A couple of hours later, Laura's doctor finally arrived.

"Hey, there, Mama! How we feelin'?" she chirped.

Laura glared up at her. "Oh, great, Dr. Walker. Never felt better," she said sarcastically as she leaned both hands on the bed, bent over as she recovered from the pain of the last contraction.

Dr. Walker smiled. "How are you doin', Steve?" she asked.

"Oh, he's fine. His genitals are intact!" Laura exclaimed in annoyance, dismissing Steve as he tried to help her back to bed. She lowered herself onto the bed and put her legs up. "Are you going to check me out, or what?"

Dr. Walker smiled. "Of course, hun." She got between Laura's legs and peeked her head back up quickly. "Five centimeters," she announced, quickly removing her gloves and dropping them in the medical waste bin. "Halfway there!"

"Nooooo…" Laura whined, tearing up. "Only halfway? How is that possible?"

"You're actually moving along quicker than most first time mothers, Laura. Hang onto that. Now, is there anything you need from me before I duck out?"

"Could you yank this thing outta me?"

"Almost," Dr. Walker replied. "I can offer you an epidural now, if you'd like."

"YES," Laura said immediately.

"Wait," Steve interrupted.

"Boy, if you don't shut your mouth…" Laura warned.

"But, pookie, the nurse said it could slow labor, and since your water broke early, that was a big concern. I just–"

"STEVE," Laura barked, grabbing him by the shirt collar and yanking him closer, "YOU ARE NOT GIVING BIRTH. YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THIS FEELS LIKE. NOW. SHUT. UP."

Dr. Walker smiled at Steve sympathetically. "You have nothing to worry about, Steve. She's far enough along now that there's really no stopping this train. We'll keep the Pitocin on hand, just like we have up until now, but she should be fine without it. I think you'll both be a lot happier with a little pain relief. I'll put the order in," she said as she stepped out of the door.

Steve looked at Laura who was breathing heavily, her eyes tightly closed. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. I just didn't wanna make this last longer than it has to or put you or the baby at risk in a prolonged labor."

Laura was practically panting. "That's ok, Steve. I'm sorry I nearly ripped your esophagus out of your neck."

Steve laughed and snorted at her joke, though she couldn't even smile about it. "That's ok, Laura Lee." He leaned down and kissed her gently. "You're so close, my love. I'm sorry there's so little I can do to help."

"It hurts so badly, Steve," she whispered as tears stole her voice.

Steve looked at the tears escaping her eyes. She was drenched in sweat and tears. Her makeup was running. Her hair was a mess. Her brow was crinkled as she anticipated the oncoming pain. "I'm so sorry, Laura Lee," he whispered back, beginning to cry with her. "If I could do this for you, I would. You know that, right?"

"I know," she said softly, reaching up to stroke his cheek.

"I hate seeing you in so much pain."

"I hate being in so much pain," she complained.

"The epidural will be here any minute. You'll feel better then," he promised.

"I love you," she whispered.

"I love you, too, Sweetums. I love you more than anything in the world."

"You won't be able to say that for long," Laura teased.

He cocked his head at her. "I could never love anyone more than you."

Laura placed a hand on her belly. "We'll see."

———————————————————————

Eddie made it to the hospital with Max in tow about an hour before Estelle was scheduled for surgery. Knowing they'd want to be there for Estelle, they stopped in to see Laura quickly beforehand.

"Hey, hey! Uncle Eddie in the hou…" he called, trailing off as he took in the scene before him.

"Ah!" Laura yelled as she lay on her side, a long needle entering her back as she arched.

"Yo, sis, they're stabbing you in your spine!" Eddie cried, turning away to avoid passing out.

Max smacked his arm and dragged him the rest of the way inside the room. "It's an epidural, dummy. You're a cop. Are you really afraid of needles?"

"Yes!" he answered

When Laura was all set up, she lay back on the bed, finally feeling relieved. No more pain. She hit the button again, just to make sure it stayed that way as the anesthesiologist left the room.

Steve leaned down and kissed her forehead. "Better, my sweet?" he asked gently, relieved to see her muscles relaxing. He'd only ever seen that look on her face when she was in the afterglow.

"So much better," she purred, reaching up to stroke his cheek. "Oh, my God. I feel so much better." She finally turned to acknowledge Eddie and Max. "Hey, guys."

Max walked to her other side and leaned down to hug her. "Hey, girl. Sorry we took so long to get up here. Eddie worked last night, and I could not get him outta bed."

Laura laughed. "That's completely ok. I was a monster until about thirty seconds ago."

