Jack's eyes widened in surprise. "Its not time for that, is it?" He asked, trying to keep calm. Chloe inhaled deeply, breathing through a contraction. "No Jack, it's not. That's why I'm telling you to get the nurse." She spat in reply. Jack nodded and into the hall, grabbing the first person he saw pass by. It was Chloe's nurse.

"Please, she's in labor." He pleaded, ushering her in. "How far apart are your contractions, hon?" The woman asked, taking Chloe's pulse and blood pressure and marking it on her chart quickly. Chloe winced. "Every few minutes now…" she breathed. "Is this bad? I'm just barely eight months. I was under the impression that a normal pregnancy lasted nine…" She groaned through another contraction, her abdomen almost tightening under the palms of her hands. Nurse Sloane, as her nametag read, handed Chloe a cup of ice chips as she took a look under the covers. "Sometimes things happen, dear." She explained in her unhurried country twang. "It could have been the fall you took, or it could have been any number of things. But whatever it was, it's sure effective. You're almost fully dilated."

Jack protectively held Chloe's hand in his, his face wracked with emotion. "Could it have been stress?" He asked the nurse. Chloe squeezed his hand gently, shaking her head. "Stop blaming yourself Jack. If it's anyone's fault, its mine." The pain was getting worse now, and beads of sweat were starting to form on her forehead. "Is the baby going to be okay?" She asked, suddenly afraid. The nurse's face darkened slightly. "Honey, I can't promise you anything there. We're going to do all we can. Have you had a healthy pregnancy so far?"

Chloe nodded.

"Then we'll hope for the best."

Hours passed slowly, and Chloe wondered why the hell she ever decided she wanted this baby after all. Her insides felt like they were being ripped apart with every contraction and she was tiring quickly. She watched Jack pace the room, surprised at how vulnerable he looked. This wasn't the Jack Bauer that most people knew. Hell, even she didn't know he could look like this. She knew he wanted to help, but that he didn't know exactly what to do. Another intense pain hit her, one worse than all the other ones. "OW!" she yelped, leaning forward in the bed and writhing in discomfort. Jack rushed to the bed. "What is it?" He asked, wiping sweat from her forehead with a cloth. She glared at him. "I'm in labor, Jack. There's a tiny being trying to push its way out of me. It hurts just a little!" To her surprise, he only smiled.

"It'll be over soon…you're doing a great job Chloe." He said, kissing the top of her head.

Chloe sighed, taking his hand in hers. "I'm scared, Jack…" She breathed. "What if there's something wrong with it? What if I'm a bad mother? What if you--" Jack silenced her, putting a finger to her lips. "Don't." He told her, squeezing her hand gently. "It's going to be okay, sweetheart. I promise. We're going to have a healthy baby, you're going to be a fantastic mother, and I'm not going anywhere, I swear to you. We'll make this work." His normally hard gaze was softened as he gazed at her, and she could hear the sincerity in his voice. But she found herself doubtful still.

"How do I know that, Jack?" She asked, tears welling in her eyes. "How do I know you won't go anywhere? Look at what's happened to us within the past year. Look at what's happened in the past day, even. How do I know we can do this?" She groaned under her breath as the latest wave of pain hit, and burst into tears.

Jack laid a hand on her stomach, the corner of his mouth turning up slightly. "You don't. Neither of us do. But we'll never know if we don't try it." He stopped, his voice choking up. "I love you, Chloe. I don't want to lose you again. The hardest thing I've ever had to do was live without you, and I'm never going to do it again."

Chloe looked at him, speechless. "Oh, Jack…" She managed after a beat, tears, sweat and mascara running down her face. He wiped her eyes with his finger, smiling now. "You're everything to me, Chloe. You and the baby." Chloe shifted upright in the bed, taking his hand tightly in her own. "You're everything to me too, Jack…really. I love you…" She breathed, her face twisting in pain. "And speaking of our baby, I think you'd better get someone because here it comes."

"Ohh, God!" Chloe groaned loudly, her head tilted back in agony. Jack frantically pushed the call button on the wall panel, the sound of footsteps growing louder until the figures of nurse Sloane and a young doctor emerged in the doorway. "Looks like we're having a baby in here!" The nurse exclaimed excitedly, checking Chloe and the baby's monitors. "Everything looks fine here, hon. Are you ready to start pushing?" Chloe nodded frantically. "YES!" She cried, sweeping sweat drenched hair out of her face. The doctor, who introduced himself as Dr. Young (ironically enough,) took a seat at the end of the bed and smiled at Jack. "Alright dad, ready to say hello to your new baby?" Jack swallowed, took Chloe's hand tightly.

"More than ready."

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Oh, the sap. I'm having a hard time getting this ending going. Hope its not killing the story TOO badly. :P