Maybe Your Baby

"Okay, Miranda, it's almost time for you to start pushing," Miranda's doctor, Dr. Melissa Pratt, said.

"Oh, no! My husband isn't back yet," Miranda said rushing the words out. Every inch of her body was hurting. And streams of sweat were mixing with the tears coming from her eyes.

The doctor came beside the bed. She was a good doctor with great credentials. Miranda had been observed by several doctors over her pregnancy, but she felt no connection to any of them except Dr. Pratt; the only obstetrician that she trusted aside from her friend, Dr. Addison Montgomery. Addison, along with her favorite intern, George O'Malley, had helped her deliver Tuck even after she'd refused to. Miranda thought back on those moments with pride at O'Malley's growth. Her heart warmed as she remembered not only the birth of her first child, but her favorite intern. Dr. Pratt's voice brought her back: "Miranda. I know you want Ben with you, but we'll have to start with or without him when the time comes, okay?" Miranda shook her head. She didn't want to hear this crap! "Miranda, we talked about this. You don't get to call the shots today. I'm your doctor; I call the shots. So, I'm going to give you the directions and you're going to follow them and we're going to deliver this baby, alright?"

Miranda looked at the woman and breathed. She was feeling so overwhelmed. Ben had been pulled into an emergency surgery by another attending several hours ago as he wheeled Miranda to her room. "I'll be back, Miranda."

"Tell them no. Tell them that I, your wife, Dr. Bailey, board member, am in labor!" Miranda screamed as she held onto his lab coat.

Ben had tried to hold back a smile. He'd looked at Dr. Pratt who said in an assuring voice: "She'll be fine. Go. It'll be a while before any of the good stuff happens."

Ben had laughed and kissed Miranda's forehead. Then, he'd kissed her lips so softly and so passionately, some of the pain in her body had subsided. "You are so beautiful, baby."

"I am?" She'd asked looking up at him. She imagined that she'd looked a mess, but he looked at her like she was the most beautiful woman in the world.

He nodded. "Of course, Miranda. And you're the love of my life." Miranda had had another contraction, grabbing his hand tightly. She half expected him to try and pull his hand back, but he'd just winced a little and stroked her head. When it was over, he'd looked down at her: "And I'll be so quick; you won't even know that I'm gone."

"Alright," she said, dazed.

"Don't give birth to Cheddar without me."

She had smiled. "I won't." He'd kissed her again. She'd closed her eyes, grabbed his face and pulled him in for a long kiss. And then he was gone.

"He said he'll be back!" Miranda said to Dr. Pratt. "He'll be back. Just give him some time."

"It's time to get started, Miranda" Dr. Pratt said gesturing to her intern and the nurse. She rolled her chair up to Miranda's open legs. She lifted up the sheet and looked underneath. "So, uh, do you guys have a name for her?"

Miranda licked her lips. "We, uh, call the baby… Cheddar."

"Oh, that's adorable," Dr. Pratt said slowly. She smiled weakly.

"But we want to call her 'Camille Anthony'—I know, I know, 'Anthony,' but he loves it," Miranda said with a smile. "Can I start pushing? I feel like I should start pushing."

"No, no, no, Miranda. Do not start pushing."

Miranda was concerned. Just minutes ago Dr. Pratt was saying that it was time to start pushing. She was trying not to panic. "Why not?"

"Because, Miranda, remember what I said?" Miranda just stared at her. "I'm the doctor and you're the patient. Follow instructions."

Miranda nodded as Richard came bursting into the room. His presence shocked her as she had another contraction. "Chief!?"

"That's me," he said with a wide smile.

Miranda cocked her head to the side. "Where's my husband? Where's Ben?"

"He's, uh, he's still in surgery." Miranda rolled her eyes. "But he asked me come so I'm here."

"You don't… have to—you don't have to stay. I'll be—ahhhhh!" Miranda screamed. "I'll be okay."

