More Important Things

Jake stopped as Tobias turned a corner. He'd followed him through half of the building already and he hadn't shot anyone else. Maybe he wasn't going to. But there was still that little thought in the back of his mind that Tom was in here somewhere and that meant he was a prime target for Tobias' anger.

"Where'd go?" Marco asked, him and Cassie finally catching up with their leader.

"Went that way. I just…I don't know. I have this weird feeling in the pit of my stomach," Jake muttered.

"We should keep following him. We can't risk him getting caught," Cassie urged and they slowly started moving around the corner. They continued on in silence until they heard a loud scream. It sounded distinctly like Tom. Jake took off at a sprint and found his brother pinned up against a wall, Tobias' gun leveled at his head.

"Stop," Jake gasped, out of breath.

"Stay out of this," Tobias spat.

"He's family," Jake begged.

"He's the enemy," Tobias grumbled.

"You don't want to do this," it was Cassie this time.

"You don't know what I want," he shot back.

"I know you don't want to spend the rest of your life in jail for murder," she countered. He sighed and looked at her over his shoulder.

"I have a family to take care of," he murmured.

"What good are you to them behind bars?" she asked. Tobias' hand shook until he finally lowered it. Tom looked shocked at what had just happened. He slowly tried to edge away but Jake caught.

"I'm really sorry Tom, but I can't let you leave," Jake murmured, pulling his fist back and punching his brother in the jaw. Tom's head collided painfully with the wall behind him and he slumped to the floor.

"Oh sure, you can knock him out but I can't shoot him," Tobias grumbled.

"Controller or not, I'd prefer my brother alive," Jake retorted.

"Guys come on, we need to get out of here before we get caught," Cassie prodded, grabbing onto shirtsleeves and pulling the guys away from Tom. They rounded a corner and had to stop short, footsteps thundering towards them. Just as the Animorphs snuck back around the corner out of view, Tobias fell to his knees, clutching his head.

"What's wrong?" Jake asked.

"I…I think it's Rachel," he managed to get out.

"I can hear her thoughts…" he continued.

Across town Rachel was curled up on the couch in pain. It was like nothing she'd ever felt before. Thankfully Sarah had left for a friend's house. Her mom had just rushed in at the sound of her daughter's cries.

"What's wrong? Tell me," her mother prodded.

"It hurts," was all Rachel could manage to get out.

"What hurts?" her mom asked.

"Everything," her daughter gasped. She finally heaved a sigh of relief as she felt a sudden wetness beneath her. She uncurled herself enough to see the couch was now wet.

"Oh dear…that's not good," her mother breathed, rushing from the room. She returned with a beach towel and her car keys.

"Mom…where are you going?" Rachel asked in confusion.

"We're going to hospital. Your water just broke," her mother informed her, helping Rachel to stand. They slowly made their way to the car and without bothering to even lock the front door; they took off, at least ten miles over the speed limit.

Back at the warehouse Tobias' head had finally stopped pounding. He took several breaths before speaking. The footsteps had also seemed to die away. They knew that wouldn't last very long.

"I think she's going into labor," he rasped out, sliding down the wall and running a hand over his face.

"She's not due yet," Marco remarked.

"It doesn't matter if she's not due yet. I need to get out of here. I need…I just need to go," Tobias rambled, pushing himself back to his feet. Without looking back he took off at a run, morphing mid-stride and flying out a nearby open window.

"We need to get out of here too," Jake said softly in case anyone was within listening range. They morphed lizards and scurried up the wall and out of the window. Outside they returned to their human forms and heaved a large sigh of relief.

"We should get to the hospital," Jake muttered.

"They won't let us in, Jake. I'm sure everything will be ok," Cassie said, not sounding too sure.

They quickly began to put distance between themselves and the warehouse. No one spoke for a while. They finally made it back to Cassie's barn to find Ax in his Andalite form, pacing back and forth.

Is everyone alright? Ax questioned nervously.

"Well…depends on your definition of everyone," Marco answered.

"Ax…Tobias killed Visser Three," Jake informed his alien friend.

He did what? But how? the Andalite gasped.

"Well…he flew in a window and shot him in the head," Marco began to explain. At this Ax morphed into his human form.

"So he is dead. I must thank him. Where is he?" Ax exclaimed.

"He's with Rachel at the hospital. He said he felt her go into labor," Cassie replied.

"Don't worry, you'll see him again to thank him," she added.

In the hospital Rachel was gripping the bed rail as hard as she could as she fought through another contraction. Suddenly the door burst open and Tobias came skidding in. Rachel relaxed and he leaned over, kissing her on the forehead.

"This is a little unexpected," he whispered, squeezing her hand. She gazed tiredly up at him.

"What's on your shirt?" she asked softly. He looked down to see a spot or two of blood.

"I'll tell you later," he answered.

"Young man, I'm sorry but only family can be here right now," the nurse said, finally catching up to him.

"I'm the father," he answered. The nurse gave Rachel a quizzical look but accepted the statement.

"Put some scrubs on," she ordered, tossing them at him. He caught them and slipped them on.

"Rachel, I'm going to get a drink. I'll be back in a minute," her mother told her. Rachel nodded, leaving her and Tobias alone in the room.

"So what happened?" she pressed.

"I killed him. I went there and I shot him and I watched him die," Tobias answered as calmly as if they were discussing the weather.

"You what? Are you crazy?" she gasped, ending up in another contraction.

"I did it for you and our baby and my father. There were no witnesses. I have the gun. They won't find me," he breathed, squeezing her hand firmly. Just then the doctor walked in to check Rachel's progress.

"Well Rachel, it looks like another half hour or so and you can start pushing," he told her.

"Um…is the baby ok? I mean…I'm two months early," Rachel spoke softly.

"We're monitoring you and the baby looks just fine," he replied.

The next half hour was wrought with more contractions and words of encouragement from her mother and Tobias. When she finally began pushing it felt like the world just melted away. She was so focused on just getting the baby out that she didn't even think about the pain. Perhaps it was from having morphed so many times.

"One or two more good strong pushes and you'll have your baby," the doctor announced. Rachel bore down, chin tucked to her chest and finally felt the pressure in her lower region subside as the baby was freed from the birth canal. She rested her head on the pillow as the doctor held up her newborn daughter.

"It's a girl," the doctor called out, handing the child off to a nurse to be cleaned up.

"We have a girl," Tobias breathed, kissing her cheek. Some twenty minutes later and after having confirmed that the baby was healthy enough and didn't need to be rushed off to the neonatal intensive care unit, Rachel held her daughter in her arms. She looked up at her mother and gave a squeak.

"We need a name," Rachel murmured just as there was a knock on the door and the rest of the team walked in. Ax walked up to Tobias and pulled him into a hug.

"Thank you," he breathed.

"You're welcome," Tobias answered. He let go of Ax and turned back to Rachel.

"I think we should find some way to honor my father. I think he would have been proud to know he's got a granddaughter," he said.

"Elfangora," Marco suggested only to get slapped by anyone close enough to reach him.

"What about Elena," Cassie offered. Tobias and Rachel shared a look.

"I like it," Rachel affirmed.

"Well then…Elena it is. And I think it's only fitting that she take her beautiful, amazing mother's name as her middle name," Tobias added. Rachel nodded vehemently.

"Happy Birthday Elena Rachel," she breathed, kissing the baby's small hand.