"I'm sure you were," Max agreed, handing her a small gift bag. "Here. We got you guys a little something."

"It was all my idea," Eddie said proudly.

"But I actually made it," Max countered, glaring back at him.

"True," he agreed, taking a seat at Laura's bedside.

"Thank you," Laura said as she stuck her hand in the bag. She pulled out a tiny onesie and held it up. "Property of Chicago P.D.," she read aloud. She paused for a moment. "You guys made my child… my BLACK child… a onesie that declares her PROPERTY of the local POLICE DEPARTMENT?"

Eddie and Max paused suddenly. "You know, that's a good point," Eddie said, reaching to take it back.

Laura tossed it to Steve. "Don't you dare," she laughed, slapping Eddie's hand away. "I love it. It's a little short-sighted, but to be fair, so's her uncle." Laura opened her arms to hug Eddie. "Thank you, Eddie."

"You're welcome," Eddie grinned. "Told you she'd like it," he bragged to Max.

Max leaned in to hug Laura next, ignoring his bragging.

"Thanks, Max," Laura said, hugging her tightly.

As Max pulled away, Laura gasped. "Oh!" she reached immediately for Steve's hand and squeezed hard.

"What? What is it?" he prompted. "Another contraction? Are you ok?"

"Yeah," she breathed in relief. "I think I'm good." She laughed slightly. "Wow. That stuff really works."

Steve chuckled too and leaned his head down to rest against hers. Max and Eddie immediately felt out of place as they observed this intimate moment. They exchanged a glance and knew it was time to head downstairs to meet Estelle. "I'm glad you're doin' ok, sis. I can't wait to meet my niece," he said. He stepped forward and kissed her forehead. "We'll come see you after, ok?"

"Actually, can you guys sit with me for a second? Steve has to call his parents, and I haven't let him leave my side."

"Oh, Laura, I'll call them after. I don't wanna miss anything."

"Steve, you told them you'd call when I was in labor. You have to call."

"But what if something happens?"

"That's why Max and Eddie are going to wait with me. If anything happens, Eddie will run to get you from the payphone, and Max will wait here with me. We're not going to let you miss anything important."

"Every moment of this is important," he corrected, "but ok. I'll go call."

Max and Eddie got comfortable in the chairs by her bed.

"I'll be right back, my sweet," he promised, kissing Laura's sweaty forehead.

"Take your time," she replied, squeezing his hand as he forced himself to pull away from her.

Steve heard them talking and laughing as he exited the room and closed the door behind him. He took a deep breath and walked over to the pay phones that lined the walls by the elevator. He put in his quarters and dialed his parents home numbers. It was a Sunday, so someone should be home to answer, theoretically. He was grateful that the time difference between them was only an hour now. It was the early evening. He watched the door to Laura's room carefully, watching for signs of an emergency, as he held the phone to his ear and listened to the rings.

"Hello?"

He heard his father on the other end. "Pop? It's Steve."

"Hey, Steve. Twice in one day? Is everything ok?"

"Everything is fine. Laura's in labor. She's five centimeters dilated, so we're going to be at the hospital for awhile. Just wanted to give you an update."

"Oh," his father said. "That's great. Congratulations, son!"

Steve nodded and then realized his father couldn't see him, so he said aloud, "Thank you. We're excited."

He heard his father take a deep breath. "Umm… Roberta's at the store. I was kinda hoping she'd be here for this. I don't really know what I'm supposed to say."

Steve frowned. "That's ok," he shrugged.

"What did Carl Winslow say? Maybe I can piggyback off of Superdad."

"He's been a little distracted, honestly. Estelle is having surgery."

"Oh… So are you two alone?"

"No, not really. Everyone's around. They're just doing double duty."

"Hm. That seems a little unfair to you."

Steve scowled. "Well, it's not really within their control," he replied quickly. "Estelle is really sick. She needs them!"

"No," his father replied slowly and carefully. "No, I'm sorry. That's not what I meant. It's obviously not their fault, but that must be hard for you. You probably had some expectations for what this day would look like, and it probably involved a waiting room full of people, including Estelle. I know how important she is to you."

Steve softened. He knew that his father could have no idea just how important Estelle was to him, but he appreciated that his father was thinking about what he might have expected and how he must feel. Empathy is a skill, and he had finally been practicing it in ways Steve could never have dreamed of as a child. "Yeah, it's not what I pictured. I hate that I can't be there for Estelle right now, and I hate that she can't be here for us."

"Do you want us to drive down? I know we had talked about coming to visit after you two got a little more settled with the baby, but do you two need some people who are just there for you?"

