A few notes before we begin:
1. I have never personally dealt with cancer. My grandpa had it a few years ago so I have seen it, and in nursing school we learn about it, and I have tried to do as much research as I possibly can to make sure I get this right, but I do not mean to offend anyone. If I ever say anything that is blatantly wrong, please let me know.
2. This takes place in the same universe a A Bambina or Bambino of Our Own. You don't have to have read it for this to make sense, but some helpful information. Maya is Battalion Chief, Andy is Captain of 19. Maya and Carina have two daughters, Elenora Mason and Rowan Andrea who are twins. That's all that's really important right now, but if more becomes relevant, I will try to add it in.
Now, on with the story.
It was time for Carina's annual gynecological exam. The twins were a little over two, and she and she and Maya had seriously been talking about adding a third little one to the mix. Carina had her regular gynecology appointment today and then in two weeks, they were heading to the fertility doctor to talk about implanting another embryo.
Things were going well. The girls were growing and talking more and more every day, surprising both their mothers with every new thing they learned. Just the other day, Rowan had learned how to open their baby gates, meaning the twins were now running around the house freely which was exhausting.
Carina hadn't been feeling quite normal the past few months, especially around her period. It had been so much heavier than normal and she had been having intermittent pelvic pain, though that had happened on and off since the girls were born. She had been trying to do more yoga and pelvic floor exercises to try to get her body into optimum shape before she tried to get pregnant again. She wasn't sure it was helping, but it wasn't hurting so she kept up with it. She was secretly looking forward to getting pregnant again because her periods had been so bad and not having one for nine plus months sounded great.
Maya had to work the morning of her appointment so they went together to drop the twins off at daycare, something they did whenever they could.
"Alright Rowan and Nora, I love you so so much," Maya said, squatting down and squeezing both of her babies, "Have so much fun with your friends. I will miss you, but hopefully, I will be home for books and songs tonight, ok?"
"Si Mommy," Rowan nodded, giving Maya a hug and kiss, "Ti lobe bene."
Maya smiled, never tiring of hearing the girls mix their Italian and English together.
"Bye," Nora said, also giving Maya a kiss, "Lobe you."
"Ciao miei bambini," Carina said, also giving both girls hugs, "Ti voglio bene. I will be back in a few hours."
"Lobe you Mamma," Nora and Rowan said together before turning toward the daycare, Nancy, one of the workers, letting them in, both the little blonde and brunette turning and waving at their moms before running to find their friends.
"I can't wait until we have another one," Maya said, smiling as they both watched the girls run over to Harper.
"Neither can I," Carina smiled as she turned to face her wife, "I love you so much."
"I love you too," Maya said, leaning up and giving Carina a kiss, "Now, I need to get to work. Enjoy your appointment, a necessary evil."
"They are not so bad," Carina shrugged, "Just uncomfortable. It will be fine. I'll see you tonight?"
"Yep," Maya nodded, "Unless we get a big call, I should be home by 7, just in time for bedtime. And then after bedtime, maybe I will have to give you a little reward if you are good at your appointment."
"I promise, I will be very good," Carina whispered into Maya's ear, nipping at it a little.
Maya smiled, pulling away to see her wife's eyes.
"I really have to go," Maya said, seeing the clock, "I will see you tonight. I love you."
"I love you too," Carina said, stealing one more kiss before they parted.
Carina's appointment wasn't for an hour, but she was stupidly behind on her charts so she headed to her office to work on them. She sat there, working on her charting until it was time for her appointment.
She then headed to check in. She got taken back to an exam room quickly, getting all her vitals taken before the nurse handed her a gown. Carina quickly got changed, sitting on the table in a room she used for exams on an almost daily basis.
"Carina," Danielle, her gynecologist said, coming in, "Hey. How are you?"
"I just saw you yesterday," Carina laughed as Danielle started pulling everything out for the exam.
"Yeah, but at work, we talk about our patients," Danielle said, "How are you personally doing? Anything new?"
