I Will Never Let You Go (A Maxcer Fanfic)

What Have You Figured Out?

"What about this one?" Eloise said, holding up another onesie. This one was pink with a small cupcake in the center, underneath it said "So Sweet" in a script font. Max nodded, and Eloise tossed it in the cart. Michelle picked it up, examining further.
"Are you honestly just gonna buy every pink thing in this store? You should get some other colors, add some variety."
They had only been in the store for a fifteen minutes at most, and Michelle had already talked Max's ear off about what she should get for her baby. She insisted that Max needed these diapers and those bottles and this carseat, and Max was already fed up with her sister. Eloise however, was just excited to be getting a niece and was more than happy looking at all the girly clothes.
Max was getting with her sister, but she knew Michelle meant well. Besides, she had never had a baby before, and Michelle had a twelve year old son. Max believed that her sister was only trying to give her the best advice. So, she bit her tongue, holding back any words that would come out sounding rude.
"There will be variety. This is probably one of the first times I'm actually going out to buy stuff for this girl," Max said, putting a hand on her twenty four week bump. "And it will definitely not be the last. Besides, I'm sure on your own time you're gonna buy stuff, family is gonna buy stuff--"
"Don't forget your baby shower." Eloise said, shimmying her shoulders.
Max ran a hand through her hair. Baby showers were usually thrown by the family of the expecting parents, which in this case it would probably be up to Michelle and Eloise. Knowing her sisters, Max suddenly became afraid that they'd end up fighting over the party planning. They had tried to plan Max's birthday parties a couple times, and at least one of them would end up angry and not have a good time when the day finally came. Max didn't want them to over do things either, like wasting money and time on grand decorations or expensive catering.
An hour went by, and they seemed satisfied with the baby items they chose. Michelle fought Max on paying for half of them and ended up losing that battle. Max rolled the cart to Michelle's car, picking up some of the bags to put in the truck. Michelle tried to take them from her, and that's when she snapped.
"I can do some things myself Michelle." Max said sternly. Michelle gave Max a dismissive look. "I know that. But you shouldn't be doing so much heavy lifting. I've been through this before, and I'm only trying to be a good big sister and help you."
"Help me? Then why were you judging every decision I tried to make in that store?"
Michelle crossed her arms. "I wasn't judging you. But like I said, I have been through this before, so I know what works." Max tsked and said something under her breath that Michelle couldn't hear.
"What?" Michelle asked, narrowing her eyes at her sister. Max looked back up at her sister.
"You've been through this once. And that was years ago. That doesn't make you an expert."
Michelle shook her head.
"I'm an expert on you though. You're six months along now and you don't have anything figured out, do you?" Max was appalled. She crossed her arms and looked away from her sister. She stole a glance at Eloise, who unbeknownst to them had put all the bags in the car while they had been arguing. Her younger sister shrugged and leaned against the car, looking down at the ground. She'd seen Michelle and Max argue before, and she knew not to get involved in it.
"Have you even talked about birth plans with your husband? College funds?" Michelle grilled.
"No." Max said firmly.
"Then what have you figured out?"
They got in the car without another word. Eloise still sat in the back, letting Max have the more comfortable passenger seat. Max looked out the window, still upset that her sister didn't support her like she'd hoped. The thing that hurt most was the fact that Max couldn't find the words to defend herself. What had she and Spencer figured out? They completed the task of getting out of their small apartment way before Max got pregnant, but then what? Max hadn't thought about where she wanted to deliver, if she would accept pain relievers or not. They hadn't set up a college fund; heck, they hadn't really even thought of names. They still had time to figure out all that stuff, but sitting there at that moment with nothing set in stone, Max felt discouraged.
Michelle pulled into Max's driveway, putting the car in park and turned to her sister.
"I'm sorry okay? I didn't mean what I said, at least not the way it sounded. I know you and Spencer will be prepared for when she gets here and I know you two will be great with her; but I just wanna make sure that you're not so caught up in work that you'd forget to plan for these things."
Max didn't look at her sister, but nodded.
"I do want you to have this though, here." Michelle said.
Max looked over and in Michelle's hand was a book of a million names. Looking at the thickness of the book, Max smirked. She took it in her own hands, flipping to a random page.
"Spence is gonna read through this in five minutes." Max joked. Michelle gave a small laugh, and Eloise could be heard snickering in the backseat. Max looked at her sister, and smiled.
"Thank you." Max said softly. Michelle smiled back, putting a hand on her arm and giving it a tender squeeze.

