When We Were

Gently pulling her knees against her chest, Emilia took in a shaky breath, trying to calm her breathing as she listened to the sound of the toilet flushing. Squeezing her eyes closed, she took in another deep breath, counting a few seconds in her head before she let it out, slowly and shakily. It wasn’t the first time, in the couple of months that had passed since Lionel had been around during his winter break, she had found herself waking up, overwhelmed by a sense of nausea, on a handful of occasions, but it had been enough to put her on alert, meaning that when the date that her period was due came and went without a sign of it, she knew precisely what had happened.

It still dazed her, despite the handful of days that had passed since she had given in and taken the tests, the notion that they were positive was something which still seemed a little surreal, and it was part of the reason that she had yet to tell Lionel, even if she had told her brother. The idea of looking at him and getting the words ‘I’m pregnant’ out of her mouth seemed entirely overwhelming.

Leaning her head forwards, she touched her forehead to the top of her knees for a few seconds before she heard footsteps, causing her to reluctantly look up, groaning at the sight of Jordi who stood in the bathroom doorway, sipping from a coffee cup nonchalantly. “How are you here?” she grumbled, wrinkling her nose at the scent of his drink.

Jordi grinned over the lid of his cup, lifting up his other hand to show off the set of keys he held. “I let myself in” he quipped.

“Why?” Emilia muttered, allowing her head to settle against her knees “Don’t you have anything better to do on a Sunday morning?” she asked.

“Sam’s gone out for the day with her mother” Jordi replied “And I know Isaac’s not bringing Luca home until this evening, so I thought I’d take it upon myself to check in on you. You look awful, Em” he added impishly.

Emilia scoffed, tilting her head up slightly so that she could glare at him. “Thank you, Jordi” she muttered “Now, can you get that drink out of here? It smells terrible” she added.

Jordi rolled his eyes exaggeratedly, but complied, ducking out of the bathroom for a few seconds before he reappeared, the coffee cup nowhere in sight. Glancing down at Emilia, he watched her tuck her hair back off of her clammy face before he stepped a little deeper into the room, plopping down on the floor in front of her.

Emilia heard him sit down before she looked up at him, flashing him a tired smile. “You really came to check up on me?” she asked.

Jordi quirked a little smile before he shrugged nonchalantly. “What can I say?” he quipped “I’m a great big brother” he added.

“Sometimes” Emilia teased.

Jordi smirked for a second, allowing a beat of silence to pass between the two of them, before his expression softened. “You had bad morning sickness with Luca” he noted “I mean, mama was always worried about you passing out, so I thought I should come and see how you’re doing. I mean, who else is going to?” he added, offering Emilia a pointed look which caused her to duck her head, shaking it slightly.

“Jordi” she warned softly.

“It’s been almost a week, Em” Jordi’s voice was warm, but still firm enough to let Emilia know that she wasn’t going to be able to just duck out of the conversation “And I imagine that you’ve spoken to Leo on most of those days, if not all of them. Have you still not told him about the baby?” he asked.

Emilia peeked at him shyly, something which caused Jordi to sigh. “Emilia” he complained gently.

“It’s scary” Emilia protested gently “We can barely manage keeping a video chat schedule, Jordi. What exactly are we supposed to do about the next seven months until the baby comes? What are we supposed to do after that? I know I have to tell him, of course I do, but I just...I need to get my head around it first” she stumbled out.

Jordi stared at her, his eyes searching her features, before he reached out, covering her hands with his. “I get that” he noted gently “But the longer you leave it...it’s not going to make it easier. You have to have that conversation, no matter how frustrating it is because we both know that the two of you...you’re probably not going to get what you both want, but it’s not going to take away from the fact that there is going to be a new baby. He’s going to love that, Emmy, no matter what else comes from it. He’s going to love that little baby so much. You know that” he insisted.

Emilia glanced down at their hands. “You think so?” she whispered.

Jordi smiled, nodding his head. “He loves you, doesn’t he?” he asked “And a baby that is half Moretti? A baby that’s going to have me as their uncle? What’s not to love about that?” he added.

“A pregnancy he’ll probably see very little of” Emilia countered “A due date he’ll probably miss” she added.

Jordi squeezed her hands. “That can be figured out” he noted “Even if it does involve me being in the room when you give birth, holding your phone up for him to see it. I’ll do it, Emmy” he added.

Emilia quirked a small smile. “You practically passed out when my waters broke with Luca” she pointed out “You think you could handle being at the business end this time around?” she asked.

Jordi grimaced. “The business end?” he asked.

“You know what I mean” Emilia noted “He’s not going to see much more than ceiling if you pass out. Seriously, what are you going to do if you and Sam ever have kids?” she prodded.

Jordi smirked. “Between Luca and the new baby Moretti, you’ll have given mama and papa enough grandbabies that they’re not going to be bothering me on that for a while” he quipped.

Emilia shook her head, smiling for a second before her expression sobered slightly. “I’m sorry to be doing this to you again” she whispered “I pulled you into things with Isaac last time, and now I am putting you between me and Leo. I just...I had to tell someone, and I didn’t think it could be him or mama. She and papa were so good last time, but I think expecting the same reaction this time around would be optimistic” she added.

Jordi shook his head. “It is different, Em” he noted “Isaac...you know how I feel about that, about him, but this? You and Leo are in a relationship, a real one, and out of that, a baby is going to come along. It’s early, sure, but I’ve always had a good feeling about the two of you and I still do” he enthused gently.

Emilia smiled at him gently. “I really thought you’d hate us together” she noted.

“How could I?” Jordi chirped “My favourite sister...”

“Only sister” Emilia corrected.

“My favourite sister and a friend I adore. I love it” Jordi enthused “And my new niece or nephew will be a Messi-Moretti. I adore that too” he chirped.

Emilia shook her head before her nose wrinkled, something which caused Jordi to jump back to his feet, moving just in time so that Emilia didn’t knock him over as she lurched towards the toilet, throwing up into it. Grimacing a little, he waited for her to finish before he gently tugged her back up to her feet, helping her out of the bathroom and back towards her bedroom. Helping her settle at the foot of the bed, he gently stepped back before he felt his phone buzz in his pocket, causing him to slip it out, his eyes widening a fraction as he spotted the name on the screen.

Emilia looked up at him, a crease in her forehead. “Jordi?” she prodded.

Jordi held up a finger, pressing his phone against his ear. “Leo” he greeted “To what do I owe the pleasure?” he asked.

Emilia shook her head rapidly. “Jordi...”

“I’m with her now, actually” Jordi chirped, ignoring her protest “Yeah, she has been. She’s actually asking to speak to you” he added.

Emilia kept shaking her head, but it didn’t stop Jordi from placing the phone in her hand, coaxing it up against her ear. “Tell him” he mouthed.

Emilia took a shaky breath.

“Em?” Lionel’s voice was gentle and curious.

Glancing up, Emilia met Jordi’s eyes, watching as he nodded with an encouraging smile before she took in a breath. “Leo” she spoke quietly, uncertainly “I...I’m pregnant” she added.

“Oh” was the quiet response which followed, causing Emilia to squeeze her eyes closed, dreading what he would say next.