"Morning." "It's day 182 of project cooplets." "We're at 26 weeks." "Multiples are usually born around 32." "So I'm savoring every last minute of this pregnancy." "I mean, just look at my gorgeous wife." "I know what you're thinking." "How did I get so lucky?" "I swear, I have no idea." "All I know is that this is what I've wanted my entire life... to take care of my pregnant wife and a house full of kids." "Oh." "You know, I'm really not much of a morning person, but there's so much to do now, it's really all about multitasking." "The babies are the size of lettuce this week." "You know, there is an app for that." "Brain development has kicked into high gear, so it's important that Charlotte get all the right nutrition." "And yes, sometimes when I give her her vitamins, she throws them at me, but I don't take it personally." "This is what I can do to contribute while she is doing all the heavy lifting, literally." "Yes!" "Breakfast is Charlotte's least favorite meal, so I like to give her plenty of options." "Thanks for making me pancakes, dad." "You got it, Mase." "Rise and shine, beautiful." "Time to get up." "Enough with the damn breakfast buffet." "It's too early." "I let you sleep as long as I could." "No, Coop." "My water just broke." "The babies are coming." "_" "You knocked me up." "My guys prevailed." "Sweetie, we're having a baby, you and me?" "We're having a baby." "No, Cooper." "We're having three babies." "Three?" "Three babies." "That..." "Is amazing." "I'm..." "Wow." "Okay." "I can't react." "She... she doesn't want one." "She's definitely not gonna want three." "But I'm totally excited." "You get that, right?" "Wow." "That's one word for it." "I can think of a few others, all four letters." "Are you okay?" "No." "You heard me, right?" "Three babies." "I know when the night of conception was." "We were in the shower, and she did this thing..." "No, I'm not all right." "And then I did this other thing..." "This thing's supposed to be 99.9% effective." "...and I made sounds come out of her that you do not hear in nature." "I was the man." "How hard it's gonna be to take care of three rug rats?" "Okay." "I know it's a lot to take in." "Is it okay that I'm a little bit excited?" "As long as you don't expect me to be." "Ugh." "_" "Okay." "This is gonna be awesome." "You've seen plenty of ultrasounds." "Not when they're our kids and not when they're the size of plums." "Oh, come on, Charlotte." "You know you're excited." "All ultrasounds look the same." "They're like the sketches of "America's Most Wanted."" "You can't identify someone from those." "All right." "There they are." "There's baby one, baby two..." "Oh, you see it, right?" "Those are clearly our kids." "She has no idea what she's talking about." "Hi, kids." "I made you." "This means I can't go to the urology conference in Spain in October." "We're not gonna be able to go to Hawaii for Christmas." "Oh, come on, Charlotte." "You're pregnant." "You're not terminally ill." "I'm gonna be a double-wide with feet." "More of you to love." "Look, all three look great." "You said with triplets, one of 'em might not make it." "No, what I said was that with multiples, there's a 53% chance of spontaneous reduction, but since that usually happens in the first trimester, you are almost in the clear." "Yay for me." "Look, there are inherent risks with carrying triplets to term." "We should go back to my office and talk about it." "I have to get back to the hospital." "No, what you need to do is hire a new ER doc and focus on the plums." "_" "Sorry." "I'd, uh, just as soon keep this to myself, but since that's not possible," "I'm, uh," "I'm pregnant... with triplets." " Wow." " That's so wonderful." " Congratulations!" " That's so great." "Yeah." "Okay, who already knew?" "Time-out." "If there's a time and a place to lie, it's right here and right now." "And don't you dare lie to a pregnant woman." "Let's go, people." "Show of hands." "Ow!" "Is it impossible for you to keep your mouth shut?" " You told Addison." " She's my doctor." " What's your excuse for telling Violet?" " Doesn't count." " Thanks, Coop." " You know what I mean." " I'm sorry." "I told Jake." " But only so she could pick my brain about pregnancy with multiples." "I saw Cooper trolling the Internet for baby names." "And