Two weeks later, Charlotte's at the center island in the kitchen, drinking a glass of orange juice and trying to acclimate herself with today's patients before leaving for work. Today's Mason's first day of school, which is why she didn't leave at the crack of dawn, like she usually does.

A less than enthused nine year-old boy drags his feet into the kitchen and pours himself a bowl of Fruit Loops. He sighs loudly, getting Charlotte's attention.

"First day of fourth grade. You excited?"

He just gives her a look and sits down at the counter.

She rubs his shoulder. "You'll have fun." She takes another sip of her orange juice and watches him out of the corner of her eye. "Nervous?"

He shrugs. "Maybe a little." He pauses. "But I'm excited about seeing my friends 'cause they've been away all summer at camp or on vacation."

She nods and nibbles on her toast. "You want my last piece?"

"No, thanks." He drinks his milk from the bowl and hops off the stool. He walks towards the living room, but stops suddenly when he hears Charlotte clear her throat.

"I hope you're not about to leave that bowl on the counter, Mason."

He turns around slowly and walks back over to the island. He grabs his bowl and puts it in the dishwasher.

"Thank you." She pauses. "You ready?"

"I just gotta brush my teeth." He pauses. "Are you driving me to school?"

"Sorry, kiddo, I have to go to work. I just wanted to see you before you left." She smiles.

"Ok." He smiles back—albeit a small one—and leaves the kitchen.

Charlotte's sitting in her office at the practice when there's a knock on her door. She groans as she pushes herself out of the chair, and walks over to the door. She opens it and holds onto the handle, looking at Amelia. "Everythin' ok?"

Amelia just shakes her head and invites herself into her friend's office. She sits on the couch, her hands shaking.

Charlotte pads over to her and stands in front of the couch. She blinks. "Amelia?" She pauses. "Do you want to go to a meetin'?"

"Can we just sit here for a minute?"

Charlotte nods and sits down beside her friend. "How'd your surgery go?"

Amelia shutters.

"Oh." Charlotte pauses. "It happens. I bet you did everythin' you could, and that's all anyone can do."

Amelia blinks slowly. "I don't know what happened. He was fine one minute and then he just, he just wasn't." She pauses. "After I told his family, his wife slapped me and his daughter wouldn't stop crying, saying I killed her father. I tried to explain it, but my mind went blank." She sighs.

Charlotte takes Amelia's hand and cups it between both of hers. "You did everythin' you could, but sometimes everythin' just isn't enough. As doctors, we can't fix everyone, we can't save everyone's life, that's just how it is."

"Were you busy?"

"Um, yeah, but it's ok." Charlotte shifts on the couch cushion and squeezes Amelia's hand.

The door opens and Cooper pokes his head in. "Hey, you ready to go to lunch?" He glances from his wife to Amelia. "Oh, sorry. I interrupted something."

"I'll come find you when I'm ready, Coop."

He smiles and backs away, heading to the kitchen.

"He's been so clingy lately. I'm gettin' sick of it."

"At least you have someone in your life who gives a damn about you."

"Every last person in this office cares about you, Amelia."

"That's not what I meant." Amelia pauses. "I've been thinking a lot about Ryan lately. Seeing how Cooper acts around you, I keep thinking about what it would have been like if Ryan was here when I was pregnant. How would he have reacted when I told him I was pregnant or when I found out—well, you know. Things might have been different if he was here. I would have held up better after it was all over if he was here."

"I know you loved him, Amelia, but he wasn't good for you, and deep down, I know you know that. Things might have been different, but not in the way you're picturin' them. What you and he had wasn't real."

Amelia abruptly stands up and opens the door. "How would you know? You're not me and you're not him, so you have no authority here, Charlotte." She leaves the office in a huff, heading for the elevator.

Cooper passes by her office on the way to his, but catching Amelia rush down the hallway, he decides to walk in. "What was that about?"

"I said somethin' to her that she didn't wanna hear, that's all." Charlotte pauses. "Maybe I shouldn't have said it, but I can't take it back now."

He sits on the couch and kisses the side of her head. "Does this mean you're canceling lunch?"

She shakes her head. "No." She stands up and walks over to her desk. "Just give me a minute." She closes her laptop and grabs her purse and jacket. "Are we just headin' to the promenade?"

He nods. "Unless you want to go somewhere else."

"Promenade's fine." She pushes in her chair and grabs her keys. "Ready." She smiles and walks out of her office.

He follows her. "Amelia will cool off and everything will be fine."

She nods. "Hope so." She locks her door and hooks her arm around his back. She looks up at him and smiles. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"Just for bein' supportive—'bout everythin'."

He leans down and closes the gap between their lips. He pulls back and kisses her on the cheek. "You're welcome." He smiles and they head down the hallway.

Around 3:30, Charlotte walks into Cooper's office. She smiles and walks over to Mason, who's busy building a small city out of tongue depressors. "Hey, you."

