6. Chapter 6(1)

So, I might have let this chapter get away from me and it is over 15k words...I hope you enjoy.

About a week after Nora's special day, it was Rowan's turn. They were going to an indoor climbing and obstacle course gym that both Maya and Carina knew would be right up Rowan's alley. The little girl loved to climb on everything she could, often getting in a little bit of trouble for trying to climb on tables and bookshelves at daycare. Maya and Carina tried hard to work with her on what things are good to climb and what things are not, but she was only 3 so it was a never-ending process.

The morning of Rowan's day started off much less eventful than Nora's day. Maya got up and went for her run before coming home to get ready for the day.

By the time she was done in the shower, Rowan was up.

"Mommy, is today time to go to climb?" Rowan asked as she walked into the bathroom as Maya was getting ready.

"Yes," Maya said, stopping what she was doing and walking over to the toddler, scooping her up, "Today you and Mamma and I are going to go to the climbing gym."

"And Noa?" Rowan asked.

"No," Maya said, "Nora is going to go over to Uncle Travis's house."

Laila was going to take Nora, but Josie had her 18-month appointment the day before and she always struggled with her shots so Laila didn't want to risk having Nora over if Josie wasn't feeling up to playing.

They were just going to send Nora to daycare, but when Travis overheard Maya talking about it with Andy and Vic, he had offered to take her, claiming he could always use extra time with her which of course Nora was more than ok with.

"Just Mommy and Mamma and me?" Rowan said, cocking her head and looking at Maya.

"Yes," Maya said, laughing, "Just the three of us. Is that ok?"

"Si," Rowan nodded, squirming out of Maya's arms as they both heard Carina getting out of bed in the bedroom.

Maya finished brushing her hair, smiling as her wife walked into the bathroom with Rowan in her arms.

"Good morning," Maya said, walking over and pressing a gentle kiss to Carina's lips.

"Good morning," Carina said, "How are you feeling this morning?"

"Just like yesterday and the day before and the day before, I feel fine," Maya said grumpily, "I really think it's the progesterone that makes me feel less good and I still have another two days before we start those."

"Just checking," Carina said, setting Rowan down.

"I know," Maya said, taking a deep breath, "Sorry. I feel fine, but I think I am a little bit more hormonal than normal."

"That's expected," Carina said, wrapping both her arms around her wife.

Maya nodded, leaning her head against Carina's chest for a second.

"Mommy," Rowan called from where she was in the bedroom.

"Duty calls," Maya said, pulling away from Carina.

Maya went to find Rowan and also get Nora up for the day. Once everyone was ready, they headed to Travis's house, Nora very excited to spend her day with one of her favorite people.

"Alright Nora," Maya said, getting out of the car, "Ready to go see Uncle Travis."

"Yeah," Nora cheered, as Maya let her out of her car seat and started removing the seat from the car, "Bye Owan. Bye Mamma."

"Bye Piccola," Carina said, "Have fun. I love you."

"Bye Noa," Rowan said, waving at her sister.

"I get to pway wif Unca Tee?" Nora said as she and Maya headed toward the house.

"Yes," Maya laughed, "You get to stay with Uncle Travis and have lunch with him and then Mamma and Rowan and I will come back and bring you home for a nap, ok?"

"I wanna nap at Unca Tee's," Nora frowned, "He haves a sweeping bag I yike."

"We'll see," Maya said as they knocked on the door.

The door opened but no one was there.

"Mommy, where's Unca Tee?" Nora said, cocking her head to the side.

"Boo," Travis said, jumping out from behind the door, startling Nora for a second before she started laughing.

"Unca Tee," she said, jumping into his arms.

"Hi Bean," Travis said, laughing as he picked her up, "Hey Maya."

"Hey," she said, laughing, "Thanks for taking Nora for us for today."

"Of course," Travis said, "You know I always love having either of them here. Is Rowan excited about her day at the climbing gym?"

"Yes," Maya nodded, "She woke up asking about it this morning."

"Unca Tee, tan I take a nap at your house?" Nora asked, getting Travis's attention.

"Um, I guess," Travis said, a little confused.

"I told her we would pick her up before her nap and she asked if she could nap here," Maya explained, "I told her we would have to ask you."

"Oh, got it," he said, "I'm totally fine with that. I have plans tonight around 5, but I am free the rest of the day, though I did tell Vic I had Nora today and she said she is probably going to come over for a while."

"Alright," Maya said, "Well then, we will pick her up around 3? I'll text you before we come to make sure she is awake."

"Sounds like a plan," Travis nodded, "We will see you later."

"Bye Mommy," Nora said, reaching out and giving Maya a hug and kiss while still holding onto Travis.

"Bye Piccola," Maya said, "Have fun with Uncle Travis and be a good listener ok?"

Nora nodded, waving as Maya left.

"Ok," the blonde said, getting back in the car, "Now, who's ready for the climbing gym?"

"Me," Rowan hollered, kicking her legs a little bit out of excitement.

"What about you Mamma?" Maya asked.

"Si," Carina nodded, "I am also excited. I can't wait to see Patatina's climbing skills. And yours too Bambina."

"You just want to look at my butt while I climb," Maya said, rolling her eyes as they drove.

"No," Carina said, shaking her head, "I also want to see your legs…and your arms."

"But you are going to climb too right?" Maya asked.

"Si," Carina nodded, "I'm going to try at least. I am nowhere near as strong as you."

"I'm stwong," Rowan said, holding up her arms to show off her muscles.

"Yes you are," Maya nodded, looking in the rear-view mirror for a second, smiling at the little girl, "You are very strong."

They drove to the climbing place, Maya getting Rowan out of the car and helping her into her jacket before the three of them headed into the gym, Rowan between Maya and Carina, demanding they swing her which they happily did.

They got checked in, getting helmets to wear in certain areas, all three of them changing into shoes that they didn't wear outside because that was the gyms policy before they were set free to explore.

Unlike Nora's day which was a class, the climbing and exploration gym was more of just a giant space with different areas to explore. There was a large rock-climbing area, an elevated obstacle course, a regular obstacle course, a small zipline, and some other pieces of equipment. Maya had come to this gym once before to rock climb, but she hadn't been in years and they had added a lot more since she had last been.

"Ok Patatina, where do you want to start?" Maya asked as they walked in.

"Over dere," Rowan said, pointing to an obstacle course area.

"Alright," Carina said, "Let's go."

They walked over, the gym fairly empty because it was a Thursday morning and most people were at work or school. However, Maya and Carina both happened to have the day off so they knew it would be a good time to come here. Rowan had steered them over to one of the obstacle courses, already trying to climb the rope that was meant to be part of a climb and repel obstacle that was clearly child sized.

"Help Mommy," Rowan said, looking at Maya.

"Alright," Maya said, chuckling as she walked over to her daughter, "Here we go."

Maya helped Rowan climb the rope, Carina getting on the other side of the obstacle to help the toddler repel down the other side.

"Va bene Patatina," Carina smiled as Rowan made it to the bottom of the rope.

"I did it," the little girl said, smiling.

"You did," Maya nodded, "That was great."

"Yet's do dat one now," Rowan said, pointing to a climbing net.

The next half an hour was mostly spent on the obstacle equipment before they moved on to the ropes course. Rowan was too small to do the big ropes course, but there was a smaller one that all three of them were able to do together that the little blonde loved and wanted to do twice which was fine because there were only a handful of other people in the gym and at least half of them were just there for the rock wall. That was where they headed after the second time through the ropes course.

"Ok Rowan, are you ready?" Maya asked as they got her into a harness.

"Umm," Rowan said, biting her lip, "I no know."

"Are you nervous Patatina?" Carina asked as both she and Maya crouched down next to her. Rowan nodded, burying her face in Maya's neck.

"It's ok," Maya said, "You don't have to do anything you don't want to."

"Maybe you could watch Mommy do it and see what you think," Carina suggested, knowing her wife loved rock climbing though she hadn't gotten to go much in the past few years, "Does that sound like a good idea?"

"Si," Rowan said, "Dat sounds yike a very dood idea."

"Alright," Maya laughed, "Come on. Let's go over to where the bigger walls are."

The three of them walked over to another area of the gym, Maya getting into a harness and pulling on her rock climbing gloves she had put in their bag before clipping herself in and pulling herself up on the wall.

"See Ro, it's fun," Maya said as she climbed a little higher.

Carina and Rowan stood there watching Maya climb, though Carina knew that she and her daughter were focused on very different parts of Maya's climb.

"Mommy is so high," Rowan said, drawing Carina's attention away from her wife's arms and ass and back to her daughter.

"She is, isn't she?" Carina said, crouching down next to the toddler, "Do you want a turn."

"When Mommy comes back down," Rowan said, "Yook, she's almost to the top."

"Say 'go Mommy'" Carina said quietly.

"Do Mommy," Rowan called, causing Maya to turn around a little, smiling at her family, pulling one hand off carefully before continuing her climb to the top of the wall.

