He looks over at his wife who has already had her IV removed, and now is fully dressed. She sits on the edge of the bed, and holds Keely in her arms.
"Kathryn are you sure that you're ready for this?"
"Yes."
"You're sure?"
"We need a car seat," she mentions.
"Regina dropped it off earlier this morning, when you were in the shower. She dropped of a diaper bag too."
"Ok."
Daphne carries what seems like the eight thousandth basket of laundry up the stairs. She finds Regina and Bay inside the nursery. They quickly put things away. The room is now filled with baby items. There is a mural on the wall adjacent to the crib. Down the hallway Toby distributes other baby items. He places a basinet in his parents room. A pack and play goes into the living room. In the corner of the office he puts the swing. The bouncy seat gets situated on the top of the kitchen table. He then places the video monitor in his parents room. He returns to the nursery. He looks at the three women inside, and then at the room.
"It looks like someone threw up pepto bismol in here."
"Thank you for your vote of confidence," Bay rolls her eyes.
"There is just a lot of pink, and purple. Bay," he points to the wall, "Don't you think the owls are kind of scary?"
"How? It is a mural of the woods at night, with owls in the trees."
"Why owls?" Toby quizzes.
Regina points at the crib, "There are owls on the bedding."
"Yes, but those are cutesy animated owls," he argues.
Daphne rolls her eyes, "So you like squirrels, but you are afraid of owls?"
"I didn't say that."
Bay smiles, "You didn't have to."
She fastens the sleeping baby into the car seat. John stands outside the door of the car. He looks in at her.
"Are you ready?"
"Are you sure that this is in right?"
"I had the nurse help me install it. I am sure that it is right."
"Ok."
Less than twenty minutes later they arrive at home. Kathryn looks at the sleeping baby inside the car seat. She carefully unfastens her. John opens her door. She gently places the sleeping baby in his arms. He holds the baby in one arm. He offers his free hand to Kathryn. She slowly gets out of the backseat of the car. She grimaces as she steps onto the ground from the running board of the vehicle.
"You ok?" he questions.
She nods, reaching for the baby. He passes Keely to her, and grabs the diaper bag out of the backseat. Kathryn opens the door, and finds Bay, Toby, Daphne, and Regina standing around the island in the kitchen waiting for her.
"Do you want me to take her?" Bay offers.
"I'm fine," Kathryn insists.
"You look tired," Regina comments.
"I think that I am going to go take a nap."
John looks at her, knowing that she is still tender from her c-section, and car accident. He contemplates how to approach the subject with her.
Daphne speaks up, "The pack and play is in the living room if you want to take a nap on the couch. I can get you a blanket, so you don't have to walk upstairs."
"Ok," Kathryn agrees.
Bay and Daphne lead her into the living room. Bay grabs the pack and play, and pushes it towards the couch. Daphne pushes the coffee table towards the other side of the rug that it's on. Kathryn looks at the pack and play.
"I guess that playpens have come a long way in eighteen years," she realizes.
Bay nods, "The changing table is on the left, and there is a basinet part on the right. Once she outgrows the bassinet part you just take them out, and you can lay her in the bottom of the playpen."
"And," Daphne adds, "There is a spot here on the side for diapers and wipes."
"You know if you want we can take her, and..." Bay offers.
Kathryn cuts her off, "She will be fine here," she insists placing her inside the bassinet.
In the kitchen Regina looks over at John. Toby sits on the stool in silence eating a piece of fruit.
"How was the ride?"
"It was ok. She is still pretty tender though."
"Did they send a prescription home for her?"
"She won't take anything," John admits.
"Why not?"
He shrugs, "Something about it effecting the baby."
"That is why they invented baby formula," Regina points out.
"She refuses."
"You should still get the prescription filled, just in case she needs it."
"The hospital sends them electronically now. I just have to go pick it up."
"If you need to run errands we're all here."
"I know."
"So how is she doing otherwise?" Regina quizzes.
"She seems to be doing well. It helps that Keely is pretty laid back. She sleeps soundly, and eats well. The only time she gets upset is if one overlaps the other. If she wakes up hungry she's angry. Once she eats she's calm, and happy again."
"So how mad was Kathryn when you told her that the baby already had a name?"
He shrugs, "She took it better than I expected. I told her that she could change it. I honestly expected that she would."
"Did she pick out a middle name?"
"Carolina."
"Is there a reason behind it, or she just liked that name?" Regina inquires.
Toby smiles, "It was the name of one of the streets of the intersection she was t-boned in," he explains.
"She's such a sweet little girl," John adds.
"She's just so little," Regina comments.
"She gained an ounce every day she was in the hospital. Like I said, she loves to eat."