InsaneJournal

Maia remembered that fateful day when a 23-year-old version of herself had found out she was pregnant. The memory was crystal clear as she'd gotten sick for the umpteenth time that week and, sitting on the tile floor of her bathroom, trying desperately to figure out what she had eaten that had left her sick for so many days in a row, when she had the sudden epiphany that she was late. She panicked the entire drive to Fredericksburg, unwilling to buy a pregnancy test in Dunhaven out of fear of the gossip making rounds before she even had the chance to get home to take the test, then panicked the entire drive back to her apartment. There was only one person that could be the father, of course, but she and Wyatt were technically in an off period of their relationship. She didn't know how he would react to the news and what it would mean for the both of them. She didn't even know if she was mother material.

It had all worked out in the end, of course. Wyatt was a wonderful co-parent and though their relationship had endured its ups and downs and breaks in the seven years that had passed since, Kylie had been nothing but a blessing in both their lives. Maia couldn't imagine living in a world without her.

Maia had always wanted more children, and knew that any additional children she did have would be with Wyatt, but she hadn't expected the circumstances to be so… familiar, when it did happen. It had been the morning sickness that had her curious, then the quick math and a look at the calendar. One more trip to the Walgreens at Fredericksburg to get a pregnancy test had her making an appointment for the following day with her doctor and then, well. There wasn't much else to think after that confirmation from the doctor came in. She was pregnant.

There was a difference between now and then, though. As Maia drove home from the hospital, her mind a whir as she made sense of it all, she did feel panic and worry, but it was joined by pure excitement. Though she had to worry about what this would mean for herself and Wyatt once more, it warred with the knowledge that they were good parents, that their relationship was more stable and strong than it ever had been before, that she loved him so damn much. There would always be a part of Maia that would worry, but she also knew that she would at least have someone to shoulder that worry with.

Wyatt had already been scheduled to come over for dinner that night. Traditionally that would be a dinner between the three of them, but Maia made a call to her mom and arranged that she would have some grandma-granddaughter time. It had taken every bit of willpower to not blurt the news to her right then. As much as she liked making sure Wyatt and Kylie were together as much and as often as possible, this was a conversation that she didn't want their daughter to overhear. They could talk with her about it later, but for now Maia just needed to talk to Wyatt.

Once her mom picked up Kylie, all Maia could do was wait -- and do her very best not to overthink things.

Wyatt pulled his truck into the driveway of Maia's place and shut off the engine. While the weather had cleared up quite a bit from their unexpected blizzard, he still didn't quite trust his Mustang on the roads. His boots hit the ground, and he made a mental note to put some more salt down in the driveway for the girls before he left. No need to risk either of them slipping on ice.

He knocked briefly on the door to announce his presence before he headed inside. "Hello? Where are my girls at?"

Maia looked up as soon as she heard the door open, setting her phone aside -- she had been scrolling through Wedding Instagram, making mental notes and silent judgements, as she did sometimes -- to focus on Wyatt's arrival. Despite her news and the general sense of anticipation she was feeling, her smile came easily as she crossed through the house to the entrance. It was hard not to smile when Wyatt was around.

"Here's one of them," Maia said, lifting her arms as she advanced toward him to signal a welcome embrace. "Your other girl is with grandma tonight."

He had slipped his jacket off by the time Maia greeted him and he happily wrapped her in a tight hug. Her own smile was easily matched by his.

"Oh?" Wyatt leaned back slightly, while still making sure to keep his arms around Maia, to look her in the eye. "So just you and me tonight, huh?" He gave her a mischievous grin and pulled her in for a kiss.

Wyatt kissed her before Maia had a chance to respond, but she wasn't at all upset by that turn of events. It was easy to just return the affections, her arms circling just a little tighter around him as she did. This was the sort of thing that led to trouble -- hence their current predicament, the one that she now had to tell him about.

Maia was only human, however, and she couldn't help but let that kiss linger on a bit longer than she had immediately intended to. And then, once she finally did break it, she simply pressed back in for one more. She couldn't really help herself and she doubted that he would mind in the end. But after a moment she found it within herself to pull back enough to say, "Just you and me tonight, but there's something I need to tell you before we get too comfortable."

Wyatt let out a good natured groan at that. As he'd been ready to make himself very comfortable before she pulled back. Of course he'd listen to anything she wanted to tell him though. They were still close and he couldn't help but smile as he gazed down into her warm eyes. He moved a hand up to run itself through her hair. "Of course." He kissed her gently before finally releasing her.

"Is this a kitchen talk, a living room talk, or…" he gave her a small smirk once more "a bedroom talk?"

