[This is a sequel to June Bug, and won't make any sense if you have not read that! As a brief reminder: Alex and Maggie have adopted the now six-year-old Addie; Maggie has rescued her now 18-year-old Ellie sister from their homophobic parents, and Ellie is in love with artist Aoife (pronounced Efa!); Kara has fallen for Alex's assistant at the DEO, Sergent Kate Collins. Maggie and Alex are loving being parents, and now want to extend their family, ideally with Alex carrying Maggie's baby.]
"Careful," Maggie warned as Alex carried the sleeping Addie upstairs.
Alex kept her hand on Addie's head as she maneuvered past the door frame. She lowered her onto the bed.
Addie murmured, and turned into her pillow. Alex was glad that they had changed her into her pajamas before leaving Aoife and Ellie's house. Alex skilfully pulled the quilt over her, and dropped a soft kiss on her head.
"Double stories tomorrow?" Addie's sleepy voice murmured.
"Sure Bug. Double stories tomorrow," Alex's voice was affectionate. She looked up to see the smile on Maggie's face. She shrugged. Addie loved her bedtime stories, and she would never deny them to her, even if it meant that she would spend extra long on them the following night. She knew she was a soft touch. So was Maggie. They both knew that.
Maggie watched her wife deal with their daughter, and a shiver ran through her. Her life now was so precious to her. And it was fragile. Before she had gotten together with Alex, and before the miracle of Addie landing in their laps, life had been simpler. She was always the first to charge in at work; she had very little to lose. It wasn't that she didn't like her life. She did. She liked who she was, for the most part. She enjoyed her social life – and her many girlfriends, though none of them had caught her heart. And she loved her work. But there was nothing that she couldn't live without – her work, maybe. But now … Now she knew, without a doubt, that if she lost Alex and Addie, she would lose everything. And sometimes that frightened her. Other times it filled her with a joy that was overwhelming.
"You okay?" Alex approached her, and tucked a strand of hair behind Maggie's ear, before leaning in for a soft kiss.
Maggie nodded. She took Alex's hand, and led her out of Addie's room and into their own. Without speaking, she started to unbutton Alex's shirt.
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Aoife turned to Ellie in bed. She stroked her cheek gently. "I think that went okay," she said. She had been anxious all day. They had invited Alex, Maggie, Addie, Kara and Kate over to dinner to celebrate their engagement.
Ellie grinned. "It went great!" she said. "And now," she took Aoife's left hand and kissed the ring, "now you are officially my fiancée. You're going to be Mrs …," she looked up and grinned. "Mrs What?" she demanded.
"Huh?" Aoife was confused.
"We didn't talk about surnames. After we are married. Kelly-Sawyer? Sawyer-Kelly? Skelly? Kelawyer?" Ellie teased.
Aoife looked at her fiancée, and her heart filled with joy. "I wanna be a Sawyer," she said, in a quiet voice.
"No Kelly?" Ellie was confused.
Aoife shook her head. "I've been a Kelly forever."
"Well, duh," Ellie's words were teasing, but her voice was soft. She could see that Aoife was struggling. "Hey, we don't have to decide anything now. We don't even have to talk about it now," she saw a tear forming, and brushed it away so softly that Aoife wanted to cry more.
Aoife blinked. "It's okay," she said, and caught Ellie's hand, holding it gently. "I have thought about this. A lot. And I loved my Mom. So much."
"I know that, babe."
"She was amazing," Aoife went on. "I just wish you could have met her. God, she would have loved you. So much. But her talent, sometimes it was … you know, overwhelming. And then, when I started doing … stuff … as an artist … her name keeps getting mentioned. I'm always 'Siobhan Kelly's daughter'. And I'm happy to be that. She was the best mother in the world." She looked over at Ellie's compassionate face.
"I always thought that being Siobhan Kelly's daughter would be the most important thing. But, being your fiancée, being your wife, that's a whole new league. I want to be known as myself, and I want to be known as your wife. The wife of Eleanor with the Pronounceable Name," she joked through her tears. "Your wife," she said, serious again. "I'm going to be your wife. And you are going to be mine."
Ellie nodded. She kissed Aoife slowly and deeply.
Aoife felt herself shift gear. Ellie always did this to her. She needed her, needed to feel her skin, to taste her. Impatiently, she pushed Ellie's t-shirt over her head. She grinned at the sight of Ellie's pierced nipple, and touched the bar gently.