"I know I don't have to, but I want to. Stop thinking you have to do this on your own. I'm here for now. And Ben will be back. And it would be my pleasure to help you until he returns." Miranda wanted to cry. Richard was such a sweet man. "Truth be told, I have nothing scheduled and this is… well, this is the most thrilling thing to happen all year. Almost like I'm…," his voice trailed off.

"Uh, Dr. Webber, can I talk to you outside for a bit?" Dr. Pratt asked.

"Oh, alright. We'll be right back," the Chief said to her as he walked out of the door behind Dr. Pratt. Before the door closed, Miranda could hear him ask if everything was okay. The nurse and Dr. Pratt's intern milled around making random noises, seemingly on purpose, trying to deter Miranda from listening to the conversation happening outside. They walked back into the room. "Mandy, you're glowing," Richard said beaming.

Miranda tried to read his face. Was it full of worry? Excitement? Anxiousness? What? All she could see on his face was a bright smile. "Thank you."

"Miranda, Richard, I will be right back," Dr. Pratt said with a short smile. She looked at Richard quickly and left the room.

"Um, can you guys give us the room for a minute? Please?" He asked the intern and the nurse.

She wondered what was wrong. "What's the problem, Richard?" Her mind went into panic-mode as she watched the nurse and intern finished what they were doing.

They left, leaving Miranda and her mentor alone. He picked up her hand. "So, I just talked to Dr. Pratt and she thinks your baby, Swiss, uh, Provolone—"

"Cheddar!" Miranda interrupted, grinning slightly. Richard raised his eyebrows as she shook her head.

He chuckled. "Right, right. Cheddar, sorry. She thinks Cheddar may have her cord wrapped around her neck."

"What?" Miranda asked with wild eyes. "No! Sh-sh-she's fine. She's fine!"

Richard continued calmly, he wasn't sugarcoating anything. Still holding Miranda's hand, he continued: "So she's getting an OR team together right now and you're going into surgery right now."

"Cheddar is fine!" Miranda repeated.

Richard stroked her hand. "She will be. You just have to trust Pratt. She knows what she's doing, alright?" She nodded. "So you just have to trust her and if you don't trust her, trust God." Miranda tried to be strong and hold back the tears, but looking into the kind eyes of Richard made her collapse into his arms. He held onto her. "Mandy, shhh... It's fine. Cords around the necks of babies happens often. So, don't worry. Don't panic. Your baby will be fine and you will do great and you give birth to the next generation's Chief of General Surgery. I mean... you've already given birth to this hospital's future Chief of Surgery. Tuck's amazing and Cheddar will be amazing." Through her tears, Miranda smiled and hugged her mentor. Dr. Pratt came back into the room. "She's ready."

"Good. Okay, Miranda. It's time to move. Chief, are you coming up?"

He looked at Miranda. "Only if you want me to."

Miranda sniffled. "Please, I don't want to be alone." Richard nodded and they moved up to the operating room.

As Miranda was being prepped, Ben exploded into the room. "Miranda?!"

"Ben?!" She called out.

He rushed to her and kissed her head. "I'm so, so, so sorry. I said I would be here and I wasn't."

"It's okay. The Chief was here and he was great."

"Okay, Miranda… push!" Dr. Pratt ordered. Miranda took a breath and pushed with all of her might. Ben held one of her hands and Richard held the other. Miranda stopped pushing. "Great job! And… push!"

"Ahhhhhh!" Miranda screamed as she squeezed the hands of her husband and her mentor.

"Okay, stop. Don't push… just hold a second," Dr. Pratt said.

"Errrm, Ben, you have this?" Richard asked.

Miranda looked up and smiled weakly. "Sorry," she said.

"No, it's fine," he said looking down at her. He looked to Ben. "I know this is a special moment and I don't want to be in the way."

Ben and Miranda nodded. "Alright, Miranda, push!" Dr. Pratt told her. Miranda screamed. "Good! Hold."

