You, Me and Our Family

"No, I don't want to leave" Molly heard someone scream outside her bedroom. She groaned in pain as she turned in the bed and moved to sit up. Her ribs had decided to start acting up again. She looked at the clock and saw that it was nearly lunch time. She rubbed her eyes with her hand surprised she had slept so late.

She had picked at some pasta with Nuno and Cristiano and had gone straight to bed before the rest of the house had arrived back. Her whole body had felt sore as she had climbed into the bed and she must have fallen asleep straight away. "No no no" she heard someone shout. She pushed the covers off her and grabbed the sweatshirt Cristiano had given her while she ate, from the bottom of the bed before she went to investigate where the noise was coming from. "No" she heard as she moved to the open her bedroom door. She found Rodrigo with his back to Molly as Katia stood in front of him with her arms crossed.

"Rodrigo I've told you more than once. We are not staying" Katia said. "I'm not leaving" the young boy screamed before he took a seat on the ground. "Tíó Cris will be home soon. And he's going to be very unhappy with your behaviour" Katia told her son. "I don't care" he huffed. "Rodrigo enough. I've told you.....oh Molly" Katia said noticing Molly at the door. "Molly" Rodrigo said quickly standing and running to her.

"Tell mama you want me to stay" he said holding tightly onto her legs. "Rodrigo don't hurt her" Katia said. "Molly tell her" Rodrigo begged. "Rodrigo you woke Molly up with all your yelling. Are you happy now?" Katia asked. "I'm sorry Molly" Rodrigo said sadly as he looked up towards her. "It's ok" she said squeezing his shoulder. "He shouldn't be yelling" Katia scolded her son. "I don't want to leave" Rodrigo cried. "Where are you going?" Molly asked him.

"Back to Lisbon" Katia replied. "I want to stay here" Rodrigo said. "But don't you want to go back to your own bedroom. And see all your friends?" Molly asked. "No" he huffed. "Rodrigo, I still have to finishing packing your brother's stuff. We have a plane to catch this afternoon. And your father is coming back with us" Katia said. "I don't care" he huffed.

"We don't live here Rodrigo" Katia sighed. "I want to stay with Molly" he said holding onto Molly's leg. Molly looked at Katia who looked exhausted from the fight with her son. "That's very sweet of you Rodrigo" Molly said, and the little boy smiled up at Molly. "Can I ask you a question?" Molly asked him and he nodded.

"If you hadn't hurt your arm, where would you be right now?" she asked. He frowned and whispered. "What did you say?" she asked. "At home" he muttered. "See your home is in Lisbon with your mama. And your papa. And little brother" she told him. "But I want to stay here with you" he told her. "But you'll be coming back to visit me" she told him.

"But how will you remember me if I'm not here" he said sadly. "Oh Rodrigo, I'm sorry I don't remember you" she said crunching down to his level. "I want to be here when you do" he told her. "I don't know when or if that will happen Rodrigo" she told him truthfully. "That sucks" he replied which made Molly and Katia laugh. "Ya it does suck. It sucks big time. Come on why don't I help you pack you bag. The sooner you go back to Lisbon the quicker you come back to visit me" she told him. "Can you come with us? I liked when you were in Lisbon with us" he told her. "She needs to stay here Rodrigo" Katia said. "But if Tío Cris comes too. And Junior then she will have to come live with us" he said. "But Tío Cris needs to stay here to play football" Molly told him.

"And you need to stay here for him" he sighed. "Well.....I can't actually fly yet cos the doctors won't let me" Molly told him. "But I don't want to leave you" he told her. "But we can speak every day until you come back" Molly told him. "You promise?" he asked. "I promise. Now are you going to help me up so we can go pack your things?" she asked. "Ok" he said pulling at her hand as she stood up straight. "Go get your bag and Molly will follow you" Katia said. "Ok" he said running off.

"Thank you" Katia said to Molly. "There's no need to thank me" Molly said. "He's always been good at listening to you. He's always hated leaving Cris's house since you've come into our lives though" Katia said. "He's a sweet boy" Molly said. "Are you ok?" Katia asked. "You heard about yesterday then?" Molly asked. "Just that you were upset and to leave you alone last night" Katia said. "More like I had a big freak out and worried everyone" Molly said. "Cris doesn't care. He only cares that you are alright" Katia told her. "I really don't know if I ever will be again" Molly muttered. "You will be. And we are all here to help. Or if you want space then tell us that. We don't want to make things harder for you" Katia said.

