Chapter Twenty-Seven

Wednesday 25th December – 11.00am

As soon as Elly walked in the front door of the Kennedy's, carrying her son in the baby capsule from the car, she was beset upon by her family. Chloe had walked up the pathway from the car to the front door next to Elly but as soon as they walked in the house, Chloe hung back, closed the front door behind them.

Elly had barely been able to walk to the dining table, a few meters from the front door, to put the baby capsule and Elliot on the table for her family to look at her son when they all launched at the pair.

Bea wrapped her arms around Elly in a protective hug, "I'm so glad your home! How's my nephew?"

Susan and Karl had already walked over too and were also standing next to Bea, staring at the newborn in the capsule. Susan asked, "How are you feeling, Elly?"

Like I have my son here but Chloe's backing away from us…

Elly subtly reached out her left hand behind her back, waving it at Chloe to come join them. Elly felt relieved when she felt Chloe walk over to her, standing by her side. Elly smiled at Chloe, glad to see the same look on her face, before turning back to her family who hadn't even noticed as their attention was all on the new arrival.

"I'm feeling good, little exhausted...okay a lot exhausted and probably need to have a nap soon. If I can get Elliot to settle first," Elly told them.

"You rest, we can look after him," Bea suggested.

"No, I need to be able to do this on my own. I wouldn't have been discharged if I wasn't okay to look after my son," Elly pointed out.

"Elly's right," Karl agreed, "As long as she takes things easy, she'll be fine."

"Do you want to get Elliot settled in now so you can rest?" Bea asked.

Elly glanced at her sister disbelievingly, "Oh please...you practically pounced on the pair of us when I walked in the door. Like the three of you haven't been waiting around for me to come home so you can spend time to cuddle Elliot even though you've all been doing that when you came to see me in hospital. I'm fine, Bea. Why don't you make us all a cup of tea and we all hang out on the couch for half an hour or so? The three of you can get in all the cuddles with your nephew and... Actually, I don't know the relation between my son and my Aunt and Uncle...it's kinda like grandchild but not. Not important, you can spend time with him and then I'll start getting him settled after that, okay?"

Susan smiled at her niece, "Pretty sure that makes us his great Aunt and Uncle so possibly great nephew but you know we'll always treat him like our grandson."

"Right, okay, that'd be amazing. I know you both will. Okay, let's get this little bundle out of the capsule so you guys can spend some time with him," Elly decided as she reached her hands into the baby capsule to gently take him out.

Chloe reached out and placed her hand on Elly's shoulder, "I should-"

"Stay," Elly immediately interrupted as she turned to Chloe, "Stay for a little while with us?"

"Sure," Chloe shyly agreed.

Bea rolled her eyes at the pair, and how obvious their feelings were for each other, still trying to work out what was going on between them. She had spoken to Elly the previous afternoon, when Chloe had left them alone at the hospital to go get some food.

Elly had been vague, not confirming nor denying if anything would happen between the former couple. Elly had simply told her that her and Chloe are friends who will spend some together with Chloe being off work but once Pierce returned from New York, Chloe needed to work out where her heart lay, and Elly was prepared to wait for Chloe to decide because their situation was "complicated."

But there was something about the way Elly spoke of Chloe working out where her heart laid, that made Bea feel like Elly already knew.

Soon the family plus Chloe were hanging out on the couches in the Kennedy living room. Chloe had perched herself on the couch arm of one of the couches, sitting next to Elly, curled into the corner of the couch. Elliot had been passed around between Bea, Karl, Susan, Elly and Chloe as they hung out and had a very laidback Christmas morning together.

Elly had spent time chatting to Bea about how she was coping with what had happened to Finn and that the police had still yet to track the psychopath down to arrest him. Bea had admitted to having trouble sleeping but was hoping now that she knew her sister and nephew were home and safe that she would begin to move past it.

Bea couldn't help but notice during the conversation with her sister, Elly kept leaning into Chloe who was perched behind her on the couch arm. Or Elly would casually place her hand on Chloe's knee when she was talking to the blonde.

Bea decided it would be best not to draw attention to it in case either girl became uncomfortable.

Nearly an hour later, Elly was yawning and Susan realized she needed to start prepping the Christmas lunch for the family to serve it out to them soon. As Susan and Karl started fussing about in the kitchen, Bea observed as Chloe placed her hand on Elly's shoulder, "I should get going, head home."

Before Elly could say anything, Susan asked, "Have you got Christmas lunch with the boys back at home?"

Chloe shook her head, "No, we're just doing a normal lunch. We've got the big Brenaka Christmas festive feast for dinner tonight so we'll be celebrating then."

"Do you want to stay for lunch with us?" Susan offered.

"Thanks for the offer, Susan, but I'm not all that hungry. Elly and I had a bite to eat at the hospital cafe before we got here. I think I should probably get home. Leave you all to your own celebration as a family," Chloe decided.

