Thanks for the reviews guys. Sorry it's been a while.

(Part in Italics is from Samuel Curtis's POV.)

Disclaimer: Not mine.

Chapter 9

4 months and some days later.

Jo was lying wide awake in bed, totally unable to sleep. A million thoughts were racing through her mind. She felt so uneasy and yet she had no idea why. She turned to face Mac who was lay fast asleep next to her. 'At least one of us is able to sleep.' she thought to herself.

She kicked the blankets off herself and sighed. It was so hot and her aching back didn't help matters any. Her huge pregnant belly meant that she couldn't get comfy no matter which way she tried to lie. She was exhausted and desperate for sleep and it really was beginning to take a toll on her body which seemed to have been aching non-stop all day and now night.

She smiled when she felt Mac move beside her, his hand came to rest on her belly. She placed her own hand on top of his and sighed again. Mac knew she was fed up with being pregnant now. She was almost two weeks overdue and had only grown more uncomfortable with each passing day. She was scheduled to be induced in three days and was now counting the minutes to it.

She nestled closer to Mac, her head resting on his arm that lay across the pillows. "Is it morning yet?" she asked, desperate for an excuse to be able to get up out of bed."

"You should try to get some sleep." he said to her. He had yet to open his eyes, even though her knew she was looking at him.

"Tell your baby that." she said.

He finally opened his eyes, smiled, and said. "My baby?"

Jo just laughed, "She's not listening to me. I'm practically begging her to come out and she isn't budging." Jo said as she stroked her belly. "I could eat all the spicy food in the world and she would still refuse to budge. Long walks and hot baths have done nothing either."

"We could always try the other method." Mac said as he suggestively began to kiss Jo's neck.

She had to smile and although she loved his kisses she knew that her body would allow it to go no further. "I wish I had energy, honey." she said as she placed her hand on his face.

"Tease…" Mac joked, whispering his words onto her neck, his breath tickling her.

He placed his hand back on her stomach and she nestled closer to him. She wasn't sure when she fell asleep but finally she did. When she woke up the next morning the daylight was pouring into the bedroom. She reached out and felt the empty and now cold spot next to her. She then noticed the note on the pillow next to her. She reached out and grabbed it and began to read it:

'Jo,

I didn't want to wake you, you looked so peaceful.

I'm dropping Ellie off at school and will pick her up later.

Take it easy today.

Will call you later to check in on you both.

All my love, Mac.

Ps, Have I told you how beautiful you are?'

Jo smiled and said, "Bless you Mac Taylor." She put a hand on her stomach and said, "Your Daddy's so sweet."

Slowly she swung her legs over the side of the bed. She stood up and walked across the room, her hand resting on the bottom of her aching back. She grabbed her robe and threw it on over her pyjamas and made her way into the kitchen.

After the incident with the dead pregnant woman at her apartment Jo had insisted on moving house and she and Mac had come to the conclusion that it was best to get somewhere together. The new apartment was much bigger than her last. Ellie had her own room and the nursery was all ready for the baby who seemed adamant to make it a ten month gestation period.

Jo walked into the kitchen and pulled the fridge open. She had to wince at the pain in her back. It had been troubling her all night but was slowly beginning to feel more intense to the point where it was actually making her feel a little nauseous. She was about to reach for the juice in the fridge when a pain shot through her tummy, startling her more than it hurt her.

Although she had only felt such a thing once in her life she knew immediately what it was. She was nervously excited when she reached for the phone and dialled Mac.

~0~0~0~0~

Mac was at a crime scene and had taken Adam along with him. Also there was Flack and Lindsay. Adam looked up from taking pictures when he heard Mac's phone ringing. They all tried to pretend like they weren't listening as Mac answered.

"How you feeling?" they heard him asked. "What, really? Ha, about time! Okay, I'm not really needed here so I'll be right there."

They were all looking at him, all with the same curious look on their face. "Was that Jo?" Lindsay had to ask.

"Yeah, she just started having contractions." he said with an excited smile. "Looks like I'm gonna be a father." he said. "I gotta go!"

They all cheered for him and watched as he raced off towards his car.

"I do not envy Jo right now." Lindsay said, thinking back to her own painful labour.

"You and Danny are well overdue another baby." Adam said.

"He has a point." Flack joined in.