"You've all being great. Really great. And I've done nothing but made all of your lives horrible" Molly told her. "You've done nothing but made our lives better Molly. Ever since you've come into our lives. You've always but us first. You've always taken care of us. You shouldn't put so much pressure on yourself Molly" Katia said. "I should go help Rodrigo" Molly said. "Thanks" Katia said as Molly walked towards Rodrigo's bedroom.

"You're very quiet today" Pepe said to Cristiano as they dressed after training. "Am I?" Cristiano asked buttoning his shirt. "How's Molly?" Pepe asked. "If I had a euro for every time someone asked me that question, I'd be a billionaire" Cristiano groaned. "You are a billionaire" Pepe said, and Cristiano laughed. "Ok bad reply" Cristiano smiled. "Anna said that Sarah is coming shortly" Pepe said. "Ya, I managed to get through to her before she caught a plane to New York" Cristiano told him. "Sounds like it was urgent to talk to her" Pepe said.

"Molly...." Cristiano paused. "What's wrong with Molly?" Sergio asked coming up next to Cristiano. "Nothing" Pepe replied. "Then what were you talking about?" Sergio asked. "Maybe Cris was telling Pepe how tired he is of people asking about Molly all the time" Higuaín said from across the dressing room. "We've always asked about Molly. Even before her accident" Sergio replied.

"Ya cos you wanted to get her into bed" Higuaín snorted. "Fuck you" Sergio said moving towards Higuaín only to be held back by Cristiano. "Leave it" Cristiano told the Spaniard. "Are you going to let him talk about Molly like that?" Sergio asked. "Like what? He didn't say anything about Molly. Just ignore him" Cristiano said letting go of Sergio. "So, what's wrong with Molly?" Sergio asked. "Are you sure you aren't the one with amnesia Ramos?" Higuaín said. "Are you looking for a fat lip?" Sergio asked the argentine. "Molly could do more damage to me than you could Ramos" Higuaín said and Cristiano laughed. "He's probably right about that" Cristiano laughed.

"I was just saying that Molly will like having her friend Sarah back in Madrid. It will be nice to have someone she actually remembers around her" Pepe told Sergio. "Oh" Sergio said. "So, until he's not walking around like a lost puppy, we can all take it she won't have regained her memory. No need to ask about her all the time" Higuaín said.

"I'm her friend" Sergio said. "And she's still not ready to see people" Higuaín said. "And how do you know?" Sergio asked and Cristiano looked at Higuaín. "She's just out of hospital. The last thing she needs is to see your ugly face" Higuaín said. "He's right" Cristiano said. "Hey" Sergio said. "Relax he wasn't talking about you having an ugly face" Iker joked. "I know everyone wants to see her. And know how she is doing. But she needs space. She needs time to settle into the house. It's all new to her" Cristiano told everyone. "And we understand that Ronnie" Iker told him. "We are all here if you or Molly need us" Iker said. "Thanks" Cristiano replied.

"It sucks not having her at any of our matches" Sergio said. "Kind of sucks more that she doesn't remember the son she gave birth to" Cristiano snapped. "Let's go get some lunch Sergio" Iker said nudging the defender away from Cristiano. "He just cares about her" Pepe said.

"I'm just over all this shit" Cristiano sighed. "Probably sucks finding out that Molly is more popular than you are" Higuaín said as he crossed the dressing room. "I've known that for a long time. Thanks for not saying anything about what happened yesterday" Cristiano said to Higuaín. "No worries" he replied. "What happened yesterday?" Pepe asked confused. "Molly escaped from his" Higuaín said. "You really are looking for a fat lip aren't you?" Cristiano said. "And I still think Molly would give me a better fat lip than you or anyone else. Girl has fire" Higuaín said.

"Am I going to have to guess what happened yesterday with Molly or is one of you two dumb dumbs going to tell me?" Pepe asked. "He's dumber than me" Higuaín said pointing to Cristiano. "I think we all know that" Cristiano sighed. "When it comes to Molly yes. Everything else, he's probably dumber" Pepe said nodding to Higuaín who pretended to be hurt. "Molly freaked out yesterday. Like enough to walk out in front of Higuaín's car" Cristiano said. "Wow" Pepe said in surprise.

"Luckily I have good reflexes" Higuaín said. "Expect on the football pitch" Pepe said. "I keep thinking we are getting somewhere and then something like yesterday happens and we're back to square one again" Cristiano said. "She did just come out of hospital. Give her a chance. If she had refused to go back to your house yesterday it would have been a lot worse" Higuaín said. "He's got a point" Pepe said. "I guess. I just hope having Sarah around will help her a little more. The longer it takes for her memory to come back the more I start to think it will never come back" Cristiano admitted. "Maybe instead of focusing on the pass or the future just deal with the present. Get to know the Molly who's living in your house now, not the Molly who used to" Higuaín said. "I'm starting to freak out a little at all the good advice he's giving" Pepe said nodding to Higuaín. "So am I" Higuaín said and they all laughed.

