Hi Guest and Not He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named! Although I do appreciate the suggestions for the name and the time you took to think of names, gender and naming rights and what the child will look like were already given to my inspiration for the story long ago, so it's already been decided :) But thanks anyway!
A/N: I realize there are a lot of clichés in this story lol, but hahah I kind of like some clichés, provided they're not overdone. If you feel something is overdone, please let me know.
Thank you for all the support anons, you awesome people on tumblr, people with accounts, etc! Thank you for giving this story a chance! Thanks for the kind reviews you've given me! And the love! I'm dedicating this chapter to everyone who reads this story! Because seriously, you all have made my life. This week has been one of the most extraordinary ones of my life and it's thanks to you all! :')
Disclaimer: I do not own GMW, but Lucaya is bae.
"Alright, lift up your shirt please, Maya." Dr. Torres said with a smile, tugging on her gloves and picking up the tube of propylene glycol gel.
Maya complied, lifting it up as far as where her bra was and laying completely back into the examination table. She squirmed when her doctor squirted out the cold, sticky gel onto her abdomen. She no longer hopped around and giggled when it happened, but it still made her uncomfortably ticklish.
"Where's Riley today?" Dr. Torres asked, smoothing it around on her bump, making sure to spread it in all areas it needed to be.
"She's stuck on cooking duty with her mom." Maya responded. "She couldn't get out of it."
"That's too bad." She turned on the transducer and set it under Maya's bellybutton, slowly gliding it around to get a reading. "Anyway, how were your final exams?"
"C's. Nothing new." Maya glanced at the screen as the image began to materialize. "Although, I did get an A on Bio."
Which honestly surprised her, because she was fairly certain she had spent the rest of the semester sneaking glances at Lucas' profile and memorizing his face so she could sketch him in her other classes. She had more than a dozen of little Lucas sketches hidden away: Lucas chewing on his pen in thought, brows furrowed as he concentrated; Lucas smiling, pleased at himself when he answered a question right; Lucas daydreaming during boring classes, staring out the window with his chin resting on his palm, etc.
"I guess this whole baby business must have helped me with the reproduction and development chapter."
"Well congratulations then."
Dr. Torres chuckled softly as she tapped on a few keys of the ultrasound before running the ultrasound transducer over the area right below her belly button once again.
"How will you be spending your Christmas, Maya?"
"Probably eating. Maybe napping." As if on cue, she yawned. "I've been really tired lately."
"Hormonal changes. Make sure you are getting enough rest as well. I know school takes up a lot of your time, but above all, I want you to make sure you are at your healthiest for your baby." She slid the transducer a little lower. "Your bump is starting to get nice and firm in some areas though. Your pregnancy is going spectacularly."
She moved the mouse on the screen, checking fetal heart rate and the amount of amniotic fluid in the uterus. She moved the transducer once again, a small frown on her face.
"Huh."
"Is something wrong?"
"Part of your placenta seems to be covering your cervix…" Dr. Torres muttered, tapping the screen where the odd blob was located. Maya frowned, still unable to understand anything she was seeing even after having had multiple appointments. "It's not a problem right now, but I'm hoping it will shift as your uterus grows in the future, otherwise it could cause some bleeding later in your pregnancy."
Maya's eyes widened nervously, "As in hemorrhaging?"
"Yes, but don't worry. Placental misplacement is common in week sixteen but will usually correct itself by the third trimester."
Maya let out a breath of relief, and Dr. Torres patted her hand consolingly.
"I'm sorry. I should have phrased it better. I know you get nervous about these things." She smiled. "How's your nausea?"
"Not as bad anymore. I threw up a couple days ago, but nothing since then."
"That's good to know. But keep on taking those vitamins, alright? Call me if you need a refill of your prescription. And lastly, have you felt any 'quickening' yet?"
At Maya's somewhat questioning look, Dr. Torres chuckled to herself.
"Fetal movement. Most patients begin to feel it around the sixteen week mark."
"Oh. No. Not yet."
