Hey Guys! Chapter 4 is finally here! I normally update on Tuesday but this past week has been a rollercoaster! I've been battling a tooth infection all week, it's been driving me nuts. Anyway, I encourage you guys to follow me on Tumblr if you have one, because I will be posting announcements, visuals, and chapter previews over there :) My username is buckyxbae
Hope ya'll enjoy Chapter 4!
West Village, NYC | Noon
"So it's been five days." Lorrie said, leaning back in her chair and perusing the menu in her hands. Alba tried to copy her, although she wasn't quite as relaxed as her friend was.
"Five days and no contact from Steve, yes." She said tersely. Each day since the night she told him had been more agonizing than the last. Alba was now reduced to hovering by the phone like an idiot and repeatedly asking her doorman if he had seen a tall, blond man. He had not.
Despite the fact that she only knew him very little, she missed him. She missed his quiet presence and mirthful eyes following her around the room. She missed how safe she felt around him.
Her eyes began to water, and before she knew it, she was sniffling behind a napkin. What the hell? Lorrie glanced at Alba over her menu and sighed like this was just another day in the life.
"Let me guess, pregnancy hormones?" She hiccuped behind her napkin and nodded.
The waiter chose to return to their table at that moment, taking in the young, crying woman and giving her friend and alarmed glance.
Lorrie threw an arm over her friend's shoulder and grinned at the poor waitress. "Don't worry, she's just pregnant." The waitress nodded, mystified, and promised to return shortly for their order.
Alba sniffled into her napkin one final time and composed herself. "I don't know what's wrong with me. Yesterday I cried because of this amazon prime commercial with a dog and a baby. I was sobbing, Lorrie." Her friend snickered.
"Oh the joys of pregnancy. When I was pregnant I used to cry after sex." Alba did a spit take. "It's true. Rick used to avoid having sex with me cause I used to sob my heart out afterwards. Hard to comfort your wife when your mouse is out of its cage." Alba giggled. This is why they were best friends. God knows what she would be doing without Lorrie coaxing back her sanity.
"You're probably just hangry, anyway."
"Probably." She agreed. The girls placed their orders and sipped their drinks, enjoying the sunny New York weather. Alba finally had a day off, and she was wrapping everything up for the big trial. She had two days left until she could put that bastard back in prison. Joanna, her client, was coming around at the idea of witness protection. The only sore point now was her family. They had to stay behind, but Joanna refused to leave them.
The dilemma was giving Alba a headache. Again.
She focused on the beautiful, quirky restaurant Lorrie had chosen instead. They were sitting in a well-lit terrace sipping margaritas (a virgin for her) and enjoying the city breeze.
The food showed up in no time, and they happily dug in. They finished their meal and split dessert after Alba begged for a slice of chocolate cake.
"I'm gonna gain some pregnancy weight right along with you," Lorrie announced, finishing the last of the cake. Alba peered down at her belly. It looked just as it had two months ago. She couldn't wait until she had a cute little bump. Last week she thought she noticed a little bulge in the stomach, but it turns out she was just bloated.
"How long until I'm showing, do you think?" Lorrie raised her eyebrows and inspected her friend's midsection.
"Who knows? Every person is different. I didn't show until four months."
"Four months? That's halfway through the pregnancy!" Alba whined.
"I'm not saying you're going to take that long," Her friend retorted. "Its just an example. Besides, the longer you can hide that pregnancy at the law firm the better. It's all shark infested waters over there." Too true. Speaking of which, she had to start thinking about her maternity leave. She made a mental note to visit the HR department and get some information.
"How is work, anyway?"
"It's fine," She answered. "I have been assigned another case with Marcus. Unfortunately."
Lorrie gave her a perplexed look. "Why didn't you just say no?"
"Because, Lor," Alba huffed, "It's not that easy. I can't just turn up and say 'hey, I don't want to work with this idiot because he cheated on me'. Not when you're a woman, anyway, cause then they blame it on stupid shit like me being on my period.
"And then you throw in my pregnancy, and it's the perfect ammunition for the junior associates banking for my job. Besides, my boss pulled me aside after Marcus and I closed the S.H.I.E.L.D. case and told me he's considering me to become a partner." Lorrie let out a low whistle.
"Wow. You're gonna be running the firm in no time, Al."
Alba grinned. "Yeah. I know."
The next morning, Alba found herself on the phone once more. This time, however, the conversation was much more rewarding. The young woman found herself grinning as she leaned back in her chair.
"When are you visiting us? Dylan won't stop asking for his Aunt." Alba smiled warmly as she remembered her nephew's sweet little face gazing up at her. She really had to visit her family. And then tell them everything. She was hoping to at least make it past the first trimester, and then she would break the news.
"How about in a month? I have to see some cases through, but after I'm done with those I can clear some time off with my boss." Her sister, Meredith, sighed on the other end of the line.
"A month? That feels like forever, Aly."
"You know, Mer, for being a big sister you sure are whiny. Your students don't hear you acting like this, right?" She teased her sister, who was the biggest baby out of the two. Funny how someone like Meredith ended up as a grade school principal. Her sister huffed.
"Shut up before I show up in your fancy New York apartment and trash it." She was about to reply with a comeback when the light on her phone started flashing. Her assistant was calling.
"Mer, I'm gonna have to call you back." She ended the call and accepted the incoming one.
"Yes, Agnes?"
"Ms. Herrera, there's someone here to see you." The older lady said stiffly. That's weird. She didn't remember having an appointment at this time. Just to make sure, Alba pulled up her calendar. It was empty.
"I don't have an appointment with anyone until three-thirty, Agnes."
"I know, Ms. Herrera. He's very…persistent." There was definitely distaste in her tone. Agnes, a sweet old lady that had worked as a secretary in the sixties, only talked about one person like that.
