A/N: (Even though most people can't see these right now...) The new chapter of "We Three Hearts" is now up!

November 4th 2020

Chapter 309
Their Hope to Life

With the store closed at last, Lucas was soon out in his car and driving home. He'd barely be in there a few minutes, seeing as he and Maya were due for dinner at Zay and Nadine's that night, but he was eager to get there nonetheless. He hadn't heard back from Maya about the girls' match yet, and knowing her he took this to be her wanting to wait until they could talk freely and with some length rather than writing him while he was at work. She'd been so eager and nervous this morning though, and he had to know how it had gone. He had all the confidence in the world that one way or another it would be a success.

"Hello?" he called, walking into the house. The first to greet him, as was usually the case, were the dogs, and he gave them each their due in pats and scratches before carefully walking around them. "Maya?" he tried again, cutting into the kitchen to confirm the Hex keys were still on the hook, which would mean she was in the house.

The keys were gone, so he walked out the back door and went up to the studio. The light wasn't on to signal he couldn't come in, so he turned the knob. The door was locked. Frowning, he tried to look through the windows, but there was no one inside. This was only getting more confusing, but he went back to the house, taking the steps two at a time until he got to the top. He walked with the intent of heading into the attic to check if Maya was up there, but even as he did he turned his head and there she was, sitting on the bed in their room.

"Hey… I was calling you before, didn't you hear me?" he asked. He vaguely noticed the Hex keys on the nightstand near her, so that explained that.

"Yeah, I, uh… I was just sort of in my head, sorry," Maya replied. Looking at her now, he couldn't help but see how strange she looked, just sort of… lost up in her head.

"Was it that bad today?" he asked, moving to sit with her.

"Huh? Oh, no… I mean, we lost, but it was actually really good," she told him. When she turned her head to look at him, it was like she was realizing he was there for the first time. She straightened up, turning herself sideway and folding her leg as she went. "So, here's the thing," she breathed. He didn't know what was going on, but so far she wasn't doing much to keep him from worrying about her. "I…" she started, then paused, like she had changed her mind on whatever she'd first intended to say.

"Hey…" he took her hand.

"I was so nervous this morning, about the girls, and the match, and that is a whole thing I might talk to Riley about, see what she thinks, you know? But then I was also… I just felt sort of… off, you know? And even Morgan could see it, and I think Mr. Matthews, too." She was getting better and better at calling him Cory when they were at work, but for some reason when she spoke about him with any of her friends or family, he was Mr. Matthews again. "So, the thought was that maybe this was… you know…"

The way she looked at him now, it realigned his thoughts in a whole new way, and his eyes flickered into wideness, to which Maya immediately pointed.

"No, see, I didn't want that to happen, because I'm pretty sure that's not what it is, and I'm just being nervous for no reason about the team, so I don't want you to get your hopes up too high, yeah?"

"I mean, I can try," he slowly responded, even as he felt like his insides were coming alive with anticipation, which was a weird concept to imagine really…

"Yeah, well, so, I went and bought a test on the way home, and I tried to go in the Hex to just distract myself until you got home, so that we could look together. But I just sat in there for like an hour and nothing would come to me, and you know that is not something that happens to me a lot… if ever. I came back in here, and all I could think was that it would be my nerves, like I'd been telling everyone, and if that was the case, then there was no reason to get you caught up in that and have you be disappointed, too." He shook his head, seeking to reassure her he didn't mind the disappointment, that he would want to be there anyway. "I know," she sighed, squeezing his hand.

"So, did you…"

"I took the test," she confirmed. "But then I… As soon as I finished, when I had to put the timer and wait, I thought how even if I'm ninety-nine percent sure that it will be negative, there's still a chance that it won't, and if that's what happens, then I want to have you there with me. So… I haven't actually looked at it yet. It's still sitting back there, next to the sink in the bathroom."

"How long have you been sitting here since then?" he wondered. Maya looked to the alarm clock.

"Couple of hours," she estimated. "Been staring at the wall long enough that I kind of want to paint it now," she admitted, and Lucas chuckled, which made her smile a bit. "I can't go. Can you just… Just look at it and then you can tell me, yeah? It's only fair."

"Are you sure?" he asked, and she nodded. "Okay," he leaned forward to press a kiss to her forehead, then to her lips, which he held for an extra beat before looking at her again. If this was the one percent, then everything was about to change, wasn't it?

Finally, he got up and walked out of the room, stealing another look back to her before moving down the hall and into the bathroom. As promised, there sat the test, with the box and everything else. He didn't have to look too long to see what it said. It had had more than enough time to render its results.

He was only gone for half a minute, and still to Maya it felt ridiculously long. She'd been working so hard not to get her hopes up for nothing, but now it felt as though her hopes were trying to climb up and take control. Her assurances were only going to be able to keep control for so long before they'd break through, so Lucas really needed to…

When he finally returned, he came through the door and he didn't keep her hanging too long before giving a shake of his head, bringing an end to the battle at once.

"See? What did I tell you?" she breathed out, letting herself tip back to the mattress. After a beat, it sank at her side, bringing her husband into view. Lucas put his arm around her waist and she followed her drive to nudge herself closer to him. "It's fine, I mean, it's like I said. I was pretty sure it was just nerves." She didn't even need to look at him to know his face would be making an expression that boiled down to 'yeah, but you also thought the other thing.' "What about you? You're not too…"

"Hey, no," he promised, bowing his head for a moment to rest with hers before lifting it again so he might see her face. "We're just starting, yeah? We told ourselves we weren't going to put too much pressure on ourselves, that it was going to take the time it took. We had those tests," he reminded her, and she nodded.

