Dr. Jacobson was able to have Lim come in that Monday. Lim hadn't seen Melendez all weekend other than in passing; he had gone to visit Gabi by himself on Sunday and made sure to leave before Lim was awake on Monday. Lim showered and dressed before she headed out for the day. Considering the fact that she hadn't been sleeping well the past several nights, she decided to stop by Starbucks, though she got a drink smaller than her usual size given the fact that lots of caffeine wasn't that great for the baby. Lim arrived at the counseling center and waited a bit before Dr. Jacobson called her back. Lim knew Dr. Jacobson hadn't failed to notice the baby bump she was now sporting since her last visit. Lim and Dr. Jacobson entered her office and Dr. Jacobson closed the door behind her, "It's Neil's," stated Lim.

"I'm sorry?" questioned Dr. Jacobson.

"The baby; Neil's the father," repeated Lim.

"Oh," Dr. Jacobson chuckled, "Well congratulations, Audrey. How far along are you?"

"Twenty-three weeks as of this past Saturday," answered Lim.

"Do you know what it is yet?" asked Dr. Jacobson curiously.

"It's a little girl," Lim smiled to herself. It was the first genuine smile in several days.

"Well, I'm happy for you," said Dr. Jacobson, "But about your call to me on Saturday…" Lim sighed and tears formed in her eyes as she thought about it, "What's wrong, Audrey?"

Lim rubbed her hands together nervously. She was grateful to be able to open up to someone without judgment, but it was still difficult for her, "Neil and I had a terrible fight last week and it has me questioning our relationship. And I think high stress and arguing are triggers for my PTSD."

"I see," Dr. Jacobson responded empathetically, "And you hadn't had any trouble before last week?"

Lim sighed, "Some irritability here and there or an occasional nightmare, but nothing like last week. We have a complex case we're working on at the hospital and we're on opposing sides and once we got home, that's when we blew up in each other's faces. He told me I've been too sensitive lately. I couldn't believe he threw something I don't have any control over into the argument."

"And this case and what he said were the only contributing factor in this fight?" asked Dr. Jacobson for confirmation, though she also wanted Lim to continue to explore her thoughts and feelings.

"Well…" Lim trailed off, "A lot has happened since I last saw you. We got a new Chief of Surgery that didn't like the fact that Neil and I were dating and was openly adamant about having surgeons with mental health differences, not just me," she began, "Then our former supervisor passed away from brain cancer, Neil and I moved in together, of course, this happened," Lim gestured to the swell in her abdomen, "This same Chief of Surgery kept me out of the operating room solely because I'm pregnant, we had to file a discrimination lawsuit and Neil's ex-fiancée was our lawyer. This obnoxious Chief of Surgery was fired and Neil and I were promoted to associate Chiefs of Surgery. With this new promotion comes a lot more work and less time for each other, not to mention preparing for our baby's arrival. Neil just sold his house recently and then this happens," Lim finished, "The last few days I've been having that nightmare where the three patients are haunting me, sometimes Neil is sick and I can't save him, and…" Lim forced herself not to cry, "Last night it was our daughter I couldn't save."

"I see," said Dr. Jacobson, "It seems like you've gone through a lot recently. Have you been talking to Neil about how you feel about everything?"

Lim hesitated, "Sometimes. Sometimes I keep it to myself. I don't want to bother anyone and Friday night just confirmed that I am. But as angry as I am with him right now, I still want to be with him and I still want him to understand me. But I've never been good at communicating my feelings, even before PTSD. It's what ended my last relationship and now I'm scared it's where Neil and I are headed. Only now, we have a baby to throw into the mix and I know him: he won't abandon her so there would have to be a custody agreement."

Dr. Jacobson might have had a small feeling of what was going on between Lim and Melendez, but she needed to be able to talk to Melendez to find out for sure, "Audrey, when's the next time you and Neil are both off?"

Lim looked at Dr. Jacobson in surprise and thought about it, "Um, Thursday I think. I have an ultrasound in the morning to check on the baby and I have my glucose screening test in the morning. We should be done by noon though."