"Maya and I are going back to the fertility doctor in a few weeks to start working on baby number 3," Carina said, smiling, "The twins are two and we finally feel like we are ready to add another bambino to the chaos."
"That's so exciting," Danielle said, gesturing for Carina to lay down, "Are you feeling physically ready to be pregnant again?"
"Si," Carina nodded as Danielle began the breast exam that always started these appointments, "My pelvis has been a bit more achy ever since having the twins, but I have been trying to do some exercises to help that. And honestly, my periods have been so heavy lately that the thought of not having them for a while is something I am looking forward to."
"How long have they been heavier than normal?" Danielle asked as she got Carina moved down and in position for her internal exam.
"Just the past few months," Carina said, "I was going to ask you to run a hormone panel for me to see if maybe there is some imbalance going on."
"Of course," Danielle nodded, "Alright, I am going to start this exam. Ready?"
"Si," Carina nodded, wincing a little bit as the speculum was inserted.
"Are you guys going to try for twins again this time?" Danielle asked as she worked.
"We didn't 'try' for twins when we got twins," Carina chuckled a little, "But no, I think this time, we are only going to do one at a time. I love the girls, but I don't think we could handle four under four. We are already hopefully going to have three three and under which sounds almost insane when I say it out loud."
"Well, if anyone can handle it, it's you and Maya," Danielle said, feeling Carina wince a little as she did the pap smear, "Sorry. Almost done with this part. There we go."
"Thanks," Carina said as Danielle finished up before helping her sit up.
"Alright," Danielle said, "We should have the results of this in a few days. And once you are dressed, go see Julia for that bloodwork."
"Grazie," Carina smiled, "I will see you tomorrow?"
"I'm off tomorrow," Danielle said, "But knowing this hospital, I'll probably end up here at some point."
Carina nodded, chuckling a bit as Danielle left. Carina quickly got dressed, heading down to get her blood taken before heading back to her office to work on her charts for a few more hours before going to pick up the twins.
She took them home, feeding them lunch before putting them down for their nap, giving her a little more time to chart.
While she was working, she got a text from Maya, asking her how her day was going.
She quickly texted her back, telling her the appointment went well, that the girls were napping, and that she was working on her charts.
Maya told her she was currently going over budgets, telling her that Station 23 had the most unorganized budget and that Station 88 apparently needed all new boots even though they just got them the year before.
Carina laughed, telling Maya she needed to get back to her charts before she had two toddlers in need of her care.
Maya wished her luck and told her to savor the alone time now because by this time next year, hopefully, there would be a little baby who would be on a completely different schedule than the twins and their free time while the girls napped would be gone.
Carina shook her head, trying to get back to her charts but struggling to keep her mind from wandering to what it would be like to hold another baby in her arms, the newborn smells and moments and sleepless nights.
She was convinced that if they only had one baby this time, that it would be so much easier than with the twins who would wake up at different times or both need something different at the same time.
Carina wondered if the baby would look more like Rowan or Elenora who barely looked related let alone like twins. Rowan looked so much more like Maya with her blonde hair and blue eyes and fair skin. Nora had Carina's brown eyes and hair and slightly olive complexion.
There were times that Carina would think about the baby they had lost the year before they had the twins. Would that baby have looked more like herself or Maya? What would their personality be like? She didn't think about it too often, knowing that if they had had that baby, they would not have gotten their amazing little girls, but there were occasionally times she would wonder.
She shook her head, bringing her focus back to her work, knowing she needed to get through at least two more charts before the girls woke up.
She managed to do it, typing in her last note as she heard little footsteps coming down the stairs. They had recently taken the girls out of their cribs because Rowan had been climbing out of hers since she was 18 months old, meaning the girls would get up on their own and come find their mommy or mamma.
"Buon pomeriggio Patatina," Carina said, putting aside her laptop as Rowan walking into the room, "Did you have a good nap?"
Rowan nodded, climbing into Carina's lap, snuggling close.
