A/N - there is this movie that a guy donated sperm like 600 times... "delivery man"

Wow - I've never heard of it, but I have to admit, I'm a little scared! :^O


Paige and Emily's journey to pregnancy had been relatively pain-free. Their OB-GYN confirmed that Emily was fertile, and they kept careful watch on her cycles. Paige and Emily knew going in that it might take several attempts before Emily could conceive, and that there was a risk of multiple births. "Get them all in one shot," Paige joked, adopting the nickname "Octo-Em" briefly, before Emily shut her down.

After about six months, one of the procedures took. Paige and Emily didn't want to say anything to their friends until they were sure that the pregnancy was viable.

But Emily felt the need to call Gloria.

Their parents and rest of their close friends knew that they were trying, but they had decided not to tell Fred and Gloria because of Gloria's illness. They didn't want to get their friends' hopes of seeing their baby up, in case it took a long time for Emily to conceive. For some reason, the timing seemed right to Emily, now that she actually had conceived. Paige didn't argue.

They arranged a Skype session with the Herndons. When the session opened, they were surprised to see Fred and Gloria in their bedroom, Gloria in bed, and Fred on a chair next to her. They were both smiling. It was obvious that they were trying to rally. They looked so very tired.

Emily wasn't prepared to see Gloria like that. She had to hide her face in Paige's shoulder. She was holding onto Paige so tight that it was painful.

"Don't you worry about me," Gloria said in a voice barely above a whisper. "My body may be down, but my spirit and my mind are still strong!"

Paige told them the news. They had planned to spend more time on Skype, to catch up with their friends, but Paige suddenly got the feeling that they shouldn't keep them on-line for too long.

"Well, I'm going to stick around to meet your babies, even if it's just by Skype," Gloria said, with Fred repeating her words so that the microphone could pick them up. "All of them," she added and he repeated again. "You can count on it."

As soon as they shut down the session, Emily collapsed into Paige's arms, and they both burst into tears.

When Emily was able to speak, she asked "How soon is it safe to take a baby on an airplane?"

After several follow-up visits to the fertility clinic and to their OB-GYN, once they had their first ultrasound, about three months after conception, they let their family and the rest of their close friends know.


"Paige!"

Paige winced a bit at the sound of her wife whining her name from the bedroom. In all of the time that she and Emily had been together, going back to their time at Stanford, Paige had never felt taken for granted by Emily. Eight months into her pregnancy, though, Emily was rather needy, to put it mildly, and more than a little demanding. Paige understood. She had resolved to be there for Emily, whatever she needed, during this pregnancy; no complaints. But it was tiring. She had just settled into her Bat Cave with a cup of tea, ready to decompress, when she heard Emily call her.

Paige bounded up both flights of stairs between the basement and their bedroom, forcing a smile on her face. "Yes, Love?" she said in a pleasant tone.

"I can't sleep!"

"How about I rub your feet?" Paige offered, sitting on the bed and starting to rub without waiting for a reply.

"That would be heavenly," Emily cooed. "Thank you," she remembered to say, a moment later.

"Are my feet swollen?" Emily asked drowsily. Paige just shrugged her shoulders. Emily tilted her head and frowned a little. "Paige, you're so good to me. I know that I've been high-maintenance."

Paige shook her head. "Don't worry about it," she interrupted. "You need a little extra TLC right now. It's only natural."

Emily reached her hand to Paige's shoulder and rubbed it lightly. "You know that I love you, right?"

Paige nodded, not bothering to turn around. "Yeah. Of course."

"Paige?" Paige turned and faced her with a smile. "Would you just lie here with me and hold me for a while?"

Paige sidled up behind her wife on the bed. "Of course," she repeated.

"Here," Emily said, pulling Paige's arm across her stomach. "That way, if the baby kicks, you'll be able to feel it."

Paige felt her phone buzz. Ordinarily, she would have ignored it, but, for some reason, she felt the need to see who it was.

"Oh, my God! Emily!" Paige's eyes started filling with tears. "You've got to see this!"

Fred and Gloria had sent a picture of the two of them. Gloria was standing, holding onto a walker. Fred was standing with his arm around her waist. They were both smiling as if they'd hit the lottery. The subject read, "Is the baby here yet?! We can't STAND the wait!"

Emily started laughing. "Can we call them?" They had been sending the Herndons pictures - Emily's bump, the progress of the baby's room, the obstetrics ward at the hospital - throughout Emily's pregnancy, but they avoided Skyping with them after that last time. It seemed like too much of a burden on Fred and Gloria.

Paige called them, putting her phone on speaker. Fred picked up. Before he went to get Gloria, he spoke softly into the phone. "Thank you for letting us know about the baby. That was the best thing for Gloria. I thought that I was close to losing her back then," he said, choking up, "but ever since we got the news, she's just been getting stronger every day."


"Do you want to talk names?" Paige yawned.

"Sure," Emily responded. "Boy names or girl names?"

