*wipes tear* Well this is the end of the story. I truly hope you enjoyed it, and there will be more little snippets and ficlets in this universe. Warnings for a birth scene, but then I don't understand why you'd be reading a pregnancy!fic if you're easily squicked. Anywho, I'd love a little feedback, and happy reading!

oxoxoxoxo

Okay… that wasn't normal. Right? Leena held her stomach after bending down to pick up one of her wife's pairs of Pac-Man boxers when she felt a sudden, sharp pain to her side. She'd been feeling it more frequently, Braxton Hicks contractions growing in intensity.

Next thing she remembered, she was on the floor, hissing and backing herself against the bathtub. "Fuck…" She rolled onto her side and gasped out in pain as a thudding, dull pain began in her groin, travelling its way up her abdomen. She called out for someone, anyone to come and help. After a few minutes of unbearable pain, she watched as the door slowly opened. She closed her eyes in relief and tried to move but it was no use. Grasping the bathtub, she swivelled on her backside. "Honey," she said gently to a shell-shocked Daniel who stood motionless, holding onto his monster truck for dear life. "You know where your…" she gasped, "your Daddy is?"

He approached her slowly, placing his truck on the floor. "Is it the baby?"

"Yeah," she nodded, swallowing thickly. "You go and see if you can find your Daddy or Aunt Claudia, okay?" She watched his face closely, noting the fear in his eyes. "Can you do that for me?" He nodded slowly. "Good boy," she tried to smile and got up on her knees to try and rid the pain. "Go find someone."

"Okay," he said and dashed out of the room without his toy.

Within what felt like forever but was only for about ten minutes, she heard the sound of heavy footsteps coming up the stairs, combined with the tiny patter of Danny's lighter ones. "Leena?" Pete's voice flowed through the bathroom before he'd even walked in and she whined a quick 'in here.'

"Ohhhh crap…" He rushed to her side and placed a wary hand on her belly. "You in labor?"

"I dunno… is this what labor feels like?" She grit her teeth and used his arm as a stress ball, pinching hard.

"Well…" he blinked. "It usually hurts, really really bad."

"Yep, yep," she nodded. "Got it… that's what this is." She tried to stand up but her knees gave way and he caught her.

"Woah, woah… don't." He warned. "You want me to carry you the car?"

She shook her head hastily. "Just want Claudia," she murmured and closed her eyes as a contraction tore through her. "Oh god, just get a freakin' doctor."

Pete got out his phone, "Leena, we have to get you to a hospital."

"No, no… No hospital."

"Leena-"

"Pete, please!" She begged, "It's an hour to Rapid City. If this was any other case, I'd say sure… but this is happening fast. I feel like this is happening super fast." she licked the bead of sweat away from her lip. "No hospitals." she looked him in the eye, one hand wrapped around his arm. "Get Claudia, Myka… anyone. Just… towels," she groaned and backed herself against the bath, slackly pulling down her hose as well as her floppy fingers would let her. "This is happening right here… pretty much now." She let a tear roll down the side of her nose and let out a shuddering breath. "Vanessa," she bit her lip, holding down the wail that was desperate to be released. She didn't want to scare Daniel more than she'd already done.

"I'll ring them now," he promised and turned to his son. "Danny, go downstairs and watch some TV." Daniel was frozen on the spot. "Okay, dude? For me…"

Daniel nodded slowly and picked up his truck from the floor. "Is…Daddy, is Aunt Leena okay?"

"She will be," Pete nodded with a smile. "Just… go downstairs, turn the TV up real loud so we can all hear what you're watching."

Daniel liked that idea and scuttled off downstairs to watch some cartoons. Pete turned to Leena. "Right… oh crap, see…I'm trying to remember what to do here…"

"Well hurry up," Leena bore down and clenched his forearm again, digging her nails into the skin. "I haven't got enough time to wait for you to reminisce about Lamaze classes with your ex."

"Oooh," Pete shook off the insult with a grin. "You are mean when you're in pain."

"Fucking ring Claudia right now, or so help me…" she growled.

