Thanks for the reviews, alerts and favourites,for the last chapter and I've just realised this story has over 200 reviews which is amazing! Thank you to all of you who continue to read (and hopefully enjoy!) this story.

I think this is another chapter you have all been waiting for and I hope you enjoy...

Alison awoke with a start. Immediately sensing something was wrong her eyes flew to the bassinet beside her, her heart stopping when she realised the tiny bundle that was her daughter was not there.

"Pancake!" she gasped as she sat up in bed.

"Shhhh. You'll wake your mother" Henry whispered to his daughter.

"Dad?" Alison queried blearily as she blinked into the dimly lit room.

"Yeah it's me" he replied softly as he stared adoringly at his granddaughter. He was so in love with her it was untrue.

Alison's heart rate slowly started to return to normal as she saw that her dad was holding her daughter and she observed the scene with a gentle smile. Her dad looked so enamoured with his granddaughter and the silly faces he was making at her were heart-warming.

"How did last night go?" he asked inquisitively as he cast a look at his daughter.

Alison sighed wearily. "The first 4 hours she slept solidly, since then she's been awake every 1-2 hours for a feed and what with the nurses coming in to check on her and me, and mum's snoring, I've barely slept".

Henry smiled sympathetically at his daughter. He remembered what the first few weeks had been like for Elizabeth and he when they'd first had their kids. Newborn baby exhaustion was unique and he still didn't know how they'd made it through that period, especially when his youngest daughter and son came along. He knew the next few months would be a struggle for Alison and he was glad that it was almost the end of the school year so he'd be around over the summer to help Alison out - his job with the CIA would hopefully not take up too much of his time.

"Hang in there, Noodle. You can get some decent rest when you get home" Henry encouraged.

Alison scoffed. "How? I'm the one who has to feed her."

"We'll work something out, don't worry" Henry assured.

As if knowing her mother and grandpa were talking about food the tiny infant started fidgeting in her grandfather's arms.

"Looks like someone is hungry" Henry commented as he felt is granddaughter wiggle in his arms and stared into her big blue eyes.

Alison sighed. "I guess it's feeding time again" she stated in a resigned tone as she held out her arms to her father who gently placed the tiny infant in them.

"I've got to go, Noodle, but I'll be back this afternoon with Stevie and Jason. They can't wait to meet her"

"Ok" Alison replied. "See you later"

"Bye Ali, Pancake" Henry replied as he kissed his daughter's forehead and stroked his granddaughter's check lovingly.

"Oh, and Ali..." Henry called softly as he reached the door.

"Yeah?"

"Don't mention your mother's snoring, she'll deny it until she's blue in the face" he stated in a conspiratorial tone. He'd had many an argument with Elizabeth about her snoring and had even recorded it once, but she still refused to believe she snored.

"But...!" Alison exclaimed in disbelief. Her mother's snoring was so loud!

"I know...just trust me. Oh! And you'll find your favourite muffin and your mum's favourite cinnamon bun in the box on your bedside cabinet in case you need a sugar rush" Henry added as he winked at his daughter and exited the room.

Alison smiled at her dad's generosity and couldn't wait to eat her muffin, just as soon as she had fed her daughter. She looked down at her squirming daughter and despite the exhaustion and the pain in her nether regions, she couldn't help but love her. She undid her top and gently moved her daughter, whose mouth was already opening in search of her nipple, into position. Almost immediately she latched on and Alison felt the now familiar pull as her daughter fed.

Despite everything, she was totally worth it.

"How about Mona?"

"No"

"Cassidy?"

"No"

"Allegra"

"No, no , no, no, no!" Alison replied in frustration.

Her daughter was now 22 hours old and she still didn't have a name! All day her mum and she had been bouncing names around as she'd learnt to look after her daughter, and now her dad, brother and sister, had also joined in. However, none of the names they had suggested seemed right.

Stevie looked down at her tiny niece who she held snugly in her arms. Meeting her for the first time had been one of the most wonderful experiences of her life and she had fallen instantly in love with her. The connection she felt with her was like the connection she experienced when she'd held Alison and Jason for the first time, except she'd been too young then to know what that connection was. As far as she was concerned her niece was just the most perfect little thing and she deserved a name that reflected just how amazing she was.

"McKenzie?" she suggested.

"I'm not naming my daughter McKenzie McCord! It'll sound like she has two surnames!" Alison exclaimed.

