Disclaimer: I do not own anything that does not have my name written next to it in pretty pink pen. I only own my own fictional characters, this include my OFC Nicola Andrews and her family. I also do not own any of the songs used to write this story…except on CD.
Reviews etc. are always appreciated and adored.
Summary: "Do you remember that time I fell out your window and you came jumping out after me?" There was a twinge of humour to her husky voice and Leon smiled for her benefit. For three years he let himself believe that he would always save her from everything, until he was the reason she was in that ambulance, a broken back and their baby was gone.
Sassy Ava, Gingermegs, Mrz Letty Ortiz-Toretto, Love Ink and Lover of Many Things804 – Thank you all for your wonderful reviews and suggestions RE the rest of the story. And I have decided what I am going to do – it will be like a book one, book two kind of thing. Kinda like…I would say Twilight but I don't really want to get into what is wrong with the whole Twilight phenomenon (don't get me wrong I love the books) so we'll go with Lord of the Rings without the decades in between and the dwarves. So Home is book one and book two will be posted as soon as I finish this one. I kind of have to make a new story because I've run out of lines of this song. But be prepared I have a good song for the next one. Anyways thank you so much for all your feedback for the last chapter I really enjoyed writing it so thanks and I hope this one doesn't disappoint!
And p.s Thank you to you all- I just made 100 reviews on this story! First time ever! Woo!
Playlist-
Always Be Here – Dane Rumble (If you don't know this song…well…you should)
All the Same – The Sick Puppies
May 2001 – Geez You're something to see
There was rustling and Nicola rolled over just as she felt Leons arms leave her. She watched him climb out of bed and pull on a pair of jeans before she spoke.
"What are you doing?" She could see him jump in the dark and turn around to face her.
"Sorry Baby I didn't mean to wake you." He said softly and he pulled a shirt over his head and reached for a beanie. She hated that beanie.
"What are you doing Leon? It's two am." She grumbled and he leant over her and kissed her lips gently.
"I've just got a few things I have to do for Dom. Go to sleep and I'll be back before you know it." His breath hit her lips and she sighed.
"What is so important at this time of the morning?" She said tiredly and rubbed her stomach unconsciously.
"Nothing, La, nothing." He kissed her cheek before making his way out the door and she could see Vince waiting there for him as it closed and she was left in the dark room alone.
No amount of tossing and turning would let her get back to sleep so half an hour after he left Nicola crawled out of bed and up the stairs. She turned the coffee machine on and poured herself a mug before slumping down at the table, flicking through the latest newspaper.
Around five am she heard the approaching cars and saw the lights flash through the back window before the lights went out and hushed voices before someone stepped through the back door. Dom was wearing all black and he stopped dead when he saw her sitting at the table.
"La, what are you doing up?" He said, stepping through the door, allowing the others to stumble in after him. Leon glanced over at her, his tired eyes falling on her and looking guilty.
"I can't sleep when Leons not there." She mumbled and Dom glanced over at Letty who was following behind.
"Right well we're going back to bed." He took Lettys hand and pulled her towards the door. Vince and Jesse mumbled something before disappearing down the stairs, leaving Nicola and Leon alone in the kitchen.
"You okay baby?" Leon asked as he looked down at her.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Lets go to bed." She stood up and took his hand as they made their way down stairs. When they made it to their room, flicking on the lights, she held up his hands to her face in the light. "You're shaking? What happened?" She asked softly and Leon pulled his hands from hers.
"I was in a car with Vince, you'd be shaking too." He laughed and Nicola bit her lip as she watched his face. He was bad at lying but she couldn't see any of his usual tells.
"Okay." She pulled him into the bed with her and wrapped her arms around his waist, snuggling into his chest and inhaling. "I don't like sleeping without you." She muttered before dropping off to sleep while Leon just stared at the top of her head, unable to sleep.
When she opened her eyes hours later he was still awake.
"Hey, did you get any sleep?" Nicola asked and Leon looked down at her tiredly.
"Nah." He said softly. "I think I might paint the room." He looked around at the walls and Nicolas forehead creased with confusion.
"What?" She asked.
"It needs paint. I don't like the colour anymore." He muttered, still off in space.
"You are tired aren't you?" She asked but he was still staring off into space. "You paint the room Leon and there will be trouble." She poked him in the chest and he finally looked down at her.
"What?" He asked.
"I said do not paint the room." She replied as she climbed out of his arms and over the top of him making her way towards the closet and getting dressed, throwing a look over her shoulder as she pulled her shorts and tank top on. "I've got to get to the studio. Love you." She leant over and kissed his lips quickly before leaving the room with her bag slung over her shoulder.
