Third POV
"Alright, lift up your shirt please, Max." Dr. Lawrence said with a smile, tugging on her gloves and picking up the tube of propylene glycol gel. Max complied, lifting it up as far as where her bra was and laying completely back into the examination table. She squirmed when her doctor squirted out the cold, sticky gel onto her abdomen. She no longer hopped around and giggled when it happened, but it still made her uncomfortably ticklish.
"Where's your mom, El, Nancy, or Robin today? One of them usually accompanies you." Dr. Lawrence asked, smoothing it around on her bump, making sure to spread it in all areas it needed to be, "El stuck on cooking duty with her dad she couldn't get out of it, Robin is out of town with her family, and my parents went to the airport to pick up my grandparents." Max responded.
"That's too bad." Dr. Lawrence said turning on the transducer and set it under Max's bellybutton, slowly gliding it around to get a reading. "Anyway, how were your final exams?" Dr. Lawrence asks.
"I got B's nothing new." Max answers and glanced at the screen as the image began to materialize. "Although, I did get an A on Bio." She mentioned.
"That great, I guess this whole baby business must have helped me with the reproduction and development chapter." Dr. Lawerence says chuckling as she tapped on a few keys of the ultrasound before running the ultrasound transducer over the area right below her belly button once again, "How will you be spending your Christmas, Max?" Dr. Lawerence asks.
"Probably eating maybe napping. I've been really tired lately." Max responds and on cue yawns, "Hormonal changes. Make sure you are getting enough rest as well. I know school takes up a lot of your time, but above all, I want you to make sure you are at your healthiest for your baby." Dr. Lawerence says and slid the transducer a little lower.
"Your bump is starting to get nice and firm in some areas though. Your pregnancy is going spectacularly." Dr. Lawerence informs her as she moves the mouse on the screen, checking fetal heart rate and the amount of amniotic fluid in the uterus. She moved the transducer once again, a small frown on her face.
"Huh." Dr. Lawerence says, "Is something wrong?" Max asks worriedly for the baby health.
"Part of your placenta seems to be covering your cervix..." Dr. Lawerence muttered, tapping the screen where the odd blob was located. Max frowned, still unable to understand anything she was seeing even after having had multiple appointments. "It's not a problem right now, but I'm hoping it will shift as your uterus grows in the future, otherwise it could cause some bleeding later in your pregnancy." Dr. Lawerence informs her.
"As in hemorrhaging?" Max nervously asks eyes widened, "Yes, but don't worry. Placental misplacement is common in week sixteen but will usually correct itself by the third trimester." Dr. Lawerence assures Max who let out a breath of relief, and Dr. Lawerence patted Max's hand consolingly.
"I'm sorry. I should have phrased it better. I know you get nervous about these things." Dr. Lawerence apologizes, "How's your nausea?" Dr. Lawerence asks.
"Not as bad anymore. I threw up a couple days ago, but nothing since then." Max replied, "That's good to know. But keep on taking those vitamins, alright? Call me if you need a refill of your prescription." Dr. Lawerence reminds her.
"Oh, I almost forgot have you felt any 'quickening' yet?" Dr. Lawerence asks and Max send a somewhat questioning look, Dr. Lawerence chuckled to herself, "Fetal movement most patients begin to feel it around the sixteen week mark." Dr. Lawerence explains.
"Oh. No. Not yet." Max respond and gently pokes the side of the swell of her belly. There were a couple times when she had thought she felt her baby movement, but it always turned out to be gas bubbles or something related to bloating. She couldn't wait for the day that she finally got some response from the baby, "It'll happen soon, the baby is developing properly." Dr. Lawerence said and continued as she observed the screen.
"About four inches now and growing with each day. Your due date seems to be just about accurate at this point. So yes, expect a late May, early June birth." Dr. Lawerence inform Max who is smiling and feeling happiness bubble up in her chest. She was almost there. Almost at the point of officially seeing her little baby. "That's good to know." Max said excitedly.
