End of September 2021

Cosima follows Delphine through the underground parking garage to their new, oversized car. Every time Cosima looks at the Toyota Venza she sighs. It really is too much car. But at least it was a Hybrid. Really, Cosima thinks they could have made do with a Prius and had a much easier time parking the damn thing. Maybe after the baby phase was over she could convince Delphine to trade it in for something smaller. As it was, Delphine thought their vehicle was appropriately sized for new parents. The cargo space had won her over and Cosima wonders what monstrosity of a stroller Delphine is planning on that they need all this.

"I am excited to see this one." Delphine tells her as she clambers into the car. "Our realtor says we should make an aggressive offer on this one. And I agree."

Cosima winces a little as she buckles in. She watches Delphine carefully position the seatbelt across her hips and below her belly. Always by the book. "But I mean… it's a condo. We saw a two bedroom condo three days ago… and I just… I can't get excited about a condo. Even if it is big."

"Just come see it, Cosima… It is slightly over our original budget. Do you have any idea how long I had to talk tennis with my papa to even get us in this budget? How difficult and draining that was?"

"Yeah I know… a two hour Skype call… without me… talking… tennis. And god knows what else." Cosima remembers, and also remembers she'd been told to vacate their condo and take a walk while all this was going on so she didn't sass her father-in-law and ruin everything. Also recalled Delphine researching all the current standings of her papa's favourite tennis players before the call began.

"Just come see it." Delphine insists. "Our realtor is putting in an offer tonight, already written up… if you like it. Our offer is competitive, without being over the top."

At least it isn't a long drive. "Townhouse style?" Cosima comments as they pull up. She doesn't really like the modern look. But the the idea of multiple floors and stairs and space begins to perk her up. Maybe they'll be really nice inside.

"Yes. With underground parking. Brand new construction. Geothermal heat…" Delphine lists off a series of impressive sounding features, clearly trying to sell her on this over budget home that isn't even a semi.

"OK… you don't have to convince me. I will see it." Cosima laughs, they park and walk into the complex. The paths are well maintained and she wonders why someone decided to sell this thing and move in 2021. Probably part of the mass exodus from Toronto as remote working became a norm and prices shot up.

Delphine takes her hand, interlacing their fingers as they approach the front door. Cosima can feel the excitement coming off her wife, and it's adorable. It… hits differently. Cosima finds. She admits she is more…reactive. That she sometimes finds Delphine suddenly irresistible. But not is not the time. Even if Delphine is being super cute.

"Unit 525?" Cosima asks. It's an end unit at least, Cosima thinks. And the complex is well cared for. It could be ok. She hopes.

"Yes." Delphine holds up her phone with the real estate listing. Their realtor, Brianna, has beat them here, and opens the door with a smile.

"Cosima, Delphine… good to see you again. Let's get through." Brianna seems delighted to show them this property. "So the dining area, kitchen with quartz countertops… good cupboards. The previous owners have moved from Toronto to remote work. Lucky them. And they left you all five brand new appliances - purchased in 2019."

"Wait… we enter into the dining room?" Cosima furrows her brow briefly. Before deciding it doesn't really matter. It's narrow but long, and there's plenty of room for a couch, an entertainment system. And she and Delphine could figure out a better dining room table. Maybe one that won't take up too much space?

"Half the units do, the mirror ones on the other side enter into the living room. This is an end unit." Their realtor is quick to remind them. "It's bigger, it's on the market and if we move fast and aggressively, we can maybe settle you two into a new home before bump over there gets any bigger."

"It is lovely." Delphine looks around, seeming pleased enough. They tour to the shared yard space, which Cosima admits will be nice to have some outdoor space. Delphine tears up, probably imagining their unborn baby toddling outside. Which seemed to be a thing lately and Cosima surmised it was probably at least half hormones.

The basement seems stupid, Cosima trots on down following Delphine and their extremely extroverted realtor. She should be more invested. Especially after Delphine broke out the measuring tape last week and had started measuring to decide if they could fit a crib in their current bedroom.

