Rosie
I jumped out of bed and threw on the first clothes I could find, not caring what I looked like as I rushed to get out the door.
Josh was being released from hospital this morning and I couldn't wait to see him.
Mom greeted me in the kitchen, and I took a buttered slice of toast from the plate she was offering, kissing her on the cheek as I slipped my shoes on with my spare hand.
Dad sat quietly at the kitchen table, sipping his coffee. He was watching me but wouldn't meet my eyes.
I sighed as I glanced at him, my mom rubbing my arm sympathetically.
"Text me if you need anything." Mom said, turning back to the dishes in the sink.
"Will do." I said, checking the time on my phone before slipping it back into my pocket.
I glanced at my Dad one last time before turning around and heading for the front door. I closed the door behind me and skipped down the steps, heading straight to Josh's house.
I could see Claire's car in the distance, slowly coming up the road on it's way home.
I grinned and waved at the car, jogging to their driveway.
The car turned and slowly drove into the driveway before coming to a stop and it's lights turned off.
Claire stepped out and went to the boot of the car, opening it up above her head and pulling a set of crutches from the space.
One of the back doors opened and Sasha jumped out, eagerly rushing to see me. I picked her up and carried her with me to the car where Claire had now opened the other backdoor of the car and was helping Josh out of his seat.
She handed him the crutches and he scrunched his face is pain as he gripped onto them to hold his weight.
He looked up and smiled at me, noticing that I was there as Claire said hello to me and took Sasha from my arms, heading to open her front door.
Josh flicked his neck to get the hair out of his face and turned to walk towards the house. I smiled and kissed his cheek, then walked slowly by his side, watching carefully to make sure he was okay.
I could sense he was frustrated with his lack of mobility but it was important for his recovery that he took things slow and used the crutches.
We all stepped inside the house and Claire instructed Josh to sit on the sofa. Josh sat down slowly, grimacing at the pain in his side as he did so. He leant back into the seat and closed his eyes, resting his head against the back.
He was still so weak and tired, and it had been a hard few days for him since finding out about Zack.
I sat beside him and reached my hand out, running my fingers through his hair. He sighed contentedly and leant into me, laying his head on my shoulder.
I kissed his forehead and continued rubbing my fingers against his head soothingly. Sasha sat on the floor by our feet and started playing with her dolls on the carpet.
"Are you glad to be home?" I asked him, quietly.
He nodded his head, his arms snaking around my waist and pulling me in closer to him. "I'll be happier when I get my hands on you later." He whispered, his lips brushing my ear softly.
It sent a shiver down my spine and I giggled, swatting his arm gently to behave.
"Coffee anyone?" Claire shouted from the kitchen.
"Yes please!" I responded, while Josh shook his head no.
She joined us shortly in the sitting area and handed me a warm mug of coffee, taking a seat on the single recliner nearby.
Using the remote she switched the tv on to a random channel with the volume low and turned to face us. She looked at Josh sympathetically, sipping at her coffee.
Her eyes noticed the ring on my finger glimmer as the light caught it.
"That's a lovely ring," she pointed out, reaching her hand out to hold mine in place and admire it. "Where did you get that?" she asked.
Josh opened his eyes and sat up a bit, as I looked at him nervously. I didn't know if he wanted to tell her yet.
Claire's glaze glanced from my face to Josh's and she asked curiously. "What is it?"
"It was from me." Josh said simply, his arm tightening around my waist.
"Was it?" Claire asked, her face bemused, "That's a nice gift."
I laughed nervously, nodding my head. "Yeah.." I said quietly.
"It wasn't just a gift." Josh said.
I glanced nervously from the ring to Claire's face as she considered what he said.
"No?" she asked, "What was it then?"
I smiled down at the ring on my finger, a thin band of rose gold with a beautiful pink oval diamond in the centre, surrounded by white diamonds that embellished the band as well.
"I almost died, Mom." Josh said, bluntly. "If that didn't put things into perspective for me, I don't know what would have."
It suddenly clicked in her head and Claire's face broke out in an enormous smile, she knew exactly what he was implying, and her arms shot up into the air in celebration.
"YOU DIDN'T!?" She exclaimed excitedly, bringing her arms back down to place both hands on her face. "I DON'T BELIEVE IT!" She laughed.
Her eyes filled with tears as she leapt from her own sofa to ours and pulled us both into a hug.
Sasha remained on the floor, watching us with a confused look on her face.
"What is it?" she demanded, feeling left out.
"It's wonderful news, Sasha!" Claire shouted to her daughter, "Rosie and Josh are getting married!"
Sasha stood abruptly to her feet, arms by her side as she shook her fists in excitement. She looked like she was about to poop.
Her face burst into the biggest smile I've ever seen, and she screamed a shrill scream at the top of her lungs.
"SISTERSSSS!" She shrieked.
We all laughed as she ran around in circles on the spot, pumping her fists in the air one after the other.
"Your family must be so happy?" Claire said, grinning from ear to ear.
I looked down at the floor nervously as I shrugged.
"I haven't got around to telling them yet." I said.
"Rosie's Dad isn't speaking to her." Josh said, resting his chin on my shoulder as he spoke to his Mom.
"Why ever not?" Claire said in surprise.
"Em.." I paused, nervously.
Josh squeezed my hand and nodded at me, smiling at me lovingly. He was so happy about it, and he didn't hesitate in telling her about our engagement. He obviously had no issue in me telling her about our other news.
"We um... I'm pregnant." I breathed. I was still having a hard time saying it out loud, and it came out as barely above a whisper.
Claire gasped and abruptly sat down next to me on the sofa, taking my hand again firmly.
"Rosie." She breathed. "Josh."
