The Name Game.

"Absolutely not," Bridget shook her head fervently.

"Why not, Paddington is a great name," Eric smirked.

"Honey, no child should have to live with the name Paddington. That's child cruelty," Bridget laughed.

"Alright, fine," Eric scribbled the name off the list in front of him.

"How did that name even make it onto that list?" Bridget eyed her husband suspiciously. For the past couple of weeks she and Eric had been pouring over baby name books compiling a list of girls' and boys' names that they really liked.

"I liked it so I put it on."

Bridget just rolled her eyes. "Anyways…" she bit the top of her pencil. "What do you think of Megan?"

Eric looked up thoughtfully. "It's a good name but I don't want something so generic. I want our kids to be unique."

"Unique like…" Bridget scanned her list. "Unique like Apple?"

Eric crinkled his nose. "Maybe not that unique. But I do love the name Abbey."

"That isn't that unique dear, but I must say I like the sound of that," Bridget smiled and tested the name out. "Abbey."

"I'm adding that one to the master list. It is the first one we've agreed on," he wrote the name on a fresh sheet of paper, a look of triumph on his face.

Eric and Bridget had decided to be surprised and chose to wait to find out the sexes of their triplets. Bridget had her gut feelings but she kept them to herself, not wanting to play the guessing game. With no real clue whether she was mother to three girls, boys or a mixture of both, she decided on choosing three final girls names as well as boys.

"Oh I've got a good one here," Bridget turned toward Eric. "Tucker for a boy." Her husband stared at her blankly. "What, you don't like it?" she asked after a few seconds of receiving nothing.

"Tucker…Tucker…Tucker," he repeated slowly.

"Well if requires this much hesitation than that is clearly a no," Bridget frowned.

"No, no, I like it," Eric concluded.

"Are you sure?" she narrowed her eyes in uncertainty.

"I really do," Eric grinned. "I swear it."

"Add it to the list then," the mother to be beamed.

An hour and a half later, Eric pulled a spare blanket down from the closet and draped it over his sleeping wife. She had gotten tired and began to doze off somewhere between Nathaniel and Cecelia. She had been so tired lately and her back had really been taking a lot of strain. Eric stroked his wife's hair before silently shuffling off into the kitchen to start on dinner.

As he hustled and bustled around the kitchen he imagined that in only a couple months time he would be in this very same kitchen only there would be three little babies in the other room. Picking out names that afternoon had gotten him even more excited, if that was even possible. Eric had known from the moment he met Bridget they would have an interesting future, whatever that may be. They had a rough start but he was glad they found each other in the end. As he watched her glow in all her pregnant glory Eric could always count on his heart skipping a few beats. She made him feel like a giddy teenage boy all sloppy in love.

He could not wait to meet his kids. He wanted to watch them stumble around the living room as they took their first steps, he wanted to teach them how to kick a soccer ball, and most of all he just wanted to hold them in his arms.

The phone suddenly rang and Eric rushed to get it, hoping Bridget wouldn't wake up. She needed the rest.

"Hello?"

"Eric, hey, it's Lena."

"Hey Lena," Eric would have to say that of all Bridget's friends, he got along best with Lena. It helped that he and Paul had become instant best friends as well. Eric had never really had a best friend before but he and Paul had just gotten along really well. He was someone Eric could sit around with, drink a beer, watch a soccer game and have a meaningful conversation with. Of course he interacted with Tibby and Brian, and Carmen and Win, more so because they live closer, but never as well as he got on with Paul and Lena. They didn't see each other that often but their trips back and forth between South Carolina and Bethesda were always entertaining. "What can I do for you today?"

"I was just wondering if Bee was around," Eric noted that Lena sounded a bit off.

"She's just sleeping at the moment, is it anything serious?"

"Oh no, don't wake her, it can wait," Lena paused. "Kostos called me."

Eric was quiet for a second. He had heard the story of the infamous Kostos. He'd gotten the story both from Bridget and from Paul. He wondered if Paul knew. Paul had known about Kostos of course, and he knew that Lena loved him, but he always had a little bit of worry sitting in the back of his mind. He had mentioned this worry to Eric a couple times. Eric knew that Paul had nothing to worry about. "What did he want? Are you ok?"

"I'm fine. He wants to meet with me though. I have no clue why," Lena sighed. "Paul is ready to punch him. I actually wouldn't mind."

Ah, so Paul did know. Eric chuckled. "I can come and hold him while Paul does the punching."

"Oh you boys," Lena giggled. "Thanks Eric."

"Anytime," Eric said it and meant it.

"Well, whenever Bee gets up let her know I called."

"Will do, and she will call you back right away I am sure," Eric grinned. "We were choosing baby names today, I am sure she is dying to gossip with you about it."

"Ohhhh," Eric could hear the excitement in Lena's voice. "Tell me, I want to know."

"Nice try missy, but I am sure Bee would much rather tell you," Eric firmly stated.

"Fine," Lena pouted. "She better wake up soon. I'll talk to you later sir. Much love."

Eric and Lena swapped goodbyes and then the conversation was over. After giving his pasta sauce one final stir Eric headed back into the living room and picked up the list from the coffee table.

Three girls' names were scrawled in his writing alongside three boys' names.

Abbey, Lila, Kennedy, Tucker, Nathanial, and Maximillion.