Here's the next part!
"Can you believe the girls are going to be sleeping in here soon?" Maya asked as she carried the second crib box into the nursery.
"No," Carina said, folding another blanket, sticking it on a shelf in the closet, "We have so much to do before they come."
"Well, hopefully, today will take care of some of it," Maya said, opening the box.
They had been washing the girls blankets, cloths, and other items over the past week when they had time in preparation for both of them being home on Friday all day to work on the nursery. Carina was folding the little clothes and blankets while Maya was building the cribs, rocker, and dresser.
"Why does this have more instructions than we give to probies on their first day at the station?" Maya groaned, pulling out first crib.
"I believe in you," Carina said, laughing as she folded another onesie, setting it in a laundry basket for when the dresser was done.
An hour later, Maya threw the instruction book across the room.
"This is literally impossible," the blonde said, rubbing her hands over her face.
"Would you like some help Bambina?" Carina asked, putting the last of the blankets they had away.
"I should be able to figure this out," Maya said, "How the hell am I going to be able to be a good mom to these babies if I can't even build them a place to sleep?"
"Hey," Carina said, frowning as she heard the crack in Maya's voice, realizing the frustration was more than just about the crib, "Come here."
Maya stood up, looking at Carina with tears in her eyes.
"What's going on?" Carina asked, pulling her close.
"I'm scared," Maya said, "I'm scared that I am going to mess these babies up or not know what to do with them when they cry or are scared or get sick or anything because all I have as an example is Lane who only thought about winning and literally didn't care about my well-being and my mom who just rolled over to whatever my dad wanted and now we are having two babies and the only thing I can think is that I don't want them to ever hurt and I'm terrified I am going to be the one that causes them pain."
"Hey," Carina said, pulling Maya out of her spiral, "Listen. You are probably going to do things that will hurt the girls. I'm sure I will too because that is part of life, but the thing that is different, is that we will recognize when it happens and try to make it right. I'm scared too Maya. I had a mamma who moved across the world to be away from my papa, but left me there with him because she was too weak to stand up to him and take both of us. And a papa who was too mentally ill to be a parent and whose favorite pastime was telling me how much of a disappointment I was. Maya, we are both going into this without the kind of guidance we would like, but we know what we don't want to do. We can do this. We will be better than our parents, but we are going to have to rely on each other."
Maya nodded, wiping a tear off her cheek before leaning up and kissing her wife.
"Let's take a little break from this," Carina said, gesturing to the nursery, "We can go grab some food and then you can try again later."
Maya nodded, both of them walking out of the nursery feeling a little better than when they had gone in. Maya made them some food, the two of them enjoying it on the couch before Carina fell asleep.
When the brunette woke up, she was alone on the couch. She got up, stretching a little as the girls kicked. She rested her hands on her 25 week baby belly for a second before walking upstairs.
"Maya," she called, not sure where her wife was.
"In the nursery," Maya called.
"Wow," Carina said, walking in and finding not only the cribs, but also the rocker assembled with the dresser half way there as well, "How long was I asleep?"
"Only about an hour and a half," Maya said, "Did you know there are YouTube videos that explain all this stuff?"
"Good thinking," Carina said as Maya stood up, walking over to her wife.
"Well, Andy may have told me about it," the blonde said, "I called her for advice on how to build a crib, and she said Robert just watched videos. Turns out, it's not as hard as I thought."
"Good," Carina said, sitting down in the rocker, "This room is really coming together. I was thinking, and if you hate it, we don't have to, but we should get signs with their names on them for above their cribs."
"I think that's an excellent idea," Maya said, "Now all we have to do is name baby B and figure out their middle names."
"We will," Carina said, nodding as Maya continued working on the dresser.
By the end of the afternoon, all the nursery furniture was together and ready for the babies. Maya helped Carina put away the baby clothes in the dresser drawers.
"These are so tiny," Maya said as she put some onesies in a drawer, "Are they really going to be this small?"
"Si," Carina said, nodding, "Probably. Maybe smaller depending on how early they are. 60% of twins are born premature so there is a good chance we are going to have very tiny babies."
"They need to stay in there for a good, long time," Maya said, placing her hands on Carina's belly, "Because if they are tinier than these onesies, I am going to be scared to hold them."
"You will not," Carina said, laughing as she put her hands over Maya's, "I guarantee I will not be able to get you to put them down, no matter how tiny they are."
"We'll see," Maya said, smiling as she looked up, kissing Carina.
"Come on," Carina said, "Let's finish this."
"Alright," Maya said, "So I think I have everything done that you need. I did all the orders early this month so you shouldn't have to worry about that and…"
"Maya," Andy said, "Go. We will be fine. You and Carina are going out of town for four days, you are missing one shift. I can handle it. Besides, who is going to take care of all of this when you are on maternity leave? Go. Enjoy your trip. Pamper that wife of yours who is carrying your babies. We will be fine here."
