"Mom! I can't find my hoodie," Maddie exclaimed as she routed through her clothes in her closet, creating a mountain in the middle of her bedroom. "Have you seen it at all?" she questioned.
Maya walked into her daughter's bedroom and was ultimately taken back by the overall state of the teenagers' bedroom, "Gee, I wonder why? Maybe if you put things away when we ask you then you wouldn't have this problem and you'd be able to find it," she remarked as she sighed. "You were told to clean your room the other day, why wasn't it done?" she asked.
"It was done and then I needed to look for something," Maddie mumbled as she moved over her chest of drawers and knelt down as she scoured through them. "So, have you seen it or not?" she asked impatiently.
"Attitude," Maya warned her daughter with a pointed look. "Check the basket of laundry, kiddo. It might be in there," she told her as she gestured to the basket of freshly washed laundry that Carina had recently done.
Maddie left the chest of drawers still open and stood up, walking into the lounge and routing them through the basket of washing, "Found it, thanks, Mom!" she called aloud and threw it over her white t-shirt.
"When you're home later on then you can tidy up your bedroom. I'm sick of asking you to do it," Maya told her daughter firmly as she shook her head.
"I told you already, I did tidy it and then things happened," Maddie muttered as she rolled her eyes and picked up her converses to put on. "Are you and mama both workin' today?" she asked.
"I have a twenty-four-hour shift and Mama's gonna stop by the station to meet up with Jack but she'll be home later," Maya explained as she walked over to the pantry and grabbed out Lizzie's food, placing a healthy amount in her bowl as the hungry pup instantly ran towards it to eat. "Remember, you're grounded so home straight after school, alright?" she reminded her.
"Actually, I was wondering if I could come to the station after school," Maddie wondered as she finished tying up her laces. "I'll be alone otherwise," she added.
"I don't suppose that would be a problem but you're still not gonna be let off easy," Maya told her daughter firmly.
Maddie couldn't help but smirk, "And here I thought you were gonna let me off the hook being grounded another 2 weeks," she stated.
"Yeah, nice try, that's not happenin' when you haven't exactly been the perfect child," Maya said sarcastically as she shook her head in disagreement.
"I don't know what you're talkin' about. I'm practically an angel," Maddie couldn't help but grin as she picked her backpack up.
"Yeah? Must have devil horns around that halo then kiddo," Maya said as she chuckled amusedly. "2 weeks grounding still stands. It's not up for discussion, Mads," she stated.
Maddie inwardly groaned and she threw her backpack over her shoulder, "Can I at least have my phone back? You know, just in case there's an emergency or somethin' and I can't get hold of either you or mama," she said.
"No. I'm sure if somethin' happens at school then they'll get in contact with either me or mama themselves," Maya told her daughter, she couldn't help but be amused that her daughter was trying to worm her way out of it all. "Better get off to school or you'll be late kiddo," she told her as she checked the time on the clock.
Maddie let out a huff and headed over to the front door, "Yeah, whatever, see you later," she said.
Maya followed her daughter over to the front door and pressed a kiss on the top of her head, "Don't get into any trouble," she warned.
"Can't make any promises," Maddie couldn't help but smirk. "Bye, love you, mom!" she waved as she opened the front door and walked out.
"Love you too kiddo," Maya said as she smiled and watched her daughter walk towards the elevator. "Teenagers' are something else," she mumbled to herself as she shut the door and walked back inside the apartment.
"Hey, party animal," Maddie heard Ella call out as she walked out of the main doors from the apartment where her friend was waiting for her so they could walk to school together.
"Oh, you're hilarious, not," The blonde said as she rolled her eyes.
Ella let out a laugh at the girl, "How's life bein' grounded treating you?" she teased.
"It totally sucks. I tried to get my mom to let me off being grounded already but she's totally not budgin' at all," Maddie told her friend as they started to walk to school.
"How long are you grounded for again?" Ella wondered.
"3 weeks total," Maddie mumbled as she shoved her hands in her pockets. "It has to be the longest painful 3 weeks of my life," she added.
Ella couldn't help but laugh and shake her head, "That sucks that you can't come to the party this weekend," she said.
"Yeah, no thanks, that didn't exactly go over so well last time," Maddie told her sarcastically and smirked at her best friend. "I'm not adding extra time to my sentence," she chuckled.
"You make it sound like you're in prison," Ella remarked amusedly.
"Well, it feels that way sometimes. No TV, no phone, I'm not allowed out with friends. It all completely sucks," Maddie complained as they rounded the corner. "At least my door's been put back on now," she said.
"Hey, Aaron's been askin' about you a lot, you know?" Ella said as she teased the blonde teen.