"Mmhmm. So, the baby legs aren't crossed." Dr. Lawerence says and turns to Max, "Do you want to know if you're having a boy or girl?" Dr. Lawerence asks.
"Wait, I can learn the gender right now?" Max asked, biting her lip to keep her wide, excited smile at bay, "It's totally up to you. You can wait for a little later if you want or you can decide on a surprise birth." Dr. Lawerence replies.
"I want to know." Max answers excitedly, "I thought so." Dr. Lawerence said smiling as she slides the transducer once again across Max's abdomen.
The image shifted quite a bit to the point where the baby looked kind of like a boomerang shape. "You see that space right there? That's where the crotch will develop." Dr. Lawerence explains.
Max nodded holding her breath in anticipation, "Well... you've got the three lines, two for the labia and one for the vagina. There's no 'turtle'. It's a girl." Dr. Lawerence reveals causing Max to let out a small squeal in excitement, trying to force the yay in the back of her throat down.
She covered her mouth to keep the squeals at bay, but she couldn't help the wide smile that seemed to take over her face.
Max, El, Nancy, and Robin had discussed the possible gender at length on multiple sleepless nights and ultimately decided that it would be more fun with a girl because Nancy would get the chance to play dress up. Max, El, and Robin could not deny the idea of putting the baby in little baby band tees or Mary Jane's and little frilly socks and glittery bows just sounded so cute and exciting she could die.
Max knew that Maya and the boys would be absolutely great to either a boy or a girl, Max couldn't help but hope for a girl because she got excited at the prospect of her friends having a great bonding and treating the baby like a little princess especially Maya who is 100% going to spoil her.
"I am 95% sure she's a girl, but I'll continue to check to make sure at your next appointments. How does it feel to know your baby's gender?" Dr. Lawerence asks, "Unreal." Max answers still feeling happy that she now knows she's having a girl.
"I bet you want a photo of the gender for proof?" Dr. Lawrence asks Max nods, and Dr. Lawrence set the ultrasound image to print, before she saved and closed out the file and set the transducer on the tray.
She carefully wiped Max's belly with the towel to remove the gunk and then stood up to finish with the rest of the post appointment tasks. Max pulled her shirt back down and then got off from the table, removing the sheet across her legs to slide her bottoms back up. Dr. Lawrence went to the sink after removing the rubber gloves to wash her hands, politely giving Max privacy to pull up her leggings.
"We're going to set the date for your next ultrasound in about four weeks or so. Does late January sound good to you?" Dr. Lawrence asks, "That works, I think." Max answers.
"In the meantime, you'll be growing fairly rapidly these next weeks. If you haven't done so already, I would highly recommend you start looking into maternity clothes, Max." Dr. Lawrence informs Max who nods and sighs under her breath. It had begun. The struggle for new clothes, "Also if you don't mind me asking, and I apologize if I'm overstepping boundaries, but..." Dr. Lawrence said, giving Max a concerned look while she wiped her hands.
"Where is the father of your child? I would have thought he would be interested in coming to the appointment after what you told me about him." Dr. Lawrence asks, "I don't speak to the father of my child... he broke up with me when I told him that he is going to a father. We recently talked but he said the same thing that he told me the last time and that is to put the baby for adoption." Max answered twiddling her thumbs, looking away from the obstetrician.
"But it's okay now I have my parents, my friends, and Maya who is supporting me." Max assures Dr. Lawrence, "The only thing I hate is how overprotective Maya is. She worries more than my parents and friends do. She's been calling me every damn hour for the past four days, and I've had it. I told Maya I'd kick her ass if she kept that up." Max says.
"You know, I've seen a lot of distant fathers not involved in the process at all, and not many people being supportive. You're lucky Max that you have your parents and friends supporting you especially Maya who seems like a really good person. Regardless of how annoying she is being it's obvious that she really cares about you, and the baby." Dr. Lawrence smiled kindly, writing a few notes at the base of Max's file. Max knew Dr. Lawrence was right.
