Expanding The Comfort Zone

Revelations

Maya sat in her SUV in the parking lot of the clinic and stared blankly out the window as she tried to wrap her brain around the conversation she'd just had with Maurice Kessler. Her phone began to ring, snapping her out of her haze. Looking down at it, she gritted her teeth, pushed her thoughts to the side and forced a smile onto her face as she answered the FaceTime call.
"Hi Babe."
"Bambina, where are you? I just talked to your mom and she said you still weren't home. Please tell me you didn't overdo it with your squad at the bar."
"Nooo, I left them a little while ago. I've just been running an errand that..I...uhh...forgot about. I'm going to head over to Peggy and Dayna's now and pick Liam up."
Maya stared at her screen as she watched Carina staring back. She knew her wife was sizing her up and trying to make sure she was ok to drive.
'After what I just found out, I'm sober as hell.' Maya thought to herself before focusing back on Carina.
"Is everything ok my love? Have you told Miranda yet?"
Carina took a deep breath and exhaled as she nodded.
"Si, and she's not too happy with you for taking me away from Grey-Sloan. But she wants to see the office so we are going to go have lunch and I'll show her."
"Good. I know she's pissed, but you deserve all of this and more my love. She'll get over it, besides, now Jo can spread her wings and try to live up to your legacy. She won't, but she can at least give it her best effort."
Carina smiled shyly and blew Maya a kiss.
"Bambina...I love you."
"I love you Principessa. I'll see you at home."
The screen went dark and Maya put her phone down in the center console as she dropped her head back and blew out a long breath.

Carina was finishing up some paperwork when Miranda knocked and stood in the doorway.
"Well Doctor Bailey, you beat me to it! I was about to come find you so we could go to lunch. There is this wonderful Brazilian restaurant near my office that I've been wanting to try but Maya kept refusing. Now I know why, she didn't want me seeing her surprise!"
"Carina...can we talk for a minute?"
Carina scrunched her eyebrows as Miranda shut the door to her office and crossed to stand in front of Carina's desk.
"I just got off the phone with the Peds lab. They called me because you submitted samples from Andrea and Gianna for the database, correct?"
Carina tilted and turned her head slightly as the hairs on the back of her neck began to rise.
"Yes, because of my dual citizenship and my...family business being in Italy, Maya and I agreed to register Liam and the girls so that they would be able to move freely between countries. Is something wrong?"
"I'm not entirely sure 'wrong' is the appropriate word. 'Incredible' or even 'highly unusual' comes to mind more."
"Miranda, per favore, just tell me."
"First of all, the girls are most definitely yours. I mean, look at them, Gianna is practically a miniature version of Maya. And as for Andrea..."
"Well yes, she definitely favors me more. Maya absolutely adores that fact, she just sits and stares at her with a goofy smile on her face. It's funny because I do the same thing to Gianna. Don't get me wrong, she loves Gianna just as much as I love Andrea, but let's face it, we've each gravitated toward the daughter who doesn't look....like...us....Miranda, is-is that...wha-wait...are you saying that....nononono...I-I...my FSH was too high...I coul-I couldn't get..."
Carina's eyes went wide as the realization hit her. She sat down hard in her chair and looked at Miranda.
"Doctor Deluca-Bishop, you truly are a one of a kind. The odds of this miracle happening are...well...greater than winning the lottery. Which is ironic considering this revelation."

