Chapter Text
September 1, 2036
Kids’ Ages- Lu and Andrea: 14, Giovanni: 12
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Parenting was the toughest job in the world. Even harder than being a first responder, in Maya and Carina’s opinion. It was beyond rewarding, yet filled with enough stressors to make their hair turn gray. Each stage of life brought with it challenges and new experiences, but it was one that neither Maya or Carina would exchange for the world.
Their children were their greatest blessings, and as many pointless arguments between siblings they had to break up, they treasured each day. Maya and Carina truly couldn’t believe how fast time had flown.
It seemed that in the blink of an eye, their kids had grown from tiny bundles of joy, to teenagers. Andrea, Lucia and Giovanni were growing up. It was a crazy concept for both Maya and Carina as well as their extended family; to each of them, the kids would forever be toddlers or the little gremlins that begged their Uncle Jack to throw them in the air… but now they were teenagers, moody, crazy, hilarious, passionate teenagers. Instead of spending their days outside playing, it was spent on schoolwork, sports, partners…
Now that the kids were older, the words crush, girlfriend, boyfriend, driving, attitude, stop fighting, and all sorts of curse words were becoming incredibly familiar in the Bishop-DeLuca household.
Maya and Carina couldn’t be happier, yet there was still so much chaos.
All three Bishop-DeLuca children were incredibly busy, with friends, clubs, teams, schoolwork, and more. Although her kids were still as thick as thieves, their fights now had more… interesting language, and of course, more foolish decisions.
“It was Lucia!” Andrea tattled as Carina held up a broken vase with an angry expression. The vase wasn’t crucial, but it had been a gift from Catherine Avery, and Carina knew better than to believe it had been the dog, especially when Giovanni had been over at the park with Ryan and Moose that day.
Lucia crossed her arms angrily, unimpressed by the tattling. “Really, Andrea? Fine. He skipped Spanish class last week to go downtown to that soccer game you told him that he couldn’t go to,” she said smugly, watching her twin’s eyes narrow as Maya and Carina gasped.
Andrea hissed in annoyance. “I asked you not to tell!” He protested angrily.
“Yeah, well you just threw me out under the bus!” Lucia snapped.
Carina looked like she could breathe fire, and Maya’s face practically changed colour. Their children misbehaving wasn’t new to them, but this had been an argument that they had put up with relentlessly. Andrea had been insistent that he go, but Maya and Carina refused to allow it, because it meant skipping an important quiz in Spanish class. Yet, it seemed like Andrea made his mind up to disobey Maya and Carina’s request.
“ Dio mio , Andrea Matteo!”
“Are you kidding me? Explicitly after Mamma and I told you no?!”
“Lucia went on a date with Xander three weeks ago!” Andrea countered with a smirk, choosing to go for a low blow rather than to take his twin’s comment for where it stood. Lucia flushed red, and both mothers went from chastising Andrea to gaping at Lucia, who was staring at Andrea, absolutely enraged.
“Pardon me?!” Maya spluttered.
“ Excusa -” Carina gasped.
“I’m going to kill you,” Lucia murmured softly.
“Ha! I like to see you try,” Andrea sneered, and within seconds, Lucia launched herself at her brother. They wrestled, shoving and smacking until Maya’s angry shouts broke them apart.
“Excuse me!”
“Hey!”
“Lucia Willow! Andrea Matteo! Enough! ” Maya yelled loudly, and the two separated reluctantly, their mother annoyed having to play as referee, and upset that they'd deliberately kept information like this from herself and Carina.
“You both are old enough to know that we don’t fight! Now, give me your phones and go to your rooms while Mom and I talk about punishment,” Carina growled, holding her hand out.
“This is so not fair!” Lucia huffed, throwing her hands in the air, her daughter’s gestures of an Italian so familiar to her wife’s that Maya nearly had to do a double take.
“I did not give birth to you for you to give me so much attitude!” Carina insisted loudly.
“What wasn’t fair is when you went behind our backs when Mamma and I had established a decision! You are both minors, and we are the adults here. So you will give us your phones, and go upstairs. We will come see you in a bit,” Maya demanded firmly, gesturing to Carina’s extended hand.
