Better in Time

"Do you think they’ll be OK?" I asked Fernando as we sat down for breakfast the following morning.

He shrugged his shoulders in response before turning back to his meal. I just rolled my eyes at his reaction as I burped Nora and put her back in her basinet.

"What’s wrong?" I asked as I sat next to him at the kitchen table.

He kept still for a few minutes before putting his spoon down and looking at me.

"Marry me?" he blurted out and I actually had to stop for a while to figure out if he was serious.

"What?"

"You heard me…marry me please Lisa? I know I’m asking you in the most unromantic way possible but after yesterday I realized I didn’t want to spend another day without you as my wife" he explained as I felt my eyes began to water.

"You could do so much better than me Lisa and I know one day you’ll wake up and realize that but until then I’m gonna try as hard as I can to prove that I’m worthy of you. So please…make me the happiest man alive and be my wife?" he asked as he dropped down on one knee and took out a ring from his jean pocket.

I was too overwhelmed by his words that I couldn’t speak so I just nodded a yes. I would marry him.

"I love you so much" he admitted as he kissed me.

"I love you too" I managed to add as tears continued to flow.

Once our excitement subsided we sat down properly at the breakfast table. He continued to eat while I stared at my ring.

"How long have you been thinking about this?" I asked suddenly. He shrugged.

"I’ve known you’d be the woman I’d marry the night we met. And I bought the ring after our second date" he admitted as my jaw dropped. "It’s not a big deal babe. So life threw us a few obstacles along the way, what matters most is that we are still together" he added before giving me a kiss on the cheek.

"Do you really believe that? That people who truly love each other can survive any obstacle no matter what?" I contemplated as he nodded.

"Yeah. Just as long as the two people believe and trust each other, nothing can break them apart" he added as an idea came to me.

"True but sometimes people need to helped along to see that they belong together" I thought aloud as Fernando eyed me suspiciously. I gave him a smile but he shook his head no.

"No. I am not getting involved. Nope. Not happening" he stated as he continued to eat.

"Oh baby come on. They need our help" I pleaded as I ran my hand along his thigh to convince him.

He gave me a smirk and wiggled his eyebrows.

"If you give me what I want then I’ll help you with whatever you want" he announced before pushing his chair back and pulling me from my seat so I could sit on his lap.

*

Callie’s POV

"Lisa wants to know if you want to hang out with her and Nora?" I asked Gregg as he continued to get dressed.

"It depends… Do we have to play with Barbie’s?" he thought as I laughed.

"No you don’t. You guys will go swimming and stuff" I told him as I recited what Lisa’s text had said.

"OK that’s cool then. When can we leave?" he said as he tied his shoes.

"I’m not coming with you. Apparently Fernando has a medical problem that he needs my help with but you’ll be OK right?" I questioned and he nodded.

"What do I call them?" he asked as we sat in the car and I drove us to the restaurant where Lisa was waiting.

"What do you mean?" I asked puzzled as I looked at him through the mirror.

"I mean… you said that now that I’m better I can live with you. And I’m really happy about that. So I just assumed that I would have to call them Aunty and Uncle because you’re like my mo…Never mind it’s stupid" he said before even finishing his sentence.

"Gregg are you asking me if I’m your mom now?" I asked as a smile started to form on my lips. He grumbled something incoherent before looking out the window.

"Well I was gonna tell you once the paper work was through but since you ruined it" I teased as I parked the car and turned to the back seat to look at him. "I’ve filled to be your legal guardian and I’m just waiting for everything to be confirmed. Now that doesn’t mean you have to call me mom but if you wanted to I wouldn’t complain" I smiled at him.

He tried to be serious but I could tell from his wet eyes that he was really happy about this. "You should take your bag, Lisa’s waiting" I said in an attempt to not force him to say anything he didn’t want too. He quickly reached for the car floor to grab his bags and opened the door. However before he climbed out he turned to me. "Thank you…mom" he said before quickly closing the door and walking towards Lisa.

I couldn’t stop the tear that fell at his words but I took deep breathes to calm myself before I started the car.

"Callie Stevens: Doctor, Independent woman and mother to a 5 year old son" I said aloud as I continued the drive to Fernando’s Madrid home.

As I parked the car I was surprised to see 2 cars in the driveway but I shrugged thinking maybe Fernando had company over.

As I knocked on the door a distant voice yelled that I could come in.

"Oh good you’re here" Fernando said hurriedly as he continually scratched his neck.

"Is something wrong?" I questioned as he looked panicked.

He shook his head no as he told me to go upstairs to so I could check him over, while he followed behind me.

