Chapter Twenty-Five: The Announcement of a Lifetime!
Maya stirred the pot one last time, before turning the stove off. Grabbing the carton of cream, she poured it into the pot. Picking her spoon up, she stirred it in, before dropping the kale that she had chopped up into it. She distinctively heard the sound of a door banging shut, a smile twisting on her lips. "Ray! I'm in here! Dinner is ready if you won't mind setting the table!"
"Hmm... dinner certainly smells good." Ray walked over to where she stood, quickly wrapping his arm around her waist. Bending down, he pressed a kiss to the top of her head, before moving over to the bowl cupboard. "Is that the Zuppa that Misako fed us couple of weeks ago?"
"If you mean the recipe... yes." Maya gestured to the basket of fresh rolls sitting on the counter next to her. "I baked rolls to go with it too."
"Hmm, delicious." Ray teased as he snatched one of the still warm rolls up, tearing a small piece off and tossing it into his mouth. Moving with the fluidity of a ninja, he quickly set the table for two, before picking up a pitcher of water that had ice floating in it. Bending over the settings, he poured the water into the ceramic cups that were popular around these parts.
Maya smiled tightly at the compliment, even as she carefully lifted the hot pot up and placed it on the cork trivet that was dead center of the table. "I uh... well... How was your day?"
"You besides falling asleep during Garmadon's bachelor party? It was good." Ray shrugged as he used the ladle to fill his bowl. "What about yours? You were pretty vague about what the good doctor's prognosis was."
Maya hummed to herself, quickly filling her own bowl before adding cheese to it. "Well... um...apparently..." Maya paused to take a deep breath, struggling to calm her nerves before blurting it out. "¡Hope va a ser una hermana mayor!"
"Wait... what?" Ray gave his young wife a puzzled look, before speaking up slowly. "Maya... I don't understand. What did the doctor say?"
Maya groaned at that, stirring her soup with her spoon. "He said that..." She lifted a bit up, quickly sipping the hot broth off. Lowering her spoon again, she took another deep breath. "He said that I'm embarazada." Taking another deep breath, she explained herself. "We're going to be parents again."
Understanding flared across Ray's features... right before he lunged forward and hugged her tightly. "We need to get a nursery ready! Quick! Are any of our friends expecting?! If they are, maybe we can go shopping with them and plan playdates...and..."
"Ray!" Maya shook her head, struggling to keep a smile off of her face. "Honestly... Stormy says that they are waiting a few years before trying and the others aren't married or they have full grown kids." Ray deflated at that, moving back to his own seat to finish his own dinner. Maya sighed upon realizing that he was very eager to share this news with someone that might be able to help them. "I think Rochelle is expecting... you know, Mason's daughter?"
"I know the one. She married the Buckett fellow?" Ray gave a slow nod of his head.
Maya lifted her cup up, sipping at the cold liquid inside of it. "That's the one."
"Do we have a number for her?" Ray asked as he scooped up a large bite.
Maya picked out a piece of kale, nibbling at it thoughtfully. "I don't have it myself... but I'm sure either Mason or Kella have it."
"That makes sense... especially with how close Rochelle and Kella are." Ray shoveled more food into his mouth, perking up at the idea of asking the Master of Earth's daughter to help them plan for their new little one.
Maya shook her head, before scrapping out the bottom of her bowl. "Is it alright if we have mint chocolate chip ice cream after dinner?"
"I don't think we have any in the house..."
"Oh, I went to the store and bought some after I went to the doctors." Maya shrugged it off, shoveling more food into her mouth.
Ray shook his head, but wisely didn't say anything as he concentrated on eating his meal.
...
"Yes! Yes! Yes!" Maya squealed as she hugged Kella, a young woman with natural dirty blonde hair and chocolate brown eyes, tightly before rushing off with the slip of paper in her hand.
Kella laughed, before hollering after her. "Glad to see someone is excited. Make sure you explain to her why you're calling!"
"Will do!" Maya hollered back, before pulling open her car door and sliding into it. Pulling her cell out, she dialed the number that Kella just gave her in. "Come on... come on... please answer!"
"Hello?" A soft feminine voice came over the line.
"Rochelle? It's me. Maya. I just found out that I'm expecting a little one and was wondering if you would like to help me prepare for the little bundle of joy, since you are already preparing for one yourself we could do it together." Maya seriously hoped that Rochelle wouldn't find her strange for making such a request. The young woman was not entirely close to anyone... with the exception of her husband and Kella. Amazing really how close two people with exact opposite personalities could be.
"Maya... Maya... isn't that the name of Dad's newest friend that showed up in time to help with the Serpentine War?"
"Yes!" Maya fought the urge to punch the air, knowing that Rochelle couldn't see her.
"Hmm... this might actually work in my favor. Louis wants me to find someone to help me pick out baby supplies... a fellow expectant mother might meet his criteria."
"Thank you! You have no idea how much this means to Ray... I mean seriously he was rather insistent that I find someone to go shopping with and was also pressing the matter that the someone be expecting also." Maya rolled her eyes skyward, a tiny smile on her face.
"I feel ya there... say. How did you get my number?"
A/N: Done! Semi-cliffhanger! Mainly so that I know where to start the next chapter. Hmm... any guesses on who Kella is? Ray is gonna get anxious all over again about Maya's health... oh well. I wonder which babies are on the way...? I mean we have two pregnant women with elemental genes in their blood. One is the daughter of Mason, master of earth, and the other is Maya, master of water. In case your wondering, Kella is important! She'll show up a couple of times! Rochelle is kinda on the shy side, while Kella is outgoing and constantly off doing things with others.
Reviews:
PiratePirata: Okay... so far you are the only one that has been reviewing this story for the past four chapters... and one of them no one reviewed on. Well... at least I know for sure that you like this one. Um... your review... let's see here... If you thought she said pregnant in the last chapter... you are correct! And now you know what she told Ray. (P.S. The first thing she told him in Spanish was that Hope, their little girl that died a couple of chapters ago, was going to be a big sister) Thank you!
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SkyTalon