Where We Are

Sipping on the mug of tea which she held in her hand, Maia let out a soft yawn, her blue eyes studying the page of the book which was rested against her knees. It was late, the last time that she had spared a look towards the clock, it had been approaching eleven at night, but with a few waves of pain passing over her, she had found it difficult to get sleep, something which had led to her settling down in the living room for a while, a baby name book settled on her lap.

It was getting close, her due date was only a couple of weeks away, and whilst a lot of her was nervous about the prospect of the baby’s arrival, she also couldn’t wait for the moment that their little girl was placed in her arms.

She had been waiting for it, ever since she had seen the positive result which had appeared on the pregnancy test, she had been waiting for the moment that the baby arrived, and she was looking forwards to, even if she knew that it was likely to change a lot. She couldn’t wait to settle her eyes on her daughter for the first time.

Taking another sip of her drink, she shifted her feet slightly, burying them deeper in the blanket that covered them before she felt another small pain, something which made her shake her head, her hand lightly brushing over her bump.

She wasn’t overly surprised, with her due date edging nearer, Lola had suggested aches and pains would become more and more common, but still she wanted to remain vigilant, even if her due date wasn’t quite upon her. She still wanted to keep an eye on things. Chewing on her lip, she counted the seconds that the pain lasted for before she shook her head, quietly jotting the number down on the notepad which she had left on the coffee table.

“Maia?”

Maia, who’d been quietly rubbing circles into her bump, jumped at the sound of Iker’s voice before she lifted her head, offering him a small look. “I thought you were asleep” she mused, not missing the sleepy expression on his face. It wasn’t the first time, with her due date getting closer, Iker had suggested that he stay with her when he could, just in case she went into labour during the night, and Maia liked that he was there, even if they were still a little away from the estimated date of the baby’s arrival. His being there comforted her.

Iker, who’d moved to push a hand through his hair, nodded, a soft yawn falling out of his mouth. “I was” he noted “But when I turned over and noticed you weren’t there, I thought I’d come and check on you. It’s getting pretty late. Are you alright?” he added, moving to settle down on the floor beside the couch.

Maia spared him a small smile before she reached her hand out, her fingers gently smoothing down the wayward hairs on the top of his head. “Uncomfortable” she noted.

Iker eyes widened a fraction before he tilted his head, offering her a slightly surprised look. “Do I need to start getting the bags together?” he posed.

Maia quirked a grin, amused by how worried he looked, before she shook her head. “I doubt it” she noted “I mean the pains are small, they last for a couple of seconds and they’re still almost twenty five minutes apart, I don’t think we need to get into panic mode yet, but I thought you should know. It could still be nothing, but it could also be something” she added.

Iker offered her a look, quietly mulling over her words, before he nodded his head. “Alright” he noted “Do you need me to get you anything right now?” he asked as he turned around slightly, brushing a hand over her stomach. He knew that it was early, if Maia was in labour, she was likely to be in the earliest stage, but still he was excited by the notion, even if they did have a while to go. He couldn’t help but smile at the possibility that that was the day that their little girl put in her first appearance.

Maia watched him, not missing his smile, before she shook her head. “I’ve got some tea” she noted “And I’ve got a cozy blanket and a book of names to be reading. I think I’m OK, and that means, if you want to, you can head back into my room. It’s late and you look like you could use some more sleep” she added, lightly pushing his dark hair off of his forehead.

Iker leant a little closer to her, enjoying the light touch of her fingers, before he shook his head, offering her a small smile. “I could be nothing” he noted “But just in case it isn’t, I am going to stick around. Is that alright with you?” he asked impishly.

Maia tried to keep the smile off of her face, but failed, something which caused Iker to smirk triumphantly before he pushed himself up to his feet. Stepping towards the couch, he carefully lifted her feet up before he sat down, settling them in his lap. “So?” he quipped impishly.

Maia offered him a playful glare before she reached her hand out, offering him the baby name book which had been settled in her lap. “I was looking at this” she quipped “I know that we said that we’d wait until she got here to start thinking about names, but I wanted to start looking, just to get an idea” she added.