"You know, Em, we could make this a lot easier if we just opened that envelope!" Emily had insisted that they would not find out the baby's gender. The ultrasound tech put the pictures that would give the gender away into a separate envelope with a written note, lest their be any doubt. Paige was strictly forbidden from peeking. Emily didn't trust her to keep a secret.

Emily didn't respond to Paige's comment. Paige sighed, smiling. "We did girls' names last time," she said, a mock-heaviness in her tone. "Timothy?"

"No. 'Tim?' 'Timmy?'" Emily shook her head in disapproval. "Hollis?"

"Like the college in Rosewood?" Paige laughed. "Why not Danby? or Stanford?"

Emily tapped her on the arm. "Your turn. No commentary. Just go!" Paige couldn't see Emily's smile, but it was evident in her tone.

"Roger?"

"Paige, be serious!"

"I want our baby to have a name that people recognize and that they know how to spell. Do you know how rare it was to find 'PAIGE' on those personalized souvenirs in gift shops? Seriously, every field trip, all the other kids in my class came home with their names on keychains, on license plates - on whatever."

Emily twisted her head slightly to look at Paige. "Did we just unearth some childhood trauma?" she teased. "At least you had a name that has character. It stands out. Not like 'Emily.'" She said her name derisively. "And it was never just 'Emily.' I was always 'Emily F,' to distinguish me from the other Emilys in the group. One year, there were even two Emily Fs in my class, and I got to be 'Emily F2!' Or 'E.F.2.' Or just 'F2.'"

"F2?"

"Emily Ferrin was F1." Paige chuckled. "Don't you dare!" Emily shouted, knowing where Paige's mind was going. She wasn't about to go back to being called "F2."

"Okay," Paige laughed, "- quit trying to distract me!" She squeezed her arm lightly around Emily's middle. "Just choose your name!"

When it came to names, they agreed on almost nothing, but they thoroughly enjoyed the process of discussing them. Going through names like this was one of their favorite activities. Soon, they were both relaxed, and Emily was yawning.

Emily interlaced her fingers with Paige's on top of her belly. "Paige?" Paige put her chin on Emily's shoulder, to indicate that she was listening. "Do you, sometimes wish that it were you?"

"That I was the one carrying our baby?" Emily nodded. "No," Paige replied simply and honestly. "I'm enjoying being the partner and the coach. I love that you're having our baby, Em."

"Do you think that you'll want to have a baby at some point?"

"I guess I do more than I did when we started this. More than I thought that I would. I see you, and it's really a miracle, you know?" Emily nodded and shifted to face Paige. "Why? Are you having second thought? Are you going to retire after this one?"

Emily smiled. "No," she assured her. "It's just that - yeah, it's a miracle, as you said, and I want you to be able to experience it, too."

"You want me to experience swollen feet, morning sickness, and the inability to bend over?" Paige teased. "Is this about revenge?"

Emily was fully on her back, now. "No," she smiled. "I want you to know the thrill of feeling an actual human growing inside you."

Paige rubbed her wife's belly. "Mmm." after some thought, she asked, "But wouldn't that be confusing to our kids? Some of them are siblings, some of them are half-siblings?"

"It will be normal to them. They won't know any different. Besides, we don't have to make a big deal about who mothered whom."

"But won't it be obvious just by their complexion that they're different?"

"But that could happen with anyone. You've met my Aunt Carol - she looks like my Irish Grandpa, unlike my Mom, who looks like my Filipino Lola."

Paige shrugged. "Well, anyway, to answer your question, yeah, I think that I would like to carry a child."

Emily smiled widely, stroking her wife's cheek. "You're going to love it. I'm going to love being there with you." She rubbed Paige's belly and kissed it. "I can't wait to put a baby in you!" she said, poking Paige's navel on every syllable.

Paige laughed, grabbing Emily's finger to make the poking stop. "Oh, I wish that you could, Emily! I really do."

Emily shifted back onto her side, taking Paige's arm with her as she settled in to sleep.


"You know," Paige said, just to wind Emily up, "it would be easier to set up this room if we knew the gender!"

"Why, Paige?" Emily sounded self-righteous. "Because it has to be pink for a girl and blue for a boy?" There was derision in her tone when she said the colors. "Because we have to adhere to gender stereotypes?"

Paige just laughed. "You are too easy to mess with!"

Emily elbowed her with a deep exhale. "You'll do anything to get me to open that envelope! Just relax. You only have a couple more days to wait."

"You hope!" Paige teased.

"This baby is coming out of here within the next 14 days, Paige!"

"If only it were that easy!"

Emily sighed in frustration. "Wait till it's your turn. Then, you'll understand!"

"Wow, Fields! Already with the mom-speak! 'Wait till you have kids of your own?'"

"All right, Paige. Can we just get back to getting this crib put together? Please?"


