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Today was Halloween, a holiday that Carina didn’t totally mind but at the moment she couldn’t stand nearly anything. Her life was a mess. Her wife barely looked at her and they hadn’t spoken properly in days. Maya had disappeared off to work for however many days in a row, not responding to her texts and declining all her calls. The brunette had barely slept in that time, needing even just the presence of her wife near her to soothe her worries. She wanted Maya’s strong arms to just wrap around her waist and pull her close as they curled into one another among the sheets. But that clearly wasn’t going to happen. She had knocked the lit up pumpkin off the dresser in the middle of the night, its mocking grin still illuminated from its place on the floor now.
She glanced over at the clock and sighed. The hour was early but she knew she wasn’t going back to sleep. She was going to the station today to help with the open house, and maybe get a glance at her wife. Perhaps she’d just go in a little earlier than she had been planning to. Ben had mentioned he wanted to speak to her about something about the clinic, it would probably be best to fit that in before the morning lineup and the rush of the day settled in.
So she got up with a sigh and trekked into the bathroom. She glanced at herself in the mirror and frowned. The dark circles under her eyes were becoming more and more apparent as she ran her fingers through unruly brunette locks. She couldn’t help but let her hand slowly drift over her flat stomach and she bit her lip. Even with all their problems at the moment, she so wished there was a baby growing in her tummy. She knew Maya would be a wonderful mother and nothing would change her mind about that. Her wonderful, loving Maya would be all that a baby would need. The Italian just wasn’t sure where that woman had gone lately. Because this wasn’t her Maya, this was somebody wrapped up in pain and trauma and was continuously taking that out on herself. And when she wasn’t running down her own body the anger was directed at Carina. It’s not like Carina could force Maya to come home, at least she knew the blonde was at work and not just off somewhere in the unknown. That wasn’t particularly a positive, but it was better than nothing.
The woman rid herself of her pajamas and stood under the hot stream of water in the shower. She stayed in the bathroom for awhile just trying to let her muscles relax before finally washing herself and continuing to get ready for the day. She walked into the kitchen dressed in her pink scrubs, she wanted to dress up for the event tonight and figured she’d just dress in her scrubs. But she refused to dawn the black ones, at least for this. Halloween was about wanting to be anything you desired, and what Carina desired was normalcy. In the pink she could pretend like she wasn’t having to work in protest of a government that decided they knew better than all the women that lived in this country. That they shouldn’t have rights to their own health and what they chose to do with their own bodies. The whole thing was infuriating. But for today she could walk around in the happy pink scrubs and bring light to the children's eyes as she informed the little girls and boys that they could certainly be a doctor when they grew up.
She hung her lab coat over her bag and donned her normal camel toned coat since that Fall chill was starting to settle in the air. She made sure everything was off and left the lonely apartment. The drive to the station was quiet to match her somber attitude. There was no place for happy music in her life at the moment. She glanced around the parking lot, spotting familiar cars and knowing that most everybody from A shift was already there. She walked into the station and smiled softly at some of the familiar faces for the shift that was just ending. She asked one if they had seen Ben yet and they directed her up to the beanery. She thanked them with a polite smile and jogged upstairs. She hadn’t seen her wife yet but she threw her coat and bag into the lounge for now, not even feeling comfortable lately to put her things into Maya’s locker. She decided she’d leave the lab coat off for now and saw Ben at the sink.
They greeted one another and almost immediately dove into a conversation concerning the clinic. Carina was glad for a brief break from her thoughts about Maya. She let her mind be consumed by what Ben was suggesting for the clinic. He wanted to set up some things differently tomorrow, wondering if it would benefit the flow of everything. They made their way down to the barn together so Ben could more fully show her what he was thinking for the layout.
They went down through the lobby and made their way into the large room. Carina led as they stepped through the gap of the trucks and the brunette stepped into the more open space. Unknown to the two of them, Beckett was checking on what he had rigged up late last night. His eyes were drawn upward to the gleaming silver bucket that hung in the air, but at the sound of sudden voices he was spooked at being caught. In the rush to act like he was doing nothing but looking over the trucks his hand had caught on the string. With a harsh tug the bucket tipped itself over and fake blood came pouring out in a huge wave of red. Ben had tailed just far enough behind Carina that he was able to dodge the liquid and his mouth dropped open in shock as his friend was suddenly covered in blood.
