Title: Concrete
Summary: Emma hates to admit it, but sometimes she does need some help.
Note: Prompted from farmgirlusa on tumblr: "In my defense I didn't know there was concrete on the other side of the fence when I tossed him over it."Before Grilled Cheeses. I mentioned in a couple chapters how Ritu helped, but I wanted a little peek into how those days go.
"In my defense, I didn't know there was concrete on the other side of the fence when I tossed him over it."
Ritu's laugh came in peals, and she swiped at her eyes as she turned back to the stove. "I'm certain of that. It's not like this is Manhattan or anything," she teased.
Emma rested her head on the cool kitchen island, her stomach still flip-flopping even as she desperately tried to take her mind off it. "Hey, there was grass on my side. And he complimented my dress in a less-than-tactful way."
"Oh, then perhaps it was karma," she joked.
"Mm, that's what Graham said," she said. She tried to breathe evenly, but it felt like her insides were squishing together. It was well past 11am now, and she had been sick all morning. She was slightly worried that whatever Ritu was preparing was just going to make it way back, like everything else seemed to lately.
"I'm sure he loved to hear all about it," she said with a chuckle.
Emma smirked. She remembered the faces Graham had pulled when she told him the story when she came home that night, months ago now. She knew how to handle whatever life threw at her, and he really shouldn't find the need to be so protective most of the time. He elected to ignore it that fact for the most part, and she tried not to be too amused or exasperated because of it.
After all, they both were pretty dead-set on protecting one another.
Ritu scooted the tea to her with a raised brow. "Now, this is the good chai, so try to keep this one down."
"The good one from Mumbai or Montreal?" she asked as she lifted her head, blinking owlishly at her.
Ritu grinned. "This one is Chennai by way of Montreal, so it's extra special. It's not a Masala, so don't expect sweet," she warned.
Emma took the mug to her lips and rested her teeth along the edge. "I might need a minute if I wanna fulfill that request to keep it down, though," she warned.
Ritu leaned forward and brushed the hair off her forehead like she was a three-year-old, something very motherly in her eyes. "You know I didn't mean it. You have a pallor, sweetie, but at least you're not green for the moment. You need to try a bit, get some strength. So just sip slow, okay?"
Emma buried her nose in the tea, trying to shake the image of a paler face with that same expression. Her stomach was rolling fitfully, and she swallowed thickly before taking a few deep breaths. "It doesn't smell like the other one," she finally commented.
Ritu hummed an agreement. "This one's a green chai, actually. Ginger-heavy. It should help with your stomach and isn't very caffeinated."
Emma felt like grumbling at that. She missed caffeine. She missed black coffee so strong she could feel it all the way down. She missed cup after cup of hot chocolate with cinnamon. Being stuck with the low-caf or decaf versions was almost torture. Finally, she took a cautious sip. It was very gingery, the spicy taste at the forefront of her tongue. She paused. It didn't settle her nausea, but it didn't aggravate it, either, so she took another sip. "It's good," she pronounced.
Ritu nodded. "The oatmeal's almost done. Think you can manage that?" she asked.
Emma frowned. Plain, flavorless oatmeal. "Yeah, maybe," she grumbled. This hyperemesis thing was actually the worst because of all the things her stomach couldn't handle. What she wanted was a giant, bloody burger with loads of processed cheese and bacon. Steel-cut oats with not even a hint of sugar was a damn sorry substitute.
"I'll put some pistachios over the top. Good B vitamins, there," she said. "But if it's too much, let me know. You just need some more calories."
Emma patted her stomach as she leaned to full height in her seat. She looked at the meal in front of her. Ritu had tried hard to make it presentable, the green nuts carefully strewn across to look like a smiley face. Annoyingly, tears stung the back of her throat. "Thanks, Ritu," she croaked out.
"Don't mention it, sweetie," she said with a wave of her hand. "So, what happened after the guy broke his ankle?"
Emma grinned down at her oats and raked a spoon through them. "He didn't break his ankle. All he did was scrape his knee. But he started crying, like actual full sobs. I could barely get the twist ties on him because I started laughing so hard."
"He didn't!" she exclaimed, then broke into giggles. "Emma, I swear you go after the most ridiculous people!"
She frowned slightly. "Well, I used to," she grumbled.
"Oh, Emma, I'm sure you'll be back to your aggressive tendencies in no time," she said with a pat on her shoulder. "You're better than last week already. It just takes time."
She shivered. She rubbed the back of her hand, where the mark from the IV was still healing. "Don't want that again," she said and took a determined bite of the oatmeal. She wrinkled her nose at the plain flavor, but swallowed it. She was mildly proud of herself that she kept it down.
"I don't want that for you, either," Ritu said, a little more seriously than she liked. "You scared me quite a bit that day, you know."
Emma ducked her head, hair from her ponytail falling in messy strands to shield her face. She didn't remember much leading up to the ambulance. She just remembered that she had been having one of her episodes, but it had started turning a little pink. The rest that she recalled before waking to a worried Graham and Henry was just Ritu's steady voice as she stroked her hair. "I never thanked you," she mumbled.
Ritu tsked. "I think Graham thanked me enough for all of you. I actually got a hug out of the guy. And I don't need the words, sweetie, though I appreciate it."
