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“Buongiorno bellissima,” Carina said, their hands intertwined over her stomach as they shared large, happy, and content smiles with one another.
“You know what today is?” Maya asked, her baby blue eyes sparkling with anticipation.
Carina pretended to think for a moment, laughing when the blonde pouted, though the action didn’t last long due to the excitement emanating from the both of them. It didn’t stop the brunette from teasing Maya with words though. “No, I don’t think I do. You’ll have to remind me.”
“Today. Is. The. Baby. Shower. And. We. Find. Out. The. Gender. Of. Our. Child,” she said, pressing a kiss to Carina’s face after each word, starting with her wife’s forehead and ending on her lips.
“Oh, that’s today?”
Carina received a pillow to the face for that question, smiling softly when she felt her shirt being pushed up so Maya could talk to their baby as she did every morning when they were both in bed together. She removed the pillow from her face and placed it behind her back, blinking back tears as Maya began to speak.
“Good morning, mini DeLuca-Bishop. Today is the long awaited day, we get to find out if you’re a boy or a girl. But I just want you to know that whichever you are, Mama and I are going to love you for who you are, no matter how that may change for you down the road. If you change your hair, your gender and/or your pronouns, or whatever else, Mama and I will stand proudly behind you, because we are always going to be your number one supporters. We love you so much and we really can’t wait to meet you,” she said, the kiss to Carina’s stomach lingering so Maya could emphasize her point, even though their baby couldn't feel it. “Unless it’s about tattoos, piercings, or sex. That is not allowed until you are at least fifty.”
Carina laughed while a tear fell from her eye, still to this day unable to understand how her wife could be so sweet and charming one moment, then completely goofy the next. It was one of the many reasons Carina loved her.
“I hate how much make-up I’m going to have to wear,” Maya said, moving back up and taking Carina into her arms, the brunette moving so her back was to Maya’s front with her head resting on her wife’s chest, the thumping of her heart a soothing melody.
“Si, lo so,” the OB said, turning her head so she was looking at the blonde, gently tracing over the bruise Maya’s father had left on her face.
Just then, they heard the doorbell, followed by Smokey eagerly pacing and barking due to the familiar sound that meant they had guests.
“Is it already nine?”
“I guess it is. Come on,” Maya said, holding her hand out for Carina to take to help her get off the bed.
“Grazie.”
Maya received a kiss on the cheek as the second part to the thanks, Carina heading to the kitchen to make breakfast as Maya answered the door, being pushed aside by Jo, Amelia, Andy, and Vic, who had come over to help the two women get ready and to escort them to the party. The location was unknown as was the theme. The only thing they had been aware of was the date and time, which is exactly what the wives had been hoping for. They trusted their friends immensely, and they knew they would throw an amazing baby shower because they were all excited and happy for the newest addition to the DeLuca-Bishop clan.
“Morning to you too,” Maya said, rolling her eyes at her friends who had all gone right to the kitchen to greet Carina and talk to her. Smokey greeted everyone eagerly, though he always came back to Maya’s side.
“Morning Aunt Maya,” Zola said.
“Morning Zo. I thought you were helping Aunt Miranda and Uncle Ben set up with Aunt Teddy and Uncle Travis. No offense.”
“Offense taken,” the teen replied with a cheeky grin, Maya lightly shoving the girl. “I wanted to come with in order to help you get ready. Mom didn’t have a problem with it as long as Aunt Amelia didn’t, so voila.”
“Voila,” Maya repeated, slinging an arm around Zola’s shoulders as she walked them to the kitchen, kissing her wife chastely in thanks at the smoothie that was handed to her.
“How do you drink that concoction?” Amelia asked, wrinkling her nose at the disgusting green thing Maya called a smoothie. She munched happily on the french toast provided courtesy of her pregnant friend as she awaited a response.
“It’s really not that bad,” Maya said, holding her cup close to her chest as she halfheartedly glared at Amelia. It was as if she was trying to protect her drink from the cruelty being thrown its way. Smokey, hearing the kind of angry voices, stood up from where he was laying by Maya’s feet and looked at his owner with a tilted head.
“I’m just saying, there are better options.”
Maya scowled, fiercely shaking her head. “No, there isn’t. This is so much healthier and much better for the morning than anything else. It is the perfect blend of nutrients and deliciousness.”
“It’s not delicious-looking.”
“Ever heard the saying ‘Don’t judge a book by its cover?’”
“That is nothing like a book.”
“It still applies.”
