"I can't believe we're late. So much for making a good first impression." I wipe my hands down the front of my dress, making sure I look at my best. Maya drops one of the grocery bags back in the trunk before she turns on me in surprise. "You were the one who wanted to test the limits we're not allowed to cross, remember?" I hit her in the stomach, looking around the car to make sure no one overhears her. She tucks me back into the safety of her arms, grinning up at me. I poke her in her chest when I see the intention to kiss me, in her eyes.
"Avresti potuto dire di no. (You could have said no.)" She leans her upper body back in shock like she cannot believe I have the audacity to blame her. Her smile turns lopsided, making the dimple in her cheek more prominent. She rests her hand on my hip, while leaning against the open trunk with her other arm "Like I can say no to you." Maya's eyes are locked on the skin exposed on the top of my dress. I quickly swat her hand away from my hip while glaring at her obnoxious smile. "Avresti potuto provarci! (You could have tried!)"
Maya's mouth falls open at my harsh whisper, but she just shakes her head at me on a chuckle. Both of us knowing that she might have impeccable control over our make-out sessions, but she can't stop the magnetic pull that brings us together. The exact pull that makes her stand on her toes to kiss me again now. "You can believe whatever you want, my love." I smile down against her lips just as they suck mine into the most delectable kiss yet. She takes a step closer to me to throw her arms over my shoulders as she deepens the kiss, and I cup her face in my hands.
"Noooo! My Bishy!" I wrench my mouth away from hers when a shower of something cold hits my back. Maya's eyes are still glazed over from our intimate moment but whoever she sees behind me, makes her eyes bug out in panic. "Antonio Beckett! Did you just squirt your juice box all over my wife?" I turn around to see a very distraught young boy stomping his little feet when Maya tries to get closer to him. His bottom lip starts trembling when he realizes Maya is cross with him before he scowls at me like I'm the villain in his story.
He throws his empty juice box at my feet, screaming at the two of us. "My! Bishy!" When Maya drops down on her knee to hug him, the little boy pushes her away. He runs back to the front door, wailing all the way. My dumbfounded wife looks back at me with her mouth agape. "That was new." I raise my eyebrows at her and then look back at the front door. She stands back up and looks me up and down. "You okay? I have a clean shirt in the back if you need it." I shake my head at her, feeling the sticky mess on my back from where the juice soaked through.
"I'm okay, bella. But I think you owe that little boy an explanation." She also looks back at the house before she hands me two grocery bags and picks up the rest. I close the trunk for us and follow her as she leads me through the front door, straight into the noisy kitchen. "Finally! I thought we were going to starve." Maya rolls her eyes at the sarcastic teen before pushing the grocery bags into Maddi's arms. "So, make yourself useful and help Molly with getting us fed." My wife's stern scowl quickly disappears when Maddi kisses her on the cheek before she moves past her to take the bags from my hands as well. "It's good to see you again, Dr. Deluca."
I startle when Jack throws his arm over my shoulder, handing me a drink before I can even say hello. "Let me introduce you to everyone." Maya winks at me as Jack takes me around the room to have a little chat with everyone present. Lara skips over to us as soon as it's her turn, pulling me into a hug like we're best friends. I meet her husband, as well as Molly's other brother and his wife, before nervously greeting Maddi's dad. "Bishop! What did you do to my son?" Beckett walks into the kitchen with Molly tucked into his side. When I turn around, I see Maya's already halfway down the hallway on her way to the crying boy.
When she sees the parents in the porch's doorway, she quickly walks back to them to explain. "I'm so sorry. He saw us kissing and freaked out. I don't know what happened." Molly looks me up and down like I'm the gum underneath her shoe before she walks past me like I don't even exist. "He's your favorite little human. You were parked outside for five minutes without coming in for your cuddles, like you normally would. He might feel a little abandoned." Maya slaps her palm against her forehead, groaning all the way down to, what I assume is Antonio's room, with Molly in tow.
"Molly's just a little protective, Italy. She hasn't spent as much time with Bish as the rest of us, so she hasn't really seen how happy you make her yet. Give her time. She'll warm up to you when she sees how in love you two are. She helped you get back together, remember?" Beckett pulls me into a side hug, walking me deeper into his kitchen to unpack the groceries they asked us to pick up on our way over. He hands me a cutting board and tomatoes, telling me to get chopping. Dr. Handsy takes the other cutting board and the rest of the ingredients from Maddi.
