UNRECOMMENDED WAY TO INDUCE LABOUR
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After two girls, Emily's third pregnancy, for all intents and purposes, had been a snap. She knew she was getting older, knew that her chances of carrying her third child to term were slimming and, according to Aaron, she'd been much more agreeable. What it came down to, however, was that Emily knew this was her most dangerous pregnancy to date. She hadn't been surprised when her doctor suggested full bed rest. She hadn't acquiesced completely, but she had immediately gone on desk duty and off rotation for away cases. She worked from Quantico as soon as her fifth month came around.
And it had all fallen apart with only a few misplaced words.
The case had been in West Virginia, within driving distance to Washington, though the drive was a long one. Penelope had been listening into the feed while the team went in for the takedown, something Penelope had started doing once Gabi was born. She often said it was stressful, but worth it to know that her Derek was okay. Emily pushed open Penelope's door absently.
"Pen, I-"
Then the shot had rung out and Emily froze. She knew the protocol and tried to breathe as the team counted off.
"Morgan."
"Rossi."
"Reid."
"Lewis."
She wanted to swear, wanted to scream. He shouldn't even have gone on the case. She knew he'd been missing the field, so when he'd heard that they were down an agent, he jumped at the chance to exercise his profiling muscles again. Emily hadn't made a big deal. After all, he was close, and if something happened, he'd be able to be home within an hour, especially if they called in the jet.
"Anyone got eyes on Hotch?" Dave's voice floated over the wire.
"Negative," Derek replied. "We split up to go down the hall."
"Hotch? Answer me, Hotch."
Emily closed her eyes as her breathing sped up and she felt lightheaded. She counted slowly, trying to stay calm. Stress would send her into premature labour again and while she knew that her baby would be able to survive in the real world by this point, she'd been hoping with everything in her that by doing as little as possible, sitting as often as possible and keeping any and all movement to virtually nothing, she'd be able to hold off labour until she was at least 38 weeks along.
"Hotch?"
"I'm fine. I'm fine."
That was when the first contraction hit at the same time a warm, wet liquid trickled down her thighs. The file fell to the floor and Penelope spun in her chair to face Emily as she gasped.
"Em? Em?"
"No. No, no, no, no, no."
"Em, he's fine. You heard him, Hotch is fine."
Emily rubbed her hand over her stomach, meeting Penelope's eyes fearfully. "But I'm not."
Aaron sighed as he dialed Emily's cell phone for the twelfth time. It went to voicemail. He wrinkled his brow as he pulled his phone away from his ear and tried her desk phone, then their home phone. There had been days where she'd simply gone home early to rest and watch General Hospital. But there was no answer at any of those points.
"Hotch, everything okay?"
Dave was driving, Aaron in the passenger seat with Derek riding in the back. So he looked up at the man that had been his mentor. "Emily's not answering."
"Try her desk?"
"I did," Aaron replied.
"Home?"
"Not there either," he answered, looking down at his phone. Then the phone started shaking in his lap. It was a number he didn't recognize, but he picked it up. "Hotchner."
"Aaron Hotchner, you son of a bitch, you are never going out into the field again, do you hear me? Never again!"
"Emily? Sweetheart, I'm fine. The shot was mine."
"I don't care who took the shot I care about the fact that you forgot your pregnant wife and the fact that she's supposed to be keeping her stress low, you bastard! If our son comes out with defects, I am going to have your hide, do you hear me?"
He winced, only a small part of his brain registering Dave doing the same thing. Apparently they could hear Emily through the phone. Then the phone crackled and he heard a gentle voice tell Emily to give the phone to Penelope.
"Sir?"
"Garcia, is she okay?"
"Oh, sir, she's in labour. Her water broke in my office."
Aaron closed his eyes. "She wasn't supposed to be there."
"She had a question, it was a fluke. She came in just as the shot was fired," Penelope said. "Just... do me a favour and get here? She's... heh, this is worse than when she had AJ."
Aaron winced. That had been a painful experience. She'd elected for natural birth. Needless to say her labour with Kate involved an epidural. Emily didn't do well with pain. "I'll do my best, Garcia."
"Sir? I don't say this lightly and I do it with the utmost respect-"
"I'm not your boss, Garcia. I haven't been for almost two years."
"Good. Then I don't feel so bad telling you that if you don't get your ass to this hospital before your son is born, what Emily is planning to do to you will be nothing compared to what I will put you through."
Aaron closed his eyes. She sounded so cheerful. A cheerful Penelope Garcia-Morgan never boded well for anyone involved. "I'll be there in an hour."
"You do that, sir. I'll see what I can do to keep her calm."
"Thanks, Garcia."
He'd never run through hospital halls before. He'd walked quickly, he'd helped Emily slowly around the halls, but never had he raced through the halls like he was now. He was moving so quickly, he actually skidded to a halt in front of her door. "Emily."
"I am going to wring your neck, Aaron Hotchner."
"I know, I know, I'm sorry, baby."
"I don't damned well care how sorry you are! I'm in labour and it's all your fault."
"I know. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have gone on that case." He knew better than to argue with her now. She'd agreed that it would be good for him to get out in the field again, if only to stop him from being so antsy. As much as he loved spending the time with his children and being there for them whenever he was needed, they both knew he missed the field. And the case wasn't supposed to be anything strenuous. Heck, it was almost routine, as routine as a case could be at the BAU level.
"He's not ready, Aaron," Emily said, tears coming to her eyes. "He's not supposed to be here for another month."
"The doctors said he could be born as early as 30 weeks and be fine, sweetheart," Aaron tried to reassure her, briefly nodding at Penelope as she left the room.
"He's not big enough," Emily said frantically. "He's not heavy enough. You know that he's supposed to spend the next four weeks getting bigger so he can survive."
"But he's almost completely developed, Em. The hospital can take care of the rest, you know that."
She groaned through another contraction, gripping his hand tightly. "Good Lord." Then her head shot up again. "What about the girls? Aaron, what about Katie and Annie?"
"I called your father on the plane, he's picking them up. They're on their way," Aaron reassured. "And Dave went home to get the hospital bags. You concentrate on yourself and our son, okay? Leave the rest."
She let him kiss her, then squeezed his hand again. "I'm plotting your death through the pain."
"Of course," Aaron replied with a smile.
Emily sat anxiously in her hospital bed, exhausted, but unable to sleep. The nurses and doctors had whisked her son away as soon as he was born, though she had been able to hear her son's first cry and Aaron had been able to cut the umbilical cord. Still., she needed her son in her arms, needed to see him alive and well.
"Mommy!"
She managed a small smile as her two-year-old daughter led the way into the room with AJ and Aaron following behind. "Hey sweetheart."
"Where Baby?" Kate asked, eyes blinking up at her, even as she tried to scramble up on the bed.
"Katie, careful," Aaron scolded, coming up and lifting the toddler into his arms. Emily shuffled over to make room for her amongst the bedding and the wires. "Remember, Mommy's sore."
"I want baby," Kate said with a pout, plopping down against her mother.
"He's right here."
Emily found herself relaxing as her son was placed in her arms. "Hey there," she cooed quietly.
"Dat's our broder?" AJ asked quietly. She'd made her way around to Emily's other side, standing on the chair Aaron had been sitting on. He stood behind Kate, making sure the toddler didn't inadvertently topple off the bed.
"This is your brother," Emily agreed.
"What's his name?" AJ inquired.
Aaron traded a look with Emily. "Seth," he replied. "Seth Alexander."