It was a few days after Christmas when the whole Ramos family was still gathering in London at the residence of Laura and Olivier. What a wonderful time it was for the family to have a Christmas in England. It was a little bit different, but still very enjoyable. Of course, for Paqui Ramos, being in England meant another thing besides seeing her youngest child. She had the opportunity to go see another one of her children. Not necessarily a child she gave birth to, but one she adopted. All it was going to take was a 2 hour train ride up north.
"Thank you for taking the boys with you today, Paqui." Pilar thanked her mother-in-law as she finished packed a bag and a pram for Alejandro. Paqui tried not to smirk or laugh to herself as she tricked her daughter-in-law to taking the three young boys all the way up to Manchester. It gave the parents, plus the aunts and uncles, a day off from taking care of the boys, while the grandparents watched over them. Paqui felt so proud of herself for doing this, but she thought her grandsons should be able to visit with their aunt after not seeing her for a year and a half.
"Oh honey, you just relax today. Jose and I will take care of them just fine." Paqui told Pilar as Alejandro was put in the pram. It was funny that Pilar was not even one bit skeptical of what her mother-in-law was doing, so it made the plan even greater. All she could do was smile to herself as Pilar kissed and hugged her sons goodbye and told them to be good for their grandparents. Jose then took Marco and Sergio Jr. to say goodbye to their father, and Paqui was right behind them with the pram with Alejandro.
"Where are you two going?" Sergio asked as he approached his parents who were about to leave Laura's place. A small smirk appeared on his mother's face as they stopped. "We're taking a day trip with the boys, so all of you can have a break from taking care of them." she explained casually. The words were so calm, but Sergio saw the look on his mother's face and had every reason to be skeptical. She was scheming something now. "And where would that be to?" he then questioned. Immediately, his father shook his head. "Out. Don't worry, the boys will love what they're doing. I'm sure they'll want to tell you all about it when we get back."
It was before Sergio could ask any questions that two of his boys were saying goodbye to him and promised to be good. He was happy that his boys seemed really excited, but he knew his mother had some tricks up her sleeve. "Tell me, mama." he whispered as he hugged his mother. "You'll know later." she told him before waving to him and walking out with his father.
Obviously, Sergio was frustrated and let out a sigh as the door closed behind his parents and three children. What made matters worse was that when he turned around, Laura was staring right at him with her typical smirk on her face. "What do you know?" he asked with sass as she started to laugh. "Exactly what you want to know." she told him as she walked right past him. Obviously irritated, Sergio followed his younger sister and scoffed. "Laura Ramos, I want to know!" he whined as she turned around and rolled her eyes at him.
"You'll know later. Madre wasn't gonna let you stop her from what she was doing. Just relax." she told him before going into her kitchen. Of course, Sergio was persistent and wouldn't give up. "What would I stop her from doing in London that's great for the kids?" he asked as Laura started making breakfast. Shrugging, Laura only smiled and laughed a little. "Think outside of the box. The box is London." she explained. Outside of London? Sergio had to think for a moment, before it hit him like a bus. His jaw dropped as the smirk grew on his sister's face.
No fucking way.
"That woman is slick." he muttered under his breath while Laura nodded proudly. "And I'm glad she's doing it too." Laura added as it only made Sergio more annoyed at his mother for not telling him. He didn't have a problem with it, but he knew Pilar would if she found out. The least his mother could have done was tell him, and it was something that could have been kept from Pilar. "I don't have a problem with them taking the boys to see her. Jr. and Marco ask me all of the time, 'Papi, where is Tia? Why isn't Tia at the games anymore?' and I always have to make some bullshit up."
The truth was, Sarah was really good with Sergio's kids, and that was another thing he missed about her. If him and Pilar ever needed a night out, she was the first one to take care of that. Of course, that stopped once Alejandro was born as the problems were escalating at that point, but the boys loved her a lot. "Yeah, well once my child is born, Sarah can see the little one as much as she wants." Laura then threw a bit of shade. It made Sergio blush as the smirk grew on her face. That was something that made him guilty. He didn't have a problem with any of this, but there was one small problem he had.
