"You are so strong, dear." Terra leaned down to brush a strand of hair out of her eyes. "Seriously, you were amazing."
"I...I didn't crush your hand too bad, right?" Aqua asked as she tried to fill her lungs with air, it seemed no matter what, there wasn't enough.
"Don't worry. It wasn't as bad as what you went through."
"Did I call you names?"
"Maybe one or two."
"What about other nasty stuff?"
"You did mention wanting your tubes tied or you'd never touch me again."
"God." Aqua sighed. "I probably sounded like a hot mess."
"Don't worry." Terra leaned down and pressed his lips to her temple. "Just rest."
"Mr. and Mrs. Nocciolo?" The couple looked up at the nurse that had walked in. "Would you like to hold your daughter?"
Eagerly, Terra stood up and received the small wiggly bundle in his arms. "She's gorgeous," He angled her so Aqua could have a good look from where she was sitting. "Just like her mother."
"She's got strong legs," Aqua pointed to her legs waving to and fro. "And eyes and hair just like her father."
"She's got your nose too." For a minute time froze. It was as if everything in the world had fallen perfectly into place. All the long, hard hours leading up to this moment seemed like nothing now compared to this.
"You sure you don't want to name her Cassandra or Keto?" Terra finally asked, a mischievous glimmer in his eyes.
"Please Terra," Aqua rolled her eyes. "Can we leave one aspect of mythology out of our life? Just because you teach Latin, doesn't mean it needs to consume every aspect of everything." Still she couldn't help a gentle smile from slipping out at the joke.
"I come from a long line of Latin scholars, and now you're asking me to forget that?" He pretended to act appalled at the statement.
"I guess we could settle for Adelia." Aqua laughed as she moved to gently brush her daughter's cheek. "Didn't you say it meant royalty or something?"
"Noble, but same thing. What's important is we keep the -a tradition of the Nocciolo family."
"Oh since when did we have that?"
"Well Aqu-a, Terr-a it only makes sense to follow that same pattern." Terra nodded sagely as if imparting life-changing advice.
Suddenly, Adelia let out a shrill cry.
"What's wrong!" Aqua looked around worriedly. "Is she ok?"
"I think she just needs milk." Terra tried to stay calm as she handed her off to Aqua, still shadows of nervousness slipped through.
With one hand, Aqua unbuttoned her top and slipped off her bra. "I do it like this, right?" Tentatively she held Adelia close to her breast. And just like that, Adelia latched on to her and started to quiet down.
"Good." Aqua sighed, and a dreamy expression crossed her face. "Good." It was only a few minutes later, she noticed Terra had been watching them the whole time with a similar expression. "What are you looking at?" She laughed. "You're not seeing anything new."
"Oh I'm just thinking about how much I love my girls." He gave Aqua a gentle peck. "I love you Aqua." He leaned and pressed his lips to Adelia's forehead. "I love you too, Adelia."
Aqua just smiled at his sweet gesture. If back in college, when she first met Terra, you asked her if she could imagine a life like this, she would have laughed and replied no.
Well it looked like she had been wrong.
Not that she minded.
A.N. For roxahhs on tumblr. I hope you enjoy this!
