Title: A Time To... 1/3

Author: fresh_tart

Rating: R

Characters/Pairing: Cooper/Charlotte

Disclaimer: I own nothing, I'm just borrowing them. I hereby promise to return them dirtier, wetter and more satisfied than when I took them.

Summary: Charlotte faces an impossible choice in her personal life. Will she let Cooper help her through it, or push him away?

WARNINGS: Major angst later on, but this chapter is genuine, 100% fluff. Mostly.

***

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die...a time to search and a time to give up.

***

"Carly, sit down." Charlotte frowned when her reprimand got no response. Her voice flinty, she snapped, "Caroline Grace Freedman, I said sit down."

The little blonde heaved a huge sigh and sank down, her bottom hitting the booster seat with a thump. "I'm down." She mirrored Charlotte's expression of frustration back to her, and not for the first time, Charlotte was unnerved by seeing her own eyes reflecting back at her from Carly, but in a shade of blue that nearly matched her father's.

"You're also being rude," Charlotte said, holding back her infamous temper. In the past four years, she'd gotten quite good at keeping her frustration in check, but lately it seemed as if Carly were pressing every one of her buttons in quick succession, and it was getting more and more difficult for Charlotte not to snap at her daughter, no matter how much she loved the little girl. "Now, finish your pancakes, or we won't have time to see Daddy before school."

"But I wanna see Daddy!" Carly whimpered. "He didn't come tuck me in last night. You said we could go visit him today. You promised."

"Carly." The little girl looked up, and Charlotte raised one eyebrow slowly. "This is not the UN, and we are not negotiating. You have two options here: finish your pancakes and see Daddy, or continue to whine at me and waste all your time." When Carly picked up her fork and started to eat, Charlotte expelled a breath. If Carly were this stubborn at four, Charlotte dreaded her teens.

While her daughter finished breakfast, Charlotte scooped up the remainder of her files and dropped them into her black briefcase, running through the mental checklist she compiled every morning. She'd drop Carly off with Cooper for some daddy-daughter bonding; he could drive her over the preschool afterward and save Charlotte a few precious minutes. Then she had the meeting with the hospital board at nine, an M&M at eleven that she was bound and determined not to miss, and Naomi Bennett had asked her to meet with a patient of hers at two o'clock. Somewhere in there, Charlotte would have to squeeze in lunch and the near-daily 'Meet me in a storage closet?' phone call from Cooper, which ordinarily she'd leap at, but today she'd have to forgo in favor of plowing through the paperwork piled high on her desk, if she wanted to get out before six. And she did, because otherwise, Cooper would give her that look when she got home, the one that said she was a terrible wife and mother, and then she'd have to remind him who was in charge, and she hated it when they fought. So tonight was definitely a be-home-by-dinnertime night. Besides, it was Cooper's turn to cook, so that usually meant Thai food, and she was craving pad thai fiercely.

Slipping her arms into her blazer, Charlotte smiled at Carly, her annoyance completely wiped away. "Okay, baby, ready to go?"

Carly wriggled her way into her jacket, refusing any help and making Charlotte smile with her independence. She grabbed her little purple backpack and slung it over one shoulder. "Ready, Momma."

***

Charlotte texted to say she was on the way (and that she'd missed him the night before and would explain in exactly which ways she'd missed him later), and Cooper met them in the waiting room at Oceanside.

"There are my girls!" He scooped Carly up and planted a big kiss on her cheek, which made her giggle and wrap her arms around his neck.

"Daddy!" She leaned back to glare at him accusingly. "You didn't tuck me in last night, an' you missed breffest this morning."

"I know." Cooper made a sad face, frowning deeply. "I had a patient last night, baby. He got really sick, and I had to go to the hospital and try to make him better. That's why I didn't tuck you in. But," he tickled her stomach, and Carly giggled, "I'll tuck you in tonight."

"Promise?"

Cooper winked at her, and used the phrase he had coined when she was old enough to start asking questions of him. "Promise as hard as I can. And that means?"

Carly said somberly, "You're gonna do your best, an' if you can't keep your promise, it's because of something really, really important but you still love me."