"Is it just Sarah they're visiting?" he asked. Of course, Laura had to roll her eyes at that comment and let out an annoyed sigh. "No, and stop being so insecure about it. They want to meet the man that has given Sarah everything in 4 months that you failed to give in 8 years." she explained to him. Ouch. Sergio almost held his hand to his chest as Laura shrugged at him like she didn't know what else to tell him. The truth was, he was so insecure about it, because he knew he wanted Sarah in his life, but he had so much to prove now, and plus, he knew Harry couldn't stand him.
"I just want her in my life again." he admitted to his sister. Immediately, Laura shook her head. She had to give it to him straight as he tried to have this conversation with her many times. "You may be better with her, but right now, she's better without you. You can try one day to repair the damaged friendship, but you either have to get rid of Pilar, which I know won't happen, or have Pilar realize that all of the shit she did to Sarah was wrong. Just because Sarah is happy doesn't mean she will forgive you easily. There's a reason why Harry is so protective of her and doesn't even want her traveling to Madrid for your Champions League tie."
Harry really hated him that much.
Sergio then had to think about it for a moment and sighed. He had a few things he needed to do. He needed to talk to his wife first. He just needed to do it before City even got to Madrid. He needed to avoid Sarah for the first tie, and even worse, he couldn't be seen by John Stones. The worst part of his plan he came up with is that he needed to talk to Harry. That would be the most challenging part, but he figured it would be really hard to get directly at Sarah at first and John was already out for his head, so Harry was the best option. Once that was taken care of, Sarah was the last step. Of course, it would take long to rebuild, but it would happen someway and somehow.
He only hoped that today would go well for his boys today.
___
It was a couple of hours later that Sarah was in her flat feeling as nervous as ever. It was the first time that she would be seeing Paqui and Jose in person since the wedding, and things were so much different than back then. She knew their relationship wasn't strained, but it was still nerve-wracking after so long, especially with what had happened between Sergio and Harry not too long ago.
It almost made Sarah jump as the knock came upon her door later in the morning. It made her shake, but she made herself take a deep breath. Slowly, she opened the door and revealed not only Paqui and Jose, but three sweet little surprises that made her smile grow. "TIA!" Marco and Junior immediately screamed happily as they ran into her home. Sarah immediately kneeled down and opened her arms for the two little boys and hugged them as they practically jumped into her arms.
"Hello, little angels! Tia missed you a lot!" she greeted them as the two boys giggled. The older two of Sergio's boys had huge smiles on their faces as they jumped right up and down in front of them. "Tia, when are you gonna come to one of Papi's games?" Junior asked. "Really soon. In February, my brother is gonna play against him." she explained with a smile. "Your brother?" Marco asked with plenty of surprise. He was too young to remember, but Sarah was happy to surprise. "Yes, he plays football like your Papi. He does the same thing." she explained.
Immediately, the two boys had to tell their grandparents about John. That moment gave Sarah a chance to stand up and give her adoptive parents each a hug. "Hola, mija. You look great." Jose greeted her as the two of them hugged. "As do you, Padre." she told him before greeting Paqui. "Mija, oh my god, I'm so happy to see you!" she immediately pulled Sarah into a bone-crushing hug that had Sarah laughed. "Madre, you're squeezing me too much."
Paqui then stepped back and blushed a little bit as she kept that huge grin on her face. "I'm sorry, mija. I've just missed you so much. You look so beautiful, and you have that sparkle in your eyes like you did years ago." she gushed. Sarah then smiled and gestured for the family to come into her home. "I'm very happy you came to visit, and you brought 3 rays of sunshine too." she told them as she let the grandparents to the three boys get settled. She didn't think she would be this happy to see them, but it felt great to be reunited with them.
Sarah then went to make Paqui and Jose some tea just so they could relax a little bit. Of course, Marco and Sergio Jr. followed their aunt around with huge grins on their face. "Is Papi gonna play at your stadium, Tia?" Junior asked as Sarah brought over the tea to the two other adults in the room. "Yes, he will. He's played there before too." she told the boys as their grandparents thanked her with a smile. "With your brother?" Marco asked cutely. Laughing, Sarah shook her head. "No, he didn't play in that game."
