Chapter 4: What's in a Name?

"Look at you," Michaela giggled, as she held her newborn son in her arms. It was five in the morning. Sully was sleeping soundly in an extra bed they'd pulled in for him. She didn't want to wake him, because she knew he was tired, not quite as tired as her, but still completely drained. Plus, she wanted a little alone time with her new baby boy. When the nurse had brought the baby in to nurse, she'd done so in private, having her own little bonding time with her baby, while his daddy slept, unaware.

He was full and had fallen back to sleep. She held him in her lap, his head resting toward her knees and his little legs stretched out onto her belly. His was like a little rag doll, splayed out, sleeping with his mouth open, just like his daddy often did. With a giggle, Michaela tenderly tickled the bottoms of his feet, and he made a little face but didn't wake.

After she carefully bundled him back up, she brought him up into her arms and kissed his little nose.

"You're such an easy baby…so far. Don't prove me wrong, alright?" The baby hiccupped, and Michaela nearly burst into tears. It was hormones, she knew, and the fact that she'd worked for hours upon hours to get this little life brought safely into the world. Each little thing he did just left her in awe, and this was no different. His first hiccup!

Baby boy Sully didn't have an official name yet. Josef was going to be in the name, and that was certain. But the debate was on whether it would be his first or his middle name. Even though the girls hadn't met him yet, on the phone, Katie was already calling him Joey. The problem was that it was already confusing enough referring to one of their children as Elizabeth, while Michaela's mother was named the same thing. If the baby's first name were to be Josef, it would be even more confusing. So, they were trying to think about ways to get around it, by maybe calling him Joe, or Joey, but Sully didn't seem to keen on that.

So, after three hours of perusing through the baby name book, they had come up with a few names that seemed to go well with Josef as a middle name, and from the way things were looking, Josef was a definite permanent name.

Before the next day was through, the baby would be officially named either Landon Josef Sully, Dylan Josef Sully or Jacob Josef Sully. All three names sounded good to the excited parents, but they still hadn't decided which one suited their son the best.

"What do you think, sweetheart? Are you a Landon, a Dylan, or a Jake?" She kissed his forehead. "I suppose we don't have to decide right now, do we?" She yawned, slowly getting out of bed and taking the baby over to the nursery bassinet. She walked slowly, her body aching all over, but when she placed him in it and he continued sleeping, she felt a sense of peace wash over her. She wheeled the little bassinet closer to her bed. She had asked the nurse to leave the baby with her the rest of the night, and the nurse hadn't objected. Now the newest Sully member was sleeping near his mommy and his daddy, which was right where he belonged.

Elizabeth entered Michaela's hospital room around noon. Michaela smiled, looking up to greet her parents, but she frowned when only Elizabeth came in.

"Where's Dad?"

"Michaela, your father is back at the house packing. He's been called back to Boston on an emergency."

"Oh," Michaela said. "Alright. That's ok. They need him there." She smiled, understanding what that was like, all to well.

"I'm going to go with him." Michaela was more surprised than anything by her mother's declaration.

"What?"

"I'm going to go with him. I…I just wanted to let you know. But, I've already talked to him, and when we get back, we're going to be here permanently."

"Really?" Michaela asked, eyes wide.

"It shouldn't take more than a week to get everything situated. "Will you be alright?"

"Of course!" Michaela said with a smile. "Sully and I can take care of everything."

"Where is Sully?"

"He's picking up the girls and bringing them here to meet the baby. He told me to decide on a name, since he liked them all. I still can't figure it out. I love all of the names we've picked!" She smiled.

"I'm sure you'll think of the perfect name. Just don't forget your father. He's been waiting for this for a long time. Now, remember, he wouldn't' be opposed to Josef as the middle name, rather than the first." Michaela grinned.

"Oh we're pretty sure the middle name will definitely be Josef. We just don't have a first name yet. It was much easier coming up with names for the girls. I sort of assumed that we'd have another girl, so I really didn't have any boys names picked out, so now that we've found them, I haven't figured out which fits perfectly yet." She shook her head. "Oh well, we'll find a name. Have a safe flight, and tell Dad that by the time you return, your grandson might have a name." Elizabeth laughed and picked up her baby grandson.

"Oh, your nana's going to miss you so much." She kissed his little cheek. "Look how dark his hair is. There isn't much but it's there. I think he's going to look like his daddy."

"He already does," Michaela laughed. "He and Sully are practically one of a kind. They even sleep the same way, except this one wakes up a lot more."

"I can stay, Michaela, if you'd like the help."

"No! No, go on. Go with dad. Sully and I can handle our children. We've managed for four years, you know." She smiled at her mother.

"I know. It's just that…well, your children are always children to you, and you're my youngest! It's just so…so different seeing you with four little ones of your own."

"We're going to be fine, Mom. You shouldn't keep Dad waiting. We'll be fine." She gave her mother a reassuring smile, and the grandmother reluctantly let go of the baby, giving him back to his mother.