“Children, children, please,” Andy said, standing between the two women who were practically in one another’s face, though that didn’t do much to conceal the teasing glint in both of their eyes. “Thank you. Maya, we have to get started if we want to cover up that bruise.”
Maya groaned, but allowed herself to be led away from her wife and her friends, grumbling the entire time as Andy caked makeup onto her face to conceal her black eye while Vic and Zola rummaged through her closet to put together an outfit for her. Smokey hopped up onto their bed and watched Maya and Andy curiously from where he was laying.
“Damn Mai, where are all of your dressier clothes?” Vic inquired as she pulled out yet another running outfit from the closet.
“They’re hidden all the way in the back, otherwise Carina will go through my shirts to wear them once and then claim them as hers,” Maya said, hoping that when Andy finished she didn’t look like a complete clown.
“I think this shirt will be perfect with a pair of black jeans,” said Zola.
“Jeans are in the bottom drawer of the dresser,” Maya supplied.
Zola and Vic exchanged happy glances, the teen showing Maya the shirt as Vic triumphantly held out the jeans.
“Ok, now for accessories.”
The blonde sighed, wincing as Andy poked her bruise rather hard and instructed her to stop moving. Maya just kept her mouth shut for the rest of the time since her input was clearly not wanted nor needed despite all of this being for her and Carina’s baby. Andy finished covering up Maya’s eye about ten minutes later, nodding in satisfaction before moving on to the rest of her face, then her hair.
“You look great, Aunt Maya,” Zola said, the trio high-fiving as they admired their work.
Maya was dressed up in a pair of black jeans, a burnt orange blouse that made her baby blue eyes pop, and a pair of brown boots. They had chosen a silver necklace that was engraved with the letter C on the circle and a pair of small silver studs for her earrings. Tied together with the loose curls, Maya looked amazing if they said so themselves.
“Yeah, yeah. We have to get going soon,” Maya replied, the makeup hiding the blush on her cheeks but not the flush of red crawling up her neck from the compliments.
“You’re right, we have to leave like now,” Vic stated as they brought Maya out to the living room.
Maya paused in her tracks, her eyes wide as she soaked up every inch of her wife’s beauty. Carina was in a simple gray dress that fell to her knees, the dress emphasizing and showing off the brunette’s stomach perfectly. She had tied her hair up in a ponytail, a few strands framing her face. Her makeup was rather minimal, a gray eyeshadow matching the color of her dress paired with eyeliner, mascara, and red lipstick. She never failed to take Maya’s breath away, but her being pregnant, carrying their child, was enough to bring tears to Maya’s eyes. “You look amazing, my love. You’re glowing,” she breathed out, coming forward to wrap her arms around Carina’s waist.
“You don’t look too bad yourself,” Carina replied, her eyes raking up and down her wife’s body, her eyes darkening as Maya playfully spun in a circle and revealed just how deliciously tight those jeans were.
“Yo, lovebirds, as cute as this is, we need to get going,” Amelia said, tapping her watch to emphasize her point.
“She’s right,” said Andy.
“That’s a first,” Maya replied with a teasing grin, tossing Smokey a bone to chew on as they exited the house and locked the front door.
Amelia shoved the blonde who just laughed as she had barely stumbled from the push. “I’m going to kill you.”
“And leave my child without their mother?” Maya inquired, batting her eyelashes as she looked at the neurosurgeon with a pout.
“They’ll be just fine without you, have you met your wife?”
Maya laughed the comment off as she piled into the car with the group, though it stung her more than she would care to admit. While she had made significant progress with Diane, the blonde struggled at times with accepting that she was a good, kind, loving, caring, and protective person, a person who was the complete opposite of him. Lane’s recent visit to the station had shaken her greatly. Diane was proud of her for standing up to him and for implementing the breathing technique during the confrontation.
Amelia didn’t mean anything by that jab, Maya knew that, she did, but her anxiety wasn’t letting her think logically. One thought just kept repeating itself in her head, that someone other than herself had confirmed her deepest, darkest, and worst fear. She was going to be an awful mother, a mother who would turn into the demon that she had been fighting against for years, ever since she had met Carina.
“We’re here!” Vic announced, snapping Maya out of her spiraling train of thought.
“Are you alright?” Andy asked quietly. She had chalked up Maya’s quietness to excitement, but she could read her best friend better than anyone except for Carina. She could see there was a troubled expression plastered on Maya’s face as hurt and pain swirled around in her blue eyes.
“I’m fine,” Maya stated, giving Andy a smile that didn’t quite reach as she hopped out of the car.
“Oh,” Carina gasped, her hands flying to her mouth and tears springing to her eyes, a few falling as they entered the room Vic had led them to in the building where their baby shower was being held.
