2.1 Is it Wednesday?

Michelle walks into the dance studio, cautiously eyeing Ginny as she pirouettes with the others. She looks fine, Michelle thinks.

"Ah, good morning Michelle," Fanny announces, "or should I say good afternoon? How can you sleep past noon everyday? My preschool class has better sleeping habits than you."
"Very funny, Fanny. They aren't awake at night thinking about choreography half the time."
"And the other half?" Fanny raises an eyebrow.
"Very funny."
"You've had your mind on more than dance this past week. I saw the last dance you came up with for the advanced class. You completely forgot to put Ginny in the dance. What kind of crap choreographer forgets a dancer? I gave you two dances for the fall festival."

Just then Nanette busts through the door. She reaches out for a hand, and Michelle grabs her. She falls to the floor; Michelle cradles her awkwardly. Fanny turns off the music, and the dancers all turn to see the commotion. From the back of the room Boo yells "Mom! What are you doing?! You're supposed to be in bed." Nanette can barely answer but motions for Michelle to help her up. Michelle lifts her, although it takes a lot of work. As soon as she's upright, Nanette doubles over. Boo grabs her from the other side and gives Fanny and Michelle a scared look.

Fanny announces, "Alright, class is over. I'll call Truly to lock up. Everyone go home now," She looks at Nanette, "Time to go."
Nanette panics, "It's not time. I'm just winded…" She groans and grabs her swollen middle.
"Well, someone else disagrees." Fanny squeezes her shoulder. "Michelle, Boo, help her into the car, now."
As they walk slowly to the car, Boo asks, "Mom, why weren't you in bed?"
Nanette answers, through gasps for breath, "It's Thursday. Your father was called for an emergency and no one was there to pick you up at 4."
Boo looks at Michelle. She slowly, knowingly, shakes her head at Boo. Boo nods and they help Nanette into the car. As they rush to the hospital, Michelle splits her time between comforting Nanette and reassuring Boo.
"You're fine, Nanette, we'll be there soon." "We'll be there soon, right Fanny?"
"We're only a half hour away, Nanette," Fanny says calmly.
"A half hour?" Michelle retorts.
"You know where we live Michelle. I can't believe that you're still surprised by things like this."
"I guess I forget sometimes that residents of Paradise don't have the same needs as other people, like hospital care… Aghh!" She screams as Nanette squeezes her hand too hard.
"Michelle," Boo whispers, "Is everything really okay? I mean, I've never been with my mom when she… you know."
Michelle reaches over and grabs Boo's shoulder to reassure her. Boo smiles and turns her attention back to her mother. Michelle looks out her window at the trees passing. She thinks, "How should I know?"

...

At the Oyster Bar, Ginny, Melanie, and Sasha sit around a small table.

"Poor Boo," Ginny says sadly, "She has to be there for something like that. I can't imagine…"
"That's enough Ginny," Sasha shushes, "I don't want to think about any of that. Pregnancy, birth, ew. I'm never having kids. I'm going to be a dancer and that's it. No snot monsters for me, thanks."
"I don't think it works like that," Mel laughs.
"What do you mean?" Ginny asks.
"Well, do you think Fanny wanted to be a mother? I'm pretty sure she was like you. Maybe a little less, well you, but she was going to be a dancer forever. She was more successful at our age than we'll probably ever be, and she got pregnant and ruined it." Ginny gets up quickly.
"What's up with you?" Sasha snaps.
"Nothing. Just going to the bathroom."
Melanie and Sasha share a look.

...

