Chapter Text
Catra always loved seeing her wife. People kept telling her that the excitement she felt every time they locked eyes would die down after the wedding, but it had been years, and she still felt the joy well up in her chest whenever she caught sight of her. In fact, the excitement had increased tenfold in the past seven months since the two lines showed up on that stick, so much so that even the thought of seeing Adora put a smile on Catra’s face. It was embarrassing, sure, since Catra had a reputation to uphold and smiling at the thought of her person did not project the badass persona she was trying to maintain, but Catra didn’t care because she was happy.
She felt the excitement as she pulled into the cul-de-sac that she and Adora had just moved into. It was their first real house, and an impulse buy at the time. Their landlord had decided to sell their building to some company who were going to hike up the rent and Adora came home the day after they found out desperate to tell Catra about the run-down little house in the cute little cul-de-sac she’d just driven by. They moved in within the month with big plans to fix up the old thing. Which would explain why Adora was climbing a ladder to the roof.
Catra sighed, preparing to talk her wife into waiting for the weekend to look at the roof, when Sparkles, Arrow Boy, Mermista and the pirate were coming over to help. She put the car in park and started to haul her fat ass out of the driver’s seat when she heard a scrape and a shriek.
Catra always loved seeing her wife, except when it was seeing her fall off the fucking roof.
She closed her eyes before she could see Adora hit the ground but heard the crack as she made contact with the dirt. Relief washed over her as she heard Adora groaning to herself. Catra opened her eyes and ran (as fast as someone who was seven months pregnant could reasonably run) over to where Adora had landed.
“Woah, Adora, stay the fuck down,” Catra yelled as she watched her dumbass wife try to stand. Adora didn’t listen, managing to push herself onto unsteady elbows before collapsing in a heap.
“F-fuck,” Adora whimpered, clearly trying to hold back tears as Catra pulled her head into her lap.
“I told you.” Catra surveyed the damage, relieved to find that the places that housed her important organs were fine, though that relief was short lived when she saw the peculiar way that her legs were bending. Adora tried to look down herself, but Catra gently pulled her head back. “Don’t move, okay, I’m just gonna call for help.”
It took a surprising amount of effort to explain the situation calmly to the operator on the other end of the phone, but Catra managed to do it without calling her wife a fucking idiot out loud, which she counted as a win. Adora’s eyes were screwed shut, as if to prevent tears, and her mouth set in a thin line. Catra hated the idea that she was trying to hide her pain, especially when she was so obviously hurt. Gently, Catra caressed Adora’s cheek with her thumb.
“You’re fine,” Catra whispered as tears fell down Adora’s cheek, “you’ll be fine.”
It didn’t take long for the ambulance to pull into the driveway, nor did it take long for the paramedics to come barrelling over in a flurry of bags and questions. Adora kept quiet unless she was spoken to directly, only choosing to speak up when one of the paramedics started to cut through her sweatpants. Catra had to convince her to let them do it, despite the blonde’s insistence that she could just take her pants off, having to promise to buy her a new pair before they came home. Her lucidity wavered when she was given some pain relief, and soon she was a snorting, laughing mess.
Soon, they were loaded into the back of the ambulance, which Adora dubbed ‘Swift Wind’ after she decided that all ambulances needed names. Adora spouted nonsense for a minute or so, talking about how much she loved her wife – as if she wasn’t sat right next to her – before her head fell back and she fell asleep. Catra was worried she’d passed out at first, but Adora’s loud snores put her mind at ease. She placed her hand on her belly as the baby seemed to catch wind of the situation and took it out on her bladder. The paramedic tried to make small talk, asking about the house and the baby, but Catra couldn’t find it in herself to reciprocate. Instead, she nodded in response and focused on the thumps tapping against her hand, as if the baby was trying to reassure her.
The drive to the hospital was uneventful, other than a pothole which jerked Adora awake with a yelp as it jostled her injuries. She freaked out a little, before catching sight of Catra and calming down immediately. She was a little less loopy than when she first boarded ‘Swift Wind’ – that insane metabolism of hers obviously ate through the drugs pretty fast – but that was by no means sane. The paramedic asked her how she was doing, and she responded with a far too loud “Peachy!”