“Wow,” said Maya, coming up behind Carina, her hands on her stomach and her head resting on her shoulder, temporarily forgetting her intrusive thoughts as they admired everything in front of them.
“I’ll take that as we did good?” Vic asked, a combination of smugness, pride, and excitement dancing on her face at her friend's reaction.
“Vic, this is incredible. Thank you,” Maya said, letting go of Carina to engulf the young woman into a hug, doing the same for Andy, Teddy, Jo, Miranda, Ben, Travis, and Theo, who had all helped out in some way to make this happen for the two of them.
“You’re welcome, Cap,” Ben said, giving her a warm smile as he held Miranda close to him.
“Grazie, grazie mille,” Carina managed to utter after she had recovered from her shock, hugging everyone tightly as tears continued to fall.
Seeing this, Amelia tugged her friend back down to the bathroom to help her calm herself and reapply some of the make-up, thanking the Lord above for waterproof mascara.
Andy and Maya stood side by side as the blonde took everything in. The room had white walls with dark wooden beams traveling across the ceiling, with black lamps separated every fifteen feet or so along the walls. The bar had greenery hanging around the top of it, yellow and white flowers peeking through the fake ivy. The tables were covered in white tablecloths, a large bouquet of white flowers and bits of greenery and small yellow flowers in gold vases as the centerpieces. Small candles surrounded the bouquets, giving the room a warm glow. On each place setting were three cards, one for people to vote if they thought it was going to be a boy or a girl, one was a game of “Which Mom?” where they got to cast their thoughts about which woman would be more likely to do what the questions described, and the last was a scratch-off, and if it revealed either Maya or Carina’s face, they would receive a gift bag. The winners of the vote would be getting gift cards to a restaurant, and the winner/s of “Which Mom?” would also receive a gift bag. Next to each place setting was a complementary bar of soap and a can of silly string. Everyone would be spraying the silly string in order to reveal the gender of the DeLuca-Bishop baby.
Since Ben, Miranda, and Jo knew the sex of the baby, they had been put in charge of taking pictures and videos of everyone spraying the silly string alongside the professional photographer they had hired because it was such a large event. It was also because they had no doubts that they would be dragged away from their jobs as photographers to participate in conversations, and they wanted the two women to remember every single thing that happened at this large milestone, hence the professional photographer. They were currently snapping pictures of the set-up by the entrance.
A few feet from the doors, there was a long table covered in a white table cloth, two vases of the same bouquets located on the other tables on either end as a marble patterned brown and white cake sat in the center, little desserts in trays and stands such as cupcakes and cookies surrounding it. There were pictures of Maya and Carina, separate and together throughout the pregnancy thus far scattered around the table. In front of the cake, standing proudly in the gold frame, was the latest ultrasound. There was a dark brown box with a slit in the top by each bouquet at the ends of the table, white lettering on the front of each box (Cards and Boy or girl? Cast your votes here! ). A white curtain was behind the table and had greenery hanging near the top. Above the cake there was a green DB pinned with small yellow flowers, for DeLuca-Bishop. Across the entire front of the table was a sign that read ‘Welcome Baby’ with a green heart at each end and one in between the two words.
The table where Maya and Carina would be seated was in the center of the room, a large section of floor next to it where gifts were beginning to pile up. It was decorated much the same as the others, except theirs had a banner hanging in front of the table, the same as the one on the table by the entrance, except for the words, which were ‘My Mommies.’ Their place settings also didn’t have silly string, because after talking it over, both of them agreed it would only distract the two of them from processing the news, so they had asked Andy when it was time to have everyone spray the silly string onto the two of them, then their guests could go crazy on each other.
“I can’t thank you all enough,” Maya said, giving her family a grateful smile, flicking away a tear before it could fall.
“We’re honored you trusted us to do all of this for you, because you deserve it Mai. You both do,” Andy replied, squeezing the blonde’s arm to emphasize her point.
“This is why you wouldn’t let us pick our own outfits, si?” Carina asked as she approached the group with Amelia.
“Exactly,” Jo said.
Maya stood by Carina’s side, occasionally joining in with the chatter of the group, only leaving her wife’s side to greet their guests and to show them where cards and presents were being left. She was able to fake well enough, but after a while, she excused herself and headed to the bathroom. After checking to make sure nobody was in the restroom, she locked herself in one of the stalls, collapsing against the wall and sliding to the floor as tears began falling. She wrapped her arms around her legs and sobbed, his voice overwhelming her brain.
You’re a disgrace, Maya.