Mason looks up. "Hey, momma."

"You know where your daddy disappeared to?"

"He's in exam room three."

"How was school?"

"It was just the first day, so it was all introductions and review stuff."

"That doesn't answer my question."

He laughs. "Oh." He pauses. "It was good."

"You tryin' out for a play this year?"

He nods. "I think so. We won't know the play until next month. That's when auditions are too."

"Whatcha makin'?"

"A city out of tongue depressors."

"You need some more?"

"No, I think I have enough."

She walks closer to him and sits on the chair. She watches him for a couple minutes and then says, "Do you like stayin' at the office until one of us is done with work?"

He shrugs. "Sometimes it's fun and I sometimes I finish my homework before we even get home, so that's nice."

"Your school has an after school program, right?"

He nods. "But only the weird kids stay after school."

"I'm sure they're not weird, Mason."

"If you saw them, you'd agree with me, momma."

She sighs. "Maybe you can go home with one of your friends after school some days, so you're not stuck here all the time, or is there any clubs that you'd be interested in? I mean, until the play eats up most of your after school time."

"They have a karate club. Logan's in it. He says it's really fun."

"Well, you think about it and let me or your daddy know tonight, ok?"

He nods.

She stands up and kisses the top of his head. "Have fun buildin' your city."

"Did you need dad?"

"I just need to talk to him about somethin'. I'll catch up with him later." She pauses. "I'll see you tonight, Mase." She walks out of Cooper's office and goes back down the hallway.

Later that night, Charlotte walks through the front door of the house and immediately crashes onto the couch. She doesn't want to be in this day anymore.

Cooper comes down the steps and smiles. "Hey, you're home."

"Hey, good observation."

He sighs. "Bad day?"

"You could say that."

"You wanna talk about it?"

"Not particularly." She pauses. "Mason upstairs?"

"He's getting his binders organized and his books covered." He pauses. "He told me that you talked to him about after school stuff."

She nods. "There's no reason he has to sit in your office and be bored all afternoon. Plus, him not havin' to be picked up until later will make our lives easier too. How many times have you asked me to get him from school 'cause somethin' came up, or vise versa?"

He nods. "A lot."

"Exactly."

He smiles. "Did this just pop into your head? It seems really random."

She laughs. "I don't know what made me think of it. I just did."

"He really wants to do karate. If he likes the club, we might just have to sign him up for lessons."

"It'll be good for him." She pauses and changes the subject. "Amelia has been givin' me the cold shoulder since earlier."

"What did you say to her?"

"Somethin' stupid. She has a right to be pissed."

He sighs. "Just give her time. You two always make up eventually."

She nods.

"Did you eat?"

"I got somethin' at the hospital."

"If you're hungry, there's a hamburger patty in the fridge. It's on a plate, covered with saran wrap."

"I need somethin' sweet." She stands up and disappears into the kitchen. "Are those brownies?"

"Double fudge," he says, following her.

She cuts a small square and sinks her teeth into it. Her eyes brighten and she smiles. "Oh my God."

He laughs. "They're good, aren't they?"

She finishes her brownie and cuts another square. "Mmhmm," she mumbles, her mouth full of brownie. She swallows and recovers the glass tray. "Take those away from me 'fore I eat my weight in brownies." She walks over to the refrigerator and pours herself a glass of milk.

"Mason wanted brownies."

"Those were amazin'." She smiles and licks her lips. "Definitely hit the spot." She goes over to the desk and shuffles through the mail.

"There's nothing, just bills."

"I see that." She pauses. "Anyone call for me?"

"Nope. You expecting someone to?"

She shakes her head. "No. I was only askin'." She puts her glass in the dishwasher and rubs her stomach. "She hasn't stopped kickin' and tumblin' all damn day."

"You just fed her sugar. She's not gonna stop now."

"Great." She pauses. "At least I know she's alive." She heads into the hall bathroom and shuts the door.

He pours himself a glass of milk and sits down at the island.

She comes back into the kitchen and walks over to him. She gives him a kiss on the cheek and smiles. "How was your day?" She leans against the counter and looks at him.

"Nothing special, but I did get two chips from the vending machine at the hospital for the price of one." He pauses. "I know your day wasn't the best, but something good had to happen today."

"Um, I didn't kill anyone."

"Always a good thing." He smiles.

She yawns and swallows. "I'm gonna head up to bed, maybe read my book or fiddle around on my laptop. You stayin' down here?"

"I was just planning on watching TV. You want company? 'Cause I can watch TV in the bedroom."

She nods. "You want to talk baby names?"

He smiles. "I'll bring the book up with me."

She kisses him and walks out of the kitchen, heading upstairs.

Charlotte's lying in bed on top of the comforter, waiting for Cooper.

Cooper walks in and changes into sweatpants and his GYM T-shirt. He gets into bed and presses his lips to her temple. He scoots closer to her and opens the book to the As. "You ready to do this for real?"

