Disclaimer: Characters are owned and produced by The Disney Channel and It's A Laugh Productions. I am just borrowing them for these stories. Original characters are owned by the author of this story.

The Search for Tomorrow

Chapter 18

Tomorrow Never Dies

London and Maddie walked into the emergency admittance area followed by the gaggle of friends and relatives chattering amongst themselves. Maddie helped London over to the admittance desk where the nurse on duty was sitting.

"Yes ma'am. How may I help you?" The nurse inquired.

"Hello! Baby coming! Duh!" Maddie spat.

"Sweetie, calm down." London said as she attempted to control her breathing. "I'm London Tipton-Fitzpatrick. We're meeting Doctor Simmons here." London said of their regular obstetrician.

"Doctor Simmons was just pulled into emergency surgery. Let me page her backup." The nurse said calmly.

"Great! Doctor Simmons isn't here and we have to get some med school reject or some… intern! Damnit!" Maddie scoffed.

"Madeline. Language." Miranda said as she stood several paces behind her daughter.

"Mom, they took me there, okay?" Maddie exclaimed. "I'll say ten Hail Mary's in the morning!" She then turned to London and spoke in a relatively calm voice. "Baby, we're not gonna let them give you some medical quack clown."

"That's too bad. That's what it says on my med school degree." London and Maddie looked around to see Doctor Angie Gentry standing in front of them.

"Damn!" Lilly whispered to Miley and the others that surrounded her. "I wish she was my OB/GYN!"

"You horny again?" Miley whispered.

"Yep." Lilly responded.

"I thought so." Miley replied with a sly smile.

"Angie! Thank God it's you!" Maddie said. "London's in labor!"

"I figured that out when I got the code page for a woman in labor in the ER lobby. Man! You don't listen very well either, do you?" Angie joked.

"Now listen here, young lady…" Miranda was about to get riled up over Dr. Gentry's flip remark when Maddie stopped her.

"Mom! It's okay. This is how Dr. Gentry and London and I talk." Maddie said. "Are you gonna…"

"Of course." Dr. Gentry said. "Nicole, call upstairs and have them set up Birthing Room B and page Doctor Simmons to let her know that I have this under control." Dr. Gentry said to the nurse. "Okay. I'll meet you upstairs." Dr. Gentry was about to walk away when London grabbed her by the sleeve.

"Angie? Please go up with us. Please?" London asked.

"You're really scared, aren't you?" Maddie asked as she held London's hand and stroked her hair. London nodded quickly.

"You have nothing to worry about. Maddie and I are here with you." Dr. Gentry said.

"Yeah, Londie. We're here too. Right guys?" Sandra said.

"YEAH!" The group said unison.

"Okay. Let's do this." London said just as another contraction hit. "OHHH!" London began to double over. Dr. Gentry went several steps to her right to grab the nearest wheelchair. She and Maddie helped London into the wheelchair. Maddie then went around behind it to push. They began toward the big set of double doors in front of them. About ten steps away from the door, Dr. Gentry noticed the sound of nearly two dozen sets of footsteps behind her and stopped in her tracks and wheeled around.

"Down that hallway to the elevator, sixth floor, you all can wait in the lobby." Dr. Gentry said.

"We're her mothers. Can we come with you?" Sandra asked as she held up the hand that was holding Brandi's hand as well.

Doctor Gentry looked at London. "My mother and stepmother. I want them there." London said.

"Come on." Dr. Gentry said. "For the rest of you, I'll see you later." With that, Dr. Gentry disappeared through the double doors with Maddie, London, Sandra and Brandi.

Upstairs in the lobby of the maternity wing, the group nervously waited.

"I wonder how long it'll be." Zack said.

"It could be hours, Baby." Max said.

"Seems like yesterday I was helping her broadcast that stupid Internet show she had." C.J. said.

Barbara started laughing. "I remember that!" She said before she launched into the vapid theme song. "London Tipton's really great, really great, really great… London Tipton's really great…"

"Don't remind me!" C.J. said. "She wanted me to wear heels."

"Don't forget about the dress." Zack said.

"Shut up, Zack." C.J. deadpanned and then sighed. "Now she's all grown up and having a baby."

"London, a mother. Huh! Who would have imagined it when she lived at the Tipton? What, after that debacle with the baby doll she and Madeline had." Marion said.

