It had been a grueling week, and all Jeremy Reed really wanted to do was go home, drown his sorrows in a lovely single malt, perhaps hit a club or two. But he had been on call 3 nights this week, with multiple deliveries and admissions each night, and thus he found himself in the office late on Friday, catching up on a towering stack of nearly delinquent medical records.
He had zoned out momentarily, trying to recall if he had recommended a repeat mammogram for Mrs. Kowalsky, when he was brought back to reality by a loud pounding on the front office door. He shook his head. When would the delivery guys ever figure out a) that they needed to come to the back door, which was clearly marked 'deliveries', and b) that deliveries were only accepted during office hours? He ignored the sound and returned his attention to the chart at hand, when suddenly his office door flew open, and a very frazzled looking Betsy Putch popped her head inside.
"Dr. Reed! Thank God you're still here!"
Jeremy frowned at the receptionist. "Of course I'm still here. Where else would I be on a Friday evening?" he replied sarcastically. He immediately felt a pang of guilt over being mean to sweet, innocent Betsy, and put aside the chart he was reviewing. He took a deep breath, smiled patiently, and started over. "Never mind that, what are you still doing here?"
She opened the door fully and stepped inside. "Because you guys haven't filled Shauna's position yet," she replied pointedly, with an unspoken 'duh' reflected in the expression on her face. Jeremy had just made a mental note to discuss a raise for the overworked receptionist in his next meeting with Danny and Mindy when a sudden scream was heard from the direction of the waiting room.
"What in heaven's name was that?" Jeremy demanded, rising from behind his desk.
"Oh yeah, that's what I was coming to tell you. It's Mrs. Lambert, Dr. Castellano's last patient from today. She's in labor!" Betsy looked as panicked as the voice from the outer office sounded.
"Well, why on earth isn't she at the hospital? And why isn't Dr. Castellano taking care of her?" the physician snarked irritably.
"He left already. He had a date with that girl he met at the coffee shop. He's not on call tonight anyway. We're the only ones here, Dr. Reed! You have to help her!" Betsy begged.
Jeremy massaged his temples and bit back the urge to direct the patient to Dr. Lahiri, who was on call, but he saw the pleading look in Betsy's big puppy dog eyes ...and caved. Sighing, he followed Betsy out to the waiting area, thinking all the while that Mrs. Lambert was exceedingly fortunate that he had such a soft spot for the quirky secretary.
When he opened the outer office door, he was greeted with the sight of a very pregnant young woman clutching her abdomen and preparing to wail again as a contraction obviously hit her.
Quickly, he put his arm around her, led her to the nearest chair, and sat her down. "Breathe. Yes, that's it...in through the nose, out through the mouth...good job." He made eye contact with the pale and frightened appearing man rubbing the woman's back. "I'm Dr. Jeremy Reed, one of Dr. Castellano's partners."
The young man took Jeremy's extended hand and shook it, looking relieved. "Oh, thank God! I thought everyone would be gone by now!"
"Yes, well..."Jeremy began as he glanced at Betsy, who looked a cross between guilty and relieved. He returned his attention to the young woman, who by now was visibly more comfortable. "Betsy tells me you had an appointment earlier today. Was it a routine check up, or were you already in labor?"
Mrs. Lambert rubbed her belly. "No, it was just a weekly check. My due date isn't for another week. I was dilated 3 centimeters, but he seemed to think everything was progressing normally. In fact, he told me that most first timers usually go past their due dates." She gasped as another contraction hit.
As she rode out the pain, Jeremy was able to ascertain from her husband that the couple had decided to stop at the corner deli ("They make a mean pastrami on rye!") after the appointment, and it was there that her water broke.
Jeremy, seeing his first Friday of not being on call in weeks slowly slipping through his fingers, tried to reign in his annoyance. "But Mr. Lambert, why didn't you take your wife directly to the hospital?"
The couple looked sheepishly at one another, and it was Mrs. Lambert who responded. "I guess we were so nervous, we didn't think of it. And the contractions were so close together, we just panicked. Besides, we were right here at your office!"
"Right," muttered Jeremy. With the hope of getting out of the office at a reasonable hour looking less likely by the minute, he turned to Betsy, who was wringing her hands beside him. "Betsy, let's get Mrs. Lambert into exam 3 and have a look, shall we?"
The two led the patient and her husband to an exam room and stepped out while she changed into a gown. Jeremy instructed Betsy to call an ambulance, while he returned to the room and assisted the patient into the stirrups.
"Now, I'm just going to check to see where things stand," he stated. After a brief exam, his spirits sank even further. "Well, Mrs. Lambert," he began, adopting the most cheery voice he could muster, "it would appear that you are now, in fact, fully dilated." The couple gave him a blank look. He continued, "Mrs. Lambert, your baby is coming NOW."