His eyes widened comically. "Okay, okay…" he shook his head and got up to lay some towels from the airing cupboard onto the floor. "Sheesh." He got back down on his knees and placed a hand on her knee as he pressed the phone to his ear. "Claud?" He turned back to Leena, "You wanna get in the bath?" He whispered. She nodded and did her best to climb in, slipping off her skirt awkwardly. At first she felt a little worried that it was Pete who was with her in the room, then a contraction came and she really, really didn't care. This shouldn't have been happening. She was 37 weeks pregnant. She shouldn't be going through this. Not yet. Surely those pains beforehand weren't labor pains, were they? Surely… They were just normal Braxton hicks contractions and she'd been used to them. She cried out and grabbed the side of the bath. It was like something from a freakin' movie. Why couldn't it have gone the way she wanted to? In a birthing center, with Claudia… with music on, and those fun looking bouncing ball thingies, and… She groaned again, another contraction, sweat beginning to literally drip down her chest. It was all going too fast. "You have to come over to the B&B," Pete said, turning his back.

"What's up?" Claudia asked, accepting the cold diet coke from Helena who sat at the opposite side of the table. "Thanks," she grinned and took a sip. The four of them, Myka and Lil included had gone to the diner for a late brunch.

"Claud, the baby's coming." Pete said, turning his back and lowering his voice. "I uhh… I dunno what I'm doing, she's acting like she's too far to go to the hospital and wouldn't move from the bathroom. You gotta come over."

The coke that had been in Claudia's mouth ended up on her cheese omelette. "What?" she stood up. "What? Are you… are you serious?"

"Yep," he said. A groan caught him off guard and he turned to Leena who was now only in her bra. "How're you doing?"

She shot him a death glare and gestured for the phone as she put the plug in the bottom of the tub and turned on the water. He handed her the phone and she sniffled lightly. "Claudia?"

"Yeah honey," Claudia said as she opened the door of the diner, shrugging on her jacket. "I'm coming home, right now." she said, looking back to see Myka and Helena trying to catch up.

"Hurts," Leena whimpered, then closed her eyes and threw the phone down onto the mat by Pete's knees petulantly. He rolled his eyes and picked up the cell, pressing it to his ear. "Hey…"

"Hi, on my way… just… oh my god."

"I know," he smiled. "You owe me big time for this, partner. She is mean," he breathed, earning a punch his arm. "Ow!"

"Fuckin' serves you right," Leena groaned, glad the water was lessening the pain… just a little.

"See?" Pete sighed. "Listen, I texted Vanessa, I'm gonna call her again."

"She's at the Warehouse with Artie," Claudia huffed. "Look, I gotta go. Be there in five minutes. Tell her that." Claudia said, easing herself into the back of Myka's car while Helena fastened Lil's seatbelt on her car seat. The baby, now nearly 14 months old was particularly chirpy, jabbering on and on to her parents about how delicious her meal had been.

"You okay, Claud?" Myka asked gently, as they drove up towards the B&B.

"Nope," Claudia bopped her knee anxiously. "Shit…Shit, shit, shit. In the bath? Really?"

"Shhhhhit," Lil screeched back.

Claudia covered her eyes. "Oh… my god, I am so sorry." Helena guffawed and Myka merely rolled her eyes.

"Don't sweat it. It was 'bollocks' yesterday." Myka smirked. "Nearly there…" she said soothingly, not exactly shocked when she saw Claudia wiping her eyes irritably in the overhead mirror. "Hey," she smiled at her friend. "You're ready for this, okay?"

"Really?" Claudia bit her knuckle as they pulled up the drive to Leena's B&B. "Because right now I feel so unready I might lose it."

"But you can't," Helena said, taking off her seatbelt. "Because she's going to be in quite a lot of pain right now… so freak out later when your daughter's born, okay?"

"Okay… okay," Claudia felt her heart beat irregularly and closed her eyes. She slapped her cheek. "Okay. Let's do this." She said and opened the front door with her keys before galloping up the stairs to find Leena squatted in the bath, Pete sat next to her, with a pile of towels at the ready. "Oh god… Leena," she soothed and approached the bath cautiously. "Hey…"

"Oh god, you're here," Leena groaned, holding her heavy tummy with soggy hands. "I… I didn't think you'd come so soon," she looked like she was on the verge of breaking down so the caretaker placed both hands her shoulders, trying not to look further into the tub.

