A/N- This chapter is for my roommate, who dedicated a substantial amount of time to hunting down my fanfic account. I'm surprised it took you so long.

To everyone else: Thank you for being patient. This took a while to scribble down. I'm thinking a sister and brother. An older brother, perhaps? And what do y'all think for the sister? (It's not set in stone, don't worry.) Thank you for all the reviews. They're fantastic! I'm glad you're willing to tell me what you think (: There's a lot of Andrea in this chapter, BTWs.

And I will love until my heart, it aches/

And I will love until my heart, it breaks/

And I will love until there's nothing more to live for.

-Amy MacDonald, Run

Jack looked at Sharon anxiously. "Are you sure you'll be okay, because-"

"You can't skip your jury selection," she said patiently. "And yes, I'll be fine. I'll call you if anything happens." She paced past him again, hands pressed to the small of her back. She had woken a few hours before and started making breakfast for Ricky, when she'd felt a contraction. She had dropped the toast in surprise and yelled for Jack, who was in the bathroom, getting ready for his day.

It had taken her a while, and him a while longer, to decide that Ricky wasn't to become a big brother within the next couple hours.

"I can call and tell Amos to cover for me."

"Jack." She turned towards him and rested her hands on his chest. "I promise. They're still so far apart I think the doctor would just tell me to go back home, even if we went to the hospital. And remember with Ricky?"

He grimaced slightly.

"It was worse for me," she said with a smile. "It took forever. I'll be fine here. If anything happens, I will call you." She paused. "I'd call the courthouse, right?"

"It'd be faster if you called the office; they'll have the direct number to the courtroom. I'll go straight to Cedars."

"Okay." She smoothed her dress down as best she could. It was light cotton, patterned with yellow, red, and orange sunbursts, and was one of the few things she still thought she looked nice in.

"And I'll be right there. You might have to pull some strings if I get a speeding ticket, though."

She giggled, then winced again.

"Are you sure?" Jack asked as she began walking again.

"I'm sure. Now get going. You don't need to be late." She pulled the fridge door open and reached for Ricky's sack lunch. "And you'll need to get Ricky to school."

"No." Jack pulled her arm back. "I'd feel better if Ricky stayed with you."

"Jack-"

"Sharon. I can't be here, and I'd say there's a pretty good chance this baby is coming sometime today. If Ricky stays here, then we won't have to worry about picking him up from school or getting a sitter. And he can help you around the house."

She rolled her eyes. "I'm not an invalid. I am a fully capable-"

"I know. You're a cop, armed and dangerous," he grinned. "But it would put my mind at ease to know he's here in case something happens."

"Fine. I'll call the school. You need to get going." She pushed him towards the door gently. "Go save some poor souls from jury duty."

"Call me-"

"I will if I need to." She kissed his cheek and waved him off. She had just closed the door when Ricky came thundering down the hall.

"Daddy!"

"Ricky, honey," she caught him with one hand. "You're not going to school today."

"What?" He looked up at her with wide eyes. "Why?"

She thought about her answer. It was hard to explain things to a five-year-old, sometimes. "Your father and I thought you should stay home today."

"Why?"

"Because your sister might be born today and-"

He shrieked loudly. "Really, Mommy? Really?"

She snorted slightly. "Maybe. Not right now, though." She watched him for a moment. He was bouncing on his toes slightly, and she could tell he would be bouncing off the walls for the rest of the day. "Do you want to watch a movie?" She usually only let him watch in the evening, and even then, only occasionally. A movie would likely hold his attention for a while.

"Okay!"

"Go pick one out." She herded him into the living room ahead of her and sat down on the sofa as he nimbly operated the VCR and TV. He was better at it than she was.

He scrambled back to her and curled up against her side. She leaned back, one hand on Ricky and the other around her belly as the opening credits started. He had picked The Land Before Time.

Jack hurried into the courtroom, hoping to catch the judge before the trial preparations began. Things had been going well lately. He had managed to avoid the poker games, more or less. He had to be more careful, now that Sharon knew he was actually getting paid. That particular check had been exceptionally good, so he would be able to cut some from the successive checks.