Maya gently prodded the side of the swell of her belly. There were a couple times when she had thought she felt her baby's movement, but it always turned out to be gas bubbles or something related to bloating. She couldn't wait for the day that she finally got some response from Jellybean.
"It'll happen soon, I'm sure. Jellybean is developing properly." Dr. Torres continued as she observed the screen. "About four inches now and growing with each day. Your due date seems to be just about accurate at this point. So yes, expect a late May, early June birth."
Maya smiled, feeling happiness bubble up in her chest. She was almost there. Almost at the point of officially seeing her little Jellybean. "That's good to know."
"Mmhmm. So, Jellybean's legs aren't crossed." Dr. Torres turned to her. "Do you want to know if you're having a boy or girl?"
"Wait, I can learn the gender right now?" Maya asked, biting her lip to keep her wide, excited smile at bay.
"It's totally up to you. You can wait for a little later if you want or you can decide on a surprise birth."
"I want to know."
"I thought so." Dr. Torres laughed, sliding the transducer once again across her abdomen. The image shifted quite a bit to the point where the baby looked kind of like a boomerang shape. "You see that space right there? That's where the crotch will develop."
Maya nodded, holding her breath in anticipation.
"Well… You've got the three lines, two for the labia and one for the vagina. There's no 'turtle'. Jellybean's a girl."
Maya let out a small squeal in excitement, trying to force the yay in the back of her throat down. She covered her mouth to keep the squeals at bay, but she couldn't help the wide smile that seemed to take over her face. She and Riley had discussed the possible gender at length on multiple sleepless nights and ultimately decided that it would be more fun with a girl because Riley would get the chance to play dress up. Plus—and even Maya could not deny this—the idea of putting the baby in little baby band tees or Mary Jane's and little frilly socks and glittery bows just sounded so cute and exciting she could die. (And though she knew Lucas would be an absolutely great father to either a boy or a girl, she couldn't help but hope for a girl because she got excited at the prospect of him having great father/daughter bonding and treating Jellybean like a little princess).
"I am 95% sure she's a girl, but I'll continue to check to make sure at your next appointments. How does it feel to know your baby's gender?"
Maya laughed, giddy. "Unreal."
"I bet. You want a photo of the gender for proof?"
Maya nodded, and Dr. Torres set the ultrasound image to print, before she saved and closed out the file and set the transducer on the tray. She carefully wiped Maya's belly with the towel to remove the gunk and then stood up to finish with the rest of the post appointment tasks. Maya pulled her shirt back down and then rose off of the table, removing the sheet across her legs to slide her bottoms back up.
Dr. Torres went to the sink after removing the rubber gloves to wash her hands, politely giving Maya privacy to pull up her leggings.
"We're going to set the date for your next ultrasound in about four weeks or so. Does late January sound good to you?"
"That works, I think."
"In the meantime, you'll be growing fairly rapidly these next weeks. If you haven't done so already, I would highly recommend you start looking into maternity clothes, Maya."
She nodded, sighing under her breath. It had begun. The struggle for new clothes.
"Also. If you don't mind me asking, and I apologize if I'm overstepping boundaries, but," Dr. Torres said, giving Maya a concerned look while she wiped her hands. "Where is the father of your child? I would have thought he would be interested in coming to the appointment after what you told me about him."
"He's in Texas for winter break."
"And all the other appointments?"
"To be honest, I told him I didn't want him to come." Maya twiddled her thumbs, looking away from the obstetrician. "I didn't want him to Mother Hen me the whole time. He worries too much about me. He's been calling me every damn hour for the past four, and I've had it. I told him I'd kick his ass if he kept that up."
"You know, I've seen a lot of distant fathers not involved in the process at all. The father of your child seems like a really good guy. It is completely your decision, but in my opinion, I believe you should allow him the chance to experience this with you. Especially since you are planning to raise the baby together. He needs preparation for fatherhood, and knowing everything about his upcoming child will make the early months easier to transition into. And knowing what's going on inside you will also help him be more accommodating to your needs."
Maya's cheeks burned slight red in embarrassment.