Maddie inwardly groaned, "I did text him but then my mom's took my phone so he's gonna think that I'm ignoring him now," she said as she let out a huff. "He seems cool though," she said as she smiled.
"I think that he likes you too," Ella said as she grinned.
"Really?" Maddie asked surprised.
Ella nodded in agreement, "Yep. He's forever askin' about you, Mads," she told her.
Maddie couldn't help but smile hearing that, "I wish that I could text him then but I can't do that until I get my phone back," she said as she sighed. "Oh well, only another 2 weeks to go, I guess," she muttered.
"Hey," Carina walked into the bedroom after she had finished a long, gruelling shift at the hospital. Today just seemed to be the day that a lot of mamas decided to go into labour, despite the fact that she was exhausted, she was relieved from the distraction of home life.
It had been almost a week since Maddie was grounded and both women would agree that every day since had been a constant tedious battle with a rebellious teenager.
Maya turned her attention from digging through her chest of drawers and smiled at her wife.
"Um, you're off shift Friday, yes? I made the reservation at the Burmese restaurant with..." Carina's words were cut off as Maya started walking towards her while she did a small strip-tease with her dressing gown. "Ah, ah, ah, no," she insisted.
"My shift doesn't start for half an hour," Maya teased her wife as she continued to flash her naked flesh in front of the brunette woman.
"Okay, I don't have time to get sweaty now. I'm meeting Jack," Carina protested despite how much she really wanted intimacy with her wife right now.
"Oh, Jack can wait," Maya continued to move further toward her wife. "Jack is patient. Jack is way less fun than your wife," she told her.
Carina placed her hand over her wife's mouth amusedly, "You need to stop saying Jack's name while you're naked," she said as she let out a laugh. "Yeah?" she said as she pressed her lips against her wife's.
"I'm sorry, you want to give me a spanking?" Maya flashed her wife a daring smirk as she inched closer to the Italian woman.
"Mm," Carina said as she inwardly groaned, trying to disagree. "Mm, okay, I am a woman of my word, and I have work to do today," she told the blonde.
"Mm," Maya hummed in agreement.
"So I can't," Carina said.
"No," Maya smirked at her wife.
Carina exhaled a sigh, "I only have 10 minutes," she said as both the women laughed.
"You spent a year of your life studying the female orgasm," Maya said as she smiled. "10 minutes should be plenty," she told her.
"Mm-hmm," Carina hummed in agreement as she pushed her wife down onto the bed as both of them laughed and got lost in the intimacy.
"That was fun," Carina stated as she sat on the edge of her bed and pulled her pants on.
"Mm-hmm," Maya hummed in agreement as she stood up from the bed and picked her top up off the floor. "Indeed it was. I told you that only 10 minutes were plenty," she said as she grinned at her wife.
"Alright, and now I really do have to go and meet Jack," Carina said as she stood up from the bed, moving over to her wife and pressing a kiss on her lips.
Maya smiled against the kiss on her lips as she deepened the kiss between them both, "How about we ride in together? We haven't done that in a while," she suggested.
"Well, now I do like the sound of that," Carina agreed with a smile on her face. "But we should probably leave soon to beat the traffic on the roads," she added.
Both of the women walked hand-in-hand as they left the apartment and walked down to Carina's Porsche outside.
"I might try and get a workout in before we get any call-outs," Maya said as she climbed into the passenger seat of the car and buckled her seatbelt.
Carina glanced at her wife and couldn't help but smirk. "Oh, was that not enough of a workout for you, Bella?" she asked amusedly as she started the engine. "We could always go for a second round later on when you're back from work," she offered teasingly.
"Yeah. I like the sound of that," Maya said as she smiled at her wife, placing her own hand over Carina's on the gear stick. "Later on honey," she agreed.
"Did Maddie leave for school okay?" Carina questioned.
"Yeah, she was fine apart from the usual teenage attitude," Maya couldn't help but chuckle as she stared at her wife as she drove. "Although she tried to get me to forget about the 2 weeks grounded she still has to go," she said amusedly.
Carina chuckled and shook her head, "Why does that not surprise me?" she asked.
"She'll be comin' to the station later after school, she didn't want to be home alone and since we're both out, I thought it was best," Maya told her wife.
Carina nodded in agreement, "So, you're off Friday, yes? I have already asked Andy if she'll come over and keep an eye on Maddie for us," she told the blonde woman.
"That sounds great. I can't wait," Maya said as she smiled and kept her eyes focused on her wife as she continued to drive. "It's been ages since the two of us spent some quality time together," she added.
"You know, we could just not go to school today?" Ella questioned her friend as they neared the middle school. "We could skip lessons and go into town instead," she suggested mischievously.
