OK, see if you catch the Anthony Rapp reference in this chapter; I'll give you a clue: it's when he and Jennifer start talking about their child and she wants to pick out names and Mark reacts. It's not spoken, it's description.

Also, the Aida reference is purely coincidental. I wasn't thinking of the play Adam Pascal was in when I had Jennifer suggest it, LOL. Then I remembered. I think that's hilarious. LOL.

Oh, and by the way, Aida's middle name is purely coincidental, too, although I do know that Harry Potter wasn't around until 1997, and this story is based from 1991 on, OK? The Lord of the Rings thing, too; I know the movies didn't come out until 2001-2003, so I guess Jennifer is basing her pick on the books.

OK, I'll stop talking now. Enjoy.

Chapter 20

"I can't do this," Jennifer said wearily, as she struggled to cross the room on her good leg, clinging to the bars for support. It had been almost seven weeks since her accident, and she was at one of her first therapy sessions, after getting her casts removed from her arm and leg.

Mark, who was standing next to her, squeezed her good hand encouragingly. "Yes, yes, you can," he said. "It's just twenty feet, to the other side of the room, Jen. You can do it." Mark smiled at her. "I'm right here. It's OK."

"But Mark, it hurts," Jennifer cried, as she tried to put weight on her weak leg and was only met with pain from disuse. It didn't help that she was finally starting to show, and the baby was giving her extra weight to have to put up with.

"I know, Baby, I know, but you have to," Mark insisted. "It's the only way you're gonna get better." Mark held her and looked into her eyes. "Do it for me, Jen. Do it for our baby. OK?"

Jennifer nodded, putting a hand on her four-months-pregnant belly. She thought about the little one growing inside of her… and the little one that had never gotten a chance to. The doctors were never able to figure out why Jennifer had miscarried before. She could now only hope that she would get through the next five months in one piece, for Mark and their baby.

"Good. Good, Jen," Mark encouraged her, as she took a few steps. "That's it. A few steps at a time… then a few feet… and soon, wherever you want to walk, you will."

Jennifer let out a sob and started to cry. "Aw, Jen, don't cry," Mark said, wiping away a stray tear from her cheek with his thumb. "It's OK."

"How long is it gonna keep hurting?" she asked.

"For the next couple of weeks," her therapist replied, watching Jennifer carefully; but she was not surprised about the tears of frustration. "The more you use it— not just here, but at home, too— the more strength the muscles will gain, and the less it will hurt. But I think that's enough for today. We don't want to push it."

"OK, I won't argue with that," Jennifer said, as she collapsed into her wheelchair, which Mark had brought over. She wiped away the sweat that was pouring down her face. "Can we go home, Mark?"

"Sure, Baby," Mark said, smiling down at her. "I love you." He wrapped his arms around her lovingly.

"I love you, too, Mark," Jennifer said, putting her good arm across both of his, and when they got out to the car, he helped her in, and they went home.

"So, Jen, do you want to go somewhere today, just us?" Mark asked one morning, coming into the kitchen and wrapping his arms around her from behind.

"Sure," Jennifer said, "where do you want to go?"

"How does Tompkin Square Park sound? We could have a picnic," Mark suggested, "and I could film some, including my beautiful wife and baby." He smiled as he kissed her on the cheek.

"That sounds wonderful," Jennifer said. "That's a great idea, especially coming from you, Mr. Cameraman. I would really like that. It'll get me out of the house."

"Good," Mark said, "I'm glad. Just let me go pack the food, OK? You just rest."

"OK," Jennifer said, and she went into the living room and sat down on the couch. About ten minutes later, Mark came in with the basket and they walked to the park together.

"You know what we haven't done yet?" Jennifer asked him, once they had finished their meal and were enjoying the serene silence.

"What?" Mark asked, looking over at her.

"We haven't picked out names yet," Jennifer said.

Mark paled as he heard her say this. "Really?" he asked, slightly uncomfortably. "I thought we had."

"No, silly, we hadn't," Jennifer said. "We've been too busy with… with everything that has happened lately."

"OK, so do you want to stop by Walmart or Barnes and Noble or something, before we go back?" Mark asked. "We could get baby name books there."

"OK," Jennifer said, nodding and smiling up at him. "So what names do you want, before we start looking? Because you know me, and looking is going to take a while."

Mark looked slightly alarmed. "OK… um… oh boy, I don't know, Jen…"

Jennifer smiled. "You'll figure something out," she said. "No matter what we choose, I'll still love you."

Mark let out a breath of relief. "I'm glad," he said. "I love you, too."

They filmed for a while and then Mark picked up the basket and they went back to the loft.

"How about Charlie?" Jennifer asked, once they were back at the loft with a baby name book in their possession. "It means, 'manly',"

"Charlie Cohen," Mark said. "I like it enough, but Roger's band member's named that."