"Now that you're starting to reach that halfway point, I think it's time you started giving him the chance to meet his baby girl as well." Dr. Torres smiled kindly, writing a few notes at the base of Maya's file. "Maya, I think he really cares about you. Give him a chance to show you how much he can care for your baby too. Regardless of how annoyingly doting he is."
Maya knew Dr. Torres was right. Lucas had proven time and time again how much he cared and more than wanted to be involved, through walking her home every day despite being exhausted from his practices, taking her to the nurse's whenever she was feeling particularly ill, and all his underhanded schemes with Farkle to figure out everything he could about her pregnancy. He was reliable. And sure, his devotion got pretty annoying sometimes (especially since it was fairly cold, and he always fussed over whether she was warm enough), but Maya definitely preferred that over him possibly completely ignoring her and rejecting her.
"Just think about what I said, Maya."
"I will. Thank you."
She smiled. "The front desk will have your ultrasound photo. I'll see you in four weeks!"
Dr. Torres left the room and Maya finished getting dressed, slipping on the flat boots she'd had to borrow from Topanga for the appointment. If there was one thing she absolutely hated, it was how she'd recently had to trade her precious high heels and sexy boots in for loafers and sneakers. She missed being somewhat taller with her shoes. Now she felt shrubby and tiny and with her protruding belly, she felt she looked like some sort of little duck! Lucas and her friends thought it was adorable that she didn't even come up to their shoulders, but it bothered her. She needed to get shorter friends, because all three of them were too damn tall!
Maya tugged on her winter coat, wrapped her scarf around her neck, and rearranged the beanie on her head to cover her ears before leaving the room and walking down the corridor to get her picture from the front desk. Once she had thanked the receptionist and exited the office, she scurried to the elevator to finish up the rest of her tasks for the day.
Christmas dinner would be around five, so she only had a couple more hours to take care of what needed to be done. She responded to Lucas' check-up text telling him to call her in the evening. Then she answered Riley's concerned text, letting her know everything went well and that she would be on her way back shortly.
All she had to do now was finish up her errand and get Riley's present.
She shuffled down the sidewalk on her way to the subway, hands in her pockets to fend off the cold. Most all shops were closed and the sidewalks were (for the most part) bare except for those last minute Christmas shoppers scrambling to check off everything on their gift lists and store food in case the evening forecasted blizzard reared its ugly head. Maya preferred the streets this way: clear and open and perfect for stowing in her own thoughts.
And it was a bonus that people weren't there, staring at her with squinted eyes trying to figure out if she really was pregnant or she was just somewhat plump. And then figuring out it was the former and their faces twisting into that look she came to recognize was disappointment at yet another irresponsible teen. She would be lying if she said they didn't bother her sometimes. Because some disparaging looks and comments really bugged her. It hadn't been a problem when she was in earlier stages of her pregnancy and didn't show, but now she was really starting to feel some pressure.
Just the week before , on her way to school with Riley on the subway, a woman had asked her if she was actually pregnant. When she had answered the affirmative, the disdain on the woman's face immediately showed, and she'd made some comment about her being too young to be having a child and basically being a baby herself. Maya had answered as politely as she could to the rude and unnecessary criticism, but when the woman had replied with something along the lines of 'I swear, mothers these days never know how to raise their children right', Maya had almost flipped a raging shit and Riley had to quickly stuff her mouth with bagel to keep her from going off on the woman.
And a few days before actually, the day before their last exam, she and her friends had been studying in library and the amount of odd and judgemental looks she had received made her get a little self-conscious. Lucas took her hand to comfort her, and though it had been soothing, Maya couldn't help but think that everybody in the world was gawking at her and staring at her like she was a pariah.
Maya sighed. She supposed that would be the way it would be from now on. Such was baggage that came with being pregnant. She rubbed the swell gently, smiling to herself. Still, regardless of her slowly dwindling self-esteem, she wasn't ashamed of being pregnant anymore. She'd really grown to love her baby. Despite all the stupid annoying raging hormones in every extreme and the vomit and the ketchup (which she used to never be able to stand but surprisingly couldn't live without now) and the gassiness, Jellybean had quickly become her best companion. It was fun to talk to her about stupid shit.
