Work Text:
The clinic was busy, it always was. It was no secret that the initiative was slow to start but with the right determination and small tweaks by all involved it fast become one of the most successful initiatives any fire department had created.
Carina was busy seeing patient after patient not really paying much attention to the workings of the station around her but she was coming close to the end of her 8 hour shift when she realised A shift hadn’t been called out on any calls and for that she was silently grateful, she could boss people around, she had staff for the clinic who were the best at what they did but it always helped when there wasn’t a constant klaxon sounding.
Carina missed her wife, they’d been working opposite shifts for the last two weeks and every time they were able to find 5 minutes together there would always been an interruption usually the five alarm kind.
Maya for her part was drowning in paperwork from the five alarms, she was pretty focused and also silently grateful for the lack of calls allowing her to hide in her office and get her work done. On any other day she’d be sat in silence but today she seemed to working to the soundtrack of her youngest daughter humming and singing whatever song came to her head regardless of the language. With the twins away at camp and Carina in the clinic all day, Maya decided to let Emilia hang out in her office rather than spend the day with a sitter.
Emilia lay on the floor on her stomach kicking her feet behind her as she coloured in. She’d missed her mom and was happy to even just sit in her office as she worked knowing the quicker Maya finished the quicker she’d be able to play with her.
Emilia paused her singing as her eyes flicked between Maya and the gold medal stood on the shelf behind her. She knew her mom was an Olympian and she knew she won a medal and Emilia took great pride in talking about it at school or with anyone she met but she’d never actually held the medal
“Can I wear it?” Emilia asked looking up from her colouring in as her face contorted into a curious pout
“Wear what?” Maya asked her eyes not averting from the paperwork infront of her on the desk
“Your medal can I wear it, it’s pretty?” Emilia replied pointing to the box behind her mom trying to read and understand the frown that fell over Maya’s face
“That is five hours a day, 365 days a year in the rain and sun and heat and cold running 100 miles a week against thousands of other women-” Maya paused for a moment when she saw the look on her daughters face, she was listening to her… fully listening to her, right now she had the 6 year olds full attention, something she struggled to gain from the hyperactive girl
“…and all that was just to qualify to compete in the 10,000 meter run. I got my best ever time on a sprained ankle when I won this… it’s not pretty my baby, it’s a representation of blood, sweat, tears and a lot of determination” Maya smiled as she crouched down in-front of her daughter “…it’s also a reminder of just how much tougher I am than any other man in the whole world” she added with a grin as wide as her daughters who giggled at the final statement
“So can I wear it?” Emilia grinned again more optimistically than last time holding Maya’s face
“Sure baby, come on” Maya chuckled and signalled for her daughter to come and sit on her chair, Maya reached up to the medal as Emilia climbed into her lap
The blonde carefully took the medal out of the glass box and looped it over her daughters head smiling at the utter look of awe on the girls face as she took the gold disc in her hands
“It’s so cool, I want one” Emilia whispered softly still in awe, she’d always seen the medal but she’d always been too sacred to ask to touch it she knew how it important it was to her mom
“Yeah?” Maya smiled at the confession
“I want one in every colour” Emilia replied nodding vigorously
“Every colour huh?” She laughed
“Si…” the girl nodded again looking up at Maya before catching a glimpse of the photo on her mom’s desk that she’d never noticed before “…ah!” she screamed in excitement as she placed her hands on the desk and her chin fell to rest on them
“Emilia baby please I’ve told you to stop doing that” Maya winced at the sound of the piercing scream down her ear
“Sorry mommy” Emilia pouted looking back at Maya
“What’s wrong? Why did you gasp and scream in my ear” she asked tickling the girl who squirmed in her lap
“That photo” Emilia pointed at the photo her eyes were fixed on
“What photo” Maya asked confused as to just where Emilia was looking
“The one of mama” Emilia replied reaching over to edge of the desk and pulling herself towards it encouraging Maya to lift her feet off the floor so the wheels of the chair could roll as they both giggled at the movement
Emilia picked up the picture and stared at it, it wasn’t a new picture, Maya had snapped it two summers ago when they were in Italy. Carina was looking over her shoulder with a wide smile on her face, Maya could still remember the sound of her wife’s laughter above the cacophony of noise.