“I’m glad to hear that, Adora,” she replied, writing something out on the clipboard on her lap. “You gave your wife quite a fright, huh?”
“Hah yeah,” Adora slurred, “she’s got my baby, did y’know that?”
“Yeah, I can see that.”
“You seen my wife?” Adora asked seriously, before smiling, “she’s my best friend.”
“Yeah, your wife is right here hun,” the paramedic chuckled, pointing to Catra, who was trying to suppress a blush and a laugh at the same time.
“Catra’s here?” Adora yelled. “Did she bring the baby?”
“It’s hard to go anywhere without them right now, ‘Dor,” Catra laughed, rubbing her belly as the baby’s kicks got more intense, like they always did when they heard Adora.
“I wanna hold them,” Adora said petulantly, reaching a grabby hand vaguely in Catra’s direction.
“That’ll be a little hard right now, Princess, you gotta wait a few more months.”
“Fuck,” Adora whispered tearfully, “but I wanna hold them now.”
“I know,” Catra replied, “but we’ll meet them soon enough.”
“I can’t wait to meet them,” Adora sighed, dropping her head back as she let her eyes flutter closed.
Adora’s hand was still reaching out to Catra, so she took it for the rest of the ride. It was a little awkward, given how Catra had to lean forward and reach out to be able to reach it, but in all honesty Catra would have stayed like that for days if she had to.
The ER was chaotic when they arrived. Apparently Adora chose a bad day to fall off a roof as there had been some kind of accident which brought way too many people to the slightly too small ER. After being looked over and checked in, they were stuck in a bay and were told to wait. After an hour or so, Adora’s bottom lip started quivering and she refused to look over at Catra.
“What’s wrong, ‘Dor,” Catra asked, worried her wife was in pain.
“I’m sorry,” Adora whispered tearfully, “I was gonna wait until the weekend but a bunch of the tile thingys fell down and it’s gonna rain tonight so I was just going to make sure there weren’t any leaks, and everyone was at work or busy and I thought I could do it myself but the—”
“Take a breath, Princess,” Catra said soothingly. She leaned against the bed and hugged Adora’s head against her, pulling her hair tie out and running her fingers through her now loose hair. “Don’t worry about it, I’m not upset, I’m just worried.”
Adora leaned into her touch and started sobbing against her.
“Are you in any pain?” Catra asked gently. She was expecting her wife to say no, even if she was in pain, because Adora had always had a hard time looking after herself, so was surprised when she felt her nodding against her chest. “I’m going to go and get someone, okay?”
Adora nodded again, pulling back and wiping her eyes with the palms of her hands. Catra kissed her forehead and made her way out of the bay in search of some kind of medical professional. She didn’t want to interrupt the ones who were working on other people – she refused to be that kind of person no matter how much of an asshole people thought she was – so she headed over to a desk with a few medical looking people standing around.
“Hey, I know its super busy, but my wife is in a lot of pain, and no one has come to see us in like, an hour, and I’m really fucking pregnant and there isn’t a chair, so I’ve been standing the whole time, and my feet are killing me.” Catra chose to ignore the tears that started falling down her cheeks. “Adora, my wife, is really hurting and I hate seeing her like this and I’m trying not to get emotional but again, I’m so pregnant, so please forgive me if my patience is running a little thin right now.”
“I can come take a look,” some guy in scrubs said, awkwardly smiling at (what Catra assumed to be) a mess of a woman stood in front of him.
“Thank you,” Catra said, shamefully wiping away the tears that had escaped on her little rant.
Things moved fairly quickly after that. Adora got pain relief and sent for scans and whatnot and Catra got a chair. If Adora wasn’t sat there high as a kite on painkillers, Catra would’ve let out the moan she held in as she sat down. Eventually, Adora was wheeled away and Catra was guided to a waiting area. For the first time since they’d arrived, Catra looked at her phone and realised she should probably let everyone know what happened.
Best Friend Squad
Catra
hey so dont freak out but adora and i are at the hospital rn
Sparkles
bitch what do you mean dont freak out?
Arrow Boy
omg is it the baby are you okay?
Catra
the baby’s fine, but my dumbass wife fell off the roof
Less than a second after Catra pressed send, her phone was ringing.
