I'll Make You See It Was All Real

Cris’s Pov

"Have you thought what you are going to say to her?" Nuno asks and I look away from Lucy and across to my left at Nuno. "How do I explain that my brother hates me so much he would set me up to ruin my relationship when I can't get my head around it" I sigh. "It's not exactly ruined Cris. She's right there. You've just got to do what you have been doing all year and keep fighting for her" Nuno said. I look across from where I am sitting at a sleeping Lucy. She had fallen asleep the moment we were in the air.

"Why would he have done it? What have I ever done that would make him do that? Messing with me is one thing but this affected Luce even more" I say. "I guess he was jealous of what you and Lucy have" Nuno says. "I don't think it can ever go back to the way it was before" I sigh. "Well before you weren't exactly being truthful to her" Nuno says. "Huh?" I ask. "About dropping the charge against Tina before she agreed to be your pretend girlfriend" he says. "I know there might have been a chance she would have walked out that day when she came to confront me about that and instead was met with Merche but I would like to think that I could have explained why I lied to her about that. I have explained. Who am I kidding? She doesn't trust easily and I broke it" I say. "You really think she would have reacted the way she did back in Madeira if she didn't care about you?" he asks. "It's not her caring about me that I'm worried about. It's if she still loves me" I sigh remembering the night she told me the last time we were in Madeira.

I hear Nuno laugh and look back at him. "Oh I'm really glad my fucked up life is entertaining for you" I snap. "I'm laughing at the fact that you can't see that she loves you. Did you not see how she went crazy at Hugo?" he asks. "Don't call her crazy" I warn. "Hey I think she could have gone way harder on him. It was brilliant. And so hot" he smirks. "Hey watch it" I warn. "Come on it was. And it certainly reminds me not to ever piss her off. Man I don't even think it was her hormones that made her act like that" he says. "Hugo's face was priceless alright" I smile. "I wish I took a video of it. I was just so amazed it was happening” Nuno laughed. "She was right to be angry. Everything she has being put through because of him. I know I lied to her about the whole pretend girlfriend thing but what he did" I say shaking my head. "With Tina, her mother, Josh. The stress of everything. She could have lost the baby" I say. "But she's right here Cris. You both know the truth now. You either let Hugo win or you fix things" Nuno says. "If only it could be fixed so easily" I mutter as I look at a sleeping Lucy. "We'll be landing in a short while" the co-pilot informs us a short time later. "Thanks" Nuno says. "I guess I should wake her" I say. "Well after seeing how hard she hit you and Hugo, I'm going to pass on pissing her off. So I aint waking her" Nuno says. "Scary cat" I mumble reaching across the small gap between mine and Lucy's seats.

"Luce" I whisper stroking her cheek. "Luce it's time to wake up" I say and she groans and stirs in the seat. "We'll be landing soon" I say as her eyes flutter open and she yawns. "Hi" she mumbles sitting up straight. "Hi" I smile. "Good nap?" Nuno asks. "Ya" she says stretching her legs out. "I guess putting an ass in his place can make you tired" Nuno smirks. "She'll put you in your place if you don't stop annoying her" I say. "Hey I'm just jealous she could lay there sleeping and snoring when I couldn't" he smirks. "I don't snore" she says. "Ya you do" he says. "No I don't. I don't. Do I?" she asks looking at me. "No you don't. And even if you did, I bet you would snore cutely" I say and she smiles at me. I think back to what Nuno said moments ago. I can either let Hugo win or fix things. I watch her laugh with Nuno. I haven’t given up in the past seven months and I’m not going to give up now.

"Is it weird that I've sort of missed this weather" Lucy says as I take her hand a lead her down the steps of the jet. I watch as her hair brushes across her face in the howling wind as she carefully takes each step. "Nah sure who would like this wind and rain over 40 degree sun" Nuno jokes behind us. "Well you try being a size of a whale in that heat" Lucy says. "Come on lets get into the car before the rain gets heavier" I say walking her to the nearby car.

