A/N: I know, I know: I took forever to get this thing published. If it's any consolation, I just started it on Halloween so it's not like it's just been sitting here, waiting to be released. I just couldn't get anything out. Sorry, guys. I just hope you guys think it was worth it.
Also, there are a few out-of-character-for-me curse words in here. I don't usually post them but, hey, she is in labour.
Disclaimer: I do not own Chicago PD or any of its affiliates.
And Baby Makes...
Rolling up to the emergency room, Adam Ruzek slammed on the brakes. His head was swimming at the moment.
"Watch it, Adam!" Kim said from the passenger seat. She'd been lurched forward and had to brace herself on the dashboard with the hand that wasn't currently wrapped around her protruding stomach.
"Sorry, Darlin'!" was his reply. He turned to look at her and tried to figure out what to do with his hands just as she let out another choice curse phrase. He'd never heard her talk quite like she had been for the last fifteen minutes since they'd left the restaurant. He figured it was another contraction.
"Door, Adam!" she managed between clenched teeth.
"Right. Sorry." Leaving the keys in the ignition of the running Subaru Rogue they'd purchased together shortly after the baby shower, he climbed from his seat and made his way to the other side to pull open Kim's door. He regretted grabbing hold of her hand when she squeezed his fingers. "Ow! Babe, fingers," he muttered. The glare she sent his way shut him up instantly.
"Get a doctor, Adam," she seethed.
"Got it." He helped her out of the car and through the sliding doors that lead to the waiting room. "Can I get some help over here?!" he bellowed. Three nurses rushed towards the couple, one of them with a wheelchair. "She's in labour," he told them, helping lower Kim into the seat.
"How long? How far apart are the contractions?" one of the nurses asked, the same one that had brought them the chair. By this point, they were wheeling Kim towards Labour and Delivery.
"Um," Adam started. He was interrupted by a string of profanities he'd never heard uttered from Kim Burgess's mouth. "Been going on for about fifteen, twenty minutes. And they're less than two minutes apart."
"This little one's coming fast," the same nurse said. Adam managed a glance at his name-tag. Dean.
"No shit," Kim muttered.
Pulling up to a bed in a private room, Dean put on the brakes and he and Adam helped Kim out of the chair. "I'll go get the OB," Dean said before making a break for it.
"Ya hear that, Burgess? Doc's on his way," Adam tried to soothe her. A couple of female nurses joined them and started to help Kim get changed into a gown and attached to all the right monitors.
"'Bout damn time. This kid of yours is trying to tear out of me, Ruzek."
"I know, I know. It'll all be worth it when she gets here, I promise." As flustered as he was, he couldn't help but try and stay calm. If he were this scared, he could only imagine how she must be feeling at the moment. "Um, I called Halstead and he and Lindsay are on their way." Lindsay was the back-up coach and, as light-headed as he was feeling, he thought he might need her. "Crap, I left the car..." he turned to the door, debating on whether he could chance a run back to the doors.
"We'll have one of the other nurses move it for you," Dean said as he walked back into the room.
"Thanks, man. I'm a little preoccupied at the moment," Adam tried to laugh it off as Kim squeezed his hand tighter.
"All right, Miss Burgess, let's have a look at what's going on." Doctor Collins had slipped in without either of them noticing. She put on a pair of gloves before moving her hands between the stir-ups. "Well, she's already crowning. I'd say we're going to have a new baby in the next half hour." Kim and Adam shared a look. This was moving way too quickly for their liking. "You've only been in labour for half an hour, is that correct?" she asked.
"Yeah, we were out to dinner-ya know, one last hoorah?-and her water broke," Adam told her.
"Had you been experiencing any discomfort earlier today, Miss Burgess?" The nurses around them were messing with instruments in the background and Adam wondered what it could all be for. He had been trying to do most of the talking since Kim seemed to be in so much pain; she had turned his fingers purple.
"Yeah," she managed around her clenched teeth. She was trying to talk and control her breathing at the same time. "I had some-damn it!-cramping and back-crap!-back pain a few hours-God!-before we went to dinner." She returned to her lamaze breathing when she'd finished. "And, considering you have your hands and face near my vagina, I think you should call me Kim." A break in the pain let her slip out that last sentence in one breath.
"Understood," she laughed. "I hate to break it to you but you've been in labour for at least a few hours. Your water breaking was just the last puzzle piece sliding into place. Now, on this next contraction, I want you to give me a big push."