"What about Everleigh?" Spencer asked, skimming through the pages of the book of names. It was after six, and Max and Spencer decided that they wanted to have pizza for dinner. They had been looking at names for about fifteen minutes on the couch when the pizza got there, and Spencer was still saying names aloud for Max's opinion. She had just taken a bite from her pizza, her legs laying across Spencer's lap. None of the names Spencer had mentioned spoke to her, and she wasn't really feeling that one either.
"This is impossible." Max whined. Spencer chuckled and rubbed her leg, leaning across to grab his slice from the coffee table.
"We'll figure it out. We've got time, and plenty more names to look through."
Max smirked, but the small smile quickly faded. Spencer noticed the behavior as he took a bite from his pizza. Being the profiler he is, he had been picking up subtle signs as they sat together that something was off about Max. He rubbed her leg again, this time going farther down to tickle her feet. She pulled them away, looking at him with tired eyes. He sighed and put his pizza back on the table.
"What's bugging you? And I know it's not just about the names."
Max sighed, leaning over to put her finished plate on the table. "As you know I went out with my sisters to go shopping for baby stuff, and Michelle just had to nitpick and voice her opinion on everything I thought we should get. Then when we got to the car I confronted her about it, and she brought up a point that I couldn't deny: we haven't really had time to talk about birth plans or college funds and schooling, or if we are gonna have a sitter to take care of her when we are at work or if we are gonna put her in daycare--" Spencer grabbed her hand, stopping her from getting more worked up. He opened his mouth like he was gonna say something, then decided against it. Instead, he lifted her legs up from his lap and moved out of the living room, going to his messenger bag that sat on a bench near the front door. He pulled out his laptop, flipping it open as he walked back over to Max. She was intrigued by this, causing her to sit up more and sit closer to his side once he sat back down. Once Spencer logged on, he clicked on a few tabs, reopening them to show Max what he'd been doing. One tab was a website on a daycare not too far from their house, another was a babysitter site, and another was a bank statement that appeared to be unfinished.
Max was taken aback by the extensive research that Spencer had done, but at the same time she was glad that he had taken time out of his day to look for all of it.
"I obviously wasn't going to make any decisions without you regarding all of this, but I thought that it would bring you some ease to know that I have been looking into this stuff." Spencer said, turning his head to look at her reaction. Without a word, Max wrapped her arms around his shoulders, burying her face in his neck. Although it was barely audible, Spencer could hear her whisper a thank you into his skin. He moved the laptop to the side and hugged her back, resting his head on top of hers. They stayed like that for a good five minutes. Moving her head out from underneath his, Max leaned over and grabbed the name book, flipping to a random page. Unlike before, a name caught her eye in a fraction a second.
"What about Willow?" Max asked, handing the book over for Spencer to read. "Graceful, slender; derived from the willow tree. You know, willow trees have many uses; people could chew on the bark to treat fever, inflammation and pain. They've been used in the manufacturing of baskets, fishing nets, furniture and even small wooden toys. The willow tree is also symbolic of balance, growth, harmony and learning. It was meant to represent strength, and being able to withstand the greatest of challenges." Max let his words sink, finding no flaw in the meaning of the name.
"We'll keep looking, but that name sticks out to me."
"I like it too." Spencer said. He took Max's chin between his fingers so she'd look him in the eyes. "And don't worry, we'll have everything worked out by the time she comes." Max smiled, then gave him a chaste kiss on the lips, snuggling into his side.