Authors Note; Oh dear God! My poor readers! I am so, so sorry for not updating! I realise that you must be so disappointed! Or maybe I'm deluding myself, but hey, a girl can dream! Back on track, I'm sorry I haven't updated! Uni has been crazy these last couple of weeks and I have exams in the next few so I may not be able to update very quickly again! But after that it should be fairly regular. Thank you so much for not biting my head off!
On that note of excuses, please forgive me (again) for this chapter being slightly shorter than the others. I didn't want to leave you hanging any longer so posted what I've got.
So please, go ahead; ready, review, favourite, follow, message me and have a growl that I didn't update for so long! Whatever takes your fancy :)
He woke slowly and smiled. Her petite body was curled up in front of him and he could hear her breathing softly. He tightened his grip around her momentarily and heard her giggle.
"Morning beautiful." He said, his voice laden with sleep, before he nuzzled his face into the back of her neck, peppering her exposed skin with kisses.
"Eric," she giggled again, wriggling around in his arms as he continued his kisses across her shoulder, "Stop it!"
"Only if I get a kiss." He smiled and she shuffled so that she was lying on her back facing him.
"A kiss? Huh?"
"Mm-hmm." He hummed, kissing her face gently.
"Well come here then." She whispered and wound one arm around his neck, pulling his lips to hers. They kissed softly, slowly, until they were desperate for air. He pulled back reluctantly and pressed his forehead to hers.
"I love you." He whispered and pressed a soft kiss to her forehead before rolling onto his back next to her, still gazing at her lovingly. She lifted her left hand and trailed her fingers over his face from his temple down his jaw and revelled in the feeling for a moment before ensnaring her fingers in his and pulling them to his lips, kissing each of them delicately. He took a moment to look at the two silver rings her ring finger. He kissed the cool metal and smiled. A loud cry came through the monitor on his side table and he groaned, but rolled over and snagged the offending object up and switching it off. She gave a heavy sigh before making to pull the covers off of her, "Don't worry, I'll get it." Eric said, rolling off the bed onto his feet and stretching.
He left the bedroom and padded barefoot across the passage to the other room and entered. The baby was standing up in the crib, holding onto the side, red faced from crying.
"Whats up, sweetie?" He cooed, gathering her up into his arms and kissing each of the baby's soft cheeks. The problem soon became apparent and he set about cleaning her up and soothing her cries. No matter what he did she wouldn't stop crying, so figuring she was hungry he went into the kitchen, holding her on his hip, and went about making her up a bottle, gently bouncing her up and down and making nonsense soothing noises. When the bottle was ready he tested the temperature and when satisfied it wasn't too hot he moved her around so she was supported before giving the bottle to her. He watched as she quieted and happily sucked the bottle, drinking its entire contents in a matter of minutes. When she was done he took the bottle back and put it in the sink, grabbing the old dish towel and throwing it over his shoulder and carefully patting her on the back. When she made an impressive belch for a baby her size he gave a soft laughed, disposing of the rag into the sink with the dirty bottle and pulling her round to face him, "Auntie K and Unca D would be very impressed by that gorgeous." He told her and kiss her nose, prompting her to give off an incredibly adorable giggle. She had become his whole world in the short 6 months that she had been in his world. Actually, she's been the centre of your world for 14 and ½ months since you found out about her, he thought and smiled ruefully. Her eyes which had been a piercing crystal blue at birth had changed and were settling on a dark green now, somewhere between his own green eyes and her mothers hazels. Her hair had also changed. No longer the platinum blonde it had been it was now a darker blonde with a slightly red tinge to it. She was the most beautiful little girl he had ever seen. She gave a big yawn and stretched her little arms out. He kissed her head softly and cuddled her to his chest, walking back into the nursery. As he sat in the old rocker he remembered decorating the place as a surprise to his wife. Seeing as they didn't know whether they were going to be having a baby boy or a baby girl the room was a neutral white with dark wood furniture, contrasting the light wood floors. The curtains were pulled closed and Eric went and sat on the bay window seat with his daughter. Watching her as she started to fall asleep he couldn't help but think about how he had never imagined that he would be so lucky to have a wife who he was so madly in love with and a daughter who he knew had him wrapped around her tiny, plump little finger. He didn't hear his wife's footsteps as she came into the room, starting slightly when she came and curled up next to him on the window seat, stroking a single finger over their baby's cheek.
