"It's freezing!" Rachel complained as she exited her room a late February morning.
"Power's out." Elizabeth replied from the couch where she was sitting with an entire carton of ice cream and a spoon.
Rachel sighed before returning to her room for a moment to then exit with several blankets wrapped around herself. "How are you eating ice cream? It's so cold." She asked seriously.
"My body temperature is much higher than normal because of the baby." She said simply. "Also it's Cherry Garcia ice cream, there's no way I'm letting this melt in the freezer."
"I don't see how anything could melt." Rachel replied with a smirk before going to the kitchen and grabbing a box of cheerios. She returned to the living room just in time to hear Ella crying upstairs. "I'll go get her." She volunteered before quickly making her way to Ella's room.
"Rachel I'm cold!" Ella exclaimed as soon as Rachel opened her door.
Rachel nodded. "Good morning Ella, I'm going to get you a pair of footie pajamas." She told her as she quickly pulled a pair of pink fleece pajamas from the dresser which would clearly keep her warmer than her current princess nightgown. As soon as Rachel had helped Ella change they went downstairs, Ella bringing several blankets and toys with her.
"Hi mummy!" Ella said excitedly as she saw the carton of ice cream.
"You probably want some of my breakfast don't you?" Elizabeth asked her teasingly as she took another bite of the ice cream.
"Yes please!" Ella asked sweetly as she gave her mother a quick kiss on the cheek.
"Well I can't say no to that." Elizabeth replied with a smile as she put a small spoonful into her daughter's mouth.
"More!" Ella insisted as soon as she had finished that spoonful.
Elizabeth shook her head. "You need to eat actual food for breakfast Ella." She told her daughter before continuing to eat the ice cream herself.
"Mom's not setting a very good example is she?" Rachel teased as she placed a handful of cheerios on the ottoman for Ella.
"You try being nine months pregnant in a freak ice storm." Elizabeth snapped back.
Rachel rolled her eyes. "I'd really rather not at the moment thank you." She replied before putting a handful of cheerios into her own mouth. They all ate in silence for several minutes before Rachel spoke up again. "It's so weird that the baby could come literally any day now."
"Tell me about it." Elizabeth groaned as she adjusted her weight trying to relieve some of the strain on her back. "I spent months trying to not be in labor and now I'm really wishing I would just go into labor."
"Don't wish too hard." Rachel warned. "With that snow out there, there's no way anyone can drive through that."
Elizabeth nodded. "I am aware of that Rachel… But that doesn't mean that I think it's a worthwhile endeavor to keep this little one in here."
"I'm in on the ER pool for a girl." Rachel replied with a smirk.
"Oh really? How is that going for all of you?" Elizabeth asked, her interest piqued.
"Well Yosh, Haleh, Abby, Susan and I all think it's a girl." Rachel started, not giving away the crucial information Elizabeth wanted. What Elizabeth really wanted to know who was in on the pool, not which sides everyone was on.
"Who thinks it's a boy?" Elizabeth pressed.
Rachel smirked before giving in. "Kovac, Chen, Chuney, Malik, Jerry, Gallant, Carter, and Weaver." She said, letting the last one slip with a bright grin.
"Weaver?" Elizabeth asked in surprise. "She never…"
Rachel shrugged. "She's insistent upon the fact that if Dad was going to leave another kid behind he'd be damned if it's not a boy."
Elizabeth took in a deep breath in response to that.
"Oh… Elizabeth." Rachel said gently, sensing that tears were barely at bay. "I'm sorry."
Elizabeth shook her head. "No… I'm sorry. I'm fine… I'm totally one hundred percent fine. It's not like we can't talk about Mark. He was a great coworker and a great husband and a wonderful father." She said quickly. Rachel wasn't convinced that Elizabeth was telling this to her rather than herself.
"I miss him a lot most days." Rachel admitted softly as she carefully helped Ella up onto the couch to join the two of them.
