A new life for Sofia

Chapter fifteen

A few weeks have past, and Carina's first ultrasound was coming up. She was almost eight weeks pregnant. They still haven't told Sofia that she is going to be a big sister.

[POV: Carina]

Maya and I are in my office. She came by on her break, because I was sick again this morning. My first ultrasound is in a couple of days. Tonight, we're going to tell Sofia that she's going to be a big sister. 

''I think we should just have a conversation after dinner, and not tell her in any special way. It's probably going to be a big surprise and bring up emotion.'' I told Maya, and she nods.

''You're right. She will go to the station after school. How about we all eat dinner there? I finish at eight, so hopefully, we can go home and tell her. What do you think?'' Maya asks.

''Sounds good to me, bambina.''

She gets off of the couch, and I whimper a little at the loss of contact.

''I have to get going babe, see you tonight. I love you.'' She gives me a kiss, and I deepen it. It always gives me butterflies when she tells me she loves me.

''I love you to bambina. Stay safe please.'' I let her out of the office. I'm immediately paged for a c-section. Good for me, because it will help take my mind of our conversation tonight.

[POV: Sofia]

I'm really starting to like school. The people are very nice, and Mr. Mitchell is willing to help me whenever I need it. At lunchbreak, we usually sit with a lot of classmates, but when we are allowed to go on the playground, I usually hang out with Olivia, Emma, Miles and Liam. Olivia and I have become best friends. I'm going to ask Maya if we can have a playdate soon.

One thing, or I should say one person, does bother me a bit. It's James. He often picks on people and belittles them. He tried it with me last week, but I had a better comeback. I don't like people who bully. They always think they are so tough, but in reality, people who bully are the weakest of them all.

I look at the clock, and it's almost three. I'm excited to go to the station again after school. I like it way better than the hospital. The hospital is kind of boring.

The bell rings, and I see Andy already waiting for me.

''Hey Andy.'' I wave at her. She's Maya's best friend. I like her, because she's kind and she always wants to do things with me.

''Hola mjia, are you ready to go? Where is your backpack?'' Shoot, I left it inside.

''I forgot, Andy. I'll be back in a minute.'' I say, I could see her chuckling as I turn around and sprint back inside. I grab my backpack and we walk over to the station together. It's about a fifteen-minute walk.

Maya greets me as soon as we walk inside. I feel such a strong bond with both Maya and Carina. They care so much about me, I've never had it before.

''Hey bubs, how was school today?'' She asks.

''It was fun. Can Olivia and I have a playdate this week?'' I ask as we walk up to the beanery to meet with everyone else.

''Sure, I will pick you up tomorrow. I don't work, so maybe she could come with us?''

''Yes! Thank you, Maya.''

As soon as we see the other firefighters, they come running up to me.

''Sofia!'' They call out in unison. Jack makes it to me first and lifts me into the air.

All of us are talking together, when the sirens sound. It still scares me a little bit every time the Noice fills the station.

ENGINE NINETEEN, AID CAR NINETEEN, APARTMENT FIRE 641 DENNY WAY

In an instant, most of the team run out. Travis and Jack are on ladder duty, so they stay with me. We play games and clean the station, until it's time to cook. ''Can you help us prepare dinner?'' Travis asks.

''Sure, what are we making?'' I'm excited to cook in this kitchen. There are a lot of gadgets that I have never seen before, and I'm excited to see how they work.

''We will be making spaghetti. Have you made that before?'' Jack says while he grabs all of the ingredients.

''Yes, many, many times.'' I speak. ''Are you sure though, because I'm pretty sure Carina will join us all for dinner tonight, and she's pretty picky about her pasta.''

But they dismiss my worries and we start cooking. I can instantly see that Jack is a terrible cook. While Travis and I are working on the sauce, Jack is in charge of boiling the spaghetti. First of all, he doesn't salt the water.

''Jack you're supposed to put some salt in the water before it boils.'' He does as I tell him. Then, he breaks the spaghetti. I don't know why we left him in charge of cooking the pasta.

''NO, Jack you can't do that. Do not break the spaghetti!'' Travis quickly backs me up and we sent him out of the kitchen. As we finish, the team walk in, followed by Carina.

''Ciao, bambina.'' She kisses my forehead. ''Oooh that looks good. Did you help them cook?''

''I did yeah.'' I look over to Jack. ''Ma Jack rotto gli spaghetti.'' I whisper. Her face was so funny. I had to hold in a laugh when she told Jack that he was an idiot. This was all in Italian of course, so the rest of them had no idea what she was talking about.

The food tasted great, and we had a good time together. We all said our goodbyes, and then me, Maya and Carina went home.

''Bambina, can you sit on the couch please?'' Carina asks me. I'm instantly panicked. I don't want to leave. What if they don't want me anymore?

The three of us are seated in the living room, and Maya and Carina keep shooting each other looks. This can't be a good thing.

Then, Maya starts talking. ''Do you know how babies are made?'' She asks me. This wasn't what I was expecting at all, but I nod, because I know it.

''Well, Carina and I have been wanting children for a while now. It never worked for us, and then we met you. But a couple of days before we met, we tried another round of IVF. Do you know what IVF is?'' I nod again.

Carina takes my hand. ''We have tried IVF before, but it didn't work. We took you in, because we both felt and still feel, a very strong bond with you. We care so much about you, bambina.''  

I'm looking at the ground, because I can't look her in the eyes  

''But we knew that there was a chance I could've also been pregnant at the same time.'' She continues. This is confusing me.

''What Carina is trying to say is that IVF worked, we're pregnant.'' Maya said. She has a big smile on her face. I'm just shocked. This was not what I was expecting at all.

''That right Soof, you're going to be a big sister again.'' Carina smiles and looks at me intently, trying to see what I think about this. I think I'm excited. I mean, my siblings were my best friends. ''What do you think bubs? Maya asks.

''Wow I... Congratulations guys. I'm happy for both of you. But does that mean I still get to live here?''

Carina immediately puts her hands on my face and looks me straight in the eyes.

''Hey, bambina. Of course, you still get to live here. We both love you very much. We knew this was a possibility from the beginning. You're not leaving piccolina.'' She speaks.

I feel relieved

''Good, because I like it here a lot, and I love you guys too.''  

...

Thank you for reading!