Chapter 47: Adjustments

May 29, 1988, Chicago, Illinois

"He hung up?" Kara giggled.

"Yes! I'm guessing he was expecting another brother and didn't appreciate the news!"

"You're right!" Kara giggled. "What a turkey! Are you going to call back?"

"I figure right about now, Jennifer is calling the hospital and asking to be connected to your room."

True to what I'd said, the phone rang.

"What did you tell your son?" Jennifer asked when I answered.

"The little turkey hung up on me when I told him that he had a new baby sister!"

Jennifer laughed, "That explains the scowl, and him basically storming from the den to go upstairs to his room. I think you've really done it this time, Steve Adams!"

"He'll get over it!" I chuckled. "Birgit Elizabeth was born at 5:18pm, and mom and baby are doing fine."

"Ninety minutes? What are we, last on the list?" Jennifer protested with obviously mock outrage.

"No. Jesse was first, after Kara's mom. Kara just wanted to have some quiet time with Birgit, Jessica, and me."

"I'll tell Josie. And I'll see if I can get His Royal Highness to accept that he has a baby sister!"

"Thanks, Jen. I think we'll be home tomorrow evening; Kara had a relatively easy delivery."

"That's easy for YOU to say, you, you MAN!" Jennifer teased.

"I'm doing a lot better, obviously, because in less than five hours I've been called a 'pig' and upgraded to a 'MAN'!"

"We love you, Steve. You know that. See you when you get home!"

"Thanks, Jen. I love you too!"

I hung up and dialed the number for the house, and Elyse answered on the first ring.

"Well?" she asked breathlessly.

"A girl!" I said, then gave her the details.

She wanted to speak to Kara, so I put Kara on the phone and they had a quick chat. When I got the phone back, I asked Elyse to make up a guest room, and to please be home in the afternoon to meet Nancy.

"Hang on a sec! I have a fidgety aunt who wants to hear the news!" Elyse laughed, as my sister came on the line.

Stephanie squealed, and I had to repeat the news, and finally was able to hang up. I then called Kathy, Bethany, and finally my dad. All of them were excited for us, and Kathy said that she'd come over as soon as Kara was ready to receive visitors. My dad said that they'd come up to visit in four or five weeks.

"Would you like to hold your daughter?" Kara asked.

"Yes!" I said, carefully taking Birgit from Kara's arms.

"Hi, little one!" I said. "Daddy loves you!"

"Are you going to call Karin and let her know?" Kara asked.

"Yes, but not today. Today is for us."

May 30, 1988, Chicago, Illinois

"Last shift!" Jessica whispered when she slipped out of the roll-away bed that we'd shared.

Kara was sleeping and Birgit was in a bassinet near the bed, close enough for Kara to get her without getting completely out of bed. I got out of bed quietly and pulled on the sweatpants and sweatshirt that I'd packed, and Jessica put on fresh scrubs and her lab coat. We left the room silently and walked towards the elevator.

"Do you start on the surgical service tomorrow?"

"Technically, yes. I'm not on the schedule until next Monday, the 6th. I have exams this Thursday and Friday, and then next Thursday and Friday."

"What's your work schedule?"

"Next week, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, 4:00am to 4:00pm. Thursday and Friday off because of exams, then Saturday 4:00am to 4:00pm. The following week I start a normal schedule 4:00am to 4:00pm Monday to Friday."

"Surgery starts early!" I said as we stepped into the elevator.

"The first surgery of the day is usually at 6:00am, and the Residents have to check the setup of the operating rooms, do pre-surgical rounds, and have time to scrub. I have an advantage and a disadvantage. There are first-year surgical Residents who have no experience at all in hospitals beyond their Clerkships, but the second-year surgical Residents have all performed surgical procedures for a year. So I'm kind of in-between.

"The last surgery ends around 2:30pm, usually, and we have post-op rounds to do. In addition, after a month or so, I'll be doing surgical consults for the ER. Usually you don't do that until you're a second-year Resident, but my time in the ER means I can start doing that sooner than a pure first-year surgical Resident. A lot depends on how many surgeries my team has on a given day. I'm on a general team, which means we'll do lots of different procedures. But at least the hours are down to 60 a week, and for now, no weekends."

"For now?" I asked.

"For most of the year, if not all of it. But at some point, I'll be covering the ER, not just consults."

"Wait, you'll do trauma surgery within the next year?"

"Simple things, yes, like cut-downs and central lines for when you can't get an IV into an arm. And if I'm supervised by a surgical Attending or an ER Attending with trauma surgery training, I can do more things, like thoracotomies, which we'd need to do if someone was bleeding into their chest, or laparotomies for things in the belly. But as I said, only with very close supervision."

The elevator doors opened, and we walked down the short hallway to the ER.