Marcus.
Alba wanted to groan and stomp her feet. Why couldn't he just leave her alone? Ever since they started working on their last case, Marcus was like a dog with a bone. She wasn't sure if he was being petty or if he actually wanted her back, the the faster she got rid of him the faster she could head out to grab lunch.
So she asked Agnes to send him up, and started laying out her work around her desk to make herself look incredibly busy. The busier she looked, the faster he would get out of her hair. There was a short knock on her door.
"Come in," He entered and closed the door quietly behind him, coming to stand behind her desk patiently. Something was off. Marcus never knocked, and he never did anything patiently. Alba glanced up absently, working on some corrections, and did a double take.
This definitely wasn't Marcus, it was—
"Steve?" She blinked a couple of times, not quite believing her eyes. He wore the same baseball cap again, this time with black, square glasses perched on his nose. "What the hell happened to you?" He had a black eye, and another dark bruise blooming on his jaw. His nose looked red, like it had been punched, hard. Alba glanced down and found his hands bruised and bloody. She gulped. It looked like he'd killed someone with his bare hands, which, taking in his job probably wasn't entirely off the mark.
She gaped, and although her years as a lawyer had taught her how to always think on her feet, she had no idea what to say now. She didn't even know how to feel. Was she angry? Yes. Was she surprised? Absolutely. But more than anything, she was relieved. He didn't abandon her. He came back.
Steve shifted, looked down at the floor, and then gazed up at her. It seems like he was just as nervous as she.
"I owe you an explanation." Alba nodded slowly and motioned to the seat next to him. He sat in the and took a deep breath. "I didn't mean to disappear like that. There was a mission and…everything just went south. I am so sorry, but I had to be there." She nodded again mutely.
Steve looked at her anxiously and sighed. "Please say something."
"Why are you here, Steve?"
"Because you're…pregnant." He said the work cautiously, as if it would burn his tongue. "I'm here to take responsibility for what I did." Alba resisted the urge to laugh at his antiquated choice of words. He sounded like her grandfather.
"Steve, you don't have to say it like that."
He frowned. "Like what?"
"Like someone from the forties."
"I am from the forties." The serious mood in the room lifted as the two began grinning at each other. Alba was starting to take in his familiar, playful look when it was replaced by a sullen one.
"When you told me the news, I was shocked. I mean, if I had a hundred guesses, I would have never even thought of you being pregnant. I didn't know what to do or what to say, and then Nat called, and I panicked. I knew I would regret walking out of that door in the first place, but I did it anyway. Leaving was a mistake. I'm so sorry that I left you the way I did, Alba." He sighed, looking down at himself angrily. "It was unforgivable."
Alba couldn't help feeling bad for him. "Steve, stop beating yourself up. Yes, you left me, but I'm not a delicate flower, I handled it. Besides, you're here now. That's all that matters."
His gaze snapped up to meet hers. "So am I forgiven? Let me make this up to you. Whatever you want." Alba's mind traveled to wicked placed. Whatever she wanted? She looked at his earnest expression and forced herself to get her mind out of the gutter.
"Well…You can start by buying me lunch. I'm starving." Alba said, rising to her feet. "There's this hot dog cart a couple of blocks down next to central park that you have to try. Best dogs in the city."
Steve grinned and stood to join her. "Let's go. My treat."
The two left the firm and walked the short trek to central park. Steve walked vigilantly next to Alba, making sure she stayed on the inside of the sidewalk away from the cars. She tried not to grin at his little quirks, but it was the little things that gave him away. He really was a man out of time. He insisted on having Alba wait on a nearby bench under the shade as he paid for their lunch. His broad shoulder brushed against her as he sat on the bench. Alba tried to ignore the bolt of electricity she felt at this simple touch. They ate in silence, staring off into the greens of central park and observing the families playing around them. Looking at Steve sitting beside her proudly, Alba still couldn't understand how he wasn't recognized. It seemed his disguise, simple as it was, did the trick.
"So, what now?" He asked.
"Now we wait. I'm about ten weeks along, so you haven't missed much. I had my first OB/GYN appointment last week." Steve groaned under his breath, furious at himself.
"I missed the first appointment?" Alba grinned and placed his hand over his, flushing when he flipped his hand over to cradle hers. She cleared her throat.
"It was pretty boring. I have my first ultrasound in two weeks. If you're interested in coming let me know and I'll send you the details."
"Of course I want to go. I wouldn't miss it for the world." He glanced down at her stomach and Alba tried not to fidget self-consciously. It took her a second to realize he was trying to see if she had a bump. She put a hand on her soft stomach and grinned nervously.
"I'm not showing yet. My friend told me she didn't start showing until she was almost four months along." Steve met her eyes and grinned, relaxing into the bench.
"Have you had any morning sickness?"
"Not too much. Why?"
"Because we have to finish that dinner." He answered playfully.
Alba paused beside him. "…You still want to date? After everything that's happened?" He didn't hesitate to reply.
"I know that every time we spend time together something crazy happens. But I'm not going to give up. Especially now." Alba wanted to sigh. Is this even real life? Cause I wake up back in my office I'm gonna be pissed.
"Okay. We can start by finishing last week's dinner. Be there by seven, and leave the cell phone at home."
Steve's lips twitched as he gave her a small salute. "Yes, ma'am."
Alright, Question of the week:
How do you guys feel about Alba's reaction? Was she too easy on Steve? Did she forgive him too quickly?! Let me know :)
Also a million thanks to all of you who review, favorite, and alert the story. You guys make my day. Seriously. I laugh at random moments at work and I'm pretty sure my coworker thinks I lost my marbles because of ya'll so THANK YOU