Lia
I stayed with Blake in the hospital for the whole three days. Well, almost the whole three days. On my second night there, Ryan came by and literally fireman-carried me to his car before he drove me back to Joe's house, saying I have to get some real rest instead of a nap on a sofa.
He's still groaning in pain with every move he makes because of that. As he carried me on his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, I kept hitting his back, so now it's all bruised up.
He shouldn't have taken me away from my Cakey. Serves him right.
"Oh, good morning sweetie." Alan greets cheerfully from his seat at the table as he reads some newspaper.
"Morning." I greet back groggily, still half-asleep. Last night was rough, to say the least. I kept waking up to check up on my Cakey. He left the hospital yesterday and without a heart-rate monitor I couldn't really know if there's anything wrong with him. So I woke up every hour and checked his breathing and pulse. Due to his medications, he remained asleep the whole time, for which I was glad. He needs the rest to recover.
"Are you alright? You look quite pale..." Ethan asks worriedly as I sit at the table beside Aiden.
"Yeah. I'm fine. Just sleepy." I mumble tiredly, putting some pancakes and strawberries on my plate. The whole table is filled with a variety of foods, but I have a taste for something sweet today.
"How's Blake doing?" Mama questions curiously.
"He seems fine. I'll go wake him up later and get him breakfast."
"That's good to hear. I know you've been worried about him." Mama smiles warmly at me.
"Of course I have." I smile back.
"Young love. So adorable." Tatiana sighs dreamily, making everyone chuckle. "You're the only reliable child here. Those boys don't even think about getting in relationship. We want great-grandbabies!" She complains, glaring at the guys. I almost burst out laughing at their faces.
"Don't count on me. – I raise my hands defensively – I'm not popping kids anytime soon."
"Of course you're not. – dad deadpans – It's bad enough that you want to get married so soon. I'm not ready to be a grandpa." He tells me seriously.
"And I'm not ready to be a mother."
"Heard that boys? – Tatiana chimes in – You better find some nice ladies, cause I want to see babies in this house before I kick the bucket." She points her finger at them threateningly.
"And once you find the girls, I'm going to test them." I smile sweetly, batting my lashes at them innocently. Revenge for harassing my Cakey.
"Oh god, we're screwed." Aiden bemoans dramatically, getting a shove from me.
"You shouldn't have harassed my man then." I smirk smugly. "You tried to intimidate my Cakey, so it's only right I do the same to your girlfriends."
"Oh boy." Ryan gulps nervously when he the look on my face.
"You boys are in big trouble. – Mom laughs – Lia won't give it up, you know." She winks at me. She knows me so well.
I ignore the guys chattering as I finish up my breakfast then get a tray from the kitchen and fill up a plate for Blake. I get him some sausages, bacon, scrambled eggs and toasts, since I know my Cakey likes it, then get a glass of apple juice and take the tray upstairs to our room.
Opening the door with my elbow, I walk inside and set the tray on the dresser before walking over to the bed, where my sweet Cakey is still sleeping. He's lying on his stomach with his arm hugging my pillow, wearing nothing but a pair of sweatpants. I couldn't convince him to put on a shirt last night.
I sit next to him on the bed and gently trail my fingers over his back, tracing the tattoo he got in LA. The same tattoo as mine. "Wake up, baby. – I cajole softly – I have breakfast for you." I stroke his hair gently, pressing a small kiss to his head. "Cakey... Open those sweet eyes for me, baby."
I try to wake my Cakey up for a while, having gone as far as getting on the bed and straddling his legs as I peppered his whole back with kisses. My sweet man wakes up with a quiet groan as I rub his sides softly and sleepily glances at me over his shoulder.
"Hey kitten." He smiles.
"Hey yourself. – I smile back, bending down to kiss his neck – I got you breakfast but it's probably cold by now." I chuckle amusedly.
"Thanks baby." He grins before slowly getting up. I scramble off his back and help him sit up against the headboard then get the tray and hand it to him. I get on the bed and sit beside my Cakey and snuggle into him as he eats his food.
Over the last few days, I've barely left my Cakey alone. I stay with him, glued to his side at all times, apart from when he uses the bathroom. We shower together, though. I sure as hell am not leaving him by himself.
"You got me a lot, kitten, I don't know if I can finish it all... - Blake says as he takes a bite of bacon – You want my sausage?" He smirks. This cheeky minx!
I glare at him. "You're not getting any until you've fully recovered, mister."
"What? Why do you punish me like that?" He whines, pouting adorably.
"I'm not punishing you! I only care about your health." I rebuke sternly.
"Oh yeah, cause me being celibate will definitely help my health." He grumbles sulkily, biting onto his toast angrily. I barely stop myself from laughing at how cute he's being. Cakey is adorable when he sulks.
"You can't get your blood pressure too high with your injury, so yes, it will help you."
"Doubt it." He mumbles.
"You're so cute!" I gush, cupping his face and pressing a kiss to his angry pout.
"And you're mean." He mutters against my lips.
I wait for him to finish his breakfast then give him his meds and once he's taken his pill, I pick up his tray and put it back on the dresser before getting back in bed with him. As soon as I lie down next to my Cakey, he pulls me onto his chest, and puts his arms around me, caging me against his body under the blanket.
"Go to sleep, kitten. I know you've been waking up all night to check up on me." He kisses my head then puts his hand on the nape of my neck, rubbing it softly with his thumb.
"I thought you were asleep..."
"I was. But I know you, kitten." He murmurs into my hair, stroking my back and neck soothingly. Damn him, he knows that it always puts me to sleep. The longer he does this, the heavier my eyelids get and soon I'm deep in the dreamland.
