Maya always hated sleeping at the hospital. Not only because there were people coming in and out all night, but also because she always slept her best when she was curled up in her wife's arms. This time, sleep was even less ideal because she was up every few hours to use the bathroom.
When she woke up at 6, she decided to just stay awake, knowing she was likely not going to get any more sleep. She was still mildly nauseous, but she was confident she wasn't going to be sick which felt like a breath of fresh air.
She pulled out her phone, opening her notes app and starting a list of all the things that needed to get done before the baby came. Her conversation with Carina the day before had scared her quite a bit and she was desperately hoping they didn't come to a point where they were choosing between her and the baby because she didn't know if she would survive that.
She tried to push that thought out of her mind as she made the list. She decided that they would need to get the twins into big kid beds at some point before the baby came so they didn't have to buy another crib because while the girls were no longer sleeping in cribs with rails, they were in their cribs which had been converted to toddler beds. Maya knew the baby would likely sleep in a bassinet in their room, at least for a while, but she wanted the twins to get used to their new beds before the baby came instead of adding more chaos to the house after. She had also read in a book at some point that if you just gave things that belonged to an older child to a baby abruptly, it could cause resentment and while she knew both Rowan and Nora were already excited for the baby, she didn't want to push their luck.
She decided they also needed to buy another rocking chair because they still used the one in the twins' room for them all the time, but she wanted one for the baby too.
They needed to finish emptying the nursery. She had gotten about half of it done, but she just hadn't had the energy the past week and a half to finish it. Once it was empty, they then needed to decide on how they were going to decorate it.
She really wished she had her laptop right now because she wanted to start making a list of nursery themes and decorations that could go with it. She knew it was silly and that she didn't need to, but she was feeling very out of control and overwhelmed by that because of how sick she was and that felt like something she could control.
She added digging out a baby bassinet from their basement along with the old baby clothes. She knew they didn't know if they were having a boy or a girl yet, but they had dressed the twins in a lot of muted colors and neutral tones for the most part so she hoped they would be able to reuse at least some of those.
She added deciding if they wanted to find out the baby's sex to the list. It didn't really matter to either of them, and they knew that it ultimately determined very little about their baby. They had found out with the twins because twins was enough of a surprise and the idea of picking two names was hard enough. However, with this baby, Maya was thinking she might want to keep it a surprise. She hated surprises, but this one didn't scare her as much as surprises usually did. And surely she and Carina could come up with one boy name and one girl name, or they could just pick one name that would work for either, kinda like Rowan.
Maya added coming up with baby names to the list. She then quickly jumped over to another page, starting a list of names. There was one name she had really liked when Carina was pregnant with the twins that she had never asked her wife about but she put it on the girl list for this one, adding one name to the boy list as well before going back to her original note.
She put getting out the baby car seat and getting it installed in the car to the list, knowing they didn't need to do that for quite a long time, but she wanted this list to be comprehensive and something they would work on for the next eightish months.
She put talking to the chief on the list, knowing she was going to do that sooner rather than later. She knew from when Andy pregnant with Luca that she was technically allowed to work active scenes until her turnouts no longer fit properly, but that she was allowed to ask to be on light duty before then. She wasn't sure what she wanted to do yet. She was hoping to be able to keep working as normal for a while, especially because she was almost always outside and not being directly exposed to dangerous chemicals. However, as she sat there thinking, she remembered that one thing that had been a major aversion for Carina while she was pregnant with the twins had been the smell of smoke. Maya knew if that happened to her, not only would working active scenes be almost impossible, but just being around anyone in the station would be hard because they almost all smelled faintly of smoke all the time, especially during a busy shift. She really hoped that didn't happen, getting her focus back on her list.
Just as she was about to add stock up on diapers to the list, a nurse walked into her room.
"Good morning Maya," her new nurse said, "How are you feeling this morning?"
"Better than yesterday," Maya said, setting her phone down, "Still a little nauseous but I don't feel like I am going to be sick."
"Good," the nurse said, "I have another cup of electrolyte drink for you and your meds. We are going to try to do your antiemetics by mouth this morning."
"Ok," Maya said, taking the pills and the cup, swallowing the pills carefully, chasing them with the cold orange drink.
"Alright," the nurse said, "Let me know if you have any issues keeping that down. If you do ok though, Dr. Johnson wants you to try some crackers or apple sauce or something like that. I just want to grab a little bit of blood really quick and then I will be out of your hair for a while."
Maya held out her arm as the nurse quickly drew some blood, taping over the place she had done the draw before getting ready to leave.
"Need anything else?" the nurse asked.
"No thank you," Maya said, shaking her head.
"Alright," the nurse said, "Get some rest. I will be back to check on you in a little bit."
"Ok, thank you," Maya nodded, making sure the bed was adjusted up like it had been yesterday, only to realize she needed to use the bathroom again.
Once she got back to bed, she grabbed her phone again, seeing she had a text from her wife asking how she was feeling this morning. Maya texted her back, saying she was feeling pretty ok and asking how the night went. Carina told her that Nora and Rowan both ended up in her bed around 2 am, but other than that, it was ok. She asked if Maya was up for a visit this morning from the twins, which the blonde quickly said yes to. She missed her family so much and just wanted to be with them. Carina said they would be there in about forty-five minutes, telling Maya she loved her and that she was happy she was feeling ok right now.
Maya then went back to her list, adding a few more things to it before there was yet another knock on the door, Dr. Johnson coming in.
"Good morning Maya," she said, walking over to the bed, "How are you this morning?"
"Ok I think," Maya said, "I kept down all the drink I had last night and so far, so good on my morning meds too."
"That's great," Dr. Johnson said, "I don't have your labs back yet, but you are looking much better physically than you did yesterday."
"So are you going to let me go home today?" Maya asked hopefully.
"I am off duty in twenty minutes," Dr. Johnson said, "Dr. Davis will be the one making that call."
"Fine," Maya sighed, "I just want to go home."
"I know," Dr. Johnson said, "But we need to make sure you are able to eat at home and keep down fluids. If those things continue to go well today, I imagine you will get to go home, but if not, that's ok. We will keep working towards that goal."
"I know," Maya said, "I know this is the best place for me and the baby, but I just want to be home with my wife and my other babies."
Just then, the door opened and Nora and Rowan came running into the room.
"Bambine, I asked you to walk," Carina said as she came in behind them.
"Sorry Mamma," Rowan and Nora both said as they tried to get up in the bed, Dr. Johnson helping both of them up as Carina set down Maya's work bag she had requested along with the twins' backpacks and her own bag.
