You think that true love is the only thing that crush your heart. The thing that will take your life and light it out. Or destroy it. Then, you become a mother.
-Meredith Grey
One week
"Baby report," she announced, coming into the room with Mark as they fistbumped Arizona. Mark turned on his phone as the blonde frowned slightly. She still wasn't on board with the whole idea with the baby but was warming up to it. Callie, however, was completely in love with the newly named Sofia Torres ever since day one.
"Arizona, you wanna go see her?" Mark offered and she looked away. His blue eyes met Emily's and they shared a silent conversation before she took Arizona's hand and lead her to the N.I.C.U. Noah was there, monitoring her stats. His family was back in Boston already but he hung back the minute he learned of the accident.
"You're going to see her," Emily said firmly. "Because whether you like it or not, this is Callie's baby already. Aria signed a direct adoption and by proxy, she's signed the papers legally." Arizona rolled her eyes, getting into the elevator. "The only reason Callie hasn't signed them is because she's waiting for you."
"Emily,"
"Come on. Just go see,"
"Fine," she conceded. "Let's go."
Five Weeks
"Callie's okay?"
"Fine and Sofia is too. How's our baby?" Mark placed both hands on her rounded abdomen as Emily watched him. Leaning into him, she sighed and smiled against him.
"Good. Kicking a lot. And Arizona? How is she with the papers?"
"She's still on the fence but since the surgery, I think she's really considering it. She loves her." Hugging Mark close, Emily kissed his neck before pulling back. "Tired?"
"I really need to pee," she remarked and he chuckled. "Then I have to bring Aria for her new round of chemo."
"Dinner tonight, then?"
"I'm on call, so I can't." She pouted and he brushed her hair away from her face. He pecked her on the mouth before giving her another kiss and another.
"I have an idea. I'll page you when it's time," he whispered and her eyebrows knitted together, confused. "Don't worry! You'll love it."
"Sounds like a plan." Watching him, she narrowed her eyes and huffed before heading to the cafeteria.
.
She was paged to the roof. Wrapping her jacket around her, she narrowed her eyes against the slight wind. Sweeping her gaze around, she spotted Mark a respectable distance near the edge but where they could see the skyline of Seattle at night.
"What is this?" she asked, walking over and sitting down. It was almost like a picnic at night. There was a thermos of soup, candles, and even a slice of cake. "What? I - you made a cake?"
"Wasn't that hard," he whispered and her eyes widened when he brought out pasta. "Carbonara couldn't hurt."
"It really won't." He kissed her cheek and she laughed. The Seattle skyline were like the stars and she sighed peacefully. "This is perfect. Thank you, Mark." His eyes softened when she turned to him and he nosed her cheek, kissing the corner of her mouth.
"Anything for you, jailbait."
Twelve Weeks
The next seven weeks passed by quickly. Noah left after the surgery, saying that he had to get back to running the peds ward and that Sofia was stable. Callie was able to walk and hold her baby. Wedding planning was underway and she was leading more surgeries than she could count. The Chief Resident was her position.
Arizona had signed the papers. Sofia Torres was now a cute little bean in pink as she was carried around like a beloved favorite. The little baby was already bonding with Callie and Arizona, eyes wide as she stared at her moms.
"Moore." She raised her head when Owen called her name. She hadn't even realized she fell asleep standing. "Woah. You alright?"
"Yeah, sorry. I was scheduling surgeries tomorrow for Mark. We have a few surgeries together tomorrow." Straightening up, she straightened out her schedules and glanced at them blearily. Blinking, she yawned, "Uh, what did you need?"
"I was going to ask what you were doing to try and own Chief Resident." Trying to stay awake, Emily leaned heavily on the nurse's station counter.
"I... I've been taking a lot of shifts. Lots of surgeries and I—" A huge yawn— "I organized Callie's and Mark's schedules for the next weeks the way they liked it since Callie's gonna be returning to work in a bit." The trauma head gave a firm nod in approval. "Also, I've checked out all the discharges for general surgery so I just need Bailey and Webber to check on those. I have the residents' call schedules in my office and people teaching in the skills lab. Do you need someone for trauma? April is on next, but I can figure something out-"
"Nope. This is good. You're organized, on top of things. Not anything flashy but reliable." He seemed to say to himself, "Good. You're a candidate for the race, Moore. Keep it up but maybe—" He glanced at her figure and took in her dark eye-bags— "you should rest. If not for you, for your baby."