"Don't start something you aren't going to finish," Ellie growled. She knew she didn't need to say that. Aoife never let her down. Aoife's fingers were on her tattooed upper arm now. Most of the top of her arm was now inked, and she loved it. She loved that it was Aoife's design. She wanted more of Aoife's art on her skin. "One day you're going to have to finish that arm for me. I need you to … oh Jesus," she felt Aoife's agile fingers on her. In her. "Jesus, Aoife," she cried. She never knew how Aoife was able to send her desire skyrocketing so quickly. "I just need you to … oh fuck," she couldn't work out how, with only one working hand, Aoife seemed to be all over her, in her, touching her everywhere. She felt Aoife's teeth scrape against a rock-hard nipple. "Babe, I'm gonna... oh God. Yes. Like that," she fisted her hand in Aoife's auburn hair. "Just … God. How do you? I mean..."
Hours later, Aoife rolled on to her back, a smug grin on her face. "That was fun, right?" she looked over at Ellie, who was covered in sweat, her chest heaving as she struggled to catch her breath.
Ellie looked back at her, trying to tame her lungs. "I've had worse," she finally panted, earning herself a slap from her fiancée. "Not often six times in a row, but ..." she laughed when Aoife threw a pillow at her face.
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Three days later: 11.50am
Alex read her phone, and turned to her assistant Sergeant Kate Collins. "Are you okay for an hour here? Ellie wants me to meet her at the coffee shop," she held out her phone.
Kate felt her own phone vibrate in her pocket. She looked at the screen. "Me too," she said, intrigued. The door to the lab opened, admitting Maggie.
"Babe," Maggie began.
"Ellie wants to meet at Noonan's," Alex supplied.
"How did you know?"
Kate smiled as Kara entered the room.
"It's okay, J'onn has cleared it," Kara said. "We've all gotta go to Noonan's. No," she held her hands up as in surrender. "I've got no idea. He clearly knows something's going on, but he won't say anything. He had a smile on his face though, so it can't be anything bad."
Kate stood up and grabbed her jacket. "So let's go," she laughed.
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Alex loved the feel of Maggie's hand in hers as they walked the two blocks to Noonan's. She wondered if she would ever get used to having a wife. To being a wife. And a mother. She lifted Maggie's hand to her lips and dropped a quick kiss on it.
Maggie looked up and grinned. "Sap," she accused.
"Busted," Alex agreed, happily.
Aoife was already seated at a table when they arrived, looking nervous. They all sat, and looked expectantly at her. And then the door opened again, and Ellie came in, with an excited Addie holding her hand. Alex was the first to spot their daughter, and her face broke into a wide smile. She stood up, and laughed as Addie launched herself at her. She held her in a tight hug for a few seconds. She then pulled back, and settled her on her hip. "What's going on Bug?" she could see the excitement on the six-year-old's face. "Why aren't you at school?"
Ellie grinned. "I broke her out," she said. She laughed at the look on Alex's face. "It's okay. I signed her out. I need her. We both need her," she took Aoife's hand. "I mean, you can't get married without a ring bearer, can you? And seeing as we're getting married in," she looked at her watch, "40 minutes, I had to go get her!" She looked at the open-mouthed stares around the table.
"You're getting MARRIED?" Kara shrieked.
"You can't be that surprised," Aoife teased. "You came to our engagement party three days ago."
"But that was three DAYS!" Kara spluttered. "It takes months to plan a wedding. The dress. Dresses," she amended. "Caterers. Flowers. Cars. You can't just ..."
Ellie laid a hand on Kara's arm. "We can, and we did. We're due in the judge's office at 1pm. Neither of us wanted a big wedding. So we just booked the judge. We thought maybe we could get some drinks after, or a hot dog or something."
"But don't you want..." Kara began.
Kate slid an arm around her girlfriend. "They've got all they want, Kara," she said softly, recognizing in an instant that that was totally true. Aoife's mother was dead, Ellie's parents had disowned her. They just had each other – and this new, extended family.
Kara started to pout and then her face opened up in a wide smile when she realized the truth of what Kate had said. "I think it's wonderful."
"So you'll come?" Aoife had been nervous that maybe they were letting everyone down.
"Just try and stop us," Maggie wiped a tear from her cheek. "Ride or die, right?" she winked at Alex.
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Alex squeezed Maggie's fingers tight as Addie presented the rings right on cue, as if she had been practicing for weeks. The wedding was simple, but it was perfect. Aoife looked lovely in a loose skirt and peasant blouse, and Ellie wore her customary jeans, soft white Henley and leather jacket. Ellie held both of Aoife's hands as she recited her vows. The look of love on both their faces was unmistakeable.