This wasn't her expertise. At all. "Want me to come in there with you?" she asked gently despite her discomfort but Leena closed her eyes and shook her head. "Okay," she nodded and tried to focus on her own breathing. "Vanessa should be here any second, okay? Hang in there." she winced.

"Hang in there?" Leena growled. "Just… shut up," she begged suddenly causing Claudia's eyes to pop open.

"Woah," the redhead mouthed to Pete who was trying not to smirk.

"I… I am not giving birth in a bathtub," Leena wailed suddenly as yet another contraction flowed through her. She grit her teeth and stood on her knees, whimpering sadly.

"Oh honey, I think you are…" Claudia shuffled over to the tub until she was pressed against it. "And that's okay," she soothed, running her hand up and down Leena's back. "Vanessa will be here any minute." Leena suddenly shook her head frantically, her eyes still closed in anguish.

Pete frowned after a few minutes, "Leena?" he noticed the woman had gone very quiet, looking extremely focused. "Are you pushing? Nod or shake your head."

"Pushi…is that bad?" Claudia asked, looking around with haste as she tried not to freak out.

"Leena, you need to push?" Pete asked again but Leena was practically vacant, just a solid look of concentration. She was breathing hastily, her eyes closed tight.

Myka eased herself into the bathroom silently and shared a look with Pete.

"Hey, Leena." Myka said quietly, just to let the woman know she was there. "How're you doing, hon?" Maybe someone who had already given birth would soothe her. She and HG had squabbled about who would go upstairs and after a rock, paper, scissors match, the younger agent had won. What Myka didn't expect next was the sound of water splashing as Leena suddenly picked up her newly born baby out from under the water in shock. Her hands shook as she cuddled it against her, small sobs coming from her throat as the baby let out hacking splutters.

"Oh my god," Claudia sat on the floor with a thump, sharing an astonished look with her wife. "Wh…"

A loud gurgling scream sounded around the bathroom. Leena held the flailing infant against her, sniffing quietly before she pulled the child away from herself again. "Hi," she said, peering at the baby in wonder, completely forgetting about the pain, then she looked up suddenly, eyes wide. "It's… it's a boy."

"What?" Claudia scrambled back up and felt like she was about to faint. "Wh…what did you say?"

Leena sprinkled some of the water over her baby's head to clean him and lifted him away from her again to show the others. "Right? That's a boy?" She felt stupid doing it, but she knew in her state of shock she could easily get it wrong. And she was truly in shock. None of this had sunk in. She just gave birth in the bath. Actually gave birth. To a baby.

Her hands continued to shake from adrenaline and she pressed him against her chest again, grabbing a towel and wrapping him close. "Woah," Pete backed away. "Yep, that's a little dude there."

Claudia got up on her knees and continued to stare down at her son's face, his skin a strange purple color, obviously from the pressure changes of birth. She shifted further away from the bath and felt her head begin to swim. "Umm… guys, I don't…" she mumbled. "I don't feel so-" her words were cut off but Myka caught her just in time and lay her down on the floor, the caretaker's eyes rolling to the back of her head. What they didn't expect was for Leena to laugh suddenly, wincing at the pain in her abdomen, but it was so, so worth it.

"She really just fainted." Leena shook her head. "I… I don't get it," she giggled, "but I like it."

Myka smiled back, her nose wrinkling as she shuffled over to the bathtub. "Here," she held out the towel and grinned when Leena let her wrap the baby up. He was still a little disorientated, squirming and letting out occasional screams of distaste when he was handled strangely. "Oh wow… hey there, little guy." Myka smiled. She looked down into the bath and winced at the blood. "Honey, when you feel the need to push again, just let it happen nice and slowly, okay?"

Leena sniffled and nodded. She watched Myka rub at him vigorously before offering him back and Leena cuddled him close once he regained a healthier color.

Claudia bolted upright nearly ten minutes later and looked around warily. "He's still a he, right?"

"He's still a he," Leena smirked, closing her eyes as a wave of pain rumbled through her.

"Nice of you to join us," Vanessa smiled warmly, having joined them herself five minutes ago. "We need someone to cut his cord. You up for the job? Or is sleeping more fun?"