"Hi girls," Maya said as the twins crawled into bed with her, Rowan giving her a hug and kiss before going and pulling up Maya's shirt, pressing a kiss there too.
"Why do you two have the cutest kids?" Dr. Johnson said, looking at Carina, "I mean, seriously. We deliver babies all day, and I don't think I have ever seen any this adorable."
"I don't know," Carina shrugged, "My wife has some pretty beautiful genes. Is she ok this morning?"
"She's way better than last night," Dr. Johnson said, "We are just waiting to get some labs back to see how things are going."
"Ok," Carina nodded, "Are you off now?"
"I am," Dr. Johnson said, "Davis is taking over, but if you need me for anything, I'm just a phone call away."
"Grazie," Carina said, smiling at her colleague.
"Hopefully, I will not be seeing either of you too soon," Dr. Johnson said.
"I mean, we are scheduled together next week I think," Carina said, "But I know what you mean. I do not want to make it a family affair next time."
Dr. Johnson nodded, leaving the room as Carina walked back over to her wife and daughters.
"Good morning Bambina," Carina said, leaning down and giving her a kiss.
"Hi," Maya said, smiling at her, "I missed you."
"I missed you too," Carina said, brushing a stray piece of hair off Maya's forehead, "Are you still feeling ok?"
"I am," Maya nodded, "I have kept down my meds which feels like a win and more of that orange drink. Can you steal some of that for us to have at home?"
"I can," Carina nodded with a laugh, "I can also go buy some if that's what you need to keep fluids down."
"I mean, it's the only thing that has stayed down so far," Maya said, rubbing Nora's back as the little girl just laid next to her, her two fingers in her mouth as she played with Maya's shirt, "But maybe something else will."
"Whatever you need Bambina," Carina said, smiling as she looked at Rowan who was gently kissing Maya's stomach again.
"Do you work today?" Maya asked, realizing she was losing all sense of time.
"I just have regular visits this morning until one," Carina said, nodding.
"Mommy, we made a paper chain lasterday to count the number of days until my baby comes," Rowan said, looking up at Maya.
"You did?" Maya said, smiling at her, "Was it fun?"
"Si," Rowan nodded.
"Do you remember how many days left in the chain?" Carina asked, looking at the twins.
"249," Nora said, pulling her fingers out of her mouth for a minute before sticking them back in.
"Wow," Maya said, looking impressed that the little girl remembered that number, "Good job Piccola."
"And every day, we get to cut one off and when they are all gone, my baby will be here," Rowan said.
"Or it might take a yittle more days tetause sometimes, babies like to stay inside of mommies for more days," Nora said.
"Yeah," Rowan nodded in agreement, "Or sometimes, they tome a yittle bit early too."
"That's right," Carina said, happy the girls remembered what they had talked about.
"Wow, you guys had a whole lesson on when babies come, huh?" Maya said, chuckling.
"Si," Rowan said, "And when my baby tomes, they will be yittle and so cutie."
"Mommy, do you get to tome home today?" Nora asked, looking at her.
"I don't know yet Piccola," Maya said, pressing a kiss to her forehead, "I have to try to eat some food today, and if it makes me sick, I have to stay here."
"I want you to tome home," Nora said, tears in her eyes.
"I know," Maya said, her heart breaking, "I want to be home too. But if I have to stay another night, Mamma can bring you to see me again, ok?"
Nora nodded, rubbing her face on Maya's neck as she held her, the blonde feeling tears in her own eyes. Carina sat down on the bed, running one hand up and down Nora's back while giving Maya a gentle kiss on the cheek.
After a few more minutes, Carina stood up, realizing it was almost time for her to be at work.
"Bambine, it's time to go to daycare," she said.
"I want to stay wif Mommy," Nora said, shaking her head.
"Me too," Rowan chimed in, "And my baby."
"You won't have any fun here with me," Maya said, shaking her head, "I have to work on boring paperwork and take lots of naps. You two will have so much more fun at daycare with all your friends. And after daycare, you can come back, ok? I promise you both that I am ok."
"Fine," Rowan huffed, giving Maya a hug and a kiss, dropping another kiss on her stomach before getting off the bed.
"I'm ok Nora," Maya said, kissing her cheek, "I know it's hard to leave, and I miss you sooo much when you leave too, but you know what? Then, it makes my day feel so exciting because I know that at the end of it, I get to see you ok? And when you go to daycare, it's ok to feel sad and miss me and Mamma, but you also can be excited that you will see us tonight, ok?"
"Otay," Nora said, voice a little shaky as she picked her head up from Maya's shoulder, the look almost sending Maya herself into tears, "I love you Mommy."
"I love you too Elenora Mason," Maya said, giving her a tight hug, "Now, go with Mamma to daycare, ok?"
Nora nodded, reaching for Carina who was standing next to the bed.
"I'll come back and check on you if I have time between patients, ok Bambina?" Carina said, picking up Nora before leaning down and giving her wife a kiss.
"Ok," Maya nodded, "I love you."
"Ti amo tanto," Carina said, smiling at her before following Rowan's lead and kissing Maya's belly as well, "Ti voglio bene Trottolino."
Carina then gathered the twins and their stuff before heading down to daycare, leaving Maya alone again. However, now, she had her laptop so after using the bathroom, she pulled it out, getting to work on a few pieces of paperwork she hadn't finished because of how sick she had been. She also went through the chief's notes from the part of the meeting she had missed, going through everything carefully. As she did this, the nurse came in with a tray of food.
"Ok," she said, "I have some breakfast for you. Some toast, apple sauce, some cottage cheese, and some saltines. Do not feel like you have to eat all of it, and if you want something else, we can also do that."
"This should be good," Maya said, looking at the tray, "Thank you."
"Of course," the nurse nodded, "Are you still feeling ok?"
"I am," Maya nodded, picking up the toast, looking at it.
"Just go as slowly as you need to," the nurse said, seeing the apprehension in Maya's face, "There is no rush on anything."
"Ok," Maya nodded, "Thank you."
She took a bite of the toast, chewing it carefully before taking another small bite. She ate about half of the piece before she decided to stop and wait to see how it did in her stomach. She decided to keep working, taking small bites of the toast every once in a while.
Over the course of the next hour, she managed to eat the entire two pieces of toast as well as a little bit of cottage cheese and apple sauce. She was surprised at how ok she was feeling after eating. Just as she decided she had had enough, Carina walked into her room.