“Oh” Maya smiled holding Emilia tightly as they both looked at the picture of their favourite Italian
“Lei è così bella” Emilia adorned “…mi manca Mama”
“Si, lei è molto bellissima” Maya smiled kissing the side of Emilia’s head as the girl smiled and clapped her Italian
“Sei così bella anche mommy” Emilia whispered cuddling back into Maya
“Grazie patatina, sei perfetta” Maya replied as she reached around Emilia to pick up her pen again and sign off on the report she’d just completed
“Lo so” she giggled knowingly “…can I go find Gibby per favore?” Emilia asked sweetly sensing her moms tension as she tried to finish her work
“Yeah sure, but you need to make sure you come right back here if any klaxon’s go off and Gibby has to leave” Maya replied
“Si, io prometto” Emilia beamed jumping down from Maya’s lap and wandering off towards the barn without Maya realising she still had the gold medal around her neck
———
“Hey baby DeLucs?“ Jack shouted as Emilia came skipping into the barn still infatuated with the gold medal around her neck
“Who’s baby DeLucs?” Emilia asked looking around with a confused look in her face
“You” Jack replied
“Io?“ Emilia frowned pointing back to herself
“Yes” Jack chuckled nodding
Emilia chuckled back luring the lieutenant into a false sense of security before the giggle fell from her face, she pulled her eyebrows impossibly close together and crossed her arms over her chest
“No” she replied
“What?” Jack chuckled before coughing as a way to mask his laughter
“My name isn’t DeLucs” Emilia shook her head
“Your-?”
“My name’s DeLuca-Bishop” she added sternly
“I know it was just-“ Jack tried to justify the new nickname
“Not DeLuca, Not Bishop…” Emilia replied as she climbed to stand on a chair so she was the same height as Jack “…DeLuca-Bishop” she growled placing her hands on Jack’s shoulders continuing to frown at him
“Noted, I’m sorry” Jack replied nodding softly placing his own hands on the girls shoulders to steady her and make sure she didn’t fall and hurt herself
“HmmHmm” she growled before breaking out in giggles spinning Jack around so she could jump on his back but the firefighter lifted her even higher and sat her on his shoulders
“Cool necklace” the probie smiled looking up at Emilia
“It’s not a necklace it’s an Olympic gold medal” Emilia replied resting her hands on top of Jack’s head and resting her chin there
“Oh cool” the probie smiled as he reached up to touch the medal
“Don’t touch, it’s special” Emilia replied moving quickly that she wobbled at the height and nearly fell triggering Jack to sit down and put her back on the floor
“Oh”
“Why are you wearing mommy’s medal” Carina chuckled walking out of one of the cubicles of the clinic seeing Emilia holding the disc possessively close to her chest
“Ciao mama” Emilia beamed running over to meet Carina who quickly swept her up onto her hip
“Ciao patatina…” Carina smiled “….why do you have this?” she asked clasping her hand over Emilia’s and the medal
“Mommy gave it to me” Emilia smiled
“Hmm…” she nodded unconvinced that Maya would let their youngest to run around with her medal “…dov’è Mommy?”
“L’ufficio” Emilia replied pointing towards the internal door that led from the barn back into the station’s foyer “…she’s stressed” she sighed exhaling deeply laying her head on Carina’s shoulder still keeping tight hold of the medal in her hands
“Shall we go see her?” Carina asked
“Si” Emilia nodded
“Missing something?“ Carina asked carrying their daughter into her wife’s office
“Missing what?” Maya replied still not looking up from the pile of paperwork she was drowning in on her desk
She certainly wasn’t one to fall behind but there had been a number of large calls recently and with a quarterly inspection coming up Maya was determined to make sure every single file was perfect with every box ticked, t’s crossed and I’s dotted
“Me mommy” Emilia giggled
“Oh no I knew she was in the barn, she went to find Jack” Maya replied her eyes only averting their gaze from the city plans on her desk to the open word document and incident report on the computer
“I meant the precious metal around her neck” Carina replied as she tried to take the medal off but Emilia was determined to keep it
“Wha-“ Maya looked up slightly confused “…Emilia” she sighed seeing the empty box on the chair opposite her and the girl proudly wearing the medal
“Si mommy” Emilia smiled innocently
“Come put it back in the box please” Maya exhaled with a smile shaking her head
“Can’t I keep it, per favore” she frowned enjoying the extra weight and shiny disc hanging almost the entire length of her torso
“No you can’t, it lives in here come on” Maya replied holding up the glass box that she’d retrieved the medal from in the first place
“Va bene” Emilia huffed as she walked over to Maya and dropped her head so her mom could take the medal off and return it to the box “…when I get mine I’m never taking it off”
“When you get your what?” Carina chuckled sitting down in one of the chairs the other side of the desk
“My Olympic gold medal” Emilia replied with what anyone else would interpret as a deadpanned expression but the glimmer in her eye, the slight scrunch in her nose, the small curve of her mouth and the raise in her eyebrow. Carina knew that look, she knew where Emilia got that look from. It was Maya’s face of determination.
Emilia was determined, she was only 6 but she knew what she wanted and if she shared even a slither of Maya’s determination Carina had no doubt that one day her daughter too would win a gold medal.
