December 23rd. 10:45 a.m.

Being alone at home had never really bothered Addison, in fact, she occasionally liked having those moments to herself. She used to take advantage of that time to read a book, take a hot bath, watch a movie, study a new surgical procedure, enjoy a glass of red wine to the rhythm of a good song. However, since she was pregnant, that had changed. Well, actually since the maternity leave. She didn't enjoy that solitude as much anymore.

Derek and Amelia had gone to the hospital early, as they always did, and she had stayed resting in bed. She didn't complain about that, in fact, she needed every extra hour of sleep she could get. It was Monday, and like every Monday, she completed another week of pregnancy. It was a total of 36 weeks, entering the ninth month. She was more tired than usual of course. Carrying a baby of over six pounds was no joke.

Lately, her routine consisted of sleeping most of the morning –or trying to sleep, since many times the baby opposed her mother's rest– having lunch while watching those reality shows where people's lives seemed much more complicated than hers, then returning to bed and practicing breathing and meditation exercises, because if her patients did it, maybe it means they were useful, right?

Derek would barely arrive a few hours after lunch, as long as he wasn't committed in the operating room or an emergency came up that detained him longer than appropriate. And Amelia... Amelia had no schedules or routines after work. She never really knew when she would return.

The thing is that now she was bored, lying in her bed. Bored and tired. Tired and at the same time anxious. Anxious and worried. Maybe she should start washing and organizing all the baby clothes, or finish the details missing for her room, or pack the hospital bag, because from next week on the baby would be considered full term and she could get into labor.

Despite being tired of pregnancy, the idea of giving birth in a week didn't appeal to her. They still needed the crib, the car seat, the stroller, cameras and walkie-talkies, the changing table... basically many things that, as always, they had postponed due to lack of time. The life of doctors, few would understand.

The doorbell rang and made her forget her planning thoughts. Who could it be at this hour? Had Derek come back because he had forgotten his keys? No... he would have at least sent her a text message, right? But... by the way, where was her cell phone? Did she charge it the night before?

The doorbell rang again and again with such insistence that she had no choice but to get up to see who it was. Opening the door, she felt her blood freeze suddenly.

"Merry Christmas!" shouted Nancy, followed by Carolyn and Kathleen.

Addison blinked a couple of times, not understanding what was happening. Were they really here or had she gotten out of bed so fast that she was still dizzy?

"Addison, what a face. It looks like you've seen a ghost," Nancy laughed.

"What are you doing here?" she said confused.

"We came to spend Christmas here, since you can't travel this year... we decided to bring the party to Seattle."

"Oh, God... I'm going to kill Derek..." she whispered to herself as she stepped aside to let them in.

"God, this belly is about to explode," said Nancy, placing both hands on Addison's large belly.

"I know, and I still have 4 more weeks to go..."

"When is your due date, Addie?" Kathleen asked.

"Oh, what a question... well, theoretically for January 20th."

"She could be born on Derek's birthday, a week earlier," Carolyn smiled. They had never really thought about that.

"Oh... I guess she could, actually, it could happen..."

"It would be so funny if his daughter stole the spotlight from him forever," teased Nancy.

"I have no doubt that she already has," she smiled as she rested her hand on her belly, it was already a habit.

"Oh my God, Addie. I never thought I'd see you like this, so... with such a huge belly and..." said Nancy.

"Are you calling me fat or something like that?"

"No, of course not. You're radiant. I've never seen you as beautiful as you are now."

"It's the magic of carrying your miracle," Carolyn added.

"Mmm... do you want something to drink? Coffee, tea? I have some filled donuts Derek brought yesterday afternoon..." Addison offered.

"How are you doing with cravings, dear?"

"Oh... they weren't a craving of mine, he usually brings me sweet things..."

"My son always so attentive and helpful. He's an angel. Sometimes we don't deserve him," Carolyn smiled.

Addison made her best effort not to roll her eyes. Nancy and Kathleen laughed. It was obvious that her mother would say something like that.

"I'll take a coffee, Addie. I'm still tired from the flight," said Kate.

"I would need one too," added Nancy.

"Okay, Carolyn, how about you?"

"A tea with lemon will be fine, dear."