"Alright. I love you." She gave her daughter a gentle hug.

"Love you too, Mom." Elizabeth hurried out of the hospital room, and Michaela looked down at her baby boy. "Don't prove your mommy wrong now, ok? We're going to be just fine." The baby yawned and let out a little squeak that made Michaela grin from ear to ear. He was just too perfect for words, and she couldn't wait to see the looks on her girls' faces when they saw their brother for the first time.

By the time Sully arrived with the girls, baby boy Sully was awake. He was about ready to nurse again, but Michaela was busily changing his diaper.

"Mommy!" Laura exclaimed, hurrying into the room first.

"Hello sweetheart!" she exclaimed. Sully came in with Katie and little Elizabeth.

"Baby!" Elizabeth grinned. "Look!" Katie rushed over to the bed to get a good look at her little brother.

"Hi Joey!" Katie beamed.

"Um, Katie, sweetheart, his name isn't going to be Josef."

"Why not?"

"Well, we think that with grandma and grandpa moving back, it might be confusing to have two Josefs and two Elizabeths."

"But it's easy! Joey and Lizzie!" Michaela smiled a little.

"Well, we have a name for the baby, and I hope you'll like it."

"We do?" Sully asked. "Ya decided."

"Yes," she said, blushing a little. "I couldn't exactly decide between them."

"Oh?"

"So, I came up with a compromise."

"Alright," Sully said slowly, "what did ya come up with?" He helped the girls up onto the bed so they could better see the baby.

"Girls," she said quietly, "I'd like to introduce you to your little brother, Landon Dylan Josef Sully." Sully grinned at his wife's choice in names.

"That's a mouthful," he chuckled, "but I think it suits him. A strong name."

"Yes," she grinned. "You do like it?"

"I do," he nodded, gently caressing her face. "I love it. And I love you."

"I can still call him Joey, right?" Katie asked.

"Katie, that' s not his name," Michaela giggled.

"Josef's still in there. I like Joey," she pointed out.

"Well, he's your brother, so you can call him that. Joey's a lot better that…well, something you might call him later down the line when you're teenagers and fightin' all the time," Sully laughed.

"Lando," Elizabeth said proudly. Michaela giggled.

"Landon, sweetheart. He's not a Star Wars character." Michaela held the baby out to Sully, and he took him in his arms. "Boy, I think you gained a pound since yesterday."

"And he's about ready for another feeding," Michaela laughed. At birth, Landon weighed in just a little over eight pounds, not much bigger than Laura had been.

The baby started fussing, and Michaela took him to her breast, unbuttoning her gown and waiting patiently for the baby to latch on. When he began feeding, Michaela looked up at her daughters who watched their little brother in amazement.

"What can he do?" Katie asked.

"You probably don't remember when Elizabeth was born, but remember when Laura was born? We had to be really careful for a while," Michaela reminded her daughter. "It won't be long before Landon will be crawling after you and getting into all of your stuff." Katie giggled. She leaned forward, kissing the back of her baby brother's head.

"I love you," she whispered. She moved up and kissed her mother on the cheek. "I love you, Mommy." Tearing up, Michaela gave her daughter a kiss on the forehead.

"I love you too, sweetheart."

The first place she went when she arrived in Colorado Springs was the hotel to check in. Then, she headed off to the store. She walked around, picking up a baby carrier, a package of diapers, and several tiny outfits. She grabbed a couple of baby bottles and a can of formula. It would be enough to get her back to New York, anyway.

She was nervous though. She wouldn't have that little boy in her arms for a few days at least. She couldn't exactly waltz her way into the hospital and carry him out without strangers trying to stop her from taking a child that she felt was rightfully hers.

With a sigh, she pushed her cart to the front of the store and awaited service at the checkout.

"New baby?" a lady in the line next to her asked. Emily looked up, startled, but she smiled.

"Yes. I'm adopting. My son was just born, and I'll be taking him home in a few days."

"Oh, congratulations. My husband and I couldn't have children of our own. We adopted our daughter as well. Which agency did you go through?" Emily's throat went dry, and she smiled, seeing an opening at another register.

"I need to be going." She hurried off to purchase her items, thankful to avoid answering that question.

By the time she got out to the rental car, she was tired and ready to go get some sleep. She smiled, seeing who was sitting in the passenger's seat.

"You get everything?" he asked.

"Yes," she replied. "We have enough to get back to New York."

"Good," he said with a nod. "You wanna go see him?"

"Of course," she smiled. "I can't wait to meet our little boy!" She smiled widely, and he leaned over to kiss her.

"You're gonna be a great mom." She nodded.

"I hope you're right."

"I know I am." He patted her hand. She started the car and headed off toward the hospital.