Steve thought for a moment. "That's really nice, Dad. I… Um. You wouldn't be able to stay with us at the condo. I mean, maybe tonight because we'll be sleeping here for a day or two anyway, but Laura is definitely not going to feel up to having company right away. She made that really clear to me."

"But if we stayed in a hotel?"

"If you'd be willing to, I think that would be ok. I'll have to check with Laura though. Is that ok?"

"Of course, son. Check with Laura and call me back, ok?"

"Ok. I'll call back in a bit. Bye, Pop."

"Bye, Steve."

Steve hung up the phone and walked slowly back to Laura's room, thinking hard. When he entered, Laura looked up at him and smiled brightly. She held out her hand to him. "Hey, honey. Did your call go ok?"

Steve nodded and sat on the edge of the bed. "Sweetums, my dad offered to come down here with my mom. Since everyone is busy with Estelle. He wanted us to have someone in the waiting room who was just here for us. I told him I'd like that but that I'd have to check with you first."

Laura pursed her lips. "Guys, can you give us a minute?"

Max nodded and stood. "We need to go see your grandma anyway," she agreed, rubbing a hand comfortingly on Eddie's back.

Eddie wrapped his arm around her gratefully. "Good luck, sis. We'll see you later."

"Thanks, guys," she said, waving as they left. When the door was closed, she turned back to Steve who looked painfully nervous. She took a sharp, shallow breath and grabbed his hand.

"Sweetums?"

"I'm ok," she squeaked. "It doesn't hurt. I just feel like I'm waiting for it to hurt." She sat silently for a minute and then turned back to him as it passed. "So… Your parents…"

Steve nodded.

"Would they be staying with us?"

"No," he said firmly. "We've talked about that. I remember. They're willing to stay in a hotel."

Laura nodded. "And they know that they're not going to be in here for the actual delivery, right? They know we want to be alone for that?"

Steve nodded. "I think so. I can make sure that's clear when I call back, but he was only talking about being in the waiting room."

"Are they going to be overbearing?"

Steve thought seriously. "Historically, with a few notable exceptions, they've generally been pretty underbearing."

Laura looked away. "Well, Steve, I certainly don't have the right to tell you when your parents are allowed to come to town."

Steve frowned. "Hey," he said softly. He paused until she turned back to him. "What are you saying? Of course you do. You are doing something incredibly hard today, and I am your partner, and I'm here to support you. I want them here, but not if you don't. I'm not the one giving birth to our baby."

Laura took a deep breath and sighed. "I'm just worried that if they come here… and they rattle you at all, which they very well could… I might not have my partner at his best. I need you at your best today, Steve."

"So you want me to tell them to wait? They don't have to come. They can come in a few weeks, like we originally planned."

Laura hesitated. "No," she said finally. "I don't want you to do that. Tell them to come."

Steve didn't move. "Why?"

"Because they didn't come to see you play Romeo or come to any of the science fairs that you won or consistently spend your birthday or Christmas with you. Because you've graduated three times, and they've never seen you accept a diploma. Because they didn't come to our wedding." Laura sighed again. "If they wanna be here for this, I don't want them to miss the biggest day of your life."

"Thank you, Laura Lee," he whispered. He leaned in and rested his face against hers. "Thank you so much. I promise, I won't let them ruin this for us. They couldn't."

Laura nodded. "I know you won't," she agreed. She kissed him softly. "Go call them back."

Steve stood and leaned down to kiss her again. He took a couple of steps toward the door.

"Steve?" Laura interrupted.

"Yeah?"

"My parents get to hold her before them," she said firmly.

Steve nodded. "Oh yeah, babykins. Don't worry. I'm on the very same page. That's non-negotiable."

Laura smiled softly at his confident stare. She appreciated her teammate in that moment.

———————————————————————

"Estelle?" an orderly prompted from the doorway. "It's time."

Estelle nodded seriously. She looked around at her family and forced a smile. "Well, gang. I think that's my ride."

Harriette clicked her tongue against her teeth and hugged Estelle. "Good luck, Mother Winslow," she said, kissing her cheek. "We'll see you in a little while."

Eddie stepped forward next.

"Oh, no," Estelle interrupted. "Hush, child. We are not doing this. You all are not gonna line up and say your goodbyes." She turned to the woman in the doorway. "Let's roll!"

The woman stepped in and helped Estelle stand. They moved her to the stretcher and raised the sides. Before anyone could say another word, she said, "I love you all. I'll see you in a few hours with my great-grandbaby." She nodded to the orderly, and they rolled her down the hall.