With loud, frustrated sighs, the twins handed Carina their cell phones, and they bickered with one another up every step until two door clicking noises indicated they were in their rooms.
“ Goodness gracious, I don’t know which one to start with! ” Carina exclaimed, running her hands through her hair, muttering a few curse words underneath her breath. Maya felt just as taken aback by both her frustration with the misbehaving and shock at the information shared. Sometimes, parenting presented them with situations that boggled their minds, and while they wanted nothing more than to loudly express themselves, it was important that they handle things with grace. And this was certainly one of those situations.
One thing that Maya and Carina tried as a method of encouraging their children to communicate with them, was using something called the circle of safety. What that was, is a circle of complete honesty and immunity. Within the circle of safety, the kids were allowed to say anything they wanted, anything they did, and they wouldn’t get in trouble. Of course, this meant that sometimes, Maya and Carina got more than they bargained for, especially with teenagers, but they did their best to stick to that method. But, if Maya and Carina found out something outside of the circle, like this was, it was grounds for punishment.
“Lucia is way too young to be dating. She’s fourteen!” Maya squeaked, and Carina ran her hands through her hair, exhaling several times. Maya joined in, her deep breaths synchronizing with her wife’s, and for a minute, they were quiet, gathering their thoughts.
“Why don’t we get some more information from each of them? Then we can talk things out together?” Carina suggested, and pulling her wife closer, Maya grinned. She knew whatever life threw at them, Maya would handle with Carina, and for that, it felt like she could do anything. It was a thought that brought her both happiness, and peace.
“Together,” She whispered.
Of course, with growing up came changes. With their children becoming teenagers, it meant it was time to give them the 'talk'.
Carina’s profession meant that she knew extensively about the female body and its hormones, and while they both had knowledge of the male anatomy, Maya and Carina felt it would be beneficial to include one of the kids’ uncles in this conversation in case Andrea and Giovanni had any questions. So, Maya reached out to Travis and Emmett, who agreed that they could partner up, given how their girls needed to have this chat, too. And then Carina called Ben, because he’d been down this road before with Tuck and Joey.
So, when the Bishop-DeLuca children and the Montgomery children came back from walking Mary, Kit and Moose, they were alarmed to find a group of adults sitting at the dining table, seemingly waiting for them.
“What’s going on?” Zoë asked.
“Is this an intervention?” Andrea blurted aloud.
“For what? Who would be getting an intervention?” Lucia whispered, and Andrea shrugged.
“Nothing’s going on. Just come sit,” Emmett insisted, waving them over. Olivia said nothing, but Zoë’s eyebrows nearly disappeared in her hair. Exchanging looks of suspicion, the five kids sat at the table, descending into silence for a minute before Carina broke it.
“This is a new time in your lives, and you all are getting to that age where your bodies-”
“ Dio mio, mamma! ” Andrea hissed, exasperated. Lucia groaned, leaning backwards. Zoë clapped her hands over her ears, while Olivia flushed a brilliant shade of red. Giovanni stared at Carina in horror.
“Hey, hey. Can you let Mamma finish, please? Andrea, what did we say about interrupting?” Maya reminded firmly.
“ Scusa, mamma ,” Andrea mumbled, his cheeks still red.
“ Grazie mille . We’re not doing this because we want to embarrass you. There’s a lot that happens when you’re teenagers, and it is nothing to be ashamed about. It happens to everyone, and we’ve all been through it,” Carina said, motioning to the adults.
“Shouldn’t we be separated? That’s what they do at school,” Giovanni said, and Carina shook her head.
“No, bello . I want you to learn not just about yourself, but what others will go through, too. You have a sister, and you have female cousins. We think it’s important for you to learn about anatomies other than yourself. Is that okay with everybody?”
The kids exchanged looks and nodded in agreement. It didn’t seem like this chat was optional, so they were going to get through it together.
Ben smiled. “So, does anyone have any questions? It can be anything. We’re here to help, to give you answers,” He emphasized.
However, no one said anything for a long time. The awkwardness in the room felt surmountable, and despite Carina's assurances that this was not done to embarrass them, all five kids felt humiliated. Talking about this sort of stuff was not easy, and for the five teenagers, it felt like a monumentally uncomfortable.
Yet, the person who broke that minutes-long silence was not the boldest or the loudest talker in the room, but the complete opposite.
