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Ema Skye never imagined this could happen. Something like it, perhaps, but never it.
It made sense, of course. It was totally in character for her. Even more directly, actions had consequences. Just because Ema hadn't thought about it didn't change the fact that it could happen. Perhaps, even, Ema’s actions had made it inevitable.
Well, leaving herself out of the equation for a moment, Ema knew it was a natural part of life. It was something that could so easily happen to so many people. It was something that did. Thousands went through the same experience every single day.
It was something no one should have ever felt the need to remark upon.
If Ema was going to bet, though, she’d think everyone would share her feelings.
Because to her, it was a more beautiful scene of domestic bliss than she could ever dream up, even in the depths of her long-lost days as a fanciful, lovesick teenager.
As Ema stepped into her home, she was greeted by the sight of her wife and daughter on the couch. Kay was lying on her back, her ponytail cast over the armrest. Kay had, at some point, been working, but now her pen and notebook sat on their daughter's back as she held her tight. Meanwhile, Voshkie lay on her mommy's chest, snuggled up so sweetly while they napped the day away.
However mundane it may have been, Ema knew instinctively that it was an impossibly adorable moment not to smile at.
An instinct that made it all the more crushing when the frown that'd been glued to Ema's lips for the past hour remained firmly in place. At least they were asleep.
“Lana? That you? Can-! Baby.” Of course, Kay was too busy marvelling at her daughter to nap with her. And, of course, hearing the door open, she looked toward Ema with the brightest smile she’d ever seen on her face. “C’mere.”
Beckoned by Kay and her barely-a-whisper, Ema didn't have a choice but to come to them. Whatever desires she might have had were superseded by her feet always moving towards her wife and daughter. Maintaining just a bit of space between them, Ema sat on the coffee table and started taking her shoes off.
“Hi, Kay.” Ema looked at Kay, Kay looked at her, and then Kay excitedly pointed at their daughter. If she didn’t share Ema’s love for the sight, then she exceeded it.
When Ema looked from Voshkie to Kay, her wife reset her smile just to fill it back up with her love for Ema. “Hi. Can you grab my camera? Please?”
“Sure.” A small chuckle escaped Ema as she looked at Kay’s bag, sitting on the ground just beyond Kay’s reach. Reaching in and pulling out her camera, Ema lined up the shot without Kay ever asking her to. “There you go.”
“Thank you.” Kay took the photo printout from Ema as she offered it to her, unsure if she wanted to stare at the photo or her daughter more. “Isn’t she the cutest toddler ever?”
“She is.” Ema sighed, looking away for a moment. There was a lot she could say, a lot she needed to say, and across both categories, nothing she wanted to say. At least she had the distraction of her lovely family. “Did you two have a good time at work?
“For the most part.” Kay peeled her eyes away from Voshkie just as Ema looked back at her. With a flutter of laughter, Kay let her focus linger on her wife. “We got into a bit of trouble at the police station, but Mr. Edgeworth baled us out.”
“What do you mean ‘trouble?’” Ema’s words tightened in her throat. She knew it wasn’t anything serious, but it still made her heart drop.
See, Voshkie did not normally go to work with anyone. Both moms and her aunt worked dangerous jobs that they didn't want her around in a worst-case scenario.
As a result, their days off were set up so that someone was always watching her. Of course, sometimes things came up. Sometimes, they couldn't get a babysitter.
For example, Ema was supposed to take care of her today, but the doctor’s appointment she’d scheduled meant Voshkie had to go to work with Kay instead.
“Well, I was introducing her to people at the prosecutor’s office, and it was going well. She was showing off how good she is at walking. People were impressed.” Kay chuckled at a memory that Ema wished she had. “But then we had to go to the LAPD building, and I guess she thought we were meeting you, so when you weren’t there, she threw a tantrum. Started demanding her mama, at which point, some officers got it in their heads that I was some strange woman kidnapping her.”
“Oh. I’m sorry.” Ema immediately felt bad about that. She knew she wasn’t to blame for Voshkie’s tantrum, but it could only happen in her absence.
“It was fine. Mr. Edgeworth took care of the cops, and I eventually got her to calm down.” Kay set a hand on Ema’s knee, wanting to keep both of her girls close. “She will be super excited to see you when she wakes up, though, so be prepared.”
Ema looked between them before moving to sit on the floor. Kay wrapped her arm around Ema’s shoulders, and even if their positions made it awkward, Ema felt safe leaning into her presence. “That’s good. That you’re fine, I mean.”
“Mm-hmm.” Kay looked at Ema with deep sympathy in her eyes. “How was your appointment? Good, I hope.”
“You don’t go to the doctor for good news.” Ema snorted, trying to distract Kay.
“And yet, curiously, it was a doctor who told you that you gave birth to the best daughter ever.” Kay was trying to be playful, but her pep fell away as it failed to connect with Ema. “If you don’t want to talk about it, we don’t have to. Not right now, anyway. I understand if you need time before you’re ready to talk about it.”
“I’ve had forever to prepare for this. Not sure an hour is going to make a difference.”
Ema Skye had been imagining this day for years. Not because it was good or because she wanted it, but because she’d never made any attempt to break away from it.
Ema was nine or ten when she first found out she was predisposed to diabetes.
