Unexpected

Chapter 4

Daddy

This day was turning out even worse for Hanna than she had anticipated. When her mother had suggested they go back to the beach with Aubrey that morning, she fully expected for Caleb to turn up looking for them, and she had been relieved when he never did. They headed back to the hotel ready for some lunch as Aubrey slept peacefully in her stroller, so she and her mom could have a quiet lunch.

But then Caleb had appeared in the lobby of their hotel, just like she had expected him to do. He had asked about Aubrey and she couldn't help herself when she got mad at him for asking. Mad that he could ever doubt her, suggesting she had been with anyone else but him. As if their first time hadn't been special to her. She never meant to end up in an argument with him, but before she could ask him what he had meant about the letter he kept mentioning, he had taken off leaving a confused Hanna behind.

As if things couldn't get worse, she had received quite the scolding from her mother when she told her about the fight she and Caleb had. Her mother forced her to swallow her pride and told her to fix things with Caleb now that she had the chance.

That's when Hanna found herself quickly checking on Aubrey one last time, who was still sleeping soundly, and leaving the room with a nod to her mother, not ready to give her a pass on scolding her about something so close to her heart. Hanna swallowed hard, thinking about what she would say to Caleb when she was face to face with him. If he would even open the gate to his house after their last encounter.

Hanna reached the outside of the hotel and made her way to the parking lot when she spotted an all too familiar face at the other end of the parking lot. The person striding towards her with a blazing look of determination on his face until he saw her staring at him. His face softened the moment he saw her looking at him.

"Hey." She said when Caleb came closer. Not really sure how he was going to react to her.

"Hey." He said. Making his way towards her and stopping next to her car as he reached her.

"What are you doing back here?" Hanna asked, although knowing Caleb and his history she should have known she would be seeing him soon. She never expected it to be this soon however.

"Hanna I really want to see Aubrey." He blurted out before he could stop himself.

"I was here earlier to see her and then, you know…" He trailed off, regretting taking off at all now.

"But I can't go home without seeing her, she's my daughter." He continued, looking at her intently when he noticed her hand lingering on the open car door and glanced inside the car to see if Aubrey was there.

Hanna's heart sank at his words, she wasn't ready to step into that unfamiliar territory. Knowing full well Caleb would never be okay with just seeing Aubrey. He'd want to be completely involved in her live, their life.

"Were you going somewhere? He asked, keeping her from answering his request to see Aubrey as he glanced at the bag over her shoulder.

"Uhm… well I was actually on my way to see you." She admitted quietly.

"You were?" He asked in surprise. All kinds of scenarios ran in his head on his way back to her hotel, but none of them had been close to this.

"Why?"

"I wanted to talk to you…" She started, but she wasn't so sure what to say next. Hanna thought she would have some more time to think about what she was going to say to Caleb on the drive to his house before she had to face him.

"I wanted to talk to you because the last time we left things unresolved we didn't see each other again for about 18 months." She said apprehensively, not daring to look into his eyes. It was a painful reminder of how much he had already missed of Aubrey's life.

"Yeah…" He trailed off, looking at her and waiting for her to meet his eyes as an uncomfortable silence between them grew. How did things ever get so awkward between them? He wondered.

As soon as she managed to look back up at him, she hated seeing the somber look in his eyes. As much as she didn't want to admit it to herself, it didn't leave her unperturbed seeing Caleb so sad.

"I think Aubrey is still sleeping, but why don't you come up to our room so you can at least see her." She suddenly said, making up her mind on the spot. Understanding she was the only one standing in between Caleb and his wish to see Aubrey. He deserved to get to know his daughter and she knew she made the right decision when she watched his entire face break into a massive smile.

"Really?" He breathed in disbelief, his eyes glowing at the thought of finally seeing Aubrey. His grin grew even wider as he watched Hanna nod at his question.

They stood beside each other silently. It took a while for the elevator to come and neither Hanna or Caleb knew what to say to each other, the tension between them growing thicker with every passing second. It didn't help that Caleb couldn't stop himself from looking at Hanna, noticing how good she looked. She didn't look that different from when they were together and he had to stop himself from letting his eyes trail over her body. The blue dress hugging her in all the right places and showing off her curves. Although the dress was quite modest, it still messed with his head as he remembered exactly what was underneath.

The arrival off the elevator offered him the distraction he so desperately needed.

"What floor?" He asked as he stepped in after Hanna. Trying to make some sort of conversation and working hard not to look at her exposed legs.

"Eleventh." She said, smiling at him politely, the tension incapacitating her from being able to form any words.

"Aren't you afraid of heights?" Caleb chuckled. Remembering how squeamish she would get about even having to stand on a ladder.

"I am." She smiled. The tension finally deflating a little bit. "I try to stay away from the balcony as much as possible." She laughed.

"And miss out on an amazing view?" He joked.

"I'm sure I'll survive without it. Besides, I rather go down the beach or swimmingpool than watch it from the window." She said, finally stepping out onto the floor as they arrived and walked the short distance to the room. She reached for they key card and took a small moment to take a breath to calm her nerves that resurfaced before opening the door to her room.

"Mom?" She said in a quiet voice poking her head around and stepping into the room spotting her mother on the bed reading a book who put it away the moment Hanna came in.

"I brought a visitor." She said before her mother could ask what she was doing here.