Maybe for thinking about their friends' struggles, and even thinking about the fact that both their mothers had at one time miscarried, they'd went and gotten tests done, to ensure they were all set so far as conceiving, which they were. It didn't mean that they'd be in the clear once that happened, but they at least knew that it wasn't impossible for one or both of them.

"It's fine, really," Maya promised, moving to sit and running a hand through her hair as she did so. Lucas moved back into a seated position as well. "Maybe I put a bit more into it because I figured like 'third time's the charm' and all. It's stupid."

"Well, if it is, then I'm right there with you," Lucas pointed out, and it made her laugh. "Are you good to go for…" he asked, and she looked like she was just remembering now that they were expected at Nadine and Zay's for dinner.

"Yeah, I just need to change," she looked down to her Born Curious shirt.

"Looks good to me," Lucas shrugged. "Would look better if I had one, too, but…"

"I will make you one, alright?" Maya rolled her eyes, smiling.

So, they got changed, and they headed down to Lucas' car, taking off just as Sam came home from work. They asked if he wanted to come along, but he was waiting on Dora and Cecilia, who would be joining him for a movie night, so they went on without him.

"Can I get the story now?" Lucas asked as he drove. Maya frowned, not following for a moment before it clicked. It almost felt as though the match had been some other day, easily weeks ago already.

So, she told him about the whole thing, about picking up the girls, and heading to the school to join Morgan, and Cory, and the team and their people. She left out the part about her conversation with Morgan, since they had already more than dealt with it back home. She told him about the other team, and how tight the game had been, and how the girls had done so well despite the fact that they had been defeated in the end.

"They were so quiet when we left, I was worried it had really got them down, but we got to the diner and…" she shook her head, beaming. She loved all her students, she did, even the ones who caused her trouble in some strange way, but she had a feeling those four girls together were going to hold a special place in her heart for years to come and long after they had graduated out of her class, and the team, and the school altogether. She told Lucas about the desire for jackets and the bake sale it inspired, promising upon prompt that she would bring him back a few.

"Good," he nodded appreciatively.

"What about you, how was it today? Busy?"

"Regular Sunday busy," Lucas confirmed, which was to say that it would have been considered overly busy on most days, but for a Sunday it was neither more or less than was to be expected. "Ramona did drop by with Erin around lunch though, to pick up some books from Maeve." At the mention of the little Hastings girl, Maya's smile slipped swiftly over her face. "I took her around the store with me for a bit." Maya made a snorting sort of noise, which he took to be an 'accusation' of his baby fever.

"Babies are good for business," she finally stated, as though to let him save face.

"The one woman I helped when I had her, she thought Erin was mine," he revealed.

"Well, you are really good with her," Maya chuckled.

"Yeah…" Lucas could only agree, recalling his earlier concerns, all of them squashed away by the mini Maeve. He also thought of how he would have to mention those concerns to his wife, in an effort not to keep anything bottled up as he had sometimes done, though it would have to wait until after they came home from the Babineaux house.

Arriving there, they had barely been let through the door by Zay that they were accosted by Charlie the dog, he who had once upon a time nearly been called Sneezy. As with his other brothers and sisters, spread out among various friends and family, he would come along as though he could smell his brother Crowley on them.

"Hey, hello!" Maya scooped him up, receiving the many kisses she was given with a laugh.

"Gotta get back in there," Zay indicated the kitchen, leading them in that direction. "I'm supposed to keep an eye on the stove and make sure nothing burns. Nadine's upstairs, she's on the phone with the hospital about a patient, I think," he explained, peering into the pan, giving it a stir. "Hey, how was your thing today?" he asked, turning back to Maya.

"Oh, it was good," she replied, setting the dog down again. Charlie went and kept a firm post at Zay's side now, eyes up and at the ready for any offerings of food. "We lost, but it was good."

"Alright," Zay nodded, understanding. "You know, I was thinking I could start one of those at my school. I know the kids are smaller, but it's never too early to get them started, right?"

"Zay!" Nadine's voice was heard from above, followed by steps on the stairs.

"I haven't burned anything, I swear!" Zay called back, even as he gave the food in the pan a hard look and turned to Maya and Lucas for confirmation. Nadine came into the kitchen now, and Zay indicated the pan. She blinked at it for a moment, but then shook her head.

"I don't care…" she breathed, and just now they all looked at her like she was about to pass out. "Zay, it's happening," she spoke, her voice coming sort of untethered to reality.

"What is?" he asked, and out of the haze, Nadine smiled. Maya was the first to understand, and she gasped, head swivelling from Nadine to Zay and back, smiling along. Now Lucas got it, too, and he turned to his best friend, nodding at him. Finally, the spoon dropped from his hand, clattering to the ground where it was greeted by a happy Charlie. "Wha… Are you sure? I mean, it's not… Last time, they…" he went up to her, and getting just a bit more agency, Nadine shook her head at him.

"Not like last time," she promised him. "The mother… She'd already selected us, they were setting things in motion, and then she went into labor." This small bit of news was like a second shot, and the others reacted in turn.

"Wait… Wait, so that… that means…" Zay blinked, swallowing to combat a throat gone dry as he realized what this meant.

"It means our baby is being born, right now. We have to go…"

TO BE CONTINUED

See you tomorrow! - mooners