Carina had let out a sharp gasp and raised her arms up as the thick substance poured all over her. Completely soaking her, the pink of her scrubs quickly stained red. There was a loud silence in the air as the brunette stood there in shock, trying to gauge what had just happened. The two men had their mouths hanging wide open, neither sure what to do.
“I… oh my god… Carina. Are- Are you ok?” Ben asked quickly as he took a step closer to her. She raised a warning hand, not wanting him to come any closer. Her jaw clenched as she glanced down at herself. Everything, absolutely everything she was wearing was most likely ruined.
Another set of footsteps could be heard coming into the barn and suddenly stopping as the person took in the scene in front of her.
“What the hell?” Maya said loudly. The hard blue eyes could hardly believe what she was seeing. Her wife, covered head to toe in fake blood (she hoped it was fake), and just standing there in shock. At the sound of Maya’s voice, Carina slowly turned to see her wife staring at her in confusion. Her eyebrows were pinched and the determined set of her jaw signaled to Carina that someone was about to regret they ever showed up for work. And that someone was probably going to be Beckett as she observed the gears turn in the blonde's head. Maya’s eyes darted upward to the bucket that still had small drips of blood coming from it and she snapped her head over to her so-called captain who was standing stupidly next to the string. His mouth still wide open and looking about as dumb as he could.
“You! What the hell did you do to my wife!?” Maya yelled, her chest puffed up as she stalked over to the man. The couple may be standing on rocky ground but there was no way in hell she wouldn’t protect Carina with everything she had. Beckett looked down at Maya as she strided over to him.
“I.. I didn’t know, they just..” he started to try to explain but nothing was coming out properly. “Warren and Italy.. They just-” He stumbled forward.
“What did you just call her?” Maya’s tone had pitched higher in tone. “She has a goddamn name! Carina Deluca! You can address her as Dr. Deluca! I swear if you ever call her that again,” Maya’s yelling had attracted some others at this point. Andy, Vic, and Travis had poked their heads around the truck and were shocked at the scene in front of them.
“It was an accident, Bishop! It wasn’t meant for her, it was supposed to be for-” he stopped his words suddenly but as he gestured to her the intended target was clear.
“You were going to dump that on me?” Maya asked angrily as she stepped closer to the man. Andy quickly walked over to her friend and rested her hand on Maya’s shoulder, hoping it would calm her somewhat. Andy frowned as Beckett clenched his jaw and looked away.
“What are we? In highschool? What kind of prank is that?” Andy asked, also feeling frustrated.
“Calm down Hererra, it was harmless,” Beckett said, trying to take control of the situation.
“Harmless!? My wife is covered in blood!” The yells continued as everybody started to argue with one another. Carina really just wanted to disappear into the floor at this point. She felt disgusting as the sticky substance was starting to settle in her hair and skin. She needed to go take a shower desperately.
“What is going on here!?” A new voice rang out as silence took over the barn once more. Chief Ross stood behind everybody, her eyes going immediately to Carina dripping fake blood everywhere. The woman quickly worked out what had happened as well as she observed the bucket and string. Her gaze softened slightly as she walked closer to the Italian.
“Dr. Deluca, why don’t you go get cleaned up? I’ll handle this,” she said firmly as she wanted to grant the brunette an escape. Carina nodded silently and as quickly as she could, vanished from the barn and up to the locker room.
She tried to keep from making an absolute mess as she went into the showers, turning the water on as hot as she could. She just needed to get rid of these clothes, she just needed to be clean. She sighed deeply as she stood under the spray of hot water, the steam soothing her muscles. She scrubbed her body of the dried blood and washed at her brunette curls. She could see spots of red that were refusing to come out as she washed her hair again.
Then there was a knock on the door and Maya poked her head in.
“Carina,” she called out softly, she could hear the water running at the end of the stalls.
“What do you want, Maya?” Carina called back, too tired for this. The blonde slipped into the room and gently closed the door.