"Is your sister still sleeping?" Carina asked as she settled back into the couch.
Rowan nodded, just sighing a little as Carina played with her blonde hair that had a slight curl to it. About ten minutes later, just as Rowan was more awake, down came Nora, her two fingers in her mouth, reaching for Mamma the minute she saw her.
"Did you have a good nap?" Carina asked, rubbing the little girl's back.
The tiny brunette nodded, taking Carina's hand and playing with her rings as she finished waking up.
The rest of the afternoon flew by as it always did, a little bit of play time, then dinner, bathes, and, as promised, as Carina was finishing brushing teeth, in walked Maya.
"Mommy!" Nora and Rowan yelled, running to her, each of them taking a leg to wrap around.
"Hi babies," Maya smiled, skillfully scooping both of them up at the same time, "How are you? We you good for Mamma today?"
"Si," Rowan nodded before she launched into a story neither parent could understand fully, only a word here and there.
"That's great," Maya nodded, smiling at the nonsense that Rowan told her.
That was probably the hardest part about the age the girls were right now, they had a lot to say, but they were still learning how to properly form words so often it was hard to understand them. It was doubly hard sometimes because they would mix Italian and English together, pronunciation not excellent in either language because of their age, making them impossible to understand.
They had also recently started talking to each other in a nonsensical way that the other seemed to fully understand which was simultaneously adorable and frustrating because it meant they could plot things and their parents had no idea what they were plotting.
"Alright," Maya said, "Are teeth brushed?"
"I am only halfway through Nora," Carina said, walking over to her wife and giving her a kiss, "Ciao Bambina. How was work?"
"Work was fine," Maya said, setting the twins down to give her wife a proper greeting, "But I am much happier to be home with you."
"We are happy to have you home," Carina smiled, "Now, you want to go change and I'll finish teeth and then you can do books and songs?"
"Sounds like a plan," Maya nodded, going into their bedroom.
They had a rule that whoever worked all day got to do bedtime at night if they made it home in time. On days they both worked, one of them would do books and the other songs. It worked well for them, ensuring that the person who had been away from the girls all day still got a few quality moments with them in the evening. Of course, there were plenty of times when the person working missed bedtime because of a fire or a birth or other emergency, but it was something nice to look forward to on days when they made it home.
"Rowan, please be still," Carina said as the little girl ran around the bathroom while Carina brushed Nora's teeth, "It's almost bedtime remember? It's time to be calm."
Just as Carina said that, Rowan, in her footie pajamas, slipped on the floor, falling hard on her face. Carina held her breath for a second, hoping she would just jump right back up, but alas, she instead looked up at her mamma, blood running down her wobbling chin before she started bawling.
"It's ok," Carina said, quickly putting Nora on the ground before rushing to Rowan, grabbing a towel on the way.
She picked up the sobbing toddler, putting the towel on her lip as she held her.
"What happened?" Maya said, running into the bathroom in only her t-shirt and underwear, clearly having been in the middle of getting dressed.
"She slipped," Carina said, rocking back and forth gently as she shushed Rowan, "And she cut her lip."
"Stitches?" Maya asked worriedly, walking over to her wife and daughter.
"I haven't seen it yet," Carina said, "I only saw blood."
"Rowan, can Mommy see your lip?" Maya asked gently, putting her hand on the little girl's back.
"Ouchie," Rowan sobbed as Maya tried to move the towel.
"I know it hurts," Maya said, "But Mommy and Mamma need to see it to make sure it's ok."
"'Owan otay?" Nora asked, walking over to them as Carina sat down on the toilet with Rowan in her lap.
"She's gonna be just fine Piccola," Carina assured her as Maya tried to move the towel off Rowan's face, "She just fell and got a little hurt."
"It otay 'Owan," Nora said, walking around so she could see her sister, putting a hand on her leg, stroking it a little.
"That's very nice Nora," Maya smiled, "Now, Rowan, can I see?" The little blonde shook her head, holding the towel tight to her face.
