Hellbrook seemed to understand that, and Dan knew this was the place where he would spend the rest of his days. Until they pushed him out in retirement, that was.
Soon, though, the Monday morning briefing was done and the conference room was set to clear. Little Doc Brewster smiled at him, thanked him quite prettily for his help, then wandered away toward her team.
He was sorry to see her go. He may have been too old for her, but a man liked having a pretty woman around. And the women of his team were too much like his daughters, for him to be having those kinds of thoughts.
Doc Brewster had smelled nice, felt nice, and even though Dan wasn’t much of a gambling man, he strongly suspected she’d taste nice, too.
Make a man like him feel alive, he knew she would.
That’s why it was probably best to stay far away from her. The tan line where a ring had obviously rested for so long had not yet faded from her left hand. Dan didn’t need that kind of trouble. He had enough troubles of his own.
“She seems nice.” Georgia broke into Dan’s thoughts, bumping his shoulder as the two of them, and her little friend Ana Sorin McLaughlin headed toward the elevator. Everyone else had other places to be, apparently.
“She does. Bit of a whirlwind, though. Kind of like little Ana, here.” Dan tapped the heavily pregnant redhead on the shoulder.
“Not so little now, Danny.” Ana’s slightly accented voice held the tiniest touch of exasperation.
“Should you even be here right now?” Dan was concerned, and he didn’t bother to hide it.
“Not you, too. I told Fin that I’m working until the day the kid pops, so that I can spend all of my leave time with him after he’s born. I’ll be fine. And it’s not like the entire department isn’t watching me with baited breath, just to see if I’ll explode.” She was cranky, and Dan bit the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing. Every pregnant woman he’d ever known had had just that same tone near their dates. From what he could remember, the due date was way too close. He was honestly surprised her husband was letting her out of his sight, though.
Fin McLaughlin was extremely protective of his pint-sized wife. Even though that pint-sized wife could break a two by four with little thought―when not pregnant, that was. It was good they’d worked things out between them.
First McLaughlin and little Ana, then Hellbrook and Georgia. And Carrie and that Lorcan. Dan wondered who’d be next to pair off, if the romance was contagious. He half hoped Josh would find someone, help him get over the guilt he still felt.
The elevators were in sight, and Dan ran a quick eye over the group milling around waiting. Doc Brewster and her team were chattering animatedly, the doc standing beside a taller girl who had, if Dan’s eyes weren’t playing tricks on him, purple and orange hair. Dan wondered what type of establishment that girl had come from. He’d never have allowed purple and orange hair. It just wasn’t done.
Still, it wasn’t his responsibility and if the kid―and she wasn’t any older than Carrie--knew her job, what would it affect him any? It wouldn’t. He’d probably never have occasion to speak with the girl.
McLaughlin himself stood talking with an older woman and Doc Brewster near the farthest elevator. His face broke into a grin seeing the redhead at Dan’s side. “Here’s my wife, now. Ana, remember me mentioning my friend Marianna Glendower? Marianna, this is my wife Ana, her friend Georgia, and Dan Reynolds.”
Dan shook the woman’s hand, as the elevators pinged behind them. All but their little group piled in, leaving Dan, Georgia, the two ERT ladies, and the McLaughlins to catch the next one.
Chapter 6
Ally stood between Marianna and Dan Reynolds, more conscious of his cologne than the conversation going on around her. He reached behind her, resting his free hand on the elevator rail, as the pregnant redhead shifted awkwardly in front of him.
Ally looked her over carefully. She had to be close to thirty-six, thirty-seven weeks. She was small framed, and at least four inches shorter than Ally. Her baby belly stuck out considerably. Her face was pale, probably paler than normal. Ally’s eyes narrowed as the woman’s face tightened then relaxed.
Before moving to forensic work, Allison had worked as a regular MD. Then Jack the Jerk complained about the hours, so she found something else. Taking a serious pay cut, but it had worked out well, letting her spend more time with her children.
But she didn’t forget the years she’d spent in med school or as an intern.
