Chapter 43

Sun filtered into the room, rousing Clarke slowly. A smile stole over her face at the feeling of Lexa wrapped around her. She'd never get tired of this feeling. Carefully so as not to disturb the other woman, she rolled over. Lexa always looked so peaceful in sleep. She tucked a stray dark hair back and placed a kiss gently on the nose, causing Lexa to snuggle closer.

Looking past Lexa's shoulder's, she noticed it was later than she thought it would be. Last night must have worn her out more than she realized. Avery would probably be up soon. She had a feeling her, their daughter would come knocking on their door first. Their daughter, that brought a smile to her face. How the hell did she get so lucky as to find someone like Lexa.

During her pregnancy she would sometimes sit in her room, with her hands on her belly, and wonder what kind of life child would have. If she would ever find someone who would step up and be another parent to her child. Then the one time she thought she might have found that person, it turned disastrous. So, she stopped trying all together. Then Lexa entered her world and changed everything.

So many thoughts were swirling in her mind in that moment. She was almost startled where her thoughts had gone, but honestly the idea she'd just had made so much sense. She need to talk it over with Lexa, see what she thought.

She moved just a bit so she could place a kiss on the other girls lips, and then another. Next her cheeks, her nose again, and her forehead. "Good morning," she whispered so as to lightly rouse the other woman.

"Mmm, mornin," Lexa mumbled without even bothering to open her eyes. Even with them closed she knew the room would be too bright and she just wanted to sleep a little longer. Or maybe a lot longer.

Clarke didn't have a chance to encourage her awake any further because there was a soft knock on the door. She smirked to herself, she had called that one. She looked back over her shoulder and gave a gentle "come in."

Avery cracked the door open at peeked in first. Seeing her mom was wide awake she threw the door the rest of the way and strode over to the bed. Clarke had maneuvered herself onto her back with Lexa now laying on her shoulder. She could tell that the other girl was awake, but still refusing to open her eyes.

Avery sat down next to her mom and smiled at her mama. "Morning moms!" she greeted cheerfully.

"Morning, baby," Clarke smiled. She pulled Avery to lay down next to her and gave her a kiss on the forehead. "Sleep good?"

Avery nodded her head. "What are we having for breakfast?"

"Haven't thought that far yet. Lex, you want anything in particular?"

"Waffles? Maybe omelet?" she whispered, still without opening her eyes.

"That sounds good to me actually." Clarke was pretty sure they had the ingredients for that too. She didn't make omelets often, but Lexa loved them, so she'd gotten in the habit of buying everything she needed for them when she went shopping. She was glad now for that since she had no idea she'd be seeing her girlfriend, fiancé, so soon.

"Sound good, little one?" She felt Avery nod her head against her shoulder. "Why don't you go take a shower. We still need to do some back to school shopping for you." They hadn't really had the time and with back-to-school night on Monday and school starting on Wednesday they were getting a little pressed for time. Which was why she'd taken this weekend off originally, to get Avery ready for school.

"Are you coming with us, Mama?" Avery asked quietly. Almost like she was afraid of what the answer would be.

Lexa finally opened her eyes and gave Avery a soft smile. "Of course." She was almost excited to be invited. It would be her first official parental duty. Get everything her daughter would need for the new school year.

"Now scoot! Shower and then meet us downstairs," Clarke instructed. The younger girl climbed off the bed and threw a 'love ya' over her shoulder as she headed out of the room to do as she was told.

Once the door was closed behind her, Clarke pulled Lexa tightly to her. "You know why she really came in here, don't you?"

Lexa thought about it for a minute. "To make sure I was really here?" she guessed.

Clarke hummed her agreement. She had a feeling. She knew her daughter well enough to know that would likely be a fear she was struggling with. That Lexa would up and disappear on her.

"We need to look into my adopting her as soon as possible," Lexa realized. "Maybe then she won't be so afraid."

Clarke gave it some thought. "You might be right. That would probably give her a little more stability. If I have any down time tomorrow, I'll look start looking into it. See what we need to do to make it happen. And before you say anything, I know you are capable, but you will be busy with a new job, I will likely have some free time."