not that you asked, but your kid will be pantsed every day if you name him Otis." "And Coop was asking me when Naomi started wearing maternity clothes." " Mm." " You think I look fat?" "No, you look beautiful." "Beautiful and fat, but beautiful." "I may be the last one to know, but this is fantastic news." "Seriously." "New life." "You... you must be so excited." "I'm excited about the odds that my body might absorb at least one of these freeloaders before birth." "That's terrible." " That's terrible." " That's Darwin." "Survival of the fittest." "You gonna find out the sex?" "Well, the ultrasound won't be definitive until closer to 18 weeks." "If this technically wasn't a high-risk pregnancy," "I wouldn't want to see another ultrasound." "I mean, I want the mystery of that." "I want the anticipation." "I want to know as soon as possible." "But I mean, it would be awesome if it was a surprise, right?" "I am pregnant with triplets." "That's surprise enough for a lifetime." "So we're having triplets." "Great." "Congratulations, man." "I threw out almost everything or donated it to charity." "But I still have Pete's toothbrush." " I can't stop thinking about babies..." " I haven't touched it." "But babies are life, and Violet wants to talk about death." "I need to focus." "I need to focus on death." "And I just stare at it every morning..." " It sounds wrong, doesn't it?" " In the bathroom." "I don't know." "I mean, I know he's not actually gonna come back to use it, but it just makes me feel better to see it there, next to mine on a sink." "Whatever works, right?" "That's right." "Don't you think..." "I mean, shouldn't you be talking to someone?" "I'm talking to you." "Come..." "I mean..." "I mean, I have grief group, which sort of helps." "I guess." "I don't know." "Look, I mean," "Pete is dead, and, um... and that sucks." "It's gonna suck until it doesn't." "Oh, I'm so sorry, Vi." "Okay." "She's mourning the loss of her husband, and he was my friend." "I just can't go there right now." "I am in baby land." "I mean, I want to be doing cartwheels, which is funny, 'cause I've never done a cartwheel in my whole life." "I need to stop this." "Okay, her husband is dead." "I cannot show her my baby glee." "I need to smile and nod and pretend I'm listening." "Okay." "Thanks." "Thanks, Cooper." " For what?" " For listening." " All right." " All right." " I'm gonna be late for my group." " Okay." "She thanked me for listening." "I wasn't listening." "I'm a bad friend." "I mean, she needs help." "She is suffering, and I'm... just an ass." "I mean, go." "Go... go be with Violet." "Seriously, I'm good." "Go." "Violet?" "You're not in grief group." "Gabi, hi." "Uh, yeah, I was checking on a patient." "Guess I lost track of time." "Oh, me, too." "I was visiting Ally." "I didn't know she was at St. Ambrose." "Yeah." "This is like my second home." "I'm here every day." "You know, I read to her, play music." "You know, just let her know I love her." "That's really nice." "Well, if we go now, we won't be too late." "Is it awful that I wanna play hooky?" "Oh, God." "No." "It's hard, the work that we do over there." "Yeah, it's also hard to hear over Kasey's sobbing." "That's terrible." "I'm sorry." "No, just the actual number of tissues that she uses, you know, like a whole box, really?" "What about the rest of us?" "Yeah, but it's also that there's a kind of pecking order, you know?" "I mean, I know I'm entitled to miss my girlfriend, but her son was like, what, 26 when he died?" "How do you compete with that?" "You play hooky." "Do you want company?" "Okay, everything looks good." "The first trimester tests came back negative for trisomy 13 and 18, which means it's unlikely that the kids will have any chromosomal abnormalities." "We can go ahead and do an amnio at 16 weeks to be sure." "Sounds great." "Right, char?" "Fantastic." "Are we done?" "No." "No." "We have to discuss your options." "No, I know my options." "I'd like to hear the options." "With multiples, there's a very high probability of preterm delivery, resulting in low birthweight infants," " which are at risk." " I know what they're at risk for." "A dead mother." "That's what they're at risk for, because I just may kill her right now." "The problem is, she's carrying my babies, so I guess I