Iker nodded his head thoughtfully. “Have you come up with one that you like?” he posed, softly tracing comforting patterns on the sole of her foot.

Maia shrugged. “There are a few I like” she mused “But I think my favourite is probably Ella” she added, her lips curving upwards into a light smile.

Iker marveled at her smile for a brief second before he nodded his head. “Ella is pretty” he enthused.

Maia nodded her head, mumbling a comment about liking the name, before she let out a small yawn, something which made Iker shake his head. “You should try and get some sleep” he noted.

Maia nodded. “I can give it a go” she noted “And you’ll be...”

“Right here if you need me” Iker interrupted, offering her a boyish grin.

Maia rolled her eyes, trying to keep the smile off of her face, but she couldn’t, causing Iker to let out an amused laugh before he leant over, pressing a soft kiss against her head. “Buenos noches” he quipped.

Maia offered him another amused roll of her eyes before she leant a little closer to the pillow, closing her eyes.

~#~
Wrinkling her nose softly, Maia let out a quiet yawn, her blue eyes blinking to adjust to the dim light which filled the room from the lamp which sat in the corner. It had been a while, after Iker had gotten up to sit with her, a few hours had passed, and whilst she was still tired, she doubted that she would be getting much more sleep, not with the pains in her stomach getting slightly worse. She was in little doubt, with the pains coming faster and lasting longer, she was almost certain that she was in the early stages of labour, but she didn’t want to get herself worked up, not wanting to cause a complication.

Allowing another yawn to fall out of her mouth, she gently pushed her hair off of her face before she turned slightly, letting out a quiet laugh at the sight of Iker who had his head rested against the back of the couch, his snores filling the air. Shaking her head, she gently moved to place the blanket over him before she pushed herself awkwardly up to her feet, a small squeak falling out of her mouth as another pain twitched in the pit of her stomach. Offering her bump a small rub, she counted the seconds that the pain lasted for before she moved to push herself away from the couch, only to halt herself as a sudden rush of warmth passed over her legs.

Blinking in surprise, she stared down at the wet patch on her pajama bottoms for a few long seconds before she let out a breathy laugh. “You’re really coming, aren’t you?” she babbled “You’ve caught me off guard, baba. Me and your papa are late to everything and you’re early. I’d have put money on you showing up after your due date” she added, rubbing her bump gently.

Smiling down at her bump, she rubbed it until the pain subsided before she stepped back towards the couch, nudging her foot against Iker’s. The keeper stirred, mumbling out a few incoherent sounds, before he blinked his eyes open, frowning as the light of the lamp hit them. “What?” he spluttered.

Maia scoffed playfully. “I’m sorry for disturbing your beauty sleep, Iker” she noted “But we’ve got a situation” she added, gesturing towards the front of her trousers.

Iker, who’d been trying to wake himself up, frowned at her words before he focused his eyes, his expression slackening. “What is that?” he pressed, his tone slightly panicked.

Maia quirked a small smile at the surprise in his voice before she stepped towards him, settling his hand against her bump. “My waters broke” she revealed softly “She’s on her way, Iker” she added, her voice caught between warm and timid.

Iker stared at her for a moment, his ears ringing with her words, before he nodded his head slowly. “Your waters broke” he repeated “You...you’re in labour. We’re going to have a baby” he babbled, his brown eyes mirroring her blues.

Maia held his stare before she nodded, offering him another smile. “We are” she agreed “And that means you need to get me to the hospital. Can you handle it or do you want me to call my papa?” she posed.

Iker stared at her, still trying to wrap his head around her words, before he nodded. “I can handle it” he insisted.

“Good” Maia breathed “Because we need to get moving. I’m not sure that she’s going to hang around much longer” she added, smiling anxiously at her own joke.

Iker returned her smile before he pushed himself up to his feet, dropping a quick kiss against her head before he stepped out of the room, insisting that he would get what they needed before they headed to the hospital. Maia watched him out of the room before she shook her, smiling down towards her bump. “Here we go” she mumbled to herself.