I don't own Agents of SHIELD and never will. No copyright infringement intended.

Lance was just minding his own business and watching TV when Skye waddled up to him, grabbed the remote, and turned off the TV. "What the hell?"

"My water broke about ten minutes ago. I'm in labor and you have to take me to the hospital," she answered. A contraction caught her off guard and she leaned into the chair. "Fuck, this hurts."

Lance leaped off his chair, secretly annoyed with the fact that everyone else was out on a last minute mission they couldn't get out of. He should have known this would happen and prepared himself for it. "How far apart are they?" He was pretty sure that was one of the first questions asked.

"Right now, the contractions are about eight minutes apart." Skye wished her husband hadn't been sent away but right now she was just glad the team chose Lance to stay with her so she wasn't alone.

"Where are your bags? In your room?" At her nod, a now panicked Lance bolted towards Skye and Grant's room and he literally slid into it, thankful that the door hadn't been closed. They headed towards the garage and he helped her into the car.

Fortunately for them, it only took about half an hour to reach the hospital and he sent quick texts to both Melinda and Grant to inform them that Skye was having the baby. "This is one of my best friends since my husband got called out on a last minute job-related issue," she explained to her doctor.

Lance settled into a chair and started praying that someone would show up to relieve him soon because while he loved Skye, he honestly didn't want to be here to witness her giving birth. But maybe he needed the practice if (when) Bobbi got pregnant. "You doing okay? Is an epidural coming up?"

Skye was amused at his attempt to make small talk. "Nope, I'm trying this naturally. I've been through a lot and survived much worse so I can handle childbirth." She was nervous as hell, especially with Grant not by her side as planned (even though they made several contingency plans), but she was so over pregnancy and wanted to meet their little boy. "You look terrified, Hunter. Why is that?" Her hand shot out and grabbed his when another contraction interrupted her train of thought.

He tried to be comforting and let her squeeze it but the deer in the headlights look on his face betrayed him. Once the pain tapered off, Skye giggled at him. "Stop laughing, it's not funny!" Lance wanted to glare but held off in fear of retribution. His nerves only worsened every time Skye had another contraction and he really wanted to get the fuck out of here now. He checked his phone and was disappointed to find he didn't have any messages.

She tried to get comfortable but found that wasn't possible. "I think I'm going to nap for a little while to try and pass the time."

Lance stared at her in confusion. "You can nap at a time like this?"

"Yeah, and I'm going to need all the energy I can get when this gets to the really hard part." God, Skye didn't want to think about having to push a baby out of her vagina just yet (it had been on her mind since the day Jemma's impromptu blood test revealed why she had been feeling so shitty, however).

"Okay then. I'll be right here when you wake up."

"Go eat in the cafeteria, Hunter. You don't have to sit me with me when I'm napping," she answered as her eyes started fluttering.

"You want me to eat shitty hospital food?" He looked at her skeptically but she didn't see it since she was already asleep. Once Lance was sure Skye wasn't going to wake up, he did in fact head down to the cafeteria and frantically kept checking his phone. Nothing. Why the fuck were they all so busy? He'd make sure they'd pay for this as soon as possible. And after he finished forcing down the horrible salad he ordered, Lance returned to Skye's private room.

She woke up about twenty minutes later and from there, her labor progressed quickly. "I want Grant," Skye sobbed in the middle of a particularly painful contraction.

"I want him too," Lance murmured. He tried his best to soothe her by patting her back but the action only served to piss her off so he backed off immediately.

"Can you try to call him again?" Skye missed Grant so much it ached and she didn't want to do this by herself. What if she had to raise the baby by herself? Logically she knew that wouldn't happen but she wasn't in a rational frame of mind right now.

"Sure." Lance stepped out for a second after making sure the nurse was by Skye's side and tried to get through to someone but no one picked up. "I hate all of you," he spat.

When he stepped back in, Skye looked at him with terror in her eyes. "It's time to go to the delivery room," a nurse informed him.

"Can you come with me?" Skye pleaded. She knew Lance was uncomfortable with this but fuck his comfort. She was the one giving birth after all.