"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir."
.
"She's so cute," Emily sighed as Arizona buckled in Sofia into her car seat. Mark was driving so he was on the other side as Callie went in and helped secure Sofia. "You'll be okay," she said to Callie. "Get lots of rest."
"You too." Arizona hugged Emily. "That baby calls for rest. African kids may be coming over but that doesn't mean you can ignore yourself."
"Yes, Dr. Robbins," she said sarcastically and the blonde smiled, getting into the car. "Goodnight."
"Goodnight."
Mark came around the car and kissed her on the mouth before pecking her forehead. "See you later. Love you," he murmured and she echoed his sentiments back before watching him get into the car. Turning, she shoved her hands into her coat pockets before heading back towards the hospital.
Sixteen Weeks
Scrubbing out of the palatoplasty, she sighed and leaned against the wall as Mark followed her.
"You wanna just head home?" She raised her head tiredly. "You did well in there."
"Oh, god, yeah. I thought I could take this 'last day' but nope," Emily groaned. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and they started walking to his office. There was a couch and a desk as well as his own mini-fridge. Lying down on his couch, she let out a groan and kicked off her shoes. Everything felt swollen and bloated. A contraction ripped through her and she groaned.
"Braxton Hicks?"
"Yeah," she mumbled and he sat near her legs, rubbing her side. Smiling at Mark through clenched teeth, she tried to find a position that eased her pain. Yawning, she closed her eyes as Mark shifted her closer to the edge to make room for himself. Pressing her back flush against his chest, he held her close as she held onto his arms wrapped around her. Squirming, her eyebrows knitted together. Breaking free of his hold, she sat up and groaned when it multiplied by a hundred. "Mark! Oh, shit!"
"What's wrong?" She tried to stand and crumpled. He shot out of the couch and caught her, cradling her on the floor. "Hey, Em!" Her hands were shaking as she let out a yell muffled only by the fabric of his shirt.
"The baby," she whispered, "it's the baby. I think-" Her sentence never finished as Mark scooped her up and flung open the door. Running to the elevator, he was screaming his head off.
"Someone page O.B!"
"Right away, doctor."
"Mark, what the-" Taylor never finished his sentence as Emily wriggled in his arms. The trauma surgeon immediately held the elevator doors and the two men stood in the elevator with the labouring woman, waiting for the floors to pass by faster. "Really, Em? Torres was gonna get married in, what, three days?"
"Shut up!" When they reached the floor, they were led to a free room. "Taylor, you might wanna leave."
"What - why?" he exclaimed and she winced, standing on her feet but bracing herself against the bed.
"Because I'm about to strip down to get into a hospital gown."
"Right. Uhm, I'll get Lexie and Meredith and I'll call people." The man was more of a wreck than she was as Mark helped pull off her lab coat and shirt. Draping the gown over her, he tied it around her waist before firmly tugging down her pants.
"You know, this is not how I imagined strpping you before," he commented and she swatted him blindly on the shoulder. Knees shaking, her hands grabbed fistfuls of blankets as her knuckles blanched.
"Not the time, Mark." She winced as he smiled sheepishly. "Call my brother. He'll want to know that he's becoming an uncle!" The door swung open and Lexie came in with Connie who immediately got to work.
"Taylor told me on his way that you've started your contractions." Mark gestured for Lexie to take his place in consoling his agony-wracked wife as he fished his phone out of his pocket and called her brother.
"Hey, Mark."
"Noah, so you know how you said call you when your sister's pushing a baby out of her vagina?" he said, quoting the older Moore directly. Emily made a sound from the back of her throat through clenched teeth as Mark glanced at her. Her face was red as Lexie patted her back.
"Oh, dear lord. My sister is becoming a mother." Mark held back a laugh as Noah tried to regain his wits. "Put me on speaker." Mark pressed the speaker button and Noah began coaching his sister. "How's the pain, Emi?"
"Three."
"Okay. And the O.B. is there?"
