Kirsten stood in the doorway of the infirmary, her head cocked to side as she watched Camille with a curious expression on her face.

"Is walking around seriously helping you right now?" she asked, biting into a cookie. Camille stopped pacing long enough to shoot her best friend a scathing glare.

"I'm sorry, when did you suddenly become the expert on child birth?" she snapped, and then gasped out a yelp of pain as she lunged forward to grip the railing of a nearby hospital bed.

"This sucks!" she yowled, baring her teeth at Linus as he made to rub her back.

"Touch me and die," she growled at him, and then rolled her head backwards. "Oh my God I hate this so much right now."

Finishing off her cookie, Kirsten glanced over at Ayo, who was standing in the corner, prepping towels and medical equipment.

"Don't you have something you can give her?" Kirsten asked, nodding towards Camille. "Pain meds?" Her question wasn't malicious or panicked, just genuinely curious.

"I'm not kitted out for the maternity ward down here," Ayo told her apologetically. "Though I think she's well past the point of medication. If she would just let me examine her to be sure..."

"No!" Camille snarled, panting heavily as she clung onto the bed railing for dear life. "Nothing is happening until Fisher gets here. I will hold this baby in for hours if I have to."

"Camille, maybe you should listen to Ayo," Linus tried tentatively as he took in the medic's concerned expression.

"And maybe you should shut your mouth until you know how it feels to have your insides ripped apart!" Camille snapped, and then immediately looked guilty as Linus flinched.

"Dude, I warned you," she pointed out. Linus reached out and prised Camille's hands off the bed railing, bracing her palms against his shoulders instead.

"Why don't you lean on me for a while?" he offered gently, and Camille exhaled shakily as she pressed the crown of her head to his chest and curled her fingers into Linus's shirt.

"I want Fisher," she squeaked, the first vulnerable noise she'd made since her labour had intensified. Linus stroked her sweat-dampened hair and whispered soothing sounds to her.

"Out of the way, Kirsten!"

The blonde in question barely had time to jump out of the doorway as Maggie strode past her and straight towards Camille and Linus.

"You need this," Maggie said to Camille, holding out a two-way receiver. Still leaning against Linus, Camille gave her an apprehensive look.

"Why would I..." she started, but was cut off by the crackle of the receiver.

"Camille?"

The brunette's head instantly shot up, and she lunged for the radio in Maggie's outstretched hand.

"Fisher?" she yelped desperately.

"Hey tough guy," Fisher replied soothingly, and Camille breathed out a sigh of relief before she clenched her fingers around the receiver.

"Where the hell are you?" she snarled. "I swear to God, Quincy Fisher, if you leave me down here..."

"I'm in the restaurant upstairs," Fisher told her. "The power's still out, but there's a crew just arrived." He paused to sigh.

"Camille, how're you doing?"

"There is literally a human being trying to escape from my body," Camille growled. "How do you think I'm doing?"

"I think you're doing great, champ," Fisher responded encouragingly. "But something tells me you're ignoring everything Ayo's telling you right now."

"Something called Maggie?" Camille sneered at the woman in question, who raised an eyebrow challengingly at her in reply.

"I'll be down there as soon as I can, tough guy," Fisher continued, "but you have to do what's best for you and the baby right now, understand?"

"I'm not doing this without you!" Camille shouted. "How long til you get down here?"

"Camille, there's a lot of damage up here," Fisher told her forlornly. "I honestly don't know."

Camille's face crumpled as she stared at the receiver in her hand.

"God damn it," she whimpered, letting out a choked sob as she nearly doubled over. Linus caught her and pulled her back to lean against his chest.

"Why can't Fisher abseil down the elevator shaft like he did last time?" Kirsten asked, and Maggie pursed her lips together.

"The car is stopped at the top of the shaft," Maggie stated. "Even if Fisher could get in, there's no way we could run the risk of the power being restored and the elevator suddenly descending."