The woman before her was having contractions. Ally stepped closer, just as the elevator gave a horrific jerk, sending her falling backwards. Dan caught her, his warm hands wrapping around her waist as he pulled her to rest against his chest. “You ok, Doc?”
“Yes.” She resisted the urge to squeal as the elevator jerked again, and a cruel shrieking echoed through the cart. She heard Dan’s cane hit the floor, felt his strong hands wrap around her waist even tighter, and felt him pull her against his braced body. She felt safer, then. But still it scared her out of her wits.
Agent McLaughlin had braced his own body, close to Dan and Ally. He’d pulled his wife and her brunette friend close, trying to protect them as best he could. Marianna braced herself in the corner near the buttons.
No one spoke, as the elevator gave one last jerk. A bad one. Ally closed her eyes, turned herself slightly, wrapped one hand in the cotton of Dan’s green shirt. The elevator bounced three times, which shocked her, because most elevators were no longer the pulley system type seen in movies, most elevators were hydraulic, and lifted from beneath the cart. It was just safer that way. “Oh, God.”
“I got you.” Dan whispered in her ear, his breath warm. “It’ll be ok.”
“I hate elevators.” She whispered back. “And I’m never riding one again.”
“I’m afraid that’s not an option for me.” He kept his tone soothing, something she definitely appreciated. Nothing like a man who could remain calm, especially when in danger. Especially considering that it was taking all of Ally’s strength to not panic. “Bum leg and all.”
“God, is it going to fall or not?” She squealed the words into his neck, her fingers tightening on his shirt.
He rubbed his hand up her back, “It’ll be over in a minute. Then we’ll get out of here. Hell of a first day, huh, kid?”
At a cry from behind her, Ally turned half around, feeling the man she was pressed against tense. The redheaded woman was clutching her husband tightly with one hand; with the other she held her distended stomach.
The front of her pants was soaked and Ally knew exactly what it meant.
McLaughlin’s wife was in labor.
Chapter 7
Dan kept his hands steady around his armful, even when she tried to pull away slightly. Damned elevator wasn’t done yet, and he just knew it. And he wasn’t letting go of the doc until he knew it was completely safe.
That was until he got a good look at little Ana’s pale face, and a quick look at McLaughlin’s panicked one. It was then that Dan recalled the couple’s history.
It wasn’t the first time the couple had been stuck in an elevator. When they’d worked together nearly a decade ago, they’d chased an arsonist into a building. Damn bastard then blew the place, with little Ana and McLaughlin trapped in an elevator for hours. McLaughlin had lost his arm, and from what Dan had heard, Ana had had nightmares for years to come. And she’d ran, ran far from McLaughlin. It was only last year they’d reconciled whatever it had been between them. Things had started to turn around for the two.
And then the arsonist bastard had caught up with Ana again. Trapped her in an elevator again. McLaughlin had barely gotten her out in time. It had been so close. Dan himself had helped pull her from the elevator. And now this. Dan knew what the wet streaks down Ana’s legs meant. He had fathered three children, after all. And even though he hadn’t seen them in fifteen years, he remembered the days each of them was born with absolute clarity. Kelly had taken the longest, Emma had barely r
egistered at all, broken water one minute, a baby the next. He’d barely gotten his ex to the hospital in time. Baby Gracie, only six months when Dan had last seen her or held her, she’d been an average labor, and a relatively easy delivery. And Dan had been present for every minute for all three of his girls.
He hurt for them every day. Hurt every day since his ex-wife had disappeared, taking ten-year-old Kelly, six-year-old Emma, and baby Gracie. Disappearing while he’d been flat on his back in ICU with three bullets in his chest, and two in his leg. His leg twinged once again, reminding him of the most recent bullets he’d taken. Fifteen years had passed since he’d seen his girls, but, yes, he remembered the signs of labor very clearly.
And little Ana was about to have her baby. With no medical facility nearby, a panicked husband at her side, and stuck in the damned elevator of the St. Louis FBI building.
