I'm Wondering

"Okay, Edwards, how do I begin the esophagomyotomy?" Miranda asked her favorite resident. Ever since getting her heart broken, Stephanie Edwards had been soaring above the rest of her class.

"Cut proximal and distal to the tear to expose the mucosal defect," Edwards answered automatically.

"Correct," Miranda responded softly. "Then, we'll move to the debridement of the defect." Edwards, along with Rashad, were assisting her with her current patient. She paused and took a deep breath. "I am working. Do not kick me."

"Excuse me?" Lemon and Stephanie said at the same time.

"Are either of you kicking me under the table?" She said looking from one resident to the other. "Are you?"

They looked at each other. "No, ma'am," they responded.

"Then, clearly, I wasn't talking to you," she said sharply. The girls averted their eyes. "You cannot kick me while I'm working, Cheddar—ohhh!" She took a step back from the operating table. Lemon took the surgical instruments from her hand before they fell to the floor. Damn it, Miranda thought. She bent over a little.

"Dr. Bailey, I think you are in pre-term labor," Stephanie said. She turned to a nurse. "Call Dr. Webber, please."

Miranda rolled her eyes as someone pushed a stool over to her. She sat down and looked around. Everyone was staring at her. "Um, but, uh," she breathed. "Edwards, you can continue until he gets here."

"Me?" She asked with wide eyes. Miranda looked at her and Stephanie regained her confidence. "Of course, Dr. Bailey."

"Rashad, you will assist."

"Yes, Dr. Bailey," Lemon answered repositioning her body.

Miranda sat on the chair and gave instructions to the girls. "So, uh…. What's n-next?"

"Dr. Bailey, you're sure you're okay?" Lemon asked. She turned to look at the sweaty doctor. Miranda breathed in and out, trying to find a rhythm with her breathing.

Miranda waved the girl's attention back to the patient. "Focus, Rashad. What's next?"

"You were just about to fashion a gastric patch," she answered. Miranda smiled beneath her mask. A rare win for Lemon over Stephanie.

"Good."

The doors opened and Richard stormed into the room. "Why didn't you call me sooner?" He said not looking at Miranda. "Alright, people. Bailey, get out of here."

Miranda licked her lips. "I was about to—they were just going to fashion a gastric patch," she said trying to look past at her mentor's six-foot frame.

Uninterested, Richard said: "I taught you the procedure. Now leave." Miranda was helped up by a couple of nurses. She walked towards the door, taking one look over her shoulder before the doors opened. "The clamp," she heard Richard say as the door closed behind her.

"Miranda?" She didn't turn around. "Miranda Bailey!" The tone of the person yelling almost made her turn around, but she didn't have the energy to. She just stopped walking. They caught up with her. It was Ben. He put a hand around her waist. "I heard about you going into labor! In the OR!"

"Damn rumor mill," she answered under her breath. "No, I think it's just preterm labor. No big deal." She looked up at her husband.

His eyes were wide. "No big deal!? You're going home. Not now, but right now!"

"Uh, no… I'm not. I have work to do and I'm going into my office to do it. Thank you very mu—Ohh!" Miranda shouted, grabbing onto Ben's hard, squeezing him tightly. When the pain was over, she looked up to see him smiling. "Can you please wipe that cocky ass smile off your face?" She asked as a smile of her own spread across her face. "Fine. Okay. I'll go home, but I need to stop by my office and locker and change and get a few things."

"Uhhh, I'll get them for you," he said still holding her waist.

"Ben Warren, I'm very capable of doing things for myself."

She could tell that he didn't want to argue with her. He was worried that it would cause stress, so he didn't press the issue. "Alright, Miranda. Then, I'll meet you at the front of the hospital in twenty minutes."

"Okay," she said as he leaned down to kiss her.

"Twenty," he repeated putting his lips to hers. He moved away, smiling.

Miranda rushed to her office and picked up a couple of things. Then she hurried to the locker room. She grabbed her purse and changed her clothes. She strolled to the front of the hospital. When she saw Ben, she looked at her watch. "One minute to spare."

"I was just on my way to get you," Ben told her standing up. He took the books and other miscellaneous items from her hand and put them on the nearest chair. He helped her put on her jacket.

"Thank you."

"Of course."

As they walked out, they were bombarded by a few of their friends and some other coworkers. "Oh!" she said.