"It's nearly time for football" Nuno says as the car pulls away. "And something more important" I say smiling towards Lucy's bump. "Well I think it's nearly time for food. Bubba is hungry" she smiles. "Are you sure it's only one baby she's having? I swear she's eating for three some days" Nuno jokes. "Just the one Nuno" I say. "Ya one baby who has decided it wants to play" Lucy says rubbing her bump. "At least it let you sleep earlier" I say. "Well it's awake now" she says taking my hand and placing it on her bump.

"Is it weird that I'm going to miss this? Like miss feeling it kick" she asks. "Nope. I'll miss it too. I can still remember when it first kicked" I smile at her. "Me too" she says leaning her head against my shoulder. "So really have you got any idea what you are having at all?" Nuno asks. "I've told you already that we are waiting until the birth to find out Nuno" I say. "We want a surprise" Lucy says. "You both hate surprises" Nuno says. "Not this surprise" I smile resting my head against Lucy's. "So I'm sorry that we can't give you some insider knowledge Nuno. You'll just have to make a guess and try and win the bet by not cheating" Lucy says and Nuno bites his lip. "What bet?" I ask. "Your family have a bet on what we are having" she says. "They do?" I ask. "Yup. And Elena and Josh do too. In fact I think there's a book going at my office too" she laughs. "I can't believe you are betting on my kid" I say to Nuno. "It's only a bit of fun Cris. Now if it's a bet about how long I'll be in labour for then Cris won't be the only one getting his ass kicked. Got it Nuno?" she warns. "Understood" he laughs.

"Wait why are you kicking my ass?" I ask. "For putting me in so much pain obviously. Expect to have your life threatened alot when I'm giving birth" she smiles at me as she goes in search of her phone that was ringing. Does that mean she wants me with her when she gives birth? We haven't spoken about what will happen. "Who told you that?" I hear her ask whoever was on the other end of the phone. "Did he really?" she asks and I follow her eyes to Nuno. "What did you do?" I mouth and he shrugs. "No I didn't video it. Jezz. Yes I'll see you later. Well ya I should check that it's still standing. Ok bye Elena. Ya I'll tell him. Bye" Lucy says lowering the phone. "You sent Elena a text" she says to Nuno. "I thought she should know" Nuno shrugs.

"What did he tell her?" I ask. "Well apparently I'm not at Tina's level but I mess up a car pretty good" she says and I laugh. "Sorry. I know Tina and everything but this morning was pretty well-
Hot" Nuno interrupts and I glare at him. "Can we wait until I've eaten and made sure my apartment is in one piece before we discuss my moment of insanity please?" she asks. "Sure. So I guess you want to go straight to your place then?" I ask. "I should. I should catch up with Elena and Josh too" she says and I nod. We both know we need to talk. I guess she wants to wait a bit longer. "But maybe we can have dinner later?" she asks. "Cris can cook for you. I'm going out" Nuno says. "You know we didn't get to meet the last girl. That's not going to happen this time around Nuno" she says. "There's no one to meet. And maybe you should order something for dinner. I forgot it was Cris I was suggesting to cook" he jokes. "Funny. Dinner sounds good though" I say to Lucy.

After spending the rest of the day catching up on things and getting used to been back at my Manchester house, I arrived at Lucy's apartment just before six. I had made up my mind that we needed to discuss what Hugo had done and that I wasn't going to take no for an answer. I knocked gently and waited. "Hey" she said once she opened the door. "Hi" I say shutting the door behind me. "I'm glad you are here. I was nearly going to start eating this without you" she says nodding to the food filled table in her living room. "This looks nice" I say. "I just picked a few things up from the place down the street that you like. So sit and eat. I'm starved" she says taking a seat.

