Forever and Always

Pre-Christmas Surprise

The last race was all the way back on the first day of November. It was now a week from Christmas. Emi and Charles had spent the last one and a half months in a happy bliss, mostly staying in Monaco. After all, they had spent half the year travelling, so there was no better place than home. Every so often, they'd go off on a little adventure, like how they went to Costa Rica with Carlos, Lando, Max and Pierre for a week at the beginning of the winter holidays, or they spent five days in the Amalfi Coast in Italy by themselves.

It was a cold, raining day in Monaco and Emi and Charles were at home. Charles sat on the couch with the tv paused waiting for Emi to come back. It was raining outside, the perfect atmosphere for a peaceful movie day at home.

Charles put his phone down when he saw the door of the bedroom open and Emi stepped out slowly. She seemed off. Charles looked at her more closely and saw the slightly anxious expression on her face.

Before be could speak, Emi said something.
"Charles, I'm pregnant."

He sat frozen to the spot. He looked at her with wide eyes and a surprised expression. But after a moment, the shock melted away and was replaced by happiness.

"You are?" he asked softly, and he found that his voice shook just the tiniest bit. He reached for her, grabbing her hands and pulling her down on the couch right in front of him.

Emi nodded, her lips pursed and her eyes darting between his two eyes. She almost looked scared. Charles didn't think before pulling her forward and resting his chin on her shoulder. He felt tears in his eyes. He reached up and wiped them away before pulling back and grabbing hold of her hands again.

"How far are you?" Charles whispered.

"I don't know. Like, almost three months or something. 12 weeks, something like that," she said, her voice soft. "You're not, like-"

"Mon amour. I'm so, so happy," he told her, a wide smile on his face as he pulled her forward again and hugged her. When he pulled away, he kissed her. "Emi, I can't wait. We're gonna have a baby! A little you or a little me," he whispered, his eyes glassing over with happy tears.

Emi laughed, tears in her eyes too. Charles reached up and swiped the tears away with his thumb.
"Don't cry, mon amour," he said.

"No, I'm happy, Cha. Just a little scared after the last time," she whispered, giving him a trying smile. He frowned.

"Mon amour. He's not coming back. He's never gonna hurt you or our babies again. It just me, you and our little one," Charles replied, placing his hands on either side of her lower stomach. He hadn't noticed before, but he could feel just the tiniest bump on her stomach.

Emi smiled at him, putting her hands over his, and they sat in silence for a moment. One perfect moment. Charles would remember this moment forever, he just knew.

He could already see their future ahead. Maybe even just a year or two ahead. They'd have a little baby running around, the apartment would have baby things spread throughout it and the room Emilia once called hers would be a nursery. They'd be the most perfect little family. They'd be planning for more babies, if not maybe even pregnant. If not, that was fine. Maybe some day, Charles thought, they could have a big house on the hills just behind Monaco, with a big porch him and Emi could sit on and a lot of land that they could watch their kids play in. It would be just like when him and Emi had been kids and she stayed at his house. Maybe they could even find his old family home and buy it, who knows. But for now, he was content, in their apartment overlooking the whole city with his perfect girlfriend, pregnant with their first little baby.

"I wish we could tell our parents. And Lea and Bianca and Jules. I'm sure they'd be so happy," Emi said.

"Same, mon amour. I think that's the only problem now - the only thing that isn't perfect," Charles replied, squeezing her hands.

"As long as we have each other, then it's perfect, Cha. If we can't tell them, at least they can see from wherever they are up there," Emilia concluded, squeezing his hands back. Charles nodded, smiling and then kissed her. He couldn't wait for their future together.