Is this thing still on?
It's been so long since I've posted that I've almost forgotten how this works. If you actually missed me, lol, I apologize. Mental illness is a bitch and for a while there I was in a place where creativity just took way more energy than I had to spare. But I'm back, and apart from this standalone two-shot, I have a new TG chapter nearly completed, so maybe that'll see the light of day before summer ends!
A/N: This is a standalone story, albeit in two parts because it got kinda long. The second part just needs some final edits, and then I'll post it in the next couple of days. This is set in the future of TG-verse, but you don't have to have read anything else I've written in order for this to make sense (I hope?). This is pretty fluffy, especially for me...just family fic with no real sex/violence/etc. I was going to write a really dark one-shot, and then Jaime wanted something happy for her graduation, so you can thank her if you enjoy this :D
I really try not to beg for feedback, but I could really use some encouragement- so if you like this, please let me know! If you hate it, let me know, and I'll just be happy that you read it!
Part II coming later this weekend. But for now...
In a way, it had been Noah who predicted it.
You and Elliot had been sitting at the dining room table with the kids, listening to Lilly chatter on about all her new college adventures. She and her brother were both home for the weekend to attend the baptism of their older sister Elizabeth's baby, and since this was her first trip back to the city since you dropped her off for freshman orientation, there was plenty of catching up to do.
"And then in my Polish class-"
"This is what I'm paying tuition for, you to learn Polish?" Elliot groused, his smile belying his pride in his youngest daughter. You both still remember the days when you were unsure if she'd ever even master English. "When are you ever going to use that?"
"I have to take a non-Romance language for my major."
"Ha. 'Non-Romance'," Noah said slyly. "Dad, I'll bet you ten bucks she signed up for it because there's some guy in the class that she's got a crush on."
Lilly huffed. "That's not even what it means, a Romance language is-"
"I know what it means! It was a joke."
"It wasn't funny."
"But it's true." Noah turned toward you and Elliot, shaking his head. "This is on you guys for putting her in an all-girls school for 13 years. She's socially maladjusted."
"Says you."
You didn't think any more of it at the time, too busy enjoying the good-natured teasing between your kids that you missed hearing on a daily basis. But five and a half years later, surrounded by what must be the entire population of a small Polish city, you remember your son's prophetic words and smile to yourself.
Noah wasn't entirely correct. There was no cute guy in her class, but there was one at a conference she attended as part of her first post-graduation job as a teacher at a preschool for deaf children. There was a presenter who caught her attention, tall and blonde with eyes as blue as her own, and when he introduced himself in a familiar accent she knew what she had to do.
His name was Tomek and yes, he was Polish. He was a few years older than Lilly and was visiting the US to do some research for his thesis on cross-cultural approaches to speech therapy. She went up to speak to him after his presentation, complimenting his work and mentioning that she had studied Polish in college, so they had a lot in common and by the way, how much of the city have you seen so far?
He wasn't going to turn down this pretty stranger who was offering to play tour guide, and so a few hours later they went on their first unofficial date. They had bagels at Lilly's favorite bakery before taking a walk in the park that lasted all afternoon. By dinnertime, she was convinced he was The One.
They saw each other every day after that for the entire month he was in New York. Somehow she managed to keep it a secret from you and Elliot that whole time, which was the most amazing part of the whole thing because your daughter had never been known as a great secret keeper. On his second to last day in the country, she told you both that she had "a boyfriend, but he lives far away, and I didn't say anything because I know you'd tell me I shouldn't get invested in a long distance relationship...but it's too late for that now, because I am invested already, so I guess you should probably meet him."
You admit that you didn't take her that seriously at first. It was nothing against Tomek, who was intelligent, polite, and laid back in a way that balanced out your high-strung daughter's personality well. You just assumed that once he returned home, they would both go back to their separate lives and decide that the distance between them was too great to make a relationship work- but oh, how wrong you were.
Being an ocean apart did cause its share of difficulties. But rather than giving up, it only strengthened their resolve to stay together, which is why it wasn't long before they started talking marriage. That got you and Elliot's attention.
"Not everyone waits for 20 years and two kids before they get married," Lilly retorted when you asked if things were maybe moving a bit too fast.
She had a point. "But you've never even lived with him, you haven't been with each other day after day to see the good and the bad..."
