Nadine lay in the hospital bed, swollen and sweating, as an IV of fluids dripped into her body. She had never felt so embarrassed in her life; passing out in the gallery right as the surgeon made the first incision. The next thing she'd known, she was in a hospital bed hooked up to a bunch of machines, a needle taped to her wrist to help ease the pain of her contractions, and Renee sitting watch over her. Now as she waited for something to drink - Renee had turned into her personal gopher - Nadine couldn't help but feel frustrated. Damn Greg and his sperm for getting her into this! Where in the hell was he, even? He wasn't in the field, which meant he could only be in the lab. But if he was in the lab, why hadn't he answered any of Renee's pages? Where was he?

Before Nadine could begin to freak out, Renee returned with a cup of ice chips and a satisfied smile on her face.

"I called Greg again, honey. He's on his way."

"Good." Overcome with hormones, Nadine turned on her side to face Renee as best as she could. "Can I just say, Renee, I don't know what I'd do without you?"

"Oh, please, honey, I've barely done anything."

"No, you really have done so much. You made me brownies and gave me foot massages and made me dinner when Greg was working and I didn't feel like take out. It means a lot to me, having a friend like you, since I have no real family of my own."

"Now that's not true."

"Yeah it is. Daddy's been dead and gone almost four years; my sister is more concerned with her own children and husband, and my mother barely speaks to me. You know, she actually told me that she wouldn't fly out here to see me until I was married, and wouldn't acknowledge a bastard grandchild? That's what she called my baby, Renee! I am on my own."

"Stop it Nadine," Renee said sharply, not to curb the self-pity she knew was perfectly acceptable for a woman in labour, but to ward off her own tears. "You've got my brother who loves you, you've got Warrick and Catherine who offer Greg support so he can be with you, you've got my parents, and trust me I am more than willing to share my mother with you. And you're also forgetting that you've got me and Nick. We'll be there to help you move, and to baby-sit if you want a night alone with Greg, and to spoil this niece or nephew rotten."

"Oh, Renee, you're the best sister ever," Nadine started, her voice cracking. "I mean it."

"Please stop, you're going to make me cry. So, um," Renee said, hoping to switch the conversation to a lighter, "have you picked out names or anything like that?"

"A little bit. Greg's been adamant that if we have a girl, there is some form of your mother's name in there."

"Yeah, he's been practicing saying it at work, from time to time. 'This is my daughter Sonya'. It's actually kind of cute."

"Haha, that sounds- oh God, here comes another one."

Nadine flailed for Renee's hand; her breath was coming in snatches as she tried to keep her mind focused on pushing through the pain. She flopped back onto her pillow; face drenched with sweat and chest heaving, as Renee grabbed a damp cloth and patted her down.

"Where is he, Renee?"

The misery in her friend's voice nearly had Renee in tears. Instead of weeping, she gripped her hand tightly. "He'll be here."

As if on cue, Greg rushed into the room. "I'm here."

All the pain Nadine was feeling was momentarily gone, as she prepared to fix Greg's wagon. "Where have you been, Gregory?"

"At work, I didn't hear my phone ringing-"

"Why? Didn't you have it with you?"

"Yes, but-"

"Was it turned off?"

"Of course not-"

"Then why have I been lying here for the last six and a half hours with your sister holding my hand instead of you? I swear to God, I could just drop you with a deer rifle right now!" Nadine seethed. "I am trying to get a person out of my body which you helped make and you can't even be bothered to show up for it? What if I'd already had the baby, what if you'd been in the lab and had missed it? What-"

She was cut off yet again when another contraction hit, this one the worst yet. Nadine tried to remember her breathing but to no avail. She began to cry in earnest, big fat tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Oh, God. Greg? Greg?"

"Right here, baby." Greg had pulled up the chair so he sat beside her holding onto her hand tightly. Beads of sweat began to pop out on his forehead as she squeezed like a python, but that was nothing compared to hearing the despair in her voice.

"I didn't mean it, Greg. I can't do this alone. Please don't leave me!"

"Of course not, sweetie." Greg kissed the back of her hand, watching as the worst of her pain ebbed. "I love you so much, Nadine."

Nadine's doctor came in then, causing Renee to step out so they had privacy for a quick exam. "Six and a half hours in, only two centimetres dilated, hon. Still awhile to go."

Nadine nodded, and then looked at Greg. "Stay with me?"

"Where else would I be?"

Time seemed to crawl by, thick and gooey as maple syrup. Renee had curled up on one of the hideous couches, fleetingly thinking that this must have been something what it was like for Nick when she was in the hospital fifteen months before. She didn't even notice she'd fallen asleep until she felt a gentle hand shaking her shoulder.

