Liam.
If looks could kill.
"I come in peace," I attempt at a joke, holding Fletcher in front of me as a buffer between myself and Aubri. Her eyes narrow and she all but grabs the baby out of my hands before cradling him to her chest and effectively ignoring me. Fletch, on the other hand, is overjoyed to see his aunt and true to form, is trying to eat her hair.
She fixes my momentary laugh with an icy look, Riley mirroring the same look over her shoulder. "Bribing me with my neph- OW! Fletch, stop," she gets inturrupted mid sentence as she tries to remove her hair from Fletch's vise grip.
My heart warms at her interation with our nephew and i'm excited to see her with our own child... The reason why we're here in the first place.
Aubri manages to get her hair free and passes Fletch over to Riley, who spots Harlee and Harry and makes her way over to them.
I should probably say something.
"You're sleeping on the couch," Aubri says simply, beating me to the punch.
"The couch?" I begin to argue, but it dies as I see how pale and worn out she looks. Grabbing some bread out of the basket that was just placed on the table and dishing out some salad for her, I watch her tentatively stick her fork into the food and take a bite, chewing slowly while looking like she was waiting for something. She pauses for a few moments before attacking her plate and I keep the bread and salad flowing. She eats about three plates of salad and four pieces of bread before pushing the plate away from her and drinking some water.
"Your child wouldn't let me eat," she says quietly, her eyes dropping to her stomach.
"We have to get you a doctor here," I gently press and she nods, the fight seeming to disappear for the moment.
"You're not off the hook that easily, Liam. What possessed you to think that anything you did handling this was right? Why would you even agree to meet up with that girl? She could've killed you. Then what? I would be a single parent with a price on my head because she won't stop. Then you have all the nerve to compare me to her and I can't believe that's what you wou-"
i lean over and kiss her, just glad that she's safe and trying to quiet her as we're getting curious glances from other patrons. She fights the kiss at first, using her hands to push against my chest. Now I can taste the salty tears running down her face mingling with the taste of her lips and I feel horrible for putting her through this.
Paying the bill, I wave at Harry, who looks out of place while Harlee and Riley catch up and gush over Fletcher. Grabbing my wife's hand, I shield her from the intense lighting from the paparazzi camera flashes and we step into a cab. I give the driver instructions and she looks over at me wide eyed as he drives to Brooklyn. Stopping in front of a Brownstone in Brooklyn Heights, I pay the man and lead her inside.
Walking to the second floor, I turn the key in the door and she takes a sharp breath as she looks at our belongings furnishing the place.
"But. How?" She breathes out and I wrap my arms around her body, hands resting on the slight bulge of her stomach.
"After you left, I realized that I don't want you pregnant in a stressful situation. I want you to be happy, I want our marriage to be happy and I was wrong for the way acted. This doesn't cover half of what I said to you but its a start."
She wordlessly nods and buries her face in my neck and I breathe a sigh of relief. We'll be okay.
She goes to shower and get into her pajamas and I make sure to lock our door before going outside and sitting on the step, watching people pass by as a gentle breeze clears my senses. A woman walks by, pushing a stroller and walking a dog and I smile, I've sent for Loki to come and I start imagining our baby playing with the dog while she and I watch. After a bit, I head back inside and find her sprawled on the couch in front of the tv. Scooping her up, I carry her to our bed and cover her up before kicking off my jeans and ridding myself of my sweater and climbing in with her. She sighs in her sleep before snuggling into me.
She sleepily says, "I told you, you're sleeping on the couch." With that, she pulls my side of the sheet and points to the door while wrapping herself up.
Talk about cold.
I laugh and grab my pillow and blankets and make camp on the couch. Sure enough, about 45 minutes later, she's snuggling in next to me. Placing my hand on her stomach, I can feel the tiny flutters of our baby and mentally remind myself that I need to get her a doctor. Sitting up, I scroll my phone contacts until I find the one that i'm looking for. Walking into the hallway to not disturb her, I make an appointment.
I'm going to be a father.