"How am I supposed to do that when neither of us can just pack up and move in together?" Again she had a point. It wasn't just the Atlantic that separated them; there were also borders to contend with. Tomek had been applying for jobs in the US, but it was nearly impossible to find anyone in his field that was willing to sponsor him for a work visa. Even if he did, it would likely be only temporary, meaning he'd have to return home for a number of years afterward before he'd be eligible to return again. The laws in Poland were just as complex, and Lilly wasn't likely to find a job there when she barely spoke the language.
That part was fine by you, because you definitely didn't want her living so far away in a strange country with a new husband- but you weren't crazy about the idea of them getting married here either. You and Elliot were concerned that Tomek could have ulterior motives for this marriage. He seemed very sincere when you met him, but the two of you knew that people can easily put up a facade and this fact was sometimes lost on your daughter, who wanted to believe the best of everyone.
It was clear that Lilly wasn't looking for your permission, though. She was going to go through with this, and you could either support her or get out of her way. You just weren't expecting the "support" part to be so literal.
"You want me to do what?" Elliot looked at the stack of papers in front of him in disbelief.
"It's part of the application to bring him over here. I have to show that I earn a certain amount of money...but I don't quite make that much. So I need you to basically be a cosigner."
"You want me to do what," Elliot repeats.
"I'm not asking you guys for any actual money! He and I both have savings, plus I know he'll find a job as soon as he gets here. It's just a formality."
"This form says that I'm financially liable for him for up to ten years, even if you get divorced."
"He's not going to be asking you for money!" she insists. "Do you think his parents would just let him live in poverty? No, of course not."
"Can I get that from them in writing?" he grumbles.
You're ashamed at how stereotypical your thinking was, but you and Elliot had both assumed that his family was poor. You pictured three or four generations living together in some one bedroom apartment, the Soviet-era kind made from a giant block of crumbling concrete, with everybody huddling together in front of a single radiator in the winter. Lilly promised you that this wasn't the case and that they were actually quite well off, but you were still somewhat skeptical until she returned from a trip to meet his family and celebrate their engagement. Turns out that they had a beautiful home in the city, a vacation house in the countryside, and even a small ski chalet in France. Lilly also came home with an expensive gold jewelry set to match her engagement ring, a strand of pearls, several new designer outfits, and a promise to go furniture shopping for the couple's new apartment when his family came to the States for the wedding. (You had the feeling that they weren't going to Ikea and Target, which were the places you had suggested they register at).
Tomek and his father visited New York once more before the wedding. They came with plenty of gifts for all of you, even Noah, but you were mostly grateful for the opportunity to meet another member of his family. It turns out that Tomek's parents were just as cautious about this marriage as you were, and Elliot's mind was somehow set at ease once he knew that you all shared the same concerns.
But that wasn't what ultimately won you over. A week or two after their visit, you woke up late one night and saw Elliot sitting on the edge of the bed, looking equal parts stunned and proud. "Hey...everything alright?"
"Yeah. I just went to the kitchen to get a drink and I ran into Lilly."
"Oh. And?" You knew she got up in the middle of the night to text her fiance before he went to work, so that wasn't necessarily surprising.
"Did you know that she talks to him on FaceTime?"
"What? You're kidding." Your daughter was normally a very confident person, but there were a few lingering insecurities from her childhood, and the biggest of these was her fear of taking phone calls. She still had trouble sometimes with understanding other people's speech, especially when she was talking to someone on a phone or through a screen. It was too embarrassing for her to keep asking someone to speak up or repeat themselves, so she went out of her way to avoid talking on the phone to almost everyone except you and Elliot. "Seriously?"
"Yeah. I asked her about it and she just gives me that 'duh, Dad' look." He smiles and shakes his head. "I guess that kid must be doing something right."
It wasn't like all of your doubts were erased right then. You still worried about how Lilly would adjust to married life after a relatively short period of trans-Atlantic dating, but you felt much more confident that she had picked someone who was worthy of her, especially when she told you that he was on board with her plans for children. She had always been aware that her older brother was adopted, and she and Noah had been involved in volunteering and fundraising for foster children ever since they were old enough to help out. Through that, she saw how kids with disabilities had a difficult time finding a permanent placement because many parents couldn't deal with their special needs.
"I want a big family," she told you when she was maybe 13 years old.
"You have a big family."