It was a strange feeling, the maternal one, but she was actually kind of enjoying it with each day that passed.
"Christmas Day sale until five! Everything 50% off! Come shop at A La Mode for the Christmas Day Extravaganza!"
And Maya did a double take at the familiar voice ringing the bell and shouting at the top of her lungs. She turned and realized it was Missy standing outside of a clothing boutique, dressed to the nines in a goofy elf costume, her cheeks painted red and hair in two pigtails on either side of her head. Maya stared at her for a good few moments, wondering if she was actually seeing things or this was real. She contemplated taking a picture for shits and giggles, but then Maya remembered how Missy had done her a solid a few weeks ago.
She put the phone back in her bag and walked over to the girl.
"Missy?"
The brunette's gaze snapped to Maya in alarm, her eyes widening in surprise.
"Oh my God…" She tried to hide her face. "I'm not Missy. My name is Amanda."
Maya rose a brow, but said nothing, still a little shocked by the fact that this really was Missy dressed like one of Santa's elves and advertising a store.
"Urgh…" Missy groaned in embarrassment when it became apparent Maya wasn't buying her excuse. "I can't believe someone from school saw me."
"I didn't know you uh… worked here." Maya said, feeling laughter bubbling up in her chest.
"I'm filling in for a neighbour!" Missy snapped, a light blush forming on her face in chagrin. "I work retail at another shop called Royals."
"You actually work?" Maya asked, honestly surprised by the revelation. Missy just did not seem like the type to do a day of work in her life.
"I have to. My mom's off in Tijuana."
"What about your dad?"
"Don't know. Cabo probably?"
Neither of her parents are home? How long have they been gone?
Maya was astonished to say the least. Maya had not expected Missy would have difficulties with her parents. She just seemed like the type of girl who had her whole life together and handed to her on a silver platter. The discovery brought up so many questions. But she held off on asking anything else because Missy's face had taken on a sort of dark, melancholic irritation, and Maya knew everyone had their own skeletons in their closets they wanted to keep hidden.
"Look, I know we're not friends or anything, but please don't tell anyone about this." She pleaded, rubbing her hands together to fight the cold, "No one—not even my boyfriend—knows about my employed life, and I intend to keep it that way."
"I wasn't planning to." Then Maya changed the subject to give the clearly uncomfortable girl a break. "What kind of store is open on Christmas anyway?"
"Exactly what I've been wondering for the past three hours."
"You've been out here for three hours in that elf getup?" Maya snorted, "Hope they're paying you enough."
"Oh they'd better." Missy gestured to Maya's abdomen. "So how's the baby?"
"Good. She's good."
"So you're having a girl huh? You taking suggestions for names? Because Missy is a fantastic choice."
"All naming rights are reserved to Riley Matthews." Maya said on autopilot. The amount of people at school who had given her suggestions for the past few weeks was bordering on hundreds. She had so many requests that she'd had to develop a kind of automatic response to said requests. "But if you'd like the name to be considered, please consult Riley to state your case."
Missy snorted and rolled her eyes. "How long is the waitlist for the consultation?"
"Well, there are at least a hundred others." Maya teased, playing along, "Maybe you'll get lucky and someone else will mention your suggestion. Or you could just bribe them to switch with you."
"You're funny. I like you." Missy smirked, an eyebrow raised sassily, "Anyway, my boss is watching me, so either plan to buy something or you gotta scat."
"Got it." Maya said with a smile, planning to continue on her way.
"Wait. Hold on." Missy said, tugging on her sleeve. "Royals has an opening for part-time hire until June. It's just general retail so pay isn't all that great, but no one has applied yet, so it's pretty fair game. The sooner you can start, the better. And I can totally vouch for you if you need credentials or a reference."
"I, uh…" Maya frowned, hesitating.
"You could stand to make some serious cash if you take this job. Babies are super expensive. If you start saving up now, it might make things a little easier when your baby actually comes along."