"None of that sounds simple to me," I chuckled. "I'll take your word for it!"

"I'll see you at home tomorrow, Tiger. Take care of our wife!"

"I will!" I said.

We exchanged a hug and as I turned to head back to the elevator, two paramedics burst through the doors to the ER with a gurney. I stopped to watch as Jessica and a nurse swooped in and started talking to the firemen and assessing the patient. They rushed past me into a treatment room and I turned and entered the elevator. When I got back up to the room, Kara was nursing Birgit, who had woken about every ninety minutes during the night.

"Hi, Honey! How are my girls?"

"Tired but happy!" Kara said. "She's adorable, but she's so little!"

"She'll be big in no time," I chuckled. "Look at Jesse, Kristin, and Matthew! It won't be long before we're saying 'Do you remember when she was a baby?'! We already do that with mister 'No baby sisters!'!"

"Think he'll be in a better mood when we take her home tonight?"

"I have no clue! Jesse has some very clear ideas about the world and when they don't match reality, he gets into a mood and has a snit."

"Just like his dad!" Kara giggled.

"I suppose I deserved that! Did you want some breakfast?"

"Yes, please. Eggs, toast, juice, and tea."

I picked up the phone and ordered breakfast for Kara. I planned to go to the cafeteria when Kara went back to sleep.

"Do you want visitors today?" I asked. "I know the girls want to come see Birgit."

"They can wait until we go home," Kara said. "It's only about twelve hours!"

Kara's breakfast arrived about twenty minutes later, and after she ate, she lay back down to nap. I went down to the cafeteria and had bacon, eggs, and coffee, and then got a second cup of coffee to take back up to the room. Kara was sleeping, so I sat in the recliner and simply watched her and my new baby sleep.

Doctor Robertson came in just after 9:00am to check on Kara and Birgit. She pronounced both of them healthy and wrote a discharge order for 5:00pm.

"Do you have any questions or concerns?" she asked.

"No," Kara answered.

I shook my head.

"OK. I'll see you in a month, Kara, and you should take Birgit for her first pediatric visit at about the same time. If there are any concerns or issues, you can call either the pediatric or OB nurse on duty here any time, or have me paged."

"Thanks, Doctor!" Kara said.

"Thanks, Doctor! I'll see you soon, I'm sure!"

She laughed, "Oh, I'm sure you will!"

She left us, and the rest of the day was quiet, with a nurse checking on us every few hours. Just before 5:00pm, an orderly came to wheel Kara and Birgit out of the hospital. I packed everything, and Kara got situated in the wheelchair. The nurse handed Birgit to Kara, and we headed for the elevator.

The orderly waited with Kara while I retrieved my car from the parking structure and drove up to the front door of the hospital. We got Birgit into her brand new car seat, and then I helped Kara into the back to sit with her. Kara was moving a bit gingerly, which didn't surprise me in the least. I got in, and five minutes later, I pulled into the driveway next to the coach house.

I'd barely set the parking brake when the car was mobbed by a gang of crazed young women, all clamoring to see my new daughter. I got out of the car and pushed my way through the mob to get to the passenger door.

"Girls!" I chuckled. "Chill! Go inside and I'll bring Kara and Birgit in!"

My sister, Elyse, Sofia, Leila, Alejandra, Penny, Charlie, Jennifer, and Josie reluctantly went into the house, taking Jesse and Matthew with them. I helped a giggling Kara from the car, and then got Birgit from her car seat and handed her to Kara. We walked into the house where the girls were waiting. I saw Jorge, who just shrugged in apology that he hadn't been able to corral the girls, who once again mobbed Kara.

"Can we at least let her sit down?" I chuckled.

I saw Nancy sitting on the couch in the great room, calmly waiting for us to come in. Kara walked over and sat by her mom, and gently handed her the baby as the girls stood close by. Jesse grabbed Matthew's hands and helped him up, and then helped him toddle over to me. I picked up both boys and held one in each arm.

"Don't want a sister!" Jesse declared.

"You hung up the phone on me, Jesse. That's rude!"

"Don't want a sister!" he said again.

"No sister!" Matthew agreed.

I sighed. Jesse had worked on Matthew already, as I was sure Matthew hadn't come up with that on his own. He'd just started talking clearly in the past month, and not in sentences. I was sure he was simply repeating what his older half-brother had told him to say.

"We're all going to love her," I said. "Her name is Birgit, and she's beautiful!"

"Br'it?" Matthew said.

"Bir-git!" Jesse corrected.

"Bi-git!" Matthew tried again.

"Jesse, I think your little sister needs a Big Brother to teach her how to be a kid in this house!"

He grinned, "I can teach her!"

"Good!" I said.

We watched as the girls got their fill of 'baby' and eventually drifted away, leaving Kara with her mom. Elyse took Matthew and Jesse went with his moms, and I went to sit next to Kara.