"So?" Jennifer raised a brow at him.

"So, we can't double up," Mark said matter-of-factly. "Doubling up always conveys confusion."

"How about Mark Anthony Cohen, Junior?" Jennifer asked, giving him a look.

"I don't want a son with the same name as me," Mark said. "I hear it enough from my mother as it is. It's so unoriginal. I mean, look at Roger— his daughter's name is Glory. She'll be, like, the only girl on this planet with that name. It's a one and only." He signaled for her to go on.

"OK, how about Arwen?" Jennifer asked. "You know me, I'm a LotR buff. It means, 'muse.'"

Mark considered that for a moment. "Arwen Cohen," he said. "I like it. But we told the doctor we didn't want to know the gender."

Jennifer smiled. "Then you'll be stuck with me for a while longer," he said, grinning at him.

Mark chuckled. "I'm cool with that," he said, smiling down at her fondly.

"Good," Jennifer said matter-of-factly, smiling up at him as she flipped pages. "OK, how about Pippin or Pippa, for either a boy or girl? Lord of the Rings aside, I've always liked that one. It means, 'lover of horses', but Pippin has no meaning."

"Pippin or Pippa Cohen," Mark said. "Nah, I don't like it. Arwen flows better."

"What about Aida for a girl?" Jennifer suggested. "It means, 'happy.'"

"Aida Cohen," Mark said. "I really like that one; almost better than Arwen."

"OK, so we've both agreed that Aida will be our girl's name, if that's what we're having," Jennifer said.

"Yes."

"OK, now boy names…" Jennifer flipped pages. "What do you think of Bailey? Actually, that could go for either a girl or a boy, depending on how you spell it; it means, 'bailiff, steward.'"

"Bailey Cohen," Mark said. He shrugged. "It's OK. What else is there?"

Jennifer flipped pages again. "How about Kaelem?" she suggested. "It means, 'combination of Caleb and Callum, or the letters K, L, and M.'"

"I like it, but the meaning sucks," Mark said, frowning slightly. "I like just Caleb, too."

"OK," Jennifer said. "Caleb Cohen, meaning, 'rage like a dog'. Whoa, I don't like the meaning at all. Our son would kill us once he found out what his name meant. It flows enough. It's kind of hard to have a kid with the same first letters, though."

"Yeah, he might get mixed up," Mark agreed. "What about Maverick?"

"Where'd you get that?" Jennifer asked, looking up at him, surprised.

"Top Gun," Mark replied, smiling at her. Jennifer chuckled.

"Hmm… Maverick Cohen," Jennifer said, as she flipped to find it. She looked up at him. "It means, 'wildly.' Is it all right if I'm not particularly fond of it?" she asked.

"Sure," Mark said, shrugging. "I don't like Mark Anthony Cohen, Junior and I'm not particularly fond of Arwen. You're entitled to not like one of them."

Jennifer smiled. "OK," she said, and she continued on. "What about Storm or Star? I like those. They're cute, and the meanings are obvious."

"They're all right," Mark said. "They mean what they are, though; do you really like that?"

"No, but still, they're cute."

"Whatever you want, Baby, I'll go with."

"Thanks. OK, let's keep looking."

Mark sighed. "How much longer?" he asked.

"Well, we're almost to the T's, so you won't have to put up with me much longer," Jennifer said, smiling up at him. She put a hand to her stomach.

"Are you OK?" Mark asked, looking at her with concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine, don't worry," Jennifer said. "The baby just kicked. I guess this means Star and Storm are out. How about Caleb Maverick Cohen?" she added. "The name with the middle name sounds good."

"Sure," Mark said. "I can go with that."

"Cool," Jennifer said, "Aida or Caleb Cohen." She looked up at Mark and smiled. "I can't wait."

"Neither can I, Baby," Mark said, smiling back at her. "Only five more months to go, and then we'll be parents— for real this time."

"Yeah," Jennifer said, taking his hand, "for real."

Jennifer woke up on a September morning to a horrible pain in her stomach. She sat up quickly and leaned over and shook Mark lightly.

"Mark," she whispered, "Mark."

"Mark not home, leave a message…"

Mark had rolled over to go back to sleep. "No, I won't let you go back to sleep," Jennifer said firmly, shaking him again as the pain ended. "Mark, get up, for goodness sake. I'm in labor."

Mark suddenly awoke and let out a yelp. "Shh," Jennifer said hastily, rubbing him on the arm, "be quiet, or you'll wake Collins up. He crashed here last night after everybody else went to Roger and Steph's to have a party, so they wouldn't have to be away from Glory. Of course, it had to end once the baby fell asleep."

"Why didn't we go?" Mark asked, even though this was completely off-topic of what she had just woken him up for.