He had been out with his friends a few times- maybe more than a few, he thought- but he had been staying close to Sharon since she had started leave. She'd only been home for a week, but she was antsy, and didn't like not having anything to do.

"Mr. Raydor, you still have fifteen minutes before you need to be here," the typist said, looking up. She was still getting her files ordered.

"I was hoping to speak to Judge Khan. Is he here?"

"Yes, but-"

He thanked her absentmindedly as he slipped past her towards the Judge's chamber.

"Mr. Raydor-"

He knocked on the door, then opened it and stuck his head inside.

"Judge Khan?"

"Mr. Raydor, I know you like getting out of here on time, but this is ridi-"

"Your Honor, I actually wanted to ask a favor."

The man sighed heavily and set his newspaper down on his desk. "What is it?"

"My wife might be going into labor, and I wanted to see if I could ask my associate to take over for me if she calls. I know that's not the norm, to have both of us choose jurors, but-"

The judge waved his hand. "Yes, Mr. Raydor, that's fine. I think your wife might be a little more important than jury selection for a rather minor case."

"Thank you, Your Honor."

The judge merely raised his eyebrows and returned his attention to his newspaper.

Sharon managed to hold out until just past four in the afternoon. As Ricky's latest movie pick- he had picked Star Wars- drew to a close, she decided it was time to call Jack. She leaned forward slightly, still sitting on the sofa, and gasped in a breath.

"Mama? Are you okay?"

"Yes, baby, I'm fine," she muttered. She slowly got up. "I'm just going to call Daddy." She picked up the phone and dialed Jack's number as quickly as she could punch the buttons.

After two rings, the secretary picked up. "Banks, Cox, and Ra-"

"Yes, hello, this is Jack Raydor's wife."

"Oh," the secretary sounded unsurprised. "He said you might call, I'll ring the courthouse now, Mrs. Raydor."

"Thank you." She hung up and paused, chewing her lip. She wasn't about to drive herself to the hospital, and Jack wasn't stopping by the house. She hadn't planned this out. "Ricky," she called. "Go get your shoes on." She reached for the phone book and flipped to the back, where she kept a list of her friends' numbers. She found the one she was looking for, and dialed, holding her breath.

The phone rang several times, but then it clicked, and someone picked up. "Hobbs."

"Andrea-"

"Sharon?"

"Andrea, are you busy?"

"No, just twiddling my thumbs until five. Why?"

"Could you do me a huge favor?"

"What is it?" Andrea sounded cautious, as a lawyer should, Sharon thought.

"Can you come and drive me and Ricky to the hospital?"

There was a split-second pause. "God, yes. Are you going into labor? Oh, my God. Where's Jack? Actually, I don't care." Sharon could hear drawers opening and closing. "Yeah, I'll be right there. I'll just tell them I'm leaving and I'll be there in ten." There was one more bang, and then Andrea was back on the line. "Okay. I'm leaving." She hung up before Sharon could get another word in.

Sharon snorted in amusement, and hung the phone back on the wall. Ricky was sitting on the floor struggling with her shoes, but she walked past him to her own room. She had packed a bag a few days before, in her overwhelming spare time. There wasn't much in it: a set of spare clothes for her, a baby blanket, a tiger patterned onsie that Ricky had picked out for the baby, and a few other odds and ends.

She swung it over one shoulder and went back to the living room to sit on the sofa with Ricky. She wrapped one arm around her stomach and leaned back. There wasn't anything more to do until Andrea arrived.

"Can you help me tie my shoes?"

She looked at Ricky. His shoelaces were indeed trailing behind him. "I don't know if I can reach your feet," she said.

He scrambled up onto the sofa and lifted one foot high over his head. "Can you reach now?"

She smiled. "Yes." She tied each knot slowly, letting him watch. "You need to practice doing this, honey. I can't tie your laces forever."

"Yes, you can." He giggled, sticking his other leg up.

"What about when you're in third grade and all grown up?"

He frowned slightly. "Mama. I'm in kindergarten. Nobody else ties their shoes."

"You could be the only kindergartener who knows how to tie his shoes."

She could see the gears turning in his mind just as she felt her muscles tighten again. She grimaced slightly, but concentrated on Ricky's laces, yanking the bow tight.

