“Carter?” Abby rolled over in bed and nudged him. He groaned and Abby smiled as she watched her husband squirm uncomfortably and try to hide under his pillow. She shook him again and this time she looked at her through one half closed eye.

“What?”

A beaming smile spread across her face and she rested her right hand on her stomach. “It’s time.”

It took Carter a while to process that information but as soon as he did he leapt out of bed and started darting around the room like a hyped up little puppy. Abby lay in bed, propped up on one elbow, watching him with a smirk.

“Over night bag ready?” She just nodded. “Are you sure you don’t need anything? We could stop at the store on the way to the hospital.” Carter leaned in close to her with a worried look on his face and Abby rolled her eyes. She kissed him gently on the lips but he still had a wide-eyed expression on his face, like a dear caught in headlights.

“Relax, stop worrying.” She kissed him again and he sat down on the bed.

“Sorry, I just want everything to be perfect that’s all. Perfect for our little Erin…”

The corner of Carter’s mouth curled up in a cheeky little grin.

“I told you! We’re not calling her that!”

“We’ll see, I’ll talk you round, you just wait! You didn’t want to know the sex of the baby but I convinced you to.”

Abby sighed. “You did not convince me, I over heard you telling Susan after you grabbed the chart off the OB nurse.”

Carter shrugged. “So? The point is, once you knew you were happy.”

Abby decided it was pointless trying to argue and let Carter take her silence anyway he wanted. He gave a satisfied little nod. “Oh no, don’t think you’ve won, you’re still not using that name.”

“Well, do you have any better ideas?” Carter folded his arms, as if challenging her to better that.

“Actually, yeah I do. But I’m not telling you yet.” Abby stuck her tongue out at him. “You’ll know soon enough.” She swung her legs over the side of the bed and struggled to stand up. She put her over sized jeans and jumper on and was reaching for her shoes and Carter still hadn’t moved. She stopped and looked at him.

“Carter? Ya coming?!”

Carter snapped out of his trace and Abby giggled. “You with it? Or do you need some coffee first?”

Carter ignored that sarcastic little remark and turned to his wife, smiling. “This is it” he said, “the birth of our first child.”

Abby couldn’t help mirror his joyful expression. “Yeah”, she rubbed her stomach again. “Yeah, it is.”

* * *

“Stop!”

Carter jumped and slammed on the breaks. Luckily there weren’t that many cars on the road at 3am so major disaster was thankfully avoided. “What? You scared the life out of me!”

“Sorry. I just remembered something I needed. Park outside that store for a minute, I won’t be long.”

“Abby, you’re in active labour!” Carter sounded worried. When Abby just glared at him her reluctantly did what she said. He put the handbrake on and sat back in his seat, sighing. “Are you sure this can’t wait?”

“No.” Abby opened the door and stepped onto the side walk.

Carter paused for a moment. “Ok, but I’m coming too.” He got out too and locked the door behind them.

* * *

“What exactly was it you wanted?” Carter asked in an agitated voice. The woman over by the laundry detergent raised and eyebrow at them over the rim of her glasses. He only spent a second trying to figure out what laundry emergency anyone could possibly encounter in the middle of the night then went back to worrying about his pregnant wife.

Abby walked down the aisle to the back of the store and stopped in front of the small display of children’s toys. “Which do you like?”

“Excuse me?”

“Which toy! I want our little girl to have a special toy from the moment she’s born.”

Carter just looked at her with a dopey little grin. “I don’t know, you choose. I think you should as I’m going to choose her name…”

“You’re not…” Abby started but was cut short by another contraction. “Argh” she groaned and leant on Carter for support.

“Abby, we have to get going! Just pick one!”

Abby grabbed a fluffy blue rabbit off the shelf and headed towards the till. Carter grabbed it off her and handed her the keys. “I’ll pay for that, you just go and sit down.”

* * *

“Alright doc?” Pratt greeted Carter as he wheeled Abby through reception, “What’s happening?”

“Hi Pratt. Can’t you see?”

Carter looked down at Abby in the wheel chair, then back up to the chief resident.

“Oh, baby time?”

“No Pratt” he called over his shoulder as he headed to the elevator, “I’m just here in the middle of the night for the fun of it.”

* * *

”Hey, Carter!”

Carter stopped pacing the maternity corridor outside Abby’s room long enough to see Susan step round the corner. She walked up to him and smiled with excitement.

“So, how’s it going? Frank told me he’d seen you two come in.”

Carter took a deep breathe. “It’s ok, we have a while to go yet. The nurse told me to step outside cos apparently I was worrying the mother.”

Susan giggled. “Nervous father-to-be hey?”

“You could say that. She made us stop at a convenience store on the way here to buy a stuffed rabbit, is she trying to give me a heart attack?”

Susan just shook her head. The OB nurse stuck her head round the side of the door.

“Have you calmed down now?” The young woman smiled at him, “she’s asking for you.”

Carter nodded and quickly rushed into the room.

“Is everything alright? How is everything?” He went round to Abby’s side and held her hand looking expectantly at the nurse.

“Everything’s fine Dr. Carter. The baby’s heart rate is a little elevated but there’s nothing to worry about. Don’t you go making my patient nervous now.”

She left the room and Abby turned to him, “yeah, don’t go worrying me. Don’t you think this is bad enough as it is? Next time I say I want a baby, remind me of this Ok?”

Carter nodded and kissed her forehead. “How are you really?”

“Fine considering.”

“How’s Erin?”

“She’s not called Erin” Abby yelled, but she didn’t sound very angry.

“Well, tell me your name and I might reconsider.”

“How about… Lily-Rose?”

Carter made a face. “You hate it” Abby said and looked down at the ground.

“No, no” Carter said, bringing his other arm up to hold her hand as well, “It’s just a little” he paused, trying to search for the right word. “A little un-Abbyish.”

“And what exactly is Abbyish?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know, something less pretty, like Grace or Beth or something.”

“Are you saying I’m boring?”

“No, not at all.” He sighed, smiling and rolled his eyes. “I just didn’t have you down for a pretty little girl’s name kind of person.”

Abby watched his face very carefully. “You still don’t like it though do you?”

“No” he scrambled to correct himself. “I mean, I just didn’t expect it. We’ll see whether she’s an Erin or a Lily-Rose when she comes out Ok?”

Another contraction hit and Abby squeezed his hand.

“Which will be any time now!”