You Loved Me Once

Letting out a small groan, Lionel stretched his arm out, feeling blindly for the alarm clock which bleeped somewhere in the distance. It was early, whenever Alba stayed over, she tended to set the alarm for just after 7, but with an afternoon training session, the last thing he wanted was to find himself out of bed so soon.

Yawning a little into his hand, he tossed onto his side and hit the snooze button before he rolled back over, his dark eyes noting the neatly made up duvet. It was odd, Alba had a habit of waiting until the last minute before her alarm to get out of bed, and to find her side of the bed empty surprised the argentine slightly, even more so given the fact that Alba had been complaining of being tired when they’d headed to bed the night before.

Frowning a little, he stared at the empty side of the bed for a moment before the sound of someone clearing their throat reached him, causing him to peek over his shoulder at Alba who smiled at him. “You’re going to hurt yourself if you think too hard” she quipped.

“It’s barely 7” Lionel countered sleepily “What are you doing up?” he posed.

Alba, who’d moved to pull her hair into a ponytail, sighed. “What do you think I am doing up?” she posed.

“Morning sickness?” Lionel guessed, his head still contently nestled against his pillow.

Alba nodded a little before she sat down at the foot of the bed, something which made Lionel sit up, his hand attentively rubbing her back. Alba startled a little as his cool hand brushed the warm skin of her back, but she relaxed quickly, leaning against him. “You should have woken me” he murmured as he continued to rub small reassuring circles into her back.

“You can stop me from throwing up?” Alba countered, her head resting on his shoulder happily.

Lionel shook his head and pressed a kiss to the top of hers. “I can’t” he admitted “But if you wake up again, let me help, even if it is something as simple as getting you a glass of water or holding your hair, let me help you” he insisted quietly.

Alba shook her head. “You don’t have to do that” she mumbled as she turned slightly, moving his legs so that they sat on either side of her as she rested her back against his chest.

Lionel smiled, his hand shifting to her stomach. “I think I probably do” he murmured, his fingers dipping beneath the bottom of her vest top “This is half me, remember?” he posed, kissing the side of her face.

Alba smiled a little, watching his hand for a moment. It was still a strange thought, the idea that inside of her, their baby was growing steadily, but it was a welcome thought. She was under no illusions, with their relationship as it was, it was going to take a lot of effort to hold things together, even more so when the baby arrived, but for a little, she wanted to bask in the idea of her pregnancy, something Lionel seemed more than content to go along with.

“You’re going to go to work?” he posed softly.

“I am” Alba confirmed “But we do have a hospital appointment at 12:10, are you going to be able to get there?” she fussed, peeking up at him.

Lionel smiled. “You try and stop me” he enthused, kissing the top of her head.

~#~
“You could try and look a little less nervous”

Alba, who’d been checking the screen of her phone, lifted her head, offering a slight glare towards Lionel who stood ahead of her, a warm grin on his face. “You’re late” she pointed out.

“It’s noon” Lionel countered “Our appointment isn’t for another 10 minutes. I’m perfectly on time” he mused as he moved to sit beside her “You’re early” he added, his hand moving to take hers. He wasn’t stupid, he could see that Alba was nervous, but he wanted to take her mind off of it. He wanted her to relax a little.

“I took my lunch break early” Alba murmured “Jess wanted to grab something with me, but I told her I had plans with you. I got here about 15 minutes ago” she admitted gently.

Lionel nodded before he pulled her hand to his lips, kissing the warm skin gently. “Alba, you know this is going to be OK, don’t you?” he posed gently.

Alba shifted slightly. “What if it isn’t?” she posed quietly “What if there’s something wrong?” she posed.

“There won’t be” Lionel mused.

“But…”

“Alba” Lionel countered “Nena, this is going to be fine and I know that you know that. You’ve been excited about this since we saw your doctor” he pointed out gently. He knew that it was in her nature, Alba had been a worrier from the moment she could form full sentences, but he doubted that her worrying was going to help. As far as they were aware, everything was fine and he was going to believe it until someone told him otherwise.

Alba sighed.

“It’s going to be OK” Lionel assured her gently.

“You don’t know that” Alba countered.

Lionel shook his head before he kissed her hand once more, offering her a warm smile.

Alba went to argue back, but was stopped as an older dark haired woman appeared ahead of them, a comforting grin on her face. “Miss Nunez?” she posed.

Alba swallowed a little, but nodded, something which made the older woman smile. “I am Cassandra” she mused “And I am going to be your midwife. Do you mind me calling you Alba?” she pressed.

Alba shook her head, something which made Cassandra nod. “And this must be the padre to be?” Cassandra posed with a look towards Lionel who nodded his head.

“Leo” he introduced softly.

Cassandra offered him a small smile before she gestured towards a room a little away from them. “I’ve had the results of the first round of blood tests that you had done the other day” she explained as she led the couple into the examination room.

Alba tilted her head a little as she sat down, her eyes fixed on the midwife who smiled at her warmly. “The tests are remarkably positive, Alba” she enthused “I’ll need to send you to your doctor for a proper check-up and I’d like to give you these leaflets about what to expect now you’re expecting, but as far as I can see, you two should be feeling pretty positive. You’ll need to start taking the vitamins they suggest, but I am optimistic” she enthused.

Lionel, who’d taken the seat beside Alba, smiled, squeezing her hand softly. “You hear that?” he posed.

Alba nodded. “You’re not concerned about anything?” she posed.

Cassandra shook her head. “As long as you take it easy for a little while to calm your blood pressure down, no. If you don’t mind, I’d like to do an ultrasound just to check the date of conception so that we can figure out when they’re due” she explained.

Alba nodded her head quietly before she hopped up onto the examination bed, allowing Cassandra to push up her shirt. “This is going to be a little cool” she noted before she placed a small amount of the gel on Alba’s stomach, causing her to flinch a little.

“You’re OK” Lionel smiled, kissing the top of her head.

Alba peeked at him briefly before Cassandra brushed the wand of the ultrasound over her stomach, pulling her attention towards the screen.

“You see this?” Cassandra smiled as she ran her fingertip over the screen “This little outline, this is your baby. I’d suggest from the size that you’re about 6 or 7 weeks which would put your date of conception at around the end of November or early December” she explained.

Alba nodded vaguely, not entirely listening to the midwife as she stared at the screen, her blue eyes stinging a little.

“I’ll go and get you a copy” Cassandra quipped with a grin as she passed Lionel who looked equally amazed by the image on the screen. Admiring the couple, she smiled a little to herself before she excused herself from the room, leaving them alone.

Alba stared at the screen for a moment before she tipped her head forwards, wiping her eyes with her sleeve.

“Are you crying?” Lionel posed.

Alba sniffed. “What do you think?” she posed.

Lionel smiled and moved to lift her feet up, resting them in his lap as he sat down beside her. “We’re going to have a baby, Alba” he murmured, tracing shapes into the material of her trousers.

Alba nodded her head quietly. “We are” she confirmed.

Lionel grinned at her before he leant over, pressing a small kiss to her lips as he brushed away the few tears on her cheeks. Alba sniffled a little and leant into him, her arms warping around him awkwardly as she peeked at the image which still sat on the screen, earning an affectionate grin on her face.