Disclaimer: I'm broke. Jonathan was gracious enough to create these characters so people like me could love them. Not mine, and never will be. -sadness-

Notes: It has finally 'arrived.' The long await moment of the story. Woo w00t! Thank you to my wonderful reviewers for all your support, and kind words. Reading your reviews truly makes my life complete. As promised, chapter 8. Thanks to Fruit Box for the beta. Much love to you, babe. Enjoy!

Dedicated to: All my wonderful readers. You guys all rock my socks!

Chapter 8 - As We Celebrate The Birth

"Roger, wake up," I said, barely awake myself, after receiving the phone call from Joanne. "Roger, get up, it's time."

Roger rolled over in bed, either not hearing me, or just too damn tired to move, which is understandable since we've been getting the loft, and the room Roger once occupied ready for our little arrival all day yesterday. Roger and I agreed we didn't want to know the sex of the baby until the baby was born so we could be surprised, however, it became harder to buy baby clothes and other things for the infant's room.

"Roger, get up!" I exclaimed, nearly shoving him off the bed.

He caught himself then punched me in the arm. "I'm up, you fucker. Don't push me."

"Ow, that hurt. You didn't have to hit me." I rubbed my arm carefully.

"You didn't have to push me. I almost fell off the bed." He sat up in bed, acting as if it were another normal day.

I jumped out of the bed, dressing quickly. "Come on, Roger. Didn't you hear me? It's time. As in Maureen's about to have the baby as we speak."

His eyes widened. "Oh, shit. Really?" He scrambled out of bed, actually falling, and I snickered. Serves him right.

"Get dressed so we can go." Laughter plagued my voice as I spoke, and I knew he heard it.

"Not funny, Mark." Roger glared at me while putting his pants on.

"Sorry, Rog." I glanced at the clock: four-thirty three am. It's way too early to be awake for any reason. "Why couldn't she wait to have the baby till after daylight, at least?"

"You're starting to sound like me. Marky can be taught." He chuckled.

"Very funny, Rog. Come on, we've gotta go. Joanne said to meet her at the maternity ward in twenty minutes, and it's going to take that long to get there, so come on." I yanked him by the arm as he was trying to get his shirt over his head. I grabbed my camera on the way out so I could get this all on film, even if Maureen protested.

Out the door in less than five minutes, and at the hospital in fourteen since Roger drove, gave us a minute to spare. We rushed into the hospital where Joanne was waiting.

"We didn't miss anything, did we? Where is she? Can we see her?" I was frantic. I tried to get my camera ready in the car, but it was hard since the car was swerving an awful lot due to the way Roger drives.

"They're prepping her now. We can go in there momentarily. Okay, you've got your stories straight, right? I'm her coach, you're the father, obviously, and he's…" She stared at me blankly, seeming to have forgotten Roger's 'purpose.'

"I'm just there to annoy the hell out of her." He snickered.

I swung around and smacked him in the arm. "No! You're there to hold the camera."

"Then what are you going to do?" Joanne asked.

"I'm… shit, uh, okay, I'll hold the camera, and…"

"I'll just go in there, and if they ask, I'll tell them I'm you're lover, and-"

"You can't do that. They might not let you in at all." I was starting to panic at this point.

"It doesn't matter. We have to wash up so they'll let us in at all. Just don't say anything, and we should be fine. Come on." Joanne took me by the hand, and dragged me along as Roger followed closely behind.

We got there after preparing, and Maureen hadn't gone into labor yet. I immediately turned on my camera and pointed it towards her. "September 16th, five forty-four am; Maureen could give birth to our baby any moment." I looked over the camera at Maureen. "Smile."

"Get that fucking camera out of my face before I break it." She said rather calmly clenching her teeth. I backed away from her so I, and the camera were out of her reach.

"Calm down, honey bear. You knew Mark was going to film this." Joanne was holding her hand, standing beside her, at the ready to help her with her breathing when she had a contraction.

"Mark films everything, or have you already forgotten that?" Roger 'kindly' inputted.

I pointed the camera at him, glaring at him through the camera, which he figured I would do, and gave me the finger along with his tongue. "Oh yeah, real mature, Rog."

"Hey, no fighting, boys. Not here. You don't want to get kicked out of the room, do you?" Joanne stated.

"Sorry," I said then pointed the camera back at Maureen, who at that point had a contraction. She screamed so loud, I cringed just thinking about the pain she was going through. I zoomed in on her squeezing Joanne's hand so tightly it actually looked like it was turning blue.

I zoomed out, and pointed the camera at Joanne, who was biting her lip to prevent herself from screaming too. She looked over at me, and mouthed 'Oooooow.' I felt bad, but she was stronger than me, and I knew she could handle that better than I could.

"Marky, this is all your fault. Why did I…" Maureen screamed again, loudly. "Let you talk me into this?"

The doctor came in at that moment, saving me from having to explain yet again to Maureen that she had agreed to do this. "How are you doing, Ms. Johnson?" Dr. Caruthers asked.

Maureen's contraction stopped, and she released Joanne's hand momentarily, giving her attention to the doctor. "I want this thing out of me, NOW! Get it out of me!"

Roger snickered, and I shot him a 'not now' look, shaking my head, and nodding toward the doctor. Roger quieted, and I went back to filming their conversation.

"Soon, Ms. Johnson." Dr. Caruthers turned her attention to Joanne. "How far apart are her contractions?"

"I'd say about ten minutes."

The doctor checked her out, and I kept the camera on Maureen's face, not wanting to watch what she was doing. "It shouldn't be too much longer, Ms. Johnson."

"Good. I just want this thing out of me."

