Drops of Jupiter (Chicago Fire/Otis Fanfic)

15. The Baby and I

Two months later, I was still at home with Ximena. Otis had gone back to work after a month but I still have two more months of maternity leave before I could return to work. Ximena was the most beautiful and happiest little girl. Tests had been done before we left the hospital and at her first doctor's appointment and it had been confirmed that Ximena was deaf. Since it was confirmed, Otis and I had been learning sign language as much as we could. With what we were learning, we were using with Ximena. Even with being only two months old, it was never to early to start learning how to talk with people.

I stood in the kitchen, sipping coffee as I enjoyed the quietness. Ximena had finally gone down for a nap and I was finally able to get some peace. She was usually a quiet baby and didn't normally cry as much but she had her days where she didn't want to go for a nap. I loved her so much and couldn't stand how cute she was.

Once my coffee was done, I gently put Ximena in a carrier and got into the car. I didn't want to wake her so I was as quiet as possible. Putting her in the car, I started heading toward the firehouse. With the exception of when she was born, nobody at the firehouse had seen her since. They knew she was deaf and from what Otis had said, everybody was putting so much effort into learning sign language for our perfect little girl.

It didn't take us very long to get to the firehouse. I walked in without anyone noticing and stopped by Boden's office. Not finding him there, I went to the main room. Everyone, including Chief Boden, were in there. They all cheered when I walked in with the baby carrier. Of course, it didn't wake Ximena but they all crowded around to look at her.

"That is one adorable kid, Lupe," Herrmann said. "She's going to bring a lot of guys home when she's older."

Otis wrapped an arm around my waist. "I hope not. I don't want to be a dad too soon."

Herrmann clapped Otis's shoulder. "It's going to come a lot sooner than you think, Otis. I wish my kids were younger than they are now. If she's Lupe's kid, then she's going to have attitude problems."

"Hey now!" I exclaimed. 

Everyone laughed and turned the attention back to Ximena. I only turned away when Chief Boden called me away to stand a few feet away.

"You've still got two months left on your maternity leave, correct?" Chief Boden asked.

I nodded. "I just wanted to bring her in."

"I know," Chief Boden said. "If you need any longer, you can take it. I know how much time a child can take."

"I know," I said. "I'm a bit nervous taking her to childcare as she is deaf but we can work out those kinks when it happens."

Chief squeezed my shoulder. "You and Otis can do this. I believe in you."

I smiled at him as he turned away. I looked back at the group of people. Otis was holding Ximena as everyone looked at her. She had woken up and was quietly looking at everyone. The little family I had with Otis filled my heart with happiness. I loved both of them with all of my heart and I couldn't imagine what my life would be like without them. It would be a fairly sad life if I hadn't met and married Otis.

I stayed at the firehouse for lunch before taking Ximena and leaving. We did some errands together and returned home in time to make dinner. I made enough for leftovers for when Otis came home. Ximena was down for a nap while I was making dinner, giving me time to cook without having to attend to her every couple of minutes.

It also gave me time to call Otis while I was cooking. Since he went back to work and I was still on maternity leave, we would call each other in the evening. It was usually when there weren't many calls and when Ximena was sleeping more. It was a way for Otis to check in with me on how our little girl was doing and how my day was going. It was nice to have him there with me, even if it was on the other side of the phone.

We finished our call after I finished my food and I tossed my phone aside, leaning back in the chair. It was a busy and long day. I was tired but knew I couldn't go to sleep quite yet. I still had things to do. My thoughts began to wonder a bit, bouncing around in my tired head. They wandered over to being a parent. It's a lot easier having a child with a good person like Otis. He was already a good parent and I knew he'd be an amazing father to Ximena or any other child we had the older they got. He was a good man and I just hoped that I was going to be a good mother to them too. It felt like it was too early to be worried about how I was going to be as a parent but it still crept up on me. There was a lot of pressure on us since Ximena was with us and especially since she was deaf.

Snapping out of my thoughts, I got up to clean up the dishes. After that was done, I laid down in my bed to scroll through my phone. My social battery was very low so I needed time for myself. If Ximena started crying, I would get up for her but until then, I would stay in bed, resting. I wanted all the time I could by myself before I had to be with Ximena or until I had to go back to work.

I had to get up for Ximena a couple more times before she was finally able to settle down for bed. I took that opportunity to go to bed. After texting Otis one last time, I fell asleep, knowing full well that Ximena would wake up a couple more times throughout the night.