should wait." "Ideally, we want to get to 32 weeks." "That gives the babies the best chance." "Anything before 26 weeks, and you're looking at the possibility of cognitive and neurological impairments." "Great." "Got it." "You did your job." "She has to understand the risks." "Can... can you talk to her?" "Tell me what we need to know." "Can't sleep?" "Ah, bloodsucking ticks are giving me heartburn." "Can't wait till they keep me up kickboxing." "Anything I can do?" "Hmm." "Go back in time, wear a condom." "So I was talking to Addison this afternoon after you left." "And with triplets, you're looking at a lot of possible obstetric complications." "Remember when you asked if there was anything you could do?" "Stop talking." "You're at risk for preterm labor, premature ruptured membranes, gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, and postpartum hemorrhaging, which means you could die, Charlotte." "Cooper, I'm a doctor." "I know what I'm at risk for." "Oh, my God." "I take back the whole killing her thing." " Okay?" " Quit being so dramatic." "Is it gone?" "Quit being so dramatic." "I think we need to talk about selective reduction." "How many times do I have to say I don't need to hear this?" "Reduction from triplets to twins, decreases the risk of severe prematurity and the risk of losing the whole pregnancy falls from 15% to 4%." "I won't abort." "You were hoping that one of them would be absorbed anyway." "What's the difference?" "Absorbed is my higher power at work." "Abortion is me making the call." "Selective reduction isn't exactly abortion." "It's a shot to the heart of a fetus with potassium chloride." "You know how you pick?" "Whichever one's closest." "That's who gets the needle." "I'm not doing that." "I have to pee." "Okay, that's horrible, but if losing one means you can save two, if losing one means Charlotte would be okay?" "I don't know." "I don't know." "I'm the dad, so I should have a say, but right now mom's doing all the hard work." "It's Charlotte's body, it's her life, it's her choice." "But I can't lose her and I don't want to lose any of my babies." "So what the hell do I do?" "What do I do?" "Cooper." "We told Mason he was having three siblings." "Then Mason's having three siblings." "_" "Wow." "They have a lot of strollers here." "Yes." "Oh." "Here you go." "Look at this one." "No." "Baby in the front will be 3 miles away." "I won't be able to see it." "Someone could snatch it and I wouldn't know till, like, an hour later." " Well, I-I can help." "She's insane." "Right?" "I mean, it's 3 feet." "Unless she's legally blind, she'll be able to spot danger." "...with one of the babies." "You're gonna make a hell of a big brother." "Can I help you folks?" "Yes." "We are looking for strollers, but, um, there's a lot to choose from." "We have some excellent models, but the truth is, it's really best to carry the baby and hold them close." "I did that with mine." "Yeah, well, I'm pregnant with triplets, so how do I hold all three at the same time?" "Do you put one in a basket on your head?" "Or... or maybe with three it doesn't really matter if I drop one now and again, 'cause I've got spares." " Oh, good." "She's making friends." " You don't really mean that, right?" "I'll bet this lady wishes she called in sick today." " I can carry one." " Thank you for your help." "Uh, we'll let you know if we need anything." "Thanks." "With my luck, she'll be waiting for me in the breast pump aisle so she can tell me how she nursed all of her kids until they're 27." " Ew!" "People really do that?" " No." "When you're pregnant, everyone's got an opinion, and they all wanna offer advice." "Okay, does someone need a hug?" "Three..." " Two..." " One." "Who's cranky?" "You can let go." " You can stay." " Okay." "You didn't talk about Lucas in group today." "How's he doing?" "He doesn't ask about Pete anymore." "I'm worried that he won't remember his dad, but sometimes I think that's better." "Sure." "If you don't remember, there's nothing to miss." "Maybe that's what I need..." "amnesia." "Although I'm already starting to forget things." "Like what?" "Our first date, Ally and I went to this hole-in-the-wall restaurant in Mexico while we were working down there." "I was writing for National Geographic." "She was taking the