"She's so beautiful." She whispered, laying her head on his shoulder.
"Just like her Mum." He answered, kissing his daughter's forehead and then his wife's.
"Thank you."
"For what?"
"Kissing me that day. Putting up with me. Giving me chance. Not freaking out when I told you I was pregnant. Asking me to marry you. Being here. Taking care of us. Everything."
"You make it sound like a job?" He asked, making it sound more like a question.
"It is in a way?" He couldn't believe what he was hearing and shifted the baby in his arms so he was cradling her with only one before moving around and facing his wife, cupping her cheek gently in his newly freed hand and forcing her eyes to meet his.
"There is only one reason why I did all this, and its not because its a job, or a chore, or anything else like that." He said forcefully, but keeping his voice down so as not to wake the sleeping baby.
"And why is that?" She whispered still looking unconvinced.
"I love you, Nell Beale." He whispered and leaned in, kissing her on the lips with so much love that he was sure that there was no way she could be second guessing his feelings.
"I love you, too, Eric Beale." She said when they pulled away.
Eric woke with a start feeling something wriggling in his arms. His eyes flew open and he saw Nell trying to get out from under his arm and move her head away from where his was nestled against hers without disturbing him. He didn't say anything, just lifted his arm and let her go. He flopped over onto his back watching as she disappeared into his bathroom. What was that? he thought, as he tried to forget the feeling of dream-Nell's lips on his. He closed his eyes and sighed frustratedly. Hearing the bathroom door open he didn't react, not even when the bed dipped slightly under her weight as she sat down once more.
"How are you feeling?" She asked quietly, brushing her fingers over his forehead as she had been at random times since her arrival the previous morning.
"A lot better." He confessed, realising for the first time since he woke up that he didn't feel cold, even though he was shirtless, only wearing a pair of colourful boxers (a fact that he was still too tired to be embarrassed about).
"Your temperatures gone down to normal." She said, moving her fingers to brush through his hair.
"To be honest, I feel human again." He smiled, closing his eyes again and letting her touch sooth him, "I've got to ask." He said opening his eyes after a moment and looking up at her. She's never looked more beautiful, he thought, blushing slightly. But it was true. Her short hair was adorably ruffled on one side from sleep and her pajamas were crinkled. Her tank top was twisted slightly round, hanging loosely on her small frame and her shorts were folded up, becoming almost indecently short. She sat close to his side, one leg folded up so her knee was resting on his hip, supporting her body on one arm which was planted by his side across the bed so she was leaning over him.
"What?" She asked when he didn't immediately continue.
"You have a lot of experience looking after sick partners?" He smiled, letting her know that he was half joking, but that he was also curious to know the answer. She gave a small laugh and sat back, running a hand through her hair.
"I'm the second oldest in my family," she explained, "You know that there are a lot of us, and because both my parents worked full time whenever one of the young ones was ill it would mainly fall to us older ones to look after them."
"Ah, that explains it." He said in a know-it-all tone.
"Explains what?" She playfully glared at him and pushed his shoulder.
"Your maternal instinct," he explained. When she raised an eyebrow and looked half accusatory he held his hands up in mock surrender, "Not a bad thing! Promise! You're going to make an amazing mother one day." He finished before remembering the dream. He kept picturing their baby that his imagination had conjured up. He shook his head and hoped that she would attribute the slight flush that crept up his neck to the fact that he was still recovering from a fever, but when he looked back at her he noticed that her own cheeks had turned a delicate shade of pink, which pleased him immensely.
"Thanks." She mumbled, playing with her fingers. The silence stretched and started to become uncomfortable he glanced over at the glowing digits on his alarm clock. 5:45am. He groaned loudly and flung an arm over his eyes.
"I'm going back to sleep." He announced and felt the bed spring up as she stood before dipping on the opposite side when she crawled back into the bed. This time she came up to him, snuggling into his side. He lifted his arm so she could lay her head on his shoulder and she dropped one of her arms over his waist. She didn't seem to care that he was shirtless, something that he only remembered when her hair tickled his chest. His arm that had been over his eyes took on a life of its own and came down, playing with the fingers on her left hand. He missed the rings for a second, before remembering that that had all been a part of the dream. He sighed, and tried to put the dream out of his head before closing his eyes once more, revelling in the feel of her body pressed against his again, their legs entangled, "Your feet are cold." He whined and in response she just pressed them against the skin of his leg, making him hiss, "Seriously, they're ice blocks!"
