"At 34 weeks, the baby is weighing 5.300 pounds and measuring approximately 14 inches. It's the size of a yellow melon..." Sophia said as she passed the ultrasound over Addison's belly.
"We already know it's a girl..." Derek smiled proudly.
"Oh you know? Did you have another ultrasound done?"
"It was at the hospital where we work, you know...to check on everything. I had everything at my disposal," Addison said, justifying herself. She didn't want to mention the real reason.
"And I imagine you couldn't resist the surprise... It's a girl developing perfectly, from what I can see here she's positioned her head in your pelvis, Addison. Did you feel it?"
"Yes, in fact. I feel a lot of pressure in my lower back... and in my bladder."
"The good thing is that you'll feel more relief in the diaphragm and lungs, so you'll breathe better from now on."
"Is she positioned well, then?" Derek asked.
"That's right. Everything seems to indicate that it will be a vaginal delivery. We know that unexpected things can happen at any time, and that babies always decide how and when to come into this world, but... from what I can see today, it will be a vaginal delivery. We have to discuss your options for pain relief, such as an epidural..."
"Yes to everything," Addison said without hesitation.
"Oh, you've already made up your mind."
"I work with expectant mothers every day, I know what they go through and I want to avoid it. I trust modern medicine, that's why I work in this field, so... yes, I want an epidural."
"Have you attended the childbirth preparation classes we talked about last time?"
"Yes."
"Have they helped? Have they eased your anxiety?"
"Anxiety is not really eased... but yes, you could say they've helped," Addison lied. Derek blinked, perplexed to see how she lied to her doctor so calmly.
"Do you have a birth plan?"
"I would like it to be at Seattle Grace Hospital, I believe I mentioned this before. That's where we work and my colleagues are there..."
"Alright, I have surgical privileges there..." she noted on her computer. "Any preferences or specific birth requirements you need to communicate? Do you want a water birth or dry birth?"
"No, that's disgusting. All the blood and fluids floating in the water... no."
"Addison..." Derek wanted to laugh.
"Some mothers defecate in the water and it floats or mixes with the water..."
"Okay, Addison, got it. You don't like it."
"No. I want a normal birth, on a bed. I guess. It would be too early to decide, I don't know how I'll feel that day. Maybe I'll want to give birth standing up, I don't know."
"Okay, that's not necessary right now. We'll see at the time. Who will be with you in the delivery room?"
"Derek. I don't want anyone else but him."
"Episiotomy...?"
"Only if necessary."
"After the baby is born..."
"Immediate skin-to-skin contact as soon as she's out. At least an hour, and then they can bathe and weigh her. And I want Derek to cut the umbilical cord at least 3 minutes after birth. It has been proven that delayed cord cutting helps newborns avoid anemia during the first year, so yes, delayed cutting."
"Sorry, I didn't understand about the delayed cutting. Are we not in danger of bleeding?" Derek interrupted.
"If a baby has an immediate cord cutting, it doesn't have access to a part of its own blood that still remains in the placenta. That extra blood could have protected against anemia and iron deficiency during the first year of life."
"Okay..."
"Do you want the cord blood to be collected and stored for preserving stem cells?" Sophia asked again.
"Yes."
"Will you breastfeed?"
"Yes."
"Will you initiate breastfeeding immediately?"
"I guess so."
"In the case of possible complications requiring surgical intervention..."
"Yes, of course."
"What do you mean by interventions?" Derek questioned.
"Whatever might happen, Der. Intubation, CPR, surgery for whatever might be necessary... yes. I do this all the time, of course I'll say yes."
"Well, that's all for now. If you want to change your mind or add anything else, let me know during your next appointment in three weeks. From week 37 onwards, we'll start seeing you every week until delivery."
"Okay..."
"Have you requested maternity leave?"
Addison fell silent and Derek pressed his eyes with sadness. He knew what was coming.
"I don't think it's necessary at the moment, I plan to keep working until the last second."
"Your job doesn't allow that, Addison. From week 34, you have to go on leave."
"I'm fine... I can keep going."
"For medical reasons, I will prohibit you from continuing."
"Excuse me? This is a personal decision. You can't prohibit me from exercising my profession."
"You're not in a condition to practice your profession in the late stages of pregnancy. Any extra effort in these weeks could trigger a premature birth. You can't keep working, I'm sorry. The maximum time I'll give you is until this Friday. I don't want you to start the 35th week working."
"Excuse me? Am I hearing correctly? Is this for real? I have surgeries scheduled for the entire month!"
"I will process your medical certificate so that you can apply for maternity leave at the hospital."