"That's not what you used to say." Roger said loud enough for the room to hear, though I don't think he intended for that to happen. My mouth gaped open, and everyone stared at him.

"Roger!" I exclaimed.

"Oh shit, did everyone hear that?" I could tell he was trying to hold back a chuckle. The doctor just shook her head, dismissing it, thankfully. If looks could kill, Roger would've been dead by now with the looks both Maureen and Joanne were throwing his way.

I turned off the camera briefly, and walked over to Roger, whispering. "You can't make comments like that, they might kick you out of the room."

"It just slipped out. I seriously am trying to behave, but Mo makes it too easy for me. She leaves herself-" He snickered. "Wide open." His snicker turned into a hysterical fit. The doctor shot him a disapproving look, but he missed it.

I smacked him in the arm, shushed him, and continued gutturally. "Don't you wanna be in here when our baby is born?"

He stopped laughing, and shut right up, which surprised me… somewhat. "Thank you," I said crossly.

I turned the camera back on, and pointed it back at Maureen just as another contraction struck. Her screams seemed to have gotten louder since the last one, and I winced. I'm so glad it's her, and not me going through this. I couldn't handle it.

"Her contractions are closer now. Now, Ms. Johnson, you have a choice: Would you like the drugs, or not? I must warn you though, you must choose now, because once you become dilated, it'll be too late-"

Even before the doctor could finish, Maureen shouted. "GIVE ME THE FUCKING DRUGS!"

The doctor injected a clear liquid into her IV, which seemed to calm Maureen down just a bit. I was really feeling sorry for Joanne though, even if it was Maureen going through the actual birth, because Joanne was the one enduring the pain I would've gone through if I were her lover, or even her husband. I shuddered at the thought.

Maureen's contractions started to come more rapidly, and the doctor announced that it was time. My heart started racing at that moment, realizing that my baby was about to be born. Holy shit.

"Okay Ms. Johnson, push." Dr. Caruthers commanded. Maureen pushed with all her might, squeezing Joanne's hand to near death. Roger watched in awe, though he just couldn't seem to help himself, and started laughing at the faces Maureen was making. The doctor turned to him, and without a word, pointed at the door telling Roger to leave.

Obediently, Roger left without arguing, and the doctor continued. I glanced over at Roger as he walked out, who had his head down, and I knew he felt like an ass. I wanted to tell him 'I told you,' but first off that'd be mean, and second, it wasn't fair he couldn't be in the room when his child was born. I warned you, Roger.

Maureen screamed bloody murder… "THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT, MARK! I SWEAR I'M GONNA KILL YOU!" Literally. She continued to push, while I tried to ignore her threats.

She's only saying that because she's in a lot of pain. So I kept telling myself. I sustained filming as the baby's head started to crown. My excitement grew, but at the same time I felt bad for Roger, wishing he could be in here to share this moment.

"You're doing great, Ms. Johnson. Give me another good push. I can see the head."

Harder, and harder Maureen seemed to push, as the sweat poured down her face, gripping Joanne's hand even tighter than before.

The baby's shoulders expelled from within Maureen. "One more really good push, Ms. Johnson." Dr. Caruthers said.

One more good push is what Maureen gave her, and the baby was out. The doctor cut the umbilical cord, quickly cleaned the baby up, wiping the blood off of it, and cleaning out it's mouth and nose, making sure it could breathe. The baby let out a loud cry letting us know it was fine.

"Congratulations, it's a girl." Dr. Caruthers announced with a smile then wrapping her up in a blanket.

Maureen was exhausted both physically, and emotionally, and looked like she was about to pass out. Joanne brushed the hair out of her eyes, kissing her hand, and softly telling her what a great job she did. The doctor handed Maureen the baby, and I moved in closer, getting a close-up of both mother and daughter. The baby was still crying.

"She's beautiful," I said, as the waterworks began. Roger, at that instant, entered the room once again, and just grabbed the baby from Maureen's arms, holding her delicately. Maureen didn't seem to mind, which didn't really surprise me since the baby is supposed to be Roger's and mine.

"Hi, baby girl. I'm your daddy." He had the brightest smile I had ever seen on his lips, and I couldn't help but cry just a little harder. I turned my focus to them, and watched how the baby suddenly seemed to quiet down. I knew at that moment she was Roger's little girl. He looked up at me with a questioning look on his face. "What are we gonna call her?"

I realized we never had the chance to pick out girl's names, so I thought intensely about it. "I don't know. Do you have any ideas?"

"Well, one, but I don't know..."

"What is it?" I was curious now.

"Well, you know how we talked about calling the baby Angel if it was a boy? How about we call her Angelina?" His face just lit up gazing down at her while his big, strong hand gently held her small, frail ones. He was meant to be a father.

"I love it. It's perfect. And I know Collins would love it too. He still misses Angel." My tears were only getting worse as I saw such a beautiful sight.

"So do I…" He trailed off, too lost in our daughter's eyes, which were partially open.

I took this opportunity to go to Maureen's side. "Thank you." I said simply. My smile, and tears said the rest. She just nodded her head as she drifted off to sleep. I smiled at Joanne, who was just smiling back. No more words were necessary at that moment. We all knew what this day meant… what this moment meant.

Roger, however, broke the silence with another question. "What about a middle name?"

The perfect middle name hit me like a ton of bricks, and I smiled at him. "Angelina Glory." The smile on his face grew much bigger, though it didn't seem like it was possible. "She's your true glory, Rog. The one true song you've been searching for."

That was when he started to cry, but his smile remained permanently attached to his face. "Angelina Glory Cohen-Davis. It's perfect."