"Okay," Lexa softly agreed. She knew Clarke was right. She'd have more time to do that. It would probably be a few days before she, herself could start looking into it.

"So, I was thinking," Clarke started. She felt Lexa tilt her head up to give her more of her attention. "About that quick engagement talk we had."

That got Lexa to sit up and really look at her, wondering what she was getting at. Clarke followed and sat so she was facing Lexa. "We don't really need a big wedding. Only people I really want there live in this house. Plus, obviously Trish and her family."

"What are you saying exactly?" Lexa wasn't really sure. "I mean I'm fine with a small wedding as well. Any friends I had are in D.C. so that group works for me too."

"I was thinking, maybe we just find a weekend or something we both have off and do something here at the house."

"I'm all for that idea. What about a honeymoon though? Isn't that the best part?"

Clarke grinned as she thought of what would happen on a honeymoon. And while that would be nice, she didn't need it. Being separated for so long showed her just how import just spending time together could be no matter how it happened. "We could still maybe check into a hotel for the weekend or something. Have a small get away. Take a real trip after we're more settled with jobs and everything."

"Maybe when school is out so we can take Avery somewhere."

"You want to take our daughter on our honeymoon?" Clarke asked with a smile. She wasn't mad at the idea, but she was more surprised.

"Well, maybe more like a family vacation, but yeah. We couldn't just leave her behind for like a week or more, right?"

Clarke didn't bother to answer. Instead, she gave Lexa a passionate kiss. "Every time I don't think I could love you anymore, you surprise me."

"Back to your idea though, I like it. Small wedding here at home." Lexa noticed the grin Clarke had when she used the word home. But she was home now.

"I know this month for sure is going to be kind of busy. Maybe we could try for late September, maybe early October," she suggested. Clarke was more than ready to marry the love of her life.

"No eloping at the court house?" Lexa teased.

Clarke mulled it over for a minute. "I personally wouldn't care. However, there is a little girl in the other room that I'm pretty sure has her heart set on us having a wedding so she can be a flower girl, or maybe bridesmaid. I don't know, depends on the day."

"Well then we definitely need a wedding so she can be a flower girl/ bridesmaid."

"Speaking of her though, she's probably just about out of the shower. We should probably get a move on."

"No shower for us then?" Lexa asked with a bit of inuendo.

"As much as I'd love that, I think I should probably go start breakfast. You shower now, and I will after. I know we didn't really spend any time getting you unpacked, but feel free to put things wherever. We'll organize more when we change rooms."

Lexa nods, and moves to gather some clothes before heading to the ensuite. Clarke watched her go before getting up herself.

Avery still hadn't made it down to the kitchen, so Clarke just began pulling everything they'd need for breakfast. Eggs, ham, cheese was probably all Avery would want in her omelet, extra on the cheese. She didn't have an potatoes, but Lexa would probably like some peppers and onions in hers and they did have that.

Flipping on the kitchen, she began swaying her hips to the beat as she diced things up and threw them in the pan. "Want to start making the waffles?" she asked Avery when the girl made it into the room.

"Sure!" Avery liked making the waffles. She even knew how to mix the batter because her grandpa had taught her. Her mom had already done that though, so all she had to do was pour it into the waffle maker, easy enough. They basically had everything ready and on the table by the time Lexa made her appearance.

The three girls laugh and tease each other as the eat their breakfast. It felt so good just to enjoy something as simple as eating together. Abby stepped in and wished them a good day before taking off. Clarke was glad to see her getting out of the house again.

"How is your mom doing anyway?" Lexa asked after they heard the door close behind her.

"Good actually. She's been going out with friends. And she's going to go back to work, well not surgery, but teaching. They've been after her for awhile to teach but she never accepted before. She's starting out with just a one class to see how she likes it."

"That's awesome," Lexa replied. She hadn't spent a whole lot of time with Abby, but she'd come to really care about her. She was glad to see things were working out for her.

"I think it'll be good for her. Give her a sense of normalcy." Lexa could only nod.