"I'm not going to take a leave, especially not now. The baby will be born at the end of January, I still have almost all of December. I won't do it."
"Addison, please..." Derek whispered. He was feeling embarrassed in this situation.
"No, Derek. Stand by my side!"
"I also think you shouldn't work until the baby is born."
"Damn it, Derek!"
"Addison, this isn't a personal matter. It's for the well-being of the baby and yours. It's just a few weeks. You could go into labor at 37, 38 and then the wait will be shorter. But you can't keep going like this in this condition. It would be irresponsible of me to allow it," Sophia said, raising her voice.
"How long do I have then?"
"Until this Friday. Not a day more."
"Okay, thank you," she said, getting up from the chair.
"Wait, we're not done."
"What else is there?"
"Here," she handed her a printed brochure. "I know that the hospital bag is an added concern for many mothers, so I have put together this list of things you need to bring so you don't forget anything when the birth day arrives. There are sections for you, your partner, and the baby."
"Oh my god," Addison rolled her eyes, exasperated.
"And here's the printed order for maternity leave. I thought I was very clear last time, but apparently I wasn't. You can't keep working past 35 weeks of pregnancy."
"Okay."
"See you in three weeks."
~•~
"Was that necessary, that childish tantrum at Sophia's office? What's wrong with you, Addison?"
"Shut up, Derek! I don't want to hear you!" she said with tears in her eyes, walking away.
"You can't make a scene every time we come in for a check-up. Every single time you make me look bad in front of that poor woman!" he followed her.
"Leave me alone! I can't do anything else!" she exclaimed through tears.
"I hope for once you stop being the most stubborn patient in the world and start listening to her. It's for your own good and the baby's, damn it."
"How would you feel if a neurosurgeon comes and tells you that your judgment means nothing and you have to do what he says just because you're in a vulnerable situation?"
"It's not the same."
"What if you had a damn tumor in your brain and you knew perfectly well how to remove it but another idiot comes and tells you he'll do it his way? How would you feel if he invalidates all your knowledge and forces you to lie on the operating table and let him do it just because you're the patient?"
"Well, you're talking nonsense."
"I'm not!"
"Give me that paper, I'll take it to Richard. And stop crying because nothing happened to you," he snatched it from her hands.
"I hate you!"
~•~
Three days had passed since their last appointment with Sophia. Derek tried to be understanding with Addison, knowing she didn't do it on purpose and often felt overwhelmed by the situation. Her body was constantly circulating thousands of uncontrolled hormones. He too lost patience at times and then felt guilty about it. God, the last thing he wanted to do was make her cry at a time like this.
It was Thursday night. They were both in their bed, Addison semi-lying down with several pillows behind her back. She added a new one every time, there was no position that kept her comfortable at this stage of pregnancy.
"Derek, the baby could be born in a month and she doesn't have a name. She doesn't have a crib, a car seat, a stroller, or any of the accessories. Not all the silly things on that list. We really have to take a day and finish getting everything she needs. There's no more time to keep postponing it."
"I talked to the architects this morning, the baby's room is practically ready. We just need to put the mosquito net on the windows, the blinds, and the shelves in her closet."
"Really? So, can we move in before she's born?"
"No, Addie. The electrical installation, water, and heating aren't done yet. It's still not habitable. They've given me an approximate date for May."
"Oh... that's at least six more months."
"But we can put her furniture and things there, right?"
"I don't know, Der. With the construction dust, everything will be ruined in no time. She won't be able to use it."
"The doors to her room will be closed."
"The dust is everywhere, dear."
"There are also improvements for our room. It's not as advanced, but they've started with the private bathroom. It will have an immersion bathtub with whirlpools, which arrived yesterday morning."
"Really? That's exactly what I need right now. Oh, I wish you had started with the construction earlier."
"The wait will be worth it. You'll see."
"I needed that bath right now, you know my waist is at its limit."
"Do you want me to give you a massage?"
"Please."
Derek removed each and every one of the pillows and stood behind her, starting to press with his thumbs on her waist, relieving some of the pressure she had.
"Oh, keep going..." Addison sighed.
"Lower or is this okay?"
"It's fine, keep going... oh, Der."
"It would be nice if you didn't stage a porn movie that can be heard through the room!" Amelia shouted from the next room.
"Just for that, we'll make more noise!" Derek replied.
"Shhh, Derek. I don't want her to think anything..."
"Let her think what she wants. Let's see if this scares her and she gets her own department."
"Can we talk about names for the baby?"
"Okay."
"Well, you know my first choice is Olive. I have many arguments to defend it, but I would like to hear the counterpoints, to evaluate the name impartially and not just because of how it sounds."
