Baby talk
"Pregnancy is so boring," Cordelia sighs as she turns the page of a magazine. The last few weeks have been harder on her than she'd expected, and she hasn't been able to do much more than sit around and read. And since she's never been the book-reading type, aside from the occasional trashy romance, that means lots and lots of magazines. Finished with the latest, she flips it closed and frowns at he cover.
"Is it just me, or does Tom Cruise's baby look oriental? Seriously, there has been something weird about that kid since before it was born."
"It's probably just the picture," Brett says absently, his own nose buried in a script.
Cordelia sets down the magazine and sits back, one hand rubbing absently over her stomach. "You've worked with him. Is he really that much of a freak in person?"
Brett laughs and looks over at her. "No, but then I worked with him a long time ago." He pauses, taking a moment to study her. "How are you feeling today?"
"Fat," she says with a grimace. "Hot. Tired."
"Want a foot rub?" He puts aside the script and scoots to the edge of the couch, closer to her. "Back rub? Bunch of slaves with giant fans to feed you grapes?"
Cordelia laughs, but leans back and props her feet up on his knees. "Foot rub's fine for now. But I may take you up on those slaves later. Mmmm." She closes her eyes and sighs in pleasure as his hands start working. "Only a few more weeks. Should we decide on a name soon?"
"We can if you want. I figured we'd just wait until the baby's here to come up with one, but if you want to do it now, that's fine. Got any ideas?"
"I dunno. When I was little, I always wanted a daughter so I could name her Crystal, cause of the whole C thing. But my last name's not Chase anymore, and now that I'm older, I don't like the name as much."
"We could name her Wendy. Or Wendell if it's a boy," he suggests with a grin. "Wendy Walcott?"
"Ugh. I hope you're kidding. Though Wentworth could be cool. You know, like the hot guy in that Prison Break show?"
"I'm not naming my child after an actor. And I'm not naming it anything weird. No Apples or Kal-Els or Pilot Inspektors. Sorry, but no way."
"You know, when I was born, Cordelia was considered a pretty weird name," she points out, though she really had no intention of choosing an off-the-wall name, either.
"It's not weird, it's from Shakespeare. Didn't you ever read King Lear?"
Cordelia opens her eyes and levels a look at him. "What do you think?"
"Well, that's what it's from. And I think it's a beautiful name." He massages for a few more minutes, deep in thought. "What if we named her after my mom, if it's a girl?"
There's a long pause, then she closes her eyes again. "Sweetie, I loved your mom, really, I did. But her name was Beatrice. I just... can't give my kid a name that makes her sound 80 years old."
"I didn't think you would," Brett says with a soft laugh. "It's okay. Though maybe for a middle name?"
"Hm, maybe. What about Chloe? Or Carter, for a boy?"
"Still sticking witht he Cs?"
She shrugs. "Hard habit to break."
"Well, if it's a boy, we could name him Chase. I know you said your dad was bummed that he only had a daughter, and there was no one to carry on the family name."
"Yeah, he's old fashioned like that sometimes. That could be cool. We could - oh!" Cordelia's face twists up in a painful grimace and her hands go to clutch her stomach. "Ow. What the hell was that?"
Misunderstanding her reaction, Brett continues with his foot massage and smiles. "Maybe he doesn't like our name ideas. Was it a hard kick?"
"No, not a kick. More like... I don't know what it was. It couldn't be a contraction, right? There's still almost a month left before I'm due!"
Worried now, he gets up and kneels beside her chair. "Do you want me to call the doctor? Did your water break?"
"No, no, I'm sure it's nothing. Just one of those Braxton-Hicks things, probably." She flinches again and gasps. "Ouch! Okay, maybe you should call. Something doesn't feel right."
Without hesitation, he jumps up and rushes for his cell phone. Cordelia stays where she is, anxiously rubbing her stomach as she waits to see if the pain comes again. "Okay kiddo, calm down in there. Chases are never early for anything, so what's the deal? Not that I wouldn't mind having my old body back sooner, but if you're really that anxious to get out, could you at least wait until I'm at the hospital, where the drugs are? We'll name you whatever you want, just hold on until I'm somewhere sterile. Ow! Okay, okay, I get it. You've definitely got the Chase patience. BRETT!"