"Hi, Nancy!" I said. "I see you survived the stampede!"

She laughed, "It's just girls and babies, and it is your first daughter. They're all excited for you, especially your little sister. She was climbing the walls waiting for you to come home."

"I'm glad you're here," I said. "I know Kara needs you."

Nancy smiled, "No, she needs you, Steve. She needed you even before she knew who you were. I'm here to see my granddaughter and help any way I can."

May 31, 1988, Chicago, Illinois

"Three kids! By three different girls! Wow!" Frederick said in Swedish, laughing when I told the Katsaros family about my new daughter.

"Don't get any ideas!" Anne-Marie cautioned her son. "Steve has VERY special circumstances."

"Steve, you have to clue me in on how this works!" he laughed. "Even back in Sweden you had lots of girls!"

"Don't be a pig, little brother!" Sofia said, laughing.

They had just cleared Customs, and we were walking towards Kara's car, which I had borrowed for the trip to O'Hare. It could comfortably seat five and had plenty of room in the trunk for luggage. Neither Sofia's Charger nor my Daytona would have worked. It dawned on me that Kara's car was more than ten years old, and we'd have to figure out if we needed three cars in the family. I felt we most likely would, because I didn't want Kara taking the L or bus to IIT if she didn't have to.

"We had to juggle rooms a bit, but we have it sorted out," Sofia said. "Nancy, that's Kara's mom, moved to a guest room, so you'll have the nanny room. Leila and Alejandra are here still, so their room isn't free. Frederick will be in a guest room."

"I wouldn't mind sleeping in Leila and Alejandra's room!" Frederick said with a silly grin.

"Sorry, little brother. Alejandra has a boyfriend, and Leila only likes older guys!"

"«Jävlar i helvete!»" he groused. ("Fucking hell!")

"Frederick!" his mom said sternly. But Costas laughed.

"Speaking of that topic, tell me about Stavros," Costas said, clearly speaking to me, not his daughter.

"He's a good guy, Costas. Honestly. He treats Sofia well and everyone likes him. I approve."

"Why do I feel like it's the 18th century again?" Sofia fumed.

"Because your dad is watching out for his only daughter, that's why!" I said. "Besides, YOU asked my opinion of Stavros before you got serious!"

She laughed, "I did, didn't I?"

Frederick and I loaded the bags into the trunk while the others got into the car. Frederick complained about sitting in the back, but his parents ignored him. We made good time on the drive to Hyde Park and had everyone settled before lunch.

"Are you working today?" Sofia asked.

"No. I'm taking my paternity leave this week," I said.

"«Pappaledighet»? I didn't know you had that in the US!" Costas said. (Lit. "Daddy leave?")

"We don't!" Sofia laughed. "But some Swedish ways have rubbed off on Steve!"

"Not to mention a bunch of Swedish girls!" Frederick smirked.

"Frederick!" his mother said with an exasperated tone.

"He's just a typical college kid," I chuckled.

"Can we see your children?" Anne-Marie asked.

"Sure. Let me get Jesse and Matthew from the sitter, and Kara is resting in our room. She'll come down for lunch."

I got my boys and brought them in to meet Sofia's parents, and Kara came down for lunch with Birgit. Sofia had to leave right after lunch for an exam, so we quickly put the food on the table. Once we'd finished eating, Sofia left with Alejandra and Leila for their exam at Loyola.

"Now I REALLY want to stay in their room!" Frederick confided in me while his parents went to take a nap.

I chuckled, "I hear you! But what your sister said is true. You should talk to my sister. Maybe she can set you up with one of her friends."

"I will. Your sister is living with a guy, though, right?"

"Yes, so she's off limits. Her boyfriend is a friend of mine, so you'll just have to hope she can fix you up!"

"OK. I'll talk to her when she gets back from school!"

I went to find Kara so I could spend some time with her, Jessica, and Birgit. Jessica was studying for her boards, but she didn't mind us sitting in the same room with her. I grabbed a book and settled into a chair with my wives and baby daughter.

June 1, 1988, Chicago, Illinois

"I think you're ready, Babe," I said at lunch on Wednesday. "Don't overstress yourself! In fact, you should take the afternoon and evening off and just relax."

"I agree," Kara said, cradling Birgit in one arm and eating with the other hand.

Jessica sighed, "Why does everyone tell me not to study!"

"Because it's possible to overdo it!" Kara said gently. "You're a good doctor, Jess. You'll pass just fine. Cramming now won't help. It'll just get you worked up and worried. Relax, take a sauna with our husband, and get a good night's sleep. I can't come in the sauna with Birgit until she's a couple of months old, but you two, go ahead."

"She's right, Jess," I said. "A sauna and a good hard fuck will do you more good than a few more hours spent studying!"