Bull removed his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose with bitter frustration. The emotional toll today had taken was immense and right now he could only picture resting his head on the desk and falling asleep. Doing not only his work but Benny's gave him unpleasant nostalgic memories of law school. What made matters worse was that he was confined to his office, crushed with the load of work he had to do, he was unable to get a hold of Benny through his mobile and as things go, leaving was not an option. He rang and rang, sometimes getting through to voicemail but more often than not Benny had declined the call even before it rang out. Bull was wracked with guilt, knowing that he needed to apologise, and it had to be in person.

"He's not taking my calls." Came a voice from the doorway. Bull looked up and saw Chunk hovering over his desk, "what did you do?"

"Nothing good," Bull admitted, he stood and walked over to his liquor cabinet. He pulled out the emergency supply of scotch. In his hands, the bottle gave him an overwhelming sense of nostalgia, remembering that the last time he poured himself a drink it had been the night Benny sat opposite and handed him the sonogram.

"Figured as much." Chunk allowed himself further into the office, towering authoritatively over Bull at his desk. He pictured himself a broken record, always mediating the tiffs the two had and mostly defending Benny's position.

"If you haven't noticed, I'm busy Chunk." Bull wasn't entirely in the mood for one of Chunk's lectures, all he really wanted to do was complete his work and maybe get a little drunk in the process, to help forget about the events of the day.

"We all are. Which is why we need Benny back." He snapped. Without Benny, the team had to delegate the extra work. All of which was particularly taxing as none of them really understood how to conduct legal research. It was vital that their in-house council return otherwise the team were at a significant disadvantage, such a disadvantage would be detrimental to their success rate.

"He doesn't want to come back. I can't make him." Benny had made that explicitly clear. He wanted out – for good. Bull had left at least a dozen voicemails on his mobile and landline but heard nothing in response.

"Whatever you did, you need to apologise-" He was cut off. Chunk was used to calming the seas, assuring Benny that Bull was 'overworked', 'stressed' or 'out of his right mind' whenever the two fell out. This time though, Chunk couldn't even get a hold of Benny. Frankly, he was worried, if Benny wasn't picking up his calls, then he must be in a bad place.

"-It's not that easy..." Bull took a large swig from the glass and removed his glasses. "Anyway, I can't just leave now." Completely swamped and overwhelmed by what he had yet to tackle, it had been a long while since the last time he worked so hard, delegating was his speciality. Now, he was not only fretting but frustrated and utterly bewildered; so out of practice.

"I think you've got your priorities messed up, Benny is more important than some case." Chunk said thoughtlessly, raising his voice.

"The future of the company depends on us winning this case." The resources and funds that Bull had pulled into this case were far too extortionate to be so easily dismissed. "Don't you think I feel bad enough as it is?" He questioned, fearing Chunk thought he was some heartless brute, when in fact if it was up to him, he'd scream across the whole office merrily that Benny is carrying his child. Yet, Benny was playing around with life and death, not taking anything seriously

"No. You don't. If I were you, I'd be at his house groveling. Are you even listening to yourself?" He exclaimed, in utter disbelief. "You have no idea how he must be feeling, making such a big decision. Stop using this case as an excuse." Bull reclined in his chair, inhaling deeply. Chunk was right, he was always right. Bull knew he'd behaved irrationally the moment Benny began to walk away, tears in his eyes. At that moment he should have sucked up his pride and ran after him, why he was still sitting behind his desk was beyond comprehension.

"I'll be back." Bull grabbed his coat from the stand and fled the office.

Benny lay on the sofa, watching the t.v., wrapped in a blanket. He'd been that way all afternoon. There wasn't much on other than CSI, but he wasn't entirely invested in watching anything anyway. He had all intentions of falling asleep but was kept awake by his overanxious mind, replaying the argument from earlier on. Part-way through his journey home he came to the sudden realisation that he'd been incredibly foolish, yet he'd already ignored several phone calls and still found himself too bitter to admit it.

He knew that Bull was concerned and overcome with apprehension and grief given his past. He hadn't appreciated that fact and upon reflection, he knew Bull was making complete sense. For the last week and a half, he'd tried to forget about the situation despite knowing of the fast-approaching deadline. By now he should have figured things out and worked harder to refrain from shutting Bull out.

The truth is, he was no closer to an answer today than before.

On one hand, he could understand how his silence was torturous yet on the other he wasn't sure whether Bull fully appreciated how difficult the decision was to make.

