Lieutenant Garrett:

Alternate Ending

*Just so y'all know, this chapter is written for those who may not have liked the actual ending to Lieutenant Garrett. This ending, as far as I'm concerned, didn't happen and if you would rather use this ending instead of 'Dominic Ryan' then the two epilogues pretty much don't apply anymore. I like the original ending because I'm a total Cheesehead and I like cheesy things but for everyone who didn't like the original ending, here it is.

"Addison"

"Yeah honey"

"Call Chris and Ryan"

"Whyyyy" she asked suspiciously, inching towards me in the kitchen.

"Because I wanna go bowling. C'mon Ad, I'm going into labor"

"Well thank you Colonel Sarcasm, now go to the car while I grab our children and call our husbands"

"Ok fine but I don't know how far I'll make it" I said clutching my stomach and reaching for my bag.

"Chasey baby, Dominic!! C'mere kidlets we are going to go to Auntie Lena and Auntie Kara's house!!" Addison called up the stairs while dialing on her phone.

Chase and Dom came trotting down the stairs, Chase fell in the hall on the way down since he hasn't been walking for too long.

"Hi babies. Let's go for a drive" I said taking their hands and walking to the front door.

"Okay Chris and Ryan are going to meet us there in like, twenty-five minutes so hang in there baby" Addison said patting my back.

I strained and picked my son up and plooped him in his car seat. I bent over and put my hand on my knee trying to regain my breath.

"Mumma okay?" Chase asked putting a hand through my hair.

"Yeah baby" I said as the contraction subsided "Mumma's okay. Gimme a kiss" I said puckering my lips.

Chase did the same and gave me a kiss. Addison strapped Dominic in and slid into the front seat. I slowly made my way into the passenger's seat and closing the door. I strapped on my seatbelt and grabbed onto the door handle.

"You good hun?" She asked as we pulled up to Lena and Kara's place. She took the babies out of their seats and walked them up to the door carrying a diaper bag. She walked in and the boys were greeted with hugs and kisses from their Aunties. Lena and Kara waved to me before yelling "Good Luck!!" And closing the door.

We drove to the hospital where I was fitted for a hospital gown and admitted to a room. Thirty-five minutes later, I was starting to get worried about Chris and Ryan.

"Nicole, baby. They're fine. They're probably just stuck in traffic."

"Well send them a text or something" by now, my hormones were going crazy; making me a little hostile.

"They can't text and drive. Just calm down please they'll be here"

"I'm in freaking labor and my husband isn't here. I don't wanna calm down!"

"Nicole please"

Just then my doctor came in and flipped through a few of my papers. "Okay Nicole. Your daughter has turned breech. Which basically means that her head is at the top of your belly rather than the bottom. So, we have to do an emergency c-section which means that you are going to have your daughter surgically rather than naturally"

"Okay, she'll be okay though right?"

"Yes she will be perfectly fine"

"Okay then that's fine but my husband still isn't here so could we potentially wait a minute?"

"Honey I'm sorry we've waited as long as we safely can. I'm really sorry but your little girl can't wait"

Tears formed in my eyes. "Okay" I choked.

They wheeled me into the operating room and they said that Addison could come in since Chris couldn't.

"Uh uh girl. Blood and me are not a good combination. Go ahead baby. I'll be waiting in the room for you" she said squeezing my hand.

Tears leaked out of my eyes at the thought of Chris missing our daughter's birth. Something serious must have happened. He wouldn't just miss this. This was his daughter we are talking about. His baby girl. He wouldn't just miss this.

"Okay honey we're gonna give you the sedative now. It will only last an hour or so, so when we're done, you won't fall asleep while holding your daughter okay?"

"Okay" I nodded. Wiping a tear from my eye. "Let's go have a baby" I whispered rubbing my swollen belly.

*********

The surgery went extremely well, except for the fact that my husband wasn't there. I was gonna give him hell when he showed up. They were wheeling me back to my room as I held little Mayella in my arms when I spotted something; someone I did expect to see.

"Stop. Stop!" I demanded. The nurse pushing my wheelchair did as I said and was a little suspicious. I sat there in shock before mustering up a sentence or two before they disappeared from my sight.

"Stop!!! Please!! That's my husband!! Please! That's my husband!!" I screamed standing from the wheelchair. I handed Mayella to the nurse and ran over to the stretcher where Chris was lying even though my stomach was screaming in opposition.

