Maggie was hanging out waiting for her skype call to come through while Alex sat over at her desk going through more diagrams. It was still really early, earlier than they'd normally get up.
Typically when they skyped, it was during their nighttime, daytime in the United States, but Maggie was up for a very specific reason. In the US, it was still her baby girl's fourth birthday.
When Maggie's alarm had gone off, Alex decided to get up too and get some work done. She still had a week left in the sling and was going to go get her stitches taken out while Maggie was on the skype call.
With some time to kill, Maggie struck up a conversation. "So I know your sister is married since I've met him over skype. But do you have a special someone back home?"
Alex chuckled and shook her head, "nope." Not even glancing up from her work.
Maggie scoffed, "really? Someone like you doesn't have anyone fawning? Wow."
Alex picked her head up and looked over at Maggie with a sly smile. "What about you, Sawyer? You said you're not with your daughter's dad. I could say the same thing about you. Some guy has to be dropping at your feet. Anyone special?"
Maggie shook her head, "between having a child and being deployed, I don't really have the option of dating right now. And I'm not interested in that crowd anyway." Maggie opened her eyes wide and slapped a hand over her mouth.
"I'm sorry, that just slipped out…" She mumbled, hand still over her mouth.
Alex shook her head, "no worries. That's fine with me, if I think you're talking about what you're talking about. If it makes you feel any better, that's the way I am too…"
Maggie relaxed hearing that. She'd been at bases already out on her deployment where she wouldn't dare say what she was saying. She was relieved to know she had at least one safe space. "Ladies loving ladies is honestly so much more fun."
Alex chuckled, "it is indeed."
And now when they looked at each other, they both saw it. It made sense now why they worked so well together and trusted each other so much. It wasn't just a work partnership, it was a partnership that they were forming.
Alex shook her head getting out of her thoughts, "wait… So if you're all about the ladies, how'd you end up with a kid? Or was that before you realized…"
Maggie sighed, "I was curious in college. I had never done anything with I guy so I thought I'd try it. I did it once, condom broke, didn't have birth control, nine months later, baby."
"So you did it with your best friend? Sorry, I'm just trying to piece this together."
"It's fine, Danvers. Yeah, he was my best friend then too. He agreed to do it. He was really respectful about it all, extremely apologetic about the condom and stepped up when I found out I was pregnant with Jamie. But being with a woman is still better than being with a man in my opinion."
"I wanna meet him someday. He sounds like a really great guy. You know how to pick your friends well."
"Yeah, I guess I do," Maggie said and smiled again with that warmth, both knowing the meaning behind that warmth now. This could be something.
Maggie was pulled from her thoughts when her computer started ringing. Alex got up from her spot and headed out, giving Maggie her privacy.
With a deep breath, Maggie hit the answer button.
Her face broke into a wide smile seeing her sleepy little girl on the other side of the screen. "Hi, Mija! Happy Birthday!"
"Mommy!" Jamie said excitedly. "I miss you mommy… When you comin' home?"
"I miss you too, mija. I'm coming home really soon. Less than two months and I'll be home… Did you have a good birthday?" Maggie's heart broke that she couldn't be with her little girl right now and during all the other moments in her life. Not for the first time, Maggie was glad this was her last time being away from her.
Jamie nodded rubbing her eyes, getting sleepy again. "Uh huh. Daddy let me get ice cream after preschool. We played with the duckies in the park. And then cake after dinner and presents."
Maggie smiled, "that sounds like a really fun day, baby… Are you sleepy?"
Jamie shook her head even as she yawned. "No, mommy. No sleepy."
Maggie heard James chuckled in the background and the camera shifted.
"Hold on a second. Let me get us situated." James said with a smile. Boy was it good to see his face again.
James had put the computer on the chair next to Jamie's bed. Jamie reached up for him and he gladly picked her up. They weren't standing for long because James laid down on her bed, Jamie curling up on top of him. She had her arm wrapped around the stuffed bear Maggie had given her just before being deployed this time, and her thumb in her mouth.
"Mommy gets to read you tonight's new bedtime story. How's that sound, Jaybird?" James said to the sleepy preschooler. He received a nod, her eyelids growing heavy.
Maggie had picked out a book for Jamie's birthday for James to wrap and give to Jamie on her behalf. She ordered one to be sent to them and one to her so she'd be able to read it to Jamie.
"You know I love you, right mija?"
Jamie nodded, "Lob ou too, ommy." She said around her thumb.
James held up the book with one arm so Jamie could see the pictures. Jamie's eyes shifted back and forth between her mommy and the book wanting to see both.
"The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear." Maggie began.
Five pages in and Jamie was fast asleep. James slowly shifted Jamie off of himself and onto her bed. He turned on her nightlight, put the book away, kissed her goodnight, and carried his laptop into the living room.
"Thanks for doing that, James. I really appreciate it." Maggie said to him, rubbing away the few tears that fell. She really missed them and only got a couple minutes with Jamie before she was asleep. That was hard.
"It's no problem, Maggie… You've got four weeks left, right?"
Maggie sniffled and nodded, "yeah. Four weeks here, two in National City, and then I'll be with you both in Metropolis.
Maggie and James agreed that although it would be hard, Maggie needed the extra two weeks on her own to re-acclimate to life outside of war. The last thing she needed was to scare Jamie because she reacted negatively to an innocent sound. It would take a while for her to remember that specific civilian sounds didn't always mean gunfire and bombs. She'd never really had a problem before, it just took a little while to desensitize and relax. The two weeks were a precaution.
"Well, you'll have to call me when you land. I've missed having my best friend to chat with 24/7. And our little princess has been so patient with waiting. She says she's been trying to be a big girl to impress you." A sad smile formed on James' face, mirroring the one on Maggie's.
Maggie cleared her throat composing herself. "Yeah, I can't wait to actually hold her again. She's getting so big."
James chuckled, "she might be getting bigger, but she's still tiny. She's got your genes in her Maggie. She's another little Sawyer, just like her mom."
He never ceased to make jokes of Maggie's height. James wasn't an overly tall man, but he definitely wasn't short either. Jamie was definitely taking after her in that category. She had been tiny ever since she was born.
"She might be tiny, but she looks like your kid too. She's got your nose, eyes, and complexion."
James nodded with a smile. "We made something pretty great…" He sighed, "well, I better let you go. I don't want to hold you up, and I've got a big meeting tomorrow. Thanks for taking the time to read to her."
"Anytime, James, anytime. Give her a kiss from me and a big hug, alright? Love ya, sketch."
"Love ya too, books." He said and ended the call.
"Sketch and books?" Alex asked, dipping back into the tent. She'd caught the last couple sentences.
Maggie looked up, startled by Alex and quickly wiped away her tears.
"Uh, yeah…" Maggie chuckled sadly. "Sketch because he's an architect, and books because I'm an author… It's stupid, but we've been doing it for so long…" She trailed off sighing.
Alex regarded Maggie carefully. She could see she was trying to compose herself but it wasn't working. Alex's eyes flickered over to the book and her heart melted that she had read her daughter a bedtime story from so far away.
Alex held her good arm out, wordlessly extending the offer of a hug. Maggie thought it over before conceding and going in for it. Her heart ached too much for her daughter to not accept it. The contact brought her a little comfort but didn't do much to take the pain and guilt away. Still, Maggie was grateful for the gesture.
Six weeks, and her baby girl would be in her arms again.