Alas, 'tis the last chapter. I'm kind of glad this is done and over with, that way I can get to working on my other one. (4 chapters done already!)

And I apologize if I haven't been reading your guys stories. I'm falling behind on a few of you. I'm going to take some time this weekend to catch up.


Riley woke up and immediately felt the aftereffects of walking thirty miles. His legs screamed in pain when he moved them. He groggily sat up and blinked the sleepiness out of his eyes. He glanced over at Ben's bed and found that the older man was already up. Ignoring the searing pain, Riley forced his legs to cooperate as he crawled out of bed. He stumbled slightly as he stood, but regained his balance after a moment. He heard the bathroom door open and close. Ben came out looking slightly ruffled and a little anxious. A relived expression came across his face when he saw Riley standing there.

"Thank God," he said with a smile. "I was beginning to think I would have to try and wake you up myself."

"I'm not that hard to wake up, am I?"

Ben raised his eyebrows and that was all the answer Riley needed. He smiled slightly when Ben tossed him a honeybun.

"Even though it was only a day, it feels like it's been a year since I ate this for breakfast."

Ben chuckled softly and unwrapped his own cake. "We can get some real food when we're on the plane."

Riley felt his stomach lurch. They still had to travel on plane all the way back home. His fear of airplanes was still there and it caused his heart to beat wildly. He swallowed a bite of honeybun and shook off the feeling. Hopefully he would be able to sleep most of the way.

Ben finished his breakfast and tossed away the wrapper. "Your things are already packed. You didn't really take anything out when he got here. So whenever you're ready, we can be on our way."

Riley nodded, not wanting to speak since he had a mouthful of cake. He inwardly smiled in a very smug-like manner as he realized what Abigail's reaction would be if he ever did something like that with her around. He made a note to remember that at Thanksgiving. After a few more bites of his food, Riley was finished with his breakfast and found that his stomach still growled hungrily. He silently prayed the airlines had decent food.


Riley continued to pray for some kind of meal even when he and Ben were seated on the plane. He glanced nervously out the window and shifted uncomfortably. Ben noticed this and nudged him gently, careful to avoid his ribs.

"Want to switch?" Ben asked softly.

Riley waited for a moment then nodded. Quickly and wordlessly, he and Ben switched seats so that Riley was no longer sitting by the window.

"Thanks." He muttered as his stomach roared at him. He was certain that if he didn't get some food soon, he would die of hunger.

There was a slight rumble as the plane began to lift off the ground. Riley felt the unsettling feeling return to his stomach has the plane ascended towards the sky. He looked down at his knees in a attempt to keep his gaze away from the window. The passing clouds did nothing to ease his fear of heights; it only reminded him of how high up they were. He had to force the thoughts of a plane crash out of his mind. If he thought about silly things like that, he would surely have a nervous breakdown before the trip was over.

Riley and Ben both felt a sense of relief wash over them when a flight attendant came by with a cart full of food. The flight attendant was kind enough to allow them to grab handfuls of food from the tray. Once they finished organizing their meal, they thanked her and began to eat. Anyone who was watching would swear that the two men were rather inhuman by the way they ate. They acted as though it was their first meal in years, which, considering what they had been through, it kind of was. They ate in silence, both relishing in the feeling of a full stomach. When they were done, they set their trays aside and sunk back in their seats. The flight attendant soon came back for the trays. She asked them if they would like anything else.

Ben nodded. "Could I please have a pillow and a blanket?"

"Of course." She turned to Riley. "How about you?"

"Uh, same for me." Riley said softly, unable to make eye contact with the stunning woman.

The flight attendant smiled and went to fetch their blankets and pillows. Ben was grinning like an idiot as he looked at Riley.

"What?" Riley asked sheepishly.

"You should ask her out."

"What?? Ben, I don't even know her name."

"You should do it."

"Ben!"

"She won't bite."

"Ben, I'm not going to ask her out!"

Riley felt his cheeks redden when he realized that the flight attendant was back and staring at them both with an odd expression. Riley wanted nothing more than to melt into a puddle right there.

"I hate you, Ben." Riley whispered, giving his friend a glare.

Ben tried to hide his smile. "I know you do."

The flight attendant cleared her throat and smiled. "Here are your pillows. There was only one blanket left, so I reckon you two will have to share."

