I Will Never Let You Go (A Maxcer Fanfic)

Hey Dad.

Max walked into the Smithsonian with her presentation notes. Her work mainly consisted of seminars and slideshows, displaying different artists and art styles throughout time. The second half of her programs were when people could take part in learning a new art style or technique. A lot of the people were disabled; having mental and physical conditions, but they still enjoyed participating. Some programs Max ran were specifically for younger kids, and it warmed her heart to see the smiles on their faces after they completed a project that they were proud of. It was how she felt when she finished writing up her presentations and projects.
Today's program was for older people, most of them in wheelchairs with Alzehiemer's. Some of them reminded her of Diana, Spencer's mother, who had schizophrenia for many years and had succumbed to dementia. She was a brilliant woman, but she lost all sense of time and space occasionally, forgetting who her own son was. Spencer and Max made sure to write her letters, call her, and visit her as often as possible.
It was around four-thirty when Max's program ended. Mostly all of those who attended had a great time, being able to do something fun while socializing with others. Max was starting to clear off the tables with the different art supplies when she heard a thud next to her, then the sound of colored pencils rolling on the floor. "Oh I'm so sorry. Here, let me help." A young woman said, bending down next to Max to pick up the pencils. They both stood up, dusting off their knees.
"Sorry about that. I forget to watch where I'm going sometimes."
"Hey, it's no worries." Max said with a smile. Max started to put all the boxes of colored pencils in a large bin and walked around the tables to collect the rest. The young woman shifted her weight to one leg. "I just wanted to say that I really liked your program; well at least what I saw of it. My dad really liked it too." Max turned her attention back to the young woman, smiling at her comment.
"Thank you. I'm glad he liked it. What's his name?"
"Robert Brewer. I'm Teresa." The young woman said, extending her hand out to Max. Max took it, and noticed that Teresa had a Georgetown lanyard around her neck. "You a college student at Georgetown?" Teresa looked down at her chest, then nodded back up at Max. "Yeah. Wasn't my top choice but I wanted to stay close for my dad."
"Does he have a condition?" Max asked, knowing the answer might not be a good one. "Multiple sclerosis. He was diagnosed two years ago. He has his good and bad days, but all he seems to want to do is art. He reads about it, watches shows about it, is constanting talking about it to anyone who will listen. Then my mom found this program for him, and I can see it has definitely boosted his morale." Teresa said with a smile. Max stood for a moment, unable to find the words to say next, when Teresa started turning towards the exit.
"I better get going. It was nice meeting you. Have a good day." She said, waving and walking out the door. Max waved back, and when she was out of sight, slumped down into a nearby folding chair. She ran a hand through her hair, starting to think of her own dad. Her dad didn't have any sort of debilitating disease, but he was getting older. Max never called him; not because they had a bad relationship, but because he always seemed to probe and nitpick all parts of her life when he had the chance. For the longest time, he harped on Max what she was going to do with an art history degree. He seemed satisfied for a while when she became an art teacher, but then he got all hung up about when she was going to marry. Now that she finally was married, he called often to make sure things were well, that they were making things work with both their jobs and their love life. Her dad hadn't busted her chops about kids, which Max thought maybe even he knew would be going too far.
She hadn't told him she was pregnant yet, and she was already eighteen weeks. Spencer and her had an ultrasound scheduled when she was twenty weeks, where they would find out the gender of their baby. They were also thinking about planning a gender reveal party for their friends and family, so Max had to tell him soon.
Finishing packing up her stuff, she brought it out to her car and put it all in the passenger seat. Max got in the car and started the engine, turning on the heat to ward off the cold of February. She glanced at the clock and it read five-fifteen. Her dad would have been getting out of work by now, Max thought. Scrolling through her contacts, she clicked on her dad's name. Two rings, and her dad answered.
"Max? Is something wrong?" Her dad asked, sounding concerned.
"Hey dad. No, nothing's wrong."
"Really? 'Cause you never like calling me. I usually have to fight tooth and nail to get a confirmation that you are even alive." Dad said, chuckling.
"I know, which I'm sorry about that. But there is a reason I called."
"Let me guess; I have two guesses and I know it's one of the two."
"Oh yeah? What are they?" Max asked, genuinely curious what her dad thought she wanted to tell him. She heard him sigh through the phone, then he said "You and Spencer are getting a divorce?" Max was appalled. "Dad! God no. Me and Spencer love each other very much. We're great, more than great actually." Max could hear her dad breath in and exhale over the phone. "Then it must be my other guess: you're giving me a grandchild?" She could hear the smile in his voice, which made her smile. "I'm pregnant dad." Max said, looking out the windshield at the bright lights, still smiling. Her dad was silent for a moment, then he let out a breath again. It sounded different somehow; full of more emotion. "Well that's great honey. Congratulations. You've been feeling okay? How far along are you?" He asked.
"I've been feeling pretty good. I'm actually eighteen weeks as of yesterday. I'm sorry for not telling you sooner."
Max could hear her dad chuckle on the phone. "Don't be sorry sweetheart. It's yours and Spencer's business. But wow, that's great. You starting to show at all?" Max giggled softly this time and looked down at her stomach, feeling the baby move around slightly.
"Yeah, I've got a pretty cute bump going. Spencer and I actually felt it kick today. And in two weeks we are gonna find out the gender. We were thinking about having one of those gender reveal parties." Max felt herself starting to ramble, but she didn't stop talking. She found that she liked sharing all the little details with her father, but only on her terms. She would tell him what she wanted him to know, but right now she was starting to get tired from sitting in the car.
"Hey dad, I'm sure you're busy; I have an early program tomorrow, but maybe we could continue talking tomorrow over lunch?" Max said, unsure of herself all of a sudden. "I would love to see you sweetheart, and my little grandchild." Her dad replied. Max said her goodbyes, hung up the call and started for home.