Emily had begun clearing her schedule, teaching fewer classes and working from home, as her due date approached. This gave her and Paige time to take long walks in the evening. Part of it was the old wives' tale that walking helped coerce the baby to come out. Part of it was that they just enjoyed having time to hang out with each other. If Paige were willing to admit it – to herself or to Emily – part of it was that she wanted to show off her pregnant wife; to let people know that they weren't just a couple, but that they were starting a family.

On one of their walks, they discussed a conversation that they had had with one of the nurses in the OB-GYN office. The nurse asked them about names, and they told her that they hadn't found any that they could agree on, yet. The nurse told them not to worry, and that, when the time came, they'd know. She mentioned the time that her family got a new puppy, and, as soon as they saw it, everyone agreed: "Kahlua!" When Paige and Emily heard the name, they were immediately able to picture what the puppy looked like. They smiled politely at the nurse's tale, but they knew that it wasn't a great strategy for a child. "You can name a dog Kahlua, but you can't really name your kid Placenta," Paige joked as they continued on their walk through the neighborhood.

Emily smiled. She was holding Paige's hand and holding her other hand behind her back to support herself, doing the pregnancy waddle. "What do you think about 'Shannon?'" she offered.

Paige tilted her head. "'Shannon'… I like it! It's not so obscure that no one's heard of it, but it's not overused. 'Shannon' – 'Shan;' sounds a bit like 'Hanna' and 'Han,' but…"

"We could call her 'Shay!'" Emily interjected.

"'Shay?' Why 'Shay?'"

"Well, the 'Sh' is from her name, the long 'A' from your name, and the 'Y' from 'Emily,'" she rationalized.

"Uh huh…" Paige smiled. "So, basically, you like the name 'Shay,' but you thought that 'Shannon' would be an easier sell?"

Emily just smiled coyly and gave a couple of squeezes to Paige's hand.

"Compromise!" Paige laughed. "It's the secret to a good marriage. Love makes the marriage strong, but compromise makes the marriage last."

Emily knocked shoulders with her. "Where'd you get that?"

"I don't know. It sounds like a thing, though, doesn't it?"

"So, you're good with Shannon?"

"Absolutely! And it works for a boy or a girl!" Emily shot her a skeptical look. "What?"

"Well, for your sake, Baby," she said to her abdomen, "let's hope that you're a girl!"

"You know, there's a quick way to figure it out!" Emily raised a finger and scowled at Paige. Paige grabbed the finger and kissed it. "I'm just saying!"


As they relaxed on the couch, all of the pillows on Emily's side, Emily said, "Well, if it's a girl, how about the middle name 'Luz?'"

"Your mom's middle name? Sure!"

"I mean, I would like to honor your family, too. Like, if it's a boy, we could give him your dad's middle name."

"I don't think that would work."

"Why? What's his middle name?"

"'X.'"

"'X' As in what? Xavier?"

"As in 'X'. As in – I don't know, 'Malcom X.'"

"Your grandparents named him after Malcom X?"

"No. He was just 'Nick McCullers.' So, on some form that he had to fill out in, like, third grade, he had to put his middle initial. He didn't know what to put, so he just put 'X.' Some boy teased him that he didn't know his middle initial; he said that 'X' was his middle initial; boy asked what it stood for; he shoved boy, saying that it was none of boy's business.

"After that, he owned it. Thought that it was cool. When he started in business, he had his name legally changed to 'Nicholas X. McCullers.'"

"Oh, come on, Paige. I'm not that gullible."

"Hand to God, Em. You can call him and ask him!"

"I swear, whenever I think that I have your family figured out… Well, at least we have a girl's name: 'Shannon Luz Fields-McCullers'"

"Eugh!" Paige made a face. "Wouldn't want to do that to my daughter!"

"You're thinking 'McCullers-Fields?'"

"Please. Just 'Fields.'"

"Well, what about your name? It has to be in there somewhere. How about 'Shannon McCullers Fields,' instead of 'Luz?'"

"Really? You know those guys who did that at Stanford - had a last name as their middle name? Didn't you find it a bit pretentious?"

"I don't know. I just think that our kids need to have your name."

"Well, I don't see why."

"Won't your dad be disappointed?"

"I think that he got used to the idea that his name would die out when it looked as though I, a girl, was going to be his only child. If he wants to propagate the name, he'll have to work that out with Jody."

"I just feel bad, though, that our children will only have my name."

"'Fields' is a great name, Em. Trust me. They'll thank you later."

Emily reluctantly went along, although she wasn't really convinced. Compromise.

"So, what are our kids going to call us? 'Mom 1' and "Mom 2?'" Paige wondered.

"They'll call you 'Mom' and me 'Nanay.'"

"Tagalog?"

"Exactly. Are you okay with that?"

"I'm fine with it. As long as I get to be called 'Mom.' I was afraid that it'd be 'Mum' or 'Mama' or something." Paige gave her wife a kiss, rubbing her belly. "I love you, Nanay!"

"I love you, too, Mom!"