Riley felt his face redden even more and he was positive that Ben's had taken on a pinkish hue as well. Riley snatched the blanket from her and waited for her to leave. Ben reached over and grabbed an edge of the blanket and draped it over his own body. Riley did the same after adjusting his pillow. At first, Ben was hogging most of the cover. Riley gave the thin sheet a good yank and pulled it up to his chin. Ben pulled back and it soon became a mini game of tug-o-war. They whispered at each other, both arguing over the blanket and fussing over how much more cover the other had. There were a few threats when Ben took the entire blanket for himself. But eventually, they came to a solution. They both moved closer to one another (as much as the chair arm would allow) and draped the cloth over both of their bodies.

Fifteen minutes later, the flight attendant had to stop and stare in awe when she saw both Ben and Riley fast asleep; both snuggled together with their heads touching. She couldn't help it when she pulled out her phone and snapped a quick picture.


The plane landed with a jolt, scaring the life out of Riley and Ben. They reacted so violently to the landing of the plane that they conked heads. With a groan, they both whipped the blanket off of their bodies and stood up once the plane came to a complete stop. They folded the blanket as neatly as they could and fluffed the pillows before handing them back to the flight attendant. She smiled and watched them gather their suitcases and exit the plane. After a second's hesitation, she called after the shorter one and quickly scribbled her number down onto a piece of paper. She handed it to him with a smile before telling him that her name was Brooke.

Riley let out an exasperated sigh as he shoved the paper into his pocket and walked out of the airport beside Ben. "I really hate you, Ben."

Ben laughed. "I know, Riley."

Riley couldn't help but silently thank Ben. He honestly did think the girl was cute. He only hoped that she wasn't just being nice just because she'd overheard their little conversation about asking her out.

It took a long time to find their car; neither of them could fully remember where they had parked. After a long while of searching, they finally found it parked beside a large red truck. Ben pulled the keys out of his bag and unlocked it. Riley slid into the passenger side just as Ben started the engine.

"Feels good to be back in our own car, doesn't it?" Ben asked as he backed out of the parking lot.

"Yeah. It's an especially good feeling to know that it wasn't made in Germany."

Ben laughed out loud at the remark. Riley smiled and shifted his position in away to prevent his behind from falling asleep. For the longest time, he stared out of the window and watched the buildings and parked cars fly by. He couldn't wait to get back to his own small, cozy, shabby apartment.

The drive back home wasn't too bad. Riley's butt had indeed fallen asleep despite his upright position, but otherwise it was a perfectly normal drive. Except for the small argument they both had about which radio station to listen to. In the end they had decided to just turn it off. They were over it by the time they pulled into the driveway of Ben's house, which seemed so foreign to them even though they had only spent a little over a day away from it.

When they entered the house, a very pregnant Abigail came waddling towards them with a large grin on her face and a hand on her swollen belly. Ben greeted her with the biggest hug Riley had ever seen. Abigail returned the hug with the same intensity. She didn't even bother to hug Riley, mainly because she saw Ben's gunshot wound and started to freak out.

"Ben! What happened?! How did you get hurt?! You were only gone for a day for pity's sake! Jesus, Riley are you hurt at all? You two should be more careful!"

Questions flew at them about a hundred miles per second. She was babbling and telling them to be more careful and how dangerous treasure hunting is and a bunch of other things Riley didn't bother listening to.

"Abby! Abby, calm down!" Ben nearly had to yell over Abigail's endless ranting. "We're okay!

Abigail suddenly clutched her belly with a look of pain. She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment then reopened them. Ben looked down at her, concerning clouding over his features.

"Are you okay?" He asked gently as he led her to the sofa in the living room.

Abby nodded. "Yes, yes. I'm fine. The baby's been kicking all day. I can't – AHHHHH!"

The pregnant woman's scream echoed through out the house. It took Riley by surprise and he stumbled backwards, tripping over a pile of shoes and landing on his bottom. He stared up at Ben and Abigail with uncertainty.

"Oh, God." Ben took hold of Abigail's hand. "Abby? Are you okay?"

Abigail didn't answer and instead, squeezed her eyes shut as another wave of pain hit her midsection. "Oh God, Ben." She rasped. "I think…." She took in a deep breath to calm her nerves. "I think I'm going into labor..."

Riley was positive that he would have fallen over if he wasn't already seated on the floor. He looked at Ben who gave him a tired look before helping Abby to her feet.

"Riley, go start the car!"

