'Andrea, I'm sure this can wait until Beckett's a little more on-point,' Daniel laughed, but Andrea shook her head, wobbled her feet back and forth.

'No, I want to say this, so she won't think it's after-birth hormones.'

'Are you sure?'

'Yes, yes I am sure.'

Andrea looked at Beckett, took her hand. 'Don't cry, okay?'

'For God's sakes, I've had enough intrigue today,' Beckett said with an exasperated smile.

'Daniel and I, if you're cool with it, we want to name the baby after your mother.' When Beckett simply looked at her blankly, Andrea shifted a little. 'We didn't realize my due date was the same day you lost your mother, and the baby will be born after midnight, which means he or she will be born on January ninth. We thought since you've solved the case it would be an appropriate way to bring things full circle. We wanted to know what her full name was, including her maiden name so we don't duplicate Jojo's name.'

'Faber,' Beckett managed to get out. 'Her name was Johanna Hedwig Faber.'

'Hedwig for a little girl and Johan or Faber for a boy,' Daniel decided. 'Is that okay with you?'

'Can I make a suggestion?'

'Of course.'

'One of the other officers working with me on this case, Adam Brennan, his father was a cop named Jarrad Brennan. Jarrad was the cop who found my mother in that alley and he worked on his own time to figure out what happened to her for nearly twenty years after she died. He was murdered on November nineteenth.'

Beckett swallowed tightly. 'It's the same dayyou were engaged and made Nessa, and his son has worked with me, putting his life on the line to solve this case. It's not just about me, it's about everyone this case involved.'

'I think that would be great. Hedwig Brennan Brick if it's a girl, and Jarrad Johan if it's a boy.' Andrea looked at Daniel with tears in her eyes. 'What do you think, Daddy?'

'I think that sounds perfect. Now go away, I need girl time.'

'I'll go see if there's any apple juice left in Vending.'

'Why don't you just go check with my husband,' Beckett suggested as Daniel kiss his wife's sweaty brow. 'I'm sure he's bought a pizzeria by now to feed everyone.'

'Maybe,' Daniel said absently and he left, leaving Andrea to reach over and grip her friend's hands tightly.

'Kate, I know this is a lot to ask you when you've already seen the far side of hell this week, but I really want you in the delivery room.'

'You do?' Completely blind-sided and equally touched, she stared at Andrea. 'But...what about Daniel or your mom or Honey-Milk?'

'Nessa's really scared about me being in pain, so Honey-Milk is staying with her and I want a young mom in the room with me. I know Meredeth has had four babies but she is waiting to hear from her family in Florida and the islands, and Lanie is on call for work. Plus, you need some happy right now, and there's no better way for that to happen than being there when a new baby, especially a namesake one, is born.'

Beckett grinned at Andrea. 'I'd be honoured to be there with you. How far are you, anyways, I haven't even asked yet?'

'Last check only four centimetres. This one's no Speed-Racer like Nessa.'

'Then as soon as Daniel is back, I'm going to get a cold drink.'

The night was a long one, and Beckett had never been more thankful for a watch in her life, because that was the only current anchor she had to the outside world. Her mind was starting to swirl outside her body but she kept it together for her friends who needed her. She'd taken a moment for some fresh and and to call Alexis at Terrance's place in Florida to let her know that they weren't home because Andrea was having her baby, but they would be there to meet them at the airport from Miami, as would Meredeth be there to meet her in-laws and children.

Somewhere around eight, the Ry-Sposito monster showed up, and took their own turns sitting with Andrea to give Daniel a chance to have some food and fresh air himself. They added that the bullets CSU had pulled from the ground when they'd looked at Cowlan had been the same as from Spitzer and Montrose's murders, and all three were fired from the unregistered Glock in Delancy's possession at the time of his arrest. They'd wanted to continue on but Beckett and Castle agreed, as did the others, that the case and the wrap up that Montgomery was taking care of could wait. This was the place for celebrating new life, not to mourn the lost ones.

