Seasons (Ari AU)

Chapter 29

Third Person POV

  One could easily knock Holland over with just a blow of air after the rush of "Surprise" being yelled from at least a good twenty people standing in her living room and kitchen, possibly even in the hallway.  Her heart thuds, a hand going right over her chest in genuine shock.

  "What is this?" she asks, wide eyed as her vision sweeps the area before turning towards Shauna behind her, grinning with her cell on video mode. 

  "Your baby shower!" her friend exclaims, ushering her further into the house.  

  Felicity releases her hold on Ari, moving to give Holland a hug. "Here, let me help you." She slips Holland's purse off of her shoulder, taking it over to the hanger that's near the front door. "Go on and say hello to everyone."

  Holland barely  has to move, everyone coming to her rather than her making the rounds. There's many hugs, back rubs and kisses on the cheek. She has an eerily familiar wave come over her, remembering the similar action just months before when she was in the same home receiving condolences in the loss of her husband. 

  "Here, sit," Ari instructs her, just as he had earlier in the year, bringing a chair over that has been decorated with pink and white balloons. 

  She mutters a quiet thanks, not meeting his eyes as neither of them move forward to hug or even slightly touch one another. Shauna comes to join her, automatically pushing a plate of snacks in front of her. "Ari tried to get me to have Johnny's chili in multiple crock pots, but I told him chili isn't really a baby shower friendly food. I did however lose when I suggested cake. He pushed for your raspberry donuts, so when you go look at the dessert table you'll be thrilled to see a tower of the sugary sweetness."  

  Holland eyes the raw veggies and ranch dip, barbeque meatballs and tiny cucumber sandwiches. "Cucumber sandwiches?" she mumbles to her friend, just loud enough for Shauna to hear. "Lissy," she answers back. "She also made a banana cream pie, too. So, kind of hard to hate her, right?" 

  "Right," Holland agrees with her friend, feeling a tightness in her chest. She'd managed to not be around Ari or Felicity since they'd shared a kiss, and if it had been up to her, there would still be many days or weeks before she'd share a space with them again. 

  "Dad, can Miss Holland open presents now?" Mason asks Ari, jumping up and down on his toes.  

  "She just got here bud, let's give her a little time to relax. I'm sure we gave her a bit of a scare," he chuckles, ruffling his son's hair with his hand. Mason hangs his head but perks up when another guy's son from the station invites him out into the yard to toss a baseball. 

  Holland gives a small smile to Ari's thoughtfulness, considering that she is feeling increasingly overwhelmed remembering the state that the backroom is in. The room that will need to hold all these mountains of gifts is a complete disaster.  Please don't let anyone ask to see the nursery, she thinks to herself, her hand automatically going to run her head rather than her stomach, a growing tension headache beginning to form. 

  Another memory flashing as a bottle of water is held out in front of her, the large hand holding it easily recognizable by the scar closest to his thumb. "You look like you could use this," he offers, his other hand shaking a bottle of Tylenol, "and maybe these?" 

  "I'll just take this, thanks," she replies in an even tone, reaching out for the bottle of water. "I'm sure once everyone leaves it'll go away."

  "I'd like to say this was all Shauna's idea, but Lissy had a bit of a hand in it, too. Said she's never had a friend that was having a baby and she dived right in," he chuckles, settling himself into the chair that Shauna had left empty.