"Ok! How about Charlotte?"

Alison paused. "I do like it, but I don't like Charlie as a nickname and it still doesn't seem quite right"

Jason peered over his sister's shoulder at his niece. He wasn't really a baby person but his niece was different, he was completely smitten with her. He'd fallen instantly in love with her as he'd peered into her eyes for the first time and she'd grabbed his little finger so tightly that he'd instantly felt a bond form with her. He knew in that moment that he would die to protect her and no one was going to hurt his niece whilst he was around.

"Lucy?" he suggested.

"No" Alison replied. She liked the name but it didn't go with the middle name she had chosen - and she was non-negotiable on the middle name, not that her family knew what that was yet.

"Isobel?"

"I'm not naming her after mum's friend!"

"How about Susan or Susannah or Suzie after Grandma Adams?" Jason suggested.

Alison paused to consider the names, slightly shocked at the sentiment behind her brother's suggestion. Suzie was cute and she liked Susannah, but then she looked over at her mum and saw the pain in her eyes, although she was trying to cover it well. Her mum rarely talked about her own mother and now that she was a mother she could understand that pain. If anything happened to her daughter... No, she couldn't name her daughter after her grandmother as it would hurt her mum too much to hear the name being called all the time.

"Hmmm, it's a bit old fashioned" she lamented and saw the flash of relief on her mother's face.

For the next hour the McCords debated various names to no avail and tensions in the small room rose as the minutes ticked by.

"Alison, you have to chose something before we leave the hospital and that could be in as little as an hour if her tests are all clear!" Elizabeth exclaimed in frustration.

"You can always change it afterwards. You have up to 90 days in DC to change the official record" Henry added.

"But it has to be right!" Alison exclaimed tearfully. Why didn't her family understand just how important this was to her?

"Knock, knock!" came a voice from the doorway.

"Alexis!" she exclaimed as she wiped the tears from her eyes, the new arrival somehow breaking the tenaion in the room.

"Are you ok?" Alexis asked in concern as she noted her patient wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Yes, yes, I'm fine" Alison assured as she waved her hand in dismissal of her therapists concern. "Just hormones, exhaustion, and frustration as I can't figure out what to name her"

"Oh right!" Alexis exclaimed in relief. Alison had text her earlier today to say she would not be in group therapy tonight as she'd had her baby. "I was called to the hospital so I thought I'd pop in. How is everyone doing?" she asked kindly.

"We're all good, apart from the name thing" Alison replied happily. "Do you want to meet her?" she asked her therapist excitedly.

"Definitely!" Alexis replied excitedly.

Stevie moved over to Alison's therapist and gently deposited the baby in her arms.

"She's just gorgeous, Alison, those 4D scans didn't do her adorableness justice" Alexis stated kindly. "She looks so much like you it's uncanny" she stated as she placed the baby back in her mother's arms after a few moments.

Alison didn't have time to respond to the compliment before the door to her room opened and Dr Clarke, Dr Mitchell, and Laura entered the room.

"How is everyone?" Dr Clarke asked genially. "Alexis, nice to see you too".

"We're all good, doctor, but I'm wondering when I can go home?" Alison asked, a hint of desperation in her tone as she shifted her daughter in her arms so that Laura could take her blood pressure. She couldn't fault the care the hospital was giving her, it's just that she wanted to go home and be with her family.

"Well, I have some good news and some bad news" Dr Mitchell began. "The good news is that her blood oxygen levels remain good so I have no doubt that the merconium didn't enter her lungs, in that respect I'm happy for her to be released. However, she's started to develop jaundice and I'd like to monitor that before discharging her. If her jaundice has stabilised over night I'm happy to release her tomorrow morning".

"But I have an exam tomorrow morning!" Alison exclaimed. Part of the reason she wanted to go home was so that she could do some last minute revision - how she was going to study she wasn't quite sure, but she at least wanted the opportunity.

"What time is your exam?" Dr Mitchell asked with concern.

"9.30am"

"I'll put you first on my list for rounds tomorrow. If she checks out ok at 6am we should be able to discharge you by 8.30am for you to make your exam"

"But if she's not ok, we can still temporarily release you, Alison, so you can take the exam" Dr Clarke assured noticing the distressed look on her patient's face. "Talking about discharge, have you thought of a name yet?"

Alison looked down at her daughter who was now awake and looking at her with an almost begging expression on her face, like she too was now demanding to be named. She looked up at the occupants of the room desperately and suddenly vowels and consonants arranged themselves in her head.

