Baby Wade

Ben, Liana, Bud, Zack, & Dan

Ignoring both the dead and living men in the other room, Ben placed Liana carefully on the bed in Charlie's bedroom. He could hear the voices of White and Grant, along with Frank and Dan, but he didn't have time to deal with them now. He'd seen that Liana was in labor. The baby was going to be early.

He looked down at her face on the pillow, pale and still. Putting a hand on her cheek, he patted it lightly. "Liana. Honey- Wake up."

"You men get in here!" he ordered loudly. "Call an ambulance!"

"I'll get right on that," Zack nodded to his partner, Bud, pulling out his cell phone and making the call.

Running over to the other side of the bed, Dan took Liana's hand. He'd grown very fond of Ben's wife over the year he'd known her. Looking up at Ben, he said, "Frank's checking around outside. Makin' sure there's nobody else around."

Glancing over at Zack, Ben snapped, "How long'll that ambulance be?"

"They're on their way back from the hospital in Coffs, might take a while.Half an hour, at least," Zack replied, grimly. He glanced over at Liana, "Think she'll be able to hold off until they get here?" he asked Ben.

"Not likely," Ben answered grimly. "Either of you know anythin' 'bout deliverin' babies?"

Bud grumbled the word 'fuck' under his breath.

"I watched my wife deliver a baby a couple of weeks ago while I drove toward Coffs hospital. I had some training when I worked for LAPD. Never done it though. We need to get her awake enough to help us. Where's the damned bathroom in this place?" He looked around. At least they could get a wet towel for her forehead.

"It's through here." Dan opened a door to show Bud White the bathroom.

Ben was placing a pillow under Liana's head. "Darlin'." He stroked her hair back from her forehead and took both her hands in his. "You gotta wake up now, darlin'. It's time for you to bring this baby of our'n into the world."

Bud looked around the bathroom. Did he really know what the hell he was doing? He dialed Marie on his cell while he got a pile of towels together from the linen closet. She didn't answer.

"Marie call me on my cell as soon as you get this. I need your help." He hung up and dialed again. It kept ringing until it went to voicemail again. Where the hell was she? He slipped it back in his pocket. He couldn't think about it right now. He hadn't been able to say I need your help delivering a baby. Bud couldn't even say the word baby around her right now.

He wet a fresh washcloth and rung it out. Lastly he got a piece of string and a scissors. Bud hoped the ambulance got here before he needed to use anything more than the washcloth. He emerged from the bathroom juggling all the supplies in his arms until he could set them at the end of the bed. Mrs. Wade seemed to be coming around. Bud gently laid the washcloth on her forehead.

Liana came awake with a start, the pain of a contraction rousing her. "Ben!" she cried out. "Ben!"

"Right here, darlin'," Ben said in his soothing drawl. "I'm right here." He didn't want to be right here. He wanted to be in the hospital in Sydney, which was where he had planned on them being when the baby came. He wanted her doctor to be in the room with them, rather than Bud White. But then, nothing was going like they had planned.

Liana held tightly onto him until the contraction had passed. Then, she looked around at everyone there, terror on her face. "It's too early! He can't be coming now! It's too soon!"

Bud knew she needed to be calmer to do this.

"An ambulance is on the way, Mrs. Wade. There will be experienced EMT's aboard. You have to work with me until they get here. We can do this Ma'am." Bud kept his voice steady and calm. He wished he felt that way inside.

Liana kept her eyes firmly on Ben. "It's too soon, Ben!"

"Not by much, darlin'. Everythin'll be fine," he soothed.

"Liana." Dan had taken her hand from the other side of the bed again. When she looked over at him, he smiled at her. "Listen. My oldest, William, he was born early too. By a few weeks. But he was all right. And this baby'll be all right too."

Bud set up the supplies and washed his hands good before drying them on a clean towel. He couldn't think of what else to do before she had another contraction. He'd looked at his watch when she had the last one. Bud wouldn't need to check her until she felt the baby was coming and wanted to push. Just then Mrs. Wade started having another contraction. Shit, it had only been a couple of minutes. This baby was coming soon.