She looked at us both seriously.
"Do you both understand what a big responsibility this is?"
Josh said upright to face his mother, nodding his head. I nodded my head in agreement as well.
"Yes." We both said in unison.
"This is a huge change to your lives, you'll both have to make sacrifices beyond your imaginations. It's not a decision to be taken lightly." She told us.
She looked between both of our faces, studying them to see how serious we were. Her eyes suddenly welled up with tears and she brought her hand up to her mouth, a quiet sob escaping her lips.
Josh reached out his hand to her and she took his in both hands.
"Josh," She whispered. "Your father would be so proud of you. Do you know that?"
She wiped a tear from her face.
"You've been through a lot, and I know you've had a difficult time in life." She told him. "But you've really turned it around. You've been such a rock to my since your father died, you've been the best big brother to Sasha I ever could have dreamed, and you've met a truly wonderful girl to spend your life with."
He smiled back at her with tears in his eyes.
"I love you, Josh." She told him seriously. "And you Rosie, I love you. Welcome to our family."
She pulled us both into a hug again.
"Right." She said firmly, pulling back and looking me straight in the eyes. "Your father. He's not happy about this?"
I shook my head. "He hasn't said a word to me since he found out, when Josh was hurt."
Josh nodded in agreement.
"My mom has been more accepting. She's disappointed, but she says she will support us." I explained.
Claire nodded and stood to her feet, shaking herself off as she headed into the kitchen. We watched after her in confusion and curiosity, until she picked the phone off the hook and dialled a number.
Within seconds she had invited both of my parents over for coffee, straight away, to discuss the recent events.
My stomach twisted in knots with anxiety and I squeezed Josh's hand nervously.
He nuzzled the side of my face with his nose and spoke quietly so that only I could hear him. "Don't worry baby. It'll be okay."
I sighed and turned so that our noses were pressed together, and he smirked, leaning forward so that our lips touched.
For a second I forgot my troubles and allowed myself to enjoy his kiss, the feeling of his soft lips moving over mine. I had missed this so much, and I had been so afraid that I would never feel this again when he was hurt.
His fingers found their way into my hair as he deepened the kiss.
"If you're going to have any luck at convincing Aiden to accept this, you'd better get your hands off his daughter." Claire mused from nearby.
Josh grinned against my lips and pulled away slowly, his eyes twinkling into mine lovingly.
It wasn't long before all of us were sat around Claire's kitchen table, the atmosphere tense with emotion. Abandoned coffee mugs sat in front of each person, the beverages going cold with lack of attention.
Everyone's gases where anywhere but on each other's as we all suddenly found the walls, floor, ceiling or fridge magnets to be the most interesting things in the world.
"Okay," Claire breathed, taking the plunge and breaking the silence. "We all obviously have different feelings about what's happened between these two."
She gestured to Josh and I.
"So, I've invited you all here to create a safe space for a discussion, so we can all get our feelings out, listen to each other, and start to move on."
My Mom nodded her head, "I agree." She said, "Thank you for having us."
Chat broke out between the Mom's, occasionally stopping to direct a question to Josh.
I sighed and glanced to my dad, only to be met with his gaze melting into mine. He looked so sad, so hurt.
He nodded his head towards the other room, gesturing for me to follow him. His expression had softened much from how he had been looking at me all week, and I nodded slowly, glancing back to the group who had not yet noticed our exchange.
We both stood up from our seats at opposite sides of the table and slipped away into the other room.
I stood awkwardly in front of my father, staring up at him nervously.
I loved my Dad more than anything. We had always been so close growing up; we did everything together and I never kept anything from him. I was a Daddies girl through and through and at heart, I always would be.
His approval meant more to me than he would ever know and feeling so distant from him lately was ripping my heart into pieces. I knew that my entire relationship with Josh was difficult for him, it came suddenly, and Josh wasn't the type of boy he'd ever expected me to be with.
A lot had changed this year.
But I wanted my child to grow up like I had, surrounded by love, family and friends. I wanted my little girl or boy to grow up close to their dad, Josh, like I had grown up close to mine. And I wanted my Dad, their Grandfather, to be a really big part of their lives too.
I gripped my elbow in my other hand and stood with my weight on one side, watching the floor awkwardly awaiting what he had to say.
When no words came, I curiously raised my head to look at him. He was standing close by me, but he wasn't looking at me anymore. His gaze was focused out the window, thoughtfully.
I stepped forward and closed the distance between us, burying my face into his chest and wrapping my arms around his torso. Even as he was getting older my Dad was still very strong and muscular, my arms barely made it around his waist.
My lungs filled with the familiar scent of his aftershave, a smell I had grown to love and find comfort in growing up, and recognised as my Dad's smell.
For a minute I forgot about everything. I forgot about where we were, what we were fighting about, and all the difficult things that had happened recently.
For just one minute, I was just a little girl again, in the safe arms of her Father were nothing could harm her.
He instinctively wrapped his large arms around my tiny frame and leant down to press his lips to my forehead. I squeezed him a little tighter and he did the same.
And we stayed just like that, we didn't move an inch. I don't know how long had passed, but eventually I felt my Mom behind me, joining our hug.
She leant up to kiss her husband on the lips and then pressed hers against my forehead herself.
I smiled into the embrace and held onto them both tightly.
I glanced up and saw Claire and Josh across from us, smiling lovingly. Claire's arm was around Josh and he was using one crutch to hold himself up. Claire smiled up at him and leant up on her toes to kiss his cheek.
He rolled his eyes and wiped her lipstick away, but his face broke out in a smile.
And there we stood, as two families becoming one, with our futures ahead of us, and nothing but love between us.