"Lola" she said cautiously, to which her daughter emitted a tiny cry - the only time she had reacted to any of the names that had been suggested.

"As in the showgirl?" Henry quipped, earning him an elbow in the ribs from his wife.

"As in Charlie and Lola?" Jason queried in confusion.

"No" Alison replied in exasperation as she rolled her eyes "As in the people who helped deliver her. Dr Clarke, your first name is Lydia, right?"

"Yes" Dr Clarke replied in confusion.

"And yours is Olivia, right Dr Mitchell?"

"Yes, that's correct".

"So the 'L' is in respect of Dr Clarke who looked after her when I was pregnant and delivered her safely. 'O' is for Dr Mitchell who quite literally brought her to life when she was born and has looked after her for the past 23 hours. 'L' is for Laura who was with me throughout my labour and was the first to alert Dr Clarke that there was a problem when she was being born. And 'A' is for Alexis, because without her help I'm not sure I would even be able to look at her, let alone love her like I do. So, Lola" Alison explained to the stunned occupants of the room, as her daughter let out another small sound.

"Do you like that name, Lola?" Alison cooed to her daughter, to which her daughter flailed her tiny arm and emitted another small cry. "I think you do!" she exclaimed with a smile.

The more she looked at her daughter the more she seemed to be a Lola. The name went with the middle name she had chosen too and a wave of relief washed over her as realised she had finally named her daughter.

"Alison, that's..." Alexis began as she was overcome with emotion at the gesture.

"You can't..." Laura and Dr Mitchell exclaimed in disbelief.

"It's the right name for her and I think it suits her perfectly. My little Lola" she said with a smile and she could have sworn her daughter also smiled up at her in that instant.

Dr Clarke cleared her throat and wiped the tears that had appeared in her eyes. To think that she had contributed to her patient's name was such an honour and she was touched beyond belief.

"So, I'm putting Lola McCord on her birth certificate and the official record?" Dr Clarke queried as professionally as she could given the circumstances.

"No, her full name is Lola Elizabeth McCord" Alison stated.

"Alison!" her mother gasped from the corner. "You can't name her after me!"

Alison looked up her mother defiantly. "Mum, after everything you've done for me over the past 8 months... I can't thank you enough. I want to name her after you. If she grows up to be half as amazing as you are then she'll have been blessed" she replied adamantly.

"Alison..." Elizabeth tried to protest, but for once she was lost for words. She felt Henry pull her into his side and whisper in her ear "I couldn't agree with Alison more, it's an honour for her to be named after you, babe". Elizabeth felt the tears rim her eyes and she moved over to her daughter and sat beside her on the bed.

"Hi Lola Elizabeth" Elizabeth cooed at her granddaughter, her heart melting as Lola grabbed her finger. "You've got a pretty big name to live up to but I'm sure you're up to the job if you're as strong and fearless as your mother".

Lola simply tightened her hold on her finger and let out a small cry, as if acknowledging what her grandmother was saying.

Alison looked up at Dr Clarke with a joyous smile on her face and tears in her eyes at her mother's words. It was finally official.

"Her name is Lola Elizabeth McCord".

Ok, so a few author's notes:

1) I know the first scene doesn't really flow with the rest of the chapter but the scene kept popping up in my head so I decided to put it in as I thought it would be nice to have a Henry and Alison moment.

2) I hope the information about the birth certificate and birth record are correct as it turns out registering a birth in the USA is completely different to registering a birth in the UK (I had naively thought the process would be the same lol). Thanks to lil'mousie323, dumo123, and carolinemstella1, for their comments way back in Chapter 23 regarding birth certificates. (This goes for the next chapter too)

3) I really struggled to come up with a name for Lola as I have an image of the child in my head but couldn't find a name that fit. I'm still not entirely sure the name fits the child in my head, but it's the closest I've come and once I figured out I could use the doctors and nurses names to form Lola's name, that became her name as I liked the sentiment behind it. I hope you like it too!

On a completely separate note, I'm thinking of doing a Halloween chapter as I know Halloween is a big deal in the US. Would Alison take Lola trick or treating or is she too young? Any traditions apart from trick or treat that are normally undertaken? What is the likelihood of DS allowing trick or treaters to the McCords front door? Any help would be greatly appreciated as my family don't celebrate Halloween at all.

Reviews welcome.