Once they had finished eating, Lexa pulled Avery into helping her clean up while Clarke ran up to grab her own shower.

Once the trio was ready, they headed out to the mall. Avery hit a bit of a growth spurt over the summer and was going to need new jeans, so they started there. Then moved on to shirts and other essentials.

Lexa insisted on paying for a good portion of the items. Even though Clarke wanted to argue, she didn't. She intended to share what she had with Lexa, especially once they were married.

She knew Lexa well enough to know she might want to hang onto her own account, she might want that small sense of security. If she need that, Clarke wouldn't make a big deal about it, but she did want to turn her own account into a joint account at the very least. Even if Lexa never touched it, it would be there if she needed it.

As they made their way over to the food court to grab some lunch Clarke noticed she had a text from Trish. "Trish wants to know if we'll come over today."

"Like now or like dinner?"

Clarke texted her back for clarification because the text wasn't exactly specific. "She said it didn't matter, just sometime today. But she'd make dinner if we wanted." Clarke noticed a second message come in. "Never mind, she's asking if we do come for dinner can we bring something." Clarke was really confused. This didn't seem like Trish at all.

"I'm a little intrigued," Lexa admitted. She was kind of thinking the same thing that Clarke was. That Trish's request was kind of odd.

"We only have one more store to hit, the office supply store for pens and all that. We could probably head over after that. Yeah?" Clarke asked her two girls.

"Good with me."

"Me too." Avery added. "Then I can tell her about Lexa being my Mama."

Clarke almost laughed at the realization, "Trish doesn't know you're home. I haven't told her. Guess we have some news to share with her anyway."

"You don't think she'll mind, do you?"

"No, she won't care. Besides you better be there when I tell her we are getting married."

~CL~

A little over an hour later they were pulling up to the Bennett house. They made their way up to the door and gave a loud knock before walking in. Since Clarke had moved home and they'd resolidified their friendship, Trish had told her she didn't need to wait to be let in. She still at least knocked though because it felt weird not to.

They found Trish sprawled out on the couch looking half asleep, and Tommy just quietly playing with his toys. As soon as she noticed Avery though he jumped up and pulled her over to play with him.

"Oh, hey Clarke. And Lexa," Trish greeted when she noticed they were both standing in front of her. "I didn't know you were here."

"She surprised me, too. Yesterday in fact," Clarke smiled. "In more ways than one," she added, holding up her hand.

"No shit!" Trish squealed. She jumped up off the couch and grabbed Clarke's hand to study the ring. She was suddenly looking far more awake than she did just a minute ago. "You're getting married?"

"Yep, and Lexa is going to be my Mama," Avery answered for them.

"How exciting." Clarke knew just by her tone they didn't even have to mention the adoption. Somehow Trish just knew. "You are a very lucky kid. Getting Lexa for a mom."

Lexa wasn't sure if she was just trying to hype it up for Avery's sake, of if she really felt that way. Either way she appreciated it. Trish could easily be unaccepting of someone taking her brother's place, at least in a way. Although Lexa would never do that. Avery now had three parents.

Any further comment was stopped by a cry. After realizing it wasn't anyone in the room, Clarke and Lexa both noticed the baby monitor on the coffee table.

"Speaking of surprises. I'll be right back," Trish told them before rushing back to the room they used as an office. A few minutes later she came out attempting to soothe the baby in her arms. "I would like to introduce you to your niece. Layla Annalise Bennett."

"My what now? How did this happen?" Clarke fired off. She knew Trish and Luke had put in the papers for adoption, but Trish hadn't said anything about them getting a baby.

"Come, sit," Trish instructed. Once Clarke was seated, she handed the baby over to her. Clarke took her without hesitation and began to gently rock her. "Let me get her bottle, then I'll explain."

Clarke and Lexa both cooed over the baby while they waited. She had a few whisps of dark brown hair. She had the cutest little button nose. Holding her was giving Clarke serious baby fever. It had been so long since she held a baby out side of the hospital, which was different. When Trish came back, she didn't try to take the baby back, instead she handed the bottle over.