He was interrupted mid-thought by a gentle knock on the door, he sighed heavily and dragged himself to his feet. He knew it had to be Chunk or another member of the team, who had come out of concern to see if he was okay. The company would be greatly appreciated. He unlatched the chain and opened the door. Before he could even see who was behind it, a bouquet of flowers was forcibly shoved into his face.

"I'm not sure if you'd like them." An innocent voice announced.

"Bull..." Benny took a step back, slightly shocked that Bull of all people would grace his doorway and with flowers no less. "What do you want?" He asked, sourly.

"I came to apologise, and I bring a peace offering." He lifted a carrier bag of goodies, opening the bag by both handles. Benny dipped his hand into the bag and pulled out a jar of pickles, he a brow raised inquisitively. "The guy at the convenience store recommend that I buy them. Apparently, they're a popular apology gift for pregnant women." Benny chuckled, Bull was hopeless as usual. "I'm sorry, not just for being inconsiderate but for going back on my word."

Benny allowed Bull into his apartment, "I've been giving you a hard time about all this when it's me who should probably apologise." Bull had been pleasantly surprised to hear those words come from Benny's lips, although he couldn't let him get down on his knees for everything that was going wrong between them, even if it felt easy to do so.

"I was angry, there's nothing that you need to apologise for." Bull placed the flowers on the coffee table, looking at the mess of blankets and large indent in the sofa sympathetically.

"No, no there is. I shouldn't make this decision alone, it's not fair to you. I've cut you off and gotten offensive when you've tried to talk to me...that isn't right." He replied honestly, "especially given the past." The room fell silent.

"Whether you want to talk to me or not, it's still your decision." Bull took a seat, brushing away small crumbs from the sofa cushions before he planted himself. Benny rubbed the back of his neck, a little embarrassed about the state of his place, he shouldn't have let things get so bad over the last couple of days.

"What do you want me to do?" Benny asked, level-headed and open minded.

"You know what I want." He already knew what Bull had in mind, from the very beginning Bull's stance on the matter hadn't changed. "It's your body, so I can't tell you what to do."

"See, I have this thing living inside of me and I still can't decide. I just keep avoiding the situation, pretending that the morning sickness isn't real, that I'm tired because I work so much..." the last few weeks have felt like an out-of-body experience, that waking up day-by-day he'd been slotted into somebody else's life. Whilst it had been his own head flung over the toilet bowl five times a day, his own abdomen cramping up, his own emotions playing tricks; he went through the motions and questioned nothing.

Bull wasted no time in scooping Benny in for a hug, noticing the younger man's eyes turn glassy, "That doesn't make you a bad person."

"I'm scared," Benny admitted. Bull stroked the back of Benny's head softly as Benny began to sniff and shudder. He cursed his heightened emotions, although he did acknowledge – it would take somebody inhuman to shut out all of the raw reactions and remain unphased in such complicated and delicate situation.

"Me too," Bull whispered softly, kissing Benny on the side of the head compassionately. "I know that you don't really forgive me, but we can work past this."

"I was being overdramatic, I don't want to leave TAC." He smiled, particularly embarrassed.

"Then come back. Danny, Cable, Marissa...they all need you. Our clients need you." Whilst the moment was touching and the two were exploring new grounds, there was a leering problem hanging over Bull's head.

"Alright...I'll come back." Bull gave Benny his pocket handkerchief, which Benny took to wipe his eyes over and dry his cheeks.

Bull looked Benny in the eyes, grasping a shoulder with an open palm, "Thank you."

Even though things had gone smoothly back at the apartment, the two spend the entirety of the taxi ride in silence. Bull chatted away with the driver and Benny stare blankly out of the window, things weren't wholly back to normal just yet.

"Are you alright?" He and Benny strolled into the elevator, awkwardness still entrenching their behaviour. Still, Bull looked over at Benny and couldn't help but notice the tired eyes he wore and how sluggish Benny stood.

"I'm just tired." He sighed. Whilst it was drawing close to half past 9 in the evening, Benny found no excuse for his fatigue, knowing that he hadn't done very much with his day. Regardless, the shire time of day and his condition made it impossible to maintain himself past 11. one of his primary grievances.

"You don't have to come back, I can take you home." Bull offered affectionately.

"No, no...it's okay." Being already in the elevator it seemed too much of a waste to return now. Besides, he really wanted to make an effort to apologise to Chunk for screaming at him down the phone earlier while he was a 'little' frustrated.

"Oh! Doctor Bull, I've been looking all over for you." A plucky young woman bounced into the elevator just as the doors began to shut. Her presence put Benny on-edge, his eyes fixated to get engorged stomach. Seeing everyday pregnant women made him seize up, distressed. Perhaps it was their form, picturing himself so big? Or maybe it reminded him oaffectionately choices he had to make.

