Chapter 2
TWO
HARMONY
It didn't take long for Harmony to realize that the passenger in the car wasn't just in active labor, she was about to have a baby.
The ashen color of her patient's face said that it wasn't going to be easy. It was likely going to test her skills, but also Harmony's reserve.
She turned from her place crouching beside the woman's door.
"My name is Harmony, I'm an EMT. It looks like you're about to have a baby."
"O-our first." Her patient started to turn her head, but Harmony had been watching Vega examining the driver of the car and saw the subtle shake of his head.
Harmony drew her attention again, talking while the woman grabbed her hand as a contraction rolled over her.
"What can I call you?"
"Ah-Ah... Allie."
"Okay, Allie. How far along are you?"
"Thirty-two weeks." She said the words as if she was reading off of a calendar.
Harmony nodded and felt feeling return to her hand as the woman lessened her painful grip.
"Any complications or cautions from your doctor recently?"
"N-nooo."
"Where you in labor before the accident?"
Allie nodded. "That's... that's why Keith... Keith was driving me... to the hospital."
"Okay. I'd like to move you to the back of the ambulance. We can do a little more to see how far along you are in labor when we have more room."
She'd already seen the condition of the car on the driver's side. The steering wheel was pressed up against the man's chest. He'd likely died on impact or right after.
Another quick look told Harmony that the driver had likely turned the car to put most of the damage on his side.
He obviously cared for her and the baby.
Allie started to turn toward her, using their joined hands to help her get up.
As she did. She felt Allie freeze on the seat, her muscles tensing up.
"She's not going to be able to walk."
Harmony didn't have to turn to see who it was beside her. Crois St. Cyr had the most distinctive voice of anyone she knew. Warm, deep, and when he was concentrating on something, bits of his cajun upbringing appeared in his tone.
She nodded and tried not to grimace at the pain she felt in her hand.
"Harmony?"
Wow, she hadn't been ready for the warmth in his voice when he said her name. "Hmm?"
Breathe, Harmony, breathe...
"Will I hurt her or the baby if I carry her to the ambo?"
Harmony shook her head as she pushed the words free of her clenched jaw. "She's progressing quickly. Speed right now is the best thing."
"I've got you."
Got you?
Harmony's instinct was to turn her head and look at Crois to see if what she'd heard was actually what he'd said, but she didn't have the chance.
The death grip on her hand eased just a little.
"Okay," she nodded. "Let's move her."
She wasn't going to make Allie let go of her hand, but Harmony stepped back as far as she could against the inside of the door to give Crois as much room as possible.
He stepped in and even with his, what had to be an over six-foot frame, and swept Allie up in his arms.
Harmony walked quickly beside him, and she let out a soft exhale when she saw the gurney down and on the ground.
Crois put her on the clean surface and Harmony heard Allie whimper.
That wasn't a good sign.
It had been... seconds? since the last contraction. If Allie's contraction was starting again, this wasn't good.
Vega caught her eyes and Harmony could read a wealth of information in them.
Allie's husband, the father of the baby who was likely going to be born within an hour of its father's untimely passing, was gone.
There might not be an official time of death without the Medical Examiner, but she knew that Vega was good at his job. He would have looked for any sign of life.
Anything.
Pilar was off to the side but leaned in to speak almost directly into Harmony's ear. "The Medical Examiner is on his way."
With Allie on the gurney now, Harmony tested to see if Allie would let go of her hand.
Even with the gentle pull from Harmony, Allie was holding on with a death grip.
"Here," Pilar offered. "Let me help Vega get the gurney inside. Then, I'll hold..."
"Allie," Harmony provided the name to Pilar.
"Then I can hold Allie's hand. I'm sure you'll need both of yours."
Harmony smiled at the officer.
Pilar was just a smidge shorter than she was, but as an officer, no one could say she didn't belong on the force.
She'd shed more than enough blood on the job and hadn't blinked twice at coming back onto the force.
With a speed that almost made Harmony catch her breath.
Moments later, they had Allie in the back of the ambulance and the door canted so that her body was shielded from curious onlookers.
With a smile of encouragement from Pilar, Allie let go of Harmony's hand and latched onto Pilar's before the next contraction.
As soon as Harmony reached for the hem of Allie's skirt, Allie's hand reached down and grasped the fabric beside Harmony's hand. "W... wait."
Harmony looked up at Allie's face and saw red high on her cheeks. "Is something wrong?"
Allie opened her mouth to answer and pain nearly stole her breath. "I... I didn't get any panties on..."
Harmony smiled at her. "No worries, Allie." Deciding to go for a little shock to get her mind off of the issue, she added her own comment. "I don't have any other either."
Allie smiled then and her head fell back against the gurney as she laughed and groaned at he same time.
Her hand fell away from her skirt and Harmony lifted the hem to see where they were. "Okay, Allie. Can we bring your knees up? Okay, good. Very good." It didn't take more than a glance to know that they weren't going to make it to Cole Medical Center, even if it was just a handful of minutes away.
She smiled and looked up at Allie. "I can tell you two things, Allie. One, the baby has your hair color."
Allie turned her head to look back at Morgan, smiling. "Yeah?"
Harmony nodded. "Yes. And we're going to be meeting your baby in minutes. Are you with me?"
Tears welled up in her eyes. "Yes... Yes."
"Okay, then let's do this, together."
That's when Harmony let the world around her fade away.
The only thing that mattered in that moment was bringing Allie's baby into he world as best as she could.
