When You Close Your Eyes

Rubbing his eyes a little, Lionel stretched out slightly, trying to loosen his muscles a little before carefully sat up, a soft yawn falling out of his mouth. It had been a long day, with the baby having arrived in the early part of the afternoon, the small hospital room had been a hive of activity for a while, and Lionel was glad that it had quietened down a little, even if he knew it was only a matter of time before their friends and relatives arrived to meet the newborn, he was glad that they’d had a few hours to themselves.

Pushing a hand back through his hair, he allowed another soft yawn to fall out of his mouth before he carefully pushed himself to his feet, moving to step towards the little crib which stood beside the bed. It still felt a little odd, the idea that their daughter had arrived was one that was going to take a little while to settle in, but Lionel doubted that he could have been happier. He couldn’t quite believe that he had played a part in making something which was so small and delicate.

Pausing for a moment, he watched the little girl stir before she blinked her blue eyes open, something which caused him to duck down, lifting her gently against his chest. “We’ll have to be quiet” he mumbled, padding back towards his seat “Your mama needs her sleep, she was awake for a long time trying to bring you into the world, and I don’t think she’d appreciate it if we woke her up” he added, his fingertips lightly straightening the small hat that had been placed on the little girl’s head.

The baby stirred a little at the feel of his fingertips, her blue eyes briefly peeking up towards his face, before she let out a small yawn, something which made Lionel smile a little before he leant down, pressing a soft kiss against her head. The baby let out a soft whimper at the contact before she snuggled a little closer to his chest, something which made Lionel’s smile grown a little.

He knew that it was going to take a little while, with the baby around, things were likely to take a little while to settle down again, but Lionel was confident that he and Isabelle would figure things out as they went, even if they did stumble a little along the way, he was sure that they’d give everything they could to make sure that their little girl was as happy as she could be.

Allowing another soft yawn to fall out of his mouth, he moved to get slightly more comfortable in his seat before the sound of the door opening and closing caught his ears, causing him to lift his head, his dark eyes peeking towards Carla who’d stepped into the room. “I didn’t mean to disturb you” the midwife mused softly.

“It’s OK” Lionel replied “Did you need something?” he posed quietly.

“There’s a couple of people out in the waiting room asking after you” Carla noted “But, If you want me to, I can ask them to leave” she added.

Lionel briefly contemplated her offer before he shook his head. “I should come and speak to them” he noted “I’d hate to get on the wrong side of my future mother and father-in-law” he added, offering Carla a small smile.

The midwife returned his smile softly before she nodded. “I’ll tell them you’re on your way” she mused gently before she ducked out of the room.

Lionel watched after her for a couple of seconds before he shook his head, his eyes closing for a couple of seconds. He knew that he couldn’t avoid it, with the little girl having arrived, it was only a matter of time before their friends and families arrived to coo over her, but Lionel had been hoping to put it off for a little while. He didn’t quite know that he was ready to share the little girl with anyone.

~#~
“So?”

Lionel, who’d padded into the waiting room, startled a little at the sound of Grace’s voice before he lifted his head, offering her a small smile. “So, what?” he quipped impishly.

Grace rolled her eyes. “You know what” she quipped “How is Isabelle? And the baby?” she pressed, her tone caught between excited and urgent.

Lionel quirked a soft smile at the tone of her voice before he shook his head. “Everything went as well as we’d been hoping for” he mused softly “I mean, it took a while, Isa was in labour for nearly 8 hours before the baby arrived, but they’re both fine, I promise” he added, not missing the slightly nervous look that had passed over Grace’s face.

“They are?” Marco posed, stepping a little closer to the younger man.

“They are” Lionel confirmed softly “Isabelle’s just woken up from a nap and the baby’s just settled down again. They’re perfect, Marco” he insisted, offering the older man a reassuring smile.

Marco offered him a slightly dubious look, wordlessly asking if he was certain, before he nodded his head. “Is it a boy or a girl?” he posed softly.

