early." Paige put her hand on Florence's back as the chemist's voice became more shrill. "Toby, you have to stop it."

"Florence," he said gently. "You know I can't."

"Let's get you laid down," Paige said softly.

"No! I – oh God." Florence leaned against Paige and panted harshly. Paige rubbed her back, mumbling in a low, reassuring tone. When the contraction passed, Florence allowed Paige to lower her to the floor of the aircraft.

"Walter," Toby said. "How are you feeling?"

"Much better."

"Good. We need your help. Fetch the pseudo womb from the compartment, please. We need somewhere to transfer the little one to once they're here."

"She can't come yet," Florence said, tapping Paige with her finger. "She can't come yet."

"I know," Paige said. "I know. I know you don't want her to. But she is."

"No, Paige." Florence grabbed a fistful of Paige's shirt. "No, she can't. Where's Sylvester?"

"Here it is," Walter said, reappearing with the device in his arms. "Generator?"

"Yes." Toby took off the stethoscope, grabbing antiseptic from the first aid kid. "Florence, your heart and Baby's hearts sound good. I need to examine you, though, okay? Is this okay?"

Florence nodded.

"Okay. Lift your hips so I can ease these off." Toby put the chemist's yoga pants aside. "Okay. Seems things are moving quickly. I know this is unexpected. I know you're scared, but just try to stay calm and we'll get through this, okay, Florence?"

"Ow," Florence moaned, twisting her upper body toward Paige.

"I'm right here," Paige said, tightening her arms. Even at almost six months pregnant, Florence felt small in her arms.

"Sly, I want Sly."

"I know," Paige said. "I know you do. He and Happy should be back soon."

"No," Florence said. "Animals can prevent their babies from being born if they feel unsafe. Maybe…"

"Florence," Toby said quietly, "I'm sorry. You can't stop this. Fighting it will make it worse."

Florence's voice was small. "She's going to die, isn't she?"

"Florence, try to stay calm," Toby said. "That will help your baby's heart rate. She'll have the best chance that way."

Toby's switch to the pronouns that Florence was using for the baby was not missed by Paige.

Florence started to cry. "She's going to die and her daddy isn't even here to say goodbye."

"Florence," Paige said, shifting her weight to help the laboring woman remain somewhat upright. "Toby is the best there is, you know that. We save everyone, remember?"

"Not…" Florence took in a deep breath. "Not Lane."

Paige and Toby's eyes met. "That wasn't us," she said. "That was Scorpion 2.0. This is Scorpion. Scorpion doesn't fail."

"My water broke," Florence gasped. "It's too early. It's too early." Halfway through the third repetition, she groaned again, turning her head back into Paige.

"It's okay, sweetheart," Paige said. "Just breathe through it. I know it hurts. But it doesn't last forever, just remember that." She tightened her arms around the chemist as she moaned again, her teeth clenched together. Paige could feel her shirt grow damp with Florence's tears.

"She's going to die," Florence said, her voice cracking.

Walter dropped to the floor next to the two women, one of his knees missing her hand as it pressed against the sheet by mere inches. "Listen to me, I know in many cases the notion of 'thinking positive' is simply ridiculous, but here it can assist in a safe delivery. Relaxing will ease the pain as well as your pelvic floor."

"Walter is right," Toby said. "And steady breathing will help the oxygen flow to the baby. We're going to try and ease her into the world, nice and slowly."

"I agree," Florence said. "For another few weeks." She shifted her weight, her nails digging into Paige's skin.

"Breath, Florence, breathe," Paige said. She glanced toward the door, hoping to see the others. "Can someone like…go find Sylvester? She's been asking for him."

"Who is going to do that?" Toby asked. "Is there an extra person here I'm not seeing?"

"She wants him here."

"Please don't talk to me in the third person," Florence said. "I'm right here."

"I'm sorry," Paige said, opening her mouth to repeat that someone should find Sly, but not being able to get a word out before Florence made a gagging sound. "Florence, are you okay?"

"I'm gonna…" Florence rolled onto her side, away from Paige, and as her shoulders jerked Paige heard the tell – tale signs of vomiting. Walter, kneeling on the floor near her head, grimaced and scooted backwards.