"I can't," she whispered. "I can't do this, Adam." He grabbed her sweaty face with is free hand. God, she's never been more beautiful than this moment.
"Listen to me, Kim. You got this. You're one of the strongest people I know. Hell, you are the strongest person I know. Now, push."
She nodded before pushing with all her might, screaming and groaning as she did so. "Sonofabitch!" she dragged out towards the end, taking a much needed breath. Her chest was heaving and she was drenched in sweat.
"Again," Doctor Collins instructed. She braced herself before pushing again, the beeping from the fetal heart monitor pounding in her ears. There was so much going on. In a few minutes, she was going to be a mom. Just before the doctor called for another push, Erin popped up in the door-frame.
"I'm here!" she called, bracing herself on the frame before jogging to the other side of the bed.
"Oh, thank God," Adam breathed. He didn't think he could do this alone.
"Sorry I'm late, Jay drives like an old lady." She took hold of Kim's other hand and gave her friend a small smile. "How'ya doin', Kim?" The answer she got was a groan that didn't sound human. "Got it. Let's get this baby out of you."
"Just a few more pushes, Kim," Doctor Collins encouraged. Kim nodded in reply and leaned forward. She braced herself against the hands of her friend and the man that did this to her. Three pushes later, crying filled the room and Kim fell back onto the pillows behind her. It was done and over and she had a little girl. "It's a girl!" the doctor shared. Erin smiled and hugged her friend, Adam kissed her forehead with a smile that stretched ear to ear.
"Thank God," Kim breathed.
The doctor handed the small, pink bundle to one of the nurses before putting her hands back beneath the drape that was giving Kim some semblance of modesty. "Looks like the other little one is already on their way."
Kim shot up from her semi-relaxed position and Adam's stomach dropped to the floor.
"What now?!" she shouted, fighting the familiar feeling of pressure that was telling her to push.
"Kim, it looks like you're having twins today. I'm guessing one of them was always hiding behind the other during ultrasounds, that why we never caught it. Now, I know it's gonna take you some time to process this but I need you to push, understand?"
Kim nodded in reply, assuming the position she had just fallen out of. Adam was fighting the overwhelming urge to either faint or throw up. He wasn't sure which one to do first. Twins?! He was barely prepared for one kid, let alone, two of them!
Turning red in the face, Kim was giving it all she had but seemed to be making little progress. Something wasn't right.
"Stop pushing, Kim," Doctor Collins said. Her face was masked but both Kim and Adam could tell something was wrong. The first baby hadn't been nearly this difficult. "It looks like the shoulder is coming before the head. I can fix it but it's going to hurt so I need you to bear with me for a minute." Head swimming and thoughts rushing through her head, Kim braced herself for the pain. It was an indescribable feeling and could only be alleviated by screaming a few profanities that she had somehow managed to avoid so far. "Got it. Now push, Kim, push!"
A few more pushes and the second Burgess/Ruzek baby, although unexpected, had joined the world. The sound of two crying newborns filled the halls of the Labour and Delivery ward at Chicago Med. Baby number two was handed off to the nurses, Adam cut the cord, and Kim was finally able to relax against the bed. After confirming there wasn't another kid hiding in there somewhere, of course. (Adam Ruzek's words)
"I'm pretty sure the rest of the team's made it here by now," Erin said, a smile on her face. "I'll go update them. Should I let them know about the, um, surprise?" she asked. Adam and Kim shared a look.
"Nah, let 'em find out when they come back here to visit," Ruzek said. Erin laughed before heading out to the waiting room.
"Would you like to hold your daughters?" one of the female nurses asked. When she was met with grinning faces, she turned to pick up the smaller of the little pink-wrapped bundles, the one that had been hidden on all the ultrasounds, and handed her to Kim, repeating the action to give the other to Adam. "I'll leave you guys to it. And, congratulations, you two. You did great, Mom." She patted Kim on the shoulder before leaving the room.
"Yeah, Mom, great job." Adam leaned down to kiss the mother of his children, the smile not leaving his face for a second.
"I'm all gross, Adam," she swatted him away.
"I don't care. You've never looked more beautiful. You or our little girls." He turned his attention to the small cooing person in his arms.
