Chapter 5

Lemon and George stood there in silence until they heard George's truck drive off down the gravel road.

"You should have gone home with them." George stated.

"I feel guilty too. You were right, it wasn't a good idea to come here. So at least I wanted to help you now."

Lemon looked crestfallen. George's anger instantly fizzled out. "You three had fun, haven't you? Annabeth and Crickett maybe a bit more than you, but all in all, you three had a good day. Then it can't have been a bad idea. And I don't mind cleaning up."

Lemon smiled and nodded in agreement. "Yes, that's true. So it's not going to look any better here if we just stand around." With that, she turned around and began to clean up the mess around them.

Actually, he should take good care of Lemon, George thought, remembering the conversation with Lemon's father. It hadn't even been twenty-four hours before Brick had confronted him.

George was sitting in his office, taking his break, when Brick appeared. There was a knock and then he entered. George immediately stood up to greet the man.

"Hey Brick."

"George." Brick replied the greeting curtly. That didn't really start well.

"Um, do you want something to drink, I have tea..." George was interrupted by Brick.

"No thanks. I don't have much time. I'm here because Lemon has let me in on your news."

Okay, apparently Brick didn't want to beat around the bush. George took a deep breath before sitting back down at his desk chair. Brick took a seat opposite him without being asked.

"Brick, you have to know that I will support Lemon no matter what. I've already told her that. We'll handle the baby together."

George tried to see in the face of the man opposite him what he was thinking, but Brick's gaze was impenetrable.

"That's what you're saying now. I know how hard it can be to be a single parent. And you've already let Lemon down once. What tells me you won't this time?" Brick asked him directly.

George turned his eyes to the table in front of him. It was a fair question, of course. And George wasn't sure how he could answer it best and, above all, credibly.

"It's different from back then. A child is something different. I can't tell you any more than that. You just have to believe me that I wouldn't hurt Lemon again. I'll take care of her and our child as best I can."

George lifted his gaze again and met Lemon's father's searching eyes.

"I hope so. Because if you leave Lemon alone again, you're in for something."

George perceived the threat in the words and acknowledged them with a nod. He had no intention of giving Brick a reason to be angry. And not just because of Brick himself.

"Then I should probably congratulate you. My daughters are the best thing that has happened to me in my life. I hope it will be the same for you with your child." He gave George a half-smile.

"Thank you." George replied and smiled too. With that, Brick took his leave. The conversation had probably gone quite well overall.

"Oh, by the way, Lemon, your father came to see me this morning. We had an interesting conversation."

At George's words, Lemon almost dropped the tray with the glasses she was about to put away.

"So?" she wanted to know. "How did it go? I see he didn't kill you, at least."

"I'd say it could have been worse. He just warned me that I'd better be there for you. But he even congratulated me in the end." George summarized.

Lemon sighed with relief. "Well, that's all right then. Now get on with it or we'll never finish."

George grinned as he continued to tidy up the things standing around. Lemon might have pretended not to care, but George could clearly tell that she was glad that her father was accepting the situation.

Lemon leaned tiredly against a tree. She and George were almost finished. George was putting away the last of the bath towels that were still scattered on the grass. Even if Lemon didn't want to admit it, she was glad to be able to sit down in a moment. She was clearly no longer seventeen, but a pregnant woman in her early thirties and her body was telling her that.

George turned to face her. He was standing a few meters away. "Done," he said cheerfully. He gave Lemon a warm smile.

Lemon couldn't deny it. She knew the look in his eyes. She saw the warmth and the honest, deep affection in them. George had looked at her with such a gaze often enough in the past. Only now, the love in his eyes was no longer for Lemon, but for the baby in her womb. At this thought, Lemon felt a sudden pang in her chest. She hadn't realized how things from back then still hurt her today.

George noticed that something wasn't right. He approached her anxiously. "What's wrong?"

Lemon couldn't possibly tell him that it hurt her to see the love he felt for the child. She couldn't say that a part of her still missed the relationship they'd had.

"It's just... We're going to be parents, that's just so unimaginable."

George looked at her seriously. He probably knew that Lemon hadn't said what was really going on. But he seemed to see that she didn't want to talk about it, because he left it at that.

Instead, he put his hand on Lemon's arm and looked her firmly in the eye. "I know it's going to be great."