Ricky swung his feet to the floor as the doorbell rang. He leaped up and ran towards the door, but the person on the other side opened it first. Ricky stopped just short of Andrea Hobb's legs. She leaned down towards him and held out one hand.

"You must be Ricky."

He took her hand haltingly. "Who are you?"

"Very to the point, I see." She glanced towards Sharon, grinning. "I like it. My name is Andrea. I'm a friend of your mom. Can I pick you up?" She waited for his nod, then swung him up onto her hip before walking into the living room. "Give me your bag, Shar. You are not carrying that."

Sharon rolled her eyes, but passed it over anyways. "I'm not an invalid."

"Can you walk out to the car?"

"Yes. I'm not an invalid," she repeated.

Andrea laughed. "Say that as much as you like, but I'm going to keep asking." She led the way to her silver sedan, and settled Ricky in the back seat. "I don't have a car seat, so just sit tight, bud." She waited until she had reached the main road, before asking, "Where's Jackson?"

"He's coming. I told him to go to work, and he was supposed to come home in about an hour; I didn't think anything was going to happen before he got back."

"Okay." She drew to a stop at a red light. She turned to face Sharon, blonde hair swinging past her shoulders. "Where are we going? I just assumed Cedars."

"You got it."

"Good. We're halfway there. I didn't want to go speeding off in the other direction." The light turned green, and she slammed her foot down on the gas pedal.

"Andrea, I don't want you to get a ticket."

Her friend smiled widely. "You just need to tell me where all of your coworkers set up their speed traps. Besides, I just got my car cleaned. You are not having a baby in it."

Sharon took a deep breath and tried not to laugh. "Don't make me laugh."

Andrea skidded into the parking spot closest to to the front door sof the hospital. She moved around the car like a hurricane, gathering her purse and Sharon 's bag, and once again hefting Ricky onto her hip. Sharon raised one hand to cover a smile at the sight before her. One of Los Angeles' up and coming district attorneys was standing in a parking lot in heels and a charcoal suit with a kid on one hip and three bags over the opposite arm.

"What?" Andrea asked curiously.

"Nothing." Sharon caught up to Andrea, and they walked in together. She was relieved to find that everything happened quickly. They were taken upstairs to a room, and she was given a gown to change into.

Andrea set the bags down in a chair and backed out with Ricky. "I'll get him settled somewhere." She closed the door and walked over to the nurses' station. "Is there somewhere for-"

One of the nurses got up and came around the desk. She was an experienced looking Latina with a wide smile and pink scrubs. "We've got a special waiting room for everyone whose about to be a big brother or sister," she said, looking to Ricky. "What's your name, bud?"

He looked away, and Andrea answered for him. "This is Ricky."

"Ricky?"

He nodded.

"I'm Maisie." She led them back down the hall a little ways to a small, glassed in waiting room. There was a small TV, several VHS tapes, a few games and books, and a shelf of blankets for those staying overnight. It was in clear view of the nurses' station. "You can stay right here, and we'll take good care of you."

"Thank you," Andrea said. "I'll just. . ." She trailed off. Just what? she thought. You have no idea what to do with a kid, let alone a kid you've never actually met before.

Maisie seemed to understand nevertheless, and left them alone.

Andrea lifted Ricky to the ground and sat on one of the small chairs next to him. He didn't say anything, merely watching her.

"Will you be okay staying here?"

He frowned at her. "Why?"

Why? How was she supposed to explain that? "Your mom needs to know that you're somewhere safe."

"Why can't I stay there?"

She paused again. "Because. . . There's going to be a lot of doctors and nurses running around and it's going to be too busy for anyone else to stay in her room."

"Are you staying here, too?"

This is what the other side of the interrogation feels like. "No, that's why I need you to be brave and stay here and not wander off."

"Where are you going?"

Andrea sighed as she realized she was about to contradict herself. "I'm going back to your mom."

"Why can't I come?"

Think quickly, you've gotten backed into a corner. "I'm just staying with her until your dad gets here."

"Can't I come, too?"

"Only moms and dads can stay there."

"Then why are you going?"