"Ma'am please step away"

"No. NO that's my husband"

"Oh" the paramedic muttered.

"Chris baby. What happened?" I asked running my hands through his hair.

"Nothing...darlin. I'll....be....fine" he said, his words coming out slowly and short.

"Promise?" I asked with a weak smile on my face. I stuck out my pinkie finger and he did the same. He wrapped his finger around mine and shook it. I kissed his hand and began to slowly walk away from the stretcher. "Your daughter misses you"

He smiled weakly and turned to the paramedics.

"I better be okay or I'm gonna be upset" he stuttered. I smiled and went back to my room. I held Mayella in my arms and let it all out. I cried and because of that, Mayella did too. What was wrong with Chris? And where was Ryan? Speaking of, I don't know where Addison went either. So many questions filled my brain and the answers almost didn't matter. I just wanted my husband to be okay.

A nurse came into the room and put an extra baby blanket on the bed. I was walking around the room with Mayella sobbing my eyes out and attempting to calm her and myself as well.

"Mrs Garrett, I can take Mayella from you to try and calm her down. She's crying because you're crying and she can feel what you're feeling. So if you're upset, she's not going to calm down until you do"

"O-okay" I managed. She took Mayella from my arms and they turned cold. I missed feeling her in my arms and I had the urge to run over to the nurse and take her back, but I needed her to settle so she might fall asleep. I sat on the bed and put my head in my hands. I couldn't bear it if something happened to Chris.

Addison and Ryan came into the room a minute later.

"Okay guys, what the hell happened? Why is my husband currently in surgery?" I demanded.

"Well, Chris nad I were driving back from the golf course and we drove through an intersection and a guy ran a stop sign and hit the passenger side of the car. He hit behind Chris's seat but he was complaining about his head. They did some CT scans and he has a bit of a brain bleed. So, they brought him into surgery to try and repair it" he said.

"Oh god" I muttered flopping onto my bed.

"Nicole baby, he's gonna be fine okay? Now where's my gorgeous niece?"

"With the nurse" I sniffled.

Addison took Mayella up into her arms and sat next to me. Just then, Lena and Kara came into the room with two excited boys practically bouncing off the walls.

"Mumma!!" Chase exclaimed "what's the matter mumma?"

"Nothing baby. Everything's okie dokie" I said kissing his forehead and pulling him onto my lap. I pulled him into my chest and held him close. Silent tears made their way down my face and I tried not to let my son see them. I rocked him in my arms and he slowly fell asleep. A few minutes later, I drifted off to sleep with the nervous thoughts of my husband's brain surgery floating around in my head.

******

"Nicole"

"Nicole, wake up"

I woke with a start to Addison leaning over me. She had red puffy eyes like she had been crying, but currently she was wearing a smile. I still had Chase in my arms and he was beginning to stir. Lena and Kara were sitting at the other side of the room. One holding a sleeping Dominic and the other, a sleeping Mayella. They both looked very tired and I wondered if everyone stayed the night with me.

"Did you guys stay overnight? You all look exhausted"

"Yeah" Addison spoke "you had a pretty tiring day so we took care of Mayella, Chase fell asleep with you and Dominic fell asleep with Kara"

"Thanks you guys. You're the best"

"I know" they all chorused.

"Now why did you wake me up?"

"Chris got out of surgery a few hours ago and he's awake and doing great" she said happily.

"Can I see him?" I asked excitedly.

"Yeah. That's why I woke you. I figured if I let you sleep and you found out you could've seen him hours earlier you would've flipped on me"

I hugged her close and laughed. "You know me so well"

"I am your sister aren't I?"

I chuckled and turned to Chase who was rubbing his eyes.

"Hey Chasey" I said kissing his forehead.

"Hi mumma"

"Wanna go see daddy?"

He vigorously nodded his head and sprung from the bed. He grabbed my hands and pulled me up off the bed. I walked over to a half-sleeping Lena and took my daughter from her arms.

"Get some sleep Aunty Lena" I chuckled.

"Fine" she smiled and pretty much crashed instantly.

I headed over to Chris's room alongside Addison and my babies. His room was only a few rooms down from mine and his nervous and exhausted best friend/brother-in-law was sitting in the hall across from the door with his head in his hands.