"Well, I'd like you both to come by my office around 1:30 on Thursday if that's okay with you?" Dr. Jacobson asked.

"Of course," said Lim, "I'll let Neil know tonight."

The next few days were a little better. Lim had forgiven Melendez enough to allow him back into their bed and their short interactions didn't contain as much animosity. After Lim's ultrasound and glucose test (both which came back with good results), Melendez began the drive to the counseling center. He took a deep breath and said, "Hey, Aud…"

"Neil, don't…" she interrupted him, "We're at an okay place right now and I don't want to get into a screaming match."

Melendez nodded and dropped the subject, at least temporarily. They went back to the office and sat down next to each other on the couch. Neither of them knew what to say, so Dr. Jacobson spoke first, "Audrey came to visit me on Monday."

"Yeah, she told me," said Melendez.

"It seems like you both have been through a lot the last several months," mentioned Dr. Jacobson.

"Understatement of the year," replied Lim.

"Well, Neil, I appreciate you coming in because I wanted to ask you a few questions based on what Audrey said to me on Monday," said Dr. Jacobson.

"Fire away," said Melendez.

"During Audrey's course of treatment, we focused on coping mechanisms so she could manage her PTSD symptoms. But we also discussed how those caring for someone with PTSD need to care for themselves as well. By the sounds of how busy you've both been lately, it seems like you haven't had much time to yourself," mentioned Dr. Jacobson.

"Well, my friend, Tom and I...well, a couple weeks ago…" Melendez finally sighed and shook his head, "No, not really."

"Neil, with everything that's been going on lately, do you think you might be experiencing caregiver burnout?" asked Dr. Jacobson gently.

Melendez was silent for the longest time before he finally looked at Lim, "You don't deserve any of this."

"Excuse me?" asked Lim, raising an eyebrow.

"You don't deserve any of this. You're the most caring, down to Earth girl I've ever been with. I've never loved anyone the way I love you. I've hated watching you suffer this past year. You didn't deserve to get that virus; not that anybody else in that emergency room did either but you get my point. You didn't deserve to get that lung damage. You didn't deserve to get PTSD. You don't deserve to be fine for ten days in the emergency room only to run into a cashier with a cold and a cough and be plagued by nightmares and fear for three days afterwards. You didn't deserve to be kicked out of the operating room for no damn good reason other than bringing our child into the world. And I've had to watch all of this happen to you for eleven months. I watched you die and I couldn't do anything about it other than pray that Reznick and Murphy could revive you. I watched you struggle to breathe after five minutes of walking and all I could do was hope the inhaler or the oxygen helped you catch your breath. I heard you wake up screaming night after night and I couldn't do anything but try to comfort you and hope the therapy sessions helped you. I watched you face discrimination due to your pregnancy and I couldn't do anything about it other than hope Jessica was a persuasive enough lawyer to win the case and that something would happen to Han. I had to watch all of this happen to you from the sidelines and it was hard for me because you're the best companion I've ever had!"

Lim didn't quite know what to say before she finally asked, "Neil, why didn't you tell me any of this?"

Melendez sighed, "I don't know," he admitted, "I guess I was afraid I'd say the wrong thing or do the wrong thing and make it worse. Instead I bottled it up inside of me and fucked things up anyways."

Lim couldn't believe she had never taken the opportunity to understand how all of this was affecting Melendez. She had been so focused on herself she never even once thought to see how this whole ordeal was affecting him. Instead, he had done his usual behavior of fully committing and not complaining once. Lim sighed and scrubbed her hand over her face, "I've been such a selfish, ungrateful bitch."

"No, you've been preoccupied with everything…" Melendez defended.