"Maggie, you have to do something!" Linus begged, rubbing his hand against Camille's back as the young woman let out a shuddering breath. Maggie looked pained as she directed her eyes upwards, but her face suddenly lit up with the beginnings of an idea. She reached towards Camille's hand to take the receiver.

"No!" Camille cried, pressing the receiver to her chest. "I need to talk to him!"

"Camille, I'll bring it right back, I promise," Maggie stated firmly, and Camille eyed her off with trepidation before slowly holding out the radio. Maggie gave her a gentle smile before she brought the receiver to her mouth.

"Fisher, it's Maggie," she started, her stride again purposeful as she headed for the doorway. Still leaning against Linus's chest, Camille stared at Ayo for a moment before letting out a forlorn sigh.

"Ayo, I so desperately want to push right now," she admitted softly in defeat. Ayo's sympathetic smile nearly made Camille burst into tears all over again.

"Let's get you back into bed," Ayo suggested gently, and Camille begrudgingly allowed Linus and Kirsten to help her back onto the hospital gurney. She was cursing her way through another contraction when Maggie arrived back in the room, a crate of torches clutched in her hands. Camille shot her a haughty look.

"You said you'd bring the radio back," she bit out, her fingernails digging into Linus's palm. Maggie held out one of the Maglites to Kirsten.

"I'm doing you one better," Maggie said to Camille. "I'm bringing you Fisher."

"You are?" Camille squeaked, at the same time Kirsten asked, "How?"

"I'm having the electricians divert the generator power to the elevator," Maggie explained, handing torches to both Ayo and Linus before setting an electric lantern down on a nearby table and turning it on. "We'll lose the lights, but we'll get Fisher."

Camille let out a strangled scream as she hunched forward.

"Ayo, I don't think I can hold on any longer!" she cried out, her whole face screwed up in pain.

Ayo was already perched at the end of the bed, and she snapped on a plastic glove.

"Let's do this then," she stated in an upbeat tone, just as the room plunged into darkness. Camille yelped as all around her torches quickly lit up.

"Fisher will be here any minute," Maggie stated, though she was unable to keep the slight twinge of unsureness out of her voice. Camille let out another howl as she blindly groped for Linus's hand.

"Kirsten, I'm going to need your light at this end," Ayo instructed, and Kirsten obligingly shifted from Camille's bedside.

"No looking!" Camille barked desperately at her friend, who wrinkled her nose in defiance.

"Like you could stop me," the blonde sniffed insolently.

"Ok, Camille, whenever you're ready," Ayo spoke up. "On the next contraction, just do what comes naturally."

Linus watched sheer panic cross Camille's face, and he gripped her fingers reassuringly.

"Squeeze as hard as you want," he told her. "I won't let go."

Camille let out a ragged breath, and then suddenly squeezed her eyes shut as she bore down with all of her strength. The accompanying shriek of pain that echoed through the lab wasn't quite enough to drown out the shout that answered.

"Engelson!" Fisher's voice was loud and clear, his footfalls heavy on the floor as he dashed through the lab. Camille's eyes snapped open.

"Fisher!" she shouted back desperately, just as the man in question practically slid into the infirmary, his clothing crumpled and dirty and a determined expression plastered across his face.

"Oh thank God," Maggie murmured as Fisher strode past her and directly to Camille's side.

"Hey there, beautiful," he crooned, picking up her free hand as he leaned forward to kiss her. Camille gave him worshipful stare for barely a moment before she lunged forward and yanked Fisher toward her by the lapels.

"Where the hell have you been?" she bellowed, and Fisher barely held back a laugh as he wrapped his hands around her wrists.

"Hey, I'm not the one who decided to start the party early," he said teasingly. Camille hissed at him, but the hiss quickly morphed into a pained yelp as she buried her face against Fisher's chest.

"All right, tough guy, time to get to work," Fisher stated gently, catching Ayo's eye.

"It hurts," Camille whined into his shirt before she lifted her head. Fisher used a finger to move a sweat-soaked strand of hair off of her forehead.

"You've been through worse," he told her. Camille growled in exasperation as she let Fisher wrap a hand around one of her own, and then held out her other hand to Linus, who had stepped slightly away from the bed on Fisher's arrival.