"We're already here now and I'm already in trouble with both my moms," Maddie said, she was already grounded for almost a month, she didn't want it to be longer than that. "I'm not makin' it any worse than it is," she told her.
Ella shrugged her shoulders loosely, "Suit yourself. Shall we go and smoke before we go in?" she asked.
"Yeah, we might as well," Maddie nodded in agreement and walked around the back of the school where they usually hang out. "My mom's found my vapes," she told her.
"Ah that sucks, lucky enough, I have a spare one for you," Ella smiled as she pulled a vape from her backpack. "Try not to get caught with this one, alright?" she joked.
"Thanks, I'll try not too," Maddie accepted it gratefully and looked at it. "Ooo, bubblegum. Nice," she exclaimed amusedly.
"You know, you never said what you were talkin' to Jack about today," Maya said as she reached into the back of the car to grab her work backpack and shut the car door behind her.
"Didn't I?" Carina questioned in surprise. "Oh, I thought I would have mentioned it to you," she told her.
The two women linked hands as they headed inside of reception, "Nope, so go on, what's the bright idea?" Maya asked keen to know the idea.
"Uh, a clinic. Here at the station. It would be a place where people could come and get the treatment without any questions or judgement," Carina explained to her wife.
"Yeah? I think that sounds like a great idea, honey!" Maya encouraged her wife with a smile.
"Do you think so?" Carina asked.
Maya nodded in agreement and turned to look at her wife, "For sure! It sounds like something that could work out well," she said as the both of them headed up the stairs. "I'm gonna go work out but I'll see you later?" she asked.
"Of course. I'll see you later on, Bella," Carina said as she smiled at her wife adoringly.
"Good luck, not that you will need it," Maya told her wife as she shot her a wink. "I love you," she told her softly.
Carina smiled and pressed a gentle kiss on the blonde's lips, "I love you too," she said before the two of them walked in the opposite direction to find Jack and Ben in the beanery.
"Hey. There she is," Ben acknowledged the Italian woman's presence as she walked further into the room.
"Hey," Carina greeted the two firefighters. "Ben, are you helping us with the clinic?" she asked as she placed her coat and bag on the counter.
"Uh, clinic?" Ben questioned confused.
"I didn't tell him yet. I was working up to it," Jack admitted to the woman.
Carina walked around to the cupboards and grabbed a mug out, "Hey, you're a grown-up man. Work to it faster, no?" she remarked.
"Okay, alright," Jack agreed reluctantly and turned to Ben. "Uh, Warren," he started.
"Mm-hmm?" Ben questioned as he poured cereal into the bowl.
"What do you think if we offered medical services here?" Jack questioned as Carina waited for his answer.
"Uh, tried that. The city made me park it out back," Ben responded as Carina poured herself a cup of coffee.
"No, I'm not talking about performing surgery. I mean like a... Like a clinic. Here," Jack stumbled over his words as he explained his idea to the male firefighter.
"What do you mean, like, uh, like BP checks?" Ben questioned as he opened the refrigerator to grab the milk. "That sort of thing?" he asked.
"And more," Carina retorted as she motioned with her hands like she was twirling in a circular motion. "Ugh, this is burnt," she complained at the foul taste of caffeine in her mouth and stuck her tongue out in disgust.
"You saw Joey's friend Ameen. He– He needed medical attention long before we got to him," Jack explained to Ben as Carina made her way over to the coffee machine and began to remake the pot of coffee again.
"Yeah, but that's what hospital clinic's for," Ben argued his case.
"Right, but a guy like Ameen? Not gonna walk into a hospital," Jack stated the obvious. The sad fact that was there were a bunch more people like that.
"Low-income women are five times less likely to get prenatal care, and part of the reason– They don't trust doctors. But everyone trusts firefighters. It's easier to come into the local fire station for care than it is to walk into a hospital," Carina explained to Ben who was now sat down and listening to her.
"Right, and, look, uh, Crisis One, that's, uh... That's out in the field. That's mental health, right?" Jack questioned trying to get his idea across.
"Yeah," Carina agreed quietly.
"But this is everything-else health. And people will come here. And– And think of all the low-acuity calls we wouldn't have to go on. We'd save time, manpower," Jack continued to get his point across.
Carina turned around and looked at them both, "And woman power," she added.
"Exactly," Jack stated.
Maddie sat in her lesson. Not even halfway through the day and she was already fed up and bored. "I'm so done with school today already," she muttered to Ella who sat beside her.
Ella couldn't help but laugh, "It's only second period, Mads. We still have a while to go yet," she said amusedly.
"Don't remind me," Maddie couldn't help but groan. "I guess that you're right. I should have taken you up on your offer to bunk off for the day," she said.
"Miss Bishop, face the front and pay attention to my class!" The teacher suddenly called her out which made Maddie shoot her head up in his direction.