"I know," Maya said, nodding, "I know. And if you need anything, I'll just be a text or call away."
"We are going to be fine," Andy said, pushing her toward the door, "Just like when you went on your honeymoon. Wait, is that the last trip you went on?"
"We went for a weekend to the mountains right before we started trying to have a baby," Maya said, "But we didn't have to take time off. That was probably the last time. We were going to go for our two year wedding anniversary, but Carina was like 10 weeks pregnant and too sick to be able to enjoy it."
"Well, now, she's pregnant enough to not feel like puking all the time but not so pregnant that she's too miserable to move," Andy said, "So go enjoy some time with your wife because trust me when I tell you that after the babies are born, your relationship will never be the same."
"Thanks for covering for me, Andy," Maya said, heading for the door.
As she walked out of the station, she ran into the fire chief.
"Chief Rodriguez," Maya said, confused, "I'm sorry. Did I forget about an appointment?"
"No," the chief said, "But I was coming to talk to you? I thought you were on shift?"
"I took today off," Maya said, "My wife and I are heading to Portland for a few days to get away before our girls are born. Lieutenant Herrera is running point this shift."
"Do you have time for a quick chat?" Chief Rodriguez asked.
"Sure," Maya said, looking at her watch, seeing it was only 8 am and they didn't plan to leave until 10, "We can talk in my office."
Maya walked into the station with her boss.
"Lieutenant," Maya said, knocking on the door, "Can we have the room, please?"
"Chief Rodriguez," Andy said, shaking his hand, "Good morning sir."
"Good morning, Lieutenant," the chief said, "When I am done with Captain Bishop, I need to speak with you as well."
"Yes sir," Andy said, nodding as she walked out.
"Have a seat," Maya said, gesturing to the seats in front of her desk, feeling very out of sorts in running clothes, "What can I do for you Chief?"
"Well, I wanted to come down here and formally tell you that we have made our choice for Battalion chief," Chief Rodriguez said.
Maya felt her heart rate speed up, trying to read the chief's facial expressions.
"I wanted to personally congratulate you, Captain Bishop," the chief said, "We have decided that you are the best choice for chief of this battalion."
"Thank you sir," Maya said, trying not to freak out at the news, "Thank you so much."
"You have done incredible things with your station here," Chief Rodriguez said, "And we expect you will do the same with the battalion. You are welcome to take the office that Sullivan used when he was Battalion chief if you would like to stay in your house."
"Thank you Sir," Maya said, biting the inside of her cheek to keep showing her insane excitement.
"We have also decided that Lieutenant Herrera will be promoted to Captain of this house," Chief Rodriguez said, "And I was going to tell her after this. You are welcome to stay for that. I know you two are close."
"Yes sir," Maya said, "Would you like to me go get her?"
"Sure," the chief said, watching the blonde get up and walk out of the office.
She returned a minute later with Andy.
"Lieutenant," the chief said, "Take a seat."
Andy sat down next to the older man, looking between him and Maya.
"Congratulations," Chief Rodriguez said, "We have decided that when Captain Bishop is promoted to Battalion Chief at the beginning of the year, you will be promoted to Captain of Station 19."
"Thank you sir," Andy said, throwing a quick glance at Maya before looking back at the chief.
"We are going to make the formal announcement next week," Chief Rodriguez said, "And we will discuss the particulars later as well, but I just wanted to inform you both."
"Thank you sir," both May and Andy said, standing up, shaking the Chief's hand.
"Enjoy your vacation, Captain Bishop," the chief said, walking out.
"Oh my god," Andy said, turning and looking at her best friend, "Did that just happen? I didn't even know you threw your hat in the ring for Battalion chief."
"I didn't tell anyone," Maya said, "Because it was such a long shot, and I didn't want to deal with all the sad looks if I didn't get it. But with the babies coming and everything, being battalion chief will give me a little less risk of getting hurt and a little more time to be home with them at nights."
"That's why I wanted captain, at least this time," Andy said, nodding, "Not having both Luca's parents running into fires all the time seems like a responsible thing to do. And I would one day like the job I know you are gunning for too."
Maya nodded, smiling at her friend. Their days of fighting for promotions against each other were over, both of them having realized it was better to fight for each other than with.
"You need to go," Andy said, "Carina is going to be mad if you are late."
"Woah, it's already almost 9. Yeah, I do need to go. And so do you," Maya said, "Congratulations again, Captain Herrera."
"You too, Battalion Chief Bishop," Andy said, smiling, "Now go. Enjoy time with your amazing wife."
Maya nodded, heading out the door and jogging home.