"I don't have any patients for the next half hour so I thought I would come check on you," the Italian said, walking into the room, "How are you feeling?"
"Ok," Maya said, "I ate two pieces of toast and a little bit of applesauce and cottage cheese and so far so good. I feel slightly more nauseous maybe, but not like I did yesterday."
"Oh Bambina, that is so good," Carina said, smiling, "I am so happy for you."
"I'm pretty happy about it too," Maya said, putting aside her laptop, "How has your morning been?"
"Mostly just routine annual check-ups," Carina said, sitting down on the edge of Maya's bed, "And a few pregnancy visits. Nothing too out of the ordinary. What have you been working on."
"The stuff I missed when I had to leave my meeting early the other day," Maya said, "And pretty much everything that happened while I was there because I was too nauseous to pay attention."
"Bambina, you cannot push yourself like that anymore," Carina sighed, tucking her hair behind her ear, "You have to rest and listen to your body or you are going to end up spending more time here than anyone wants."
"I know," Maya sighed, "I…slowing down is so hard for me, but I promise I will try. I truly didn't realize how serious all of this could be. I really just want Trottolino to be healthy."
"I know you do," Carina said, pulling Maya into a hug as tears filled the blonde's eyes, "I know."
"Do you want to find out if the baby is a boy or a girl?" Maya asked, looking at her wife abruptly as the tears tapered off.
"I hadn't thought much about it," Carina said, "I guess I figured we would, but also, we don't have to. What do you want to do?"
"I was thinking maybe we wait," Maya said, biting her lip, "I mean, we don't have to, but I just feel like, with the twins, we needed to come up with names that went together that we liked and that seemed like a lot of pressure, but with this one, we could come up with one girl and one boy name, right?"
"Oh, I think we could for sure," Carina nodded, "We can wait. I think it would be a fun surprise."
"Good," Maya said, "Then it's decided. We wait until they are born to find out. Oh, now I can cross that off my list."
"Your list?" Carina asked as Maya pulled out her phone.
"I was kinda anxious this morning," Maya said, "Or a lot anxious so I started making a list of everything that needs to be done before the baby comes."
"What is on your list?" Carina asked, moving so she was sitting next to her wife and able to see the phone screen, "Bambina, some of these things don't need to be done for a long time."
"I know," Maya shrugged, "But this list we can use until Trottolino comes and just slowly make progress on it. I just needed something to do and I didn't have my laptop so I just worked on this."
"Ok," Carina nodded, knowing how Maya got when she was anxious, "I understand. Thank you for making this list. It's not a bad idea to know what needs to get done."
"I think we do need to get on getting the girls into new beds sooner rather than later though," Maya said, "I don't think it's going to be easy to build a bed with a baby bump in the way so I want to get that done in the next two months."
"Ok," Carina said, knowing her wife was right, "We can look at beds once you are home, ok?"
"Sounds good," Maya nodded.
"I need to get back to work," Carina said, glancing at the clock, "I will be back around 1:30."
"Ok," Maya said, "I love you."
"I love you too," Carina said, kissing her wife on the lips as she rubbed her hand over her stomach, "I will be back later."
Once Carina left, Maya tried to finish her work, but she was just too tired and ended up putting her laptop aside, curling up and falling asleep quickly. The next time Maya woke up, it was when someone sat down in the chair next to her bed. She rolled over, seeing her wife sitting there.
"Are you already done with work?" Maya asked, rubbing her eyes.
"Si," Carina said, "How long were you asleep?"
"The whole time you were done," Maya said, stretching a little bit as she sat up, "I didn't even realize I was that tired."
"You needed the sleep," Carina said, "Your body is working hard to make another human."
"I guess that's true," Maya said. Just then, there was a knock at the door and in came Dr. Davis.
"Hello," she said, "I tried to get in here all morning, but I think I delivered more babies in the past five hours than I normally do in an entire shift."
"That's ok," Maya said, "I know how it is."
"How are you doing?" Dr. Davis asked.
"I kept breakfast down," Maya said.
"That's great," Dr. Davis said, "Sounds like you are on the right track. I got your labs back, and it looks like everything is back within normal range which is good. I want you to eat some lunch and see how that goes, and if it goes well, I will let you go home this afternoon."
"Really?" Maya, smiling.
"I don't see why not," Dr. Davis said, "And I know that if you need to be back here, Carina will make sure that happens."
"That's true," Carina said.
"Alright," Dr. Davis said, "I will try to be back here around 4 to check in again and hopefully discharge you."
"Thank you," Maya said, looking at Carina with a smile.
The next few hours passed quickly. Maya eating more toast, this time adding a little bit of jelly to it, along with more applesauce and a little yogurt, all of which seemed to settle ok in her stomach. She didn't feel great, but she kept everything down without issue so she took it as a win.
Maya took another nap while Carina worked on her charting, waking up just before Dr. Davis came back to deliver the good news.
"Alright Maya," Dr. Davis said, coming in, "How are you feeling?"
"I kept my lunch down," Maya said, looking at the doctor, "And more of my drink."
"That's what I like to hear," Dr. Davis said, smiling, "I am going to let you go home."
"Really?" Maya said, smiling.
"Yes," Dr. Davis said as Maya reached for Carina's hand, the Italian immediately holding it tightly, "Now, I know Carina knows all of this, but if you are unable to keep food down for 24 hours or fluids for more than 8 hours again, you have to come back. It's still a bit early for an official diagnosis, but I think all of us have come to the conclusion that this is likely something called hyperemesis gravidarum which is basically an extreme version of morning sickness that causes a lot of vomiting, nausea, dizziness, and weight loss and you have all those symptoms. Have you heard of it before?"
"Carina and I have talked about the fact that that is probably what is going on," Maya nodded.
"Ok," Dr. Davis said, "So you know a little of what this is. Often, we get it managed with medications and for most people, it will go away by 12 weeks, but it could last longer. It seems like we have you on medication that is working now though, which is good. Continue to follow up with Dr. Johnson or Dr. Howard as you go forward. We are sending you home with ondansetron both in a tablet form and an IM injection just in case you are struggling to keep the pills down, Carina can give you an injection. You take two pills every 12 hours, and hopefully, that will continue to work for the nausea."
"It is possible they will stop working?" Maya asked, biting her lip.
"It is," Dr. Davis nodded, "But we will deal with that when we get there, ok? Don't worry about it for now."
"Ok," Maya said, trying to listen to what the doctor said, but worried non-the-less.
"It's gonna be ok Bambina," Carina said, seeing the wheels in her wife's brain working overtime.