It was cute that they were so curious about John, but Sarah knew how trying to take the boys to see John would be like. John would have a fit that Sarah was doing this in the first place, because the whole ordeal still made him explosive. However, it would be a bit of different situation with Harry. He'd be really good with the boys, since he had a nephew that was in between Marco and Alejandro, so she didn't have as many worries about how this would all go down.
"Alejandro barely got any time with you, and he already looks like he's seen you normally." Paqui pointed out as Sarah had the youngest one in her arms. Smiling, Sarah kissed the little one's cheek. "I think him and the other boys will be the same way with Harry." she casually pointed out as Ale was giving her cute looks. Of course the mention of Sarah's boyfriend made Paqui light up immediately and stand up. "We're wasting time. I need to meet this young man." she stated as she took Alejandro and put him back in the pram.
Laughing, Sarah got her shoes and coat on, before helping Jose with the other two boys. "Tia, where are we going?" Junior asked her. Smiling, Sarah took his hand and led the group out of her home. "We're gonna go see someone really cool. He plays football too, but for Manchester United." she explained sweetly. She led them all down to the nearest Metrolink stop and got on, since she didn't have any carseats in her car. It was the easiest way to get around the city.
"So this is a really nice way to see the city. I know it would have been easier to drive there, but I'm not a mum so I have nothing to transport little ones with." she explained as the boys were at awe while looking at the city around them. Paqui smiled at her adopted daughter and nodded slowly. As always, Paqui was able to detect the pain of that in Sarah's voice. She knew that she wanted children, and Sarah was wonderful with kids. It was a shame that Sarah still wasn't settled down with at least one little one yet, but Paqui had a feeling that was all going to come soon.
"Soon you'll have that." she told Sarah as they got to the stop they needed to get off at. Blushing a little, Sarah smiled at the older woman and took Sergio Jr.'s hand as they started walking towards the neighborhood where Harry lived. The little ones kept asking Sarah questions about the man they were going to meet, and it made Sarah smile more. It was sad that they were unknowingly in a situation where they could fall in love with Harry and call him "Tio" but never could see him because of the bad blood, but maybe that could possibly change one day.
That was not the first thought in Sarah's head when they arrived at the home of her significant other. "Could you wait outside with the boys for a moment? I need to let him about the boys." she asked the couple with her. Of course, Paqui and Jose nodded and gestured for her to go on. Smiling, Sarah thanked them and made her way into her boyfriend's house. "Jacob Harry." she called out happily as she made her way.
Immediately, Harry came right down with a smile on his face and greeted his girlfriend with a kiss. "Hi, beautiful," he greeted her before looking around, "where are the adoptive parents?" Blushing a little, Sarah pointed outside. "I needed to address something before I bring them in. They brought a surprise with them, and that surprise is all three of Sergio's boys." she explained a little nervously as she didn't know how he would take it. Raising his eyebrows, Harry nodded and had an unreadable expression his face. "Do his children understand the underlying issues?" he asked.
Shaking her head, Sarah let out a sigh of relief. "Thank god they're too young to know yet. They're 5 and a half, 4, and almost 2, so all they don't get why I don't show up to their father's games, and all they asked me on the way here was questions about you. Don't worry, they can understand English very well, because thanks so me, I spoke to them in English since the older two were really small. They just would rather answer you in Spanish. They're adorable and sweet though. I love them like they're my own, despite them having some of the worst genes." she explained.
Harry then smiled. This was going to be a piece of cake trying to win these kids over and causing them to constantly ask their father about him. He could tell how much Sarah loved them by the way she spoke, so he knew she was happy about today, but she felt she had to run it by him first. "Thank you for explaining, love. I'll work my magic with them." he told her with a sweet smile.
Smiling, Sarah followed Harry back outside to where Paqui and Jose were waiting with the boys. Harry kept his composure and stood tall. He was nervous as hell, but these were the people that Sarah viewed as her parents now. He knew that he would be welcomed by them, despite all of the bullshit that went down between their son and him. "Hi, I'm Harry. It's a pleasure to meet you both." he greeted the couple nervously.
Jose immediately shook his hand and smiled. "Jose. You don't need to be nervous, by the way." the older man told Harry. Paqui, being as happy as she was, pulled Harry into a hug and caught him completely off guard. "I'm so happy to finally meet you. I've heard so many great things from Sarah and Laura. I'm Paqui, and the little one in the pram is Alejandro since my other two grandchildren are shouting at you already." she told him.