"Amy, right?" The woman nodded, "Well, what can I do for you?"

"I'm going to have to withdraw from the mock trials. I'm sorry." Bull wasn't all too concerned, he knew that all of the participants must be pretty exhausted...or so he thought until seeing Amy grabbing the small of her back and pinching her bridge, seemingly in quite a bit if pain.

"Is everything okay?" His voice frantic.

She took a deep breath as the pain began to subside and she was finally able to speak again. "I'm not sure. I've been feeling off and now I'm having these pains-"

"Amy, are you going into labour?" Bull cut her off, rather alarmed.

"Oh god! I don't think so, but I've never been in labour before! My water hasn't broken yet..." She replied with great uncertainty; now beginning to hyperventilate anxiously.

"Calm down, just breathe." Bull tried to mediate the situation, pressing the ground floor button ferociously, knowing that they would still have to reach the office ground before doubling back, regardless of how quickly he pressed the button; it would have little impact on how quickly they returned. "Maybe we should take you to the hospital?" He continued, much more collected.

"I'm fi-" She stopped, caught by another crippling pain. "If you could." Quickly changing her mind, knowing that the pains were only exceeding the others by degrees of pain.

"I'll call a taxi to meet us when we get downstairs." Bull pulled out his mobile and elected to call his favourite company, under speed dial 4.

Sharp and sudden, the elevator ground to a halt with an almighty screech. The jolting action pushed Benny into the railing behind, possibly bruising his lumbar region. "What was that?" He groaned, steadying himself. It automatically became obvious that they were no longer moving, "I think the elevator's stuck."

"Why is nobody answering?" Amy pounded against the emergency alarm button, growing impatient at the lack of response.

"Everybody went home, it's late." Bull sighed, he hadn't really considered the real possibility of a breakdown before sending everybody on their way. Since the operation usually ran smoothly, it was something he never considered to be a risk. Although, he couldn't possibly make the handyman stay any longer.

"We're stuck..." Amy muttered, in complete disbelief.

"Benny, we're going to pull the doors apart." Bull gave Benny a concerned look, begging with his eyes for the other to ensure him that he was okay after being hurt. Benny nodded firmly before rushing to Bull's aid. The two griped the tight gap between the doors. Using their brute strength, the two pulled each side apart to prove exactly what they had feared. The elevator was stuck, with only a foot gap overhead where they could see the floor above. "I'll call Marissa."

"Erm, guys..." Amy paused, wide-eyed. "I think my water just broke." The front of her denim jeans turned a dark blue as they saturated. The patch spread, trickling down to her feet and onto the elevator floor, her trousers absorbing most of the moisture. "Either that or I just peed myself." She chuckled nervously.

"I'll call the emergency services. Marissa is on her way down."

"Not how you pictured this going down, huh?" Benny smiled, trying his best to console Amy. In all honesty, he felt the arch of his back start to sweat and his hands become clammy as his own anxiety began to escalate.

"I had a dream like this once, but instead of two strangers helping deliver the baby it was my mum...to be fair I think I prefer this scenario." Benny could fully understand that motion, if the situations were reversed his mother or even his sister would be fretting away trying to tell him what to do and how to take care of himself.

Benny helped Amy to the ground, giving her his coat to sit on, "what about a partner? Does he know that you're here?"

"There isn't a partner. He was in-and-out of my life very quickly," awkwardness befell them both, "but this was something I wanted." She replied whilst lovingly stroking her stomach.

"That's very brave." Benny said in admiration.

"Nah, millions of women do this every day." That figure made Benny a touch embarrassed, being that he couldn't possibly live up to his own words like many others have. Why he couldn't just bring himself to be brave, to explore the endless wonders that would come with seeing this through, was beyond his own comprehension.

"That doesn't change how awesome it is." His words bold enough to bring a grin upon Amy's face.

"I was close to not even seeing it through, you know. Being all alone was kinda scary, but I'm glad I did. Before I even knew what was happening, I'd fallen in love" Benny scoffed, nodding his head and biting his lip, not having heard his own situation out loud he could now visualise exactly how he felt, "I know, I haven't even met him yet." Amy continued, bashfully.

Benny and Bull could hear Marissa coming, the unforgettable sound of her high-heels darting across the cold floor brought an element of reassurance to those that knew her, closely following behind were the familiar squeak of converse sneakers and heavy wedged boots. The trio gave it their best efforts to pull the doors apart with Cable's small stature being quite deceptive.