"She did it," Rowan said, clearly in awe of her mommy, "She made it to da top."

"She did," Carina nodded, smiling as she watched her wife climb down, "Isn't Mommy so strong?"

Rowan said, eyes still glued to Maya. Carina also couldn't help but stare at her wife, using a lot of self-restraint to keep her breathing even as she felt her heartrate increase and her body start naturally reacting to how incredibly sexy her wife looked climbing the rock wall. She told herself that the twins would nap today and she would take full advantage of those two hours. Maya's feet hit the ground, pulling Carina out of her thoughts.

"Dat was so tool Mommy," Rowan said, jumping around a little, "You climbed all da way to da top."

"I did," Maya said, rubbing her hands a little, "Are you ready to try?"

"Si," Rowan said, clearly more confident after watching her mommy do it.

"Car, are you ok?" Maya asked, noticing her wife looked a little bit flushed and dazed maybe.

"Si," Carina said, shaking her head a little, "I am fine."

"Are you sure?" Maya asked, "Because you look flushed. Are you feeling sick or something?"

"Or something," Carina muttered under her breath.

"Do you need to sit down?" Maya asked, "Or some water or we can go home if…"

"Bambina, I am fine," Carina said, "You just look...very muscular while you are climbing."

"But what does…oh," Maya said, expression changing from one of concern to a slightly embarrassed but also very flirty as she moved so she could whisper in her wife's ear, "Are my big muscles and tight clothes turning you on Dr. Bishop-Deluca?"

"Maya," Carina groaned, "Stop. We are here for Rowan's day out and if you keep going, I am going to get very grumpy because we cannot do anything about it right now."

"Fine," Maya said, nipping at Carina's ear a little before pulling away, "But later because these hormones are making me very horny these days."

"Oh, later for sure," Carina nodded.

"Mamma, Mommy, tome on," Rowan said, "Yet's go. No more pstpstpstpst."

"Ok, sorry. We are done whispering," Maya said, looking down at the little girl, "Let's go."

They took Rowan back over to the small wall, getting her hooked into the ropes, Maya deciding to climb next to her to help her if she needed it.

"Ready Ro?" Maya asked, "Start with one hand on the red on and the other one on the blue one right there and then climb."

Rowan grabbed the fake rocks, pulling herself up a little bit, Maya helping her get her feet in position before Rowan reached for the next rock.

"Good job Patatina," Carina said, taking a picture of her, "You are doing such a good job."

Rowan was surprisingly good at the rock wall, getting about halfway up the small wall with Maya's help before deciding she was done.

"That was such a good job Patatina," Maya said, picking up the little girl as soon as she was down, "You worked so hard and you climbed so well. Did you have fun?"

"Si," Rowan said, "Dat's fun. Tan we do more?"

"Of course," Maya said.

"Mamma, do you want to try?" Rowan asked, looking at Carina.

"Do you want me to?" Carina asked.

She was not a big rock climber, having only been two other times, once with Andrea in a mall when they were kids and once on a date with Maya early in their relationship. She hadn't been good either time ad didn't love doing it, but if Rowan wanted her to, Carina would climb.

"You should try," Rowan said after thinking for a minute, "It's fun."

"Alright," Carina said, going to get a harness.

"Babe, you don't have to do this if you don't want to," Maya said pulling Carina aside as she came back, "Rowan would understand."

"Bambina, it's fine," Carina said, "I don't hate climbing. I just don't love it as much as you. But I can do a little bit with you two. She isn't going to want to do this all day like you wanted to last time."

"You said you had been climbing and enjoyed it," Maya said defensively, having never lived down bringing Carina to a similar climbing gym on a date early in their relationship.

They had tried to take turns planning things for their dates and Maya had decided that indoor rock climbing was the perfect active activity, especially because it had been so rainy.

Carina had agreed, figuring they would just do a little bit of climbing and then maybe do something else because she had never seen a full-on climbing gym and didn't realize how big they were. Carina had tried to keep up with Maya who was clearly a great climber, but she had ended up so sore by the end of a thirty-minute climb that they had left, abandoning the other hour and a half Maya had booked for them, the blonde taking her girlfriend home for a hot shower and a massage and about a million apologies over the next few days when Carina could barely move.

This time, though, she would be climbing with a toddler on a very easy route and not trying to keep up with Maya to impress her. They made their way over to another area of small rock wall with easy paths, Rowan and Carina both getting clipped to harnesses while Maya opted to just free climb because it was easier.

The three of them did a small amount of climbing together, Maya and Carina both cheering Rowan on as she scaled the wall. They made their way back down once Rowan got too tired, Maya helping Rowan down the last little bit of the wall.

"Did you like climbing all together?" Carina asked as she looked at Rowan.

"Si," the toddler said, "It was so fun. I yove it."

"Oh good," Maya said, smiling at how excited the little girl still was, "Are you thirsty?"

Rowan nodded, the three of them going over to their bag and pulling out their water bottles, all three of them getting a drink.

"Patatina, do you want to keep climbing?" Carina asked, seeing the little girl looking around the gym.

"Tan we do pway over dere adain?" Rowan asked, pointing to the obstacle area.

"Sure," Carina said, nodding before looking at Maya, "If you want to climb a little more, you can. I know you love climbing and you don't get out here much. I can go help Rowan on the obstacles for a little while."

"Are you sure?" Maya asked, "I don't want to abandon you two."

"Go climb a little Bambina," Carina said, "Rowan won't mind, though she might want to come watch you which I would not complain about."

"Carina, stop it," Maya groaned as her wife grabbed her ass a little bit.

"Fine," the Italian said, "Go climb. I will take Rowan over to…where did she go?"

"She was standing right there," Maya said, feeling panic start to build as they both spun around, looking for their toddler when suddenly they both heard her.

"Mommy," Rowan called from the obstacle area where she had somehow climbed the rope on the first apparatus they had played on but now looked scared, "Mamma. Help."

Maya and Carina both ran over to her but before they could get there, Rowan lost her grip and fell pretty far to the ground with her arms straight, crying as soon as she hit the ground.

"Oh Patatina," Maya said, making it to the toddler before her wife, "It's ok."

"Ouchie," Rowan cried, holding her right arm close to her chest, "Ouchie."

"It's ok," Maya said, holding her close, "You're gonna be ok."

"It's ouchie," Rowan sobbed, clutching her arm as Maya held her.

"Oh Rowan," Carina said, sitting down next to Maya and Rowan, "It's ok."

One of the workers from the gym came over after hearing Rowan's cries.

"What happened?" she asked as Maya stood up with Rowan in her arms.

"She was climbing this without us and fell before we could get to her," Maya explained, Rowan still pretty upset, arm still clutched to her chest as Carina rubbed her back.

"We have a nurse's station where we can look at her if you would like," the woman from the gym said.

Rowan just cried against Maya's chest.

"She might not let anyone near her," Maya said, swaying a little bit to try to calm the toddler down, "But maybe we could go and just see?"

"That's a good idea," Carina nodded, "Even if she won't let anyone else, I can look."

"Did she hit her head?" the woman from the gym asked.

"I don't think so," Maya said, "I saw her fall and I think her arms went down first."

"Ok," the woman said, guiding them to a small room, "Well, this is our nurse Callie. She can help you out."

"Thank you," Maya said, still very focused on the crying little girl in her arms.

"What happened?" the nurse asked as Maya and Carina stood there, Rowan still whimpering in Maya's arm.

"She fell off of the repel wall," Maya sighed.

"Oh no," the nurse said, "Can I take a look?"

Rowan shook her head, burying herself more into Maya's body.

"She's a little shy," Maya sighed, kissing the top of Rowan's head.

"Patatina, can I look?" Carina asked, "Mommy can hold you, but I just want to make sure you aren't too hurt."

"My awm is ouchie," Rowan said quietly, still cradling it.

"Can I see?" Carina asked.

"Don't touch," Rowan said, shaking her head, causing Maya and Carina to both look at each other with concern.

"I won't touch," Carina said, "But can I see?"

"You can sit in this chair if you need to," Callie said, gesturing to one of the chairs.

"Thanks," Maya said, sitting down, moving Rowan so her right arm was closer to Carina.

"Ok Rowan," Carina said gently, kneeling down, "Can you move this hand?"

Rowan carefully took her left hand away, still keeping her right arm close to her body.

"Can you move this arm out so I can see?" Carina asked, gesturing to right arm.

Rowan moved it out a little bit, big tears welling up in her eyes as she did.

"Maya," Carina said, voice almost unnaturally happy, "Do you see her arm right here?"

Maya looked down, feeling her stomach flip when she saw the unnatural bend in Rowan's lower arm, looking at her wife noticing how she was keeping a strange smile on her face, understanding after a second that Carina was trying not to scare Rowan.

"I do," Maya said, nodding with the same weird tone Carina was using, "I think we might need to go to the hospital."

"Rowan, does anything else hurt besides your arm?" Carina asked.