"So.. like…rec room?" Cosima looks around at the space. It looks decent. In fact, she can picture a nice sectional couch here… Or upstairs. Or maybe the basement would be more of a family room? A play space for their unborn child?

Delphine nods happily, they're shown the new full sized stackable washer and dryer. And Cosima thinks she'll be the one down here washing diapers and baby laundry. Maybe they should make the basement a Cosima chill zone? If she's going to be the one down here.

"And access to your underground parking spot." Brianna announces, motioning to the far door and opening it. And sure enough, it's a parking garage.

"OK… You didn't tell me that. Sold." Cosima jokes. Her difficulty with Canada winters was no secret. Something Sarah and Alison made fun of her for. And Delphine just kept offering to buy her warmer and more expensive coats to keep her warmer.

The rest of the tour, she finds herself growing more enthused. Especially after seeing the rooftop terrace accessed from the… 4th floor. Sure, the exterior is modern and boring,and there are so many stairs, but the townhouse is nice. Even if the master suite is on the third floor. And the rooftop terrace doesn't hurt. Neither does the open den space on the second floor between the bedrooms. It could even work as an office, Cosima muses. It is enough space. They will have plenty of space if they live here. Even when their kid is like 15 and cannot get enough space away from their parents… this will have options. A teen chillout zone in the basement, away from her and Delphine. All kinds of options.

"Yes. We need to make an offer." Cosima agrees as Brianna is telling them how well their little family will fit into the space. What a great nursery the front bedroom will make. Or the back one. She cannot quite keep up. Delphine is no doubt imagining amazing lawn furniture on the terrace. Maybe they could even like make love up there, under the stars. It would be romantic Cosima thinks. But it would have to be summer. And something tells her next summer is out for adventurous sex.

"I like it." Delphine tells her happily. "I think… we could be happy here. I think… this works."

"Great. Just don't remind me how much money we're spending." Cosima sighs. Asking Yves Cormier for a small loan to add on to their downpayment wasn't great.

"Now… if we get it… We will have to sell the condo. And soon." Delphine sighs. "But I suspect in this market the condo will sell very quickly and … we may find ourselves in a very decent financial position."

"Yeah. Of course." Cosima nods. Privately she hopes so, Delphine working on her parents for handouts was… humiliating. Then again, Delphine had told her they'd bought her younger brother a house randomly six years ago. Maybe it was only fair.

"I… I feel optimistic, Cosima. I think… I think our daughter will play in the yard here." Delphine grins. "And we are still in catchment for our midwives and for the Toronto Birth Centre."

"We'll see." Cosima nods. This time, she doesn't want to get either of their hopes up. The birth centre seemed like a pretty done deal either way, unless Delphine developed complications or decided mid-labour that opting out of an epidural was a grave error.

They return home, they e-sign the offer on the house immediately. Before doing anything else. And afterwards Delphine goes to take a bath, and Cosima tries to relax. She ignores three messages from Sarah about Alison acting weird. Alison was always weird, Cosima reasons. They all are. And really, in pandemic times isn't it logical that their stress responses will make them… weirder?

She gets bored after about three minutes of trying to read one of the new novels she's ordered. Cosima quickly stands and goes into the bathroom. The door isn't locked, so she reasons she's not unwelcome.

"Uhhh." She finds herself making a sound in her throat at the sight. Delphine in the tub, surrounded by a thin but increasing film of bubbles and dried rose petals as she soaks in what is probably one of those bathbombs they'd ordered to treat themselves. Delphine reclines on a small shell shaped bath pillow, eyes closed and hair pinned up on her head with a large clip. Her wife's breasts are visible, as are her swollen belly and her knees. The rest of her lover is submerged and the bath is still fizzing. Cosima's hands go to her skirt without thinking. She could probably be naked in two minutes or less.

Delphine shakes her head, without opening her eyes. "Non… Cosima… I just got into the bath."

"But I didn't say anything." Cosima argues. She hadn't, yet. She'd been going to disrobe and see whether Delphine wanted her to get in or if Delphine wanted to get out and get ravished against the counter.

"You made that sound. And I know you're looking at me. I can feel it."