"I still need you," she stated through clenched teeth, and Linus needed no further encouragement to quickly lace his fingers through hers.

"Ok Camille, let's do this," Ayo urged encouragingly. Fisher placed a gentle hand on Camille's back as she again leaned forward in strained effort. Her scream this time was silent until almost the end, where her exertion voiced itself in a strangled moan. She was gasping for breath even as Ayo reported that she could see the baby's head.

"Oh my God, you totally can," Kirsten piped up, her torch beam trained on the area Ayo had asked her to direct it. "Fisher, you should see this."

Camille locked her partner's hand in a vice-like grip.

"If you even so much as glance at my lady parts right now, you can kiss your sex life goodbye for the rest of eternity," she growled threateningly. Fisher went pale as he wisely stayed put, instead coaching her through the next contractions and pushes even as Camille cursed and cried.

"Just one more," Ayo spoke up over Camille's desperate whines. "You got this, Camille."

"I don't got this," Camille sobbed back, fixing Fisher with a begging stare. "Damn it, Quincy, make it stop!"

Fisher grabbed her chin and stared her down.

"No turning back, remember?" he stated gently. "Come on, tough guy. Let's finish this."

Breathing heavily, Camille stared back at him for a moment before she tightened her grip on both of the hands she held, leaned forward, and positively howled as she pushed down with all of the energy she could muster. The final notes of her shout suddenly intermingled with another high-pitched noise as the healthy wails of a newborn filled the room.

"Oh my God, it's a girl!" Kirsten announced excitedly, her torch beam no longer steady as she bounced up and down enthusiastically. "Camille, you have a girl!"

Linus let go of Camille's hand to check his watch, and let out a gleeful shout of his own.

"Hey, I won the betting pool!" he announced happily, and Maggie gave him a good-natured whack to the chest, but it didn't matter, because Camille wasn't even listening, her entire focus instead on the squalling bundle that Ayo was offering towards her.

"Meet your beautiful daughter," the medic smiled, placing the baby in Camille's arms. Any thought of pain immediately left Camille's head as she looked down at the tiny girl she held.

"Hey Little Fish," she rasped, her voice catching in her throat as an overwhelming sense of love swept over her. "You made it."

Fisher leaned forward to stroke a finger against his daughter's cheek, and under his touch, the baby's cries started to ease. Camille lifted her eyes to gaze at her partner in amazement.

"Look at her," she whispered. "Fisher, we made this. Look at our perfect girl."

"She's beautiful, just like her mom," Fisher smiled, kissing Camille's temple. "Woman, I am so proud of you right now."

"I'm going to kick your ass so hard later," Camille murmured, her attention already back on her baby. Fisher chuckled good-naturedly.

"Hey, Fishy?" Camille said softly, not looking at the man in question but instead gazing intently at her daughter's big dark eyes.

"Yeah?" Fisher responded, leaning in close.

"Marry me," Camille murmured, a statement more than a question. Fisher used his fingers to turn her head in his direction.

"I thought you'd never ask," he smiled, tilting her chin so he could kiss her deeply. Right at that moment, the lights in the infirmary flickered to life, and Linus let out a small cheer.

"Well, thank goodness for that," Maggie stated, blinking in the sudden light. She smiled fondly at the way Camille and Fisher seemed oblivious to the other people in the room.

"Ok, you two," Maggie said in her authoritative tone, glancing at both Kirsten and Linus. "We've got an entire facility to assess the state of."

"But I want to stay here!" Kirsten protested, and Maggie raised her eyebrows challengingly.

"I said, it's time to go," she spoke slowly and deliberately, and Kirsten groaned in dissatisfaction before folding her arms across her chest and walking out of the room. Maggie cocked her head at Linus, who nodded his understanding and made to follow his boss out of the infirmary, but he stopped in the doorway when he heard his name being called. Fisher was staring at him with a grateful expression on his face.

"Thank you, for being here for her," the detective said gruffly. "I won't forget this."