Afterward, they all adjourned to the alien bar, and were given special permission to let Addie join the party. Alex ordered a whole stack of pizzas, and there was so much laughter and love in the room, as they played darts and pool, and danced and laughed and laughed.
"Do NOT take advice from her," Alex warned Aoife, when she asked Maggie to help her with her pool shot. "Here," she grabbed the cue from Maggie, and spent 20 minutes coaching Aoife, who was a surprisingly quick study, despite her crippled hand. They worked together to defeat Maggie and Ellie soundly.
Alex laughed in triumph. "Aoife and I will get the drinks. To show how magnanimous we are in victory," she teased.
Aoife stood with her at the bar as the pitchers of beer were poured. She looked quizzically at Alex. "So," she said eventually. "You gonna give me the shovel talk?"
Alex smiled.
"I mean, I know she's only 18," Aoife admitted. "But you should know..."
Alex laid her hand gently on Aoife's. "I do know. I do. And there's no shovel talk. Not from me, not from Maggie. Aoife," she looked her straight in the eye. "I think it's wonderful. We both do."
"But you and Maggie, you were ten years older when you..."
"I know," Alex interrupted. "And that was ten years wasted. Aoife, when you know, you know. Hey, I fell in love with Maggie the instant I saw her. I didn't even realize I was gay then," she laughed at the memory. "But when I saw Maggie at my crime scene..."
"MY crime scene," Maggie's voice came from behind her, making Aoife laugh.
Alex turned to see her wife grinning behind her. "I knew," she continued. She touched Maggie's face. "I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her. And you've found that with Ellie. And we couldn't be happier, right Maggie?"
"I could be a little happier," Maggie teased. "If you'd just pass me that damned beer."
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"She's nearly as tall as you are," Alex protested as Maggie lifted their daughter from the car. Addie had fallen asleep in her pizza at the bar.
"But it's my turn to carry her upstairs," Maggie said. "You saying I'm too weak?" she glared at Alex.
Alex backed off. She knew exactly how strong Maggie was. Only a week ago, she had carried Alex to bed without breaking a sweat.
"Mommy," Addie snuggled into Maggie's neck.
"I know, baby girl," Maggie knew that Addie could get tearful when she was overtired. "We'll be there in just a moment. Then we can snuggle up."
"And Mama?"
"And Mama," Maggie reassured her.
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A week later
Maggie put a hand out, to stop Alex pacing. "Come, sit," she said, softly. She looked at the pastel walls in the doctor's office, and almost snorted. Why was it that these places, which could change your life, tried so hard to look as inconsequential as possible? She knew, and Alex knew, that they would be visiting her a lot in the next few months, and it was going to have a massive impact on their lives, whatever happened. Or didn't happen.
Alex sat next to Maggie. Her leg jogged up and down, until Maggie laid a soft hand on her thigh. She looked at her. "Sorry," she said.
"You don't have to be sorry," Maggie said softly. "It's those damned peach walls. They're driving me crazy, too."
Alex giggled. "Who chooses peach?"
"Nobody. It's just for places like this. And some nurseries. I tell you, babe, if we do have a baby, there will be no goddamned peach on the walls. Are we clear?" Maggie was laughing as she talked.
"Crystal," Alex laughed. She looked up as the nurse came out with a clipboard. Her mouth went dry. "Ready for this?" she tried to stop her voice shaking.
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"C'm'ere a minute, Bug," Alex lifted their daughter on to her lap. "Mommy and I want to talk to you for a bit, is that okay?"
"Are you sick, Mama?" Addie looked panicked.
Alex smiled. Addie was so sweet, always concerned about other people, always wanting to make sure everyone was well and happy. "No, baby, I'm not sick. I'm good. Real good. So's Mama, right Mags?" Alex smiled as Maggie came into the room and sat next to them on the couch.
"Never better," Maggie said.
"We wanted to talk to you, Bug. About where we were today," Alex started, not sure how to begin the discussion. Addie was so perceptive, she would know something was going on. And they didn't want her to feel excluded, or even worse, anxious. Addie had already lost two parents, and was only now recovering. They didn't want her to feel unsettled in any way.
"We went to the doctor's office this morning," Maggie took over. "Not because anything is wrong. You remember we talked about wanting a baby?"