Miranda and Irving started laughing. "Ahhh! One night, Madeline brought that doll home…" Miranda continued laughing as Irving nudged her. "I thought she had pulled it out of a trash can! That poor thing looked worse than… Chucky from Child's Play!" Everyone started laughing at that remembrance.

"The first time she picked up Richie, he threw up all over one of her new suits." Raven recalled laughing. "Remember that Chels?"

Chelsea looked over at Raven stone-faced for a second, surprised that Raven would say anything to her. However, the remembrance of London's encounter with Richie made Chelsea crack a toothless smile that she shared with Raven for a brief moment.

"Yeah." Chelsea said looking at Raven before moving her eyes to scan the group. "She handed him back to me like he was contagious and whined, 'Eww! I've got baby pukey on my suit!'" The whole group cracked up. "I mean who says baby pukey?" Chelsea said laughing.

"But she warmed up to him." Raven said.

"She did. She forgave him, I guess." Chelsea said. She then dropped her head in contemplative thought. Raven looked over at her for a moment before going into a moment of reflection of her own.

"She is going to be a terrific mother." Barbara said.

"When are you due?" Miley asked.

"Two weeks." Barbara said.

"There's been alotta hanky panky goin' on!" Zack joked.

"Son, Maddie and Miley's hanky didn't exactly make that panky happen." Irving commented causing everyone to snicker.

"Is Mom gonna have to give you another lesson about the birds and the bees?" C.J. joked. The group burst out in laughter again.

"That was payback for the dress comment, right?" Zack said.

"Right." C.J. said.

Miranda took Irving by the hand. "I pray everything is going all right in there." She said.

"Everything'll be fine, Minnie." Irving used his pet name for his wife as he put his arm around her shoulders. "London's stronger than she looks. And you know Madeline."

Two hours into her labor, London was starting to grow irritable.

"I'm tired of lying in this bed. I'm ready to have this baby so I can go to sleep." London said.

"Baby, Angie said you're only at four centimeters right now. Just use your breathing techniques." Maddie said calmly.

"I don't want to use any breathing techniques." London said. "I want to hold my breath while they give me an epidural or some… fucking morphine or something. Can you get me some morphine?"

"No morphine, Baby." Maddie said calmly.

"CAN I GET SOME FUCKING DRUGS PLEASE?" London bellowed.

"London…"

"It's okay Maddie." Sandra said. "Fussing will actually calm her down. I was like that with her."

"Mom? No offense, but you haven't done this in almost thirty years." London said through gritted teeth. "I'm doing this now. I am not calm. I want some FUCKING DRUGS!"

"Were you a potty mouth too?" Maddie said as she stroked London's arm.

"I did everything from questioning Wilfred's ancestry to making crude references to him being a homosexual and enjoying biting pillows during sex." Sandra said.

"Gotcha." Maddie said.

"Yeah, well I wish just this once that Maddie had a dick… so I could pull it off for making me do this." London growled. Just then, Angie walked in to check on London.

"So, how's mommy?" Dr. Gentry asked cheerfully.

"She just said she wished I had a dick so she could pull it off." Maddie deadpanned.

"Okay! She's almost ready." Dr. Gentry said.

"I need some drugs. When do I get the drugs?" London asked.

"You don't need the drugs yet. Trust me." Dr. Gentry said. "When they can hear you screaming in Salem, then you'll need the drugs."

"Nice bedside manner, Doc." London said. "Where's Addison Montgomery?" She asked, referring to the maternity specialist on Grey's Anatomy.

"I'm thinking it won't be much longer now. I'll be back shortly." Dr. Gentry said with a smile. "You're doing great London. Hang in there." Dr. Gentry patted London on the arm before heading to the door.

"DON'T COME BACK HERE WITHOUT SOME PHARMACEUTICALS!" London called out to Dr. Gentry before she left.

Out in the waiting area, Raven had just come out of the restroom when she happened upon Chelsea at the vending machine desperately trying to extract a pack of trail mix that was stuck behind one of the coils.

"Here." Raven said humbly as she walked over to the vending machine. "It's all in the hip… action." Raven then took a second to analyze the position of the bag. She the gripped the edge of the top of the machine and hit the machine with two quick bangs of her voluptuous hip releasing the bag from behind the coil and watching it drop to the bottom. She then reached inside to grab the bag and handed it to Chelsea.

"Thanks." Chelsea meekly said as she took the bag. She then turned toward the machine and put in a few more coins and watched as a bag of gummy bears dropped to the bottom. She took the bag out and handed it to Raven. "Your favorite vending machine snack."