It was like being interrogated by a miniature lawyer in size two sneakers. "I'm just staying until your dad gets here. Then I'll come back here with you." As she spoke, she realized the truth of the words. She couldn't just walk out on Sharon once Jack got here. At the same time, staying was a little weird. She huffed quietly. Why couldn't anything be straightforward?

"Okay." Ricky was quiet for a moment. "When can I go?"

"It might be a while. I'll let you know, okay? And I'll come back soon, I promise." She hoped she was saying the right thing. What were you supposed to do with a five-year-old in a hospital? She stood up and let herself out. When she glanced back, Ricky was watching her with a strange expression on his face, something between terror and excitement.

She opened Sharon's door a crack. "Can I come in?"

"Yes, of course." Sharon was sitting on the edge of the bed, having changed into the blue hospital gown. Her street clothes were already folded neatly over the chair with the bags. Andrea had to bite back a laugh at her friend's compulsive neatness.

"There's a kids' room by the nurses' station. I left Ricky there."

"That's fine, thank you."

This time Andrea actually laughed. "Sharon, it's the least I can do. You've got your hands full." She pretended to be busy studying her nails as a different nurse came in and told Sharon that her doctor had been paged and would get there soon. Would Sharon mind if they took her blood pressure? No, that was fine. Andrea waited quietly until the nurse had left. She was about to speak, but Sharon beat her to it.

"Andrea?"

"Yes?"

"Hold my hand for a minute?"

Andrea held her hand out and Sharon gripped it tightly. Andrea nearly gasped as Sharon squeezed her fingers.

"Sorry," Sharon said breathlessly.

"It's fine. Just try not to pulverize all of my fingers," she replied lightly. Where the hell is Jackson?

As if speaking of the devil, the man himself blew through the door. He looked slightly windblown, and his tie was askance. "DA Hobbs," he said in surprise.

"Jackson," she replied.

"I got here as soon as I could, Shar. Everything okay?"

"Yes," she said tightly. She snatched his hand and let go of Andrea's at the same time. Jack yelped in surprise as her fingers tightened like a vice, once again. "Sorry," she told Andrea.

"It's fine, really." Andrea discreetly flexed her hand behind her back. "I'll leave you alone," she said awkwardly. "Go let Ricky know what's going on." As she slid out the door, she could hear Jack's response.

"Ricky's here?"

"Where else would he be?" Sharon replied shortly.

Andrea closed the door again before she overheard anything else and walked back down the hall to where Ricky was waiting.

"DA Hobbs? Andrea?"

Andrea shifted, eyes closed, and nearly fell off her chair. She caught her balance against the floor with one hand as she opened her eyes.

Jack Raydor was standing in front of her, looking tired and out of place.

"Jackson?" She mumbled. "Did Sharon have the baby?"

"No, not yet." He ran his fingers through his hair, thoroughly ruffling it. "I just thought I'd check on Ricky. You don't have to stay here."

Ricky had fallen asleep in a pair of chairs a few hours before, Andrea realized as she looked at the clock. It was just past one in the morning.

She had left Sharon and Jack, returned to Ricky, and watched part of some movie with him. He had told her he was hungry, so she left a message with the duty nurse and took him downstairs to the cafeteria. They had had dinner, and it hadn't been as bad as she had expected. After the initial few hours together, Ricky had warmed up to her, and by the time they had gone back up stairs he was talking her ear off. He had fallen asleep around eight, and she around ten.

"I'd rather not drive," she said finally. "I'm not awake enough. And I'm not due at work tomorrow until ten, so. . . it's fine."

Jack shrugged. "Sure." He was quiet again for a moment. "I guess I'll go back. I'll see you later."

"Sure," she repeated. She waited for him to leave the room before closing her eyes again. Sharon never said anything bad about Jack, never said much of anything about him, honestly, but Andrea didn't like him. She had heard from the grapevine in the DA's office that he was a brilliant lawyer, but spent most of his after-hours at bars all over LA. Sharon had never brought the subject up, so Andrea left well enough alone. Leave other peoples' marriages to the divorce attorneys, she thought.

She realized she had fallen asleep again when she woke to Ricky poking her shoulder.

