MAYA POV
"I've taken the next two days off of work so that I can look after Isabella, and you can have a rest" Is the first thing that came out of Carina's mouth when I entered the empty beanery. I'm sure I've been asleep for hours, Isabella seemed to have done the exact same thing as she lays comfortable in her car seat.
"Her fever broke this morning, she'll be fine tomorrow" I say, rolling my eyes at the ironic timing.
"I'd still like to be home and take care of the two of you" Carina persists, giving Isabella one last look before treading over to me.
"I'm sorry" She whispered, carefully grabbing my arms, and directing them to wrap around her waist. I dropped my arms to annoy Carina like I had done a few weeks ago. She shot me a frustrated look and her eyes widened slightly at the amused look on my face.
"That's mean" She mutters, grabbing my hands again and attempting the same thing. This time, I wrap my arms around her, pushing her body flush against mine. We kiss softly, something we haven't done for a few days. When the kiss ends, she pushes her head onto my shoulder as she faces my neck, a soft sigh of relief comes from the both of us.
"You're not forgiven though" I say in a serious tone and Carina pulls back. She actively tries to read my face and I try my hardest to not break into a smile.
"What do I have to do?" She asks, her head moving to my neck. It's predictable, she'll kiss my neck and at some point, we'll make out in a closet or my bunk.
"That's not the way to do it" I say, she grumbles and looks at me as she waits for a possible answer.
"When you do it, I'll let you know" I tease, and she rolls her eyes. With my arms still wrapped around her, I wait until she starts to move away before I pull her into a steamy kiss. Our breathing quickens as we both fight for leadership. I cut the kiss short, I purposely step away from her; watching as both of our chests rise and fall in quick recession.
"That's not the way either" I say, teasing her further and this time she doesn't huff or roll her eyes. She guides me back to our sleeping daughter. Isabella looked at peace, something that had been alien over the last few days.
"Your car?" I ask Carina, lifting the car seat up and taking out my own set of keys for the car. "Can you get my bag from my bunk?" I ask her and she nods, we separate as we head in slightly different directions.
-
"Is cooking Lasagne an encouraging way for you to forgive me?" Carina asked in a seductive way. It had been about three hours since we'd made it home. Isabella had remarkably slept all the way through, wanting to obviously catch on the hours she's missed.
"Nope but I wouldn't hate it" I say, not revealing the fact that I'd already probably forgiven her. This was more fun.
"No lasagne then" Carina teases, she'd been sat on my lap since we'd poured our glasses of wine. Grabbing her arm, I pulled it towards my mouth and bit her.
"No biting outside the bedroom" Carina pointed her finger at me as if she tried to scold me. I playfully roll my eyes as she moves herself into a more comfortable position for the two of us. The fireplace crackled as the fire shimmered across the burning logs.
"Are you okay?" Carina broke the comfortable silence between us.
"Just tired but I'm okay" I tell her, she nods and looks away feeling guilty. "Hey, I'm glad I got the chance to look after Isabella this time, I know what to do next time." I tell her but she shakes her head, some tears disturbing her beautiful face.
"I should have stayed home for another week" Carina starts, placing our glasses onto our coffee table. When she returns, she grabs the zip of my sweater and starts slowly moving it up and down.
"You wanted to go back to work. You had all of those interesting surgeries this week and I haven't heard anything about them. Tell me?" I point out and she looks surprised.
"You won't understand any of it though?" She tells me with a small grin finally appearing on her face.
"If our daughter or future son becomes a doctor, I need to start understanding things" I tease and the smile on her grows. Instinctively, my hand moves to softly rest on Carina's stomach.
"Why do you think we'll have a boy?" She asks becoming very interested in the conversation.
"We can talk about that and place a bet another day. Tell me about the surgery today" I change the subject and she starts to talk.
"Right, so the patient has had a long history of cervical cancer. But her oncologist has finally found the right procedure for her to get the care she needs. Slowly the cancer is breaking down, the tumours are disappearing, but she still had a few. I got to assist a procedure called Cervical Cryosurgery..."
-
CARINA POV
Last night it felt like we were just a married couple again. I think I'll always bring it up, always recognise those small moments where I get to just be a wife. Isabella has been a handful, and I haven't been there, I honestly didn't know how to be there. I could have taken days off but how is it that a literal doctor doesn't know how to look after their sick child. It doesn't make sense. Maya would have been there; she would have helped guide me, but I was scared. How can I confess that I don't know how to look after my own child? How can I confess that I spent every free moment looking at videos or guides on how to look after a sick toddler? I couldn't do it. Maybe it was selfish of me to hide that insecurity, to put all of the pressure and stress onto my beautiful wife.
"Why did you wake me up?" Maya's gruff voice called for me.
"I didn't" I reply, looking over at my wife who's just slept for 13 hour straight. "I was going to go shopping, come back, and surprise you but you're awake now" I say, pulling up my jeans while hopping around the room.
"Oh... I can pretend to be asleep" Maya says in a quiet voice, pulling up the comforter so only her hair was visible.
"I'll make sure Isabella is comfortable" I reply, putting my phone in my back pocket, grabbing my jacket and car keys. Maya groans and I take that as her replying to me.
-
MAYA POV
I definitely fell back to sleep, awakening to the smell of my wife's cooking is something heaven would be jealous of. I could faintly hear our daughter using the few words she knows to communicate to Carina. Jealousy was what threw me out of my bed, running towards the kitchen.
Out of breath and slightly amazed, I ran in to find Isabella standing on her two legs. It wasn't unusual, hell she'd started walking a few months ago but she hasn't been all that confident. To see her willingly standing against the kitchen counter as she slightly tilts her body to keep herself balanced. Carina is crouched in front of her, holding her little hand and quietly singing an Italian song we both love. If there was a moment that would represent what love looked like in my family, this would be it.
I was hidden out of view giving me the perfect opportunity to spy on a moment I'm sure Carina will always keep close to her heart. The moment seemed to pass, Carina had grabbed her phone and the music had stopped. Isabella's legs were wobbling slightly, and I took the opportunity to sweep her up into my arms. She squealed in surprise but giggled when I spun her around in my arms, her bright toothy smile lit up the room.
"If you think I didn't spot you, I guess you're as bad of a stalker as I apparently was" Carina jokes, putting her phone on the counter to only turn around and pull me into a deep kiss. Isabella remained in my arms but was busy, her hand had found hem of my sweater – apparently it was the most amazing thing she'd ever noticed.
"I'd be a better stalker than you" I tease, Carina rolls her eyes and turns away from me.
