If you had asked Lorna Morello how she imagined her future, it was never quite like this. She had imagined herself in pretty a white dress and walking down the aisle to the man she loved, reveling in the fact that all eyes were on her and basking in unlimited adoration for a year or so before they began working on their three babies. It didn't involve a pending divorce or prison or, hell, a girlfriend, but somehow that was what life had given her and with Nicky Nichols half passed out on the bed beside her, one hand on top of her swollen abdomen and her forehead pressed against the bump that held her child, Lorna really wouldn't want it any other way.
"Hey kid, I know I ain't your daddy but I love your mommy and he's a shit bag, so you're kind of stuck with me." Nicky was mumbling, fighting sleep as Morello's fingers worked though the untameable mess of her hair in languid strokes. It had been one one those days - the kind that never seemed to end no matter how much you craved crawling in to bed with love of your life, pulling the comforters up to your head and passing out. The morning had been smooth, though hectic given the way Lorna had fussed over whether the baby would co-operate and let them find out the sex this time. Nicky had kind of hoped it wouldn't happen - there would have been a sweet victory in being able to tell Lorna that her kid was just as stubborn as her. After that, while Lorna had had a quiet (and relatively nausea free compared to recently) day and spent most of it buying girl-specific clothes, Nicky had to clock in to her 12-9 at a shitty little grocery store.
She… had not been impressed when she came home pissy and tired to Lorna all wide eyed with a can of paint in hand, asking if she could possibly paint the nursery tomorrow since Nicky had the day off and Lorna was in no condition to paint herself. ("Lorna, we're not painting it. I'm not doing that. You were talking about wanting to get a bigger apartment, I'm not painting anything.") (… She had ended up agreeing to paint it after Lorna's puppy eyes wore her over twelve minutes later.)
"We found out you're a girl today. What a fuckin' mess I've gotten myself- hey!" Nicky paused and Lorna gots worried for the twelfth time that day until the wild haired woman pulled her head away from Lorna's abdomen and furrowed her eyebrows at the unknowing fetus within. "Did you just kick me in the head? I wasn't calling you the mess, just… All of this."
"I was never meant to be no one's mom y'know? Don't worry, I ain't bailing on you." Her tone got more serious, and with the way Nicky flinched right after, Lorna can only assume that the baby has once again kicked her in the head. "My mom did that to me and… Well, I imagine you'll grow up completely aware of how much of a fuck up I've been. We've been. Your mama's fuckin' crazy and I'm just as bad. Man, we're signing you up for the rough life," she let out a sigh, "we don't want that, though. We're goin' to do our best I swear. I just… I'm worried our best won't be enough for you…"
"We're going to do our best, Nicky. And if you're scared… If-if you don't want to be here I'm not forcing you, y'know, you didn't sign up for this." Morello interrupted and looked at Nicky with soft eyes, and the wild haired blonde gave her the slightest hint of a smile as she shuffled her body around so that she could gently push Lorna on to her side.
"I'd be an ass to change my mind now, Lorn." Nicky wrapped her arm around Lorna over baby bump, and the little girl kicked where her hand landed. "'Sides, kid likes me."
"She does," Lorna said as she snuggled in to Nicky's hold and even to this day she's still amazed that she managed to end up here. Anybody, any reasonable person… It had been one thing to show up at Nicky's door when Vinnie kicked her out, as much as she still doubted it a part of her had known that Nicky would take her in. To let her stay after finding her crying on the bathroom floor with a pregnancy test in hand a week later…
Okay, that was plausible but this, holding on to her months later and loving her daughter like the baby was her own, loving her like she'd never given Nicky reason after reason to hate her…
"If you name her Maria I'm leaving you," Nicky mumbled as a joke as she pressed her lips against the brunette's neck in a soft, quick good night kiss and let sleep win.
Lorna didn't know what she had done to be so lucky, but somehow things have worked out and she will do anything to hold on to the life that Nicky Nichols wants to give her.