Part II: Father and Mother

"What do you think of Sara?"

Robin didn't glance up from the brief she was highlighting. "Sara who?"

There was a short silence that told her she had missed something, then, "Eppes. Sara Eppes. For a girl. It means 'princess'."

That got her attention, and she put down her highlighter and looked directly at him. "It means - ? How do you know what it means?"

The look this time was outright offended. "I read it. Why does everybody act like I'm a functional illiterate? I read. And not just the sports page."

She tried not to smile. "I know you read. I just didn't think you read baby name books. Or is this a Torah thing?"

He directed a frown at her over the report he was perusing. "I don't reveal my sources. If you don't like it, just say so."

She rolled it over in her mind. "I think I do. But - I guess I just assumed - no Margaret?"

He looked away and she enjoyed watching the flush spread from his ears, down his throat and over his chest.

"I don't want you to feel obligated."

"I don't. I like it. We could do Sara Margaret. Or Margaret Sara, and call her Sara."

"Or some nickname, like Sallie. Or Sadie. Save Dad the trouble of trying to figure out where to add the 'ie'."

"I like Sadie." She set the brief on the nightstand and studied him more closely. "So. You're okay with this whole girl thing?"

He met her gaze suspiciously. "Of course I am. What makes you think I wouldn't be?"

She brushed a hand over his hair, enjoying the silky feel against her fingers. "Your dad said you were a little concerned."

"Hmph." He mumbled something, but the only words she could make out were 'family' and 'big mouth'. "So what do you guys do, have a control center? Send out an alert? Code Black! Agent confused! Agent confused!"

She laughed. "He called to congratulate me. It came up in conversation. So, are you? Concerned?"

He blew out a breath. "A little," he admitted reluctantly. "What, you're not?"

"I don't know - I haven't thought about it. It's not like it's our first."

"It's our first girl."

"Well, yes. But it can't be that much of a shock. There's a fifty-fifty chance, after all."

"Uh-uh." Don shook his head wisely. "Not really. I have it on good authority that it's much more complicated than that. For example, the man determines the sex of the child and I'm one of two boys. My dad's family ran to boys, too. So we have a higher probability of multiple boys than even one girl. With a little more research, we could know exactly how much higher."

"Ah. Charlie." Robin nodded. "I think I'll pass. Since we already know we're having a girl."

"How accurate are those things, anyway?"

"Ultrasounds? Well, we can be fairly sure it's not a boy, or our son is missing some pretty important equipment."

Don huffed a laugh. "Then I guess I'd better suck it up and hope it's a girl."

"Hm." She studied his expression. "You really think it makes that much difference?"

"I don't know." He shrugged and made a face. "It feels different."

"Because, for example, raising two boys like you and Charlie was exactly the same?"

"Touché."

"I have to believe it's a new adventure every time, whatever the sex."

"I guess so."

"You don't sound convinced."

"I don't - " He made a face. "Me and the opposite sex. I have a history of a - lot of - bad - endings."

Her face softened. "Somehow, I don't think that's going to be a problem. Want to know my greatest fear?" He looked at her questioningly. "Becoming the second most important woman in your life."

He leaned over and kissed her. "Never happen."

She took a deep breath. "No, I think so. In a way. I think I'm okay with it."

"C'mere." He stretched out an arm and she snuggled into it, letting her head rest under his chin.

She closed her eyes contentedly and smiled a little at the feel of another kiss on her hair, frowned suddenly as something she'd glimpsed out of the corner of her eye registered. She opened one eye again to check.

"Don Eppes," she said accusingly, "You have a baby name book hidden in those reports."

"What?" He grinned at her, looking both sly and a little guilty. "What are you talking about?"

"This." She made a snatch for it as he moved to slam the reports shut, wrestled it away. It wasn't as satisfying a wrestling match as their usual, she knew he held back due to her condition: so she was soon waving the paperback under his nose and thumbing through it efficiently. "Let's see…what does the name 'Don' mean…?" She slid down until her head rested comfortably in his lap. "Here it is…" She read for a moment, dodging his sneaky attempt to snatch the book back. "Just as I thought. It means 'guy who seems tough as nails on the outside, but is a big, squishy marshmallow on the inside' - perfect fit."

"It does not mean that. And I'm tough as nails through and through."

She snorted in response.

"C'mon - what does it really mean?"

She glanced up from the book. "You didn't look?" He shook his head. "Everybody looks up their name. Sheesh. You probably don't read your horoscope either."

"Well. No. But I don't get the connection."

"Don, not Donald, right?"

"Right."

"They mean the same thing anyway." She chuckled. "World Ruler. Don't let that one go to your head."

He grinned. "I like it."

"I'll bet."

"So what does Robin mean?"

"Hm…let's see…Bright Fame."

"Sounds about right."

She sighed. "You're right. Our kid needs a good name." She looked at the book in her hand again, noticing that the cover was bright and uncreased. "This is brand new. What made you buy it?"

She felt his chest heave by her ear as he blew out a quiet breath, waited patiently for an answer.