“ Catra I swear to fucking god if you seriously texted to say that Adora fell off a fucking roof I’m gonna- “
“ Woah, Glim, calm down ,” Bow placated, “ Catra clearly hasn’t had the best day so why don’t we take a breath, okay? ”
“I should’ve called but I’m a little all over the place right now,” Catra admitted.
“ Is she okay? ” Glimmer asked, calmly this time.
“They gave her strong painkillers and you know Adora’s a lightweight so she’s off her fucking tits. They’re x-raying her right now but I’m pretty sure she broke her legs.”
“ How’d you know? ” Bow asked. Catra knows he didn’t mean anything by it but couldn’t help but snap back at him.
“Because unbroken legs don’t bend that way, Arrow Boy.” Silence followed. “Sorry, it’s been a day.”
“ Do you need anything? ”
“Yeah, actually, could you drop by the house and grab some stuff for us. I don’t have my car.”
“ Done, ” Glimmer said firmly, “ send us a list and we’ll get what you need. ”
“ Do you want us to hang out once we get there? ” Bow asked.
“I don’t know,” Catra replied quietly, “I don’t know what’s going on so…”
“ That’s okay, just let us know when you can. ”
Catra heard someone from the waiting room call her name, so quickly put them on hold and hurried over. The doctor filled her in and took her to a separate waiting room promising to come back with updates as soon as possible.
“Hey I’m back,” Catra said quietly.
“ Took you long enough, ” Glimmer replied, though there was no malice in her words.
“You guys should hang out when you get here. Adora needs surgery.”
“ That’s rough buddy, ” Bow sympathised, “ when? ”
“She’s in pre-op now, apparently they had a cancellation and if they don’t do it now, it won’t be for another few days.”
“What’s the damage? ” Glimmer asked.
“Both legs are broken but anyone with working eyes could’ve seen that coming,” Catra said with a fake laugh, “the left one needs to be put back into place and a cast, but the right was pretty fucked so they’re putting plates in to put it back together.”
“ Ouch ,” Glimmer supplied helpfully.
“ Catra we just got to your place. We’ll get your stuff and grab Luna on the way over, is that cool? ”
“Yeah, sure that’s great.”
“ Does Mara need a ride? ”
“Fuck!” Catra exclaimed, realising she forgot to call her fucking sister-in-law. “Oh shit, Mara already hates me and now I’m the asshole who didn’t tell her that her sister could’ve fucking died.”
Catra didn’t bother with a goodbye, hoping the Sparkle twins would get the sentiment whilst she hurried to get Mara on the phone. It rang off twice, but on the third try an irate Mara answered.
“ Dude do you really need to—"
“Adora fell off the roof, she’s about to go into surgery.”
“ What !”
“She’ll be okay, she just fucked up her legs so they’re fixing them up. I’ll text you everything when you’re on your way to the hospital.”
“ Shit. Yeah, okay I’ll be there in an hour .”
Mara hung up without saying goodbye, which was fine with Catra because it meant less time talking to her. She wasn’t really sure what her problem was, in all honesty. She’d been fine, nice even, when she and Adora had first got together, but before the wedding she got mean and Catra couldn’t figure out for the life of her why. Catra wasn’t exactly excited at the prospect of waiting with her, but Arrow Boy was a great buffer so hopefully it wouldn’t be too painful.
Catra put her hand back on her bump. The baby had calmed down, probably tired from the ‘excitement’ of the day.
“Big day, huh baby?” She asked the bump. “Your mommy can be a little clumsy at times, but I promise she’s going to take such good care of you. I bet she’ll be the best mom in the world, even if she falls off the roof sometimes.” She felt a little kick, as if the baby was agreeing. “I do worry about her sometimes though, kiddo. You’ll have to help me keep an eye on her. I promise she’s really smart but sometimes she does some really stupid things so you and I will have to save her from herself when that happens, okay?” Another little kick. “Thanks kiddo.”
Catra made a bunch more phone calls, letting the right people know what was going on. She called Adora’s boss, Casta, who insisted that Adora could take as much time as she needed, and her own boss, Weaver, who told her she could have no more than a day because her maternity leave was already screwing over the company as it was. She called to cancel the spa day Adora had not so secretly booked for them (and, despite the fact it was supposed to be a surprise, immediately told Catra about), and was about to consult the calendar she and Adora shared to see if anything else needed to be cancelled when Mara walked in.
