Just Friends?

Chapter Forty-Three

Elly and Chloe glared up at Shaun standing there opposite them as they were cuddled up to one another at the Waterhole.

"Can I join you for a few minutes?" Shaun repeated his request to talk to them.

"I'd rather be in the bathroom with you right about now," Elly whispered into Chloe's ear.

Shaun continued standing on the other side of the table, "I need to apologize to you both for turning up at the class unannounced tonight. That wasn't cool."

"Neither was turning up unannounced in Erinsborough but that didn't stop you," Elly pointed out.

"Point taken," Shaun conceded, "I took the info Bea mentioned about the class, found out when it was and I showed up wanting to show you that I can be there for you when...maybe you don't need me for support. I didn't realize you had a Chloe in your life and now that I do...I realize that class was about you two as a couple and I ruined that for you. I'm very sorry."

"Mark told you I'm with Elly or did you finally figure that one out yourself?" Chloe asked, almost shaking her head at engaging with Shaun.

"Yes, he told me you're Elly's partner. I'm sorry I didn't realize earlier and I'm sorry I put the kibosh on the class for you tonight. You two had every right to be there and enjoy those moments with one another without Mark or I around," Shaun apologized once more, "Would you mind if I join you? Just for a few minutes...I really would like to talk to you, Elly...I mean to both of you...about this situation."

Elly glanced at Chloe before gritting her teeth, "You're not planning on leaving Erinsborough until we have this talk are you, Shaun?"

Shaun shook his head, "I'm not leaving…and if my visa expires, I'll return to Switzerland, apply for another one at the airport and be on the next flight back as soon as it's approved. I'll keep doing that until you have this conversation with me."

"You ruined my birthing class that was going to be really special for Chloe and I and now you're ruining my date with my girlfriend. Why should I let you ruin it even more, Shaun?" Elly asked.

Shaun looked at the couple, "Of course you're on a date…I am so blind. Can I spring for your dessert to make up for this?"

Elly avoided Shaun's eyes, "We have dessert covered."

"Maybe we can try this again another evening when I'm not interrupting your date," Shaun sighed in acceptance.

Elly groaned with frustration, before looking at Chloe with apologies, "Shaun…you've already blown the mood Chloe and I were in before you turned up…and you're clearly not going away anytime soon…five minutes or by the time our dinners are served, whichever comes first."

Chloe pressed her lips to Elly's forehead, to show Elly had her support in her decision, even though truthfully, she wanted to tell Shaun to go jump.

Shaun nodded and immediately sat down, "Thank you. You look really happy, Elly."

"I am really happy, Shaun. Chloe makes me really happy. This baby and Chloe make me really happy," Elly agreed.

The waitress came over to the table, removing the empty plate from the table and told the couple their dinners would be served soon.

"A lot has changed since I was last in Erinsborough," Shaun commented, "If I had of realized you had Chloe in your life…I might've called first instead of turning up. I took the information Finn gave me about your marriage breaking up and even though he told me you were still planning on raising the baby with Mark I didn't think that would work out in the end. I assumed you would need help raising the child."

"You seem to take the information people give you and make assumptions quite a bit," Chloe pointed out, trying to hold back the aggressive tone that was begging to come out.

Elly breathed deeply, "I don't need any help raising this child, Shaun. This child will grow up in a loving home with parents who will spend every day supporting him or her to become a wonderful person."

Shaun nodded, "Mark certainly has a lot to live up to if he's prepared to put aside any hurt and anger he's feeling to raise this child that isn't his with you, Elly. I was really surprised when I found out Mark knew I was the baby's father and was still prepared to raise this baby with you."

Chloe seethed in frustration, unable to hold back this time, "Mark's not the child's second parent, Shaun, and neither are you."

Elly placed her hand over Chloe's as Chloe continued gliding her fingertips across Elly's baby-bump.

Shaun suddenly noticed their action, "Oh…oh you mean…the child will grow up with you two and you'll be the parents?"

The waitress returned to the table with Chloe and Elly's mains, asked Shaun if he wanted to order anything but he shook his head.

When the waitress left, Shaun was about to take his cue and leave like Elly had originally asked him too, but stayed when Chloe lent into Elly, telling her quietly, "I didn't mean for Shaun to find out."