“Why haven’t I got my period yet?” Olivia asked, her question barely a whisper, but it was there nonetheless.
Ever since they'd met her, Olivia was painfully shy and highly anxious. Like Lucia, she was quiet, soft-spoken and if the task involved raising her voice, Olivia felt she was not up to it. Having an assertive sister like Zoë was beyond helpful for Olivia, because it meant she had a built-in protector.
Maya immediately began feeling that their decision was the right one. Emmett’s gaze met hers, and they exchanged nods.
Carina smiled encouragingly. “That’s a very good question, Olivia. Periods come at different times for different people. Girls usually don't get their periods until two or two and a half years after starting puberty, though some will move through puberty faster, some slower. I got mine at eleven, but Victoria got hers at sixteen and a half. It depends on our bodies. Yours will come, and if it does not, then that is another discussion,” She explained.
“When will I get boobs?” Zoë blurted, and Andrea laughed audibly, clapping a hand over his mouth and motioning for everyone to continue.
Zoë replied promptly by elbowing her cousin in the stomach.
Yet again, Carina stepped in to explain. “Like your period, your breasts will come with time, and they’re different for everyone. Throughout our lives, everyone’s body changes with age. Puberty is one of the first of those big changes, because it’s the body adjusting to a more adult-like body. Some of the changes are welcome, some of them are not. It’s important that you all know that we as your parents, zias and zios are here to help you understand that what you are experiencing may feel uncomfortable or strange at times, but it is completely normal,”
Zoë nodded to herself. Both Emmett and Travis were happy to see their daughters asking questions that they'd clearly been holding on to for a while. Like many same-sex couples did, having children of the opposite sex sometimes brought with it challenges, but the community that nineteen and Grey-Sloan brought with it, helped immensely.
“What’s pornography?” Giovanni asked innocently, and Travis promptly choked on his water, while Emmett thumped him on the back. Giovanni looked from adult to adult in confusion, and Emmett decided to take the lead on this one.
“Pornography is… it’s when nude individuals perform sexual acts on one another. It’s a type of movie that follows a script, and almost all of what is being shown is an inaccurate depiction of what sex is like. It’s natural to be curious about more grown-up things, and there is nothing wrong with porn, but what we need to emphasize is how inaccurate it is. Like a movie, people are hired to make sure everyone looks like a movie star. Everything, from the way that people interact with each other in pornography, with different roles of domination, to people’s appearances, to hair, to everything. Does that make sense?”
Giovanni nodded, and even the older kids looked like they were looking at things in a new light.
“Who here knows what consent means?” Maya asked, and the kids raised their hands. Carina felt a wave of anxiety wash over her. Consent meant something different to her, given what had happened to her at sixteen years old, and just the thought of something happening to one of their kids, or her nieces and nephews, was enough to make her feel nauseated. Maya noticed this, and held her wife's hand tightly. Carina felt impossibly eased by this.
Travis nodded. “Good. If someone does something to you that you do not like or want to have happen, you are always allowed to say no. No is a complete sentence. You do not owe anyone an explanation, because you are the boss of your own body. You are entitled to your body and what happens to you, and what is almost as important as your own consent, is respecting other people’s consent. Listening to what others say is necessary, okay?”
“And if something ever happens, you find someone you trust, and tell them. It doesn’t have to be us, or anyone at the firehouse, or even at Grey-Sloan, but asking for help is perfectly okay,” Carina emphasized.
“In fact, we encourage it,” Ben added.
“The bottom line is that we’re all here for any and all questions that you have. Now, and forever,” Emmett concluded, and the kids vocalized their agreement.
For the most part, Maya and Carina’s children stayed relatively similar, yet expanded on their interests.
Andrea Matteo Bishop-DeLuca continued playing soccer, and enjoyed every minute of it. He worked hard to hone his craft, and trained relentlessly. He’d stayed in the same stream of kids, and when he was eight, tried out for the competitive team at their local club, and didn’t look back. It helped that John Herrera, Andy and Robert’s eldest, was on the exact same team, which meant they carpooled and had familiar faces to see at the games. Alongside playing for a club, he chose to play for his school, too, and had the task of balancing his time well.
