The baby came on a sunny day in June. Harvey came home to find Natsuki on her hands and knees scrubbing the floor.
"What are you doing?" he asked. "I told you, you don't have to clean up anymore. And the doctor said no intense physical activity-"
"The contractions started a few hours ago," she said calmly, scrubbing away at the floor.
"What? I'll call the doctor!" he said, running to the phone.
"No, no," she said, wringing out the rag and then dipping it back into the bucket. She went back to scrubbing the floor. "First birth's labor can last hours and hours, honey. I don't want to be stuck in a hospital for hours and hours. I'd much rather scrub the floor. I took some Advil – " she stopped for a moment, holding her stomach, breathing slow, "and I'll be fine. Just a bit longer. If I can just scrub the floor a little bit longer, before I call the hospital-"
"No thank you," said Harvey, dialing up the hospital. "Hello, I'd like to get a room ready. My girlfriend's gone into labor. Yes, we'll be there in a few minutes."
"A few minutes?" Natsuki asked as he hung up the phone.
"Yes, a few minutes," Harvey snapped, "I drive fast. Come on, get up, we're going in." She reluctantly obeyed, standing and hobbling to the car, where Harvey's driver sped them to the finest hospital in New York City.
"Breathe, Natty, just keep breathing," he commanded her. She did as she was told as they moved them up to her room.
"I don't want you to be here to see me like this," she said, crying, "This is the most ungraceful thing I've ever done… this is nothing like the pretty girl you won at a hand of poker!"
"Stop talking and just breathe. I'm going to be there whether you want it or not, and then you I'm going to buy you as many gummy worms as you can eat."
"Sour," she said.
"Sour gummy worms," he amended. "But you gotta get through this first."
And she did. Through the pain and the blood, through the tears and the painkillers, she made it through, and at the end the doctor announced that they had a beautiful healthy baby boy.
"Let me hold him," Natsuki said, holding her shaking arms out. They plopped him down on her chest and she wept, holding their baby to her heart. "Have you ever seen anything so beautiful?" she asked.
"I don't think I have," Harvey admitted, smiling at his son.
"We never decided on a name," she said, looking up at Harvey. "I was thinking Harvey Jr."
"No…" Harvey said. "I think Gordon."
"Gordon?" her nose crinkled in confusion.
"It was my father's name," he said. She smiled.
"Gordon," she said softly. She touched the tiny baby's nose. "Gordon Specter, welcome to New York City."