It's been a long day at the fire station and Maya was looking forward to some peace and quiet. More importantly, she wanted some personal time alone with her wife. She slipped off her headphones and adjusted her light jean jacket, already feeling warm enough in the hallway. As she opened the door to their apartment, she heard the cries of a screaming baby and was instantly on high alert. Maya ran around the corner of the hallway into the living room to see Carina with a baby, around one year old, in her arms. Maya was a little taken aback by the scene before her. The baby was in absolute distress as Carina desperately tried to sway back and forth and calm the child.
"Ah mio amore," Carina said, greeting her with a smile as if it was just another day and there wasn't a screaming baby in her arms as she tried to soothe them, moving the baby up on her shoulder as they clung their little fits into her lavender sweater.
"Hi, honey, what's going on, and who's baby is that?" Maya said, stepping forward to see the little girl. She had blond hair and a light blue frilled shirt with gray pants.
"Oh, this is Luna and we are quite upset, no," Carina said as she cooed at Luna and continued to rock the girl back and forth.
She looked up at Maya with a desperate expression, begging for help. Yet, Maya hardly knew what to do with a calm baby, much less the screaming one in Carina's arms.
"Aren't you supposed to be the baby expert?" Maya said as she walked up to them and brushed back Luna's little blonde ringlets.
"Newborns, yes, but a one-year-old, no. I can't figure out what she wants. She is fed and changed. She just woke up from a nap. I think she wants her Mama, but Jo has stepped out to take an important call and I don't want to bother her."
"Oh, she's Jo's baby," Maya said, finally putting the pieces together as she remembered what Carina had told her about the resident she had taken under her wing.
"Yes, now can you please help me? I'm completely lost here," Carina said with a small look of panic across her features as Maya quickly looked around.
She spotted the diaper bag next to one of the chairs and went over to it. She rummaged around before she grabbed the first toy she found, a little plush rocket ship, and ran back over to Carina.
"Hey, Luna, look at this, look at the cool rocket ship," Maya said as she started to wave the toy around.
She pressed the button on it and it lit up with rocket sounds. Luna opened her eyes to watch Maya as she waved the toy around in her face. Luna's cries lessened for a little bit as Maya made little engine noises and flew the rocket ship around as if she was flying it in outer space. Carina was able to slip the pacifier back into Luna's mouth and turned her around so she could watch Maya. Maya made a spectacle of it as she walked with the rocket around the room and made it do special tricks accompanied by sound effects. Eventually, she turned around to see Luna smiling and gave the rocket to her. Carina grabbed the diaper bag and pulled out a few other toys, including some stacking cups. They spread them out on the rug and the three of them sat down as they continued to play.
"You are magic," Carina said as she smiled over at Maya. "I was about two seconds from losing it, and then you just walk in and wave a toy in front of her face, and she is happy."
"I didn't really do anything. I just distracted her," Maya said with a shrug, but she felt pretty proud of herself.
The two of them looked over at Luna, who started chewing on a little rocket ship she had in her hands while Maya prompted her to stack two cups into a tower. "I'm surprised you weren't able to calm her down. You're the OB/GYN, aren't you around babies all day long."
"Newborns, yes, but they are different. There are things you can do to calm them. I know all of the tricks for newborns, but older children are difficult. They cry for many reasons and I could not figure out what Luna wanted."
"So you panicked," Maya said with a smile, teasing her wife just a little bit.
"I did not panic," Carina argued back, holding up her finger at her.
"Oh really, because it looked like you were about two seconds from screaming and crying yourself," Maya said with a smirk.
Carina seemed to take quite the offense to that and scoffed before she leaned over to give Maya a little shove, but then she pulled her in for a kiss, finally greeting her.
"Hello," Maya whispered against her lips.
"Ciao mia bella," Carina said as she pressed a kiss to her cheek before she pulled back.
Maya watched her with a smile as Carina leaned over to play with Luna as they turned over the blocks. Carina pretended to be surprised that something wasn't under the cup and Luna thought it was the funniest thing in the world. Then Carina leaned forward and tickled the little girl's stomach causing Luna to laugh even harder and for a moment, Maya got lost in watching them together.
They were so cute together and it was different to see the side of Carina. Maya loved this side of Carina, although she didn't see it often unless Warren brought Pru to the station or they had an emergency labor and delivery at the station. It was nice to see her actively playing with a baby.
Ever since Carina had brought up the topic of them having a baby of their own, Maya had been terrified. She thought about how her whole life would change if they had a baby or if she got pregnant, even if she wasn't the one to carry the child. Maya's career had always been her number one priority. She lived for fighting fires and the thought of being sidelined was devastating. She wanted to be captain again. She wanted to continue climbing the ranks and dreamed of being fire chief.
But watching Carina and Luna right now, Maya couldn't help but think about what it would be like with their baby. She loved the sight in front of her, of Carina playing with Luna and the light and happiness in their play. Despite their rough start, it was such a happy moment, and she got lost watching them. Luna's laugh filled the room and Carina smiled so wide as she giggled too. Coming home to this was nice and she enjoyed the freedom and play that a child brought with them.
Seeing Carina with Pru made her realize that that was the life she wanted. When Carina first brought up having a child, Maya couldn't imagine it. She's never been around children and she didn't know what to expect. Yet, watching her with Pru that day and the love and joy that they shared together with this little girl made her realize she wanted a life that included a family and a child. Although she was still worried about actually becoming a mom. She didn't know what to expect, which was why she wanted to pick a donor that they knew. That way, they had a better chance of knowing what their child would be like when they grew up.