"No, when I'm grown up! I wanna adopt all the deaf foster kids so they'll have a home with someone who knows how to help them and loves them the way they are."
You thought her plan was very sweet, but you figured that her goals might change as she got older. Instead she seemed to grow more determined every year, even taking a job at a preschool for the hard of hearing in order to gain more hands-on experience. She hoped to become a stay at home mom eventually, just like you were when she and Noah were young, and you were happy to hear that Tomek was supportive of this as well.
She may not have her own brood yet, but she does have a big family that's about to get bigger. Tomek has three siblings, two with spouses and children of their own, and a veritable village of aunts and uncles and cousins. You were told that 24 relatives were flying in from Poland to attend the wedding, but you swear there must be another dozen or two that stowed away with 've all been very warm and friendly, even the ones who don't speak English beyond five or ten set phrases, but it's been exhausting trying to take care of all the last-minute wedding arrangements while also playing tour guide. Several of them have never been to New York before and are determined to see every single attraction in the encyclopedia-sized guidebook they brought with them from home. That is, of course, in between shopping and cooking. They've also been taking advantage of online shopping, so your doorbell rings constantly as more and more deliveries come in.
You were a bit worried about being able to keep up with their largesse after all the gifts they showered upon Lilly, not wanting to seem cheap and not knowing if you were expected to reciprocate. Tomek didn't seem like the materialistic type- thank God- but you still wanted to make a good impression on him and his parents. This led to you and Elliot going on a shopping expedition to a Rolex boutique that ended abruptly after he Googled the watch prices from inside the store. (The old adage is true. If you have to ask about the price, you can't afford it). You briefly considered buying one from eBay, but there was way too much that could go wrong with that scenario, and with your luck you'd be spending the wedding day in a jail cell. You could see the headlines now- "Former NYPD Detectives Busted In Stolen Watch Sting: 'We Did It All For Our Son In Law'."
Your other concern was that they'd be disappointed by the wedding itself. You thought you'd been generous with your financial contribution, and Lilly was spending a fair bit of her own money, but you knew it might not be up to their usual standard. You were pleasantly surprised to find that they loved it all, from the church to the flowers and the decorations in a red and white color scheme. Their one objection? The food. There was simply not enough- but not to worry, they would take care of it! Your kitchen has been in continuous use all week, and barely a minute has gone by while you're at home without someone asking you to taste whatever it is they're whipping up now. As much as you've longed for even a few moments of rest in the last few days, you'll admit that you're really going to miss your 24/7 chef service when they're gone.
"Olivia!"
Elliot catches your attention by waving at you from across the room, slowly making his way through the sea of people in the church reception hall. Every few feet he's stopped by someone looking to congratulate, shake hands with, or even bear hug the father of the bride. "Who are these people? I swear they've multiplied."
"We're not going to run out of food, are we?"
He looks over his shoulder at a table that's probably ten feet long and overflowing with Polish delicacies. "No way. Well, if we do, we'll still have plenty of vodka."
The food smells delicious, even at a distance, and you're about to make your way over to sample some when you're interrupted by a young woman with light brown hair slicked back in a bun.
"Aunt Liv! I've been looking all over for you!"
"Annaliese! Thank God you made it. Do your parents know you're here?" Annaliese Amaro, the maid of honor and hairstylist to the bride, had to get special permission in order to leave her training program at Quantico overnight for the wedding.
"They do, and they're on their way...but right now I need you, I've gotta fix your hair."
You're not sure what exactly is wrong with your hair, and you happen to think it looks quite nice- but you know that you aren't the expert on current fashion, at least if your daughter's reaction to your original outfit for the ceremony was anything to go by. "Okay, but I can't be away too long. I'm supposed to be helping to greet everyone once they start coming in."
"You should just let my dad do that," Annaliese jokes. "Uncle Elliot, I'd volunteer to do your hair, but..."
He shrugs with a smile, patting his bald head. "That's the great thing about not having any, I'm always ready for any occasion. But I'll come with you two if that's okay?"
You make your way downstairs, holding onto Elliot's arm as you do. You'll act like it's for your own benefit, and it partially is, but his knee has been giving him trouble lately and his unsteady gait makes you a little nervous. Falls are no joke at your age. Just last week, Kathy stumbled while getting out of the car and hurt her hip. The doctors expect her to make a full recovery, but she'll be spending the foreseeable future in the hospital, and it's yet another reminder to you and Elliot that you're not as young as you once were.
