Pairing: Hobbs/Raydor

Disclaimer: I do not own anything.

Prompt: AU Sharon and Andrea are much younger but it takes place in current time period. They have a daughter, Emily, who is very curious. One day Emily asks where babies come from.

With Emily's very first word being 'who', it did not surprise her mothers that their daughter would always be a rather curious child. Sharon loved the way Emily's bright eyes would light up whenever she got excited, big and full of wonder - it reminded her of the look Andrea got when she was learning something new and fascinating.

They had spent an entire afternoon sprawled out on the living room floor one day, Emily asking every question her young mind could come up with. Andrea had come home and found them like that, a grin stretching across her face before she removed her suit jacket and lay down with them. Andrea took over the answering, and Sharon let herself relax as she watched the two of them, her heart swelling with love and happiness.

But nothing had prepared her for the question Emily asked her as they were folding down the sheets so she could go to sleep.

"Where do babies come from?"

Sharon's eyes widened quickly before she cleared her throat and looked up at her daughter, the blonde completely oblivious to the seconds of panic her mother had experienced. She was picking out her pajamas, deciding between a purple set and a long t-shirt - she would pick the t-shirt, as she always did. Sharon looked over her shoulder and out of the room, hoping Andrea would come walking by and help her out with this particular question. It was one she thought she had more time to prepare for.

"Mommy…" Emily sang, getting Sharon's attention.

"Yes, darling," she answered, brushing her hands down her jean-covered thighs.

"Babies," she exclaimed, now wearing the oversized tee she had borrowed from Andrea and asked to keep because it was so soft and big. She blinked her round eyes slowly, her brow raising the same way her other mother's did whenever she waited for Sharon to give her an answer.

She couldn't keep the smile off her face as she sat down on the edge of the bed and held her arms out, waiting for the small girl to fling herself into them. When she did, they fell back with an 'oomph' and soft giggles. "Babies," she repeated after Emily settled in the bed and she joined her, lying on her back with her head facing the little one. "Well, that's quite the question."

Emily hummed, snuggling up with Sharon, resting her head on the brunette's chest. "Jacob's mom is having a baby," she explained, yawning beneath her small hand.

"Oh, she is?"

"Mmhmm." She nodded and tilted her head to look up at her mother. "Her stomach's huge!"

Sharon's lips quirked a little as she urged her daughter's head back down, her fingers stroking soft blonde hair. Another low yawn left the girl's mouth, and Sharon couldn't keep herself from yawning as well.

Suddenly, Emily sprung up again, eyes dancing curiously. "That's where babies come from, right? Jacob said so, but he's been wrong about a lot before. A lot."

"Honey, you're supposed to be going to sleep."

"I need to know," she pleaded, stretching out her vowels.

"Tell you what," she said softly, pressing Emily's head back down. "You keep still and go to sleep, and I'll tell you. Do we have a deal?"

Emily's lips squeezed together as she considered, a low hum forming in her throat. Sharon held back her smile, keeping her face serious. It amazed her how much of herself she saw in Emily.

"Hmm?" Sharon squeezed her daughter's side, making the girl smile. "Deal or no deal?"

Emily answered with a wide grin. "Deal!"

Sharon resumed her stroking and waited for Emily to close her eyes before she started speaking in a soft voice. "Jacob was correct when he said that babies grow inside the stomach."

"He was?" she asked, sounding completely shocked that her friend could be right about something. Sharon 'mmhmm'ed. "So that is why his mom's stomach is so big? It's like a balloon! Big, big, big!"

Sharon laughed, and she could feel the vibrations of Emily's laughter against her. "Well what do you expect, honey? There's a child growing inside of her."

Emily patted Sharon's stomach, and then softly asked: "Does that mean you were huge, too?"

Sharon sobered up, looking down at the top of her daughter's head. "I was not huge."

Emily tilted her head, confusion in her eyes. "Mom was huge, then?"

Sharon looked at Emily with a raised eyebrow until she rested her head down properly. "Nobody was huge. Let's refrain from calling people huge, okay?"

"Sorry," she mumbled against her mother's chest.

"It's okay. Just remember that some words can hurt people's feelings."

