When We Were

Forty Nine: As Long As You Can’t Have Him

“Didn’t Sam ask why you were going to be home late?” Emilia asked, lifting her eyes to look at Jordi who sat next to her, tapping his fingers against his leg. She hadn’t been expecting him to come with her, with her scan appointment having been moved unexpectedly, she had been sure that Jordi would miss it, but she was relieved that he had been on her doorstep when she’d been getting ready to leave, even if she hadn’t been expecting him. The fact that someone would be with her was a huge relief. She hadn’t told anyone else, after she’d revealed the news to Lionel, they’d both agreed that they should wait, wanting to make sure that everything was alright with the pregnancy before they told their friends and families, and it meant that aside from Jordi, no one else could have come along with her, something which made Emilia ever more grateful to have her older brother beside her.

“I told her you needed help with something” Jordi replied “Though, she did make a comment about how much time I am spending with you. I don’t think we’ve spent this much time together since Luca was born” he added, offering her a crooked smile.

Emilia rolled her eyes. “You’re the one who got busy, Dr Moretti” she quipped.

Jordi grinned, bumping her shoulder impishly. “Seriously” he quipped “When you and Leo get around to telling people, make sure Sam’s near the top of the list. I’m about half convinced she thinks I am using you as a cover for something else” he added.

Emilia snorted. “You’ve managed to not tell her?” she prodded.

“You wanted to keep it a secret” Jordi replied, shrugging nonchalantly.

“I’ve wanted to keep a lot of secrets” Emilia retorted, offering him a knowing smile.

Jordi rolled his eyes before he shook his head, letting out a gentle sigh as he ruffled his hair. “I might have had a call from Leo” he admitted gently.

“Really?” Emilia asked. They had talked a lot in the weeks that had passed since she had told Lionel that she was pregnant, but not once had he mentioned talking to Jordi, something which caught her slightly off guard.

Jordi smirked a little, poking at the crease which had appeared in his sister’s forehead. “Don’t look so worried, Em” he chirped “He just wanted to make sure that I was around for you and that I wasn’t doing anything to make this any more stressful for you than it already is” he added, his voice softening a little.

It hadn’t come as a complete surprise, a few days after watching his little sister tell her boyfriend about her pregnancy, the call from Lionel hadn’t been entirely unanticipated, but Jordi had to admit that he was glad it had come, even if he knew that there was no comparison to be drawn between Lionel and Isaac. The phone call that he had shared with his friend had been more than enough to reassure him that he had nothing to be worried about. Lionel had sounded genuine, his request to have Jordi keep an eye on Emilia when he couldn’t had been sincere and Jordi had been more than happy to reassure him, knowing that Emilia was just going to need someone who could help to keep her calm and relaxed.

Emilia’s lips quirked upwards. “He thought you would be making this more stressful?” she quipped.

“I’m known to be pretty annoying” Jordi chirped “But he was just checking in, making sure that you had someone around. I think it was important to him that you weren’t sat here, thinking about how he’s not. I think he wanted me to take your mind off of it” he added.

“That’s why you moved your shift?” Emilia asked.

Jordi shrugged, smiling a little bashfully. “You are my sister, Em” he replied “And I kind of like your boyfriend, too. I’m more than prepared to do whatever I can do to make sure that this is as easy as it can be. So, get used to me being around, because you’re stuck with me, at least as long as you can’t have Leo” he added.

Emilia grinned at him but was stopped from leaning over to wrap him in a hug when her name was called.

Jordi breathed out a laugh, wiping his forehead dramatically. “Saved by the midwife” he quipped.

~#~
“She said everything was fine?”

Emilia, who was sat in front her laptop, nodded, not able to contain her smile as she watched Lionel’s expression, admiring the way it lit up as he listened to her talk about the appointment. “She said that things were going well” she confirmed “The baby looks healthy and the heartbeat is good too. You should have seen Jordi’s face” she added with a laugh.

Lionel’s expression ticked, but it was back to a beaming smile so quickly that Emilia couldn’t be sure that she had even seen it change. “Have you got a copy of the scan you can send me?” he asked.

Emilia nodded, typing something into her phone before she glanced back up at the camera. “You should have it now” she quipped.

Lionel looked down for a few seconds, staring at what Emilia assumed to be his phone, before his entire face lit up again, causing Emilia to smile with him. “It’s perfect, isn’t it?” she cooed.

For a few moments, Lionel didn’t look at her, too caught up in the scan on his phone. Staring down at it, he took a composing breath before he looked up, his dark eyes shining as they looked into the camera. “Emmy” he whispered in awe.

“I’ve got a little bump too” Emilia mused as she stood up, angling the camera slightly before she lifted the bottom of her t-shirt up, displaying the slight roundness of her stomach.

Lionel just cocked his head to the side, staring at her with a warmth which made her cheeks flush a light shade of pink before shook her head, her fingertips grazing over her stomach. “Thank you” she noted gently “For calling Jordi. I mean, I really thought I’d be OK going by myself, but I...I am glad that he was there. He’s not you, but...” she trailed off, shrugging in place of finishing her thought.

Lionel nodded, smiling sadly. “I’m glad that someone could be there, Em” he noted.

Emilia returned his smile gently, allowing a beat of silence to pass between the two of them, before the sound of her phone alarm filled the air, causing her to shake her head gently. “I set that to let me know when I had to go and get Luca from school” she noted.

Lionel nodded. “Of course” he noted “I’ll catch you later?” he prodded.

Emilia nodded. “I’ll call you back” she insisted “I am sure Luca would love to see you” she added.

“And we need to talk some more” Lionel mused.

Emilia’s expression softened a little before she nodded. “I know we do” she confirmed “Later, Leo” she added.

Lionel smiled, but it was strained. “I love you, Emmy” he noted “You and bump” he added.

“We love you, too” Emilia replied before she brought her hand to her lips, kissing the tips of her fingers before she touched them to the camera.

Holding them there, she watched him end the call before she leant back into the sofa for a second, her fingertips moving to rest of her stomach. “We’re going to get this figured out, OK?” she whispered “I mean, I don’t really know how but we’ll get there. Me and your papa, which is still really weird to think or say by the way, we’re both determined to make this work. It baffles me sometimes, I mean, your papa is...he’s a brilliant man and why on earth he’s still interested in me, I’ll never ever know, but he is and he’s even more interested in you, tiny. I can see it, how much you already mean to him, and I can see how much this situation is stinging him, even though he’s going to pretend that it isn’t, but I promise you, we’ll figure it out for the best. Me, your papa, your big brother and you, we’re going to be happy, tiny. You’ve got my word on that” she insisted before she lifted her hand, touching a kiss to it before she pressed it back against her stomach.
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Thanks to FootieJo for the comment :)