You’ve let yourself go.
You don’t have the capacity to care about anyone but yourself.
It’s disgusting!
You’re nothing without me, and it would do you good to remember that.
Come on Maya, I’ve taught you better than that.
Love makes you weak, and clearly you’ve forgotten that.
Eyes forward, no distractions.
You’re just. Like. Me.
“Where did Aunt Maya go?” Bailey asked his mom after he had looked all over the party for her.
“I haven’t seen her for a while,” Meredith said.
“Me neither,” said Andy, looking around the party with a frown.
“I thought I saw her head to the restroom,” Dean said.
Andy and Meredith exchanged glances, wordlessly leaving the group and heading to the restroom.
“Mai, are you in here?” Andy asked, the two women racing over to the stall when they heard hyperventilating. “Damnit, it’s locked.”
Meredith and Andy quickly dropped down on all fours, crawling underneath the door to the stall to reach the blonde.
Maya was gasping for breath, her hands clawing at her shirt and chest, trying to release the pressure that was constricting her airways. She felt someone take her hands and place them on something soft as the person instructed Maya to follow her breathing.
“C-can’t,” Maya managed to say, unable to focus on anything. Voices were buzzing in her ears, her vision was blurred and her eyes were darting every which way. She continued gasping for breath, feeling her blood pounding in her ears, desperate to be able to breathe. She needed to breathe, why couldn’t she breathe? Spots were swimming in the corners of her vision, and Maya was continuing to fight to get air into her lungs.
Andy pulled her hands away to stop Maya from hurting herself as she instructed her to follow her breathing. She was filled with fear as her friend said she couldn’t, and she knew if she couldn’t get her to focus she would pass out.
“Maya, look at me. No eyes forward, eyes on me. Copy me, Maya. No eyes forward, ok? You’re with Andy, you’re safe. No eyes forward.”
No…forward…copy…eyes…Andy…safe…no eyes forward . Her sister. Andy. No eyes forward. Follow. Safe with Andy. Maya finally met familiar brown eyes, the pounding in her ears becoming less as she stared. She felt Andy’s hands in hers, felt the steady beat of her friend’s heart thrumming underneath her fingertips.
“Good Maya. Breathe, copy me. In, three, two, one. Out, three, two, one.” Andy was relieved when Maya’s eyes locked onto hers, and she continued her steady breathing to try and coax Maya down from the panic attack.
Maya struggled, only being able to hold her breath for less than a second each time. Seeing this wasn’t working, Meredith stepped in with a different tactic. “Maya, name five things you can see.”
“Y-y-you, umm….th-th-the t-toilet, a d-d-door, A-A-A-Andy, an-an-and a n-n-necklace,” Maya stuttered.
“Good, that was good Maya. Four things you can feel?”
“Andy’s h-hands, t-the fl-loor, m-my rin-ing, an-and uhh, th-the wall.”
“Three things you can hear?”
“A d-door open-ning, y-your v-voice, and m-music.”
“Two things you can smell?”
“Umm, p-perfume and soap.”
“One thing you can taste?”
“I don’t know,” Maya admitted.
“That’s alright Mai. You did great,” Andy praised, wiping the fallen tears off Maya’s face.
“I’m sorry you had to d-do that.”
The Latina shook her head. “I’m just happy you’re alright.”
“Me too,” Meredith said, moving so she was next to Maya, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and letting the blonde lean on her, the firefighter’s hands still encased in Andy’s.
“It’s stupid,” she said hoarsely, looking at her lap as she spoke so she wouldn’t break down in front of the two again. “Amelia made a comment earlier about how the baby would be fine without me and it got to me. Maybe she was right, I mean look at me. I’m pathetic and weak and I’m going to be a horrible mother.”
“No.”
“Absolutely not.”
“Maya, having anxiety is not a bad thing. It just means you’ve been through a lot of trauma and your body doesn’t know any other way to deal with it,” Meredith said softly.
Maya just nodded, and the three of them sat in silence, the other two allowing the blonde time to recollect her thoughts.
“Why didn’t you say anything to me when I asked if you were alright?” Andy inquired.
“I was spiraling, I didn’t want to burden you or anyone else. Today was supposed to be a happy day, a day filled with fun and laughter and joy because it’s a baby shower for my child.”
“You could never be a burden, Mai. How many times am I going to have to say it to get it through that thick skull of yours, huh?”
Maya chuckled, wiping the last of her tears with the tissue Meredith had handed to her since she still had her purse on her when they went to look for her.
“Will you promise not to tell Carina about this?”
