Five Months Later

"So..." Emily said by way of initiating conversation. She glanced over at Alex where she sat in the passenger seat, leaning her head against the window. "Was it a good pre-baby 'babymoon'?"

"I hate that word..." she muttered. A beat. "But yes, it was wonderful." She lifted her head from the window to offer Emily a smile. "Thank you."

Returning the smile, she asked, "For what?"

Alex shrugged. "For everything. This trip. Not losing your patience with me the last nine months."

"You haven't been that bad," she tried to reassure.

Alex just gave her a pointed look that clearly read of disbelief. "I've been completely intolerable. Even I'm sick of me."

"Maybe just a little..."

She rolled her eyes. "You're a liar. But I love you."

Emily just shook her head, glanced at Alex, then back to the road. "Are you alright? You seem a little unwell."

"I'm a little queasy," she admitted. "But I'll be okay."

"Are you sure?" She once again examined Alex, this time with more concern. "I can pull over and..."

She shook her head. "It's fine."

'Fine', though, only lasted fifteen minutes...at which point, Alex demanded that Emily pull the car over. She had barely pulled to a stop before Alex was flinging the door open and vomiting at the side of the road.

Emily was quickly at her side, holding her hair back and murmuring reassurances. Internally, she was doing her best not to freak out, especially considering the fact that they were currently in the middle of nowhere Pennsylvania and who the fuck knew how far from the nearest hospital...

When Alex finished vomiting, she shakily got to her feet, but failed to fully stand before her face paled. Emily, fearing she was about to faint, reached out a steadying hand. "Maybe you should sit before you..."

"My water broke," Alex interrupted.

"Are... Are you sure?" she stammered. That question earned her a glare. She held up her hands in apology. "Sorry, stupid question." She rubbed her hands together nervously, doing her best to quickly formulate a plan. "Okay, we'll turn the car around and hope like hell that the nearest hospital arrives before Baby does."

Alex didn't seem all that convinced, but when she opened her mouth to say as much, she instead choked on a gasp, the noise turning into a pained groan. She wanted to say she wasn't sure they'd have that time, but there was really no other option. She nodded, exhaled shakily, then attempted a smile.

As if reading her mind, Emily returned the smile. "Hey," she said gently, "It's going to be okay. We're going to have a baby today."

Alex nodded, that attempt at a smile still there. "We're having our baby," she echoed.

The sign at the side of the road they were currently speeding down declared the nearest town to be still over a hundred miles away. Emily frowned, did some mental math. "Okay," she announced, "At this speed..."

Finishing the sentence for her, Alex said, "At this speed, we're out of time."

"Out of time?" Emily repeated, glancing over at her with concern. "Already? Are you sure?"

She whimpered, nodded. "You have to pull over and deliver the baby..."

Emily winced. "Oh, I don't know about that – I mean, are you really sure you want me to..." She trailed off, tongue flicking out over her lip nervously. "I mean, do you remember me retching that time I had to change the dressing on your appendix scar?"

"We don't have a choice!" Alex insisted, begged, "Stop the car!" She was struggling against the confines of the seatbelt, writhing in pain.

Obeying, she pulled over, put on the hazards, and got out of the car to rummage for a first aid kit in the trunk. By the time she returned to Alex's side, she'd manoeuvred herself onto her knees on the passenger seat, bracing herself against the headrest. "Okay, umm..." Emily said slowly, "Are you...pushing?"

Gritting her teeth, Alex nodded, groaned. "You're going to have to catch her..."

Emily would very much have liked to protest that she couldn't possibly do that, but she swallowed down her refusals and prepared to catch their daughter as she entered the world.

Alex pushed for twenty minutes before the squirming squalling little being that was their daughter slipped from her body into Emily's hands. Emily, having learned a great deal about emergency delivery from Reid, immediately cleared the baby's mouth and nose and was rewarded with an angry wail from her daughter. "You hear that?" she asked, looking up at Alex with wonder in her eyes. "She's happy to be here..."

Alex let out a shaky laugh, lowering herself back into the seat. Emily passed her the baby, wrapped securely in the emergency blanket. Staring down into the baby's eyes, she whispered, "Happy Birthday." She brought the baby up to her chest, letting her root around, eager to suckle. "Happy Birthday, little girl."

"What's Little Girl's name?" Emily asked, helping Alex position the baby at her breast. Ever since they'd received the good news about their baby's health – and Alex had finally allowed herself to get attached – they'd spent hours scouring websites and name books...but instead of eliminating potential names, they only ever accumulated more.

They'd reluctantly whittled the list down to twenty, but neither could pick a favourite amongst them. The plan had been to await her arrival and decide which one best suited her.

Alex hummed a note as she watched the baby suckle, tenderly stroking her fine brown hair. "I think she's an Adalinde," she declared.

Emily cocked her head in thought. "That wasn't on the list..."

"I know," she agreed, "But she just looks like a Lindy to me."

Humming softly in thought as well, she eventually murmured, "I agree." She added, "Lindy Evangeline Miller, I think." Smiling brilliantly at the two most important people in her life, Emily spent several moments in awe before she remembered they weren't quite out of the woods yet. "I'm getting a little concerned about your placenta..." she said, "Reid said if it's not delivered after half an hour, you may need surgery..."

Alex didn't seem to have heard, though, focused as she was on the baby. Her hands were starting to tremble, though, and her face growing pale. "Em-Emily, I... I don't feel very well..."

"Alex?" Emily said, concerned. She reached to take the baby, fearing she might drop her, the way her hands shook. "Alex, you look like you're about to faint..."