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The birth of their son was certainly one of their crazy days.
While the situation they were in, with the make-shift birthing suite and the firefighter turned glorified EMT could have been far worse - it is safe to say it was not the ideal place for their son to be born.
The room was a flurry of activity, intense and laced with panic as Amy screamed, and pushed, and crushed Jake’s hand as she did so. The firefighter delivering their baby was barking out orders to Rosa, needing her assistance to make sure Amy and the baby remained safe, though panic was seeping into his voice - delivering babies in dirty, candle scented rooms was by no means his day job. Terry, once he and Holt had finished dancing, rushed in and out the room with towels, and blankets, and anything else he could find in the precinct that they may need, while Holt waited outside the front of the building so he could lead the ambulance crew directly to Amy once they arrived.
The soundtrack to all of this, understandably, was Amy’s screams as she gave birth to her baby with nothing to dull the searing pain she experienced as their son came closer and closer to entering the world. With each scream she let out, Jake felt a sharp pain in his heart - wishing desperately that he could take it away, or that they could be in a hospital with his wife so blissed out on drugs she didn’t feel a thing. He mourned their birthing plan, the one that had been written and laminated months ago, which included a calm, medically assisted birth while songs from the ‘birthing’ playlist they’d made played softly in the background.
In the moments between pushes, when the room fell that little bit quieter and less intense, Jake’s brain was plagued with new anxieties about the situation they were in. They didn’t have anything to wrap their baby in once he was born, only some locker room towels, and blankets from the break room - neither of which are particularly hygienic. They have no clothes for him to wear, no little hat to place over his head like they do in hospitals - aren’t the little hats important? What if something is wrong with their son when he is born? What if the umbilical cord is wrapped around his neck, or he has trouble breathing? What are they supposed to do when they have nothing more than a firefighters first aid kit to tend to the baby once he is born? And what about Amy? She already looks like she is going to pass out from the pain, but there could easily be tearing and blood loss that they’d have no way to stop, at least not while in the interrogation room at the precinct. Another contraction hits, and Amy pushes again, her screams and grip on Jake’s hand pulling him out of his terrified thoughts and grounding him in the moment. This is happening.
Jake is in awe of his wife most days. He feels an intense rush of pride whenever he sees her commanding her officers, he feels his heart pound watching her interact with her nieces and nephews, hell, he gets breathless whenever her pouting, sleepy face greets him in the morning - blown away by her beauty and kindness every moment they are together. However, he has never been more in awe of the woman before him than he is right now.
Mac comes out screaming, all babies do of course, but as far as Jake is concerned his screams are the most beautiful and overwhelming sounds in the world. Everything happens in a blur, the firefighter has barely held their son for a second before Amy, incredible Amy who has just given birth with no pain relief, is trying to sit up and pull her hoodie over her head. Upon seeing this, Jake clumsily steps forward and helps Amy pull off the hoodie, his eyes glazed over with tears and his heart beating faster than it ever has before.
‘Bring him up here’ Amy demands, her voice raw and scratchy, but firm, and surprisingly calm.
It’s barely been a minute since his birth, and Amy is already the perfect mother, taking her son from the firefighter and placing him against her bare chest, using her body to keep their son warm and safe. Her hands come to cup his back and his head, stroking his skin with her thumb in an attempt to sooth his crying. She bends her face down towards him, dropping a soft kiss to his head and whispering to him in a calming voice, ‘Shhh, it’s okay baby, Mommy’s got you, Mommy’s here.’
The room may still be hectic, with a lot of activity continuing to occur further down the bed, but in that moment, everything in Jake’s world calms down. Seeing his wife hold their son, the way she so instinctively went to protect and calm him, was all the confirmation Jake needed to know that they could do this.
Their son was born in an interrogation room, they had no doctor, he almost missed the birth, a million things could have gone wrong (and still could), but none of that matters - because Amy Santiago was his baby’s mother.
Looking at the two of them, at his family, Jake knows in his heart that their son will always be okay, because he will always have his incredible mother there to look after him. Of course, Jake will be there too, absolutely always - no doubt about it - but knowing that even if he does screw up, or is pulled away from his family again, that their son will always have Amy is possibly the biggest comfort to him right now. Their son will be okay, he always will, because of her, and he loves them both so much.
Amy is still whispering to their son, despite his crying having calmed down. Jake finally takes a step forward, placing one hand on his wife’s shoulder and the other over the wispy hairs on his son’s head - god - his son.
‘Jake,’ Amy gasps, ‘he’s here, I did it.’
‘Of course you did it, you’re Amy Santiago. You can do anything babe.’
Jake’s voice is teary, and even he can hear how in awe he sounds. Amy takes her eyes off of Mac for a second to glance up at Jake, giving him a watery smile, before returning her full attention to their son.
‘He’s perfect’ Jake whispers, crouching down to get a better look at his son’s face, feeling his heart skip a beat as he takes in the chubby cheeks that are squished against Amy’s chest.
‘You’re perfect’ Jake adds, looking up at Amy once again. ‘You just delivered our baby in the precinct, and he is perfect, and you’re perfect, and… god.’
Jake almost starts laughing with the ridiculousness of the situation they are in, but a whimper from his son stops him in his tracks. Almost immediately Amy is there, adjusting him on her chest again until he settles down, before asking Jake to grab her hoodie and lay it over the top of Mac to keep him extra warm.
Moving as fast as he can, Jake gently places the hoodie over the two of them, kissing his son’s soft skin and inhaling the ‘new baby smell’ people had been telling him about for months. Despite his son still being sticky from birth, he smells just as good as everyone said he would - or maybe Jake is just too amped up on love for his son to tell the difference.
Amy brings her hands back to rest on Mac’s back, over her hoodie this time, gently using the material to wipe away some of the mess on his body and face. She looks exhausted, and yet Jake has never seen her look so content in his life - so at peace. How much of that contentedness is as a result of such extreme levels of adrenaline is yet to be seen, he’s pretty sure the pain will start to come back to her soon, but for now - he’s happy to gaze at the dazed smile on her face and light in her eyes as she whispers words of comfort to their squirming son.
Watching his wife become a mother might be the most beautiful sight Jake’s ever witnessed. He’s not entirely sure he feels like a dad yet; not sure he’s fully comprehended the life changing day he’s just had, not sure the paternal instincts have kicked in as instantaneously for him as they did Amy, but the overwhelming love certainly did and that feels like a great place to start. Besides, Amy will be there to help him with everything else - they’re a team, and a family, and he will forever be indebted to her.
They’re not out of the woods yet, Amy still needs to deliver her placenta, and be stitched up, and start the long process of recovery - and of course Mac needs to have a million tests done before Jake’s anxiety will truly fade. But for now, Amy’s getting a moment to rest, Mac seems to be breathing fine, and everything is perfect in the world - all because of her.