At that time, it didn't mean much. Like she imagined most kids would feel, Ema registered it and then didn’t think about it because it was too distant a problem. And besides, even if Ema wasn't the most athletic of kids, her family always made sure she ate healthy. None of the adults were worried, so why would she be?
That didn’t hold so true when Ema became an adult. Early in college, Ema picked up a binge-eating habit to deal with stress. That habit dominated her psyche all the way to the end of her twenties, and with it came a fear of developing diabetes.
That fear didn’t change her behaviour. That fear didn’t help her get control back.
It just made Ema feel worse about herself every time she shovelled sweets into her mouth.
Of course, she did eventually get help. It'd been six years since Ema's last binge. Her relationship with food was better, though not free of strife. Her fears departed, and she enjoyed blissfully young adulthood with her wife and dreams of children.
Then the worst thing possibly happened.
While she was pregnant, Ema developed diabetes.
It wasn't a universal complication, but gestational diabetes was fairly common among birthing parents. Ema was told it was temporary, and that was true. Her blood sugar returned to normal after she gave birth, but Ema knew it wouldn't stay that way. She had the genetics, lifestyle, and history of a diabetic—all that was left was waiting for the diagnosis.
And now that the diagnosis had come, Ema didn’t even need to say it for Kay to know.
“Shit.” Kay pulled Ema as close as she could. She couldn’t do much with the toddler on her chest, but Ema was open to any affection. “Doctor Swann tell you what you need to do?”
Ema sighed. “It’s already too far along to prevent, but my insulin tolerance is only mild. Symptoms shouldn’t be too extreme. Life expectancy shouldn’t be shortened. No need for injections. Not until my early fifties, she thinks. Although, all that’s assuming I get a lot better about exercise and dieting.”
“You know that means you’re getting better about those things, right?” Kay tilted her head towards Voshkie as she spoke. “We are not going to let you damn yourself over something so foolish. That’s a pretty big part of being part of this family.”
“I know, babe. I just… I guess I’ve just spent so long thinking about this moment that I never stopped to prepare myself for living after it. Don’t feel ready to change.” Ema pressed herself into Kay and the couch as she spoke. It made her feel safe, while her words did the opposite.
“I guess that’s fair.” As she often did, Kay put on a devious face. “Though, change is a process. Once you start, you can take as much time as you want, working your way up to the full doctor-compliant diabetes routine. Just have to decide when to start. And how small.”
“What idea do you have bouncing around in your head, Faraday?”
“Did you get any info on healthy eating?”
Ema tilted her head to gesture. “There’s a packet in my bag.”
“Then why don’t you let me take that and adjust our dinner plans to be a bit more compliant. Maybe I’ll even go to the store and buy some new stuff to try.” Kay smiled exceedingly cutely for someone in the middle of conspiring.
“And what am I doing in your fantasy while this happens?”
“All you need to do is spend time with your daughter.”
Before Ema could laugh or think about how cute Kay was, her plan was in motion. Slipping her fingers under Voshkie’s shirt, Kay tickled her tummy until the toddler awoke with laughter. “Hahaha. M-mommy. Hehaah! Stop! I’m ‘wake!!!”
“I don’t know. I think you need more tickles.” Kay and Ema equally fell into a chorus of laughter as their daughter tried and failed to escape from Kay’s evil hands.
“Come here, sweetie. Mama will save you.”
Ema raised her arms out to Voshkie, and as soon as she looked over, the toddler’s face fully lit up. Scrambling away from Kay, Voshkie tossed herself into Ema’s arms and held her tight. Holding her daughter against herself, Ema kissed Voshkie’s forehead as she cheered. “MAMA!!!!!! I miss you!”
“I know, V. And I’m sorry that I left you.”
“It’s ‘kay.” It didn’t feel ‘kay’ with how tight Voshkie was clinging onto her, but then, Ema wasn’t sure Voshkie had discovered lying yet. Far more likely than Ema’s pessimism was that her daughter simply loved her and wanted to hug.
And that thought really made Ema smile. “Thank you, V.”
“Hokis?” Ema and Voshkie both looked at Kay as she cut into their moment. “I told your mama about you showing off your walk, and she wanted to see. Do you want to show off for mama?”
“Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yes, please.” Voshkie was actively falling out of Ema’s arms with excitement. “Mama, please? Please-eeeeeee?!”
“Of course, sweetie.” Ema smiled and laughed as she set Voshkie down.
Kay tugged on the corner of Voshkie’s shirt to keep her from immediately moving away. “V, can you get your coat? I think it’d be nice to walk with mama in the park.”
“Ye’.” Voshkie bounced and as Kay let go of her, she darted towards her room as fast as she could. That wasn’t fast, but it was stable.
Turning her eyes from her daughter to her wife, Ema smiled at her. “So now it’s the toddler’s responsibility to get in exercise?”
“She’s a toddler, Emmy. Her only skill is toddling, and she likes to show it off.” Kay’s laughter faded into a delicately sweet tone. “No, I’ll teach you about cardio and strength training later. But it wouldn’t hurt for the two of you to get some steps in while spending time together…”
Ema leaned back into the couch just enough to kiss Kay on the cheek. “Thank you. I know you love helping, but it doesn’t change how much I love you for looking out for us.”
As thoughts of the happy decades Ema wanted and knew she needed to foster with her family filled her head—every change this new phase of her life demanded incorporated for Kay and V's sake—Ema smiled and locked lips with Kay.
“Anything for you, sunshine.”