Andy and Meredith exchanged uneasy glances.
“I don’t want to keep this from her, Maya,” Andy said softly.
“I don’t want to ruin this for her. I’ll tell her tomorrow, I swear, just not today. Please, please, promise me you won’t tell her.”
Sensing Maya’s rising distress, they agreed.
“I’m holding you to that. If you don’t tell her tomorrow I will,” Meredith warned, standing up with Andy, both women helping to steady Maya due to her shaky legs.
“I’ll tell her tomorrow. She deserves to enjoy our baby shower, and that means she shouldn’t be worrying about me,” Maya said softly, allowing Andy to wipe up her face and redo her makeup.
When they were done and satisfied nobody (a.k.a. Carina) would be able to tell Maya had been crying, they walked out of the bathroom, Meredith handing Maya a cup of water from the bar.
“Auntie Maya!”
“Elly-belly!” Maya exclaimed, scooping the girl up and spinning them around, Ellis shrieking with laughter even after the blonde had stopped and put Ellis on her hip. “You look very pretty, sweetheart.”
“Thank you,” she said shyly, pushing her hair out of her face.
“You’re welcome.”
“You look pretty too,” said Ellis.
Maya kissed Ellis’s cheek with a bright smile, the photographer snapping a picture of the moment.
“Aunt Maya, when are we doing the silly string?” Bailey asked as he bounded up to his aunt.
“After we have lunch.”
“When’s lunch?”
“At one,” Maya said with a chuckle.
Bailey looked at his aunt’s watch, groaning in annoyance when he saw it said it was only 11:49.
“Come on, what do you say we have some desserts? If your mom gets mad, I’ll deal with it.”
Both kids were on board with the idea, Maya walking over to the dessert table with Bailey by her side and Ellis on her hip. Bailey grabbed a cookie, handing one to his aunt when she asked for one and Ellis stretching her arm out to grab a cupcake, smearing frosting all over her face as she ate.
“Carina, I am going to kill her,” Meredith said once her eyes landed on Maya with Bailey and Ellis by the dessert table.
“They’re not going to want to eat anything with actual nutrients now. They’re going to be on a sugar high. Have fun with that, Mer,” Amelia said, snickering at her sister’s annoyed face.
“You live with them,” Kai reminded her gently, the snickering ceasing instantaneously.
“She adores them,” Carina said, absentmindedly rubbing her stomach with a wistful smile.
“They adore her,” was Meredith’s reply.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if they loved her more than any of us except for Meredith,” said Maggie, receiving chuckles and agreement from all around.
Bailey whined when Maya gently grabbed his arm and effectively stopped him from grabbing his third cookie.
“No more,” she chastised.
“Auntie Maya, why are they looking at us?”
“Probably because they’re talking about us,” she said with a shrug.
“They are,” Zola said, slapping Bailey’s hand away from the cookies, making the boy scowl at her.
“Why?” Ellis inquired curiously.
“Because they love us,” Maya said, tapping the six-year-old’s nose and eliciting giggles.
“Aunt Maya?”
Maya looked from where she was cleaning Ellis’s face from frosting to her other niece. “Yeah Zo?”
“Are you and Aunt Carina still going to reveal the name after the gender?” Zola asked in a hushed whisper.
Maya nodded with a grin, confirming it with the teen and making the three of them swear that they wouldn’t say anything to anyone about that part of the plan. Remembering that they had been threatened with no visits to the fire station, they all zipped their mouths shut, threw the key away, and locked pinkies with Maya, a double promise they could not break even if their life depended on it.
“Are you guys causing trouble?” Link asked with a grin as he held a slightly fussy Scout in his arms.
“Loads of it,” Maya replied, ruffling Bailey’s hair, the boy glaring at his aunt as he fixed his hair back to the way it was.
Maya did manage to have some conversations with the adults this time around, though Bailey never left her side and Ellis remained seated in the blonde’s arm. While they were sad to separate when it was time to eat, the two kids were starving and eagerly filled their plates with food, scarfing half of it down before Meredith, Nick, Amelia, Kai, Maggie, Winston, and Zola had even sat back in their seats. Everyone was having a good time thus far, chatting away and enjoying the cooking of Andy, Travis, and Theo. When everyone finished eating, they moved on to the remaining two games, the scratch-off and “Which Mom?”
There were four scratch-off winners in total, two cards with Maya’s face and two with Carina’s, the winners being Dean, Megan, Kai, and Maggie. In each gift bag was a bottle of Italian wine, courtesy of Carina, and a set of noise-canceling headphones, courtesy of Maya. The next game, Andy, Vic, and Jo gave everyone ten minutes to fill out their answers as they situated Carina and Maya back to back on their chairs, a white shoe in their right hands and a black one in their left hands. The white stood for Carina and the black stood for Maya.