She took another bite, and her gaze flashed over black and white for a second when she realized it was too big. She coughed, then carefully swallowed and leaned back. "I'm looking forward to getting past this part," she said. "Then you wouldn't have to babysit me all day."
Ritu leaned forward, helping to tuck the loose tendrils back into the elastic. "What would I do with all my free time, otherwise?" she joked.
Emma groaned and her head fell back down to the tabletop. "You're right, you should be enjoying your leave of absence instead of taking care of me."
Ritu shook her head. "And do what with all that quiet in my house? I taught my boys too well, there's nothing to clean up after. I have more knickknacks than I care for, so crafting is off the table. I have filled half the volunteer hours for the Trinity school, and Aamer would prefer I stay away from his at this crucial point in teenagerhood. I needed something to help fill the hours. Might as well be you," she said, grinned with a pleased nod.
She snorted. Ritu had left her job for about a month ago, needing to get away from the pressure of the big accounting firm she'd been at. Sam had been more than supportive, and the boys had been as well.
She wasn't all too sure when it was decided that Ritu would be the one to come over to check in on her when Graham and Henry were at work and school respectively, but she had gotten used to her neighbor's presence easily. Maybe too easily.
"You don't have to be here, you know," she said as she scraped the oatmeal from her bowl.
"Have to? Who said anything about have to?" She sighed. "Henry and Avery are friends, and you are my friend. You've helped me out before, now I'm helping you."
"Ritu," she said pointedly. "I haven't done anything remotely on this scale for you."
She raised a brow. "You mean you haven't been good to my son, kept him safe, or let him stay over in your home? You haven't had us over, brought us food?"
"Well, yeah, but that's not—"
"Sweetheart, you're family. You don't ask for these things when it's family, it's just done. Stop fussing over it," she said pointedly.
Emma looked away sharply, sniffing conspicuously. She hated these hormones. "Thank you," she said plainly.
Ritu only smiled. "So, you said he was crying when you put the ties on. What happened next?"
Emma smiled and continued explaining the rundown. But she barely paid attention to her own words, the story rote and well-used. She watched as Ritu listened, eating her own meal that was explicitly made to not be too strong-smelling, her bright eyes attentive.
It was later, when she was getting ready to sleep, tucking herself into Graham's arms between the open casefile in his hands, that she truly stopped to think about what her neighbor had said.
"This life … it's good, isn't it?" she murmured.
He looked down at her and took one of his hands to scratch at her scalp soothingly even at the awkward angle. "I certainly think so," he said, voice lilting up playfully. He moved to press a kiss to her forehead.
"No, not just this," she pressed, and leaned up. She rested her head on his shoulder and took their hands down over her belly. "I love this, all of us. But I mean … everything else."
He set the file down and focused on her. She loved when he looked like this, sleepy eyes still dancing, curls all messy across his forehead. "Anything in particular?"
She pressed her lips together, and then tilted her head to kiss his jaw. She settled back down over his heart this time, letting him scoop her close. She felt her stomach finally halt, soothing down to nothing more than background noise. "This is our family: you, me, Henry, and the newbie. But it's … strange, I guess. We have more outside this inner circle, don't we?"
His breathing shifted slightly, and she pressed her nose more firmly against his chest as she wrapped her arms around his waist. "Ritu's good to you," he commented. "I honestly don't know what I would have done without her last week, or this week, or even the week before. She cares about you and Henry, and I do believe she'd do anything for you. So yes, Em. She's family."
She nodded. "And the others, too."
"And the others, too, of course," he replied. He was quiet a moment. "And I know it's not a replacement, but it's good, Emma."
She swallowed, her belly tightening just a bit before settling back down. "Time for an again?"
He scattered kisses across the top of her head. "I love you."
She felt the last of her tension release, and she felt bone-tired. "I love our family," she said softly. "If there were just two more …."
"I know, Em."
She liked that. She liked that he didn't offer platitudes, things that would fall flat into the space of missing her parents. Instead, she listened to the steady beats of his heart and tried to focus on the family they had here, the one slowly expanding. "Do you miss your brother?" she asked suddenly.
He was quiet a moment. "Yeah, I do."
She took his hand in hers, playing with his fingers absently to hear their rings clink against one another. "But you're happy, too, right? You like being around people and us and—"
"Yes, Emma," he said firmly, passionately. He tilted her face up and kissed her, enough to make her toes curl in reminder that pregnancy didn't just make her feel the bad things. "It's just the connection, now. Being accepted by others. The 20th especially, but Andie and even now Maggie and Ritu and all your other friends, all Henry's friends … they're pretty irreplaceable, aren't they?"
She hummed an agreement, feeling contentment flutter in her chest.
"And as for you? You, Henry, the twins?"
She scoffed, but he silenced her with another kiss.
He was smiling as they parted. "You all are beyond anything I felt before."
She bit down on his lip, tugging gently. She knew this, something he's said before but never really fully sinks in. She leaned on her elbows to better settle over him, straddling his hips. "We've got a pretty amazing family then, don't we?"
He grinned. "If they make you feel like this, then absolutely," he said. He buried his head against her neck before trailing his lips up to her ear. "I mean that, though. Anything that makes you happy is pretty amazing in my book."