Claudia grumbled back and rubbed her eyes as she approached the bath slowly, ignoring the red color of the water and looking down at her child who was gurgling pretty happily now, his eyes black and beady. "Oh fuck… look at him. My little dewglobdrop." Her lip quivered.

"Not calling him that," Leena smiled tiredly as she watched Vanessa hand the scissors over to her wife.

"Kinda doesn't suit him, does it?" Claudia smiled and took them and her hands shook as she clipped the spongey tissue. "Oh wow…" she said for what seemed like the millionth time as Vanessa clipped the umbilical cord and wrapped him up. She pressed him against Leena's chest again and smiled warmly.

"Claud, take him…" Leena said gently after a few minutes, handing the infant over to Vanessa who gestured for the woman to hold her son.

Claudia opened her arms and watched his little feet curl up in the blanket he was wrapped in. "Hi," she sniffed and before she knew it, a steady stream of tears were running down her cheeks. "I'm kinda your baby-daddy." She let out her own giggle. "But you can call me mommy, or… or mama. Or the Alien Queen, or basically whatever you want," she sniffled. "Dude… you're really here."

"Not to spoil this really cute moment," Leena said, shivering. "But I kinda wanna get out of here now," She'd delivered the placenta, she'd nursed her child for a little while, and now all she could think of was getting warm, dry and settling herself in bed.

"Alright," Vanessa chuckled, and held her hands out. "Myka? Give us a hand?"

"Of course," Myka smiled and let Leena take hold of her arm. "Easy…"

Leena felt like she was about to cry again. "It really hurts."

"I know, sweetie," she said softly. "You can go sit in bed now and soak up the love," she watched her friend smile strangely, as if reliving a private joke. Claudia followed them closely, unable to take her eyes away from her new son. When Leena was finally tucked up in bed, she climbed the mattress and placed the baby in her wife's arms. Leena turned her head and smiled brightly, pulling the redhead closer for a kiss until they both looked down at the now sleeping baby. The caretaker propped her chin on Leena's shoulder and shook her head. "I don't get it. I just don't understand how he's a boy. I mean it's awesome, I wanted a boy too, I just… I'm confused."

Vanessa sat down at the foot of the bed carefully and shrugged. "You were using the prayer sheet from Min's temple, right?" Claudia nodded with an embarrassed bite of the lip. "Well, it's less of a prayer, more like a wish. Your wish was to get your wife pregnant, all by yourself - which you did," she let out a smile when she heard the tiny baby splutter slightly in Leena's arms. "So touching and reading the sheet caused a whole cocktail of male hormones to swim around your system. It's strange, you didn't experience any symptoms?"

Claudia fiddled with her thumb ring. "Just… a little hair on my belly," she whined at how embarrassing this all was, "and being a little more… aroused than usual," she added, peering through her fingers.

Vanessa chuckled. "There we go, then. You thought of any names?"

Leena looked down at the baby, smiling at his tuft of black hair. "I think so… I like the one we chose."

"Wh… but that was for a girl," Claudia huffed. She turned to her wife and sighed, "You sure? You like it?"

"I really, really like it." Leena grinned, kissing the baby's head before she put the little hat on his head after Myka passed it to her. "Elliott."

The brunette agent's eyes gleamed in shock and she looked at both of the women. "Elliott?"

Claudia smirked reluctantly. It was perfect, she had to admit. He was totally an Elliott. She nodded. "Yeah. Elliott."

"When did you choose that? You sly dogs!" Myka thwacked the mattress with a towel and let out a laugh. She'd suffered nine months of arguments from both women. They had bickered immensely, fighting over who had the best name, and who wasn't pulling their weight with ideas.

"Well, we'd kinda decided that Elliot was going to be 'her' name. But she's not a she, she's a he… so…"

Leena smiled. "And also… ET is kinda my favorite movie."

"Tell me something I don't know," Myka snorted. She turned to look at Claudia who was lying with her head against Leena's shoulder, staring down at the child. "Not sunk in yet?"

"Wh…?" Claudia looked up and blinked. "No…" she shook her head. "Oh god, I mean… I have a son. We have a son. A child. An actual baby…"

"I think we should just let her babble for a little while," Vanessa smiled. "May I?" Leena nodded and handed the baby over for her to check over. He was fine, it seemed. Completely fine, but she wasn't.