"Dr Bull? Is everything okay down there?" Cable peeped through the small gap between the floor and the elevator below.

"We're all fine, I just need you to meet the emergency team at the door. Tell them where we are and help them find the control panel for the elevator."

"Okay, got it." Just as quickly as they arrived, the three hurried along knowing that the emergency services were well on their way.

"Hopefully we're out of the elevator soon." Bull had unfathomable trust and good spirit that the emergency services would safely rescue the three of them before it's too late. At least, he had to appear unshaken. He couldn't rely on Benny to be the rock in this situation.

"What if we're not? Either of you two secretly a midwife?" Amy followed with nervous laughter.

"The woman makes a good point Bull. We can't deliver a baby." The reality being that he'd be totally useless, breaking out into a panic or being afraid to make any medical mistakes. He'd always been the best person to have after a storm, his aid work in Puerto Rico was a testament to that.

"We might not have to." He rubbed the back of his neck, already feeling stressed, knowing that the night was still young.

"Face the facts, Bull. We could be here for hours." Benny proclaimed hysterically.

"Calm down. You need to calm down." At this point Bull had no idea what turn of events would occur, things may turn sour very quickly or brighten up just the same. Bull hated not knowing what the outcome would be, without a whim as to which way the pendulum swing finally lands. It would be fruitless to get worked up, only making the situation worse.

"I think I'm gonna pass out or something..." Benny began to hyperventilate, breathing rapidly.

"No, you're not." Bull took Benny by the shoulders and glanced into his eyes, he tried to calm him down by reciting steady breathing techniques, "listen to me. You're going to remain calm for Amy's sake. Take a deep breath and focus." Benny began to breath in unison, only the exercise wasn't promoting tranquility, only making him lightheaded.

"Okay." Benny replied shakily.

It took the emergency team a little less than 15 minutes to reach the office building, having maneuvered skillfully through the New York late-night traffic. In the meantime Bull had taken off his jacket and laid it on the floor so Amy could sit down, Benny had become strikingly brave and sat with her holding her hand. "When we got your call, we weren't sure if this was some prank, my name is Criss." The EMT laughed, "Is everybody okay? How far apart are the contractions?"

"They're really close, like four minutes." Benny had helped keep record for each time a contraction hit, timing them with his watch. Even within the short timeframe waiting for the paramedics the contractions seemed to become shorter and shorter, and the pain only become more intense. Whilst he tried to remain calm he couldn't help but get caught up in the high pressure situation.

"Have your waters broken?" Amy nodded, that being all she could muster through the tight grip of another ruthless contraction. "Any burning or an urge to push yet?" this time she replied with a frivolous headshake.

"That's good. Now, I'm going to feed you through some equipment. Don't put your arms or hands anywhere near the gap. I'll try my best to get the elevator working again, I'm going to come in and help you through this."

Criss along with two other EMTS climbed the next flight of stairs. Two held the doors open while Criss attached the safety harness to the elevator cable. He strapped himself in, but a team-mate checked the gear before he took the leap. Criss scaled the side of the elevator shaft until he reached the emergency hatch at the top, he proceeded to rip the latch open. Only once safe inside did he detach the rope.

The EMTs continued to work effortlessly to get the elevator working again, to no avail. Half an hour had passed and they were no closer to fixing the issue. Marissa had even gotten the handy-man on the phone to talk the EMTs through how the control panel operated and where the failsafe switches were. It became apparent that nothing more could be done.

That's when a blood curdling scream echoed through the elevator walls bringing more urgency to the situation, "I need to push now. I'm ready."

"Looks like we'll be doing this here." Criss snapped on a fresh pair of latex-free gloves, "bare with me, okay?" Criss manoeuvred his fingers into Amy's cervix, testing with his fingers how dilated she'd become since he last checked. "Everything feels good, when you're ready push on the-" The EMT was cut off by an alarming drop. The elevator plummeted several inches very rapidly. "The elevator must have jolted..." Criss now faced a growing and contagious fear, the elevator no longer seemed safe, and they had no other option but continue. "Amy, you just have to push, okay? We'll be out soon enough."

'Soon enough' couldn't come any quicker. Having been stuck in the elevator for close to two hours already, all focus and anxieties any of those trapped held, dissipated. All attention went into helping Amy to deliver the baby. She'd been pushing for an half an hour now and the strain was getting to her, "I can't do this anymore, it hurts." She huffed as a contraction subsided.

"I don't think you have much of a choice." Criss replied lightheartedly. "The baby is coming when it wants to. There's nothing you or I can do."

