Different Shades of the Same Colour

Chapter 11 – Relax and Prepare, Part 1

'Love is blind, and it will take over your mind
What you think is love, is truly not
You need to elevate and find'

– Love is Blind, Eve

It was the day before the wedding and Emily was nervous. She'd never been more nervous about anything in her life; she longed for a glass of whisky or vodka to calm her nerves but she knew she couldn't. So instead she settled for a nice long, hot bath to settle her pre-wedding jitters.

The apartment was completely empty, except for herself and she savoured the silence. Harry had gone out, to a stag night with his friends, then to a hotel for the night. He was all about tradition and that included not seeing the bride the day before the wedding. Emily wasn't much for tradition but they weren't marrying in a church, upon Emily's insistence, so they compromised.

After being in the bath for just over an hour and starting to prune, Emily had finally decided to get out of the bath. She quickly dried off and put on her underwear before stopping in front of their full length mirror. She looked at herself curiously, her gaze mostly focused on her stomach. It was still flat and taut; there was no signs yet that she had a baby growing inside her. The only things that had remotely gotten bigger were her breasts, something Harry already seemed to appreciate. It didn't matter though, with her hands resting on her flat stomach, she imagined what she'd look like pregnant. It wasn't something she imagined often, merely because there'd never been a real chance for her to have a family before.

Finally tiredness started to set in and quickly dressed in her pyjamas which consisted of tiny cotton shorts and a tank top. She made her way to bed, missing the comfort and security of Harry beside her and wondering what he was up to. She hoped he was behaving himself but it was his stag night and she wasn't expecting much. Just that he'd make it to the altar.

Lying in their big bed by herself she fiddled with her engagement ring, not able to fall asleep. As much as she liked the quiet she felt ridiculously alone in the big apartment. She knew it was her own fault though because she could have gone out and relaxed with the team, except that she wasn't really close to the team anymore. Sure JJ was her maid of honour but other than that she didn't have much interaction with her team outside of work.

She knew it was because Harry didn't like them and the team didn't like Harry but he hadn't introduced her to any of his friends either. She was starting to realise how truly friendless she was but it didn't bother her as much as she thought it would. She'd spent more than half her life alone and without many friends so she wasn't that worried. Plus it wouldn't be too bad if she had Harry and the baby she thought.

Looking at the clock she saw it was 12 o'clock and knew she had to be up in less than 10 hours. Deepening her breathing to help her relax she rested a hand on her stomach, thinking about the baby. With thoughts of the baby safely inside her and of a little girl with brown hair and blue eyes, Emily finally drifted off to sleep.

As the sun peeked in through the gauzy maroon curtains Emily stirred in her bed. Opening her eyes slowly she thought she was imagining the hard knocks on her front door. Sitting up slowly she tried to quell the unfortunate feeling of nausea in her stomach, knowing the morning sickness was starting. She fixed her hair a little before making her way downstairs and to the door, hoping whoever was knocking had a good reason to be. Opening the door somewhat roughly, Emily was almost surprised to find JJ on the other side.

"Morning Emily," JJ greeted, smiling too brightly for seven in the morning.

"Hey Jayje," Emily mumbled gesturing the blonde inside.

"Did you just wake up Em?" The blonde asked.

"Yeah," Emily replied, sitting at the kitchen bench, resting her head on folded arms. She looked exhausted, which worried the blonde a little. Emily always looked completely put together, so to see her like this was disconcerting for the blonde.

"Do you want me to put some coffee on?" JJ asked, already heading for the coffee machine.

"Um no, its fine," the brunette replied, then upon seeing JJ's confused look, continued, "If I start drinking it now, I'll be jittery all day," Emily explained.
JJ just nodded in acceptance as she sat down beside Emily. She turned to look at the brunette, studying her carefully as they sat in silence.

"Are you nervous?" JJ asked after a moment.

"A little...not really," Emily chuckled, looking back over at JJ, "It feels right you know? Like I was always meant to be with Harry," Emily tried to explain, a happy smile adorning her features.

"Yeah," JJ said before changing the subject, "So, do you want to start getting ready now?" she asked trying to fake excitement. She didn't completely support Emily marrying Harry anymore, not after she'd seen that bruise on Emily's back the other week. She was starting to think that maybe Penelope had been right all along and there was something weird about Emily and her relationship with Harry.

"It's still early Jayje," Emily started, "do you think maybe we could just relax for a little while?" Emily asked as she felt the familiar feeling of nausea swell in her stomach.

"Sure, whatever you want Em. You're the bride after all!" JJ agreed, noticing how her friend seemed to turn pale instantaneously.

Emily nodded her head at her friend as she stood from her seat on the bar stool. She felt bile rise in her throat and before JJ could even ask what was wrong she was running for the bathroom. Emily made it just in time, collapsing in front of the toilet to throw up her dinner from the night before. JJ hovered behind her, holding her hair back from her face and rubbing a soothing hand over her back.

"Are you okay?" JJ asked once Emily was finished, even more worried than she had been before.

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine," Emily replied huskily, "I guess it's just nerves," the brunette lied.

"Are you sure?" JJ asked just to make sure.

"Yes JJ. I'm fine," Emily replied, finding it hard not to let the blonde know that she was actually experiencing morning sickness and she wasn't really ill.

"If you insist," JJ said watching her brunette friend carefully, "How about I make us breakfast? I'm starving," the blonde suggested as the two women headed back into the kitchen.

"I think that, is a wonderful idea," Emily replied, just as her stomach growled in hunger.

AN: So, chapter 11 was written fairly fast again. Thanks to all my reviewers who got me motivated to write! It's much appreciated.

I've made a new system up regarding my fics. I've decided to update this story and One Mistake alternately and with the way I've been pumping chapters out for each fic, there should only be a few days between updates. Now, I'm not sure how long either fic will be but I want to finish both of them by Christmas, at least. Different Shades is looking to be an epic (the first one I've ever written!) and One Mistake is looking fairly long too, although significantly shorter than Different Shades. This system should work for as long as I'm able to write chapters like I have been recently, so keep looking out for new updates! :)

Anyway, this is a two part chapter thing-y, so Part 2 should be up fairly soon. I hope you enjoyed! Please review. LT. :)