Shaun kept sitting there, "Sorry, again I made the assumption from what Mark said that Mark and Elly would be raising the child together…I think you're right about me and making assumptions about things."

Chloe chewed on her lip as she looked back at Shaun, "I'm going to be the baby's mum. I'm raising this baby with Elly. You're not taking this away from me…I mean from us. If you think for even one minuscule second that you can fight us for custody and take this child away from two mothers who will love this child 'til the end of the world then you have another thing coming."

"You really don't want to mess with Chlo," Elly advised, smiling proudly at her girlfriend for standing up for them.

Shaun put his hands up in defense, "I never said anything about a custody battle or taking this child away from either of you. I think it's incredible what you two want to do…you haven't even been together very long."

Chloe and Elly both sighed gently as they unwrapped their hands from each other and begun eating their dinner, realizing they weren't going to be able to ask Shaun to leave or they'd just end up coming back to this conversation with him at another time. The longer they drew this out, the harder it was going to be on them and their baby.

"No, we haven't been together long but we have a past that you weren't exactly privy to the last time you were here," Elly pointed out, "This isn't a relationship out of need for a partner to help me raise this baby. Chloe and I are the real deal. I never should've married Mark, I did so even though I knew deep down I had feelings for Chloe. I was just running scared."

"I really gotta stop making assumptions and just ask questions," Shaun realized, "You're sure raising the child together as a couple is what you both want?"

"Yes," both women answered immediately in between the mouthfuls of food they were eating.

"How does Mark fit in to all this? He still wants to raise the baby and he was with the pair of you at the class this evening," Shaun wanted to know.

Elly stared at Chloe, hating that they were opening up to Shaun but unable to avoid it knowing she needed to know exactly what Shaun wanted from her and the baby, "Mark won't be raising the baby with Chloe and I…we just haven't had a moment to tell him that."

"I won't say anything to Mark, it's not my place to have that conversation with him," Shaun promised.

Chloe nodded, praying they could trust Shaun, "Mark surprised both Elly and I when he decided he still wanted to raise the baby with Elly after Elly finally came clean to him. Neither of us were prepared for that reaction."

"I bet, I was surprised too," Shaun admitted, "You mentioned Mark wanting to raise the baby with Elly, what does he think your place in all this is, Chloe?"

Chloe scoffed, "A piece on the side for Elly to sleep with every night cause apparently that's all I'm good for and that I have no interest in raising a child with my girlfriend."

"Ouch," Shaun whispered.

"It took Chloe and I time to actually have the conversation with one another about raising the baby," Elly explained, "But after Mark decided he still wanted to raise a child with me that wasn't his…I told Chloe I wanted Mark to change his mind because I want to raise the child with her and Chloe told me she wants to be this child's mum. We'll be raising the child together as a couple. We're planning on sitting down with Mark tomorrow and telling him he won't be a parent to this child. Chloe and I will be getting our own place to rent hopefully in the next couple weeks and we'll start setting it up as a family home."

"That sounds nice," Shaun mused, "Do you need my help with any of that? Finding a place, the rental bond, moving your stuff into the house?"

"We don't need your money, Shaun," Chloe told him protectively, feeling annoyed that he had the audacity to suggest she couldn't come up with a rental bond for a place to set up for the family she was creating with Elly, "I'm quite capable of taking care of Elly and the baby financially even when Elly is on unpaid maternity leave as she hasn't held her role long enough to qualify for paid leave. I'm not just here for emotional and physical support. I'm here for every single thing Elly and our child need from me."

"Shaun, we might not be your level of rich ever but Chloe and I both have decent paying jobs. Even if we didn't, we would find a way to make it work. We love each other and our child, that's enough for us to do whatever we need to for our family," Elly asserted.

"I didn't mean any offence, I'm sure you can handle moving into your own place and raising the child as a couple," Shaun apologized.

Elly sighed heavily, finally asking the question that had been weighing on her and Chloe's minds since Shaun returned, "What do you want, Shaun?"

Shaun thought for a moment silently, allowing the women to continue eating their meals, before he finally answered, "I want to be in the child's life. If you want to raise the child as a couple and be his or her parents…I won't stand in your way. But I want the child to know me, know that I am their father and have a relationship with me. The responsibilities I have back in Switzerland with my mum's business…I don't think I'm ready to give all that up to move back to Australia and be part of every single day of my child's life. I want to visit whenever I can, of course, and once the child is old enough be able to speak to the child on the phone every few days."