“I um… I just wanted to check on you. Are you ok?” Maya asked as she walked in with a towel in her arms, unsure if Carina had grabbed one in her hurry to get clean. The brunette couldn't help the sarcastic chuckle that came from her lips.
“Oh now you want you to check on me?” Carina glanced over to her wife from the stall as she had pulled the curtain just enough to see Maya. “I’m fine Maya, just go away,” the brunette said numbly, barely any emotion in her voice. Maya blinked at the harshness from her wife. But perhaps she deserved that, no she definitely deserved it. She’d been treating Carina worse than that in recent weeks.
“I… um…” Maya frowned slightly. Since when had it become so difficult to talk to her wife? Her beautiful, perfect, loving wife.
“What Maya?” Carina said, frustrated.
“I just.. I brought you a towel,” she set it on the counter behind her. “And um… most of my clothes are dirty but..” she rubbed at the back of her neck nervously. “But there’s some clean sweats in my locker, and a t-shirt if you want,” Maya explained softly.
“Well I don’t want to put those damn things back on, do I?” Carina asked as she gestured her hand to the bloody pile of clothes sitting in the corner.
“I.. I’m sorry,``Maya said. She was unsure how to navigate this version of her wife. She wondered if this was how Carina had felt for weeks. The brunette took a deep breath as she turned the water off.
“It’s fine,” she pulled the curtain aside and silently took the offered towel from Maya’s grasp. She quickly wrapped it around her body, wanting to have some sort of shield between herself and the blonde. Some type of protection from the harsh person her wife had become lately, she didn’t have the energy to deal with it right now and she felt extremely vulnerable. She had never shied away from Maya in that way, the physical side of their relationship had always held strong. But right now, she just wanted to curl up in a ball. She knew in the depth of her mind, she wanted Maya to hold her. But she shook that thought away as she crossed her arms over her body.
“What do you want Maya?” she asked again with a sigh.
“I told you, I wanted to check on you,” Maya frowned.
“Well you can’t blame me for actually taking that seriously,” Carina bit out.
“What is that supposed to mean?” Maya asked, her own frustration spilling out.
“Don’t act like you give a damn about me anymore, Maya,” Carina said as her emotions were getting the best of her.
“I was defending you down there,” Maya said as she puffed out her chest.
“No you weren’t. You were trying to claim what’s yours. Getting up in Beckett’s face, screaming and yelling. That wasn’t for me, that was for you. Don’t act like it wasn’t,” she spat out. “He wounded your pride,” Carina said as she pushed past Maya to go out to the lockers.
Maya clenched her jaw in anger as she followed Carina out of the room.
“Was I supposed to say nothing? I walk in and you’re covered in blood! And it was clearly his fault. And then of course it was supposed to be meant for me,” Maya laughed bitterly as she shook her head.
“See! There it is!” Carina whipped around and pointed at her wife as they stood in front of one another. “Always making everything about you! Guess what Maya! The world doesn’t revolve around you,” Carina argued back as their voices raised.
The ringing of the klaxon was almost lost on both women as they were staring at each other in frustration. Maya registered that she needed to go but her feet were stuck.
“Go Maya,” Carina’s tone dropped to a whisper, Maya straining to hear her. The tiredness had settled back in as the blonde’s job called her away. A call that Maya would never decline, unlike her wifes. “Go run away like you always do from me,” she said softly as she turned to the locker. Maya stared at her wife’s back for a moment, wanting to say something else. But her mouth wouldn’t move. And she needed to leave. She took a breath before jogging back down to the barn. Carina listened to her go, silent tears falling down her cheeks.
___
After Carina got dressed in a pair of Maya’s black sweatpants, and one of the station t-shirts she figured she’d do a load of laundry. Since she remembered the blonde saying she was nearly out of clothes. The brunette frustratedly threw her scrubs into the machine, the pink scrubs she couldn’t even wear anymore at work tainted by the red stains all over them. There was some sort of sick symbolism in that.