If Chloe and I are going to be together then I want her to feel welcome as part of my family.

Elly, who was now cradling Elliot after Bea finally relinquished him to her, looked up at Chloe, "You know what, I'm not hungry either and I need to get this little man settled into his cot and sort through all the stuff the hospital gave me for him before I attempt to take a nap if Elliot will let me sleep for like...ten minutes without crying or needing me to feed him or change him. Chloe, any chance you would mind helping me with my hospital bags and sorting through them before you head home? I'm sure Susan can entice you with the promise of some Christmas pudding that she cooked last night if you come back after your Christmas dinner with the boys to have dessert with us to thank you for helping me today."

"Sure," Chloe shyly agreed, "I can do that."

Elly quickly stood up, cradling her son, with Chloe soon following suit. Elly led the way towards the hallway, stopping to wait for Chloe to pick up her overnight bag and the bag with the hospital supplies provided to her and Elliot.

As Chloe picked up the bags, she glanced over at Elly's family awkwardly, "Well, we're just going to be...sorting some things out...before I...go home..."

Alone in Elly's room...could you be more awkward in front of Elly's family?

As the girls left the main living area of the house, Karl looked over at Bea, "Is there something going on between the two of them?"

Bea shrugged, "I know as much as you do...but I think they have some things to work out between them and we...might be seeing a bit more of Chloe around here as they do."

Bea then noticed the look on Susan's face, "Wait, do you know more about what's going on between them, Suze?"

Susan shook her head, "I'm sure all I know is as much as you do, Bea."

Karl stared between the two, feeling completely out of the loop but eventually shook his head and went back to helping Susan prep their Christmas lunch to be served.

As Elly and Chloe entered Elly's bedroom, Elly felt Chloe hesitate by the door, "Y'know you can come in and close the door behind you."

"Right," Chloe replied, realizing how awkward she was now being around Elly, as she did as Elly asked, "Sorry...I just wasn't sure what your family would think about..."

"About...us hanging out in the comfort of my room with my son?" Elly asked, "Unless...am I been pushy? It's Christmas and you should be with your family. You should go and head home to spend time with them. We can catch up later tonight or tomorrow or whenever you want."

"You're not been pushy, Elly. I want to spend time with you and Elliot," Chloe reassured as she gently placed the two bags down on Elly's bed, "It's more...do your family know...y'know that we're...trying to work this thing out between us? I guess I feel a bit awkward because...I'm still with Pierce...technically and I don't want anyone to think I'm cheating on him."

Elly shrugged, "I don't think so. Suze and Bea both know I'm in love with you but I haven't told them about us working on how this is going to work with the pair of us and my son or that we will be together once you break things off with Pierce. You can relax, Chlo, they aren't going to think that the pair of us are cheating on Pierce just because we're alone in my bedroom. I did just have my baby only a couple days ago."

"Do you want to tell them?" Chloe asked thoughtfully.

Elly smiled at Chloe before walking over to the cot in her room, "If they ask me then I won't lie to them. I'll tell them the truth, we're working on things, once you've ended things with Pierce and the pair of us are both comfortable with how our relationship will work when I have my son to take into consideration...then we'll be together. If they don't ask...they're not going to think we're cheating on anyone. I know I have a very checkered past when it comes to cheating but that's not what you and I are about this time."

Chloe watched as Elly carefully placed Elliot in his cot, fussing over his blanket swaddling him, "So...you feel...confident to tell your family about us...whenever they either ask or need to know that we're...together?"

When Elly stopped fussing over her son, she stood back up and reached out her hand to Chloe. Chloe walked over to the brunette and took her hand, surprised when Elly slowly positioned her in front of her so they were both facing the cot, with Elly standing behind the blonde.

Chloe was even more surprised when Elly wrapped her arms around her waist, nuzzling her face against the crook of Chloe's neck. Chloe instinctively placed her arms over Elly's, holding Elly's hands around her stomach.

"I am not afraid to tell anyone that I love you, okay. I meant what I said that I'm done letting my fears of people judging me stand in the way of what we have between us. I know we still have a lot to work on, most of which involves this little guy in front of us and how I can fit you into our lives without making you feel like I have no time or energy for you. I will need your understanding that I might not be able to drop everything to be there for you every moment of the day for anything that may come up. But if we promise each other to work on how our relationship will work, then there will never be a single moment that I'll ever feel anything but proud to be with you," Elly assured.

Chloe turned her head, facing Elly as much as she could whilst being cuddled from behind by the brunette, "I will be the most understanding person you've ever met. I need this to work between us. I won't put any pressure on you to ever have to choose between Elliot or me. You put him first no matter what. He's amazing, just like you, and I can't wait til he's old enough to figure that out."

Elly blushed at the thought of Chloe being there for both of them as her son grew up and gently leant forward to press her lips to Chloe's cheek.

This is the only thing I want in the world, Chloe giving us a chance to be a family with Elliot and I. Will we get that chance?