"Florence!" Paige rolled her back over, propping her up and brushing hair back behind her ears. Florence was coughing, vomit stuck to her lips. Paige, being the mother of a toddler that she was, pulled her sleeve over her hand and wiped it off without a second thought.

Walter was slightly less composed about the vomit on his knees.

"Get her settled," Toby said. "Baby will be here very soon. Try to relax, Florence. Stress isn't good for the baby."

"This isn't good for the baby!" Florence snapped.

Toby was frantically fiddling with the dials on the pseudo – womb. Paige propped Florence up, her back against Paige's stomach, her body between Paige's knees. She held the smaller woman close, her lips near Florence's ear. "We're right here, Florence. We're right here with you."

"I'm scared, Paige."

"You'll be fine, leg," Walter said reassuringly, taking her hand. "You'll be fine."

"She isn't talking about scared for herself," Paige said. Walter saying leg, seemingly out of nowhere, made Paige take note that one of Florence's legs was visibly trembling.

Florence's body tensed up and she moaned, her hand squeezing Paige's wrist. Her moan turned into crying, full body crying, accompanied by a sound Paige could only describe as mournful. Paige had made that sound before, twice, most recently seven years ago after she'd broken up with Walter.

The first time was when the heart monitor attached to her father had flatlined.

Paige knew this sound. It was the sound of hopelessness, of agony, not of physical pain but of emotional distress so seemingly impossible to conquer that it felt like physical pain.

Florence didn't believe her baby would live. She was already mourning.

"We've got you, Florence," Paige said, for lack of any other ideas on what to say. "We're right here. We love you so, so much." Years had passed since saying those words to Florence felt strange or ironic. She did love her, so did Walter, so did Toby and Happy and Cabe and Allie. Not in the way Sylvester did, but that didn't matter. They'd do anything for her as much as they would for each other.

She'd nearly died to save them once, after all.

"Paige," Florence whimpered, curling her arms around one of Paige's as it kept her still against Paige's chest. The knuckles on her other hand were white as they clutched Walter's hand like it was a lifeline.

"Okay," Toby said. "When baby gets here, she's going straight into this womb. Don't give up hope, Florence. She has about a twenty percent chance. That's one in five. You know how many times we've beaten odds so much worse?"

"That's in a hospital," Florence said. "We're not in a hospital. We're stranded in the middle of the goddamn woods."

"Hey." Toby raised his eyebrows. "We're still going to try."

Florence nodded only a moment before tensing up, her body seemingly going completely stiff in Paige's arms, her nails digging into Paige's skin. "God…"

"Keep breathing," Toby said. "Don't stop breathing. Get that oxygen to Baby. Make it easier on yourself, too."

"I wanted a water birth," Florence said. "Perhaps…perhaps I should have gone to the lake."

Paige smiled at her attempt at a joke.

Time blended together – Paige lost count of how many times Florence moaned, turned her cheek against Paige's chest. How many times her leg trembled so badly it was all Paige could focus on. Not too much time could have passed – Sylvester and Happy weren't back yet – but it felt like forever. Paige seemed stuck in time, frozen in that moment when Florence had given that mournful wail.

She realized she too, for all her reassurances, didn't believe the baby would make it.

"Almost here," Toby said, snapping Paige back to the present. "Your body is taking control, Florence. Let it happen. Push gently."

Florence nodded. Paige watched Toby.

"Good," the doctor said, "good. Okay, okay!" He moved slightly, but Paige couldn't see what he was doing. "Okay, now…" Toby moved his hands. "Good job, Florence. Baby is here. You did it. You did so well."

Florence was still moaning, almost too quietly to hear, and she suddenly felt heavier in Paige's arms. "Florence?" she asked. "Florence, how do you feel?"

"Is…" Florence asked of Toby, still breathing hard. "Is…"

Toby was focusing on the tiny being in his hands, a being Paige couldn't even see. She watched Toby's face for clues. "Toby," she said after what felt like an additional forever. "Toby, say something."

Toby was still silent. The silence in the plane was the loudest silence Paige could remember. Then, Toby spoke. "Alive."

"Oh, God." Florence put a hand up over her eyes, her body shaking again as fresh tears escaped her. "Oh, God."