She spent the rest of the day preparing the station for the open house that evening. She sighed when everybody got called to the place Maya and Theo had gone. Apparently a fire had sparked in a maze and she couldn’t help the small constrictions her heart had at the thought of her wife in that. She didn’t want to care but she did. She’d always care about Maya and if she was safe while at a fire. The brunette wasn’t sure she’d ever get used to knowing that the blonde was constantly running into danger. When they met she was already captain. Their relationship had never lived with that constant fear that Carina carried with her now. It’s not like she wasn’t scared of Maya’s job prior to her getting demoted but she knew that most of the time she was the one in control of everything. She was outside away from the flames. When Maya had first gone back to work as a lieutenant, Carina had had nightmares like she never had before. One time when Maya was home, the brunette had woken up because her wife had woken to her screaming and writhing around in bed. She held on tightly to Maya that night and cried for a while.
She may be angry at the moment but she always wanted Maya to come back to her, always.
The brunette had disappeared up to the beanery when she heard the trucks pulling back into the station. She wasn’t feeling up to seeing Maya or Beckett or anybody at the moment. She had been snacking like crazy all day, she hoped that was a good sign for her possibly being pregnant.
Maya’s ankle throbbed dully as she jogged up the stairs. Her wife was the only thing on her mind for the moment. The telling off that Theo had just given Beckett rang in her mind, as well as the subsequent order to take a few days off from her idiot captain. She knew she had acted irrationally at the maze fire. She should’ve waited for backup or just directed her coworkers where they needed to go. Theo was right, Carina could be pregnant. They could be mothers in less than nine months. And she had ran into the blazing fire anyway. The whole time Carina was in her head. Their fight kept repeating itself in her ears. She loved Carina more than anything in this world. Was she letting herself destroy that? The simple answer was yes. Maybe Carina was right, she needed to talk to somebody.
It shattered her that the brunette thought she didn’t care. She couldn’t blame anyone but herself though, she had made her wife feel that way. But then in the midst of the flames and the smoke and the ache in her ankle she watched a father declare how important his son was to him. All that mattered was that he got out of the fire. That he was his favorite person in the world. So Maya barely paid any mind to Beckett when he ordered her to take time because all she wanted to do was find Carina. She was acting like a stupid cowboy, putting her life on the line. And what would Carina be left with of her? Consuming thoughts that Maya didn’t love her and that the job was more important than them. Maya couldn’t stand for that.
So when she walked quietly into the beanery and spotted the most beautiful woman at the counter snacking away on some candy, her heart nearly beat out of her chest. She looked gorgeous as always. Maya had always loved to see Carina in her clothes. She took a deep breath and took long strides over to her wife.
At this point the brunette’s ears had perked up and she turned around to see her wife walking determinedly over to her.
“Maya what is-” the brunette’s sentence was cut off in surprise as the blonde had wrapped a strong arm around her waist and pulled until their fronts were pressed together. “Maya,” she said again but before she could wonder even more what had gotten into her wife, soft lips were pressed against hers in a loving kiss.
Carina almost immediately melted into her wife’s arms. She wanted not to, she wanted to be angry still. Demand what Maya was doing. But she didn’t. She had craved her wife’s secure hold for weeks. So she looped her arms around Maya’s neck and kissed the woman back fervently. Lips slid against one another, the spark ignited between them. No matter what, those fireworks would go off behind their eyes, butterflies flitting around in their tummies whenever they kissed. It had been like that since that night at the bar. Maya had walked her home and they had shyly kissed one another on Carina’s doorstep. Bashful smiles and sparkling eyes gazing at one another as Maya walked back to her apartment with a pep in her step that night.
Carina leaned back against the counter as they kissed for another few moments. The need for air demanded that they separate. Maya pulled away only slightly as she rested her forehead against Carina’s, their breaths mingled as they gazed at one another in want.
Those cerulean eyes shone with love, a look Carina felt like she hadn’t seen in weeks. Maybe even months. Her wife’s eyes crashed around like waves of the ocean at how emotive they could be. Right now all she saw was love. The kind of look that took her breath away the first time the blonde had looked at her like that. She remembered they had been sitting on the couch, fire blazing in front of them and they were just sitting in comfortable silence. Carina had settled in Maya’s lap sideways and she had been studying the bright flames dancing around. When she turned to look back at her then girlfriend, Maya was looking at her like she hung the moon. Nobody had ever stared at her like that.