pictures." "I've been racking my brain for the past three days, but I can't recall the name of the place." "Ally would know." "But she hasn't answered me in a while." "I am so sorry." "I can't imagine how hard this is for you." "I keep hoping that I can will her to wake up." "None of the doctors can agree as to when that might be." "But as long as a chance exists," "I can't give up." "I won't." "They are beautiful!" "Oh, my..." "I'm so excited for you guys." "This is amazing." "Amazing?" "I can't have too much coffee." "I can't eat sushi." "I'm supposed to watch my mercury levels and be on the lookout for toxoplasma, listeria, E Coli." "Yeah, she should keep complaining to Amelia... about pregnancy because it must've been really fun to go through the nine months and then give birth to a baby with no brain." "...and even herbal tea." "Herbal tea." "And then the damn shopping has to get done before they get here... the bottles, the diapers." "And what the hell's a layette?" "I can't even go to the store anymore, though, because I'm so gassy and itchy..." "my boobs, my bump." "I don't have time for this crap." "I have a job." "Two jobs." "You know, if we threw you a shower..." "No." "Come on." "Think about it." "It could be fun." "Charlotte hates showers." "Mostly she hates the women that have showers... because they're all that woman..." "You know, the ones that think the world needs to stop because they're pregnant, like they're the first ones to ever do that." "...sugary baked goods." "I hate showers." "You know who has showers?" "That woman..." "the one I hate, the one who thinks the world's gotta stop because she's having a baby." "Like she's the first one to ever do it." "Okay, first of all, there is no danger of you ever becoming that woman." "Second, you do realize that you need everything in triplicate." "So if I throw you a shower, you won't have to worry about any of it." "I'll register for you, and by the time the babies are born, you'll have everything you need." "So you can be gassy in the comfort of your own home." "So really, you're just buying me stuff?" "Okay." "What she meant to say was "thank you."" "_ 20 minutes for you, 30 for me, and ten minutes for "American Bake Off."" " Uh..." " Okay, I'll give you five in "Bake Off,"" "but my 30 is nonnegotiable." "I need every minute of it." "What are we talking about?" "Us, commiserating about our lives over corned beef on marble rye." "Right." "Lunch." "I totally forgot." "Did you forget?" " Of course not." " You forgot." "I forgot." "And Addison's about to do Charlotte's ultrasound in, like, ten minutes." "I didn't tell you that?" "No." "Oh, my God." "Please don't let her be mad." "I mean, I just can't handle that right now." "I just want to see my little sweet potatoes." "You're not mad, are you?" "I'm furious." "Yeah, blow off your wife's ultrasound and have lunch with me." "You know, if you still want one, we can do an amnio." "No." "I realize that there are associated risks, but I do know what I'm doing." "Oh, it doesn't matter." "Even if an amnio tells us each kid has two heads and is covered in gills, they're still our babies and they'll stay our babies." "Mm." "Hi, King-Freedmans or Freedman-Kings." "Did you miss me?" "Well, how could they miss you?" "You talk to 'em every damn day." "I read in one of the pregnancy books that if you talk to your children every day... they're more secure and well-adjusted." "I don't know." "At least they'll know me right away." "Is hiding behind the other two." "It is pretty crowded in there, but your girls..." " Look good." " Girls?" " All three of 'em?" " All three of 'em." "Girls are awesome!" "Oh, my God!" " Oh, man!" " Oh!" "What the hell am I gonna do with three girls?" "Charlotte?" "You okay?" "It's 7:00 P.M." "I'm tired." "I'm always tired." "It's because I don't sleep anymore." "Everything's tight." "My socks are tight." "My towels are tight." "The freaking mangoes are making me miserable." "You'd never know because she's so shy about her discontent." "Really keeps it all inside." "And I'm doing this for girls." "Why do they all have to be girls?" "Girls are awesome." "You were a girl." "Ah." "Girls... are silly and stupid." "When they turn 12, we're giving them away because 12-year-old girls make Stalin look like Gandhi." "Sure, they're