He was forever their social butterfly, and always seemed to have someone to hang out with. He could charm anyone into liking him, and it came to no shock to anyone who met him to learn that he was popular. While he had yet to confess to crushing on someone, Maya and Carina had noticed how some of Andrea’s female classmates would come to his games, and despite being socially adept, Andrea would never get that they were there because they liked him. He’d just greet them with a smile, and talk in depth about the soccer game and the plays made. Maya was convinced that if Andrea was thrown into a den of wolves, he’d walk out an hour later, unscathed and friends with each one.
When he wasn’t busy with soccer or friends, Andrea was dabbling with art. Much like Mason, Andrea had an affinity for drawing. It seemed that he could make the most beautiful pieces in the shortest amount of time. He liked to challenge himself with new mediums of art, and saw the world as creative opportunities awaiting him. It brought his mothers more joy than they could measure when Andrea would present them with something he made for them, and their walls held many of his pictures, from portraits, to charcoal drawings, to sculptures he’d whipped up in art class.
As he grew up, Carina noticed just how eerily similar Andrea looked to his namesake, his zio, yet, she loved how her son differed from his heavenly uncle. Just like her brother’s curly hair, her son had those same ones, yet they were blond like Maya’s was. Andrea had Carina’s warm brown eyes, and a smile that was both Carina’s and Maya’s.
Yet, Carina noticed just how many of her son’s traits were similar to her brother’s were. Andrea was headstrong, stubborn, kind, protective, and would go to the ends of the earth for those he loved. He wasn’t afraid to stand up for something or someone, and kept a close eye on his people to ensure they were okay. Lucia and Giovanni often complained that he acted like a mother hen, but Andrea didn’t care, because he cared so deeply for his family and that was his unofficial job in life; to keep the people that matter close to his heart.
Lucia Willow Bishop-DeLuca had branched from her childhood days of playing soccer to running track, just like Maya did.
When at six years old, Lucia had expressed the desire to join a track team, Maya had a nervous breakdown. Carina managed to dissuade her daughter and say that they were thinking about it who didn’t understand why her mom was so upset.
It took a lot of time with Diane for Maya to initially be okay with the decision to let Lucia participate in a sport that she wanted to, and even though Lucia had been running track for six years, sometimes Maya still struggled with bad memories. Lucia competitively running was an adjustment for Maya to say the least, but Lucia found solace in running, just like her mom.
Of course, both moms kept a close eye to ensure Lucia was training healthily and consuming enough food, because statistics and experience told them that teenaged girls experienced immense, negative pressure from the media.
Lucia loved running, and was primarily a ‘middle distance’ runner. Carina, now a ‘track-mom’, got to learn the categories of running; everything under 800m was short distance, 800-5000 was middle distance, while long distance was everything above. She ran both for a club team and her school team, and enjoyed it immensely. Lucia took pride in what she did, and just like Maya, was fiercely competitive about her sport.
Outside of sports, Lucia loved to challenge herself academically. Aside from being a straight A student, Lucia loved to play chess, and tinkered on her school’s robotics team. The love to learn motivated Lucia to constantly research and study whatever subject piqued her interest, whether that be mathematics, astrophysics or even ancient civilization.
When Lucia’s nose wasn’t buried in a book, she was busy playing the violin, cooking with Carina, or exploring alongside Moose. Lucia loved nature and animals more than anyone Maya knew, and she had terrified Carina when Lucia found a snake in their garden as a four-year-old, begging to keep it as a pet. Moose was practically attached to Lucia’s hip, soothing whatever anxieties blossomed whenever they went out in public.
Lucia was shy and riddled with anxiety, presenting with it as young as four years old, and it was something that the Bishop-DeLuca moms tried their best to navigate. Lucia regularly visited a therapist, working through her fears as they came up.
Unlike her twin brother, Lucia didn’t have hoards of friends, but only a few close ones. Kavya, whom Lucia had met in kindergarten, continued to be her best friend, yet Lucia added two more along the way; Miriam from school and Sun, from track. The four girls were as thick as thieves, and graced the Bishop-DeLuca house frequently.
