Disclaimer: Nothing's mine. Yet.

'Guess who the new Chief of Surgery is.'

'Who.' Paris asked while inspecting the X-ray image in her hands, holding it against the light coming from the exam room window. She didn't show the fervor Rory would expect her friend to show about matters concerning hospital hierarchy.

Rory made a pause, waiting for Paris to move her look from the X-ray back to her.

'Shefield,' Rory announced as their gazes met.

Paris' eyes narrowed.

'The Shefield?'

Rory nodded.

'The one and only.'

'Shit.'

'Double that.'

'How?'

'Seems like Chief Peterson had a couple of names in mind for next Chief and she was one of the outlined. He always had an appreciation for successful women in medicine.'

He did. He had asked Paris to be next Chief. She had declined. Logically, he had moved on to the next person he had in mind.

'Why did she accept?' Paris narrowed her eyes.

Wasn't Shefield some kind of overseas nomad surgeon, breaking records for hitting it off with badass procedures all over the world? She was like some mythical creature, a legend - doing some breakthrough surgery and then disappearing to take some time off on a secluded exotic island, surrounded by luxury and style, her exorbitant lifestyle surrounded by an air of mystery. For such a person to take on an administrative position in a hospital, even if the position was prestigious and well paid, seemed unlikely.

'Well, 'St Morrison' is one of the best hospitals in the area,' Rory reasoned, 'and being Chief is always a good thing to have in your resume-'

'She came for Tristan,' Paris cut in.

'She totally came for Tristan.' Rory sighed with relief, seeing they were on the same page.

Paris had always been one to jump right onto it, so at least there was no need to tiptoe around the big elephant in the room.

'Do you think he's still interested?' Paris asked after a moment's thought.

'What? In Shefield? I don't know,' Rory stirred her coffee thoughtfully, 'isn't that water under the bridge - Tristan definitely gave her the cold shoulder last time when she was here consulting Jess. I'm positive she was ready to jump his bones then, but somehow he managed to stay away from her grasp. She's not above groping younger men in public. The woman is a man-eater and she's onto get Tristan.'

'Yeah,' Paris nodded thoughtfully. 'I hope the dumbass stays away from her.'

Rory smirked above her decaf, looking at Paris with a look that said there was no bulshitting her.

'It's not like that,' Paris shook her head. 'I'm done offering him to spread benefits of our friendship all over the place. I just... I guess if he can keep it in his pants with one person, I'd rather that be her.'

'Uh-huh.'

'Not because of me,' Paris rolled her eyes. 'Because of him. I think she's bad influence. There's something... vile about her. Don't get me wrong, coming from one cutthroat bitch for another, this is as honest as it gets. She's some badass surgeon, but as a person she seriously sucks.'

'Are you kidding me? She's some energy vampire. So, what are you gonna do?'

Paris' expression scowled slightly.

'About Shefield?'

'About the population problems of the Marsh mongoose, but now that you mention Shefield, her too.'

Paris rested back with her best innocent expression.

'Nothing,' she shrugged.

Rory rise a skeptical brow.

'Really.'

'Unless of course she steps on the wrong foot. Then I'll crush her.'

Rory grinned, obviously satisfied with the answer.

'Cheers to that,' she rose the cup of decaf in both hands.

'Cheers,' Paris took her own coffee from the nightstand by the empty hospital bed.

Suddenly Rory looked up, putting a hand over her stomach, her expression struck.

'Hey,' Paris leaned towards Rory, her brows furrowed in concern. 'You okay?'

'I felt her move,' Rory uttered, her eyes wide with awe. 'I felt her move,' Rory repeated, still in shock.

'Who likes good news?' Paris asked as she sat down at Tristan and Helen's table in the cafeteria.

Both looked up from their lunch, eyeing her questioningly.

'Anyone?' Paris asked. 'Nobody. Good, because I have none. Beatrice Shefield is stepping in as new Chief of Surgery. Keep it in your pants,' she turned a sharp look towards Tristan, pointing a forefinger towards his lap, making him choke on a chunk of cucumber. 'Like a bandaid,' she nodded to herself. 'News delivered, message received. Now if you excuse me,' she stood up under her friends' puzzled gazes. 'Have a less traumatic afternoon, I'm scrubbing in for an anal abscess resection. Isn't life just great?'

With that, Paris left the cafeteria with two wide-eyed Tristan and Helen staring behind her.

'What was that?' Helen asked, blinking slowly.

'I think it was Paris delivering bad news,' Tristan replied blankly.

For a moment Helen looked like she felt bad for Tristan. But then she beamed,

'Oh, it's gonna get so interesting! I just love all the angst and drama!' she rubbed her palms together, looking like a maniac.

Tristan let his forehead hit his arms that were folded over the table, suppressing a groan.

She found him in the conference room, sitting at the long desk with a couple of textbooks lying open before him.

'Hey,' Rory greeted.

Jess looked up, tilting his head to the side.

'Hey.'

For a moment they stood, silently regarding each other.

