Let's Find Forever | Herophine Fic

Desperate To Hear

JOSEPHINE

I feel like I've really had and celebrated Australia Day. Exactly like I would have back in Perth with my mum, dad and Kat. Of course, the weather is a completely different scenario in the UK, it's been cloudy and rainy for most of the day but we've worked around that and done things almost identical to what I've done in the past. Usually, my Australia Day is a FaceTime with the family but today, for the first time in years Hero's changed that for me and made it such a special day.

The barbecue is what sealed the deal for me. Just the smell alone of the burning coals was enough to remind me of dad cooking up a storm back home on the terrace. There's nothing more Aussie than a barbecue and Hero cooked everything to absolute perfection. My pregnancy hasn't really touched my taste as such but it certainly has my smell. I could smell him cooking all the way from upstairs. Not that I was complaining.

We've done absolutely nothing other than chill out with full bellies after the seemingly never-ending barbecue. Even Mila's chilled out, lounging on the couch with us both, aimlessly watching TV. Hero was being modest when said he'd bought a few things for dinner. It was more like he'd bought the entirety of the meat aisle from his local supermarket. None of us complained, it was a nice surprise and something that definitely reminded me of home. Just as the rest of today has too.

Hero's eyes move down to Mila on his chest. They're heavy and dropping occasionally. She's tired. She's a whirlwind bundle of energy at the best of times but today's taken it out of her just as it has the rest of us.

"Are you tired, princess?" Mila looks up and begins to nod yes. She turns in his arms and wraps hers around his neck, curling into him.

"Can you do bedtime, daddy?" Hero seems surprised at her request. It feels like it's been me doing it for a while now but primarily that was so we could vent out our excitement about the baby. Especially before Hero knew. And also, she says I read stories to her better than him but I'll keep that little nugget of information to myself.

"Of course, I can. Say good night to mummy then," Mila loosens her grip on Hero before crawling over to me. She places herself in my lap and wraps her arms around me. I've still not gotten used to hearing Hero refer to me as mummy but it somehow sounds so natural now. Now more so than before.

"Happy Australia Day, mummy. Love you," my smile grows and I hold her closer, just a fraction hoping I'm conveying just how thankful I am for today with her. Even if she did keep it a secret.

"And I love you. Sweet dreams, sweet pea," one last time, I nuzzle my nose against hers, place a kiss on her lips and gently begin to lift her into Hero's arms in front of me. Effortlessly, he takes her into his arms and begins to walk toward the archway. One last time, she waves at me, smiling sleepily and lays her head on Hero's shoulder as they disappear into the hall.

Pushing to stand, I grab hold of all three of our glasses and take them into the kitchen. I need a new drink, as does Hero and as I place ours on the counter, I put Mila's into the dishwasher. Making a mental note to put a wash on before we go to bed. Knowing Hero, he'll be a short while before he comes down so I take my time in giving the kitchen a quick spruce up and the living room too. I top up our drinks and open up the cupboard to see if there are any snacks for us to graze on. Even though I've eaten my body weight in meat and other Australian goodies, some biscuits won't go amiss if we're going to stay down here for a little while longer.

After pouring our drinks and grabbing some biscuits for us both, I take our things over to the coffee table and resume my position on the couch. I don't think we'll be too far behind Mila. I'm exhausted and I know Hero will be too. God knows what time they were up until last night decorating everything. They really pulled it off between them. I did wonder whether he was ushering me to sleep so much for a reason. Not that I'm complaining, of course. How he held me and undressed me was so intimate. It's times like that that remind me that we can still be intimate with one another while I'm pregnant, just in different ways.