"Breathe, Mrs. Wade. Squeeze his hand off if you have to. He'll survive." Bud shot a look at Wade just short of smile.

Ben appreciated the way White had taken over. He'd helped deliver a baby once, but it hadn't been his own. It hadn't been Liana going through it.

The contraction made Liana cry out in pain. Ben had his arm around her, holding her tightly as she squeezed Dan's hand on the other side of her. "You're doin' fine, darlin'," he told her, when the contraction had eased. He hadn't known Liana had so much physical strength. His hand felt numb where she'd squeezed it.

Liana felt as though she were being torn apart. There had to be something wrong, didn't there? She'd known it would hurt, but not this much. She was sweating and she felt sick at her stomach. "Ben," she gasped. "I feel so tired. I don't know if I can do it."

"Just talked to the paramedics," Zack told the group as he walked back into the room, "they're still at least another 15 minutes out. Won't be much longer now." He surveyed the situation, nodded to his partner.

Bud nodded to Grant. He didn't say it out loud, but he didn't think Mrs. Wade would last that much longer before the baby came. He didn't want her to feel defeated. If her baby was going to be okay she had to be strong and brave which was tough after what she'd been through.

"Mrs. Wade. Did you feel at all like you needed to push on that last contraction? When its time the baby will need you to do that."

"I- I don't know." Liana looked at him questioningly. "This is my first baby. What does it feel like?"

Bud was comparing Liana Wade to Ashley. The little one was about the most naive woman he'd ever met. But she'd seemed to know much more about having a baby than Mrs. Wade did. Part of it was cause of Marie coaching her and the rest was those classes she and Curry took. What the hell were they called? Llamas. No it was Lamaze classes. Evidently Mrs. Wade hadn't taken those classes. She didn't seem to know anything of what to expect. How was he supposed to explain something he had no idea about?

"I heard Marie tell Ashley that it was the overwhelming need to push the baby out when the strongest contractions happened. That's when you have to change your breathing from panting to pushing." Bud demonstrated the breathing he heard Marie and Ashley practice. He felt like an asshole.

In spite of everything going on, Dan Evans couldn't help grinning at Bud White's demonstration of the breathing techniques. Then, he turned his attention back to Liana. Another contraction was coming.

Liana held onto Ben with all her might. He was holding her as well. "Now!" she shouted, breathless. "It feels like that now!"

"Breathe. Three short huffs and then blow out the rest through your lips. I gotta check you to make sure the baby is ready to come out before you push."

Bud tried to maintain her modesty as much as he could with the sheet and towels, but when he looked he saw the baby's head. Marie had done something to try and prevent Ashley from being injured from tearing. Bud stuck his finger in there and rubbed the skin around to allow the baby to come out more easily. Shit, this must hurt looking at the size of the head.

"Take a deep breath and push hard, Mrs. Wade. Push."

Liana did her best to breathe as Bud White told her to do. It wasn't easy, not with feeling the need to scream as loudly as she could. With Ben and Dan both holding onto her hands, she pushed as hard as she could, then fell back, exhausted.

In spite of the fact that he knew it was necessary, Ben was not very happy with the idea of Bud White seeing his wife, let alone touching her the way he was doing. But he clenched his jaw and concentrated on Liana. Once again, he was feeling helpless. Helpless to do anything for her and the baby.

Bud was mimicking what he remembered hearing Marie tell Ashley. She praised her to help her hang on. He silently thanked his wife for her nursing skills. He sure didn't have them, but at least she'd given him something to try help Mrs. Wade. Bud would rather be out catching a perp, but here was where he was and this was his job at the moment.

"You done really good, Mrs. Wade. The next contraction will be coming real soon and this time you're going to take all your strength and push your baby out. This will be the time. You can do it." He smiled at her and saw her tightly grip both Wade's and Evan's hands.

"Deep breath and push hard."

Liana felt completely drained. She was sobbing. "I don't-" She was gasping. So tired... "I don't think I can do it. I don't think I can push again."