disgustingly sweet to their daddies, but girls hate their mamas from puberty to at least age 20." "Mm." "The only thing that's worse is when they become women." "Sure, they'll talk your ear off about sisterhood while simultaneously stabbing you in the back and sleeping with your husband." "Women are awful." "You're not awful." "You're perfect." "And you will raise them to be just like you." "Mm." "And then hopefully, they will each meet a man as patient and selfless as I am." "Although, I probably won't let them date until they're 30 because before I was selfless and patient," "I was a man-whore who knocked a woman up in a parking lot and met my wife on a sex site." "I have my work cut out for me, don't I?" "Thanks for taking a look." "I know that ally's on life support, but what are the odds that she..." "No, there are no odds." "Ally has no cortical activity." "I'm gonna have a hard time imagining any doctor saying otherwise." "I mean, she's brain-dead." "She's not waking up ever." "I'm sorry, Violet." "What are you doing?" "Hey, Gabi." "Uh, this is Dr. Shepherd." "She's a neurosurgeon and a friend." "I didn't ask you to get another opinion." "No, I realize that." "But I just thought that since she's here..." "Get out, both of you." "_" "All right, what about this one?" "There's a swimming pool in the back, a 6-car garage, and 8 bedrooms." "Okay." "How much?" "$15 million." "Is... is that too much?" "No, not if we win the lottery." "Okay, what about this one?" "See, five bedrooms, big backyard." "We could build a tree house." "I thought I'd surprise Charlotte with a house." "Who am I kidding?" "This is Los Angeles." "We can't afford a house for this brood." "Maybe if all the kids share rooms." "Will their friends make fun of them for not having their own space?" "Maybe they won't have friends." "Maybe if we don't buy the $15-million house with the pool, they'll be shunned." "It doesn't just happen with the amish, right?" "It kinda looks haunted." "Oh." "Yeah." "Well, the good news is, if you have to share your room with a ghost, he won't take up much space." "Hey, when the babies come, are you gonna like them more than me?" "Mason." "I mean, it happens." "People like babies." "Babies are cute." "I spend a lot of time with babies, and they can be quite disgusting." "They got bald, little pointy heads." "All they do is eat, sleep, poop, and cry." "I mean, you're way more fun that that." "Really?" "Really." "And besides, we're gonna be the only dudes in that house." "We gotta stick together." "Right?" "Our survival depends on it." "Welcome, mommies and daddies, to the incredible journey of childbirth." "Let's start with some breathing exercises." "Dads, prop up your wives so they can focus on their diaphragms." "Just like that." "Good." "Get comfy." "Okay." "Now take a slow, deep inhale through the nose." "Followed by a long, slow exhale out through the mouth." "Like these people really don't know how to breathe." "Breathe in love... and breathe out fear." "Ugh." "For crying out loud." "It's hard for me to breathe in love when you're being so negative." "Showtime." "That's what you're worried about?" "Once you bear down to push an enormous head through a not-quite-big-enough opening that no amount of kegel exercises will ever whip back into shape, you won't give a rat's ass whether or not you paid attention during breathing exercises." "You're gonna be too busy screaming for drugs and wishing that son of a bitch who knocked you up had never been born." "Ladies and gentlemen, my fabulous wife." "You're all doing great." "Another five minutes of breathing, and we can move on to some ball work." "Which is what got us here in the first place." "Good job." "Keep breathing." "Yeah, this one..." "think maybe a turkey baster." "Oh." "Missionary position." "Lights off, blinds drawn, two minutes, and done." "What about the creepy twins?" "Oh." "Sex swing and a ball gag for sure." " Shh." " Are you two going to ruin this beautiful experience for everybody?" " Honey, lighten up." " That's it." "I think it's time you both left." "Help." "If I knew getting kicked out of class was gonna turn you on," "I'd be signing up for adult ed all over town." "Oh." "You'll give yourself a hernia." "Okay." "Do you mind?" "I'm trying to screw my husband." "Man, do I love