Her own chocolatey pools were glistening with flecks of gold as she looked back at her wife. The beanery was quiet and she gently ran her hand down Maya’s strong jaw.
“Maya,” she whispered softly as she bumped their noses together.
“I love you,” Maya said softly but her tone was strong. She wanted to make sure what she was saying was taken seriously. That she meant it. “I love you so much, Carina. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry for everything,” the blonde continued.
“I… I can’t stand that I made you feel like I don’t care. Because I do, god I care so much. You’re my person, my favorite person,” Maya said as she cupped Carina’s face gently and gazed into her eyes. “I promised you forever and I haven’t been doing a good job lately at that,” she said softly. Carina held onto Maya’s wrist and stroked her thumb against the soft skin.
“Tonight I…” Maya paused and took a breath. “Tonight I did something stupid on the call. I hurt my ankle and I put myself into a lot of danger without thinking,” Maya admitted. The brunette stiffened slightly at the confession. “And afterwards I couldn’t believe that I did that. That I could’ve left you with the thought that I didn’t care. That I didn’t love you. Because I do. I think… I think you’re right. I need help. You could be pregnant,” at the last sentence Maya let her bright blues drift down to her wife’s flat stomach.
“There could be a baby Deluca in there,” Maya whispered and for the first time she let a wide smile grace her face at that thought. Every time they had had a negative pregnancy test it had gotten harder and harder for her to imagine that future. If she imagined holding a baby in her arms that had Carina’s brunette curls, the negative test hurt ten times more. So she stopped imagining that future, stopped letting herself feel for that. Carina was devastated after every failure and the firefighter needed to be there for her wife. She was the one giving her body for this. Maya needed to be the rock, she wouldn't let herself fall apart. But in the midst of that she had lost herself. And on top of the fact that her job was hell, work was miserable and she just felt like an absolute failure in all aspects of life. And if Maya Bishop was anything, it wasn’t a failure. So she bottled her emotions up and became numb to it all. Pushing herself much further than she should be, drifting away from her wife in the process.
Carina’s heart beat fast as she watched Maya smile, an actual smile. A big loving smile, and it was at the thought of their child. The brunette couldn’t help but tip Maya’s chin back up and press their lips back together. She felt like she was coming back home as she kissed the woman. The warmth of the blonde’s arms wrapped around her made her happier than anything else.
“It’s Deluca-Bishop,” Carina whispered against Maya’s lips with a soft smile. The blonde’s eyes sparkled at the correction and she smiled even wider.
“Baby Deluca-Bishop,” she said with a nod. “I still want that, I promise. I want that little version of you in my arms. I just… it hurt too much to think about,” the blonde admitted softly.
“What do you mean, bambina ?” Carina asked as she ran her fingers through Maya’s hair soothingly.
“To think about a baby. I guess I just didn’t realize it would be this hard, to get pregnant I mean,” she said as she stared down at their feet not wanting to look at her wife as she shyly admitted her feelings. “Every time the test… every time it said no I just… I felt like a piece of my heart shattered. But I needed to be there for you,” Maya said as her voice cracked.
Tears had gathered in Carina’s eyes as she listened to her wife be so vulnerable.
“Oh, bella . This is something we are doing together, Maya. This is going to be our baby,” Carina took Maya’s hand and pressed it against her flat stomach. “I’m not the only one that has the right to be hurting when we don’t get the news we want. We’re married, you’re my wife, and I want to be there for you just as much, bambina ,” Carina reassured her wife gently as a few tears escaped down her cheeks.
Tears had also gathered in Maya’s eyes at this point, her cerulean eyes looking even more bluer now. “I love you so much, Carina Deluca,” Maya whispered. She rested her hands on Carina’s hips and tugged her even closer. The couple sat in the silent space for a little while, murmuring loving things to one another and sharing soft kisses.
“Can we go home?” Maya asked as she bumped their noses together.
“Aren’t you still on shift?” the brunette asked with a furrowed brow.
