All in a Day's Work

May 17th, 2004

8:14 AM

"You'll never guess who I saw up on the 5th…"

"You're right, I probably won't."

"Would you like a hint?"

Abby narrowed her eyes at John from across the admit desk.

"She's about ye high, has curly brown hair, married to our boss—"

"Sandy Lopez?" Abby exclaimed, suddenly playing into the little game John had begun. "You saw Sandy?"

Satisfied with himself, John grinned and nodded. "She was heading back to Kerry's room with a cup of ice. Said Kerry went into labor this morning and that she's going in for a cesarean in a little while."

"A C-section?" Abby asked, surprised.

John shrugged. "I guess that's been the plan for a while; the baby's still transverse."

Abby winced. "Ouch."

John nodded. "Sandy said they're both doing well, though, and she seemed to be pretty calm."

Abby considered this then grabbed a chart, "Let me know if you hear anything else."

11: 35 AM

"So, I was just up in OB…"

"What? Why?"

"Officially, I was checking on a patient I sent up yesterday. She had a little boy and they're both doing well. Unofficially, I was snooping."

"John!"

"What? I didn't see anything…"

Abby rolled her eyes.

"…aside from Kerry being wheeled toward the elevator."

"John!"

"She didn't see me, don't worry—it was purely coincidental."

"Well?"

"What?"

"How did she look?"

John shrugged. "I really only saw the back of her head. I only knew it was her because Sandy was next to her. She was smiling and they didn't seem to be in any sort of rush, so I'd assume everything's fine."

"We should send flowers up."

"You and I or as a department?"

"As a department, John."

"Right." He nodded, "Maybe wait until we hear good news. I wouldn't want to…"

"Jinx anything?"

"Yeah."

"Good idea."

1:17 AM

"Oh, that's great…that's really great. Thank you for calling. Tell Kerry and Sandy congratulations from the ER. And thank them for letting us know...Okay, I will. Thanks again."

Abby hung up the phone and looked up at the congregation of doctors, students, and nurses before her. John, Susan, and Gallant were in the front of the pack, looking at her expectantly.

"Well?"

"It's a girl. She was born about an hour ago. Six pounds, six ounces, and 18 inches long. Everyone's doing well."

Excited utterings flew around the admit desk. Susan spoke up first, "Does she have a name?"

Abby shook her head. "At least not that they're announcing. But the nurse did have a message from Weaver that I'm supposed to relay to you all."

"What is it?"

Abby grinned, "'Get your butts back to work and don't you dare send flowers.'"

A couple people chuckled but did as they were told. After the crowd had dispersed, all that remained was Abby and John. "How were we supposed to know that she wasn't going to want flowers?"

"She'll appreciate them; she loves hydrangeas." John said confidently, "She just doesn't like people wasting their money on superfluous gifts for her."

Abby nodded understandingly.

"I think I'm going to get my butt back to work, now." John said, smiling at Abby and going back onto the floor.

4:33 PM

Kerry looked up at the sound of her hospital room door opening and saw a pair of legs, part of a torso, and a large bouquet of flowers.

"These were at the nurse's station." The walking flowerpot said in a voice that was identical to Sandy's.

"Who are they from?" Kerry asked, studying the flowers from afar as Sandy placed them on the ledge of the window.

"The card says 'Congratulations and Best Wishes from the ER.'"

"I told them not to send flowers."

"You can't control everything, ya know." Sandy said lightly, "Besides, they look nice and they're your favorites. Whoever picked them out did a good job."

"Probably John," Kerry said, "he knows I like hydrangeas."

"How're you feeling?" Sandy asked after a long moment.

"Like my epidural is wearing off."

"Ouch."

Kerry nodded and glanced over at the bassinette their daughter was sleeping in. "How does she look?"

Sandy took a long, lingering look at the sleeping newborn. She was the smallest baby she'd ever seen, was wrapped up in a yellow blanket and wore a green-and-blue striped hat, and was absolutely breathtaking. "She's perfect."

Kerry grinned, her heart warming.

"Have you thought about a name?"

Kerry nodded. "Have you?"

Sandy nodded. They'd decided to wait until the baby was born to officially settle on a name if it was a girl. Their decision was already made if it was a boy; Henry was the only first name on the list and they'd chosen Benjamin for a middle name. The girls' names were what threw a wrench into their naming process; they'd each agreed on one name, but then had found others that they liked just as much. Finally, after weeks of talking about it on and off, they'd agreed to wait to find out if they were actually going to need a girl's name rather than stress about it preemptively.

"Mariana Leigh and Bailey Marie are my top two." Kerry said.

"Bailey Marie and Morgan Jane are mine." Sandy said with a smile.

"Does that mean we have a winner?" Kerry asked.

"Bailey Marie Lopez-Weaver," Sandy said, leaning forward and pressing a gentle kiss to Kerry's temple, "Yeah, I think we have a winner."

Kerry smiled, too, and glanced past her wife at the infant—Bailey—who was still fast asleep. Kerry had seen hundreds upon hundreds of babies in her life but had never been able to appreciate an infant's beauty like she could now. This little girl, the one they'd tried so hard to have, the one who had put her body and mind through hell and back over the past thirty-eight weeks, was the most gorgeous being she'd ever laid eyes on. After a little while, she spoke again.

"She's been sleeping for a long time now."

"Hey, there's nothing wrong with a sleeping baby." Sandy teased, taking a seat in between the bassinette and the bed.

Kerry smiled sleepily and the two women fell into another companionable silence, their minds both occupied.

"Hey, you okay?" Sandy asked when she glanced at her wife and noticed the single, glistening line running down Kerry's cheek.

Kerry hadn't realized she'd been crying, but given the sheer emotion of the day, it wasn't really a surprise. She nodded, smiled, and wiped away the stray tear. "I'm great. Just so…"

"Happy? Exhausted? Freaked out? In awe?" Sandy said lightly.

Kerry nodded again. "And I'm on a pretty nice cocktail of pain medication, too...I'm sure that's helping a bit."

Sandy chuckled. "You should sleep. God knows when she—when Bailey is going to be hungry again."

Kerry raised her eyebrows. "You don't mind?" She asked. Her eyes were, in fact, getting heavy with sleep as she watched their daughter.

"You don't need my permission, Ker, but no I don't mind…" Sandy said softly.

"Mmm…" Kerry responded, her eyelids heavy with exhaustion. "If she wakes up—"

"I'll wake you. Go to sleep."

"Mhmm…" Kerry's eyes were shut, now. "I love you, Sandy."

"I love you, too."

A/N: If you've gotten this far, I'd like to thank you for reading! It's been great hearing from everyone who has reviewed and I'm glad that, for the most part, you've enjoyed what I've written. I originally planned to post an epilogue immediately after this chapter, but due to the slightly darker nature of said epilogue, I've decided to post it as its one story; I didn't want to ruin the feel of this story by posting something that some might find borderline depressing. So, if you want to leave Sandy, Kerry, and Bailey how you see them here, you don't have to read the epilogue. If you do want to read where I think the small family ended up, then please have at it! And don't worry; the epilogue may be a bit sad, but no one dies and it does have a pretty happy ending.