"Kansas. Makes me think of The Wizard of Oz." Max said, playfulness in her voice. Spencer was in his hotel room for the night, and he was indeed in Kansas. They had landed hours ago, done some profiling, then decided it would be best to get some shut eye. It was eleven at night, and Spencer wasn't ready for sleep to overtake him. It didn't seem like Max was either, Spencer thought, since she seemed so energetic as she spoke through the phone.
"You're funny." Spencer said, feeling a smile creep onto his face.
"I'll be here all night folks" Max said. Spencer could hear the scrap of metal against someone's teeth.
"What are you eating?"
"Ice Cream. Ameri-Cone Dream." Max replied, saying the name of the ice cream with a southern accent. Spencer laughed, but felt the need to say "It's midnight there. You should be sleeping. Not pumping yourself and the baby up with sugar." Spencer could hear Max whine, followed by the open and close of a fridge.
"Baby Einstein wasn't ready to sleep yet anyway, so if I was gonna be forced to stay awake I might as well eat something."
"Well eating Ameri-Cone Dream isn't gonna make Baby Einstein fall asleep any faster." Spencer and Max hadn't looked into baby names much, but they were tired of calling the baby "it". Baby Einstein just felt right to call their child, simply because they might take after Spencer and be a kid genius.
Max had made her way upstairs, into their room and under the covers.
"That's true." Max said, laughing at herself. A thought pinged in her mind and she felt the need to share it with Spencer.
"So I called my dad today."
"You called your dad? Typically you don't like calling him."
"I know, but we still never told him about Baby Einstein and it just started bugging me at work today. I called him afterwards and told him. He's very happy for us."
"Well that's great." Spencer said. A moment of silence passed, and Max could hear heavy breathing through the phone. "Spencer?" A hum was what Max got in response. Max smirked to herself.
"You tired?"
"Very." Spencer replied, drowsiness clear in his voice.
"Alright, you get some sleep. Me and Baby Einstein are gonna try and sleep too. We love you."
"I love you too Max. Can you put the phone to your belly?" Max thought the request was strange, but complied. "Daddy loves you Baby Einstein. Try not to keep mommy up all night." Spencer said, making Max's heart melt. She hung up with him and put her phone on the nightstand. She closed her eyes, her baby's kicks eventually lulling her to sleep.