Labor on the battlefield

This is very much just a fic I made for self indulgence. I've noticed sometimes my stories just forget to explain shit and/or just forgets things that were set up in the beginning. I have adhd so yeah...  I do this for fun anyway. This is SFW mentions of gunfire and (VERY) simplified pregnancy and birth. Enjoy. 

Katherine never meant for this to happen. She didn’t even mean to hide her pregnancy from them, it just… happened. This mission was supposed to take three weeks and then she’d have told them and gone on parental leave. 

But the mission went sideways, dragging on for months. Now here she was, eight months pregnant in a firefight. She was so close to making it through, extraction being only days away and her due date still three weeks away… But Katherine can’t ignore the pain in her body anymore. The unmistakable feeling of contractions renders her unable to keep standing and she collapses with a strangled gasp.

“Katherine!” Price’s worried voice barks over comms. “Gaz, Katherine needs help!”

Gaz drops to his knees by her side, turning her on her back to check her for injuries. ”No visible injuries, but something is wrong,” he reports back to Price. Gaz frowns worriedly at the panic in Katherine’s face.

“Get Katherine the hell out of here,” Soap growls, she spots him a few dozen feet away, firing at the enemy.

Ghost agrees in his usual gruff voice, “Go, I’ll cover you.” Enemy combatants drop like flies as Ghost begins protecting her and Gaz with his rifle.

Gaz hauls her up and a second later Price is by her side as well as they drag her off the field into cover. Soap follows them and crouches down in the doorway, keeping hostiles away from the team and Ghost follows a moment later.

Katherine’s leaning against a wall and Price sternly asks where her injuries are, while Gaz is preparing a medkit.

She shakes her head. This isn’t how this was meant to happen, but it’s happening. There is no changing that now. 

“Captain, I’m not injured, I…” She can’t believe this is really happening. She takes a deep breath. “I’m going into labor.”

With the bombshell she just dropped Katherine bowed her head as pain pulsed through her body as the contracts made it hard for her to stand. The crimson haired field medic was taking deep breaths through the pain.

 “God damnit,” Price says as he quickly kneels down next to her. 

She sees the tension as Ghost and Soap join her side, Ghost’s blue eyes narrowing with concern.

With a gentle but firm touch, Gaz removes the flak jacket from her body in order to allow Price room to inspect you. 

As he works on the straps of her body armor, he looks over to Soap and Ghost. “We are not going to make it out of here if she goes into labor.”

"YOU! Get your ass out there and make sure no enemies get close take Soap with you!" Katherine barked out as she pointed at Ghost. 

Then she pointed at Price. "You! Get a medevac here as soon as possible!"

 She didn't need to tell Gaz anything as he was doing what he was supposed to, helping her out of her gear to give birth. Seeing as she was about to give birth in an active battlefield she seemed to know what to do.  

Ghost gives her a sharp nod and a small grin before barking an order to Soap, who nods once as well. Ghost takes back his position in the fight, covering Price and Gaz as they tend to Katherine’s needs. 

Price gets on the radio, making contact with the extraction team. Meanwhile, Gaz finishes getting her body armor off and checks the position of the baby. "I can't feel the head but she's pretty far down. You're going to have to deliver that baby yourself. Just push when the contractions come.”

Katherine took a deep breath. "God, this was not meant to happen. This was supposed to be a short mission." She ranted to no one in particular. "I know, I know," Price says, taking her hand in a firm grip. 

Gaz leans over and speaks in a low voice, so the others can’t hear. "We’ll get you and that baby out of here. I promise.” A contraction hits her and Gaz helps you in a sitting position, grabbing her legs and helping her to squat down. There is no time to waste. “Remember to breathe, that baby is almost here.”

"Price, If we get out of this alive, remind me to kill the man who got me pregnant." She muttered as she took deep breaths, pushing with the contractions. Katherine's crimson hair was matted to her face. A smile breaks out on the stoic Captain’s face, though he refrains from commenting. 

Another contraction hits Katherine and Gaz urges her to start pushing. “Push. You’re doing great. The baby’s almost here,” he says, keeping a firm grip on her legs. Finally, a head with a fine head of red hair breaks through and Gaz helps her to deliver the baby’s arms. One last long push and the baby slips out of her, landing into Gaz’s hands like a delicate doll.

The sharp cries of the newborn was both an air of relief and new stress. Katherine held out her arms for her baby, panting from the pain and finally delivering her child. Gaz gently hands the baby over to her while Price is talking into the radio. His expression softens completely as he looks at the beautiful child in her arms. The cries of the newborn fill the small space and it’s the most beautiful thing they’ve ever heard. 