"Thanks." Raven said.

"I'm… sorry I cursed at you earlier." Chelsea said.

"I'm sorry too." Raven said.

Chelsea paused for a minute. "I am still…"

"I know." Raven said. "I'm still…"

"I know." Chelsea responded and then paused. The two women uncomfortably shifted from foot to foot during the awkward moment. "You… want a soda? My treat."

"I'm good. Thanks." Raven said. The two wounded women stood looking at each other for a moment searching for the woman that they once knew. In a moment of weakness and vulnerability, Raven slowly leaned forward to kiss Chelsea. The redhead was frozen in place, desperately wanting to engage her beautiful wife in that kiss. Millimeters from her Raven's lips, however, Chelsea pulled away shaking her head.

"Too soon. Way… too soon." Chelsea said in a flustered voice as she began to walk away. "I'm sorry… I… cursed at you earlier." She said as her heels clicked on the tile as she walked back toward the waiting room.

Raven stood watching Chelsea walk down the hallway. "Me too Chels… Me too."

"Any word yet?" Zack asked after he and C.J. returned from a walk at the six-hour mark around 11:45.

"Nothing yet." Max said.

Barbara noticed that Maddie's mother was nodding off. "Mrs. Fitzpatrick, are you sure you don't want to go home and get some rest?" Barbara asked.

"Darlin', I wouldn't miss the birth of my grandchild for anything." Miranda said sweetly, coming a long way from the woman that ran her daughter out of the house when she found out about her relationship with London.

"We were at the hospital for thirty-nine hours when Genevieve gave birth to Matthew. This is nothin'." Irving said.

Lilly stood up and walked over to Barbara to sit down and compare pregnancy stories. Chelsea struck up a conversation with Max, Zack and C.J. Miley, seeing Raven re-enter the waiting area, walked over to her.

"Are Lilly and Barbara gonna be all right?" Raven asked.

"Yeah. I tried to get them to go home but they're determined to be here for London. I guess it's a pregnancy sisterhood or something." Miley said causing Raven to chuckle. "You feeling better?"

"A little." Raven said quietly. "Chelsea and I had a little encounter out in the hallway just now."

"Better than the one earlier I hope." Miley said.

"The best it's been since this whole mess started." Raven said. She then sighed. "I don't know how we got to this point, Miles. One minute everything was perfect, even better than when we got married, and then… bam… to hell in a hand basket."

"You're not thinking about…" Miley started.

"Don't… even say it." Raven admonished Miley. "I swore that I would never use the d-word when it comes to Chels and me… ever." Raven said. The d-word that she referred to was divorce. "Till death do us part." Raven said. "She'd have to kill me to get rid of me."

"I want to say something to you and I am saying this because I am your friend and because I love you and I figure that only Eddie and Gina have said this to you up to this point, maybe." Miley started, referring to Raven and Chelsea's best friends.

Miley started her next sentence to Raven just before Maddie, clad in blue hospital scrubs, stepped into the waiting room. Everyone snapped to attention and stood when she stepped in. Maddie scanned the entire waiting room with her soft brown eyes before taking a deep breath to speak.

FLASHBACK TO MOMENTS EARLIER…

London was wheeled from her private room into the birthing room down the hall. Sandra and Brandi stayed in the private room allowing Maddie to be her wife's support in the delivery room. She was in the middle of a strong contraction as they wheeled her into place. Maddie was by her side, holding her hand and encouraging her. Several minutes after everything was in place, Dr. Gentry gave London instructions.

"Okay London. This is it. I need you to push for me." Dr. Gentry said.

London bore down and pushed with all her might. "AAAAAGGGGGGHHHHHH!" She then slumped back to catch her breath as Maddie encouraged her.

"That's good baby! You did good! Just a few more and our baby will be here! Come on baby!" Maddie said.

"All right London. You're doing fine. Give me another push on the count of three. Okay?" Dr. Gentry said. "One… two… three."

"AAAAAGGGGGGHHHHHH!" Maddie brushed several strands of London's sweat-slicked hair out of her face as London panted for oxygen.

"Good London. We can almost see the crown of the head. We'll need you to push again in a minute."

"You are the most amazing woman I know. You are doing great." Maddie whispered.

"I am?" London asked with the look of an unsure child on her face.

"Yes you are." Maddie said with a smile.

"All right London. On the count of three give me another push." Dr. Gentry coached. "One… two… three, push!"