"Hey Mols" Sarah said once Molly answered her call. "Hi" Molly said. "How are you?" Sarah asked. "Fine" Molly muttered. "I spoke to Cris" Sarah said, and the phone went silent. "You still there?" she asked. "Yes" Molly whispered. "Do you want to talk about it?" Sarah asked. "Talk about how I freaked out and left the house bare foot. No I'm good" Molly replied. "Ya maybe try not to leave home without telling anyone again. Cris can be annoying when he's worried according to Nuno" Sarah said. "Don't say that" Molly said. "Don't say what?" Sarah asked. "Home. It's not my home. I don't know where that is" Molly sighed. "I'm sorry" Sarah said. "No I am" Molly said crying.

"I thought you'd be happy to be out of the hospital" Sarah said. "At least I knew that place sort of" Molly sighed. "I can't imagine how hard it must be for you. Been in the house and everyone knowing you but you not knowing them" Sarah said.

"They are all so nice. But it's hard. I don't know them. I don't know the house. I've had a life here and I don't remember it" Molly said. "The doctors said it might help you been some where familiar" Sarah said. "Except it's not familiar" Molly sighed. "How are you after yesterday?" Sarah asked. "I scared everyone" Molly said. "What happened?" Sarah asked. "I just freaked out. My chest got tight and I needed to get out of that house" Molly told her friend. "You've only been out of hospital for a couple of days. It will take time to get used to it" Sarah told her.

"Maybe I'm not ready to be out of the hospital" Molly said. "You wouldn't have been discharged if you weren't ready" Sarah said. "Maybe" Molly sighed. "Been there might help with your memory Molly. You lived for ages. You picked the bloody house for Cris to live there even" Sarah said. "What?" Molly asked confused. "I could have heard wrong. Anyway it's your home Molly" Sarah said. "I wish people would stop saying that. The last home I remember is our apartment in Manchester. The house I'm currently in, is just bricks and water. Which is filled with people I barely know. And a little boy who....." Molly paused.

"How has it being with Junior?" Sarah asked. "I can't be in the same room as him. That should say it all" Molly said. "Have you tried?" Sarah asked. "I can't....I just....I freeze when I see him. Even Katia's little boy Dinis makes me jumpy cos I know I should be acting the way Katia does with him and I can't with .... I can't even say his name" Molly cried. "Oh Mols" Sarah said.

"And if I do go near him. What if I scare him? What if I upset him?" Molly asked wiping tears from her cheeks. "The fact that you are worried about Junior says a lot Molly" Sarah said. "I can't stop worrying about a lot of things Sarah" Molly said.

"I'll help you try when I get there. My flight from New York will be taking off soon. We'll figure things out Mols" Sarah said. "I just want my memory back" Molly said. "One day at the time Mols" Sarah said. "I'll speak to you when you get to Madrid" Molly said. "I can't wait to see you" Sarah replied. "Me too. Have a safe flight" Molly said. "Thanks. And Mols, you'll get there" Sarah said before the call ended.

A knock came to her bedroom door and Molly wiped her eyes. "Come in" she called out and Cristiano opened the door. "Hi" he smiled at her. "You're back from training" she said. "I came back a while ago. I got caught helping Zé and Katia" he said. "Your house is about to get quieter" she said. "I like having them here but it will be nice to get the house back to normal" he said coming towards the bed. "As normal as it can be with a woman living here with amnesia" she said. "Ya well apart from that. Are you ok?" he asked when he noticed that she had being crying.

"I'm fine. I was just talking to Sarah. Talking about yesterday just got me a little bit upset. But I'm ok" she told him. "She'll be here soon and you can talk in person. But I'm here if you want to talk" he told her. "Thanks" she replied. "So my sister and her lot are ready to leave but they want to say goodbye first. I came to get you. If you are feeling up to it" he said. "I better go say goodbye then. Or Rodrigo might not actually leave" she said pulling herself off the bed. "I hear you were a big help with him earlier" he said. "I didn't do anything" she shrugged. "If you say so" he said following her towards the door.

"Molly" Rodrigo yelled rushing towards her when he saw her as she stepped into the living room. "Hey Rodrigo" she smiled bending down to his eye level. "Are you all ready to go back to Lisbon?" Molly asked him. "Tell mama I can stay" he whispered into her ear. "We've already discussed this Rodrigo" she told him. "I thought you might have forgotten" he said.