“Hey, I’m just clearing our calendar give me a minute.”
“Catra, you look dead on your feet, sit down,” Mara said forcefully.
“No, it’s just a couple more phone calls, I have to cancel this reservation or else they’ll charge us for- hey!” Catra exclaimed as Mara ripped the phone out of her hand. “What the fuck, Mara?”
“Sit. Down,” Mara growled. “All this stress can’t be good for the baby, Catra.”
“Well I can’t just fucking sit there and do nothing, can I?”
“It isn’t doing nothing,” She replied calmly, “it’s waiting for your wife to get out of surgery.” Catra grumbled, but ultimately sat down. “Good. Now, have you eaten anything?”
Catra looked down and mumbled something unintelligible, which Mara took as a no.
“I’m going to text Bow to bring you something to eat and then I’m going to make sure that you don’t pass out, cool?”
Catra wasn’t exactly pleased that she was being left alone with someone who hated her, but didn’t have the energy to argue, so just nodded along.
“Drink this,” Mara said firmly, pressing a bottle of water into Catra’s hands, “‘Dor would kill me if anything happened to you or my little nibling whilst she was out.”
Catra smiled gratefully and chugged the whole bottle, realising just how dehydrated she was. The way she belched after was as impressive as it was grotesque.
“Thanks.”
“No problem.”
An awkward silence ensued, which Catra would usually be fine with but that day she just couldn’t deal with it.
“Why do you hate me?” Catra asked in a small voice.
“Hate is a little dramatic,” Mara smirked, “don’t you think?”
“I’m seven months pregnant and my wife is in surgery,” Catra snapped, “I’m allowed to be dramatic.”
“Okay, sure,” Mara conceded, “You get a pass.”
“You just- It was – ugh!” Catra grunted, angry that she couldn’t get her words out, “Before the wedding we were friends but then you got all…”
“Oh, that. Yeah, I’m mad at you,” Mara stated simply.
“What?!”
“I told you I was mad at you at the engagement party, remember?”
“Mara I was so drunk at that thing that Adora seemed sober,” Catra laughed. “She literally had to carry me home, I don’t remember anything after Perfuma got everyone those weird shots.”
“Really?” Catra nodded in response. “Well shit, I guess that makes me the asshole, huh.”
“Yeah, I guess it does.”
“Well for starters, I’m mad you didn’t tell me you were proposing before you did it,” Mara said, “I don’t believe in all that traditional asking the family or whatever, but I guess I just thought that you’d come to me for advice or something.”
“I just—" Catra started, “I didn’t really know how to be in a family. You know I was in foster care, and I guess I just forgot that some people get to keep their family.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry Catra,” Mara said gently, “I didn’t think. I should’ve known.”
“You said for starters,” Catra pointed out. “What else is there?”
“We aren’t doing this now,” Mara replied firmly, cutting off Catra before she could argue. “Another time, when there isn’t as much going on.”
The pair sat awkwardly, staring at the wall ahead like it was the most interesting thing. It was progress, Catra supposed. At least she knew Mara didn’t hate her, but that didn’t ease the tension in the room, not as much as she had hoped it would anyway.
“Can I tell you a secret?”
“Sure.”
“I didn’t know I was proposing to Adora until I did it.” Mara’s shocked face made Catra chuckle. “I know it seemed so planned but it wasn’t until we got to the picnic spot that I realised it was totally a proposal.”
“But you had a ring?”
“It was my mom’s ring; I’d been wearing it since she died.” Catra shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She didn’t like talking about her mom’s death, it was still a sore spot after all those years.
“Now I just feel like a bitch,” Mara laughed.
“I mean, I would’ve forgot to call you earlier if Sparkles hadn’t asked so I’d call us even.”
“Wow yeah okay,” Mara said with faux offence, “Yeah, were even.”
Mara sat next to Catra and stretched out, sighing a little shakily.
“Adora and I picked out a name,” Catra said after a moment, “and I’ll tell you if you promise not to go blabbering to everyone.”