"Unless science can come up with a way for the man to give birth, Lucy is staying an only child." Lindsay said matter-of-factly.

Both Flack and Adam thought about that and both came up with the same response, "Not a chance!"

~0~0~0~0~

It was cold outside the apartment window, but from here he had a clear view inside. He could see her moving around the apartment, making sure everything was in the bag she would be taking along to the hospital. He could see her pulling her hair back into a neat ponytail, throwing a baggy sweater on. He had watched each time she had paused to rub soothing circles on her stomach as a contraction hit her.

Jo walked into the living room and threw the packed baby bag down on the couch. She had to grab a hold of the back of the couch with one hand as another contraction came. She placed one hand on her stomach and rubbed another soothing circle on it as she breathed through the discomfort. It was still more that than pain but it was getting more and more uncomfortable with each contraction.

She looked at her watch as she timed the contraction, it only lasted a matter of seconds. She made a quick mental note of the time, ready to see how long passed between this contraction and the next.

She was all ready to go to the hospital. She was now dressed in sweat pants, a white tank top and a loose blue knitted baggy sweater over it. Her hair was scrapped back into a ponytail to keep it off her face. The part of her that had been more excited than nervous had now taken a backseat and she was quickly just becoming nervous.

She looked at her watch again and began to wonder where Mac could be. It had been over an hour and a half since she had phoned him. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone. After only two rings Mac answered.

"Honey, where are you?" she asked.

"I'm stuck in traffic. There's been some sort of collision up ahead and…I'm stuck in it, Jo. There's no way around it." he told her.

"Okay…" Jo said, a little unsure what the next best plan of action should be.

She gasped as another contraction came, this one bordering on actually being painful.

"Are you okay?" Mac asked.

From outside he could see the contractions were getting worse. He was tempted to go in now. She would be vulnerable now and would only become more so as her contractions got worse. It was tempting, almost too tempting. But that wasn't his plan. His plan was to come back once the baby had been born.

"That one lasted longer than the others have." Jo told Mac. "Should I get a cab to the hospital?" she asked him.

"No! I'll send Adam over. I don't want you getting a taxi on your own." Mac said. "I'll tell him to take a different route so he doesn't get stuck in this. I'll meet you at the hospital." he told her.

"Okay. See you there." Jo said before she hung up. She made her way over to the baby bag to re-check it, again.

He watched for a moment longer. He wished he'd been able to break in and place something like a bloodied human heart in the bag but his new apartment had better security than her last had had. The windows were much sturdier and so were proving more difficult to get in through, but he'd manage; when the time was right.

Before he risked the chance of being seen he began making his way down the fire-escape towards the alley below him where his car was parked out of sight.

~0~0~0~0~

It was over a half hour later when Jo opened the door to let Adam in. He looked as nervous as she was feeling. He had no idea what to do with pregnant women, yet he always seemed to be the one giving them a lift to the hospital, first Lindsay, now Jo.

"How you feeling?" he asked her.

"Better now you're here." she said honestly.

Adam began to panic when she leant forward and grabbed his arm, her other hand clutched her stomach. It was another contraction but this one made her whimper a little as the borderline of pain was crossed and sprinted past.

"Car time!" he said as he scooped her bag up off the floor, and then took hold of her hand.

~0~0~0~0~

They were ten minutes away and Jo's contractions although not coming any faster were getting more and more painful.

"Are you remembering to breathe?" Adam asked her as he made a sharp left.

"No, I forgot about it twenty minutes ago." she shot back at him sarcastically before she groaned in pain.

"Almost there." he told her.

"Oh, I hope Mac is there." she said.

Adam could hear the panic in her voice. He reached over and gently gave her hand a squeeze. "I can stay with you till he gets there. If you want me to that is?"

Jo turned to him, smiled and nodded. "I'd like that."

~0~0~0~0~

Jo was walking around her delivery room. She was now wearing a not so flattering hospital gown. She had been given the news that she was not quite yet 3cm's dilated, even though she had been in active labour for almost 4 hours. Her contractions were still 4minutes apart and still getting more and more painful, but her waters still had yet to break.

Adam was walking next to her, watching her like an infant learning to walk. He reached out and gently grabbed her as he saw her wince in pain at another contraction. She gratefully held onto his arm and calmly breathed through the pain. However, she couldn't hold in her frustration as soon as it was over. "Where the hell is Mac?" she growled through gritted teeth.