Maya has proven time and time again how much she cared and wanted to be more involved, through walking Max home every day despite being exhausted from her practices, taking Max to the nurse's office whenever she was feeling particularly ill, and all Maya's underhanded schemes with the boys to figure out everything she could about Max's pregnancy. Whenever she didn't tell her everything.
They was reliable. And sure, Maya devotion got pretty annoying sometimes especially since it was fairly cold, and Maya always fussed over whether Max was warm enough, but she definitely preferred that over Maya possibly completely ignoring her and rejecting her.
"Just think about what I said, Max." Dr. Lawrence says, "I will. Thank you." Max responds Dr. Lawrence smiles.
"The front desk will have your ultrasound photo. I'll see you in four weeks!" Dr. Lawrence leaves the room and Max finishes getting dressed, slipping on the flat boots she'd had to borrow from her mom for the appointment.
Max tugs on her winter coat, wraps her scarf around her neck, and rearranged the beanie on her head to cover her ears before leaving the room and walking down the corridor to get her picture from the front desk.
Once she had thanked the receptionist and exited the office, she scurried to the elevator to finish up the rest of her tasks for the day. Christmas dinner would be around five, so she only had a couple more hours to take care of what needed to be done. Max responded to Maya's check-up text telling her to call her in the evening.
Then she answered El, Nancy, and Robin concerned text, letting them know everything went well and that she would be on her way back to the house shortly.
Max shuffled down the sidewalk on her way to the subway, hands in her pockets to fend off the cold. Most the shops were closed and the sidewalks were for the most part bare except for those last minute Christmas shoppers scrambling to check off everything on their gift lists and store foods in case the evening forecasted blizzard reared its ugly head.
Max preferred the streets this way: clear and open and perfect for stowing in her own thoughts and it was a bonus that people weren't there, staring at her with squinted eyes trying to figure out if she really was pregnant or she was just somewhat plump, and then figuring out it was the former and their faces twisting into that look she came to recognize was disappointment at yet another irresponsible teen.
Max would be lying if she said that didn't bother her sometimes. Because some disparaging looks and comments really bugged her.
It hadn't been a problem when she was in earlier stages of her pregnancy and didn't show, but now she was really starting to feel some pressure. Just the week before, she, El, Nancy, and Robin went shopping and were eating in the food court when a women sitting next to them asked Max if she was actually pregnant. When she had answered yes, the look of disbelief on the woman's face immediately showed, and she'd made some comment about her being too young to be having a child and basically being a baby herself. Max responded as politely as she could to the rude and unnecessary criticism, but when the woman had replied with something along the lines of 'I swear, mothers these days never know how to raise their children right', Max had almost flipped a raging shit and Nancy had to quickly stuff Max's mouth with bagel to keep her from going off on the woman.
A few days before actually, the day before their last exam, she and her friends had been studying in library and the amount of odd and judgmental looks she had received made her get a little self-conscious. Maya took her hand to comfort her, and though it had been soothing, Max couldn't help but think that everybody in the world was gawking at her and staring at her like she was a pariah.
Max sighed. She supposed that would be the way it would be from now on. Such was baggage that came with being pregnant. She rubbed the swell gently, smiling to herself. Still, regardless of her slowly dwindling self-esteem, she wasn't ashamed of being pregnant anymore. She'd really grown to love her baby. Despite all the stupid annoying raging hormones in every extreme and the vomit and the ketchup which she used to never be able to stand but surprisingly couldn't live without now and the gassiness, the baby had quickly become her best companion.
It was a strange feeling, the maternal one, but she was actually kind of enjoying it with each day that passed.
Max walked into her house feeling a little drained. But still excited that she's having a baby girl. It still felt so unreal. She took off her coat with a sigh and set it on the rack beside the door before shutting it.
Her mom was busy cooking in the kitchen checking the food in the oven and mixing things at the pot, but Max didn't see her dad or her grandparents.
Her mom looked up when she heard the door close, she turned to Max, "How did your doctor appointment go, Max?" Max's mom asked.
"Good, Dr. Lawerence told me that I'm having a girl." Max announced smiling widely Max's mom smiled and walked over to hug her, "Congratulations honey." Max's mom says excitedly.