"Exactly." Cooper gave her another big kiss, then set her on the floor, saying, "Dr. Addison has a present for you. Why don't you go see what it is?" As Carly sprinted off down the hallway, Cooper called after her, "No running inside! And knock before you go in!" He turned to Charlotte, his grin both enormous and real. "Morning, gorgeous."

"Hey," Charlotte drawled. She crossed her arms over her chest, eyeing Cooper.

Cooper recognized her pissed-off look immediately. "Uh oh. What'd I do?" He thought quickly, trying to remember if he'd forgotten an anniversary, an important date, anything.

"Oh, nothing." Charlotte smiled, but her eyes stayed cold. "I just love how I put up with your bullshit, I learned to sleep through your snoring, I bcook/b for you."

Cooper's mind clicked and whirred, and suddenly, he got it. He stepped toward his office, jerking his head for Charlotte to follow him. She did, albeit unwillingly and with crossed arms. As soon as she stepped in, he shut the door behind them. "And I greeted the kidlet first," he said apologetically. He added in a low voice, "But only because I didn't think you'd appreciate me sticking my tongue down your throat in front of waiting patients."

Slightly mollified, Charlotte gave him a half-nod, and Cooper reached for her, drawing her into his arms and lowering his mouth to hers. "I missed you," he murmured against Charlotte's lips.

Charlotte relented, melting into Cooper's kiss. When she finally pulled away, short of breath and smiling, she warned him, "Don't let it happen again."

"Wouldn't dream of it." Cooper slid his hand into Charlotte's hair, tilting her head back slightly. "Are you all right?" Her hackles raised again, Charlotte wrenched herself out of his embrace and glared at him. Cooper just sighed, knowing he was about to dig himself deeper. "It's just...you've been awfully moody lately. And it's not your normal Charlotte King-Freedman moody," he added, before she had time to formulate a nasty enough response. "I love that moody, it's beautiful and passionate, and I deserve more than ninety percent of the bitching you throw my way. But in the last few weeks, you've been getting pissed off when the wind blows wrong."

"I'm fine." Her Southern accent deepened as Charlotte fought against her anger to admit, "All right, maybe not 'fine' exactly. I don't feel like myself." She sighed silently, meeting Cooper's eyes. "I almost yelled at Carly this morning." Charlotte saw it in his eyes, how he wanted to wrap her up and hold her until she felt better, and that made her feel a bit better. "I'm gonna get labs done before my nine o'clock meeting," she told him. "Just in case it's a hormone thing."

Charlotte's narrowed gaze warned Cooper against any PMS jokes, and he smiled warmly. "Good. Now, can we get back to kissing before Carly bursts back in here and distracts us?"

***

As promised, Charlotte's first stop was the hospital's lab, where she tried being nice, but ended up threatening a resident with decapitation if he mentioned her tests or their results to anyone but her. She went on to her meeting with a slight spring in her step, and pushed the entire matter out of her mind until her phone rang that afternoon. She listened in silence, thanked the young resident shortly, and then she literally couldn't remember a thing until she was in front of Cooper's office door, knocking, and finding herself hoping he didn't have a patient because she wasn't sure she could hold the tears back even if he did.

The door swung open under her fist, and Cooper grinned up at her from behind his desk. "Hey. This is a nice surprise. You get done early?"

Charlotte shook her head, pushing the door closed. "Cooper..." She took a deep breath, feeling the sting of tears behind her eyelids.

"What's wrong?" Cooper was up and around his desk in a split second, and then his arms were around Charlotte's waist, and she was burying her face against his neck and inhaling the scent of his aftershave.

"I'm..." Charlotte swallowed around the lump of tears in her throat. "I'm pregnant."

"What?" Cooper tilted his head back, frowning down at her with incomprehension. "But you said--"

"I know what I said," Charlotte said sharply, her accent drawing the words out. "I only wanted one. Clearly, someone had a different plan." Cooper's smile was so big, it seemed to escape his face and infect Charlotte, because before she knew it, the corners of her mouth were turning up. "Hope you remember how to change diapers, 'cause I have a busy year comin' up, and you're gonna end up playing Mommy a lot."

