I Know I Was for a While

Running a brush through her dark hair, Camila quirked a small smile to herself, her brown eyes settled on Lionel who sat a little away from her, his soft snores disturbing the otherwise quiet room. It had been a busy night, with the baby having arrived early in the evening, both she and Lionel had spent most of the night looking after him, but with Tessa having taken him back to the nursery for a little while, Lionel had taken the opportunity to get a little sleep, something which didn’t fail to make Camila smile, more than glad that he had stuck around. She knew that he was nervous, even before the baby had arrived, he had appeared a little unsure of what to do, or what she wanted him to do, but she was glad that he’d been there, even despite all his nervous laughs and uncertain smiles. She didn’t quite know how she would have gotten through it without him.

Gathering her hair up into a loose ponytail, she watched him sleep for a few seconds before the sound of a light knock at the door reached her ears, causing her to quickly get to her feet. Stepping across the room, she pulled the door open before she stepped out into the corridor, gently closing it behind herself.

Lucille, who’d been stood on the other side of the door, quirked an eyebrow. “What are you doing?” she asked amusedly.

“Leo’s asleep” Camila replied “And I don’t want to wake him up. I don’t think he’s had more than a couple of hours” she added.

Lucille quirked a small smile. “Leo?” she asked “He’s still here?” she added, her voice warm and teasing.

Camila’s cheeks flushed a soft shade of pink before she gently nodded, trying, and failing, to hide the smile which itched to spread over her features. “I told him to go home last night” she mumbled, messing with the end of her ponytail.

Lucille watched her for a second, a small amused smile playing on her lips, before she shook her head, moving to wrap her daughter in a soft hug. “I’m so sorry for not getting here sooner” she mumbled “I didn’t get Leo’s messages until late last night and by the time I had got them, it was too late for a visit. I came here as early as I could this morning. Is everything OK?” she pressed as she took a step back, her eyes searching Camila’s face.

Camila nodded. “Everything’s fine” she mused “The labour was pretty smooth, and baby...he’s absolutely perfect, mama” she fussed.

“He?” Lucille asked “It’s a boy?” she added giddily.

Camila grinned proudly. “You want to come and meet him?” she mused.

Lucille didn’t hesitate in nodding, something which caused Camila to take a hold of her hand before she padded down the corridor, leading her mother towards the nursery. Taking a few steps, she moved to turn a corner before she bumped into Tessa, something which made the midwife’s face light up. “I was just about to come and see if you were up” she mused “Your little boy is up and I think he’s probably looking forwards to spending some time with his mama” she added.

Camila’s face lit up with a giddy smile, something which made Lucille smile too, a little in awe of how made up Camila looked. She knew that she was excited, from the moment that she had told her about the baby, she had known that Camila was looking forwards to the day that he or she arrived, but she was pleased to see her so excited, even if it had only been a matter of hours since the little boy had arrived. The last thing she wanted was for Camila to dwell on Noah’s not being there.

“I’ll go and get him” Tessa mused “I’ll meet you back at your room? I’ll even bring your discharge papers” she added.

“Gracias” Camila mused.

Tessa nodded her head dutifully before she walked away, something which allowed Camila to pad back towards her room. Stopping outside of the door, she briefly contemplated knocking on it before she gently nudged it open, her expression softening a little as her eyes landed on Lionel who was still sat in his seat, trying to wake himself up slightly. “You’re up” she breathed.

Lionel, who’d been quietly ruffling his hair, startled a little at the sound of Camila’s voice before he lifted his head, offering her a sleepy smile. “I heard you and your mama outside” he noted “And I thought I ought to wake up. I doubt that she travelled all the way here just to listen to me snore” he joked before he lifted his hand, trying to stifle a yawn.

Camila, who still stood in the doorway, watched him for a second before she shook her head, a soft smile playing on her lips.

“Can we come in?” Tessa’s voice chimed.

Camila blinked a couple of times, surprised by the midwife’s voice, before she nodded, gently stepping out of the door so that the midwife could step inside, the baby cooing softly in her arms. “Someone’s ready to see his mama” she fussed as she turned to Camila, gently settling the baby into her arms “I’ll just got and grab those papers and we can get you out of here” she added before she stepped back out of the room.

Camila grinned brightly, watching as the little boy stirred in an attempt to get comfortable, before she lifted him up slightly, pressing a soft kiss against his forehead. “Buenos dias, baby” she fussed softly.

Lionel, who’d ushered himself out of his seat, watched the two of them with a warm smile before he caught Lucille’s stare, something which made his cheeks flush a soft shade of pink. Offering her a sheepish glance, he took a couple of paces towards Camila before he gently reached his hand out, his fingertips tentatively brushing through the baby’s dark hair. “Morning, little guy” he greeted softly before he turned his head, pressing a soft kiss against Camila’s cheek “Morning, you” he mumbled.

Camila bit her lip gently, trying to keep herself from blushing, before she turned to look at him, her dark eyes mirroring his. “Morning” she grinned.

Lionel breathed out a nervous laugh, allowing a beat of silence to pass between the two of them, before Lucille cleared her throat, causing the two of them to turn and look at her, not missing the teasing smile that she wore. “I hate to interrupt” she mused “But I’d love to meet my grandson at some point today. Do you two think you can stop with the shy smiles for long enough for me to do that?” she added, her voice warm and teasing.

She couldn’t deny that it was adorable, the way that Camila looked at Lionel, and the way that he looked at her, it was sweet to see, and she couldn’t deny that she was happy for them, even if she had had her worries about the two of them starting something whilst Camila had been pregnant. She merely hoped that it kept going as well as it appeared to be going in that moment.

Lionel let out another nervous laugh before he took a step back from Camila’s side, nodding his head gently. “I am going to go and get some breakfast” he quipped “Do either of you want anything?” he added.

“I’d love some fruit or something” Camila replied “And maybe a bottle of water” she added.

Lionel nodded. “I’ll see what I can do” he mused “Lucille?” he asked.

“I’m fine, Leo” Lucille replied.

Lionel offered her a small smile before he stepped out of the door, affording Camila the opportunity to step towards her mother, gently offering the baby out towards her. “I’ve not settled on a name yet” she mused softly.

Lucille, who’d been watching the baby, nodded. “That’s OK” she replied “You were almost two weeks old when me and your papa settled on Camila. Up until then, he’d wanted to name you Maria after your abuela, something I didn’t want. You know that she never liked me” she added teasingly.

Camila let out a soft laugh before she stepped back, settling down on the edge of the bed.

“He’s so beautiful, sweetheart”” Lucille breathed “He’s got your nose” she added.

“Leo says the same thing” Camila replied, fiddling with her hair.

Lucille smiled at the mention of the argentine. “He’s been here all night?” she asked “Leo, I mean” she added.

Camila nodded. “He was pretty nervous” she mused “I mean, this all has to be a little strange for him, but he’s been amazing, mama. He’s been great with baby, too. Seeing the two of them together...” she trailed off, a wide smile on her lips.

Lucille marveled at the smile on her daughter’s face before she took a step towards her, gently brushing a few loose hairs off of her face. “I’m happy for you, sweetheart” she mused “Leo’s a wonderful guy” she added.

Camila smiled widely, something which caused Lucille to dip forwards, pressing a soft kiss against the top of her head, wordlessly hoping that things kept on going as well as they had for Camila and Lionel up until then.