"Stop moaning," she grumbled, fidgeting to get comfortable. When she eventually settled she pressed a delicate kiss to his jaw causing his heart to skip a beat, "G'Night."
"Night Nelly." He sighed, kissing the top of her head and falling back to sleep.
When he woke for the second time it was light outside his window. The curtains had been pulled back for the first time in 3 days and the light was nearly blinding. He blinked hard and rolled over stretching his arm out to search for his bed mate. Realising that the space where she had been was cold and empty he frowned before sitting up and making full use of all of his senses. He could smell a fresh batch of coffee and hear cupboards opening and closing in his kitchen. He managed to pull himself into a standing position and stumbled around, pulling on the t-shirt that, after he had discarded it the night before, Nell had moved to the chair in the corner of his room and fumbling around on the bedside table for his glasses. Without bothering to pull on pants he moved clumsily out into the kitchen to investigate the strange noises and found Nell, still in her pyjamas, pouring coffee into two mugs on a tray which was laden with pancakes, fresh fruit and a bowl of yoghurt, two plates and sets of cutlery and napkins.
"Hey," he rasped, coming around the breakfast bar into the kitchen and snagging one of the coffees from the tray, gulping a mouthful down before noticing that it was black with nothing added to it. Although he managed to force himself to swallow the boiling bitter liquid he couldn't help smiling at Nell's ringing laughter. She rarely let loose so even if it was his misfortune which caused it he couldn't begrudge her some happiness, "Yuck!"
"So that's all you were interested in? The coffee?" She joked raising a challenging eyebrow at him. This time he found himself sputtering on thin air. Surely she wasn't suggesting.. he thought. Having realised what he had assumed she turned a tomato red and managed to choke out, "Not that you would be interested in anything else!"
"I got it!" He said, grabbing the sugar pot off the bench and adding two generous teaspoons to his mug before taking another gulp, "So, you did all this for me?" He asked cockily, indicating the tray with the extravagant breakfast, "You know that cereal would be just as effective." She smiled and dropped her gaze, biting her bottom lip in a move that he knew wasn't supposed to be seductive but was even sexier because he knew that that wasn't her intention. Stop! He mentally berated himself, but couldn't stop the smile on his lips.
"You said earlier you were feeling better, so I thought that something warm but light would help you get back on your feet." Momentarily stunned by her kindness he just stared at her until he got his voice back.
"And breakfast in bed was just an added bonus?" He took a step towards her, putting his now half empty coffee on the bench.
"Figured you would be too lazy to get up." She joked, poking his stomach lightly, but matching his step. They were now toe to toe, her head coming up to his chest so her neck was craned back so that their gaze could met, "What were you dreaming about last night?" She asked randomly, and he tripped a half step back.
"Er- Um- No-nothing!" He stuttered, trying to contain the blush, "Why'd you ask?"
"No reason, you just were mumbling and sighing a lot." She said, and he could see the curious look she was giving him.
"Eric," she closed the gap once more and this time he was pressed against the counter, "You said my name. And 'baby'." She said, eyebrow raised.
"I- I- I can explain!" He said, holding his hands up, "Although I don't think you'll want to hear."
"Try me."
"I.. had a.. a dream," he started slowly, convinced that he was about to ruin their entire partnership… friendship… thing, "That, um. That we were…"
"Were what?" Nell asked and he could tell from his tone that she was getting impatient.
"Thatweweremarriedandinloveandhadadaughterandwereh appytogether." He exhaled all in one breath, turning beet red and not meeting her gaze.
"Say that again?" She asked and he was sure that she had heard him from the slightly incredulous look she was giving him which he saw out the corner of his eye. He gave a heavy sigh and met her gaze. Now or never.
"I had a dream that we were married, and in love, and had a daughter, and were happy together." His tone was steady, a total opposite to how he was feeling inside. Her response surprised him again.
"Was it a good dream? Or a bad one?" Their gaze was locked, and he felt in that moment that everything was about to change.
"Good," he breathed, unsure of who had moved towards who, but fully aware of the fact that their mouths were drifting closer, "Very good."