Michelle and Boo sit in the lobby, Michelle hugging Boo tightly.
"Michelle?" Boo asks gently.
"Yeah?" She says as she rests her chin on Boo's shoulder.
"Can you let me go? It's kind of hot in here, and you're holding me really tight."
"Oh, yeah, sorry. I think I forgot I was… um… sorry."
"It's okay," Boo giggles nervously. "I'm pretty scared. What if my dad doesn't get here in time?"
"He will," Michelle reassures her. "You don't want to go in and see her, do you?"
"No, definitely not yet. I'll go in after she has the monster."
"You're not thrilled to be a big sister, are you?"
"I already am a big sister. That's the problem. My brother is awful, and his playgroup is worse. How is my mom going to handle them and a new baby? She won't. She can't. That means it will fall on me, and I certainly don't want to deal with diapers and all that. I may have to quit ballet, I'll become a teen mom without even getting pregnant!"
"Woah, slow down there, kiddo." Michelle hugs Boo again. "Your mom will be fine. Don't underestimate her. She'll handle it fine, and she knows how important ballet is to you. Don't let family tie you down. Besides, maybe it'll be a girl, and you can dress her up in tutus and baby ballet slippers."
"Yeah, that would be fun, but my grandma says it's a boy. She could tell."
"Well, grandma's aren't always right." Michelle gives Boo a reassuring squeeze. "I'm going to go check on her. I'll be back in a minute. It'll probably be a while, Boo, don't worry."
"Thanks Michelle."

Michelle gets up and walks down the long, white hallway to Nanette's room. Everything is calm when she gets there. Fanny is feeding Nanette ice cubes and the nurses are setting something up in the corner.
"How are you doing Nanette?" Michelle asks cautiously.
"She's great, Michelle," Fanny answers sharply.
"Sorry, just checking in."
"When you're pushing a watermelon out of you, you don't want someone asking how you are."
"It's fine, Fanny," Nanette says calmly. "Thank you for caring Michelle, and thanks for looking after Boo. She really…. Aghhh!"
Michelle backs into the corner as Fanny grabs Nanette's hand strongly.

The head nurse turns to Fanny, "Fanny, I need you to grab her leg, like this." Nanette groans deeply and Fanny gets into position.
"What's happening?" Michelle asks over the commotion.
"Michelle get out of here," Fanny orders.
"No!" Nanette shouts.
"I know your husband isn't here, Nanette, but your baby is coming now," the nurse says over Nanette's cries.
"I'm just gonna go now…" Michelle tries to sneak to the door.
"Michelle!" Nanette cries as she reaches for her. "Take my hand."
"Oh, I don't think that's a good…"
"Michelle take her hand," Fanny commands. Michelle grabs it and hers immediately feels broken from how hard Nanette squeezes it.
"Okay, Nanette," the nurse says over her groaning, "I need you to push, now."

Fanny looks at the terror on Michelle's face, and she tries to reassure her with a soft look. Michelle nods and puts her face right next to Nanette's.
"Nanette, you can do this."
"No, I need Rusty here…" Nanette starts to cry through the contraction. Michelle looks at Fanny, who encourages her to continue with a look.
"Nanette, Rusty will be here as soon as the fire is out, but you know that. Your baby, your beautiful baby, is coming now, and you are surrounded by friends, by love. Now push." Nanette nods and she starts to push.

...

Boo sits in the waiting room still, waiting for Michelle to come back, when her dad rushes in. He's still in all of his fireman gear. He sees Boo and she notices how big his eyes are.
"Is the fire out, dad?"
"Yeah, we got it… What? Boo, your mom is here and… Where is she?"
"Sorry, right. room 231, that way."
"Thanks kiddo."
"Dad?"
"Yeah?"
"Take care of her."
"Always." He kisses Boo on the forehead and runs to the door. He stops and turns. "I should leave this." He drops his axe and helmet next to Boo. She giggles, and he rushes down the hallway.

As he gets to the room, he walks through the door and sees Nanette. He looks at her like he's never seen anything so beautiful. It's almost over. She screams in pain as she notices he's in the doorway. He rushes to her side, where Michelle is. Michelle hands him Nanette's firm grip as she gives one final push. As Michelle steps away, she gets a glimpse of the mirror the nurse placed so Nanette could see the baby being born. The room starts to spin. Rusty turns to thank Michelle as she passes out. He catches her in one hand while Nanette crushes his other, but she hits her head on a monitor. It's over. They have a beautiful baby and the nurses take Michelle's limp body from him. He kisses Nanette with more love than he knew existed.