"What took you so long?" a 29 weeks pregnant Carina asked as Maya came into the house, "It's almost 9:30."
"I know," Maya said, giving her a small kiss, "Something came up at work that I will tell you about later. Right now, I am going to grab a quick shower and then we can go."
Carina nodded, starting to pack their cooler for their trip. Somehow, magically, they still hit the road at 9:58, Carina still impressed with how quickly her wife could get ready, even after over 5 years together.
"So what happened at work?" Carina asked as they started driving.
"We can talk about that later," Maya said, shaking her head, "Right now, let's try to think of a name for baby B. We have three uninterrupted hours to do this, and then we don't have to fight about it the whole trip."
"We haven't been fighting about it," Carina said, giving Maya a look.
"Ok, you're right," Maya said, "We have been either having heated discussions or ignoring it completely. Either way, we need to figure it out."
"Fine," Carina said, "What about Charlotte?"
"Like the princess?" Maya said, scrunching her nose, "No way."
"Fine," Carina said, taking that one off her list, "How about Camilla?"
"Maybe," Maya said, "Keep it on the list. Oh, what about Robin?"
"I dated someone with that last name," Carina said, shaking her head.
"Oh, yeah, no," Maya said.
"We are naming baby A after my mom," Carina said, "We could name baby B after your mom."
"First of all, we still see my mom so that would be confusing," Maya said, "And Catherine is too much like Carina. Too many of the same sounds."
"How about Nicole?" Carina asked.
"I dated someone with that name," Maya said, "And actually, Miller also dated her."
"Oh, I forgot about that," Carina said, shaking her head.
"Wait," Maya said, "Remember that place we stayed on our honeymoon?"
"Si," Carina said, confused, "We are not naming our child after a resort."
"No," Maya said, "Not that place. The Air B&B we stayed at on our way to our honeymoon, the name of the street it was on?"
"Oh," Carina said, "Si. Oh, that would be the perfect name."
"Did we just agree on the name of our second kid?" Maya said, smiling at her wife.
"Si," Carina said, "I think we did."
"Now for middle names," Maya said, taking Carina's hand and pressing a kiss to the back of it.
They spent another hour talking about that, finally agreeing on a special set of middle names for their girls as they pulled into a rest area so Carina could use the bathroom, the twins pushing on her bladder more with each passing day.
They made it to their place in Portland after two more stops, one of which Maya used to get them some lunch. They arrived at their Air B&B around 3, Carina exhausted.
"Come on," Maya said, guiding her into the house, "You need a nap."
"Only for a little bit," Carina said sleepily, having come close to falling asleep in the car.
"Sleep as long as the girls let you," Maya said, quickly finding the bedroom, "I will get the car unpacked."
Carina nodded, already almost asleep as Maya pulled off her shoes. The blonde smiled, tucking a blanket lightly around her wife before going to unload their car.
She brought in their bags and the groceries they had brought before deciding to start some dinner. She decided to make some spaghetti, knowing Carina liked it. She also decided to make tiramisu for dessert as a surprise. She got the sauce going on the stove before starting on dessert.
About half way through her dessert making, she heard a toilet flush, and a minute later, Carina came out of the bedroom, rubbing her sleepy eyes.
"Hey babe," Maya said, wiping her hands on a towel before going to her wife, "Did you have a good nap?"
"Si," Carina said, nodding, "Are you making tiramisu?"
"I am," Maya said, giving her a kiss, "I know it is one of your favorites."
"I love you," Carina said, smiling at her wife, "Can I help?"
"No," Maya said, "Sit down. Relax. When I'm done here, I'll rub your feet and we can watch trashy TV."
"You are too good to me," Carina said, shaking her head as she sat down on a barstool.
"You are carrying our kids," Maya said, shrugging, "This trip is all about spoiling you for that."
"This trip is for both of us," Carina corrected, Maya giving her a small taste of the cream for the dessert, "For us to spend time together before Piccola and Patatina come."
"Should we start calling them by their actual names?" Maya asked as she layered the dessert together.
"No lo so," Carina said, thinking, "Do you think we should?"
"I think we should keep it a secret until they are born," Maya said after a minute, "I like calling them Patatina and Piccola for now."
"I don't think they are ever going to get rid of those nicknames," Carina said, wincing a little as the babies kicked.
"You alright?" Maya asked.
"Si," Carina said, "Just a little kicking and a Braxton-Hicks contraction."
"Are you sure they're still just practice contractions?" Maya asked with concern as she put the tiramisu in the fridge.
"Si," Carina said, nodding, "They are irregular. I didn't drink much today while we were driving so that's probably part of it."
"Here," Maya said, handing her a water bottle.