Giovanni Finn Bishop-DeLuca was their baby, and no matter that he was no longer an infant, the family saw him as such, something that annoyed him to no end. He continued to challenge any and all notions of gendered binaries, and sought out Travis and Emmett’s advice as he grew into a pre-teen. While he wasn’t hypermasculine like Andrea was, Giovanni was content being a boy. He liked who he was, liked wearing dresses, painting his nails or the colour pink.
Everyone that met Giovanni loved him, and his brilliant smile and kind heart drew in friends that would fiercely protect him like his siblings would. Gio was sensitive, and like Carina, wore his heart on his sleeve. Sometimes that sensitivity would weigh him down, but after a cuddle from his moms, he’d be right back up, full of sunshine.
Giovanni was patient, gentle and loving, and was the one who mediated arguments. He rarely got in trouble, because he didn’t like to cause it. He went with the flow of things, and had a remarkable level head. He was the best at expressing his feelings, and was such a wise soul beyond his years. He felt that his big brother and sister hung the world, and adored everything that they did.
Like Andrea, Giovanni had an artistic eye, but unlike his brother, it wasn’t with pencils or paints, but instead, a camera. He looked up to photographers and conservationists Robert and Steve Irwin, and after saving up his allowance and birthday money, purchased his first camera at the age of seven. Gio liked capturing what he felt was most beautiful, whether that be landscapes, his family, animals, or the starry sky.
As a toddler, Maya and Carina registered Giovanni in gymnastics, like they’d done for all their children, but Gio was the only one who stayed in it. He loved the artistic freedom it gave him, loved the beauty of the balance beam, flipping on the trampoline, or the elegance of floor exercises. Sure, it didn’t make him the most popular boy at school, but nothing anyone would say could sway Giovanni to change the sport he was in. The long, hard hours spent at the gymnasium were full of exhilarating, joyful accomplishments. And when at seven years old, a competitive coach talked to Maya and Carina about the possibility of recruiting Gio as a member, it only solidified the love Giovanni felt for the sport. He looked up to athletes like Paul Hamm, Simone Biles, Kohei Uchimura and Nadia Comaneci. He could contort his body in ways that made Maya cringe, and was often found in the backyard, practicing his handsprings, flips or trying to help a curious Lucia and Andrea get theirs, too.
Despite the fact that the kids were getting older, they craved that same attention from their parents. The bambini had grown up learning that family was important, and to stand up for the things and the people they believed in, and they carried that with them into teenage-dom.
Maya and Carina came to every practice, every game, every meet and competition, and the bambini couldn’t be more ecstatic. As much as they feigned annoyance and or embarrassment, they adored their cheering squad, consisting of aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents. Their family was crucial to their identities, and as much as the bambini wanted to hang out with their friends, they were content on some days just to spend the day with their moms and siblings.
The bond they all had with their cousins remained as strong as ever. When everyone was young, Vic suggested starting a tradition of a weekly picnic. Given that the majority of them had young kids, they decided that their spot would be in the park closest to station nineteen. Their cousins were the perfect built-in best friends for the bambini , and no matter how old the kids got, their family picnics would continue.
Once a week, they would see their cousins, play together, chat, and the camaraderie that each of the kids shared was reason enough to keep meeting. It was almost as if they were all big groups of siblings; looking out for one another, frequent playdates, each adult knowing all the kids’ quirks, allergies, and other information that only a caring family member would know.
Andrea was always eager to learn some martial arts from Zoë, Travis and Emmett’s youngest, and he was on the same club soccer team as John, Andy and Robert’s eldest. Andrea practically worshipped the ground that Bailey Grey-Shepherd walked on, and took every guitar lesson that Bailey provided with unbridled eagerness.
Lucia could listen to Olivia, Travis and Emmett’s eldest, talk about horseback riding all day. The two girls took to one another, given their shy, inquisitive natures. She and Allison liked shooting hoops at the end of the driveway together, both of them athletic, and Luna was Lucia’s perfect companion for their mutual love of reading.
Giovanni pretty much went everywhere with Ryan, Andy and Robert’s youngest. He and Leo were two peas in a pod, given how their interests went beyond a gendered boundary. And when Scout wanted a buddy to go to a wilderness summer camp with when he was seven, Giovanni discovered his love for the outdoors.
Maya and Carina’s lives were chaotic at best with their three children, but neither of them could ask for more.