"Go away."

"I come from the east, bearing a Starbucks hazelnut latte."

"Nick?" The figure came into focus as Renee heard Nick's voice. "What are you doing here? What time is it?"

"About noon. Grissom cut me loose to find out about Greg and the baby. The rest of the crew is coming down before shift tonight. What's the word?"

"They took her down to delivery about two hours ago, I guess. She was at ten centimetres but the baby hadn't started to crown so they wanted to take her down and just…do their medical things with her."

Just then, a slim black woman Nick recognized as Warrick's wife Tina appeared in the door and cleared her throat.

"Doctor Sanders?"

"Yes? Is everything okay with Nadine and the baby?"

"They're absolutely fine. Nadine is in recovery and we took your brother up to the nursery with his baby. I'll escort you up and then take you to Nadine's room."

Renee and Nick nearly broke land speed records getting there, and came to a screeching halt when they saw Greg behind the glass partition of the nursery holding a squalling bundle of white blankets. Near the crook of his elbow was a doll-like face scrunched into a tiny wail, so much so eye colour was indeterminate. From under a candy-pink hat there was a sprinkling of mink brown hair identical in colour to Greg's.

"It's a girl." Renee sniffled a little. "I'm an aunt, and I have a niece."

"Gregg-o's a daddy?"

Both Nick and Renee turned to see Warrick and Catherine standing behind them, the tall black man with a fern-like plant in his hands and Catherine holding a large tangerine teddy bear.

"Yeah, he is, come look."

The two new additions to the nursery's gallery ranged themselves on either side of Nick and Renee as they watched Greg hold his daughter. When he looked up, a mile-wide grin on his face, he mouthed, she's perfect, just perfect. One chubby pink fist had worked its way free of its swaddling and was flexing long piano-player fingers in the air. Greg's hand immediately hovered over and the baby girl wrapped her plump digits around his index finger.

On the other side of the glass, Renee had long given up the pretext of silent dignified weeping and was openly crying now with Catherine who'd felt the memories of giving birth to her own daughter come rushing back.

"Look at him. You'd never guess that was his first child," Catherine breathed, fishing tissues from her purse and passing them to Renee. "He's a natural. Oh wait, he's coming out now, come on, Renee let's try and keep it together."

But it was not to be, for as soon as Greg emerged from the room and had shed his surgical gown, he took one look at his friends and sister, and immediately rushed over to embrace them as his own tears began to fall. Even the guys had choked up some, as their normal fluid voices were stilted and throaty.

"Greg, man, we are so proud of you," Nick managed.

"That's my girl in there. My girl," Greg repeated shakily. "My little Soniette."

This was enough to elicit a fresh round of tears from Renee. "Oh, Mom will be so happy."

"Nadja Soniette Sanders. My daughter. Hi I'm Greg, this is my wife Nadine and our daughter Soniette," he said to no one in particular. "Have you been to see Nadine yet?"

"No, not yet. We're waiting for you, Dad." Renee gave her brother a watery smile.

A tall German-looking nurse approached them with a bassinette and a broad smile on her face. "Hi, Greg."

"Oh, hi Verena. Are you taking my girl up to her mama?"

"Yeah, I thought I'd drop in and say hi." Verena looked around at the crowd of people. "I can only let all of you in at once if you promise to not make a lot of noise."

The group followed Greg and the nurse like they were royalty back to Nadine's room, where Greg went over and placed a kiss on his sleeping beauty's forehead, gently waking her.

"We have visitors."

Nadine looked around bewildered. "What are you all doing here?" she asked as Verena passed her daughter to her.

"We came to visit Greg and his girls," Warrick said simply as he put the plant by the window, then pulled up the seat of honour next to Nadine's elbow. "Oh she's a keeper, this one. We all chipped in and got her a little something." He brushed a gentle hand over Soniette's brow and passed a small bag to Greg.

Greg tore into the present, and laughed at the tiny T-shirt. "CSI-in-Training? Did you give this same shirt to me to wear in the lab?"

"Yeah, same size too, I think."

"The teddy bear is from Sara and I. Greg said you liked orange, and I figured everyone could use a teddy bear," Catherine added, gesturing to her gift, then lifted an eyebrow as Nadine began to cry softly. "Hey, are you okay, Nadine?"

"I just…this means so much to me, that you'd do this for my family," Nadine replied.

"Well, we're your family too, you know, Nadine," Warrick shrugged. "You're going to be Greg's wife and trust me, you wouldn't have lasted this long if you couldn't handle us."

As they grouped together for pictures and all took turns holding the baby, Nadine realized he was right. They were loud, noisy, they didn't always agree, but in the end, they were there with nothign but love and support for her. She did have a family.