Never To Be Queen
There are very few things in life that have the ability to render Eleanor Henstridge speechless, however, standing here, looking at her twin brother; she is at a loss for words. And she's pretty certain that her mouth may actually be hanging open.
"I'm sorry, what did you say, I don't believe that I heard you correctly"?" Eleanor asks Liam, slowly coming out of her own thoughts and back to Earth.
"I said…" Liam begins before once again being interrupted by his sister.
"No, I heard what you said, I just can't believe it, I thought perhaps I had imagined it", Eleanor tells him, seeking out clarification.
"It's true, Kathryn is in fact pregnant, she and I are having a baby", he admits.
"Holy shit!" Eleanor begins screaming, running around the room, both of her arms and her hair flailing about.
"Len!" "Len!" "Please be quiet before someone else hears you!" Liam pleads with his sister.
Just as quickly as she began to move around Eleanor abruptly comes to a complete halt, once again standing in front of Liam.
"Is this a good thing? she asks, now thinking out loud.
"What are you going to do?"
"Who else knows about this?"
"Are you going to marry her?"
Suddenly Eleanor is spewing off every thought that is running through her mind not allowing Liam any time to process let alone answer her many questions.
"Do you want to stop so that I can actually answer your questions Len?" Liam wonders, grabbing her by the shoulders, sitting them both down on the sofa so that he can address her concerns one by one.
"First of all, yes it's a good thing, I think it is, we didn't plan for this and to be honest, I was very shocked when Kathryn told me but now, yes, I feel like having this baby is a good thing".
"I don't exactly know what we're going to do, we're trying to take things one step at a time, it's a lot to process, you know? he explains, to which Eleanor simply shakes her head in understanding.
"Are you going to ask Kathryn to marry you now? Eleanor wonders once again.
"I don't know, I haven't gone out to buy a ring or anything", he rationalizes.
"But do you think you will?" she continues, trying to dig all the answers she possibly can out of him.
"Most likely", Liam admits.
"It's the most logical thing, right, we're having a baby, to marry its mother, to be a family. I've always wanted my own family", he tells her, thinking of their father.
"I wish dad were here."
"Me too", Eleanor agrees.
"What do you think he'd tell me to do?" Liam asks, looking her in the eyes.
"You know what he'd tell you to do Liam, he'd tell you to follow your heart".
"Do you want to spend the rest of your life with Kathryn and not just because of the baby?" "Would you want to be with her forever even if there were no baby? Eleanor is being honest and really getting down to the nitty gritty with her twin and forcing him to be honest with himself, just as their late father would have. And in this moment it is exactly what he needs the most.
"Kathryn is wonderful, she's amazing, but how do you really know if you're with the person that you are meant to be with forever?" Liam points out.
Once again Eleanor becomes lost in her own thoughts and doesn't realize that he is actually looking for her to answer his question when she once again hears her own name "Len?"
"Oh sorry, I just got lost there for a second", she apologizes.
"What was the question again?"
"I said, how do you really know someone is the one?"
"Why the bloody hell are you asking me? Len wonders in surprise when she became the go to for relationship advice.
"Because you have that, you have that one thing that everybody spends their entire life looking for in someone else, you and Jasper have that", Liam informs her, supposedly being the first to ever have looked at the couple as a source of inspiration.
"I suppose that's true", Eleanor agrees.
"So…", he asks, probing her to be more specific.
"So, there's no secret formula to it or anything, I just can't imagine not spending every day for the rest of forever with Jasper Frost".
"Sure we make each other crazy, we've been through a lot, we've both hurt each other a lot but at the end of the day he's still the only one I want to be with".
Hearing his sister talk about loving her boyfriend, Liam smiles, both because it's fantastic to see her so happy, so in love, to see her be the one to get it right and because he's beginning to understand what she is talking about. To be honest, never in his life did Liam ever think that he would be the one sitting here in this predicament, sitting here asking Len for advice about what to do about something like this.
"You need to find the person who not only makes you the happiest that you've ever been", she continues on, " that person who even during the times that aren't so happy, there's no one else you'd rather fight with, or fight the world with." "Someone who makes it all worth fighting for."
"Jasper makes me a better person, and I think I do the same for him. Let's be honest Liam, I think he and I are the only person who really get each other".
"I totally agree Lenny", Liam admits, standing to wrap her in a hug.
"I'm so happy for you, for you and Jasper, no one deserves it more."
"Thanks Bruv, he proposed, well sort of." Eleanor confesses, stunning Liam now into silence.
Liam jumps back from her a bit, surprised that he is just hearing about this, "What?", he demands, wanting to know everything.
"It wasn't a real proposal, it was a…", she tries to explain, words failing her miserably.
"It was a 'I'd like to sometime not that far off ask you to marry me', a pre-proposal.", she says, at last finding her footing.
"A Pre-Proposal?, Liam questions, giving her a look that only he could.
"Yes, you know, like a promise, he just wanted me to know where he stands, where we stand", she explains, now wishing that she had kept her bloody mouth shut.
"I get it", Liam promises, understanding where both she and Jasper are coming from.
"Well, congratulations, I think that's great."
"Thanks." "So anyway, we are not supposed to be talking about me", Eleanor continues, attempting to get herself out of the hot seat.
"So, who else knows about the baby besides me?"
Just Mum", the soon-to-be Dad admits.
"Mum?, Eleanor asks dumfounded.
"Our Mum, The Queen of England?"
"Yes", Liam admits, in a sing songy voice.
"And she didn't have a heart attack?" Eleanor wonders, still unable to believe it all.
"She's actually been pretty great, supportive about it all", Liam admits.
"Unbelievable, maybe the end of the world is coming", Len surmises.
"Well, whatever happens, you know that you always have me, no matter what, you and Kathryn both, not to mention my little soon-to-be niece or nephew", she promises, smiling at the thought of being an aunt.
"Aunt Lenny", Liam jokes, pointing at her.
"I'm going to be the best aunt, spoil the kid rotten, I just don't do diapers", she informs him, lifting up both hands in defense.
"I have no doubt that the baby will love you Lenny", he tells her, grinning from ear to ear.
"I can't believe you're having a baby", she confesses the reality of it still not feeling absolutely real.
"I know, crazy right?" he admits.
"Unbelievable", she reaffirms the feelings, walking to the door to leave his room.
"Hey, by the sounds of it, maybe I'll be repaying the favor sometime not that far off", Liam hopes after hearing all the positive things that Eleanor and Jasper have coming their way.
"Don't jinx me brother!"