Riley leapt to his feet and took off out the door. He skidded to a stop, which nearly sent him sliding off the front stoop when he realized Ben had the keys. He darted back into the house and nearly fell flat on his face when he stumbled over the welcome mat.

"Keys!" He managed to yell.

A chain full of silver keys came hurtling at him out of nowhere. Riley fumbled to catch them, missed, and spent a good minute looking for them. With a grim expression, he realized they had fallen into someone's boot. Ben and Abigail were waiting impatiently for him, Abby trying to suppress screams.

Riley hesitated before reaching into the smelly boot which probably belonged to Ben, but Abigail's shrill voice sprung him into action.

"GET THE KEYS!" She roared, her eyes bulging out as another contraction came.

Riley reached into the boot and pulled the keys out. He sprinted off towards the car and climbed into the driver's seat. He started the engine just as Ben and Abigail climbed into the backseat. He pulled out of the driveway and mad ea right turn.

"Left, Riley! The hospital is left!" Ben yelled

"Okay, okay! Where can I turn around at?" Riley looked around for another driveway of some sort.

"JUST TURN AROUND IN THE DAMN FIELD!!" Abigail was screaming wildly as the contractions became worse.

Scared and confused, Riley turned the car around in the middle of the road and stomped on the gas.

"Which way do I go?" Riley asked as calmly as he could when he came to an intersection.

"Uh," Ben's mind raced for the answer. He wasn't fully functioning in the midst of all that had happened in the last five minutes. "Go straight."

"I think the hospital is left."

"I think it's straight."

"How do you know?"

"I'm pretty sure."

"I think it's left…"

"No. I'm positive that we go –"

"GO RIGHT!!" Abigail shrieked in anger and slammed her palm into the back of Riley's seat.

Riley obeyed the woman he now called a 'pregnant beast' and made a right turn. He went as fast as he could and soon, the large, white hospital came into view. Ignoring the threats from Abigail, he parked as close to the front doors as he could and climbed out of the car. With a shocked expression, he realized that Ben and Abby were already at the front doors and were now entering.

'Pregnant woman are demanding…' Riley thought grimly as he followed the two.

Several doctors gave the shrieking Abigail odd looks as Ben led her to the front desk. After a lot of complaining from Abigail, and a lot of impatience from Ben, Abby was finally admitted to a hospital room to deliver the baby.

On the way to Room 114, a doctor stopped Ben before he could go any further. Ben protested but was held back by the man in scrubs.

"Sir! You're not allowed to enter the pregnancy ward with that wound."

Riley glanced at Ben's shoulder-wound and realized that it had started bleeding again. He gave Ben a fearful look. The doctor told Ben he would have to be admitted into a room of his own for sanitary reasons, and so his gunshot wound could be properly treated. The doctor steered Ben away from Riley and Abby. Ben glanced back and gave Riley a look he wouldn't soon forget. Riley sighed.

He was going to have to help Abigail through the pregnancy on his own


It took all of Riley's manpower to keep from crying out as Abigail squeezed his hand so tightly he could feel the circulation being cut off.

"Very good, very good. Push!" A doctor was instructing Abigail.

Abigail squeezed Riley's hand viciously and pushed with all her might. Riley felt as though his hand was going to break off. He tried to readjust her grip on him, but it was useless to go against a pregnant woman. They were a totally different species.

"Push!"

Abigail pushed harder and squeezed harder. Riley sunk down to his knees and pressed his forehead against Abby's bed. Whoever said woman were weak had obviously never been in the presence of a woman giving birth. Abigail squeezed his hand harder and he felt a searing pain in his hand.

"I can see the head!" The doctor announced." Push!"

Abigail screamed and squeezed Riley much harder than she had previously. This time, Riley couldn't suppress his own scream any longer.

"Ahh!" He tried to squirm away from the hospital bed. "Let go, let go, let go!"

"Very good, Abigail! One more! Push!"

Riley let his jaw drop when Abigail squeezed once more. "Give me my hand back!" he yelped and tried to wiggle out of her grasp. "Agh! At least loosen your grip a bit! You're –"

"SHUT UP!!" Abigail looked at Riley with a beat read face and wide eyes. Her hair was a tangled mess and sweat poured form every part of her body.

"Okay, just one more push!"

Abigail screamed, Riley screamed, and a newborn baby wailed.