“Has everyone finished filling out their sheets?” Vic asked, receiving confirmation.
“Then let’s get started. Andy and I are going to alternate asking questions as Vic makes sure nobody is cheating,” Jo said, laughter following her words. “When I ask the questions, you hold up the shoe for who you think it corresponds to. There are fifteen questions in total. Is everyone ready?”
“We’re ready,” Maya said, flashing Jo a smile.
When Carina nodded, Jo let Andy read the first question.
“Which Mom is more likely to be calm in an argument?”
Both women raised the white shoe, earning laughs from all around, chuckling to themselves and smiling when they realized they were in agreement.
“Alright, question two. Which Mom is more likely going to be the one that gets up from bed when the kid needs something?”
The black shoes were raised, though it wasn’t a surprise to anybody. Everyone knew that Carina loved her sleep and that Maya could wake up at the drop of a hat if need be.
“Question three. Which Mom is more likely to spoil the kid?”
The women raised both shoes high in the air. Their child would want for nothing, because they knew what it was like to be terrified in your own home. Neither of them wanted to put their baby through that.
“Ok, question four. Which Mom is more likely to be more protective of the child?”
Maya raised the white shoe as Carina raised the black.
“Me? Do you not remember what you said this morning?”
“Have you heard yourself when you’re defending people you love? You only speak Italian which makes it even more terrifying when you begin to yell.”
“It looks like we’ve got a draw,” Andy said.
“Question five. Which Mom is more likely to bring the kid to their workplace?”
The wives raised both shoes, knowing that both of their workplaces would be featured heavily in their child’s life because both of their schedules were unpredictable.
“No shock there. Ok, moving on to question six. Which Mom is more likely to do outdoor activities with the kid?”
The black shoes shot up high in the air as soon as the word outdoor was uttered, making everyone laugh.
“Question seven. Which Mom is more likely to goof off with the kid?”
The black shoes made their way into the air again.
“Question eight. Which Mom is more likely to cook with the kid?”
Maya and Carina exchanged soft smiles as they both raised their right hands.
“Question nine. Which Mom is more likely to sing with the kid?”
Both shoes made their way into the air, the white from Maya and the black from Carina.
“Another draw. Ok, question ten. Which mom is more likely to let the kid stay up past bedtime?”
Much to everyone’s surprise, both women raised the black shoe in the air.
“I’m a bit surprised, I’ll admit, but it also makes sense. Question 11, which Mom is more likely to embarrass the kid?”
The white shoes were proudly raised into the air, making everyone chuckle because they all knew that Carina struggled with personal boundaries.
“Again, no surprise. Question 12, which Mom is more likely to watch a scary movie with the kid?”
They raised the black shoes into the air.
“Question 13, which Mom is more likely to steal the kid’s shoes if they can fit into them?”
Their right hands shot up into the air after the word shoes.
“Question 14, which Mom is more likely to remember the kid’s appointments?”
After a slight bit of hesitation on Maya’s part, she raised the black shoe and matched Carina’s answer.
“Final question, number fifteen, and it’s a good one. Which Mom is more likely to initiate sex while the kid is asleep?”
Maya blushed brightly as Carina laughed, but the wives raised both shoes into the air, all of the parents covering the children’s ears after they had said they were on the final question while everyone was laughing, smiling, and cheering for the two women.
“Alright, now that we’ve finished asking Maya and Carina, we’ll give you a few minutes to count your answers and we’ll see who has won,” said Jo.
“Now that we’ve given you all time, we’re going to start with everyone raising their hands into the air. How many people got three correct?” Andy asked.
Everyone’s hands stayed up.
“Five?”
“Eight?”
“Nine?”
A few hands came down.
“Ok, who got eleven right?”
A majority of the hands went down.
“Now we’re getting somewhere. Anybody get twelve right?”
More hands went down, the only ones that remained were Miranda, Dean, Travis, and Amelia.
“Fourteen?”
Travis and Amelia both put their hands down.
“Fifteen?”
The two remaining stared down one another before Dean reluctantly put his hand down.
“Congrats to Chief Bailey!” Jo exclaimed.
Everyone broke out into applause and cheers, the woman shaking her head with a grin as she thanked Andy for the gift bag.
“I know we’ve all been waiting for this moment for a long time, but nobody as much as Maya, so will everyone please grab their silly string and gather in a circle around Maya and Carina?”