What Missy said was all true, and it was something that had been poking the back of Maya's mind for a little while, but was it really wise to be picking up so many hours after school working? Not only did she still have several paintings to complete for the art show which took tons of time to work on, but she was also a little bent out of shape with the baby and an active position in a workplace would probably wear her out.
"Thanks." Maya finally responded. "I'll think about it."
"Yeah, do that. And tell your Loverboy Lucas that he needs to pick up work too. The girl can't be the only one doing everything. He needs to get his ass in gear." Missy started ringing her elf bell once again, signifying the conversation was over. "Merry Christmas, Maya."
"You too, Missy." Maya said as she left, still a little taken aback by how easily conversation with Missy had gone. This was the same prissy, stuck up girl who used to snub them all through high school. And here there were, having a normal conversation like old friends. It was strange.
Her phone pinged with the arrival of another text message from Riley.
You said you were on your way. You're STILL not here yet. About to send out a team of cops to find you if you don't get home soon!
chill honey. i forgot to buy you a gift. picking one up right now.
Ooooooh! Present! Alright. One hour. And then I'm calling the national guard.
Maya snorted in amusement and slipped her phone into her pocket as she headed to the subway.
She had lied.
She'd already made Riley's present ages ago. Started it in August of their junior year in fact and had finally finished it over the summer before their senior year started. It was a mosaic art piece of all the photos of them since they had become friends in their childhood, shrunken, intricately placed and positioned. The overall picture recreated the first photo memory they had: the two of them at a fair, cotton candy stuck to Maya's cheeks and caramel smeared on Riley's nose and forehead. The actual photo had unfortunately been lost years ago, but Maya remembered the details like it had been in front of her face and had made the portrait to give to Riley for her adventures in college so she would never forget her lil' old best friend back home. It had taken Maya a little more than a year to finish it up, and in order to make sure Riley never ever found it, Maya had stored it in a super-secret place no one would think to look:
Under her mother's bed.
Which is why she was heading there now to pick it up, despite the fact that her palms were sweating.
As she rode the familiar subway route that she hadn't traveled in about a month, her nerves increased with each stop that brought her closer to her home. No. Her old home. Her anxiety was so bad, she didn't even notice the curious and snide glances being cast her way by the few other occupants of the subway.
Once there, Maya got off the subway at her stop and made the familiar trek through the muddy, dirty streets and litter infested sidewalks. Getting to the apartment wasn't a problem. The problem could potentially be getting inside. She wasn't exactly certain her mother would even be home.
In the past, Katy would always take Christmas' off to celebrate with Maya. During the day, they would decorate their apartment with random streamers and birthday decorations from prior birthdays and pretend the potted plant on the window sill was a Christmas tree. And when night fell, they would bake terrible cookies and make hot chocolate from scratch that was way too bitter and then end up ordering pizza and soda and watching TV specials on the couch with their feet in identical bunny slippers. It wasn't exactly what most people would consider Christmas, but it was Christmas to Maya.
Without her at home with her mom, would Katy even still celebrate? If she had picked up another shift on this day, Maya was pretty sure she would have to break into the apartment.
(Maya had misplaced and ultimately lost their only spare and the key she used the night she hooked up with Lucas. What a cruel twist of fate. Her hook up had gotten her locked out of her own home. In more than one way).
Maya approached the door of her old home. She could definitely hear noise inside, and realized her mother had taken this Christmas off too. It made her a little nervous. She had been hoping she could snatch the portrait and leave without having to have an awkward conversation with her mother. But she wouldn't let this deter her anyway. She planned to just walk in there, get her portrait and leave immediately. She had nothing to say to her mother.
Especially not after that horrible confrontation earlier that month.
But she'd never get anywhere if she stood there waiting.
So without a second thought, Maya lifted her hand and rapped her knuckles against the door. There was a shuffling, and then feet padding closer and closer to the door. It swung open almost brutally, banging against the wall, and Maya almost jumped.
"For fuck's sake Ned! I told you I don't want any damn singers coming–"
And then Katy's eyebrows lifted as she stared back at her daughter in slight shock.
"Maya…"
"Hey mom."