"Alright. Make yourselves comfortable, and I'll be right back."

"Don't you want help with that, Addie?" asked Kathleen.

"Oh, no. Don't worry. I can still walk, can't I?"

Although it was a spacious apartment, the living room, fireplace, and kitchen shared the same space, separated by the breakfast bar.

The visitors settled on the couch, and Addison went to the kitchen to prepare the drinks. When they weren't looking, she discreetly took out her cell phone and sent a text message to Derek.

"Come to the apartment as soon as you can. Red alert."

"What do you mean by red alert?"

"Just come as soon as you can."

~•~

"So... you came to spend the holidays here," said Addison as she stirred her decaf coffee. The four of them were sitting in the living room.

"Both holidays, John and the kids will spend Christmas with his family, but on New Year's Eve we will all meet at my house," Nancy replied.

"Of course, my kids will also be with their father's family," Kathleen added.

"And Liz didn't join in or what's the story?" asked Addison.

"Liz twins' had the flu, she preferred to stay with them."

"Winter typical, these crappy viruses," said Nancy as she took a sip of her coffee.

"And when will Derek arrive?" Carolyn asked.

"I would like to know the same thing. By the way, how did you know the address? Did Derek give it to you?"

"Oh, no. Derek doesn't even return phone calls. It was Mark. He seems to be your neighbor, right?"

"Oh, it was Mark... yes, he lives across the street."

"Did you have plans for Christmas Eve or Christmas?" Nancy asked.

"We didn't talk about that, but we will probably spend it here with Amelia, Mark, Callie, and Arizona, our colleagues who also live in the building."

"Amelia actually lives here? I haven't seen her in years," Carolyn said.

"Yes... for some time."

"So, you don't have any available beds here, right?" asked Nancy excitedly.

"Well, actually, no. There's Amelia's room, ours, and the baby's," Addison replied.

"Have you already prepared the baby's room?" Nancy asked enthusiastically.

"There are still a few things... like the crib... the furniture..."

"Do you have anything ready?" asked Carolyn, raising an eyebrow, obviously judging her irresponsibility.

"We haven't had time to go, but we have a rough idea of what we want."

"Keep in mind that you don't have much time. My babies always came two or three weeks early," Nancy said.

"Derek was born at 40 weeks, I think he was the only one among you who was born exactly when the doctor predicted," Carolyn added.

"True, because he has always been so correct, so punctual, so perfect," Nancy said sarcastically.

"Well, I hope Derek's daughter gives me a few more weeks. Now with Christmas shopping, the malls are crowded, and..." Addison said.

"If not, she can sleep with you, it's called co-sleeping now," Kathleen suggested.

"We have talked about it, initially we want to place the crib in our room, to hear her at night and all that... but I don't know, I can't promise anything because I don't know what her sleep schedule will be like, maybe she'll be a difficult sleeper, and we'll have to have her in the bed all night to comfort her... I don't know. I'm not so worried about that issue either," Addison said.

"I have always said that children should sleep in their own rooms. Sleeping with parents is nonsense. They need to learn from an early age that adults have their space and children have theirs. Don't mix them," Carolyn said.

"Mom, that's very old-fashioned already," said Nancy. "Babies need emotional attachment. They need their mother close to fall asleep and feel at peace."

"In fact, being alone in a room far from parental figures, especially the mother, can arouse feelings of abandonment and anguish in the baby, resulting in insecure adults with a lack of emotional commitment. If you cried and your parents didn't come to see you, who will take care of you? No one," Kathleen said firmly. She was a psychologist and knew perfectly well about the traumas unconsciously generated by parents in early childhood.

"Anyway, we have to get them used to having their own place. The parents' bed is not it. Addison, you have to get a crib as soon as possible."

They heard a key entering the lock of the door, and seconds later it opened. A worried Derek entered the room. From his face, they all noticed that he was concerned.

"Addison..." he looked at her and breathed a sigh of relief. Then he glanced at his visitors.

"Is it so unpleasant to have us here that both of you look so scared?" Nancy asked as she approached him.

"Nancy... What are you doing here?" He embraced her lightly while still looking at Addison. She took a sip of her cup without saying a word.