The nurse says, "Baby girl, born Wednesday, June 27 at 9:34pm."
"It's Wednesday? Nanette asks. She starts to laugh, almost hysterically.
"What is it?" asks Rusty.
"The whole reason I left my bed was because I thought Boo needed a ride- because I thought it was Thursday." They both laugh like crazy as the nurses weigh and measure the baby.

...

Michelle wakes up in the hospital. A doctor is next to her. A familiar voice gently says "That was the first time you saw a birth, wasn't it?"
"Hubbell?" She asks weakly. He turns and she smiles gently at his kind face. He gives her that half smile that makes her toes tingle.
"Am I awake, Hubbell? Please tell me you're really here." He smiles again and kisses her forehead. She leans into the kiss to feel his warm, soft lips. They feel like air and she knows it's not true.
"I miss you, Hubbell. What do I do without you?"
"You know, Michelle. You know what to do because you're doing it. Besides, I'm always here. Don't you feel me when you're in the house? When you're at the coffee shop? When you're at the bar flirting?"
She looks at him apologetically. "I'm sorry, Hubbell, I didn't want to cheat on you."
He laughs, "You're not cheating. I can't be with you and you deserve to be happy. It would be cheating on my wishes if you weren't trying to find happiness."

Michelle suddenly realizes that she forgot about Nanette. Hubbell knows what she's thinking, like always.
"She's fine. Nanette is happy and the baby is healthy. They are all wonderful."
"Is it a boy or girl?"
Hubbell smiles knowingly. Michelle grins from ear to ear. "It's a girl? Oh Boo is going to be so happy. I can't wait to see her."

They sit in silence for a minute. Hubbell comes to the edge of the bed. He wraps his arms around her and she shivers in his unfeeling grip.
"I do love you, Hubbell. I didn't think I could do it, but I miss you more than anything. All of my heart is yours. I don't know how to find happiness because you are my happy." Hubbell stands up and moves to the other side of the room.
"I always wanted to be married. You know that. I wish we could've had a kid or two. I'm sure you've never considered having children; it's not you. That's why I didn't mention it. Of course, that would've been a lot of news 24 hours after the wedding. I've always wanted to be a husband and father."
"Hubbell, we could've had something great. Maybe I would've been a mother. I don't know; you bring out such greatness in people. Maybe I could've done it…" Hubbell places his finger on her chin like the first time they kissed.

...

Ginny sits on the corner of the hospital bed, it's her turn to watch and wait for Michelle to wake up. Melanie already waited for the first hour and she didn't wake. What if she never does? No, Ginny, don't think like that. With that, Michelle starts to stir. She moans, Hubbell… and Ginny jumps up. Michelle sits up fast and tries to stand right away, but it makes her dizzy. Ginny grabs her and forces her to lie back down.
"Ginny?" Michelle asks, head whirling and throbbing.
"I got it, Michelle," Ginny whispers. Michelle tries to get out of bed again. "No, stay in bed. You passed out and hit your head. They want to make sure you're okay. You've been out for an hour and a half. Hold on, I'll get Fanny." Ginny pulls out her phone and texts the good news.
"What did you get?" Michelle asks, now more awake.
"Huh?" Ginny asks, distracted from her phone. "Oh, I got... it," she gives Michelle a look. She doesn't seem to know what she means, although the look couldn't be clearer. "My period!" She exclaims. Michelle breathes a sigh of relief, but doesn't let Ginny see. "Were you waiting on it?" Michelle asks, not trying to show her thoughts about it.
"Well, yeah. Frankie and I… you know. And we didn't have… you know."
"I'm glad for you, Ginny, but really, you'll never make that mistake again, will you?"

Ginny nods, but before she can say anything, Fanny enters the room. Sasha and Melanie follow her.
"Finally up? You always sleep so much."
"Fanny, she passed out, that's not the same as sleeping," Sasha defends.