Everyone laughed at the jab directed at Maya and burst out into excited chatter, hoping and praying for the gender to be their vote.
“Are you ready?” Maya asked, bouncing on the balls of her feet from excitement, a wide, dimpled grin plastered on her face as she led Carina from the table to the center of the floor.
Carina nodded, holding onto Maya’s hands tightly as excitement and nervousness raced through her system.
“On the count of three, y’all are going to spray the DeLuca-Bishop’s to find out the gender of their baby. Are we ready?!”
Wolf whistles, applause, and cheers were thundering through the room.
“Three…two…one…spray!”
Silly string came flying at the two of them from every direction, the two women embracing each other in a passionate kiss through their smiles as tears fell from both of their eyes.
“It’s a girl!” Andy exclaimed, hugging Jo with a smile that went from ear to ear at the reveal (for her at least) of the long awaited news.
“We’re having a girl,” Maya whispered in complete awe, her hands caressing Carina’s stomach with the utmost reverence.
“Si,” Carina replied, too choked up to say anything else.
“I’m so, so in love with you,” the blonde said after she had given her wife another kiss.
“And I’m so, so in love with you.”
Maya was nearly crushed into a hug by her team, shrieking with laughter when Dean lifted her up and placed her so she was sitting on his shoulders.
“Firehouse baby! It’s a girl!” He shouted, the rest of 19 cheering and whooping alongside him.
Maya simply grinned, accepting the high-fives and pats on the leg as she remained seated on Dean’s shoulders.
“We’re so happy for you, Maya,” Jack said, giving her a soft smile.
“Congratulations, Carina,” said Jo, giving her mentor and friend a warm smile and hug.
“So our baby cousin is a girl?!” Bailey asked with a toothy grin.
“Si, it’s a girl,” she replied, the words falling from her mouth easily, as if they were always on the tip of her tongue, just waiting to be said.
“Congratulations Aunt Carina,” Zola said, hugging her aunt.
“Grazie.”
“Blondie seems to be having a blast,” Amelia said, gesturing to where the firefighter’s team was now encouraging Maya to down a shot with the rest of them.
Carina smiled widely, walking over to her wife and whispering in her ear. Maya nodded, the two of them heading back to their table and grabbing a discarded microphone.
“We wanted to thank all of you for showing up to celebrate our baby today, and a special thanks to those of you who agreed to surprise us with everything about this party. We love all of you and are so grateful you are a part of our lives. We are having a girl—” Maya was interrupted by cheering and applause, but she just shook her head with a smile before she continued. “And we’ve decided to give you all our own little surprise today.”
“Maya and I had decided very early on that when the gender of our baby was revealed, we would use it as an opportunity to let all of you know what name we’ve chosen,” Carina said into the mic Maya was holding out for her.
“It better be a good name, Cap!”
“What did you decide?”
“I want to know!”
“Let’s hear it already!”
“Get on with it!”
The two women looked at each other with soft smiles, one of Maya’s hands resting on Carina’s stomach as the other held the microphone. “We are thrilled to soon be welcoming Alessia Kate DeLuca-Bishop to our family.”
Another round of applause, cheers, and wolf whistles were sent their way.
“Now, go enjoy more food and desserts, because soon, we’ll be opening gifts,” the blonde stated, and as soon as the mic was turned off and set down, the wives were swarmed by their family.
“I’m so happy for you, honey,” Katherine said, hugging her daughter tightly, tears shimmering in her eyes but never falling.
“Thank you, Mom,” Maya replied, hugging her mother just as tight.
“You know, Mason would be proud of you.”
Maya tilted her head. “You think so?”
“I know so,” Katherine said with a nod.
“I miss him,” Maya admitted “I’ve tried looking for him when we do patrols around the homeless camps but there’s nothing. I haven’t seen or heard from him since he refused to come with me when he was arrested by Ryan.”
“He’ll come back to us, I know he will.”
Maya looked over to where her beautiful, glowing, pregnant wife was seated, her hands resting on her stomach as she laughed and talked with their friends. “I hope so.”
“Aunt Maya! Will you come with us? We have to hand out the gift cards for everyone that guessed the baby was going to be a girl,” Bailey said, running over and coming to a stop in front of the blonde.
“I sure will. Let’s go,” she said, shooting her mom a smile before she was being led away to the table where Vic was sorting out the piles between who voted for a girl and who voted for a boy.
They basically handed out all of the gift cards because almost everyone at the party had voted that it was going to be a girl. Zola gave out gift cards to the doctors who had guessed right (which was a majority of them) and Bailey to the members of the team (also a majority), and Maya to her mom, Alyssa, and the kids who had gotten it right.