"I'm exhausted." Benny wiped the sweat from Amy's brows and cheeks. Amy hissed as another contraction broke through, giving her no more than thirty seconds to catch her breath and bare down once more.

"I can see the head, you're doing so well. You need to carry on." The words of encouragement like life blood, running through her veins.

"Okay..." She coughed, saliva in her mouth running extremely thick.

"That's it, you're doing great." The screams seemingly all blended together as Benny was washed by the sense of dejavu. This sight, he'd been here before; in his dream not a week prior. Except it wasn't Amy in such dire distress, but himself. It was impossible not to draw distinctions between real life and his beautiful nightmare.

"Benny? You okay?" Bull snapped.

Benny startled out of his delusion, "Yeah, I mean..yeah." He stuttered, puling himself together, tying to remain focused.

Time passed excruciatingly from then on. It would appear that the baby was only interested in playing games, from inappropriately timed peek-a-boo to frustrating hide-and-seek. Criss helped all he could with the training he had, assisting the baby enter the world in the best way he could. Bull and Benny could only offer emotional support and encouragement but Amy was grateful either way. She pushed and pushed, with the baby retreating once or twice. The final try was never the end but this last attempt felt like this was it.

"You can do it! One last push!" Criss held the majority of the baby's body in his hands, the rest slipped into being as Amy cried out for the final time, "It's a boy!" A boy, born quiet but very much alive. Criss laid the baby upon it's mother's chest delicately.

"My baby..." She whispered, sobbing with pure blissful happiness.

"Congratulations." Benny's usual tough exterior had crumbled at the sight, and without realising, he too was caught flushed with waterworks. Hormones, he promised himself.

"What's his name?" Criss asked, grabbing a clip from his duffel bag to peg the placenta.

"Isaac. His name is Isaac."

"He's beautiful." Bull remarked, as the baby opened his eyes. Already the young one had smooth chocolate eyes and a sweet face - disregarding the fluids and mucus that covered his pink flesh.

The buttons on the elevator door blinked into action and the floor moved from under their feet,"Ah, finally!" an echo of sighs in relief followed the good news. The elevator reached the ground floor with ease and familiar faces came to greet them on the other side. "A sight to behold, great job. Bring in the wheelchair", Criss finally cut the cord and wrapped the newborn in a blanket. "You boys mind?" Benny took the baby in his arms while Bull and Criss lowered Amy into the wheelchair. "We're going to take you back to the hospital."

Although brief Benny felt empty handing Isaac back to his mother, "Thank you, both of you." she beamed. Both Bull and Benny waved Amy away until the ambulance drove from sight. Amy was taken to the nearest hospital where she delivered the placenta and baby Isaac was given a thorough examination.

Marissa, Cable and Danny ran inside to escape the wind after cooing over the baby, once finally alone Benny pulled Bull asside, "Did you see that baby? I mean, he really was beautiful." Benny spoke as the two watched Amy being rolled into the ambulance, waving as she waved back; baby Isaac nestled comfortably in her arms. "Childbirth really is...well...it's a miracle." He continued rambling nonsensically. He paused for a moment, Bull could physically see the cogs turning as Benny contemplated and connected this thought, "You know what?"

"What?" He asked, taking a deep breath, taking in the cold air.

"I'm going to keep it. Just seeing the look on Amy's face, the happiness. She really wanted this, even if she was alone and scared, she really wanted Isaac. I don't want to miss out on that being me." Benny couldn't smack the smile from his face, his energy was radiating from the very core. Benny spoke with his hands, thrashing them around excitedly. The experience had left him flabbergasted, despite not having been the one to even live through the pain.

"If that's what you really want?" He hid his bubbling emotions well, clenching a jaw and narrowing his brows as to not get his hopes up or sway Benny's decision in any way. Although Benny could read Bull like a children's novel, the gleam in his partner's eyes was his tell, a complete giveaway that demolished his tough exterior.

"Yeah...I do." He said to himself in a low voice, the heavy-set notion of realisation set in. Yet, his heart felt light as if he hadn't a care in the world, filled with joy and relief. A pair of swooping arms picked him up in a clumsy embrace, lifting him off of the ground momentarily before lowering him back down again.

"When do you want to tell everybody?" No doubt most of the team were just as eager to know as Bull was to run his mouth all-about-town.

"After the first period, apparently it's bad luck." At that moment Bull was overcome with rampant fear, Benny was so much like his sister; in the way that he talked and shared the same ideas. He was afraid of the ultimate question, the outcome of this all - not sure he could put himself through this whole ordeal once again.