“Brava” Carina chuckled “…shall we find your things and head home”
“You’re done?” Maya asked having not kept track of the time all afternoon and not realised how late it now was
“Si, it’s 6pm they’re packing away the clinic right now so in around 20 minutes you’ll have your barn back” Carina smiled
“Do we have to leave?” Emilia pouted scrambling to sit in Maya’s lap hoping Carina would take pity and leave her with her mom
“Si mommy has work to do, and we have dinner to make” Carina replied standing up and holding her hand out to Emilia
“No, can’t we stay per favore” the girl pleaded
“Not today…” Maya replied with an identical pout to Emilia on her face “…I’ll be home in three hours anyway”
“But that’s after bed time” Emilia sighed sadly as tears started to pool in her eyes
“So I’ll come home for bed time” Maya smiled
“And you’ll read me stories and we can have cuddles…” Emilia asked sweetly “…and then I can sleep in your bed” she added with a whisper
“Stories and cuddles definitely-“ Maya smiled
“…but you have your own bed to sleep in with Pesto and Elmo” Carina added crouching down in front of her wife and daughter
“Va bene” Emilia pouted cuddling into Maya’s chest Carina allowing her to cuddle there for a little longer whilst she gathered together her own belongings and Emilia’s
———
Carina and Emilia made their way home, Emilia happily helping Carina make dinner before listening to every instruction her mama gave her. They ate and tidied away the kitchen before cleaning up the pillows and toys in the living room.
Every 30 minutes Emilia would ask how long it’d be till Maya got home so Carina did everything she could to distract the girl, starting with a bath, then changing into her pyjamas before curling up with Carina and watching some cartoons to help her wind down.
Maya came home slightly later than she had intended, she tried to keep her promise, she wasn’t called out but the paper work seemed to be multiplying by the minute. By the time the clock struck 10pm she gave up and decided to go home to her wife and daughter. The paper work could wait, she knew her 6 year old would not.
Her first point of call when she walked through the front door was Emilia’s bedroom, she felt guilty she’d missed bedtime but she still wanted to kiss her good night. Emilia seemed to be fast asleep so Maya leant over to place a soft kiss to her forehead with the intention of being quick and ducking out again
“Hi” Emilia giggled under the kiss
“I thought you were asleep” Maya smiled shaking her head at the girls antics
“Nah-Ah not properly asleep, you said cuddles and story” Emilia replied wiggling her eyebrows
“Okay, what story shall we read?” Maya asked walking over to the girls book case to hopefully grab the shortest book
“Can you tell me a story about you and mama” Emilia asked sweetly
“Me and mama?” Maya asked with a small smirk
“Si, I want the bear story” Emilia replied patting her bed for Maya to come and lay down with her
“But you know that one” Maya replied climbing into Emilia’s twin bed with her as the 6 year old curled into her side hugging her
“Tell me again” Emilia smiled looking up at her mom
“Okay” Maya chuckled
Maya dived into the story, making sure to leave out any details she didn’t want her daughter to know about her initial treatment when she became captain whilst exaggerating other parts especially the size of the bear and how fast she ran. Carina was always better at telling the story, it was Carina who saw Maya in the ER but by the time she got to that point in the story Emilia had taken over.
Emilia launched into her own story of what happened when she helped Carina earlier make lasagna and not missing yet another opportunity to tell Maya how much she missed her brother and sister. The girl talked herself to sleep and Maya managed to untangle them and slip out into her own bedroom for the rest of the night
“Is she asleep?“ Carina smiled seeing her wife walk back into their bedroom closing the door behind her
“Yes” Maya smiled
“How many stories did you read?” Carina asked as she finished putting away the clean laundry in their bed
“Oh just the one, the bear story” Maya replied as she tidied her shoes and jacket away
“Again?” Carina chuckled
“Hmmhmm, again…” Maya hummed as she creeped up behind the Italian and wrapped her arms tightly around her waist resting her head on her wife’s shoulder “…mi sei mancata” she whispered as she grazed her teeth against her wife’s ear eliciting a soft moan
“You did huh?” Carina spoke through a hitched breath
“Ogni singolo secondo” Maya replied as she left a trail of kisses down the side of the Carina’s neck and along her exposed shoulder
“Who’s been teaching you Italian?” Carina asked as her head lull backwards when Maya sucked on her pressure point
“The little green bird on duolingo” Maya teased turning them around and walking Carina towards the bed
“Oh” she laughed loudly as Maya’s hand quickly shot to her mouth the silence her for fear of waking up Emilia
“And my tiny Italian Olympians” Maya added as she spun Carina around so they were face to face
“Olympians…” Carina sighed softly with an adorned smile on her face “…she’s not going to stop till she gets a medal now you know that”
“Of course, she wants one in every colour” Maya smiled repeating her daughters earlier declaration
“Every col- mamma mia…” Carina rolled her eyes before shrieking as Maya lifted her up and her legs instantly wrapped around her wife’s waist “…Maya!“
“Sorry I’m done talking about the kids, I missed you” Maya replied her voice low and husked
“How much?” Carina asked
“So damn much” Maya giggled as she fell onto the bed and on top of her wife
“Baciami” Carina smiled reaching up to Maya’s face
“Per sempre” she replied seeing the smile on her wife’s face grow at the use of Italian before crashing their lips together