"Fair enough, fair enough," Cooper laughed, still grinning widely. "I told you when we had Carly: you give birth, and I'll do the rest."

"I'm gonna remember that next time you leave a basket full of laundry for me to do," Charlotte teased. "Now there'll be twice as many clothes."

"We'll hire somebody," Cooper offered, his grin never wavering. "Whatever we have to do."

"I knew I let you marry me for a reason."

***

"Pink!" Carly voted.

"Pink is kind of a girl color and..." Cooper trailed off as Charlotte glared at him. "What? It is, traditionally, a color for females."

"Someone ought to tell Sam that," she smirked. "They might repossess his testes."

"What are testes?" Carly asked happily.

Laughing, Charlotte pointed down the paint aisle. "I'll be over there picking out colors while you explain the concepts of sex and genitalia to our four-year-old." She winked at Cooper and headed down the aisle, hearing his half-hearted explanation behind her.

"It's...uh...it's a part. A body part. A body part that Daddies have, where babies live before they're born."

"But the baby is in Mommy's tummy." Carly tilted her head, staring at Cooper. "How can it be in your testes, too?"

"You're too much like your mother." Cooper groaned as they followed Charlotte to the paints. "Hey," he tried to distract his daughter, "how about green? That's gender-neutral."

"What's that mean?"

Cooper kicked himself mentally. "You'll find out when you're in med school."

***

"Twelve weeks," Charlotte calculated out loud. "How did I miss the signs for twelve weeks?"

Cooper gave a one-shouldered shrug, made nearly impossible because Charlotte was draped across him. "You were sick as a dog with Carly," he offered, yawning. "Maybe it just didn't click without the morning sickness."

"Guess not." Charlotte's fingers trailed over Cooper's skin. "I blame you," she said with a little chuckle.

"Me? It takes two to make a baby, baby." He kissed Charlotte's temple.

"My eggs were violated," she teased, "by your sperm. They clearly wiggled their way past the IUD, the little bastards."

"What can I say?" Cooper shifted slightly, so that he was on top of Charlotte. "Guess every part of me likes being inside you."

Charlotte groaned, smacking her forehead with her palm. "You are such a nerd."

"But I'm your nerd." Cooper kissed his way down Charlotte's body, stopping at her stomach and peppering it with gentle kisses.

Charlotte tucked her hands behind her head expectantly, and when Cooper stopped, her eyebrows went up. "Whatcha doin'?"

"Saying hi to the newest Freedman."

Charlotte's eyebrow raised further. "Cooper, honey, I know you're a pediatrician, not an obstetrician, so let me fill you in. Your 'newest Freedman' there is about three inches long and weighs less than an ounce."

Grinning, Cooper shot back, "But she's already got fingernails and toenails. She's practically a person."

"Person or not, it--don't look at me like that, Cooper, it's still an 'it'--it doesn't get a vote in Mommy's extracurricular activities." She smirked down at her husband. "So either keep moving down, or get out of bed so I can do it myself."

Cooper leaned over, his mouth close to Charlotte's stomach. "Don't listen to Mommy, she's a big ol' grouch when she's horny." A pillow smacked into his head, and Charlotte started swearing, threatening him with death and dismemberment if he didn't make her come, and soon.

***

"Charlotte!"

Charlotte groaned inwardly, but pasted a smile on her face, reciting her mantra. Friends. Friends. Friends. "Mornin', Violet. Is there somethin' I can do for you?"

"Oh, nothing." Violet's smile screamed 'I know something I'm not supposed to!' and she couldn't hold it in for long. "I'm just on my way into the office, and I wanted to congratulate you."

"Cooper told you," Charlotte said dryly, never having expected anything else from her dear, darling, soon-to-be-departed husband.

"Of course!" Violet bounced happily. "A playmate for Carly--and Jake," she added, grinning. "Maybe it'll be a boy, then they'll be like brothers!"

Friends. Friends. Friends. God dammit. "Brothers, right. Well, thanks for stopping by."