"Fine… I made that sound, but it's more palatable to you now than it was…two days ago when I started bothering you while you were tweezing your eyebrows. Right?"

"Cosima… Try again when I am done. I just got in the bath." Delphine repeats, opening her hazel eyes to show she really means business.

"Right… later I guess." Cosima backs out of the bathroom trying to hide her disappointment. She hadn't been that bad lately. Other than the tweezers incident. And that time she decided that a better use of their time than looking at baby gear online was having sex on the couch. Delphine hadn't complained though. Better than sorting through Uppababy and Nuna and BabyJogger and PegPerego stuff trying to decide what would work best for them.

Cosima opens the Google ' bébé ' spreadsheet trying to see if Delphine had made a decision yet on baby gear. Or if they were still going to go see it in person somewhere tomorrow and try to collapse all the strollers and lift all the carseats and try to figure out what they could live with. Delphine had left notes after talking to two separate car seat technicians who'd warned them off almost all the car seats for the travel systems they were considering. The notes all referenced installation issues or ease of use or even oddly… 'head flop' which sounded pretty bad. The strollers, apparently, were fine. But that just meant more research and more… searching.

The name list is in another tab. Cosima sighs. Lena and Elodie were still on the list but the note next to Lena now said 'pronunciation issues'. And Cosima reasoned this was right. Whether people would say Lena or Léna or… Lay-na… or whatever. At least Océane was still on there. As was Mila after Cosima decided she liked it enough. But Delphine hadn't really settled, and neither had she.

A simple name with Niehaus-Cormier as a surname seemed logical. Her last suggestions of Koa and Indigo had been met with glares from Delphine. Rain, Jasper, Nova, Skye and Rowan hadn't really gone over well either though Rowan had been the least offensive to Delphine. So she's stopped suggesting for now.

Cosima sits on the bed. Elodie might be it. She thinks. Or Mila which would be easiest. Or Océane but that too had pronunciation issues. Nothing was easy. Maybe they could wait to just like meet the baby and see what they wanted to call her then. Like, have two or three names and consider for a few days. It didn't have to be now, except her mother kept asking and she knows Delphine wants it decided. Cosima sighs groaning and thinks she should have ignored all this and just vaped some pot to relax. The door creaks open, startling her briefly.

"Hey." Delphine calls from the door, before quickly closing it behind her. "Are you OK?"

"Yeah I am fine. You smell really good." Cosima nuzzles herself up next to Delphine when her wife emerges looking relaxed in her white fluffy bathrobe. She puts her phone down. She doesn't need it now.

"The bathbomb." Delphine explains with an amused expression on her face. "So… where did we leave off?"

"Uhh, right about here." Cosima excitedly clambers up on the bed and reaches for Delphine to pull her up on the bed.

She's excitedly kissing her wife, who seems into it. Maybe the timing was better than she thought. So Cosima just enjoys the floral scent and goes with it. She begins kissing Delphine's neck, her chest and keeps moving down. Delphine stops her, but only to remove her glasses and then her shirt. She's always wanting skin, always wanting connection. It's comforting, Cosima thinks.

"You're so soft." Cosima begins mumbling as she undoes the robe to continue kissing down the bump. It is definitely a perfect time for this. Post-bath cunnilingus should be a thing. She's nuzzling around a very clean and familiar patch of curls when something dark pink catches her attention. Cosima opens her eyes fully and squints, looking closer at it. She stops.

"What is it? Is something wrong?" Delphine's voice calls.

"Uhh Delphine… you have a rose petal… stuck in your bush." Cosima begins laughing maniacally.

"Well… it happens." Delphine shrugs it off and laughs too. There are certainly worse ways to begin a sexy evening, Cosima decides as she cautiously removes the rose petal for posterity, before continuing.

She starts slowly, letting her lips caress the inside of Delphine's thigh, before jutting her tongue out as a tease. She slowly moves her way to where Delphine wants her, almost but not quite. She has her wife's hips rocking as soon as she makes direct contact with needy flesh. And it is needy, Cosima thinks, as she happily devours.