"It's just my past I can't remember Rodrigo. I remember everything that happens now" she told him. "Well we should be going" Katia said coming up to Molly with Dinis in her arms. "Have a safe flight" Molly said standing up slowly. "We'll be in touch loads. This one might be annoying you from Lisbon a lot I'm afraid" she said tapping Rodrigo's shoulder. "I'm sure I won't mind" Molly smiled.

"Take care of yourself Molly" Katia said hugging Molly. "Katia" Cristiano said. "Oh sorry" Katia said pulling away from Molly. "It's ok. I don't mind" Molly reassured them. "I know we both have already said this" Zé said coming to stand beside his wife. "But thank you. For what you did for Rodrigo. If you hadn't gotten him out of the way of the car....I don't know what..." Zé paused. "You don't have to thank me" Molly said. "But you do have a plane to catch" Cristiano said. "Always trying to get rid of us Ronnie" Katia said. "He just wants to eat his dinner" Nuno joked. "We we've eaten so we can stay all night saying goodbye" Zé smiled at Cristiano. "We are going now. We'll be back soon" Katia said.

"So I sort of promised Rodrigo that I would get you to speak to him every evening" Cristiano said to Molly as they watched the car carrying Katia's family drive down towards the gate. "That shouldn't be a problem" Molly told him. "If he gets too much just let me know and I'll explain to him that you can't talk to him everyday" he told her. "Thanks" she said stepping back into the house. "Are you hungry?" he asked. "I could eat. I didn't really eat much today" she told him as they walked down the hall.

Molly you need to eat with those pain killers" he said annoyed. "I slept in late and got distracted" she told him. "Well then I guess I need to put Nuno in charge of making sure you eat when I'm not here" he said. "Finally someone is putting me in charge" Nuno smiled as they got to the kitchen. "Or maybe Maé will do a better job" Cristiano said. "A better job at what?" Dolores asked from the kitchen table. "At making sure Molly eats" Cristiano said walking towards the table. "Well food is something Molly has always liked, so getting her to eat should be easy" Dolores said.

"Ah maybe Nuno is capable at doing it so" Cristiano joked. "Ha ha ha" Nuno said placing a plate on the table in front of Dolores. "I made lasagne Molly. Do you want something else?" Nuno asked looking at Molly who hadn't moved from when she had entered the kitchen. "Molly" Cristiano called out and she shook her head. He looked at her and then back at Junior who was sitting in his high chair at the table. And cursed himself for being so stupid.

"I'll bring you up some lasagne. You go upstairs and I'll follow you up with a plate" Cristiano said standing from the table. Molly who hadn't taken her eyes off Junior, looked at Cristiano. "Or I can make something else if you don't feel like lasagne?" Nuno asked. "Lasagne sounds perfect Nuno. Thank you" Molly said and Cristiano let out a sigh in relief at hearing her say something.

"And I'm fine eating here" she said looking straight at Cristiano. "You don't have to" he whispered coming closer to her. "I hope I'm going to get a big piece" Molly said to Nuno. "That can be arranged" he smiled at her. "Molly" Cristiano said. "Our food is going to get cold" she said walking around him.

Molly took a deep breath and walked towards the table. "One big slice" Nuno said placing a plate onto the table next to the seat that Cristiano vacated. "Thank you" Molly said taking a seat. "I'm just glad there's some still there. Zé wanted to eat it all" Nuno said taking a seat next to Dolores. "Well he was probably delighted to be getting such a nice meal. My daughter isn't known for been the best cook" Dolores said.

"You can say that again" Nuno said as they all began to eat. Cristiano watched them all eat as Junior babbled to himself in his highchair. "Cris your food is getting cold" Dolores told her son. "You better eat it before Molly does" Nuno joked. "I think I'll give Junior his bath first" Cristiano said.

"Sit down and eat your dinner" Molly said. "Molly" he said. "Just sit please" she said and he sighed before taking a seat next to her. "Can you pass me the salad Ronnie?" Nuno asked. "Ronaldo" Dolores said and Cristiano turned away from Molly to look at his mother. "Salad. Nuno" she said. "Oh sorry" he said passing the salad to his cousin before he picked at his food. Junior played with his toy as they quietly ate. Cristiano could see Molly's hand shaking as she lifted the fork to her mouth as Junior continued to babble.

"Molly" he whispered. "Don't" she whispered focusing on her food. She dropped her right hand to her lap as she began to ask Nuno how he made the lasagne. She listened intently at Nuno as she tried to block out the sounds Junior was making. Her right hand continued to shake before she felt another hand squeeze it. She looked at Cristiano and he gave her hand another squeeze. Her eyes darted towards Junior and back at Cristiano and she gave him a slight small. "One step at the time" he whispered.