"In fact, how it sounds is the most important thing."
"You don't like the sound?"
"No, it's not that."
"Then why not?"
"I don't know, I just don't feel it goes with her."
"You still don't know her, you can't know that."
"And that's also why I think that until we see her face, we can't definitively settle on a name."
"Okay, but what do you suggest? Wait until we're in the delivery room to decide her name?"
"Well... yes. We went from not knowing her gender to wanting to know everything about her before she's born, don't you think that's too much?"
"In fact, we were going to define her name anyway, no matter the gender for that."
"Yes, but at that time I was convinced it would have my name. I can't call her Derek anymore."
"If it had been a boy, you wouldn't have been able to either. Listen, we don't know how the birth will be. Maybe I'll die that day."
"Addison, don't start this again. You're not going to die."
"But what if I die without knowing what my daughter's name is? I can't wait for her to be born to know."
"I hate that you're so dramatic."
"Let's go with my second option: Kara. In fact, it also sounds good as a middle name. Olive Kara. She'll have a middle name, of course."
"We can't agree on one, and you want to think about the second."
"You and I have two names, Archer, your sisters, everyone has a middle name. She has to have one."
"In that case, we could use Caroline as the middle name since you don't want it as the first."
"No, Derek, that's enough. Don't you understand that I don't like that name?"
"I don't like Olive, and you don't seem to care at all. In fact, I've heard you call her that several times. Don't do that, you'll confuse her. She can hear you and she might start to recognize it."
"If she recognizes it, it's because she likes it, right? Do you like that name, my love? Ollie?" she said as she stroked her belly.
"No, you know that doesn't have any logical justification. Stop calling her that."
"Alright..."
"I'll get a notebook to write down all the names that come to mind. We'll have a vote."
Derek got up from the bed and went to get a notebook and a pen.
"This is how it works, we'll put a list of names. Next to it, I'll make three boxes, in the first one you'll vote with a number from 1 to 5, depending on how much you like that name, in the second box, I'll vote, and in the third, the average between both votes. Then, we'll compare all the averages and the one with the highest score will be the baby's first name. The second name will be the one that comes in second place."
"I don't agree with the second, what if it doesn't match or if they are too similar? Like for example Kara Katherine"
"Well, in that case, we'll see after. And the third most voted could come into play."
"Okay..."
"First, we'll write down the ones you like."
"Olive... Kara... Harlow... Daphne... Carson..."
"Not Carson."
"You can vote with a 1 if you don't like it. We won't use a space for that name. Go on."
"Avery... Hayden or Jayden... Arleth... Jenna... Clara... Abigail..."
"Okay, you've said 10. Too many. It's my turn to write."
"I didn't know there was a limit."
"Yes, it's to narrow down the process. My turn... Emily... Melody... Aly... Daisy..."
"Why do all your names end the same?"
"Not all... Sasha... Kiara..."
"You don't like Kara but you like Kiara?"
"I didn't say I didn't like it. Stop criticizing everything I put."
"Alright."
"Elaine... Willa... Georgia... and Tammara."
"I like Willa, actually."
"Do you? I never thought you would like anything I said."
"It's just that you have bad taste in general... but I like that one."
"Okay, let's vote."
After a while, carefully considering the score to give each name, the top 5 ended up like this: Willa, Kara, Harlow, Hayden, and Olive.
"Well, then it will be Willa!" Derek smiled.
"Willa Kara?"
"Hmm... Willa Harlow?"
"I don't like it."
"Willa Hayden."
"Okay..."
"Willa Hayden Montgomery Shepherd."
"I guess that's what she'll be called."
"A pleasure doing business with you, madam. Hey, why that face?"
"I don't know... that name seems very strange to me for her."
"But you told me you liked it."
"Yes... I do, but..."
"DEREK, LET HER BE NAMED OLIVE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD! I LIKE IT!" Amelia shouted from her bedroom.
"Only the people contributing genetic material will decide her name!" Derek responded.
"Addison should have a double vote, for carrying the heavy load, literally..." Amelia said as she poked her head into the room.
"Alright... she'll be named Willa. I like it," Addison said.
"You're not so sure. Don't let Derek win."
"It's not a competition, Amelia," Derek got up from the bed to close the door in her face.
"Don't be rude, Der."
"When she has her own kids, which I doubt, she'll name them whatever she wants and we won't interfere with her decision," he sat back down behind Addison and hugged her.
"I'm sleepy..."
"Oh, okay..." he moved to his side of the bed.
"Good night, Der."
"Good night, Addie. Good night, Willa," he kissed her belly affectionately.
Addison turned around, facing away from him, and fell asleep.
