I Know I Was for a While

Gently bouncing his leg, Lionel spared a glance towards the closed bathroom door, quietly counting the seconds that passed in his head. It was early, with Camila’s suggestion that there was a chance that she was pregnant, neither one of them had slept a lot the previous night, and with Camila having ducked out of the house to visit a chemist as soon as they had opened, he sat awaiting the result of the test she had gone to take, something which had him nervous, even if there was an underlying sense of excitement. He didn’t want to get too excited before they knew the result.

Staring at the door, he pushed a hand back through his hair before he watched it open, allowing Camila to duck back into the bedroom, a piece of tissue clutched in her hand. Blinking a couple of times, he watched her stepped across the room and sit down on the bed beside him before he lowered his stare, glancing at the tissue that she held. “How many minutes?” he asked, his voice more than a little uncertain.

Camila, who’d moved to settle the tissue down between them, smiled a little at the tentative tone of his voice before she gently reached her hand out, taking a hold of his which messed with the duvet cover. “Four” she replied softly “You think you can handle waiting that long?” she added, offering him a slightly teasing smirk.

Lionel breathed out a soft laugh before he nodded his head, something which caused Camila to squeeze his hand softly, allowing a comfortable silence to settle over the two of them. Smiling a little, Lionel gently brushed his finger over the engagement ring which proudly sat on Camila’s finger before he picked her hand up, allowing him to press a soft kiss against her skin. “How are you feeling this morning?” he mumbled quietly.

Camila shrugged. “I feel OK” she mused “I mean, the pharmacy I went to was next to a coffee shop and the smell of that made me a little queasy, but it passed without me throwing up, so I am guessing today is a good day” she added, a slightly goofy smile on her face.

She knew that he was a little apprehensive, since she had confessed that there was a chance that she was pregnant the night before, Lionel hadn’t quite known what to say to her, and she wanted to try and help him relax a little, at least until they knew what the test said. She didn’t want him to worry about something which could easily turn out to be nothing more than a stomach upset.

Lionel looked at her for a moment, admiring the grin she wore, before he shook his head, unable to stop himself from grinning slightly in return. Camila’s smile widened a fraction as she marveled at the warm look on his face before she looked back down at their hands, offering his another gentle squeeze. “What about you?” she asked “I mean, you’ve been quiet” she added, peeking back up at him through her eyelashes.

Lionel was quiet for a second, allowing her words to hang around them, before he shook his head, his eyes staring down at the tissue which was settled on the bed between the two of them. “You surprised me” he admitted “I mean, it was the last thing I was expecting you to say last night, but the more I think about it, the more I realize it’s something that I really, really want, Mila” he breathed, offering her a crooked smile.

Camila’s face lit up. “Really?” she fussed, unable to keep the relief out of her voice.

Lionel breathed out a soft laugh, a little amused by how her expression had brightened, before he nodded. “Maybe it’s a little sooner than I thought it would be” he mused “And maybe I thought we’d be married before it happened, or that Oscar would be a little older before he got a baby brother or sister, but honestly? I’d be over the moon if we turned those over and they were positive. I think we could handle it, no?” he added boyishly.

Camila, who’d been watching him as she spoke, marveled at the warmth and excitement that was evident in his voice before she nodded. “I think so” she mused “I mean, I think we’re pretty wonderful together” she added, her voice caught between playful and soft.

Lionel nodded, a warm smile on his face, before he leant over, brushing a soft kiss against her cheek. Smiling against her skin, he felt it warm up slightly before he drew back, sparing a quick look over his shoulder towards the clock which sat on the end table.

Camila followed his stare, glancing at the clock for a few seconds, before she turned her attention down towards the bed, staring down at the piece of tissue which sat between the two of them. Hesitating for a moment, she briefly caught Lionel’s eye as he turned back towards her before she leant forwards slightly, carefully unfolding the piece of tissue to reveal the two pregnancy tests which sat inside. Staring at them for a couple of seconds, she felt her stomach start to buzz with butterflies before she picked them up, her face brightening almost immediately as she spotted the same single word written on the screen of both.

Lionel, who’d been watching her carefully, watched the smile bloom across her face before he shook his head, a soft, breathy laugh falling out of his mouth. “They’re positive?” he asked, the awe clear in his voice.

Camila nodded before she held them up, showing off the word ‘pregnant’ which was written across both screens with a giddy smile.

Lionel gingerly reached his hand out to take one before he pulled it towards himself, staring down at the word in awe.

Camila sat quietly for a few seconds, watching as he gently brushed a fingertip over the small screen, before she tilted her head slightly, ducking into his eye line. “Leo?” she asked softly.

Lionel startled, a little surprised by her speaking, before he looked up, shaking his head as he tried, and failed, to hide the few tears which had filled his dark eyes. “Sorry” he mumbled “I just...you’re pregnant, Camila. You’re actually pregnant” he added, another soft awed laugh falling out of his mouth.

Camila merely smiled, a little overwhelmed by his tearful expression.

Lionel stared at the test in his hand for a few more seconds, still trying to wrap his head around the word which filled the screen, before he quickly moved towards Camila, enveloping her in a tight hug that Camila didn’t hesitate in returning, a soft snuffly giggle falling out of her mouth as she marveled at how different that moment felt from the moment that she had revealed that she was pregnant with Oscar to Noah.