"Hey babe" I said.

He turned and looked at me and the kids. A smile grew on his face as Chase ran over and tackled him.

"Uncle Ry!!" He squealed as he sat up on Ryan's stomach.

"Hey Clifford" Ryan said ruffling his hair. Clifford was one of Chase's favourite shows to watch and Ryan decided that that was his new nickname. He was weird with the nicknames.

"How's he doing?" I asked.

"He's doing great! I'm just tired off my ass-I mean, I'm just really tired and he's talking a lot and wants to do things"

I chuckled. "Nice save"

"Did you like that? I thought I was finished"

"Finished with what?" Chase asked curiously.

"My Spiderman marathon" Ryan said in a 'duh' tone.

Spiderman was also one of Chase's favourites. The old TV show and the movies. The Amazing Spiderman movies were his favourite; however.

Chase gasped. "You watched Spidey wiffout me?"

"Sorry Cliff. I couldn't wait"

"Well wait for me to watch the next one"

Ryan turned to me and let out a laugh. "Okay Chasey"

Chase got off of him and hugged my legs. "Can we go see daddy now?"

"Yeah Chasey. He's right in there" I said pointing to the door.

Chase lit up and ran to the door. He reached for the knob and turned it. He pushed the door open and a huge grin spread across his face.

"Daddy!" He squealed running over to his daddy's side.

"Whoa there Chase. Daddy hurt his head so be careful please" I said walking in with Mayella. Chris's already large grin grew even more when he saw Mayella.

I lied down next to him and he kissed my temple. "You scared the devil out of me you know"

He chuckled and kissed me again. He reached over and scooped Mayella into his arms. She was small; at about 16" but she looked even smaller in her daddy's grasp. Chase was sitting in between Chris's knees and leaned over to watch him with Mayella.

"Hi baby girl! I'm your daddy" he said happily "I'm sorry I missed you come into this world. But Uncle Ryan was driving like a crazy person"

"Hey!" Ryan called from the hall. Chris let out a laugh and Mayella's eyes were glued to him. She already recognized his voice since Chris talked to my stomach before she was born.

Chris held Mayella against his chest as he stared down at her in adoration, the smile on his face never growing smaller. Chase rested his head on Chris's leg and slowly fell asleep. I leaned over and rested my head in the crook of his neck. He turned and placed a kiss on my nose.

"She's ours" he said looking back at Mayella "we made that"

"Yes daddy. I know" I said kissing underneath his jawline.

He leaned his head back down on mine as we watched our daughter.

We sat there together for what felt like hours until all four of us were asleep.

Mayella and I were released to go home later the next week, and even though I wanted to stay at the hospital with Chris, I couldn't. I had to figure out a sleep and eat schedule for Mayella so she could get used to life at home rather than the hospital. I left her and Chase with Addison and the girls and went down to get her a sleeper and the car seat from the jeep.

I grabbed a "Daddy's Girl" sleeper, some little converse shoes, socks and her car seat and headed back upstairs.

Addison was crouching beside Chase sitting in a hospital chair holding his little sister. He was looking down at her with stars in his eyes as she looked curiously up at him. I set the things down on the bed and walked over to them.

"Tell her who you are Chasey"

He leaned down closer to her little face.

"I'm Chase your big brother, Ella, Mummy and Daddy get to take care of us together now" he whispered.

My heart swelled at the sight. My son holding my newborn daughter and looking at her with so much love in his eyes. I loved it.

"Well, Chasey. I have to change Ella's diaper and get her dressed. Wanna help get her dressed?"

"Yeah!" He whisper yelled.

I lifted Mayella from Chase's arms and walked her over to the little changing station in the room. I grabbed a diaper from the diaper bag and changed her. When that was done, I undressed her and put the dirty clothes back into the bag. I walked over to the hospital bed with her and set her on the bed beside Chase.

"Okay Chase. I'll put this foot into the pants, and you do that one. You have to be very gentle okay?"

Chase nodded and copied my movement, carefully putting her foot through the hole in the bottoms.

"Good job! Now, carefully put her arm through the sleeve"

He did exactly what I did and slid her little arm into the sleeve. Mayella's eyes were glued to her brother the whole time.

