Seasons (Ari AU)

Chapter 42

Third Person POV  

Joy managed to keep her promise, allowing Holland to get some much needed rest although they nurses were already taking bets on how long it would be before she started working from her hospital bed. 

  Shauna slips in quietly at seven in the morning, having seen that the last check was at five.  She's taken aback at the sight before her.  Ari is leaning over in the chair, his head resting as close to Holland's stomach as possible with his hand wrapped around hers. She stands there for a moment, blinking rapidly to see if it will actually change the situation in front of her. 

  Stepping back out of the room, but propping the door with her foot, she motions Joy over. "Has he been here all night?"

  "Refused to leave her side," Joy answers. "Which is a shame because these girls out here have been begging to see him in that tux, thus the reason Holland's had a new nurse each time.  I figured you'd have been in last night to check on her. Where were you?"

  "I was watching his fiancée's rugrat so she could attend the ball too.  Speaking of, is Holland's dress in her room?"

  "I hung it up in the break room. She sure did look beautiful though." She steps in a little closer. "If you ask me, Holland and your brother would make the perfect couple. I don't know why he ever let her get away. Now he's engaged. Just seems pointless. But they sure have a sweet friendship."

  Shauna gives a tight lipped smile, secrets and wonderments of her own hiding behind it. "Tell me something I don't know. Anyways, how was the night?"

  Joy goes on to fill her in on all the details, the leaking of the amniotic fluid, while not a lot they can't in good conscience send her home. "I think we'll be able to keep little miss in place for a while longer. At least til 37 weeks, you know that's always the goal."

  Shauna feels the door open from the inside of the room. Her brother emerges, rubbing his hands down his face before he's up on his tip toes stretching out like a large bear, a loud groan filling the quiet hallway. "You all need some more comfortable chairs."

  "That's what those cushions over by the window are for," she reminds him. "She still asleep?"

  Ari nods his head, letting the door close behind him. "Coffee?" he offers, both of them falling into step with ease as they make their way down to the elevator. "I told her last night I'd go to Johnny's and pick her up a breakfast burrito. She only agreed to it if they already have the chili made, if not then it's hospital food until she can get her chili cheese fries."

  Shauna lets him talk. And talk he does, all the way down to the diner on the corner, never interrupting him. Not a single word was spoken about their moment in the hallway before their scare.  She takes a seat at a table while he orders the meals to go, watching him, studying him. 

  "She's in luck!" he announces falling into the seat across from her.  "One breakfast burrito that will be covered in chili. I swear little Miss Evy is going to come out either addicted to the stuff or forever repulsed by it." He mindlessly taps at the receipt under his fingers, a soft thud coming from the table below it.

  "Evy?" Shauna finally speaks, leaning up on the table. "Who is Evy?"

  "Our girl," Ari chuckles, forgetting himself for a moment. "I mean the new one to the group, to our family, Holland's daughter."

  "She named her? Yesterday when I was helping her get ready she was still Miss No Name Gable. How'd she figure it out since then? And why wasn't I told about it?"

  "Laurel Evy," he tells her, looking every bit like a proud father would when talking about his daughter.  "I bet she'll be just as beautiful as her name, just like her Ma."

  "Daddy!" 

  The call has Ari swiveling his head to the left seeing Felicity walking in through the glass doors of the diner with Mason. The little boy charges him, wrapping his arms around his neck tightly. "Uh, hey guys. What are you doing here?" His head flicks over to Shauna who returns his look of surprise and shrugs her shoulders. 

  "You never came back last night so we came up to the hospital. They let us in to check on Holland and she said you'd promised to bring her Johnny's so I thought we'd see if we could catch you and have breakfast with you."

  "Levinson! Order up!"  Johnny yells out from behind the counter.  

  Shauna took strong note of the way Ari's face paled and how his eyes shifted while Mason was hugging him. "That sounds like a really sweet idea, Felicity. Why don't you guys go look at the menu and I'll take Holland her food."  

  If looks could kill, Ari would've just committed murder. "Relax. Enjoy breakfast with them, and I'll take Holland her breakfast. I don't start my shift for another two hours so I'll keep her company. It's fine, Ari."

  "No, actually it's not," he growls through gritted teeth. "I don't want to be around Lissy right now, Shauna."

  "Tough cookies, Casanova. Hang out with your family," she tells him, walking over to the counter and grabbing up the food. She pauses, digging through it to find his to-go box and dropping it on his table. 

   "Tell her I'll come by after. I've got to get the rest of my tux and make sure she's alright with me taking her car, otherwise I'm kind of stuck out here." Not that it would be a terrible thing to be stuck with her. He'd much rather be with her than Lissy at this moment, and all the moments going forward. 

  Mason runs back to the table, hopping up into Ari's lap. "I got the chocolate chip waffle with strawberries and whip cream!"

  "Sounds like you'll be on your way to a belly ache, kid," he tells his son, setting his chin on top of his head as he makes pleading eyes with Shauna.  "Did you have a fun night with Aunt Shauna?"

  "Sure did! Except she's not as fun as Aunt Holland."

  Ari laughs, glancing at his sister. "Why do you say that?"

  He leans in closer to Ari, whispering quietly while looking over his shoulder for his mom. "Aunt Shauna made me go to bed right at eight o'clock. Aunt Holland let me stay up til eight thirty."

  "What can I say, I like to follow the rules," she tells them, giving the top of her brother's head a quick kiss. "I'm gonna get this weird breakfast burrito chili concoction over to Holland before she's force fed that nasty fake bacon and powdered eggs."

  "Is she going to be released soon?" Lissy asks, taking her place in the seat Shauna was occupying earlier. 

  "Only when the baby gets here. So, at least another nine weeks or longer," Ari answers, although Shauna was ready to do it for him. "I'm gonna make sure she's not too bored though."

  "We can all take turns keeping her company," Lissy offers with a sweet smile. 

  "And on that note, I'm gonna go." Shauna slaps her brother's shoulder before grabbing up her coffee cup. "You guys have fun."

  

*Unedited