Gaz finishes tying the umbilical cord while Price takes a few steps forward and crouches down to get a closer look at the baby, carefully studying her.

"Rose, that's going to be her name." She told Price as she looked over at him. Katherine held her newborn close, kissing the top of her little head. Price grins approvingly at the name. 

“Rose… It suits her. How do you feel?” The expression on his face radiates relief seeing her and the baby unharmed.

 Katherine let out a groan. "Like bloody death. I hope that medevac gets here soon." Rose had calmed down and stopped crying now sleeping in her mother's arms. 

“It is just minutes away. Rose needs to get to a hospital, quickly,” Price responds.

“You’re one badass mother,” Soap compliments Katherine with a small teasing smile as he crouches down beside her. 

"Damn straight." Katherine replied tiredly, the adrenaline fading from her body. She wanted to just rest but she couldn't right now. 

“Just a little longer,” Price tells her. “And you can rest. You’re both going to be okay.”

Rose wakes up once more, yawning big and stretching her tiny hands. Katherine sees Ghost’s attention shift back to the baby and she can’t help but chuckle a little as she observes his fascination with her. 

Katherine smiled softly. "Do you want to meet her Ghost?" She asked him. Ghost can barely keep the excitement off his face as he finally nods. She carefully hands him the baby and he’s instantly smitten with the tiny life he holds in his big hands, looking over her with loving eyes while she looks up at him with curiosity, studying him.

"How does it feel to hold her daddy?" She asked, finally confirming who Rose's father was. Katherine watched him hold the newborn like she was the most fragile thing in the world, she knew he'd be a good father. Ghost holds the baby up to his face and makes a small sound of awe before answering her. “It feels as if my life finally has meaning. As if I was born with one purpose and that is to protect her.” 

There is no denying it, she can feel the fatherly love in Ghost’s eyes, the way he gazes curiously at her tiny face. Katherine finds it so heartwarming.

Price finally ends his call with the medevac team and approaches both of them, offering a smile to Ghost.

She smiles as she watches him. Glad he was taking it well. "I'm glad your life has meaning now." Katherine was also glad he was too preoccupied with his daughter to chew her out for not telling him she was pregnant this whole time. 

Ghost finally tears his eyes away from the baby to look at her with a teasing grin. “I should beat your ass for not telling me sooner,” he mumbles in an endearing way, only half-joking. 

"I didn't want to stress you out in an already stressful situation, love." Katherine explained softly. “Ah sure, sure, you were only thinking of my well-being,” he replies jokingly.

Price can't help but chuckle and smile softly at the pair. The medevac helicopter is finally coming into sight, flying low enough to be clearly identifiable. It is only a few minutes away.

She sighed in relief as she saw the medevac, soon this will be over and she could focus on being a mom. The helicopter finally touches down nearby and a medic hops out, heading your way. 

“That’s them,” Price tells her and he urges her to stand up. 

Rose is still asleep in Ghost’s arms and he offers Katherine a grin as you both stand up. 

“They seem to love each other,” Price remarks, nodding towards Ghost and the baby.

"No doubt he will be a doting father." Katherine agrees as she gets up with the help of Price. The medic approaches Ghost and gently pries the child from his hands, putting her into the medic’s arms. “Don’t drop her.” Ghost says with an edge in his voice, before the medic carries his daughter to the helicopter. 

Price wraps an arm around Katherine’s shoulders once more and helps her into the med-evac while Soap covers them both from afar. The team finally gets in and Soap climbs in last as he’s covering them from enemies still out there. But as soon as Soap is inside and the helicopter takes off, he finally sits back and relaxes.

Rose was handed back to Katherine and she held the newborn close covering her small ears from all the noise. Everyone safely in the helicopter.

 "I love you boys, and I'm not just saying that. You are the best team a girl could ask for." She told the whole team. Looking between Gaz, Soap, Ghost and Price. Her words are met with an approving nod from Price, who turns his expression soft and looks at her. 

Soap gives her a cocky grin. “Of course we are,” he replies with confidence.

Ghost seems to take her more seriously. “I love you too. More than you know.” He looks down at Rose with a small smile. 

Gaz is the last one to respond. “I’d risk my life for you a thousand times over.”

Katherine smiled as she finally fell asleep leaning on Ghost as she rested. The ride in the helicopter is smooth, and as the adrenaline fades from her body, she just feels utterly exhausted. Ghost wraps an arm around her and leans her against his chest, feeling comfortable and protected. Katherine can’t believe how things ended up this way, but she was lucky to have ended up with a loving team and a beautiful baby.