Cosima makes her way home via public transit. Knowing that Delphine is waiting for her helps. Makes it just a bit better. Six years they've called Toronto home. After nearly a year of clone curing, they'd settled back in Toronto. Her frequent, often solo, trips have been a bit of a pain. But Delphine endured them without complaint. After all, they were academics. They'd get lost in their research for hours, and Delphine was good at keeping herself busy.

Six years of clone sisters. Cosima thinks, as she hops the train from the airport to Union station, knowing she'll be home soon enough. It was silly, but five days away from Delphine felt like too much. After the first three days, she always starts to miss her wife terribly.

They'd maintained radio silence as agreed, so Delphine could get the news in person. The unfortunate truth was that this meant Cosima couldn't tell anyone else either. It had been a long 24 hours.

Sighing, Cosima wanders the train station. She hasn't eaten, so she grabs a muffin and a bottle of water for the road. She hops the subway from Union to Leslieville. Eager to get home to her wife. Cosima wonders what Delphine has been up to. They hadn't talked much since Wednesday. A quick text tells Delphine she's on the way home, and that will have to be enough notice.

Cosima yawns, pulling her backpack up onto her lap. She could have timed her flight better. But at least she's gone and booked a celebratory dinner for herself and Delphine for tomorrow. The spoiling would commence, and she couldn't wait to see the look on Delphine's face.

It is their second home in Toronto, the three story townhouse they'd agreed was a good compromise between leaving the city for lower costs and feeling too cooped up in their former high rise condo. And they are in the same general area. It was a good plan, Cosima acknowledges, they'd entered the real estate market at a good time, and it paid off. Delphine had been right, as per usual.

Cosima sighs, noticing several messages from her 'Sestras' group chat. Sarah and Alison whining about their teenagers. Asking if anyone had heard from her. Helena was sharing weird pictures of food again. She dismissed the notifications with a quick swipe of a finger. She is getting too old for this, Cosima thinks as she climbs the many stairs up to street level from the subway station. She is getting too old for all this back and forth.

She opts to walk the rest of the way home, for the exercise. Might as well stretch her legs after sitting on various vehicles for the better part of the day. She approaches their neighbourhood and smiles, she's excited to be home. To see Delphine again. She walks through the pathways, managed by the condo board. It's still cute. Cosima thinks as she walks up to the townhouse. It may not have the curb appeal of detached houses in Toronto but it also wasn't selling for 1.6 million. Delphine was reluctant to spend that much on housing, why spend that much money for a house you're only in one evening and weekends. Even the townhouse is probably more space than they really need but it works. Three bedrooms. A finished basement. And an open floor plan. It was a forever kind of home, Cosima thinks. Or at least until either she or Delphine get too old to get up all the stairs.

She shifts her bags to rummage for her keys, her phone has been going off every few hours but she has to get to Delphine. She has to tell Delphine first. She drops her bag near the door, and strips off her winter layers, putting her coat away in the closet.

"Delphine. I'm home." Cosima calls out. She's surprised not to see Delphine lounging on the couch or in the kitchen. It wasn't so early that Delphine would still be at work. Especially not today.

"So? How did it go?" Delphine calls from elsewhere in the house. The soundproofing could definitely use some work. Another project. They didn't want to become known as 'those loud lesbians' to their neighbours.

"Dissertation successfully defended." Cosima announces to their empty living room. "Where are you." Keeping that news to herself for 24 hours had been hard. She'd had to stop herself from texting Delphine.

"Upstairs." Delphine's voice calls. "Can you check the oven for me? I meant to be downstairs when you arrived. You're about ten minutes too early."

"What are you making?" Cosima wonders before spotting a cake rising in the oven with three minutes left on the timer. "Delphine…. how did you know I'd pass?"

"I didn't. I mean, I hoped that you would." Delphine's voice rings from the stairwell. "It's carrot cake. I hope that is OK."

"And if I hadn't passed again like five months ago?" Cosima laughs. "And it sounds delicious. Thank you." Admittedly, she was behind schedule for finishing but November wasn't such a bad time to finish it off.

"Pity party." Delphine laughs. "It was minor changes this time, mon amour. I was confident you'd finish this time. I know." She hears Delphine coming down the stairs but opts to get a glass of water and wash her hands. Who knows what Delphine has planned for her.

"So it's done. I'm going to look for a post-doc locally. I'm hopeful. If I can take the GO train or bus there, good enough. As long as I am only going in a few days a week." Cosima tells Delphine. Delphine who will likely continue to support both of them for the time being. But she never complains. She enjoys her research and her teaching, they travel when they get the chance. They've built a wonderful life, Cosima thinks. Better than she'd really expected.