The toddler shook her head, tears still in her eyes.

"Can I look at your eyes?" Carina asked, knowing Rowan had been in her helmet when she fell but still wanting to check her for a head injury all the same, "You can put your arm back how it's comfortable."

Rowan nodded, holding her arm against her chest again.

"Do you have a penlight?" Carina asked the nurse.

"Yeah," Callie nodded, "Here you go. Are you also a nurse?"

"Thank you," Carina said, taking the light, "I'm a doctor."

"Got it," the nurse nodded, "Would you like an ice pack for her arm?"

"Yes please," Maya said, nodded, "Thank you."

Over the next few minutes, Carina gave Rowan a thorough check up, not finding anything wrong other than the very clearly broken arm. Maya trying to keep the ice pack the nurse gave them on Rowan's arm though the toddler did not like it, crying and pushing it away for the first few minutes, finally letting Maya do it when the nurse offered her a popsicle which helped keep her calm.

"Ok," Carina said, "I think it's time to go to the hospital. Other than her arm, she seems ok."

"Alright," Maya said, still holding Rowan in her arms.

"Did you want us to call an ambulance?" the nurse asked.

"No, that's ok," Maya said, "We can drive her."

"Ok," the nurse nodded, "I just need you to sign this form. It's basically just an incident report for our files just in case."

"I'll do it," Carina said, knowing Maya was busy holding Rowan and keeping the ice on her arm.

Carina scanned the report, knowing it was basically just a liability form that said they wouldn't sue the gym for Rowan's injury and provided a record of what happened.

"I'm sorry you got hurt Rowan," Carina head Maya saying as she finished with the form, looking over and seeing her two favorite blondes sitting together, Rowan's head resting on Maya's chest, Maya holding the ice on Rowan's arm while Rowan held her popsicle in her mouth.

"Alright," Carina said, handing the paperwork back to the nurse, "Thank you for your help."

"I didn't do much," the nurse said, "You both seem to know what you are doing."

"Battalion chief for SFD and a world renown OB/GYN," Maya said as she stood with Rowan still in her arms, "We have a lot of experience with emergencies."

"Wow," the nurse said, "Well, I would say Miss Rowan here is going to be just fine with you two as her moms to take care of her. Sorry today didn't go as planned."

"Thank you," Carina said, making sure they had their bag as they headed toward the exit. Rowan was still whimpering as they walked to the car.

"Do you want me to drive Bambina?" Carina asked as they got to the car, "So you can sit in the back with her?"

"Maybe," Maya said, biting her lip, "One of us should sit in the back.

Rowan, do you want Mommy or Mamma to sit in the back with you?"

"Bof," Rowan said, sniffling a little bit.

"Patatina, one of us has to drive," Carina said, rubbing the toddler's back, "But once we get to the hospital, we can both sit with you ok?"

"How about we get you in your seat and then you can decide?" Maya said, looking at the little girl.

"No," Rowan cried, "I don't want my seat. I want uppie. My awm hurts."

"Patatina, you have to sit in your seat," Carina said, feeling her heart breaking a little, "We have to drive to the hospital so we can get your arm fixed and feeling better."

"No," Rowan cried, "I wanna do home."

"I know," Maya said, rocking back and forth a little bit, trying to calm her down again, "I know it hurts a lot, but Mamma and I will be very careful putting you in your seat and then we will drive to the hospital and Uncle Link is going to look at your arm and help it feel better ok? It's ok to cry and be upset because being hurt is not fun, but I promise Mamma and I will be here with you all the time. One of us has to drive, but one of us will sit with you and hold your hand or rub your head or whatever you need. We are right here, but we can't help you feel better unless we can put you in your seat and drive to the hospital. We can put you in now or we can wait a few minutes, but you have to go in your seat."

"Now," Rowan sniffled.

"Alright," Maya said as she and Carina walked toward the car.

They loosened the straps a lot so they could slide Rowan's arm under them without jostling it too much.

After watching how anxious Maya seemed as they were getting Rowan in her seat, Carina decided she was going to drive, not wanting an accident because the blonde couldn't pay attention. Maya was always so levelheaded and calm during emergencies unless they involved Rowan, Nora, or Carina and then she was absolutely a mess.

Carina drove them to Grey Sloan, Maya calling Link and letting him know they were coming. He told them he would be ready for them in the ER when they got there. Rowan was still pretty uncomfortable in the car, Maya tracing patterns on her uninjured arm.

"You are doing such a good job," Maya said to Rowan, "I'm so sorry your arm hurts. Uncle Link is going to help it feel better soon, ok?"

Rowan just whimpered, clearly in a lot of pain.

"We're almost there," Carina said, looking in the rearview as she stopped at a stoplight.

"Maybe we should have called an aid car," Maya sighed, looking at the red light, "I just want to get there."

"We will be there in two minutes," Carina said, also kinda wishing they would have called the station because it was hard to concentrate on driving knowing Rowan was in pain in the back seat.

They pulled into Grey Sloan, Carina pulling into her parking spot, Maya immediately starting the process of loosening the car seat straps again so they could get Rowan out.

"Ok," Carina said, coming around and opening the door, "Come here Patatina."

They managed to get her out with minimal pain, Carina carrying Rowan as they headed toward the ER.

"Carina," Link said, spotting her the second they walked in, "Hey. Bring her into bay 3."

"Thank you Link," Carina said as they walked in.

"Of course," Link said, already having an iPad open in his hands, "I started getting her signed in, but I didn't know everything though I did get her booked in x-ray in about ten minutes."

"Grazie Link," Carina said, sitting down on the bed with Rowan.

"Rowan, can I see your arm?" Link asked, crouching down by her.

"No," Rowan said, shaking her head.

"Please?" Link said, "I will be very gentle and I won't touch it if you don't want me to."

"Fine," Rowan said grumpily, carefully moving her arm away from her body, letting Link see it.

"Look at that arm," Link said, "It looks like a very strong arm. Can I feel how strong it is?"

Rowan gave him a side eye but nodded.

"Ok," Link said, gently taking her hand in one of his hands and her forearm in the other, "Oh, that looks like it might need a special picture. Do you think I can take a special picture of your arm?"

"No," Rowan said, pulling her arm back to her body.

"What if I went with you to get the picture?" Carina asked, rubbing Rowan's back.

"Does the picta hurt?" Rowan asked, looking at Link and Carina.

"Nope," Link said, "It might be a little uncomfortable how we have to put your arm to take the picture, but I promise we will be very gentle, ok?"

Rowan sighed but nodded.

"Ok," Link said, "I need to go double check with x-ray that they are ready. I'll be back in a few minutes. I'm going to leave this with you to fill out if you can."

"Grazie," Carina said as Link left, Maya walking over to them.

"You are doing such a good job Ro," Maya said, dropping a kiss on the toddler's forehead, "I bet after we take pictures of your arm, they will be able to give you something to help your arm feel better ok?"

Rowan nodded, still just cuddled into Carina's chest, a true sign she was hurting because normally, Rowan was very active and curious about everything around her.

"Si," Carina nodded, "We will get you some medicine soon, ok?"

Maya grabbed the iPad, starting to fill everything out on the screen, needing something to do because Rowan was with Carina at the moment.

"Alright," Link said coming in, "X-ray is ready. You both are welcome to come if you want."

"Ok," Maya said as Carina stood up, careful not to jostle Rowan too much.

They walked to x-ray, the tech waiting for them.

"Hi Dr. Bishop-Deluca," the tech said, "Rowan, I heard you hurt your arm."

Rowan kept her head on Carina's chest, nodding a little bit.

"We are going to take some quick pictures so Dr. Lincoln can help it feel better," the tech said, "Is that ok?"

"Mamma," Rowan said, clinging to Carina.

"You can sit with Mamma," the tech said, "Dr. Bishop-Deluca, you can bring her over here."

"Mommy," Rowan cried, not seeing Maya.

"I'm right here Patatina," Maya said, moving so Rowan could see her, "It's going to be ok."

"Before we start, I need to put this apron on you," the tech said, coming over with a small lead apron, "Can I put this on you? It's just like heavy dress up clothes."

"Otay," Rowan nodded, letting the tech put them on.

"Dr. Bishop-Deluca, Chief Bishop-Deluca, is there a chance either of you are pregnant?" the tech asked, looking at them.

"No," Carina said, shaking her head as she saw Maya's face fall ever so slightly, "Neither one of us."

"Ok, did you both want to stay?" the tech asked.

"Yes please," Maya said, keeping her hand on Rowan's back.

The tech quickly grabbed lead aprons for both of them, Maya helping Carina get her adjusted so she didn't have to move Rowan too much.

"Alright," the tech said, "Now, Rowan, I need to put your arm on this board right here, ok?"

"No," Rowan said, shaking her head, "It hurts. No."

"Patatina, it's the only way they can take the picture," Carina said.

"No," Rowan said, holding her arm against her chest, "I don't want to."

