Audrey and Grace
The Crushers were a close-knit family. Each grandchild's birth called them all together, and nothing was going to stop them. Gradually, they filled the waiting room; first cousin Charles with Camila, then Harry and Amanda, and finally Philippa and Grandma arrived. Leonard would have to be dragged out at gunpoint because he had already told Susan he wasn't moving.
"What if we go down for a drink and they’re born? I'm not missing it for a coffee," he declared firmly.
"I don't think they'll be born that quickly, Leonard. Besides, whether we wait here or in the café, it's the same," Susan tried to convince him.
But there was no way. Every now and then, he exchanged glances with Camila, who was still a bit unhappy because he wouldn't sit still and was driving everyone crazy. For old Reed, everything happening around him was overwhelming, and he could barely control himself. Suddenly, one day he became the father of a woman; then he took her around the world so she could sing; later he convinced the foolish ex-husband to act or he would break his head; he walked her down the aisle, saw her happy, and felt her kisses on his cheek. And then came Susan with her warm and honest love, and he would marry her. Now he was about to become a grandfather. Of course, he was at his limit!
Philippa entered with Grandma, and when she saw her in bed, she was completely overwhelmed with emotion. Her little girl was about to become a mother and looked more beautiful than ever. Grandma went straight to greet Daniel, as any chance to put her hands on him was good. He knew it and let himself be hugged with a smile.
"Why are you hugging him? I'm the one in bed," she said.
"Because you don't worry me; you're like your mother, this is a piece of cake for you. But my grandson here might be nervous..."
"He's mine, you know that, right?" Deanna said, laughing.
"Alright, alright! You never share."
Daniel burst into laughter.
"How do you feel?" Philippa asked, settling next to her on the bed and touching her hair.
"I'm fine, Mom. The doctor said there's still time..."
"I’m going to be a grandma!" she exclaimed, almost crying.
Leonard wasn't the only one trying to handle his emotions; everyone was the same. The expectation that a child's arrival generates always brings many emotions, some memories, and also anxiety. Each family member had their ways and methods of processing joy. For Camila, it was an obsessive tic with her leg tapping the floor with her heel; for Charles, it was sinking into memories of old times and the recollection of his own small children; for Harry, it was pure anxiety about Deanna and the girls being okay; Amanda felt it with empathy, and Susan with the anticipation of having two more nieces to balance out all the testosterone.
And Philippa could feel that connection with her daughter as something tangible. The new generation would be Burnham, Crusher, and Reed; they represented the best of all those worlds and would become the cohesive material that would unite them forever. The blended family, with parts from here and there, would be one.
"Wait... You didn't tell me what you'll name them," Philippa said suddenly.
Deanna looked at Daniel and smiled wider.
"Well, we thought about it a lot. Deanna rejected almost all of mine, but we decided on: Audrey and Grace..."
Philippa seemed to ponder it for a few seconds.
"That was the name I had thought for you! Audrey!" her mother said.
"Yes, I remembered. We were very undecided; it's very hard to think of suitable names. They’ll have to live with them."
"And Grace?" she asked.
Daniel looked a bit uncomfortable.
"Grace... was going to be Daniel if it turned out to be a girl."
"Well, you didn't think much about that," Philippa replied, looking at her son-in-law.
"It's very difficult, Mom! And they are very pretty names, we managed to agree... It's better than Genevieve and Clover."
"Those are elegant names," Daniel defended himself.
"See?" Deanna assured her mother with a hand.
"It's true, you chose well then."
They had taken their time to agree. Daniel had some rather... extravagant suggestions. It was important to him that their children's names be beautiful but also have some special meaning. Fortunately, for their three children, Emily stood firm in refusing his ideas.
Among the endless list and notes, that conversation arose one night; about how their parents chose their own names. And it was the first time they mentioned Audrey and Grace. Why not? No one in the family had those names, and although they had been Philippa and Camila's idea, they sounded very good together. Daniel had repeated them, adding his last name, and that convinced him.
"Audrey Crusher and Grace Crusher, they sound very good."
"Crusher Reed," Deanna reminded him.
"Is it necessary?" Daniel asked, half-joking.
"Hey! I've been carrying them all these months, give me some credit."
"Just being born beautiful like you is enough."
"And what if they look more like you? Grace?"
And so they decided. The next to sympathize with the decision was Naomi, who was delighted. They involved them in every little aspect of the pregnancy, every ultrasound; showing them the images, every arrangement in the room; letting them contribute their own decorations. Even Ethan, who was already in another stage, got excited about the idea of adding a collection of movie dolls in his sisters' room. They wouldn't be three and two; they would be five, and that’s what Daniel and Deanna aimed for.
Each part of the family had their moment of conversation and relaxation with them while they continued to wait for everything to unfold. Deanna was eagerly awaiting her children; she wanted to see them before her daughters were born. The bond with them had strengthened without stopping; they were as much hers as they were Daniel's.