Harry then smiled and nodded before kneeling down to meet Marco and Junior. "Hi you two. Who is Marco and who is Sergio?" he asked them kindly. "Papi is Sergio. I'm Sergio Junior!" Junior told him with a giggle. Sarah laughed at that comment and looked right at Harry, who already was confused. "He's gonna correct you, love. He's the second Sergio." she explained. Junior immediately laughed and hugged his aunt's leg. Harry then smiled and laughed a little, before having everyone come back in the house.
"I don't want everyone to be out in the cold. England winter isn't nice at times." he explained as he showed where to put their stuff down. Sarah let him know that she would a little something prepared while Harry could relax and let him be the one to talk to Paqui and Jose. "You know how long it's been since I saw Sarah that genuinely happy? I can't even remember. What did you do to my girl?" Paqui then asked Harry with a sweet smile as he led them into his living room.
Blushing a little, Harry smiled and had them sit down as they pleased. "Well," he breathed out as he sat down where he could face them, "I fell in love with her, and I'm sure you know this, but when you fall in love with someone, you just want to give them everything they deserve. I don't understand how someone could ever hurt the way that certain people hurt her. It just doesn't add up."
It came from the heart, and that is what made Paqui smile at that answer. Immediately, she knew he had the right intentions. She knew that this would go smoothly. "You know, I never have understood why this all happened either. I love my son a lot, but with what he did, he's no longer worthy for her." she explained. Harry raised his eyebrows at that answer and was almost confused. "I threatened to end his career though." he admitted causing the couple in front of him to laugh. "He's always needed someone to kick his ass. I think that made him open his eyes." Jose explained.
Right at that moment, Sarah came in with the boys and some snacks plus tea. She raised her eyebrows as she set everything down. "Are you already discussing the ugly stuff?" she asked with a bit of amusement as she sat right next to Harry. Nodding, Harry just shrugged and wrapped his arm around her waist. "I think we needed to clear some stuff up right away, if you know what I mean." he told her. She then nodded and laughed a little, before relaxed into his arm.
"Mija, I just love seeing you happy. This is what you've needed." Paqui then told her sweetly as she also kept her eyes on the boys. "I mean, you know he's what I've wanted, but let me stop talking and let him show you why." she told them.
The whole day was relaxed, and it did go the way that they intended it for it to go. Harry seemed to get on really well with Paqui and Jose, despite how nervous he had been for a bit. They showed their genuine appreciation for how he had treated Sarah and what he had done for her. They treated him like he was one of their own too, and as weird as it was at first, Harry became comfortable with it. He loved the boys too. Of course, he had to go out in the backyard and play football with them like he did with his nephew, but he genuinely enjoyed it and was happy to make them smile. He loved doing it with his nephew, so this was nothing different. These little ones made Sarah happy, and Harry loved how good she was with them as well. She was really fit to be a mum.
Later in the day, not long before the Ramos family had to leave, Sarah had gone up to the bathroom. As she came down, she heard something that confirmed that everything she had been through was for a reason and why she was on the best past. Paqui and Jose were then speaking with Harry about Sarah once again. The words then hit Sarah, and she knew she wasn't supposed to hear it.
"I'm gonna marry her one day."
She froze and listened into something she shouldn't have, but the smile came upon her face and a few tears fell from her eyes. She wondered how many times he told that to someone, but either way, her heart felt like it was going to burst from the joy. However, she had to keep her poker face as she went back down to them and began the process of saying goodbye to them. "Keep him. You have the right man." Paqui whispered to her before her and Jose left with the boys.
After they had left, Sarah turned back to Harry with a sweet smile on her face and caught him completely off guard by kissing him passionately. There was nothing that felt sweeter to Harry, but he was almost puzzled after kissing back and letting that carry on for a few moments. "You must be really happy." he pointed out to her as she smiled and relaxed in his arms again. "Every time I spend with you, I am just shown more and more why I made the right decision. I just love you a lot." she told him. Smiling, Harry held her close to him. "Luckily, there's no such thing as too much love, because I love you a lot too." he told her.
And the words she heard earlier just stuck with her.