Back in Elizabeth's dining room, we can see why; Holling's busted out the WWII anecdotes. Rachel is playing Solitaire and Elizabeth is doing an excellent job conveying tolerant boredom. Holling starts mapping out the D-Day attack using the dishes of food to represent the various fighting forces. Holling says something about six thousand American casualties and Elizabeth says, "The Brits had their share too, didn't they?" and takes a long pull at her glass of wine. Holling winds up his treatise thus: "Then, instead of pushing forward and cutting off the Germans at Cannes, Montgomery, the British general --" Elizabeth says she knows who Montgomery is. Holling continues, "Montgomery sat on his ass and had tea." Rachel says she's going to the bathroom. Elizabeth points out that the British were fighting the Germans for nearly three years before the Americans, and suggests, "Perhaps they were just a little more cautious." Holling snorts, "'Cautious' is one word for it." Elizabeth says, "I suppose 'tea-loving' would be another." From down the hall, Rachel calls, "That's two words." Elizabeth yells back, "It's a hyphenate, actually," and takes another sip of wine. Holling launches back into his story. I feel her pain.

In the pre-delivery (whatever) room, Carol asks if they have to use a straight cath. Lisa explains that the epidural numbs her bladder, and that they do it for everybody -- no catheter, no epidural. Mark coaches her on catheter insertion. What a BABY. Lisa tells Carol she has to sit up. Carol asks if they can't do it on her side. Lisa says that it's better upright "when you're pregnant," and Carol snaps, "I'm a nurse. Tell me why." Lisa patiently says that it's to "get a clear shot at intervertebral space," and Mark adds that Carol doesn't want the anaesthesiologist "fishing around." They haul Carol's carcass off the bed and she moans, "You better get it right the first time." The anaesthesiologist (who is played by Laura Innes's real-life husband) dryly replies, "I generally do, if the patient co-operates." Stick her! Stick her! As Lisa advises Carol to keep her back "nice and round," the bitchy obstetrician from that famous first-season episode in which Mark screws up his diagnosis of a pregnant woman and she ends up dying comes in, officiously saying, "Carol Hathaway?" When she sees her face, the OB says, more effusively, "Carol!" Mark looks over his shoulder and says, "Dr. Coburn." She looks at him and much less effusively says, "Mark. I had no idea. Congratulations." Heh. Mark makes a confused face and Carol moans, "He's my Lamaze coach!" Dr. Coburn chuckles and asks how she's doing. Apparently Carol's now dilated at six centimetres. With disbelief, she repeats, "Six?" Dr. Coburn explains that "you shrink back down" between deliveries, and Carol says, "I know, but six?" Then she starts yelling again. The anaesthesiologist asks if she needs "more local," and she says it's contractions. Lisa tells her to hold on. Dr. Coburn crouches down and tells Carol that her OB is in Wichita for the holidays and asked Dr. Coburn to cover her practice in her absence. Carol moans that she has to lay down. Lisa tells her that the anaesthesiologist is "right in the middle of it" and that if she lies down, she'll get no epidural. Carol says she can't hold still. She bleats and cries. It occurs to me that I should look up some synonyms for "whine," "yell," and "moan."