my wife." "Oh." "_" "So this, uh, mother of a patient of mine asked me if it was okay for her to be having sex this far along in her pregnancy." "How far along is she?" "Uh, like, you know, second trimester-y." "Wait." "Doesn't her OB have that covered?" "I don't think she likes him, and apparently, she saw this thing on the Internet of this woman who experienced sex and then went into labor early," " and the baby wasn't fully cooked." " Dude, it's sick." "I hope that was her word and not yours." "Did she, uh, did she experience any discomfort?" " Not that she mentioned." " Is it a high-risk pregnancy?" "It's... multiples." "I think it's multiples, so..." "Oh, really?" "So, uh, when did you and Charlotte have sex?" "Like a week ago." "What are you doing trolling the Internet" " for medical advice anyway?" " It's not my fault." "It's Al Gore's fault for inventing the Internet, and all those people that make it this horrible place where all my darkest fears are so conveniently realized." "Charlotte is fine." "If anything was gonna go wrong, it would've happened by now." "But since you are at 22 weeks, you know, it might be a good idea to keep it in your pants." "Yeah." "Charlotte's not the one to worry about." "Uh, you're already at what, stage one daddy freak-out." " Just wait until the babies come." " Stop it." "I'm a pediatrician." "Yeah, who's worried that he might induce labor with his little Cooper." "Okay." "I'm around kids all day." "Charlotte runs the hospital." " We're prepared." " No, you're never fully prepared." "Plus, you're having three." "You're gonna be outnumbered." "Dr. Cooper Freedman, pediatrician." "No, it's different." " How?" " It just is." "That's deep." "Look, my advice?" "Cancel the Internet." "Okay." "I make this, I'm gonna be officially recognized as the best, most prepared father in history of the world." "Get it!" "Two out of three." "Two out of three." "All right." "Try again." "Two, one." "Freedman!" "It's been a long time since I've made a new friend." "You know, a real friend." "And I know by getting a consult for Ally, I overstepped, but, um, I think of you as a friend, and I wanted to help." "I'm sorry." "We are." "We are friends." "But you have to understand, two doctors told me the same thing that your friend did months ago." "But I..." "I couldn't hear it." "So I went to see a psychic..." "which is insane, I know... but she said there was hope." "I understand wanting to hold on, I do, but at a certain point..." "Was Pete the love of your life?" "Ally is." "I was married to a wonderful man for eight and a half years." "He was my best friend." "And I didn't know that there could be more until I met Ally." "And that kind of love?" "I can't even tell you how she made me feel." "But I felt that way every day for ten years." "Every single day." "And if I pull the plug, if... if she's gone, really gone," "I'm afraid that no one will ever love me like that again." "And who thinks like that?" "I mean, she's the one lying there, stuck in limbo, and I'm worried about me." "I'm a terrible person." "When Pete died, I felt relieved." "I've never told that to anybody, never said it out loud." "I mean, I miss him." "I do." "I miss him all the time, every day." "But Pete was..." "Pete." "He was complicated and difficult, and I tried for so long to work out our issues, and..." "I mean, the thing was, we don't have issues anymore." "You know, he won't fight, he won't leave, because Pete is... is..." "Pete's dead." "The argument is over." "So yeah, yeah, he... he was the love of my life, and it... and it hurts that he's gone, but I felt r-relief." "I'm..." "I'm relieved." "She is the love of my life, and I don't feel relieved." "I just want her back." "_" "Isaac invited me to his brother's Bar Mitzvah next month." "Can I go?" "Sure." "Am I gonna have one of those?" "Do you wanna be Jewish?" "I don't know." "Maybe." "Well, that's cool if it's something you wanna do." "You can pave the way for the triplets." "We're raising them Jewish?" "Uh, I know we haven't talked about it, but I was thinking... maybe." "Well, you don't go to temple." "But those traditions are part of who I am, and that spiritual heritage is" " something I want for the children." " Well, so do I, which is why I think they should be baptized." "If they aren't