Max stood nervously in the apartment's entryway, shifting his weight from one foot to the other agitatedly, one hand in his pocket, hardly able to breathe. Behind him in the living room, he could hear the steady ticking of the clock, only slightly distracting him from the sound of his own heartbeat, thudding in his throat. His head was beginning to float; he tried to force himself to breathe, slowly and deeply, trying to reduce his heartrate and remove some of the stress. On a purely academic level, he could recognize the signs of a possible panic attack – something he had never suffered in the past. But he had never been subjected to these particular stressors before.
Nearly two years. His mother had been gone for almost two full years, between her astronaut training and her extended mission on the International Space Station. He had traveled to Russia to see her when she graduated from her astronaut training, but that was the last time he had seen her in person. After her flight to the station had nearly ended in disaster, he had found himself checking almost constantly for any indication that she was safe, that the ISS was still intact; after finding the wreckage of the Shunjar patrol ship that had broken up in atmosphere, meeting so many aliens currently living on the planet, and studying the Sssinulian craft that had crash-landed, he had tasked Markov with monitoring their satellite warning system on a constant basis, searching for any potential threats to the ISS. When the Tarasque's interference had virtually cut the ISS off entirely from contact with Earth, he had feared the worst. As a consequence of that disruption, all manned flights to the ISS had been stopped and unmanned supply flights had been reduced, leaving his mother and the other astronauts stranded with minimal fresh supplies until the disruption could be resolved. Even after operations returned to normal, she had had to remain on the station even longer to assist in maintenance before the crew changed. But now all of that was finally behind her. She had returned to Earth and completed her battery of tests and therapy to readjust to Earth's gravity. Finally, she was on her way home. Max started to smile in excitement, in spite of his nerves. They had been so close when he was growing up – just the two of them – and this had been the longest that they had been separated. Over those two years they had spoken, of course – more in the two months since her return from space – but it had not been the same. So much had changed in that time.
One of those changes stood next to him.
Sabrina squeezed Max's hand, pressing a kiss to the corner of his mouth, and rested her head on his shoulder, placing her free hand on his chest. "It's going to be okay, you know," she told him softly. "Your mother loves you. I'm sure she wants what's best for you. And for you to be happy."
"I hope so," he agreed, though without much confidence. The look of shock and disbelief on his mother's face when he had told her about Sabrina and the baby, along with her words, flashed through his mind. "We are going to talk about this further once I am back on terra firma," she had warned him. Now that his mother was back on Earth – now that she was back in France – that day of reckoning had finally come. Sabrina wrapped a slender arm around his back, and he closed his eyes and forced himself to breathe deeply. "Although she was concerned when she found out about…" Raising an eyebrow, he gestured toward her belly.
He had been nervous when they had told the Raincomprixes; he hadn't expected to feel this on seeing his mother in person for the first time since then.
Sabrina looked up at him with a reassuring smile. "When she sees that we have a plan, that we are going to face this together – even though we are nervous, even though we don't know everything that's going to happen – I'm sure she will be reassured," she told him, raising an eyebrow. "When she understands that we are happy with this, I think she will accept it. And I know you're happy…"
Swallowing, Max forced himself to smile at her. "I don't know how happy I am at the moment," he muttered under his breath. "But I am… content… with this state of affairs," he finally told her. "After talking to Mother… we will see."
Sabrina squeezed him and smiled, reaching for the door and pulling it open. Max's mother stood right outside, a dozen bags lined and piled in the hallway around her, her hand poised to knock. "Hello, Mme Kanté," Sabrina greeted her, her smile faltering the slightest bit, extending her hand. "I hope the flight was okay, and the trip from the airport."
"Please; you can call me Claudie, dear," Max's mother answered, smiling nervously as she stepped partway into the apartment, dropping the handles of her two largest suitcases before taking Sabrina's hand and shaking it briefly. "After all, I suppose we're family in a sense now, right?"
"I, um, I suppose so," Sabrina agreed, dipping her head.
"It's nice to finally meet my son's… girlfriend," his mother continued awkwardly, looking back and forth between Sabrina and Max. "Now that I can finally put the face with the name, I know I recognize you – from when you were both in collège. I remember back then I met you in passing, of course, but it's…"
"It is a little different now," Sabrina finished, resting one of her hands on her belly.
His mother's eyes followed the movement and softened slightly, but she blinked, clearing her throat. "I suppose the reason this caught me a little off-guard is because I don't remember the two of you being particularly close back then…"
Max shrugged. "We were friendly in collège," he responded. Sabrina raised an eyebrow at him. "But it was not until lycée that we truly became friends – especially when we began working together more closely."
"I see."
"Last year, Chloe got into trouble," Sabrina explained. "I drove myself crazy, trying to find her and rescue her, and Max helped me so much – I would have been lost that week if he hadn't been so sweet: giving me coffee, reminding me to sleep and take breaks…" She sighed fondly. "I think that was when I first fell in love with him."