"'Drea? 'Drea?"

"What?" she said, sitting up. She ran a finger under each eye, trying to lessen the shadows she knew were there from her make-up.

"Is everything okay?"

"What?" she asked again, confused. In the pause that followed, she heard what Ricky was hearing. There was a high-pitched shrieking coming from down the hall. Andrea felt a wide grin crossing her face. "I think that might be your little sister, Ricky."

If anything, he looked even more terrified.

She hastened to calm him. "It's okay. That's what babies do." I think. "They cry a lot."

"Really?"

"Yes." She glanced down the hall again, then stood up. "Want to go see? I think we might be able to see her."

"Okay." He sounded curious now.

She bent down and hefted him up with both arms, then balanced him so he could wrap his legs about her waist. It took her a second to find her balance, but then they were off, her heels clicking on the tiles. The nurses at the station had changed, at some point, so Andrea bypassed them and stepped up to the window in front of the- What do you call it? she thought. Nursery doesn't seem like the right term.

There weren't many babies. Just three, two boys and a girl, but none of their name-tags said "Raydor" on them. Andrea frowned, just as a nurse walked out of a back room with a screeching baby. The woman bypassed the bassinets and walked out to the space behind the nurses' desk, closing the dividing door behind her, clearly trying to keep the others from waking up. She saw them looking, and spoke over the noise. "Looking for baby Raydor?"

"Is that her?" Andrea asked.

The nurse nodded tiredly. "Yep."

"That's my sister?" Ricky shrieked loudly and turned. Andrea struggled not to drop him. He leaned against her arms to see the baby. The nurse turned to face him, and a sudden silence fell. Ricky and the baby were staring at each other, both with mouths slightly open, although Andrea was fairly certain babies usually looked that way. The baby was wearing a pink striped cap, and her face was blotchy red, but her eyes were the clearest shade of blue Andrea had seen.

"Thank God for small miracles," the nurse whispered.

Andrea smiled. "Indeed."

"Are you Andrea?" the woman asked softly.

"Yes."

"I'm taking her back to her parents, and they said you two were welcome to join them."

"Please?" Ricky looked up at Andrea..

Again she felt conflicted. She would say that she and Sharon had become good friends over past several months, since they first met to talk about a trial. Yet at the same time, she felt like she was intruding. Wasn't this the sort of thing that was just for family?

"Sure," she replied, before she could over-think it any more. The nurse had already disappeared, but Andrea knew where she was going. She held Ricky close with one arm and knocked with the other, even though the door was cracked open.

"Come in." It was Jack's voice, softer than usual and lacking its usual energy.

Andrea pushed the door further open with one hip and slipped in. Ricky started squirming as soon as he saw his parents, so she set his feet on the ground and let him go. She still felt like an outsiders, but leaned up against the wall nevertheless.

Jack was standing against the wall near the headboard of the hospital bed. Ricky ran to him, but Jack didn't pick him up. Sharon herself looked half asleep against her pillows. Her hair was pulled back, but a few damp strands had escaped and clung to her face. She had the baby cradled in her arms, and Andrea thanked her lucky stars that the little monster was still quiet.

Screaming. Yet another strike against children.

"Thank you for watching Ricky, for us," Sharon said quietly. She didn't open her eyes, but she had obviously heard Andrea come in.

"Anytime," she replied awkwardly. There was another silence, but everyone was too tired for it to feel uncomfortable.

Ricky seemed to realize his father wasn't going to pick him up, so he clambered up on to the bed. Sharon shifted her leg to halt his progress up towards her daughter.

"Slow down, Ricky. You have to be careful around a baby."

"Okay."

She watched him, judging his understanding, before allowing him to come sit next to her. He leaned over and reached for the baby with one hand.

"Can I touch it?"

Sharon smiled. "Yes, you may touch her. Just be gentle."

He reached one finger out and carefully stroked the baby's head.

"What's her name?"

Sharon glanced to Jack. "We haven't completely decided, yet."

"Mama, she needs a name!"

"We have part of it, Ricky, just not the whole thing. You know how you have a middle name? Richard James?"

He nodded.

"We need to pick a middle name for her. Her first name is going to be Catherine."