Max didn't say anything in response, and sits down in the couch when her mom let's go of her Max's mom looks concerned.
"Max, you look a little pale. You want something to eat?" Max's mom asks, "I'm not really hungry." Max answers.
Max's mom chuckled lightly in amusement and places her hand on Max's forehead, checking to see if she might be running a fever.
"You don't seem to be running hot." Max's mom beginning to get worried, "Come on, let's have you lie down for a bit okay?" Max's mom says and walks back to the kitchen to turn off the stove and then helps Max stand and they walk to her room.
Max set her bag down and climbed on the bed, lying on her side as her mom rubbed her back. Het eyes dropping shut as her exhaustion started to take over her body.
All that walking around all day had made her body sore and Max's lower back was starting to feel a little tight. Plus her feet were kind of aching. She really needed a nap.
"You think you'll be able to wake up for dinner?" Max's mom asks, "... doubt it." Max mumbled.
"Do you want me to wake you up when it's time?" Max's mom asks honestly, Max wasn't really sure she wanted to have Christmas dinner now, "Eat without me. I'll be fine." Max responds not noticing her mom shocked expression.
"On Christmas? You sure, Max?" Her mom asks uncertain if they should eat Christmas dinner without Max, "I'm positive." Max answers and lets out another loud yawn.
"Alright. When you get hungry, there'll be food for you, sweetie." Max's mom said standing up and walking to the door and cutting off the lights, "... thanks..." Max muttered snuggling further into the pillow.
Few Hours Later
Max was awaken by the sound of her cellphone. Her eyes slid open tiredly, and she looked out the window, a little surprised to see that night had already fallen and the sky was dark.
If she really focused her hearing, she could hear the celebrating and chatting coming from the living room. Max groaned a little when she felt a small tightening in her abdomen.
A Braxton Hicks contraction, no doubt. She'd been getting them infrequently for a while now. She rolled over onto her side and it stopped. Her stomach growled lightly.
But she honestly didn't feel any pangs of hunger in particular. And quite honestly, she just wasn't in any mood to eat anything at the moment. Maybe some ice cream but for the most part, she just felt lethargic and a little down in the dumps.
Although she really was craving that ice cream, she just didn't feel like getting up and walking to the living room. Max sighed when her phone started ringing again and she slipped her hand in her bag beside the bed, picking up the phone to answer the call.
"Hello?" Max said a little groggily, still trying to rub the sleepiness from her eyes, "Were you taking a nap? I tried calling you earlier, but you didn't pick up."
Max heart started racing when she heard Maya amused voice through the phone. She sat up abruptly, feeling a blush rise on her face.
"I was trying to." Max answers, "Sorry. I didn't mean to wake you up." Maya apologized.
"It's fine. I couldn't really sleep anyway. It's getting harder to find a decent position." Max answers she's always been a stomach sleeper, really. She wasn't used to sleeping on her back, but that was the only position she thought was appropriate. She didn't want to crush the baby accidentally. She was honestly scared to sleep on her side too in case she accidentally rolled around and ended up on her belly.
"Robin told me you were having trouble sleeping." Maya responded, sounding worried, "Don't." Max warned. "Don't what?" Maya asks confused by the sudden change of attitude but then remembers about Max's mood swings.
"You're doing that thing again where you worry about everything I do. Stop it, Maya." Max snapped. "You called me so many times today I almost threw my phone into the gutter. I hope this overprotectiveness thing doesn't continue throughout second semester because I really am coming close to kicking your ass." Max said.
"As far as I'm concerned, it's the day I can be overprotective, so your threats are unjustified." Maya said in an annoyingly arrogant sounding tone.
"Ten calls in one day though? We're supposed to be on vacation. I need a vacation from you!" Max remarks, "That's not going to happen." Maya says.
"Anyway, how was your appointment?" Maya asks, "It was good. In fact, Dr. Lawerence said that I'm having a girl." Max grinned.
