Chapter 48: Olivia Faith

Meredith's Point-of-View

When I woke up, the first thing I demanded was to see my baby girl. No matter how many years at practicing medicine I still wasn't prepared for what I'd see. She was so incredibly tiny. I knew that being 12 weeks premature that she wouldn't be a whopper, but I still wasn't ready to see just how small she actually would be. But I loved every little bit of her.

Derek was a saint. He was very attentive, and like Bailey warned me he was hovering. But with everything going on with Nudger and my recovery I still wasn't quite ready to have alone time. He was there wheeling me back and forth and sneaking me into the NICU after visiting hours. I guess one of the perks about being a doctor at that hospital was that we were exempt from visiting hours.

Carolyn and Addison were both still hanging around, though it'd been three weeks since Nudger's birth. And I was grateful for both of them, both wanting to see Nudger to the end, that being when she went home. Luckily, she had no health issues other than she just needed to gain a little more weight. I went and sat with her daily, I read to her what I planned on reading in utero, but she seemed to like to hear my voice inside so why not outside. I'll remind her of how much she enjoyed it when she was a teenager.

I was sitting in a rocking chair next to her islet, she'd just had a feeding and was awake for a tiny bit, they weighed her, four pounds and two ounces. Gaining weight, but still not big enough to go home. Derek had been paged; he still had a job to do. So, it was just her and I, it was quiet, and I decided to pull out the book I'd been reading her. I opened it up to page 94 and picked up where I left off.

"Mockingbirds don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don't eat up people's gardens, don't nest in corncribs, they don't do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That's why it's a sin to kill a mockingbird."

"What are you reading to her today?" I heard and looked up to see Addison approach the islet and smile at me.

"Um." I hummed "To Kill a Mockingbird—Harper Lee."

"You like reading to her."

"She likes it too." I smiled "Or at least she used to, I can't really feel her kicks anymore."

"She does." Addison smiled "She's a happy baby."

"She is?" I asked curiously, a spark of hope in my heart.

"Would you like to hold her?" Addison asked. I felt a jump in my heart, I'd wanted to hold her since the moment she was born. But she's been so tiny I'd been afraid to hurt her, and she's been kind of bed-bound. I looked hesitantly at her "It's ok now, she's a lot bigger and healthier."

"I would really like that." I said. Addison smiled as she opened the islet and lifted the tiny baby out, she turned and placed my angel in my arms, Nudger cooed a little and nestled her head against my breast. I'd like to think she knew who I was without having to look. In my mind she did anyway. "Oh, she's so beautiful."

"She is." Addison said, "Have you thought of a name for her yet?"

"No." I giggled a little, "I have no idea what to name her. Not that I haven't thought of anything. Just not the right name. She needs something meaningful."

"You could name her Scout." Addison teased "Like the girl in the book."

"No." I giggled, and then something hit me that caused a slow smile to spread across my face "I do like the name Harper."

"As in Harper Lee?"

"What about Olivia?" Addison asked.

"I like that better!" Meredith smiled.

"Yeah." I said as I looked at her to see if she looked like an Olivia.

"Hey." I heard behind me as a pair of lips brushed my temple.

"Hey." I said.

"You're holding her." His face lit up, "She's doing well then?"

"Very well." Addison smiled "We were just discussing the name Olivia."

"Olivia?" he asked. "I like it."

"She looks like she could be an Olivia." I said as I brushed my fingers over her silky brown hair "What about a middle name."

"Faith." Derek said, I glanced up at him "I think she's taught us that all we have to do is have a little faith."

"Olivia Faith." I smiled, I liked it. I looked down at her and smiled as she creased her baby blue eyes open just slightly to look at me "Olivia Faith Shepherd, I do believe you finally have a name."

She let out a soft baby sigh, and I'm sure in reality it was probably just gas…but she smiled softly in approval. I wasn't sure if Olivia would grow up to write a book, or if she'd be the first woman president, or perhaps just an elementary school teacher…no matter what she became really it didn't matter. I would love her no matter what.