"I - I stopped by to see the Rabbi today."

"The Rabbi."

"I thought he might - be able to give me some insight into raising a girl."

She lowered the book. "You were that worried? And you talked to your dad and the Rabbi, but not to me?"

The sigh was deeper this time, the answer longer in coming. "I didn't want you to think that I was - disappointed or something."

She held very still. "And - are you?"

"No." The tone was emphatic. "No. I just don't want to screw up some poor, unsuspecting kid. What if I'm a terrible dad and she grows up to be one of those women who hates men?"

Robin chuckled. "I don't think that's going to happen."

"Well, I'm glad you're so confident."

"I am." She reached for his hand. "So. What did the Rabbi have to say?"

"Mazal tov."

"Ha ha. I'm guessing there was a little more. I may be married to the only Jewish boy in the world who doesn't love to talk."

"Stereotype."

She snorted again. "If you say so. So?"

When he didn't answer right away, she glanced up at his face, was a little puzzled by his expression, a mixture of shyness and…something else.

"He said…that when the Torah tells us that Abraham was blessed with everything? 'Everything' means that he was given a baby girl."

Robin felt a rush of moisture flood her eyes, and this time she was the one to turn her face away. Damn hormones. "Go on."

"He said that girls are very important, because at every crucial point of Jewish history, it's Jewish women who have come to the forefront to save the Jewish people: like Judith, and Esther at Purim, and Yael at Chanukah."

"Hm." Robin ran her fingers over his palm, noting the familiar calluses, as if she was reading Braille. "Tell me about them."

"Um - well - Judith was a beautiful widow. She was angry that the Jewish people wouldn't rise up and overthrow a tyrant who dominated them. So she put aside her widow's blacks and decked herself out and attracted the tyrant, won his confidence. Then, when he was comfortable with her, she got him drunk and cut off his head. Brought the head back to the Jews to show them that they had nothing to fear. Then she went back to her mourning clothes. Never remarried."

"Huh," Robin nodded her approval. "Undercover work. Go, Judith. How about Yael?"

"Different time, similar story. The Captain of the Army trying to conquer the Jews was losing, fled the battlefield. He came across Yael's camp and she recognized him and invited him into her tent to rest, fed him milk. Then, while he was sleeping…"

"Let me guess. She cut off his head?"

"No. She took a mallet and drove a tent stake through his temple. Pinned his skull right to the ground." He thought a minute. "Then she cut off his head."

Robin shifted in his lap, getting more comfortable. "Subterfuge and decisive action. I'm liking these women as role models for our daughter."

"Yeah? Me and Josh'll havta watch our step."

She chuckled. "Go on. What about Esther?"

"Esther…another beautiful woman, married to a king. He didn't know she was a Jew. This evil guy - Haman - was plotting to kill all the Jews."

"Why is it that, all through history, it seems like somebody's always plotting to do that?"

"Beats me. Just lucky, I guess. Anyway, she uses strategy to keep the king on her side and to reveal Haman's evil."

"Then she cuts off his head?"

Don laughed. "No, Ms. Bloodthirsty. He's condemned to death on his own gallows - one he built to kill her uncle Mordecai."

"Hoist on his own petard. Even better. She used her smarts and the law."

"Yeah." Don bent down to brush a kiss over her lips. "Must be why I'm always attracted to smart women who pack heat."

She reached up and tangled a hand in his hair, keeping him there. "Must be," she murmured against his mouth. "Go on."

"Nothing. He just said - he said that naming a baby girl is a profound spiritual moment. That it's a statement of not only what she will be, but where she comes from. That's why she's given the name of a relative who's passed on: both to honor the deceased so that they can live on and be remembered, and so that the baby can take on the good qualities of the deceased. Make a connection to the past."

Robin released his hair, but kept her hand on his cheek as he straightened again.

"Anyway, the Talmud says that an angel will come and whisper to the parents the name the girl will embody. I figured if an angel tried that, I probably wouldn't be able to hear it over the comlink in my ear, so I bought the book."

She ran a thumb over his cheekbone, thinking. "Sara Margaret," she said at last. "Sadie for short."

"You sure?" He looked a little anxious.

"Mm hm. Princess sounds right for the daughter of World Ruler and Bright Fame. And your mom and I share a love of the law…and a love of a certain man. Seems like somebody I'd like to have form a spiritual bond with our daughter."

His legs moved under her. When he spoke, his voice sounded a little foggy. "You don't believe in that stuff."

She moved her thumb over his lips this time, tracing the outline. "I don't not believe in it. So I think I'll hedge my bets. Sara Margaret. Oh!" She jumped, then laughed. "She kicked me! I don't know whether that means she objects, or she likes it!"

Don spread a hand over her abdomen to feel, long fingers massaging lightly.

Robin placed her hand on top of his, smiled to herself as the squirming seemed to settle down and grow quiet. "Besides, I have a feeling she's Daddy's little princess already."

Part III tomorrow

* Thoughts on naming Jewish baby girls inspired by discourse from Rabbi Simmons