"Ro, I know it's hard and your arm hurts, but once we take these pictures, it will help Uncle Link know how to make your arm feel better," Maya said, crouching down in front of her daughter and wife, "You can cry if you need to and you can squeeze my hand as hard as you want, but we have to take these pictures."

"Fine," Rowan said, still looking angry and scared, but loosening the grip on her injured arm.

"Can I help you put it down?" Carina asked, gently touching Rowan's injured arm.

"Here, squeeze my hand," Maya said, slipping her hand into Rowan's as Carina carefully moved Rowan's little arm over to the plate on the table, the tech getting the arm in the right place before running to take the picture, Carina helping to hold Rowan's arm.

"You are doing such a good job Patatina," Maya said as Rowan squeezed her hand, tiny tears rolling down her cheek, "I am so sorry it hurts."

"Ok," the tech said, coming back in, "Let's get another angle."

"Ouchie," Rowan cried as the tech moved her arm.

"I'm sorry," the tech said, "I'll be super-fast."

After another few angles, the tech was done, Rowan holding her arm back against her chest, still whimpering.

"I'll get these to Dr. Lincoln as soon as possible," the tech said, "Let me go get someone to walk you back."

"We've got it," Carina said, "Thank you."

"Of course," the tech said, "I hope your arm feels better soon Rowan."

They walked back to their bed in the ER, Carina sitting down with Rowan again.

"Mommy," Rowan whimpered, looking for the blonde.

"I'm right here," Maya said, stroking Rowan's hair.

"Sit down," Rowan said, rubbing her eyes with her left hand.

"Alright," Maya said, Carina shifting a little so Maya could sit next to them.

Just then, Link came in, holding an iPad.

"So here is her x-ray," he said, flipping it around, "As you can see, she's got a break in both her ulna and radius. It's a little displaced, but I think I will be able to straighten it just. I want to get an IV in her and give her a mild sedative so I can try to just pull them back into place. If that doesn't work, we will have to do surgery."

"Surgery?" Maya said, eyes widening.

"That's a last resort," Link said, "I have had a lot of luck with getting bones like this back in place, especially in little ones like Rowan. I am going to go grab a nurse to get an IV in her and then we will go from there, ok?"

"Ok," Carina nodded, noticing her wife looked terrified, "Grazie Link."

He disappeared, Carina looking over at Maya again.

"Bambina, it's going to be ok," Carina said, "She is going to be just fine."

Maya just nodded, not saying anything and just continuing to trace patterns on Rowan's uninjured arm.

A nurse came in a minute later, bringing some numbing cream to put on Rowan's hand. However, when she tried, Rowan absolutely refused to let her near her, the nurse letting Carina put the cream on instead, letting them know it would take about 10 minutes for the cream to work, promising to be back soon with the IV and medicine for the toddler.

Getting the IV in Rowan was a little bit more challenging than they hoped, the little girl very much not in the mood to have someone touching her and putting an IV in her at the moment. Maya ended up pulling out her phone and putting on a video for her, this calming her down and giving the nurse the time she needed to get an IV in Rowan's left hand.

"Alright," the nurse said, "I am going to give her a little bit of Tylenol and then the sedative. She'll probably fall asleep pretty quickly."

Carina nodded, both her and Maya just focused on keeping Rowan comfortable and calm. Once the sedative was given and the nurse made sure Rowan was handling it well, she left the room, promising to send Link in.

The orthopedic surgeon came in not long after.

"Ok," he said, slipping on a pair of gloves, "I am going to try to reset this arm. Carina, can you put her down?"

"Ok," Carina nodded, laying Rowan down on the bed, "Come on Bambina. Let's let Link work."

"Can I just sit here?" Maya asked, "I promise I won't get in the way."

"Maya, I don't think you are going to want to be this close," Link said, shaking his head, "You will probably be able hear the bones going back into place and that is not a pleasant sound."

"I'm fine," Maya said, shaking her head, "I'm not leaving her."

"Bambina, you can come stand over here," Carina said, "Then we can still see her."

"I'm fine here," Maya snapped.

"Ok," Link said, picking up Rowan's little arm, carefully manipulating it and pulling ever so slightly, feeling and also hearing the bones shift.

"Alright," he said, feeling her arm, "I think I got it. I'll get a portable x-ray in here to check. I'll be right back."

"Bambina, what's wrong?" Carina asked, knowing just from Maya's body language that she was not ok and it seemed to be more than just that their daughter was hurt.

"I should have protected her," Maya said, stroking Rowan's forehead, "I shouldn't have been arguing with you about climbing. I should have just stayed with her because today was her day and I shouldn't have been trying to climb without you two. I should have been there and kept her from falling."

"No," Carina said firmly, "No, this is not your fault any more than it is mine."

"You aren't the one who was being selfish about climbing on their own," Maya said, shaking her head.

"But it was my idea for you to do it," Carina argued back, "So it is just as much your fault as mine."

"No, it's not," Maya said, "It's not your fault at all."

"Then it isn't yours either," Carina said, "This was an accident. All three of us probably should have made other choices, but there is nothing we can do to change it. Rowan is going to be just fine. She will have a cast for a few weeks and then be back to her normal self. It's going to be ok."

"I just hate that she got hurt," Maya said.

"So do I," Carina sighed, sitting down next to her wife, "But we are going to take care of her and make sure she is ok. I'm sure in a few days, she will be back to our crazy little monkey and the hardest part will be trying to convince her to slow down with her cast."

Maya sighed, knowing Carina was right, but still hating that Rowan was hurt.

"She's sleeping in our bed tonight," Maya said, still not looking away from Rowan.

"I wouldn't think of anything else," Carina nodded. Link came back in with an x-ray tech, grabbing a quick set of x-rays on Rowan's arm.

"It looks perfect," Link said, showing them the scan almost as soon as it was taken, "The bones are straight. I want to get her in a cast and then we can wake her up and you guys can take her home."

"Thank you," Carina said, nodding.

"What is her favorite color?" Link asked.

"Red," Maya and Carina said at the same time.

"Like a fire engine," Maya smiled, blinking quickly to keep the tears out of her eyes.

"Alright," Link said, "I'll go grab the fiber glass and get this cast on."

"She's fine," Maya said, looking at Carina, "She doesn't need surgery or anything."

"I told you Link is very good at his job," Carina said, nodding.

"I'm glad she is sleeping," Maya said, looking back at Rowan, "I hated seeing her in pain."

"Me too," Carina nodded, "We will have to stay on top on the pain meds for the next few days."

"They aren't going to put her on anything hard right?" Maya said, "Like no narcotics or anything?"

"No," Carina said, "Now that her bone is straight, Tylenol and Motrin should be plenty. I bet she will wake up feeling much better. Probably groggy, but in much less pain."

"Good," Maya said, stroking Rowan's hair, "I don't want her to be in pain anymore."

They just sat there with Rowan for the next little bit until Link came back in with everything he needed to cast Rowan's arm.

"Why are you in your street clothes?" Carina asked, just now noticing Link's attire, "Were you off today?"

"Yeah," he shrugged, wetting the casting material.

"You did not need to come in on your day off," Carina said, "I'm sure someone else could have helped us. I didn't realize you weren't working."

"Carina, you literally delivered my daughter on one of your days off while you were 7 months pregnant with twins," Link said, "Plus, you guys are like family. I would do anything for you."

Maya felt tears welling up in her eyes again, trying hard not to cry, knowing this was likely just from her hormones being all over the place at the moment, glad Link was focused on casting Rowan's arm and not on her watery eyes.

"Alright," Link said, making sure he had the cast how he wanted it, covering her arm from her palm to just above her elbow, "So just a reminder of the typical cast rules, no getting it wet, don't push on it or anything for the next 24 hours, don't let her put anything in it. I am thinking she will need it for about 4 weeks. And if you have any questions, you can call me, any time, day or night."

"Grazie Link," Carina said, nodding at him.

"Of course," he said, "I am going to stop her sedation meds. I'm guessing you will be out of here in the next thirty minutes to an hour. Oh, and I am going to go grab a sling to help with the weight of the cast. Alternate Tylenol and Motrin as needed for the next few days."

"Thanks Link," Maya said, "For everything."

He nodded, leaving the room as Maya and Carina sat next to Rowan.

"Should one of us hold her as she's waking up?" Maya asked, stroking Rowan's little cheek.

"I don't know," Carina said, "You can if you want to."

Maya decided to scoop the toddler up, careful of her arm, holding her close. Just then, the curtain opened around the bed, Teddy coming in.

"What happened?" the cardio surgeon said, "I saw her name on the ER board."

"We were at a climbing gym and she fell," Carina said, "Broken radius and ulna."

"Oh no," Teddy said, "Poor Rowan. Do you guys need anything? I have a few minutes. I could go grab you some coffee or something to eat or whatever you want."

"I think we are ok," Carina said, looking over at Maya and getting a nod from her too, "Thank you though."