"Good. But tonight, we celebrate." Delphine appears at the edge of the kitchen. Her lover doesn't move to enter the kitchen, instead letting herself be observed, she turns once with a smile on her face.

"Oh!" Cosima gasps in delight. Delphine stands there in a short sheer nightgown, the bra cups are entirely lace, and transparent. It looks a lot sexier than Cosima imagined it could look right now. "Wow…" She takes in her wife. She was usually no longer instantly aroused by the sight of Delphine, it took a little more effort these days. But, sometimes, Cosima muses looking at her wife biting her lip, it hits her intensely. Cosima wrestles inwardly with a desire to grab her wife by the hand and take her right back upstairs to have her way with her.

"Do you like it?"

"Like isn't a strong enough word right now." Cosima lets out a small laugh. "Can we... can we go back upstairs?"

"We just need to pull the cake. I'll order dinner. Or we can go out, but I didn't make a reservation. Just in case."

"I made us a reservation for tomorrow night. Romantic dinner for two. We can take it easy tonight. Call something in for delivery. Thai maybe?" Cosima could go for that. And then she wants to sleep.

"We'll celebrate, just the two of us." Delphine leans against the counter, as if she's trying to tempt her. And given the current situation, it was a little comical looking. But she couldn't say that, not without reducing Delphine to tears. And that cannot happen right now.

"You mean two and a half." Cosima laughs, dropping to her knees in front of her wife. "Hi baby."

Delphine turns to face her, grinning. "We missed you."

"I'll bet you did." She leans forward, wrapping her arms around Delphine. Pressing her lips to Delphine's rounded belly. She was enjoying this more than she thought she would. Maybe it was novelty. Maybe it was that pregnancy was a very womanly state. It didn't really matter, Cosima decided. As long as Delphine was just as in to her.

"We did. Especially me." Delphine sighs. "If I hadn't had that appointment I could have gone with you. My TA could have handled lectures."

"How is baby today?"

"Squirmy. She has been kicking a lot. Really hard." Delphine winces briefly. "I never thought a fetus kicking could hurt."

"Oooh feisty." Cosima cannot resist teasing. "Maybe we should rethink the name. Give her something with more energy."

"Her name is Élodie. I thought we agreed." Delphine strokes her distended belly. "I don't want to change it." It had taken long enough to agree on a name in the first place. And with the middle name still up in the air, Cosima doesn't want to mess with it.

"I know." Cosima murmurs. "I did agree to this. All of this." And she had, as time had passed, it had seemed to be more and more important to Delphine. And so, it was important to Cosima as well. She had to try, and they had.

Truth is, Cosima mused, Delphine was so happy with the new state of affairs she couldn't help smiling at her. It made it worth it mostly, they'd made the embryos almost two years ago. Delphine had insisted they could freeze them until Cosima was ready but that younger ova were going to be more successful in the long term. And once they'd made them, her dissertation had been the only thing standing between them and parenthood. Maybe they could have waited another year, but Delphine was eager and it looked like the timing would work out fine.

"Sometimes I can't believe she's really going to be mine." Cosima shakes her head. What a trip. Even if it has to be a secret. Not even Sarah or Alison know more than that they did IVF. She wonders if they'll be able to guess when they see the baby. Or if they'll get to keep this secret longer. They certainly don't want to make a big deal out of it, for the baby's sake especially.

"She is. You have the painful memories of bone marrow harvesting to prove it." Delphine points out. "And the rest of it."

"Well you're going to give birth to her and try for 'accouchement sans péridurale' at the birth centre so…" Cosima shrugs. Delphine had done everything to make it up to her, fabulous painkillers and weed for days. She doubts she'll be able to do half as much when Delphine births their baby. She foresees a lot of UberEats and feeding Delphine spoonfuls of whatever meal over the head of a hungry nursing newborn. They'll manage it.

"I'll be fine. That is my choice too." Delphine assures her. "Our baby will be worth it."

"Anything with you is worth it." Cosima sighs. A soft thump to her face makes her laugh. She kisses the belly with another giggle. "Settle down in there you. Mommy and maman are busy."

"I cannot wait to meet her." Delphine closes her eyes, a silly smile on her face.

"Umm I hope you can wait until full term. NICU would kind of suck." Cosima's quick to remind her. "We've got at least a couple months left to go."

"I want to know if she has dark hair like yours. If her feet will look like mine. What colour her eyes will be." Delphine teases.

"I think we can bet on brown or hazel. Pretty sure. Probably curly hair. She'll be cute." Cosima nods teasingly pushing herself back up to her feet. "Totally cute."

"Most likely." Delphine agrees. "Come upstairs with me? I promise there is no surprise party."