The past few days had totally worn her down. She'd been afraid and on edge constantly, never knowing what would happen next. She'd try to stay alert for any opportunity to escape. Her pregnancy, though, had pretty much prevented that. She couldn't run fast in her condition and she had to worry about hurting her baby, not only herself. Then, there was the fact that she'd had very little sleep. Her nerves wouldn't allow it, unless she had been just too exhausted to hold her eyes open. Even then, it had been a very light doze, and only for a little while. Not restful at all.

Ben could tell that exhaustion had overtaken her. He had no idea exactly what she'd been through here with Charlie and Luke for the past few days. Gritting his teeth, he regretted like hell that the two of them were already dead. He'd relish the opportunity to kill them both again, very slowly, cutting away a little piece at a time.

He shook himself. Right now, he had to worry about Liana and the baby. She'd already passed out and she was on the verge of it again, but she had to stay awake. She had to push. Motioning to Dan to sit behind her and hold her up, Ben took both her hands in his and squeezed them for a moment.

Then, he did what he knew he had to do. Freeing one of his hands, he slapped her across the face. Hard. "Liana!" His voice and the look in his eyes were as cold and hard as any time he'd ever killed a man. Dan Evans was stunned at hearing him speak to his wife this way.

"You wake up now, Liana Wade!" His expression was still the same. Liana had come wide awake and was staring at him in fear and confusion. She'd seen that look on Ben's face before, but never directed at her. "You hear me? You wake up!" He didn't threaten her. At least, not with his words. The look in his eyes was something else.

"You gotta push now, woman, and that's exactly what you're gonna do!"

It took every part of Bud's control not to reach out and strangle Ben Wade. His hand actually began to move toward his throat. After he'd hit Lynn so many years ago and seen the results of his actions he vowed no matter what he'd never touch a woman in anger or grief again. Theirs had been a relationship that was doomed, but he'd never touched her again even after things went very bad in Arizona.

He'd never even come close with Marie. She was a very different woman from Lynn, but that didn't matter. Bud could've killed Wade at that moment without more provocation. Something in the back of his mind stopped his hand. He knew that Liana Wade had to push that baby out now or it would probably die. And so would she. Something had to make her dig down deep inside herself to find the strength to do this.

"Now, Mrs. Wade. Push. I'll be there to get the baby."

Ben ignored White and Grant and everyone else in the room. "Push now, Liana! Come on!"

Digging down deep for the last ounce of strength she possessed, Liana pushed.

The head came out and then the shoulders as the baby slithered out all wet into Bud's hands. He saw she looked perfect. She was small in size, but so was Ashley's girl. He started to wipe her off when he realized she had to take a breath and was still blue. Bud turned her over and patted her gently.

The baby took her first breath and began to cry. She got pink real fast. Bud knew that was what they needed to see. He wiped her off some and wrapped her in a towel. She was still attached to the umbilical cord which the rest was still inside Mrs. Wade. Bud knew she'd need to still deliver that.

"Here's your baby girl, Mr. and Mrs. Wade." Bud laid the tiny baby in Liana Wade's arms with Wade backing her up. The sound of sirens were faint and gradually started to come closer and grow louder.

"It's about time." Bud sucked in a deep breath. He was sweating like a fucking pig. If they got here soon enough they could tie and cut the umbilical cord using something better than string and scissors. That's when he noticed his hands were shaking just a bit. He stared at them a moment and made them stop.

Liana had, indeed, used the last of her strength. Before she could even get a glimpse of the baby, she had fainted again. Ben quickly took the baby from her arms. Holding the tiny, squalling child easily in one large hand, he felt for Liana's pulse with the other. He breathed a sigh of relief at finding it and stroked back her hair. "The ambulance is almost here, darlin'. You hang on for me now."

Having checked on Liana, he now turned his attention to the towel-wrapped bundle in his hands. Moving his daughter gently, he cradled her in his arm. A little girl. He'd never expected that. And so small. She looked as though he could fit her into one of his coat pockets. She was squirming and crying fitfully.

Looking down into the tiny screwed-up face, Ben said very softly, "Hey there, darlin'. Not much of a welcome into the world is it? But you don' need to worry 'bout a thing. Daddy'll make sure everythin's all right for you from now on." Cradling her in one arm, Ben reached out to take Liana's hand with the other.