baptized, they won't go to heaven." "Okay, I know I eat pork and shellfish... and I don't feel I need to go to Israel... and I married a Christian, so one could argue that I should be flexible... when it comes to religious instruction." "But baptism?" "No way." "All my ancestors would roll over in their graves." "My mom took me to church sometimes, like, for Christmas, Easter, too." "Well, those services are nice, right?" "I want the babies to wake up on Christmas morning to presents under a tree." "I want to hide Easter eggs." "Okay, I don't think we should base our children's religion on what the most entertaining holidays are." "Why not?" "Because that is a battle I would totally lose." "I mean, nobody wants to fast at Yom Kippur." "And you eat matzo and you don't poop for a week." "Although christianity isn't all fun and games." "The son of God gets nailed to a cross and his father loved it." "How does that not give a kid nightmares?" "Video game day." "That would be so cool." "Or we could expose them to both religions." " Let them decide." " Doesn't that seem confusing?" "I'm not confused." "Two religions, twice the gifts." "Think about it, Coop." "We got plenty of time." "_" "It's too soon!" "They're only lettuce!" "They won't make it!" "It's gonna be okay, Charlotte." "It'll be okay." "Dr. Montgomery's five minutes out." "We'll need a BOA kit and an OB bed." "And give her nifedipine, 10 milligrams." "I'm only 26 weeks!" "You gotta stop the labor!" "Addison's gonna take care of everything." "Don't worry." " Is she gonna be okay?" " She's gonna be fine." "Okay?" "You remember nurse Fiona?" "You go to school with her daughter." "Okay, Amelia's gonna come and pick you up." "It wasn't supposed to be like this." "Labor's not supposed to be for another six weeks, and I was gonna bring her ice chips and rub her back and all the babies were gonna be healthy and Charlotte was gonna be incredibly happy because she would've known that I would've done" "everything I could to keep her and the baby safe." "It wasn't supposed to be like this." "I started the tocolytics, but she's still laboring." "Okay, Charlotte, let's see what's going on here." "What?" "What is it?" "One of the triplets is presenting as a footling breach." " We need to deliver right now." " The lungs ar-aren't developed." "We don't have a choice." "I need three resuscitation kits and three incubators." "Let the nicu know they could be getting up to 3 26-weekers." "Okay, Charlotte, we're gonna start delivering now." " Okay?" "You ready?" "Let's go." " Okay." "Good." "Good." "Good." "There you go." "Aah!" "Aah." "2.5 tube and a straight blade." " What's happening?" " Addison's working on it." " Addison?" " Charlotte, I'm going to examine you to see if the remaining membranes are intact, okay?" " Okay." "Okay." " It's okay." "Is she breathing?" "Why... why isn't she crying?" "All right." "Come on, kid." "Help me out here." "Okay, the membranes are intact, and if the meds that Dr. Peterson gave you worked, then..." " What?" "Then what?" " The contractions will stop." "Until 32 weeks?" "Because these babies aren't ready to be delivered." " I can stitch up your cervix." " What?" "That'll delay delivery for a few weeks, give the other babies a chance to mature." "Jake, is that safe?" "There are significant risks." "Maternal morbidity in delayed interval birth is about 30%." "Charlotte could die?" "How is she?" "She's got ectopia cordis." "The chest wall hasn't developed completely to cover the heart." "She'll need surgery." "Oh, what do we do, Cooper?" "I just..." "I don't want to lose these babies, but I'm scared." "What do we do?" "Okay, look at me." "Look at me." "Here's what's gonna happen..." "Addison is gonna sew up your cervix, and I'm gonna go be with our daughter, and this plan is gonna work." "You're gonna be okay." "You're not gonna die." "Okay?" "Okay." "Say it." "I'm not gonna die." " Promise me." " I promise you." " Okay." "I love you." " I love you." "I love you." "Okay." "You ready?" "No." "But it's time." "Thank you for loving me." "Thank you for being the love of my life." "Hmm." "Okay, so tell me about the procedure." "Well, we're gonna place a mesh over her chest that will cover her heart." "Tissue will grow over that." "And then in a year, she'll need a skin