"I know," she said quietly. "Did I hurt your feelings?"

"No, darling," she assured her, pressing her chin into her chest so she could kiss the top of Emily's head. "I just want you to be mindful of things like that." When Emily nodded, Sharon put one of her hands on top of the tiny one resting on her stomach. "You were in here," she confirmed softly, rubbing her stomach with both of their hands.

Emily was quiet for a few long moments, her breaths so soft and slow that Sharon thought she had fallen asleep. "How'd I get in there?" she wondered. "And how did I get out?" she asked right after, her voice rising with her curiosity. "And, and why wasn't I in mom's stomach? And-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Sharon breathed, giving her daughter's hand a firm squeeze. "One question at a time, Em."

She sighed dramatically, as she always did whenever Sharon or Andrea tried to calm her down. "How do babies get inside their mother's stomach?" she asked slowly.

The switch of words made her pause, her tongue pressed into her cheek as she thought of an answer that would be good enough for Emily without becoming too complicated for her young mind. She and Andrea had decided before Emily was even born that they wanted to be as honest with her as possible. They also wanted to help make sure their child kept an open mind.

"Well," she started, "it isn't always the same way."

"Huh?"

She pursed her lips together. Tonight was not the night for a long lesson on how mother's weren't always the ones who carried you, nor was it the time to explain complicated medical procedures that allowed one mother to carry the child that was biologically the second mother's.

"What I meant was, there are different ways someone can get pregnant. The way you got into my stomach might be different from the way, let's say, Jacob's little brother or sister got into his mom's stomach."

Emily yawned and nodded, accepting the answer even if Sharon wasn't sure it was clear enough for her to understand. She was getting tired, and no matter how curious Emily was, when she got sleepy, she didn't last long.

"How'd I get in here?" she mumbled tiredly.

Sharon's fingers stilled, her eyes falling shut as she breathed out slowly through her nose. "Lots of love, patience, and help from very good doctors," she whispered.

Emily had Andrea's good instincts; her head turned and she pressed a kiss to her mom's chin, not asking for a deeper explanation like she usually would. Sharon looked down at her and smiled gratefully.

With their joint hands, Sharon rubbed over the scar on her stomach. "The reminder of how lucky I am to have you," she had answered when Emily first asked about her cesarean scar. She didn't need to be reminded, though, not when each day she had Emily there, bringing joy to her life.

Sharon wasn't sure when she had fallen asleep in her daughter's bed, but she felt Andrea pulling Emily's sleeping body off of her own. She groaned quietly, the right side of her body numb. Andrea winced as she watched, and then she walked to the other side of the bed, standing beside Sharon.

"Who was sending who to bed tonight?" she asked, holding her hand out for Sharon to take it.

The brunette sighed and looked at the outstretched hand. "She had questions," she explained.

"Shocking," she said with a twinkle in her blue eyes. "When does she not have questions?"

Sharon rolled her eyes, sitting up and grunting. "Just help me out of this bed."

"What's the magic word?" Andrea asked with a low chuckle, earning her a deathly glare.

"Now!"

Andrea hummed in her throat, licking her lips as she leaned down and picked Sharon up from the bed. "It's a good thing I've been spending a little extra time at the gym lately."

"Watch it," Sharon warned, wrapping her arm around the blonde's neck. "Your daughter already called me huge tonight. I won't be as kind to you for doing it."

Andrea's laugh sounded like music to her ears as the blonde walked them across the hall. "Did she really?"

"Not exactly, but it was close enough." Andrea gently placed Sharon on the bed, and Sharon pulled her down before the blonde could get away. "She asked where babies come from," Sharon filled Andrea in.

"And I missed it." Although Andrea pouted, Sharon could tell she wasn't even a bit disappointed. She curled up beside Sharon and grinned a moment later, head propped up on her hand. "That must have been fun. I want all the details."

Sharon tried to keep a serious face, but as always, Andrea's grin made her crumble. She laughed and tilted her head so she could kiss her partner's lips. "You're terrible," she whispered, brushing her lips slowly across the other woman's. "And I love you so much."

Andrea sighed her response against Sharon's mouth, falling into the kiss and making Sharon feel safe and warm all over.

The End. Thanks for reading.