Arizona came over to her. "Bailey, we couldn't let you leave without giving you these," she said handing Ben a few bags.

"Sorry! I got caught in the elevator," Derek said handing Ben more bags. Meredith was right behind him.

"Thank you, everyone," Miranda said with a smile.

"Yeah, these are great," Ben responded looking from his wife to the other doctors and nurses.

"I guess we should be going," Miranda said and she started to walk out.

"Actually," Derek said scratching his head. He looked to his own wife. "We were going to have a surprise baby shower, but after Callie had gotten everything together, the cake, the people, and the food, someone reminded her about your, uh, your birthday thing." Miranda rolled her eyes when she remembered her mortification. Ben laughed. "So, we just decided to catch you at the door."

"Guys, you could have just gone along with it," Miranda said. "I like… cake."

"Well, everyone's in surgery or really swamped right now," Meredith said looking regretful.

"Oh, good," Miranda said with relief. Everyone chuckled. "So, where's the, uh, cake?"

"Can someone get my wife the cake, please?" Ben asked looking around.

Alex ran up to them with Cristina moseying behind him. "What did I miss?" She asked.

"Bailey wants the cake," Meredith told her.

"Oh, uh, your cake and the rest of the gifts are coming down now," Alex told them. "I got a bunch of the interns to carry them to your car."

Miranda thanked and hugged them. She and Ben went home.

In bed, Miranda had her legs and feet propped up on a stack of pillows. Ben was reading a book. "My legs and feet are killing me," she whined.

Ben looked up from his book. "Want me to run you a bath?" She nodded. "Okay." He kissed her and went into the bathroom. A few minutes later, he came out. "It's finished," he told her putting out his hand to help her off of the bed. Ben pulled her into his arms and held her close. "Mind some company?"

Miranda smiled. "No, who are my options?" Ben laughed. She slipped out of her robe and into the warm water. "This feels so good."

Ben took off his shirt and shorts and got into the tub behind her. "Maybe…," he whispered into her ear. "After we finish here, I'll run and get Tuck and then the three of us can get started on that cake?"

"Sounds like a great plan." They were quiet and Miranda noticed the soft music playing in the background. "Jennifer?"

Ben shook his head as he grabbed a bottle of water and handed it to Miranda. "Naw. Well, we can put it on the table, but I'm not feeling it." Miranda handed him back the bottle and turned her head slightly to kiss him. "What about naming her, Jasmine?"

"Jasmine is nice," Miranda said. They were still coming up with names for Cheddar. It was a lot harder than it had been when she and Tucker had decided on a name for Tuck. Some days Miranda got so frustrated that she just considered naming the baby "Cheddar". Even though they had a few names 'on the table,' she knew that when she heard the perfect name for their little girl that she would know it. Ben slowly massaged her back. "Kailand?"

"I like that. Let's keep that in the mix."

"I like that, too," she said moaning a little as Ben caressed her side. "Ashley?"

"Oh no! I've dated an Ashley or two and I know a few Ashleys, they are wild. They're like the female version of 'David'." The water shook as husband and wife laughed.

"Okay. Lila?" Miranda asked. Then she changed her mind: "No, I think Lilas are sneaky." They tossed around a few more names. Ben even suggested "Anthony." "What?!" She said with a laugh as Ben helped her out of the tub.

"Anthony as a middle name, Miranda."

"But, uh," she said gesturing between the two of them. "We're having a girl."

"I know, but, look, hear me out," he said pressing his hard, wet body against hers. "When Toni Morrison was baptized, she received the name 'Anthony' from the Catholic church—"

"And your middle name is 'Anthony' also," she said rolling her eyes and smiling.

"True," he said with a smile. "It's unique and different and it doesn't have to be Cheddar's first name. It could be 'Something Anthony Warren'."

"I don't know, Ben."

"Shepherd and Grey's son is named after you! And you named your son after your favorite intern."

"Okay, Ben Warren, but listen to what you're saying, we name our sons after other people, not ourselves."

He nodded, giving her an adorable smile. She wanted to cave in right there. "Can we table it?" He asked kissing her neck.

A chill ran down her spine. "Fine," she said sighing. "Anthony. It doesn't sound so bad."

"See?" He asked. Ben helped her back into her robe and kissed Miranda one more. "Alright, I'm going to get Tuck. I'll be right back." She nodded and climbed into the bed.