“A girl” Lionel revealed softly “The most beautiful little girl” he added, a doting smile on his face.

Francesca, who stood a little away from him, admired the soft smile on his face for a couple of seconds before she stepped towards him, moving to pull him into a soft hug. Lionel startled a little, not quite expecting the hug, before he wrapped his arms around her, hugging her for a couple of seconds before he ducked back. “You’re an abuela” he quipped, a soft smile on his lips.

Francesca rolled her eyes playfully before she shook her head. “On that subject, when do you think I could meet my grandbaby?” she posed softly.

“We’re due to get out of here tomorrow” Lionel noted softly “I mean, I’d let you come through now, but Isabelle’s still half asleep and bump, she’s just gotten back to sleep and I’d hate to disturb her. Do you think you can wait?” he posed. He knew that they wanted to meet the baby, from the second he’d stepped into the waiting room, he’d known it, but he wanted to put it off, wanting to allow Isabelle and the baby to relax before they were surrounded by their friends and family.

Francesca listened to him babble for a couple of seconds before she shook her head, a soft giggle falling out of her mouth. “Of course we can, Lionel” she mused softly.

Lionel offered her a small smile before he moved to shuffle his phone out of his pocket, offering it out towards the older woman. “I’ve taken a couple of pictures of the baby, if you’d like to see them” he mused, offering her a nervous smile.

Francesca admired the nervous expression on his features before she shook her head, moving to press a soft kiss against his cheek. “Congratulations, Lionel” she mused softly.

~#~
“Where did you get to?”

Lionel, who’d been trying to close the door to Isabelle’s room quietly, jumped a little at the sound of her voice before he lifted his head, offering her a small smile. It had been a while, after he’d ducked out to speak with Isabelle’s parents and sister, almost an hour and a half had passed, but he was surprised to see Isabelle awake, even if she had been when he’d left, he’d assumed that she’d fall back to sleep as soon as he closed the door.

“Your parents and Grace” he noted softly “They arrived whilst you were asleep and I figured I ought to let them know that everything is OK” he added, moving to settle down in the chair which sat beside her bed.

Isabelle tilted her head. “You didn’t bring them back with you?” she posed, her eyebrow raised slightly.

Lionel, who’d moved to check on their baby, shook his head. “I asked them to wait” he mused softly.

“You did?” Isabelle posed softly.

“I did” Lionel confirmed “We’re due to get out of here tomorrow and I asked if we could save the introductions until then. I don’t know about you, but I don’t quite think I am ready to share her yet” he added, his fingertips lightly smoothing out the soft tufts of coppery brown hair which sat on the top of the baby’s head.

Isabelle watched the movement of his fingers for a couple of seconds before she shook her head. “We made a pretty cute baby, didn’t we?” she posed quietly.

Lionel nodded. “We did” he mused softly “Our daughter is pretty gorgeous” he added, offering her an impish smile.

Isabelle allowed his words to hang around them for a couple of seconds, not missing how strange the phrase ‘our daughter’ sounded, before she shook her head. “We still need to choose a name” she mumbled softly “We can’t just call her baby, or bump forever more” she added, her fingers lightly straightening out the small pink baby grow the little wore.

Lionel nodded. “I liked them both” he mused softly “So, either one is good with me” he added. It had taken them a while, finding a name that they’d both liked had been particularly hard work, but they’d narrowed it down to two, even if it had taken them longer than he’d thought it would, he would have been happy with either name.

Isabelle mulled his words over for a couple of seconds before she flicked her attention towards the baby, offering her a small smile. “Isla” she breathed softly.

“Isla?” Lionel posed softly.

Isabelle nodded. “Isla Messi Pereira” she enthused softly.

Lionel mouthed the name a couple of times, trying to get used to it, before he quirked a small smile, moving to press a soft kiss against the top of Isla’s head. “Our little girl, Isla” he mused softly “I think I could get used to that” he added warmly.