She looked over her shoulder at Caleb and held the door open wider for him so he could enter the room.

"Caleb?" Ashley said, sitting up straight on the bed and putting her book to the side.

"Hi Ms Marin." He said shyly. Remembering the way she had ran after Hanna when she had seen him walk into the garden yesterday.

"I ran into Caleb in the parking lot." Hanna interjected before her mom could unleash any uncomfortable questions like she always did.

"He came over to see Aubrey."

"She's still sleeping." She said kindly, understanding anxious Caleb was to see Aubrey.

"I assumed, but he hasn't seen her and she won't wake up anyway." Hanna said, not wanting to make Caleb feel like he shouldn't be there.

She beckoned him to follow her towards the extra room where Aubrey was sleeping.

Hanna pointed Caleb towards the crib at the end of the room where Aubrey was sleeping soundly on her back, her arms resting on either side of her head. She watched Caleb as he walked closer towards the crib and peeked inside. He stood there motionlessly for a while as he finally got to see her. He stared in amazement at his baby girl, his daughter. Her face looked relaxed and body so small and still. He was afraid to move or make any noise, afraid anything would wake her up. He looked at her for a very long time, staring at her delicate features as his eyes got adjusted to the dimmed room.

"She's beautiful." Caleb whispered in awe, not tearing his eyes away from Aubrey who remained sleeping. He took in the wispy blonde hair, the long lashes and her small mouth that was opened slightly as she took the tiniest breaths. His eyes travelled to her defined cheekbones that he himself had inherited from his own mother. A clear Rivers trait. He chuckled softly when he spotted a silver and pearl bracelet around her chubby wrist that was resting next to her head. Of course Hanna would put jewelry on her as soon as she could.

"I know you might not be able to tell right now because she's sleeping." Hanna said in a soft voice. "But she looks so much like you." She told him with a smile.

"That's what my mom said." Caleb said. Remembering when his mother had told him everything she could tell him about Aubrey. "She said she reminds her of me when I was that age."

They smiled at each other and their gazes locked. It was the first time they finally managed to look into each other's eyes without either one of them feeling like shouting or running away.

"Can I stay here, until she wakes up?" Caleb asked, his eyes travelling automatically back at Aubrey again. He couldn't get enough of her and he hated the thought of having to leave her already.

"In this room?" Hanna asked slightly surprised, glancing at he unused queen bed in the middle of the room.

"No. I meant, I can go downstairs and wait in the lobby until she wakes up."

"You don't need to do that."

"Hanna I want to. She's really cute when she's sleeping but I really want to get to know her, see what she is like when she is awake."

Hanna chuckled at his confession. Like she had expected, Caleb was not one to back down from Aubrey and she had to admit she was happy he wasn't. As much as she had worried about him getting to know Aubrey, she knew it had been her own irrational fears of losing her that made her determined to keep him away from Aubrey.

"I meant, you won't have to go down to the lobby. You can stay here with us until she wakes."

"Hanna?" Her mother's voice came from the doorframe, poking her head around. "I'm going to go downstairs for some fresh air, are you okay staying with Aubrey or do you have any plans?" She asked.

Hanna knew very well her mother had overheard their conversation through the open door, which was clearly the reason she was leaving, but Hanna decided to let it slide. It would be less awkward without her mother there.

"It's fine mom, I'm staying here." Hanna said looking at her mother who made her way out and motioned for Caleb to follow her to the room she shared with her mother. Leaving Aubrey to sleep.

"Very smooth." Caleb said as he watched the door close behind Ashley.

Hanna laughed uncomfortably. "Well it would have been a bit awkward anyway with my mom here, don't you think?"

"I bet she hates me." Caleb said.

"What, my mom. Why would she hate you?" Hanna asked grabbing the both of them a drink from the mini bar, handing one to Caleb before sitting down on the edge of her bed.

"Getting her 16 year old daughter pregnant for starters, I bet she was pretty livid." Caleb said solemnly.

"She was at first," Hanna sighed, thinking back to when she had to tell her mother she was pregnant.

"She wasn't happy and she did tell me I needed to think about my options, even though she would support me with whatever I would choose." Hanna confessed, her voice breaking as she imagined having to miss out on being a mother to Aubrey.

"Did you consider not having her?" Caleb asked softly.

"Only for a second when my mother mentioned it. But it wasn't something I wanted. I knew I wanted to keep my baby no matter what, even if I had to do everything by myself." Hanna admitted.

"Shit." Caleb said. The full extend of how hard it must have been for Hanna crashing down around him. Up until now he hadn't thought about how it must have been for her to find out she was pregnant at 16.

"What, why?" Hanna asked apprehensively, interpreting his reaction completely the wrong way.

"Shit because I should have been there Hanna." He said with a pained expression on his face. "I should have been there when you found out, I should have been there to take care of you and provide for you." He said with an edge in his voice.

"I should have been there when Aubrey was born." He whispered, sitting down in the chair next to the desk he had been leaning against and angrily running his hands through his hair.

Hanna watched him as his frustration became apparent and she was scared he was going to leave again. Before he could think about leaving, there was one thing Hanna needed to know. Something that had been bothering her all day.

"Caleb?" She started in a small voice.

"This morning you asked me about a letter. What letter?"

XxxxxxX

Preview? Review? Let me know