Author: Quintessence of Stars

Rating: PG-13 for birth scene

Spoilers: None

Summary: Addison and Mark in the delivery room.

Disclaimer: I do not own Grey's Anatomy or the characters used in this story

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By the way, I love you

She leans back on him as a contraction tears through her insides, panting in a last effort to stem the unending pain. He rests a damp cloth on her forehead, trying to be of some assistance after she's already told him quite gracefully to,

"Just go to hell and leave me alone."

But he doesn't leave, even after her repeated angry slurs and remarks, and for that she's grateful. Her arms give way and she falls back onto his chest but he doesn't breathe a word, merely gives her a gentle squeeze and assures her that everything will be alright.

She argues with him insisting that, what with her vagina expanded almost ten centimeters in preparation to emit a human being, things will not be alright. And P.S. there will be no sex for the remainder of his days.

He merely smiles, hiding it from her by leaning his head into her neck and pressing a kiss to her sweaty skin. She swats him away and shifts positions so that she's sitting directly between his legs, allowing him to massage the knots in her lower back.

She moans slightly and he's unsure as to whether it's due to relief brought by his massage or pain brought from the current contraction. Her body trembles beneath his hands and he feels a slight twinge of worry. He tells her and she brushes him off, assuring him that it's perfectly normal…and she should know.

At her request he pulls her red hair up into a ponytail and fastens it tightly at the nape of her neck. She doesn't thank him but he knows it's because of another contraction. She squeezes his hand mercilessly and he quietly asks if she wants pain medication. This earns him a few more fractured bones and a scathing look along with,

"No, I'm doing this myself. If you can't be satisfied with that, the door's there."

Again he refuses to leave, and again he can see that she's grateful.

Her doctor enters and asks her to lay back. She does so, shifting so that she's semi comfortable in his lap. The doctor seats herself at the foot of the bed and he feels her wince as the doctor's hand is pressed inside of her cervix.

"Good girl, almost there. There's a small lip left but we'll start getting ready."

She nods and he can see a hint of excitement in her eyes. They've waited so long for this moment and it's finally here. She rests her head on his shoulder and he kisses her temple gentle as she grunts in pain. She winds her fingers into his and squeezes again as the contraction continues.

He's taken by surprise when she gasps and curls forwards. She manages to murmur,

"Mark…"

He can feel her tightening her body and hears a strangled noise deep in her throat.

"Ok, it's ok…" He whispers in her ear before informing the doctor that she's pushing.

She tells Addison to pant and stop pushing but she shakes her head, unable to stop. The doctor recognizes her inability to discontinue the action and with his help they move her into position so she's almost sitting, her head resting on his broad chest.

He feels a strange tightening in his chest as she emits a wail, portraying the true extent of her pain for the first time. The noise is followed by a string of curses, and he would have chuckled and commented on the typical redhead temper had he not been so terrified.

She stops and falls heavily onto his chest as the contraction ends. He strokes her hair and wipes away a few tears of frustration and exertion as she gasps. He assures her she's doing a marvelous job and watches as she leans forward again, taking both his hands while nurses prop up her legs.

The doctor gives a play by play which neither of them really pay attention to until she announces,

"Head's almost out."

He cranes his neck, peering over his wife's shoulder, to see a slick auburn head emerging from between her legs. She doesn't bother reaching down yet and he watches as her face goes purple in her attempt to get the blasted thing out. As he watches the head continues emerge and he feels himself get a little teary eyed, but wipes them away quickly and returns his focus to his wife.

"It hurts like hell." She gasps, and lets out a short scream as the remainder of the head emerges.

He splits his attention between her and the baby as they struggle together, finally focusing on the new life as it's being expelled from her body. With a final push the child is dislodged from its mother and she reaches down instinctively, arms aching to hold her new child.

The bloody, pink, bawling creature is placed on its mother's chest and both mother and father look down, discovering they've delivered a girl. He lets his tears flow freely, hers have been flowing for a long while now, and watches as she lowers her hospital gown and allows the baby to nurse for the first time.

The tiny girl wriggles in closer and Addison cups her slimy head in her hand. She gasps a little at the unfamiliar sensation and he rests his chin on her shoulder, watching the baby suckle. After a few moments the two are parted and the baby is taken away to be examined. She sinks back against him, exhausted, glad to know that her part is finished and he rubs her cheek with his thumb. She looks up at him and sees the question in his eyes, and immediately produces the answer,

"Amelia, Amelia Elizabeth Montgomery-Sloan."

He nods in confirmation and lifts her chin, planting a firm kiss on her lips,

"You did a great job."

She smiles tiredly and he continues,

"By the way, I love you."

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Fin