"I will go anywhere with you." Cosima echoes something said a long time ago.

"The only place I want to go is upstairs to our bed. There is a pile of pillows for me… and a surprise for you." Delphine teases her.

"Oooh." Cosima grins excitedly. And turns off the oven with one hand. It was close enough, the cake could finish on her own.

"The cake has a few more minutes."

"It can wait."

Delphine laughs. "And you can't?"

"You know I'm impatient… tell me." Cosima follows Delphine up the stairs, trying not to rush her pregnant wife.

"Better you see this for yourself." Delphine tells her, content to keep teasing. They reach the master bedroom and she loses her breath

"So?"

"It's perfect." Cosima breathes. "So perfect." The pile of pillows she sees, as well as a harness threaded with a toy she hadn't seen in a long time. Delphine clearly had plans. Plans that catered to her and her whims. But what catches her eye is the soft white bassinet in the corner of the room. A tiny pair of soft soled slippers sit inside, in a dark red fabric. A tiny black onesie with a double helix appliquéd to the front, that no doubt Delphine custom ordered just to amuse her.

"I figured, we should start getting things for Élodie. You know… February will be here soon. And… we should be ready." Delphine, of course, is already on track for getting ready.

"It will. And we have to have a baby in the Canadian winter." Cosima grimaces and then laughs. "At least we'll have plenty of options for babysitters." Not that they're likely to be able to take advantage of that for at least a few months. She fully anticipates Delphine being practically glued to their offspring for the first few months.

"We will. And she will be perfect." Delphine is confident, so much more so than Cosima on this. "And we'll get to watch her grow. Teach her things. Take her places."

"We'll make the best of it. We always do." Cosima nods. No doubt it wouldn't all be perfect.

"We can do anything. I am not worried. Not as long as I have you. In fact… I'd rather like to have you now."

"Hmm… Dr. Cormier, are you propositioning me next to our child's bed?"

"What do you think, Dr. Niehaus?" Delphine throws back, clearly pleased to be able to level the playing field.

"No see, it's only funny when I do it." Cosima shakes her head.

"Oh but that is not fair ma chérie."

"I don't care." Cosima giggles. "I get to be the cheeky brat in this family. And you love it."

"I do. I love you." Delphine tells her simply. "Always have."

"Oooh. Flattery." Cosima shifts her weight, looking at her increasingly pregnant and hopeful wife. "Alright, get onto your pillows."

"One more thing." Delphine reaches into the drawer, but instead of lubricant she pulls out a tiny box.

"What… what is it?" Cosima takes it and open it to reveal a ruby engagement ring. The stone is a deep blood red, flanked by a tiny diamond on either side.

"I… I never got you an engagement ring. I am making up for it now." Delphine tells her.

"You… you didn't have to." Cosima shakes her head in surprise. "Especially seven years later!"

"I wanted to. Needed to really." Delphine smiles. "Do you like it?"

"I love it." Cosima leans in, laying a soft kiss against Delphine's lips. "So… should I get you one?"

"Maybe after the baby comes. My fingers are still a little swollen." Delphine makes a face.

"Like a push present?"

"No… Not a 'push present'." Delphine stares her down, unamused. "I do not need jewelry as a reward for giving birth to a child. That is ridiculous."

"I think you're still wanting a babymoon."

"I do. Very badly."

"How about… we take some vacation deal around Christmas. Some all inclusive resort. Lots of pampering. No cooking, and you can just roll around a king sized bed with me for a week?"

"Do you honestly have that kind of stamina?" Delphine breaks into a laugh. She wasn't wrong, it had been a long time since they'd gone like that.

"Maybe. There's one way to find out. We test the hypothesis."

"We will. As I said, I will go anywhere with you, mon amour."

"Don't I know it." Cosima pulls Delphine firmly into her arms. "Do you ever regret us eloping like we did?"

"Never. Not for a minute." Delphine responds and then hesitates. "Do you?"

"No. It was the right choice for us. Bit of a risk though."

"I risked my life for you within a month of meeting you." Delphine reminds her. "Marrying you was far less risky."

"Marrying me without a prenup was risky."

"I don't care. You can have half of whatever I have." Delphine is nonchalant about this.

"Oooh… so do I stay and make love to my 30 week pregnant wife? Or do I take the money and run?" Cosima pushes Delphine back onto the bed.

"If you are having doubts…"

"No doubts. Not about you. Maybe about my ability to care for a newborn. But I won't be alone. We'll do it all together. You'll be off a year. It's… it;s going to be good." Cosima says this as much for Delphine as herself.

"Have me." Delphine invites. And Cosima is quick to oblige her, any way she wants.

FIN