Disclaimer: Walker belongs to Jared Padalecki and the CW, not me.

Author's Note: This story is AU and takes place about 2 years after the current episodes of Walker.

Chapter 1

Cordell Walker shivered as a gust of wind rattled around his Texas farmhouse on the Walker family ranch. The night was colder than usual for late November and the wind was gusting through the trees and making the house's old roof creak in the early evening darkness. He tossed another log on the fire, grateful that the wind wasn't making the use of the fireplace unsafe. He grasped the poker and shifted the log into the right place before replacing the poker on the hearth and rubbing his hands together for warmth. The fireplace lit the room with a cozy glow as its warmth slowly drifted out into the room.

The nights around the house were quieter these days with Stella away in college. He couldn't believe his oldest was already a college freshman. It seemed like she was just a little girl who thought her daddy was the best and bravest man in the world. Cordell sighed and ran a hand through his already ruffled hair. He wished Stella had never had to see her father's flaws and weaknesses. He wished he had been a better father even while dealing with the grief of losing his wife. He had buried himself in his work while his children grieved the murder of their mother alone. Walker didn't think he'd ever forgive himself for that.

His youngest was upstairs finishing up a paper that was due tomorrow. August was a junior in high school and turning into quite the photographer, just like his mother. Emily would be so proud of him. She should have lived to see her children grow up.

Cordell swallowed hard and pushed thoughts of Emily away. On the stormy, dark nights he thought of her often. They would have been curled up in front of the fire trading kisses and drinking wine. Once they were sure August was asleep, they would have stolen quietly to their room to make love. Afterwards, he would have held her and felt the sweet warmth of her skin pressed against his.

Groaning in frustration with himself at continuing to think of Emily, Cordell decided that maybe he should go out to the barn and check on the animals. The rain had been pouring down all afternoon and evening. The roads were flooded, some of them washed out according to reports he'd received on his phone before the cell service cut out, and it wouldn't hurt to make sure the barn was dry and secure.

Cordell was reaching for the rain slicker that hung on the coat tree when a pounding knock on his front door startled him. He couldn't imagine his parents or his brother being out on a night like this. The knocking got louder, almost frantic and Walker peered through the peep hole, frowning at the sight of a small figure huddled in a dark hoodie. He cleared his throat and called out, "Who is it?"

"Walker, it's me," was the faint answer as the wind once again whipped around the house.

Cordell's heart thudded in his chest and he sucked in a quick breath. "Micki?" He fumbled with the lock on the door and wrenched it open to see his former partner huddled on his porch in an oversized hoodie. She was soaked, her hair plastered to her face and the hoodie clinging to her body. Cordell flicked on the porch light and reached for her arm to tug her inside out of the cold, wet weather. "What are you doing here?"

He hadn't seen Micki Ramirez since the sudden murder of her boyfriend Trey two years ago. Trey had been shot by someone involved in a former case of Micki's before she joined the Texas Rangers. While aiming for Micki, they'd hit Trey instead. Micki hadn't dealt with the loss well at all. Two months after Trey's death, she had turned in her resignation, said a hasty goodbye, and disappeared from Cordell's life. He hadn't heard from her since although he had tried to contact her countless times. Cordell figured he could at least understand the pain of losing your partner, but Micki didn't want to be in touch with him.

Before she could reply, Micki wrapped her arms around her waist and moaned, sinking to her knees in the puddle of water dripping off of her.

"Micki?" Cordell questioned again, crouching down next to her. "Are you hurt?" He watched as his former partner's face contorted in pain. Tugging the soaking wet hood off of her head, he brushed her wet hair back from her face so that he could get a good look at her. She was pale with dark circles beneath her eyes. Micki looked exhausted and maybe even half sick.

She groaned again and leaned over, still clasping her arms around her middle. "I think I'm in labor," she ground out through clenched teeth. Micki managed to looked up at her former partner's shocked face. She briefly wondered what he thought of her being single and pregnant after losing Trey before the contraction became to strong and the pain broke into her thoughts.