"Catherine," Ricky repeated.

"That's a nice choice," Andrea said. Catherine was a good name. It was something you wouldn't have trouble spelling, and she could think of plenty of good Catherines from history. A couple of queens and several saints sprang to mind.

"We didn't want anything too strange, and didn't want to name her for anyone," Sharon replied, as though reading Andrea's mind. "My sister did that with her two, and. . ." she wrinkled her nose. "No."

"How about Cera?" Ricky blurted out.

"We're not naming her after a dinosaur."

"Duckie."

"Is a dinosaur."

"Andrea."

Sharon paused with her mouth half-open. Just when she thought she'd gotten used to it, her son's open bluntness would surprise her.

Andrea cut in first, diffusing the conversation before it could go anywhere they'd regret. "It would be too confusing to have two Andreas, bud." She hoped she was imagining the hot feeling creeping up her cheeks.

"Yeah," Ricky sighed. "I guess."

There was a lull, and Andrea checked her watch. It was now ten after three. Even if she got home quickly, she'd only get a few hours' worth of sleep before having to get up again. Maybe she'd just call in a personal day and stay home. "I should probably get home," she said finally. "Congratulations."

"Thank you, for everything," Sharon said, looking up. Jack was still leaning up against the wall. "I can't even begin-"

"Sharon," Andrea cut in. "You just had a baby. Don't worry about it. Your invalid status excuses you from everything." She smiled, a genuine one, this time.

Sharon laughed softly. "I will let that comment slide just this once. Get some sleep. I'll call you when we come home and you could come over and see her, if you like. Keep me from going crazy due to boredom."

"Sure." Andrea slipped out of the room, a curiously warm feeling filling her. It wasn't as though she didn't have other friends, it was just that she had never met someone who was as serious and simultaneously light-hearted as Sharon. She was like the best friend Andrea had never truly had. Maybe she would visit the Raydors, she thought. Actually reach out and take the hand that was extended. She shook her head. Sleep deprivation was making her silly. She'd definitely be taking the day off.

Sharon handed Catherine to the nurse who came for her. The baby would sleep in the nursery until morning, and Jack was getting ready to take Ricky back home.

"We'll come back right after Ricky wakes up," Jack said. He was holding Ricky to his chest, and the boy was asleep, head drooping over Jack's shoulder.

"Take your time. I think I could sleep until kingdom come."

"Okay." Jack was quiet for a while. "She's beautiful. Looks like you, I think."

"Mmm. I don't care what she looks like, so long as she's quiet for a while."

Jack laughed. "I don't know about that." He stood up slowly. "I guess I'll take him home, then. Do you need anything?" he added as an afterthought.

"No. Just sleep."

"Alright." He brushed her hair out of her face. "I love you."

"Love you, too." She watched them go and yawned. Jack was sweet, but she was glad Andrea had been there, too, even if the other woman wasn't. She had seemed out of place in her suit and heels, but Jack wouldn't have had a clue what to do with Ricky. He had as much common sense as a goose, she thought. Brilliant at law, not so much when it came to more basic things, like family. She hoped Andrea would stick around, that she hadn't been scared off.

She swept the ideas away and focused on her children. Ricky was excited; she could tell that already. He would be a good brother, she thought. Maybe it was silly to judge that so soon, but he seemed to like the baby- Catherine, she reminded herself- already.

Cat.

The moniker seemed to fit the girl. She had curious blue eyes and an upturned little feline nose.

Stop comparing your children to animals. There will be enough of that when they're in their teens. Sharon smiled to herself and let her eyes closed. Cute or not, children were exhausting, and she wanted as much sleep as she could get before Cat awoke.

A/N- To those who worry that I'm going to skip ahead a decade or two: I won't. I'm enjoying this, and I'm not about to skip ahead at all. The next chapter will pick right up from about here. I have some things planned (;

Also.

I have midterms next week. Last time I said this, I disappeared for five months. I SWEAR to y'all, I won't do that again. Pinkie promise. I just might not update until next Thursday. That's the worst-case scenario. I also have a four-hour car ride this weekend to get to my race, so I might get some writing in then (; I love you, and thanks for reading and reviewing.