"You're just saying that to make up for the fact that you knocked me up and I had to push two tiny humans out of my vagina without any drugs. Remember that next time you complain about a headache." She was only have serious. She looked down at the tiny baby she held in her arms and was filled with such emotion that she couldn't begin to describe. "She's so little, Adam. I hope everything's okay with her," she whispered.
"She's fine, Kim. The doctor would have told us if something was wrong." He paused. "Ya know, we never settled on a name," Adam whispered. He was utterly enamored with his little girl, with both of them.
"I know. But, if you think about it, we kind of did. We had it narrowed down to two." Kim rubbed her thumb across the cheek of the girl she was holding.
"That we did, Burgess, that we did. Question is, which one will be named which? It's a big decision, it kind of determines who'll they're going to be." He turned slightly from side to side, remembering a few techniques he had learned from parents in those birthing classes Kim had dragged him to.
"I think we'll know." She lifted her head to meet his gaze when the baby in her arms closed her eyes to drift off.
A few minutes later, even though visiting hours were technically over, Erin brought Jay back to see the new additions to the Burgess/Ruzek clan. His eyes almost popped out of their sockets when he saw that both of the new parents were holding a baby.
"Wait a second - twins?!" He looked at the faces of the other three adults in the room. "Why didn't you tell me, Erin? That's kind of something a guy likes to know." His fiancee couldn't help but laugh. "Yeah, yeah, laugh at the guy left in the dark. So, are they both girls or did you end up with one of each?"
"Yes, both girls and, we wanted to see the reactions when people find out," Kim said. "It was worth it."
"I'll say so. Did you guys know?"
"Nope, we were just as surprised as the doctor. She said one of them had to have been hiding during the ultrasounds, that's why they never caught it," Adam filled him in.
"We, uh, we have question for you guys," Kim started, looking to Adam for confirmation.
"Anything," Erin said, taking a few steps closer to the bed and standing beside her fiance.
"We want you guys to be the god-parents," Adam finished.
"Seriously? Absolutely!" Jay whisper-yelled, noting the two sleeping infants.
"I'd love to," Erin chimed in. "But, can I at least know the names of my god-daughters? And can I hold one of them?"
"We have names picked but we haven't given them to the girls yet, we need to decide who will be who. But, you guys can definitely hold them." Kim lifted the sleeping infant in her arms to give to her friend and new selected god-mother of her daughters. Jay took the few steps to close the gap between himself and Adam, then Adam placed the baby in his arms.
"Wow," he murmured. "She's so tiny." He slid a finger into the palm of the little one, letting out a quiet gasp when she squeezed. He couldn't hold back the smile that found its way onto his lips and Erin didn't realize she was doing the same. "What'd'ya think, Lindsay? You up for a couple of rugrats of our own?" He pulled his gaze away from the baby to look at his fiancee.
"Uh, not any time soon, but, sure. Maybe later on down the road." She hadn't realized she'd started bouncing the baby she was holding. "And if you think she's tiny, you should get a look at the little one I'm holding, Jay."
"I think she likes you, Erin," Kim said, fighting a yawn and losing.
"How 'bout that?" she mused, her eyes being pulled from her fiance to the tiny life she held in her arms.
"Wanna trade?" Jay asked, half joking.
"Sure," Erin agreed. She met him at the end of the bed, being careful not to drop either of the babies when switching sides. Less than thirty seconds passed before the baby she had just procured started getting fussy. It wasn't long before she was full-out crying. "Erh, sorry, guys. Not really sure what I did..."
Kim raised her arms to take back her daughter, a smirk on her face. When the baby was safely in her arms, she looked to Adam. "I guess we know which baby will be named which name."
"That we do, Darlin'," he laughed. He saw out of the corner of his eye that Jay was trying to get their attention.
"Ha, neither of them cried when I held 'em, Lindsay." He seemed so smug.
"Yeah, yeah, I know. So what's this about the names?" Erin was all too eager.
"Well, the one I'm holding now, her name is Chloe Elizabeth. And, the one Jay is holding," she paused, "will be Piper Lindsay."
The look on Erin's face was a mixture of joy and pride and humility. They were naming one of their kids after her?
"I don't know what to say, guys. Thanks." She was holding back tears when she leaned down for a hug from the new mother and a few of them broke free when she walked around the bed to do the same with the new proud papa.
