Somebody Like Me

Gently nibbling on the cap of her pen, Cassie let out a small frustrated sound, her green eyes fixed on the half-edited article which sat ahead of her. She had been working on it for a while, after she sat through a slightly awkward breakfast with Sergio, she had made her excuses to head back to her apartment, but she had only made slightly progress, something which played on her last nerve. She knew why she was so distracted, with Sergio’s ‘I love you’ ringing in her ears, she had found it hard to focus on anything else, and whilst she knew that eventually should would have to speak to him, she wanted to avoid the topic for a little while, something which was proving a little harder than she had anticipated that it would.

Chewing on her pen lid for a couple more seconds, she allowed her eyes to scan over the screen of her laptop before the sound of her doorbell echoed, causing her to let out a soft sigh. Saving her document, she closed her laptop down before she padded through the apartment, pulling the door open to her father who stood on the other side, a cheerful grin perched on his face. “Papa?” she squeaked in surprise.

Alonso, who was stood on the other side of the door, chuckled a little at her reaction before he stepped over the threshold, wrapping her in a soft hug. “I was in the area and figured I would come and I’d come by and surprise you. You’re not busy are you?” he posed as he leant back from her slightly. It was impromptu, his decision to visit his daughter had been a little out of the blue, but he wanted to make an effort to spend more time with her whilst she was pregnant and when the baby arrived.

Cassie blinked, still slightly surprised to see him, before she shook her head. “I was just finishing up a little work” she mused softly “But it is good to see you, papa” she added as she ducked back slightly, allowing him to step a little deeper into her apartment.

Alonso flashed her a warm grin before he stepped passed her, something which caused Cassie to shake her head a little. She was surprised, with her father living more than a couple of hours away from her, she was sure that she could count the amount of times that he had dropped by unannounced on one hand, but still she was pleased to see him, even if he had caught her a little by surprise. She was happy to see him.

~#~
“So, how is my little grandbaby doing?”

Cassie, who was stirring some milk into her tea, lifted her head at the sound of her father’s voice before she flashed a small smile. It had been a pleasant afternoon, after the surprise of finding her father on the doorstep had worn off, they’d spent a little time catching up, and Cassie was glad that he had shown up. As silly as it was, she missed him when he wasn’t around and she’d liked spending some time with him which felt more relaxed than the last time they’d been together.

“Peanut’s doing well” she replied softly, one of her hands gently moving to rest against the bump beneath her sweater “My midwife, Elsa, she seems pretty happy with his or her progress, but we’ve got a scan in a few weeks. I’ll be 20 weeks then” she added, a small smile tweaking at the corner of her mouth.

Alonso admired the soft look on her face before he shook his head, a light smile of his own appearing on his face. “I’m glad that things are progressing nicely, Cassandra” he mused “I mean, finding out about peanut was a surprise, but I can’t wait to meet him or her, something I am sure that you and that boyfriend of yours share in” he quipped brightly.

Cassie’s expression flinched a little at the mention of Sergio before she quickly fixed a smile, nodding her head in agreement.

Alonso noticed the small twitch in her expression and tilted his head. “Cassandra?” he posed.

Cassie shook her head. “It’s nothing, papa” she mused softly.

“Your face doesn’t say that it is nothing, Cassandra” Alonso countered “I mentioned your boyfriend and you flinched. Is something wrong?” he posed, his eyes narrowing on her slightly.

Cassie shook her head. “It’s silly, papa” she refuted.

Alonso glanced at her, his eyes searching her face, before he shook his head. “You don’t believe that” he mused “And I know for a fact that you’re the worst liar, so why don’t we skip out on the part where you tell me that it is nothing or it is silly and you actually talk to me? I am your papa, Cassandra, you know that you can tell me anything, even boy troubles” he added with a small playful smile as he leant forwards, collecting her hand in his before he offered it a soft squeeze.

Cassie spared a soft glance down towards their hands before she shook her head, her other hand gently tucking a few loose strands of her dark hair behind her ear. “He told me that he loves me, papa” she admitted softly.

Alonso tilted his head. “That’s not a good thing?” he posed, his tone slightly confused.

Cassie shook her head. “Of course it is” she mused softly “I mean, it’s a little fast and he caught me off guard when he said it, but of course it is a good thing. I am just…I’m just a little worried” she admitted softly as she fussed with the material of her shirt.

Alonso watched her fingers for a brief moment before he ducked forwards, capturing her other hand in his. “What are you worried about, Cassandra?” he posed softly.

Cassie was quiet for a second, briefly mulling his question over before she shook her head. “I love him, papa” she mused “I know that I do, and I love where things are between us right now, but I am worried that…I worried that things will fall apart when the baby comes along” she added, her green eyes looking anywhere but at her father. She knew that things had to change, with a baby in the picture, it was impossible that things wouldn’t change, but she was worried. Their relationship had stemmed from her pregnancy and she was slightly worried that when the baby arrived, things between her and Sergio would fall apart as quickly as they’d started.

Alonso allowed her words to hang around them for a couple of seconds before he gently squeezed her hands. “Cassandra, that boy loves you” he mused softly.

Cassie shook her head. “Papa…”

“I know I’ve not spent a lot of time with him” Alonso interrupted “I mean, that dinner was only a couple of hours, but I saw the look on his face and I know that there is no faking it. He’s smitten with you, Cassandra, very much so, and I don’t think that that’s just because you’re carrying peanut. Yes, things will change, with a newborn baby around, it can’t not change, but I don’t think you’ve got anything to worry about. Sergio cares about you, and about peanut too, and I don’t think he wants to hurt either of you. I think you both mean a lot to him” he added, one of his hands gently moving to settle against her bump.

Cassie looked down at his hand. “You think so?” she posed quietly.

“I do” Alonso confirmed “And I like this one a lot more than I liked the last idiot you dated, even if he did knock you up before he proposed” he added, offering her a slightly impish grin.

Cassie rolled her eyes and giggled softly, a sound which made Alonso smile before he carefully pushed himself up to his feet, pressing a fatherly kiss against the top of her head. “Did you tell him how you felt?” he posed as he sat back down.

Cassie shook her head. “No” she mused “I mean, he sorted of just blurted it out and I didn’t quite know what to say to him” she babbled.

Alonso chuckled. “You should tell him” he mused “He deserves to know how you feel about him” he added.

“He’s away right now” she mused “But I will tell him the next time I see him. You really like him?” she added, a playfully curious look on her face.

Alonso rolled his eyes playfully before he nodded his head, something which caused Cassie’s cheeks to flush a soft shade of pink. She knew that things were bound to change, with the baby due in a matter of months, things between her and Sergio were inevitably going to be different, but she felt comforted by her father’s words, even if a few nerves did still exist in the pit of her stomach. He’d managed to soothe her worries a little.