Wherever You Are

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Javier had sent her a simple message but that message was enough to make her panick.

"Riley is sick. He wouldn't eat until he sees you." The message read and she felt miserable just reading that. If only she had picked up the call the first time, they wouldn't have wasted those minutes.
Luckily the cab arrived right then and she gave the man the change in address. What if Javier had given up thinking she was busy. She couldn't have forgiven herself. Riley was sick and he needed her. Her poor baby. A tear escaped her eyes as she rushed inside the house she had become accustomed to.

Everything was quite around but there was some whisper coming from above and she knew it was from Riley's room. She ran upstairs to see three men standing there. Her boss, his housekeeper and his cousin. Through a gap between them, she could see could see a small figure engulfed by blankets on the small bed. She could hear small sniffs and whimpers from him. Her heart broke once more then and there.

"Ry?" She said softly making all of them turn towards her. George heaved a sigh in relief. He had seen the way Riley was with this new PA of his boss and had been telling Javier since yesterday to call the girl for his son's sake. Javier looked relieved but it was for an entirely different reason. When Elise didn't pick up his call, he knew he wouldn't be forgiven so easily. Now seeing her in his house, he knew he would somehow convince her to forgive him. Even if that meant begging on his knees.

Caden… well he was Caden… he looked bored and brooding. However there was a curious look in his eyes.

She ignored them and made her way to Riley's side, making sure to bump her shoulder with Javier on the way. She would have done more if her baby suffering wasn't right there in his sight.
When Riley looked up at the woman walking towards him, he once again broke into tears. However, this time he was happy.

"Hey hey, does it hurt somewhere, Riley?" Elise asked in panic on seeing him start crying.

Riley shook his head at her but kept crying. Unable to take it anymore, she sat down beside him and pulled him to her and covered him again with his blanket. She didn't care if she fall sick too. Right then, it didn't matter. She couldn't see him suffering.

She ran her fingers through his hair, gently rocking herself as she cooed Riley.

"Y-you le-left m-me." He accused with hiccups. He buried his head in his chest as he cried.

Javier felt guilty seeing his son in this condition because of him. He had fallen sick and the thought of Elise leaving him only made it worse for the kid. His head hung low in shame.

"He loves her." Cade made a silent observation from beside him. And from corner of his eyes, he saw George nod.

"Ssh!! I won't leave you." Elise promised.

"You are my baby. How can I leave you."

Riley nodded in approval of her statement and she had to smile at his gesture. He was sometimes so much like his father.

"Now tell me, did you eat breakfast?" She asked as her eyes fell on the soup on the table.

Riley shook his head. "I wasn't hungry."

"But if you don't eat how will you grow up?"

"I don't want to grow up so I can always sit on your lap like this." He said showing her his perfect sets of teeths along with his runny nose.

The sentence made everyone laugh and even Caden had a very very very small smile on his face.

Javier saw Elise press a kiss on his head. At least somethings were back to normal now.

"Tsk tsk. You need to eat so you become strong and fight away bad man okay?" She asked again changing her tactics.

Javier felt slightly jealous. He had done everything and still that little sneaky devil hadn't agreed to eating and here this one girl had both father and son wrapped around her finger without even trying.

She is still angry with you. He reminded himself.

"Okay, I will protect you Momma." Riley said and suddenly the room fell into a pin drop silence.

Javier saw Elise smile and lean down to kiss his head out of habit but pause when her mind registered his words. She looked shocked.

To be honest, Javier wasn't shocked with it. he knew all along how Riley felt about her. He was a kid who never had a woman in her life and then she came along. She would kiss him, and hug him and shower him with love. Tell him stories and did everything a parent was supposed to do. How could Riley not consider her his mother.

Javier still remember a day not so long ago when Riley told her about a spell bee in school where he won and looked up to her expectantly for a kiss but Elise who was too engrossed in a file failed to notice it and ruffled his hair in acknowledgment. Riley had been roaming around whole day with a disappointed look and a pout. Javier knew his son thought that Elise didn't love him anymore and so for his son's happiness. he gave her an hour break which Elise then spent with Riley and the boy was content after that.

Javier knew all along and he didn't have a problem with it. Maybe unconsciously he knew all along that he liked her, he just took too long to realise it.

He gauged her expression to understand what she was thinking. She was looking down at Riley with tears flowing down her cheeks. Javier felt himself go back to the day when she told him about her pregnancy. He had been so angry but that day he understood her relationship with Riley better. She considered him her own kid, he could have been wrong but right now, her expression said it all. She was delighted. She was scared. She was grateful.

Their eyes met and he noticed the apologetic look in her eyes. He understood her thought process. He had asked her not to ever see him and now he was calling him his mother. Of course she thought he was angry.

He gave her a small nod showing that he approved of it. There was not more he could do. Riley chose his mother for himself. It was much better than him choosing a woman who could not love his son. The fact that he too liked the woman made it all better.

Javier felt proud that both he and his son had good taste in woman.

Elise hugged her s...son closer to her chest as she felt tears flow down her face. She knew Riley was a kid to her but she never thought the kid could consider her his mother. Was she really so lucky? She felt like she just got everything in the world. Maybe it really is true. Whatever happens, happens for a good cause. She felt reborn again. She now felt really like a mother. She had a kid to call her his mother.

Riley looked up to examine the effect of the stunt he pulled. When he saw the tears on her face, fear gripped his little heart.

"Ellie, are you angry with me?" He asked in a small voice with a cough punctuating his sentence.

Elise rubbed his back in soothing manner and then said when his coughing had stopped.

"I can never be angry with you baby. You are the most precious thing Ry. I love you so much. You don't know what you gave me today." She said as more tears flew down her face and she kissed Riley all over his face.

"I am hungry now." Riley said once again happy. "Momma."