Chapter 4: Time
"What are you doing here, Stel? You're not allowed to work until after you have the baby, plus maternity leave," Mac asks as she enters his office, baby due in almost a week.
"I think the baby's coming, Mac," Stella says in a small, scared voice.
"You've got to get to the hospital!"
"The traffic's awful, and there's a snow storm. It'd be faster to walk," she says.
"Why'd you stop here?"
"I want you to be with me when she comes. Hurry, it's starting to hurt."
Mac leads her to the elevator. As the car starts moving he calls Lindsay to tell her. "The baby's coming. I've got to -" the elevator jerks to a stop abruptly, lights flickering before going out.
"Mac," Stella cries out worriedly.
"Are you okay, Stel?"
"I'm about to give birth, and the elevator just broke. I perfectly fine, Mac," she says sarcastically.
"I know you're probably even more nervous than before. We'll be okay. The baby will be fine," he tries to convince her.
"No, it – ow!" she yells in pain.
Her cell rings and Mac answers it. "Stella, Mac's on the way to the hospital, but the power went out because of the storm," Lindsay bursts out. Stella groans. "Stel?"
"It's Mac."
"She's right next to you in the elevator, isn't she?"
"Yeah. It doesn't look to good. Can they turn the generator on?"
"It's on, but only where it is needed. Hawkes went to tell maintenance there's a person trapped in the elevator."
"Call him and tell him there's also a woman trapped in here in labor."
"Mac, I don't think I can keep the baby in much longer," Stella says, leaning against the wall.
"I've got to go," he hangs up. "Don't try to hold it in. Just do it. I'm here to help you."
"Do you know what to do in this situation?"
"Yes, I was trained in helping give birth in emergencies."
"Did that include a pitch-black elevator?"
"No. Don't worry, Stel. Just pretend we're in the hospital."
"Mac, I'm scared. Where are you?"
"Over by the doors. You?" he asks, crawling around to feel for her.
"The back, I think," she says. Just as he reaches her she screams again.
"I hurt you?"
"No, contractions."
"Push, Stella."
"Mac, I still have my pants on."
"Let me help you," he assists her in undressing.
"What if she comes out wrong?"
"She won't."
"She might."
"We'll worry about that if it happens."
"Ow. She's coming, Mac," Stella grabs his hand just as the lights come back on.
"Not to scare you, but I don't have anything to cut the umbilical cord with," he says quietly.
A noise comes from the top of the elevator, and a tile of the roof is removed. Two paramedics jump down. "Help's come. Let's see." One cuts the cord with scissors while the other wraps the baby in a blanket.
"She looks healthy," the paramedic smiles at Stella. "We should be able to get you out of here in a minute. They were almost done hooking up everything from the elevator to the generator."
"Do you have a name for her?"
Stella looks at Mac. "It's your choice, Stella. She's not really my daughter," he tells her.
"Elizabeth Claire Taylor."
A/N: More about my fish tank: Stella is the fish, Mac and Gil are frogs, and Peyton Jr. and Horatio Jr. Jr. Jr. are snails. I figured out that my theory couldn't be correct because the other three Horatios we had died, but he never did on the show : ( There've lots of others too but they died. And for the next MS story I'm writing, would you guys prefer Hawkes or Flack for Stella (you'll learn why later when I post it)? Don't worry; it's mostly Mac and Stella. By the way, what's happened to all the MS fans lately? There's very few stories for them.