Linus grinned as he caught the ecstatic expression that crossed Camille's features.

"Don't worry, I won't let you," Linus quipped back, and Fisher grunted as he rolled his eyes. Chuckling, Linus gave the new little family one last glance before he padded away, noting how Camille leaned into Fisher's chest and the way that Fisher looked at both Camille and his new daughter like he would move heaven and Earth to keep them safe. Linus could only hope that one day he'd find a way to a love like theirs.

Kirsten and Linus could not stop bickering over who got to hold the baby next, which suited Cameron just fine, because the longer they argued, the longer he got to nurse the Little Fish. Camille's daughter of course had a name, but her pre-birth moniker had stuck, right down to the array of aquatic themed onesies the child had been gifted since her arrival three weeks earlier. Even the blanket she was wrapped in as Cameron slowly paced the room with the child in his arms was decorated with purple sea shells and smiling starfish. As Cameron wandered around the living room humming to the baby, Camille sat curled against Fisher on the couch, an amused smile on her lips as she listened to Kirsten and Linus snark at each other. Fisher had one arm slung around her shoulders, but he appeared to barely be paying attention to the goings-on in the room, instead flicking through his phone and murmuring to himself about safety ratings on strollers. Camille had been surprised to learn that when it came to their daughter, she was the casual parent. She'd been so convinced that she was going to be the one that freaked out every time the baby so much as whimpered, but she'd instead found herself trying not to laugh at Fisher as he worried about sterilised bottles and the temperature of bath water. His love for both his partner and child was overwhelmingly strong, and despite his suddenly over-protective nature, Camille loved how safe, and most of all, comfortable, she felt in Fisher's arms.

"You come here like three times a week," Linus shot at Kirsten as she made an attempt to break away from their argument and reach out for the baby. "You need to learn to share."

"It's not my fault you can't get here more often," Kirsten sniffed. "Why should I be punished because you can't get your priorities straight?"

"Hey hot shots," Camille piped up, causing her friends to turn and look at her. "One of you gets to feed her, the other one gets to change her diaper and put her to bed. Sort it out."

"You get the bottle," Kirsten said quickly, watching as shock registered on Linus's face. "A dirty diaper is worth the sleepy snuggles."

Still staring at his phone, Fisher rose from the couch and left the room, only to return a few minutes later with a baby bottle which he quickly handed to Linus.

"Make sure she finishes it," Fisher instructed, and Linus nodded dumbly as he accepted the baby from Cameron, who couldn't keep the goofy grin off his face.

"Kirsten, I know we only just started dating and all, but do you think that maybe one day we can make one of these?" he asked, and Kirsten grinned from her curled up position in Fisher's recliner.

"Maybe one day," she murmured, and Cameron's smile grew wider as he sank down on the floor by her feet.

"All right, Hope, time for a snack," Linus commented as he settled the baby in his arms and placed the bottle to her mouth. Camille made a contented noise as Fisher wedged himself back onto the couch beside her, finally abandoning his phone so that he could bury his nose in the soft spot behind her ear. As he kissed her exposed collarbone, Camille snuggled back against him, marvelling again to herself at just how happy she was.

"I never did ask where her name came from," Kirsten spoke up, absently running her hand through Cameron's hair. "Why Hope?"

Camille couldn't stop the smile that spread across her face.

"This big oaf came up with it," she chuckled, nudging Fisher with her shoulder. "I thought his reasoning was sweet."

"Camille," Fisher rumbled under his breath, and Camille sniggered as Kirsten, Cameron and Linus all looked at Fisher curiously. Fisher shifted uncomfortably at the sudden attention.

"Just remember, if any of you laugh, I can have you arrested and put away for life," he muttered, and Kirsten rolled her eyes.

"Quit stalling, old man," she said flatly, and Fisher cleared his throat.

"Our job leads us down some pretty dark roads sometimes," he murmured, "and there's a good share of heartache and pain involved in most of our cases. I just thought it might help us all get through the day knowing there was a little hope in our lives to come home to."