The first time Carina had had a Braxton-Hicks contraction, she and Maya had been lying in bed, Maya's arm slung around Carina's waist, feeling the girls kick, when all of a sudden, Carina's belly had tightened. Carina insisted it was only a practice contraction, or Braxton Hick, but Maya freaked out.
Carina calmed her down, sitting up and showing Maya that everything had relaxed. When no more contractions came over the next hour, Maya calmed down, but still insisted on asking Danielle about it the next time they went to the doctor.
"You know I am an OB, right?" Carina had asked in an annoyed tone when they left that appointment, "I know what is going on. It is literally my job."
"I know," Maya had reassured her, "I'm sorry. I just… I don't know… I want the girls to be healthy and I'm not the baby expert."
"I know," Carina said, sighing, "But, Maya, I need you to trust me. I want them to be healthy too, and I won't do anything to risk that."
That had happened at 19 weeks and since then, Carina had gotten used to her uterus contracting pretty regularly as her due date got closer.
Often, she would have one every few hours, but sometimes, they were more frequent. They weren't painful yet and were more annoying than anything else.
Once Maya was done in the kitchen, she guided Carina to the couch, rubbing her feet that were swollen from being in the car as they watched HGTV.
After about an hour, Carina's stomach grumbled.
"I think the girls are hungry," Carina said, laughing a little.
"Are you ready for dinner?" Maya asked, "Or do you want something else?"
"Dinner sounds good. Although, these days, all food usually does," Carina laughed and Maya knew it was true.
Carina was always more of the foodie in their relationship, but since getting pregnant, she ate all the time.
"I made spaghetti," Maya said, "And I think it's nice enough to eat on the porch if you want."
"Sounds perfect," Carina said as Maya pulled out plates and silverware.
Maya dished up the food, handing Carina the plates as she went to grab something out of the bags. Carina took the food out to the porch, smiling when she realized they could see the sunset from where they were going to sit. The sun wouldn't go down for another hour at least, but it was still beautiful.
Maya came out a minute later with a bottle of sparkling cider and some wine glasses, along with two cups of water.
"Wow," Carina said, "You pulled out all the stops tonight Captain Bishop."
"Well," Maya said, "That's actually part of the reason I did."
"Cosa?" Carina said as Maya poured the cider into the glasses.
"I have some news," Maya said, sitting down, "The reason I was so late getting home this morning was because Chief Rodriguez came to see me."
"Why?" Carina asked, concern filling her face.
"Because your wife is no longer going to be Captain of Station 19," Maya said, biting her lip.
"Did you get fired?" Carina asked, worried until she saw Maya's smile, "Wait, did you get the promotion?"
"I did," Maya said, a full smile breaking out on her face, "Come January, I will be Battalion Chief Maya Deluca-Bishop."
"Oh Bambina," Carina said, getting up and giving Maya a kiss as the blonde stood too, "Congratulations."
"Thank you," Maya said, arms wrapped around Carina's neck, "And Andy will be the new captain so our dreams of running the station are coming true."
"I am so proud of you Maya," Carina said, kissing her again, "You are going to be an amazing battalion chief."
They stood there for a minute, just enjoying being wrapped in each other's arms before going back to their dinner.
They sat on the porch for the next hour and a half, and probably would have stayed longer, but they both realized spaghetti and a fizzy drink had been a bad idea for dinner when Carina started having terrible heartburn.
"I'm so sorry," Maya said as she came back from the store she had run to to grab the tums they both had forgotten for this trip to find Carina on the couch with tears in her eyes.
"It's ok," Carina said, accepting the tablets from Maya, chewing them, "I guess I will be avoiding tomatoes for the rest of this pregnancy."
Maya got Carina a cool rag, putting it on the back of her neck, something that was weirdly calming when her heartburn got this bad.
"I feel so sick," Carina moaned as they sat there, her head on Maya's shoulder.
"I'm sorry babe," Maya said, kissing her forehead, "Let's put on some of that trashy TV and we can just chill for the rest of the night."
The next three hours were rough as Carina rode out the heartburn, almost getting sick twice, but managing to keep dinner where it belonged.
"You two better be less trouble when you come out," Carina said, rubbing her hand over her belly as they got ready for bed, the heartburn finally easing enough that they could go to bed.
"Babe, they are two girls," Maya said, shaking her head as she grabbed her toothbrush, "They are going to be giving us heartburn for the rest of our lives."
The rest of the trip was much more relaxing than the first night.
Maya had booked them a couples massage, found a pregnancy yoga class, and made them reservations at one of Portland's nicest restaurants. They also spent plenty of time just enjoying being together, curled up in front of the fireplace or in bed in their Air B&B, enjoying what they knew would be some of their last quiet moments together before the twins were born.
What did you think? I think I need one or two more chapters before the girls are born so if you have any ideas, let me know!