Michelle looks around, still hoping she wasn't dreaming. She thinks about Hubbell, and before she knows it, she buries her head in her hands and starts to cry. Fanny panics a little, unsure of what is happening.
"Girls, go find Boo, she'll bring you to see the baby."
"Right, ok. Bye Michelle," Melanie says as they're ushered from the room by Fanny's waves. Fanny shuts the door. Michelle starts sobbing pathetically.
"Do you want to share what's going on?" Fanny asks.
"Hubbell…" Michelle manages to spurt out through the tears. Fanny smiles gently and gives Michelle a hug.
"I miss him too, dear." She looks away because she's starting to tear up too.
"No," Michelle sniffles, "I saw him. I know it sounds crazy. I saw him while I was passed out. He said he always wanted to be a father. We never talked about that sort of thing, but I think I would've liked to give him that." Fanny hugs her even more tightly for that. "You would make such a weird grandmother…" Michelle bawls.
"I can't argue with that," Fanny laughs. "It's okay, Michelle. That part of your life is over. You'll be fine. How's your head?"
"A little sore."
"I'll get the nurse. You should be out of here soon."

...

Fanny leads Michelle down the long, white hallway. They get to Nanette's room. Michelle pauses before going into the room. Fanny pulls her in. Nanette is in the bed, pink-hatted bundle in her arms. Rusty isn't there. He went to the house to get some clothes for himself and Nanette.
"She's gorgeous," Michelle whispers through a grin.
"Here," Nanette says, "hold her."
"I don't think that's a good idea, Nanette," Michelle backs away cautiously.
"Oh, don't be stupid," Fanny snaps. "Just hold the baby. You haven't heard the name they picked yet."

Michelle stretches out her arms and Nanette passes the warm, sleeping baby to her. Michelle presses her to her chest. She's surprised how special she feels holding a baby. That's something she's never done before. Michelle looks at the soft, sleeping face poking out of the blankets and asks, "What's her name?"
"Emma," Nanette answers softly, "What do you think?" Fanny smiles stupidly at Michelle, and she doesn't understand why.
"It's pretty. She looks like an Emma."
"Do you want to hear her middle name?" Nanette smiles.
"Sure," Michelle giggles tenderly.
"Michelle. Her name is Emma Michelle." Michelle breathes deeply, touched by the gesture.
"I'm honored."
"That's not all," Fanny says.
"Will you be her godmother?" Nanette asks. Just then, Boo comes into the room.
"Please say yes, Michelle," Boo begs.
"I, I don't know what to say."
"She accepts," Fanny says to Nanette. Michelle smiles one more time at the beautiful baby. She whispers, "Emma Michelle."

"I think I need to go sit down. I know they said I don't have a concussion, but that doesn't mean my head doesn't hurt," she giggles and gives the baby back to Nanette. Boo squeezes Michelle's hand as she exits the room. Michelle gives her a little grin and leaves. Fanny follows her, but Michelle doesn't see her. She runs to the other end of the hallway and leans against a wall. She slides down to the floor and starts to cry. Fanny meets her and stands in front of her.
Michelle wipes away the tears as she laughs, "This is a lot of crying for one day."
"Some days call for it more than others," Fanny says wisely. Michelle doesn't stop crying. "What's wrong now?"
"She's so beautiful," she bawls. Fanny laughs and holds out her hand. Michelle takes it and stands up.

"I have an idea," Fanny says nervously.
"That sounds dangerous," Michelle says, "What is it?"
"I don't mean anytime soon, but if one day you do want a baby," Fanny looks up at Michelle's surprised face, "Hubbell may be able to help with that."
"Did you hit your head too?"
"No, but years ago Hubbell donated to a bank."
"Great, I know he had more money than me, no need to rub it in."
"Not that kind of bank." Michelle doesn't understand.
"A sperm bank, Michelle! I was trying to not talk about my deceased son's sperm."
"Oh, um, that's great. Wait, do you think…"
"I know you're not ready to do this now, Michelle, but think about it. It might be nice to… well, I'll just let you think on it. Let me know when you're ready to go home. I'm going to go see Nanette again and make sure Boo is okay."
"Yeah, sure." Michelle slides down the wall again and sits on the floor, pondering this new information.