It had been years, but Clarke quickly adjusted Layla so she in a good position and held the bottle to her lips. The little girl quickly latched on, and small sucks could be heard. "Explain."

"So, I told you we got our paperwork all put in?" Clarke nodded. "Well, we expected it would be months if not years before we even had a chance for a baby. Or any kid. We were open to any child that might need a home. Anyway, not the point." She was explaining more for Lexa who might not know they were starting adoption.

"The agency we were going through had a potential mom there. She had been looking over the family files and saw ours. They never had a chance to contact us though because she went into labor right there in the office." Trish paused because the next part of the story was kind of sad. "This story isn't all happy sadly. Since she had showed interest in our file, the agency called us after she had passed away and explained the situation. Apparently, she wanted to raise her child, but do to some medical conditions there was a chance she wouldn't survive the birth, so she wanted to have a back up plan in place. She didn't have any family, so she wanted to find somewhere of her own choosing for her child to go if she did pass."

"Oh, wow," Lexa said.

"She had met with a few other families, but they'd all said no. Didn't want a take the chance since she wanted to raise the baby if she survived. I can't imagine being in her shoes. And passing without knowing where her daughter would end up. I'm sad we never got a chance to meet her. Luke and I would have been so happy to just be the back up plan. And maybe made a friend if the best outcome had happened."

"That's so sad," Clarke whispered. She pulled the baby a little tighter into her chest. Poor little girl would never know the woman who had obviously loved her so much.

"Her mother's name was Annalise, so we decided to keep that name for her. Since the agency was fully aware of the circumstances, they'd also had all the paperwork on hand not all for her adoption, but her inheritance. We'll be setting up a trust for her with any money from that. We were also able to bring home the crib Annalise had bought for her and other baby items. She put a lot of love into that baby there. The least we could do was honor that."

Clarke wasn't surprised. Trish and Luke both had such big hearts. This baby couldn't ask for better parents. Especially considering the circumstances. She figured most people would want things they'd picked out, not stuff someone else had.

"Where is Luke?" Clarke asked when she noticed he didn't seem to be home.

"He ran to the grocery store. We needed some stuff. That's why I told you to bring dinner," Trish explained.

"I would have, if I would have known this was why you wanted us to come over," Clarke gestured to the baby in her arms.

"That would have ruined the surprise. It's fine though, he'll be home soon and with dinner."

When she noticed Layla was done eating, she lifted the baby up to her shoulder and gave her a few pats, quickly getting a burp. She threw a look over towards Avery who was watching them. She could tell the little girl wanted to see the baby, but wasn't sure.

"You can come see her if you want," Clarke encouraged. "Come, meet your new cousin."

Avery hesitantly walked over but as soon as she saw the baby up close, she gently ran her hands across the baby's head. "She's so little."

"She was two weeks old yesterday," Trish offered. "We brought her home a week ago."

"That explains the silence."

Trish laughed. "I'm actually surprised you haven't dropped by. Especially when I had to cancel taking Avery the other day."

"I just figured you were sick or something. Didn't give it a lot of thought to be honest."

"It's definitely been an adjustment. Especially since we weren't prepared at all for it. We couldn't be happier about it though. She's such a sweet baby. We're all in love with her."

Clarke smiled down at the baby in her arms. She had to admit, she felt instant love for this baby as well. "You want to hold her, Aunt Lexa," she offered.

"I, um," Lexa stuttered. She wasn't confident, but she was definitely curious. "I guess," she squeaked.

Clarke tried hard to not laugh at how uncomfortable her fiancé was at the idea. "You'll be fine. Here just slip your hand under mine to support her head as I pull mine away. See there you go."

Lexa started off with the baby kind of away from her body, unsure. Layla immediately started squirming. On instinct, she pulled her closer to her body, holding her snuggly to her chest. Immediately she settled down and slipped back to sleep.

The craving in Clarke only grew at the sight. She could imagine Lexa holding their child. She wanted that so bad.

Luke returned shortly after, and the group spent time catching up and just enjoying their time together and their new addition. Soon life was going to get crazy again when school started, but they had tonight to enjoy at least.