Just Friends?

Chapter Thirty-Six

Chloe blinked at Elly, not quite believing that Elly had actually asked her to raise her baby with her, "You want to raise your baby with me?"

"Yes," Elly answered simply, praying Chloe wasn't too freaked out at the prospect.

Chloe found herself sitting up gently and shifting backwards so she was leaning against the pillows on the bed. Elly hesitated for a moment before shuffling herself so she curled up to Chloe's side, lent her head on Chloe's shoulder and rested her arm around Chloe's torso, feeling at least a little bit confident that Chloe wasn't rejecting her embrace as she awaited Chloe's answer.

"I want to raise this baby with you, Chloe," Elly repeated as she stared into Chloe's eyes, "Are you freaking out that I want this? That I want us to be the parents of this baby."

Chloe shook her head, "No, I just...I'm surprised. I never thought you would ask me too. I genuinely thought you didn't want me involved in this child's life."

"Yeah I know...I know you thought that. I'm so sorry I ever let you think for a second that I would not want you raising this child with me," Elly apologized, then off Chloe's questioning look, "I overheard you with David tonight."

"What?" Chloe was again surprised.

"I woke up and you weren't in bed, I went looking for you because I was worried. Mark said you'd taken off back home and he acted like we'd had a fight. I went over there to find out what I'd done to make you run off," Elly began explaining.

Chloe was confused, "When were you at my place…I didn't see you?"

"I know, I was there when Aaron was leaving to go to the Waterhole for your wine…he let me in and I headed inside to see you. That's when I heard you talking to David," Elly told her.

"Um…okay…why didn't you come in and see me?" Chloe asked.

"Because I heard you talking to David…I was in the hallway…I didn't mean to spy on your conversation or watch the way David consoled you. I wanted to be the one to help you. But I got caught up in listening to how much pain you were in," Elly revealed, "I know it was wrong of me to hide there, listening to everything you were saying. I froze. Your pain was real and I couldn't stop feeling it."

"How much did you hear?" Chloe asked.

Elly ran her hand in circles against Chloe's torso, "Enough to break my heart in two…I didn't know how much pain I was causing you. How could I not know, Chlo? You're my life, how could I be completely oblivious that you were hurting so much? That you were crying yourself to sleep? Baby, I am so sorry."

"I don't really know what to say…it's not okay and it's not quite I forgive you…but I can say that it helped to talk about how much pain I've been in with David," Chloe replied.

"I wish I'd given you the opportunity to come to me and tell me," Elly whispered back, "I've been the most selfish person to not even realize what this was doing to you. What I was doing to you. I could've stopped it. Months ago, even before I told you the truth, I had more opportunities than you'll ever know, to have told Mark the truth. If I did that you would not have been in any of the pain you are in."

Chloe ran her fingertips against Elly's hand, "If you did that…would we be lying here like this as we are? Or would you be back at the Kennedy's after Mark kicked you out presuming that he wouldn't have the interest that he does in still wanting to raise your baby? Would I still be Aaron and David's but moving from one hook up to another with Kyle or some other guy just to escape the feeling of not been loved by you?"

Elly smiled gently, "When you put it that way…I guess it's cliché that things always happen for a reason."

"Exactly, it may not feel like it quite this second but give me a little bit of time and I'll be over this pain that I've been in. I already feel myself been healed just by been here like this with you," Chloe affirmed.

"I'm still so sorry for what I put you through," Elly apologized, "I can't believe I had no idea. I'm glad you had someone in David to turn to. I should never have kept up this lie."

"Why did you?" Chloe asked quietly.

Elly squeezed herself closer to Chloe, "I'm honestly not sure but it has nothing to do with me not wanting to tell Mark until you had made your decision on what role you want to play in this baby's life. Or that I don't want you to be any part of the baby's life and that to me all you're for is someone for me to go to bed with."

Chloe blushed, "You heard that part of my talk with David too?"

Elly nodded, "Yeah, you broke my heart even more when you said that, that you could even think that. It's what convinced me I needed to stop hurting you, put you ahead of my fears and tell Mark the truth. You were right that I don't want to be a single parent and maybe that does have a lot to do with me wanting to keep Mark hanging around to raise this baby. I don't want to turn into my mum and raise this baby the way I was raised. Mark always grounded me, at least I thought he did. I knew he'd be a good father. But not to this baby. You ground me more than Mark ever did and make me believe I can do anything."

"I do?" Chloe asked for reassurance.

Elly nuzzled her face against Chloe's neck, "You do, Chlo. You made me see what's important and I need to put you first ahead of any of my fears about raising this baby or telling Mark and other people what I've done."

Chloe fell further into Elly's embrace, "According to Mark…you might not need to tell anyone else…how do you feel about that?"

Elly reached out and entangled Chloe's hand in her own on Chloe's stomach, "I need to be able to tell other people now that I've gotten over my issues and told Mark. My family, specifically. I don't feel good about this, Chlo. Continuing to lie to everyone…Mark wanting to raise this baby with me…I don't want to raise this baby with him."

"I can't imagine you raising this baby with him either," Chloe admitted.

Elly glanced up into Chloe's eyes, "We kind of skirted around it and didn't discuss what I told you…I want to raise this baby with you Chloe…do you have any interest at all wanting to be a parent to this child?"

"How much of my conversation with David did you overhear?" Chloe asked quietly.

Elly frowned at Chloe not answering her question, "I don't know, enough to make me see I've been a horrible girlfriend who has put you through so much pain and anguish than I should've. Enough to make me tell Mark the truth because I don't ever want you to break up with me and I don't ever want to hurt you to the point of you crying yourself to sleep or feel like you can't come to me if I'm not treating you right."

Chloe chewed on her lip for a moment, "So you didn't…hear the part where I was talking to David…about the baby?"