"We came by surprise, to spend Christmas with you."

"Son, it's been so long." His mother also hugged him tightly. He still looked confused.

"Hello, Mom. Addie, are you okay? And Bella?"

"She's fine, everything is fine," she said, placing her hand on her belly and forced a smile.

"Will her name be Bella?" Kathleen asked as she greeted Derek.

"Yes, Bella Hayden."

"It's a nice name," Carolyn smiled.

"Perhaps it's not definitive..." Addison added.

"What do you mean, Addie? We had already decided. She'll be named Bella."

"Maybe at the last minute, it turns out to be a boy..." Kathleen laughed.

"Oh, no. It's a girl, 100% confirmed," Derek said as he sat next to his wife and gently kissed her cheek, knowing she was tense. "Well then. We have been blessed with your Christmas appearance... are there more surprises on the way? Liz? The 80 children?"

"Unfortunately not, just the three of us."

"It would have been preferable if you had come when the forest house was finished but... it's always when and how you want it," Derek said in a passive-aggressive manner.

"Don't worry, Derek. We have a hotel. We won't be sleeping in your bed," Nancy said.

"Oh, thank goodness. For a moment, I was scared, I was already thinking about how we would divide the space between your big butt and Addison's belly."

"The idea was for you to insult me, not your wife," Nancy said, annoyed.

"Addie, you have no idea what I got for..." Amelia said as she entered the room. Everyone turned to look at her. "...oh, we have visitors."

"We have? You were a visitor too..." Derek sighed.

"Amy, it's been so long since I last saw you!" Carolyn ran to hug her, and she had no other choice but to reciprocate.

"Oh, Mom... hi."

"Since when do you live here with Derek? Why didn't you tell me you were in Seattle?"

"Well, eventually you found out, didn't you? There was no need for me to inform you personally. Why did you come?"

"For Christmas, you blasphemous little creature," Nancy said as she approached her sister.

"Oh, crap. I forgot that those events still exist."

"And thank goodness they do. We wouldn't see each other otherwise. Why didn't you go to Mom's birthday?"

"I was busy in Los Ángeles, I already told you when you called. I had a very important research project."

"And what happened?"

"I got fired."

"Oh, that's no surprise. How unusual for Amelia Frances Shepherd to ruin everything," Kathleen said.

"I think I'll go back to the hospital. I have patients to check on. Addie, I'll leave this here. It's a rattle to stimulate the baby's nervous system."

"Wow, now you care about a baby's development? Are you really Amelia?" Nancy asked.

"I'm a neurosurgeon. Of course, I care about a baby's brain development, especially if it's my niece."

"You never did that with your other nieces or nephews..."

"Bella will be my goddaughter. Didn't you know that?"

"Wait a minute, I was going to be her godmother. Did you give the title to Amelia, Derek?" Nancy asked, upset.

"I didn't say anything, it's a matter between Addison and Amelia."

"I live with them, work in Seattle, and I'll be geographically closer than any of you. If anyone is going to be her godmother, it'll be me. Excuse me," she said, leaving the room, knowing that a new war had just begun.

~•~

"So, will the Christmas lunch be here?" Addison asked as she rubbed cream on her stomach. They were already getting ready for bed.

"Yes, I'll rent a bigger table to put in the living room. Mark will definitely come too."

"We have to take care of the food... oh God, more things to plan."

"Don't worry about that, there's a restaurant near the hospital that sells roast turkey and other Christmas meals. Tomorrow I'll order the lunch for the 25th."

"We should have decorated our home a bit more. It doesn't feel Christmassy at all, Der. It's our second Christmas in Seattle and it looks just as depressing as the last one..."

"I'll take care of that too. Don't worry. The only thing you should worry about now is keeping this little one in the oven a few more days..."

"Did you know she could be born on your birthday? Aren't you worried about that?"

"No, it would be the best birthday gift anyone has ever given me."

Addison smiled and left the cream container on her bedside table. Then she snuggled back into Derek's arms, they liked to sleep like this: spooning. She slept on her side, with one of those breastfeeding pillows between her legs, and he hugged her from behind. Surrounding her belly with his arms.

"Goodnight, Addie."

"Goodnight, Der."