Just then, Rowan started to stir a little in Maya's arms, trying to bring both of her hands up to rub her eyes, getting a little agitated when her right arm wouldn't go where she wanted, whining and whimpering as Maya shushed here a little, rubbing her back.

"It's ok Rowan," Maya said gently, kissing her forehead, "I'm right here."

"I'll let you guys take care of her," Teddy said, "I'll text you later?"

"Si," Carina nodded, turning all of her attention to her toddler who was clearly a bit disoriented and a little bit upset.

"Mommy," Rowan whimpered, eyes still closed, "Mamma."

"We are right here," Carina said, "Just open your eyes Patatina. It's ok."

Rowan opened her eyes, squinting and turning her head into Maya's chest as the harsh ER lights hit them.

"It's ok," Maya said, holding her close, "Are you ok?"

"My awm feels stwange," Rowan said sleepily, looking down at it, still in a sleepy daze.

"You have a cast on it," Carina said, "Your bones in your arm are broken right now, but that nice cast will help keep it still and let them get better, ok?"

"It's wed," Rowan said, sleepy smile on her face, "I yike wed."

"That's why we asked Uncle Link to make it red," Maya smiled, "Now you match the engine."

"I'm firsty," Rowan said, smacking her lips, still not fully awake.

"I'll go get you something to drink," Carina said, trying to stand up.

"No," Rowan said, "Mamma, stay."

"Do you want me to go get you something?" Maya asked, fully ready to hand Rowan over to Carina.

"No," Rowan said, "Mommy stay too."

"Alright," Maya said, "We will stay, but then you are going to have to wait for a drink."

"No," Rowan cried, "I'm firsty."

Before they could try to sort this issue out, Teddy popped back in, holding small containers of orange juice, apple juice, grape juice, and a cup of water along with some graham crackers. "I thought she might be hungry or thirsty when she woke up," Teddy said.

"So you raided the ER patient fridge?" Carina laughed.

"I didn't know what she would want," Teddy shrugged, setting the items down on the little table next to the bed, "So I got some of everything."

"Well, thank you," Carina said, "Rowan, look. Zia Teddy brought you some juice."

"Appa duice?" Rowan said, trying to pick her head up off Maya's chest but clearly still a little bit out of it.

"I've got apple juice right here," Teddy said, "Do you want some?"

Rowan nodded, Teddy carefully opening the plastic container of juice, putting a small straw into it before handing it to Carina who helped Rowan take a few sips.

"Thank you Teddy," Maya said, "She was thirsty but she doesn't want us to leave."

"She deserves to have her moms with her right now," Teddy nodded as her pager started going off, "Oh, I've got a patient. Hope you feel better soon Rowan."

Link came in not long after with her sling, fitting it to her little arm.

"Does that feel ok Rowan?" he asked, adjusting it one last time.

"Si," Rowan said, having woken up a little more.

"Good," Link said, holding out his hand, getting a high five from her, "I'll go get the discharge paperwork and hopefully we can get you out of here soon."

As they sat there, Maya's phone dinged, alerting her to a text from Travis.

"Woah, did you know it's already after 3?" Maya said, looking at the time, "Trav is wondering when we are coming to get Nora."

"We could get her on our way home I guess," Carina said, "We should be done here in the next thirty minutes or so."

"Ok," Maya said, typing out as fast of a text as she could with one hand, her other arm still holding onto Rowan who was curled in her lap.

She sent the text, going to set down her phone only to have it ring.

"I need to step out to take this," Maya said, knowing the ER was pretty strict on a "no phone" policy just to keep the noise level down as much as possible.

"No, Mommy, don't go," Rowan cried, clinging to her.

"I need to talk to Uncle Travis," Maya said, rubbing Rowan's back, "You can stay with Mamma."

"No," Rowan said, still very clingy, "Bof of you stay."

"Just answer it here, Bambina," Carina said, "It won't be a long call."

Maya nodded, answering the phone.

"What happened?" Travis asked as soon as she picked up the phone.

"There was a little bit of an accident at the gym and Rowan broke her radius and ulna," Maya said, "She's fine. Link reset the bones and we are just waiting for her to be discharged. We can come grab Nora on our way home."

"I'll just bring her home," Travis said, shaking his head, "That way Rowan can get home and comfortable sooner."

"Ok," Maya said, "Thanks Trav. Um, I will text you when we leave here? Hopefully it won't be too much longer. I know you have plans."

"If I'm late to my plans, it will be fine," Travis said, "You guys are more important."

"Thank you Travis," Maya said, "I still hope we are home soon. I'll let you know. Is Nora doing ok?"

"She's great," Travis said, "She had a good nap and now she is eating a little snack. Don't worry about her, ok?"

"Thank you," Maya said, "Tell her we say hi."

"I will," Travis said, "See you in a little while."

Maya hung up, looking at her wife.

"He's going to bring Nora home once we get home," Maya said, "She's doing great, loving her time with her Unca Tee."

"I'm not surprised," Carina laughed, "I think she likes him more than us."

Maya nodded in agreement, looking back down at Rowan who was just using her left hand to play with a loose string on Maya's shirt.

Over the next half hour, Link got everything in order and discharged Rowan with a plan to see her again in a month to remove the cast and check how everything was healing. They headed out to the car, Maya driving this time, finding herself a lot calmer now that Rowan wasn't so agitated and in so much pain.

They drove home, Rowan knocking out on the way, exhausted from the stress of the day, the residual meds in her system, and the fact that she missed her normal afternoon nap. Maya was a little bit confused as she pulled into the driveway and seeing two cars there, one she recognized as Travis's and the other one as Amelia's.

Maya got Rowan out of the car, the toddler still sleeping as they went into the house.

"Hey," Amelia said as they walked into the living room, Maya and Carina both a little surprised to see Travis and Amelia both sitting there, Nora, Harper, and Scout in the playroom, "Sorry we invaded your space. I just stopped by to drop off some balloons, dinner, and a present for Rowan that Harper picked out, but Travis was here to bring Nora home and the kids started playing, but we can go so she can sleep."

"It's ok," Carina said, "Thank you for coming."

"Yeah," Maya nodded, rubbing Rowan's back, hoping she could keep the toddler asleep, "I am going to go put this one upstairs so she can sleep, though. She had a long day."

"Of course," Travis nodded as Maya headed upstairs.

The tiny blonde ended up absolutely clinging to Maya, even in her sleep, the battalion chief deciding to just lay down in bed with her, not able to deny Rowan anything she wanted today, still feeling slightly guilty about the fact that her daughter was hurt. Carina came up a while later with Nora in her arms, finding Rowan out cold and Maya just lying next to her, staring at her.

"She didn't want me to go," Maya said, seeing the look on her wife's face, "And I just couldn't leave her."

"I understand," Carina nodded, "Travis and Amelia and the kids just left. Nora is a little worried about Rowan though."

"She's ok," Maya said, moving Rowan a little bit, "She just hurt her arm a little bit."

Rowan stirred a little bit, waking up, Carina deciding to sit down with Nora to let the twins be together.

"You hurt your awm?" Nora asked Rowan.

The little blonde nodded, rubbing her eyes with her left hand. Nora frowned, rubbing her sister's back to comfort her.

The rest of the night was calm, the family eating some dinner from Amelia, Rowan clearly hungry from missing lunch because she ate two portions of chicken. Rowan was a lefty so breaking her right arm didn't impact her ability to eat which was good.

She also opened her present from Harper which was a stuffed octopus that Rowan loved and didn't set down the rest of the evening.

The hardest part was probably the fact that Rowan couldn't take a normal bath because of the cast. They knew they needed to get a cast cover so she could take a bath, but there was a full-on meltdown from Rowan when she was told there would be no bath that night. They also had a little bit of a challenge getting Rowan into pajamas, ending up just dressing her in one of Maya's t-shirts and calling it a night gown because nothing else fit over the cast.

Rowan was still a little bit uncomfortable the entire night, very clingy and pretty grumpy, just wanting to sit in Maya or Carina's lap most of the night.

They got Nora into bed at the normal time, keeping Rowan up a little later to give her her next does of medicine before putting her to bed in their bed, both of them deciding to just stay with her even though it was only 8 pm when they put her down.

"I hate that she is hurt," Maya said, staring at the little girl.

"So do I," Carina sighed, "But she will be alright. She is strong, just like you."

"No," Maya said, shaking her head, "She is stronger than me. She let us know that she was hurt even though it meant we had to leave the gym and she told us what she needed. I am so proud of her for doing that."

Carina moved closer to her wife, pulling her into a hug, pressing a kiss to her forehead, just providing her comfort in that moment.

The rest of the night was pretty calm, Carina making sure Maya got her injection before they fell asleep for the night, the blonde making sure she had alarms set to wake up and give Rowan her meds so she didn't wake up in pain.

Maya and Carina settled in, knowing tonight would likely not be a great night for sleeping, but they would do anything for the little girl laying between them, the one asleep in her bed down the hall, and their future child they knew they would have one day.