"Is it just me, or does Tom Cruise's baby look oriental? Seriously, there has been something weird about that kid since before it was born."
"It's probably just the picture," Brett says absently, his own nose buried in a script.
Cordelia sets down the magazine and sits back, one hand rubbing absently over her stomach. "You've worked with him. Is he really that much of a freak in person?"
Brett laughs and looks over at her. "No, but then I worked with him a long time ago." He pauses, taking a moment to study her. "How are you feeling today?"
"Fat," she says with a grimace. "Hot. Tired."
"Want a foot rub?" He puts aside the script and scoots to the edge of the couch, closer to her. "Back rub? Bunch of slaves with giant fans to feed you grapes?"
Cordelia laughs, but leans back and props her feet up on his knees. "Foot rub's fine for now. But I may take you up on those slaves later. Mmmm." She closes her eyes and sighs in pleasure as his hands start working. "Only a few more weeks. Should we decide on a name soon?"
"We can if you want. I figured we'd just wait until the baby's here to come up with one, but if you want to do it now, that's fine. Got any ideas?"
"I dunno. When I was little, I always wanted a daughter so I could name her Crystal, cause of the whole C thing. But my last name's not Chase anymore, and now that I'm older, I don't like the name as much."
"We could name her Wendy. Or Wendell if it's a boy," he suggests with a grin. "Wendy Walcott?"
"Ugh. I hope you're kidding. Though Wentworth could be cool. You know, like the hot guy in that Prison Break show?"
"I'm not naming my child after an actor. And I'm not naming it anything weird. No Apples or Kal-Els or Pilot Inspektors. Sorry, but no way."
"You know, when I was born, Cordelia was considered a pretty weird name," she points out, though she really had no intention of choosing an off-the-wall name, either.
"It's not weird, it's from Shakespeare. Didn't you ever read King Lear?"
Cordelia opens her eyes and levels a look at him. "What do you think?"
"Well, that's what it's from. And I think it's a beautiful name." He massages for a few more minutes, deep in thought. "What if we named her after my mom, if it's a girl?"
There's a long pause, then she closes her eyes again. "Sweetie, I loved your mom, really, I did. But her name was Beatrice. I just... can't give my kid a name that makes her sound 80 years old."
"I didn't think you would," Brett says with a soft laugh. "It's okay. Though maybe for a middle name?"
"Hm, maybe. What about Chloe? Or Carter, for a boy?"
"Still sticking witht he Cs?"
She shrugs. "Hard habit to break."
"Well, if it's a boy, we could name him Chase. I know you said your dad was bummed that he only had a daughter, and there was no one to carry on the family name."
"Yeah, he's old fashioned like that sometimes. That could be cool. We could - oh!" Cordelia's face twists up in a painful grimace and her hands go to clutch her stomach. "Ow. What the hell was that?"
Misunderstanding her reaction, Brett continues with his foot massage and smiles. "Maybe he doesn't like our name ideas. Was it a hard kick?"
"No, not a kick. More like... I don't know what it was. It couldn't be a contraction, right? There's still almost a month left before I'm due!"
Worried now, he gets up and kneels beside her chair. "Do you want me to call the doctor? Did your water break?"
"No, no, I'm sure it's nothing. Just one of those Braxton-Hicks things, probably." She flinches again and gasps. "Ouch! Okay, maybe you should call. Something doesn't feel right."
Without hesitation, he jumps up and rushes for his cell phone. Cordelia stays where she is, anxiously rubbing her stomach as she waits to see if the pain comes again. "Okay kiddo, calm down in there. Chases are never early for anything, so what's the deal? Not that I wouldn't mind having my old body back sooner, but if you're really that anxious to get out, could you at least wait until I'm at the hospital, where the drugs are? We'll name you whatever you want, just hold on until I'm somewhere sterile. Ow! Okay, okay, I get it. You've definitely got the Chase patience. BRETT!"