Addie's eyes lit up. She so wanted to be a big sister. She nodded.
"Well, it's kinda hard with just two ladies," Maggie smiled. She didn't want to get too graphic. "If you have a Mommy and a Daddy, they can make babies together. But it doesn't quite work that way with two Mommies. So we have to go to a doctor, who can help us out." She looked desperately at Alex.
Alex took a deep breath. "Mommy's right. Usually the Daddy fertilizes a Mommy's egg, to make a baby. So if there isn't a Daddy, the doctor can help us out. It's kinda complicated. And we're making it even MORE complicated, too. We want it so I can be the one who'll carry the baby."
"So your tummy will get all big, just like Robert's mommy's did, when she had his baby brother?" Addie asked.
"That's right," Alex smiled. "But, because we both want to be part of this, we're going to make it so I carry an egg from Mommy. So that baby is a bit of both of us. And then, maybe a few years later, if it all works, Mommy will carry my egg, and her tummy will get big too. But that's in the future some time."
"So how does it work?" Addie was curious.
Maggie took over again. "Well, the doctor has told me I have to give myself injections of special medicine for a couple of weeks, to make sure I make lots of eggs. And then they'll take the eggs out of me and fertilize them, and a little while after that, they'll put an egg into Mama."
Addie clapped her hands with excitement.
"But it'll take a while," Alex cautioned. "We might have to try it a few times. And there's no guarantee that it will work at all. But it would be great if it did, right Addie?"
Addie nodded. "And if you do have a baby, I'll be a big sister."
"The best big sister in the world," Maggie agreed.
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Maggie looked away while Alex injected her. The big, bad, tough cop hated needles. "You do realize that if you end up doing this some day, I'm not going to be able to do this for you," she said to Alex.
Alex nodded, and kissed the spot where she had just injected her. "All done."
"I'm sorry I'm so antsy," Maggie apologized. They were almost a week into the hormone injections, and Maggie's emotions were on a razor's edge. She knew it was just the hormones, but she went from raging, to weepy, to sad, to elated at a moment's notice. She was trying so hard to keep it together in front of Addie, but when Addie had crawled into her lap and given her a hug, she realized that she had seen that she was weeping at a Disney cartoon.
"You're perfect," Alex said softly.
Maggie snorted.
"You are," Alex insisted. "Perfect for me, anyway. Only another four days on the hormones, and then..."
"Then they get the vacuum out," Maggie teased. "That's the medical term, right?"
Alex laughed. She grabbed Maggie by the shirt and pulled her to her. She kissed her softly. "That's right, babe."
Maggie winced and pulled back. Tears sprang to her eyes. "I want to... I want to SO much. But my boobs are sore, and I feel kinda off. I want to touch you, babe, I do, but..."
Alex cupped her face very gently. "I know. I know, Maggie. Hey, you're a chemical soup right now," she smiled. "Let's just go to bed. To sleep," she clarified.
"Will you hold me?" Maggie's voice was small.
"Always."
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Kate Collins looked up from her plate. Kara had spent the last 20 minutes, gabbling excitedly about a new article she was writing about the effects of pollution on the fish in the city's harbor. "I know it's not interesting to everybody," Kara admitted. "But it should be. This could affect us all. Apart from Maggie," she giggled as she remembered a fun fact about her sister-in-law.
"Why not Maggie?" Kate loved it when Kara got animated. Kara was so passionate about everything. About work. About being Supergirl. About life. And about her, and that made her so happy.
"Didn't you know?" Kara grinned. "Maggie doesn't eat fish. She's scared of them! She's got, like, a phobia."
"Of fish?" Kate had never heard of the fear, and it made her smile.
"Fish and flying," Kara clarified. "Though she's mostly over the flying thing, thanks to you and Alex. But the fish thing, that's never gonna change. She couldn't even pass Alex a jar of anchovies in the market. And then she wouldn't go near the cupboard they were in. Alex had to throw them out in the end."
"That's hilarious," Kate smiled.
"But at least she won't have to worry about eating local fish," Kara said. "I'm sorry, K. I didn't mean to talk about this all evening. It's just that ..."
"Never apologize for loving your work," Kate took her hand. "I love that you love it. I must remember to tease Maggie. Was that how Alex found out, at the market?"
Kara shook her head. "Dentist. She nearly passed out in the dentist's office, Alex thought she was scared of the dentist. Turned out if was the fish tank. They have to go to a different dentist now, on the other side of town."
"They'll have to be careful, now they're doing the fertility treatment," Kate mused.
