Chapter 49

Two months later, Sandy had been at work when the first pain hit.

Oh Jesus, not now, kid! she thought frantically as she doubled over in the corridor as she headed back to her office.

"Sandy, is everything all right?" Mary Ellen asked when she spotted Sandy

"Mmm hmm. Might have been a cramp," Sandy lied.

The second one hit harder minutes later. Sandy sucked in her breath sharply.

"All right, Mrs. L, that's it. Time to call your husband and get down to maternity." Mary Ellen went into her own office to make the calls

"No, no! Don't bother Paul, he'll just freak out. Really I'm fine."

"Fine my ass. Sandy, you're in labor and I am not seeing you have that baby in your own office if you don't have to."

She then helped Sandy into her office, before paging security to have Sandy taken to maternity, then dialed Paul's number.

"What's going on? San okay?" He was anxious.

"Well, yes," Mary Ellen replied. "Except she's having the baby."

------------------------------

It had taken thirty-three hours for Sandy to deliver a nine-pound Tyler and Mike had been cool as a cucumber the entire time. But holding Paul's hand (who was about to turn green and puke a lung), she had delivered their six-pound daughter easily after eight and a half hours.

"Well, you survived," Sandy told him when it was over. "And you didn't even faint."

"Not yet," he replied. "I need to go boil myself, though."

"Oh for heaven's sake," she laughed weakly. "Don't worry; you'll live."

The baby would be called Sinead after Sandy's maternal grandmother that had been from Ireland.

Sinead was a dead ringer for her father with the exception of having blue eyes and petite features just as Sandy had. Whereas Tyler had been twenty two inches long at birth and bald as a cue ball (as Mike would describe him laughingly), Sinead was only seventeen inches and had a full head of black hair.

"You make some good looking kids," Spanky told Paul when they and Tyler visited the baby the next day.

"Well, San had a part in it too," Paul nodded.

"I sure hope so," Tyler said.

"So how do you like having a little sister?"

Tyler shrugged and smiled. "I'll get used to it."

"Be warned, Ty," Spanky said. "The minute she shits or pisses, Daddy here will be handing her off to either you or Mama."

Tyler gave an eye roll. "Gee, why am I not surprised? But on the other hand, Dad here will no doubt miss being the fun parent."

"Damn straight," Paul agreed. "Your mother can take care of the rest."