"For now, just get a lot of rest," Dr. Davis said, "I know you are a firefighter, but I don't want you running into burning buildings any time soon. Your body isn't as strong as it was even just a week ago because of how sick you were, and I don't want you passing out."
"I don't run into burning buildings often anymore," Maya said, "I most just command scenes. Can I still do that?"
"I will say yes," Dr. Davis said, "But you need to listen to your body to know for sure. Basically, if you start feeling bad, slow down more. I know that can be hard, but it won't last forever."
"Ok," Maya nodded, "I will try."
"And I will make sure she listens," Carina said, looking at her wife, "And I'm sure I can get the rest of the station to help me with that."
Maya wanted to roll her eyes, but she knew her wife was right.
"Good," Dr. Davis said, "Well, I will send a nurse in to finish discharging you. I hope I don't see you back here until it's time for that little one to be born."
"Me too," Maya nodded, "Thank you."
Dr. Davis smiled before she left, Maya looking at her wife.
"I get to go home," Maya said, tears spilling down her cheeks as a smile filled her face, "I can't believe I really get to go home."
"And just in time to get the bambine too," Carina said, looking at the clock, "They will be so excited."
Maya took a deep breath, feeling a wave of anxiety wash over her that pushed tears into her eyes yet again and the next thing she knew, she was sobbing.
"Oh Bambina," Carina said, stopping packing up their bags and going to her wife, "What's wrong?"
"What if I can't do it?" Maya choked out, "What if I can't hold food or my pills or fluids down at home? What if I end up back here or if I keep getting sicker or…"
"Shhhh," Carina said, trying to calm her wife down, "It's ok. If those things happen, we will deal with them. You are doing ok right now and we are going to have to take it one day at a time. Hopefully, these medicines will keep working and you will be ok, but if now, we will deal with it too."
Maya nodded, just clinging to Carina as the sobs continued for a little while before finally calming.
"I hate being so emotional," Maya said, wiping her eyes.
"It is all part of growing a bambino," Carina said, "That is something almost all my patients complain about."
Maya sighed as she handed Carina her laptop to pack away. Just then, the nurse came in.
"Alright," the nurse said, "Let's get the IV and get you ready to go home."
"Yes please," Maya said as the nurse removed the IV from Maya's arm.
"Alright," the nurse said, "I will go get a wheelchair and get you ready to go."
"I don't need a wheelchair," Maya said, shaking her head.
"Yes you do," Carina said, knowing exactly how to get her wife to listen to her, "If you sit in the wheelchair now, it is more energy you will have to play with the bambine at home which I know you want."
"Fine," Maya sighed, knowing her wife was right.
"I'll be right back," the nurse said with a smile.
"Can I put on different clothes?" Maya asked, realizing she was in the same thing she had been wearing the day before.
"Sure," Carina nodded, pulling out a clean pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt.
"Can I have my sweatshirt too please?" Maya asked.
"Of course," Carina nodded, pulling that out too along with some clean underwear.
Carina helped her wife get dressed before forcing her to sit down again to wait for the nurse to come back.
"Carina, I am going to have to go back to work soon," Maya said, "I am going to have to walk around there."
"I know," Carina said, "But you have barely been holding down fluids for 24 hours and food for even less and your body needs rest."
Maya grumbled a little bit but she knew her wife was right.
"Ok," Carina said, "Everything is packed. I am going to go put everything down to the car and then come back and get you."
"What about the twins?" Maya asked.
"I will take you to the car and then go get them," Carina said, "While you rest in the car."
"Fine," Maya agreed, "That sounds reasonable."
Soon enough, Maya was in the car, Carina making sure she was comfortable before running in to get the twins.
"Mamma," Rowan said, smiling as she saw her mom, Nora following right behind her, "Can we go see Mommy and my baby?"
"Yes," Carina said, thanking the daycare worker as she took the twins' bags, "Come on."
She walked hand-in-hand with her daughters, heading toward the exit.
"No Mamma," Nora said, pulling her away from the door, "We need to go see Mommy."
"We are going to see Mommy," Carina said, "Mommy is waiting for us in the car because the doctor said she can come home today."
"Mommy is toming home?" Nora said, a huge smile breaking out across her face, reminding Carina so much of her wife.
"She is," Carina nodded, "She is in the car waiting for us."
"Yet's go," Rowan said, trying to start running toward the car, Carina holding tightly to her little hand.
"No running, ok?" Carina said as the blonde toddler stopped, "This is a parking lot with a lot of cars and people and I don't want you to get hurt so you need to not run and hold my hands."
Both girls slowed down, walking, or rather skipping, next to Carina as they made their way to the car. They got here, Maya opening the door and getting out, crouching down as Carina let go of the twins' hands about five feet away, letting the toddlers run to their mommy.
"I thought I told you to stay in the car," Carina said with a smile, quickly closing the gap and joining her family. "I thought you told me to save my energy for the twins," Maya countered back as she hugged both little girls tightly.
Carina just shook her head, putting the bags in the car before going back to her wife and daughters who were chatting away.
"Ok," Carina said, "You can tell Mommy all of this at home. She needs to get home so she can rest."
"Otay," both girls said, going to get in the car.
Maya and Carina helped them with their buckles before getting in the car themselves, heading home, fingers laced together on the center consul, smiling as they listened to the twins chatting away in the back and just hoping this would be the last trip to the hospital for a while.
The next three weeks were relatively stable for the Bishop-Delucas. They learned quickly which foods Maya could and couldn't handle, Carina exclusively taking over the cooking because the smell of cooking meat would send Maya running for the nearest bathroom as well as the smell of broccoli, eggs, coffee, and garlic which was particularly hard for Carina because she rarely made a dish without garlic. The smells of the kitchen in general would often kick up her nausea and she found herself retreating to her bedroom during mealtime most days to avoid feeling sick even with her medications.
They did fine some food the baby seemed to like which included toast, one brand of crackers, white rice, pasta with a little butter and salt, cottage cheese, yogurt, extra salty nuts, and most fruits except bananas and peaches which made her almost as sick as eggs.
Carina always made sure she had the foods she needed in the house and in her bag at work and once her team found out about what foods she was able to eat, she would find random snacks left on her desk whenever she got back from the bathroom which was often as she had to pee all the time still.