When she's brought her wife to her second climax, Delphine eagerly drags her up to kiss her. And then to give as good as she got. Delphine's mouth, Delphine's hands drive her mad with teasing before letting her crest as well. Maybe her libido was up a little, but so what. It's not like Delphine minded. Usually.

"OK. That was a very good orgasm. And really good sex." Cosima sighs, closing her eyes. They definitely need to do that again. Bath included, though next time - she's getting in to the tub.

Delphine laughs a little. "Rose petals included?"

"Oh it added to the experience… I mean it would have more so if I'd had to like ….pull it out from my teeth."

Delphine snorts, and she cuddles close. "I hope we get it."

"The townhouse? Me too." Cosima sighs, noticing the quickly changing gears. "Me too." Otherwise they were changing plans and getting a crib to fit in this room. And pairing down to as minimal baby gear as possible.

"I am sleepy." Delphine mumbles into her skin.

"Just snuggle me a while." Cosima invites, and it's easy to drift off here. Too easy.

Cosima stirs to a notification sound from Delphine's phone. An email. And then a call. She moans, not wanting to get out of bed. It's dark, and definitely not morning. Either it's really good news. Or really bad news.

"You get it." Delphine mumbles as she pushes herself up from the bed. "I want a snack."

"OK baby." Cosima promises her wife, and then picks up the phone. "Hey Brianna."

"I have good news for my favourite new homeowners."

"Oh?" Cosima stops.

"You got it. The seller picked your offer. Apparently they were motivated to close because they're already living in Stratford. Somewhere like that. And… we just need to work out dates. The unit is sitting empty so you can move in October or November. Up to you... And then we will list your current place ASAP. I, of course, will handle all the listings details. Staging. Photography."

She cannot deny the burst of excitement. "Delphine… we got it!" Maybe not the dream, but a new dream. One they can fill with their life. And that rooftop terrace doesn't hurt either. Cosima thinks for now it's perfect for discreet nightly toking. And later, maybe they'd host clone club. It was private enough, she figured.

"We got it!" Delphine repeats with a huge smile. "Oh Cosima… we did it! We got a new home. And yes. I was napping."

"Wait… were you two asleep? It's not even 9 o'clock!" Brianna remarks once she's flicked it on speakerphone. "Anyways, tonight celebrate. Pop champagne… and something non-alcoholic for the pregnant lady."

"Delphine was resting, she's pregnant." Cosima responds eager to defend her wife. And her own falling asleep after sex. Which had not been planned. At all.

"Oh we will celebrate. Can we connect again tomorrow morning?" Delphine asks.

"Absolutely. We'll get the documents together for everyone to e-sign and then… we'll get going on listing your condo. I am going to try to sell it as a young professional paradise."

"Or the perfect pied-a-terre ." Delphine suggests. "But I suppose no one needs those anymore in…pandemic times."

"We'll get it done. Prepare to move fast ladies. I'll catch you both tomorrow. Ciao."

Cosima begins laughing. "Well this is…good."

"It feels wonderful." Delphine sighs. "Imagine us up in that master suite."

"Uhh… imagine you trying to get your pregnant self up all the stairs… That won't be fun. And what happens after the birth? Like… we better try hard not to have a c-section." Cosima doesn't know how they'd handle that with so many stairs. Maybe have Delphine camp out on the couch for a week or two?

"Cosima... I am an immunologist. I understand microbiomes. I do not want a c-section unless it becomes absolutely medically necessary. It will stunt our child's microbiome for life."

"Isn't that what breastfeeding is for?"

"Birth colonizes. Breastfeeding…does as well but more importantly it maintains. I mean, it helps. But it will not restore the complement of… intestinal flora that would be acquired during a vaginal birth." Delphine tells her. "I can refer you to a few excellent studies."

"Sure. I'll read them." Cosima smirks a little. "We have a house. Well… a townhouse."

"Cosima… it has three bedrooms and a finished basement. We have a house ." Delphine smiles back at her.

"Yeah our house." The smiling is contagious. She looks behind them to one of their wedding pictures up on the wall. She wonders if they keep smiling if their faces will begin to hurt from it like that.

"Very much ours."