"AAAAAGGGGGGHHHHHH!"

"Good! I can see the head. You're almost there." Dr. Gentry said.

"I can't!" London said, almost in tears. "I can't do this anymore! I'm so tired. Please! No more pushing!"

"London, come on. You can do this." Maddie said. "You're a CEO. You're an NBA owner. You're the richest, most influential woman in the United States. You can do anything you set your mind to and you want this baby. You've wanted this baby from the second we fell in love. Now push. Not for me, but for our child. Push."

"Give me one more super push, London. One more push and we can call it a night." Dr. gentry said. On three. One… two… three!"

"!"

"Atta girl!" Dr. Gentry said as the nurses went to quick work to towel off the baby and clear the airway for the baby's first cry.

"I don't hear anything! Where's my baby!" London panicked.

"Wait for it." Dr. Gentry said. Seconds later…

"WAAAAAAAAAHHHH! WAAAAAAAAAAHHHH! WAAAAAAAHHHHH!"

London and Maddie relaxed and melted into each others embrace in a half-cry, half-laugh as they listened to the loud wailing of their newborn.

"You are the proud parents of a healthy baby… girl." Dr. Gentry announced.

"It's a girl!" Maddie laughed as her tears streamed. "It's a girl, baby!" London wept as she lay on the gurney.

"A girl." London eked out as she cried.

One of the nurses handed the baby to Dr. Gentry, who walked over to place the baby in London's arms. The overwhelming feeling of joy and relief flooded London's senses as she cried harder. Maddie looked on as she wept for joy as well.

"Thank you God!" London softly cried out as she held her little girl for the first time. "Thank you God for little Catherine."

"She's beautiful!" Maddie whispered in amazement. "You created her."

"Our love created her." London said.

"Our love." Maddie responded.

END OF FLASHBACK

The group in the waiting room held its collective breath as Maddie opened her mouth to speak.

"At 11:39 pm, Eastern Daylight Time, London Tipton-Fitzpatrick gave birth to Catherine Miranda Li-Chen Tipton-Fitzpatrick." Maddie announced. The room erupted in cheers, tears and hugs. Maddie's mother stepped forward giving her daughter a giant bear hug, soon to be followed by her father, then her sister Genny. Everyone else followed suit.

"When can we see them?" Miranda asked.

"In the morning." Maddie said. "Dr. Gentry wants her to get some rest. It's been a long day. I'm gonna stay here with her. Brandi and Sandra are gonna stay too."

"Okay darlin'." Miranda said. "We'll be back in the morning."

"Sandy. Clo." Maddie said. Sandrine and Chloe stepped forward as Maddie reached into her pocket for her house key. "You're in charge of the place tonight. Don't mess up our good sheets." She said with a smirk.

"Please!" Chloe scoffed. "That's what the hot tub is for!" She said as she playfully snatched the key and gave Maddie a peck on the cheek. "Congratulations!"

Maddie shook her head as Sandrine stepped forward and gave her a friendly peck on the corner of her mouth. "Congratulations. We'll see you in the morning."

Everyone else came over to say their goodbyes to Maddie. Hanging back near the end were the rest of the Divas.

Miley stepped forward to hug Maddie. "No stress, Maddie." Miley whispered in acknowledgement of their secret.

"No stress, Miley." Maddie replied. "See you tomorrow."

Miley went over to talk briefly to Raven and Lilly when Chelsea stepped up to Maddie.

"You're gonna stay strong for me, right?" Maddie asked.

"I will." Chelsea affirmed. "Enjoy every second of this."

"I will." Maddie said as she exchanged a hug and kiss with Chelsea before the redhead walked out of the room and toward the group at the elevator.

"Blondie." Raven said with a smile and outstretched arms as they embraced. "You are going to be a phenomenal mother." Raven said as she squeezed Maddie tightly.

As she embraced Raven, she whispered into her ear, "You know she still loves you, right?"

Raven felt a sudden, overwhelming sob catch in her throat as she stared at the double doors leading back into the maternity ward. "I know." Raven eked out in a tear-laden voice. "I still love her too."

"Never stop fighting. You hear me?" Maddie said, still tightly embracing Raven. "In the end, love conquers all."

"Okay." Raven said meekly as tears welled up in her hazel eyes. The two women slowly broke their embrace and held each other by the hands. "Give London and the baby a kiss for me."

"You bet." Maddie whispered as she watched Raven slowly walk toward the now empty elevator lobby.