They also learned, after a little trial and error, that the orange drink she had in the hospital was the only liquid besides one brand of raspberry lemonade that she could tolerate, Carina all but ready to bring her back to the ER one night when Maya had thrown up everything she had tried to keep down when she remembered one of her patients who had had HG similar to Maya's had said lemonade always helped. Carina had found a bottle in their fridge that Vic had brought over one day when she brought them dinner, convincing Maya to try it and to both of their relief, it stayed down and they avoided another trip to Grey Sloan.
Maya still wasn't feeling great though, and even with eating the right foods and taking her medications religiously, she was still throwing up at least once a day or she was so nauseous she would have to curl up in bed and sleep it off, some days even sleeping for a few hours in her bunk because she couldn't drive herself home due to how terrible she felt.
She had gone back to work two days after getting out of the hospital, the chief coming to check on her and make sure she was ok the day she got back. It was then that she told him about the baby, slightly fearful that he would be angry, but he thankfully, was anything but, offering her congratulations and telling her that whatever she needed, the department would be there for her. She told him she wanted to try to continue to work for the foreseeable future but also told him how sick she had been and that she might have to change those plans. He told her that they would make it work, whatever she needed.
She had started crying when he said this which had startled him a little bit as she assured him she was fine, that this happened a lot. He offered her a tissue and she managed to get control of her emotions, thanking him for his understanding and kindness.
Once he had left, Maya had called Carina and burst into tears again, both because she was embarrassed from crying in front of her boss and because she was so grateful he had been so understanding and kind to her. Carina had almost come down to the station to calm her down, but Maya did finally, somehow, manage to stop the tears on her own, thanking her wife for being there for her.
Maya also learned pretty quickly that, unlike her wife, smoke, thankfully, did not make her feel sick, further cementing her decision to continue working as long as she could.
When Maya was 8 weeks along, they had what they decided would be their last appointment at the fertility clinic. They had debated back and forth about whether or not they should go because Dr. Johnson could have just taken over their care like she said, but they ultimately decided to go both so they could make sure Maya was cleared to stop her progesterone injections which Dr. Johnson theoretically could have done but they felt more comfortable with Dr. Howard making that call as she had seen them through the entire process. The night before the appointment, Maya hadn't been feeling well and had ended up curled up in bed after throwing up what she tried to keep down for dinner, absolutely exhausted. Carina had brought the twins in to say goodnight, both toddlers giving Maya big hugs before talking to the baby for a minute.
"I'll be back after I get them down," Carina said, stroking Maya's cheek as the twins ran into their room to pick out a book, "Do you need anything right now?"
"No, I'm ok," Maya said, "Thank you."
Carina pressed a quick kiss to Maya's forehead before going to get the twins into bed. When she came back, she found Maya in pretty much the same position.
"How are you feeling Bambina?" Carina asked, rubbing her back gently.
"A little better than earlier," Maya said, rubbing her eyes, "I need to take my meds."
"I know," Carina said, "I'll go grab it for you. Do you want pills or injection?"
"Pills," Maya said, "It's not that bad tonight."
There had been a few nights where Carina had had to give Maya her medications via an injection because she just couldn't stomach them, but she was happy tonight would not be one of those nights.
"What would you like to drink with them?" Carina asked, smoothing Maya's hair.
"Lemonade," Maya said, "Please."
"I will be right back with that and hopefully, your last progesterone shot," Carina said, heading out of the room.
They had never gotten around to getting Maya off the shots and onto suppositories, life too busy and Maya not hating the shots enough to find the energy to care. Carina went downstairs, coming back up a few minutes later with Maya's medications and her requested drink.
"Thank you," Maya said, taking the lemonade and pills first, swallowing them down, hoping they would help with the churning in her stomach.
"Ok," Carina said, pulling up Maya's shirt, pressing her usual kiss to Maya's stomach which was looking more flat now than before she was pregnant due to how sick she had been.
"This is the last one," Maya said as Carina rubbed the alcohol swab on her stomach.
"It is," Carina nodded, "How do you feel about it?"
"Strange," Maya said as they waited for the alcohol to evaporate, "I am happy these bruises will finally start to fade, but it also makes me nervous. These injections kinda feel like something I was doing every day to keep the baby growing and healthy and now, I won't be doing anything."
"Yes you will," Carina said, picking up the needle, "Every time you eat or drink or let yourself nap or take your medicine to keep your food down, you are doing something to help the baby. Even just you breathing helps the baby get exactly what they need to grow and develop."
Maya bit her lip, feeling tears welling up in her eyes.
"Ready?" Carina asked, picking up the needle, forcing herself to keep going with the injection even though all she wanted to do was comfort her wife
. However, with how emotional Maya was, she knew the tears were likely going to last a while and she just wanted to make sure this injection got done. Maya nodded, Carina quickly giving the medication, kissing Maya's stomach once it was out, making sure the safety was on the needle before setting it down on the nightstand and pulling Maya into her arms, rubbing her back.
"I love you so much," Carina said, kissing her cheek, "You are exactly what Trottolino needs."
"I don't feel like I am," Maya said, letting out a little sob, "I feel sick all the time and I know I'm not eating as much as I probably should and I'm scared something will happen to the baby."
"I know," Carina said, "I know it is so scary and I would be lying if I told you I wasn't scared too, but us being scared won't change anything. We have to just try to trust that Trottolino is growing and getting bigger and will be ok."
Maya nodded against Carina's shoulder, knowing her wife was right.
"Ok," Carina said after a few minutes, "I am going to go get rid of this needle, hopefully the last needle we will be needing for progesterone at least."
"Do you think it will be our last one ever?" Maya asked, confusing her wife.
"I mean, we have to see what Dr. Howard says tomorrow," Carina said, as she picked up the needle and got ready to head out of the room, "But I imagine it will be. But between the crying and the being sick, your hormones are clearly high."
"No," Maya said, shaking her head, "I mean, do you ever think we will do this again? Try to get pregnant?"
"Oh," Carina said, stopping in her tracks, "Um, I haven't thought much about that…I have just been so focused on this pregnancy and getting you healthy. Why? Did you want to have another one?"
Maya bit her lip, taking a shaky breath as Carina set the syringe on their dresser, going over to her wife.
"I don't think I can do this again," Maya said, lip wobbling, "I…I'm sorry."
"Hey, Bambina, no," Carina said, pulling her close, "You do not need to apologize for that. Not even a little bit. I know this had been so hard for you, and I understand why you wouldn't want to go through all of this again. We always talked about having one more after the twins and my thoughts on that haven't changed. I haven't thought about having another baby after this one because I don't think I want another one after this one. And if you do, or if we decide we do in the future, we can use all that research you have on adoption or surrogates for that, ok?"