"Actually sir, it's DeLuca-Bishop now," Maddie said as she smirked.
"Alright then, Miss DeLuca-Bishop, pay attention to my class!" The teacher repeated himself.
Maddie couldn't help but scrunch her face up while Ella laughed, "Yeah, really wish that we'd bunked off lesson today," she muttered.
"Madison!" The teacher called her out. "Last chance before I throw you out of my class," he warned.
"I'm payin' attention sir," Maddie mumbled and had her eyes focused on the board in front although the man's lesson was really, really boring. "I just can't help it if I'm bored of your lesson," she remarked.
"That's it, you were warned!" The teacher exclaimed suddenly enraged. "Get out, get out of my class, now!" he barked at her.
Maddie couldn't help but smirk and stand up, "Sure, with pleasure," she stated as she headed towards the door. "Catch you later, Sir!" he told her.
"Principal's office, now!" The teacher ordered the blonde teenager.
"I mean, he's just gonna leave us behind," Vic ranted as she worked out in the gym. "After everything, just leave us in the dust," she said somewhat upset.
"I mean, I never said we couldn't move the picture frame," Travis changed the subject as he worked out alongside her, he was totally thrown off by something that happened earlier that day.
Vic turned his attention to him, "What?" she asked confused. They were on about two completely different things.
"Just– Emmett this morning freaked out on me for no reason," Travis explained as he turned to look at Vic. "I'm sure it wasn't for no reason," he mumbled.
"My wife is mind-blowing in bed," Maya mumbled her thoughts aloud as she worked out.
"What?" Both Travis and Vic looked at her taken back.
Maya looked at them both thrown off that she had spoken out loud, "What? Did I just say that out loud?" she questioned as she nodded slightly. "I thought I just thought it. I'm sorry," she apologised as she shook her head and continued to work out.
Vic was speechless at that confession but didn't say anything further as she turned back to work out.
"So, he said 'Great. I'll just stare into your dead husband's eyes while we have sex'," Travis continued to rant against what happened between him and Emmett this morning.
"Oh," Maya mumbled.
"I mean, that's... that's pretty much out of nowhere," Travis said as he threw his hands up in the air in defeat.
"Is it? Or were you not listening? 'Cause you know you're not always great at listening," Vic pointed out the obvious.
"What are you talking about? I listen," Travis stated confused.
"You listen when you're not obsessing about something," Maya interjected.
"False," Travis pointed his finger in the blondes' direction.
"Okay, what was I venting about before you changed the subject?" Vic questioned the man in an attempt to prove her point.
"It– The–" Travis stuttered his words out.
Vic nodded slightly, "Yeah, exactly," she said as she went back to lifting dumbbells.
"Okay, look, my family is imploding, alright? And I'm the only one trying to maintain any sort of semblance of..." Travis expressed his concerns out in the open.
"Travis. Travis?" Vic interjected before Travis could say anything further. "What, your family's imploding, so you're the only one whose thoughts and feelings matter?" she questioned as she sighed and Travis tried to get a word in edge way.
"I..." Travis attempted to speak.
Vic was further than impressed, "You know, my family's imploding, too. Our family. 19," she told him as she sighed again.
"It's not exactly the same," Travis disagreed.
"Ugh," Vic let out a huff and walked out of the gym leaving Travis confused and Maya just wanting to finish her workout.
"Maddie, back here again, I see?" Principal Linsley stated as she let out a sigh.
"I thought that you missed me and I wanted to come to visit," Maddie couldn't help but smirk cockily as she leaned back in the chair.
Her principal looked further than impressed with her attitude, "What happened, Maddie?" she asked.
"Uh, well, my teacher got annoyed with me and kicked me out of his lesson," Maddie explained as she shrugged her shoulders carelessly. "It's not my fault that sir's lessons are boring," she added.
Principal Linsley sighed and shook her head in disagreement, "This isn't the first time that you've been in my office Maddie," she expressed her concerns.
"And it probably won't be the last either Miss," Maddie remarked.
Principal Linsley once again sighed in defeat, "Alright well since you can't go back to sir's lesson, you can sit in here for the remainder and catch up with any other school work," she told her.
"Sounds good to me," Maddie mumbled.
"This behaviour isn't any good, Maddie. You'll get yourself into trouble if you're not careful and it'll go on your record," The older woman told her firmly.
Maddie inwardly groaned hearing the older woman's lecture, "No offence Miss but I really don't need a lecture from you, I've already had one from my mom's," she told her.
The principal sighed in defeat, "I expected better from you Maddie," she told her. "I really did expect better," she said.
•
Another update,
Sorry for the long wait! I hope you all enjoy this chapter, let me know what you think!