Title: My Bus Stop Gal Pal

Disclaimer: Not mine.

Warnings: An OC character. If you hate OC characters, go ahead and leave. It's okay. I understand.

A/N: Written for impromptu50. Part 1/3. I was going to make it one long story, but when I saw how long 'long' actually was I decided to break it up a bit.

Summary: JD discovers the hardship of childbirth on the corner of 34th and Main.

JD sat on the bench at the bus stop. Julianne sat beside him. A rolled up mat rested between them.

JD watched her out the corner of his eye. Her belly had become swollen in the weeks since she'd told him of her pregnancy. Her husband had been overseas in Germany for the past two years. Last Christmas he'd come home for four days and wouldn't you know . . .

Her tummy was big, made all that much bigger by her petit appearance. The blue shirt she wore fit tight across her stomach. He wondered if she chose to wear tight clothing to accentuate her pregnancy, or if she just wasn't fond of the selection at the local maternity outlet. He had to admit, maternity clothing wasn't that appealing to him. All flowery and flowy and big and just . . . Not appealing. But he supposed that was part of their function. Most mothers-to-be weren't looking to score on a nightly basis. They needed clothing that would reflect that.

Julianne laid a hand on her belly and rubbed circles across it in a soft, soothing motion. JD's fingers twitched. There was something about a pregnant tummy that just begged to be touched. He debated whether he should just go for it, or if he should ask permission. He was a man, so it might be better to seem cool and impulsive. Then again, mothers could sometimes be insanely possessive of the little bugs growing in their bellies, and as a doctor it was better that he continue existing with two hands and ten fingers.

Julianne smiled. "Go ahead," she said.

JD snapped back to reality. "What?" he asked, attempting to sound nonchalant.

She smirked at him. "I felt you watching me." She gave him a knowing look. "And I know what you're thinking."

JD crossed his arms and stared back at her, smug. "I bet you don't."

"Fine," she stated, staring back out at the road. "You can't touch my baby."

"Please?" JD pleaded, immediately rising to the bait.

"Nope."

JD huffed and slumped back against the bench. Curse my stupid smugness.

Julianne laughed. "I'm kidding!" she chided, taking in JD's sour disposition. She grasped JD's hand and pulled until he leaned across the distance and placed his palm flat against her stomach. "Better?"

JD shrugged. "It's okay," he said. Oh my God, this is amazing! "Has he kicked much lately?"

"He, OR she," she corrected, "has been rather quiet these past few days. I think it's my yoga class." She motioned to the rolled up mat. "I must have tuckered the poor kid out."

"Ah," JD commented. He rubbed his hand against her stomach. "So that's why I haven't seen much of you lately."

"That, and the fact that I'm thirty weeks pregnant and its becoming a hassle to move," she said.

JD stared at the belly underneath his hand. "Oh yeah." Pulling away he grabbed his book bag and hefted it into his lap. "I got you something," he said.

"Something?" Julianne questioned. "What kind of something?"

"Oh, you know," JD said, pulling two small, rectangular boxes out of his bag. "A little something." Putting the bag back on the ground he handed the boxes to his friend. "Happy anniversary."

Julianne took the boxes, her eyes confused. "My anniversary isn't for another three weeks," she said.

"Not your anniversary," JD said. "Our anniversary. It was a year ago today that we first met."

Julianne's eyes softened. "Oh, JD . . . You remember that?"

"Of course I do," JD began, "I had spilled coffee on my pants that morning and didn't have enough time to change so it looked like I'd wet myself and while I was keeping my eyes on the ground to avoid conversation I saw a spider crawl across your shoe and -because I have this weird knee-jerk reaction whenever I see a spider - I ended up stomping on your foot and then had to take you to the hospital because I broke your toe."

Julianne's smile wavered a bit. "Oh, yeah," she said. "I remember that now." JD blushed a little. He could tell she was thinking that day over in her head. He wished he hadn't recounted the whole story. He could have left that last part out. Stupid spider.

"Well, those boxes don't look like they'll open themselves," he said. Julianne placed one box on her stomach while she opened the other. JD loved how a pregnant belly doubled as a coffee table.

Cracking the lid open, Julianne's small grin widened to encompass her whole face. "Oh, JD," she gushed - just as the sale's lady said she would - "they're adorable!" Julianne pulled a set of pink booties out of the box. She held them in her hand and gazed lovingly at the tiny shoes.

"The other box has a blue set just like those," he said. "Only instead of little pink flowers on the side, they have little blue anchors." Julianne looked over at JD. "I wasn't sure which set to get, since you don't know the sex yet."

"JD, you shouldn't have gone to this trouble," she said.

"Don't be silly," JD said, wrapping an arm about his friend's shoulders. She leaned into him, frighteningly close to tears. "You're my bus stop gal-pal. Besides, when I was shopping I got to say 'booty' a lot." JD grinned. That had been a good day.

Julianne set the pink shoes aside and opened the second package. Upon spying the blue shoes, she actually did begin to cry. "God, I hate being so hormonal," she laughed through her tears.

"It's okay," JD said softly. He tightened his grip around her. Julianne reached up to wipe the tears away.

"Ugh," she said. "I can't be looking like this today," she murmured. Grabbing for her bag, she placed the shoes back in their boxes and put the boxes in her purse.

"Why?" JD questioned.

"I have an appointment with my doctor this morning," she said. "I hate looking such a mess when I go in to see her. She's my gynecologist, not my shrink."

JD laughed. "I'm sure she doesn't mind," he said, pulling a tissue out of his pocket and handing it to her. Julianne took it gratefully.

Glancing down the road JD spotted their bus at a red light. Patting Julianne's shoulder, he stood and held out a hand for her. She quickly stuffed the used tissue into her pocket and grasped JD's hand, allowing him to pull her to her feet.

With a gasp of pain, she doubled over and grasped her stomach. JD jumped forward and grabbed her arms. "What's wrong?" he asked.

Julianne panted at the odd pain in her lower abdomen. "I don't know," she said. She suddenly felt weak. Her knees buckled. JD caught her and slowly lowered her back onto the bench. Julianne stared down at her stomach, confusion and worry etched across her face. "My stomach just clenched up. Like a contraction."

"How far along did you say you were?" JD asked, kneeling before her.

"Thirty weeks."

JD pulled out his cell phone. "I'm gonna call an ambulance -"

"You think there's something wrong with my baby?" she cried.

"No," JD said, his voice steady and soothing. "You're probably just experiencing something called Braxton Hicks contractions. They happen to lots of women around this time."

"So I'm not going into labor?" she asked, her voice strained.

JD stared at the bulging stomach before his face. He didn't know what to say. This wasn't exactly his specialty. He dared to glance up at the woman. The look in Julianne's eyes demanded a quick and positive answer.

"No," he decided.

"Then why'd my water just break?" Julianne whispered.

JD looked down. A puddle of clear liquid was slowly creeping out from beneath Julianne. "Um . . ."

With a soft hiss, the bus pulled to a stop and opened its doors.

A/N2: Next chapter should be up soon. Feedback is appreciated!