"We're... you're having a girl?" Maya corrected herself praying Max hasn't caught her mistake which luckily she didn't noticed Maya's mistake. Max felt her cheeks burn despite Maya hadn't said anything special in particular, but there was something about her tone, all excited and warm and loving that it made Max want to smile like an idiot.
"Yeah..." Max whispered, laying her hand on her abdomen and gently rubbing it, and suddenly, she was overcome with the wish that Maya could be with her. That they could be cuddling together or something, sharing this moment and her heart swelled as she thought about how much she had really come to like Maya. It was a very intense type of want, one that made her palms sweaty and throat dry. It kind of scared her to be honest, and she took a huge gulp of air, trying to calm down.
"I..." Max swallowed. "M-Maya, umm..."
"Max?"
"Maya... I..."
"Yes, Max?"
"I... I'm uh... I'm really happy you're here for me." Max concluded, mentally berating herself for being so pathetic. How the hell hard was it to tell someone you liked them? This was just like revealing her pregnancy all over again. Except that a rejection from this would probably break her heart.
"I'm sure the baby will look up to you." Max said, "You think so? I think I'd probably spoil her too much." Maya sheepishly admitted.
"That's exactly what I thought. You'd treat her like your little princess." Max says and Maya yawned after a few beats of silence.
"Why do you sound so tired?" Max asks, "Jet lag... it always gets me..." Maya answered her voice getting more quiet.
Max didn't hear anything else from Maya and wondered if she had fallen asleep because she'd had gone silent.
"Hey Maya." Max says and receives no response, "Are you asleep?" Max asks and still no response. Max rolled her eyes of course Maya would fall asleep in the middle of their conversation.
"You know, I thought this was the day you chose to be overprotective?" Max reminded Maya, "You're losing your hours if you sleep." She mentions but Maya didn't respond. Maya really was asleep then.
"Okay, I'm only saying this because you're asleep. I honestly wish I could tell you to your face, but I'm scared." Max took a deep breath. "So here it is, I like you, Maya. A lot, and I've liked you since homecoming, probably even way before that because ever since I met you for the longest time, I've had this intense aggravating want to be near you at all times and I've been feeling this happiness with you for ever since we became friends but I didn't know what it was back then, and I have no idea how to tell you because you're so stupid, attractive, stupidly attractive, and I don't want to burden you with how I feel about you. Merry Christmas." Max admits.
There. She had said it. Even though Maya hadn't heard a word, that was a load off her chest.
"You think your feelings would ever be a burden to me?"
Max gasped sharply when Maya responded. Max had not been expecting an answer. Did Maya hear everything that she said?
"Y-You weren't asleep?" Max stuttered, appalled that Maya possibly heard her confession, "I stood up to close my door for a second." Maya answers.
"You like me." Maya asks and Max could tell that Maya is grinning, "Maya the only reason I said it is because—"
"Do you know how long I've been holding back on telling you how I felt? I waited to tell you until you were ready or at least you acknowledged your own feelings, Max. I like you too. A lot. When I first met you I thought you were cute and the more I started to get to know you I began developing feelings for you." Maya said, sounding extremely happy. Max tried to remain calm through this situation, "Okay. So we like each other. It's not that big of a deal..." Max said in a calm voice but was freaking out inside.
"I was just kind of hoping when I told you, it could have been in person so I could kiss you right afterwards." Maya reveals causing Max to blush and almost dropping her phone hearing Maya say that she wanted to kiss her.
"But it's no matter." Maya voice dropped so she was speaking softly, deliberately slowly, "Because as soon as I see you, the first thing I'm going to do is kiss you." Maya exclaims
"What?!" Max yelled shocked. "Okay, are you drunk?" Max asks still trying to comprehend what Maya just said.
"No. And I mean it. I don't care where we are, Max. As soon as I find you, I'm going to kiss you." Maya stated, "We'll see about that." Max said, not altogether playfully. She really was planning on hiding from Maya who had just flipped her world over on its axis. She still was finding it hard to believe that Maya actually liked her.
"I could just avoid you again." Max said, "I know you will. But that's not going to stop me." Maya replied.