"Me see?" Nora asked her sister. Rowan looked at her for a minute before taking the towel off her face.
"These two," Maya said, shaking her head as she and Carina both looked at Rowan's lip.
"I think she just bit it," Carina said as she looked, Rowan fussing at her as she tried to touch it, "It didn't go through."
"She's gonna have a fat lip tomorrow through," Maya said, already seeing the swelling, "I'm going to go get some ice for it. Please tell me she did this after you brushed her teeth?"
"Of course, she didn't," Carina said, sighing, "I think we are going to have to forgo that for tonight though. She'll be fine. I also still need to finish Nora's teeth."
"Ok," Maya said, reaching for Rowan, "I will take this little miss and go get some ice for her lip while you finish Nora's teeth, and then we will meet in their room for books?"
"Sounds good," Carina nodded, Rowan easily going to Maya, "Nora, let's finish those teeth."
"No," Nora said, "Want 'Owan."
"Rowan and I are going to go get ice for her lip," Maya said, "We will be right back for books."
Nora furrowed her brow in a way that was a spitting image of Carina when she was concerned, shaking her head.
"'Owan ouchie," Nora said.
"Si, Piccola, Rowan got a little ouchie," Carina said, picking Nora up and holding her close to her sister, "But she is just fine. But she needs to go with Mommy and get some ice, and you need clean teeth before bed."
Nora looked again at her sister who's head was laying heavily on Maya's shoulder, tears still in the corners of her eyes, the towel pressed against her mouth. Nora leaned over, patting Rowan's back one more time before looking back at Carina.
"Bene?" Carina asked and Nora nodded.
"You are such a good sister Elenora Mason," Maya smiled, leaning over and giving the little brunette a kiss before carrying Rowan downstairs.
Luckily, the rest of the night went on without incident and soon enough, both girls were sound asleep in their beds.
"How was your day today?" Maya asked as she and Carina headed downstairs to get some food.
"Good," Carina said, "I got a lot of charting done."
"How was your appointment?" Maya asked as she pulled out glasses while Carina got out the food to heat up.
"It was fine," Carina shrugged, "Nothing out of the ordinary. How was your day?"
"Good," Maya said, "I have to do inspections starting in a few days so I have been trying to make sure everything is in order for those."
The two of them ate dinner together, chatting about their days and the girls before Maya made good on her promise to give Carina a reward for being a "good girl" at her appointment earlier that day.
The next few days were typical for the family. Four days later, Carina had just finished a 24-hour shift and was about to head home to spend the day with the girls while Maya started inspections.
As she was finishing up her last note at the nurse's station, however, Danielle walked up to her.
"Hey," Carina said, smiling at her, "I thought today was your day off."
"It is," Danielle said, face somber.
"Well, then what are you doing here?" Carina asked, confused, knowing they weren't particularly busy this morning.
"Can you come to my office?" Danielle asked.
"Ok," Carina said, "But it needs to be quick. I have to get home to take over for Maya so the girls don't have to go to daycare today."
"I think you should have Maya take them to daycare," Danielle said as they walked into her office, closing the door.
"What?" Carina said, confused, "What's going on?"
"So, I got the results from your pap back this morning," Danielle said, guiding Carina over to the couch.
"And what?" Carina said, already dreading what was coming next but trying desperately to will it to be something else.
"The results were abnormal," Danielle said, looking at her friend, "And as you know, more tests need to be done, but I already book them for today so we can see what's going on. It could be nothing, but given that you have been having heavier periods and pelvic pain…"
Danielle didn't need to finish, both she and Carina knew exactly what all of this added up to.
Cancer.
So what did you think? Did I really need to start another multi-chapter story right now? Probably not. But this idea got stuck in my head and the only way I could write anything else was to get this out so I'm doing it. This was just kinda an intro to set up what is to come. I don't have much else written yet, but I do have plans for pretty much exactly where I want to take this story so hopefully I will be able to update semi-regularly. Let me know your thoughts on this story. Thanks for reading.