The wives later sat down and opened all of their gifts, thanking everyone at the end. Maya loaded it all into the car with help from her teammates. They had received boxes of diapers, a bassinet, clothes from those who knew the baby was going to be a girl, baby books, stuffed animals, a few blankets, a rocking chair, bibs, bottles, a breast pump, a picture frame that had twelve slots (one for each month for the first year of their baby girl’s life), a mobile, a crib, baby-proofing supplies, and a car seat and stroller combo.
“This is the last of it, Cap,” Dean said, holding out the last bag for Maya to put into the backseat since they had run out of room in the trunk.
“Thanks guys,” Maya said, closing the door and locking the car.
“Alessia Kate is such an adorable name, I can’t even!” Vic squealed, barreling into Maya for another hug.
Maya laughed, returning the younger woman’s hug. “Thanks, Vic.”
“How did you choose it?” Jack asked, holding the door open for everyone to enter the building.
“We had already known that we were going to use a combination of Italian and American names, it was just a matter of choosing them. We decided on Kate pretty easily because it was close to my mom’s name and we both love her but we didn’t want to use her name. We were bouncing ideas back and forth for a first name but nothing felt right. We were getting frustrated and after a while I went to the Italian store Carina loves to get some things she had been craving. We’ve known the owners for a while and I explained to them our dilemma as I shopped because they could tell I was annoyed and had asked me what was wrong. They gave me a list of Italian girl names they were going to use before Aurora had miscarried. I showed it to Carina when I got home, and Alessia was the first name on the list. We just knew it was going to be the name we would use if we had a baby girl,” Maya explained.
“We’re super excited for you, Mai,” Andy said, earning agreements from all around.
“I’m excited too. But I’m also really fucking scared,” she confessed, chewing on her bottom lip.
Dean wrapped his arm around her shoulders as they walked back into the room. “I was too, but Pru is no doubt the best thing that’s ever happened to me. It’s a scary thing, yeah, but it’s also the most amazing and rewarding experience in the entire world.”
Maya gave him a grateful smile, approaching Carina with a chaste kiss, wrapping her arm around her wife’s waist as she joined in on the conversation between some of the doctors. Most of their guests with little ones were leaving or had already left, which meant the ones remaining were all of Maya’s team except for Dean, and from the doctors, everyone remained except for Jo, Link, Owen, and Teddy.
“Thank you again,” Maya said as she gave Jo a hug goodbye.
“You’re very welcome, I’ll see you both soon,” she said, giving hugs and waving to the rest of the group as she left the party.
Alyssa, Megan, and Farouk were next, explaining that they wanted to spend one more night together with Owen and Teddy before they headed back to their home in Los Angeles. Maya and Alyssa promised to continue to keep in touch and to plan more visits to see one another, Carina wishing safe travels on the trio. Soon, the only ones that remained were Maya and Carina, Meredith and her kids, Maggie, Amelia, Vic, and Andy. Nick, Theo, and Winston had left to catch the football game and Kai had left because they were needed for a Zoom conference for the work they were currently doing.
“How are you two feeling? I know all of this can be overwhelming at times,” Maggie stated, sipping on her wine.
“It’s a combination, we’re excited to meet her but we’re also feeling unprepared,” Carina said.
Amelia laughed. “You always feel unprepared, that’s how it works. You just have to hope you give them the tools they need in order to experience life for themselves, to make their own mistakes and to learn from them.”
“It’s like ripping your heart out and watching it walk around the world,” Maya echoed the words she had uttered to Carina so long ago.
“Exactly,” the neurosurgeon replied, giving them a smile.
“It never becomes any less terrifying, but seeing them become their own person, developing their own identity throughout the ups and downs and in-betweens of life, it’s an entire reward in itself. It’s a reward you didn’t know you wanted until it’s happening right in front of your eyes,” said Meredith.
“You have nothing to worry about, Alessia is lucky to have two amazing, bad-ass women as her mothers,” Andy said, clinking her glass to Vic’s.
“I’ll toast to that,” Amelia said, raising her glass of water as everyone else lifted their drinks.
“To these incredible women, who are going to be incredible mothers. We love you both, and we wish nothing but happiness, love, and joy for your family. Cheers,” Vic said, everyone repeating the sentiment and clinking their drinks together.
Maya and Carina exchanged soft smiles, ecstatic but also terrified beyond belief. One look into each other’s eyes was enough to give them reassurance. No matter what life threw their way, they would weather the storm. Together.