Still, she knew that they would be the best of Carina, and she hoped they would pick up a few things from her too. They would have Carina's smile and be passionate about things like she was. She could see a future with their baby, a little boy or a little girl. They could name a boy after Andrew or a girl after one of their mothers. The three of them could be a family and it would be amazing. She would come home to Carina teaching them how to cook and speaking to them in Italian. She could take their kid to the station and teach them fire safety and let them ride down the poll. Then they could come home and play with them like they were playing with Luna right now. This could be them, this could be their life and she was so happy. It was something she had started to want.
Luna started crying again as Maya came out of her daydream and she looked around the room and babbled. "Mama, Mama."
"Sh sh, la bella Luna," Carina said as she rubbed Luna's back and pulled her in her lap again. "Your Mama will be back soon."
Carina's words did nothing to soothe Luna's cries and Maya grabbed the rocket ship again to try and distract her. Still, Luna kept crying and calling out for her mama. Carina and Maya keep trying to distract her with one of the toys, but it did nothing to soothe Luna's cries.
"What should I do?" Maya asked as she tried to get her attention with the toys, but to no avail, as Luna cried only harder.
The door opened and Maya looked up to see a short haired brunette that she assumed was Jo walking in. As she entered the room, she had a look of panic and quickly looked around before she spotted them on the floor. Jo instantly walked over and swept up Luna, who reached out for her.
"Oh, it's okay, Little Moon, Mama's here," Jo said, holding her close as Luna's cries lessened and she rested her head on Jo's shoulder. "We've had some separation anxiety lately and it's been a little tough, but thank you for watching her while I took the call."
"Is everything all right?" Carina asked as Maya helped her up from the floor.
"Yeah, just some issues with the daycare hours since Link moved out and stuff. I just need to hire a nanny," Jo said with a shake of her head as she looked when she leaned her cheek on Luna's head and smiled.
"Well, if you need somebody to watch her until you hire someone, we'd be happy to," Carina said as she volunteered them but quickly looked over at Maya, who nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, she's been an angel. Plus, we need the practice," Maya said as she looked over at Luna and offered her the rocketship that Luna happily took.
"Really, that'd be great, yeah, thank you," Jo said, looking at both of them with a smile.
"Brilliant, well you know my schedule Jo and we'll work things out over dinner. You're staying, sì?" Carina said as she walked into the kitchen.
"And miss out on your cooking, never," Jo said as she laughed, bouncing Luna in her arms.
"That's good because we have a friend coming over as well," Maya said as she and Carina exchanged a look.
Jo raised her eyebrows as she looked between the two of them, but they didn't say anything else. A knock on the door signaled his arrival and Maya went over to get it. She swung open the door to reveal Jack in a gray and white plaid t-shirt and jeans. He smiled and held up a bottle of wine, as Maya assured him in.
"Hey, I brought wine. I figured it'd be good with whatever Carina's making," Jack said as he stepped into the living room.
Then, his eyes fixated on Jo and a small little smile appeared on his lips. Jo looked up at him with the same small little smile. The two of them ignored everyone else for a moment as Carina and Maya exchanged a smile.
"Um, hi," Jack finally said as he lightly waved at Jo and Luna.
"Hi," Jo said, looking down as a pink tint appeared on her cheeks.
They had set this up a few days ago after Jack and Jo had met at the clinic when Jo had helped as a volunteer. The firefighter and the OB resident had hit it off, but they hadn't had the opportunity to meet outside of the fire station and both were too unsure to make the first move.
"It's good to see you again," Jack said as he looked at her. "And this must be your daughter, Luna. She's adorable."
"It's good to see you too," Jo said as she looked between Jack and Luna. "Luna, can you say hi to Jack?"
Luna looked up and waved her rocketship at him as they all laughed.
"Oh, I taught her those sign language signs that you taught me," Jo said, looking between him and Luna. "Hey Luna, can you sign 'more milk.'"
Jo did the sign first and then Luna repeated the sign for more milk. Jo and Jack quickly praised her.
"That's so good. You're a fast learner Luna," Jack said as he sat down next to her and Jo.
Knowing that Jo and Jack would probably just talk to each other, Maya took the wine and retreated to the kitchen, leaving them alone. She put the wine on the table as she got out a couple of glasses.
"You know we might have to reconsider using Jack as the donor if things between him and Jo go so well," Maya said as she poured a glass of wine and handed it to Carina.
"Oh, that's a pity," Carina said, not sounding the least bit upset as Maya shook her head, but she smiled as she walked over to her wife and wrapped her arms around her.
"I can't wait to have a baby with you. Watching you with Luna today was nice. It was a nice thing to come home to," Maya said as she wrapped her arms around Carina's waist and leaned in to kiss her cheek.
"It will happen soon enough," Carina said, with a smile as she put one arm around Maya as she continued to stir the sauce she was making.
"Yeah," Maya said as she leaned her head against Carina's.
She couldn't wait for the moment when she would stand in the kitchen with their baby as Carina made them dinner and spoke to them in Italian. Maya could almost see it in her mind as she closed her eyes and kissed Carina again. She couldn't wait for it to happen.