"He's getting here as quick as he can." Adam told her encouragingly.

"I really don't want him to miss this." she said as she began walking again.

"At this rate, I don't think he's going to." Adam said.

As if on cue Mac burst through the door. He walked straight over to Jo and gave her a hug. "How you doing?" he asked her.

"She's doing great, but that is one stubborn baby." Adam said.

Mac smiled at him, and gave him a pat on the shoulder. "Thank you." he said, more than grateful.

"It's fine. I'm gonna go grab a coffee, do you two want anything?" Adam asked.

"Coffee sounds great." Mac said. Jo just waved him off, she felt too sick to drink or eat.

Adam smiled and walked over to the door.

"Thanks, Adam!" Jo called over to him.

He playfully saluted her and stepped out of the room, off to fetch some coffee.

"Thank God you're here. I thought you would miss this." Jo said to Mac as she sat down on the bed, needing a rest.

"I wouldn't miss this for the world." he told her as he took hold of her hand. She smiled at him and gave his hand a squeeze.

~0~0~0~0~

7 hours later.

The team had all gathered in the relative's room where they were all waiting on news. Ellie and Tyler were sat on a couch next to each other. Tyler had his arm around Ellie as they too both nervously awaited news on how their mother was doing. Lucy was also there, sat on Danny's lap as he read a book to her. They all looked up when Mac walked in.

"How's Mom?" Ellie asked.

"Yeah, it's been hours." Lindsay said.

"The Midwife has said that she's been in slow labour for over 15 hours. She thinks it probably started in the night and that Jo just didn't realise. She said it's common, but that active labour has usually kicked in by now. Her water still hasn't broke so that is probably slowing it down. They're gonna break them for her." he said.

"Poor, Jo." Flack said. "She must be exhausted?"

"I think she's already passed that stage." Mac said truthfully.

"Is she screaming at you yet?" Adam asked, making them all laugh a little.

"Not yet, but I wouldn't blame her." Mac said.

"I wanted to kill Danny when I was in labour." Lindsay said.

"Yeah you did." Danny said, thinking back to how she had cursed him and told him she would cut of his member if he ever came near her with it again.

"Well hopefully, we won't be waiting much longer now." he said.

"Tell her we're all here for her." Tyler said.

Mac just nodded.

~0~0~0~0~

3 hours later.

Jo was leaning against Mac who was rubbing her back, trying to soothe her pain. He was feeling guilty for being unable to do more for her. She was trying to breathe through a contraction but it was too painful and she could only whimper in pain. The contractions were coming much quicker now and were painfully intense.

When the contraction finally passed she moved over to the bed and lay down. She was far beyond exhausted now and was feeling sick as a dog. Pain medication had done nothing to help her and she was desperate for all this to be over with.

"I can't believe this, Tyler practically walked out." Jo complained. "Why won't this baby come out?"

Mac smiled and took hold of her hand. "I guess she's as determined as her mother." Mac said.

"…Or just as stubborn as her Daddy." Jo said with a smile. "You know we've been calling this baby a girl for the last year and a half that I've been pregnant." Jo said sarcastically. Mac just laughed and continued to hear out her point. "What do we do if it's a boy? We haven't even discussed boy's names."

"I like the name Jacob." Mac said.

Jo didn't even have to think about it, she loved it. "I think that's perfect. Jacob Taylor. I love it." she said with a smile.

Mac smiled and said, "But if we're right and it is a girl, what name are we settling on?"

"We've thought of so many." Jo said.

Mac was about to reply when Jo sat up and cried out as pain ripped through her. She had to grip his hand, too startled by the sudden and sheer pain to breathe through it. The midwife was right there and after a check said, "Okay this is it."

Mac stood up and helped Jo move into a more suitable position. The Midwife was there ready to give her commands. "On the next contraction I want you to push, Jo."

Jo nodded and tried to prepare herself for the next contraction but it came too quick and she found herself crying out in pain and without the strength to even think about pushing.

"Jo, sweetheart, I need you push!" the Midwife told her.

Jo tried but her body seemed unwilling to co-operate. She slumped back in the bed and said, "I can't do this, Mac!"

"Jo, if anyone in the world can do this it is you." he said to her.