CROIS
It was hard to know where to look.
He wasn't about to make the crash victim feel like she was on display, but there was something about Harmony when she had this kind of laser focus that was so different from her normal sweet smile and cheerful disposition.
She was always beautiful and he'd heard of people described as 'sunny' before, but he'd never understood it.
How could someone be as bright and brilliant as the sun.
But he knew it now.
He understood what 'sunny' meant when embodied in a person.
Even with her hair pulled back into a ponytail, and her blue-on-blue EMT uniform against the dark grey asphalt and the plain white of the ambulance door, she looked like sun.
Warm.
Bright.
Something... no, someone to lean into so he could feel that warmth.
He'd seen babies born before.
Two at home when he was still a school age child.
His mama had had enough that labor was just a part of life.
He'd been... uncomfortable each time, looking for something to do so he wouldn't be 'there' when it happened.
But with Harmony at the helm of this labor, he was mesmerized.
The calm, self-assured Harmony that he'd known was there, shown brighter.
And at the scene of death and pain, there was this potential for... life.
Harmony was there, doing her best to bring everything into balance.
He looked for any signs of strain or even a bead of sweat on her skin, but he couldn't find it.
He heard her talk. He heard her encourage. Goad.
Even as Allie let out a wail of pain, Harmony's voice rose as well.
While Allie's was pained and frantic, Harmony's voice was calm and reassuring. And she pushed when she wanted Allie to push.
It was all... inspiring.
He could hear the reaction from Allie.
She was in pain and afraid, focused on the one thing... the one person who could get her through it.
Harmony.
Then... there was a moment when Allie turned her head and Crois' breath caught in his chest.
She was looking for her husband.
Movement on the other side of the ambulance door turned his head and he saw the telltale white paneled van that meant the the Medical Examiner's office was on scene.
He had left behind most of his 'otherworldly' sense when he'd left Louisiana behind, but there was a real feeling inside of his chest that said that Allie knew something was wrong.
That Keith hadn't made it.
He knew he shouldn't say a word.
He had no idea what Harmony needed to do.
He just didn't want to see Allie realize... that her husband was gone.
"Do you know, Allie..."
Mid-push, she turned her head toward him, her eyes bright and wild.
"Boy or girl?"
Her expression softened and when Harmony turned her head toward him, he saw something akin to... thanks?
Appreciation?
"I... We," Allie changed her words and he felt trepidation in his chest, wondering if he'd stuck his foot in his mouth, "we wanted to wait."
His hands fisted tighter at his sides, and he felt his close-cut nails dig into his palms.
"My mom," he smiled at her, trying to turn her attention away from the topic they'd stumbled into, "thought I was going to be a girl, like all the rest of my sibs."
"All?" Allie grunted and bore down when Harmony called out the command. "How many... sisters... do you have?"
"Six." It felt oddly... intimate to answer her question, but Allie was on her back, her skirt up around her hips, sweat coursing down her forehead, bearing down to give birth.
She was in a much more intimate setting and position.
"I think," he murmured almost under his breath, "she was a little disappointed when she had me. She didn't have a boy's name picked out."
"Oh? We've got names for both. Girl and boy." Allie sagged back against the gurney. "But... I think I'm done for now."
She sounded exhausted.
He didn't blame her.
Hell, he was exhausted just standing by.
"I want my husband," she was panting, her breathing ragged. "Where's Keith?"
Shit.
Crois wasn't someone who considered his thoughts particularly quick on his feet when it came to talking.
He could kick ass physically.
Tactical things?
He was above average.
Speaking his thoughts and feelings?
Those things were left to other people.
He was out of his depth here in so many ways.
He opened his mouth to speak but Vega spoke first.
Probably a good thing.
"Your husband is already at the hospital."
Ah...
That.
Crois saw the reaction on Allie's face.
A smile.
Relief.
Hope.
Damn...
"Good," Allie roused, lifting her head from the gurney. "That's good. We'll see him there..."
Crois saw something cross Harmony's face, a sadness that made him ache.
"Okay," Allie turned her head toward Harmony, "let's... let's do this."
"All right." Harmony nodded, a resolute movement of her head. "It's time to push."
Allie lifted her head, grabbed onto her knees again and drew in a breath that was cut short by a deep, guttural moan.
HARMONY
As strange as it was, she was happy for the help from Crois.
She could get a little too focused at time and attending a birth was much more of a 'dance.' It looks a kind of finesse that she wasn't sure she had the capability for.
She was focused on Allie's physical appearance rather than talking to her.
Her patient and soon to be mother looked a little ashen.
That wasn't a good sign, but Harmony had the more immediate worry of helping her bring her baby into the world.
Something that Harmony was beginning to worry that she might not be able to do.
What kind of damage and injuries had she received during the accident?
Was there something going on that she couldn't see?
Should she have rolled the ambulance the moment they got her inside?
Things had been rolling along like a runaway train at first and the medical examiner had been there on sight.
She'd been worried that the sight of her husband's unmoving body would have been even worse, but now?
Now she was second guessing her decision.
The baby was crowning, but Allie was having difficulties pushing like she'd been doing at first.
Beside her, Vega was a strong and steady presence.
"Keep going, Harmony."
His words and the tone of his voice said that he had her back.
He believed in her.
And Harmony?
All she could do was have that same belief in herself.
Harmony said a quick prayer and called out for Allie to, "Push..."
From there, everything happened in a rush.
The birth happened in the blink of an eye and that's when everything went south.