My relationship with Langley has improved exponentially since Maya and I got back together, so it's not surprising that we start bickering over the correct way to make a salad. It was something new, having all these different cultures clashing over something so simple. Who knew that the Italians, Greeks and French all had different ideas over a few chopped veggies. Lara places the bowl between us, takes out a pot and tells everyone not being helpful, to leave her kitchen. The men take the meat outside to the barbeque while the ladies stay to help Lara with the last few things that has to get done.
I keep looking over my shoulder towards the direction my wife disappeared to, wishing I was a fly on the wall in that room. I've only heard stories about Maya's relationship with the Beckett's child, seen a few pictures, but I have never seen them together. "Go, Carina. Watching her with him is the cutest thing in the world." My gaze shoots up to Lara and I'm surprised to see her smiling at me. Langley bumps her hip against me, agreeing with the chef. I drop the knife and rush down the hall towards the sound coming from the slightly ajar door.
"...grow up you'll understand, buddy. Carina is my wife. I love her." I open the door a little more, looking into the room through the opening. Antonio flops down over her lap, crying all over again. "My Bishy." Maya bends over him, hugging him close while she tries to calm him down. "It doesn't mean I love you any less, Tono. You're my little man, right?" He sniffs a few times before he pushes himself up to crawl onto her lap, touching her hair. "Your fave fruit?" My smile mirrors Maya and Molly's when he hiccups.
"My absolute favorite human being, but don't tell your dad or Carina." He starts giggling when his mom gasps, pretending to be highly offended, before hitting her on the arm. Maya glares at her but put her finger over her lips until Antonio nods. "Ow secret? Like me sweeties at daddy's firehouse?" I bite down on my fist to hold back my laugh, when Maya's lips roll back into her mouth, acting completely innocent. "Don't worry, Tono. You're about to have a lot more sleepovers with Bishy soon. I'll drop you off there myself when you come home on a sugar high again."
This time my laugh escapes my lips at how easily Molly seems to put my wife in her place. I lean against the doorframe with my arms crossed when Maya looks over at me for permission. Seems like they all knew I've been eavesdropping on them all along. When I smile at her, she excitedly nods at her favorite little man. "Calina too?" Antonio looks at me over Maya's head, trust not entirely shining through in his eyes just yet. I wave at him with a huge smile on my face. "I'm sure Auntie Carina would love to spend time with the two of us."
The kid scrutinizes me when I full heartedly agree with my wife. Spending time with Maya was the only thing I've been wanting to do since our first date. "She can come to my buff day party, I guess." My heart melts when he wraps himself around her torso, holding her tight around her neck. "Love you, Bishy." She hugs him like there is no tomorrow, blowing raspberries into his neck, which makes him giggle. My heartbeat spikes when Maya's eyes meet mine and she whispers a sweet thank you to me over his head.
His mom asks me to come in and join their little party. The little boy is so curious when I enter his room, never taking his eyes off of me. "Caio, bambino. It's nice to finally meet you." I fight back my smile when he sticks out his hand for me to shake it, having no doubt that my wife taught him to do it. When I shake his hand, he burrows his head into Maya's neck. His shyness is adorable. "Carina, he isn't a baby. This is Antonio Beckett, future probie of the SFD." Both Molly and I throw our heads back in a laugh at how serious Maya is being.
I never believed her team when they told me how Maya acts around kids, refusing to treat them any differently than she would an adult. She would shake their hands, won't use degrading pet names or baby-talk. I started seeing it when she would spend time with Pru, loving every moment of her unease with the crying child. But watching her with Antonio now, is a hundred times better than any story. I can't believe she ever thought she'd become an abusive parent, when she would do just about anything to keep this boy happy.
"Why don't you and Bish go help Auntie Lara with lunch?" Antonio jumps into Maya's arms when she gets up, spinning him around the room in the air. He squeals and giggles into her neck after she hugs him, all forgotten and forgiven. "I think Carina and I need to have a little chat before we join you." Maya abruptly stops moving, looking down at Molly in complete shock. I clear my throat as well, shuffling on my feet in discomfort. "Mol, don't." Everyone's eyes lock on Maya and her threatening tone.
Clearly the Becketts haven't seen the possessiveness of my wife yet, especially when it comes to me. Molly raises her brow at Maya's defiance, neither of them backing down. The two of them are having a full-blown fight with just their eyes, and I'm scared that Maya will lose a dear friend if it goes on much longer. "It's fine, bambina." My wife's fiery eyes burn into mine and the betrayal in them breaks my heart. I quickly move to take her hand in mine, cupping her cheek with a soft smile.
