Slow Dancing in the Darkness

“How was school, Noah?” Gabriela posed as she set a plate of food down ahead of her son, offering him a small smile. It was getting towards the end of June, Amelia was almost 4 weeks old, and Gabriela wanted to make sure that Noah was alright. A lot of the attention had been fixed on his little sister and she wanted to make sure that it wasn’t getting at Noah who had had almost 6 years to get used to his mother’s undivided attention.

“It was Ok” Noah replied.

“You’re still enjoying it?” Gabriela prodded, sitting in the seat opposite him. It had been a surprise, Noah had never dealt with foreign situations well, but when she had taken him to school, he had settled into it remarkably well, something which pleased her. She wanted the best for him and was pleased that he’d settled in well and appeared to be performing well if his teachers’ reports were anything to go by.

Noah nodded. “It’s fun” he noted “I read and they let me play football. They say I’m good” he enthused.

Gabriela smiled. “I am glad” she noted.

Noah smiled a little to himself before he peeked up at his mother, his doe brown eyes a little shy. “Mama, can I ask you something?” he posed.

Gabriela nodded. “Of course, Noah” she insisted “What’s on your mind?” she added.

“I miss papa” he murmured softly “When is he going to come and see me?” he posed.

Gabriela sighed. It was the first time that Noah had asked, Elliot’s disappearing act had been going on since the moment Elena had left him, but Gabriela hadn’t noticed it having an effect on her son. Noah had been as content as ever. “You miss him?” she posed.

Noah nodded his head.

Gabriela sighed and stood up, pressing a kiss to his head. “I will find him for you then. I am sure he misses you just as much” she forced out before she stepped out of the room, bumping into Lionel who had Amelia in his arms.

“Ela?” he posed, not missing the expression on her face.

Gabriela sighed. “Noah misses Elliot” she murmured “I haven’t seen him since he ended things with Elena and that was months ago. I need to call him” she noted, her voice a little spat out.

Lionel shook his head. “If he can’t be bothered, then why should we try?” he posed.

“Because it upsets Noah” Gabriela noted “Whether I like it or not, Noah loves that man and I need to make the effort. I’ll call him and I’ll see what the issue is” she murmured.

Lionel offered her a slightly dubious look before Amelia let out a small whine, causing Gabriela to smile. “There’s a bottle for her in the fridge. She’s due a feed” she mused as she pressed a kiss to the top of Amelia’s dark hair. Lionel nodded, but still offered Gabriela a look which told her to be wary. Talking to Elliot had an uncanny knack of upsetting her and whilst he knew it was the right thing to do for Noah who wanted his father back, he wanted her to be careful. Things were settled for them and he didn’t want Elliot throwing another spanner in the works.

Gabriela noticed his look, but dismissed it as she placed another kiss onto Amelia’s head. She only wanted to know what was going on with Elliot, she wasn’t going to let him get under her skin.

~#~
Pressing her phone to her ear, Gabriela let out a small sigh, listening to the irksome dial tone as it echoed in her ear. It wasn’t the first call, she had tried two or three times to get through, and every time she was greeted with the same response, his voicemail. Listening to the same message, she shook her head, pulling the phone away from her ear. “No joy?” Lionel posed.

“Voicemail” Gabriela noted.

Lionel sighed and moved to sit beside her. “I can take you around there” he suggested.

“I don’t particularly want to see him. I’ll try once more and then I will call Elise. She’ll know” Gabriela murmured softly.

Lionel nodded. “Noah’s lucky to have a madre who works so hard to keep him happy. A lot of people wouldn’t bother with Elliot who clearly doesn’t care about his son” he noted, squeezing her hand gently.

Gabriela shook her head. “Noah loves him” she shrugged gently “And he doesn’t deserve to be messed around” she noted gently before her phone buzzed, Elliot’s name bright on the screen “Speak of the devil” she murmured pulling the phone to her ear “Eli” she greeted.

“Elise” the older woman corrected.

Gabriela tilted her head. “Elise? Where’s Elliot?” she posed.

“He’s here” Elise noted “But he’s in no way prepared to talk to you, Ela” she noted.

Gabriela frowned. “What are you talking about? Is he hurt or sick?” she posed.

Elise sighed. “It’s easier to explain face to face” she noted.

“Elise, please just tell me. Noah’s asking after him” Gabriela protested softly, her voice a little panicked. She didn’t like Elliot, since their marriage had ended, she had had little to no time or affection for him, but she didn’t want him to be sick or hurt. He was still a significant part of her life and she didn’t want things to end badly for him.

Elise let out a small noise. “He’s not himself, Ela” she explained carefully “He’s not sick, but he doesn’t really do anything. He walks around, drinks a lot, and whines about the mess he’s made of everything. Since Elena left and took Diego with her, he’s been a mess and that’s why he’s not been to see Noah. He’s grieving for the two relationships he messed up” she explained carefully.

Gabriela shook her head and bit her tongue, refraining from throwing out a comment about how it his fault that they were no longer together. “Is there anything I can do?” she posed gently.

Lionel offered her a look, shaking his head. The last thing he wanted was Gabriela spending time with her ex who had never hidden his intention of trying to win her back.

“I’ll let you know” Elise mused before she hung up the line.

“Well?” Lionel posed.

“He’s grieving for the end of two relationships apparently” Gabriela noted “He’s not himself, he hasn’t been since Elena and her son left, and Elise insists that he’s not up to seeing Noah, something I am going to have to explain to my son yet again” she murmured.

Lionel rolled his eyes. “When is he just going to accept that these things are his fault?” he murmured as Gabriela rested her head on his shoulder.

Gabriela made a small noise. “Knowing Elliot, never” she murmured “He’s a spoilt idiot who’d always gotten everything he wants” she muttered.

Lionel sighed and pressed a kiss to her head. “He’s not our problem” he murmured against her temple.

“He’s Noah’s padre” Gabriela murmured “And my son wants his papa. I don’t want Noah let down again” she added.

Lionel shook his head. “You’re going to see him, aren’t you?” he mumbled.

Gabriela sighed, but nodded her head, something which made Lionel roll his eyes. He loved that she cared so much about Noah, she was a fantastic mother and it was one of the reasons that he had suggested that they try for a child together, but he didn’t like the idea of her being near Elliot. The lawyer had shown more than once that he was willing to make a move on her despite her marriage to Lionel and he hated the idea of her being near him, even if she was only doing it for Noah, it was never something which was going to sit well with him.