It was unclear who was more freaked out by this news- Mrs. Lambert, who began shouting, "No! This was not part of my birth plan!" over and over, Mr. Lambert, who had frozen on the spot with his mouth open, or Betsy, who had reappeared at the door and turned an ashy white. She leaned in the doorway and stage whispered, "But the ambulance won't be here for 15-20 minutes! There's a wreck 6 blocks down holding up traffic!"
Jeremy cleared his throat and attempted to calm everyone down. "Alright, Mrs. Lambert, I know you're disappointed you won't be able to follow your birth plan, but your baby apparently didn't get the memo that he was supposed to wait another week. They come in their own time," he shrugged. "But I've delivered hundreds of babies, in all sorts of situations, and I assure you that both you and the baby will be fine." He smiled his most reassuring smile and turned to Betsy as he began to gather supplies from the cabinets in the room.
"Now, Betsy, I'm going to need your help," he began.
The brunette was still standing in the doorway, eyes dramatically widened. "Me? I already called the ambulance," she said shakily.
"Betsy, I need an assistant," he emphasized. He handed her a gown. "Now, put this on so you don't ruin your lovely skirt." His eyes quickly flashed down to the short piece of pink fabric covering her long, bare legs and thought, not for the first time, that she really should wear tight mini skirts more often.
She stared at the gown, dumbfounded. "But Dr. Reed...Jeremy...I'm a receptionist, not a nurse. Shouldn't I call Morgan..?" Her hands started shaking. "I can't do this!"
Jeremy felt warm and tingly inside when she called him by his first name. He took a deep breath, turned quickly to Mrs. Lambert to warn her not to push until he specifically instructed her to, then pulled the trembling secretary into the corner. "Betsy Bear," he soothed, running a hand up and down her arm, "I know you're out of your comfort zone. I don't like the idea of delivering a baby in the office any more than you do. But you can do this. All you have to do is hand me things when I need them. I'll explain everything as we go along." He looked into her eyes and felt overwhelmed with a sudden rush of unexpected emotion for the pretty receptionist. "Betsy, darling..I need you."
She blushed deeply, but after a moment's hesitation, replied uncertainly, "Well...okay." Jeremy's face broke into a genuine smile, one which Betsy returned.
"Hey!" a voice broke the tension. "If you two are done with your moment, I'm having a baby, here!" Mrs. Lambert yelled as a contraction hit. Dr. Reed rushed back to her, as Betsy, who still looked slightly green around the gills, steeled herself, quickly donned a gown and gloves, and walked hesitantly over to the exam table. Jeremy glanced over and gave her a wink.
"All right, it's time to push!" He instructed her husband on how to help support her legs, and had Betsy fetch some warm blankets and towels.
Twenty minutes passed, and although Baby Lambert had descended nicely, Mrs. Lambert was becoming quite fatigued and refused to push anymore.
"I'm done! I don't want to have a baby anymore! It hurts!" she sobbed. "I'm not pushing! I want an epidural! I want my doula! It wasn't supposed to happen this way!"
"Come on, honey, you're just tired," her husband attempted. "Of course you want to have our baby!"
She whirled on him in a fit of rage. "How dare you! You passed out when you got a splinter last week, and you have the nerve to tell me I'm 'just tired' when I'm trying to pass a bowling ball through my lady parts without any pain medicine?!"
Mr. Lambert held up his hands in mock surrender as Jeremy attempted to get everyone back on task. "Come on, guys, we're almost there! Everyone needs to work together, though..." he began.
"And you!" The patient rounded on Jeremy, eyes wild. "You aren't my doctor! You're not even American! I want Dr. Castellano!"
The bickering continued, getting louder and louder, until finally, a shrill whistle caused everyone to go silent. They all looked around to find Betsy glaring unhappily at them all.
"Stop it! All of you...just stop it! This baby is coming, whether you like it or not! Do you want the first thing your child hears to be the sound of arguing?" They looked at each other guiltily. She pointed a finger at Mrs Lambert. "Yeah, it sucks that you didn't get an epidural or your doula, but darn it, Dr. Reed stayed here on his night off to help you when you needed it, so suck it up and push! And Mr. Lambert- shut your pie hole, man up, and hold her hand! Rub her back! Tell her you love her and be supportive! Just STOP FIGHTING!"
Time seemed to freeze, until the wave of another contraction caused Mrs Lambert to moan. Then, everyone glanced at each other, murmuring apologies. Betsy clapped her hands together with the enthusiasm of a football coach breaking huddle. "Now, are we ready to have a baby? Let's do this!"
