We Took the Fall

“Esther finally headed home then?”

Catalina, who was sipping on a cup of juice whilst she read the book which sat in her lap, startled a little at the sound of Fernando’s voice, causing her to spill the drink a little.

Fernando smiled. “I didn’t mean to scare you” he mused as he collected a spare towel from the side, handing it over to her.

Catalina shook her head. “I didn’t hear you come through. I thought you’d still be hiding in our bedroom” she quipped.

Fernando, who’d moved to sit beside her, shook his head. “I was not hiding” he noted.

Catalina scoffed. “You were gone for the entirety of the two hours Esther stayed. I think someone wanted to avoid talking about our wedding” she teased as she poked at his side.

Fernando rolled his eyes before he shifted his hand, capturing Catalina’s. “Why would I not want to talk about it, Lina?” he posed softly “Now that Felix is here, there’s nothing I want to talk about more” he added before he carefully ducked his head, kissing the back of her hand. It wasn’t something that they’d talked a lot about, with Catalina’s pregnancy, their main focus had been on preparing for Felix’s arrival, but with the little boy having made his first appearance, Fernando saw no reason why they couldn’t make plans, even if they opted for a date that was a little way in the future, he was keen to know what sort of thing it was that Catalina wanted.

“Really?” Catalina posed.

“I know we’re going to have to wait a while” Fernando noted “But I want to think about it. You still want to marry me?” he teased, offering her a soft smile.

Catalina nodded. “Despite my earlier reservations about us, I am pretty sure that this is what I want” she enthused softly.

Fernando offered her another soft smile before he lifted her hand up, pressing a soft kiss the back of it. “Did you and Esther come up with much?” he posed quietly.

“Not really” Catalina noted “Do you have any suggestions?” she posed, moving to lean against him a little. It was rare, since Felix had been born, there had rarely been a moment that hadn’t been filled with well-wishers, and Catalina wanted to take advantage of it. For a second, she merely wanted to enjoy the company of her boyfriend.

“I don’t want anything too big” Fernando noted as he rested his head against hers “Your sister, when she was planning our wedding, was inviting everyone she could of and it started to get out of hand. When we do it, I want something small, simple” he enthused softly.

Catalina nodded. “Small sounds good to me” she noted softly.

“It does?” Fernando posed.

“What did you expect?” Catalina quipped, a teasing smile on her face.

“I just don’t want you to regret anything about it” Fernando countered softly “As long as I have a say in it, this is going to be the only wedding you have to plan and I want to ensure that you…that we get it right” he enthused softly.

Catalina smiled gently before she leant up, pressing a kiss to his cheek. “I am sure that we’ll get it right” she enthused softly “And I like the idea of something small, just as long as we invite Esther. She’s never forgive me otherwise” she teased gently.

Fernando smiled gently before the small crackly sound of Felix’s cries echoed from the monitor which he had placed on the table ahead of them. “Your turn or mine?” he posed softly.

“Mine” Catalina mused as she carefully pushed herself up to her feet, padding quietly out of the room.

Fernando watched after her for a moment before the sound of the doorbell reached him, causing him to let out a small sigh. He had expected it, with a newborn around, his friends and family were likely to want to spend a lot of time around, but he had been hoping for a little break. Felix was almost 3 days old and since he had come home, Fernando and Catalina had barely had anytime to themselves.

Sparing a small yawn into his hand, he stepped into the hall and pulled the door back, his dark eyes widening a fraction as they landed on the face of Santiago. “Senor De Marcos” he spluttered.

“Fernando” Santiago noted softly.

“What are you doing here?” Fernando quipped bluntly. It had been a while, since Alicia had informed Catalina that her parents were separating, he couldn’t quite remember the last time he had seen the older man, but he had little doubt that he wasn’t someone that Catalina wanted to see.

“I wanted to speak to my daughter” Santiago noted gently “And I know it is not a good time, but I was hoping that I could at least have a word. It’s about time, isn’t it?” he posed.

“Sir…”

“Please” Santiago cut in softly “I don’t want to cause a problem, but I would like to talk to her, please, Fernando” he pleaded softly.

Fernando offered him a slightly dubious look before he shuffled aside, allowing the older man to quietly step into the apartment. “She’ll be back in a second” he murmured as he guided him through towards the living room “She’s just gone to settle our son” he added.

“Your son?” Santiago quipped “Catalina had a boy?” he posed.

“She did” Fernando confirmed softly “Your grandson, Felix” he added.

Santiago grinned softly before he stepped towards the younger man, patting his shoulder. “Congratulations, Fernando” he insisted warmly.

“Gracias” Fernando quipped before the sound of footsteps pulling back towards the living room caught his attention, causing him to pad towards the hallway. “Catalina” he murmured softly.

Catalina, who held Felix in her arms, turned, a small frown on her face. “Fernando?” she posed, not missing the slightly apprehensive expression on his face.

“Your papa” he noted softly “He’s…he’s in the living room” he stumbled out.

Catalina tilted her head slightly. “My papa?” she posed.

“He says that he wants to talk to you” Fernando noted, offering her a nod in confirmation “I didn’t know what you’d want to do, so I let him in. if that was wrong…”

“It’s OK” Catalina murmured softly, cutting him off.

“Are you sure?” Fernando posed softly.

Catalina nodded. “I should talk to him” she mused.

Fernando offered her a slightly dubious look, enquiring wordlessly if she was certain, before he stepped towards her, collecting Felix from her arms. “You want me to stay?” he posed.

Catalina shook her head. “I can handle it” she confirmed “You should get Felix his bottle” she added, peeking down at their baby.

Fernando offered her another unsure look before he nodded, quietly padding past her.

Catalina let him go before she took a small breath, padding out into the room where her father stood, peeking around it uncertainly. “Papa?” she posed softly.

“Catalina” Santiago quipped, a small smile on his face.

Catalina offered him a slightly nervous look before she padded into the room, offering him a spot on the couch. It had been a while, her meetings with her father had been few and far between since she had started seeing Fernando, and she was a little unsure of what to say.