It had been a long rest of the day as Carina came through the front door and stopped to take a deep breath. She exhaled as she took off her coat, hanging it with her purse as she slipped her shoes off and made her way into the living room. Carina came to an abrupt halt and took in the scene before her. All the pillows, including the couch and chair cushions, were stacked into a fort in the middle of the room with every living room blanket either thrown on top or spread on the floor. And there, lying in the middle of it all, was her family. Liam was wearing his doctors jacket over his firefighter pajamas, his stethoscope in hand and his replacement firefighter figure under his arm as he slept leaning against Maya's leg. Maya had Gianna nestled in one arm and Andrea was snuggled against Maya's chest, all of them fast asleep. Smiling through the tears that she couldn't hold back, Carina pulled her phone out of her pocket and snapped a picture before putting her phone on the end table and kneeling down to gently pick Liam up. The moment she lifted him off of Maya's leg, Maya opened her eyes and smiled as she whispered at Carina.
"Hey Babe, welcome home."
Carina smiled back at Maya and motioned with her head, whispering in response before bringing Liam to his room.
"I'll be right back, don't move and I'll help you."
Carina slipped Liam's jacket off and kissed him gently before she laid him in his crib, making sure to place his favorite toys down in the far corner so he could get them when he woke up in the morning. She headed back out to the living room and bent down to pick Andrea up off of Maya's chest as Maya gently shifted herself to be able to get up, picking Gianna up and following Carina into the girl's room so they could be put to bed as well. Maya and Carina both silently walked back into the living room and began cleaning up, replacing cushions and pillows, folding blankets and returning Liam's toys to his toy box. Maya was straightening her SFD blanket on the back of the couch as she spoke up.
"How did Miranda like your new office?"
"We...uhh...we didn't make it there. And then there was a rush on the ER so I helped out with some traumas. I told her I'd show it to her on my next shift."
"Have you eaten today? My mom made roast chicken with broccoli and potatoes. And you won't believe it, Liam loves broccoli and potatoes. He's definitely your son."
Carina placed Liam's last toy in the box and moved toward Maya, taking her hand and pulling her to sit down on the couch.
"Maya, I have to tell you something."
Maya's ocean blue eyes stared back intently at Carina.
"I've got something to tell you too, but you go first."

Carina watched as Maya blinked, her mouth slightly open. She swallowed and found her voice.
"So you're telling me that the girls are actually fraternal twins and that Andrea really does have your genes? But you told me your FSH-"
"I know Bambina, but I did some research and made some calls to verify. It's very rare, but it can happen that if any eggs are not completely sterile, the process for prepping for IVF can regenerate enough to make them viable."
"Wow, I just...wow..."
"Just know, your egg helped nourish my own. So our girls really are actually a mix of Deluca and Bishop in the most medically amazing way."
Maya gave Carina a half smile as she took a deep breath and exhaled. She reached for Carina's face and pulled her close, kissing her twice and looking deeply into her wife's warm brown eyes before taking Carina's hands in her own.
"Ok...I really don't know how else to tell you this so I'm just going to spit it out. But I need you to stay calm, ok?"
Carina swallowed, her eyes beginning to glisten and her lips drawing thin as she nodded at Maya.
"That errand I told you I had to run? It was actually a meeting from a phone call I got when I left Joe's. Maurice Kessler was just made the new director of the Symon Fertility Clinic. The clinic was originally located in the medical complex that had the fire. The offices took some water damage but the cryo tanks holding specimens were located at the far other end and because of back up generators, they never went offline. The previous director of the clinic was a woman named Nancy and she unfortunately succumbed to smoke inhalation. During the relocation, they were matching up specimens but had one set that didn't match any records. Maurice was cleaning out Nancy's files and her desk when he noticed she had a locked secret bottom. They got it open and found she had switched labels on that missing specimen because she was intending to use it for herself."
Carina was holding her breath as Maya continued.
"The name that the specimen had on it was Andros Dalinca....but hidden in her drawer was the real depositors name along with his video and handwritten letter."
Carina started crying as she shook her head, trying to speak but no sound was coming out. Maya felt her own tears filling her eyes as she nodded.
"My love, Andrew went to that clinic and made a deposit just before he was killed. He made a video and wrote both you and I a note. He said after hearing you talk about me, he knew I was the one you'd been waiting for. Carina, he wanted to make sure we had the opportunity to carry on the Deluca name. He said it was the best way he knew how to thank you for being his big sister."
Carina exhaled into a full blown crying fit as she collapsed into Maya's embrace.