Late that afternoon as she walked tiredly down the stairs of the house the smell of paint made her stomach roll and she clutched it as the nausea passed. She continued to walk into the basement and saw the couch covered in plastic wrap. The walls were now a dark blue shade and made the basement look even darker. She could hear the sound of Vinces heavy metal music coming from his open door and heard Jesse yelling to him through the wall. Her eyes landed on her bedroom door and she slowly walked towards the open door to see the bed covered in plastic wrap and the floor covered in newspaper as the room was the cleanest it had been since she'd moved in.
"What the fuck?" She yelled over Vinces music and Leon stopped painting the wall and looked over at her. Breathing deeply to calm down she inhaled another breath of paint and leaned against the door jam as the nausea came on again.
"We all decided to paint our rooms." Leon replied as he looked back at the wet paint.
"Well fuckwit, the smell of paint gives me morning sickness so you can sleep in your bright yellow room alone." She threw her dance bag down and made her way up the stairs, still clutching at her stomach as she gulped in fresh breaths of air.
Her head was spinning as she sat outside on the porch with her hands on either side of her head, her elbows digging into her thighs. The nausea had passed but she was still feeling disgusting.
"Heya girl." Letty walked up the drive and looked up at her friend. "You don't look so good." She sat down beside Nicola and wrapped an arm around her shoulder.
"Baby hates the smell of paint apparently." Nicola replied as she rubbed her stomach.
"Paint?"
"Yep, the boys have gone all Home Decorator on the basement." She said and took another large inhalation of air as the thought of the paint made her queasy.
"You can have my room." Letty said and Nicola nodded. "Can I get you anything, sweetie?" The Latina girl asked, rubbing Nicolas back but she shook her head.
"No I'm fine. Thanks Let." Letty walked inside and Nicola leaned back in the chair and stared out at the road as cars slowly went past.
"Hey." She looked up as Leon leaned against the doorway. Nicola didn't say anything as he took a seat beside her. His hair was damp and she could tell he'd had a shower and changed into clean clothes. "I'm sorry about the paint. I just got carried away." He said as he ran a hand through his damp hair.
"You've got that right." She replied quietly.
"Are you feeling okay?" His voice was gentle and she looked up to see the worry in his eyes.
"I'm just queasy that's all." He moved his hand, looking up at her for permission and she nodded as his large hand spread across her stomach and made her smile as he rubbed small circles on it.
"I still can't believe our baby is in there." He said softly and Nicola forgave him in an instant, leaning into his shoulder.
"You won't be saying that when I'm a whale." She replied, laughing at the look on his face.
"You'll still be my pretty girl." He replied and pulled her closer to him. She sighed as she fisted the fabric of his shirt in her hand.
"Leon?" She whispered.
"Hmm?" His hand stroked her hair softly.
"What were you guys all doing this morning?" She asked and could feel Leons whole body stiffen before it instantly relaxed.
"We had a heap of cars that had to be sent over the border and the only truck was early." He replied, his voice easy and relaxed as he explained it.
"Oh, okay." She replied quietly, "Was it legal?" This earned her a chuckle.
"Yeah, baby it was legal." His hand rubbed her stomach again and Nicola smiled as his fingers ran over the small bump.
"Good, because I would kill you if you ever pulled a stunt like that." She said softly and kissed his neck.
"Yeah…" He trailed off as he looked down at her head and his fingers continued to trace patterns on her stomach. "Did you ask Letty if you could sleep in her room?" Nicola nodded and went to say something but stopped as her stomach rolled again and she jumped up and ran towards the bathroom.
Opting for the upstairs bathroom she sprinted up the stairs and slid across the tiles towards the toilet, heaving. There was a hand rubbing the small of her back and she heard Leons voice as he pulled her hair back into a ponytail, his fingers skimming the skin on her neck.
"Are you okay?" He asked softly as he sat down beside her.
"Yeah it will pass in a second." She replied and leaned on the seat as she glanced over at him, his worried green eyes being the first thing she saw. "Don't worry, Le, it's all part of being knocked up." The waver in her voice betrayed her.
"How many times have you been sick today?" He asked and she thought back.
"This would be the sixth." She muttered and Leon looked at her pointedly.
"You need to go to the doctor, La."