"Vanessa?" Leena said worriedly, and pulled back the sheets to reveal sopping, crimson red bedsheets. "I think I tore."

"Okay," the doctor soothed hastily but with a calm tone, looking down at the blood gathering between her legs, like this kinda thing happened all the time. "Now you can choose, stitches, or less painful but very artifacty?"

"Artifacty," Leena whined as Claudia took their son and ushered Myka out the room. "Claudia…" she sniffled.

"You want me to stay?" Claudia asked, surprised. Leena whimpered and nodded her head, feeling overly emotional and upset that she was bleeding. The caretaker smiled and approached the bed, wrapping her arms around her wife's shoulders, hugging her close as Vanessa silently worked away, mopping up the blood and closing the wound with a strange looking pen. "I am so proud of you," Claudia whispered into her ear. She wasn't surprised to feel Leena shaking against her as the adrenaline levels in her body dissipated slightly. The sound of crying got louder, but she carried on talking, staring down at her baby who was now resting against Leena's chest. "I don't know anybody who is as brave, or who could be so quiet, and so focused, and amazing," she smiled when the innkeeper buried her face into her chest. "You did it, Leen."

"I did it," Leena nodded to herself, sniffling loudly now.

"There we go," Vanessa soothed, "You should heal very quickly with that. Let's get you out of bed so we can change these sheets and fit you with a clean pad. You can go to sleep if you want."

After ten minutes of trying to actually get Leena out of bed, she was changed, cleaned and prepared for sleep once more. It had been horrible to watch; the innkeeper sobbing out in pain every time she was moved. Eventually when she was finally comfortable, Leena had finally fallen asleep and baby Elliott was spending his first few hours downstairs, safe in Claudia's arms. The caretaker looked down at the dark eyelashes decorating his eyes. "I just… wow." She shook her head, not entirely sure what to say.

"He's got your eyes," Helena smiled, peering down at the almond shaped lids of the new addition to the family. The infant began to whimper and Claudia felt her heart beat faster. Everybody was watching her and this was really, really scary. She hoisted him up slightly, letting him rest on her chest for comfort and smiled when, after a few minutes he settled down, the snuffles lessening as he got more and more comfortable by the second.

"Daddy, why is he so sleepy?" Daniel asked curiously, sat on his father's knee.

"Don't answer that," Claudia warned with a smirk. "Just… don't answer that."

"Well," Pete sighed but didn't listen and looked down at his son whose eyes were wide with curiosity. "Babies are very tired, especially when they come out of their mommies tummies," he said, unaware of Myka's proud gaze. "And because they're so used to being all snuggly and warm," he hugged his arms around himself, then tickled his son. "And now they're in the big wide world and they're cold and it's all very exhausting." He grinned when Daniel nodded and snuggled closer.

"Can I hold him?" Came the voice and for the first time in years, Claudia actually jumped. She rolled her eyes and turned around to see Mrs. Frederic perched on the couch arm next to her with a smile on her face. "Claudia, he is beautiful." Irene smiled and Claudia was pretty sure the woman had a tear in her eye. The younger woman awkwardly shifted her son before laying him safely in the old Caretaker's arms.

"You knew, didn't you?" Claudia's nose wrinkled. "You knew it'd be a boy."

"I had a feeling," Irene shrugged coyly and stared down at her kind-of grandson. She paused at that thought. Grandson. He was her grandson, even if it wasn't a blood or a legal relation. Though their relationship had once been strained by guardianship and legality, Mrs. Frederic had to admit to herself that Leena would always be a daughter to her. Elliott stretched in his swaddling cloth and yawned sleepily before blinking open his eyes. "Well hello there," Mrs. Frederic said to the small bundle. Elliott blinked a few times again, before closing his eyes and falling asleep once more. "And his weight?"

"6 pound 10." Claudia smiled, grinning even wider when he was placed back into her arms. "Three weeks early, little sneak." She bent down and kissed his head. "Frak, I'm a mom." sniffing, she shook her head. "He's here." She paused, realising she was in a room full of people. Though they were her people, her family, she knew she needed to have a little quiet time. "Umm… I'm gonna go upstairs, chill with this little guy for a bit. That cool?"