Dan picked up the emergency phone, hit the button. Ana was not having her baby in this elevator, fate and karma couldn’t be that big a set of bitches. Dan kept his eyes on the little redhead’s face, not blind to the utter fear that she was trying to hide. Ana always tried to be strong, to pretend she wasn’t afraid of anything. But Dan had seen through that quick.
She was an extremely vulnerable young woman, and she was terrified.
Her eyes hadn’t left her husband for more than a moment, and even then they went straight to the new little doc. The doc stepped away from Dan and closer to Ana. “Ana, can I call you Ana? How far apart are the contractions? And just when did they start?”
The elevator gave another, more powerful, threatening lurch. The lights powered off. Someone squealed, then Dan felt the warm weight of woman knock into his side. The backup lights kicked in, just in time for him to see the fear on the doc’s face.
She masked it quickly, after one quick look in Ana’s direction. McLaughlin and Georgia were lowering Ana to the floor. Soon the doc was down beside her, her manner soothing, and calm and if Dan wasn’t mistaken experienced. “Just what kind of a doc are you?”
“My chosen field was emergency medicine. It’s been about five years since I practiced in a hospital setting, but I am licensed.”
“You ever deliver any babies?” McLaughlin’s words held just the smallest trace of fear.
“Thirty-four births, thirty-eight babies. Human babies.” She smiled softly at Ana, before looking at McLaughlin. “And thanks to my son, I’ve delivered around that many stray animals as well. But we need to get you comfortable, and in a reclining position. In the meantime, Marianna, Dan, can you please see what you can do about getting us out of this elevator?”
As if someone above had heard her question, the phone in Dan’s hand suddenly sprang to life.
Chapter 8
“Agent McLaughlin, you may want to spread your suit coat out under your wife.” Ally did her best to keep her nerves from showing as she helped Ana get into a more comfortable position. She shuddered to think of what was on the elevator floor. It wasn’t any place for a pregnant woman, that was for sure. God knew the coat was probably a heck of a lot cleaner than the floor. “I do need to take a look, see if I can get you an estimate of just when this little one will be joining us. Marianna, I’ll need whatever you’ve got in that magic bag of yours.”
Ally vaguely heard Dan explaining the situation over the phone as she gave a quick prayer that they’d be out of this elevator and on their way to the nearest hospital as quickly as possible. Thank God Marianna was with them. Marianna, a woman whose motto was be prepared, handed Ally a pair of sterile gloves and several alcohol swabs. The woman carried gloves, Band-Aids, swabs, and everything else the mother of seven rowdy boys and the head of an evidence recovery team could possibly ever need. Ally used the swabs to sterilize her hands quickly. “Thanks Mari.”
The exam took less than two minutes, about as long as Dan’s telephone conversation.
McLaughlin looked at Ally with just the faintest touch of panic in his eyes. “Well?”
“I think this little one will be joining us shortly. Probably within the next two hours at the most. Ana, you’re fully dilated. Have you been experiencing these contractions for a while?”
“Doctor said Braxton-Hicks.” The redhead was trembling and scared. Ally remembered her first, how terrified she’d been. And she’d been a medical student. She’d known what to expect, not to mention the fact that she’d been at one of the best hospitals in Indianapolis. “All week.”
“Well, this is the real thing now. But don’t worry, once it’s all over and you’re holding the baby for the first time, absolutely nothing else matters.”
“You have children?” The brunette holding Ana’s other hand asked. Ally couldn’t recall her name, but she remembered that she was married to one of the unit chiefs. Apparently there was a lot of that going around the St. Louis Field office.
“I have a boy and girl. Eleven and four.” Ally rose to her feet. “I’m going to speak with whoever’s on the end of that phone, have them get a few things ready for us when we get out of here.”
She stepped closer to the corner where Dan still stood, clutching the elevator phone with one hand and his cane with the other. He had a perplexed and apprehensive expression on his handsome face and Ally felt her breath catch. She moved closer, coming to a stop well within his personal space.
Something was wrong, and she didn’t want the scared woman behind her to know it. “What’s wrong?”
