iAnxiously Await the Future

As Carly and Sam left the doctor's office that afternoon, Carly felt thoroughly unpleasant. She'd felt fine until ten minutes ago. She was now firmly convinced that her girls were performing Olympic floor exercises on her kidneys. The brunette was now doubled over, talking directly into her own stomach as Sam drove. Sam could barely contain herself and keep a straight face.

"Girls, Mommy promises we'll all have lunch soon… Mommy's tummy is not a waterbed, so please, no jumping…"

Sam chuckled. She hadn't heard anything quite so precious in all of her life, except, of course, the moment when Carly had tearfully professed her love during their senior year at Ridgeway.

"You know, I read this book that said that music helps soothe kids… and that kids exposed to books and music and things earlier tend to do better in school…"

Carly shot her partner a confused look. Her Sam didn't talk like this.

"Huh? Who are you and what have you done with my Sam? Sam doesn't read books…"

Sam knew that she was playing. Sam was – though most people didn't know it – a voracious reader. Her childhood and a seemingly poor education hadn't soured her on being self-educated. When they were small, it was Melanie who had pushed her. Later on, it had, of course, been her Cupcake. Sam, for her part, didn't much care what people thought of her. If people thought that she was dense and couldn't comprehend heavy concepts, that was their problem, not hers. She enjoyed reading, especially now. Now, it was her responsibility to learn everything she could. It was her responsibility to know what to expect when her Cupcake was expecting. She smiled at Carly.

"Watch it, Shay…"

Carly's eyes went wide, and she threw her hands up in mock fright.

"Oooh, I'm so scared, Sam… "

Sam glanced at her hard. Carly always freaked out when Sam took her eyes off the road.

"Don't you sass me, Carlotta…"

Carly laughed. She knew that Sam was smart. Had she thought otherwise, she would have never paid Sam's tuition out of her mother's life insurance proceeds. The fact of the matter was that the only book Carly remembered Sam reading recently was The Adventures of Boogie Bear. Carly knew that that had been one of Sam's favorites from childhood, and she figured that Mama was eager to share it with the next generation. Carly herself had spent much of her 'alone' time carrying on one-sided conversations with her babies, reading to them, and doing everything she imagined her own mother once doing.

Without so much as a word, Sam punched a button on the dash. The car's sound system came alive playing a very familiar song. Carly looked to her partner in surprise.

"Melanie?"

Sam chuckled.

"The kids have to get to know the family somehow, right, Cupcake?"

AN HOUR LATER…

Carly and Sam were cozied up in a booth at the Groovy Smoothie, holding hands. Lunch had put a serious dent in Sam's wallet, thanks to the fact that Carls could now eat untold calories and not feel full. She had most definitely developed a Puckett appetite. French fries, a cheeseburger with the works, onion rings, and a large raspberry smoothie was enough food to choke a horse, but Carly was eating for three.

Sam reached for their large shared order of fries. Carly slapped her hand playfully.

"Mine!"

Sam smirked.

"Ours, Cupcake…"

Carly gave her a serious face.

"Mine. You're outvoted, three to one."

Sam laughed. She tossed a French fry at Carly, hitting her square on her cute little nose. Carly smiled at her. She loved when she and Sam could be silly like this out in public. They'd been coming here for years, and T-Bo was a friend, so they could do pretty much anything here.

"That's one perk to carrying these two around… I get to outvote the Mama…"

Carly's eyes told Sam that this was the happiest that Carly had been in a long time. Sam knew that the past few months had been hard on Carls. She had done all that she could think of to make her partner's life as easy as possible. It had all finally clicked into place. Sam didn't need to try so hard. All that Carly really wanted was for her little blonde ninja to treat her like the same Carly she'd always been. Nothing had changed between them. Things had only gotten better.

Sam's fingers tangled with Carly's as they had reached for the very same French fry at the exact same moment. Bright blue eyes met soft chocolate brown ones.

"Carls, I… I know that I might be overdoing it a little, but…"

Carly cut Sam off.

"Sam, shut up…"

Sam's little Cupcake very rarely gave her this degree of sass. She let it slide.

"I know, and I know why… and I love you for it…"

Sam opened her mouth to speak, but Carly interrupted her again. She really was developing a very loud Puckett personality.

"Now, be a dear and feed me a fry, Mama…"

Sam grumbled, but smiled nonetheless. This is what she'd signed on for. This was 'For Better or Worse'.

ACROSS TOWN…

Shelby and Wendy arrived at the doctor's office for their appointment to find their doctor speaking in hushed tones to a tall, attractive woman with dark hair and eyes. Shelby pretended not to notice, but this woman was clearly touching Dr. Sharkey's hand in that gentle clandestine way to which Shelby and Wendy had grown accustomed on fight nights or during press events, when Wendy had mysteriously gotten VIP passes. This was the gentle touch that said that all was not as it seemed. This woman was clearly the same woman whose photo Carly and Wendy had mentioned seeing on the doctor's desk, tucked away discreetly, to be seen and unseen all at the same moment.

The prizefighter felt like an intruder. She knew all too well what it meant to have to hide in plain sight like this. She sat quietly, stroking Wendy's hand lightly as they waited.

"…I have to see a patient… I'll see you at home…"

Shelby pretended not to hear as the beautiful dark haired woman passed them. She wasn't Wendy, but Shelby had to concede that their doctor had good taste. She had obviously chosen well.

The doctor nonchalantly tossed her head to one side, giving her hair a little flip. It was time to be professional again. She spoke to them as politely and professionally as she could. She had never intended for her personal and professional lives to collide like this, even if the one she loved had done something as simple and innocuous as dropping off lunch. She knew she shouldn't feel silly or conflicted over this – other people's spouses did things like this everyday – but when you maintained these kinds of professional boundaries, in an area of medicine where your patients' anonymity was, at times, paramount, it was easy to beat yourself up over nothing.

"Wendy, Shelby… how are you? I'm sorry for the wait… How are you feeling? Any concerns?"

"I'm fine, a little sore, but no more than usual, I guess."

Shelby gently helped Wendy to her feet, supporting her lower back with one hand. She looked their doctor square in the face.

"Is she going to be alright? I worry, you know, that this kid could show up at any minute…"

A smile crossed the doctor's face.

"Well, it'll be soon enough, let's just leave it at that. We'll just have a look today to be sure, but I feel pretty confident that things are just fine."

Shelby was relieved. She could handle fighting wars in the ring. She could handle keeping her relationship with Wendy under wraps for professional reasons, not wanting Wendy to be hurt. Those were all easy enough. It was this parenthood thing, however, that had the champion shaking in her boots.