Rather than feeling morbid, however, you're just incredibly grateful that you and your husband are both alive and healthy enough to enjoy days like today. It's something you don't take for granted. You still remember a time when you never thought you'd have the experience of being part of a family and sharing all the little moments that come with that, like watching Elliot pretend he's not tearing up when he sees Lilly in her wedding gown for the first time.
Your daughter isn't as worried about protecting his dignity as you are. "Dad. Oh my god, cut it out. I see you crying."
"I'm not-"
"Yes. You are. And then I'll cry too and my makeup's gonna be ruined and...we're not going to do that, remember?" she says, putting her hands on her father's shoulders. "Be strong."
"You're sure about all this? You can still change your mind."
"I'm sure, daddy. Besides, then what would we do with all of Tomek's family? They're here for another week- that might be awkward," she jokes.
"I don't care." She rolls her eyes and he shakes his head at her. "I'm serious. You change your mind five minutes or five years from now, doesn't matter. If you've got ten kids with you, doesn't matter. You can always, always come home."
"You mean you're not even a tiny bit excited to get rid of me?" Lilly had moved back home temporarily in the months leading up to her wedding, and while you and Elliot had both enjoyed having her around, it had definitely been quite an adjustment after being empty nesters for five years.
Elliot's eyes sparkle, looking between you and her. "It'll be like your mom and I are on a second honeymoon while you're away on yours."
"Okay, that's just gross, Dad. Don't." She grimaces, undoubtedly remembering the day she came home to find you and her father making out like teenagers on the living room couch ("You two are old! You should be...I don't know, playing cards! Knitting! Not THAT!").
"We deserve it, considering that we never had one after our wedding."
"Yeah, sorry about that," Annaliese chimes in as she wraps a portion of your hair around the barrel of a curling iron.
"It was one hell of a day, that's for sure."
"Daaaaddy?"
You had been waiting all day (plus about twenty years, give or take) to say your vows and make this official. And now, just as the court clerk opens his mouth to begin...
"Daddy," Noah repeats, tugging on the pocket of Elliot's suit pants. "I needa potty!"
"Noah, bud, you just went."
And he had. According to your best estimates, he had been on about seventeen bathroom trips in the three hours you'd spent waiting in the lobby of City Hall.
The folks at the marriage bureau, in their infinite wisdom, didn't allow couples to make appointments. First come, first serve. In theory, this was a fair and equitable idea. In theory, you were also going to be at the door as soon as they opened for the day.
In reality, you had two small children and a large group of people to organize, which meant you were already running 45 minutes late by the time you left the apartment. For the first time.
You were well on your way downtown when you realized you'd left the diaper bag at home. Normally you'd just duck into a CVS to grab a few necessities and hope no one needed a change of clothes- but you had also left your marriage license and the copy of Elliot's divorce decree inside said diaper bag. So back home you went.
In the meantime, the rest of the group proceeded on to the courthouse without you. Nick decided to 'take one for the team' and pretend he was the potential groom in order to save you and Elliot a place in the rapidly forming queue. His bride to be? The logical choice would have been his 39 weeks pregnant girlfriend. But instead, he chose Munch.
"Fin turned me down," he explained when you finally made it back to City Hall with diaper bag and paperwork in hand. He turned toward the frowning middle aged woman at the counter. "Hey, so my g- uh, *fiance* here, he's having second thoughts. Not sure he's ready to commit, you know?" John shakes his head, trying to sell his role as the groom with cold feet. "But my friends are here with me, and they just happen to have a marriage license all ready to go, so what do you say you let them take my place?"
She glares at him for a moment, and then her surly expression gives way to a bright smile. "You're that guy! The one who was so bad at Wheel of Fortune! I've seen that video on YouTube a million times...man, that is funny. When it was supposed to be 'apple', but you said-"
"Yeah, I know," he says, face turning red. "So maybe you could do me a favor?"
You're starting to worry, because if she's seen that clip, she might recall that *you* were also there as his supposed fiance. But like everyone else who's watched, she only seems to remember him and not the mortified pregnant woman at his side. Thank God.
"Will you do the line for me?" she asks.
"Uh, I dunno-"
"Nick," you hiss, looking behind you at the line of people that seems to have tripled within minutes, "just do the line."
He sighs. "An asshole a day..."