Abby let go of Riley's hand as the baby was delivered. Riley fell back onto the floor, cradling his hand and scooting as far away from Abigail as possible. The baby was crying very loudly and could probably be heard from a mile away. As the doctors cleaned the child up, Abigail panted heavily after the extended turmoil she had just been through. Riley figured he had gone through more pain than she did. His hand was throbbing and felt as though it had its own heartbeat. He gave Abby a cold stare for doing so much damage to his hand.

Abigail looked at him and smiled faintly, still panting. "Thank you, Riley."

Riley couldn't help but lessen his death stare and smile back. He nodded, not really having the strength to say anything.

A small being wrapped in a bundle of blue was handed to Abigail. Abby took it with a joyous look on her face. The small child whimpered in her arms. Curiously, Riley stood up and peeked at the tiny baby. The kid had startling blue eyes, and a head full of blonde hair. The baby gurgled and reached out a hand to grab onto Abigail's finger. Abby smiled and looked at Riley thankfully. Riley smiled back.

"Can I get you some ice for your hand?" A sweet voice piped up from behind Riley.

Riley was shocked to see a pretty, young nurse looking at him expectantly. He nodded and the girl flashed him a smile before leaving to retrieve his ice.

When she returned, she held a bag of ice in one hand, and a slip of paper in the other. She handed both to Riley. Riley glanced at the paper and realized it was her phone-number as well as neatly printed writing that read 'Call Me', with a little heart drawn off to the side. The nurse smiled sweetly at Riley and left. Riley took a shaky breath and shoved the number into his pocket along with the flight attendants.


Ben fidgeted the entire time the doctors were treating his wound. They asked him all sorts of questions and gave him all sorts of instructions. But Ben barely listened. He was far too busy concentrating on the shrill screams coming from what he knew was his wife. After several minutes another scream joined hers. Ben frowned when he realized it was Riley. What on Earth was Abby doing to him?

The doctor finally allowed Ben to enter Abby's room. And when he did, he was met with the most precious sight he had ever seen. There in the hospital bed sat his lovely wife as well as his new child, his son. He looked around and saw that Riley was sitting in a chair with an ice pack on his hand, looking slightly confused and happy at the same time.

Ben walked over to where Abby sat and took a seat next to her in the bed. The baby was wide awake and was searching the room with bright eyes. When Ben appeared in the baby's line of vision, he made a squeaky noise.

Ben was stricken with affection. "What did you name it?" Ben asked softly.

Abigail paused for a moment. "Nathan." She finally said.

Ben smiled and looked down at Nathan Gates. Nathan had his eyes closed, his small hand curled into a little fist. Ben found the small boy adorable.

After about ten minutes, Riley finally stood up with his ice pack and said he was going home.

"Why?" Ben asked, slightly concerned as to what might make his friend leave so soon.

Riley only shrugged. "I need to decide between a flight attendant and a doctor."

With that said, Riley fled the room. Ben had no idea what he was talking about, but he pushed the confusing action of his friend aside and concentrated on the small bundle of joy in Abigail's arms.

The End.


I hope you liked that chapter. :) Sorry for any spelling mistakes.

Well, now I need to thank everyone.

To all that reviewed:

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To all that favorited this story:

Charlotte Lewis, Dreams of Leilani, Mischieftheblackwolf, Sauronia, Supernatural-Psych, The Haunting Lady Nightshade, Torilei, YukinaKid, daisyduke80, doodlegirll, ink0and0paper, luvRileyPoole.

To all that put this story on their alerts:

Bkitty123, Brennan4Booth, Dreams of Leilani, Gandalf3213, Kaydon, Sauronia, Sawyerslover, TheEvilZombieFerret, Time and Fate, YukinaKid, Zxully anti-nastalgic, aLLiCaY225, ancientmaverick, broadwaylover07, catiepie182002, doodlegirll, illiana06, infinity on high, radioactive.raccoon, sj9, smudgeworthy, the light before the darkness.

And to anyone else who might favorite or review this after I post this final chapter…

I LOVE YOU ALL!!

Seriously, without you guys, I never would have continued this. You guys are absolutely amazing and I adore every single one of you. Your reviews have been wonderful and I'm really glad you enjoyed it. :) I also got a kick out of some of your usernames…heheh.

Now if you'd be so kind, click that little review button and tell me what you think. :)

I guess I won't be seeing you guys until I finish my next story.

Until then! :D