Sully had left to take the girls back to Becky's, and Michaela had fallen asleep. Landon, wrapped snugly in his blanket, had started to fuss. But then he began coughing, which startled Michaela awake. She groaned, as her sore muscles pulled a bit. But she got out of bed, going over to the little bassinet. There, she found him still coughing, struggling for breath. His lips had turned a pale shade of blue, frightening her both as a mother and a doctor. She reached over to her bed, pushing the nurse's call button and then picking up her son.

"Hey. Landon! Landon, come on, breathe!" She sat down on the edge of her bed, gently turning the infant, still supporting his head. She patted his back, trying to get him to breathe, but he wouldn't. "Oh God. Please, breathe!" A nurse came rushing in and took the baby.

"What's going…" She saw that his lips were blue, and she placed him down in the bassinet, doing all she could to try to get him breathing. Pushing an emergency button led to a few more people entering the room with various pieces of equipment. Michaela could only stare in horror as they tried to get the boy breathing again.

"What's wrong with my baby?!" she demanded, as one nurse came over to try to calm her.

"He's having a choking spell. This happens sometimes…how long ago did he eat?"

"I…" She was so exhausted that her head was a bit fuzzy. "Twenty minutes ago?" A few moments later, his cry pierced the air, and it was is if she was hearing him cry for the first time all over again. Tears rushed down her face, and she hurried over to see the color returning to her son's face.

"There we go, buddy," one of the nurses said softly. "There…you gave your mommy quite a scare." She turned back to Michaela. "If you don't mind, we're going to take him back to the nursery and hook him up to a monitor."

"What's wrong with him?"

"Nothing appears to be wrong, but we'll do some tests. It's very possible that he's more susceptible to choking spells than some babies. I'll ask that somebody be sent in to teach you and your husband the proper procedures just in case it happens again." Michaela's heart was pounding in her chest. The little one wasn't even twenty-four hours old yet, and he was already giving her a scare!

"I'll see you soon, sweetheart. Mommy will be right here…" They wheeled him off to the nursery, and Michaela slowly sat down on the edge of her bed, drying her tears. Swallowing hard, she picked up the phone and dialed Sully's cell phone to let him know what had just happened.

She stood in the waiting room of the labor and delivery floor. Off to one side was a window that looked into the nursery. There weren't many babies in the bassinets, but one up close to the window had the name tag of SULLY on it. Her heart skipped a beat at the sight of the little boy. She tapped on the glass, waving and smiling, her eyes sparkling with tears. Then she saw that he was hooked up to a monitor, and that frightened her. She felt hands on her shoulders, and she closed her eyes, leaning against his chest.

What's wrong with him?" she asked.

"Looks like nothin'. Looks like they're just monitorin' him."

"Oh," she breathed, relieved. "I couldn't bear to have a sick baby."

"We don't gotta worry about that. He's just fine."

"Sully?" She turned in his arms, but he was gone. A woman came walking into the waiting room. She seemed older, probably a grandmother of one of the babies.

"Do you know one of them?" she asked, walking up to the window to stand beside Emily.

"Hmm? Oh. Oh, yes. That one." She pointed to baby boy Sully.

"Oh, he's a sweetheart!" she said with a smile. "That's my granddaughter next to him."

"Congratulations," Emily said with a nod.

"Is this your nephew?"

"Oh! Oh, no. He's my son."

"Your son? Honey, you look awfully good for having just had a baby!" Emily laughed at the older woman's comment.

"I'm adopting him," she said with a nod.

"Oh," she said with an understanding nod. "Well, congratulations. Being a mother is the best job anybody could ever ask for."

"I know." She smiled, peering in at the beautiful boy before her. "He looks like his daddy." The woman stared at her, eyebrow raised.

"I…I mean, my husband. I know it's silly, but…but I like to think he does look like him, even if it's impossible."

"Oh, well that's natural," the lady said with a softening smile. "Good luck with parenthood, dear. I've been there and done that, and I can tell you, grandparenthood is well worth the years and years of parenting and discipline and arguing. Because you get to play with them, teach them, and spoil them. And at the end of the day, you send them home." Emily laughed awkwardly.

"I don't care about any of that right now. I just can't wait to take him home and be his mother. His birth mother…she's not a well woman. She didn't want another child, but just recently, she…she decided she wants to keep him."

"Oh, that's awful. I'm sorry."

"I know. I…I think I've finally convinced her to give him up. After all, I can give him a good home. A loving home. It's what he needs. But I think…in a way, I need him more than he needs me." The older woman put a hand on her shoulder.

"I hope you'll both be very happy." She took her camera out and snapped a picture of her little granddaughter. "I need to get back to my daughter."

"It was nice to meet you."

"You too, honey." The lady walked off, and Emily turned back to look at the baby.

"Hi sweetie. Hi. Mommy's here. Yes…and we'll be together very soon. I promise."

Feedback would be great, as always! Thanks for all of your generous comments so far!