Jo nodded and took a deep breath and as the next contraction came she took a deep breath and then with all the strength she could muster up she pushed. She pushed for as long as she could before it went too beyond painful.

Mac grabbed her hand tighter and tried to give her some encouragement, "You're doing fantastic." he said as he placed a kiss on her head. "This is all going to be over soon."

Jo reached up and placed her hand on his face, thankful for his support. She was fairly sure she wouldn't be able to do this without him here. As another contraction came she grabbed hold of the bed and gripped it tight as she pushed, again with all the strength she had. "That's it, Jo. Keep pushing!" the Midwife told her.

Jo did as she was told. She felt like her body was about to break in two, she cried out in pain but kept pushing until she could no more. Mac turned to her again and said, "The heads almost out, Jo."

"By God, I was almost teaching Tyler to walk at this stage!" she muttered. She wanted to cry as she felt another contraction come through strong and hard. Once more she pushed, praying for the strength to be able to keep it up. With a defeated growl she had to stop.

"That's it, Jo. You're almost there." Mac said as he brushed a stray lock of hair back off her hair. She held onto his arm and tried to catch her breath.

Another contraction crept up on her and hit her at full force, with a cry she pushed, listening to Mac and the Midwife's encouraging words. She fell back against the bed when she heard Mac give out a proud cry, "It's a girl!" he told her.

Jo opened her eyes to watch as the Midwife placed her crying daughter down on the chest. She reached up and secured her in her arms and just stared at her in amazement. "About time, baby girl." she said as she softly kissed her head.

The midwife passed Mac a blanket which he placed over his little girl. He left his hand resting gently on her back, his other hand resting on Jo's head. He had to kiss Jo, the feeling too overwhelming to ignore. "Congratulations Mac, you're a Daddy." she said to him.

Mac smiled and kissed her again, "Thanks to you." he replied before they both looked down at the baby in Jo's arms. "She's beautiful." he said.

~0~0~0~0~

Lindsay was sat with Lucy fast asleep in her arms. Ellie was playing about on her Ipod as the guys, including Tyler, all talked. The conversation came to an abrupt end when Mac walked in.

"Well, is she okay?" Tyler asked.

Mac smiled and said, "Mother and daughter are both doing fantastic."

Everyone cheered and stood up to congratulate Mac.

~0~0~0~0~

It was sometime later when they were all gathered around Jo's bedside. Ellie was sat on the bed next to Jo who had one arm wrapped around her. Her other hand was holding Tyler's. Lindsay was holding the baby, gently swaying with her. She looked up and admitted, "Okay, this does kinda make me feel a little broody."

Danny stepped closer to her and said, "I can help you out with that."

Lindsay playfully nudged him away and had a quick glance at Mac who was holding onto a sleeping Lucy, his goddaughter.

"Ok, my turn." Flack said as he stepped over to Lindsay and took the sleeping baby from her. Everyone watched as he cradled the baby in his arms, "Jo, all I can say is thank God she looks like you." he said.

Jo had to laugh. "She has her Daddy's kind eyes." Jo said, casting a quick glance and a smile at Mac.

"What you gonna call her?" Adam asked.

"I think you should call her Bella." Ellie said.

"As in Swan, as in Twilight? I got news for you Ell's we're not Italian."

"Well neither is Bella Swan." Ellie shot at her big brother.

Jo just laughed and pulled her children closer to her. "We've decided to call her Kaya." Jo said.

Mac smiled, it was a name they had come up with one night months ago and he still liked the sound of it as much as he had that night.

"I like it." Adam said.

"Me too, it suits her." Lindsay said.

"So will it be Kaya Danville Taylor, or Taylor…or Danville?" Danny asked.

"He's right. It could get confusing. If you two were married, it would be so much easier." Sid said.

"Okay!" Jo said holding her arms out to take Kaya from Flack, "I practically just went through 24 hours of labour! I am not getting married as well." she laughed.

"Not today at least." Adam muttered.

The others all heard him and laughed. Jo just looked down at her sleeping daughter, refusing to look any of them in the eye. When she did look up she saw Mac looking at her, a loving smile on his face, one she just had to reflect back at him as she cradled their daughter.

TBC

Thanks for reading. Please leave a review.

Thanks to littlesweetcupcake for the baby's name.