Another member or two joins the Clarissa Admiration Society, and A.G. learns a little more about babies. Finally, the proud parents get to take her home.

Thank you all for reading. Your comments put a big smile on my face.

Chapter 39.

"Tori! I didn't expect to find you here," Clair told her sister.

"Nothing would keep me away from seeing my great-niece." Tori nuzzled the baby in her arms.

"Isn't she beautiful?" the proud grandmother gushed. It was obvious she couldn't wait to hold her, but let her sister to continue to cuddle the baby. She turned to her daughter. "How are you doing?" she asked.

"I'm a bit sore, but overall, I think I'm still euphoric," Emily replied.

Next to arrive was Clarissa's other grandmother. Cuddy's eyes were immediately drawn to the infant in Tori's arms. She didn't really see anyone else.

"Want to hold her?" Tori asked. She seemed reluctant to give Clarissa up, but she'd been holding her for twenty minutes. She placed the baby in Cuddy's arms.

Clair smiled at the look of adoration on the hospital administrator's face.

"You're all going to spoil her," Emily warned. "And then she'll want Tommy and me to hold her all the time."

"But that's the privilege of grandparents," Cuddy replied. "We spoil 'em and then walk away." She refocused on the sweet little one in her arms.

"I think my mother's in love," Tommy commented.

"Can you blame her?" Tori asked. "I think we all are. I'll have to bring Evan back with me later to see her and join the Clarissa fan club." She sighed. "She looks so much like Em did, doesn't she?" she asked her sister.

"Very much," Clair agreed.

At last Cuddy turned to Clair. "Have you had a chance to hold her yet?"

Clair shook her head.

Cuddy brought the baby over, and Clair took her gladly. She gazed down at the pretty face, dark blue eyes fringed with lashes that had no right to be so long, blond fuzz covering her scalp, tiny fingers searching for her mouth. The eyes would lighten with time and the hair would grow into luxurious curls, it was in her genes. This baby was so sweet and perfect, and would bring them all so much happiness.

#

Gretchen finished with her patients for the day. There were no further results on Vanessa Corrigan, so she headed for the daycare room to pick up her son.

Scott was already there, delighting A.G. and his friends by coloring with them.

"Daddy, you didn't stay inside the lines!" A.G. told him.

"And I never saw a bear that was blue," Zach added.

"Did you ever see a bear?" Scott asked the toddler, who nodded. "What color was it?"

"I saw one at the zoo," he replied. "It was, um, brown. And the bears on TV were white."

"I guess you've never been in the Himalayas," Scott said.

"Huh?" Zach had never heard of the Himalayas.

"There's a kind of bear in Tibet that's called the Himalayan Blue Bear," Scott explained.

Gretchen grinned at the look on the kids' faces. "Time to finish coloring for today," she told her son.

Her husband rose from his place on the floor, and A.G. said 'Goodbye' to his friends.

"Are we going to get the doll for Clarissa?" A.G. asked, as his mother helped him on with his jacket.

"Maybe we'll have something to eat first," Gretchen suggested.

"Pizza!" A.G. exclaimed.

Gretchen laughed. "Sure."

There was a pizza parlor not far from the baby store, so they stopped there. Gretchen and Scott were amazed at how easily A.G. handled his slice of pizza without them having to cut it up for him. He grinned at them around a string of cheese, swallowed and said, "Grandpa showed me how."

They finished eating, Gretchen cleaned up her son's face, and they were on their way again.

The baby store was one of those mega palaces devoted to everything infant, from cribs and carriages to clothing and diapers to toys. Gretchen wanted to look at the latest accouterments and the cute outfits, but A.G. was anxious to get to the toys, so she cut her browsing short.

"How about this one?" A.G. asked, picking up a pretty little doll with blue eyes and blond hair.

"Those eyes can come out," his mother told him gently. "We wouldn't want Clarissa swallowing one."

"Doesn't she know you're not s'posed to put toys in your mouth?" the two-and-a-half year-old asked, as if everyone should know that.

"Not yet. Baby's use their mouths as much as anything else to explore the world around them," Scott explained. "They like to taste everything, so we should find one that she can't hurt herself on."

After much searching they eventually settled on a slightly smaller one with printed blue eyes and yellow hair, guaranteed to be non-toxic and baby-safe.

