In the locker room Leanne is standing at her locker stowing her dirty shoes when Dr. Campbell comes in. He takes a seat on the bench behind her, and pulls the stethoscope off his neck.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah. I'm okay. I just feel a little bummed. Emily has decided to stay with her mom for the weekend. I should be excited. I can't tell you the last time the stars aligned for me to be off, and kid free."
"I too am off, but my kid will be home all weekend to entertain me."
He nods, "Go home, and enjoy her."
"You know, she said the craziest thing to me."
"What's that?"
"Full disclosure I mentioned what you said to me, and I probably shouldn't have. She suggested that I give you one of my eggs."
"What?!"
"I had them cryogenically preserved. They are unfertilized. They just sit there getting freezer burnt," she winks.
"How did she know that you…" he trails off.
"Snail mail. She saw mail from the storage facility."
"If you had them sitting in storage why didn't you ever use them?"
"I suppose I just felt it would be far too challenging to do the work I do, and provide the attention required to a freshly hatched human being on my own."
"I have never known you to back down from a challenge."
"Maybe I just couldn't get over the image of two tiny caskets being lowered into the ground long enough to conceive of the idea of bringing another tiny human being into the world."
"Now you have Ariel. Does that shift your perspective at all?"
She shrugs, "I've never given it much thought."
Weeks later Leanne is in the cafeteria collecting condiments and napkins when Will walks up behind her.
"Do you know anything about a slumber party?"
She hesitates, "Can you be more specific?"
"My daughter announced that she's staying at your house Friday night."
"Uh…" Leanne combs the recesses of her mind, "I do think I told Ariel that she could invite Emily over anytime that she wanted to."
"My kid has never been to a sleepover. She said something about camping out in the living room, and binge watching some series I have never heard of in my life."
Leanne looks up at him, "Our fifteen, and sixteen year olds want to stay at my house, where I will be home, and binge watch TV? I'm not sure that warrants any concern. Mine, at the very least, has proven that there are a lot worse options."
"So you're okay with them scheming?"
She folds her arms across her chest, covering the glasses that dangle from her neck, "To let them have a sleepover? Yes, in my book I am quite content with that. It seems like a relatively appropriate developmental milestone. I'll probably even let them order take out if they ask."
"Do you think I'm being too over protective?"
She nods, "I do feel confident that I can keep your daughter alive overnight."
They pair of them round the corner, and find Ariel, and Emily sitting at a table waving them over. The pair of them take seats next to their respective daughters.
"Mom, is it okay for Emily to come over on Friday to stay the night?" Ariel queries.
"As long as it is okay with her dad."
"Please, dad," Emily offers puppy dog eyes.
"Please ask first next time," he implores.
"You never say yes. Where in the world am I going to be safer to stay than with a board certified trauma doctor?"
Will shoots Leanne a look, and shakes his head. Leanne smirks, "She's got you there."
"And if she acts up, you just tickle her right there," he tickles right behind her ear.
"Dad! Not in public! I'm not five!"
"I do not know what the two of you are up to, but I do not approve of whatever it is," Will warns.
"Yes, we have such a devious plan. We thought we might order pizza, and make brownies."
"Oh, and take selfies," Ariel adds.
"Can I bring her by after school on Friday?" Will queries.
Leanne nods, "Of course."
On Friday evening Will delivers Emily to Leanne's. Emily immediately rolls off into the living room with Ariel, and starts squealing. Will stands in the doorway looking utterly flummoxed.
"How can two human beings be so excited to see each other every time? They were just together two days ago."
She pats his shoulder reassuringly, "I think you should try it sometime. It's called friendship."
He shoots her an unamused look. "Ha ha."
"So you're opposed to friendship, but are you an adversary of chocolate chip cookies?"
"I am not."
"If you want to come in I just made some for the girls. I'm sure that they won't mind if you have a few."
"We do!" The girls call from the room in unison.
"We're going to eat them anyway!" Will closes the front door. Leanne offers a genuine smile, and leads him into the kitchen. He finds cookies, and metallic paper plates on her kitchen counter.
Leanne leans against the kitchen counter wearing tapered grey lounge pants and a black t-shirt. "Ariel suggested that since they wanted to bake paper plates would save on clean up."
"Emily makes me bake all of the time. She goes on her phone, and finds a new recipe and I'm going to be honest, I pretend to be irritated, but our pantry is always stocked, so obviously it's not that much of an inconvenience for me."
"It's nice to see this side of you," Leanne admits as she leans against the counter.
"Overprotective dad?"
"A human being. In the OR your ego and skill shine. In the parenting arena there are no experts, and I appreciate that you're right down here in the trenches with me."
"I feel lucky to have her. I like to pretend I'm showing her the ropes to life, but truth be told I think I've learned more from her than I've taught her."
"And that is parenthood in a nutshell."