"It… feels surreal… I guess it'll sink in sooner or later." Cosima leans over and begins absentmindedly touching the belly. She knows it'll be weeks still before she can feel the baby, but finds she's eager for some…physical sign of life from within. To connect them all deeper.

"It will… like our impending parenthood." Delphine teases her a little. But the sleepiness has abated replaced by excitement.

"Yeah." Cosima breathes it out. There's no denying it with Delphine's body changing. At least they were out of the first trimester queasiness.

"Are you… open to sharing a little more about… conception?" Delphine's expression is probing, so she doesn't worry too much. Delphine seems more curious than insistent.

"Umm no." Cosima shakes her head. "I won't turn our baby into an experiment for everyone to gawk at. It's unfair. Let them just be a baby. Just be a kid. A normal kid with two moms and… a life. Just…" Cosima trails off. She'd never been normal, but at least Gene and Sally had been blissfully ignorant and just raised her as their daughter. Maybe, maybe that was best. She and Delphine couldn't be ignorant, but maybe they could pretend to be.

"Cosima…"

"Delphine… No. I mean… Would you ask Sarah? Like hey Sarah, how did you and Cal conceive Kira? Bed? Floor? Up against the wall? No… Why should anyone be asking us? It's none of their business."

"I didn't mean to everyone." Delphine clarifies. "And you know, it is not the same."

"Still. It's unfair to the baby." Cosima is firm on this. Their baby, whatever they name her, deserves to just be a baby.

"OK." Delphine nods. "So we won't for now."

October 2021

"What are you thinking?" Cosima asks lazily one morning. The townhouse on Curzon felt different from the condo. Even three days in she felt a shift in the energy. Something was shifting being in this space. Though she couldn't quite put her finger on it. They had managed to unpack the bedroom, office and kitchen… today would be more of the same. More unpacking. More effort. But it would be home.

The geothermal heat was a perk, Cosima thought. Even if it wasn't the semi they'd stupidly fallen in love with during the summer. The basement was currently filled with boxes from their storage unit at the condo. Someday it would probably be full of kid stuff.

At least this time Delphine had scheduled her required bathroom reno for next month. Cosima suspects they'll have to AirBnB it for about two weeks rather than stay. And it had space for … three of them. It was over budget and required dealing with her overly critical in-laws. But it was...pretty perfect.

"Your baby is inside me." Delphine smiles at her without opening her eyes.

"She's a 22 week fetus." Cosima quips. "A very good looking fetus from the scans." The fact she'd only seen pictures and a video recorded by Delphine of their baby squirming around and kicking on the inside was still a source of injury.

"Your baby." Delphine opens her eyes, she looks… aroused. Cosima is surprised to see it. But only for a moment. She takes her then, enthusiastically, she cups a slowly swelling belly in her hand. She cannot feel the child but she knows Delphine can.

She teases her first, finger tips gliding through the wetness of her sex. And finds that that is more than enough to have Delphine climaxing under her fingers.

"It is so easy." Cosima murmurs, eager to see what else the gentlest touches can do. And it's enough, soft motions with her hands or her mouth have Delphine coming undone again and again.

Until at last, Delphine reverses their positions, using her own mouth to take Cosima over the edge. And that too…. Is easy.

Cosima cries out loudly, and wonders just how thick the walls are. Knowing that her neighbours probably don't appreciate the early morning noise pollution from their lesbian neighbours. She'd seen the couple once, professionals, heterosexual, early 40s, no kids and a largish dog.

"Come for me again." Delphine insists, ducking her head back down. And maybe, maybe this did go both ways. Cosima thinks. Except on the day-to-day she seems to be consistently…hornier than Delphine.

"What are you thinking about?" Delphine asks her afterwards, as they recline sated but still touching. Delphine strokes her face and Cosima feels so happy she might burst. "There is something on your mind."

"Just that… OK… I guess like pregnancy sex." Cosima admits. "Like… a lot. You're extremely sexy like this. It's… unexpectedly hot."

"I've noticed." Delphine giggles happily at her. "You are into this."