Elly shook her head, holding onto Chloe tighter, fearing rejection, "You spoke to David about the baby…? What did you say?"

Chloe could sense Elly's fears and fighting her own fears that she could possibly be half the parent Mark could possibly be to this baby, she gently raised their entangled hands, settling them both against Elly's torso, "David asked me if I wanted to raise this baby with you…and I told him that I do."

Elly broke into a smile, "You do?"

Chloe returned Elly's smile, "Yeah…I want to be this baby's mum…if you want me too."

Elly lent up and pressed their lips together deeply, unable to wipe the smile from her face as they broke apart, "Yes, a thousand times yes, I want you to be this baby's mum."

Chloe grinned shyly, "Yeah?"

Elly begin gently circling their fingertips against her torso, repeating and giving Chloe assurance, "Yes, Chloe, I want you to be a parent to my child, I would love you to be his or her mum."

Chloe kissed Elly again gently, "We're going to make great parents, aren't we?"

Elly nuzzled her face against Chloe's neck, "We're going to be the best parents together, this baby is going to be so lucky to have us. You make me so happy, Chloe, and you are going to give this baby the most amazing experience of been his or her mum. We both will."

As the pair couldn't stop smiling at one another, Chloe continued tracing her fingers against where the baby was, "Do you think…I mean it might be way too soon but…should we move in together…like get our own place together to begin our…our family together?"

Elly nodded, "I would love that. If the pair of us will be this baby's mums' then I can't live here anymore…and you can't move in here. That's unfair to Mark to be witnessing us raising this baby every day. I know we've only been together for a month and it's really quick but I don't see the point of me moving back to the Kennedy's for a few months and I'm sure Aaron and David don't need a fourth housemate to contend with especially one who's got a baby on the way. I'm sure they wouldn't mind a couple nights, a week maybe, until we find a place. The longer we leave something like finding a place together, the harder it will to get our stuff moved in and buy all the furniture and things we'll need when it gets much further along in my pregnancy."

Chloe entangled her free hand in Elly's hair, stroking it gently, "We'll need some time ourselves to set up the nursery…something we can build and work on together. I don't want to leave things like that to the last minute. We'll need to baby proof the place we decide on renting. Buy a whole heap of baby clothes and accessories that I probably don't even know half of what we need. I want us to be as prepared for this baby as we can be."

"You really are going to be the most amazing mum," Elly commented.

Chloe blushed, "I'm going to try to be an amazing mum to our baby and a supportive partner to you. I might not be able to do those midnight wake ups where the baby is screaming to be fed but I can do what I can to handle any other things bubs will need, changing, burping, been cuddled until he or she falls asleep."

"You are the most amazing woman in the world to take this on for me. I'm four months pregnant and you're willing to be an incredible mum to this baby. I love you so much, Chloe," Elly still couldn't quite believe it.

"I'm taking this on because I already love our baby, Elly," Chloe declared, "I knew I loved this child and wanted to be this baby's mum the second I saw him or her on the monitor at your ultrasound. It was instant for me…I fell in love and I can't wait to be a mum."

"I kinda wish I'd known back then that that's how you felt so instantly," Elly replied, "I can't wait for you to be a mum either…and for the first time since I learnt I was pregnant…I can't wait either to be a mum."

Chloe grinned at Elly, then sighed softly, "How am I going to take this away from Mark? He wants this baby so much, he's willing to look past paternity."

"So are you, technically," Elly whispered, "I know this is just another thing that is going to hurt him…but Mark doesn't have a choice in this decision. This is our baby; he's not the father and I don't want him to be a parent to our child. If Mark wants to be the best Uncle in the world to our child, I'm more than happy for him to be in our lives that way. But nothing more."

Chloe thought about Elly's suggestion, "Would it be far too much for us to maybe suggest…he'll be the first person we call when we need help…before Susan, Karl, Bea or Aaron? Or is that opening up the door way too wide for him to think he's going to have a huge influence on bringing up our baby?"

Elly chewed on her lip, "Maybe not the first person we call when we need help but the first person we call if we need a babysitter? I really want to…set some boundaries with him as we can't shut him out of the child's life forever…he will be an Uncle after all."

"I think that's the right decision," Chloe agreed, "Mark won't be happy about this. When do you want to tell him, we're raising our baby together?"

Elly smiled at Chloe's constant reminder he or she was 'our baby,' "We told him to sleep on his decision and we'd all talk about it in a few days. I don't want to wait a few days but we should at least let him sleep on it. He might change his mind once he's had a chance to think it over…that might end up saving him some pain. If he did change his mind, I'll move out and we can tell him once we've found a place of our own that we'll be raising the child as parents."

"Okay," Chloe agreed happily, before hesitating, "If…Mark doesn't change his mind?"

"Then we'll tell him tomorrow evening, give him some time to let it all sink in but not enough that he gets strung along for longer than I've already strung him along for," Elly decided.

Chloe nodded, pressing her lips to Elly's forehead, "Let's fall asleep ourselves, tomorrow might have a bit more heartbreak in it if we have to tell Mark he won't be raising this baby."

Elly held onto Chloe tightly, "Mmm I'm already feeling like this is going to be the best nights' sleep in months."

The pair closed their eyes, gently falling asleep in one another's arms.

Please Mark…save yourself some pain and change your mind that you want to raise this baby…as much as it will be incredibly painful to tell you I'm going to be this baby's mum…it's what is going to happen…and you need to accept it, Mark, Chloe thought.

Please Mark…save yourself some pain and change your mind that you want to raise this baby…as much as it will be incredibly painful to tell you Chloe and I are going to be this baby's mums…it's what is going to happen…and you need to accept it, Mark, Elly thought.