His mother smiled. "I suppose it's nice to hear that Max isn't so buried in his studies that he can't make time for you – although I suppose I already knew that…" she added wryly.
Max grimaced, looking back and forth between them. "I am sure you must be tired. Will you allow me to bring your bags back to your room, Mother?" he offered, indicating the pile of suitcases spread between the hallway and living room.
"That would be nice," she agreed, not quite taking her eyes off of Sabrina. "Thank you."
Jumping at the opportunity, Max grabbed the first four bags and hauled them down the hallway, grunting a little with the strain and turning sideways to shuffle down to her room. With every step he took away from the living room, he finally allowed himself to breathe a little more. Three years ago, he never would have been able to move all of these by himself – certainly not all four by himself, certainly not so easily. But that was then. One of the benefits from his years as a miraculous holder, even if he so rarely went out to fight, was that his strength had improved so much, both in and out of his transformation. Not that it made the bags any less bulky. But finally, after bumping into the wall more times than he cared to admit, he managed to dump all four bags in the corner of the bedroom, leaned against the wall and wiped his brow. Kaalki phased through the wall from the direction of his bedroom and folded her arms in amusement, looking down at him with one eyebrow raised. Max gave her a halfhearted glare, pushing away from the wall and starting back out into the hallway. "I fail to see why you find this so amusing."
"Oh, would you relax?" Kaalki demanded, rolling her eyes. "It's going to be fine."
"Clearly you have never had to introduce your mother to the three-month-pregnant girlfriend that you were not even dating the last time you saw her," he retorted, running his thumb along the lid of the box in his pocket.
"No, I can't say that I have," the Kwami replied, grinning. "I'm having more than enough fun watching you fumble through that!"
"I hope so…" As the two of them returned to the living room, Max paused just at the edge of the hallway on hearing their voices.
"So, tell me a little about yourself," his mother told Sabrina.
Sabrina shrugged. "I don't know how much there is to tell," she admitted. "You already know I'm Impératrice Pourpre. I've been working at one of the Agreste Charity Rehab Centers since we defeated the Tarasque – my miraculous gives me the ability to sense what people are feeling, which gives me a pretty big advantage in counseling. I'm going to Descartes for psychology and counseling – I started the program last year, while I was still in lycée. My mentor with the Heroes of Paris recommended it and helped me get into the program."
His mother hummed wryly. "That's already such a full schedule," she observed. "I hope you'll be able to find time to sleep!"
"If you're wondering about how we're going to manage all of that with the baby, we have given that a lot of thought," Sabrina answered calmly. "My mother has offered to help, as have a few of our friends. We've already decided to alternate nights waking up with the baby, to make sure neither of us is getting too worn down by having to do it every night."
"I was concerned," his mother admitted. "But I am relieved that you have a plan. And that there are people who will help you out – and of course, I would also be happy to watch my grandchild whenever you need!"
Sabrina smiled. "I'll be sure to keep you in mind! And with you living here also, it will be really convenient."
"'Also'," his mother repeated.
Sabrina flushed. "Well…"
Max's stomach clenched nervously, and he finally stepped out into the living room. "That is correct," he answered his mother, nodding. Moving around the furniture, he placed a hand on Sabrina's shoulder, squeezing it reassuringly. "Sabrina has been living here on a permanent basis for the last couple months." He flushed. "Admittedly, she had already been sleeping her every night after we defeated the Tarasque and she was able to return to Paris. But after we found out about the pregnancy and told her parents, we made our living arrangement more official and permanent."
His mother raised an eyebrow, giving him a look. "I see." She glanced around the living room, and her eyes widened when they came to rest on the entertainment center. "I see." Turning back to Max and Sabrina, she sighed. "I'm glad to see how comfortable the two of you appear to be. This does seem to be your home – yours and the baby's."
"It's yours, too," Sabrina pointed out with a guilty grimace. "I'm sorry for intruding – I, um, I can move back in with my parents – if–if you want to just be able to spend more time with Max…"
Max's stomach clenched, and he slipped his hand into his pocket. Would she really–
His mother's eyes widened. "No!" she insisted. "No, I don't wish to intrude. Actually, I was just thinking about that: this apartment is hardly large enough for three adults to live – it was barely large enough for Max and myself when he was growing up. With a new baby on the way, it will get all the smaller. And I have been gone for so long…"
"What are you saying, mother?" asked Max, furrowing his brows in confusion.
She sighed. "Rather than move back in here with you – at least once the baby arrives – I think the better option would be for me to find a new apartment for myself. This is your home now, after all."
"Are–are you certain?"
His mother shrugged. "Yes… I think I am."
"I hope you aren't planning to go very far, though," Sabrina told her, frowning. "After all, we do want you to be close to your grandchild!"