Myka smiled and nodded. "Take your time, Claud. Give us a shout if you need anything."

Claudia nodded and stood up, cuddling her cargo close before she placed him against her shoulder and carefully climbed the stairs. Leena was wincing in her sleep, letting out the occasional moan as she suffered from contractions while she slumbered. Sitting on the bed gently, Claudia took a long look at her wife before she slipped under the covers and lay Elliott on her thighs. She would have freaked even more had she any less experience. She thanked Myka and H.G for letting her care for Lil when she was a baby, and though didn't realize that the practice was important at the time, now felt extremely grateful. Elliott was fast asleep, looking completely angelic, black hair sticking up from under his little cap. His skin was darker than she'd expected for a newborn, almost as dark as his mother's, and his nose and lips were identical to the innkeeper's. "Mama's boy," she whispered with a smile, unsurprised when a tear trickled down her nose. "I'll change that soon enough," she cleared her throat and blinked. "When you're old enough, you and me are gonna drive your mama crazy," she sniggered. "You, me, Danny and Pete, huh? I mean… I kinda fathered you, so I guess I'm one of the guys where games ware concerned, right?"

"If you teach him to get past my record on Super Mario, I'm gonna kill you," the tired voice croaked next to her and Claudia smiled widely, shuffling up the bed. Leena rolled onto her back and bit back tears as she tried to sit up. She rubbed her eyes and yawned, thinning her lips in thanks when Claudia handed her some painkillers. She took the glass of water handed over, keeping her eyes on her child. Her child. A wave of emotion overcame her and before she knew what was happening, she was sobbing into her hands once more. Thirty years. She had wanted a child of her own for thirty years and here he was, her little blessing dressed in a gender neutral onesie. So she'd have to sell some the clothes they'd already bought. And some she'd knitted. A small part of her grieved for the daughter she wouldn't have - but it was mainly materialistic. She'd made countless dresses and cute little skirts. When she thought about it, though, part of her secretly wished for a son. It made what she and Claudia had made together all the more special. More impossible. Claudia placed a hand on her shoulder, then kissed the spot and rubbed her back as she sniffled. "Shhh, awww honey." she soothed with a gentle smile. "You did it."

Leena stiffly peeled off her vest top and opened her arms. "Come on, let me have a look at this little guy," she sniffed when Claudia placed him in her arms and she sighed, pulling off his hat. He gurgled quietly, looking up at his mother with unfocused, rolling eyes. "Hey," she smiled and stroked his nose gently. She gathered him against her chest and watched as he cautiously sought her out, grumping slightly in frustration. After a few tries, he began to feed, and mother and son worked each other out. At first, she didn't know if she was doing it right, but his silence and closed eyes told her she was doing okay. Claudia grinned, kissing the skin under her lips. "That is the weirdest, coolest thing I've ever seen."

"Well I find that hard to believe," Leena sniggered, thinking back at their lives and the truly endless wonder they'd both seen together.

"Deadly serious," Claudia murmured, her eyes unmoving from the baby's head. Tiny gulps were heard throughout the room. "How does it feel?"

"Weird…" Leena frowned. "Kinda like you, but more gentle."

"Pfftt," Claudia wrinkled her nose, trying to hide the blush that spread up her chest. Before long, she felt her lip quivering again. "Fuck… I am so proud of you…"

"Claudia-" Leena tried to whine but the caretaker shook her head.

"I'm serious," Claudia said. "Let me be mushy, just this once. Please."

The begging tone to her wife's voice caused Leena to shuffle around and look her in the eye. What she wasn't expecting was the heartfelt kiss delivered to her lips. When she pulled away, she smiled and delivered another tender peck to Claudia's mouth, then looked back down at their newborn. "We have a freakin' son," Claudia chortled suddenly. Leena laughed through her nose, tiredly, and stroked the baby's soft head as he continued to feed from her breast.

"We do," she blinked. "We have a son." What Leena Donovan realized then, as she held in an overwhelmed sniff, was that these passed thirty years - they had all been worth it. She and her wife had been through too much together and the bad things? They'd made them stronger. Leaning her head against Claudia's, she sent a silent prayer of thanks to Min, the predynastic Egyptian God who, in her eyes, made this all possible.

The End.