"Lisa didn’t say what your problem was but if…AHHHH" I yelled as Fernando pushed me into his bedroom.

"I’m sorry Callie. Lisa made me do this" he apologized from the other side of the locked door.

As I racked my brain trying to understand what he meant I got interrupted by the clearing of someone’s throat. I jumped as I realized that I was not alone.

"Daniel. What are you…?” I began but stopped when I realized what was happening.

"You two need to talk. I’m going out for a while but when I come back you’d better have solved your problems" Fernando threatened as we listened for his footsteps and the closing of the door.

"He’s really gone" Daniel commented as I shifted nervously. "You can sit if you want too?" he smiled as he pointed at the bed.

"Nope I’m good just standing" I lied as I looked at everything but him.

"Look at me please" he pleaded after a few minutes of silence.

I ignored his request as I looked out the window.

"Callie" he whispered as he walked closer to me and held my chin. He didn’t lift my head up but rather just spent a few minutes just holding me in that position. "I’m sorry" he whispered as a tear fell down his cheek. "I’m sorry for hurting you. I’m sorry for bringing Juelz into our lives but mostly I’m sorry for not fighting for you" Daniel explained as I continued to say nothing as my own tears began to fall.

"I… I forgive you" I admitted as I removed my face from his grasp and walked towards the window.

"Thank you. So does this mean we can start again?" he asked hope evident in his voice.

I shook my head no. He then walked up to me and turned me around to look at him.

"What do you mean no? You just forgave me… I don’t understand" he asked looking confused as I took a deep breath in preparation for an explanation.

"Things have changed between us Daniel. You’ve gone through so much with Juelz and her son. I really think you should start over fresh wi…with someone else" I admitted as he shook his head no. "There’s too much history between us. I just think it’s better if we close that chapter in our lives. The only thing I’m willing to give you right now is friendship" I cried as he continued to shake his head.

"NO Callie…just No. I love you and you love me I know it. I understand that we’ve been through a lot but it’s because of that that I know that I love you more. I also know that I can’t love someone else as long as you are here. I refuse to give up on us. Do you understand? As long I have air in my lungs I’ll always love you" he admitted as more tears began to stream down our cheeks.

"Please don’t make this any harder…"

"Callie you’re the only one who is making this hard. Just tell me you want to start over and we can baby. I’ll never hurt you again I promise. Just one more chance" he pleaded.

"It’s not possible" I whispered as he continued to hold me and tried to get me to change my mind.

"I promise Callie, I’ll never hurt you again" he continued to promise however this time I pulled away from his embrace.

"Daniel I can’t take that chance, especially not now when there’s someone else involved" I confessed as he looked at me confused.

"I know there’s no one else because Lisa said Gregg is the only man you’ve been hanging around so I’m confused" he said as I nodded.

"She’s right. Gregg is the only man in my life and he’ll always be. I filed papers to adopt him, the papers should be coming through any day now" I admitted as he looked at me in shock.

"You…him…adopted" he breathed out as he sat on the bed and tried to understand the situation.

"Yes. He’s recovered fully from his cancer and the social worker was going to send him to an orphanage but I couldn’t let them do it so I took him to Cambodia with me. A couple weeks later I decided that I wanted to watch him grow so I called my uncle and he set everything up" I recounted as Daniel just nodded.

"That’s amazing" he breathed out as a small smile spread over my face.

"So you see why I can’t let you back into my life? I don’t want Gregg to ever go through the pain of losing someone he loves so that means I can’t take…"

"A chance on someone who loves you and you love back?" he questioned.

"Daniel I thought…"

"I understood? No I don’t understand. You and I… we are so good together. Why won’t you see that? Why do you keep pushing me away?"

"Because I can’t let you put me second again" I yelled, admitting my pain.

Daniel looked back in surprise at my admission before standing up and walking to me. He looked me in the eye as he cupped my cheek.

"You felt like I put you second?" he questioned as I nodded. "Callie no… Never. I would never do that. I love you too much to put anything or anyone above you. Maybe sometimes I forgot to tell you how much you mean to me but I never put you second. I put you before me because that’s how much you mean to me" he confessed. "I understand why you would have hesitations about us but I promise you…I give you my word I will never hurt you again. Just take me back please. Let’s start over and this time let’s make it for keeps” he begged as I swallowed.

I looked at the ground as I thought about what I wanted to say before looking up and into his eyes.

"I’m scared…but OK. Let’s try again and this time let’s make it work" I said before standing on my tip toes and giving Daniel a kiss a had been dreaming about since the day I walked away from him.