Medical Center, OB-GYN VIP Ward
Adam's little reminder left Monica and Chandler totally speechless. 😅 When they shot him those "are you serious?" looks, Adam just grinned without saying a word. What could he do? Monica was beyond a 666—only 777 could truly capture her vibe. The moment she yelled "777," everyone else could only stand back and shout "666" in awe. 😂
"Let me go! I'll do whatever I want!"
Right then, a sharp scream echoed from the hallway outside, mixed with a nurse's helpless attempts to calm things down.
"Chandler, stay here and keep Monica company," Adam said before heading out. "I'll check it out."
"Got it," Chandler nodded.
"Is it another pregnant lady?" Monica asked, curiosity piqued.
"Don't be so nosy," Adam teased with a laugh. "Whatever's going on, us doctors have it covered. No need to stress yourself out over it."
With that, he stepped out and closed the door behind him.
"What's happening?" Adam asked as he approached.
"It's a pregnant woman from the ER," the nurse explained in a rush. "She was drinking at a bar, and after her sixth double bourbon, the bartender got worried. Sure enough, she passed out. She woke up in the ER fighting to leave, then her water broke, so they sent her to OB-GYN."
"She looks full-term," Adam noted, glancing at her. "Which doctor's on duty?"
"Dr. Luna's here. We've already paged her," the nurse replied.
"Alright."
Adam followed them as they wheeled the woman toward the delivery room.
"Let me go! I'm outta here! I need another drink!" she yelled, thrashing so hard that even a few nurses could barely hold her down. With Adam's help, they finally got her under control.
"Damn it! Damn it!" she sobbed, flailing and smacking her belly. "You little bastard! Look what you've done to my life! I just want a drink!"
"Ma'am, stop moving!" Adam grabbed her hand before she could hit herself again. "You're going to hurt the baby."
"Then kill it already!" she screamed. "I never wanted it! I never wanted this little jerk! I'll die and take it with me!"
"Call social services!" Adam ordered, frowning.
Calling her baby "it" and "little bastard," screaming about killing it while trying to hurt herself—this was unreal. If the kid wasn't still inside her, Adam would've doubted she was even the mom.
"Yes, Dr. Duncan," a nurse replied, hurrying off.
With Adam's help, they got the drunken woman into the delivery room just as Dr. Luna rushed in. Seeing Adam, Luna's face lit up, and she asked him to stay and assist.
It was a mess. At first, the woman refused to give birth, acting like she'd rather suffocate the baby inside her. After some tough love and coaxing from Adam and the team, she finally agreed—but only to a C-section.
"Poor kid," Adam and Dr. Luna muttered, shaking their heads as they looked at the baby after the surgery.
Classic fetal alcohol syndrome. Drinking during pregnancy had left this baby with permanent birth defects. Alcohol crosses the placenta, stunting growth, causing distinct facial marks, and wrecking neurons and brain structures. It leads to a cascade of physical, mental, and behavioral issues.
In The Big Bang Theory, Bernadette once joked about this, blaming her mom's drinking for her short stature—making her a "permanent legal loli." As a microbiologist, she knew the science checked out. Fetal alcohol syndrome can absolutely affect height.
Penny, on the other hand, brushed off her own mom's drinking, saying it didn't faze her—then chugged another bottle like it was nothing. She totally missed that she might've been hit harder than Bernadette. She even bragged that her epic tolerance was "family tradition," learned from the best—not her mom, but her dad. 😂
A whole family of boozers!
Penny and Bernadette dodged the facial quirks, but Bernadette's height? Definitely a severe case of growth stunting. Lucky for her, it only hit her stature—heart, kidney, or eye defects would've been way worse. As for Penny's "dumb blonde" vibe, that permanent brain damage might've played a part. If her mom hadn't been a drinker, Penny might've been a genius instead of a "blonde monkey"! 🤔 (Serious face!)
This newborn? One look at its face screamed fetal alcohol syndrome. Compared to average stats, the poor thing was behind in every way—thanks to a mom who downed six double bourbons near her due date, passed out, and still demanded more after waking up. This kid was a textbook case: facial issues, growth defects, brain damage, the works.
Outside the OR
"How's the drunk mom doing?" Chief Resident Kelly asked, walking up.
"Surgery went fine, but the outcome? Not great," Adam said, filling her in.
"I just got a call from the DA's office," Kelly replied, eyeing Adam. "They're charging her with attempted murder."
"Social services moved fast," Adam said, surprised.
"Nope, they only acted after our call," Kelly said grimly.
"Grey!" Adam froze, then turned to Lexie, who'd just stepped out from assisting in surgery. "Did you call the cops?"
"Yeah," Lexie nodded. "She said she wanted to kill her baby. I'm a witness."
"We've got plenty of women here with drinking or drug issues," Kelly said, looking at Lexie. "We let social workers handle it."
"That's just ignoring it!" Lexie shot back. "The baby's got severe fetal alcohol syndrome! It's awful!"
"In the U.S., this is common," Kelly explained. "Out of every 1,000 newborns, 0.2 to 2 have fetal alcohol syndrome—that's 2 in 10,000 to 2 in 1,000. You can't manage them all. Starting criminal investigations isn't your job. If we scare these moms off, it hurts prenatal care for high-risk babies. Got it?"
Lexie glanced at Adam.
"Listen to Dr. Torres," Adam said firmly. "That's the chief resident talking."
"Yes, ma'am," Lexie mumbled, lowering her head.
"We all hate this drunk new mom," Kelly softened her tone a bit. "But we're doctors. We stick to the medical stuff we're responsible for. Meddling beyond that just causes trouble for the hospital—and you."
Lexie nodded quietly. Kelly gave her and Adam a look, then walked off.
"Dr. Duncan, aren't you gonna yell at me?" Lexie asked, trailing after Adam as he started to leave without a word.
"Dr. Torres already chewed you out," Adam said flatly. "What's left for me to say? That you're too soft-hearted? Or too dumb to realize that even if you mean well, you shouldn't be calling the cops on hospital time with the hospital phone? You should've thought it through first."
With that, he turned and walked away.
"Yes, sir!" Lexie blinked, then shouted after him. "I'll remember that and do better next time!"
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