Over the next week, Lucy was in constant contact through the whole paperwork process and such for the adoption. There was a home visit from a couple of social workers, interviews with both Maggie's bosses and Alex's. Though, Alex maintained the cover of an FBI agent and with Vasquez and Winn's superior hacking abilities, all the appropriate paperwork was forged just right.
A few days after Lucy's first visit to their home, Maggie found herself once again (it was becoming a twice daily habit) in the DEO infirmary, visiting Abigail. Alex was off in her lab visiting since it was her first official day back after the whole ordeal.
As Maggie entered the infirmary, Abigail was just waking up from a nap. The baby smiled at her, and even though Maggie knew that baby smiles were mostly just reflex or gas, she couldn't help the warmth that was spreading from her heart, nor the smile that crossed her lips.
"Hewwo." she said in her baby voice, but internally smacked herself at being so dumb.
A DEO nurse walked in and smiled at the detective, "She's about ready to feed, would you like to do it?"
Panic struck the smaller woman, "Uhh…sure?"
The nurse just smiled, "Don't worry. All new moms are a little nervous in the beginning."
Realization struck.
She was a mom.
Or, at least, about to be a mom.
Nurse what's-her-name picked Abigail up from the crib and placed her in Maggie's arms.
Maggie nervously sat up on the gurney behind her and held Abigail close. Taking the bottle from the nurse, Maggie lifted it to Abigail's waiting lips, and the baby latched on quickly.
"Wow. That was fast."
"She's hungry." the nurse commented, "I'll leave you alone for a few minutes."
The nurse must've seen Maggie's panic stricken eyes, because she smiled and chuckled, "Don't worry. I'll be back. You'll be fine. Just don't let her chug it all down in one go. She'll get a stomach ache from all the air in her belly."
Maggie nodded as the nurse stepped behind the curtain. She was somewhat thankful to be alone since she wanted to have some one-on-one time with the baby.
"Hey kid." she whispered. "I'm Maggie." Abigail just stared as she sucked down the milk, "I guess we're gonna be hanging out a lot from now on."
Abigail watched her with intense eye contact as she drank.
"I just wanna warn you now, that I'm probably not the best choice for a mom. I got a lot of my own issues that I promise I'm working on. So I'm hoping you'll give me some grace if I mess up here and there." she paused to take the bottle out of Abigail's mouth. The baby was almost panting with how out of breath she was and that caused Maggie to smile, "Slow down, kid. Though, if you keep this up, Kara might actually have some competition when it comes to shoveling in food."
That gave her an idea.
"Hey, has anyone told you about Kara yet? I guess she'll be your aunt." The baby had caught her breath and was ready for more milk, so Maggie put it back to her lips and she latched on again. The detective wriggled her butt around and got comfortable on the gurney; settling back.
"I gotta warn you about your Aunt Kara. She's a real trip." Maggie chuckled to herself, "she's loud and always so happy and excited about something, even if it's just the prospect of ice cream. And she's gonna go crazy when she finds out she's going to be your aunt." her smile softened, "But she's pretty awesome. She always sees the best in people, and I think that's pretty cool."
"Then there's Lucy." Maggie continued. "She'll probably compete with Kara to be the fun aunt. She'll teach you all about fashion, and being a kick ass lawyer and soldier. Did you know she did a tour in Iraq? She's pretty badass. And we've been friends since college. We were freshman roommates at NCU. Which is probably where you'll go too."
Abigail stopped herself and took a few deep breaths, the nipple of the bottle still in her mouth.
"Who else is there?" Maggie thought, "Oh. there's Lena. Now, Kara says they're just friends, and Lena says they're just friends…but between you and me, I think that's a load of BS. I'll even let you in on my bet with Winn." at his name, Maggie jumped slightly, "Oh theres Winn too! He's cool. He's a little nerd, and I love to make fun of him because he talks way too much about computers and Star Wars, but he's phenomenal at Trivial Pursuit. So you should always be on his team. And he's like…an awesome, super attentive little brother. Sometimes annoying, like a little brother, but he cares. He'll probably make you a cute little super suit for halloween every year. He's wicked good at sewing."
Maggie pulled the bottle away again and let Abigail take a few moments to catch her breath again.
"There's Eliza, Alex's mom. I guess she'll be your grandma. She's really nice and makes amazing ginger bread cookies. You'll have to fight with Kara over those. I don't know her super well yet. She's pretty closed off. But, I imagine that she'll be really excited to meet you. She screamed so loud when we told her about you."
The bottle finally drained just as the nurse walked back in. She smiled and draped a small cloth over Maggie's shoulder, "Sit her up." she asked, "pat her back gently to help release any gas bubbles so she's not uncomfortable."
Maggie awkwardly maneuvered Abigail to her shoulder and patted her as instructed. She held in a chuckle when Abigail gurgled a few times right next to her ear. But after a few moments, the baby was back in her arms, staring up at her expectantly.
The nurse took the burp cloth and bottle, "I'll leave you alone for awhile."
"Thanks."
The nurse lifted the head part of the gurney Maggie was on so the detective could lean back against it, "She's going to get sleepy here in a few minutes." With that, the nurse left the two alone again, this time, leaving the room altogether, so it was just them behind the privacy of a curtain.
"Who else could I tell you about?" Maggie mused
Abigail's eyes started to droop when the woman holding her had an idea, "How about I tell you about your other mom, Alex?"
"She's the best." Maggie started, "With her…the sun always shines a little brighter, even on the rainiest day. She's got so much love in her heart, kid, you'll never not feel it." her voice lowered to just above a whisper, "she's beautiful. I mean, have you seen her? She's smart, and fun, and caring, and genuine, and when she sets her mind on something, she's all in. Like with me. I can't believe she took me back after I rejected her. And I can't believe she wants to marry me. But girl, am I glad." Maggie gently ran her fingers through the little wispy hairs on Abigail's head with a soft smile. "She will challenge you, but in the best way. She'll inspire you to be better. And she'll do anything to make sure you're happy and taken care of."
Abigail's eyes finally lost their battle with sleep and they closed.
"And me too. I know I never saw myself as wanting kids. But you…how could anyone say that they didn't want you. You're perfect." Maggie gently ran a finger down the baby's jawline, feeling a tear come to her eye. "You're perfect and you're…you're mine."
Alex walked down the hallway towards the infirmary in search of her fiancee. She looked through the glass doors to see the curtains drawn on a bed near the back where she knew Abigail was stationed. She opened the door as quietly as she could. Hearing the soft voice of her beloved, Alex slowly stepped closer. She was unable to make out the words, but finally got to an angle where she could see through a slit in the curtain. Maggie was up on a gurney, leaning against the headrest with Abigail in her arms. A blanket was draped over them as the baby slept.
Seeing her woman with the baby, a look of love on her face as she held their future child, it did things. Her heart beat hard in her chest and she fought back tears at this moment.
Wanting in on the action, Alex slowly drew the curtain back enough for her to take a step inside the little alcove the curtain created.
"Hey baby." Alex whispered
Maggie's eyebrows knitted together in worry, "Please don't tell me we have to leave yet."
Alex chuckled and climbed onto the bed next to the detective, "You kidding? I need some baby time too."
Maggie puckered her lips and Alex took the cue, plucking a gentle kiss.
"I love you." Maggie whispered, kissing the other woman again.
"I love you too."
The two sat in silence for quite a bit longer, reveling in the moment with each other, while they watched their almost child sleep.