Kara shook her head. "It's okay. Alex has checked out all the offices, and the hospital waiting rooms. She's chosen fish-free doctors!" she smiled.
"That's got to be the funniest thing I've ever heard. And possibly the sweetest." Kate loved Maggie and Alex – almost as much as she loved Addie. "We've still got Addie next Friday, right?"
"Just the afternoon, now," Kara explained. "They're taking her to the clinic in the morning, just so's she can meet everyone, and have it all explained to her. They were worried she was getting anxious, so they want her to be sure it's nothing to be worried about. Alex thinks if she knows what's happening, she'll relax more."
Kate nodded. She knew how badly Addie suffered from separation anxiety, and if she was worried about her moms at the same time, she might really go into a tailspin. "We could maybe take her to the aquarium? I know she loves it there, and I know now why Maggie hates it so much."
"It can be our special place with her," Kara agreed happily.
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Ellie laughed as she hung up the phone. "Kara still hasn't forgiven us for not going on honeymoon," she said to her wife.
"We're not not going," Aoife reached out and pulled her back down on the bed. "We just can't do it until you get time off. You're still a rookie, you don't want to piss anyone off."
"And you have to finish getting ready for your exhibition," Ellie was so proud of her. Aoife had been invited to exhibit her artwork in a small gallery in New York in October. That only gave her three months to decide what she wanted to show, to finish the framing. And to finish some stuff that she might want to include. "When is Sarah coming?"
"Thursday," Aoife said, glumly. Her agent, Sarah, was a good friend of hers, but she didn't feel ready to show her what she had done so far. She couldn't get her own thoughts in order about what she wanted to show. Her life had changed so much in the past 18 months – and her art was changing with her. Somehow her work was becoming both more light, but more deep – the emotions in some of her pieces made Ellie want to cry.
"Are you going to show her?" Ellie asked softly.
"Dunno," Aoife said, her eyes glancing to the large sketchpad in the corner of the room. She had only just had the courage to show its contents to Ellie, who had been staggered. It was a collection of 12 pencil drawings, all of Ellie, and all at various stages of lovemaking or its aftermath.
Ellie had surprised herself by loving the pictures so much. She had never been the type of person who enjoyed looking at herself, but she could see herself though Aoife's eyes in the pictures, and they showed her, more clearly than any words ever could, just how much Aoife adored her.
Some of the pictures were chaste – Ellie lying on her face, her head tilted to one side, only her back, arm and cocky grin visible as she stared at something, someone. Aoife, of course. Another showed her naked back view as she walked toward the bathroom, a towel thrown casually over her shoulder. And there was one of her sleeping, her mouth slightly open; in the background of that one, the edge of the harness they sometimes used was visible on the edge of the bed. And there was one picture that they could only look at together, but which made Ellie cry.
"I think you should," Ellie was gentle. "Most of them, anyway. They're amazing, Aoife. You have no idea how talented you are."
"You wouldn't mind?" Aoife didn't want to infringe on her privacy.
Ellie was surprised to find that she didn't mind at all. To her, the pictures revealed as much about Aoife as they did about her. And they were all so tasteful. Even that last one was not gratuitous in its content.
"You're the one that's amazing," Aoife said. She reached for Ellie's shirt, and untucked it from her jeans. She slid a hand underneath, and before she knew what was happening, Ellie found herself standing there in just her jeans and her bra. "I was thinking," Aoife ran a soft hand down the side of Ellie's breast. "That if we extended the tattoo, it could … just here," she touched soft flesh. She unhooked Ellie's bra and discarded it. "And maybe under here. If you would like. I've roughed out a design."
Ellie nodded, her throat tight with emotion and desire. She loved that Aoife saw her as a living canvas. "Whatever you think, babe," she said, her voice cracking.
Aoife shook her head. "No. You have to look at it. This has to be something you want."
Ellie nodded. "'kay," she whispered.
"One more thing," Aoife blushed a little. "I've been learning."
"Learning?"
"How to tattoo. I've been spending two hours a day, Marco's been teaching me. I love it."
"I want you to do me. I never want anyone else to touch me again," Ellie found the thought of Aoife's hand on her, creating a masterpiece, unbearably arousing.
"I was going to order the equipment," Aoife said. "I just wanted to check with you first."
"Order it. But first," Ellie slid her hand to the back of her neck and pulled her to her. "First," she palmed a heavy breast through Aoife's shirt. "We have other things to focus on."