"Yep. Definitely into it." Cosima agrees. "And as this is your one and only pregnancy… I think we should try to enjoy it as much as possible."

"Oui. It… it will go fast, probably." Delphine agrees. "We are… more than halfway through already."

"It's like… making love to a fertility goddess." Cosima giggles out the phrase and Delphine kisses her again in response, sweet and slow.

"So… any more thoughts on all the baby… stuff?" Delphine prompts. No doubt by now desperate to start buying things for their unborn child. As of yet Cosima had been putting it off.

"I know nothing about babies… Or birth… like… we need to take a childbirth education class. The information we're getting from the compare your baby to a fruit app isn't enough." Cosima shakes her head considering her total lack of knowledge of this area. She'd already ordered the Baby Book, and she knows Delphine was on it…in her own way.

"The midwives offer them. We will sign up for all of them." Delphine responds quickly as if distracted.

"OK. And the parenting stuff… we read books?" Cosima figures there's enough information on child development and parenting strategies out there. She can learn it.

"Yes." Delphine nods. "And follow our own instincts and inclinations… for example, we will not aggressively sleep train our baby. No psychological conditioning not to cry at night."

"Yeah...that's a thing?" Cosima tilts her head.

"Yes."

"Oh." Cosima pauses. "You want to breastfeed, right?"

"Yes. For a year. Maybe more. The World Health Organization actually recommends two years." Delphine is firm on this. "Immunological reasons, health reasons… for the baby and for myself."

"I assumed as much, so that's good. So nursing bras and good to go?" Cosima figures that it is a lot easier in terms of stuff required.

"Nursing pillow, nursing pads, nipple ointment… maybe a single pump for expression. I've ordered a couple books because… I have never seen anyone breastfeed. Not personally… I have no idea what to do. My cousins were all just… bottle fed as far as I know. My brother and I too. We… We may need a lactation consultant. I have a list. And our midwives have some training, so if we have no major problems we might be fine with that."

"Wow…" Cosima nods, making a mental note to read up on how to latch a newborn. Maybe she could be of help after all. Or at least maybe her mother could. She knows Sally breastfed her for a while… there are pictures to prove it. She glances around the bedroom, thinking that half of their room is bound to become a baby-zone no matter what. At least there's plenty of room.

"We also need a bassinet, a crib, a stroller…. And with shortages we may need to plan and order in advance," Delphine reminds her. "And we… we need to make decisions on that. Soon. And that means ordering them now."

Cosima shakes her head, she thought this was decided. "We both liked the BabyJogger stroller. One hand fold. The…small one, not the big turns into a two kid stroller one. Let's buy that."

"OK. But… it doesn't come as a travel system… At least not easily. I will look. Crib?" Delphine prompts her wife and Cosima wonders if Delphine had planned this morning to go exactly this way.

"I thought we decided on the Balka one for the crib? I liked it." Cosima liked the mixed white and natural wood, the slight boho flavor. She liked the neutral bedding with green ferns too. In fact, she liked the whole nursery set. So that was done.

"Well then the crib is done, I'll order it… and you will pick it up." Delphine grabs her phone, likely to buy it there and then.

"And a car seat." Cosima muses. "Have you figured that out yet?

"Yes I'm working on that. It needs to connect to the stroller." Delphine sighs. "I think… I think I've almost decided. Either we get the BabyJogger one… or we need adaptors. I will look."

"Right… right…" Privately Cosima wonders if it is just too many options. If there were fewer options maybe it would be easier somehow?

"I am signed up for hypnobirthing class. I forgot to tell you. We are signed up, you as my partner."

"What?"

"It's a childbirth coping strategy. Lots of deep slow breathing and visualization." Delphine throws out. "It's a weekend in December, online. I want you to attend with me."

"Of course." Cosima nods. "I am all in. Seriously. Whatever you need. Constant back rubbing. Music. Water. Whatever." Picturing Delphine in labour isn't something she wants to picture but she better start preparing herself. She cannot let her wife down.

"I want to prepare as well as we can. But … we cannot control everything. So there will be contingency plans for everything. Every scenario I can think of. Including if we have a premature birth… and if I end up with a c-section."