Linus hid his smirk by turning his attention back to the baby girl in his arms, and Kirsten pressed her fingers to her lips.

"My God, Fisher, please tell me you ordered some wine with that cheese," Cameron quipped, and Fisher sneered at him.

"Well I think it suits her," Linus commented, smiling down at Hope as the baby sucked greedily at the bottle in her mouth. Her dark eyes, inherited directly from her father, stared back at him contemplatively.

"Oh come on, she has to be done by now," Kirsten whined impatiently, unfolding her legs and virtually climbing over Cameron in her haste to get to Linus. Seeing that the bottle was practically empty, she held out her hands for the baby and stared Linus down until he huffed out a sigh and handed Hope over.

"Say buh bye to Mommy and Daddy," Kirsten sing-songed, waving Hope's little arm in Camille and Fisher's direction before she strode off towards the nursery. Cameron dutifully pushed himself to his feet and followed after her. Camille yawned as she leaned back against Fisher, absently twisting her new engagement ring around her finger. Fisher ran his fingers through her hair, and Camille purred appreciatively.

"I'm impressed at how patient you two are with having us here all the time," Linus commented, and Fisher rolled his eyes.

"Like we ever had a choice," he muttered, but Linus could see that he was smiling all the same. Camille uncoiled herself from Fisher's arms so that she could slide over to where Linus sat.

"I never had a family growing up," she said gently. "Not a real one, anyway. You, and Kirsten, and Cameron... you're our family. You're Hope's family. So you can be here as often as you want, whenever you want, ok?"

Linus grinned at her, and Camille pressed a kiss to his temple before she got to her feet. A wry grin crossed her face as the sound of her daughter wailing filtered down the hallway.

"I should probably go and check on that," she quipped, giving her partner a reassuring wink before she disappeared from the room. Linus gave Fisher a tentative smile from the other end of the couch. Fisher planted his feet on the ground and rested his elbows on his knees.

"I need a best man," he mumbled after a moment, and Linus blinked at him.

"I'm sorry?"

"For the wedding," Fisher clarified with a sigh. "I need a best man. You up for it?"

Linus let out a disbelieving little laugh.

"Yeah, man, I'm up for it," he said with a smile. "I'd be honoured."

"Don't make it a big deal," Fisher warned, getting to his feet. "Just... be cool."

Linus was about to defend himself when Camille appeared back in the room, a whining Kirsten trailing behind her with Cameron firmly grasping her around the waist. Hope was asleep on Camille's shoulder.

"It's not fair," Kirsten complained.

"I just smell like her mom, Kirsten," Camille explained, rubbing her hand down her daughter's back. "I can't help if it's what puts her to sleep. You'll have plenty of other opportunities."

"And one day our kids will only want you to put them to sleep," Cameron murmured against Kirsten's shoulder. Kirsten pouted, but the complaining stopped as she leaned back into Cameron's hold. Camille caught the proud, still slightly baffled, expression on Linus's face, and she gave Fisher a soft smile as he padded across the room towards her. She expected a kiss on the cheek, and was surprised when he grabbed her chin and pressed his lips to hers.

"Fisher, we have company," she murmured even as she grinned.

"If they're going to be in my house all the time, they'd better get used to it," Fisher murmured back. "I'm going to tell you that I love you whenever I feel like it."

Camille blushed, and she rested her cheek against Hope's head.

"I love you too," she stated gently. Behind her, she heard Cameron whisper a similar sentiment to Kirsten, and Kirsten silencing him with a kiss of her own.

"So, can our next project be finding me a girlfriend?" Linus piped up from the couch, and his friends all let out moans and laughs as they broke apart. Linus started to defend himself, and the rest of the group started throwing out suggestions and jokes, the absolute embodiment of a group of people brought together by circumstance, but bound together by a genuine connection that made them the family they'd all longed to build and have for as long as any of them could remember. Maybe Fisher was right; maybe after all they'd been through, all they really needed in their lives was a little hope to keep them together, whatever surprises came next.

The End.