"What a surprise" I joke. "I actually only had soup for lunch. I wasn’t that hungry after all my talking with Elena. And according to Josh the sun suits me" she smiles as she places some salad on her plate. "It really does" I say looking at her. She looks so relaxed. The blue sundress she has on isn't the reason she looks so bright. "What?" she asks holding a fork near her mouth. "Nothing" I smile. "Ok. So are you glad to be back in England?" she asks. "I guess" I say. "Josh dropped by with Elena earlier. He's not sending me any work to do. I'm officially on maternity leave as off well I guess the last few weeks but now he's actually making me stay away from the office" she says.

"Good" I say. "I'm going to go stir crazy if I have nothing to do" she says. "You do have a baby to prepare for. And I guess you have to choose things for the nurseries. Unless you want to have them both the same" I say. "Both the same?" she asks. "It might be easier to pick the same stuff for the baby's room here as at mine" I say. "At yours?" she asks. "Ya at mine. You know it's my baby that you are having" I snap pushing my plate away from me. "Yes I know. Unless you are planning on asking for proof?" she asks. "Of course not. I know the baby is mine" I say.

"Then what? Why aren't you eating instead of being snappy with me?" she asks. "We need to talk" I say. "We were before you started..." she pauses. "Before I got tired of pussy footing around what needs to be discussed" I say. "Pussy footing. Ok you've so have spent way too much time with Rio" she laughs. It's not funny Lucy. We can't avoid talking about what Hugo did forever" I say. "I wasn't going to" she says. "Yes you would have" I say. "What do you want me to say Cris?" she asks pushing her plate away from her on the table. "Well judging by this morning I'm guessing you are angry" I say. "Angry. I'm fucking furious" she yells standing. "Luce" I say.

"Do you have any idea how it felt to see Merche standing in your jersey that day?" she asks wrapping her arms around herself. "Lucy I'm so sorry" I say. "Thinking that the man I loved had cheated on me. And then thinking you were still seeing her. With her phone calls and turning up. And it was all a lie. It was all a set up" she says moving to the window. "Lucy I'm so sorry he did that. I can't believe my own brother would do that" I say moving to stand beside her. "This past eight months" she sighs. "And look at us" I say turning her to face me. "We are still here. Luce the day you drove away I thought that was it. I thought you hated me. And now we are waiting for our baby to arrive" I say.

"I'm sorry" she says and I look lift her chin. "Sorry for what?" I ask confused. "For not believing you" she whispers. "Oh Luce you don't have to apologise" I say. "Yes I do. If I had let you explain or..." she pauses. "I wouldn't have believed me Lucy. If it had been the other way around I would have thought the same. That's what Hugo and Merce planned. You've being hurt before. And I couldn't explain why she was even there that day. And you did believe me. You did always doubt that I cheated. Didn't you?" I ask. "Who told you that?" she asks. "Elena told me that you didn't think I cheated when you came to Madeira. And Coleen reckoned you were having doubts whether it was true or not. And that was back in January" I say. "None of it made sense. I couldn't see how you could have seen her. But then finding her at the house. And then she phoned you before Coleen's party. I just..." she cries. "Sssh it's ok. It will be all ok" I say pulling her into a hug. "How Cris? How is it all going to be ok? We've being through hell these past few months" she says lifting her head from my chest.

"Yes we have. But I am standing here with you in my arms. Lucy I never thought I would be here like this after the day you drove away from my house. My own family turned against me. Mostly because Hugo filled their heads with his lies. But that wasn't half as tough as knowing that you were hurting. That you hated me" I say.

"I never hated you" she says. "Huh?" I ask. "I hated that you had lied to me. That you had cheated which I know isn't true. But even then I didn't hate you" she says. "Really?" I ask and she nods. "Tina dying and then the baby. And fearing I was going to lose it. And just everything was making my head just...I haven't been able to think clearly these last few months" she cries. "What about now? Is your head clear enough to talk? About where this leaves you and I?" I ask. "You wouldn't take no for an answer. You never stopped phoning. Or turning up at my work or here" she says.