Violet didn't budge. "When's your first ultrasound? Oh, gosh, I remember mine, I absolutely fell in love with that little tiny baby right then, it was actually kind of ridiculous."

Charlotte aimed for a teasing tone when she said, "I think we had this same conversation when I found out I was pregnant with Carly."

"Oh." Violet giggled, blushing. "Sorry. But yay!"

"Yay," Charlotte echoed. "Now, I hate to be rude, but I have to do about a million things today and--"

Violet cut her off with a wave of her hand, although her face showed her disappointment for a moment. "No, no, I understand, you're a busy woman. Just remind Cooper about Jake's tee-ball game on Friday, okay?"

She pulled the office door open, and Charlotte was hit with a wave of guilt. Stupid pregnancy hormones. "Violet," she called, hearing the sigh in her own voice. As Violet turned, Charlotte said grudgingly, "The ultrasound is next Tuesday. I'll make sure we get an extra copy of the pictures for Auntie Vi."

Violet grinned broadly. "Dibs on planning your shower!" she called as she disappeared into the hallway.

"God. Dammit." Charlotte's head met the desk with a soft thud. It was going to be a long six months.

***

"Charlotte?"

"In the nursery," Charlotte called, hating herself for smiling just from saying that. Cooper appeared in the doorway a minute later. "Hey, babe." She grinned at him behind the mask she wore. "I got tired of waiting for you, so I shipped Carly off to Violet's." She waved a paintbrush in his general direction. "Grab a brush and get to work."

Cooper complied, eyeing the light green color that Charlotte had, apparently, settled on. She'd neglected to tell him, but that was par for the course with her. He started to paint the opposite end of the wall, asking, "So, how was your day?"

"Long." Charlotte reached for more paint. "Violet stopped by to see me this morning. She said to remind you about Jake's tee-ball game." Over the years, she'd gotten quite used to sharing Cooper with Violet, and as long as she came first, she didn't mind. Much.

"Right, thanks."

"Montgomery stopped by, too. She sends her congratulations, although I'm sure she told you that in person, when you apparently blabbed about the little project to everyone in your office."

"They're my friends," Cooper defended himself. "And it's not like you're two weeks along. Twelve weeks is a good time to start telling people."

"A warning next time, hm? I just don't like being ambushed by every Tom, Dick and Addison while I'm trying to work."

Cooper laughed softly. "All right. Why was Addison at the hospital, anyway? I thought she was booked in the office with patients."

"Emergency," Charlotte said simply, her voice lowering slightly. "Six month old boy presented in the ER with seizures. History reflected recent behavioral changes, like a loss of grasping ability." She didn't expound, knowing that Cooper would recognize the symptoms. She also didn't trust her voice until she had cleared her throat. "Addison's their doctor, and I wanted her there when I had to tell them."

"Tay-Sachs?" Cooper winced. "Doesn't get much worse than that."

"Knowing your baby's going to get progressively sicker and die in a terribly painful way by the age of five? I can't--" Charlotte broke off, shaking her head. "I can't even imagine."

"Thank God Carly was all right." He leaned over to pat Charlotte's still-flat stomach. "We'll just keep our fingers crossed."

Charlotte covered Cooper's hand with her own, and--despite being an avowed agnostic--for a moment, she prayed.

***

"It's Wednesday, where are my pictures?"

Charlotte's head snapped up, and she stared at Violet in confusion. "When did this office become the second residence of the Oceanside Wellness staff?" she quipped.

"When you got pictures of my future niece or nephew. Now fork 'em over," Violet grinned.

"Pictures? Oh, the ultrasound!" Charlotte shook her head. "We had to reschedule. My tech got pulled to the ER for a multi-car pileup."

"Ouch. Well, when should I start hounding you again?"

Charlotte couldn't help smiling a little at that. "We decided to wait until I'm sixteen weeks before we go, that way we'll hopefully find out the sex at the same time."

"You don't want to hear the heartbeat for another month?" Violet frowned.

Charlotte's little smile widened. "I heard it last night. After the appointment was cancelled, Cooper dragged me in to Oceanside and made Addison pull out her fetoscope. He wanted to go all the way, but I don't know if I want your docs down my pants. No offense."