Cosima is reminded of Delphine's high-functioning anxiety and makes a quick leap. "Please tell me you're not going to make me swab the baby with your vaginal flora if you have a c-section."

Delphine looks back at her looking mildly sheepish. But clearly not denying it.

"Baby…" Cosima looks over at her wife weakly. She will, 100%, but she is mildly concerned that the medical staff would toss her out of the hospital if she tries it.

"Please Cosima…"

"Oh you know I will." Cosima tells Delphine, letting a smile come over her face. "Anything for science."

Delphine laughs too, and she thinks brunch is in order.

"Should we… order in brunch?" Cosima offers. "Or… we could go out."

"We shouldn't…" Delphine bites her lip, she'd been getting nervous again. And Cosima understood why. She had comorbidities, that was not going to go away.

"OK. You order the crib. I will order brunch." Cosima teases, reaching for her own phone.

"Please do." Delphine responds. And Cosima feels lighter.

Late October 2021

"Babe… I am booking my flight. Last chance." Cosima shouts, hoping that Delphine can hear her downstairs from their office.

Delphine's voice sounds almost faint coming up the stairs. "You know I cannot go with you to Minnesota. I have a midwife appointment. Did you order the KN95s?"

"Yes Delphine." Cosima answers. Delphine had become increasingly concerned again, but hadn't been restricting her movements.

"And you remember you're picking up the crib and mattress today? From two different stores?"

"Yes. It's on our shared calendar, so got it." Cosima quips. She can pick up. It'll just be a big box and a compressed mattress. At least she assumes so. The other baby stuff was in the spare room. Their child's future bedroom. All still in boxes.

"Come downstairs…" Delphine calls and if on cue, her Skype begins ringing.

"Hang on… Sarah is calling." Cosima quickly answers. "Hey Sarah."

"Cos… You are really hard to get a hold of."

"Yeah I was booking my flight for next month. I defend in like 3 weeks. Remember?"

"Right right… the dissertation." Sarah nods, looking worse for wear. Cosima knows they're all aging. But right now Sarah's sparse, increasing grays make her sister look…older. Privately she wonders if she looks the same. She knows Alison dyes her hair every 3 weeks to prevent showing grays. And Helena's blonde hides it… much like Delphine's.

"Yeah I'll be gone like… five or six days?" Cosima estimates. It's too long, she thinks. Especially if she cannot bring Delphine with her."

"Delphine is letting you go?" Sarah shakes her head. "Well that's good… You can't do it remotely?"

"They want me in person… so I am going. Tickets purchased. Hotel booked. Wait are you… at Alison's?" Cosima takes in the familiar background.

"Yes." Sarah confirms. "We are… trying to get through the day. Kids all in school, and I am just helping Alison with the house stuff."

"House stuff?" Cosima repeats, feeling like she is missing something.

"I am here." Alison hollers from the background. "We are bubbled. All vaccinated… except Helena's boys. And that will be as soon as they let us. I need this pandemic over. Everything needs to be normal again."

"Well… Covid is endemic now so…" Cosima trials off. Trying to explain to her sisters that they are all likely to inevitably get some variant or covid at some point feels more disheartening than she can bear. Delphine was upset enough at the 13 Leda deaths worldwide. But things were improving, at least on the surface and she didn't want to kill the joy of pseudo-normality for her sisters.

"But we are vaccinated." Alison throws back. "Only the idiots refusing vaccines have to worry."

"We are." Sarah agrees. "And… that should keep us healthy."

"I mean we're all going to get Covid… Delphine's virologist friend said as much… it's just being vaccinated to minimize effects." Cosima sighs. Delphine had looked at results from all over the world. Countries that locked down. Countries that didn't. A virus was going to virus and trying to explain that sounds exhausting. And they were doing what they could.

Sarah gets quite stern and begins shaking her head. "Cosima…"

"Except you know, me cause Delphine's going to lock me down due to my crappy lungs." Cosima shrugs, trying to make a joke, hands flying around. She isn't sure how to explain it. Maybe she and Delphine should sit down and make a plan of how to…share this information in a not overwhelming way.