"Good job Chasey!" I said high-fiving him "now, mummy's gonna do up the buttons and put her shoes on and we can take her home"

I quickly did up the buttons and slid her shoes onto her feet. I lifted her up into my arms and put the diaper bag in the car seat. I grabbed the seat and Chase, Mayella and I walked over to Chris's room. The doctors said that he was doing exceptionally well and they were a little hesitant at first, but they released him and said he could come home with us. They would send a doctor in the morning to check up on him and make sure he was still okay. Chase happily bounded into the room and jumped into his daddy's arms. Chris was already dressed and ready to go. He put Chase on his hip and walked towards me. He placed a kiss on my nose and then my lips. He walked behind me so he could see Mayella's face on my shoulder and kissed her nose and forehead.

"Hi baby girl" he smiled. A big toothless grin spread across her face as she looked at her big brother and daddy making funny faces at her.

"Okay troops! Let's get home shall we?" I said setting the car seat down on the bed. I lifted Mayella from my shoulder and strapped her in the car seat. I picked Chase up and set him on my hip as Chris grabbed the car seat and diaper bag.

"Thanks baby" I said kissing his cheek.

"My pleasure" he smirked.

We all headed down to the parking garage to the jeep. Chase jumped into his car seat as Chris strapped in Mayella's; giving her a small kiss when he was finished. I finished strapping Chase in and hopped in the driver's seat since Chris wasn't cleared to drive yet.

"Now Chase" Chris started looking back at the happy little toddler "you have to watch Mayella to make sure that she's okay since mummy and daddy can't see her okay?"

Chase nodded happily and provided Mayella his undivided attention.

Chris rested his hand on my thigh and intertwined our fingers as I drove home. When we pulled into the driveway, I unbuckled Chase and picked him up as Chris took Mayella and her car seat out of the jeep along with the diaper bag. The four of us walked in the door of our house and took in its familiar smell as Jasper ran to our feet.

"Good to be home" Chris said placing a kiss on my cheek. He put the diaper bag down in the living room and set the car seat on the floor beside the coffee table. Jasper trotted over to Mayella and curiously began sniffing her car seat; investigating. She had fallen into a deep sleep and was unaware of his presence.

"Now, who's ready for a nap?" Chris asked, looking at Chase. Het let out a yawn but shook his head.

"Not me daddy"

"Well what if daddy takes a nap with you in mummy and daddy's bed?" Chris suggested.

Chase perked up and nodded his head. Chris scooped him up and flew him upstairs like an airplane.

"Nighty night mummy!" Chase called through fits of laughter.

"Night Chasey baby!" I said blowing him a kiss. He caught it with his hand and put it to his lips. My son was the cutest, and Chris and I were raising him the same way Chris was raised.

Mayella started to stir and she woke up. She started to cry and I walked over to her, unbuckling her from her seat with Jasper on my heels.

"What's wrong Ella?" I asked scooping her up in my arms and rocking her back and forth "you're hungry aren't you? I just changed you so you must be huh?" I cooed. I walked over to the microwave and prepared her a bottle ith one hand. I was pretty much a master at it since I had done it everyday when Chase was a baby.

I put the bottle in the microwave and waited for it to be done. I tested the formula on my wrist. The perfct temperature. I grabbed it and a blanket for Mayella and walked over to the couch. I sat down and started feeding Mayella her bottle. She looked up at me intently with her daddy's blue-grey eyes. I smiled. Chase had my hazel eyes and Mayella had Chris's blue-grey eyes. Jasper followed right behind me and set his head on top of my lap, watching Mayella carefully. I set the bottle down on the table and put Mayella on my shoulder to burp her.

Chris came quietly down the stairs a second later, just as I began feeding Mayella the rest of her bottle. He sat down on the couch next to me and kissed my temple. He pulled me flush against his side and kept one arm securely wrapped around my waist.

"My girls" he whispered causing me to shiver. I loved the little things like this. When Mayella was finished her bottle, I burped her again and gave her to Chris. He happily took her in his arms and held us both close to him. I threw my legs overtop of his and curled up into his side as Mayella's eyelids began to droop. He kissed her nose and she drifted off to sleep. He had so much love for his daughter.

"Nicole"

"Mhm" I mumbled against his collarbone.

"I love you so much"

"I love you too honey"

"And I love our little family" He said kissing my hair "It's perfect"