A few days after Rowan broke her arm, Maya was back at work, having worked from home for a day to be able to keep Rowan home from daycare earlier in the week, but today, both she and Carina had to work so Rowan and Nora were back at daycare.

Rowan was doing great, not in any pain and not needing any medicine the past 24 hours. This made both Maya and Carina confident she would be just fine in daycare, and if anything happened, Carina was at the hospital and could be there within minutes.

This particular day at the station was much busier than normal for Maya. They had had a pretty big 3 alarm to attend and Andy was out because Luca had come down with a fever the day before and it was her turn to take care of a sick kiddo.

Travis and Dean were more than capable of handling calls, but because it was such a large fire, Maya decided to go with and actually ended up inside for a little while because Station 88 was having problems with their air tanks and over half of them weren't working. As she suited up in her full turnouts, she made a mental note to go out to 88 and get this issue sorted out later in the week.

They ended up getting the fire out in a reasonable amount of time, heading back to the station about 3 hours after they arrived. Maya was tired and not feeling the best, mostly because she hadn't been sleeping very well since starting this round of hormone treatments, her mind often running for hours instead of allowing her to sleep.

Carina had helped a lot, getting Maya tea and melatonin, giving her massages and orgasms when the blonde was up for it. However, because of Rowan's injury, the toddler had been in their bed a lot, preventing Carina from fully helping her wife and also contributing to Maya's inability to sleep well.

They were currently only two days out from their transfer which meant Maya was feeling the effects of the hormones more and more every day, especially now that they had added the progesterone back in for the past three days which made her stomach upset and was starting to make her boobs ache more and more with each passing day. It wasn't fun, but she was desperately trying to be optimistic about this one sticking.

Right now, though, she wasn't thinking too much about the transfer. She headed up to the showers as the rest of the crew finished restocking the trucks. There were days when the blonde would help with the restocking, but she had told the captain from 88 that she would be over to the station to try to sort out the issue with the bottles in an hour so she had to get moving.

She showered, getting out and going to the small locker she kept in the locker room that was a place she was able to change and freshen up.

"Hey Chief," Vic said, walking into the locker room at that moment.

"Hey," Maya said, "Nice work today Hughes. I might need you to run bottle drills with some of the other stations. I think you have somehow gotten even better with your times. I'm impressed."

"Thanks," Vic said, "I've been practicing a little. Always room for improvement."

"Well, I am impressed," Maya said, pulling on her underwear under her towel expertly, over a decade on the job having taught her how to have some modesty. However, because it was only Vic up there with her at the moment, she didn't feel the need to keep quite as covered.

Once she had her bra on, she grabbed her shirt, letting her towel fall as she pulled it over her head. It was then that she heard a small gasp out of Vic, a little bit confused as she pulled her shirt into place before grabbing her pants.

"What happened to your stomach?" Vic asked, walking over to Maya quickly.

"What?" Maya said, confused for a second before realizing her stomach was littered with bruises from her daily injections as Vic yanked Maya's shirt up, "Oh. It's nothing."

"Did you get hurt on the call?" Vic asked, "Because if you did, I can take a look or I can call Carina and take you to see her or someone else at the hospital."

"Vic, it's fine," Maya said, buttoning her pants, feeling that they were a little tighter thanks to some mild bloating she had started getting today, "I'm fine. It's nothing."

"Maya, your stomach is covered in bruises," Vic said, "That's not good. If you are hurt and Carina finds out we didn't make you get help, she will kill us."

"Carina won't kill you," Maya said, shaking her head, "I promise you I am fine."

"Wait," Vic said, face shifting, "Are those bruises from Carina? Because Maya, if you need help, I can help. You and the girls can come stay with me or I can find another way to get you out."

"What are you talking about?" Maya said, starting to get a little bit frustrated.

"Is Carina hurting you?" Vic asked in a hushed tone, "Like, did she cause those bruises?"

"What?" Maya said, "No. No no no no no no. That is not even close to what is going on. No. Carina would never…no. I promise you that I am perfectly same, and so are the girls. I appreciate you asking, but no."

"I mean, I didn't think so, but that amount of bruising on your stomach is not normal. What is going on?" Vic asked, "Because I am this close to dragging you to the hospital."

"Come here," Maya said, realizing Vic wasn't going to drop this and deciding to just tell her friend what was going on.

She and Carina had agreed to not tell anyone about them trying to have another baby, but she knew Vic wouldn't drop it and she didn't want her friend to worry. She dragged the younger woman into the bunk, not wanting to risk anyone coming into the locker room and hearing her.

"What?" Vic said, even more confused.

"Can you keep a secret?" Maya asked, "Because I know you used to suck at it, but you've gotten better, and this is something I do not want getting out."

"Ok," Vic said, "Maya, you are kinda scaring me. What's going on?"

"Can you keep a secret?" Maya asked again, looking Vic dead in the eyes.

"Yeah," Vic said, "Yeah, ok. I'll keep your secret."

"The bruises are from hormone injections," Maya said, looking at her friend, seeing the confusion on her face.

"Hormone injections?" Vic said, "For what?"

Maya sighed, looking down at her hands for a second before looking at her friend.

"Carina and I are trying to have another baby," Maya said, "And I am taking injections to get my body ready for that."

"Wait, what?" Vic almost squealed, Maya shushing her, "Maya, are you serious? Another baby?"

"Yeah," Maya nodded, smiling a little bit, "We have a transfer coming up so my stomach is looking a little worse for wear, but it's nothing bad, promise. We have been talking about this for over a year, but because of her cancer, things got put on hold."

"I can't believe you guys are going to have another baby," Vic whisper yelled.

"We are trying to have another baby," Maya amended, "It's a process. This isn't our first try and there are no guarantees it will work. And we aren't telling anyone, obviously, so I need you to not tell anyone. Not even Travis."

"Ok," Vic said, understanding what Maya was asking of her, "I won't."

"Also, if you could just…not ask about it," Maya said, really not wanting to talk about this all the time with anyone who wasn't Carina, hence why they hadn't told anyone.

"Of course," Vic said, realizing she might have overstepped in forcing Maya to tell her what was wrong, "Yeah, I won't mention it again until you do. I'm sorry I forced you to tell me. I should have just believed you that you were ok."

"No," Maya said, "It's ok. I know I like to hide my injuries from everyone. If I were you, I would have pushed too. I'm not mad."

"Ok," Vic said, smiling, "Can I give you a hug?"

Maya rolled her eyes but nodded, Vic giving her a quick hug.

"I promise after this, I won't mention it again until you say something," Vic said, "But I am so excited for you and Carina and the twins and if you need any help or anything, you can ask."

"Thank you," Maya said, feeling weirdly happy in that moment after hearing Vic congratulate her on this journey, "Now, I am going to go finish getting ready and head over to 88, and you should go shower, because no offense, but you stink Hughes."

"Noted Chief," Vic said, rolling her eyes at her friend as they walked out of the bunk room.

Maya headed to her office, gathering everything she needed to go to 88 and then head home after. It was already 4 pm and she knew it was likely going to be a while to get things sorted with the tanks so she was able to just go home after so long as there were no emergencies.

Once she had everything, she headed out of the station, pulling out her phone as she got into her car. She dialed Carina's number as she buckled her seatbelt, needing to talk to her wife for a second.

"Bambina, is everything ok?" Carina said, answering after one ring.

"Yeah," Maya said, "I'm fine and safe and ok. I just needed to talk to you about something."

"Ok," Carina said, sitting down at her desk, "What's up?"

"So, something happened today," Maya said, immediately realizing how that sounded and backtracking, "Nothing bad. I am fine. I feel just like I did this morning, a little bit nauseous, kinda bloated, my boobs hurt, but I'm ok. I had to go to a three alarm and ended up inside the building."

"Did you get hurt?" Carina asked, "Do I need to come to the station or are you at Grey Sloan?"

"No," Maya said, "No. Sorry. Everything was totally fine. No scratches or anything. But I did smell like smoke so I had to shower at the station and Vic walked up as I was getting dressed and saw how much of a bruised disaster my stomach is right now and first she thought I got hurt on the call and then she was worried maybe something else was going on and I ended up telling her what was actually going on. So now Vic knows that we are trying for baby number 3, but I asked her not to tell anyone else and I'm hoping she doesn't."

"Ok," Carina said, thinking about what her wife said, "That's ok."

"I just wanted you to know she knows I guess," Maya said, "I don't know."

"Thank you for telling me," Carina said, "I know you don't like talking about this with other people, and I understand that and respect that and feel the same way most of the time. But the fact that Vic knows isn't the end of the world. I trust her."

"I'm just hoping she is better at secrets than she was a few years ago," Maya sighed, "I think she had though. How has your day been?"

"It's been a normal day," Carina said, "Just seeing patients for exams and I ended up helping with a delivery because two bambini decided they needed to be born to different mamas at the same time. Oh, I did have to go give Rowan some medicine during lunch time because she said her arm was hurting, but I checked back in about an hour after I gave it to her and she was napping and they said she was feeling better before she went down so that's good."

