#1: Unexpected Surprise

Type: One-shot

Timeline: Before Enemy of my Enemy 1

Summary: A shocking surprise leaves Maya and Shaun wondering about the rest of their lives

Maya nervously bounced her knee on the cheap, tacky tile floor. A wave of nervous anticipation crashed down on her like a tidal wave as she stared at the dollar-store stick in her hands with frustration.

Nothing yet.

She chewed on her bottom lip, trying to quell the nervousness that she felt. On the other side of the door, Maya could hear Shaun in the middle of making tea. He didn't even notice how, in the early hours of the morning, before dawn she all but dashed to the closest drug store she could find. Of course, she was an Assassin, raised in the shadows, so sneaking out and subsequently back in was a relative breeze.

It also helped that Shaun was a super heavy sleeper.

She had taken the test the moment she returned, locking herself in the bathroom using the excuse that she wasn't feeling too well, and was now waiting for the results.

"Come on, you stupid thing!" Maya growled softly.

Her eyes drifted to the calendar that she had in the bathroom to track her menstrual cycle. Her eyes drifted to the dates that went back for weeks. A red line was drawn through the days that were supposed to be the days she had her cycle.

But she didn't.

Two weeks, one at the start of the and one at the end, of no periods.

After the most recent missed cycle, Maya's body started to feel…off. She felt bloated, became moody at the drop of the hate and vomiting almost every morning but would feel relatively fine the rest of the day.

Though missing cycles was nothing new for Maya. Being apart of an order that has remained secret for almost a millennium and was embroiled in a war that was far older than that could stress a body out beyond belief. Maya has had a history of missed cycles, though these new symptoms were worrying and fed Maya's nervousness.

Shaun and her were very careful when they got it on in the bed room. But even with the protection and the pill, she heard there was a small, but very viable possibility that she could get pregnant.

Maya chanced a look down, her heart sinking at the sight of the now-clear lines.

Everything seemed to fall away. Everything, except for the bathroom of her boyfriend's apartment and the little at-home pregnancy test.

What was she going to do? She couldn't be pregnant! She just couldn't!

Everything continued to fall away until she realized she was sitting on the bathroom floor, gripping the counter top as though it was the only thing keeping her from falling further into a panic attack. But that didn't stop the panic from rising a little at a time.

No one except Shaun could know that she was….that she was…..

Pregnant.

Minerva alive, she thought breathlessly. I'd never thought I'd be thinking that.

She eyed the door that led out to the main part of the apartment. After another moment of hesitation, she stood.

Although she hesitated another moment more, Maya managed to swallow her anxiety as she opened the bathroom door.

Smells of breakfast being cooked wafted through the apartment, hitting her in the face warmly. But even though the warmth of the apartment dispelled the chill that settled over her while she was in the bathroom, it turned her stomach a bit.

"Shaun?"

"In here, love." The hacker called back. Maya followed other call and ended up in the kitchen. Shaun, as per his morning routine, was sitting down at the kitchen table sipping his hot tea and reading the paper.

"Shaun…." Maya started. She licked her lips and cleared her throat before saying, "Shaun, we need to talk about something."

It must've been the tone of nervousness that colored her usually confident voice but whatever it was, it had Shaun snapping his head up. His blue-grey eyes glittered with worry behind his glasses.

"Maya? What is it? What's wrong?"

"Uhm…." Maya glanced down at the stick in her hand.

How was she supposed to answer that?

Simply and honestly, her mind told her. Despite being in a war, despite having their lives being in constant danger, Shaun wanted kids. Maya, on the other hand, didn't. She didn't want to bring any beautifully innocent children into a broken world full of darkness and misery.

Maya bit her lip as she shakily placed the pregnancy test toward her boyfriend. He started at it for a moment, almost confused before his mind caught up with him and he realized what he was seeing. His mouth dropped open and his eyes bugged out in shock.

"I'm…..." the words stuck in her throat. "I'm pregnant."

Her mouth felt like it was full of cotton and her tongue was made out of lead. She waited for a moment, unsure of what she didn't know.

Then, suddenly, without warning, Shaun popped up from his seat, silently moving across the kitchen and all but tossed himself into Maya's arms. It took a moment for the woman to right herself and to keep the two of them form falling on the floor. When she managed to keep balance, it took her less than a second to realize that Shaun was crying into her shoulder.

"WE'RE HAVING A BABY!"

Maya winced at the screaming right next to her ear. But as son as she realized that Shaun was ecstatic, happiness and excitement soared through her replacing all of the panic and fear from earlier. She leaned into her boyfriend's shoulder as her own tears of happiness started to fall.

After a couple of minutes of trying to compose themselves, the two moved from the kitchen to their bedroom to speak.

"I…. I don't know what I'm going to do." Maya muttered. She felt Shaun tense beside her.

"You…. You do want to keep this child. Right?"

She nodded adamantly, making eye contact with her boyfriend. "Yes! Of course! Shaun, I want to keep this child…. but how are going to hide this?"

"Why not tell your parents? Or, hell, Eric? I know for sure that they'll help."

Maya hesitated. Eric would help but….

"What is it, sweetheart?"

Maya opened her mouth but didn't feel herself asking the question, "Do you want this child to be a part of the Assassins?"

Shaun cocked his head, scooting a little closer, "Do you?"

Even though it was believed Maya's family would be a part of the Assassins for the end of time, she already knew the answer to the question that Shaun asked.

"I don't." She took a shuddering breath. "Eric and I…...we never got a childhood, Shaun. We… we were born into the Assassins. Our parents made the choice to keep us there, they never gave us a choice. The moment we could hold something, we started our training."

Maya sniffled as Shaun rubbed her back comfortingly. "God, Maya. I never knew."

She wiped the tears away. "Four years. That's about how many years we had 'off' from being with the Assassins. But that's not much compared to the rest of our lives, ya know?"

Shaun was quiet, letting her get all the emotions out. Maya took a moment to gather herself before speaking again.

"I want to give this child a normal life as I can." She felt Shaun nod from where she was tucked up against his shoulder. "Something Eric and I never had."

"What will you tell your family?"

"Nothing.' She removed herself from her boyfriend's embrace and sat straight. "They'll pressure me into putting into putting the child into the Assassins and I won't allow that. As soon as I start showing, I'll go on an extended mission. Have the child, hand it over to a safehouse that I know I can trust and will keep the secret. We can go and visit whenever we can."

Shaun stared at her with that sweet expression of worry. "Are you sure about this Maya?"

There was a split second of indecision, but like a breeze it vanished, leaving nothing but immeasurable happiness and love.

"I am."

A smile, true and pure though restrained on Shaun's face. "Good."

He planted a kiss on top of her head. The two sat there for a moment, embracing the silence and the love that surrounded them. It was only broken by the sounds of Maya's stomach. Shaun laughed, sounding like a ringing bell.

"Let's get some breakfast, huh? I've cooked bacon."

"Sounds good."