"Do you really think I could sit there all night these days with a belly like this?" she asked him pointedly.

"No, I guess not," Mark said, looking down at her. "Sorry. Are you OK?" he added, as Jennifer cringed again, overcome by another contraction.

"I'm all right," Jennifer said, as she breathed through it. "Just go get the car ready. My contractions are six minutes apart. The doctor said we should wait until they're four minutes apart, and then call them and let them know we're coming in."

"OK, well, when will that be?" Mark asked nervously.

"I don't know," Jennifer said irritably. Then she regretted it. "Sorry, Mark, I didn't mean to snap at you. It's just…"

"I know, Jen, it's OK," Mark said. "I'm gonna go get the car ready." He climbed out of bed and dressed within seconds. "I'll be right back," he added, and he kissed her quickly before he went out of the room.

On his way back into the loft, Mark saw Collins stumble into the kitchen, still slightly hung-over. Collins gave him a weary look. "What are you doin' up already?" he asked. "I know you; it's risky to wake you up before noon." He noticed the stressed look on Mark's face. "Is something wrong?"

"Jen's in labor," he said, and Collins followed him down the hall. Mark went over and helped Jennifer stand up by the bed. As he did so, Jennifer's water broke and she was hit by another contraction.

"Damn it. Mark, make it stop," she cried, clinging to him painfully.

"I can't, Baby," Mark said. "We just have to get you to the hospital. Come on. Collins, help me out here," he added to him.

Collins came over and gently lifted Jennifer up. He carried her out of the room and down the stairs to the car outside, Mark following close behind.

Collins had called the doctor beforehand, so he was waiting for them when they arrived. Jennifer hadn't let go of either Mark or Collins' hands since they'd arrived.

"How far apart are your contractions, Jennifer?" Doctor Riggs asked, as he came over with a wheelchair.

"About four minutes, I think," Jennifer said, once a contraction had ended.

"OK, then let's get you into a room," Doctor Riggs said, and he wheeled her away. Mark started to follow, but then he stopped and turned around.

"Can you…?" he began to ask Collins, before Collins cut him off.

"Yeah, of course I'll call everyone," Collins said. "Go to Jennifer, Mark; she needs you."

Mark nodded and swallowed nervously, and then he went to go catch up with Doctor Riggs and Jennifer.

"Jen, there's no time for an epidural, so I'm afraid this isn't gonna be much fun," Doctor Riggs said to her, as Mark came into the room. Mark was having difficulty staying strong for Jennifer. Only once had he seen someone in so much pain before, and that was Roger after they had lost April, Angel, and Mimi.

Jennifer nodded firmly, though, and she shot a glare in Mark's direction. "What did I do, Baby?" Mark asked, confused.

"It's your fault I'm here now!" Jennifer yelled at him, as she tried the breathing exercises that were supposed to help. Doctor Riggs sent Mark a reassuring smile and mouthed, "It's normal."

"Just breathe, Jen," Mark said, as he went to stand by her head. A nurse handed him a lukewarm washcloth and he ran it over her sweaty forehead. "Breathe, Jen, it's OK."

If looks could kill, Mark would have been dead in about thirty seconds upon their arrival. After much screaming and yelling on Jennifer's behalf, Mark still encouraging her to push, and Jennifer threatening several times that she was going to crudely remove a much-needed body part of his, Aida Hermione Cohen was welcomed into the world.

Mark held his little girl in his arms, walking around Jennifer's room, as they waited for the rest of the Bohemians to arrive. Stephanie, Roger, and Glory were first to arrive.

"Oh my gosh, Mark," Stephanie said, tears springing to her eyes, "she's beautiful."

Mark grinned. "I know," he said. "Just wait until you hear how much trouble she was to bring into the world."

Jennifer smirked at him. "Shut up," she teased.

"She never asked for an epidural," Mark said to Roger and Stephanie.

"There was never time!" Jennifer said. "Doctor Riggs told us we came too late for one."

"What's her name, Jen?" Stephanie asked eagerly.

"Aida Hermione Cohen," Jennifer answered, smiling at her best friend.

"That's a beautiful name," Stephanie said. "She's beautiful, just like her mom and dad. Can I hold her?"

"Sure," Jennifer said, and Stephanie handed Glory to Roger and went over to hold the newborn.

"I'm so happy for you, Jen," Stephanie said, smiling down at Jennifer.

"So am I, Stephie," Jennifer said, as Mark took her hand and leaned down to kiss her. "So am I."

Don't forget to review. This should satisfy you guys for a while. I'll try to have the next chapter up by next week, but I will have absolutely no time for writing this weekend, because I've got a choir tour going on in another state. I'll get chapter 21 up ASAP, though. Thanks for reading!

Until next time, lots of love,

Renthead07