He didn't say he was doing research on a case. She didn't blurt out the first thing that came to mind either. She had been in such a rush to tell him she felt the baby move, but now that she was standing before him, she looked at him, really looked at him, for the first time in weeks. And it struck her how much she had missed. There were dozens of details about him, details that had become a constant since she found out about the pregnancy. Details she had been ignoring for far too long.

He looked tired. Underslept. For the last couple of months he wore his stoic concern well, not making a big deal about it. He carried his suppressed worry around without saying a word. He had been quiet, a little distant. Almost as when she had first met him, more than four years ago. Only this time, his silence stemmed out of love. She knew it. She felt it, the way his eyes would bore into her profile when she wasn't looking. The way his gaze would linger over her belly, a quiet longing in the brown depths of his eyes, always subdued, always unvoiced. For months Jess had been putting his own emotions about this pregnancy to the side, waiting for Rory to come to terms with the repercussions of it. Being the gentleman he was, he always put her first. Let her be the first to get her fears out, let her be the first to figure out how she was feeling about this. The thing was, she was coming to terms with their new situation. Much more than that - she felt a growing conviction that she was right where she was supposed to be, and this feeling got stronger and stronger with each passing day. However, from Jess' perspective, she felt like the whole process of warming up to the news had been cruel to him. Her adaptation process had taken a toll on him and she felt a pang of guilt.

He watched her, the wariness in his features replaced by concern.

'Are you okay?' he asked, his voice gravelly.

Rory bit on her lip, finding the confirmation to her previous musings. His reaction was the only logical response to her behavior. She hadn't been panicky about the pregnancy after those first couple of times, but she hadn't been anywhere near ecstatic either. She hadn't given him anything else to work with, and she could see how it had affected him.

She made a couple of steps to get by his side and took one of his hands in hers, moving to sit in his lap with her feet dangling to one side of his. She intertwined their fingers together, holding his hand in her lap. She could feel him holding his breath. She had put this there. The quiet worry, the constant anticipation of oncoming obstacles. Like he didn't have the right to feel happy about this baby. Like his only job was to take care of her and keep her and the baby safe. Mainly from herself. He was practically living like his only mission in life was to keep her together. This had to stop. He had a voice too. And it deserved to be heard. He had just as much right to feel whatever he felt and be understood in doing so. His own inner workings were just as worthy of being acknowledged as hers were, and she just now fully realized how much both of them had neglected his own voice in this pregnancy.

She looked up at him, turning her head to the side, meeting his eyes square.

'Have you got any idea how happy you make me?' she asked quietly, feeling his body still in the barest of cringes. He hadn't expected her to say that, wasn't prepared for the rush of joy her sincere words brought on. She made a mental note to say them every day.

Rory let out a small sigh and smiled up at him, lifting a hand to stroke his cheek.

'I know it has been especially hard for you lately,' she started and put a forefinger before his mouth to silence the protest she knew was coming. 'And I had my reasons to have the fears I had, I'm not about to neglect those,' she continued gently. 'You know that where I found myself lately isn't something I ever anticipated,' she said calmly, noting the white line between his pressed lips, the tick in his cheek. God, he had been a ticking bomb and she hadn't done anything about it for months. She took a breath in and shook the regret away. She wasn't about to let any guilt trips delay what she needed to get out.

'I found myself in an unexpected situation,' she continued, 'and I've had more than my fair share of panic about it. However,' she paused, her eyes roaming his face. His loving, worried face. 'I've been finding myself and our current situation more and more blissful, and as I come to terms with my fears about becoming a mother, there is a lot of joyful anticipation coming along. I am so happy to have you by my side, and along with my worries, I'm starting to feel so much anticipation about meeting this daughter of ours, and thanks to your patient, everpresent love, I'll be given the chance to. I have come to realize how hard it has been for you lately, and I want you to know that I'm here for you. I want you to know that you're granted the right to have your own fears and freak out every once in a while. I want you to feel free to share your worries and joy with me and keep in mind that I'm solid. I may not have looked like it lately, but thanks to you I'm solid again and I'm convinced more than ever that we're gonna figure this out. We just need a little more time until it looks more like we've got a grasp on things, but we do.'

She pressed her palm to the side of his face and leaned to put her lips against his forehead, smoothing the crease of concern that had been residing there for what seemed like an eternity.

'I love you, Jess Mariano,' she whispered. 'And I'm starting to fall in love with the life we created together.'

She felt him relax against her. His whole body seemed to let a breath out, the strain in his muscles giving way to relief. And he rested his forehead against her clavicle, his breath warm against her chest as she stroked his head, locking both hands around him.

'She moved today,' Rory said in his hair. 'I felt her move and it was the slightest, most transcendent feeling I have felt in my entire life. And I feel eternally grateful for the fact that you brought me to this moment in my life where I can feel this.'

They held onto each other, the late February sun setting down outside St Morrison, throwing long shadows into the conference room as shadows seemed to lift off the pair wrapped up into a tight hug.

TBC