“Really?” Mara asked excitedly.
“Sure, I keep making you the last to know things, so I figured I owe you.”
“I mean I’m not gonna argue with you,” Mara laughed. “Out with it then, you can’t just promise a name and not deliver.”
“It’s Finn,” Catra said, rubbing her bump affectionately.
The door to the relative’s room burst open, and a 2 ft blur ran inside, making a beeline for Catra, who only had seconds to brace herself before Luna threw herself at her.
“Hey baby Sparkles,” Catra grunted as the child landed on her lap.
“Luna, remember we told you to be careful with Aunt Catra,” Bow said sweetly, “She’s got a baby in her belly, and they need you to be gentle.”
“Why she gotta baby in there?” Luna asked sweetly, “Did Auntie Cat eats the baby?”
Catra couldn’t help but laugh. They had the same conversation every time she saw Luna, and everyone had given up on trying to explain it to the three-year-old.
“Yeah, I did,” Catra joked, “but I’m still hungry. Looks like I’ll have to eat another little baby.”
Catra rushed forward and pretended to eat Luna, much to the girl’s delight. She let out some shrieking giggles and wiggled out of Catra’s grip.
“I’m not a baby,” She said once she caught her breath, “I’m this many.” Luna held up four fingers. Bow leaned over and put one down for her. “Where’s Auntie ‘Dora?”
After explaining to a tearful Luna where her favourite aunt was (Catra wasn’t naïve enough to think that she could outdo Adora on aunt duties), the group settled in. Bow produced takeout containers and handed food around whilst Glimmer rocked with Luna until she fell asleep. Catra took the opportunity to grab her phone back and scroll through some online stores, eventually finding the sweatpants she had promised to replace, adding them to her order along with some comfy shorts and a few new sets of pyjamas. She had a feeling that Adora would need something comfortable for a while.
After spending a little too much, Catra leaned back in the uncomfortable plastic chair and let her eyes close. By the time she woke up, she was drooling on Mara’s shoulder as a doctor knocked on the door.
“The surgery went well,” she said, smiling as Catra visibly sagged with relief, “I can take one of you to go see her now.”
Catra looked at Mara, thinking that she’d want to see her sister first, but Mara just nodded her head toward the door, conceding the first visit over to Catra immediately. She wasn’t about to argue, instead following the doctor to Adora’s recovery room. By the time they got there, she had started to come to. Her left leg was covered by a cast up to her knee, and the right was bandaged and in a brace, both propped up on about a thousand pillows. Catra felt a pang of sympathy when she saw the purplish bruises through the bandages. She was given a chair and sat next to Adora where she could hold her hand.
The blonde started to stir as soon as Catra took her hand, making the same cute little grunting noises that she’d make when she woke up in the morning. Catra was a late riser, so didn’t always get the pleasure of watching Adora wake, so even with the circumstances of everything, Catra couldn’t help but smile as her love came to wakefulness.
Of course, coming out of an anaesthesia induced nap is totally different to a regular one. Catra realised this as Adora started to talk to the nurse about the flying horse she just met (oddly named Swift Wind, like the ambulance. That was definitely something to tease Adora about later). The nurse nodded along, clearly having experience with the post-op crazies.
“I gotta tell you a secret,” Adora slurred at the nurse. “You can’t tell ‘nyone ’m gay.”
The nurse looked horrified for a moment, eyes darting between her patient and Catra, fumbling for something to say. Her brain clearly caught up after a second, realising that it was Adora’s wife standing next to her.
“I can’t tell anyone, huh?” The nurse asked, smiling and shaking her head. “Not even your wife?”
“My w- Oh!” Adora snort laughed as she noticed that the hand holding hers was connected to her very gay wife. “Hey Catra.”
“Hey, Adora.”
“I hurt my legs,” Adora whined.
“Yeah, you did,” Catra replied, running her thumb over Adora’s knuckles, “It’s what you get for jumping off roofs.”
“Hey!” Adora exclaimed, “I din’ jump, I was tryna fix it ‘n the ladder fell.”
“I know, Princess,” Catra said soothingly.
“I din’ want it to leak on the baby’s room.”