Maia met Wyatt's smirk with one of her own, even as she reached down and took his hand to start leading him further into the house. "Living room talk, I think," she decided, making her way in that direction. The bedroom had played far too big a part in the creation of this talk in the first place.

Once in the living room, she sat herself down on the couch and waited for him to do the same before moving in close to him. Maia reached for one of Wyatt's hands once more, fingers lacing together as she asked, "Remember that snowstorm we just had? Getting snowed in, all of that?" It had been nice being snowed in with him and Kylie, the three of them spending the day together. That wasn't unheard of, but being unable to go anywhere else and just having their little family for company had been wonderful.

He happily allowed himself to be lead from the foyer and into the living room. He joined her on the couch and rested his arm around her shoulders. She took his other hand in hers and he suddenly started to worry if this was something more serious than he'd originally imagined. He raised an eyebrow in her direction.

"Pretty hard to forget."

Again, Maia found herself smirking at Wyatt. He certainly wasn't wrong about that. It had been a nice family night, but it had also been a nice night of sneaking around, just the two of them, after Kylie had been long asleep. It hadn't been expected, though, which she thought was how this had happened in the first place.

The smirk didn't last long, though, fading from her face as she considered what to say next. Her gaze dropped from his, trying to put the words together. It was funny; this wasn't the first time she'd had to have this conversation with Wyatt, but the same nerves she felt the first time, when they were in radically different circumstances, were filling her stomach. She swallowed.

"Wyatt, I..." Her voice trailed off, words failing her for what might have been the first time in her life. Maia looked back to meet Wyatt's eyes. "I'm pregnant."

Wyatt's concern had continued to grow as Maia seemed flustered and floundered around for words. His mind, of course, went to the worst case scenario. She couldn't possibly be ending things, could she? Not after they'd told Kylie. They hadn't even so much as raised their voices at each other in a long time. His mind was still spinning off in a panic when she finally said the words.

It had been so far away from what he'd been expecting to hear at that point that it took him several seconds to process what they meant. He blinked a few times. "You're...pregnant."

"Yeah." The word came out as a breath while Maia nodded. "I took a test and then went to the clinic and they confirmed it. I only just found out for sure today. I'd have said something right away, but I wanted to be positive. It's -- I know that this is a surprise."

Maia made herself stop talking. If she didn't, she would have just babbled on forever and that wouldn't help matters. Though she still felt that spark of excitement in the pit of her stomach, the worry of the unknown was growing too big to ignore. She bit down on her lower lip, looking up to Wyatt with a mix of concern and hope in her eyes.

He let out a long exhale has his mind spun around wildly. Pregnant. They were going to be having another baby. Worry hedged at him. Babies brought exhaustion and tension and arguments and were they solid enough to handle that right now? Yet, as quickly as the worry seeped in, so did the happier thoughts. Babies also brought love, and laughter, and...family. Wyatt came from a big family, and deep down, he'd always known he'd wanted more kids. Siblings for Kylie to love as much as he did his own. Of course there was no one he'd rather have them with than the love of his life. So yes, it was unexpected, but that didn't mean it was unwanted.

If he and Maia were anything, it was good at rolling with whatever life threw at them. Wyatt's gaze softened and he used the arm around her shoulders to pull Maia closer to him. "Sounds like fun."

At his words, a wide smile spread across Maia's face. Any worry that she had been feeling in regards to Wyatt and his potential reaction at the news evaporated -- and she almost just as immediately felt silly for having worried about it in the first place. This was Wyatt. For whatever ups and downs they may have had in the past, he had been a constant in her life since they had met. Even when the two of them hadn't been together, she had always known she could rely on him. Now that they were in this new place in their relationship, it was even more secure.

She let him pull her in closer and then eased in even a bit further, so she could wrap one of her arms around his front in a half embrace. "Fun?" she asked, a joking lilt to her voice. "Easy for you to say. You aren't being reminded of what morning sickness is like." Maia knew what he meant, of course -- she just couldn't help but tease.

He laughed and kissed the top of her head. "Just means that I'll be ready to get you anything you need at any time, right?"

"My hero." The words were teasing, but they weren't untrue, either. Maia reached up to place a hand on her cheek, directing him down so she could steal a kiss.

Maybe they had just started on this journey together once more, defining their relationship and letting their daughter in on it. Maybe they had found that they really seemed to excel at unplanned pregnancies. Maybe expanding their family now wasn't according to plan. But, Maia was convinced that this time everything would be just fine. They were older, a bit wiser, and had finally found themselves at the same place. This would be fun. There was no doubt about that.