graft." "She's just so tiny." "Can we wait till she's a little stronger and then do it?" "No, she won't get stronger without the surgery." "Then I don't have a choice." "Yeah." "Okay." "Let's do it." "All right." "Hey, Cooper." " Hi." " I just heard." "I'm so sorry." "Thanks." " I've been a bad friend." " Oh, stop it." "No, I've been so wrapped up with Charlotte." "And I'm proud of you for that." "You've been moving heaven and earth to get Charlotte through this." "That's your job." "It's good to see a man do that." "I love you." "Love you." "Go see your daughter." "Okay." "Almost done." "I'll need another 4-0 nylon on a driver." "What's happening?" "Heart rate's dropping." "Pressure's crashed." "Scissors." "I need to cut these sutures." " Come on, Sam." "Do something." " Cooper, maybe you should wait outside." "I'm not leaving." "Come on, sweetie." "Hang in there." "Hang in there." "Hang in there." "The heart is twisted underneath the graft." "I need to flip it back." "Come on, sweetie." "Hang in there." "Hang in there." "Hang in there." "Hang in there." "Come on." "Okay." "There." "Got it." "Pressure's coming back up." "Being a parent sucks." "Don't get me wrong." "Mason's the best thing that ever happened to me, but his mother did all the hard work." "She got him there." "I look at my baby and I know she might not make it, and even if she does, I hear Addison saying, "cognitive"" "and..." ""Neurological impairment."" "What does that even mean?" "Maybe I should've fought harder to reduce." "But we're a team." "We are a team, and Charlotte's lying in a hospital bed, trying to keep our other babies safe." "And I don't know how to do this." "How the hell do I do this?" "I need more time." "I'm just not... ready." "But who gets enough time?" "Pete certainly didn't." "Violet didn't get enough time with him." "My family needs me." "Charlotte and Mason and baby King-Freedman and the two heads of lettuce..." "they all need me, because I'm the dad now." "And so it's time to step up and do my job, because being a dad is the greatest gift in the world." "So... it's time." "Hey." "How's Charlotte?" "Good." "Uh, she tolerated the procedure well." "Contractions have stopped, and she's sleeping." " So are we out of the woods?" " Not entirely." "I had to put her into trendelenburg." "It could prevent her from going into labor again." "And how long does she have to stay like that?" "Probably until she gives birth." "And in that position, she's at risk for blood clots, headaches?" "Yeah." "She's not gonna be able to see her baby." "Anyway, I'm sorry." "No." "Thank you." "Hey, little girl." "I'm sorry you don't have a name yet." "Your mom and I haven't had time to decide." "But whatever your name is," "I need you to fight." "Okay?" "I need you to stay in this family." "Because we don't even know who you are yet..." "If you're a science geek or some kind of crazy, outdoor wilderness jock that likes to camp and rock climb... two things I hate, by the way... but I will gladly take them up if that's what you're into," "'cause your..." "Your dad's gonna jump right in there with you." "Because you're not even a day old, and you have me wrapped around your finger." "I love you." "And we can't lose you." "Hi." "So... your mom's Christian, and I'm Jewish, and I don't know what you're gonna choose... maybe neither... but I want to hedge my bets." "If your mom's God is listening, I want him on our side, and..." "Well, Jesus is Jewish, so maybe we're already covered." "I don't know." "But..." "don't tell your mom, but I stole this from the chapel down the hall." "And I hope God doesn't hold it against us." "Okay." "Dad's looking out for you." "Okay." "Cooper." "Hey." "Thanks for bringing him." "Mm." "No problem." "I'll be outside." "Okay." "Hey, buddy." "Hey." "Can I touch her?" "Yeah." "Here." "This." "Put your hand in there." "Okay, rub them together." "Okay." "Now reach in there." "Be really gentle, okay?" "Is she gonna die?" "I don't know yet, Mase." "What's her name?" "We haven't decided yet." "I thought we were gonna have more time." "Guess we're gonna have to talk about that." "Hey, little sis." "Happy birthday." "Charlotte's always been the strong one, and I love her for that." "It's my turn now." "Is she dead?" "She's alive." "Our daughter is alive." "Oh." "Oh, God."