"Why don't I get a kid named after me?" Jay seemed a little wounded. "I mean, neither of them cried when I held them." As if on cue, the newly named Chloe started to break in her set of lungs, resulting in a grimace from the detective holding her. "Aahh, guys?" He held Chloe out from him, as if to hand her off to one of the other adults in the room.
"Hand 'er over, Jay," Erin said. "I want another go at my name's sake," she joked.
"Yeah, yeah, rub it in."
The couple stayed only a few minutes more before leaving to give the others time to come and visit before they were kicked out. The new babies were given to their parents and had just dozed off again before Burgess's friend and partner entered the room with Kevin Atwater.
"Twins, Kim? Really" he asked, flabbergasted.
"Well, you know me. Go big or go home, Roman," she joked.
The names of the newborns and a few details about the little ones were given, both men got to hold them (Kevin wouldn't admit it, but he teared up a little when he held Piper), and they left so the rest of them team could come back. Olinsky and Dawson didn't stay long but both were as shocked as everyone else about the number of babies that had been born, Antonio reverted back to dad-mode when he held them, as did Olinsky. He may not have been there for Michelle when she was little but, he'd enjoyed watching Lexi grow up. Voight was the last of Intelligence to join the new parents.
"So, these are the two new members of the Intelligence Unit?" he asked when he saw the babies in their parents' arms.
"You don't seemed to shocked that there's more than one, Boss," Ruzek said.
"Eh, it explains why she got so big, no offense, Burgess," he corrected, putting his hand up toward's Kim's direction.
"None taken, Boss. It makes sense," she said. If she hadn't just pushed two tiny humans from her nether-regions, she may have been a little more engrossed in the conversation. The effects of tonight's activities were beginning to take their toll and she tried her best to stifle a yawn. It didn't miss the eyes of her boyfriend and boss.
"I guess I'll let you get some sleep, Burgess. You've had kind of a tough night," Voight said.
"Not before you hold one of them," Adam said. Voight wasn't going to fight him on it. It wasn't every day he got to hold a newborn. He handed little piper to his boss just as Kim was dozing off. She'd been fighting sleep for a while now and he was thankful she'd finally given in.
"She's kinda tiny, Ruzek," Voight whispered as he rocked slowly from side to side.
"Yeah, I know. She hid behind her sister the whole time, not even the doc knew she was there." He looked down at Chloe in his arms. He'd never dreamed back when he'd first been pulled from the academy that he'd be where is was now in life. Living with the woman of his dreams and two little girls to call his own. He couldn't help the smile that spread across his face before he leaned down to place a kiss on the newborn's forehead.
The two men talked for a few more minutes before Voight decided to leave. He laid Piper in one of the beds the nurses had brought from the nursery and made his way out. Adam put her sister in the second bed and walked over to the chair beside Kim's bed where he planned to get some sleep. It wasn't too late but the pair of them had had a rather eventful day.
Just before he dozed off, Kim stirred in her sleep and popped one eye open.
"Everyone leave?" she asked, half-asleep.
"Yeah, Voight just left and the girls are sleeping," he whispered back.
"It's good they all got to see them today," she tried stifling a yawn at the end and was unsuccessful. He nodded in agreement, his eyes still shut. "Ya know what, Adam?
"Hmm?" he replied sleepily.
"I never answered your question."
"What question?" He was half asleep at this point.
"The one you asked at dinner, right before my water broke."
He tried to remember back to before their lives changed. His eyes jolted open when it hit him but he remained in his semi-comfortable position in the recliner. "And?" he prodded.
"Of course I'll marry you, Adam," she told him. He didn't realized he'd been holding his breath until he let it out. Kim chuckled a little before wincing in pain. "Were you worried I'd say something different?"
"I think every guy's a little concerned he won't get the answer he wants when he pops the question. That's what makes it exciting, Darlin'."
"Well, you're stuck with me now, Ruzek. And our two little girls." She reached her hand out in his direction and waited for him to take it in the dark. Her body flooded with warmth when his fingers slid in-between her own.
"I wouldn't have it any other way, Burgess."
I know. You feel like shooting me in the foot. I got stuck around the time Voight came to visit and had to figure out how to get to my ending. It doesn't help much that our favourite couple is currently on rocky times on the show so motivation is a little lacking. Hopefully this made up for it? I do have plans for a few more chapters and a couple of surprises thrown in every once in a while. Thank you for being so patient with me!
MJ