When You Close Your Eyes

Resting her head back against the bath which sat behind her, Isabelle let out a soft sigh, attempting to stifle the sensation of nausea which twitched in her stomach. It wasn’t the first time, for a few days, she had felt more than a little unwell, but she was confident that it would pass, even if the feeling had lingered for a couple of days, she was sure that the food poisoning she assumed she had would pass quickly.

Sparing another soft sigh, she squeezed her eyes closed for a couple of seconds, before she moved to push herself up to her feet, padding towards the sink before she switched on the tap, moving to splash a little cool water onto her face.

“Are you Ok?”

Isabelle, who’d moved to collect her toothbrush from its holder, startled a little at the sound of Lionel’s voice before she turned, peeking towards where he stood in the door way. “I’m fine” she murmured softly “I thought you were on your way out?” she added softly.

Lionel nodded his head softly. “I was” he mused gently “But I figured I should probably head up and say goodbye before I headed to the airport. Are you sure that you’re alright?” he posed softly, a small frown playing at the corner of his mouth.

Isabelle offered him a soft look before she nodded her head, quirking a soft smile. “I’m fine” she mused softly “I think it’s just a stomach bug, but I am sure that it’ll pass. You should get going” she added, her tone soft and reassuring.

Lionel spared her a slightly dubious look, wordlessly asking if she was certain, before he nodded his head. “Alright” he murmured softly “Grace is coming by later, isn’t she?” he posed, moving to lift his bag onto his shoulder.

“She is” Isabelle confirmed softly “She got her wedding pictures back and wants to show them off, but I think she might be coming by to see if you and I have made any sort of plan yet” she added, stepping out of the bathroom. It had been a little while, after Lionel had proposed, a couple of weeks had passed, and whilst Isabelle was excited about the idea of planning a wedding, she wanted to put it off for a little while, not wanting to push things forwards too quickly.

Lionel rolled his eyes playfully before he shook his head, something which made Isabelle smile softly before she stepped towards him, pressing a soft kiss against his cheek. “We’ll do it in our own time” she mused softly “You know that, right?” she added.

“I do” Lionel quipped “But for a while, your mother, my mother, your sister…a lot of people are going to want to make a fuss and it’s going to take a little getting used to. They’re all pretty excited” he mused, settling his arms around her waist comfortably.

“They are” Isabelle agreed softly “But, this is our engagement, Leo, and if we want to take our time with it, no one can change it. Besides, it took us four years to get to this point, can they really be surprised that we don’t want to run into wedding planning?” she quipped, an impish grin on her face.

Lionel let out a soft laugh before the sound of his phone buzzing in his pocket echoed, causing him to sigh a little. “I ought to get moving” he mumbled softly “Are you sure that you’re Ok?” he posed, sparing her another soft look.

Isabelle admired the soft expression he wore for a moment before she shook her head, pressing a brief kiss against his lips. “I’ll be fine” she mumbled softly “I’ll see you when you get back. Good luck” she added gently.

Lionel spared her one last look before he nodded his head, moving to step out of the bedroom.

~#~
“So, what do you think?” Grace mused as she sat down beside her older sister, a small smile playing at the corner of her mouth. It had been a quiet morning, with both Lionel and Samuel away, Grace had opted to visit her older sister, and she was pleased that she had, even if Isabelle had been a little quiet all morning, she had enjoyed spending time with her.

Isabelle, who’d been thumbing through a stack of wedding pictures, jumped a little at Grace’s voice before she turned her head, offering her little sister a soft smile. “They came out well” she enthused softly “You and Sam look great in all of them” she added brightly.

Grace offered her a soft smile before she leant towards her, taking the stack of pictures out of her hand before she thumbed through them, something which caused Isabelle to tilt her head. “What are you looking for?” she quipped softly.

Grace was quiet for a second before she quirked a small smile, moving to pull a particular picture out of the pile. “I figured that you and Leo might want this one” she enthused, handing the picture over to Isabelle, who peeked down at it, a soft grin pulling at the corner of her mouth. It was a good one of them, Lionel had his arms around Isabelle’s and Isabelle had her head on his shoulder, and Isabelle couldn’t help smile at the sight of it, wordlessly musing about how close they’d come to giving up on them.

Grace admired the fond smile on her sister’s face before she nudged her ribs, causing Isabelle to jump a little. “You know, I don’t think you’ve stopped smiling since I got here” the younger woman enthused.

Isabelle shook her head. “You’d rather I didn’t smile?” she quipped.

Grace shook her head. “Not at all” she mused “In fact, I am glad to see you smiling” she added kindly.

Isabelle offered her a light smile before she felt her stomach flip, causing her to push herself up to her feet before she sped away, making her way towards the bathroom before she knelt down, throwing up into the toilet.

“Belle?”

Isabelle flinched a little at the sound of Grace’s voice before she shifted, moving to rest against the bath.

“Are you OK?” Grace posed.

“I’m fine” Isabelle mumbled, pushing some loose hair out of her eyes “It’s just a stomach bug. I’ve had it for a couple of days” she added gently.

Grace, who’d moved to sit down on the side of the bath, tilted her head a little before she sighed. “Please don’t think I am trying to pry, Belle” she murmured softly “I mean, I get it if you’re trying to keep it a secret…”

“Keep what a secret?” Isabelle interrupted softly.

Grace offered her a soft look before she sighed. “Is it at all possible that this isn’t a stomach bug?” she posed softly.

“Grace, what are you…”

“It is possible that you’re pregnant?” Grace interrupted.

Isabelle blinked a couple of times, the word ‘pregnant’ ringing in her ears, before she peeked up at her sister, her expression uncertain. “I…I don’t know” she babbled softly.

Grace nodded her head softly. “Then we should find out” she mused softly “You can stay here, and I’ll drop by a chemist and pick up a test that you can do when I get back, Ok?” she posed gently.

Isabelle offered her another look before she nodded her head, something which caused Grace to step out of the room. Isabelle watched after her briefly before she shook her head, a small lump in her throat. It was something she wanted, for a while, she had thought about the idea of having a baby, but the idea that it could have happened so soon after their engagement worried her a little, even if a part of her was excited at the prospect, another part of her worried that it might be too much too soon.