Elly glanced nervously at Chloe with Chloe returning her gaze.

"It's very clear to me that this child will be very lucky to have the pair of you raising him or her and that you will be quite capable been loving parents. I'm not sure if 'parent' is the word to describe me but I do want to play a role in been in the child's life," Shaun decided.

Elly chewed on her lip, "So when decisions need to be made about our child," Elly pointed her finger between herself and Chloe making it clear she didn't mean Shaun's child, "are you going to let us make them or intervene?"

"As far as I'm concerned this is your child," Shaun agreed, pointing his own finger between Elly and Chloe, "And whilst if the decisions will affect your child's life, I would hope that you would respect me enough to pick up the phone to ask my opinion, I'll back your decision. Every one."

"Good, I'm glad," Chloe whispered.

Elly still wasn't sure, "Okay…here's two…will you back my decision to have Chloe listed on the child's birth certificate instead of you and how do you feel about Chloe and I deciding on a name for the child together?"

Chloe blinked in surprise, staring at Elly in wonder, "Really? You want me on the birth certificate and to help you name the baby?"

Elly placed her arm around Chloe's shoulders, "Yes, you can't get any more official than that, Chlo. Never doubt for a second that you are going to be anything less than our baby's mum."

Shaun smiled quietly at their interaction, "I don't need my name on a piece of paper to be a part of this child's life. It would be right to have both your names on it and it would also be right that you both choose the baby's name. You're the parents, always and forever."

"Thank you," Elly told him.

"Would I be out of bounds by telling you I do still want to support the child financially and pay child support or if you won't accept that then I can set up a trust in the child's name that I will put money into for the child to access when he or she is 25?" Shaun asked politely.

Elly sighed gently, "I suppose child support wouldn't be the end of the world. I don't exactly want to return to work the moment the baby is born and I don't want to put Chloe through any unnecessary stress of thinking she has to provide for a family on her own even though I know you will, baby," Elly turned to Chloe sweetly before returning to Shaun, "No ridiculous amounts of money or to think your money buys you more time with mine and Chloe's child."

"I can live with that," Shaun decided.

"Is there anything else you want from us, Shaun?" Chloe asked, having finished her dinner and replaced her hand on Elly's baby-bump protectively.

Shaun nodded, "If it wouldn't make you both uncomfortable…I'd like to come back for the baby's birth. I don't need to be in the delivery room or anything, that is completely for you two to enjoy as a couple and as the child's parents. But I'd like to be at the hospital in the waiting room and be the first person told when the baby has been born."

"I suppose that would be okay," Elly relented.

"When is your next ultrasound?" Shaun asked.

Elly placed her hand over Chloe's again, "3 to 4 weeks' time. Chloe will be coming with me. We can…we can…send you a copy of the image…if you'd like."

Shaun smiled graciously, "I'd love that. Will the pair of you be finding out the sex of the baby?"

Elly glanced over at Chloe, "We actually haven't discussed that yet whether or not we want to find out or let it be a surprise. We'll let you know our decision."

Shaun grinned, "I'll back you with every decision. Whatever you decide…if you want to keep it a secret until you give birth or if you two find out the baby's sex…I think at the end of the day either all three of us don't know or all three of us do know. There's no point in keeping secrets when the three of us are a having a child together."

"I'm sorry, what the hell did I just hear?" Bea screeched from behind Shaun.

Elly, Chloe and Shaun glanced up at Bea in shock as Elly's little sister and Finn had entered the bar and made their way over to their table without them even noticing.

"Elly, what the hell does Shaun mean when he said 'the three of you are having a child together'?" Bea glared at her sister in shock.

Bea…Finn…crap! This secret is getting out now…I hope Elly doesn't have a meltdown explaining to her sister that Shaun is the bio dad to our baby…so much for Mark been the next person to be told Elly and I will be raising our baby, Chloe thought.

Bea…Finn…crap! I knew once I told Mark that he won't be raising this baby that I would have no choice but to come forward and tell my family that Shaun is the bio dad, I went ahead with Shaun's deal to maneuver Finn into their house, and that I'm raising this child with Chloe…I just really thought I wouldn't be caught out and have to explain it to my family tonight…my night with Chloe and I bonding as a couple is officially done, Elly thought.