Walker blinked and his mouth dropped open. "Labor? You're pregnant?" He couldn't wrap his mind around the fact that the Micki who'd left Austin grieving for her murdered boyfriend was now here on the floor just inside his front door and was having a baby.

Micki nodded and kept her teeth clenched until the contraction seemed to release it's hold on her. "Truck broke down a mile out and the road was flooded. I couldn't carry my bag and make it here through the water and mud, not with this belly." She gently rubbed her swollen stomach and tried futilely to suppress a full body shiver.

"Okay, let's get you into something dry and warm," Cordell told her. "Let me help you up." Gently, he gripped her arm and tugged Micki to her feet, keeping a careful arm around her waist. "I'll show you to my room and then I'll find you something to change into."

Micki allowed herself to be led into Walker's bedroom and seated carefully on the side of the bed. He disappeared into the bathroom and returned with a soft, navy blue towel which he handed to her. Then he rifled through a dresser drawer until he found an old soft gray t-shirt and a pair of navy blue jogging pants.

"Maybe we can roll the legs up," he suggested as he held up the pants. "I don't think anything of Stella's will work for you right now." He chewed his bottom lip as he studied her anxiously.

Micki sucked in deep breathe as she felt a contraction tighten around her middle. She clenched the towel in her fingers and closed her eyes, forcing herself to take deep breaths. She jumped when a large, warm hand landed on her lower back and began rubbing in soothing circles.

"Em said this helped when she was in labor," Cordell murmured softly. "Let me know if you want me to stop."

His voice floated through the haze of pain and Micki breathed a sigh of relief as the vice around her middle slowly released her from its grip. "It's over," she informed Walker in a quiet voice, exhaustion suddenly dropping over her like a heavy blanket.

"I'll give you a minute to get changed," Cordell informed her. "Then we can figure out how we are going to get you to the hospital."

Micki changed as quickly as her bulky body would allow her. At eight and a half months pregnant, that wasn't very fast at all. She struggled out of the wet hoodie and the t-shirt she was wearing underneath and managed to get Walker's gray shirt over her head and pulled down over her belly. The pants, however, proved to be more difficult. Micki was out of breath and trembling all over by the time she got the maternity jeans off. It nearly took acrobatics to get her legs into Walker's jogging pants. The waist settled beneath her baby belly.

Yet another contraction tightened around her middle as she began to dry her hair with the towel. Leaning back on her hands, Micki took a deep breath in through her nose and blew it out through her mouth. The contractions were getting closer together. What she had hoped was false labor was looking more and more like the real thing. She cursed under her breath. "Now is really not a good time, Baby Girl," she murmured.

Walker knocked on the door then and waited for her to tell him to enter. When he opened the door, his multi-colored expressive eyes studied her carefully. What he saw must have worried him because his brow furrowed in concern. "So, how worried do I need to be Floriana?" He tried to be playful, but Micki would sense the concern beneath his words.

She rubbed her lower abdomen absently as she answered. "I think it's the real thing," Micki sighed.

"My phone isn't getting a reception, but the last I heard the roads into town were impassable." He nibbled his bottom lip anxiously and Micki stifled a groan as another contraction tightened around her middle.

They were getting closer together now. She was going to be a mom soon. Terror threatened to overwhelm her, but she fought it down. She had survived the loss of Trey, which was the worst thing to ever happen to her. She could survive this, too.

Suddenly, Walker was kneeling by the bed looking up at her. "I can go up to the big house and get my mom," he comforted. "Are you full term?" He remembered all of the terminology from when Emily was pregnant with their children.

"Almost," she sighed as the contraction released its grip on her. "I have two weeks left."

Her former partner patted her knee gently. "Okay, that's not too bad; is it?"

"I don't think so," she replied, worrying her bottom lip with her teeth.