“I know, ‘Dor,” Catra sighed, “just ask for help next time, okay.”
“M’kay.”
They sat for a while, Adora occasionally breaking the silence to ask weird questions or gush about how much she loved Catra… to Catra. Eventually, Adora started to get less loopy and they were moved to another room. It was pretty late, but they let Mara and the others drop in for a little while to say hi before they left. Adora was reluctant to let Luna in at first, not wanting the girl to see her in such a sorry state, but quickly changed her mind when she saw the girl stood in the doorway, a little out of breath from running. Bow barrelled into the doorway and scooped her into his arms, followed by Glimmer who slid a little way past the door before she could come to a full stop.
“I’m so sorry she’s just so fast,” Bow exclaimed.
“I jus’ wanted to give Auntie ‘Dora a hug to make her feel better,” Luna said bashfully.
“You know, I think a little Luna hug is just what the doctor ordered,” Adora soothed.
“Remember to be gentle, sweetie,” Glimmer called as Bow carried their little girl over to the bed.
Adora shuffled over as best she could – which wasn’t a lot – to make room for Bow to set Luna down. She looked scared as she was set on the bed, obviously not a huge fan of the big cast and brace covering Adora’s legs. The fear dissipated, though, as soon as Adora wrapped her up in a hug. Luna went boneless in her arms, and after a minute or so fell asleep.
“I’m sorry, Adora, I know you said she shouldn’t come,” Glimmer whispered, “she ran off before we could stop her.”
“Really, Glim, it’s fine.” Adora adjusted the girl in her arms, using a free hand to brush the brown curls out of her face. “I actually feel a little better.”
They stayed for a little longer, only deciding to take their leave when Adora’s eyes started to droop. Quietly, Bow and Glimmer collected their daughter and said goodbye, promising to be back the next day. Mara stayed for a little while longer, watching over her little sister like a hawk. When she got up to leave, Adora stirred a little.
“You gon’ give Catra a ride?”
“I’m staying here with you, Princess,” Catra said softly.
“‘S no bed,” Adora mumbled tiredly, “you gotta get some sleep babe.”
“I’ll be fine as long as you’re okay,” Catra affirmed, pressing a kiss onto Adora’s hand as the blonde closed her eyes again. Mara waved goodbye as she crept out, leaving Catra alone with a snoring Adora again.
Catra leaned back in the uncomfortable chair. It wasn’t the same plastic chair she’d spent most of her day sat on, but it was still no place to get a good night's sleep. Eventually, Catra gave up on shifting around in her seat, resigning herself to a sleepless night. She wouldn’t complain, especially not when Adora shifted and whimpered in the early hours of the morning. Catra was up in an instant, getting the attention of a night nurse before returning to Adora’s side to comfort her whilst her painkillers were fixed.
At some point in the late morning, Adora was wheeled away for some more scans. Catra took the opportunity to take a shower and change into some of the clothes that Glimmer and Bow brought over for her. Feeling a little more human, Catra sat and read through her emails whilst she waited. Apparently, her boss was serious when she said that Catra could only have the day, because she had scheduled three meetings for the next day. Catra groaned and had to stop herself from throwing her phone across the room, before she calmly cancelled the meeting and let Entrapta know that she was out for the foreseeable. As much as Weaver liked to throw her weight around, she still answered to Hordak, and that dude was so whipped that he’d do whatever Entrapta asked.
When Adora was wheeled back in, she was much more lucid than she had been the day before.
“Hey princess, how’re you feeling?” Catra asked sweetly as she perched on the edge of Adora’s bed.
“Better, I think,” Adora said, “my legs don’t feel like they’re on fire anymore, so that’s good, right?”
“Very good,” Catra agreed, “It means I get to beat your ass now.”
Catra quickly turned and punched Adora’s arm. Honestly, it was lighter than she was going for, which was pretty light already, but the wet blanket of a punch didn’t prevent an offended scoff from coming from the injured girl.
“What was that for?” Adora laughed.
“For going up on that roof by yourself.” Catra punched her again, this time a little more firm. “And that is for scaring the crap out of me.”
“You said you weren’t mad yesterday!”
“Yeah, because you were hurt, and your legs were all mangled!” Catra explained, “I know I’m an asshole, but I’m not that much of an asshole.”