"Keeps the doctor away!" she finishes, clapping her hands together in delight before taking your paperwork and handing you a card with a number on it. After a quick selfie between Nick and his newest fan, you were ready to take his (and Munch's) place in line.
"Do I get to count that as another failed marriage if we never even made it to the altar?" John wonders aloud.
And then came the very un-romantic wait for your number to be called. There were all sorts of couples around you, everyone from teens with matching florescent hair to elderly folks with matching motorized scooters. It would've been a great people watching opportunity if you weren't so busy watching your own group. There was Amanda, whose feet were so swollen that she was wearing flip flops in December, walking back and forth between her seat and the bathroom as she clutched her lower back. You suspected she was in very early labor but she insisted she was 'fine' as Noah and Maureen's son Benjamin followed behind her like little ducklings in clip on bowties.
"Mooom. Less' go," Noah whined.
"It's almost our turn," you lied, knowing there was least a dozen couples ahead of you. "Do you want to look at a book?"
"No."
"Do you want goldfish?"
"No."
"Hey boys," Cragen calls out to the two toddlers. "I've got something for you." When they come over to investigate, he pulls a couple of matchbox cars out of his coat pocket. "I forgot I was carrying these around from when we took Eileen's grandkids out to eat yesterday."
Both boys' eyes go wide as if he just performed a magic trick, and Noah squealed in delight, remembering a key phrase that you thought he had finally, *finally* forgotten. "Ticker treat!"
Noah's main takeaway from Halloween had been that if you said the magic words, adults were required to give you something. It had taken nearly two months of being told that it only works one day a year to get it out of his system, but now he was back in business and showing his little nephew this important life skill.
They went from person to person in your group, happily collecting whatever odds and ends everyone could scrounge from their purses or pockets, and they were about to move on to the strangers seated behind you when Munch intervened. "Hey, you pint sized beggars, what say you we visit the gift shop over there?"
"Are you sure?" you ask.
"Course I am. Let Uncle John spoil the Munchkins."
"Nothing that will stain their clothes," you warn, envisioning them coming back with giant gooey candy bars.
Fin looks up from the screen of Eli's iPad and whatever game they've been discussing. "You're gonna regret that."
"Oh, probably," you agree, glancing down at the sleeping baby nestled in the crook of your arm and carefully adjusting her yellow headband.
Maureen comes to sit next to you and peeks over at Lilly. "She's calmed down now?"
"Yeah...it's still just a little overwhelming for her when she's in noisy places, but we're figuring it out."
"I can imagine."
"It's sorta nice being able to turn this off when I want her to sleep in public," you say, fingering the tiny device behind her ear. By hooking it to a headband decorated with a big flower or bow, it's almost impossible to tell that it's not just a fashionable accessory. "It almost feels like I'm cheating when I do."
"Hey, whatever works. I'm definitely not judging. Do you still sign to her?"
You nod. "We're going to keep doing both, speaking and signing, for now...that way she'll have more options because we don't know what the future's going to look like. But anyway," you say, quickly shifting the conversation, "Noah loves signing so much too. He's picked it up so fast and it's really helped him communicate. We can barely learn enough to keep up with him because he wants to know what the sign is for everything he sees."
And there he is right now, running toward you and almost crashing into a chair as he does. "Mommy! Look'a this!"
"Wow." He and Benjamin are wearing identical giant foam Statue of Liberty hats that say 'I heart NY' and holding identical plastic torches which, you are delighted to discover, play God Bless America when you press a button. You give John a pointed look as you ask your son "This is what Uncle Munch got you?"
"I am merely a conduit. They picked them out themselves," he says as the song starts to play again.
"Doesn't mean you have to say yes!"
Noah points to his hat. "Mommy, what's sign?"
"I don't know, baby. It's a crown. Momma doesn't know the sign for that."
"Daddy, what's sign?" he asks, moving onto the next parent.
"Daddy doesn't know either, buddy."
Noah wrinkles up his face like he's about to let you both have it. Fortunately, Amanda's slowly lifting herself up out of her chair and he's momentarily distracted. "I needa potty."
"Then come along, little man," Amanda says, nodding sympathetically at him.
No sooner had the two of them returned than you heard the PA system announce 'Now serving number 1004.' The words you had been longing to hear!