"Fair enough," Violet laughed. "There's a reason they tell us not to treat family and friends, right?"

"Exactly. Once you've gone down that road, there's no going back."

Violet grinned. "But you heard the heartbeat, and it was normal?"

"'Bout one ten, nearest Addison could figure. Little low for this gestational stage, but Carly's heartbeat was always a bit slow, and she's fine."

"One ten is okay?" Violet asked, clearly worried.

"Normal is between one twenty and one sixty, so it's something I'll mention to my OB, but it's probably just Addison's math skills that are off," Charlotte chuckled. "It was killin' her not to take a look. And I have to admit, part of me said no just to torment her."

"Which part?"

Charlotte thought about that for a moment, then admitted, "All of me."

***

"Christopher."

Cooper frowned. "Another C name? Are you sure?"

"Wouldn't it be strange to have three of us alike and him or her the odd duck out?" Charlotte sighed, tapping her foot impatiently. She wanted to get the ultrasound done with, so she could move on with her day. A tiny part of her--buried deep beneath the sharp exterior she'd cultivated--might've admitted that she was anxious to see her new baby for the first time, but she'd never admit it out loud. "How about Claire?"

"I like Claire. Maybe Charles?"

"Chuck? Ew. No child of mine will ever be called Chuck. Reminds of me that giant mouse-thing."

Cooper had to laugh. "Okay, okay. Um...Caleb."

"Caleb." The name rolled off Charlotte's tongue, and she grinned. "I like Caleb."

"Caleb and Claire. Good names."

Charlotte was about to respond when the ultrasound tech opened the door. "Okay, how are we today?" Without waiting for a response, she grabbed the wand and covered it in gel. "Ready to see your baby?" She reached for Charlotte's shirt, and only Cooper's restraining hand on her arm kept Charlotte from leaping up off the table and throttling the woman while she delivered a firm lecture on bedside manner.

"We're ready," Cooper said with his usual smile, and Charlotte made a mental note to kill him later.

"Okay." The tech pressed the wand to Charlotte's stomach, and began her exam. "All right, there's the little guy--or girl," she added. "Do you want to know the sex?"

"Yes," Charlotte said firmly. "We definitely want to know."

"All righty, well, once I can get a better look, I'll..." The tech trailed off, concentrating hard on the screen. "Hm."

"Hm? What's 'hm' mean?" Charlotte craned her neck for a better look at the screen.

"Nothing, nothing," the woman tried to soothe her. "Just...checking. There's the heartbeat," she said, as the sound filled the room. A little ticker in the corner of the screen showed the rate, and as they watched, it flickered between ninety and one hundred beats per minute."

"Cooper." Charlotte reached for his hand instinctively, squeezing his fingers in a death grip. "Ninety."

"I see it," he said softly, cradling her hand. "Don't jump to any conclusions."

"Jump? Cooper, normal is one-twenty. You're a pediatrician for Christ's sake." Charlotte thought her heart would beat right out of her chest, and the irony of it wasn't lost on her. She peered up at the tech. "How long have you been out of school? What kind of training did you have?"

"Charlotte," Cooper said, his voice gentle but carrying a warning tone that said she was going too far.

"Shut up, Cooper!" Charlotte didn't even spare him a glance, glaring full-on at the ultrasound technician, who was speechless for the moment.

"Ma'am, I don't mean to--that is, I..." She trailed off, unable to meet Charlotte's eyes. "I've been doing this for a while, but I'll be honest with you. I'm not sure I can interpret this ultrasound properly. I'd like to refer you to a specialist."

"Don't bother." Charlotte sat up, tugging her pants up and her shirt down, swinging her feet off the table. "I'll find someone qualified." She stormed out the door, and Cooper was right behind her, offering quiet apologies to the tech, even as he worried about what the hell was going on.

***

Charlotte picked up the phone three times before she could actually dial the number--then she hung up before it was answered. Finally, she made the call. "Mont--Addison?" she corrected herself, swallowing what might have been left of her pride. "It's Charlotte. I--I need a favor."

TO BE CONTINUED...