"Max, I have to go. Steve calling me. But I'll see you in a week." Maya said, "Okay." Max said, voice barely above a whisper. Max hung up the phone with slightly wide eyes after Maya ended the call. She was a little mortified if she thought about the end of their conversation, and her pulse was racing a bit faster than was normal. Maya likes her? It was just so hard to believe, especially since she's pregnant. Despite how confidently Max carried herself, being kissed by Maya scared her more than when she took the pregnancy test. It was surprising that she is feeling scared because she was never felt scared whenever she kissed Jake but with Maya everything different.
Max is going to avoid Maya like the plague. She doesn't care that it makes her look like a coward. The feelings that she felt for Maya was something she never thought was possible for her to feel about someone and this terrified her. Maya likes her and she wants to kiss Max.
The door is opened, and El poked her head in, "Max? You awake? Your mom told me that you missed dinner." El says. "I'm awake and I just wasn't hungry." Max answers, clearing her throat.
"Shouldn't you be at home with your dad?" Max asks. El walked in and flicked the lights on, "My dad's here as well your parents called my dad and asked if we wanted to come over and we agreed." El explains.
"What's wrong with you? Why is your face red." El ask sitting beside Max, placing her hand on Max's forehead, "I accidentally confessed... Maya told me she likes me back." Max muttered quietly.
El is silent then suddenly jumps up on her feet, "I knew that you liked her! I told you that Maya likes you back!" El says smiling widely.
"Was I really oblivious this whole time...?" Max muttered, suddenly feeling very shy all of a sudden, "You're so cute Max." El gushed, playfully pinching Max's cheek.
"Well, what did you say?" El asks and Max slaps El hand away, "I told her I was going to hide." Max responds.
"Max, really? You already tried this whole avoiding thing before. You know how that turned out." El reminds her, "El, I'm scared. Maya was saying all this stuff how the first thing she's going to do when she sees me is kiss-"
El squealed, covering her mouth in excitement, and Max blushed, embarrassed by the words once again.
"Max and Maya sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G." El teased, "First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes baby in the..."
Max side-eyed her, raising her eyebrow, and El chuckled nervously, realizing what she had just said.
"Oh. I guess that's a little inappropriate to sing..." El grinned, Max rolled her eyes and turned on her side so she was facing El, "Never mind my Maya problem right now. I'm worried, El." Max said.
"About what?" El asked, "The future used to look kind of bright, but now it's just so unclear and foggy that I'm scared. What's going to happen when I have the baby..." Max muttered, staring at the lopsided reindeer on El Christmas sweater.
"I can't give you any answers Max. Because I don't know we can't predict the future. But I know whatever happens, everything will work out." El said, tracing the lines of the ceiling with her eyes, El rolled onto her side and held Max's hand with a warm smile. "It's okay to be scared. I'm scared for you too. But you have us all to support you so that you won't have to go through this alone." El said.
"Thank you, El, you're the best, you know?" Max smiled. "You're very welcome." El answers and glances down at Max's abdomen.
"By the way, how was the appointment?" She asks, "It went great. In fact, Dr. Lawerence told me that I'm having a girl." Max announces smiling widely.
El squealed happily, "Yes! So? Have you thought of any new names?" El asks remembering that her, Max, Nancy, and Robin we're discussing names.
"I have a few I've thought about. But it doesn't feel right yet. I'll think of the perfect one and then I'll let you know. I want it to be special. One that means something important for you." El responds, "Alright then. I'm looking forward to hearing the name you choose." Max says excited to hear what name El will think of for the baby.
El sighed. "Things are really going to be different from here on out, huh?" El asks and Max nods, "Yeah, I guess so. But that's life for you." Max respond.
El nodded and the two friends laid there in silence for a few moments, lost in their thoughts.
Max glanced up at El and smiled. She was so lucky to have all these caring people in her life to help her and take care of her. And though the absence of Jake did hurt in the beginning the support she is receiving from everyone healed the wounds. Max is beyond lucky having her parents, friends, and Maya by her side.