"Bella. I'm a big girl. I can take care of myself. Andrea gave you the big-brother speech. I never received mine. Fair is fair, right?" Her scowl becomes even deeper, the frown creasing her brows even more. When I smile at her, she turns around to growl at Molly before she kisses me on the cheek. "You make her cry, and I will set your kitchen on fire. Are we clear?" I shove Maya out of the door, promising everyone that she is just joking.
Molly doesn't let any of Maya's threats bother her one bit as she tries to close the door. Maya stops her by slamming her hand against the door. "Molly, I mean it. Be nice. Please. Don't screw this up for me." I run my fingers down my wife's arm, trying to convey that nothing her friend tells me will make me love her less. "I just want to get to know your wife, Bish." Maya begrudgingly takes a step back and allows Antonio to drag her back to the kitchen, fear never leaving her face.
Molly shuts the door and pulls the chair from the desk for me to sit on, while she takes a seat on the edge of the twin bed. "Thank you for agreeing to the sleepovers. Tono loves spending time with her almost as much as she loves hanging out with him." An admiring smile lifts her lips up in the corners, showcasing the dimples on her cheeks. I was expecting a similar speech that my brother gave my wife when we moved in together, not a thank you from Maya's protector. "I should thank you for letting me witness the motherly side of my wife. My ovaries are doing cartwheels right now." We both laugh when I rub my stomach where the butterflies are flying amok.
She takes one of her son's soft toys in her hands, resting her arms on her knees, while staring at the firefighter teddy. "Tell me about it. Their relationship is the main reason Sean and I are trying for a baby." I scrounge my face in confusion, worrying that my gaydar is completely off with someone my wife is extremely close to. Molly barks on a laugh when she sees my reaction, waving her hands in the air. "Oh, god, no! You don't have a thing to worry about with us Becketts. Maya was just the first person Tono allowed to hug him besides his dad and me."
I lean back against the chair and smile as new information about my wife comes to light. "Them opening up to each other, changed both of them. When Maya got discharged from the hospital after her suicide attempt, she refused to even acknowledge us. Her moods were all over the place. She was a real asshole to live with, I'm not going to lie. And then one morning we woke up and found Antonio not in his bed. We freaked out seeing how he has terrible night terrors and we thought he sleepwalked or something." She plays with the soft toy's ears, squeezing the plush bear like she's remembering a past life.
"Imagine our surprise when we found our socially awkward son cuddling with the sour puss on our couch. Before then, he'd scream bloody murder when he someone so much as looked at him too long. After that night he only wanted cuddles. You should have seen my mom when we visited them over Christmas, and he ran into her arms for the first time since he could walk. I think that's why everyone accepted Maya into the family so easily. If Tono trusted her then everyone could." I close my eyes and try to picture the scene she's describing, smiling when I think of the photo in Maya's bedside table of a sleeping boy's foot next to her bed hair.
"I asked him what he wanted for his birthday. Want to guess what his answer was?" She lifts her brow in question, but I shrug since I don't know the little boy well enough. "He asked me when Auntie Bish was going to have a baby, so he'd have a sister like his dad had Maya." My mouth falls open in surprise, which makes Molly chuckle. I find it incredibly adorable how the small child made the connection between Maya and Beckett's relationship. I start laughing with her over the cuteness of her son.
"When we started discussing having another baby, he was terrified that he'd be replaced. Maya convinced him that it would never happen because she loved him, Sean and me equally and she'd treat the new baby exactly the same. Just like we would. Then she took him fishing with Sean and Jack. When they came back, he begged me to give him a brother too. It takes a village to raise a kid, and after watching that softy with my son, I want a hundred more babies if it means they have her to protect them." We both crack up when she tries to cool herself down by fanning her hand next to her face.
"Unfortunately, I think you'll be the only one having those babies. I'll buy Antonio another present because he isn't going to get his birthday wish." Molly whacks me on the leg, shaking her head before she throws the bear over her shoulder. "Maybe not this year..." I scoff at her, not exactly knowing what to make of her response. I ignore the inquisitive look on her face, not wanting her to realize that I gave up on that dream when I begged Maya for another chance. Molly stands up after slapping her legs, moves around my chair and leans back against the desk so she can look down on me.
I turn around on the chair to face her, knowing from the stern scowl on her face that I'm about to get the speech. "Have Maya told you what I used to do for a living before I opened the restaurant?" I furrow my brow, smiling nervously at her while shaking my head. "I have a Ph.D. in Behavioral Science." I gulp down, scared of what my behavior is telling her about me, not wanting my nervousness to have a negative impact on her opinion over me. "That...That's impressive." She crosses her arms over her chest, and I slide my chair further away from her and her threatening smirk.