Micki groaned again as another contraction began and then she gasped as she felt a rush of water between her legs. "Walker!" She reached out and gripped his forearm. "My water broke!"

Cordell's eyes widened. He knew that with her water breaking, Micki's labor was really beginning in earnest. He swallowed back the fear that clogged his throat. "Okay, I'm going to go get my mom. It's going to be just fine," he soothed, hoping that he was telling her the truth.

Micki cried out in surprise as the contraction intensified. This one was much worse than the others. She clenched her eyes shut as she tried to reach through it and flailed blindly for Walker's hand. He grasped hers tightly in his own.

"What can I do?" He stood up and ran his free hand anxiously through his brown hair.

"Don't leave me," Micki ground out through clenched teeth.

He shook his head. "I need to go get my mom." Tugging his phone out of his pocket he checked it once again. "No reception."

"No, please, Walker." After losing Trey, Micki didn't want to be alone. She'd been by herself for the past two years, but she couldn't handle it right now. She couldn't be strong anymore.

"Hey, I've got you," her former partner soothed as he pushed her damp hair back from her face with his free hand. "Augie!" There was no immediate response so he yelled again over the sound of the rain hitting the roof. "August!" When he heard feet thundering on the steps he turned back to Micki. "You just do what you need to do to feel comfortable. Let me worry about the rest."

August yelled for his dad once he reached the bottom of the stairs. "Dad? Where are you?"

"Back here in my room! Hurry!" August appeared in the doorway, his eyes widening in surprise when he caught sight of a very pregnant and damp Micki sitting on the edge of his father's bed, her feet surrounded by a puddle of water.

"Go put the fire out; the wind is getting worse," Cordell instructed his son. "Then I need you to go to the big house with my truck and get your grandma."

August nodded, speechless, before turning to care for the fireplace.

Walker checked his phone again just as Micki gripped his hand tighter and wrapped her free arm around her stomach. "Walker," she moaned.

"Hey, you've got this, Flora," he soothed. Glancing down at his phone, he grinned. "I have reception!" He instantly called his mother, but the phone just rang and no one answered. Walker cursed under his breath and hung up, deciding to dial for paramedics instead. Before he could even press the nine, the emergency alert system went off. He started and fumbled the phone, nearly dropping it.

Micki cried out and doubled over, dragged her hand from his and wrapped both arms around her stomach.

Walker looked at the phone. They were under a tornado warning. There was a funnel cloud on the ground and heading straight toward the ranch. "Micki, we have to get in the bathroom! There's a tornado heading our way! August!"

"What?" Micki looked up at him with watery, terrified eyes. "No, I can't." She was in agony as another contraction started just as soon as one ended. They weren't supposed to get this bad this fast, were they?

"We have to!" He grabbed a blanket from the end of the bed and then snatched the two pillows at the head. Tossing them through the bathroom door he went back to Micki just as August appeared in the doorway. "Tornado warning! Help me get her in the bathroom."

The wind was roaring outside and held a wild quality to it that it hadn't had before. Micki's legs nearly gave out beneath her as August and Cordell helped her to her feet. The sound of the wind grew wilder and the pressure in the room changed.

"Get in the bathroom!" Walker shoved August ahead of him and then scooped Micki into his arms and followed behind his son. Walker gently placed MIcki in the bathroom floor and covered her with the blanket, placing the pillows behind her.

August slammed the door and dropped to the floor next to his father just as the lights flickered and went out. Augie used his cell phone to light the bathroom. His eyes were huge with fear in the dim light as he met his father's worried gaze.

"So much pressure," Micki moaned as she reached for Walker's hand. "I need to push."

"What? No!" Walker looked at his former parter in horror. She hadn't even been in labor that long. How could she be ready to push? The wind roared and the house seemed to shake on its foundation.

Micki cried out again. "I need to push, Walker! I need to push!"

To Be Continued…