"I don't think I want another one either," Maya said, wiping at her tears, "But I just realized we never really talked about it and I didn't want to disappoint you if you wanted more because as much as I love this baby and I am so grateful for them, I cannot do this again."
"I honestly don't think I could let you do this again," Carina said, rubbing Maya's back, "It's hard to see my wife so sick."
"Now you know how I felt when you were sick," Maya said, still clinging to her wife."
"Si," Carina nodded, "And it just breaks my heart for you more."
"I made it through," Maya said, sniffling as she pulled out of the hug a little, "And we will make it through this too, but I don't want to make it through this more than one."
"We will," Carina said, "And I think Trottolino is going to be the perfect person to complete our family."
"So do I," Maya said, nodding, hand going to her stomach, "I already feel like they are completing our family."
"Si," Carina nodded, leaning down and pressing another kiss to Maya's bruised stomach, "They are. Ok. I am going to go dispose of the needle, mix up another cup of orange drink for you for overnight, and I will be right back, ok? Do you need anything else? Would you like some toast or something?"
"No," Maya said, "I don't want to push it tonight."
"Ok," Carina said with a sigh, going downstairs, getting Maya's drink and a sleeve of crackers because Maya would often eat a few before she got up in the morning to calm the worst of the morning nausea.
Carina checked that the house was locked before grabbing the items and heading upstairs. She walked into the room, finding Maya looking anxious, her breathing faster than normal.
"What's wrong Bambina?" Carina asked, quickly going to her wife's side.
"What if Trottolino doesn't complete our family?" Maya asked, looking at her wife, breathing getting even faster, "What…what if like you said, I get to sick and something happens and we have to terminate? What happens when? Do you think I am going well enough for Trottolino to keep growing? And if not…what are we going to tell the girls? And what are we going to do? I…"
"Hey, Bambina, eyes right here," Carina said, knowing her wife was spinning into a panic attack very quickly, "There we go. That's it. Breathe with me, ok? In, now out. Good. Again."
Carina went through breathing exercises with her wife until Maya's body calmed down, her breathing returning to a more normal rate.
"Good Bambina," Carina said, brushing her thumb over Maya's cheek, "Are you feeling better?"
Maya nodded, reaching for her lemonade, needing a drink as she tried to stop herself from crying for what felt like the millionth time today.
"But I still need to know," Maya said, voice and hands shaky as she set her drink back down, "Am I doing ok enough for Trottolino to be ok? I mean, I keep getting sick and I know it's not like it was, but still."
"Bambina, if I thought you weren't ok, I would drag you to the hospital and get both of you taken care of, ok?" Carina said, stroking Maya's hair, "I don't think you have a sick stomach every day is ideal, but you are keeping down food at least some of the time and you are drinking enough, ok? Tomorrow, we can ask Dr. Howard to take some blood and make sure, but if you called me as my patient and told me how you have been doing, I would say you were ok. Maybe I would want to experiment with another antiemetic, and we can talk to Dr. Howard about that tomorrow too, but you are ok and Trottolino is ok."
"Are we going to hear their heartbeat again tomorrow?" Maya asked, wanting some reassurance that the baby was actually ok.
"Si," Carina nodded, "And I can bring home a doppler sometimes for us to listen at home too if you want or need me to, ok? You just so happen to be married to an OB who has access to these tools."
Maya nodded, knowing they had done that a few times when Carina was pregnant with the twins.
"Ok," Carina said, "Now, you are looking very sleepy. Would you like to go get ready for bed?"
"Yeah," Maya said with a yawn, having been exhausted prior to her multiple panicked episodes.
"Come on," Carina said, helping her wife to the bathroom.
Once they were both ready for bed, Carina grabbed her laptop, nowhere near ready to sleep for the night but knowing Maya would sleep better if she was at least in bed. Carina sat with her legs under the covers, laptop balanced on her legs as Maya cuddled close to her.
"I love you Bambina," Carina said, leaning down and pressing a kiss to her wife's lips, "And I love you too Trottolino."
"We both love you too," Maya said sleepily, laying her head in her wife's lap as Carina adjusted her set up to make sure Maya was comfortable.
Carina worked for several hours, going through her charts as Maya slept next to her.
This pregnancy had been so much more than either of them had bargained for and it was hard for Carina to see her wife as sick as she had been and also how emotional she was. Maya had cried more in the past month than she had in the rest of their 6-year relationship combined, and while Carina knew how pregnancy hormones could mess with someone, it didn't make it any easier. Carina just hoped that in the next few weeks, Maya's body would settle into these hormones and give her a break from how brutal all of this had been so her wife could start feeling more like herself again.
Part of Carina still felt guilty that she hadn't been able to be the one who was pregnant again this time. She knew Maya had said she wanted to, and she fully believed her wife, but she also knew this was taking a serious toll on the battalion chief. It was taking a toll on the entire family because while the girls understood that Mommy was going to have a baby, it was hard for the toddlers to see another one of their parents sick and out of commission like this.
Carina was incredibly grateful that, just like when she had been sick, that their friends and family had wrapped their arms around them and were helping them through. Meals were delivered three days a week right now on a rotating schedule and there were offers to take the twins whenever they needed. She almost felt overwhelmed at times with the outpouring of love and support they got all the time, but she appreciated it more than she could express.
The Italian tucked away her laptop around midnight, carefully shifting her sleeping wife so she could hold her as she herself drifted off to sleep, hoping their appointment the next day went well.
Maya was a bit more restless than normal that night, getting up a few times to go to the bathroom before waking up around 3 am from a nightmare which was a rare occurrence these days.
Her sudden jolt upright had upset her stomach and woken her wife in one swift motion, Carina rubbing her eyes as she tried to figure out why she was awake. As soon as she saw Maya sitting up in bed, hand clamped over her mouth, she moved quickly to grab a bowl that had taken up residence on her wife's nightstand just in case.
"I think I'm ok," Maya said, though she held the bowl with one hand all the same as Carina gathered her hair up into a low ponytail, rubbing her back.
"Did you wake up feeling sick?" Carina asked gently.
"No," Maya said, "I mean, yes, but I woke up because I had a nightmare. I had a dream that you and the twins and a baby, Trottolino I guess, were stuck in a burning car and I kept trying to get to you, but my boots were, I don't know, melted I guess, into the pavement and you were all screaming and…"
Tears were running down Maya's cheeks, glistening in the moonlight that was coming in through a crack in the curtains.