Two days came and went with London and Maddie bonding with their precious baby girl. On that sunny Tuesday morning, Maddie went down to the admitting office to sign the paperwork releasing London. This allowed London to share a few minutes alone with her newborn. As she sat in the wheelchair she was required to leave the hospital in, she began rocking her baby girl.

"You have no idea how selfish your mommy was when she was younger." London spoke to Catherine in her sweetest sweet voice as she cradled the infant in her arms. "She bossed people around and didn't care about people's feelings and spent tons of money… okay she still spends tons of money..." London chuckled as she looked down at her daughter's angelic face. "But you know what?" London said with her eyes welling up with tears. "Your Momma Maddie always stuck by her, and believed in her. She loved her and never gave up on her." London brushed away tears with her right hand. "Catherine, promise me this. No matter who you fall in love with, and I mean your true love not some passing fling, I mean the one that you want to spend the rest of your life with, give him or her your heart, even though there's a chance you could get hurt. That's what life is all about." London paused as she gazed into Catherine's big, expressive brown eyes. "Mommy is writing this book about searching for tomorrow, searching for true happiness in life. Well with Momma Maddie, and now you… I found it. I've found true happiness. But this is just the beginning 'cause see, when I look at you… I realize that the search keeps going on. I've got to teach you to search for that true happiness in life; to find your tomorrow. And let you know that when you do find it, to make sure that your tomorrow… never dies."

"I think you just found the ending to your book." London looked up to see Maddie leaning against the door frame of the room smiling sweetly at them.

"How long have you been standing there?" London asked with a smile.

"Long enough to tell you that you were wrong about something you told our daughter. You did care about people's feelings. You just cared about your own more." Maddie said as she walked over to mother and child. "We were all like that as teenagers. But you did grow up to become the most extraordinary woman I've ever met."

"So when you said all that stuff in the delivery room, you just weren't trying to get me to push. You really meant it." London said.

Maddie knelt down and kissed Catherine on the forehead and stroked her baby soft hair. "If I didn't mean it, I wouldn't have been in there with you." Maddie said before leaning forward and kissing London softly on the lips.

"I love you so much, Blondie." London said as her eyes darted back and forth looking into Maddie's eyes.

"I love you too, Princess." Maddie said softly. "Come on. Let's take Catherine home." Maddie said as she stood up and walked around behind the wheelchair. She began to slowly push the chair as she reached out with her right hand and grabbed London's bag off of the bed, slinging it over her shoulder.

"I don't know why I have to ride in this thing. I can walk to the car." London said as she was being pushed toward the elevator.

"Hospital policy. Plus Angie would kill me if she saw you walk out of here." Maddie said.

"We need a nickname for Catherine." London said.

Maddie thought for a moment. "How about Cathy?" Maddie said.

"No. Sounds old." London responded. "How about Randi? You know, short for Miranda?"

"No. I don't like that." Maddie said as she continued to push London down the hallway. "How 'bout Li-Li, short for Li-Chen?"

"Sounds like a panda at the zoo." London said. "Don't tell my mother I said that."

Maddie laughed. "Okay." Maddie reached the elevator and pushed the button. "I got it. Angel. She is, after all, our little angel."

"Angel. I like that." London said sweetly. "Angel it is." Just then the chime on the elevator sounded and the doors opened. Maddie turned around and began backing the wheelchair into the elevator. "Blondie, Princess and Angel are headed home to continue their search for tomorrow." London said.

Just as the chime sounded again for the doors to close, Maddie put the punctuation on London's statement. "The search for tomorrow… that never dies." The elevator doors then closed and the Tipton-Fitzpatrick family headed home.

After nearly 80,000 words and 18 chapters, your search for tomorrow has come to an end. I hope you enjoyed this story. There will be a sequel to this story. Midway through writing this chapter, I came up with the name for the third story in the trilogy. It will be called Tomorrow Never Dies. Yes, that was the title of a James Bond movie but I never said all my titles were original!

I have several stories to pen before I come back to this one, but rest assured, I will be back before you know it.

"Dang flabbit! TRIP! Are you comin' or what? You've got a story to write for us!"

Sorry guys. Miley's a little impatient. I've been promising her a sequel since I finished Best of Both Worlds back in October. So I better get going.

"TRIP!"

"I'M COMING!"

I love you guys. Take care. I'll see you in chapter one of my new Liley fic, Back to the Future. And always remember when you laugh and love, you live. See ya.