“Beckett is making me take a few days off. Theo told him off in the barn about how I’m pushing myself too hard and have been working for five days in a row,” Maya explained. Carina’s heart constricted at the thought of how easily she could lose her wife.
“Maybe I’ll ask for a whole week off. I… I think that would be a good idea,” Maya admitted softly. Carina nodded at that as she cupped her wife’s face.
“ Si, si bambina. You should be home for a little while, with me, in our bed. You need to rest,” she agreed softly. Maya smiled and rested her hands on Carina’s forearms, gently stroking her thumb against the sun kissed skin. “Do you wanna shower before we go?” the brunette asked seeing as Maya was still dirty and mussed up from the call.
The blonde shook her head after a moment. “I’d rather just go home, and shower there. With you. We should try to get the rest of that red out of your hair,” Maya said as she let her eyes drift over the brunette curls that had red tinted strands littered throughout.
“ Va bene, my love. Let’s go home,” Carina nodded and pressed a soft kiss to her wifes lips.
___
Maya stood a little awkwardly in the bathroom as she watched her wife turn the shower on. They had quietly slipped out of the station together, Carina quickly letting Andy know they were leaving. Maya hadn’t even bothered to change out of her uniform.
“Come here, bambina, ” Carina said and held her hand out to the other woman. Maya took a breath and stepped over to her wife. They gazed into one another's eyes as Carina unbuttoned Maya’s shirt, then undid her pants, and then tugged off her t-shirt. The blonde returned the favor as she first pulled her own t-shirt off of Carina’s body and then leaned down to tug the sweatpants down her long legs. She gazed back up at the woman through her lashes and Carina smiled softly as she ran her fingers through Maya’s blonde locks.
Maya pressed soft kisses to her thighs and grazed her finger tips over toned calves. Carina let out a soft sigh at the feeling of her wifes lips. The firefighter stood back up after a moment and they both rid each other of the remaining articles of clothing before stepping under the hot spray of the shower.
Maya wrapped her strong arms around Carina’s waist and pulled her close. Carina looped her arm under one of the blonde’s arms to run her hand soothingly against the defined muscles of her back. The other cupped her wife’s neck and gently guided her head down to lay against Carina’s shoulder. The Italian’s lips grazed against her wifes temple as they stood in silence for a little while.
The emotions of the day seemed to finally settle themselves in Maya as she relaxed into Carina’s comfort. It surprised even herself when a sob left her mouth. But once it began it wasn’t going to stop. Tears started to stream down her cheeks as she sobbed into Carina’s arms. The pain, the loneliness, the frustration, all the negative emotions that she’d been trying to stomp away for months came boiling to the surface. Her heartbreak over all their failed attempts at getting Carina pregnant. The abuse she was enduring from Beckett. The unjustness from an unfair system that was continuing to be perpetuated by a Fire Chief that should be having her fellow female firefighter’s backs.
The clouds. The clouds that had come back with a vengeance, but especially since that night on the rooftop. The yelling, the horrible things they had said to one another. Tonight at the maze showed her that if she wasn’t careful she would let herself go, that she was teetering just on the edge of gravity pulling her into the softness of the sky.
But she didn’t want that. She wanted Carina. She wanted her beautiful wife, and she wanted this amazing woman to know how much she loved her. She wanted their family. She wanted a baby. God she couldn’t believe how much she wanted a baby.
Carina held her securely, supporting the blonde in her arms as she just let Maya get it all out. Similar to their wedding night they stood in the cloud of emotion. But she was happy that Maya was letting her back in, letting the feelings overwhelm her. She couldn’t stand to see Maya become so numb. That woman wasn’t her wife. She wasn’t her wonderful, loving, strong, compassionate fire captain. Maya would always be her fire captain. No matter what.
Maya eventually calmed down and took a deep breath. No words were spoken. Just soft touches and gentle kisses as Carina showed the blonde that she was there. They helped wash one another of the hardships of the day. The blonde massaged at her wifes scalp as she washed her hair of the red food coloring.
Eventually the wives were changed into comfy pajamas and had climbed into their bed. It was still rather early in the night but they didn’t care. Carina checked over Maya’s ankle and had insisted that they needed to ice it and elevate it for a while. Maya pouted at that but she didn’t argue too much. She just let Carina take care of her.