"No, Neil, I was a selfish, ungrateful bitch. You did everything for me and I took it all for granted. You never once complained when I asked you to stay overnight at the hospital even though you had surgeries the next day. You would make sure I was taking my medicine when I was so sidetracked by the thoughts in my head I couldn't remember anything. You stayed up all night with me when I couldn't fall asleep because I was afraid I was going to have a nightmare. You never pressured me to have sex when I wasn't in the mood. You waited patiently until I was ready to go public with our relationship. You held my hair back when I was puking my entire first trimester and you'll run to Walgreens at two in the morning if I'm really craving something. You stepped in and helped me recognize the fact that I was being discriminated against by Han and willingly reconnected with the woman who dumped you because you love me so much and you knew she could help me. And what did I do for you? Nothing. How did I thank you? I yelled at you the first time you took a stand against me and didn't placate me. I've been an awful girlfriend."

Melendez grabbed her hand and she looked up into his chocolate orbs, "You haven't been a terrible girlfriend. You're going to give me the thing I've wanted most in life," the baby kicked, almost as if she knew Daddy was talking about her, "I'll admit, it hasn't been easy these past eleven months. What I meant to say when I called you too sensitive was more along the lines about how I felt it was hard to communicate with you because I don't want to cause you any more suffering," he tucked some of her brown locks behind her ear, "You are the love of my life, Audrey. I would do anything for you."

Lim grabbed the hand that was rubbing her cheek and squeezed it, "I love you too."

Melendez and Lim arrived home from the counseling center and sat down together on the couch. They really needed to discuss their case now that they were calm, "I'm sorry I called you too sensitive," he apologized, "That was totally idiotic of me to bring your condition into the argument like that."

"Thank you, because that really hurt my feelings," she answered gratefully, "And I'm sorry I told you you'd be a shitty husband when you're going to be anything but. But what you said about thinking like a mom and not a doctor is somewhat true. I can't help but look at Casey and not think about if it was our daughter."

"It's why you'll be a good mom," said Melendez, "And I can't help but think about my sister whenever the concept of end of life decisions comes up. I know she wouldn't legally be able to make that decision, but still, she deserves her life, even with a disability. I guess it's also the whole pro-life Catholic upbringing."

Lim chuckled a little. She knew Melendez only went to church on Christmas and Easter, but she wasn't surprised about his views given the fact that his family was fairly conservative. She grabbed his hand, "I think we should have a serious conversation with Jerry and his family. If you're still against it, I respect that, but then I'd need to get someone else to sign off on a psychological evaluation that way you wouldn't have to compromise your beliefs."

"Thank you," Melendez acknowledged, "Speaking of our daughter, she still needs a name."

"I know, and I've been thinking about it," admitted Lim. They were silent when Lim randomly said, "Mei-Li."

"I'm sorry?" asked Melendez in confusion.

"Our daughter's name: Mei-Li. It's Mandarin for beautiful," explained Lim.

"Mei-Li," Melendez repeated to himself, "And for a middle name, I've always liked the name Esmeralda."

"Esmeralda?" questioned Lim.

"It's Spanish for emerald, but it's also the name of the heroine of one of my favorite books," Melendez shrugged.

"The Hunchback of Notre Dame?" Lim asked out of curiosity. Melendez nodded, "I didn't know you had an interest in French literature?"

"I've read all sorts of things. It's how I kept myself sane while reading textbooks in med school," Melendez laughed and Lim nodded understandingly, "You're telling me you don't have a favorite book?"

"Of course I do," she looked down, "I know this might be a little stereotypical but The Joy Luck Club. It was one of the first 'grown-up' books my mom read to me as a little girl and it helped me adjust when we moved to the United States from Taiwan. We went to see the movie together when it came out and it's one of the last movies we watched together before she died."

"I've never read it or seen it. I'll find a way to do so," Melendez said, "But I think when the time comes, you should be the one to read it to our little girl."

"She has a name, Neil," Lim teased.

Melendez smiled and kissed her abdomen, "My apologies, Mei-Li."

Lim smiled and began to kiss him, "I've missed you, you know?"

"Did you now?" asked Melendez.

"Mmhm. And I'm going to show you how much," Lim said.

"Gladly."