"It'll keep you out of the hospital. That is the goal now." Delphine bursts in, and she makes no apologies as she begins hunting for something in the pile of papers around the computer. Her wife doesn't respond further to the conversation, clearly intent on her own agenda.

"Delphine… what are you doing?" Cosima whips around, not used to interruptions. Especially since the move. And even before, Delphine was cautious to ask first.

"I am sorry Cosima. I printed out something Rachel sent us.. And now I cannot find it." Delphine continues shuffling through papers. "I may have to reprint it."

"Rachel?!" Sarah sits up with a start. She knocks over something heavy which crashes to the floor of Alison's craft room.

"Sarah don't drop it." Alison chides her, bending to pick it up.

"No… not like… Leda-Rachel… like our 40-something midwife Rachel." Cosima quickly corrects it.

"Oh that's not confusing at all." Alison comments in the background. "So how goes baby preparations? I am planning your in person shower for the second weekend in January. We will host… I think."

"Great. Things are going well. We have gear. Cosima is picking up the crib today." Delphine smiles.

"What did you decide on?" Alison asks with overly interested politeness. "Can we see the belly?"

"It's all the same Alison. It doesn't matter." Sarah shrugs. No doubt she is 15 years out of date on baby stuff. At least. Cosima suspects all Sarah's stuff was chosen by Siohban and was as affordable as possible.

"BabyJogger. Everything is BabyJogger." Cosima mumbles. "The stroller. The car seat… the… high chair thing?"

"The stroller is easily collapsible. One hand fold." Delphine advertises, quickly positioning herself to show off her growing belly on screen. "It is good for small spaces. Not too heavy. I think it'll work well. Got it." Delphine finds the papers she was looking for and quickly leaves the room leaving the chaos of this unexpected Leda chat behind.

"Yeah we just had Graco. With the twins too." Donnie shrugs, interrupting in the background. "That's all I remember."

"Uhh what is going on?" Cosima asks finally. "Why are you all… there? And where is Helena?"

"Helena is making soap. It relaxes her." Sarah adds. "We'll be going to join her shortly. This… this cleanup doesn't need Helena."

"Cleanup?" Cosima repeats totally confused. "Donnie you're home? I thought you'd gone back to the office?"

"I learned with Helena's boys that you need to rear face until two now. It wasn't like that when my kids were little." Alison advertises. "They outgrow the bucket around a year so… be prepared to get another seat. Maybe even before next winter."

"Uhh actually it's to the limits of the seat now. That's what Delphine said." Cosima adds, unimportantly. It's not like it matters. Helena's boys were in boosters and the teenagers were long out of any child restraints.

"We're probably…7 years out of date Allie. I don't think our advice will help much here." Donnie comments, putting his hand on his wife's shoulder just out of screen. "Cosima and Delphine can handle it."

"But if they're buying all the gear what are we supposed to do for the shower?" Alison retorts.

"Umm not all of it. Just like… the stroller, car seat… crib…" Cosima sighs. "We have the money guys, and we… we're fine to do it."

"Fine just… don't buy anything else." Sarah tells them quickly. "We… we need this shower."

"Umm OK." Cosima responds and is about to try to get to the bottom of this when the call abruptly ends.

"What the fuck." Cosima shakes her head, standing up. She doesn't have time for this. Part of her wonders if she should just like stop by under the guise of picking up baby gear near Scarborough. But thinks better of it.

"Don't forget to put the back seats down in the Venza." Delphine comments as she goes through the house to the garage entry.

"I won't. But it can't be like that big. Right?" Cosima winces a little. Sure the stroller and carseat had come in these largish boxes. But there was no reason a crib couldn't pack flat. They had to assemble it after all.

"This is why we bought the Venza. Keep your mask on. Je t'aime." Delphine waves her off, clearly busy with something.

Whatever it was she wasn't in on. It would have to wait. Cosima decides.

Notes: I want to apologize to my readers. I am still in personal crisis and finding it extremely difficult to write. I am going through a very messy separation from my volatile spouse. And I do not know when things will settle enough for me to be productive in any facet of my life.