So now Maya was laid down, her ankle wrapped in ice and sitting comfortably on a few pillows. The Italian was curled up next to Maya, her leg intertwined with the blonde’s good one and her hand rested on her stomach. She was gently running her fingers up and down her abdomen and her head was comfortably on her wife’s shoulder. Maya had wrapped her arm around Carina’s shoulders and pulled her close.
“I love you Carina. So much,” Maya said softly into the comfortable silence of the room.
“I love you too, bambina, ” Carina said as she tipped her head up to look into those mesmerizing cerulean orbs. “ Amore mio.” she whispered and leaned up to connect their lips gently. They kissed for a few minutes, the tender sliding of lips as they both felt like they had returned home. Back to their person.
“I noticed you were munching on a lot of that chocolate at the station,” Maya teased softly. The Italian blushed and giggled shyly.
“I’ve been eating all day, I hope it’s a good sign,” the brunette responded as she nuzzled into Maya’s neck.
“Can we take a pregnancy test?” Maya asked curiously as she let her gaze settle on Carina’s flat stomach. The brunette’s eyebrow quirked up at that. “Is it too early?” the blonde asked.
“It might be, but it could also be accurate at this point. You want to? Tonight?” Carina asked with a concerned tone. “It’s been a very long, emotional day, bella, ” the brunette said as she stroked Maya’s jaw.
“I have a good feeling,” Maya said with a soft smile and bumped their noses together. “And I want to know,” the blonde said firmly.
“Ok,” Carina whispered and let a beautiful smile grace her face. She leaned up and pressed a deep kiss to her wife’s lips. The blonde couldn’t help as she smiled into the kiss.
___
About forty five minutes later the couple were sitting nervously in their bedroom. After a little while longer of elevating her ankle, Maya had convinced Carina she’d be fine for the duration of them doing the test. The Italian had agreed, as long as the firefighter didn’t move from the bed. She was allowed to sit on the edge and nothing more.
So that’s where they were now. Carina had disappeared into the bathroom to take the test and now she was seated in Maya’s lap. The blonde held her close and Carina was nervously playing with strands of Maya’s soft locks. The ten minutes were almost up as they both could see the white stick just sitting there on the sink. This dumb little piece of plastic, the thing that would define their whole future.
Carina jumped a little in surprise at the ring of the timer she had set on her phone as she had gotten lost in a trance. Maya rubbed a soothing hand up and down Carina’s thigh.
“It’s time, babe,” Maya said as she looked up at her wife. The brunette nodded and slowly stood on shaky legs. The blonde went to follow but Carina quickly pointed a finger at the other woman.
“You stay,” Carina said firmly but there was no malice. The blonde pouted adorably but conceded as she sat back down. The Italian took a deep breath as she walked into the bathroom. She closed her eyes for a few moments before she reached out to take the test in her hands. She held it for a few seconds before finally gathering enough courage to look down.
All of the noise of the room came rushing back into her ears as if there was an ocean cascading waves down around her. The traffic outside, the low hum of the Italian music they had put on earlier, and Maya’s strong voice.
“Car, Carina what does it say? Babe?” the blonde called out concerned. Her eyes wide as she was about to go marching into the bathroom, Carina’s wrath about her hurt ankle be damned.
But then the brunette turned around, tears streaming down her face. Maya’s chest felt tight as she couldn’t tell if these were happy or sad tears. “My love?” the blonde whispered out scared for the answer.
“I’m pregnant,” Carina got out through the sob that fell from her lips. The biggest smile made its way across her beautiful face. Maya had never seen those chocolate colored eyes sparkle as much as they were now. Carina jogged back into their bedroom and threw herself into Maya’s arms. The blonde wrapped her arms securely around her wife and they rolled around on the bed. Tears and laughter rang throughout the apartment. I love yous and kisses were shared as the couple celebrated this moment. This long awaited moment was finally real.
In the midst of the blankets the pregnancy test sat. That little stick of plastic with two solid lines. Two pink lines that defined the rest of their future.