“You aren’t an asshole,” Adora said softly, snaking an arm around Catra’s waist and pulling her in. “You’d be a terrible nurse, though.”
It was Catra’s turn to scoff in offence, lightly tapping her wife’s arms as she melted into them. Adora reached over her round bump and left her hand pressed against the side, rubbing gentle circles.
“I’d be a great nurse,” Catra said petulantly after a moment.
“Your bedside manner could use work,” Adora joked.
“Just don’t do that again, okay?”
“Never.”
“You promise?”
“I promise.”
As one day turned to the next, Adora grew more restless. Their friends had brought things from home to keep her occupied, but Mario Kart could only distract her for so long. Catra’s heart ached for her, knowing that she wasn’t going to be up on her feet anytime soon. Adora was a personal trainer and ran every morning because she had too much energy all the time. She could handle it when she was getting the good drugs that knocked her out, but as she was weaned onto weaker stuff, her energy levels started to build up. Catra could see she was itching to be anywhere but that bed.
On the fifth day they were told Adora could go home. The excitement radiated from the blonde as they went over her care plan. Glimmer and Bow had already gone to their house and set up the pull-out in the living room, saving Catra the trouble of figuring out how to get Adora up the stairs. The rest of their friends had worked together to make sure the roof was intact (with someone keeping the ladder steady at all times) so that the couple wouldn’t have to worry about it when they got back.
The white cast was replaced with a red one that was much lighter (and so, so ugly) and Catra was shown how to lock the knee on the brace on her right, as well as some movements Adora could do at home. Because of her other injuries, Adora was told in no uncertain terms that she was not allowed to stand on her own, not for a while at least.
Bow was kind enough to drive them home. After a brief struggle which left Adora red faced and embarrassed, she was settled across the back seat leaning against pillows Bow had thoughtfully laid back there for her. Catra fussed over the bag of pills they’d been given, and then ensuring that Adora was actually safe in the back seat before Bow gently encouraged her into the passenger seat. With one last thank you to the hospital staff who had helped them outside, the group headed home.
Adora was practically vibrating with excitement as they pulled back into the cul-de-sac, so much so that she forgot about her embarrassment when Bow helped her out of the car. Catra wheeled her inside, silently wondering what she did to earn such amazing friends when she saw the care package laid out on the dining room table. While Bow supervised Adora as she moved from the wheelchair to the pull-out (something she had been obsessively practicing at the hospital with the exasperated nurses), Catra looked in the basket. It was full of crosswords and books, all intended to occupy the blonde whilst she was on bedrest, as well as a few boxes of “calming tea” for Catra. If she shed a tear at the thoughtfulness, that was her business.
“There’s an old cart in the living room,” Bow said sweetly. “Glimmer figured it would be easier to put snacks and water and stuff on there so you don’t have to make a million trips to the kitchen for her.”
“Thank you,” Catra rasped, refusing to meet his eye. “For everything.”
When Bow wrapped her in a hug, she let go, sobbing in earnest and staining the poor guy’s shirt with her tears. The exhaustion of the past few days finally caught up with her, and if it wasn’t for Bow holding her, she was sure she’d collapse in a heap.
“Hey, Catra, could you come in here?” Adora called.
“Just a second,” Catra replied, taking a second to wipe away her tears.
Grabbing some snacks and water bottles on her way, Catra made her way into the living room, stocking the cart as soon as she got in, making sure everything was just so for her wife.
“Catra,” Adora said gently, patting the space next to her, “come up here.”
“Let me just finish this.”
“Don’t think I don’t know you didn’t sleep well at the hospital,” Adora said sternly, “get up here, we’re taking a nap.”
“Adora—”
“Nope, no arguments. I can’t do anything helpful right now and I hate it, but I can hold my beautiful wife whilst she catches up on sleep.”
“We really need to talk about your obsession with being helpful.”
“After you nap,” Adora replied gently.
Catra conceded, sliding gently into Adora’s arms, resting her back against her chest. Adora pulled her in tight, resting one hand on Catra’s bump whilst the other played gently with the ends of her hair. It doesn’t take long for her eyes to flutter closed, and sleep to wash over her.