"Because I wasn't going to lose you. I'll wait as long as it takes Lucy" I say wiping a tear from her check. "I don't know if it can be how it was" she says and I feel my chest tighten. So she doesn't want to try? "But maybe that's not a bad thing" I hear her say and I lift my eyes from the floor back up to her face. "What do you mean?" I ask. "How this thing between us started out wasn't exactly normal. It was all a lie" she says. "Luce it wasn't a lie. I swear I wasn't pretending when we were together. It just took me too long to admit it" I say. "I know. I know. I'm just saying after that and then after what your brother did" she says. "I don't have a brother anymore" I say and she frowns. "What I'm trying to say is that well like you have said look where we are. Nearly a year later and we are standing here together" she says. "Lucy I'm sorry but you're confusing me right now" I say. "I don't know how to really say it" she says.

"Let's sit on the couch" I say taking her hand and leading her to the couch. "We've being apart longer than we were ever together" she says. "Technically we were only really together for a couple of weeks but we've being though so much together. We haven't really being apart" I say. "Despite my stubbornness some might say" she mumbles. "Which was totally understandable. Look can I be honest with you" I ask. "I hope you have being all along" she says. "I have. Look..,,is it wrong that part of me was glad you were having nightmares because it made you want me to stay with you?" I ask. "Some would say yes. But I wouldn't be one of them. You were the only person I wanted Cris. That says it all really" she says. "Yet I'm still confused" I say and she laughs.

"We can't just pretend the last half a year didn't happen Cris" she says. "But" I say. "Can I finish please?" she asks and I nod. "Last night when I left to go to bed, I decided that I wanted a drink so I turned to come back into the living room. But then I heard you shouting. I heard what Hugo said" she says. "That's how you knew what Hugo did" I say and she nods. "I stood there listening to him goading you. Enjoying telling you how he and that bitch turned everyone against you. Hearing him say it. Hearing him say it was all a set up. I couldn’t believe it” she says. “Neither could I” I mumble. “I somehow managed to find the strength to walk to the bedroom and then you came rushing in. And then you left without telling me what had happened” Lucy says. “Luce I couldn’t understand what had happened. What I had just being told. How could I explain it to you when I couldn’t get my own head around it? I just needed time to think. I was going to tell you” I say. “I understand that you needed to get your head around it. And I’m glad you did cos it gave me a chance to get my head around what I had heard also” she says. “And?” I ask. “And I don’t think either of us will ever understand why Hugo did it” she says. “You’re right. But Lucy what about us?” I ask.

“I…..” she stutters. “I love you” I say. “Cris” she says. “No listen” I say taking her hand in mine. “I love you. I loved you before Hugo’s set up and I love you now. That hasn’t changed Luce” I say. “We have the baby to think about Cris” she says. “And doesn’t the baby deserve to have both its parents together and happy?” I ask. “And what if it goes wrong?” she asks. “What if it goes right? Huh Luce. What if?” I ask. “We can’t just rush back to how things were before Cris” she says. “Ok no rushing. We just take it one day and the time. How does that sound?” I ask. “The baby” she says. “Will be our first priority. We can take this, us” I say gesturing between us. “Slowly. I’ll do whatever you want Luce. I love you and I’m going to do everything that I can to make you see that” I say.

“I guess we could try” she says and a smile breaks out across my face. “You’ll try?” I ask. “Yes but I don’t want to rush Cris. This doesn't mean that we are boyfriend and girlfriend again. Just that we will, I don't know try. I don’t want to get this wrong. There’s too much at stake” she says resting her hand on her bump. I lean in and touch her lips with mine. She laughs when we break about.

“I thought you would want more than just I’ll try” Lucy says. “I stood outside your office months ago and heard you say that there is no us Luce. Now you’ll telling me that you’ll try and make there be an us again. I’ll take anything you can give me” I grin. Try is better than no. She doesn’t hate me. I just want her to say she still loves me I think pulling her close to me.