"Alright, you two, I'm leaving," Richard said looking from Ben to Miranda.

Ben turned to Richard. "Thanks, sir. Thank you for earlier, thank you for being there for Miranda when I couldn't. I can't—we can't thank you enough." Richard nodded and, wordlessly, exited the room. Before he was gone, he winked at Miranda.

She smiled and mouthed: "Thank you."

"Okay, Miranda, here we go—Push!" Dr. Pratt told her. Miranda did as she was told.

Ben kissed the forehead of his wife and said: "You're doing great, baby." She nodded. "You know, I kind of wish that we were having a boy now."

"What?!" She asked as Dr. Pratt told her to push again. If Ben was trying to take her mind off of everything, he was succeeding. She wasn't even thinking about the moving parts of her procedure.

"Why?" Miranda asked as she heard the doctors working between her legs. She couldn't feel anything and thanked God that her body was numb. "I'm scared," Miranda confessed before Ben could reply.

"Me, too," Ben said kissing her hand.

"Camille has a cord around her neck. She is—she could be choking. I'm choking her!" Miranda said panicking.

"Relax, baby." Ben wiped his forehead. "Cheddar will be here shortly and there will longer be anything to worry about."

"Here we go, Miranda, Ben, last push. Just everything you got, okay, Miranda?" Miranda nodded wildly.

"You're ready, baby?" Ben asked through his mask. He held her hand. Miranda looked into the eyes of her husband. He was wonderful and so supportive. Even when he wasn't there, she still felt protected because he made sure that she had people in her corner. She licked her lips slightly and nodded. Ben inhaled and said: "Okay, let's do this."

"Yeah, let's," she said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. Ben laughed, making her laugh. She took another deep breath and pushed as hard as she could.

"Baby's out," Dr. Pratt said. "Clipping the umbilical cord. Dr. Anderson, get the baby, little Cheddar, please." The doctor smiled. She directed the nurses and her interns.

"I don't hear her," Miranda said trying to stay calm. Tears fell from her eyes. "Ben, go and see about her."

"She's fine. I'm going to stay by your side," Ben said kissing her all over. "You were perfect."

"Dr. Warren," someone said. Miranda recognized the voice as one of Dr. Pratt's interns.

"You did great, Miranda Bailey," Ben told her and he kissed her sweaty forehead and walked over to where the baby was.

Miranda closed her eyes and prayed. She listening intently and waited for the unfamiliar sound of her baby girl crying. "Ben?" She asked as Cheddar started crying. A great wave came over her body. The general surgeon cried with relief. "Is she okay? She's beautiful, right?"

"He's perfect," Ben said, his voice seeming so far away. "He looks just like Curt did as a baby."

"Huh?" Did he say 'he'? Was he drugged up, too? "You mean, she, right?"

His voice was fading. "No, Cheddar's a boy. We have a son. Another son!"

"It's a boy," Dr. Pratt said.

Miranda ignored her doctor. "A son… a boy…" She was tired. She hadn't worked like that in years. She closed her eyes.

"Dr. Pratt, her BP is dropping," a faint voice said.

"Okay, be alert! Follow my lead," Dr. Pratt said.

"Miranda! Baby! Baby, stay with me! Miranda! Miranda!"

Going deep inside of herself; everything seemed quiet. She could hear one, long, loud beep and what seemed like hundreds of muffled voices, but one was a very distinct voice, so familiar. One she'd heard nearly every day since she'd started at the Seattle Hospital. "What the hell is going on?"

"I have this, Richard," Dr. Pratt said.

Miranda felt her body jerk. She gasped loudly. "Oh, God! Miranda?"

"She's okay. She's… she's okay," Dr. Pratt's exhaled.

Miranda's eyes opened and they landed on her husband who had tears in his eyes. He picked up her hand and kissed it. The tears fell freely onto her skin where he whispered: "I love you. Don't leave me."