Lance couldn't say no to her so he followed her down the hall. And once she was settled in, Lance offered her his hand, which Skye took immediately. The death grip hurt like a bitch but he knew better than to say anything so he suffered in silence. "You got this so push," he encouraged.

She ignored him and wailed when the pain got to be too much. "Never again," she panted.

"You don't have to do anything you don't want to." And why the fuck was he spouting clichés now? Damn it.

"Lance, you suck at this comforting thing so stop." Skye started screaming and nearly started crying in relief when the baby finally exited her body shortly afterwards. She let go of Lance's hand to hold her son and he grabbed it immediately.

His hand throbbed but Lance didn't want to say anything lest Skye kick the shit out of him since she had done all the work. "Congratulations, Skye. He's a big boy."

"Nine pounds," chimed in a nurse after they weighed him and handed the newborn back to his mother.

Skye groaned. "I cannot believe I pushed a giant out of a tiny hole. This is Grant's fault since he's so tall. But you were worth it, Christopher Thomas."

Lance glanced at her. "That's his name?"

She confirmed it with a nod. Within minutes, Skye and Christopher were back in her previous room so they could relax but they didn't have to wait too long before the door opened and a clearly stressed, sweaty Grant stepped in. "I am so sorry I didn't make it in time. Please forgive me."

"Grant, there's nothing to forgive. Lance was with me the whole time." She beamed when he rushed to their sides and looked at the baby in awe.

"Hello there, Christopher. We've waited a long time for you." He then looked up at his wife. "You are absolutely fucking amazing, just so you know. I'll be here for the next one. Fuck my orders."

"Okay, let's not start talking about the next one just yet after I gave birth to a nine pound baby. Labor sucks and so does pregnancy. Talk to me again in a few years, baby."

"I love you," Grant murmured before starting to weep.

Skye let him cry it over before handing over the baby. "The feeling's mutual." She teared up seeing father and son interact for the first time and blamed the lingering hormones.

Grant looked up at his friend for a few seconds. "Thank you for being here when I couldn't. It means a lot to both of us."

Lance figured they wanted some alone time so he bowed out. "You're welcome. And I'll wait for the others so I'll talk to you later but enjoy yourselves." As soon as he got into the hallway, he started shaking his now bruising hand. He didn't regret lending his hand to Skye and was glad he hadn't seen anything since he stayed in one place but he hoped Bobbi didn't get pregnant for a while. And now he was actually considering the possibility of children with her and it didn't scare the shit out of him for once.

He didn't have to wait long in the waiting room because Bobbi showed up next. "So how's the kid?" she questioned excitedly.

"Healthy. Skye and Ward are in there now and getting to know him." He made the mistake of lifting the hand he was trying to hide and she gasped.

"Did Skye do that?" Bobbi snorted. She felt bad for him but it was still hilarious.

Lance scowled. "I'm glad you think this is amusing, Barbara."

"Oh, full naming me. I'm scared," she teased before kissing his hand. "We should probably have a doctor check you out to make sure Skye didn't break any bones." Bobbi laughed again as she led him downstairs to the emergency room.

After he was checked out and it was confirmed through X-Rays that Lance's hand was just bruised, the two of them decided to check in on the Wards again. Bobbi embraced Skye and held Christopher before handing him back to a worried Grant. "Sorry." He was just terrified that something would happen to the newborn even though he trusted her.

"It's okay. You're allowed to be a paranoid new dad for a while. And Skye, good job nearly breaking my husband's hand." Bobbi couldn't wait to spoil this kid rotten since he was the team's first baby.

Lance waved off Skye's concerns. "Don't worry about it, you're in more pain than I am. Besides, you're my friend and I wanted to help. That's all it was."

"I never want to let him go," Grant murmured as he rocked his gurgling newborn. He and Skye both wanted to make sure that Christopher grew up in love and not hatred after everything both of them had been through.

"Well you have to give him back to me soon." Skye ached to hold Christopher again but she let Grant hold him for a while longer.

"I will," he promised.

The four of them sat and talked for a little bit, until Skye fell asleep. The others trickled in over the next several hours and all of them made fun of Lance. Christopher Ward had just brightened their lives in a big way and his grandparents, aunts, uncles, and parents couldn't wait to spoil him and see him grow.