"Yes and you better not start ordering her around when you are in Boston." Letting out a groan through clenched teeth, she let her head drop forward. Connie crouched between her legs, feeling around for dilation. Emily felt another contraction rip through her and gather in her back. "Can you believe that I fell for Mark Sloan? I spent years hating this guy!" Mark, completely offended, had a white ring of white around his eyes as he stared at his wife in shock.
"At this point? Kind of!" Moaning, she pulled the bed rails up and pushed against them. "But you know, time works in weird ways. You're married to him."
"I know!" she yelled, causing a flat silence through everyone else as she pushed off the bed rails. Lexie helped her steady herself as Connie stood, shaking her head in amusement.
"Is there anything I can do?" Lexie asked, frantic. "Drugs?"
"No drugs."
"Connie." Mark looked at the O.B. who ordered the woman to get on the bed. Huffing, Emily - with the help of Lexie - got onto the bed and spread her legs as Connie laid a towel underneath her hips. Pulling on a pair of gloves, the O.B. sat on a stool.
"Alright. She's not dilated even a centimetre so we've still got a long way to go," she said, inspecting between her legs. Patting her calf, Connie stood and took the gloves off with a snap. "Page me when she's dilated four centimetres," she ordered a nurse. She offered a smile to the heaving brunette. "You're in good shape. You're becoming a mother, Dr. Moore. Good luck."
"I'm gonna need it!" Emily yelled after her. Noah laughed on the other end of the phone as the brunette grabbed the phone from Mark's hand. "Noah, if you don't shut up, I'm going to rip your head off!"
"Duly noted. Shutting up now."
.
The early labour phase passed by easily. Mark passed his surgeries to other surgeons as he fetched water and kept his wife company. Emily bent her elbows, head resting on her hands as she watched the TV.
"We never talked about names," she said during the fifth hour of labour. She was significantly calmer now that Noah was off speaker. Her brother had a habit of making her blood pressure rise. Still, slowly, her contractions were getting stronger and longer.
Mark and Derek both looked at her as Meredith squeezed her hand.
"I think Derek is a good one." The neurosurgeon smirked and Emily rolled her eyes as Meredith scoffed. "Or Christopher. Christopher Sloan. It has a nice ring to it."
"Like I'd name my kid after you," Mark snorted, nudging his best friend. The door opened and Callie came in, flicking a hair out of her eyes.
"Sorry, sorry. I just managed to get away from my parents from the wedding rehearsal when I heard. How are you?"
"Good. How's Aria? Chemo still working?" she rasped, lifting her head as Callie nodded.
"She's doing fine. Thank you." Callie's megawatt grin was directed at her.
"Oh, ow." She winced when another contraction came through. "We were talking names. Any ideas?"
"I just need to last two more days with my parents." Callie collapsed on the couch beside Derek, tilting her head back and pinching the bridge of her nose.
"You are no help," Emily groaned, head flopping onto the pillow as Callie reached forward and took her student's hand, holding on tight. Mark stood, climbing into the bed and hugging her. Pouting, she scrunched her nose at him. "I was always thinking Everett."
That earned a bunch of surprised noises. Derek rolled his eyes with a sigh.
"And you call us awful." Derek chided.
"Give her a break," Meredith said quietly with a small smile. Her pager beeped and she checked it with a sigh. "Teddy's paging me. I'll try to be back as soon as I can." The blonde left the room as Mark kissed her temple.
"What if it's a girl?"
"Everett can be unisex. It's a rocking name," Emily argued and Mark smiled in a silly fashion.
"Em, I love you, but never say rocking again."
"All the more reason to keep saying it," she teased and he sighed.
"Naming a kid after me is a bit narcissistic."
"You're the king of narcissism," Callie remarked and Derek snorted. "I should go before my mom says something even more homophobic to me."
"Callie-" Mark began and Emily turned to her husband, hand curling against his chest. Knocking her knuckles against his chest to get his attention, she mouthed 'go.' Nodding, he pecked her forehead and scooted off the bed to follow after his best friend.
.
After another thirteen hours, with a rotational schedule of her friends popping in at random times, Emily was in the home stretch. Fire burned every fibre of her being as she pushed and pushed. Mark held onto her hand, comforting her. Taylor was on the other with her brother on the phone.
