Summary: Shaun gives Lea a massage when they notice her feet and ankles are swollen. Set some time during "Second Chances and Past Regrets".

It was only 2:00 in the afternoon, and Lea was already tired and on the verge of falling asleep. She stared at her laptop on her desk at all the coding and software that needed to be done; her fingers resting weakly on the keyboard.

"Please, Peanut," she sighed, staring down at her belly. "If you're going to make Mommy tired, can you wait until you're out so Daddy can suffer alongside me? Mommy needs to work."

She struggled to keep her eyes open as she felt herself dozing off, which she would be doing as soon as she went home...and maybe a back rub from Shaun. However, she needed to get the work done. She had four hours left of work to do, and she had an appointment early in the morning, where she was going to get tested for Group B strep.

Jared entered Lea's office to find her fast asleep in her chair. Her arms were rested on the arms of her swivel chair. Her head was bowed down towards her protruding belly.

"Lea?" He asked concernedly, assuming it was just a side effect of being nine months pregnant. Still, he pressed two fingers to her neck to check her pulse, which immediately snapped her out of her slumber.

When Lea opened her eyes and noticed Jared standing by her desk, staring at her, she felt mortified. She just got caught sleeping on the job.

"Oh, crap," mewled Lea, closing her eyes with embarrassment as she rested her hands on her belly. "I'm sorry, I must have dozed off."

Jared chuckled in response, planting his knuckle against her desk. "Don't worry, I won't tell. Although, I'm pretty sure even Andrews would understand. When do you go on maternity leave?"

"Two weeks," sighed Lea, staring down at her swollen ankles. "And I'm definitely going to sleep when I go home, and probably pampered. Anyway, did you need something?"

"So, how do you deal with Shaun constantly telling you you're wrong?" Jared asked, sitting down in the chair across from Lea's desk. "I mean, I get it. I'm the resident, and he's the attending. But, I'm three years older than him, and I've been a doctor just as long as he has. I started my residency here before him. I've been a doctor longer than Jordan and Asher," he vented.

"Well, he can't give you special treatment just because you were once resident BFFs with him and Claire," reminded Lea, rubbing her temples. "Also, you were a concierge doctor for two and a half years, not a surgeon."

"But still, you have been with Shaun for five years," remarked Jared. "How do you deal with these constant rules and regulations he gives you? He just gave me a list of boundaries. Right now, it feels like I turned into him, and he turned into Dr. Melendez."

"As in, he's only letting you do suction?" Lea raised her eyebrow, feeling a bit saddened at the mention of the late doctor's name while also surprised that Shaun would be as hostile as Dr. Han or as hostile as Melendez once was.

"Yes, well, no. I mean, it's not just that. It's just that," Jared paused before trying to find a way to put it nicely. "When Shaun was a resident when I was a resident here, he rubbed everyone the wrong way with his insistence on doing things his way. I think all that power turned him into a monster just a little bit. Now, I'm rubbing everyone the wrong way, apparently. Did you know that he made a list of boundaries and rules for me to study? He'll fire me if I don't comply."

"Well," Lea clicked her tongue, chuckling a little as she remembered all of Shaun's personal rules he wanted her to follow when they first moved in together. "To be fair, when you tried to stand up for Claire when she was harassed, you didn't handle it professionally."

"That's true," exhaled Jared. "But, what should I do? Do I just need to grin and bear it?"

"No, talk to him," advised Lea, standing up (with a little bit of struggle) to stretch her legs. "When I lived with Shaun for the first time, I snapped at him for his insistence on his need for everything to be his way. We couldn't agree on how to hang toilet paper or how to set the table. He left me a lot of notes and texts about the things I did wrong. However, once I was calm, I talked to him and apologized for my outburst. I told him how I felt, and then we learned to compromise."

"That's good," smiled Jared. "It's good that you were roommates before you got into a relationship."

"But, we're going to have a baby, and we still can't agree on how to wash dishes, though," chuckled Lea before her face turned serious. "Just talk to him, and use some rationality. Don't get defensive, though."

"Thanks for the advice, Lea," acknowledged Jared with a grin before he got up to leave.

When Shaun and Lea got home after having drinks (a virgin Shirley Temple in Lea's case) and dinner with Jared, she immediately dropped herself on the couch (with Shaun's help), kicking her boots and socks off and revealing her swollen feet and ankles.

She claimed first dibs on the remote, instantly turning the TV on and channel surfing while Shaun lifted her feet up and placed them over his lap as he sat down.

He and Jared found a middle ground with boundaries, but Shaun would need to talk to Dr. Glassman about his mistake in the OR tomorrow. However, Lea's swollen feet were what mostly caught his eye at this moment.

Her bare feet were covered with press marks from her socks. Those socks were definitely too tight.

Although it could be a symptom of preeclampsia, Shaun wasn't worried about that because Lea's ankles and feet had been swelling up in a normal, unconcerned way since the second trimester. It also wasn't in one leg, and she hadn't had any other symptoms of preeclampsia lately. So, he felt like he didn't need to check Lea's blood pressure right now. However, it did take him a while to get into the habit of not worrying too much about swollen feet.

It was also reassuring that she had a doctor's appointment tomorrow and would have one once a week until the Peanut was born.

However, he knew she must have been very uncomfortable right now. This wasn't even the first time.

"Do you want me to rub your feet?" Shaun offered. Even though he sometimes applied too much pressure, he had improved at massages, which he had been giving her more often since her pregnancy.

"Hell, yes," chuckled Lea, who had her head on the pillow and her hands rested over her belly.

"Okay," obliged Shaun, and he started to apply pressure to Lea's feet as she looked for something to watch. Her feet were sweaty and did not feel nice to touch, but she deserved to be pampered and treated like a queen after a long day of work.

"Also, I want ice cream and hot Cheetos," requested Lea as she felt Peanut move around and nudge. "Can you make me some, please? Peanut wants some."

"Of course," regarded Shaun, lifting Lea's feet off his lap before leaning in to kiss her and stroke her belly. "We can also watch a movie, and then I'll fix a nice bath for us."

"Can we also order Mr. Chau's?" Lea continued to beg from the couch. "I want egg rolls."

Shaun, of course, filled in Lea's request, ordered from the restaurant (even though they just had dinner with Jared), and served her an entire carton of ice cream and a family-size bag of Flamin' Hot Cheetos.

However, it wasn't long before she asked him to help her up off the couch because she had to pee.

The evening ended with the parents-to-be watching Juno , taking a nice warm bath together, Shaun explaining to Lea about everything that will happen when she is in labor, and then Shaun massaging Lea to sleep.

I hope you all enjoyed. Please review :)

Next Chapter Prompt:
Shaun sends Lea an email regarding things that could happen during childbirth.