You & Me & Our Little Family

Finally Home

Maya unlocked the front door and stepped inside, punching the code for the alarm before she grabbed her luggage and rolled it in.  Being as quiet as possible, she reset the alarm, stared at the '2:43a' for a moment and left her luggage and carry on by the front closet as she headed toward the living room.  Mason was sleeping on the couch and Maya stopped for a second and smiled, as she appreciated seeing the image she always wanted but for so long never imagined she would get to see, her brother, safe and clean and part of her life.  Taking a deep breath to hold back her tears, she continued into the kitchen where she opened the cabinet, grabbed a glass and stuck it under the faucet.  Taking a long drink of water, Maya placed the glass upside down in the drying rack, turned around and practically jumped out of her skin. 
"Jesus Christ Mason!  I thought you were asleep!"
"Maya, I lived on the streets for years, you'd be amazed at how good my hearing is.  Welcome home but I thought you weren't getting in until tonight."
"I was on a priority flight list so I got a call when a seat opened up and let's just say it pays to have a friend who works for the FBI and can get me to the airport and through TSA screening in a hot minute.  The truth is, I just wanted to get home, I've missed my family."
"Well I know they have been missing you."
"You do know I'm talking about you too, right?"
"Oh...yeah...sure, I know."
"Mason, seriously? I know we were on opposite sides for a long time, but all I've ever wanted was to be close again.  You're part of me, remember?"
"Yeah, sorry.  I sometimes just feel like you're waiting for me to snap and say something stupid, or walk out on you again."
Maya stared at her brother, a half smile pulling at her face.
"Sure, I did worry about that for a while, but Mason, you've been amazing, especially with Liam and now with this?  You stepped up and spent the past ten days with my family while I was away.  And if that's not enough, you're dating one of my best friends...and dammit, she's crazy about you!"
Maya crossed the kitchen, her arms wide open as Mason pushed himself off the wall and met her hug with his own. 
"Ok, as much as I'd love to stay up and talk, I'm exhausted and while I do love you, I am aching to go fall asleep next to my wife."
"She was just up about an hour ago so I'm pretty sure she's fast asleep by now.  Mom's in your study so just go quietly, she has some crazy hearing too.  Go ahead and sleep in, Mom and I will take care of the kids when they get up."
"Thanks Mason."
On impulse, Maya pulled on his shirt and as he bent over she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before heading down the hall.  She stopped at Liam's room and stepped in, her eyes welling up as she looked at him fast asleep, his hand still holding tightly to one of her SFD t-shirts.  She backed out silently and took the few steps across the hall to the twins room, smiling all over again and wiping her tears as she watched them sleeping, making a mental note of how they'd grown in the ten days she'd been gone.  Stifling a yawn, Maya stepped out of their room and made her way to her own.  Her heart jumped in her chest as she came in and saw Carina, looking more beautiful than she was when Maya had left almost two weeks ago, asleep on Maya's side of the bed, hugging her pillow.  Ever so gently Maya closed the door just to the frame, being careful not to let the striker click as she slipped off her shoes and stripped down to her bra and panties, dropping her clothes in a heap by the door.  Being extra careful, Maya crawled under the covers on Carina's side, laying down and staring at the back of her sleeping wife's head as she felt her eyes closing quickly.

Rolling over in her sleep, Carina's hand pressed against flesh and she was awake in an instant.  She laid there and blinked, thinking for sure she was just having a vivid dream until Maya flutter inhaled and rolled onto her back.  Carina felt her heart beat faster as she stared at her sleeping wife, making good and sure she really wasn't imagining things before moving to nuzzle herself deeply against Maya's side, wrapping her arm around and under her wife's chest as she buried her head in Maya's neck and draped her leg over her hip.  Carina took a few deep breath's, inhaling Maya's scent and exhaled contentedly as she planted butterfly kisses on her wife's neck.  Maya moaned softly in her sleep as her arm came around and pulled Carina closer to her.  Smiling through happy tears, Carina whispered before falling back asleep.
"Finalmente, mi sei mancato amore mio."

Maya felt the movement on the bed a second before a pair of little hands landed on her and a happy voice started talking.
"Mamma tornato! Mamma tornato!"
Both her and Carina opened their eyes to see Liam staring at them, his smile huge as he looked at Maya.  Grabbing him as Carina moved to make space between them, Maya snuggled him between the two of them and covered him with kisses.
"Hey love bug! I missed you sooo much!"
She looked over at Carina and arched an eyebrow.
"I'm gone ten days and you've managed to get our son fluent in Italian?"
Carina smiled and shrugged.
"We've been working on him learning to say that since you left.  I kept repeating it to him and the twins constantly.  What can I say?  We missed you Bambina."
"Mamma BINA!"
Maya looked down at him and smiled.
"I'm going to miss the 'a' in front of my name buddy.  But I guess that's what I get for being gone so long.  So for sure that's not going to happen again!"
She tickled him and he started squirming and giggling, turning into full blown laughter as both Maya and Carina began laughing with him.  Carina heard the soft knock on their bedroom door and looked over.
"Come in, come in!"
Katherine peeked her head in and smiled.
"Welcome home sweetheart, sorry for the interruption, but he's been coming in to snuggle with Carina every morning since you've been gone.  I didn't realize you were home until Mason just told me.  We weren't expecting you until tonight."
"I managed to catch an earlier flight and got home just before three.  And this right here is exactly the reason why, so please don't apologize Mom.  But thank you so much for helping while I was gone.  It really means the world to me."
"Mamma froot!"
Katherine moved to the side of the bed and reached for Liam.
"Come on, let's go get you fruit.  Let your mamma's rest."
Liam squirmed as Kathrine lifted him off the bed and turned to look back at Maya, pointing his finger at her.
"Mamma! Froot!"
Maya smiled at him.
"Go with Nonna, I'm coming!"
Katherine carried him out as Maya grabbed at the covers and went to get up, only to feel Carina's hand grip her wrist and pull her back down.
"Aren't you forgetting something?"
Maya's eyes softened as she smiled and looked at Carina, moving to lean over her as she let her gaze land on her wife's lips.
"Oh I'm not forgetting anything, but if I can get our son fed, I can have my mom and Mason take him and the twins for a long walk, while you and I enjoy that nice, hot shower you told me about the other day.  And believe me, it's going to be good and hot."
She pressed her lips against Carina's in a deep, probing double kiss, reluctantly pulling away to grab her sweats out of the drawer as they heard Liam calling for his mamma's from the kitchen.