"Have you heard of the BAU?" She taps her finger against her arm, clearly loving how uncomfortable she makes me. The acronym sounds familiar, but I can't remember where I heard it. "It stands for the Behavioral Analysis Unit. It's a department in the FBI that uses behavioral profiling to catch serial killers." Molly picks a book off the shelf above my head, flipping through the pages. I applaud her intimidation tactics when I read the cover of the book. PSYCHOLOGICAL WARFARE IN THE MURDEROUS MIND by Dr. Molly Devous.
"Let's get something clear, Carina. I don't like you." My hands start shaking and I squeeze them between my knees so she wouldn't see how much of an effect her words have on me. "I hate that Sean and I had to witness the damage you caused. Every time I had to hold her while she cried in my arms, every time I had to talk her out of inflicting self-harm, every time I had to study the slightest twitch on her face, I was cursing you for not being there to help. Your. Wife." Molly's eyes are a kicking up a storm as she stares down at me.
"Every time I dropped off one of her gifts for you at the hospital, I was hoping you'd have the balls to show yourself so I could slap you clear across the face, but you never showed." Her hands ball into fists as her lips form a thin line. "I met Maya when she was at her lowest. And when I look at her now, it breaks my heart to know that losing you, is what triggered her into that dark cloud. It scares me to know that you have the power to pull her back there again." I skootch closer to the edge of the seat, opening my mouth to defend myself but stop short when Molly puts her finger over her mouth.
"I'm willing to give you the benefit of the doubt because Maya loves you and believes you don't mean her any harm. But that woman is my family, and I will protect her like she's my own sister. I am offering you a clean slate. We can pretend that you didn't riddle your wife's vicious nightmares after she tried to kill herself, and that you didn't force your way back into her life after she healed herself." I bite down on the very rude reply on the tip of my tongue. I didn't force Maya to take me back, I begged and bribed and finally got through the very flimsy barrier she tried to erect between us.
I know I was supposed to fight a lot harder to deserve that second chance with my wife, and I only got it because Maya never stopped loving me. Like she said earlier, she can't say no to me. Clearly Molly put the pieces together too. "I have consulted with the BAU on numerous cases. They used to call me in when they needed to break psychopaths to confess to their crimes. I have contacts with the people who deal with monsters like that on a daily basis." She proves her point by laying the book down in front of me and runs her finger down the list of names that collaborated with her on her book. All of their names starting with 'Special Agent'.
"If you ever hurt Maya again or leave her when she stumbles, your name will somehow get whispered into the ear of one of the most prolific serial killers this country has ever seen. And when your body gets discovered, I will sit next to your grieving wife at your funeral without shedding a tear. Then I will help her move on from you, help her forget about you, and go to sleep without an ounce of regret." I nervously chuckle but jerk when she smacks the book shut in front of my face. Her own features still set in stone.
She tilts her head to the side, squints her eyes at me and run her tongue over the top row of her teeth. I try to swallow some spit in my dry mouth. "Point taken, Dr. Devous." Her face breaks out in a smile and just like that, she's back to the Molly that Maya's described. She puts the book away, before opening the bedroom door. "I think you and I will soon be great friends, Carina." I get up on shaky legs, dusting my dress of in the back while my nerves calm down.
I take my hat off for her. This woman is terrifying in the sweetest way. I have a feeling she was very successful at her job with the FBI, and I will take her threat seriously. When I walk past her, out of the door, I stop inside the hallway to address her main concern. "For what it's worth, I don't intend on ever hurting Maya again." Molly grins at me, nodding her head like it she's been waiting for me to say exactly that. She surprises me again by pulling me into a hug. "That's all I need to know."
We smile at each other until she pulls me towards the master bedroom. "My sister forgot one of her suitcases here. You're about the same size and I feel bad for my son's outburst. I'll throw your dress in the washer." I have a feeling our clean slate just started, and this is the beginning of our friendship. She lets me choose a dress from her sister's wardrobe, waits for me outside the bedroom door and walks with me to the kitchen with her arm looped in mine.
When we enter the room, Maya rushes over to me. She studies my facial expression, suspicion clear in her eyes when Molly and I start laughing. "Apparently we're friends now, right?" Molly bumps my hip with hers, winking at my wife as she passes her. I cup her face in my palms and leave a quick kiss on her lips. "I'm good, love." She kisses me again, lifting her fist in the air when all the people behind her starts cheering for us. I slip my hand into hers and walk her over to sit at the table with her friends. "You were the one who wanted me to get to know your family." I comb my fingers through her hair while she jokes around with the people that mean the world to her, doing exactly what she asked of me.