Once Andrea reached eight centimetres, Beckett had changed into scrubs, as did Daniel and she calmed the daddy-to-be-again's nerves a little by complaining why he got the fancy scrubs - he was wearing the same ones he'd

'Do you get those custom made, Daniel?' she asked him when the ever reliable Doctor Jim Harvey came in to check Andrea's progress.

'Pants, no, tops yes. I special order them from the big-and-tall medical suppliers.'

'You're being sarcastic aren't you?'

'No, I'm not. ninefootnurses-dot-com. Look it up if you think I'm joking.'

'Well, the jokes will have to wait because you are ready to push, Andrea,' Harvey told her, and had the orderlies unlock the wheels of her bed to push over across the sky-walk into the delivery room. 'Kate, Daniel, you ready ?'

They nodded, and rolled out, Daniel holding Andrea's hand the entire time and telling her how much he loved her. Beckett held back as the medical staff did their thing and prepared Andrea by moving her to the separate bed; the moment she was moved, Beckett was there holding her hand while Daniel took his position at her feet near Harvey.

'Okay, Andrea, just like last time. Nice deep breath, and push for thirty seconds, okay? And...push!'

Beckett felt Andrea grip her hand like a vise as she bore down, and spoke to her encouragingly. She noticed there was a basin with water nearby, and dampened a spare cloth to pat down Andrea's brow.

'Good, and relax,' Harvey instructed her, and Andrea slumped back against the bed.

'Oh, God, that's a huge one!'

'Yeah, but a good one.' Beckett risked it and had a peek down where Harvey was applying medical gel to Andrea's nether regions. 'I can almost see the top of the head!'

'Harvey can I push again?'

'Yes, another thirty-second push, ready? Go!'

Andrea focused her energy and pushed again, distantly hearing Daniel tell her she was amazing. 'Oh, fuck off!' she bellowed at him. 'What the fuck do you know?'

'That's right, darling, he's just a man, they don't know about pain do they,' Beckett crooned and Andrea nodded.

'Damn skippy right they don't. Oh, God! God! It's crowning, isn't it? This is what Nessa was like!'

'Your baby is crowning,' Harvey agreed, and Daniel rubbed his wife's leg eagerly.

'You are so wonderful, Andrea,' he told her, taking it in stride when she hoofed him in the gut as she pushed once more at Harvey's order. 'Just a little more, my love.'

'No, no, no, no!' Her eyes were streaming now, and Andrea looked at Beckett pleadingly. 'I just want my baby here.'

'I know, sweetie, I know, just one more push or two.'

'Okay, I can that.'

'Yes you can,' Beckett encouraged her, and braced her arm to help Andrea sit up as she kicked and yelled her way through another contraction. 'Come on, Andrea Darcy, you got this one.'

Andrea booted her husband in the solar plexus once more, and with one more push, the baby was out. 'Oh my god! It's here! The baby's here!'

'I'm so proud of you Andrea,' Beckett said, weeping in sympathy as she held her friend's hand.

'I can't see, Kate, what is it? Daniel? What is it?'

Daniel looked at Andrea with nothing but pure love. 'It's a girl, Andrea. We've got another little girl.'

'Hedwig!' Andrea cried. 'Hedwig Brennan Brick.'

'Born at twelve-oh-seven am on January ninth.' Harvey clamped off the umbilical cord, which Daniel promptly snipped. 'She's a beauty like her mama and her big sister.'

'I love you so much Daniel,' Andrea wept as Daniel brought Hedwig up to meet her mama while she wailed away like a champ.

'I love you right back.'

Beckett stepped over to Harvey to let her friends have their moment. 'When do you think Andrea and Heddie will be ready for visitors?'

'In about an hour, hour and a half, why do you ask Kate?'

'Because there is another new someone in our family who needs to meet this little girl.'