Blake
I watch quietly as my kitten slowly falls asleep, just keeping her on top of me and stroking her back and neck. It's the sure way to lull her to sleep.
It doesn't take a genius to know that my sweet kitten would wake up frequently throughout the night and check up on me. She's been extremely worried about me the whole time I stayed in the hospital and even though the doctor said I'm recovering remarkably well, she still didn't leave me alone even for a moment.
Not that I mind.
I love having my kitten with me. At all times.
As I lie on the bed with my girl on my chest, snuggled into me like a cute baby koala, a sudden knock resounds through the room.
Covering my kitten's ears, I quietly call out for the person to come in, only to be greeted by the sight of Silas, Nolan and Ryder. They look questioningly at Lia's position but don't say anything.
"Grandpa Joe sent us to get you two, but I guess it's a bad moment..." Ryder says with a knowing smirk.
"What does he want?" I ask quietly to not wake up my girl.
"Don't know. – Silas shrugs, leaning against the wall – He's with Alan, Lia's dad and your parents right now, going over some family albums..."
"Hmm..."
"If you want, we can tell him that Lia's unavailable, too busy cuddling with you." Ryder laughs loudly. I shush him harshly.
"Shut up. She's asleep!" I admonish.
"Oh, sorry."
"What's going on?" Lia grumbles as she sits up on my stomach. She glances sleepily at the guys, blinking slowly, then groggily gets off me and sits cross-legged beside me. I sit up against the headboard and watch amused as she rubs her eyes tiredly then glares at the guys. "Why are you here?"
"Grandpa Joe wanted to see you." Silas responds.
"Why?"
"How am I supposed to know? – he shrugs – We're just the messengers."
I can't help but chuckle when my kitten grumbles something incoherent then pulls the blanket over her head and lies down next to me, completely burying herself under the covers. "Go away."
The guys seem to be barely stopping themselves from laughing at the sight in front of them and it's quite amusing to watch. I gently uncover Lia's head from beneath the duvet. "Get some sleep, baby. I'll go see what they want." I tell her quietly, giving her a kiss.
"Love you." She murmurs sleepily and I smile at her adoringly. Sleepy kitten is adorable kitten.
"Love you too." I give her a kiss then get off the bed. I quickly put on a shirt and go downstairs with the guys, leaving my kitten to sleep peacefully.
"Oh, hi Blake! – Joe and Tatiana greet simultaneously when we enter the living room – How are you doing, son?" Joe asks worriedly.
"I'm fine, thank you. You wanted to see me and Lia?"
"Yeah, I got a hold of some albums, thought it would be nice to go over them together. Where's our little girl, though?"
"She's asleep." I tell him offhandedly, sitting beside my dad on the couch.
"You should've seen how she hid under the blankets. – Ryder laughs – Like a baby."
"Don't let her hear you say that, Ryder." I chuckle. My kitten would beat him if she heard him call her a baby.
We all sit in the living room and go through family pictures for hours before my kitten joins us. She walks up to us in just her tank top and shorts, not even caring that she's putting almost her whole back on display. The lashes on her back are healing nicely, even though she ripped her stitches few days ago, and she's been much more open with her family. She no longer wears long sleeves around the house, since she knows they're all aware of the wounds she got.
"Aww, did you have a good nap, baby?" Tatiana coos.
"Yeah." My girl mumbles. She's not exactly talkative when she wakes up. Lia comes up to me and sits on my lap. There's not really any space to sit at, so I definitely don't mind having her with me. And everyone's already used to us cuddling all the time. At least they should be by now.
With Alan sitting right beside me, he shows Lia various pictures from the album. I'm genuinely surprised when he shows us a picture of Lia's grandmother from many years ago. Lia looks just like Susan when she was young! Alan goes on to explain how Susan's mother was never in the picture and whatnot, but he still has a picture of her and, once more, I'm blown off by how similar that woman and my kitten are.
Women in this family have some damn strong genes, I have to say. They all look exactly the same at some point. Thalia, Lia's great-grandmother, Susan, Lia's grandmother, and even Anna...
I notice one strange thing in one of the pictures, so I decide to ask Alan about it. "Who's this?" I point to the grey-haired baby in Susan's arms. The photo was taken in a hospital and is dated to 1974, but it's not Anna, cause she's in Alan's arms.
"That's... Thea." Alan croaks brokenly and I actually start feeling bad for bringing this up. "Our daughter. She and Anna were twins, but Thea died soon after being born. She would've been forty-five this year. – he glances at Lia tearfully – With your hair like this, you remind me of her. She also had beautiful ash-colored hair."
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought this up."
"It's fine. It just hurts to think of my baby. She was my joy, even if it was only for a few months."
"How did she die, if you don't mind me asking?" Lia pries softly.
"Thea got very sick soon after being born and she had to stay in the hospital. We took Annalise home, but I would still go to see Thea all the time. Few months after my little babies were born there was a huge fire at the hospital. No one survived. Over a hundred people died that day, including my daughter." Alan cries, staring at the picture with so much love and sadness that it tugs at my heartstrings. I can't imagine the pain of losing your child.
"I'm so sorry, grandpa." Lia puts her hand on Alan's shoulder gently, getting a teary smile from him.
"You just remind me of her so much, baby girl. When Aiden showed me your picture, I couldn't get over how much you look like Thea. Or rather, how much you would look like her had she been still alive. I already lost my baby once and I don't want to lose you too, Lia."
"You won't, grandpa. I promise you that."