"Me too." Elizabeth said quietly as Ella began to climb over toward her.
Ella had finally made her way across the couch and to Elizabeth when she lost her balance and fell forward. "Ow!" Ella said as her head made contact with Elizabeth's hard stomach.
"Oh Ella, be careful sweetheart." Elizabeth said gently as she did her best to try to straighten Ella out. "Are you alright?" She asked her daughter who had small tears welling in her eyes.
Ella shook her head.
"Do you need a Band-Aid?" She asked her with a smile. Ella nodded furiously, pointing directly to her forehead to indicate that that was where she needed one. "Okay let's see what we can find." She said before beginning to stand up.
That's when she felt it.
Elizabeth quickly sat back down.
"Elizabeth?" Rachel asked, purely concerned.
Elizabeth had felt a distinct twinge in her lower abdomen, one she had only remembered feeling one other time, just before she had started having contractions during her labor with Ella. "I'll be alright, my back is just a bit sore." She lied through her teeth. If this was going to be anything like it was with Ella she'd be at it for hours still and she didn't want to worry Rachel for any longer than necessary.
"Are you sure?" Rachel insisted, not really believing her.
Elizabeth nodded before standing up again. "Let's get you a Band-Aid Ella." She said as Ella attempted to get picked up. "You're going to have to walk though, I can't pick you up my back is too sore."
"No lifting!" Rachel called mockingly as she began to head to the kitchen herself to get the Band-Aids out of the top of the cabinet.
Elizabeth shook her head, trying not to concentrate too much on anything at once. She paused and pressed a hand against the counter as she felt the twinge once again, this time stronger than the last.
"Elizabeth…" Rachel began to ask what Elizabeth knew she was wondering.
Elizabeth shook her head. "I'm fine Rachel." She lied once again.
"Should I call someone?" Rachel insisted.
"Rachel I'm not in labor." Elizabeth replied angrily.
Rachel nodded. "I know… Just as a precaution. It's going to take anyone hours to get here in this snow." She assured her.
"Rachel." Elizabeth said sternly.
"Look you can lie to yourself about this for as long as you think you can hide it from Ella, but I really don't want to be the only one here if you go into active labor." Rachel replied, just as certain. "Go rest. I'm going to call Carol."
Elizabeth sighed as she put the Band-Aid on Ella's forehead. "Is that better sweetie?" She asked her gently.
"Mummy why do you look sick?" Ella asked her as she sat at eye level across from her on the counter.
Elizabeth sighed. "My, you're awfully observant aren't you?" She asked her with a smile. "I'm going to be just fine Ella." She promised her with a kiss to her forehead.
Rachel came back into the room several minutes later with the phone in her hand. "I called Carol's cell phone but she didn't answer, so I left a message. I called Susan and she's finishing up her shift so she said she'd come over as soon as she could."
"She really doesn't need to do that…" Elizabeth began to insist before she winced and pressed a hand to her stomach.
"Elizabeth I can't…" Rachel began to say, sounding rather panicked.
"Rachel calm down." Elizabeth said gently as she put a hand on her shoulder. "I'm fine. I feel a bit uncomfortable, similar to the way I felt a couple of days before I had Ella. Until I'm having regular contractions you really have nothing to worry about." She promised her.
Rachel nodded. "I'm going to take Ella up for her nap." She said as she picked Ella up from off the counter. "Please let me know if you have any contractions…"
Elizabeth nodded. "Everything's going to be fine Rachel." She assured her with a gentle smile.
Elizabeth waited until Rachel was up the stairs before letting out a small moan as she bit her lip. "Alright you're staying in there." She said quietly to her abdomen. "You can't be born today… not today."
Author's Note: Wheee! Another chapter! I hope you're all enjoying it. I'm wondering whether to just continue on this story or write another several chapter chunk as a sequel. So ultimately would you rather one 40 chapters or so story or two 20 chapters or so stories? Please leave a review and let me know!