"We are all ok," Carina said, wrapping an arm around her wife, careful to make sure she had access to the bowl in front of her should it become necessary, "Rowan and Nora are sound asleep in their beds and I am right here and Trottolino is right here, working on growing and getting strong."
Carina laid her hand over Maya's stomach, the blonde doing the same as she leaned her head on Carina's shoulder. They sat there like that for a few minutes before Carina heard a small snore coming out of her wife's mouth, the Italian realizing she was sleeping. Carina carefully moved the bowl back to the nightstand, grateful it wasn't needed tonight, before carefully laying Maya down again, holding her close as if to try to keep the bad dreams away as she tried to fall back to sleep herself. She eventually did manage to fall asleep, not waking up until she felt someone climbing into bed.
"Hi Mamma," Rowan said as Carina opened her eyes.
"Hi Patatina," Carina said, carefully sitting up and pulling the toddler into her arms for her favorite morning cuddles, "Did you sleep good?"
"Si," Rowan said, laying her head on Carina's shoulder for a minute, "Is Mommy still feeling sick?"
"Si," Carina said, "But hopefully she will be ok today."
"Do you have to do to work today?" Rowan asked.
"I don't," Carina said, "But Mommy and I have to go see the doctor so you and Nora are going to go to daycare."
"I don't want Mommy to go to the toctor," Rowan said, shaking her head.
"She's not going to stay there," Carina said, shaking her head, "We just have to go see the baby and make sure Mommy and Trottolino are doing well."
"But Mommy will tome home afta?" Rowan asked.
Just then, Maya started to stir in bed next to them. It was still so strange to Carina to wake up in bed next to her sleeping wife, the blonde pretty much having to stop working out all together because she was too tired or feeling too sick. She tried to go for walks in the evenings if she was feeling well enough, but it didn't happen as often as she wanted.
"Mommy," Rowan said as Maya woke up.
"Hi Patatina," Maya said, rubbing her eyes as she tried to figure out how she was feeling this morning, reaching for her crackers as she felt some icky nausea swelling in her stomach, hoping she could get these down to help along.
"Do you wany some space to wake up?" Carina asked, knowing that Maya struggled to talk to other people and engage for the first hour she was up when she was feeling great, let alone when she felt sick.
Maya nodded, taking a bite of a cracker.
"Ok," Carina said, pressing a kiss to Maya's forehead, "Come on Ro. Let's go."
"I love you Mommy," Rowan said, giving her a kiss, "I love you too my baby Totoino."
"I'll be up with your meds and some fresh lemonade in a little while," Carina said.
"Thanks," Maya said, still fighting some of the nausea.
Carina went and woke Nora up, taking both girls downstairs to make them some breakfast. She went back up to see Maya once the twins had their breakfast, finding her wife sitting up and looking ok.
"Hi Bambina," Carina said, "How are you feeling?"
"A little better," Maya said, "My stomach is unsettled but not bad."
"I have meds," Carina said, handing Maya her pills, the blonde taking them and chasing them with the lemonade, "Do you want some breakfast?"
"Maybe some cottage cheese and some strawberries?" Maya said, "That sounds weirdly good."
"You've got it," Carina said, "I'll be back up with it in a few minutes. And I will get the girls to daycare and then come back and get you for our appointment, ok?"
Maya nodded, taking another sip of her lemonade. Once Carina got her wife her breakfast, she sat down and ate her own breakfast with the twins before getting them moving for the day.
"Tan we go see Mommy and my baby before we leabe?" Rowan asked as Carina helped Nora brush her teeth.
"Si," Carina nodded, "But let's finish getting you both ready first, ok?"
Rowan nodded as Nora spit out her toothpaste.
"I hope Mommy feels better soon," Nora sighed.
"Me too, Piccola," Carina said, nodding, "And she will. It might be a while, but once Trottolino is born, Mommy will for sure be feeling better."
"But dat's a yot of days," Nora said, "We have yots of papers yeft on the paper chain."
"I know," Carina said as she brushed Rowan's teeth, "But hopefully she will feel better before then. Right now, we just have to keep helping her."
Nora nodded, walking into her room. Carina finished helping Rowan before going to help both girls get dressed, Nora wearing a dark purple and white gingham dress and some black leggings while Rowan found a cream-colored sweatshirt that had a sun on one sleeve and a rainbow going from the bottom of the shirt up and down the other sleeve and some navy-blue leggings.
"Perfect," Carina smiled, both girls successfully dressing themselves without help or tears which was slowly becoming the norm in their house finally.
After both girls got their socks on, they headed to check on Maya, finding the bed empty.
"Hang on," Carina said to the twins, going into the bathroom, hoping she wasn't about to find her wife sick again.
Much to her relief, she found Maya braiding her hair, looking like she had already washed her face.
"Hey," Maya said, tying off the braid, "Are you leaving?"
"Si," Carina said, "Or we are soon. The twins wanted to say goodbye, but I wanted to make sure you weren't feeling sick right now."
"No," Maya said, "I feel about as good as I can right now."
"Mommy," Nora said, coming into the bathroom.
"Hi Piccola," Maya said, picking her up, "Oh, look how nice this dress is. Did you pick it out?"
"Si," Nora said, "It's puple. Dat's my favorite."
"I see," Maya said, "Are you ready for daycare?"
"I want to pway wif you," Nora said, laying her head on Maya's shoulder as she hugged her.
"I have to go check on the baby today," Maya said, hugging her back, "But maybe later we can play if I am feeling ok, alright?"
"Tan the hormones stop making you sick?" Nora sighed.
"Hopefully," Maya said, "I would like that very much."
"I love you Mommy," Nora said, giving her a kiss on the cheek.
"I love you too," Maya said, kissing her back before setting her down as Rowan came running over to Maya for her own hug.
"Yook Mommy," Rowan said, "I have a wainbow."
"I see that," Maya said, nodding, "I love it."
"Mamma said you have to go to the toctor to see my baby," Rowan said, "But I said no. I want you and my baby at home."
"We are just going to go for a little bit," Maya said, "Just like when we took you and Nora to the doctor to see how much you grew and to make sure your body was healthy. We are going to do that for Trottolino and then Mamma and I will come home."
"Tan I tome home too?" Rowan asked, sticking out her younger lip a little bit.
"We'll see," Maya said, "I might need to take a nap after I go to the doctor and that isn't very fun."
"Otay," Rowan said, "I love you Mommy."
"I love you too Rowan," Maya said, kissing her little cheek, "Now, go with Mamma to go to daycare."
