They'd been together straight out of high school, unashamed of who they were and not even remotely bothered by the people in their small town who gave them looks of disgust. The only thing, to them, that was disgusting was cleaning up after the cows. Nora couldn't have been more pleased when she inherited her family's dairy farm - Ava, not as much... but she remained steadfast for her partner. Not really too interested in the throws of farming, Ava had enlisted. She'd been a cadet, and had loved ROTC. She just never really considered the reality of being enlisted - Nora had though. It was her biggest fear. That Ava would be torn away from her and she'd be alone, worrying about her every single day.
High school had been so much easier; talks of what their kids would look like, talks of what they'd do with Nora's family's farm. A few years would go by before they would decide to have a child. Of course, neither of them wanted to adopt. They wanted their own child. So, at the same time, they were both inseminated using their closest friend's spore. A little over a month later and they both were confirmed to be pregnant. They knew the chances were slim that they'd both end up pregnant, but the fact it had happened made Nora incredibly ecstatic... while Ava felt indifferent. Sure, their long talks about the future made her happy and content, but she wasn't sure if being a mother, being responsible for a tiny human, was something she was cut out for.
Three months into their shared pregnancy and that's when it happens; Ava's yelling out to Nora, earning her immediately attention. She had been out in the fields, sitting with old Buckingham [one of the few cows that Ava ever had any difficulties with, and she really seemed to like to cuddle with her] when she noticed the blood. It didn't take a doctor for either of them to realize she was experiencing a miscarriage. Ava barely had any time to recuperate before she got notice saying she was being shipped out. Nora begged her to try and use what happened as reason to stay, to say she wasn't ready to go out yet, that she needed proper time to allow herself to heal. That she needed her around, but Ava couldn't do it.
Nora felt sick to her stomach every single day that Ava was gone. Saying goodbye to her had been so hard, but carrying on the pregnancy on her own had been the hardest. Of course, Nora had the company of Ed and Harry, the estranged close friends of theirs. They were always around to put a smile on her face and run out in the middle of the night, driving hours to get her something she was craving. The Skype calls with Ava were hard on her, but she pulled through. When it came time for the birth, when it was time and Ava wasn't there, Nora felt almost dead inside - until she held that baby girl, little Andy, in her arms.
When Ava found out she was officially a mother, it terrified her... but her entire platoon was right there to celebrate, popping out a bottle of champagne one of them had nicked from a superior [which they'd later get reamed out for doing]. The whole time they celebrated and said questionable things to one another, all she could think about was the look on Nora's face when she told her she wasn't going to stick around. The way she looked so defeated and broken at the mere idea of herself not wanting to be around her. Ava loved her more than any words could ever describe, but she couldn't say that to her... she didn't know how to do so.
Nora gets a knock on her door in the middle of the day, little Andy sitting on the couch watching something on the television. It's been two years and she hasn't seen the woman she loves. Two years and the only contact she's had is through letters, the occasional email, and the very rare Skype conversations. When she opens the door and sees the two men in uniform standing on her stoop, she's terrified, her knees weak. She can feel it deep down inside of herself. She's about to be delivered a death notification. Ava's dead and she never got to meet their child.
“Sorry to disturb you, ma'am. Are you Nora Wilson?"
"Yes, why? What is it? What's happened?"
"Ava Wilson is your wife?"
"Yes. Now tell me what's going on... please."
“There was an incident."
Andy has no idea who this person is sitting in the hospital bed, one eye covered, but she knows that this person is important, that is one of her moms. She takes Nora's hand gently, giving it a small squeeze. Their hands don't stay together long, no. Someone [Ed] is scooping her up and pulling her out of the hospital room while Nora and Ava talk. Nora's told, albeit in a lament expression, about what happened, about how Ava is now permanently blind and why it happened. It was friendly fire that did it to her, that caused a bullet to pass through her shoulder, then fragments of something else go into her eyes. It all happened so fast. Ava can barely remember the specifics.
“All I kept thinking about was how much I missed milking the damn cows, and how much I missed you." There's a pause between her words, and Nora knows that Ava wants to say more. "But most of all.... I missed being able to smell the lavender," this briefly throws off Nora, "That stupid lavender shampoo you use that sets off my allergies when you use just a little too much. I missed our dumb arguments over what we're eating for dinner, and what we were going to name our kid." There's another pause and Nora can see Ava's expression sink. "I hated not knowing who she was, not being here when she was born. I might not be able to see you right now, and I might not be able to see our beautiful little girl... but damn it, Nora, if this isn't the best thing to happen to me. I'm where I want to be now. I know that."
“Ava....” there's a pause from Nora, her hands shaking, "I'm pregnant."