Her friends waited outside, she knew. Lexie was pacing back and forth, Alex was leaning against the nurse's station and Cristina and Meredith were talking.
Letting out a scream, she felt everything magnify by ten before it lessened. It was like when you were stretching deeper than you should and suddenly you relax and that feeling that flooded your muscles made you able to breathe again.
Connie was quiet as a raspy cry filled the air. Relaxing against the bed, Emily felt sweat cover every inch of skin. Mark wiped at her forehead, kissing her lips. They tasted like salt as he pulled away and she let out a shuddering sob. The stress and pain all piled up on her for nearly a day of wracking, intense, abhorrent agony.
Connie cradled a bundle in her arms before standing. Mark let go of his wife's hand as she tried to regain her breath, voice pitchy as she whispered to her brother and his wife.
"You did great," Theresa said through the phone as a sharp cry pierced the air. There was silence where all adults, including the ones outside, looked towards the source. Connie pulled back the blanket slightly before looking at Mark who stood stock still.
"Dr. Sloan, Dr. Moore, you two have a beautiful baby boy." Taylor kissed Emily's cheek as Noah cheered. The blond trauma surgeon stood, about to give the couple privacy as he took the phone with him. He put the older Moore off of speaker and walked out of the room as Connie adjusted Mark's arms so he supported the baby's neck.
After the birth of the placenta, the O.B. left the two Sloans alone and Mark sat beside his wife, carefully moving their son to her arms. Gasping, she cried relieved tears as she pressed her nose against his small forehead.
"Hey, there," she whispered, kissing his face as the hairs on her neck stood up. Raising her head, she furrowed her brow in confusion. It felt like someone was with them. It felt like familiar, warm as she turned her gaze back to her son's.
I'm so proud of you, Em. A shiver against Mark as he hugged her.
George. The brunette felt a bittersweet smile cross her face as she pulled back the blanket to admire her baby. A dark tuft of hair adorned his head as he squirmed, reaching out for purchase. Offering her finger, Emily leaned against Mark who chuckled, kissing her temple. His tears traced down his face and nestled in her sweat but she didn't pay him any mind. She only had eyes for her son, who she knew she would give up anything for.
You did good, you know? But is it too late to recommend Thomas as the baby's name?
It was almost as if she could hear them in her head, their own voices perfectly memorized. George would've had the biggest smile and Tom would be nearly jumping up and down. But they were two souls that weren't here. They had gone and left this world.
"I love you," he whispered and she let out a choked sound, still crying but for a different reason now. "I love you, I love you."
"I love you," she echoed, bringing her baby closer as it struck her. "This is our baby boy."
"Do you know what to name him?" he asked and when she met Mark's light blue eyes, she knew it was the right thing. It just fit so well. She gave him a shaky nod and he smiled. The smile told her all he didn't say. He didn't care what the name was. What mattered was her and their son, and how they were finally happy. "Go for it."
She glanced down at her baby son. Heat spread to every inch of her body, filling with such love that she could barely contain herself. She couldn't even explain it - it was like an endless fountain of joy and pure unadulterated love for both her husband and her son. She could live off this feeling for an eternity.
They had finally achieved what they both had wanted. Against all odds.
Like Mark said, it wouldn't be fun not fighting against the world. To Emily, it made holding her son all the sweeter.
"Go on," he whispered and she smiled tentatively. It was eleven, the sky dark as the stars were coming out. Callie's getting married, she remembered dazedly. It's a shame I'll miss it. But for a good reason. For the best reason.
"Everett George Thomas Sloan." He was quiet for a long time and her hazel eyes met his shyly. He was thinking, she could tell, but she didn't know about what.
"It's perfect," he said after a while. He knew what each name meant and her silence had his smile fading to one of understanding for his wife. Getting up from her chair and sitting in the bed next to her, he rested his cheek on her head as they both gazed towards their son. Mark tentatively brushed a few hairs back from his forehead. This was his son. His tiny son, who looked so helpless and new and young. His son. Placing a kiss upon his brow, Mark couldn't help his slight croak as he spoke.
"Welcome to the family, son."