"No," Rowan said, "I love to say bye to my baby."
"Oh, of course," Maya said, setting Rowan down and crouching down so the toddler could reach her stomach, "Here you go."
"Bye Totoino," Rowan said, kissing Maya's belly, "Have a dood day with Mommy and Mamma. I love you."
This was at least a once-a-day occurrence at this point and yet, every time it happened, it took everything in Maya not to start sobbing. This time, she managed not to let the tears go further than the corner of her eyes, blinking them away as Rowan pulled her shirt back down.
"Ok Bambine," Carina said, looking at the twins, "Are you ready to go get your shoes on?"
"Tan I wear my puple boops?" Nora asked, "Tause dey match my dwess."
"Sure," Carina laughed, knowing it wasn't raining, but Nora loved her rainboots in any weather. The twins both headed downstairs as Carina walked over to her wife.
"I will be back in half an hour," Carina said, "And then it's time for our appointment."
"I'll be ready," Maya said, "I almost am now."
"Good," Carina said, "Keep drinking, ok?"
"Car, you tell me this every day," Maya said, shaking her head, "I promise I will."
"I just feel like you always need reminders," Carina shrugged, pulling Maya close, "I love you."
"I love you too," Carina said, pressing a kiss to Maya's lips, "I will be back soon."
Maya nodded, giving her wife one more greedy kiss before the Italian pulled away and headed downstairs.
Within the next hour, Maya and Carina were sitting in an exam room at the fertility clinic for what would be the last time.
"It's so weird to think that we will never be here again," Maya said, looking around the space.
"I know," Carina said, "Our children all exist because of this place."
That was all it took for tears to start rolling down Maya's cheeks again, Carina sighing as she pulled her into a hug. Just then, Dr. Howard walked in.
"Oh," she said, "Is everything ok?"
"Just grateful for you and everything you and this office have given us," Maya said, wiping at her eyes, "Also, this whole tears thing, yeah, that's now completely normal for me."
"Hormonal?" Dr. Howard asked, washing her hands.
"An excessive amount, yeah," Maya said, taking a tissue the doctor handed her, "Everything about this pregnancy seems to be an excessive amount."
"How is the nausea?" Dr. Howard asked, having been in communication with Dr. Johnson about Maya's condition, "I see you are still losing some weight."
"I'm keeping probably 75% of my meals down," Maya said, "I'm not eating a ton because I am genuinely nauseous any time I am not asleep."
"Ok," Dr. Howard said, making some notes, "I think we can upping your dosage of your ondansetron. I want to draw some labs on you today just to make sure your electrolytes are still ok, but as long as you are getting fluids down and some food, I think you should be ok. Are you have any other symptoms?"
"I'm really tired," Maya said, "Way more than I expected to be. But I am resting when I am too tired and it helps some."
"Good," Dr. Howard said, "Hopefully if we can get a better handle on this nausea, it will help some with that. I'm guessing you aren't working out anymore?"
"No, not really," Maya said, "I try to go for a walk when I am up for it but running has been impossible. My body just can't handle it."
"I'm glad you aren't pushing it," Dr. Howard said, making a few more notes, "Now, can I get you up on the table? I know you had an ultrasound two weeks ago so we are going to skip it today, but we are going to have a quick listen to the baby's heartbeat. Could you hear it last time?"
"Si," Carina nodded as she helped Maya up, "It was nice and strong."
"Good," Dr. Howard said, "It should be even stronger today."
Maya lifted her shift, pulling her pants down a little bit as Dr. Howard placed the transducer on her stomach, moving it around for a second before the beautiful whooshing sound filled the room.
"There is baby," Dr. Howard said, "A solid 155, exactly what we like to hear."
"So they are still ok?" Maya asked, holding Carina's hand.
"They are," Dr. Howard said, "They have a nice, even heartbeat."
Maya smiled as she blinked quickly to stop the ever-present tears.
"Everything looks good," Dr. Howard said as she removed the transducer and started a brief physical exam, "And your uterus is just barely palpable which is what would expect. Are you having to use the bathroom more often still?"
"It's like every hour when I am awake," Maya said, nodding as Carina helped her sit up, "Though that's also a good way for me to gauge if I am hydrated enough because when I had to go to the hospital, I think I went 12 hours without using the bathroom."
"Yikes," Dr. Howard said, "But that hasn't happened since?"
"No," Maya said, shaking her head.
"Good," Dr. Howard said, "Well, I am going to discharge you from my care because you have already started getting established with your normal OB and with the hyperemesis, I think that is the best plan for you. You are also officially free from your progesterone shots."
"Yay," Maya said, smiling, "I am ready for that."
"I'm sure," Dr. Howard said, "I will send a nurse in to get those labs, but congratulations to both of you, and if you ever need anything, feel free to call. I am always here for both of you."
"Thank you," Maya and Carina both said as they gave Dr. Howard a hug.
"And we promise to bring the baby back so you can meet them after they are born," Carina said, smiling.
"I look forward to it," Dr. Howard said, nodding, "Good luck to both of you. I hope you start feeling better soon. I'll let Dr. Johnson know I upped your medications a little and I'll send the new prescription to the pharmacy."
"Thank you," Maya said as Dr. Howard left the room. It didn't take long for a nurse to come in, drawing Maya's blood before sending them on their way.
"It's so strange we are never going to be back there for an appointment," Maya said as she climbed into the car, "It feels…It feels like one of the first lasts."
"Si," Carina nodded, knowing what her wife was talking about, "It does. And part of it is sad, but I am also excited to be going forward on this journey with you and to see all the new firsts we get to have."
"Me too," Maya said, reaching for her wife's hand, "I wouldn't want to do it with anyone else."
A week later, Maya was at work. She had been feeling pretty sick the last two days, but today, somehow, she felt relatively ok and was able to make it to the station. The entire team was out on a call, save Vic who was working the desk for the week due to some stitches in her shoulder from a call a few days ago.
After about an hour of working, Maya realized she had to use the bathroom, getting up and heading into the bathroom.
However, as she pulled down her underwear, her entire body went numb when she saw blood in her underwear.
Please don't hate me for the cliffhanger. I just ask that you trust me with this story and know that in the end, it will be happy. Other than me being very mean at the end, what did you think of the rest of the chapter? I am going to try to get the next chapter up in the next week, but I am also writing for the Marina Baby Zine that feelingsdrawer on twitter is putting together and I have to get those stories done also so it might be a little longer. Thank you all so much for reading, commenting, and leaving kudos.
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