Colleen rested a hand on the swell of her stomach as she contemplated what to name the baby currently curled up inside her, hopefully sleeping (not that it'd stop them from kicking her all hours of the night but she was unfortunately used to that now). They had a few more weeks to go until their child made an appearance in the world, and she and Andrew still couldn't settle on a name. They both wanted it to have meaning, to be special.
She grinned when Andrew entered the room and kissed her. "How was work today?" They co-owned a practice they hoped to expand one day, and she couldn't wait to take their child along with them to work.
"Nothing that couldn't be easily fixed," he answered.
Colleen folded her arms and glared at him. "You do realize I miss helping patients no matter what?"
"I know that, and you'll be back to treating patients in no time," Andrew assured her, squeezing her hand.
She squeezed right back and sighed. "Sorry, you know how on edge I am."
"Believe me, I'm well aware, Colleen." He cringed at the look on her face. "But you're pregnant so it's natural! Nothing to get angry about."
Colleen giggled. "Now let's sit down and figure out this name already, Andrew."
"Maybe we should wait until they're here? Just to get a feel of the baby's personality," he suggested.
She shook her head. "I'm not waiting five more weeks to name this baby. We're doing this now," she insisted.
"Fine with me." Andrew flashed her a smile and led her to a rocking chair so she could sit. "Should it be a family name? Do you want to name the baby Charlotte if we have a girl?"
She contemplated that idea for about thirty seconds before nearly jumping up in excitement. Colleen had pushed her biological mother to the back of her mind for months, not wanting to think about how she was missing this important moment in her life, and hadn't even considered it. But she had her ma, who was supportive and planned to come up with Sully, Katie, Brian, and Matthew to assist in the delivery. "Charlotte Michaela Cook is the perfect name."
"Charlotte Michaela it is." Andrew kissed her again, and they went back to contemplating names.
"But what about a boy? Colleen questioned after they reluctantly pulled away from each other. She wasn't about to subject a son to being named Byron, especially since Sully hated his given name. And they could name him after Andrew but he had put his foot down on the idea from the very beginning. She wasn't about to suggest it again.
"Coming up with names for a son isn't easy," Andrew admitted after five minutes of silence, laughing when the baby aimed a kick at the hand on Colleen's stomach.
Her eyes lit up when an idea suddenly hit her. "I know the perfect name, Andrew!"
"You do?"
She nodded, tearing up. "My parents are going to love it," she determined.
And Colleen was right. When her and Andrew's son made an entrance into the world six weeks later, both Michaela and Sully cried for the first time when they learned he was named Quinn Sully Cooper Cook. Quinn was their first grandchild, and he was special in so many ways to all of them. And he was joined by a little sister, Charlotte Michaela, two years later.