"She's pretty, but not as pretty as Clarissa," A.G, said, and his parents smiled.

Chapter 40.

Justin and Audra drove to the hospital together Friday morning. He had an early appointment with Lisa Cuddy to discuss the use of fuel cells at PPTH. Installations were already progressing well at the Appleton Industries properties and he hoped to convince her that the technology would benefit the hospital. If he could, he knew she'd present the idea to the hospital board.

"I'll probably stop in and see Emily and the baby after I talk to your Aunt Lisa," Justin told his wife.

"I think they were going home today, so I hope you catch them before they're gone," Audra cautioned.

Justin shrugged. "If I don't, maybe we'll go to visit them at home this evening."

"Remember, I'm meeting Becca and her bridesmaids at Tori's. We can go afterwards though," she suggested, smiling at him.

"Can you join me for lunch?" he asked.

"Sure." She kissed him goodbye, and he headed for the administrator's office.

Sean sent Justin right through. "Dr. Cuddy's expecting you."

"Justin, it's good to see you," Cuddy said.

"I hear congratulations are in order, Grandma," Justin said. "I hope I can see your granddaughter before Emily takes her home today."

"She's so beautiful!" Cuddy said, her face lit up in a grin. "But you didn't come to talk to me about Clarissa."

"No. I came to recommend that the hospital consider the kind of fuel cells we're installing in our apartment houses and office buildings." He explained about Hank Page's cells. "He's already had them installed in some nursing homes in the Bay Area with great success."

"So the technology is promising? We talked about solar energy cells several years ago, but the sun doesn't shine enough in New Jersey for those to be effective at controlling costs."

"This is a new type of fuel cell, and the technology is very promising," Justin told her.

She consulted her calendar. "There's a board meeting next Thursday. I can have it put on the agenda. Could you be there to present your proposal?"

"Sure!" he said. "Meanwhile, would you like to see the cells in operation? I can show you what we've done at the Appleton Building downtown," he offered.

"Yes, that's a good idea," Cuddy agreed. "Have Sean set that up for me for early next week."

"Great!"

"Thanks, Justin," Cuddy said.

"Oh, don't thank me. I was discussing the cells with your brother-in-law and he suggested I talk to you."

"Then I'll make sure to thank Marty."

Justin stopped at Sean's desk to arrange to meet Cuddy at the office building on Tuesday morning, and then took the stairs to maternity.

He found Tommy stuffing things into a suitcase. Emily was nowhere to be seen.

"Hi, Justin. Did you come to see our bundle of joy?" Tommy asked.

Justin nodded and walked over to the bassinet. He looked down at the little creature lying in it. "She's as pretty as everyone says," Justin said, not that he was surprised.

"You can pick her up if you want to. She doesn't seem to mind who's holding her," Tommy said with a grin.

Justin reached in and lifted the baby. She was quite a handful as small as she was.

Emily came out of the bathroom, struggling with her pants zipper. "I can't seem to close these!" she cried, just about to give up. Then she saw Justin holding her daughter. "Oh, hi Justin!"

"Give yourself a few weeks," Tommy told Em. "You'll be back into all of your clothes before you know it."

But she was too busy watching Justin with the baby. "She's a squirmy worm, isn't she?" She turned back to her husband. "What do I wear to go home? My maternity clothes are way too big."

"I'll go see if I can scare up a pair of scrub pants," Tommy told her. "The top looks great!"

Emily frowned. She knew her fuller breasts were stretching the fabric, but the shirt would have to do.

"I'll be right back," Tommy promised. "Make sure I didn't forget anything."

She looked around the room, glancing occasionally at Justin who was humming to the baby. But then Clarissa began fussing. "I'll take her. She's probably hungry."

"Oh!" Justin said. "Do you want me to leave?"

Emily chuckled. "I'll try to be discrete. Someday your wife will be doing this too, you know."

Justin nodded. He hoped it wouldn't be long, maybe by this time next year.

Tommy returned with a pair of green scrubs and a wheelchair. "I know these don't go with your top, but they were all I could find in a small enough size."

Emily finished feeding Clarissa, and reluctantly sat in the wheelchair for her ride down to the car, the baby nestled in her arms. Tommy pushed the chair, and Justin carried the suitcase and other paraphernalia they'd accumulated. Little mama and her baby were going home.