"Poor baby," Maya sighed as she pulled up to 88, "I really thought maybe her pain was done."

"She might have a little here and there for a little while," Carina said, "But she will be ok. How has your day been, other than the big call and Vic finding out our little secret?"

"It was just a bunch of paperwork," Maya said, "But now I am at 88 because they are having issues with their bottles and valves so I am going to try to figure that out. I might be home a little later than I said this morning because this issue has to get fixed. But you are off at 5 right?"

"Si," Carina nodded, "I have one more patient in a few minutes and then I am done. I will bring the bambine home and we will be waiting for you whenever you finish."

"Alright," Maya said, "Well, I am at 88 so I need to get in so I can figure this out and get home. I love you."

"I love you too," Carina said, "Be safe."

"Oh, because checking air tanks is sooo dangerous," Maya said, rolling her eyes with a laugh, "I promise I will be safe. I've gotta go."

Maya hung up, headed inside of 88, hoping this didn't take too long because all she wanted was to go home.

Before Maya or Carina realized it, it was the night before the second transfer. Maya wasn't feeling great, the progesterone injections seeming to have more of an effect on her this time, but it wasn't anything she couldn't handle. She blamed a lot of it on being more sleep deprived this time than last time because she was significantly more anxious and because Rowan had been in their bed a lot because of her broken arm.

The day before the transfer, both of them had to work because they were taking the next two days off so Maya could rest and they could just spend time together.

Carina picked up the twins from daycare, taking them home around 4 pm.

"We are going to make Mommy's favorite dinner tonight, lasagna," Carina said to the twins, "Would either of you like to help?"

"Me," both girls said, looking at each other and laughing when it happened.

"Ok," Carina said, laughing too as she helped them put their aprons on before setting them on the counter.

The three of them worked on the lasagna, Rowan getting bored after a while, deciding to get down and go play while Nora continued to help Carina.

"Rowan, do not jump on the couch," Carina called as the toddler ran out of the kitchen.

Rowan's arm was doing pretty well about a week after she broke it, the toddler pretty much acting like her normal self which meant Maya and Carina were having to tell her to slow down and not jump on things a lot. They told her that often before her arm was broken but now, they were extra worried about her reinjuring herself.

Carina and Nora finished up making the lasagna around 5, just as the garage door opened and Maya walked in.

"Mommy," Nora said, smiling from the counter where she was sitting, adding the last of the cheese to the top of the lasagna, "Hi."

"Hi Piccola," Maya smiled, "What are you doing?"

"Making basagna wif Mamma," Nora said, "Betause its your faborite."

"It is my favorite," Maya said, walking over to them.

"Hi Bambina," Carina said, wiping her hands on a towel before wrapping her arms around her wife, pulling her into a hug, feeling Maya flinch a little, "What's wrong?"

"My boobs hurt," Maya said, pulling away a little, "It's fine. How was your day?"

"It was just a normal shift," Carina shrugged, "Surgeries this morning, appointments this afternoon. Nothing too crazy. How was your day? How are you feeling?"

"My day was filled with a lot of paperwork and a few inspections on some new buildings in town," Maya said, shaking her head, "I feel about the same as this morning. A little bit nauseous, pretty tired, a little headachy, but nothing too bad."

"Are you feeling up to lasagna tonight?" Carina asked, kicking herself for not thinking about the fact that Maya's stomach had been off for the past few days.

"Yeah," Maya nodded, "I might not eat a ton of it, but it sounds delicious. I am going to go change. Where is Rowan?"

"She has been playing in the playroom," Carina said, "I've checked on her a few times, but she has been happy by herself."

"Wow," Maya said, "That's impressive for her. I'll go check on her."

Maya walked out of the kitchen, heading to the playroom where she found Rowan setting her baby doll in the stroller.

"It's otay baby," Rowan said, tucking a blanket around the doll, "Here's your bwankie. We are doing to do for a wun."

Rowan stood up from where she was playing with her doll, seeing Maya.

"Mommy," the little blonde said, running over to Maya, hugging her tightly with her good arm.

"Hi Patatina," Maya said, crouching down, "Did you have a good day?"

"Si," Rowan nodded, "I pwayed with Noa and Harpa at daycawe and we dot to habe tuptakes and den I hewped Mamma with basagna for a yittle bit but now my baby needs to go for a wun."

"That sounds like a busy day," Maya said, laughing, "How is your arm feeling?"

"Dood," Rowan said, "It's not ouchie today."

"That good," Maya said, smiling, "I'm so glad it doesn't hurt. I am going to go upstairs and change my clothes, ok?"

"I am doing for a wun wif my baby," Rowan said, pointing to the stroller, "Mommy, tan we have a weal baby?"

"What do you mean?" Maya asked.

"At daycare, dere are weal babies who try and pway and are sooo cutie," Rowan said, "Yike Auntie Maggie's baby. Can we have one at home?"

"We'll see Patatina," Maya said, standing up, knowing Maggie had had her first baby a few months ago and he was now in daycare with the twins, "But not right now, ok? Right now, you can play with your baby dolls. They are much more fun anyways."

"Not weally," Rowan sighed but went back to her baby stroller, nonetheless.

Maya sighed, going upstairs to change. She really hoped that tomorrow, they would be making Rowan's baby dreams come true but she was so incredibly anxious it wouldn't work. She pulled off her clothes, sighing in relief as her bra came off too, relieving the achiness the medications were causing.

She pulled on some pajamas, sitting down on the edge of the bed and staring down at her ever so slightly bloated, very bruised stomach, wondering if tomorrow was the day that things would change.

She just sat there for some period of time until suddenly, Carina was walking into the room.

"There you are," the Italian said as Maya put her shirt down, "Are you ok?"

"Yeah," Maya nodded, "Just kinda stuck in my head I guess."

"Thinking about tomorrow?" Carina asked, sitting down next to her.

"Tomorrow and beyond," Maya said, putting her head on Carina's shoulder, "I just…I so badly want this to work. You know what Rowan asked me when I got home? She asked if we could have a real baby, like at daycare. I want so badly to give her a baby, to give you a baby, to give our family a baby. I just want this to work."

"I know," Carina said, pulling Maya into a hug, "I do too, and if it doesn't, it isn't going to be easy, but we will figure it out and I will be right here, ok? If tomorrow doesn't work, we will be ok."

Maya just clung to Carina for a minute, breathing in the scent of her perfume and shampoo mixed with the spices she had been cooking with.

"I love you," Carina murmured, pressing a kiss to Maya's neck.

"I love you too," Maya said, still not pulling away from the hug.

"We should probably go check on the bambine," Carina said, pulling away after a while, "They are too quiet and that usually means they are causing trouble."

"Ok," Maya nodded, sighing, rubbing her eyes.

"You can stay up here and get some rest if you need to," Carina said, seeing the bag under Maya's eyes.

"No," Maya said, "I'm ok. I'll rest tomorrow after the procedure."

"Alright," Carina said, helping Maya up, "Come on."

They went downstairs, surprised to find Rowan and Nora just playing together in the playroom, Nora making food for Rowan and her baby. "They are getting so big," Carina said, shaking her head as she and Maya stood and watched the twins for a second.

"I know," Maya said, pulling out her phone and snapping a picture of the twins playing.

They spent the rest of the evening as a family, Maya trying hard not to think about what was coming the next day. They played a game with the twins, something that was still a pretty new activity for them, the twins finally having the attention span and cognitive ability to understand how to play games.

After playing games, they got the twins ready for bed, Maya carefully fitting the waterproof cover over Rowan's cast to protect it in the tub. Once the girls were bathed and ready for bed, Maya and Carina both sat on the floor of their room, each of them holding one of the girls. They read books and sang songs before getting the girls into their beds.

"Ok Rowan," Carina said as she tucked the little blonde in, "Tonight, can you try to stay in your bed all night? Your arm hasn't been hurting the past few days so I think you can sleep here ok? If something bad happens, you can always come in our room, but if you just wake up and you are ok, you can sleep here."

"Otay Mamma," Rowan nodded, "I will."

"Good," Carina said, hoping the toddler actually stayed in her bed.

It normally wasn't an issue having Rowan in their bed, especially because she had been hurting for a while, but Carina knew tonight was probably going to be a little bit challenging for Maya and she wanted to try to make it as easy as possible.

They finished tucking the twins in before heading downstairs.

"I was thinking maybe we could put on a movie and open a bottle of wine," Carina said as they walked into the kitchen, "Because after tonight, you are not going to be able to have any for a while."

"Hopefully," Maya said, rubbing her eyes, "Yeah. That sounds like a good plan. I'll grab the glasses?"

"Alright," Carina nodded, "Do you want white or red?"

"Red," Maya said, going to their cabinet and picking out some glasses, carrying them into the living room. Carina came in a few minutes later with both a bottle of wine as well as a plastic container.

"What is that?" Maya asked as Carina set the dish down.

