Slow Dancing in the Darkness

Sparing a little yawn, Gabriela blinked her blue eyes open, her ears doused by the sound of Amelia’s soft cries, a sound which had become a fixture of their nights. It had been a little while, Amelia was almost two weeks old, and Gabriela doubted that things could have been going better. They were settled, Noah and Thiago had taken well to Amelia and Gabriela was pleased. The last thing she had wanted with a newborn around was one of them not liking their little sister. Sparing a small glance at the clock, Gabriela moved to climb out of bed, but was stopped by Lionel’s hand which nudged her shoulder. “I’ve got this” he muttered, sparing a small yawn.

“You don’t have to. You got her last night” Gabriela returned.

“I know” Lionel noted “But you do a lot of it and I want to do my fair share” he replied, moving to his feet.

Gabriela shook her head. “I don’t think she has a bottle made up” she noted “She kind of needs me, Leo” she added, carefully moving to find her dressing gown.

“Then I will go with you” Lionel noted, pulling the bedroom door open.

Gabriela rolled her eyes. “She’s not going anywhere, Leo” she teased, leading him up the corridor and towards Amelia’s nursery. She liked it, like her, Lionel couldn’t resist fussing over their daughter, and Gabriela had to admit that she found it sweet. In the 13 days that had passed since she had been born, Lionel had been up for every night feed and Gabriela couldn’t resist the urge to coo a little. He still seemed remarkably in awe of their daughter.

“I know” Lionel replied.

Gabriela smiled and took his hand, pulling him into a quick kiss. “You’re adorable” she grinned before she stepped into the nursery, making her way towards the crib where Amelia laid, crying loudly. “It’s ok, princesa” she murmured as she carefully leant down, lifting Amelia up “Mama’s here” she added, pressing a little kiss to the top of Amelia’s head.

“You two look amazing together” Lionel commented from his vantage point beside the door.

“You’ve said that 50 times since she came into the world” Gabriela mused, sitting in the rocking chair beside the crib, preparing to feed their baby.

Lionel smiled a little at the scene ahead of him before the sound of thudding at the front door caught his attention. “What time is it?” he murmured, looking down the hall.

“It’s just past 3” Gabriela noted.

Lionel offered her a small look. “Stay here” he noted.

“Who would want to see us at 3 in the morning?” Gabriela posed.

“I don’t know, but I would rather you and Amelia stayed out of the way until I do” Lionel noted, offering her a firm look.

Gabriela nodded her head, something which Lionel took as her agreement, before he stepped out into the hall, making his way quickly towards the front door. Taking a little breath in, he placed his hand on the handle and pulled it open, his head tilting a little in confusion at the sight of the man ahead of him. “Luca?” he posed.

“Theo” the older man grinned.

“Leo” Lionel corrected, not missing the slight scent of alcohol that radiated away from the older man “What can I do for you, Luca?” he added.

“I want to see Lala” Luca noted.

“It’s 3 in the morning” Lionel replied “And I don’t think you’re entirely sober. Why don’t you find somewhere to sleep for the night and come back tomorrow?” he suggested kindly.

Luca shook his head. “I am not that drunk” he insisted earnestly “I was in Barcelona on business and I have wanted to see her since I landed. It merely needed something to loosen me up a little. I had two glasses of scotch” he added.

“It’s still 3 in the morning” Lionel replied.

“You’re up” Luca returned “And I know that Gabby will be too. I heard that you’re a papa again” he added.

Lionel smiled a little. Even the vaguest reference to Amelia made him grin.

“I know it’s late” Luca noted “And I know I am probably one of the last people that Gabriela wants to see, Leo, but I want to talk to her and I doubt I will find the nerve again. I said some awful things to her” he noted.

Lionel shook his head. “You compared her to her madre” Lionel reasoned “I didn’t know why that was so terrible at first, but when Ela explained it…that hurt her, Luca. She could have taken you rejecting me, after Elliot, you have every single right as her papa to be wary about me, but you said something utterly horrid to her” he explained, trying to convey the emotion that Gabriela had shown when she had come home that day. It was one of the very few times that he had seen her upset and it wasn’t something he was going to forget easily.

Luca sighed. “I made a mistake” he muttered “And I would greatly like to make amends, both with you and my daughter, Leo” he noted.

Lionel offered him a slightly dubious look before he relented, stepping aside to allow the older man inside. “She’s in the nursery” he noted softly “I’ll give her a couple of minutes to finish up the baby’s feed and then I will go and get her” he added.

“Do I have a new grandson or granddaughter?” Luca posed, following him through to the living room.

“A granddaughter” Lionel noted “Amelia Sofia” he added.

“Amelia” Luca sighed “My mother was called Amelia” he added.

Lionel tilted his head. “She was?” he posed.

Luca nodded. “Ela used to spend a lot of time with her. My mother was around a lot when Maria would go off to be with her lover. She was a godsend, I was fairly useless when it came to babies and even more so when I had to balance Ela with her two brothers. Those two boys were terrors” he noted.

“Gabriela doesn’t talk much about her family” Lionel noted.

Luca quirked an eyebrow. “She didn’t tell you that Amelia was her grandmother’s name?” he posed.

“Until she spoke to you last time, I didn’t know about her mother” Lionel admitted.

Luca made a small sound, one that merely reaffirmed thoughts already running through Lionel’s head. It had been a while, almost a year since he had started dating Gabriela and 10 months since they’d married, but he clearly didn’t know her as well as he thought he did. He didn’t know about her family or about her life before him and it concerned him briefly. It made it apparent just how much they had rushed through things.

“Leo, I put Lia back down to sleep. Did you get rid of…” Gabriela’s voice drifted off as she stepped into their living room, her eyes peeking at her father who stood at Lionel’s side. “Papa” she squeaked.

“Hola, princesa” Luca smiled.

“What…why are you here?” she spluttered.

Luca stepped a little closer to her and sighed. “I think we need to talk, Ela” he mused.

Gabriela swallowed a little, but nodded, knowing that they did need to talk.