“That was Lorcan.” He leaned closer, close enough to whisper directly in her ear. She ignored the heat of his breath to focus on his words. “Seems someone’s hacked into the computer system, and is screwing with several systems in this building.”
Ally’s eyes widened. “But, what...”
“Carrie’s trying to back hack. Her and Tompkins, as well as the rest of the computer kids. But it’s going to take some time to get it back up.”
“Well, we have to have them hurry.” Ally threw a glance at the McLaughlins as they sat speaking with Marianna and the brunette.
“Honest answer, Doc?” Dan pulled her closer than Ally thought possible. “Tell me the truth, how long until that kid gets here? Your best guess?”
“Under ninety minutes, depending on the strength of the contractions. Can they get us out of here before then?”
“No. Carrie’s best estimate, and she’s the best we’ve got, is three hours.”
“We have half that. If we’re lucky.” Ally swallowed. “Otherwise, I’ll be delivering that baby in here.”
Chapter 9
Dan fought the urge to curse. Little Ana didn’t need to hear him panicking, on top of all the rest. He picked up the elevator phone and hit the button, waiting until Lorcan answered. “Lorcan, you’ll need to think of something. Ana’s definitely in labor and the doc says hour and a half tops.”
He listened to the man’s colorful swearing on the other end of the line with a sense of admiration. Dan had thought he’d heard every curse there was. Lorcan managed to make up a few that Dan hadn't heard in his thirty-year career.
Dan hung up the phone after Lorcan promised to do everything he could to urge the computer techs on and to get the maintenance department rolling. Both men knew there had to be a way out of the elevator.
Ana cried out behind him and the doc dropped back down to the woman’s side. “Be calm, steady, did you take Lamaze?”
“We tried. But with this job, it just didn’t happen,” Ana said once the pain had subsided. “So why are you here? If you’re a doctor? Why don’t you work in a hospital?”
“Ironically, the FBI has better hours. I’m usually off the clock by four, and home with my kids by five,” The doc said. Dan had to admire that type of sacrifice. Med school wasn’t easy and it wasn’t cheap. For her to just give up practicing, that was something of a surprising decision.
“Tell me about your kids. I’ll admit other than Mattie, Georgia’s son, I don’t know much about them.” There was a ring of panic in Ana's voice that had Dan remembering hi
s own first-time parent days. Holding his oldest when she’d been but of few minutes old, how fragile she’d felt as she’d blinked up at him with eyes that stole his very soul.
He missed his girls. Every damned day something reminded him of those kids.
“Ryan’s eleven going on forty.” The doc said, as she continued to examine Ana. She was a highly competent woman; Dan had to admire someone who could calmly sit on an elevator floor with a pregnant woman, ready to deliver a baby with just some cotton swabs, nail scissors, and alcohol pads.
Even as calm-natured as he knew he was, Dan knew he’d be panicking if it had just been him and the McLaughlins in the damned elevator.
“He’s into science and baseball and tormenting his sister. And not necessarily in that order. He’s also learning the guitar,” The doc continued. “I think he’s talented, but I’m his mother―I’m supposed to think that. Aislin, she’s a little doll. Very much the girly girl, although I’m starting to see a bit of tomboyish behavior peeking through. Thank God. I’ve never been the girly girl. She’s only four and already knows her own mind. I don’t know where she gets her stubbornness. I can only imagine the battles I’ll have when she gets older.”
She never mentioned the children’s father, and Dan found that intriguing. What kind of idiot let a woman like the doc get away? Pretty, bright, loving, sweet--Dan had learned all that about her in only an hour’s time. How could a man let her go?
She spent the next hour telling stories of her children’s exploits, alternating with Georgia and her friend as they spoke of their own children. Dan, himself contributed a story or two of Kelly and Emma.
He saw Georgia’s sympathetic glance. He rarely spoke of his children, had never told an anecdote in the entire time he’d known the little psychologist. He doubted she even knew the names of his three daughters.
Second Chances: A PAVAD Duet Page 2
