Chapter Text
“Oh my God.”
Jack rushes into the bathroom. “What’s wrong?” Her heart clenches at his immediate concern. Samira stands there in her bra and panties with her robe pulled off to her shoulders. She faces the floor length mirror.
“They’re going to know,” she says, turning her head to meet Jack’s gaze over her shoulder, “your massive baby doubled in size overnight.”
The concerned expression on his face immediately relaxes into smug amusement. He leans casually against the door frame and grins sheepishly, admiring the mother of his child, her hair still frizzy from sleep.
“I thought I could hide it until second trimester,” Samira pouts, cradling her bump in her hands.
Jack takes several steps forward and places his hands on each of her shoulders, rubbing gentle circles. She leans back slightly, letting his body be her support. They make eye contact in the mirror ahead.
“We’re only a week away,” he attempts to ease her fears.
Samira raises her eyebrows and wordlessly motions down to her extended abdomen.
“Point taken,” Jack says, scratching his chin, “Well, hate to break it to you, but nobody actually knows that we’ve been dating either.”
The decision to not tell anyone was primarily in avoidance of HR. Since they worked in the same department and sometimes on the same shifts when Samira would work doubles, Jack was technically her direct superior. So they had previously agreed to wait until her residency was over and she either secured an attending or fellowship position. This plan was thwarted when her period was late a couple months prior.
“Why did we wait so long to tell everyone?” Samira groans, pulling the robe over her shoulders and tightening the belt as much as her bump will allow. She turns to face him and his arms envelope her. “It seemed like a good idea to wait at the time.”
She bows her head forward, sticking the crown of her head into the center of his sternum. He instinctually places a kiss to the top of her head. “What do we do?” she mumbles, eventually lifting her head to meet his gaze.
Jack pauses, the wheels silently turning in his head. “I think we have to start with HR. It’s going to be a pain and they will probably adjust our schedules so that we aren’t working shifts together, but it doesn’t seem like we have much of an option, babe.”
Samira nods, wordlessly. She knew that this was the only real logical option for them. “What about Robby?”
“He’ll be next,” Jack says, “I imagine he will have some colorful language for me.”
“I still find it crazy you haven’t told Robby.”
“And subject ourselves to his cynicism?” Jack laughs, but the sound is humorless.
“Ok, fair,” Samira scoffs, her frustration for her boss (and supposed-to-be mentor) evident, “just tell me it’s going to be fine, even if it’s a lie.”
“Samira,” Jack starts, taking her face in his hands and brushing a strand of hair behind her ear, “It’s going to be ok. And not a lie. I will get us a meeting with HR today and tell Robby tomorrow. We’ll start there and whatever pushback we encounter we will tackle together.” He places a gentle kiss on her lips before turning to go back into the bedroom. Samira digs out her loosest pair of scrubs from the closet. She can keep this secret for one more day.