Elizabeth emerges from the bathroom. It seems that Rachel has had her first period. Holling gets that "Ohmigod -- Ladies' Things!" look and asks how that can be, since Rachel's only ten. Elizabeth says it's early, but not abnormal. Elizabeth says that one of them needs to go to the store, and asks if he wants to stay with Rachel. He blusters a bit about whether Elizabeth can't just hook Rachel up with whatever products Elizabeth has on hand, and she says she only has tampons, which are a bit daunting the very first time. VERY reluctantly, he agrees to go. Come on, Holling -- didn't you ever have to go on a rag run for Shelly? Elizabeth helps Holling bundle up and tells him, "There's a drugstore just on the corner," when what she really means to say is, "There's a Walgreens inside the elevator." At the door, he asks again what product he's looking for, and Elizabeth repeats, "Sanitary napkins," and adds, "Ask the clerk." Holling asks, "What if he's a guy?" Heh.

Mark comes into the pre-delivery room in scrubs and asks how Carol's doing. Lisa, who is wiping ultrasound goo off Carol's belly, says that they'll move her after this contraction, and that the baby's in "lotus position." Carol smiles beatifically. Two cherubs hover beside her head and swab the sweat from her forehead with their wings. The other nurse shoos them away to put one of those OR shower cap things on her head. Carol gets alarmed and asks what's happening. The other nurse tells her that they have to prep her for the OR. Carol says that she thinks her water just broke again. Lisa checks under the sheet and confirms that it did, and that it's "nice and clear." Just then the monitor starts chirping again; the baby's heart rate is in the nineties. Carol says, "But we're okay to eighty, right?" Lisa calmly tells Carol that she has to check her again. Mark asks what for, and Lisa says she has to wait until this contraction finishes. The other nurse quietly says, "Seventy-five." Lisa's hand comes back out from under the sheet and she curses. The Pulsating Beat of Medical Personnel Trying to Avert Catastrophe starts throbbing on the soundtrack. Lisa says that Carol has a prolapsed cord. This means that the cord is coming out first, cutting off the baby's oxygen. Everyone tries to stop Carol freaking out, while also making arrangements for Dr. Coburn to get the OR, which, by the way, still isn't clear. Mark notes that the fetal heart rate is down to sixty-five, and that they "have to get this baby out now" with a crash C-section. As they wheel her toward the OR, Carol wails, "Mark! Don't let this happen!" I wish I had said that to John Wells about NINE MONTHS AGO.