Lemon couldn't look away. She felt like she could drown in George's eyes. A few weeks and what Lemon had been afraid of had already happened. It felt too good when George cared for her or held her like that. She felt too comfortable with him around. Far too comfortable.

George's gaze completely confused Lemon's thoughts. She no longer knew what she was doing here. Without really realizing it, she held her breath. The spot where George's hand touched her bare skin began to tingle. Almost automatically, she leaned closer to him...

When George suddenly took his hand away, took a few steps backwards and then walked towards the house, Lemon had the feeling that the ground was being pulled out from under her feet. She swayed.

"We'd better go inside," George said without stopping or turning around.

Lemon stared after him, stunned. She felt breathless. Her heart was beating far too fast. She closed her eyes for a moment and tried to collect herself. Damn, this couldn't possibly end well.

George hurried back to the house. He knew that his behavior was confusing Lemon, but he couldn't help it. He had to get away. Put some distance between them first.

Lord, he'd almost kissed her. She'd been standing so close to him and... Damn, it really hadn't taken much. He needed to control himself better. And it was probably best if he told Lemon about his feelings sooner rather than later.

Later that evening, George had calmed down a bit and they had decided to stay at the lake house for the night and go home in the morning. This was mainly because Lemon seemed to George as if she would collapse at any moment, even if she would never admit it.

By now, Lemon had laid down on the sofa. Cautiously, George lowered himself onto the sofa next to Lemon. He was careful not to touch her. As yet, he didn't quite trust his feelings. When George sat down next to her, Lemon opened her previously closed eyes once again.

You don't have to stay here." Lemon said softly. She had turned her head back slightly to look at him. At the same time, she blinked hard to keep her eyes from closing. Lemon had clearly had a long and tiring day.

"I'm happy to stay." George replied.

"Fine," Lemon mumbled and shifted a little closer to him so that she was now resting her head on his legs. Her eyes had closed again.

George looked at her. He was never sure if Lemon was annoyed by his worry or if she liked being around him. On the other hand, George couldn't complain, after all, his own behavior was much more contradictory.

For the moment, there was a small smile on Lemon's lips. At least right now she seemed comfortable.

The next morning, George was woken by the morning light shining through the windows into the house. For a moment, he was completely disoriented and didn't know where he was. Then he remembered the previous evening. Lemon had just woken up too. She sleepily lifted her head and sat up. She blinked several times to get herself awake.

"Good morning." George said and smiled at the sleepy Lemon.

"Morning," she mumbled, rubbing her eyes. "Have you been here all night?" she then asked, confused. "You can hardly have slept well."

"Oh. I was fine." George defended. "I'd say I'll make us something for breakfast before we head back."

Lemon nodded in agreement and a little later they were sitting together at the table with the meagre breakfast they could find in the house.

Lemon stared thoughtfully to herself. George was wondering whether he should ask Lemon for her thoughts when she made the decision for him.

"Now that I've told my father..." she paused and started again. "You'll want to tell your parents too, won't you?"

George hadn't even thought about it until now, but of course he wanted to tell his parents. After all, they would become grandparents.

"I guess I do want to tell them." He replied to Lemon.

She nodded. "I'm sure they'll go crazy with joy." She said wryly.

George knew what Lemon meant. He sighed softly. "Maybe they really will be happy." He said, only half convinced himself.

Lemon laughed humorlessly. "Oh come on. Your mother hates me. She's always hated me. And Harold and I were never best friends either."

"I've told my mother a thousand times not to interfere in my relationships." George himself realized that didn't mean his mother would comply with his request. He just hoped that she wouldn't make Lemon's life any harder.

"You know, you don't have to worry about me. I'm not going to try to get your mother to like me. God knows I've done that enough. I don't care if she likes me or not. She can't change anything about the baby we're going to have. And if she's not happy with it: I'll be fine without her and I'm sure the baby will be too."

George was stunned. This was not the Lemon he knew from the past. But he was relieved about that. His mother, as much as he liked her, could be a bit of a jerk. And it would be much easier if Lemon just didn't mind.

"I just have one request," Lemon continued, "I'd like to get this conversation over with quickly. Then I'll know how your parents feel about the child, and I can adjust accordingly."

"Sure," George says immediately, "I'll call them directly tomorrow and ask when I can visit them soon."

"Good, I'm looking forward to it." It was obvious Lemon didn't mean it. It was definitely going to be an interesting visit…