Jeremy stared in awe at the receptionist, and thought that at that moment, aggressive Betsy was possibly the hottest thing he had ever seen. Smirking, he resumed his position, noting that the baby was crowning.
"Just a few more pushes and you're done. One...two.." Jeremy counted to ten as the patient pushed. She took a few breaths, then resumed pushing. Seconds later, a squirmy, squalling little face appeared. Mrs. Lambert sighed with relief as Betsy squealed.
"Mr. and Mrs. Lambert, you are now the proud parents of a beautiful baby boy!" Jeremy held the newborn up so his parents could see. Then, he took the blankets Betsy had retrieved, gently cleaned and wrapped the baby, and handed him to his beaming parents.
"Oh my gosh, he's beautiful," Betsy gushed over the crying bundle.
"Would you like to hold him?" Mrs. Lambert offered.
Betsy's eyes widened in excitement. "Could I?" she said softly.
The baby was passed carefully from his mother to the waiting arms of the receptionist, who cuddled him close and began cooing. "Hi, baby! Aren't you just the cutest thing!"
At the sound of Betsy's voice, the baby stopped crying and looked up at Betsy curiously with wide blue eyes.
As Jeremy watched Betsy softly stroke the infant's cheek, he felt a funny fluttering in his chest and a warmth spreading up from his toes. Betsy glanced up at him for a brief second, and he automatically smiled at the scene before him.
Knocking from the back door alerted them all to the arrival of the ambulance. Betsy relinquished the little boy to his parents and went to let them in, while Jeremy did a final check on Mrs. Lambert. As the paramedics helped assist her onto the stretcher, Mrs. Lambert turned to Jeremy.
"Dr. Reed, I'm sorry for what I said earlier. You're a great doctor, and I am so grateful you were here to help my little one arrive safely. We were planning to name him Thomas, after my grandfather, and if it's okay with you, I'd like for his middle name to be Reed, after you."
Jeremy gently touched the downy hair of his new namesake and grinned. "I'd be honored."
The paramedics indicated that they were ready to go, so Betsy said her goodbyes to the couple. Jeremy walked the new family out to the elevator and wished them well. Mrs. Lambert grabbed his arm before she was wheeled out of sight.
"You two make a good team, Dr. Reed. You should tell her how you feel, you know."
Jeremy watched the doors close as if in a trance. Tell her...how he felt? He wasn't even sure himself how he felt, but he was fairly certain that he felt...something.
When he returned to the office, Betsy was standing propped against the front reception desk, a dreamy look in her eye.
"You alright there?" he stepped up beside her and bumped her shoulder with his own.
Betsy shook her head as though to clear it and smiled at him. "That was incredible!" she gushed. "I can't believe you guys get to do that every day! I had no idea." She sank with an exhausted sigh down to the floor, and Jeremy eased himself down beside her.
"It's a pretty great job, most days," Jeremy agreed.
"I mean, bringing a life into the world? It's a miracle! You're like, a rock star, or something! You were amazing!"
Jeremy turned his head toward the brunette and eyed her intently. "No, Betsy, I was just doing my job." He raised an eyebrow. "You were amazing."
"Me?" she looked at him incredulously. "I didn't even know what to do. I was scared to death! And I can't believe I was so rude to that poor lady and her husband. God, I'm so embarrassed." She scrunched her eyes shut and covered her face with her hands, blushing furiously.
"Betsy," Jeremy began. "Even though I trained for years to become an OB/GYN, the truth is that most babies could be born without my assistance, although don't tell that to the Deslauriers." The corner of his mouth turned up in a half-smile as he gently tilted her chin up with his index finger and forced her to look him in the eye. "But what you did was incredibly brave. You not only were the best assistant I've ever had, but you took charge when the situation was getting out of control. And do you know what else? I kind of liked it when you were being bossy." he remarked with a sly grin.
"You really think I did okay?" she asked in a hesitant voice, meeting his gaze.
His heart began that funny pounding again. "You were brilliant," he whispered, leaning almost imperceptibly closer. His gaze dropped to her soft, plump lips. Her breathing quickened slightly-
The sounds of voices entering the back door broke the tension of the moment as the evening cleaning crew arrived. The couple quickly moved apart, and Betsy stood abruptly.
"Well, I guess I'd better..."
"Would you like to have dinner with me?" Jeremy blurted.
The receptionist turned to see the physician gazing at her with a shy, most un-Jeremy like expression. "Apparently, there is this deli on the corner that makes a mean pastrami on rye..."
She smiled. "I've heard about that place. Let me get my coat."
And as they locked up the office and made their way to the elevator, Jeremy Reed thought to himself that maybe, just maybe, this was how Friday nights were meant to be.