"Just a little something," Carina shrugged.

"Is that tiramisu?" Maya asked.

"Si," Carina nodded, "From Nonna's. I wanted to make it, but I ran out of time and I know you like this one."

"I do," Maya nodded as Carina sat down next to her wife, the blonde draping a blanket over both of them.

Carina poured both of them a glass of wine, handing Maya hers.

"Thank you," the blonde said, taking a sip.

"Now, what should we watch?" Carina asked, grabbing the remote.

"Something in Italian," Maya said, always finding a unique comfort in hearing her wife's native tongue on screen, having gotten much better at understanding it at least in the past several years.

"Ok," Carina said, selecting one of their favorite movies before relaxing back against the couch, putting an arm around Maya, pulling her close.

They watched the movie, drinking their wine and eating tiramisu though Maya didn't eat or drink much, her stomach feeling unsettled both from the injections and her anxiety.

When the movie ended, Carina looked over at Maya, seeing the anxious look on her face.

"Talk to me Bambina," Carina said, "What's going on in your head?"

"Just thinking about tomorrow," Maya said, "I'm trying not to stress about it too much because I know that we have no control over if it works or not, but my brain just won's stop running through all the what-if scenarios."

"I know," Carina said, wanting to offer her wife reassurance that everything would be ok because it would be, but she also knew that Maya needed her to just be there and listen and sympathize and honestly, Carina was also anxious about everything too.

She knew Maya was probably feeling everything a lot stronger than she was because of the hormones they had been injecting into her body for the past two weeks.

"Do you want a distraction?" Carina whispered into Maya's ear, moving her hands lower on her wife's body.

She heard Maya moan a little and felt her nod, taking that as permission to continue, pressing a kiss to Maya's stomach as she lifted her shirt, pulling it off before moving her hands to Maya's breasts, feeling the blonde squirm and shiver under her touch.

"Are you ok?" Carina asked, knowing Maya's boobs had been so sore recently.

"Feels so good," Maya said, guiding Carina's hands to her nipples, the Italian taking the hint and grabbing them, Maya moaning as she twisted them slowly.

Carina felt her own body start to respond at watching her wife's pleasure building, doing everything in her power to continue to grow that feeling.

An hour later, they were lying on the couch together, both slightly out of breath but very happy, Maya lying on Carina's chest, both of them wrapped in a blanket.

"That was a good distraction," Maya mumbled as she felt Carina tracing patterns on her back.

"It was," the Italian nodded, pressing a kiss to the top of Maya's head.

"I need my injections," Maya said, not moving.

"We will do that and then I think a nice hot bath sounds like the perfect way to end this night," Carina said.

Maya nodded, neither of them moving for another ten minutes before they finally pulled themselves up, throwing on their shirts, going into the kitchen to get the injections out of the fridge, Carina gently cleaning the least bruised part of Maya's stomach, giving her one injection and then the other, pressing kisses to the area when she was done.

"And from now on, you only get one a night," Carina said as she disposed of the needles in the sharp's container.

"Yay," Maya fake cheered, looking down at her bruises, "These look so gross."

"No, they are beautiful," Carina said, walking over to her, "Just like you always tell me my scar and radiation skin and little radiation tattoos are beautiful these are too because they tell the story of what you are doing for our family."

"Stop making me cry," Maya said, wiping at her tears, "I'm hormonal."

"And beautiful," Carina said, kissing her gently, "So beautiful."

They headed upstairs, taking a bath before getting ready for bed, Carina convincing Maya to take some melatonin before giving her a massage, getting her to sleep, the Italian cuddling close to her and trying to relax herself, eventually falling asleep.

Sleep that night was broken and unsettled, despite the melatonin and all the effort Carina put into calming Maya down, the blonde waking up about an hour after she fell asleep, mind running about 100 thoughts a second, making her feel shaky and anxious. She tossed and turned for a while, going to get up only to feel a hand wrapping around her wrist, startling her a little.

"Where are you going?" Carina mumbled, opening her eyes and looking at her wife.

"I can't sleep," Maya said, "I'm ok. I'm just going to go downstairs and…"

"Just stay," Carina said, forcing herself to sit up, "I'm right here with you."

"You should be sleeping," Maya said, "I'm ok."

"Bambina, we are in this together," Carina said, "Just like when I was going through my cancer treatments and you were right there for me as much as you could be, I am here for you. Now, come here."

They sat there together, both of them drifting in and out of sleep for the rest of the night.

Around 5, Maya knew there was no way she would sleep anymore, getting up to go for her run.

"Come back," Carina mumbled, walking up a little.

"I'm going for a run," Maya whispered, kissing Carina gently, "It's after 5. I'm ok. Go back to sleep."

Maya headed out of the room, going for a longer than normal run, knowing she wouldn't be running for the next few days just like last time. She got home, finding Carina sitting on the couch, sipping her coffee.

"Why are you up?" the blonde asked, walking over to her wife.

"I couldn't sleep," Carina shrugged, "It's ok. We can nap later because you are supposed to rest after the procedure."

Maya nodded, giving Carina a small kiss, going to do her stretching before heading up to a shower.

"Are you feeling up to breakfast today?" Carina asked, knowing food in the morning was hit or miss when Maya was anxious.

"No," Maya said, shaking her head, "Sorry. My stomach is not feeling good."

"That's ok." Carina said, "Maybe we can get something after your appointment. I'm going to make you some toast though because you need something in your stomach or you are going to feel worse."

Maya nodded as she went upstairs to shower and get ready for the day.

The rest of the morning was a little bit stressful, Rowan throwing a tantrum about not being able to wear her favorite sweatshirt because it didn't fit over her cast. Carina took over calming the tantrum down because Maya was on edge and had snapped a little at Rowan which only escalated the problem.

It took some convincing, but eventually, she let Carina help her put on a stretchy shirt and some leggings, the family getting out the door a few minutes later than they planned, making Maya's anxiety skyrocket because she hated being late.

"Bambina, it's going to be fine," Carina said as she saw how tense her wife was as she drove, "We had extra time built in and Dr. Howard will take us even if we are a little late. It's ok."

"I hate being late," Maya said through clenched teeth as they got stopped at a third stop light on their way to Grey Sloan.

"I know," Carina said, "I'm sorry."

They got to Grey Sloan, taking the twins to daycare.

"Hey Bishop-Delucas," Amelia said as she walked up to the daycare just as Maya and Carina were getting ready to leave, "How are you this morning?"

"Good," Carina said, smiling at her friend, not wanting to be rude, "How are you?"

"We are doing pretty well," Amelia said, shifting Harper on her hip, "How is Rowan's arm?"

"It's doing much better," Carina said, feeling Maya squeezing her hand, "She hasn't had any pain the past few days."

"That's awesome," Amelia said, "Wanna grab lunch together if our breaks line up today?"

"I'm not working today," Carina said, shaking her head.

"Oh," Amelia said, confused, "Do you have your scans today or something? I know you normally keep the twins home when you aren't working."

"No," Carina said, "We are just spending some time together today."

"Nice," Amelia said, "Well, I won't interrupt your plans. Bye guys."

"Bye," Maya said as she pulled Carina away, "We are going to be late."

"We will be fine Bambina," Carina sighed, realizing she should not have stopped to talk to Amelia, "I'm sorry. Come on."

They got back in the car, heading to the fertility clinic, hitting major traffic which only made Maya more anxious and angry. They pulled into the parking lot at the office about five minutes after their appointment was scheduled for, Maya all but running into the office, Carina following closely behind.

"Maya Bishop-Deluca," Maya said as she walked up to the desk, "I'm so sorry I'm late."

"You are fine," the receptionist said, "We are running a little behind this morning too. I'll let the nurse know you are here and she will come get you in a few minutes. You can take a seat."

Maya walked over to the chairs, Carina following her. They sat there together for a while before being called back to the room, the nurse giving Maya her standard paper sheet to cover up once her pants and underwear were off for the procedure.

"I'm sorry we were late Bambina," Carina said after the nurse left, reaching over and taking Maya's hand, pressing a kiss to it, "Next time, we will leave more time."

"I'm sorry I'm so anxious," Maya sighed, looking down at the floor, "I just…I want today to go perfectly."

"Nothing is ever perfect," Carina said, offering a small smile that Maya reciprocated, "But it is our life and I wouldn't have it any other way."

Maya just leaned into Carina's arms, the Italian holding her until Dr. Howard came in.

This transfer went much like the last one, uneventful and calm, Maya and Carina just sitting together after it was done as they waited for their thirty minutes to pass, both of them anxious and exhausted.

"Alright," Dr. Howard said, coming back in once their time was done, "Just like last time, lots of rest these first few days. Continue with your progesterone injections. Call if you need anything before your next appointment, ok?"

"Thank you," Maya said, nodding.

They left the room, going to the desk to make their next appointment.

"Ok, two weeks from now is February 8th," the receptionist said, "Do you want a morning or afternoon appointment?"