Your group made its way down the corridor that led to the "chapel," albeit slowly and to the tune of God Bless America. "Noah, baby, you're going to have to put that away now. We have to be very quiet."
"I'll make sure he does," Kathleen promises as she takes Lilly from you. Your usually friendly daughter is going through a stage where she doesn't want to be held by anyone other than Mom or Dad, but she doesn't cry when you hand her off- just frowns at you to let you know she's not pleased with this turn of events.
"Hey Noah, why don't you take your crown off so that Maureen can get some nice pictures of you?"
"No."
"But your-"
"No it's MINE!" he shouts, stomping his foot.
"Let him wear it, Liv," Elliot says. "You already went through this with him once today."
He was referring to an incident before you left the apartment this morning in which he refused to wear the sweater you picked out for him. Normally this behavior would mean a time out, as it did earlier, but you had no place for him to go and you didn't really want him to be red faced and snotty nosed in your wedding album. "But the pictures..."
"He'll take it off in a minute. And if he doesn't- 25 years from now, we'll all be laughing about it. There are worse things. Now come here." You hang back while everyone else files into the chapel, his hands clasping both of yours. "Are you ready? You're not going to back out now, are you?"
He tries to pass it off as a joke, but you can tell there's that little bit of genuine doubt hidden just under the surface. "After this? We didn't wait all morning for nothing. Someone's getting married, and I'd rather it be you and me than Nick and Munch."
"Bet now you wish we would've ran off and eloped with just the two of us."
You look at the group assembled on the other side of the doorway- your babies, your soon-to-be stepchildren, your former coworkers. Your *family*. All the people you love gathered together in one room to celebrate and support you. It may not be a traditional family, the cookie cutter kind you longed for as a child...but it's something even better.
"No way." You give him a kiss, your lips barely brushing together so as not to smudge your freshly reapplied lipstick. "Let's go get married."
God Bless America starts to play as you enter the chapel.
The ceremony is short by design, both to cater to little attention spans and because there's still a lobby full of people waiting for their turn, but the clerk talks to you briefly before it begins so he can get to know you. He's impressed by how many of you are former or current cops and by the number (and age span) of Elliot's children. He shakes hands with Eli, telling him he now has a very important job as a big brother, and Eli nods seriously.
As the clerk begins reading from his script, he barely gets past "to join these two people in marriage" when Lilly starts to whimper to herself.
"It's okay, go ahead," you assure him, making eye contact with Lilly and mouthing 'I'm right here' while Kathleen bounces her on her lap to try distracting her.
"We also recognize the family and friends of the bride and groom who are gathered together to share in this joyous occasion-"
Your daughter lets out a long whine, flapping her hands in frustration. Kathleen sighs and shushes her again.
"Each of you has played an important role in their lives, and each of you-"
"WAAAH!" Lilly will no longer be ignored.
"Quiet!" Noah barks, arms crossed over his chest like he can't believe the nerve of this baby.
"Don't worry, I'll take her," you tell Kathleen, reaching out and lifting Lilly into your arms. "Sorry about that...it'll be alright now, I promise. She just wants me to hold her."
Sure enough, she went silent except for a satisfied coo as soon as you had her on your hip. And that's where she stayed, making faces at her daddy as the two of you repeated your vows and Eli brought the rings up to the front of the room. Everyone laughed as she lifted a chubby fist to try and grab the shiny object out of your hand before you could put it on Elliot's finger.
"You have a lot to be grateful for," the clerk remarked. You nodded and bit your lip, blinking back tears. "And now, by the authority vested in me by the state of New York-"
"Daaaaddy..." Noah jumps down from his front row seat and comes to stand next to his father. "Daddy, I needa potty."
"Noah, bud, you just went."
"But I gotta!"
Elliot gave the clerk an apologetic smile and then turns back to his son. "You can wait just one minute, okay? Stand here and hold my hand and then we'll go."
"Now the whole family's together," the clerk remarked. And it wasn't what you were planning on- nothing in your life ever is- but there was something so fitting about your kids being right there beside you as he officially pronounced you husband and wife. "You may now kiss the bride!"
You shifted your grasp on Lilly so that Elliot could kiss you. In your peripheral vision you saw your guests standing up to applaud, but your lips were still a millimeter or so apart when you heard a woman's voice.
"Oh...oh no." Amanda is looking toward the floor at something you can't see. "I think...I'm pretty sure my water just broke."
To be continued!