"I just need some sleep, that's all." She replied and climbed off the floor and turned on the shower, turning back to her boyfriend. "Would you be able to go and get my toothbrush and some clothes from downstairs?" Nicola asked as she pulled her tank top over her head and Leon nodded before disappearing out the door. As she watched him leave she couldn't help but think that something was bothering him besides her being sick.
Climbing into the shower she pulled the curtain across and stuck her head under the spray. She was still standing like that when the curtain was pulled back and Leon stood there holding a toothbrush already spread with toothpaste.
"Thank-you." She said as she took the toothbrush and stuck it straight in her mouth watching as Leon stood back, a worried look still on his face.
"I'm going to call your doctor." He finally said and walked out of the bathroom, the door slamming behind him and Nicola stared after him, her mouth hanging open. Seconds later Leon pushed the door open and walked in, the cordless phone wedged between his ear and his shoulder as he measured a portion of pink liquid into a measuring cup and spoke to the doctor. "Thank-you- she'll be there." Putting the bottle down he pressed the button on the phone and looked over at Nicola standing in the shower still looking at him. "He said take some of this and you've got an appointment tomorrow at ten." She took the measuring glass and threw back the pink liquid before handing it back to him, cringing at the taste of the medicine.
"You need to stop worrying Leon." Nicola replied and turned the water off and stepped out, accepting the towel he held out for her.
"I can't help it La. You're so damn accident prone." He hugged her through the towel and Nicola leant into him.
"Yes the klutz in pregnant. I get it now." She said into his shirt and pulled back to look at him, the towel still wrapped tightly around her. "Did you bring me any clothes?" She asked and smiled as he picked up one of his t-shirts which he helped pull over her head before passing her, her shorts.
When they were snuggled up in Lettys old bed Nicola let out a relieved sigh as her stomach stopped rolling making Leon pull her back into his stomach even more, placing a light kiss on her shoulder.
They walked through the shopping centre the next day, Nicola wearing a pair of low slung denim shorts and a white button up shirt that flared to hide the bump on her stomach.
"I'm just going to the bank, I'll meet you at the doctors?" Leon said as they stopped in front of the bank and Nicola nodded, looking through her handbag and pulling out a slip of paper.
"Can you please deposit this into our joint account, please." She handed him the cheque and Leon nodded before kissing her cheek and disappearing into the bank.
Nicola continued walking towards the doctors, past the stalls of vendors that were selling everything from sunglasses to wigs. At the end of the row, right in front of the doctors surgery was a little old woman turning out cards to a pair of teenage girls who were listening eagerly to her. The girls were just leaving when Nicola walked towards the doctors door when she heard the womans voice.
"Would you like a reading, dear?" Nicola looked over at the old woman who was holding up a deck of tarot cards.
"Ah, no thank you." Nicola smiled slightly before turning back to the doctors surgery. But the womans next words made her blood run cold.
"Your baby will not survive."
"What did you just say to me?" Nicola spun on the heel of her yellow converses and strode towards the woman her fists clenching. The woman hardly looked scared.
"It is the baby or you and you know who he will choose." The lady said and Nicola felt someone grab her arm. She looked around to see Leon standing there looking between the old lady and his girlfriend.
"You okay Lala?" He said as he led her away from the woman without another word. "You look pale, are you feeling sick again?"
"That woman…" Nicola turned around to look back at the lady at the table who had another older woman standing in front of her as she dealt the cards out.
"The old lady you were staring at? What about her?" Leon asked as they made their way into the doctors reception.
"Nothing." Nicola said as she looked up and saw the worry etched into Leons face.
"You sure?" Nicola nodded and swallowed the lump in her throat as she sat down next to Leon in the waiting room and tried to stop the womans words echoing over and over in her head. And she did as soon as a small nurse walked in and called her name.
By the time they moved back into their now yellow bedroom Nicolas morning sickness had eased and the tarot readers words had slowly began to fade from her memory.
Things were slowly starting to calm down again when Leon climbed out of bed at two am once again.
"Baby, where are you going?" Nicola whimpered and grabbed the waistband of his jeans as he sat on the bed to pull his boots on.
"Just another truck to load, La. I'll be back soon, I promise." He kissed her cheek and snuck out of the room leaving Nicola to lie there for two hours before he snuck through the door again and stripped off crawling into bed. Nicola pretended to be asleep as he pulled her to him, his arms shaking slightly and he placed a kiss on her shoulder blade, his stubble tickling the skin. "I love you La." His hand moved down to slip under her tank and sit on the swell of her stomach. "Forever."
A/N: Oh yeah guess what? Hope you liked it! REVIEW x