She nods. "I am."

"Ok, then let's do it."

She smiles. "Let's do it." She peers over his arm and takes in a deep breath. They've got a daunting task ahead—picking the perfect name out of a sea of thousands of names.

He grabs a notepad from his bedside drawer and pulls the pen cap off with his teeth. "You still want to name the baby after your horse?"

She looks at him. "You remember that?"

"How could I forget?"

She shrugs. "To answer your question, no, I don't. That was just the first name that came to my mind. Our kid would probably get made fun of if we name her Marjorie. It's a little too old fashioned for the 21st century. Plus, if she finds out we named her after a horse, we might have issues." She laughs.

He nods. "Just checking." He pauses. "If we have another girl, her middle name can be Marjorie if you want."

"Hold on a minute. Are you seriously already talkin' 'bout another kid 'fore I even pop this one out?"

"Let's just focus on naming Blue."

"Agreed." She pauses. "And just so you know, if, and that's a big if, we have another baby, it's not gonna be for a while."

He nods.

"Alright. Baby names." She laughs. This should be interestin'.

He opens the book to a random page, landing on the Js. He scans the list and looks at her. "What about Jaclyn?"

"Uh, no."

He scribbles it down just in case and moves on. "Jaylen?"

"No."

"Jocelyn?"

"I don't know." She pauses. "But the names endin' in N sound best with Erica—at least I think so."

"That's a hard name."

She nods. "I know."

"Anyway." He pauses. "Jordyn?"

She shrugs. "Maybe."

He flips the page. "Kailyn?"

"No."

He looks at her. "Do you like anything?"

"Just write 'em down. Maybe one of the names will speak to me if they're on paper." She pauses. "Write them out just how they'll be on her birth certificate—first name, middle name, last name. It'll be easier to pick one if we see her full name."

"What is her last name going to be?"

"What do you mean?"

"Is it just going to be Freedman or is it going to be King-Freedman?"

"Oh, uh, I don't know."

"Do you know anything tonight? Jeez."

"Well, sorry."

He sighs. "We'll talk about that later. Honestly, it doesn't matter to me. It's up to you whether you want our daughter to have your last name or not."

"Can we just keep lookin' through the book?"

He nods. "Ok." He pauses and flips through the book. "Lauren?"

She shakes her head.

"Madelyn?"

"Eh, I don't know if I like the double M—Mason and Madelyn. If we have another kid, we'd probably have to pick an M name, and I don't know if I wanna be stuck, y'know?"

He nods. "Should I write it down?"

"I guess."

"Madison?"

"Um, no, definitely not. Madison, Addison—way too confusin'.

"Megan?" Now he's just throwing out names, hoping she'll like something.

"Maybe."

He's clearly getting frustrated. He takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly. "Do you want to stop?"

"Coop, I already said I'm not commitin' to anythin' yet and that we're just listin' names right now. We'll narrow 'em down later."

He nods. "Ok." He pauses and looks back down at the book. He flips a couple pages. "Peyton?"

She sighs. "No."

He keeps searching, going back and forth through the alphabet.

She falls asleep shortly after Cooper finishes going through the B names. Her exhaustion took over and she just couldn't keep her eyes open anymore.

He closes the book and sets it in the drawer with the list of names. He kisses the top of Charlotte's head and drapes a blanket over her. He smiles. "Goodnight, sweetie," he whispers and turns off the light. He gets out of bed and goes into the bathroom. He comes out and crawls back into bed. He rolls onto his side and yawns as he closes his eyes. He goes through the incomplete list of names in his head before falling asleep.

A/N: As far as the whole Mason thing goes, I'm basing his character off what we saw on the show. He spent a lot of time with Charlotte and Cooper, and he seemed to enjoy that. I realize he spends an awful lot of time with them in this story, but again, I was basing his character on how he was on the show. Him being mature for his age had little to do with why he is the way he is in this story. Also, I didn't know Charlotte and Cooper were telling him all their business, other than telling him about the issues with the baby, but I feel like he should know about that, considering this is his sister, and he should be prepared for when she's born. All that being said, I'll try and keep the sharing to a minimum and have him spend more time with his friends or doing more kid-like things.

Although I'm not a parent, I was a young kid once. Every kid acts differently, no matter his/her age. Some kids really do want to spend time with their parents, especially if the parents are willing to play videogames with them/watch a movie, ect. Also, if the parents are working all day, that's also another reason why kids may want to spend time with them at night. I'm not an expert, that's just my opinion. But Mason did spend most of the summer at camp, so he wasn't just hanging out with Charlotte and Cooper. Maybe it wasn't clear, so I'll try and make it clearer next time.

And it's alright if you don't like the story or an aspect of the story, but ranting about what's wrong with it isn't really going to help me make it any better. Suggestions are a lot more helpful.

That was a long response, but I hope that clears some things up and I hope you continue reading :)

Review!